Thalia jumped and pumped her fists as she bowled her third strike in a row. Nico groaned dramatically and turned to Percy,

"She's cheating."

Percy snorted,

"Oh of course she is, but we can't prove it."

Thalia sauntered back over,

"Your turn Kelp Head."

Percy stood up and cracked his knuckles,

"You are so going down, Pinecone Face."

Thalia stuck her tongue out at Percy, who just smirked back.

He rolled a gutter ball, which was an accomplishment because he was bowling with bumpers. Both Thalia and Nico laughed. Percy grabbed a bowling ball to bowl his second roll. Then he turned to his cousins and was about to flip then off, when he froze.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

Thalia and Nico turned around to see Poseidon standing there with a kind smile.

"Do I have to have a reason to say hi to my son?"

Percy looked at Thalia and Nico, who were both failing to hide their smirks.

"Uh, no? But you know, usually you want something from me."

Poseidon looked rather taken aback. Thalia snorted.

"Smooth."

Poseidon ignored Thalia, and continued speaking to Percy,

"I see you're losing," he nodded to the scoreboard, "can I have a go?"

Now, you don't really say no to a god, so Percy just nodded and handed the bowling ball to his father.

Poseidon had never bowled before, and he barely understood the purpose of the activity. But, he was a god, so he somehow managed to knock down every single pin. Thalia groaned,

"Oh come on! That's cheating! He definitely used powers!"

Everyone turned to look at Thalia, who turned red under everybody's attention.

"But, that's okay, Lord Poseidon. It's not a problem."

Poseidon just stared at the daughter of Zeus, and after a moment he smiled.

"Right, well I should get going, I've got godly things to do. Just wanted to say hi."

He hugged Percy and left. The three demigods stared at him as he left. Nico turned to Percy,

"You're dad is weird."

Percy rolled his eyes,

"He's a god, what do you expect?"

Nico gently shoved Percy's shoulder, while smirking,

"Nah, but like he's dorky."

Thalia laughed,

"Yeah, the dorky God of the Sea, now it's clear where you get it from."

Percy sat down and buried his head in his arms,

"Shut up, Nico it's your turn."

Nico laughed and moved up to the lane. He managed to knock down 8 pins, leaving a perfect split.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me!"

Both Percy and Thalia broke out in laughter. Nico glared at them, but without any heat behind it.

They played until the bowling alley closed. Thalia won every round, because she was cheating, but nevertheless, they had loads of fun. Their night was filled with laughter and friendly competition.

They were leaving the bowling alley and heading back to Percy's apartment, when Nico froze. His cousins both stopped and stared back at him.

"Nico," Percy started to say, but Nico shushed him. Thalia and Percy shared a suspicious glance. Then, Nico started tip-toeing forward. His cousins followed, just as quietly. The three of them neared an alleyway. Percy drew Riptide and Thalia activated Aegis, while Nico got ready to draw his Stygian Iron sword. Percy pushed forward, and entered the alleyway. There was a brief shuffling sound and then a laugh. Percy came back out of the alley with a huge dog on his heels.

"Guys, weapons down, it's just Mrs. O'Leary."

Thalia and Nico relaxed. Mrs. O'Leary ran up and licked Thalia's entire face, which caused her hair to stand up. Nico laughed and pet the hellhound behind her ear.

"Hey Perce, do you have any treats for her?"

Percy shook his head,

"No, but I have some back at the apartment, but my mom says Mrs. O'Leary isn't allowed there anymore."

Nico sighed, and tried to share a disappointed glance with Thalia, but she was still trying to wipe dog slobber off her face. He turned back to Percy.

"So, you'll just send her back to camp?"

Percy nodded,

"Yeah, I wish our apartment was pet friendly but I don't have control over that."

Then he got the attention of the big dog, and pet her for a minute before telling her to go back to camp. She whimpered, but ultimately obliged, leaving three demigods in the street.

"C'mon, let's get back to the apartment"

"I'll race ya!"

The three of them took off down the sidewalk, pushing and laughing, clambering to get home.

Guess who's back!! Word count 770. I really don't like this chapter. A lot happened, and none of it was very important. Maybe. But hey, at least I wrote something!