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100k bonus ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
000. First Dates and Dangerous Fates

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⸨ set in the spring after the titan's curse, a month before the battle of the labyrinth begins ⸩

ANNABETH CHASE HAD NEVER BEEN MORE UNIMPRESSED. And of course the cause of her foul mood was none other than Cassie Carter. The daughter of Ares just had to go and choose the skimpiest dress she could find.

Furthermore she had the audacity to be leaning against the wall with that stupid smirk of hers. Oh how Annabeth would do anything to wipe off that smirk.

"You're looking good," Cassie complimented, scanning the blonde up and down.

Annabeth was too busy trying to stay annoyed to notice the genuineness in her words. "Shut up."

Cassie enjoyed the light blush that tinted Annabeth's cheeks. "It's only the truth Blondie."

"I will hit you," the daughter of Athena threatened, but the brunette couldn't take her seriously.

Curtesy of Cassie, Annabeth was wearing a navy blue almost black dress with thin straps. Her hair was down and taken care of for once, almost as if she wanted to look good. It looked soft and flowed in fluffy curls past her shoulders. The most ridiculous part had to be the red and black nike pros adorning the blonde's feet.

The daughter of Ares only hummed in response, "Okay well c'mon. We're going to be late!"

Cassie herself was decked out in a cropped black shirt with her red flannel thrown over it. She had on black denim jean shorts and a stuffed white bag on her shoulder. Of course her signature red converse high tops were on her feet and her flame sunglasses atop her messy hair.

The two were in a rush and to truly understand what was going on we'd have to go back in time a little.

༻ ─── •✧🏛️✧• ─── ༺

THAT STUPID SMIRK WOULD BE THE DEATH OF HER. Annabeth faced Cassie, dagger drawn. The two made circles in the middle of the arena, eyes never leaving the other's figure.

It had all started with a bet. Something along the lines of, "if I win you have to do whatever I say for a day," and Annabeth never turned down a competition. Especially not one she could win easily like a sword fight against the daughter of Ares.

Cassie was smug as always, testing the daughter of Athena's patience. "C'mon Blondie! We haven't got all day," she taunted.

The brunette twirled her sword in her hand as she waited. Annabeth's calculating eyes were glancing around the place for anything to use to her advantage. Cassie only grinned, beckoning the blonde forward.

"I didn't take you for the scared type Annie. What's taking you so long?"

With that the daughter of Athena charged. Cassie's eyes widened and she was almost too late to get out of the way. All she saw was the blonde barreling towards her, dagger raised.

Cassie sidestepped, spinning out of Annabeth's way. She whipped around and swung her sword for a counterattack. Her blade aimed to cut at Annabeth's side but was blocked at the last minute, dagger on sword.

Annabeth stopped Cassie's swing causing the brunette to raise her sword again, this time coming down from above. The daughter of Athena knew how to analyze her opponent. She was quick to find their weaknesses and use it to defeat them.

Now Cassie was an interesting case. She was relentless and impulsive, two traits that could either lose her a battle or win her a war. Her biggest flaw was her ego, another thing that led them to the current situation.

Cassie had given into her urges and stupidly gone for another attack, this time from the other side. The daughter of Athena was lost in thought, staring at the brunette when she realized what was happening.

Did Annabeth ever mention being able to read her own weaknesses too? The girl she was fighting being one of them. Hence why she was caught up in her day dreams and barely sidestepped out of the way.

While dodging, the blonde stuck out her foot and sent Cassie tumbling down. She tripped and her weapon skid out of her hand, onto the ground. Her knee scraped against the dirt as she held herself up in a plank.

Annabeth hesitated, worriedly as the daughter of Ares hissed in pain. That was her first mistake. Cassie was able to roll out of the way of Annabeth's incoming jab at the ground where her body had been. Annabeth's second mistake was not grabbing Cassie's sword while she had the chance. She sprung to her feet and her weapon appeared in a red poof.

"That's not fair!" The daughter of Athena protested, dagger still raised.

"You never said I couldn't do that," Cassie yelled back, pointing her sword at the blonde.

