ANNABETH
When I walked out of the changing room, I looked around to find Percy. He was sitting in a comfortable-looking chair a few feet away, his eyes glued to his phone. I sighed and smiled, walking over to him. I felt a little bit guilty, having him come shopping with me, but hey, he did offer.
I walked over and stood in front of him, and even then he didn't look up. "How does this look?" I asked, getting his attention.
Percy looked up with a bored expression on his face, but when he took me in and realized what he was looking at, his eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open.
"I-um- it looks good," he stuttered, his entire face blushing. I turned around, facing the mirror that was in front of me.
"Really?" I asked, looking at my body. It wasn't my actual body that made me feel self-conscious; I was fit, my arms and legs toned from years of training. No, the thing that made me feel awkward was the actual swimsuit itself. It was very... small. It covered everything that needed to be covered, but just barely. I did a small turn, testing to see if everything stayed in- which it did. I looked back to Percy, whose face was now as red as a tomato.
"Y-Yeah," he said, "But if you don't like it, then you shouldn't wear it. Get something you're comfortable in." I brushed my hair out of my face with my hand, looking back in the mirror. "I mean- I like it," Percy said, in a lower voice, "But you shouldn't wear something you don't feel comfortable in."
I looked at Percy through the mirror, a sly smirk tugging at my lips. "You like it?"
Percy's eyebrows shot up as his eyes grew to the size of saucers, his blush darkening to an impossible shade of red. "I-I- I don't- I mean- what I was saying- I-" He suddenly stopped stuttering, and let out a long breath, then looked back up at me with a hopeful smile. "You look really nice."
I couldn't help but smile to myself as I turned back towards the fitting room. "I think I'll get this one," I said. I glanced in the big mirror one last time, noticing Percy's wide grin as he brought his hands up to cover his blushing face.
Even though Percy was the one sitting outside, embarrassed, I felt myself blushing as I closed the curtain to the changing room behind me.
Percy had said that I looked nice. He said that he liked the swimsuit. The way he had become all flustered and embarrassed when he saw me made me get flustered, made my heart beat faster and my palms sweat-
I sighed, breathing out all the thoughts crowding my brain.
What was this boy doing to me?
Yes, I have always had some feelings for Percy. And yes, some of those feelings were still with me today, but they had never affected me like this before. The only other times that Percy had made me flustered like that was when he kissed me...
And then Percy had confessed to me, told me that he liked me, and asked me out. On a date. Of course, I was overjoyed. But I still had no idea what we were. Did that mean that we were dating now? Was Percy my boyfriend? What if our date didn't work out, and we fought, and we ended up-
I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard voices raising outside of the changing rooms. My heart sank when I realized that it was Percy's voice. I ripped off the swimsuit, changing back into my jeans and T-shirt and rushing back into the store. Percy wasn't sitting in his chair anymore; he was standing up and facing another guy. Percy looked angry, his jaw set and his fists clenched at his sides. His green eyes had the same shine that they always had when he was agitated or annoyed. The guy he was talking to, however, seemed completely unfazed. He had a relaxed composure, a sly grin on his face as Percy said something to him. Despite his goofy personality, Percy could look pretty intimidating when he wanted to. Now was one of those times. If I was the one he was facing, I would have been pretty nervous.
But the guy standing in front of him didn't seem at all worried. For a moment, I thought that it was a monster who had found Percy. But as I got closer, I realized that he was just a regular mortal, because I had seen him before.
Tall and scrawny, with shaggy black hair. He had a familiar chip in his front tooth, and a crooked nose- that I was the cause of.
I walked up beside Percy, just as he was spitting out a threat, "-or I will kill you."
Once again, Matt Sloan was not affected by Percy's words. His expression did change, though, at the sight of me. "Well, well," he said, eyeing me, "Speak of the devil." I raised my eyebrows, about to snap back a reply, but Percy beat me to it.
"Don't talk to her," he said. "Now get lost."
Matt held Percy's glare for a few seconds, before turning his attention to me. I had some not-so-polite words on my tongue, ready to let out, but before I could, Matt turned with a wink and left the store.
Even as he walked away, Percy didn't calm down. If anything, he seemed to become even more tense. I stood in front of him, trying to block his view from Matt. "Hey," I said softly. I guess I wasn't quite tall enough, because Percy just stared over me, his eyes burning into the back of Matt's head. "Hey," I said again, reaching out and taking Percy's hand- that got his attention. He looked away from Matt and down at me, his expression turning from angry to calm as soon as our eyes met. "It's okay," I went on, "Don't worry about him. He's not worth it."
"But he was talking about you-"
"It doesn't matter," I interrupted, giving him a gentle smile. "He doesn't matter."
Percy looked like he wanted to say something else, but he bit it back and let out a sigh, nodding. "You're right," he admitted quietly.
"Besides," I went on, "did you see that bump on his nose?" Percy nodded. "I'm pretty sure I gave him that."
Percy suddenly smiled, and it felt like all my worries had melted away. "Was that from when you knocked him out when we were younger?"
I nodded, remembering the day that it had happened. I had snuck into Percy's middle school, been following him around all day (unfortunately, having to watch him get bullied by Matt), and was there to save his butt from getting eaten by some cannibal giants, finishing it all off with a right hook to Matt Sloan's face.
Percy chuckled, his face lighting up. "Man, I think that that was one of the best moments of my entire life. He was so scared." His smile faded slightly, as he looked away from me and over to where Matt has walked. "Doesn't seem like he's scared of you anymore, though," he said quietly.
I just shrugged. "He should be. I won't hesitate to punch him again." Realizing that I was still holding Percy's hand, I gave it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Percy looked at his hand for a moment, then up to me, his cheeks turning a light pink. I felt his fingers, very softly, tighten around mine, before he slipped his hand out of mine.
