A lot of things in Warren's life changed, seemingly overnight.
Firstly, and most noticeably, was her body. She had always been athletically built, straight and angular. But there was a new softness to her physique that cinched in her waist and pulled out her hips. Suddenly, the clothes Warren had been wearing for the past few years refused to fit. A handful of shirts were salvageable, but she and her mom had to make an emergency trip to the mall for new jeans.
It wasn't just Warren's figure that had changed, though. Her hair looked glossier, her skin more luminous, heck, even her eyelashes seemed fuller. She chalked it up to hormones and didn't think too much about it. Another thing she blamed on hormones were the dreams. They never got particularly scandalous, but oftentimes they left her feeling embarrassed and overstimulated. No, Warren definitely didn't want to think about those dreams.
The last and most impactful change was her mom's business opportunity in New York— Kendra would be stepping out of the ring for a few months to oversee the launch of her new gym franchise: God Tier Fitness.
Warren was thrilled for her mother's career, the only downside was having to relocate right at the start of her freshman year. Obviously Kendra couldn't leave her unattended in Las Vegas, but Warren also couldn't put off high school. Ultimately, they decided that she would continue her classes online until she could resume them in person.
And by an interesting twist of fate, the loft Warren and her mom rented in the city was only three blocks away from Percy's apartment. Kendra had sworn up and down she didn't know. Her real estate agent, a gorgeous woman with the most interesting eyes, had found it for them. Warren decided to keep the move a secret, and it wasn't until the Walker's were all settled in that she let the cat out of the bag.
It was a Thursday afternoon in late October, and the air was crisp with the scent of autumn. Also the scent of exhaust, seeing as though it was Manhattan. But Warren enjoyed the cold breeze against her face as she strode down Sixth Avenue. Ever since her outburst on the Princess Andromeda her body ran hot, like she'd come down with a fever that refused to sweat itself out. The feeling wasn't uncomfortable, per se, Warren had always liked heat. But she did prefer to sleep with the fan on now. She blasted music from her iPod as she walked, tan skin on display, completely unaware of the stares from bundled up passersby on the street.
Eventually, Warren arrived at an old brick building with ivy growing up the side. It had a flagpole in the front quad and a sign that said: MS-54 Booker T. Washington Middle School. She leaned causally against the pole and chewed a piece of gum as she waited. The final bell rang and kids came pouring out.
Whispers filled the air as students passed the mysterious girl. She didn't go to their school, that was for sure. Percy didn't understand what all the commotion was about, that is, until he exited the double doors and his jaw nearly hit the pavement. For a solid few seconds he thought he was hallucinating. Percy hadn't seen Warren in months, apart from the occasional Iris message, but there she was. Standing right outside of his school. And she looked...different.
Her hair was longer; it tumbled down the length of her back and gleamed beneath the midday sun. She was wearing her trademark Doc Martens, but besides that Percy had never seen Warren in these clothes— black jeans with the knees ripped out and a white tank top that showed off a sliver of her midsection. Absently, he wondered how she wasn't cold without a jacket. Not so absently, he wondered why he suddenly felt nervous.
Warren blew a bubble with her gum, and then her black eyes locked on him. The bubble popped. He gulped.
"Hey, Perce," she smiled.
The boy standing next to Percy, a gangly kid from his science class, leaned over and said, "Dude, is she talking to you?" Percy managed a half stuttered reply.
Warren rolled her eyes and walked up to the boys. "Y'know, a 'hello' is customary, Jackson."
"Hi," Percy said quickly, snapping out of his shock. His voice sounded deeper than Warren remembered. "What're you doing here?"
"Walking you home, obviously."
"I mean in New York. Aren't you supposed to be in school? How did you even get here?"
She groaned. "Thats too many questions at once. Just be excited!"
"I think I'm asking an appropriate amount of questions, given the situation."
"A lot of fancy words there," Warren teased. "Annabeth teach you those?"
Percy scowled at her. "You're right, I'm so excited you're here."
"C'mon, you know you missed me."