Her opponent only scoffed, "It should've been obvious!"

"What is obvious is that you're about the lose." She fired back.

True to her word Cassie pressed the girl. Three blows, one after one. First from the right, then from the left, and finally from the top. Cassie's swings were relentless and Annabeth was barely able to block each one. The blonde's body heaved for air and the brunette was hardly breaking a sweat.

Annabeth parried a swing with her dagger, earning a playful, "Is that the best you can do, Blondie?"

The daughter of Athena only continued to block Cassie's hits. She was evidently exhausted and wearing out. "I can do much better Carter, don't worry."

"I'd like to see you try, Chase!" The brunette laughed back.

Cassie kept her attacks consistent and soon enough she had Annabeth backed up to the wall of the arena, sword diagonal across her neck. A smirk grew on the daughter of Ares' face as she teased the girl beneath her blade.

"You know, you're cute when you're angry," Cassie whispered in Annabeth's ear.

The daughter of Athena only shuddered and her face turned bright red. Whether that was out of anger or from blushing, Cassie would never know.

"Well I'm about to be downright adorable then." Annabeth grumbled out. She made a final weak attack, any hope of getting out of the brunette's grip dying as she was unsuccessful.

Cassie caught Annabeth's arm in her hand and gently took the dagger from the blonde, tossing it aside. "Nice try Blondie, but I win!"

Annabeth pat the wall three times to truly show her defeat and Cassie took her blade off the girl's neck. She leaned on her sword watching the daughter of Athena walk over to get her dagger.

The brunette got so caught up in staring that the next words coming from Annabeth's lips flew right over her head. Ironic since her lips were the only thing Cassie gazed at.

"Did you even hear what I said?"

Nothing.

"...Carter?"

Still nothing.

"CASSIE!"

"Huh, what?" The daughter of Ares snapped out of her thoughts, glancing up and meeting piercing gray eyes.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, hands on her hips, "I said, 'so what's it going to be?'"

"What's what going to be?" Cassie furrowed her brows.

"The bet you idiot! You won the bet," The blonde shook her head, "and yet they say stereotypical blonde," she muttered under her breath.

"Oh, yeah that," Cassie pat her shoulder, "No need to be salty Annie, sword fighting's only for the best of the best. You did pretty good."

"Oh whatever, now focus and answer my question," she demanded, tapping her foot impatiently against the dirt.

The brunette contemplated the endless opportunities. She could have Annabeth do anything she wanted for a whole day, so what to do? Well there was... could she really ask the blonde that...? I mean she can't say no...

Annabeth read her body language, sensing the girl's nervousness. 'Wonder what that's about.'

Cassie hesitated but gave in, "You have to go out with me..." For her the whole world seemed to slow as she basically asked the blonde out on a date. Worry and fear filled Cassie, what would happen if Annabeth said no even though she was technically not allowed to?

But for Annabeth the answer had never been more clear and she was pretty smart. It was the most simple thing in the universe, the most obvious. "As long as I get to choose the place," the daughter of Athena bargained, more excited than anything.

The smile on Cassie's face had never been so wide. She practically glowed and Annabeth couldn't help but admire her. Slowly the smile quirked into a smirk, "And I get to choose what you wear."

༻ ─── •✧🏛️✧• ─── ༺

CASSIE THOUGHT THEY WOULD MISS THE SHUTTLE. The two barely made it before their check in time and now they were waiting for the tram which would take them to the museum.

Annabeth had decided on the Getty Museum in California, having already been a few hours away at her dad's house. The two met up, headed to a shopping mall for their outfits, and were finally at the museum.

The daughter of Ares tapped her foot on the stone pavement, crossing her arms with a huff. "Does this tram ever come back."

She was complaining for like the fifth time but Annabeth just let her, playing with their intertwined fingers. Sure they weren't doing much, but when you're a demigod with a constantly packed schedule, sometimes just doing nothing with your loved ones was the best thing you could do.

The daughter of Athena appreciated any moments she got with the brunette, so today she was going to savor it. Hence why she tried her hardest to look pretty, even IM-ing Silena Beauregard back at camp.