"So, are you going to buy that?" he asked, nodding towards the swimsuit in my hand. Thank the gods he had mentioned it, all this stuff about Matt had made me forget about it; I probably would have walked out of the store with it still in my hand.
I headed back into the store and to the checkout. I bought the swimsuit, and soon Percy and I were leaving the store again. I kept an eye out as we walked through the mall, silently praying that Matt had left and wasn't waiting for us around a corner.
"So, are you heading home now?" Percy asked, bringing me out of my search for Matt.
"Yeah, probably," I replied.
Percy hesitated, as if he were nervous about something. "Do-do you think I could come over?" he asked. "I mean- if it's okay with you- I wasn't really planning on doing anything else-but if you're busy it's okay, I can just-"
"Sounds good," I said, interrupting him before he rambled on. My answer seemed to embarrass him even more, as his cheeks flushed red and his grin grew a little bit more. As we started making our way back to his car, walking side-by-side, I felt our hands touch once or twice. My hand- and my heart- starting itching for Percy; I wanted to slide my hand back into his and lace our fingers together, just like I had a few minutes earlier. I quickly glanced down; I took a breath, reaching over slightly, my little finger hooking with his-
"Percy! Annabeth!"
Percy's hand jerked away from mine as he turned to face the voice behind us. I tried my best to hide my disappointment as I did the same.
Jordyn and Liam were making their way towards us. They were each holding a few bags, but as they approached, I noticed that Liam was holding bags for Jordyn. I couldn't help but smile; he must really like her.
"Hey," Percy replied as the two stood in front of us. "What are you two up to?"
"I just had to do some shopping and Liam offered to keep me company," said Jordyn, shooting a warm smile towards her friend. Liam just shrugged sheepishly, trying to look humble. "What about you guys?"
"Same here," said Percy with a nod.
"We were actually about to head back to my place," I said. "You're welcome to come along."
Liam raised his eyebrows at us, a smirk on his face. "You sure you want us around?" he asked. "Wouldn't you two rather be alone?"
I hoped that Percy wasn't blushing as much as I was, because that would not make this situation any better. Obviously, I would love to just spend some more time with Percy, but how was I supposed to say that without indicating that I want to go make out- or do something else- with him? (Spoiler: you can't.)
Thankfully, I didn't have to say anything, because Jordyn came to our rescue. "Oh, leave them alone," she said, nudging Liam with her shoulder. I had to try my best to contain a laugh as Liam nodded, instantly shutting up.
I looked over at Percy, who had definitely been blushing as much as I was. "So, are you two in?" he asked, quickly changing the subject from us.
Jordyn and Liam quickly exchanged a look, before Jordyn turned back to us and nodded. "Sure! Thanks, Annabeth."
The four of us went back to Percy's car, and it wasn't until he started driving that I realized something: all of our demigod friends were back in my apartment. I knew that they wanted to surprise Percy at school, not at my cramped apartment. I quickly pulled out my phone, opening my messages to Thalia's contact.
Hey, I rapidly typed, Percy and some of our mortal friends are coming over. Can you get everyone out?
I sent the message and waited for a reply. Now, I knew that Thalia wasn't the best with technology- she'd been a tree for five years, and didn't use her phone with the hunters, give her a break- but when I didn't get a reply, I was a little bit worried. I hoped that she had seen it and was just too busy getting everyone out of the apartment to reply.
I was quickly brought out of my worry by Liam's voice from the backseat. "Hey, Annabeth, where is your place?"
"I live in a small apartment complex in central Manhattan," I told him. "It's only about five minutes away."
There was a small pause, then, "I thought you lived in Brooklyn with your mom?"
I felt my heart drop. I had completely forgotten about the story that Thalia had told Liam and Jordyn at lunch; I was supposed to be living with my mom in Brooklyn.
Thankfully, Athena's quick thinking saved my butt. "I usually do, in the summer," I told Liam. "But next year I'll be moving to Manhattan for university. My parents thought that it would be good for me to live in the area for a year, so that I was comfortable and adjusted."
"Oh," was all Liam said as he sunk into his seat.
Percy looked over at me with a look that said, Nice save. I just sighed quietly. Liam had come close to cracking us too many times. I prayed that he would just give it a rest; I didn't know if I could keep coming up with lies.
It wasn't long before we arrived at my apartment complex. I held my breath as I unlocked the door; I still hadn't heard from Thalia, I had no idea where she or the rest of our friends were.
I hesitantly opened the door, and my questions were answered.
In my living room, stood a group of demigods, a satyr and a nymph. They were in a misshapen circle, crowded around something. We walked in just as someone was yelling, "-it bit me!"
"Travis, just grab it!"
"I'm not touching it again!"
I slammed the door shut, and everyone's heads turned to us. All of my friends' eyes widened in shock when they saw Percy standing beside me. I quickly looked at Percy; he was staring at everyone with just as much shock, but with an amused grin growing on his face. I heard him chuckle, and after a moment he finally spoke, "I can't believe you guys."
There was a loud jumble of sighs, as everyone let out the breaths they had been holding in, me included. Percy opened his mouth to speak again, when he was interrupted by the thing everyone had been occupied with. There was a loud growl, and Travis, who was standing in the front of the circle, jumped away to reveal the cause of trouble.
Standing in the middle of the circle, was a large rottweiler. It was crouched down low to the ground as if it were scared, baring its teeth at the other demigods around it. It barked once as it looked over at the new people who had came in, and suddenly the dog's expression changed. It stood up straight, its small eyes wide, and it's tongue hanging out of its mouth as it panted. The dog stared at us only for a moment longer before running up to us. I braced myself to be jumped on, scratched, bitten, but none of that happened. The dog just bounded right up to Percy, standing up on its hind legs and placing its front paws on Percy's hips. Percy seemed to be just as surprised as I was, until he noticed the name tag attached to the dog's collar. He lowered himself into a squat so that he was level with the dog, scratching it behind its ears.
