"I'd like to be the first to say congratulations to Annabeth," I said as the party fell silent and I raised my glass. "Annabeth, you're a wonderful person and an amazing actress. The director would be stupid if they hadn't pick you!"

Annabeth blushed as her eyes nervously skittered over to the director, who she had insisted we invite along with her other friends.

The director just laughed and raised her nearly empty glass like everyone else. She was clearly drunk.

Annabeth's apartment was packed with the most famous people I'd ever seen in one room. She had a spacious main floor, which was soon to be empty when she moved in with me.

As I climbed off of the coffee table I'd been using as a makeshift stage, Annabeth instantly rushed over to me and pulled me into a hug.

"You're brilliant, but stupid," she said with a laugh. "And you're super lucky my director is wasted."

I waved off her concerns as someone whisked her away from me and started basically interrogating her on the role.

Before I could look for someone interesting to talk to, the back of my suit was grabbed tightly and I was pulled into a bathroom.

The person in question looked lost amongst the guests at the party. Her black hair was choppy and streaked with vibrant colors and she was dressed in a formal dress that she kept pulling at.

"Who are you?" I asked as she locked the bathroom door. "Uh, what was that for? Can I—could I please leave?"

She laughed snarkily, which made me shiver. "I have to lay a few ground rules, alright? I'm Thalia Grace, Annabeth's best friend."

Suddenly it all made sense to me and clicked in my brain. Annabeth had mentioned her best friend, Thalia, before, claiming that she was aggressive but a good friend. This woman certainly was aggressive.

"Ahh, nice to meet you," I said while placing my hand out, a pleasant smile on my face.

She shrugged and denied my hand shake as she placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't believe you and Annabeth were really dating. For a while I was in plain denial about the whole thing, but now that she's moving in with you, I decided it was time to meet you and set a few ground rules."

Before I could speak again, she just shook her head and continued talking.

"One, Annabeth is the best person in the world. Although she can look and act tough, she is too kind for her own good, and I don't want her wasting her time on you."

"Two, Annabeth is very successful. You have to be okay with having a girlfriend who is always busy, as she is the single most hardworking person ever. You've never been with her while she's working on a movie, and it is brutal."

"Three, if you hurt her I will murder you. I will. And so will all of Annabeth's other friends, because she is the best in case I already haven't mentioned it. I know she is fully capable of handing herself, believe me, I know, but beware."

"And four, be very delicate about her family. I heard you encouraged her to go back for Christmas. You will never do that again. Her father is alright, but her stepmom can be brutal. And her mother—well, you'll meet her soon enough. She's terrifying."

"More than you?"

"More than me."

As Thalia finished I sighed and straightened up. "Thalia, I'm glad you're concerned for Annabeth, but she is smart. She wouldn't pick me if I weren't up to her standards, alright?"

Thalia shrugged as she folded her arms across her chest. "You clearly haven't met that loser of an ex of hers then. She picked him, they were nearly engaged. But he stomped all over her heart. And that wasn't even a year ago."

"I won't do that," I promised. She raised an eyebrow. "I swear. I...I love her, Thalia. She's perfect. Why would I do anything to mess that up?"

Thalia didn't respond. Instead she simply opened the door and ushered me out and back into the party.

Annabeth quickly located me. "Where have you been? I've been trying to talk to you about that guy's outfit!"

She pointed at some random crew member she'd invited, who was dressed head to toe in clashing patterns from zebra to camo.

We both burst out laughing and I quickly noticed Thalia's eyes on me, but instead of a glare she winked.