Safe to say, the daughter of Aphrodite used her natural talent to give advice and Annabeth looked even more gorgeous than usual in Cassie's eyes. Not that she ever wasn't pretty.

At last their waiting came to an end, and Cassie's foot tapping stopped. Her eyes widened and her tense state relaxed. She took their intertwined hands and pulled Annabeth after her, into the tram.

They were followed by some adults, some elderly people, and a couple cheerleader looking girls. Something about them irked Cassie and her nerves came back. Their beady eyes and smooth voices didn't sound normal as they chatted away about who knows what.

One of them was blond and her eyes were icy blue. The other was African America with gorgeous dark curly hair that was tied up in a high pony. They reminded Annabeth of Medusa, setting her on edge too. When she pointed them out to her date, Cassie had already noticed and was keeping a close eye on the two.

"There's something strange about those cheerleaders," The daughter of Athena whispered. She had tugged Cassie down to her height to speak in her ear.

The brunette scoffed in agreement, "Other than the fact that they're just wearing their cheerleading outfits out in the open for no reason, yeah."

Annabeth giggled lightly, shaking her head and rolling her eyes playfully. "Don't be mean, Carter."

"I'm not Chase, just stating the obvious. Like how it's obvious you're gonna love this date, because looks like we're finally at the top."

The blonde liked how Cassie didn't hesitate to call it a date. She had always admired the daughter of Ares' bold behavior, no matter how many times it got them in trouble. To be fair it was usually what got them out of the trouble too though.

Cassie had stepped closer to the window to take pictures of the view with her polaroid in her unoccupied hand. Annabeth watched with admiration sparkling in her stormy gray eyes.

The daughter of Ares snapped the photo and stuffed her camera back in her bag. She shook the polaroid lightly as it developed and turned back to converse with Annie.

"So, how's your summer been? I know we IM like every week but it's nice to hear about it in person."

"You sure you don't just like hearing my voice," Annabeth tease not expecting her date to nod in agreement.

Cassie shrugged, "That too," and Annabeth found herself turning a tomato shade of red. The brunette usually didn't have such an extreme effect on her, but today the daughter of Athena found herself flustered at every flirty comment. She blamed it on being out in public in a dress, that was definitely the cause.

"I-I've been good," The blonde composed herself, tucking her hair behind her ear, "My dad's been more understanding this summer. He's really trying to make an effort Cassie. I've been helping my step-brothers with their Lego sets too! Di immortales I have to tell you all about this Taj Mahal set they got. The architecture of that thing..."

Cassie listened to Annabeth's continuous stream of rambles with a fond smile. The brunette zoned out staring at wisdom's daughter's face. While she was distracted with her words, Cassie took the opportunity to sneak a polaroid of Annabeth.

The two were so lost in their little world that they didn't realize the tram had come to a stop at the top of the hill and passengers were getting off of it. Once their cab was empty the duo remembered where they were and Cassie lead Annabeth out of the tram.

They walked with their hands joined as Cassie takes the role of guiding while Annabeth continues recapping her summer. Neither look back, too focused on each other to notice the cheerleaders trailing pretty far behind them.

"Look," Cassie gestures to the statue decorating the center of the grand stairway leading to the museum entrance. The stairs were lined with waterways, flowing from the top down like a staircase waterfall.

Annabeth's pulls a face at the nude statue, lying on its side and just shakes her head. "You're so weird Carter."

"What? It's a statue. Don't be so weird Beth."

"You're telling me not to be weird when you're the one who pointed it out." The daughter of Athena sassed, hands on her hip.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Whatever you say Chase," before reaching behind and grabbing a sun umbrella, which she smoothly opened and held above them. The umbrella offered the blonde some shade and she turned to Cassie with a small smile.

"Who knew you were such a lady," Annabeth teased, taking the umbrella from the brunette.

"Only the best for you, Oh Wise One," Cassie replied, slightly bowing to mock her date. "Now let's go!"

The daughter of Ares dashed up the stairs, pulling Annabeth with her as they sprinted to the top. Finally entering the museum and starting off an eventful first date.