"Hey, girl," he said to the dog, smiling. The dog gave a quick bark back, and Percy glanced back to Jordyn and Liam, then to our demigod friends. "What is she doing here?" he asked in quiet Greek.
I still had no idea why there was a mysterious dog in my apartment, so I went up to Percy and the dog and checked the name tag as well. It was no surprise when I couldn't read it- I assumed it was in normal English- but then I realized that the characters were not English letters. I narrowed my eyes, then I realized that the writing was in Ancient Greek. I was still confused as to why I couldn't read it, but as I looked at it for a little longer, it hit me that this Greek was so old, the characters so Ancient that even I didn't understand. But that was the thing that made me realize what exactly this dog was, and that it wasn't really a dog.
"What?" I whispered in surprise, looking at Mrs. O'Leary, Percy's pet hellhound.
Thalia shrugged, "No idea," she replied in Greek. "We found her wandering the streets. At first we thought it was the same one from earlier, but then Grover saw the coller and we knew it was her. We thought it would be best to bring her here so she didn't cause any trouble in the mortal world."
"Yeah, thanks for that," muttered Travis, clutching his hand, which appeared to be bleeding.
What Thalia had said this morning about the other demigods not being sober enough to come to school, well, she was definitely right. Connor and Travis looked the worse out of the whole group, dark circles under their red eyes, their brown hair flying all over the place, their skin pale with a slight green tinge to it. Katie also didn't look that great; she had her long, brown hair up in a bun that was falling out, and she looked extremely tired. I couldn't help but notice that she and Travis were both wearing large hoodies covering a majority of their necks, but that could have been a coincidence.
I wanted to scold Travis and Connor for throwing a party, and also Thalia for allowing it, but then I remembered that I had more important things to worry about. First of all, there was a hellhound in my living room. Second of all, Jordyn and Liam were standing a few feet behind us looking confused out of their minds.
"Can someone please explain what the hell's going on?" asked Liam, looking between Percy, Mrs O'Leary and the group of demigods.
Percy and I shared a quick look, before Percy stood up and faced his friends. "Sorry, guys," he said, his expression changing from confused and worried to calm. "You see, we've been seeing this stray dog on the streets for a while, and my friends just found out that she might be getting put down soon unless she gets adopted. She's such a sweet dog and we couldn't see that happen to her, so..." Percy looked down at Mrs. O'Leary and scratched the top of her head, to which she replied with a happy bark.
From behind me, I heard Connor chuckle and mumble, "Bullshit," in Greek.
That caught Liam's attention, which brought him to his next point, "Then why are you guys speaking in a different language? What was that, German?"
Percy hesitated for a second, trying to think of an excuse; even I didn't know how to reply. How were you supposed to explain to someone why you were speaking a different language in front of them without making it seem like you're hiding something?
Percy just shrugged, "We all grew up speaking Greek," he said. "It's just a habit."
Percy and Liam stared at each other for a few moments, before Liam sighed and broke their eye contact. "Fine, whatever."
Percy looked down, and I could tell that the sad expression on his face was real; I knew that Percy and Liam were good friends, and I could tell that it hurt Percy to lie to Liam like this.
"So, um, what are you going to do with the dog?" asked Jordyn as she hesitantly looked at Mrs. O'Leary. "Does your apartment allow pets, Annabeth?"
"No, it does not," I replied, shooting a glare over to my friends, who just shrugged innocently in reply. "You guys were the ones who brought her here, you figure it out."
I guess they had been expecting the daughter of Athena to solve their problem, because when I said no, they all looked at each other in confusion. Thankfully, Percy stepped up and spoke, "Bring her to Mr. D," he told them. At the sound of our camp director's name, Mrs. O'Leary let out a quiet whimper and pressed herself into the ground. Percy ignored her distress and continued on, "He'll take care of her. Mr. D is a vet," he quickly added, turning towards Liam and Jordyn, "Old friend of mine, owes me a favour, you know."
Jordyn seemed to believe him, but it was obvious that Liam wasn't completely buying Percy's lie, and I couldn't blame him.
Percy patted the hellhound on the head one more time, before taking her by the collar and leading her out. "Annabeth, is there anywhere I can put her? It won't be for long, I promise."
I rolled by eyes, sighing in exasperation. "Yeah, the guest bedroom," I told him, gesturing down the hallway. "But if she bites, scratches, or eats anything, you're paying for it."
Percy flashed me one of his "I owe you" grins and brought Mrs. O'Leary out of the room. With each of the hellhound's chipper barks, Connor, Travis, and Katie flinched, rubbing their eyes and pressing their hands against their temples. And with Mrs. O'Leary out of the way, I was now able to focus on my next problem.
"And as if the dog wasn't bad enough," I said, turning onto them, "You just had to throw a party last night when I specifically told you that you couldn't."
Connor scoffed, staring at me with his red and tired eyes. "We didn't throw a party," he said, looking at the other demigods for backup. "Right?" Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement.
"Connor, I know that you're lying. Just tell me the truth."
"I am."
I pursed my lips, pausing for a moment to think. While I knew that I was smarter than Connor, the way the son of Hermes was looking at me told me that he would be able to dodge any kind of question that I could ask about his "party." I almost gave up, when I remembered a little promise that the Stoll brothers had made not that long prior.
"Connor," I said, crossing my arms over my chest confidently. "Truth or dare?"
Connor gave me a quick look of confusion, before looking over to his brother as if to say, "Seriously? That's it?"
"Dare," he said turning back to me and imitating my stance.
I smirked, then said, "Fine. I dare you to tell me the truth about what happened last night."
Connor's sly expression only lasted for a second longer, then he took in what I said, his arms falling down by his sides and his grin faded away. A few months earlier during a camp game of demigod truth or dare, both Travis and Connor has promised that they would never turn down a dare presented to them. Judging by Connor's defeated expression and Travis' exclamation of some colourful words, it seemed as if the brothers had forgotten about that little pledge.
"Fine," sighed Connor, tearing his eyes away from mine and looking down at his feet. "We did have a party last night, and we invited some... friends, and it did get a little... out of hand."
I didn't like how Connor lowered his voice on the last part. "How out of hand?" I asked nervously.
Connor paused, closing his eyes before replying, "You're gonna need a new shower curtain. And also a new faucet for your bathroom sink. And some more toilet paper. Oh, and you should probably call a plumber."
I groaned, only imagining what they did to my apartment.
"Also, I think your microwave might be broken," Travis added quickly. I looked over to my small kitchen, where my microwave was indeed broken; the glass on the door was shattered, and the actual door itself looked like it was just barely hanging on. It took everything in me not to march over to the brothers and give them a piece of my mind, only because Liam and Jordyn were still standing at my door.
"I'm really sorry, guys," I apologized, turning to them. "I didn't think that they-"
"Don't worry about it," Jordyn cut in, her warm smile making me feel a bit better about the hellhound in my guest bedroom and my broken house. "Your friends seem... Fun," she finished with a hesitant smile.
I chuckled in agreement, "Not exactly how I would describe them, but I guess so."
From behind me, Connor cleared his throat. "Since we're playing, Annabeth, truth or dare?"
I slowly turned around, looking at Connor suspiciously. Both he and Travis had the same, mischievous grin on their faces, a look which I did not trust in the slightest. "Truth," I replied, trying to think of what the brothers were planning; I didn't have anything to hide, so I thought that truth was the safest option.
That is, until Connor asked his question.
"What did you and Percy do last night?"
Normally, my brain is constantly working. Whether I'm thinking of school, battle strategies, Percy... But once Connor spoke, my mind went completely blank.
"What?" I asked in shock.
"You spent the last two nights at Percy's," Travis continued. "What did you guys do?"
Jordyn and Liam stepped away from the entrance of my apartment for the first time and joined the group, probably also eager to hear my answer. I had no idea what to say. I was sure that my friends were wanting to hear that we had kissed, but Jordyn and Liam thought that we were really dating. If they saw everyone else getting all worked up over just a kiss, they would definitely think that something was up; I was sure that they were expecting something more than just a kiss. However, the demigods didn't know that Percy and I were pretending to be a couple; if I lied and told them that Percy and I had done something more, they would freak out.
I crossed my arms defensively over my chest. "Don't you think that the things that happen between Percy and me should stay between Percy and me?"
"Oh, so you're saying that things did happen?" Connor asked, raising his eyebrows questioningly. I mentally cursed myself; I definitely walked into that one. I almost reverted to Greek to chew the brothers out, when another voice swooped in for me.
"Connor, that's gross, shut up," Percy said, entering the room, this time without Mrs. O'Leary. The Stolls grinned at Percy, but neither of them said anything more on the topic of Percy and I, to which I let out a quiet sigh of relief. I'm sure that the conversation would have drifted onto something else, had Percy not approached me and wrapped his arm around my waist protectively. Liam and Jordyn weren't phased by this action, but the looks of surprise on the demigods' faces showed that they definitely noticed. Travis started to open his mouth again, when I stepped forward out of Percy's grip and quickly said, "So, who's going next?"
From past experience, we all (except for Jordyn and Liam) knew how demigod truth or dare went down. The truths got really personal, and the dares went out of hand, and often times included us using our powers. Obviously, we couldn't use them with two mortals around, but that didn't mean that the game was any less ridiculous.
"Nico," demanded Travis after several rounds, "Who do you have a crush on?"
Nico, who had managed to avoid asking or being asked anything for the whole game, seemed to shrink further into the shadows. "No one," he mumbled.
Travis crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows skeptically. "Really? So it wasn't you that I overheard asking Selina for advice on how to ask someone out?"
Nico's face turned bright red and the look on his face became almost murderous. "How did you-"
"Who do you like, Nico?" Travis pressed, Connor at his back looking just as engaged.
Percy cleared his throat, from across the group, "Hey, guys, don't push-"
Connor waved Percy away with the flick of his hand, not taking his eyes off of Nico. "Who is it?" he asked.
Eventually, Nico seemed to realize that the only way that the brothers would back off was if they were told the truth. His face still as red as a tomato, Nico looked to the ground and mumbled something.
Travis raised a hand to his ear, straining his neck forward. "Sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it?"
Now, everyone was eager to hear the answer. At camp, Nico was known for being the "loner"; it was a bit strange to hear that he, Mr. "Dark and Evil Son of Hades" actually had a crush on someone.
Nico took a deep breath, and still not making eye contact with anyone, said, "Will."
For a moment, everyone was quiet. Even I was still registering what he had said, wondering if I had heard it correctly. Will was another demigod at camp, a popular son of Apollo, one of the few people at camp who befriended Nico.
The silence only lasted for a second longer, when Connor and Travis burst out laughing. Everyone turned to them and stared in shock; Nico had just come out, and they were laughing about it? Nico clenched his jaw hard, his hands curling into fists; his body language was angry, but the expression on his face looked like he was about to burst into tears.
Percy, who looked furious, took a step towards the brothers. "Guys, shut the hell up-" he started, but before he could finish, Connor caught his breath and spoke up.
"H-Hold on," he panted, still laughing between breaths. "You mean to say, that Nico "Son of Death" di Angelo is in love with Will Solace, literally the happiest and most cheerful person ever, basically the polar opposite of you?"
I looked back to Nico, to the see the look on his face change from heartbroken to confusion as he stared at the brothers. "Wait," he said after a moment's pause, "that's all you care about?"
Travis, who was still clutching his stomach from laughing, answered, "Are you kidding? That's the only thing I'm gonna be caring about for the rest of my life. 'Emo kid falls in love with a ray of sunshine'," Travis said, raising his arm as if he was presenting an idea for a movie title.
Nico's expression didn't change. "So you... that's it? You only care about the fact that Will and I are completely different?"
Connor nodded as if the answer was obvious. "Duh," he said, still laughing. "What else would we care about?"
"I-I thought that you were laughing because... because Will's a guy," said Nico quietly.
Travis scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "What? No, that doesn't matter."
"No," agreed Connor, walking over to Nico and swinging an arm around his shoulders. "What matters to us is that Will knows how much a certain someone likes him, and we'd be happy to help out."
"Thanks," said Nico in an unthankful tone. Then, switching to Greek, he hissed, "Talk to him and I will send you both to the Underworld."
That made Connor jerk his arm away from Nico, slithering back towards his brother. Nico still looked embarrassed, and like he wanted to kill the Stolls, but I could see that a heavy weight had finally been removed from his shoulders. I wanted to say something to him, tell him that it was okay, but he quickly changed topics by quickly asking, "Who's going next?"
We continued around the group (avoiding any questions revolving around crushes when it came to truths), until eventually the turn landed on Connor once more. He eyed everyone quickly, the look on his face calm, but that didn't mean what he was going to ask was going to be anything even close to calm. Finally, after a few moments of consideration, Connor focused in on Liam and asked him "truth or dare."'
"Dare," Liam said confidently, sitting up a bit straighter, returning Connor's intense stare.
Connor's eyes flicked from Liam's to Jordyn, and an impish grin tugged on his lips as he nodded his head towards Jordyn and said, "Kiss her."
All the colour and confidence drained from Liam's face, while Jordyn's cheeks grew bright red. "What?" asked Liam, but his voice was barely a quiet squeak.
"Kiss her," repeated Connor, slower and with more emphasis on his words. All eyes were on Liam and Jordyn, especially Percy, who was staring at them with a wide, knowing smirk on his face.
Even though I hadn't known Liam and Jordyn for too long, it was obvious that the two had feelings for each other and refused to admit it; maybe this game was finally the chance for something to happen between them.
Slowly, Liam turned towards Jordyn, and took a long breath. Jordyn was still blushing bright red, but the way that she was looking at Liam screamed please, just kiss me already. I guess Liam also noticed this look, or maybe he felt it himself, because a second later he leaned in and firmly kissed Jordyn. There were a few "aw's" that came from Katie and Juniper (even I was thinking it), and I heard Percy chuckling quietly beside me.
The kiss ended just as quickly as it happened, with Liam breaking away and scooting away from Jordyn slightly, who was biting onto her bottom lip to keep her from breaking into a wide grin. However, Jordyn's state of bliss did not last for long, because only a few seconds later did the smile fall from her face as her eyes focused on something behind the group. "Um, Annabeth..." she said, her voice quiet, almost scared. I followed her gaze, only to see Mrs O'Leary standing in the hallway, and my blood ran cold.
"How did she get out?" I asked Percy, not taking my eyes off the hellhound creeping closer.
"I have no idea," Percy replied. Then, nervously, he asked, "Does she look bigger to you?"
Thanks to the Mist, Mrs. O'Leary looked like a normal rottweiler in the mortal world. And while her "mortal" form was still a large dog, she did look bigger than she was earlier. I sucked in a breath and slowly nodded. "Definitely."
"Crap," muttered Percy; he shot a quick glance to Liam and Jordyn, who were looking at Mrs O'Leary anxiously, Jordyn more so, as she was holding tightly onto Liam's arm. Percy took a step towards the hellhound, holding his hands out to show that he didn't have anything on him. "Hey, girl," he said in quiet Greek. "It's okay, it's me." Mrs O'Leary just growled back, baring her teeth, which also looked slightly sharper than earlier.
"Percy, don't-" Thalia started, but it was too late. Mrs O'Leary jumped, pouncing onto Percy and knocking him to the ground. He hit the floor with a hard thud, the hellhound seeming even larger now while on his chest. The group of demigods said nothing; we all knew that panicking and trying to "save" Percy would only result in Mrs O'Leary getting frightened and Percy definitely getting hurt. Unfortunately, Jordyn did not know that. She screamed, and started to take a step towards Percy and the hellhound, but Liam quickly grabbed her and pulled her away. The sudden movement distracted Mrs O'Leary from Percy, and to her new subjects, the two mortals in the apartment. Mrs O'Leary slowly stepped over Percy-who I could tell was trying to remain as calm as possible- and began towards Liam and Jordyn. She almost screamed again, had it not been for Thalia who stepped in between the mortals and the hellhound.
Just like with the monster in the cafeteria at school, Thalia held up her hand, her palm facing the hellhound. She muttered something quiet at first, to which Mrs O'Leary did not react. Then, after another moment, Thalia spoke again, this time her voice clear and powerful. I didn't understand what she said, but Mrs O'Leary apparently did, because she backed away from Thalia and retreated back to Percy, only this time instead of pouncing on him, she pressed up against him and buried her head under his arm.
I wanted to thank Thalia- who was looking very satisfied with herself- for saving us once again, but before I could, Jordyn spoke up.
"I don't know what the hell that thing is," she said, her voice shaking, "or what the hell you are," she pointed at Thalia, "but I'm getting out of here."
"Jordyn-" Liam started, trying to grab her hand, but she swatted him away as she fumbled trying to open to door.
"Jordyn," Percy said as he got up from the ground. His voice was strong, powerful, a tone I rarely heard him use. Jordyn stopped in her tracks, slowly turning towards Percy. "There's something I need to tell you."
Jordyn was still frozen, one hand on the doorknob, looking between Percy, Thalia, and the rest of us. Finally, she slowly lowered her hand from the door, and faced us. Percy sighed, running his hand through his hair. "You might want to take a seat."
And that's how, a few minutes later, eight demigods, a satyr, a nymph, two mortals, and a hellhound sat squeezed together in my cramped living room. Percy, Thalia and I were sitting on the couch, while Jordyn and Liam sat together on a chair that really wasn't meant to fit two people (I'm sure neither of them minded, though); the rest of the group sat on the ground around us, Mrs O'Leary sleeping at Percy's feet.
