TW: rape/sexual assault

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ANNABETH CHASE

After an absurdly long trip to the mall, Reyna and I found ourselves back at our dorm with three shopping bags and Chinese takeout.

"You know, Chase," Reyna began, dipping an egg roll into soy sauce, "for a girl who claims not to know anything about parties, you sure know a lot about parties."

I sipped from my bottle of water. "What do you mean?"

After swallowing her bite, my roommate listed, "Well, you knew what style of dresses to get, that we needed to buy makeup and hair tools, which shoes to buy, what time we should start getting ready, and how to find a party to go to."

My cheeks warmed up. "I read a lot of books, alright?"

Reyna laughed. "I thought you were always sticking your nose in educational books," she pointed out.

I tucked my hair behind my ear. "Usually, but I occasionally found myself in the teen fiction section of the library."

She began picking at her lo mein. "You're really just a hopeless romantic, huh?"

"You could say that," I agreed, "or you could say that I just have faith."

Reyna quirked up a dark brow. "Faith in what?"

"Faith that maybe my life isn't meant to be screwed up."

We continued to eat our food and chat idly, but I could tell my words had resonated with my roommate and that she wasn't totally invested in our small talk.

Eventually, all that remained of our meal was several greasy cardboard packages and used utensils. After throwing away our garbage, we both collapsed on my bed and I powered on my computer.

Opening up the search engine, I typed up the question Reyna and I had been worried about most - How to apply makeup. Thirty minutes later, we found ourselves on the fifth YouTube tutorial and completely in awe. 

"How is it that whenever this girl does her eyeliner, she looks hot, but when I try it, I look like an emo tiger?" Reyna muttered rhetorically.

I pursed my lips. "She's talented, that's for sure."

We watched a few more videos before pulling ourselves out of bed and over to the mirror. After almost thirty minutes of intense concentration, we both came out of our trances with decently applied makeup looks. I went for a more natural look with nude eyeshadow, sheer lipgloss, and lots of blush. Reyna got a fierce look with a sharp cat eye, carved cheekbones, and a red lip.

"You look hot," I stated blatantly.

She smirked. "Don't worry, I won't tell Percy you're cheating on him with me."

I shoved her shoulder lightly and laughed. "Come on, let's go figure out how to do her hair."

With that, it was just rinse and repeat. We went into another YouTube coma and came out of it with more knowledge on hair and beauty than we ever could have dreamed. I went at my blonde locks with a curling iron while Reyna pulled her long brown hair into a slick high pony and straightened the ends. It elongated her already sharp and high cheekbones.

"Maybe we aren't as clueless as I thought," Reyna pointed out.

I nodded. "Looks like we found our inner beauty guru," I said with a smile.

She narrowed her dark eyes at me. "You better be joking, Princess."

I cackled. "Of course I am, Reyna. What do you take me for?"

She scoffed. "I'm not sure, but you had me scared for a second there," she teased.

"Come on, let's get dressed," I said, standing up and offering her my hand.

She took it and pulled herself up. We walked over to our shopping bags and pulled out the two dresses we decided on. Reyna brought the one she chose over to her side of the room and began to put it on. I did the same with mine, which was a tight black minidress that ended a few inches above my knees and had a straight neckline that amplified my smaller chest - or at least that's what the internet says. 

Once my dress was on, I sat on my bed and pulled on my heels. After lots of consideration, I decided on a smaller wedge that would give me a little bit of height but not be too hard to walk in. They had plain black straps to match my dress.

After fiddling with my outfit for a moment, I sighed and joined Reyna by the mirror where she had been analyzing her appearance.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her.

We made eye contact through the mirror. "I think I look really good," she admitted after a few seconds.

I smiled. She was right, she did look really good. Her majestic purple dress hugged her chest before flaring out at the waist, emphasizing her figure. The neckline had a slight v-neck and spaghetti straps. Her shoes were a pair of basic black heels but they really pulled together her look.

My eyes drifted from her reflection to my own. Biting my lower lip, I crossed my arms over my stomach.

I swallowed back my thoughts before looking up at Reyna and smiling. "Ready to have fun?"

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With a little research and the guidance of Google Maps, we found ourselves standing outside of a very large house. One could almost call it a mansion, with three floors and two turrets on the right and left side. Even in the dim lighting, I could tell that the architect behind the building was very experienced.

After looking at each other for assurance, we strode inside. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol. Everywhere I looked I saw some form of the drink - filling people's cups, in kegs lining the living room, emitting from vomit inside a plant pot...the list goes on.

The second thing I noticed was how absolutely packed the place was. It seemed like the area everyone was populated in was the living room turned dance floor. At least fifty people were all inches apart, bouncing around and dancing like total goons.

Reyna said something, but I couldn't hear it over the pumping music and rythmic pounding of people's feet.

"Huh?" I shouted at her.

She leaned in and spoke loudly in my ear. "How do you think they managed to get this whole house to themselves?" she asked.

"It's a senior's parents' place," I explained, "but they're usually out of town, I guess, so it's more of a glorified frat house."

She nodded in understanding. Slowly but surely, we worked out way around the crowd of people and ended up leaning against the wall awkwardly in between two kissing couples.

After standing still for a few minutes and barely talking, Reyna said, "I'm going to go to the bathroom. I'll find you in a few minutes, okay?"