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ANNABETH FOUND HERSELF TUGGING CASSIE BACK BY HER SHIRT COLLAR. The second the two had gotten their maps and returned their umbrella, the brunette was rushing to check out every water element she could see.

The Getty had marble tiles surrounded by water, like stepping stones. Annabeth looked away for one moment and Cassie was already in the middle of the tiles, trying to step across the water. It was clear that even though they looked like a path, the tiles were not meant as a parkour course. So Annabeth marched over and caught the daughter of Ares' flannel collar, tugging her back onto the dry ground.

"You're not supposed to be on there idiot." The blonde scolded with a scoff.

Cassie only shrugged innocently, "I didn't see a sign telling me I couldn't be."

"That's cause it was common sense. Something you obviously lack." Annabeth bit back, though her tone was laced with .

The brunette wiggled her eyebrows, "But you love me anyways."

Annabeth had never shut up so fast, clamping her mouth and face flushing bright red. Cassie burst out laughing and led the daughter of Athena in the direction of the museum gardens, something she hoped both would enjoy.

The blonde stayed mostly silent for the short walk there, gazing at the passing people and the museum's outer walls. They were quite high up and below them the city could be seen from all around. California was definitely one of the best states, other than the endless traffic.

Cassie wouldn't mind settling down in San Diego with her future wife and potential children. Of course she still had to survive until she's an adult. College could be an option, maybe even a job. Right now though, Cassie would focus on the present and the beautiful blonde with her.

Snap. The camera shuttered as the image of Annabeth standing, looking out beyond the stair railing to the gardens entranced, was captured. The sun reflected off her messy and curly blond hair while the light shone in her stormy gray eyes.

"Carter, look at those gardens!" Annabeth pointed them out, speeding up her pace. The daughter of Ares was forced to catch up when she realized her Brainiac was no where to be seen.

Cassie headed down the stairs and past this rain chamber looking spill over statue. Water trickled down the side, remnant from the water fountain above. It was calming and Cassie had to resist the urge to step into the display.

She turned her gaze to the trail winding through the luscious flower garden. A makeshift stream flowed down the slanted hill which was the base for the garden. At the bottom of the slope more greenery extended into the main flower garden.

Annabeth was still out of sight and Cassie whipped her head around, searching the trail for the blonde. If Annie had gotten kidnapped, Athena would never forgive her. Cassie's heart sped up as she entered the trail, almost running to find Annabeth.

"BOO!" The brunette's heart leapt out a her chest as she jumped back. The daughter of Ares caught sight of the blonde culprit.

"Are you crazy Chase?! What the hell!" Cassie pouted, crossing her arms like a child.

Annabeth only giggled at how scared the brunette had been. "Y-your face!" She barely managed through her laughter.

Cassie grumbled, "Shut up." Her annoyance dissipated as soon as the blonde's lips pecked her on the cheek. She whipped her head around to face Annabeth, but the daughter of Athena was already on her way further down the path.

"Look how pretty these are," Annie pointed to a group of delicate purple flowers.

"Not as pretty as you," Cassie mumbled while shuffling through her bag for her polaroid camera.

Annabeth perked up at the girl's statement, unsure if she heard her right. "What was that?"

"Nothing, I said they're gorgeous." The daughter of Ares played it off and raised her camera to her face. "Now smile."

The blonde didn't give her the chance to snap the picture and instead grabbed her wrist, dragging her further through the trail.

"If you're going to take pictures, take them in the main garden. C'mon!"

Cassie let Annabeth pull her without complaint. Together they headed into the main garden, allowing themselves to be surrounded by love and flowers.

The path forked left and right, leading in a circles around the garden. In the middle was a pit decorated by blooming flowers at the bottom. There was a pattern in the bushes and that stream running through the entry garden ended in a waterfall into the pit. The pit was filled with water to keep the bushes growing.

Workers bustled along in the water pit, many with nets to scoop out the fallen leaves. Cassie waved at one of them who offered her a smile back. She took a picture of the intricate bush design and caught up with Annabeth who was making her way down the right path.

