tied with a bow

chapter 5

If Percy was being honest, he didn't know why he'd agreed to go out with Rachel that night. Maybe he was a good friend. Maybe he knew how awful Rachel's Thanksgiving had to have been. Maybe he just wanted to get drunk. He didn't know. What he did know was he was in the booth of some bar with Rachel, her girlfriend, and Thalia. He hadn't expected to see them that break but after Paul got the flu earlier that week and Estelle couldn't stop coughing all night. So his mom told him to stay away if he didn't want to get sick.

"What do you think Percy?" Rachel asked, snapping his attention back to their conversation.

"Hmm?"

"Are you even listening?" Thalia waved a hand in front of his face.

"Yeah I'm just...just thinking." He nodded looking up to join the conversation.

"As I was saying," Rachel smiled at his usual mindlessness. "What do you think of the new exhibit at the MET?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen it. You know, since I've been on the west coast." He shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "Why?"

"Well if you haven't seen it then nevermind." Rachel chuckled, letting her hands fall against the table.

"How is the West coast?" Rachel's girlfriend asked. "I've never been."

Percy secretly felt awful because he couldn't for the life of him remember the name of Rachel's girlfriend. They'd met a few times before in passing but it'd all been a blur. She wasn't like most of Rachel's previous girlfriends, she was nice and preferred not to party. That was the biggest difference, she didn't seem to have the need to push the limits and run recklessly around the city. That was probably why Rachel and her had stayed together for so long, she was actually good for her. But Percy knew better than to judge Rachel's love life, especially with the current state of his own.

"It's not bad." He shrugged. "There's a lot of surfers and blondes I guess."

"Ah, just your type." Thalia chuckled.

"I hate surfers." Percy scowled. "But only the tourists that decide to make it their entire personality while they're at the beach. You know? Buying puka shell necklaces and wearing awful floral prints all the time. Then they get in the water and make a fool out of themselves."

"Wow, the more you know." The girlfriend grimaced, sipping her own drink.

"Any girls on your roster Jackson?" Rachel asked, finishing off her drink

"No." He lied, looking at his drink.

"Oh my god there is." Rachel smiled, putting her empty cup down. "Spill!"

Rachel was one of his childhood best friends, they were practically siblings. They'd told eachother everything as kids. Homework answers, best spots to hide candy in their bedrooms, bullies they wanted to go after, crushes, etc. So it was no surprise that she wanted updates on his love life. She also gave better advice than Jason, but most people did that.

"Well there's this one girl from english..." He trailed off, knowing things were about to get crazy.

"And?!" Thalia encouraged, putting her drink down to wave her hands at him.

"I don't know, she's nice?" He shrugged, his face heating up.

"Show us a pic! We have to see this mystery girl." The girlfriend added a sweet smile on her face.

"Hold on." He mumbled, pulling out his phone.

He opened Instagram, quickly looking up her profile. They followed each other but it wasn't like they talked or interacted. She had few posts, the most recent one a few months old. It was from the summer, a photo of her smiling in the sun. It was one of his favorites. He liked the way the sun looked as it danced across her blonde curls. It wasn't like she was wearing some magnificently unique and stunning outfit but it might as well have been one of a kind on her. It was a simple green linen-like dress, long and off the shoulder making her look Shakespearian. Or at least what he assumed Shakespearian people looked like.