I nodded and she whizzed off, pushing bravely passed the dancing mob.

Sighing, I looked out at the crowd. Tons of girls were laughing and jumping happily, not a worry on their mind. Why couldn't I be so carefree? Why did I have to stress about every move I made?

One of the girls I saw took a swig from her cup and frowned. After telling her companions something, she left the dance floor and ventured off to a different part of the house.

Curiously, I followed her and ended up in the kitchen. She poured herself another drink before she noticed me watching her.

"Do you want me to get you one?" she asked, her words slightly slurring together.

I frowned. "I think I'm all set, but, thank you."

The girl smiled brightly before waving and heading back to the dance floor. I stared at the collection of bottles cluttering the counter. Everyone here had two things in common - they were all having fun, and they were all drunk. I couldn't help but think the two things were linked together. Maybe if I had a drink or two, just enough to get me tipsy...

I grabbed a shot glass and poured in some vodka. Without a second thought, I poured it into my mouth.

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"Alright, Blondie, it's your turn!"

I grinned and accepted a ping pong ball from my parter, a very nice boy who accepted me with very little interrogation. I gleefully tossed the ball towards the other end of the table, where it sunk into the last cup left.

"Yay!" I cheered. I turned to my partner and we high fived.

"You're on a roll! You should come around more often and we can team up all of the time!"

I nodded and smiled. "I would absolutely love that. Do you want my number?"

"That'd be awesome!" He handed me his phone and I slowly typed in my basic contact information. "Thanks, Annie."

I winced. "Please don't call me that," I told him. "See there? It says Annabeth."

He laughed. "Okay, will do. It was totally nice to meet you, Annabeth."

I nodded. "Right back at you...stranger whose name I don't know."

"My bad," he chuckled out. "It's Warren."

I grinned and stuck out my hand. "Nice meeting you, Warren."

He took my hand and pulled me in for a hug. I giggled and pat his back before pulling away and turning on my heel to go get another drink. I ran straight into my roommate.

"Reyna!" I greeted. "I missed you! Do you want to get something to drink with me?"

She looked at me funnily. "What? Of course not!"

I pouted. "Okay. Bye then!" I turned to continue my mission but she grabbed my wrist. "Hey!" I shouted.

"What is wrong with you, Chase?" she asked me.

I smiled. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just having fun."

With a frown, she shook her head and crossed her arms. "No, something is wrong. The Annabeth I know would never drink, let alone get wasted and cheat on her boyfriend with some stranger at a party."

"What?" I asked, my lip wobbling. "I didn't cheat! I would never cheat on Percy!"

"Then what was the deal with Mr. Beer Pong over there? You gave him your number and hugged him."

I shook my head frantically. "I don't like him! We're just friends, Reyna, I promise."

"It's not me you need to worry about, it's Percy."

"Percy trusts me," I said, "and he'll believe me. I didn't do anything wrong. Besides, you need to lighten up. Come on, just one drink, okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah, okay, one drink."

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Maybe an hour after doing shots with Reyna, I found myself in one of about a hundred bathrooms. After doing my business and washing my hands, I leaned towards the mirror and scrutinized my appearance. My mascara was a little smudged around my eyes and the foundation on my nose and cheeks looked a little patchy. My lip gloss was entirely worn away, and my hair was a frizzy mess.

I laughed out loud at the ironic situation I was in. I came into California as a strict rule follower and found myself days later at a party and drinking about a gallon of alcohol.

A solid knock on the door shook me out of my thoughts. "One second," I called. I dried my hands on a towel before walking over to the door and unlocking it. "Sorry about the wait," I murmured.

A guy stood there, towerring over me with bloodshot eyes and a smirk taking over his face. "You don't have to be sorry about anything, pretty girl."

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and laughed awkwardly. "O-okay. Excuse me, then." I attempted to walk by him but he stuck his muscular arm in my path.

"I'm sorry, can I get by, please?"

He shook his head and licked his lips. "No, I want you right here."

I frowned. "That's not exactly what I want, sir."

"It will be in a few minutes, pretty girl." 

He walked forward, taking me with him and slamming the bathroom door shut. I jumped at the noise, and he cackled. Darting his hands under my arms, he hoisted me onto the counter and began to press sloppy kisses up my neck. Tears flowed out of my eyes like a water faucet. 

"Stop," I cried. "Please, stop. I have a boyfriend. I-I don't want this. Please. Stop, stop!"

"Be quiet," he hissed, trailing his hands up my thighs and playing with the hem of my dress.

I screamed, but he quickly silenced me with his hand. I clamped down my mouth on it and bit so hard that I broke the skin. He yelped and pulled it away, cradling it in his other hand. Weeping, I shoved him away and bolted out of the bathroom.

Sobbing, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened up my contacts.

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sorry, this was really long but there was a lot i wanted to get through. hopefully the bathroom scene wasn't too upsetting to any of you. if you experienced anything similar to what annabeth went through in this chapter, please remember you are not alone, it was not your fault, and it is not hopeless. reach out and tell others. get help. things can always get better.

on a slightly less serious note, who do you think annabeth is gonna call? there's lots of options, but i'm pretty positive you can all guess correctly ;)

anyway, i love you lots and hope you are doing well. stay safe and have a good day <3