Flowers lined the path, petals variations of different colors. The little arches scattered around the path were decorated in rose vines. A nearby stranger offered to take a photo of the two standing under an arch. Annabeth agreed before Cassie got the chance.

They wandered through the never-ending flowers for what seemed like hours. It was only minutes but time slowed when the two were together. Something neither noticed, but would grow to appreciate.

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"THESE ALL LOOK THE EXACT SAME," CASSIE COMPLAINED. The two found themselves back inside in the art gallery. Annabeth had been inspecting every single piece of art she saw and adding on to the background information whenever she knew something they didn't say.

Of course Cassie admired and supported Annabeth's brain, but at times like this sometimes she wished her Brainiac wasn't as much of a brainiac.

"Cassie, you have to appreciate the art! Especially after all the time and effort each artist put into these pieces."

"I do appreciate it. I'd just appreciate the statues more. I wanna see how dumb my dad looks."

Annabeth face palmed and just continued her tour through the huge gallery of paintings. Cassie followed after her bored. Once in a while the blonde would tug her in a certain direction, pointing out one of the more interesting paintings. They'd admire it before moving on to a better one.

"Did you know this one was made back..." Annabeth rambled on, spouting facts and Cassie tried her best to comprehend all of it but sometimes her gaze would wander.

Gods did Annabeth look gorgeous in that dress with her wavy hair flowing down her shoulders. The internal monologue played in her head. While dazed and distracted by her own thoughts, Cassie wandered over the line that marked how far visitors were to remain from the art.

She felt a tap on her shoulder and was met with one of the museum workers, a nice older lady with her a kind smile. "Hey dear, please stay behind the line on the floor. No one's supposed to be going beyond it."

Cassie glanced down and sure enough she was standing in the no-standing zone. She quickly stepped back and offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry ma'am! Was a little distracted."

"It's alright hun, you might want to catch up with your girlfriend though." The kind worker pointed towards Annabeth who was rounding the corner into a different room.

The daughter of Ares sighed before smiling at the nice lady, "She's not my girlfriend, but I probably should."

"Maybe not yet, but you should see the way you look at each other. Go get her!"

Cassie laughed, shaking her head and thanked the woman. She made her way out of the paintings sections and into the one filled with statues. Spotting Annabeth, she approached the blonde and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her back.

"You could've waited for me you know," the brunette scolded lightly.

Annabeth almost giggled, face red from the proximity. "You were lost in thought, besides you're cute when you're clueless."

Cassie rolled her eyes, but plopped her head on the daughter of Athena's shoulder. In front of them were three statues. Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena.

The goddess of wisdom was the most respectable looking. She held her shield by her side and reached to hold her helmet. The ruffles in her toga made of marble were fascinating.

The goddess of love was beautiful as always but her statue was quite... bare. Cassie swore the marble winked at her.

Then there was the queen of the gods, looking as stern and troublesome as usual. Her statue perfectly captured how high she carried herself. The judging stare and attitude were all reflected in the marble.

"It's your mom," Cassie nodded her head at the statue of Athena.

Annabeth only hummed back, thoughts wandering her mind. She told herself that she stopped wishing for her mother's approval long ago, but that wasn't the truth. Glancing down at the brunette Annabeth decided that somethings she could live without Athena's approval on.

"Let's find your dad," she offered, heading towards the Greek god statues.

Cassie searched the statues for any familiar faces. Of course Hermes with his caduceus stood out the most. She inspected the statue, almost expecting it to come alive and start lecturing her.

"Cassie, over here!" Annabeth called her over.

The blonde was looking up at the statue of the god of war. He was sitting on a pile of skulls, remnants of the ones slaughtered in battle. His toga draped from one arm to around his waist. One hand held a sheathed sword and the other rested atop his other arm. A shield balanced against the side of the makeshift throne and a helmet was loosely placed on his head.

"Do you see the resemblance?" Cassie mocked her father's stance and had the same serious look on her face.

Annabeth nodded as she teased, "You're identical."

