Annabeth Chase, August 10, 8:00 PM

I panted, wiping the sweat off my forehead and flapping the front of my jersey back and forth. People usually wore jerseys to play sports, but I wore jerseys all the time, even for my usual night-time run. I rolled my eyes, checking my Apple Watch. Except, since we weren't in my usual area, I was just running laps around the neighborhood, because I couldn't go anywhere actually enjoyable.

I decided to take a walking break and checked DoorDash. I hadn't eaten dinner yet because I was busy studying ahead for the school year and playing sports on the Crystal High field, and I was pretty starving. I decided to order an iced coffee and some ramen for dinner and ran back to the house.

"You were out running at this hour?" I heard a voice from the living room. 

Piper McLean. Beauty queen, golden standard, fashionista... What else is there to say? Oh. DRAMA QUEEN. Yes, Piper was such a drama queen. I remember from being friends with her in middle school... until she and I kinda went our separate ways.

I shrugged, taking off my headphones. "It's the only way I manage to fall asleep. I can't really sit still for very long, so running's how I get the energy out of me."

Piper sighed, putting the cucumbers back over her eyes. "Sweetie, spa night starts from 7 PM onwards. From 7 onward, it is time to unwind, recenter, and get yourself ready for the best sleep of your life!"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a beer from the fridge. Surprisingly, for someone who seems like a goody-two-shoes like me, I liked drinking. Piper's eyes practically bulged out of her head and her cucumbers fell off.

"You're drinking beer at this hour, too?" she gasped. "Drinking beer before you go to bed is the worst idea!"

I scoffed. "Relax, drama queen. It's only 8 PM."

"Drama queen?" Piper crossed her arms. "Well, I see some things haven't changed."

I stood up from the couch and glared at her. "It's been three years, Piper. Get over it, will you?"

Jason Grace, August 10, 8:30 PM

I paused my guitar-playing when a knock came at my door.

"Come in!" I said.

Percy poked his head in. "Yo. Jason, right?"

I nodded. "Percy?"

Percy grinned. "Hey, what's up, man?"

"Nothing." I shrugged, strumming my guitar. "Just doing some music. What about you?"

"Just got back from a run," Percy replied.

"Can you please keep it down, though?" Frank said, also poking his head in the door. "I'm trying to study Quantum Mechanics and while I usually can block out noise, I can't block out your rock music!"

I shrugged, smirking. "It's calling you." I strummed my guitar again.

"Guitars don't talk, Jason," Frank muttered.

"Anyway, I've got some people coming over soon for a party," Percy said. "Some friends from Goode. You're welcome to join us outside for some drinks and swimming."

I realized that my mouth was hanging open. "Uh... You know people from Goode?"

Percy chuckled. "Yeah, of course."

Piper McLean, August 10, 9:00 PM

This girl doesn't mean to eavesdrop, but I mean... once I heard the word party, I threw off my skin prep and began to put on some makeup, quickly changing into a black mini dress. I quickly sprayed on some perfume and headed downstairs, where Percy was grabbing the punch bowl from the fridge.

"Uh, I haven't met you, but my name is Piper," I said, holding out my hand.

"Percy," he replied.

"I know," I giggled. "Every girl at Crystal High is obsessed with you."

He shrugged. "I'm pretty awesome. I know."

I laughed at his confidence. "You don't mind if I crash your party, do you?"

"Be my guest. Though, you're not really a guest because this is technically your house, too." Percy flashed me a dimpled smirk. "I just wonder how many people are showing up."

"You're clearly the life of the party," I said, smiling. Oh, this boy was a good flirt.

"Life of the party? I am the party," Percy scoffed confidently. "But you're the lady."

My heart absolutely soared. Holy fuck, he's good.

"And you're a ladies man, Percy," I replied. "Though, do you say that to every girl?"

"Honesty's the best policy. I don't say that to every single girl. It's not a prepared pick-up line. That's lame," Percy scoffed. "To me, love is sappy. If teenage hormones kick in, sure, I'm down for a good make-out session, but never anything serious. I'm not trying to be a fuckboy. Most of it happens when I'm drunk, anyway, and that's only at parties like this one."

Annabeth Chase, August 10, 11:00 PM

I groaned, opening my eyes, checking the clock. 11:00 PM. I had fallen asleep at 10! Who the fuck was making so much noise?! I slipped out of bed in my hoodie and shorts and opened the door to my bedroom, only to find a full, fucking rager being thrown outside in the yard, with a few couples making out in the kitchen and living room.

"Holy fuck," I breathed. Well, looks like I won't be able to meet any of them before I kill one of them because whoever threw this party is FUCKING DEAD.

Another door opened down the hall and I saw Piper re-applying her lip gloss on her way out of her room. I immediately walked over to her. This has to be her idea.

"Piper, what is this?" I asked, pointing at the party. "Is this your way of making me suffer?"

She chuckled. "Nope, it wasn't my idea. You haven't even met the other kids yet." She sipped her martini and looked at me. "Want some?"

I sighed and took a sip. "Wow, this is actually a good martini!"

"Right?" Piper peered over the balcony. "See that kid over there? Blonde guy with blue eyes?" She pointed at the boy in the window. "That's Jason. He's also staying here. He's the one with the guitar."

"Oh, so he's been playing music so loud that my eardrums are popping open."

Piper nodded, pointing at another kid, who looked rather uncomfortable. "And that's Frank."

"Stereotypical Asian kid?" I murmured before my eyes widened. "I mean, no offense, but--"

"Yeah, kinda." Piper shrugged. "He's good at math, plays checkers, at least from what I've heard. He leaves his door open sometimes and I see him."

I scanned the crowd before my eyes stopped on a gorgeous man. Ew, what, Annabeth? That's gross! Piper followed my gaze, raising an eyebrow.

"That's Percy Jackson," she said smugly.

I rolled my eyes. "You mean that boy that everyone at Crystal High is obsessed with? The one who captains every team at Coastline?"

Piper turned to me. "Yeah. Do you know him?"

I scoffed. "Please. Never talked to him once. The closest we've ever been is probably playing against each other at some point, but clearly he wasn't important, because I don't remember him."

"Yeah, well, don't underestimate him. He knows what he's doing."

I looked at her strangely. "What? Are you infatuated with him, too?"

She shoved me lightly. "I'm not infatuated with him. Sometimes, it's okay to admit that people are good-looking, Annabeth."

He is pretty good-looking, I admitted to myself. Ugh! That just makes it worse!

"Let me guess. The party was his idea?"

She nodded. "He's already pretty popular at Goode. Being captain of Coastline High's athletics isn't something people ignore."

Believe me, I know, I thought, remembering the DM's I had received from various girls on the Goode teams. They seemed pretty nice, but who knows?

"Plus, he's smoking hot," Piper said. "He could have any girl he possibly wanted."

"Yeah, well, he must be a conceited ass," I muttered. "All guys like him are."

"You know, I miss this," Piper said, glancing at me. "Talking to you."

I sighed, nodding. "I know. I miss it, too. But look at you! You're Miss Beauty Queen and fashionista trend-setting icon! If we had stayed friends, that never would've happened."

Piper chuckled. "Oh, yeah? Look at you, Crystal Captain! The first time I saw you walk in freshman year, I thought you were a whole different person with your glow-up! Fuck, you don't even care that you're pretty."

"You're right. I don't care," I replied.

"And you don't even care that some of the guys are ogling you right now?" Piper asked, scanning me from head to toe. "In a fucking hoodie and shorts?"

I shrugged. "I hope they're ogling you. The last thing I need is to deal with a horny-ass teenager when I need to sleep."

Piper groaned. "Annabeth, when will you ever learn that love isn't the worst, most sappy thing? You were like this in seventh grade, which I get, but at sixteen years old? Give me a break. You don't have to listen to me, and I know you won't, but getting a boyfriend might not be such a bad thing!"

"Oh, yeah?" I raised my eyebrows and crossed my arms. "What about when you got dumped in sophomore year and lost all your creative motivation? Hm? Was getting a boyfriend a bad thing then?"

"Now, don't you dare make fun of me, missy," Piper scolded me playfully. "We're still not there yet."

I shrugged, turning back to my room. "We'll get there."

She and I shared a smile before I went back inside my room, deciding that instead of pointlessly trying to sleep, I'd binge-watch some TV show and sleep the next day.

Frank Zhang, August 11, 8:00 AM

I groaned, realizing that my bathroom had no more toothpaste. "Shit."

Everyone else was probably still asleep, worn out from the party. I walked down the hall before stopping at the one door I hadn't knocked on that was still closed. The door with "Annabeth" on it was open, so I assumed she wasn't here. I put a fist to it and knocked gently. A soft thump was heard, along with a frantic "shit" from behind the door.

"Hey, uh... this'll only take a second," I called through the door. Frank, you're such an idiot.

The door opened and a girl with chocolate brown hair and golden eyes answered the door. "Uh... h-how can I help you?"

I found myself stuck staring at her like a dumbass. "Fuck. Uh, sorry. I was just wondering if you knew where the extra toothpaste boxes were?"

"Oh, yeah." The girl handed me one. "I just found an extra and forgot to put it back. Here you go."

I took it and smiled. "Thanks."

She turned to close the door, but I held it open. "Do you need something el--"

"What's your name?" I asked her.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she smiled softly. "Hazel."

I nodded, waving. "Frank. Nice to meet you." I closed the door on the way out and headed for my bathroom, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding.