"I don't know... I don't think pink's a good colour on her."

"Guys?"

"What about this?"

"With her hair? No way!"

"Eh, guys?"

"Maybe if we gave her a bandana or hat or something."

"Guys!" Annabeth cried, finally gaining the attention of Hazel and Piper. "I already have a dress!"

"Really?" Hazel raised a sceptical, shaped eyebrow, "I've never seen you wear a dress."

"Just show us the dress," Piper groaned, sick of trying to satisfy Hazel's keen eye for fashion with greens and reds and purples and gods know how many other colours.

"Thank you," Annabeth sighed before pulling a gorgeous, shimmery dress out of her bag that faded from electric blue into silver.

"Where did you get that?" Piper breathed, chewing her lip subconsciously; she had simply bought her dress in Pennies after school on Tuesday.

"I ordered it on eBay." Annabeth shrugged, dusting the garment down.

Nodding in approval – much to both other girls' delight and relief – Hazel smiled softly. "Give me ten minutes with it and you'll have Belle running for her money."

Thalia sighed as he glanced at the clock, fidgeting in the black suit that she had bought. Hazel had tried to get her to wear a dress but she hadn't felt like it. Reyna also looked uncomfortable in her suit, but less so that she would have been wearing a dress.

Jason was probably the most comfortable out of all of them, wearing a clip on tie, a collared t-shirt and a dark brown jacket with matching tracksuit trousers; somehow he had gotten Piper to agree to it.

Seeing Reyna glaring at him, Jason smirked and shook his head. "Sorry, Reyna; I can't help it if you don't have the skill to pass this as a suit with your girl."

Reyna rolled her eyes as Jason glanced at Thalia. "'Lia?"

"Yeah?"

"If Annabeth hurts you, you tell me."

Reyna scowled. "She won't."

"She might."

"I will, but I trust her," Thalia said as Piper's voice wafted down the stairs.

"Alright; we're ready!"

"Finally," Reyna mumbled loudly enough for Thalia to hear her but quietly enough so that Hazel wouldn't hear her.

First, Piper descended the stairs, blushing slightly as Jason whistled. She wore a pink strapless dress with sequins all over the bodice and ruffles that led to the floor, leaving a gap at her legs to make it easier for her to walk. Around her neck was a silver locked and she wore a charm bracelet on her left wrist, along with silver heels. Her hair had been pulled into a stylish messy bun with small locks of hair loose to frame her face.

Next came Hazel who was wearing a purple strapless dress. It had a lilac top that had ruffles, followed by a black belt with a deep purple rose attached to it. The bottom reached the top of her knees and matched the colour of the rose. She wore no jewellery, but her hair was swept onto her left shoulder and had been straightened and braided, and she wore purple ballet flats.

Finally, Annabeth walked hesitantly into view, causing Thalia's jaw to drop.

She was wearing a floor-length sequined dress that faded from electric blue to silver. On her ears were lightning-bolt earrings that were blue, and around her neck was a silver lightning bolt necklace. She wore silver heels and her hair had been puffed up and swept to the side but left loose.

Smiling as Annabeth blushed and walked towards her, Thalia took her hand. "You look amazing."

"Thanks," she mumbled in reply, locking eyes with Thalia. For a moment, neither of them moved. Then Piper laughed loudly and threw her arms over both of their shoulders.

"Cut out all that mushy crap and let's go; we've got a dance to go to, remember?"

Thalia sighed contentedly as she plopped into a seat, a glass of water in her hand, tired from the dancing she and Annabeth had done.

Smiling at the blonde sitting on the chair beside her as Hazel pulled Reyna onto the dance floor during a fast song, Thalia bit her lip. "Annabeth... I'm sorry. About before."

"Forget about it," Annabeth stated softly, placing a hand on Thalia's lap. "It's in the past now."

Nodding, Thalia smirked slightly as she saw Drew glare at Hazel from across the room, her arms crossed before she kicked the leg of a nearby table lightly. "Yeah..."

Glancing up as the music came to an abrupt halt, everyone began muttering as the music teacher – Apollo – walked across the stage to the microphone. "Attention students; it is now time for the 'Random Singing'. So if the spotlight lands on you, come up, tell us the song you want to sing and we'll put on the instrumental version for you to sing along with."

A green spotlight shot out of the ceiling and circled the room eight times, each time landing on a different student.

What was random about it, Thalia didn't know because if one date was chosen, their lover was usually chosen next.

First, Jason was forced to sing Help by the Beatles.

https://youtu.be/8xqLfz_LPm4

Then Piper made her way through Cupid.

https://youtu.be/S28tILqie1o

Hazel was chosen fourth to sing At Last.

https://youtu.be/S-cbOl96RFM

Reyna was chosen sixth to sing Ancient History, which she sang to Drew. At first, Drew seemed excited. Then she listened to the lyrics and her expression soured.

https://youtu.be/WSQO-JlX8c0

The other four were downright awful. Drew in particular. Sighing as the spotlight landed on her, Thalia squeezed Annabeth's hand affectionately before walking up to the stage and muttering something to the music teacher. It wasn't until the opening bars came on – however – that Annabeth and most of the students at the dance recognised the song.

https://youtu.be/q-9kPks0IfE

Loud applause and 'woohoos' followed Thalia's singing as she made her way off stage and sat next to Annabeth again.

"Last song!" Ms. Brennan called as Annabeth rubbed Thalia's arm, telling her that she did brilliantly. As the spotlight did another loop around the hall, Annabeth couldn't help but feel her heart sink; it had happened to her friends, so why wouldn't it happen to her?

"And the honour of singing the finale goes to..."

Please not me! Annabeth wiped her clammy hands on her legs, her mouth dry. Come on, just this once, let it not be me!

"Annabeth Chase!"

...You suck... Sinking into her seat, Annabeth willed herself to disappear as Apollo cleared her throat.

"Annabeth, if you do not come to the stage within two minutes, your position will go to whoever the spotlight next lands on."

The spotlight did another lap around the room, landing on Luke, whose eyes gleamed with anticipation as he began walking to the stage.

Standing up, Thalia sighed; she couldn't let Luke take her place. She had too much pride. "I'll sing."

Smirking as Luke gave her a glare, Annabeth walked towards Apollo who gave her a questioning glance. "I'll sing Somebody to Love."

Nodding, Apollo searched the video on YouTube before connecting it to the speaker, wondering how the silent girl in most classes could possibly sing such a pitch-changing song.

Nevertheless, Annabeth took the small but sure steps necessary in the dress, her head was high, her shoulders back and her chest forward, her feet in a firm position as she took the microphone from its stand and held it closer to her mouth, smiling slightly as the opening bars came on.

https://youtu.be/1wZVdvf2wq4

For a moment, utter silence followed the blonde's final note. Then the hall erupted into chaos what with the noise of clapping and cheering. Blushing, Annabeth mumbled 'thank you' into the microphone before scurrying back down to her seat and collapsing into it, graciously accepting the coke that Thalia was offering her. "Thanks..."

"Alright, couples; this is the last dance," Apollo announced, smiling as he was met by a series of groans. "Let's make it a good one."

Smiling, the two made their way onto the dance floor. Annabeth wrapped her arms around Thalia's neck. "Thank you."

"For what?" Thalia inquired in an uncertain tone as Annabeth chuckled softly.

"For everything."

Nodding, Thalia rested her chin on her head, kissing her softly as the music began to fade and the crowd dissembled.