This one is for @SunnysSpeed!!!!!! To any of my lovely hardcore Jiper shippers out there, do not read this, I mean it. This is not Jiper friendly. Anyways I love this OC no matter who she dates. To everyone else and especially the lovely @SunnysSpeed I hope you enjoy this!
The four of us are sitting contentedly at our table in the cafeteria. Percy and Jason are both munching down on today's special while Annabeth and I peer skeptically at the hash spread over our trays.
The two boys roll their eyes at us. "It really isn't that bad," Percy insists, his mouth full of gruel.
Annabeth winces at her boyfriend, quickly ducking away so she doesn't have to stare at his gaping mouth longer than necessary. "Percy, please swallow," she replies instead.
"Sorry," he chokes out as he swallows the mash. "But seriously," he starts again, "it really isn't as bad as you seem to think."
Annabeth chooses to ignore his opinion though, grabbing me by my arm. "Come on," she says, tugging me up from the table. "Let's go raid the vending machines." I glance over at Jason who has been quiet during the whole thing. He makes his stance though by shoving another spoonful of hash in his mouth. Annabeth and I pick up our full trays, dumping them by the trash bins and leave the boys in their happy state.
As we exit the cafe, I shiver in relief. "Thank god we got out of there. I think I was going to hurl just looking at that stuff. Do you know if those little black bits were beans or..." I trail off.
Annabeth makes a face. "Don't even go there," she warns me, pulling her wallet out of her pocket.
In the hallway we stop at the vending machines packed full of diet diet drinks and fruit gummies. We take turns feeding in our money and picking from the meager provisions. I settle down with my snack at the nearby table, placed directly beside the vending machine. Annabeth flops down into the seat across from me as I rip open my no sugar mango and orange flavoured gummy bears.
Annabeth winces as she takes the first sip of her no sugar, no caffeine, no calories Coke. I look at her as I chew on a fruity orange bear. It doesn't taste like anything at all.
"It's probably still better than whatever that was in there," she assures me, waving to the cafeteria.
"Was it me or did I totally see potato peels in it?" I ask, plopping another tasteless gummy into my mouth.
Annabeth groans, pushing her strange Coke away. "You're making it taste even worst," she complains.
"Oh come on, it can't be that bad," I tell her, hijacking the can. I take a sip from the stuff and immediately slide it back to her. "Is there even anything in that?" I ask.
Annabeth nods, having proving her point. "It's disgusting, right?" She eyes it carefully. "Maybe Percy will drink it."
We hop off the table and stick out my bag of gummies to her as we walk back. "Do you want a tasteless gummy bear?"
In response, she sticks her hand into the small bag, pulling one out and shoving it into her mouth. "Hey they aren't half bad," she says.
I look at her as if she is some sort of alien come down from Neptune. "Do you want the rest?" I offer.
"Sure," she replies, grabbing the still almost full pack from me.
"Weirdo," I mutter as we enter back into the cafeteria. At our table, Percy and Jason are chatting away, their plates empty. We sit across from them, Annabeth handing the half drunk Coke to Percy.
"You want the rest?" she asks.
He shrugs. "Sure." He begins chugging the stuff.
Annabeth and I both make a face and she chomps down on the rest of my tasteless gummies.
~oOo~
We are lounging around Percy's apartment when the TV flickers on. On screen a group of twelve people, men and women, appear. They are all seated on decorated thrones of sort, looking like royalty and yet not dressed for it. We all whirl in shock. The TV had not been on. I look at Jason and the others, but they seem as confused as I am, if not more so.
That is when one of the woman on screen starts to talk. She is wearing a long, sleeveless, silver dress that matches her flashing eyes. Her dark hair is pinned in a side braid that runs down her bare arm. "Hello," she begins and her voice seems to echo through Percy's living room. "My name is Athena. I am the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy. And I am here to tell you, the myths are true.
"Everything you believed in as a child; centaurs, dragons, the Minotaur. They are all real. Every legend you have heard of Hercules slaying monsters and the gods performing miracles you all refer to as natural phenomenons, are true. All of Greek and Roman mythology exists in the here and now."
I turn away from the TV. This lady is crazy. I look over at the others and am confused when no one seems to be reaching for the remote to turn her off. Instead they all seem to be panicking, as if they believe this stuff. My eyes meet Annabeth and I startle suddenly as I realize her eyes match the exact shade and temperament of the eyes of the woman on the TV. I shake my head though, turning back to the TV where the 'Athena' is talking again.
"The reason none of you mortals have seen our world, is because there is something called the Mist which protects your eyes from seeing anything your minds can not comprehend. The Mist was held and manipulated by Hecate the Goddess of Magic. And while Gods can not die, they can fade. Hecate was mortally wounded in our last war and now in an effort to preserve herself, she has let go of her magic, including the Mist.
"The Mist is gone. The earth is filled with monsters. Mortals take heed. This is not in jest. Your lives are all in great danger. Behind me stand the twelve Olympians. Us and our children will be visiting your schools, offices, theaters to get our message across within the next week or so. Meanwhile, do be careful," she finishes, nodding slightly and the TV blinks off.
I turn to the others who are all mixes of panic and rage. No one looks as if they are about to laugh at her ridiculous statement. "So...total hoax, right?"
The three of them just stare at me. Finally Jason stands up, glancing quickly over at Percy and Annabeth before looking to me. He offers me a hand up. "Come on," he says. "I'll take you home."
Jason leads me to the door of the apartment even though I am perfectly capable of finding it myself. As I slip on my flats, I hear him hanging back, talking in hush tones to the other two. When I am slipping on my jacket, he comes up behind me, unhooking his own coat from the rack. I say a quick goodbye to Percy and Annabeth as Jason hustles me out the door.
He presses a hand to my shoulder, gently pushing me forward. I know this really isn't the time to be thinking of it, but the feeling of his hand sends shivers down my spin. Ever since the three of them showed up at school a few months ago, I have had this crush on Jason. I thought it had dissipated in the last bit from his clear disinterest, but clearly my feelings have only grown.
We are quiet as we board the elevator and ride down. In the lobby Jason softly guides me outside and down the sidewalk. We have only been walking for a bit when I and ask, "What was all that back there?"
His eyes dip down to the ground, avoiding my gaze.
"Jason." I roll my eyes. "Seriously?"
He meets my eyes, before ducking away again. "Look, I'll tell you later, okay?" He shuffles his feet.
"Okay. But can we at least talk about that whole myths are true thing?" I ask as he starts moving again.
Jason glances quickly at me, "What do you want to talk about?"
"Uh," I pull up short. "Well, you obviously believe it. Why?"
We walk a few more feet before he replies, "A bajillion years ago - or at least close to it - we knew that the earth was flat. Now we know that to be untrue. Another bajillion years ago - again I am not a history major - we also knew that the sun revolved around the earth. Now we know that to also be untrue. My point is that what humans often know to be true without a fathom of a doubt is usually false. So why can't there be gods too? The earth is round, we revolve around the sun, and there be gods. There are so many religions out there, this one just happens to be true. It's not unfathomable."
It's only now that I realize we have stopped. I look up at Jason who is finally looking at me. I purse my lips. "Jason Grace, I have absolutely no idea what you just said," I tell him honestly. He snorts and smiles sadly. "But okay. There are gods. What next?"
Jason flings an arm around my shoulders, squeezing slightly. "We get you home and hopefully you still feel the same when morning comes."
I laugh as we continue to walk down the sidewalk.
~oOo~
At school the next day, people are buzzing over the news from yesterday. Percy, Annabeth and Jason are all quieter than usual. At lunch Annabeth calmly eats the hash spread over her plate in silence. I look at her in confusion, but she hardly acknowledges my presence, lost inside her own world.
It is the fourth and last period of the day when a voice blasts over the PA system. "All students report to the auditorium for a special assembly." There's a beep as it turns off.
I turn to Jason who is sitting beside me. There is a sheen of sweat forming on his brow.
"Maybe your gods are real," I say.
He looks at me for a bit, as if deciding something. At the front of the class, the teacher is ordering people out of the classroom single file. Of course the line converges together as all the classes mix together in the hallway. Jason and I merge into the congested traffic of the corridor, slowly following its stream down to the auditorium.
Jason follows me all the way to my seat, before he suddenly turns around, confessing that he'd left his phone in the classroom. I crinkle my eyebrows but he's gone before I can protest that he doesn't have a phone.
I sigh and slump in my seat, waiting for the 'gods' to appear.
Up on the stage there are an arrangement of twelve thrones, exactly how I'd seen on the TV, but this time they are empty. The tallest one, dead center in the semicircle is an ornate golden chair with bolts of lightening zigzagging down its sides. The one to its left depicts a scene of a man and a woman being married. The other thrones all have their own personal touches. One seems to be completely compiled of doves, actual white feathers flying from its top. Another is a mix of green and blue, with colourful fish diving in and around its base. Yet another is completely gray, a single, white owl perched on top, wings spread.
As the principal crosses his way over the stage, I look around for any signs of my friends, but they have all disappeared. Principal Mcartney taps the mic and a screech echoes through the loud room. I wince away, covering my ears along with everyone else. "So, hello everyone. I am sure you all know of the incredible announcement made last night." He glances nervously over to the thrones. "Without further ado, I give you the Gods of Olympus."
Without warning, twelve men and women - the same I'd seen on TV - appear in the thrones. There is no puff of smoke, no dramatics one would expect with this kind of thing. One minute they aren't there and the next they are, just like that.
The man sitting in the golden throne stands up and addresses us, "I am the all powerful Zeus, Lord of the Skies and King of the Gods. Yesterday you met my daughter Athena on TV. Now, along with some of our children, you will meet us all." He beckons to back stage and ten people come out, all around my age. I start when I recognize three of them. Zeus pulls aside a tall blond and the boy's electric blue eyes meet mine half a room away. I raise my eyebrows and he grins sheepishly as Zeus introduces him. "First off this is my son Jason Grace. Now unlike most of these loser - my apologies Thalia" he nods to a girl in a silver tiara - "he actually went to the school here. My son has decimated Titans, saved Olympus and was one of the Seven."
As Zeus drones on about Jason many, many accomplishments, the blond boy shares a knowing look with the black haired boy on his right, Percy.
When the King of the Gods' speech finally grinds to a halt, the man to his right steps forward. He has his hands on Percy shoulders and I glance between the two, the resemblance is uncanny. Both have the same ruffled black hair, tanned skin and sea green eyes.
"I am Poseidon, Lord of the Seas and Earthshaker," Percy's father introduces himself. Then he looks down at his son. "And this is my son, Perseus -" Percy makes a face - "Jackson." There is another long speech of a proud parent which seems to go on even longer than Jason's. At the end of it though, Percy is blushing deeply, flustered.
They move steadily through the rest of the gods and their children. A few stick out to me, like the punk rocker in a silver tiara - Zeus's daughter - there on behalf of the goddess Artemis. There is also the pale boy wrapped in black there with Hades. As well as Annabeth standing along side Athena, both of their cloudy eyes flashing. But the ones who stand out to me most are the goddess Hera - who has no demigod child with her and Dionysus, the god of wine who they just completely skip over.
When all the gods and goddesses have gone, Dionysus finally looks up over the audience. He is wearing a loud Hawaiian shirt and in his hand he clutches a Diet Coke can. I wonder if he'd gotten it from one of the school vending machines. He doesn't even bother to stand up as the others had, choosing instead to smile smugly into the crowd. Then his eyes land on me. He smile widens and he points lazily at me. "That is my daughter, Loyetta Banders. Why your mother chose to name you that, I have no idea, but come on up."
I look up in surprise. He'd definitely said my name, right? I slowly stand as I hear Jason call from the front, "Come on, Etta!"
I make my way down to the stage, amidst the whispers of the teenage audience. Dionysus grabs my hand as I stand before him. He turns me towards the crowd and raises my arm above my head, as if I am some sort of champion. I glance sideways at my father, immediately deciding he's crazy. As if reading my mind, he winks.
~oOo~
They have brought me to somewhere called Camp Half Blood where I will supposedly be safe from all the monsters wandering around. I share my cabin with my half-brother, Castor, and let me just say that the meals here are miles away from the crap they served in the cafeteria at school.
I am just coming back from one said meal when Jason walks up beside me. "Pretty cool, huh?" he asks.
I just nod. "I still haven't had time to check out the lava wall."
He looks at me like I'm crazy. "You want to go on that thing?"
I grin. "You don't?"
He rolls his eyes before his face suddenly becomes dead serious. "Hey, Etta, I was wondering..." he trails off, rubbing his neck. "Would you, I don't know want to go get...coffee? Sometime?"
I smile. "Jason Grace, are you asking me out?"
He's looking bashfully down at the ground when he nods.
"Yeah, I'll go for coffee. Sometime," I say, mocking him.
He rolls his eyes. "Shut up." But yet he still wraps his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into him. I smile. Best day, freaking ever.
So yeah, that all happen. And sorry, but this is in fact the last of my barrage of updates... probably. @SunnysSpeed I really hope you liked it, sorry I am late...as per usual.
Anyways, I love all you guys, siriusly, you are all amzhang people (yes I am back with my percyfect puns).
Vote & Comment & and be freaking Rad
~omgitshappenning 😜