One - shots

Milkshake flavours

I stopped in front of "Greenwood Cafe" and took a deep breath. The banner was the same as it was before, with neon light and the little "Free Milkshakes under 16 years olds" sign on the left side. I half hoped to see Mr.Bryan's familiar smiling face in a green apron coming to greet me, but of course, it wasn't possible. Five years is a long time. I don't even know if he still lives here.

The chilly October wind made me go inside the cafe quickly. My eyes darted around until I saw them at a corner table. Rachael was the first who caught my eyes, she was doubling over laughing in her little red dress and 10-inch heels. Grover sat next to her with a poker face, probably said something to make her laugh. His shaggy beard was neatly trimmed, gone was his rasta cap. Instead, he wore a blue beanie today. Juniper was checking her phone, her hand on top of Grover's. Are they still dating? 
But my gaze falls upon the next person and I almost gaped. She was staring at me, her lips suppressed in a smile. As I approached, I noticed she was the one actually recognizable. Annabeth looked the same as before, beautiful

They turned in my direction and for a second, time froze. We stared at each other for a long moment until we all burst into a "YOOOO"
Like a bunch of pre-schoolers who are screaming without words but finally, we settled down. Annabeth reached out to hug me, allowing me to take in her sweet perfume. "I missed you so much!" She whispered.
I looked up to Grover, "Hey man"
"Oh my gosh Percy" He crushed me with a bear hug, "You look so different"
"I can't believe it's been 5 years!" Juniper exclaimed.
"More like 5 hundred years," Rachael said, "It's so nice to see you all" She gestured to all four of us. 
We made ourselves comfortable in our familiar cafe. 
"How're your folks?" Rachael asked, "I miss Sally's cookies so much!"
"They're okay. My mom's got a new job in Florida so they all moved last month"
"And your sister?" 
"She lives with me," I said, remembering her grinning face when she'd known that I'm meeting Annabeth.
Grover fiddled with the menu, "Do they still give free milkshakes to kids?"
"I think so. The banner's still there" 
Juniper sighed, "I missed this place" 
"Me too" Rach agreed, "Look at us now. So grown-up"
"So what are you guys up to?" Beth asked, "wait, let's go one by one"
"Okay, who'll go first?"
"How about our all-time prom queen?" she asked and all of us grinned, leaving Rachael in a blushing mess. 

Turns out, a whole lot of things have changed over the past five years.  Rachael Elizabeth Dare now works in a multinational design company and she was seeing someone tomorrow.
"It's Zack Denley" she showed us pictures of a blond guy in about early twenties. 
Grover Underwood's an ecologist, Juniper was a doctor in Seattle. And lastly, Annabeth Chase is now known as a famous lecturer at the University of Berkeley. I told them about my music career, my new friends in Toronto. 
I turned where we can see the sun going down on the horizon. I zoned back, 5 years ago when we were still in high school. We used to meet here every single day for lunch, but mostly, to get the free milkshake. I saw the teenager Percy, holding hands with teenager Rachael whose hair was dark red back then. Her freckles were glowing in the evening light. In front of us were walking Grover, Juniper and Beth. I still remember his bag with a tin can's picture and Annabeth's cat's eyeglasses. Juniper's green friendship bracelet and Rachael's paintbrushes as clear as Autumn sky. 
We were talking our hearts out, not caring about anything else in the world. 
The image dissipated. I turned my attention to Rachael and Annabeth, who were whispering some secret to each other. They get along so much that the fact that they weren't even able to stand each other once seemed unreal. But things are never the same forever, and Rachael and I parted ways long ago. 
"Excuse me, may I take your orders please?" A young guy walked over to us and asked.
"Vanilla Special for 4 of us. And Percy....same as before?" Grover turned towards me.
"Of course," I said smilingly.
"Then a Blueberry for this guy,"  He said shaking his head and everyone chuckled.
"Hope Sally still makes the blue foods" Rachael was smiling at me.
"Every weekend" I confirmed, "I'm gonna miss those now"
"We haven't had it since moving to California. Speaking of moving...." Grover said gesturing to me, "How long are you staying here in New York?"
"About a week" I replied, "All of my band members had someone to live with here"
"Have you chose a hotel yet?" Juniper asked
"I didn't get to. I came running straight here from the Airport" I said. 
They laughed at this. Our milkshakes arrived and we cheered like good old days. 
"He didn't waste a second after getting my text," Rach said, sipping her glass.
Juniper raised her glass"Thank you, Rachael. For haunting us down and bringing all back here". We did the same. "To us"
"But don't worry, I invited him to stay with me this week" Annabeth casually brought it up and my heart started to race, "I would let you reconsider it, beth. I don't wanna invade your privacy"
"You're fine seaweed brain" She still remembers my nickname "Besides If I was afraid of that I'd invite Grover instead"
From across the table, Rachael winked at me, though I could've imagined it too.
Grover playfully shoved her, "Wow beth. Thought we were friends"
She laughed, "Dinner's on my place, half-bloods,"
Juniper snorted, "half-bloods. I almost forgot it"

"What about you guys? Grover and Juniper how long are you staying?" I asked
Grover coughed suspiciously and raised his hand, "Actually...." that's when I noticed the rings on both of their fingers, "We're moving in together here" 

We left the place soon after. I didn't wanna look back, but I did it anyway, taking in the last view of the place where everything started- our Milkshake cafe.