Thalia woke up first, and eased out from under Luke's arm, limping down to the park's fountain with her backpack.

She looked around before slipping her clothes off and submerging herself in the water. She smiled although it was cold, and ran her fingers through her hair, letting the water take the dirt and oil from it.

She stared at the grey sky, and wondered if her father was angry with her again. She closed her eyes, deciding she wouldn't worry about it.

When she stepped out of the fountain, she pulled on a pair of ripped jeans and a Green Day T-shirt, sliding on her bracelet and leather jacket. She laced up her Doc Martens and hurried back to where everyone was still sleeping.

She dug a sandwich from Ms. Castellan out of her bag and ate it quickly, shivering in the morning air.

She had nearly fallen asleep again when Grover opened his eyes.

She looked at him. "Hey."

He blinked. "Hi."

Annabeth sat bolt upright, looked at Grover, and screamed. Thalia clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Shh, he's here to help us, calm down."

She whimpered and Thalia explained quickly, with Grover's help. Annabeth finally nodded, understanding, and Thalia took her hand from the girl's mouth.

Luke opened his eyes slowly, and sat up, smiling slightly at everyone.

Thalia blinked as Grover picked up her sandwich bag, and with hopeful eyes, asked if she was going to eat it.

She shook her head slowly and watched in disbelief as he began nibbling the plastic. "Uh..."

Annabeth stared at him, and Grover wiped the remains of the bag from his pants.

"Sorry. I love plastic."

Annabeth continued to look at him and he smacked his forehead. "Oh, you don't understand! I'm half goat, see?"

He lifted up his pantleg to reveal the limb of a hairy goat.

Thalia and Annabeth gasped, but Luke acted as if it were completely normal as he stood.

"You've never seen a Satyr?"

The two girls shook their heads and rose to their feet as well. Grover followed them, nodding.

"We should probably get going, Camp is in New York."

Annabeth helped Thalia to her feet and the three followed Grover as he begun to walk.

Annabeth looked up at Thalia as they passed a string of shops and fast food restaurants. "Do you have any food from Ms. Castellan?"

She reached into her backpack and produced a Ziploc bag of chocolate chip cookies and... a roll of cash.

"Oh my gods, Luke! Your mom sent money."

Luke smiled and led them to a grassy area, laying out their blankets.

"I'll go get some food and come back. We can eat out here."

Thalia sat down with Annabeth on a blanket and looked at the clouds gathering overhead.

"Ugh, not now." She grumbled, feeling her stomach lurch with anger. "He despises me."

Annabeth looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing, nevermind. Here, let me fix your hair."

Annabeth's hair was pretty much a wreck. It was dirty, tangly, and the ponytail holder was caught up in all this mess.

Thalia picked through Annabeth's mane slowly, gasping as she tossed something away.

"What?" Annabeth looked back at her.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little spider stuck in here."

Annabeth screeched and jumped to her feet, slapping her own head repeatedly.

Thalia watched, eyes wide. "Calm down, it's gone."

"There could be more!"

"And I would have gotten them out. You're fine. Sit down."

Annabeth looked slightly embarrassed, and did as she was told.

Thalia rolled her eyes when Annabeth was calm again, sitting still while her hair was looked through.

Grover watched them both closely, narrowing his eyes at Annabeth. Thalia brushed through Annabeth's now less wild hair, braiding it, then pinning it in a bun to the younger girl's head.

Annabeth looked in the small, cracked mirror and giggled. "It's so pretty."

Thalia half smiled and turned away to bathe her hands in Purell.
Good lord, that child needed some shampoo.

Luke finally returned after a couple more awkward minutes of Grover studying Annabeth's behaviors, and Thalia watched as he handed everyone their food.

"Cheeseburgers!" Thalia found herself beaming down at her lunch.

Luke smiled at her reaction and bit into his own sandwich.

Grover gave most of his to Annabeth, then ate everyone's trash.

When a drop of rain hit Thalia's nose, she stood.

"Let's go, now."

Annabeth tilted her head. "It's only a little rain. We could play in it!"

Thalia rolled her eyes again, hoping no one noticed.

"No, there will be no playing in this storm, okay? It's dangerous."

"How do you-"

"I just know! Now let's find somewhere to stay."

Luke chose a small motel and paid for one room, pointing out that they did have a limited amount of cash. Grover took the foldout lounge chair by the window, and Thalia agreed to share a bed with Annabeth, though she would have preferred one with Luke.

It wasn't that she disliked Annabeth. She was pretty cute, and smart, too. But... children. It was just one night, anyway.

After Thalia had slid in next to her bedmate, Annabeth turned and whispered,

"What if there are bedbugs?"

"There aren't." Thalia growled a little bit, and Annabeth scooted closer.

"But what if there are?"

Thalia sat up and turned on the lamp. "Luke, can you show her that there are no bugs?"

Luke sighed and lifted up the mattress topper, showing her that it was clean.

Annabeth nodded, satisfied, and curled back up under the blankets.

Thalia and Luke exchanged a glance, but both ended up smiling as they watched each other inch back in bed.

Thalia reached over to turn out the light again, and their faces nearly touched.

"I love you." Luke whispered.