"Are you calling me ugly Chase?"

"Only if you're calling your own father ugly."

Cassie shut her mouth, no response good enough to get her out of the situation. Annabeth chuckled and took the brunette's hand. "C'mon Warpath."

Something had caught the daughter of Athena's attention leading the couple to be standing beside each other The two's eyes trailed over the sea monster, its gapping jaw rising to eat the sacrifice which just so happened to be the princess, Andromeda. Then heroic as ever, Perseus stood between them, sword drawn and head of Medusa held out in front of him. He turned the monster to stone, ironic because the statue the girls were looking at was made of that same material.

"That would be me you know," Cassie nodded, examining the tiny sculpture of her best friend's namesake.

"You? As Perseus," Annabeth laughed.

"Only if you'll be my Andromeda," the brunette said slyly with a wink.

The blonde shook her head, "In your dreams Warpath."

They fell into comfortable silence, until Cassie spoke again. "I'm serious though. I'd walk through Tartarus with you Blondie. If only to be your hero."

'Who said you weren't already,' but Annabeth didn't dare say that aloud. Instead she went with, "Maybe one day Carter, you'll have to earn it."

"This date isn't enough?" Cassie winked, running a hand through her hair.

Annabeth scoffed, "If you save me from a monster then maybe it can be."

"Anything for you Brainiac, but let's hope there's no monsters any time soon."

༻ ─── •✧🏛️✧• ─── ༺

CASSIE WAS ON THE VERGE OF DEATH. How could Annabeth expect the brunette to just stand here while she went to the restroom. Cassie didn't mind waiting but when she was surrounded by places to buy food and cool water structures, it seemed awfully hard to resist.

So, Cassie did what any rational demigod would do and she waited in the drink line. She got two hot chocolates with extra whip cream and found an empty table to place her bag down. The table was in the line of sight of her original waiting place, which Cassie returned to. She kept a close eye on her drinks though.

As she was staring off in the direction of the restroom, she felt a harsh tap against her shoulder. Expecting a certain blonde, a wide grin made its way on to Cassie's face as she turned. What she wasn't expecting was for one of the cheerleaders from before to be standing right next to her, guilty of the tapping. This time the darker-skinned cheerleader was alone, her blonde friend no where to be seen.

"Hi! Yeah sorry to bother but do you know where the cactus garden is?" The cheerleader bat her eyelashes at the daughter of Ares.

"Uh, I think it's past that building, up the stairs, and to the left." Cassie offered, but she wasn't too sure.

The girl nodded, but grabbed a hold of the brunette's arm. "Do you think you could walk me there? I'm not too good with directions."

The daughter of Ares stood weary but agreed, "Sure, but I can't lead you too far."

Up close the cheerleader's eyes were much more reptilian looking. Her pupils were slits and every time she spoke Cassie got a glance at her vampire-like teeth. The brunette began to think this was a bad idea.

They came to a halt once the crowds of people were out of sight. The cheerleader smiled innocently at the demigod. "This is far enough. Thank you for leading the way... Cassandra Carter."

Cassie's eyes widen as she backed away from the cheerleader. Kelli, the name Cassie barely managed to make out on her cheer uniform, began to reveal her true form.

First her legs, like a pair of mismatched socks, shifted into a donkey's hoof and a bronze leg. Her face paled drastically, white as a ghost and her eyes grew blood red. The vampire teeth she had before were all pointy fangs that's could tear through flesh in one bite.

She lunged forward for the daughter of Ares, but Cassie managed to roll out of the way. The brunette slashed with her sword at the empousa's leg and ran, leaving Kelli writhing on the ground.

Cassie sprinted, unfollowed for a minute or two, before Kelli powered through the pain and ran after. As she shoved her way through screaming people Cassie saw Annabeth waiting by the table she had saved.

The other cheerleading empousa was sneaking up on the daughter of Athena. If Cassie hadn't jumped over those chairs and met the blonde cheerleader's attack, Annabeth would've been empousa lunch.

"How's that for a hero Chase?"

"Not right now! Focus on fighting Carter!"

