The First Times

First Promotion

~Fast forward another year.~

"I still think you should accept it." Benny stated, as soon as he opened the fridge in the search of something to eat. Ana, meanwhile, was watching him from the bed, arms crossed on her chest.

"How can you eat when I'm having a crisis here??" Benny sighed and straighten up from looking inside the fridge and faced his girlfriend, who looked like the world's weight was about to come on her shoulders. And, without him knowing, she knew that was very possible.

"Ana, babe... Only you consider a promotion a crisis of epic proportions." He tried to joke, but only managed to make Ana's frown deeper. "Alright, bad choice of words, but it's not a big a deal... Shouldn't we be celebrating or calling your folks to let them know?"

"But, how do you know I earned it...?" She argued, serious and a little scared. "Didn't you hear the rumor that says that Jenny got that promotion because of her body?" Benny frowned and sat by her side, holding her tight. "I want to be by my merits and I'm scared there's something else hidden behind it..."

"One, I've seen your grades, Ana. You're the most qualified person I know, plus you have much more experience than lots of senior undergraduates!" Benny tried to calm her down, pulling her closer. "Two, if there's a hidden motive, you know what to do. I'm sure your parents will help you hide a body..." He joked with a winked and Ana smiled softly.

"You don't know half of it..." Ana half-played along, knowing it was fully within her parents capabilities. However, that gave her an idea. As soon as Benny left, she picked up the phone and dialed, waiting for someone to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Daddy!" She greeted Will, smiling softly.

"Ana, sweetie! Hold up, let me put you in speaker." Will announced before a beep could be heard. "So, how is our favorite Columbia student doing?"

"Is that Ana you're talking to?" Ana heard Nico's voice coming from afar before he walked closer. "Hello, Principessa. How is everything?"

"Everything is good, but I- I need some advice..." She took a deep breath. "I- I've been offered a promotion at work but I- I'm not sure if to take it..." She added quickly when she could hear the gasps of congratulations. The silence was unnerving for her and she feared she had made wrong into asking them.

"Is this a 'gut feeling' or a 'brain feeling'?" Will questioned her and Ana wondered if there was any difference between the two of them. "The 'gut feeling' is what I like to call instinct... like, 'I think I don't like this guy cause gives me a creepy vibe' and stuff... The 'brain feeling' is more of a 'I think I should take my umbrella because I see dark clouds'."

"I haven't thought it like that..." Ana admitted, thoughtful. She really wished her parents were with her, hugging her while giving advice. "Maybe it's just a 'brain feeling'..."

"Has something happened that made you reach that idea...?" Nico suggested and Ana's internal lightbulb turn on. She knew- heck, she had mentioned it to Benny! -what made her doubt the offer.

"There are rumors about girls around... I guess I got scared about it..." Ana could identify Nico's sigh and relaxed. If he was concern, she did the right thing in worrying too.

"And here I thought those things weren't suppose to happen anymore..." Will spoke, obviously frustrated. "Just out of curiosity, have you spoken to Percy or Annabeth?" Upon hearing this, Ana frowned.

"No, I haven't... Should I?"

"Not really, but they were complaining about the amount of undergraduates' applications Percy goes through every night to have an internship in the Aquarium..." Neither Will or Nico felt sightly guilty in proposing this to Ana. She would be in a safe environment and surrounded by family. However, Ana knew what they were trying to do and was grateful for it.

"I'll consider it, but I think I will take the promotion..." She decided after taking a deep breath. "Besides, if being the Dean's assistant turns to be too much or something else, I know three excellent people who will help me cover up the murder..." She joked at them, earning chuckles from the other side.

"Now, don't you forget, your Papà has an excellent relationship with the guy who could make it disappear without a trace..." Ana could see Will's wink at her and chuckled.

"This comes from the guy who was an excellent relationship with someone who manipulated his own sister into killing someone." Nico retorted, though it was more of the idea to banter lightly than to accuse him of anything.

"I will still maintain he was looking after her and making sure he didn't crossed the line-"

"Ignore your Dad, Principessa. He can be sensitive over this things..." Nico interrupted Will, which made Ana laugh over the phone and make Nico feel better about it. They talked about meaningless things afterwards and Nico made her promise to stop by the house on the weekend to celebrate the promotion. This left Ana happy and relaxed. She had to tell Benny of her decision.

However, on the other side of the phone, as soon as it was hung, a completely different set of emotions were displayed.

"How things like this still happen??"

"We can't protect her from everything, Neeks-"

"The Hades we can't! Father owes me a favor still. And don't you dare to stop me."

"If you just would stop ranting and listen to me!"

"You were saying?"

"Good. I was saying we can't protect her from everything.... but that doesn't mean we shouldn't warn everyone else about it."

"I knew I kept you around for a reason, Solace..."

"And here I thought you did it because of my fantastic sense of humor and my cooking abilities..."

"Ugh, I miss Ana now!"

----

Good morning/afternoon/evening!

How are you? I'm great, thanks for asking. The past week has been busy rejoining work after a two-week holiday with my family... I have to admit that the road-trip didn't go as planned but we had fun anyway. I know many of you are just walking into spring and Spring Break (if you didn't have it yet), so... have fun!

Today, the last Sunday of March, is a bittersweet day for me. Why? After a lot of thought, I decided to post the final 7 chapters of The First Times TOGETHER. That means that after today, there won't be more updates. I apologize to the readers of Saving Time - A Caleo Story as I couldn't finish the chapter yet, but since it will be my priority from now on till mid-May, I'll make it up to you all!

So, with a tear in our eyes, let's proceed...

The First Times: the final seven chapters... I appreciate and love every single one of the comments, the likes and follows this story had and will continue to have. It was an emotional rollercoaster at times, but I loved it as much you did, I hope.

We'll see each other next weekend!
xoxo, SilverHuntresses