SS Poseidon

Looks That Could Kill, Literally

"What about this one?"

"Too long."

"How about—"

"Too long."

"Thalia."

Today was August eighteenth, Percy Jackson's birthday and birthday party, and Thalia was helping me pick out what to wear, but I swear, it's almost impossible to pick out what to wear with this chick because she's says that everything in my wardrobe is too long.

"What wouldn't be too long in your eyes, Thalia?" I asked. She just stood up from my bed and gestured to herself.

Thalia was already ready for the party in a micro-mini strapless black lace dress that, if she were to bend far enough over, would show her ass. She was also wearing strappy four inch heels, vibrant red lipstick and had some hairspray in that made her hair look edgy—exactly her style.

"There's no way I'm wearing something that short," I stated while throwing the last dress I brought back in my walk-in closet.

"Why not?" Thalia complained. She lied on her stomach back down on my bed. "Don't you want to attract the attention of the birthday boy?" she asked in a seductive voice.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't even know him," I said. "And besides, he's dating that girl—"

"Rachel," Thalia filled in.

"Yeah," I said without emotion. "Her."

"Whatever, Annabeth," Thalia said. "But you still need to look hot. There's going to be tons of other guys there that we need to show off to. Like I heard that Percy Jackson brought some of his friends and I'll bet some of them are hot."

I sighed. "But I hate when guys stare at me," I complained. "I feel like I'm just a piece of meat to them."

"Which isn't always bad!" Thalia stated. "If guys stare at you suggestively when you're in sweats and a baggy t-shirt then yes, that's gross. But if you're trying to look hot and they stare at you then you know the time and effort was worth it!"

I shook my head and chuckled. "You are such a whore."

She just smirked. "I know. Now come with me back to my suite. I think I have the perfect dress for you."

"Holy shit," Thalia whispered.

"Uh-huh," I agreed. The sky deck had been transformed from a quiet pool deck where you relax and tan on to a dance floor six feet deep in drunk teenagers. A DJ was playing an old hit from the 90's and I noticed that there weren't any adults anywhere—so naturally there was a riot at the bar about who gets to get their drink first.

We slowly made our way on to the sky deck, and when we did, I noticed about forty heads turned our way—girls with envy in their eyes and boys with a smirk that you could just tell that they were thinking about something perverted. I self consciously looked down at myself one last time to make sure my dress wasn't riding up or anything.

Thalia loaned me a dress that her dad gave her for her birthday last year, but because Thalia thought it was "uglier than fuck" she told me I could keep it. I personally thought it was gorgeous; it was a halter topped party dress that was a little longer than Thalia's—but not much. It had a floral print mixed in with blues and grays that I have to admit, made my eyes look a lot better than the dull gray that they usually are. As for makeup, I stuck with Smokey eyes and clear lip gloss. I didn't feel like doing anything with my hair, so I just messed it up a bit and let it down.

I snuck a glance over to Thalia—her shoulders were rolled back and she was winking at every guy she saw, whether they were sexy or not.

"Annabeth, stop looking so worried," Thalia said to me. "I thought this is the kind of thing that you like. You know, parties, dancing, drinking—"