This time the daughter of Ares managed to cut the blonde monster's arm. Tammi, what Cassie assumed her uniform read, let out a hiss of fury. The brunette locked arms with Annabeth and together they dashed back towards the gardens.

Weaving through visitors and flowers, the couple made their way back into the large garden. They dodged lunges by the empousa and managed to get some of their own hits in.

"Don't you girls want a kiss?" Tammi cried out, she puckered her lips while barring her fangs threateningly.

Kelli laughed along, "Promise we won't bite. We don't usually kill girls, we just want to... chat."

"Well you can talk to my sword," Cassie replied as she almost sliced through Kelli's body.

The empousa growled and pounced toward the brunette. Annabeth kicked her aside just in time. While the blonde kept the monsters distracted, the daughter of Ares glanced around for any way out. That's when her eyes fell upon the decorative pit. Perfect!

She whispered the plan in Annabeth's ear and together the two pressed the empousas, drawing them closer and closer to the hole. Kelli was the first to slip, kicked backwards by Cassie. She went tumbling dooooown and landed in the water with a splash.

Tammi was smarter and thought she fell, she was able to grab a hold of Annabeth's arm.

"Annabeth!" called Cassie's late warning. Tammi's attempt to take the daughter of Athena down with her was shut down as soon as Cassie sliced off her arm.

The empousas wailed for their spot at the bottom of the pit. They shouted curses at the demigods, promising to get their revenge one day. Cassie only poofed her sword away and brought Annabeth into a side hug. The blonde rested her head on the brunette's shoulder. Way to end the day.

༻ ─── •✧🏛️✧• ─── ༺

ANNABETH HAD NEVER BEEN ON A BETTER DATE or on any other one for that matter. To make up for the empousa interruption, Cassie offered to take the blonde out for some dinner before calling it a night. She agreed without hesitation and now the two were sitting in an Italian restaurant eating their food.

Cassie had practically swallowed her lasagna whole, leaving Annabeth to enjoy her alfredo at a normal pace. They made short conversation about plans for the rest of the summer and ordered a brownie with ice cream to share for dessert.

Annabeth interlocked their hands beneath the table and pressed a light kiss to Cassie's cheek making the brunette speechless. "Thank you for today Carter. I had fun." She smiled lightly at the daughter of Ares.

Cassie's face broke out in a grin. "Anytime Chase. We should do this again sometime."

"Get dinner or go on another date?" The blonde teased.

"Whichever you want," The daughter of Ares shrugged back. She seemed to debate whether or not to say whatever was on her mind. "Would now be a good time to tell you I had a change of clothes the whole time?"

The daughter of Athena blinked, eyes wandering from the bag that had adorned Cassie's shoulder the entire day to her face. "You mean I could've—"

"Before you hit me, you look stunning." Cassie flirted and dodged the incoming fist. She left money on the table and took off, desperate to get away from the angry blonde. "I swear you do!"

_________________________________________

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ author's note

FUCKING FINALLY YALL!! ONLY TOOK 2 MONTHS TO GET THIS DONE!!

i just wanted to say thank you so so so much for all the love and support you've given serendipity. 100k reads almost 110k now is absolutely insane. Especially for a story that started as a word doc on the computer of an 11 year old. My mind is actually still comprehending it all.

So sorry for the wait of course, I didn't expect it to take me so long but original writing is super hard. Appreciate original writers more cause they work their butts off. More of these little specials can definitely happening in the future but I'd need to work on them much in advance. So if u have any ideas lmk!

I love this special, the cassibeth content is thru the roof!! makes up for all the missing annie in act 3. speaking of, act 4 is next and idk what updates will look like. i do have some already written but that's from like the first version of serendipity that started in tbotl and the writing is 😭

i promise act 4 will be worth the wait! and hopefully this little special ties into it all!! thank you for your patience and keep holding on guys!

also side note, i made act moodboards for all the act dividers cause i just love the moodboard at the beginning of this chapter 🤪 so go check those out if you want!

love you allll and so so thankful!! hope u enjoyed the special ❤️❤️

—Just Another Overthinker