"Okay," Percy started, taking a deep breath, "What I'm about to say, just let me say it. No questions, no interruptions until I'm finished, okay?" Liam and Jordyn nodded, but they were clearly anxious.
In his eyes, I could see Percy searching for the right words to say. It was very rare that we told mortals about our lives, but Jordyn could obviously see through the Mist; this would help her. "In history, we're learning about Ancient Greece, right? And you guys remember the mythology around all the gods and goddesses, like Poseidon, Zeus, Hades, all of them, right?" Jordyn nodded her head slowly, but Liam just stared at Percy in confusion. "And you know how the gods use to... come to Earth, and have kids with regular humans?" Percy said, then with a deep breath, "Well, we're those kids."
It took a few moments for Liam and Jordyn's expressions to change; Liam's eyebrows pinched together as he looked down, his mind clearly working and trying to process what Percy had said. Meanwhile, Jordyn's eyes grew wide as she nervously looked around the room at the demigods.
"The gods aren't myths," Percy continued slowly. "They're real. And... they're our parents," he said, gesturing the group around him. "We're demigods; half human, half Greek god."
He went silent for a moment, allowing the information to sink into his friends' brains. I looked over at him, and the expression on his face just screamed that he was having a tough time. I started to reach over to take his hand, when Jordyn stood abruptly.
"This is insane," she said, running a shaking hand through her hair. "This isn't real. I-I need to leave, I'm sorry-"
"I can prove it," interrupted Percy, also rising; all eyes were now on him, awaiting his next action. Not taking his eyes off of the ready-to-bolt Jordyn, Percy slowly walked into my kitchen, took a glass from the table, and filled it with water. The only noises in the apartment were the sounds of Percy's footsteps and Jordyn's shaky, panicked breathing. When he was standing in front of her again, Percy raised the glass up to eye-level, stared into the water for a moment, then lifted his other hand. The water in the glass mimicked Percy's hand movements, the water ascending up and out of the glass in a steady stream, not a drop falling to the ground. Jordyn's eyes grew as they followed the water that Percy controlled. It was only a few seconds before Percy carefully lowered all the water back into the cup, fortunately, as Jordyn looked like she might faint any second.
"My father is Poseidon," said Percy calmly, "God of-"
"God of the Sea," finished Liam. Percy turned towards his friend, who was sitting back in the chair, his mouth open in shock and his eyes unfocused. "Holy shit."
"So, what is... that?" asked Jordyn quietly, nodding her head towards Mrs O'Leary, who was still curled up on the ground.
"Jordyn," Liam replied, "that's just a dog."
"Actually..." I said, standing up beside Percy. "She's not."
Liam flopped back into the chair, brushing his hair back. "Of course its not," he mumbled.
"Mrs O'Leary isn't a regular dog," explained Percy. "She's a hellhound."
Jordyn raised her eyebrows at that, "Excuse me?"
"A hellhound," Percy repeated. "I told you that the gods are real, right? Well, all of the monsters that we talked about in history are also real. And sometimes, they also come to Earth. She's a hound from... well, hell." Again, it was silent for a few moments as the information sunk into the mortals' brains.
"So you're telling me," said Liam, "that, what, Medusa is out there, somewhere?"
I saw Percy's cheeks darken as he glanced away from Liam. "Actually, no, because I, um... I killed her."
Liam narrowed his eyes at his friend, "What?"
Percy cleared his throat. "I, uh, I killed Medusa."
Liam nodded slowly, his eyes unfocused. "Right, okay."
"Look, I know that it's a lot for you guys to take in," I said, "but it's the truth. And, it's important for you to know; especially you, Jorydn."
Jordyn seemed to be taken aback by my comment, and it took her a few seconds to reply back with a, "What? Why me?"
Percy and I quickly exchanged a look, wondering how to tell her; it was never easy explaining to a mortal that they could see through the Mist. "Between the normal world and our world, there's this thing called the Mist," I said, "which acts as a filter, so that normal people can't see things like gods, monsters, or demigods using their powers. The Mist masks these things to protect humans; so for example, they would see a hellhound as a normal dog.
"However, sometimes, there are regular people who can see through the Mis, and can see our world." I turned and looked Jordyn in the eyes. "You are one of those people, Jordyn."
I think that that realization struck her the hardest. The reached out and grabbed the edge of the chair that Liam was sitting in, and Liam quickly got up and helped her sit down. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, shaking her head in disbelief. "This is all just so... Wow."
"That's one way to put it," murmured Liam, who had his arm around Jordyn and was now gently rubbing Jordyn's arm in comfort.
"I'm sorry that I've kept this from you all this time," said Percy, sitting back down on the couch so he was eye-level with Jordyn. "Usually, it's safer when normal people don't know about us."
Jordyn took a few long, deep breaths, then, for the first time since she first got to my apartment, she smiled. "It's okay, Percy," she said quietly. "I... I understand. It's just... I don't know, this feels like I've fallen asleep in history and this is all one big, weird dream. I'll wake up soon and Mr. Roshon will be yelling at me."
Percy laughed quietly, but I could still tell that there was something bothering him. "I, um... if you guys don't want to be around me anymore, I get it," he said quietly, looking down at his fidgety hands.
"Are you kidding?" exclaimed Liam, catching Percy's attention. Ever since we started telling the truth about our lives, Liam had had a confused, almost betrayed look on his face. Now, his eyes softened and a grin grew on his lips. "My best friend is the damn son of Poseidon; I'm not letting go of that."
A look of relief washed over Percy's face as he too smiled, reaching out and bumping his fist against Liam's. I also felt relieved; revealing ourselves to mortals was never easy, but Jordyn and Liam were making it a little easier.
"Wait, Percy," Liam continued, "all those times during swim practice where you were 'holding your breath' for minutes..."
Percy shrugged, his grin growing. "Guilty."
I saw Jordyn rolling her eyes, but she was smiling as well. Turning towards me and the rest of the group, she asked, "So, are all of you guys demigods as well?"
"Most of us," Thalia piped up, nodding over at Grover. Liam and Jordyn looked over at the two, both of their expressions curious, but also looking slightly nervous, not sure what to expect. Grover sighed, "Don't scream," he said tiredly, grabbing his crutches and standing up. To hide his real goat legs, Grover had to wear prosthetic legs, which caused him to need crutches. Grover pulled up his pant leg slightly, revealing the shiny plastic of his prosthetic. Then, with a few harsh shakes, the artificial leg fell from Grover's pants and onto the ground, revealing his real, furry goat leg. Jordyn's hand raised to her mouth to suppress a gasp, while Liam was silent but his eyes wide.
"I'm a satyr," said Grover, lowering his pant leg and shaking out his other prosthetic and ditching his crutches.
"This is literally insane," laughed Jordyn, running a hand through her hair. We spent a long time after that explaining as much as we could about the gods and our lives to Liam and Jordyn, and who each of our godly parents were. It was at least forty-five minutes later when Jordyn finally stood from her chair. "This is all... amazing, but I should probably get going," she said, her eyes still bright and looking for more. "I need to let all of this sink in."
I could definitely tell that both Liam and Jordyn could have stayed for much longer, but the two left my apartment with a completely different view on the world than when they entered.
As soon as the door closed, Percy turned to the group of demigods, crossing his arms over his chest. "What the hell are you guys doing here?" he asked, his smile the biggest that I had seen it in a while.
"Well, since Annabeth was coming out to surprise you, she thought it would be an even nicer surprise to bring us with you," said Thalia.
When Percy looked over and smiled at me, I felt my legs start to melt a little bit and my heartbeat accelerate. "You're amazing," he told me.
I really hoped no one could notice my blushing. "Only took you five years to notice," I replied with a shrug.
Since Jordyn and Liam had been with us ever since we came back to my apartment, Percy hadn't had the time to just catch up with our demigod friends, whom he hadn't seen since that summer. We all sat together, talked about camp, school, and just our lives in general. Miraculously, the topic of Percy's and my love life didn't come up once. However, that did not assure me that it wouldn't come up at some point.
It wasn't long before Mrs O'Leary woke up from her nap and began to get a little restless, as she started barking and scurrying around my apartment. Nico offered to take her back to camp via shadow travel, claiming that he "couldn't listen to her yapping for any longer," but I suspected it also had something to do with a certain someone back at camp. Grover left with him (since Nico often became weak or even fainted after shadow traveling), and afterwards I tasked the remaining demigods with cooking dinner.
"Why do we have to?" whined Connor. "It's your apartment."
"You threw a party here last night without my permission," I told him firmly. "This is what you get."
Connor and Travis rolled their eyes in annoyance, but didn't argue anymore. The group of demigods squeezed into my small kitchen to attempt making something edible, which left Percy and me together in the living room.
After listening to the chaos unraveling in my kitchen for a few minutes, Percy turned to me and said quietly, "Can we talk for a minute?"
When I looked at him, I was slightly surprised by the expression on his face; his eyes wouldn't meet mine with a hint of disappointment. "Sure," I replied hesitantly, leading Percy away from the living room to somewhere more private.
I had to admit, I was somewhat nervous for what Percy wanted to talk about. I ran through a list in my head, trying to remember if I had said anything earlier that might have upset him. Even after wracking my brain, I came up with nothing. After entering my room and closing the door, I crossed my arms over my chest so that Percy wouldn't see my nervously shaking hands.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, trying to read into Percy's body language and figure out what was going on.
Percy, still not looking me in the eyes, took a breath before saying, "I'm sorry about earlier."
My eyes narrowed at this. "What are you talking about?"
"When Connor was bothering you before," continued Percy. "And I came and I put my arm around you and you stepped away and... I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or-or anything-"
Percy's voice broke off at the sound of my laughter. "You Seaweed Brain," I said, smiling up at him. "I only stepped away because nobody knows about you and me. Liam and Jordyn think that we've been dating for a while; if they saw everyone freaking out over such a simple gesture- which they would have, trust me- they'd definitely think something was up."
It took a second for Percy's expression to change, and when it did, I think my heart skipped a beat or two. Percy's cheeks turned a light pink as his mouth curled into a shy grin and he brushed his hair back from his face. "Oh my gods," he mumbled with a slight chuckle and finally looking up at me, "that makes a lot more sense." He paused for another second, before clearing his throat, and continuing hesitantly, "You said that they don't know about us, but... What is there to know? What are we?"
There it was; the question I had been wondering all day as well. Yes, Percy had asked me out. And yes, I did say yes. But what did that make us? Taking a deep breath, I let my heart take control over my brain trying to process everything and think of a logical answer. I took a step closer to Percy so that our chests were almost touching and I had to look up slightly to meet his eyes. Shrugging, I said, "You tell me."
Percy's eyes searched my face for a second, before they landed on my lips. It seemed as if Percy set his heart onto autopilot as well, because a second later he leaned down and closed up the space between us.
As I reached up and wrapped my arms around Percy's neck, I realized that this, this is what I wanted; I never felt happier than when I was with Percy.
It was at that moment that I realized that Percy really was the one for me.
I felt his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him as I raised onto my toes to try and match his height. I had my arms locked around his neck, but Percy seemed to be having some difficulty deciding where to put his. They moved from my waist to my back, then one arm across my torso and the other hand cradling the back of my head, then moving up to cup my face and neck, before finally settling down on my hips. It wasn't long before Percy's hands started to move again, making their way a little bit lower on my hips-
"Annabeth, do you have any-? Ugh, seriously, guys?"
I jumped away from Percy in surprise from the voice at my side, only to see Thalia standing in the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and a smug grin on her face.
