As Thalia walked down the halls with Annabeth and Nico, she paused.
"Uhm... you guys go to the movie theater. I think I left my jacket in the living room. Be right there!"
Annabeth and Nico nodded, walking off to the theater while Thalia headed towards the living room. When she opened the doors, she was greeted by a lot of demigods sitting all over the large living room. Looking around, she spotted her jacket on a sofa. Picking it up, she turned to leave, when she all of a sudden heard her best friend's name.
"...and Annabeth is totally just using Percy. I mean... look at him! He even turned down Silena when she first met him. Of course, she's with Charlie now, but I mean, still! I don't know what that Annabeth girl has done to our leader but it's obviously for power."
"I know, right? And have you seen the way he looks at her? She's obviously trying to draw his emotions out so he'll be a less successful spy!"
"Yeah! I bet she's working for Kronos or Gaea!"
"Hasn't anyone warned him?"
"Well, you saw how he reacted when Drew tried to beat her up. We don't want that happening to us."
"But he's everyone's friend! He's such a nice guy and I don't see why a girl like Annabeth gets to snog him."
"Don't worry. He's assigned to those three. When Percy's done mentoring, he'll ditch her. The guy's never had a girlfriend before even with those hottie looks."
"Are you talking about us?!" Thalia finally found her voice and the girls whipped around.
"Oh, it's just you." One relaxed, sighing. "We weren't talking about you, we were talking about Annabeth--"
"I know, I heard everything!" Thalia found herself fuming. "Don't talk about my best friend that way. She's not using Percy and she's not just his girlfriend because he's our mentor. She and Percy have known each other since they were in kindergarten! He loves her and she loves him! Why can't you just accept that?!"
"How do you know?" one scoffed.
"I'm his cousin and his best friend, too!"
"Didn't seem like his best friend for five years straight," the one in the middle cackled.
"Because he came here!"
"Oh, no, he ignored you in high school. What makes you think he loves you now?"
Thalia glared at them.
"He's Percy. He did it because he loved us and wanted to keep us safe. If you claim to know Percy like you think you do, you'd know he'd do that."
The girls were quiet as they stared at Thalia.
"I think you should shut up."
"Lame comeback," Thalia shot back. "Now listen, you little bitches. Stop talking about my best friends. They're in love and no one has the right to tell them otherwise. And don't talk about us behind our backs. Percy is and will always be our best friend, no matter what."
"The Daughter of Zeus is right."
Thalia whipped around to see a girl with a braid and a silver tiara behind her. More girls were behind her.
"Zoë Nightshade. Why do you think that? He's a man! You're a Hunter of Artemis. You hate men!"
"Even if he's a man, he's decent enough to be respected by us hunters," another one said. "Even if he is a boy--"
"Cut it out, Phoebe!" Zoë hissed before glaring at them. "But if thou doth talk about that girl only using Percy again, thou shall be on the wall with arrows stuck through thy head. Understood?"
The girls nodded, scared. Zoë glanced at Thalia approvingly before whispering something to the rest of the hunters. They all nodded and raced away, leaving Thalia confused. Nonetheless, Thalia went to the theater, where she met Annabeth.
"Hey," she said.
"What took you so long?"
"Girls." Thalia rolled her eyes. "They were talking about you and how you were only using Percy for power."
"That's crazy! It's not true!"
"Annabeth, I think we all know it's not true. But do they? No."
"Hey, Wise Girl!" Percy was beaming over at her. "Come watch the movie!"
"Just enjoy him," Piper finally said. "You never know when the war starts."
A loud crash sounded and everyone's heads whipped up. Screaming began and a Hermes kid sped into the theater.
"KRONOS'S ARMY HAS INFILTRATED THE BUILDING!"
"Well, we know now," Nico squeaked.
"You guys have to hide," Percy finally decided.
"No, we're not gonna let you guys just fight--"
"You've only been here for three months. You have absolutely no training and you're most likely a target. Just hide, okay? It'll be over soon."
Percy pressed a button on his watch and his gear was blasted onto his body. Same with the rest of their friends.
"Come on!"
Clarisse charged out.
"I'M COMING!" she screamed to her siblings, who gave a battle cry in response. "IT'S LUKE!"
At the mention of Luke, Percy's eyes darkened.
"Kronos... that idiot scum... fine! I don't care if it's Luke!"
Everyone charged out, leaving Thalia, Nico, and Annabeth peeking through the little crack in the door. They were not prepared for what they saw. Percy tackled a creature to the floor, killing it with his sword.
"The reincarnations of monsters!" Annabeth breathed. "I heard they take the injections and that's what turns them into monsters."
"How do you know that?" Nico asked.
"I went to the library and read for the whole night," Annabeth answered matter-of-factly.
A harsh clang. BAM! "PIPER!" A scream of pain. "LEO!" Then, a yell of fury. "LUKE!"
Finally, a soft, calm, teasing voice.
"Percy Jackson."