The gangly boy was still at Percy's side, and he looked between the two as they talked. His eyes lingered on Warren. "Uh, hey. I'm Trevor," he said.
She gave him a casual glance and said hello. But apparently that wasn't enough.
"What's your name?"
"Warren."
"Are you Percy's babysitter or something?"
She snorted and Percy shouted, "No!"
"Sister?"
"Of course she's not my sister. We don't even look alike."
"How do you know each other, then?" Trevor asked. His face fell slightly, like he'd been hoping they were related for some reason.
Man this kid is nosy, Warren thought. She didn't like that he was staring at her. Percy didn't particularly like it either.
"Look," he said, "Warren is my—"
"Girlfriend" she cut him off. "I'm his girlfriend." Percy nearly choked on his tongue, but he recovered quickly. He didn't think anyone noticed.
Warren wasn't sure why she said it. Maybe so Trevor would stop looking at her like that, or to save Percy from further embarrassment. But whatever the reason, she was glad she did. The boy tore his eyes away from her and looked at Percy.
"No way!"
Percy nodded and stepped closer to Warren. "Yup. Definitely my girlfriend."
Trevor muttered a curse under his breath, but the look on his face made it clear he wasn't finished asking questions.
"We'd better get going," Warren said quickly, stopping him before he could get the chance. "Percy promised to take me to Central Park today. But it was so good to meet you, Troy."
"It's Trevor."
"Right."
"But how could you have plans? Percy said you weren't even supposed to be—"
Percy threw an arm around Warren's shoulders and began to guide her toward the street. "C'mon babe," he said. "Don't want to be late for date night."
Warren wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned in close to his ear. From a distance it might've looked like a kiss on the cheek, but in reality she whispered, "Don't push it, Jackson."
"Yup," he mumbled. "Sorry."
As the pair walked away, Warren turned and tossed a piece of gum to a dumbfounded looking Trevor. He caught the silver foiled strip and blinked in surprise.
"Bye Tristan!" she called.
It wasn't until the school was out of sight that Warren said, "You can take your arm off me now."
Percy hastily removed himself and put some distance between their bodies, but he snuck a glance at Warren from the corner of his eye as they waited for the crosswalk. Her fingernails were painted black. He liked it.
Percy also noticed Warren's notched eyebrow. The scar was almost completely faded, but thinking about how she got it still made him angry. If he ever saw Luke again...Percy shook his head to clear the thought and looked back at the intersection. The light turned green.
"Okay, can you tell me what you're doing here now?" Percy asked, crossing the street. "Please don't say that camp is dying again."
"Of course it's not," Warren said. "I moved here. Surprise!"
"What? Really?" he asked in shock.
"Well, I'm using the term 'move' loosely. Technically it's only for a few months. My mom's here on business."
"What about school?"
"I'm doing it online for now," she made a face. "It's super boring."
As the two walked and caught up, Warren noticed something she hadn't earlier. She didn't know how it had slipped her attention: for once, she didn't have to look down to talk to Percy. Apparently she wasn't the only one who had grown, because the boy now had a solid inch over her.
"Woah, hold up," Warren stopped him in his tracks. She held up her hand to measure Percy's height. "What has Sally been feeding you?"
The boy laughed, a raspy throaty sound. "Just the standard blue foods."
Warren stood there in shock, but Percy continued on down the street. While she had filled out during her growth spurt, Percy had shot up. The boy's shoulders were broader and his face was slimmer. He looked sharper, slightly older. His black hair was shaggier too; Warren liked the way it curled over his ears.
"And you're sure she's not slipping HGH into it?" she jogged to catch up.
"Ask her yourself," Percy said, gesturing to the brownstone they were approaching. "That is, um, if you want to come up."
"No," Warren replied sarcastically. "I came all the way here just to leave you at the door."
"You know, a simple 'yes' would've been fine." Percy's bangs flopped over his eyes as he spoke. He raked them back with his fingers in an act that was far too simple to be attractive, yet Warren couldn't look away as he did it.
"What're you staring at?"
"Huh?" Warren blinked.
"You're staring at me," Percy said.
"Was not."
"Were too."
"Was not."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say."
Warren grumbled under her breath about how obnoxious he was, but Percy just laughed and held the door open for her. The two made their way through the stairwells until they reached the Jackson's fifth floor walk-up.
"It's not much," Percy muttered, turning his key in the lock. He wasn't ashamed of his home, he knew his mother worked incredibly hard to provide for them. But he also knew that Warren had become accustomed to a multimillion dollar lifestyle.
Percy opened the door and Warren caught her breath.
"I know it's—" he began.
"Perce, shut up. It's perfect."
Immediately Warren adored the little apartment. It was small and cluttered, with exposed brick walls and creaky wooden floors. Well-worn books covered the coffee table and an assortment of potted ferns hung in the windowsill. But it wasn't just how it looked that Warren loved, it was how it felt— lived in and full of life. The scent of cookies floated through the air around them.
"Sweetie, is that you?" a woman's voice called out.
"Yeah, mom!" Percy shouted back, tossing his backpack to the floor.
There was a slight scuffling noise from the other room and the sound of cabinet doors closing. Then Sally walked into view. She was just as beautiful as Warren remembered, with dark curls that cascaded down her back and gentle blue eyes. She had a kitchen towel slung over her shoulder and a streak of flour across her cheek.
"How was sch—" Sally began to say. Then she saw Warren and froze.
"Hi, Ms. Jackson," the girl waved.
"Mom, this is—"
"Warren!" Sally beamed, rushing over and wrapping her in an embrace. "Oh my goodness, it's so lovely to finally meet you! You're even prettier than your pictures."
Warren let out a surprised laugh and hugged the woman back. "Likewise. You have a beautiful home."
Sally released her and stepped back, still grinning. She and Percy had the same smile, Warren noticed. Warm and vibrant with dimples that carved into their cheeks.
"Thank you, dear. Although it'd look a lot better if someone picked up more," Sally gave her son a pointed look.
"Hey!" Percy protested.
"I'm just saying, if you're going to bring company over, at least give me a warning so I can put the laundry away."
"But I didn't know Warren was gonna be here!"
"Yeah, Ms. Jackson—" she started to say.
"Oh, just Sally is fine."
"Sally," Warren nodded. "It was a surprise. Percy had no idea I was even in New York."
"Her mom is here for work," he explained.
Sally gave her a curious look. "Is she doing a show in the area?"
"No, she's actually opening a gym not too far from here. So we'll be in Manhattan until the spring."
"Oh, that's so exciting! I'll have to have you and Kendra over for dinner sometime."
"I'm sure she'd love that," Warren smiled.
Percy cleared his throat. "Mom, can you um..." he flicked his eyes down the hall.
Sally fluttered her hands in the air and said, "Alright, alright. I'll leave you alone. Warren, make yourself comfortable, and help yourself to anything in the kitchen."
The two teens spent the rest of the afternoon eating Sally's homemade cookies and playing video games on Percy's PlayStation. Warren had faster reflexes, but he knew all of the cheats, so they were neck and neck the entire time. Warren insisted on a tie-breaker, which consisted of an arm wrestling match since there was a strict "no deadly weapons in the apartment" rule.
Percy fared better than he thought he would since acquiring some extra muscle, but the Ares girl still managed to beat him. Warren didn't stop there though, she tackled Percy to the floor and smashed his face into the rug, claiming it was his punishment for cheating.
Eventually, Percy groaned and begrudgingly started his homework. He sat on the floor in front of the coffee table with his papers and books spread out. ADHD and dyslexia made focusing hard enough, but he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate with Warren sitting on the couch behind him. She drew patterns on his back with her pointer finger, absently humming along to some rock song. Percy nearly forgot how to hold a pencil.
As time stretched on, Warren felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. She was still a little jet lagged from her flight. Percy was distracted by his homework and the sofa was so comfortable...
When Percy felt the pressure of her touch leave him, he turned and saw her eyes flutter shut. Warren looked softer when she slept, less intense. He sat for a minute and listened to the gentle inhale and exhale of her breath.
When Warren woke it was the next morning. Her neck was stiff from sleeping on the couch, and she knew her mother was probably worried sick. But Sally reassured her that everything was fine. She'd called Kendra and let her know that Warren was staying the night. Percy had already left for school, so Warren thanked Sally for her hospitality and walked home.
It wasn't until she was halfway down the block that she noticed the blue flannel wrapped around her shoulders.
The next month and a half passed in a similar manner. Percy and Warren would take turns going to each other's houses after school, laying on the floor and doing homework, oftentimes spending the night when it got too late. Percy even let Warren paint his fingernails black, but only the thumbs. He was worried about getting made fun of at school. He liked how it looked though, and would chip away at the polish in class when he was feeling particularly fidgety.
Sally and Kendra became fast friends too, which made Warren happy. Not to mention the fact that her mother absolutely adored Percy. Once the boy had gotten over being star struck ("oh my gods The Butcher is in my apartment") he'd asked her a million and one things about being a pro-wrestler.
But the two demigods were definitely a handful together. Warren was bored and easily distracted during her online classes, which led to things like her piercing multiple holes in her left ear with a safety pin, or showing up unannounced at Percy's school. She'd snuck him out during lunch one day and the two had ridden bird-scooters halfway across town. Luckily they weren't caught...unlike the time they dropped water balloons on sixth-graders from the roof.
And Percy found that he liked having Warren as a neighbor. It was different than being at camp, because now it was just the two of them. There was no Clarisse around to threaten him, or Chiron making sure they didn't skip archery practice. But sometimes he felt nervous around Warren in a way he couldn't describe. Especially when she would take him by the hand or rest her head in his lap while they watched T.V.
In the blink of an eye it was December. Snow covered the city and only a few days remained until the start of winter break. Percy was at Warren's house that afternoon, sitting on the sofa and strumming a guitar— a hobby he was trying to pick up. Warren was on the floor beneath him flicking through television channels. Percy tossed his legs carelessly over either one of her shoulders.
"Just pick something," he groaned.
"There's nothing good on," Warren complained.
"Then put on a movie."
"Ugh, fine. What do you wanna watch?"
"I don't care," he said. "As long as it's not another action movie."
"But you like action movies!"
"Well yeah, but you always talk through them! You have to critique all the unrealistic fight moves and stuff."
"Someone has to," Warren protested. "There's no way that Keanu Reeves could've—"
"Nope. Not even gonna let you finish that sentence."
She slapped Percy's legs off of her shoulders and huffed. "Fine. We'll watch a comedy."
"Ooh," he sat up. "Do you have Superbad?"
"I think so. You check the movie drawer, I'll go make some popcorn."
Percy set his guitar on the floor and Warren shuffled off toward the kitchen. Right as the microwave dinged, the front door opened.
Kendra Walker entered the loft, cell phone pressed to her ear.
"Uh-huh," she said. "Yup, I'll be sure to tell them. See you soon." She snapped the phone shut and sighed.
"Hey mom! Who was on the phone?" Warren asked, dumping a bag of M&M's into the popcorn bowl.
"That was Grover," Kendra said.
Percy's head popped up from behind the couch. "Grover?"
"Uh-huh. Apparently there's some sort of emergency."
"Is he alright?"
Kendra nodded. "He's fine. Grover wouldn't tell me the details over the phone, but he asked if you and Warren could come meet him. Annabeth and Thalia too, if possible."
"Oh, okay," Warren said. "I'll I.M. Annabeth."
"Yeah," Percy agreed. "We can just take a train and meet him at camp."
Kendra gave the two a look. "That's the thing. He's not at camp."
Warren stared at her mom quizzically. "Well, where is he?"
"Bar Harbor, Maine."
............................................
Aaaaand we're back!! I'm so so sorry for the long wait 🖤 without further adieu, here's book 3!
(Be sure to check the cast list for new characters! There are a lot of new faces in book 3. Now, on with the story!)