My jaw dropped open as I tried to scramble for something to say, but no words came out.
I quickly glanced to Percy, but he seemed just as shocked as I was. "Thalia," he gasped, "we-we- i-it's not what-"
"Relax," Thalia laughed, holding her hand up and cutting Percy off. "Everyone knew it was going to happen eventually," she said with a wink as she turned and sauntered out of the room.
The tension between Percy and me in the room quickly became so thick you couldn't even cut through it with Riptide. I didn't know what to say to Percy; my first instinct was to apologize, but what for? I wasn't sorry that we kissed, hell, I had been waiting for this moment.
It seemed like Percy was going through the same thought progress when he quietly said, "I'm sorry," avoiding meeting my eyes. I finally turned to him, then, taking a breath, I reached out and took his hand, lacing my fingers with his.
"Don't be," I told him. "What do we have to hide?"
Percy paused for a moment, staring back at me, then slowly, a grin rugged at his lips as he gave my hand a slight squeeze. "Nothing, I suppose, if 'everyone already knows'," he said, quoting Thalia.
I couldn't help but smile as Percy and I walked out of my room together, hand in hand, our long and confusing relationship finally determined.
JORDYN
My head was spinning.
No, not spinning.
My brain was trapped in the middle of a tornado.
It had been more than ten minutes since Liam and I had left Annabeth's, and everything they had told us still hadn't sank in. Even though Percy literally proved to me that he was a demigod by controlling water, I still couldn't believe that gods and monsters were actually real.
While I was having trouble with all this new information, it seemed like Liam was also taking it pretty hard; he hadn't said a word since we left Annabeth's apartment, something completely out of character for him.
"Hey," I said quietly, nudging his shoulder gently. "You okay?"
Liam glanced at me briefly, before turning his attention back to the ground in front of him. "Yeah, sorry," he mumbled. "It's just... I feel bad."
I looked at him in confusion, "What? Why?"
Liam shrugged, still not making eye contact with me. "I've been a dick to Percy recently," he explained. "Annabeth too. I knew that something was up, I knew that they were hiding something, but... they were just trying to protect us. I was selfish."
"It's okay," I told him. "You couldn't have known. It's not your fault."
Liam sighed, shrugging again, before finally looking at me. "How about you?" he asked. "How do you feel about all this?"
I inhaled deeply, then let it out while puffing out my cheeks. "It's... weird," I replied slowly. "Knowing that all of this exists is one thing, but actually being able to see it is... it's unbelievable."
Liam let out a quiet chuckle. "Now I feel boring," he mumbled. "Percy and Annabeth are half-god, you can see through to their world, and I'm just... plain, old Liam."
"Maybe I like plain, old Liam," I said without really thinking, which I immediately regretted. I felt my ears begin to burn, the way they alway did when I embarrassed myself in front of Liam; the way they burned when Liam had kissed me earlier.
Liam and I had been friends for years, but at the beginning of the eleventh grade, I began to develop feelings for him. It started off as just a small crush, but quickly and uncontrollably escalated. For over a year now, I'd been trying to figure out my feelings, whether or not he liked me back, ways to slowly drop hints, and a way to finally tell him how I feel. And now, all of that was out of the window because of, "Maybe I like plain, old Liam."
I hesitantly turned to face Liam, dreading to see the expression on his face; however, when I met his eyes, I didn't get the look I was expecting.
Liam was looking at me, his eyes wide and bright and his face an intense shade of pink. I only met his eyes for a second before he turned away, his lips peeling into a wide grin as his blushed cheeks darkened.
This definitely wasn't the face of someone you were "just friends" with.
With my cheeks equally burning, I also looked away from Liam, trying to contain my smile as well.
It wasn't long before we reached my house, and I had to admit, I was slightly disappointed that Liam and I had to split ways. As I walked up to my front door, I spoke to Liam for the first time since I had basically confessed my feelings to him. "Thanks for walking me home," I said quietly, still avoiding making eye contact with him.
"Yeah, no worries," replied Liam, his voice equally as soft.
For a moment, we both stood in silence, as if processing everything that had happened in the past few hours.
Then, abruptly, Liam cleared his throat and spoke up, "Jordyn," he said quickly.
I barely had time to look up at him before Liam had a hand on the back of my neck and his lips on mine.
Just like when he kissed me before, a shiver ran through my entire body, from my mouth to my toes. My legs felt weak, and I may have fallen over had it not been for Liam's strong arm around my waist. It took a second to realize that yes, this was real, this was happening, Liam was actually kissing me, not because of some stupid dare. My hands slid up his chest and rested on his neck as I tilted my head slightly to respond to his kiss.
When Liam pulled away, he stared at me with wide eyes, full of shock, as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. I was frozen in surprise myself, until Liam blurted out, "I like you." Immediately, his face darkened in embarrassment as he broke eye contact with me. I could see him quickly trying to think of something to say, but before he could, I threw my arms around his neck and rose onto my toes to hug him tightly.
"You dork," I said into his ear. "I like you too."
I couldn't see his face, but I could feel Liam smiling against the side of my face as his arms wrapped around me, holding me closer to him.
In history, during our study of the gods and goddesses, we learned how Aphrodite, the goddess of love, would often pair certain humans together if she thought they were meant to be; she would alter the world to ensure that the two humans would fall in love. I remembered rolling my eyes at that, convincing myself that there was no such thing.
Now, wrapped in the arms of the boy I had fallen madly in love with, I sent a silent thanks up to Aphrodite, just in case.
THIS CHAPTER IS NOT FINISHED. I AM CURRENTLY EDITING, THEREFORE CONTINUING ONTO THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL NOT MAKE SENSE BECAUSE I HAVE NOT EDITED IT YET. READ ON IF YOU WANT, BUT THE EVENTS OF THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL NOT CORRESPOND WITH THIS CHAPTER OR PREVIOUS ONES. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK