Special thanks to DemigodLove, lovelikewoe13, TheGreekGirl348, Crane's Shadow, AuroxTheLander, kiwihead136, I'mDifferent-GetOverIt, MidnightForever17, RavenclawSeeker19, Cotix14, Suki-Alanna, AnnabethChaserocks, TheGreekGoddessAphrodite, Annabelle-Paisilee Nott, starglow13, AmeeThePercabethLover, Izzy Simi, Sweedledome, and the two anonymous reviewers (including Hannah, whose second review made me laugh out loud) for reviewing. Kudos to everyone who had the good sense to favorite me and/or this story.

And now for the feature presentation!...

In chapter 5: With that, Rachel walked up to Percy and kissed him one last time. He watched her as she walked away without another word.

"What do you mean, 'oh no'?" Thalia asked. "How do you know what's going to happen?"

"It's complicated. All I can say is that Rachel is breaking up with Percy," Luke replied.

And sure enough, the redheaded girl walked up to the black-haired boy and kissed him. She then proceeded to walk away.

"But—why?" Annabeth asked. "Rachel didn't have any reason to break his heart like that."

"I have absolutely no idea," Luke said. It was true, in a roundabout way—he did have no idea why Rachel chose to not listen to his advice.

"We can solve their relationship problems later," Thalia interrupted. "Right now, we have a party to host!"

"She's right, you know," Luke said, looking at Annabeth.

"I know—but that doesn't mean that I have to like it," Annabeth said. She frowned. Whatever reason Rachel had for this, she would pay.

Percy stared after Rachel in shock. She just...They weren't...They had been dating since the end of eighth grade, and then Rachel just breaks up with him without any further explanation! What the fuck gives?

"Hey, Perce! Wassup?" Grover asked, walking toward where his best friend was standing. Percy didn't respond.

Grover waved his hand in front of Percy's face. "Earth to Jackson! Can...you...hear...me?"

Percy shook his head suddenly. "Dude, Rachel just dumped me. She didn't say why or anything. I didn't even get a 'I still want to be friends'."

"Seriously? That's great! You're now single, and just in time for Thalia's party! Let's go check out all the hot girls!" Grover exclaimed.

Percy glared at Grover, not saying anything.

"Okay, I get that you're upset over this. I'm sorry. But can we save the emotional stuff for tomorrow morning, when we all have hangovers? Please?"

"Grover, I'm not sure about this," Percy sighed. "I don't even know if I want to go anymore..."

"Eh, you'll feel better after a couple of rounds of beer pong," Grover said confidently. He then proceeded to drag a protesting Percy into the apartment complex.

Earlier that evening...

"Mom? Nico? Are you home?" Bianca asked. The house seemed quiet. Maria's car has been parked out front, but she might have walked to the grocery store or something.

"Bianca! You came to visit!" Maria said, walking into the entryway gracefully. She pulled her daughter into a hug. "How are you doing? Do you need anything? Have you been eating right, and brushing your teeth, and—"

"Mom, I'm fine," Bianca broke in. "Everything's going great." She hesitated for a minute, then asked, "Is Nico still mad at me?"

"Mom, tell her that I am," Nico said. He was standing in the doorway between the living room and the foyer; close enough to talk to Bianca without using a go-between.

Maria glanced at Bianca and sighed. Bianca nodded in understanding.

"Hey Nico, I got you something. I know that it won't make up for me leaving, but maybe it'll help a little," Bianca said. She fished in her jacket pocket for a small figurine and tossed it to Nico. The little statue was the only Mythomagic figurine that he didn't have yet: Hades, the god of the Underworld.

Nico looked down at the statue, then back up at Bianca.

"Mom, tell Bianca that I say thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome," she replied. Brother and sister looked at each other. The atmosphere was almost tangible.

Bianca's phone buzzed; she had received a text. She slid her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen.

"I have to go now. I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer. We can all meet up for dinner at one point, okay?" she said. A shadow fell over Maria's face, but passed quickly.

"I will hold you to that," the woman said, kissing her daughter's cheek. Bianca hugged her mom goodbye. She called, "Bye, Nico! I love you!" over her shoulder.

Nico whispered, "Love you too," as she was closing the door.

Annabeth looked around wildly. In the space of half an hour, Thalia's party had turned from peace into chaos. There were three games of beer pong (among other drinking games that she didn't know) and two of strip poker. The girls playing that were down to their thongs and a push-up bra or two—not that they had been wearing much more to begin with. On the dance floor, people were grinding and making out. She couldn't hear anything over the music and pounding in her head, but she could see plenty.

Annabeth had had a few beers herself. Unused to drinking, she had only consumed two. That was more than enough to make her tipsy, though.

"Percy! Hi!" she said, spotting a familiar black-haired head. Its owner turned around and looked at her.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why'd you ask?" she replied

"Because you never talk to me, that's why."

"Oh! I geddit now!" Annabeth said, nodding. "That's a good reason."

Percy sighed. "Annabeth, how much did you drink?"

"Two beers! It's my first time, too!" she replied cheerfully.

He groaned. "C'mon, Annabeth. Let's get you outside before you get your hands on some crack or something."

"Okay! Wait, but I don't want to leave!" Percy began pulling a slightly reluctant Annabeth towards the door.

One of the Stolls stopped them on the way out. "Dude, if you're trying to take Annabeth to a bedroom, then I don't think she wants to go." This would happen to him right after a breakup.

"Connor, don't be stupid," Percy said, exasperated. "She's practically drunk, and she's only had two beers. I'm not going to let her stay here."

"Oh, okay then. You may leave," Connor said. He did an over-dramatic bow towards the door.

"Hey! Hey, Percy! How'd you know that was Connor?" Annabeth asked excitedly.

"Because Travis is busy with Katie Gardner," Percy replied. Sure enough, the two were having a very detailed make-out session in a corner.

"Excuse me, but I need to go talk to those two," Connor said.

He pushed past Percy and Annabeth and made his way through the crowd to where Travis and Katie were busy.

"Well, it's about time!" Annabeth said. Suddenly, the music seemed louder and the room more crowded. Annabeth's headache got worse, too. She swayed slightly where she was standing.

Luckily, Percy noticed this. "C'mon, you. Let's get some fresh air." He lead her out of the apartment and to the elevator. "Percy? I want to go home." Annabeth said. Percy wrapped an arm around her. "I'll get you home, Wise Girl. I promise. But I'm not going to take you there this near wasted." He lead her out of the elevator and the building. There was a small bench outside the lobby of the building. Percy sat them down on it.

Annabeth leaned in next to him. They were silent for a while, then Annabeth said, "Percy? Did Rachel really dump you?"

"Yeah, she did." Percy replied.

"Oh. Well, that's good, then. For me, anyways."

Percy glanced down at her. "Why?"

"Because I won't have to worry about invoking the wrath of your girlfriend by kissing you in play practice," she said quietly.

Percy laughed. Annabeth could feel his chest shake. Her headache was mostly gone, and now she felt really tired.

Holding back a yawn, Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy and snuggled into him. He looked down in surprise, then sighed and shook his head. Annabeth would regret this in the morning, but for now, Percy would enjoy their moment.

"Nico! We don't have anything for dinner, so I'm going to walk to the grocery store!" Maria called.

"Bye, Mom! See you soon!" Nico replied.

"I love you!"

Nico sighed and rolled his eyes. "Love you too." He heard the door open and then close. He continued watching TV for the next hour or so, and then started playing Mythomagic.

Something was wrong. Mom would've called if she was taking this long. Nico grabbed the nearest phone and dialed Maria's number. It rang..and rang...and rang...then there was an answer.

"Hello, you've reached Maria diAngelo. Please leave a message, and—"

Nico ended the call. This was not good. He didn't have anyone else to call, other than one person...

Two hours. He would wait two more hours to hear something from Mom, then he would call Bianca.

Two hours later

Bianca and the other huntresses were hanging out in one of their apartments when Bianca's phone rang.

"B, that's yours!" Phoebe called.

"I know, I'm going." Bianca picked up the phone and glanced at the screen, prepared to click 'Ignore'. Then she saw the name.

"Oh my god. Nico's calling." Phoebe and the other huntresses stared at her. Bianca had told so much them about her little brother-especially how he was mad at her for joining them.

"Nico? What's wrong?" Bianca asked.

"Bianca..it's Mom. She walked to the grocery store three hours ago, and she hasn't come back yet," Nico sounded scared. That was bad. Nico was never scared-he could watch movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and not blink an eye.

She pressed mute on the phone so Nico couldn't hear what she said next. "Our mom's missing. Can someone go ask Zoë for permission to go and search for her?" Missing people were the Hunters' specialty, and they hadn't had a new case for a while.

Bianca unmuted the phone. "Nico, stay calm. Don't go outside and lock the doors. If you haven't had dinner yet, make yourself something and don't order takeout. I'm going to search for her with the girls. I'll call you if I find something."

Nico sighed with relief. Bianca would take care of everything. She always did.

The next morning

When Annabeth woke up, she didn't know where she was. She looked around for a minute, then realized that she was in her bedroom. She was still wearing her clothes from last night, but someone had removed her makeup.

Think, Annabeth, think...She was at the party, and she had two beers (apparently not enough to have a hangover). Everything was crazy, and then she saw Percy...

...And the rest of the night came rushing back. What had she been thinking! After they left the party (God, she was acting like such an idiot in there!), and the hugging thing on the bench (good thing Percy wasn't dating Rachel anymore), he had taken her home on the subway. He had paid for both their fares—she owed him for that. Percy took her home, and she had fallen asleep without changing out of her clothes.

Oh, god. Annabeth got out of bed. She showered quickly and changed into clean clothes, not bothering to mess with her hair. She walked downstairs to where her little brothers and stepmom were watching TV.

"Helen, what's for breakfast?" she asked, rummaging around in the cupboards.

"Annabeth, come over here," Helen called. She sounded a little choked up. "I think you need to see this,"

Annabeth walked over to the couch. "What's wrong?"

Bobby and Matthew were dead silent. Helen picked up the remote and backed up a few minutes.

A news broadcast came on. "Last night, at eleven o'clock PM, a body was found in an alley off 1st street. It was immediately identified as Maria diAngelo, age 36." A picture of Mrs. diAngelo came on the screen.

"Oh, no," Annabeth said softly.

"Her daughter Bianca diAngelo, age 14, was the one who found the body. The cause of death appears to be stabbing, but an autopsy is still being performed."

Helen turned off the TV.

"Doesn't Bianca have a little brother? Nick?" she asked, wiping her eyes with a tissue.

"Yeah, she does. His name's Nico. Can I call and ask if he needs a place to stay?" Annabeth was still in shock. She had only met Mrs. diAngelo once or twice, but Bianca and Nico didn't have any relatives to go stay with (since their dad wasn't in the picture).

"We've already got you beat," Helen said. "I'm in a support group of sorts for people with children whose other parent is a crime lord." Annabeth's mouth dropped open. She had no idea that Helen even knew about her mom!

"Sally Jackson—I think her son's name is Percy—and I were good friends with Maria diAngelo. I already talked to Sally, and she said that she offered Nico and Bianca a place to stay," Helen continued.

"Well, that solves that problem," Annabeth said.

Helen turned to face Annabeth. "You're right. Your father and I will talk to you later about your arrival last night."

Annabeth gulped. "Yes, Helen," she said meekly.

"Shh, Nico, it's okay."

"No, it's not! Our mom is dead, Bianca!"

"I know. And the other Hunters and I will find out who did it and hunt them down."

Nico looked up at his sister. Both of their eyes were red from crying. "Promise?"

"Promise."

I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You all must hate me now. That was my first time writing a character death, and I have to say that I didn't like it. There will be a sneak preview for the next chapter if you leave a signed review and you have PM-ing turned on. The dare to click the little button with the speech bubble still stands!