Hey guys, this is my first attempt at a oneshot.
I really enjoyed writing this story, and love how it comes out!
Please keep in mind that it's just for a bit of fun and a laugh. If you'd like something a bit more serious, check out my profile.
I have a serious multi-chapter adventure story that I'm writing that may interest you.

Anyways, enjoy it, because I won't be continuing this story (you can continue it if you want, but please tell people about my story too!)

Promenade
- a oneshot by Camzy

Percy Jackson paced around his bedroom cursing under his breath. "Oh my gods what am I going to do!" It was the end of Percy's final year at Goode High School. He had survived against all odds and not been kicked out. However, a much bigger challenge awaited him. There was a knock on the door, and Percy rushed to open it. "Annabeth?" Percy said eagerly as he opened the door.
"In your dreams Barnacle Boy!" a harsh voice replied. Thalia stood in the doorway, hands on hips, with a look that said she meant business. She was wearing a black t-shirt with dancing skeletons on the front and loose fitting black jeans. "Prom tonight," Thalia said as she walked into the room past a shell-shocked Percy. She sat on his bed and fiddled with the night lamp. "Are you ready or what?" she asked impatiently. Percy could only plop down into a nearby chair and slump down a few inches. "I don't even know what I'm going to wear."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "I knew it!" She got up and released the curtains, allowing a bright ray of sunshine into the room. "Well you're not going to get anything done sitting on your butt moaning. You don't want to be borrowing Paul's suits now do you?"
Percy got up and continued pacing around the room despondently. "What am I going to say to Annabeth when she finds out? I can't just go wearing my casual stuff, she'll kill me!"
"Right you are kiddo, that's why we're leaving now." Thalia grabbed Percy's hand and started moving towards the door. "Wait, WAIT! I need to make my bed… I haven't washed up…" Percy complained as Thalia pushed him out the door. "Put those sandals on," she said, pointing to a crummy pair of flip-flops. "We've got a date with the Stoll brothers and you will be sorry if you're late."

The car was a white convertible BMW like any other, except for two things. Two huge green snakes crept up the sides of the car and wings sprouted on the rear bumper. Connor and Travis Stoll leaned on the car, whispering furiously:
"He won't go. It's too dangerous!"
"He hasn't got a choice. His prom is tonight. This is his last chance."
"Shh… here he comes!"
The Stoll brothers grinned as Percy and Thalia approached.
"Percy you're going to love it," Connor said. "Love what?" asked Percy. Whatever it was, Percy did not like the sound of it. Thalia said, "We're going to L.A."
"What?" Percy spluttered, "We're in New York, the trip will take us days especially on land…" Travis chuckled heartily. "O you haven't seen this baby go," he tapped the door of the car.
"Ow that hurt!" one of the snakes piped up, suddenly coming to life. "Martha quit whining. I'd take this form any day over that lame mobile we're usually bound to," snapped the snake on the opposite side of the car.
Percy stared blankly at the bizarre sight of a car with talking snakes for doors. "That's Hermes' Caduceus. How did you guys get it?"
"We… uh… borrowed it," The Stoll brothers said in unison. Thalia broke the awkward silence that followed, "Are we going? Or will Prince Handsome here, have to wear his pajamas to prom?"

The Stoll Brothers leapt into the front seats, ushering Percy and Thalia into the back ones.
"Hold on tight, and don't forget your seatbelts," Travis said as he turned on the engine. Thalia and Percy held on to the handlebars in front of their seats tightly. What BMW has handlebars in the back like a rollercoaster? Connor gripped the steering wheel like his life depended on it. It probably did.
The car shot forward like a rocket, plunging up and down dangerously, as the Stoll brothers struggled to adjust the controls. One moment the car was flying steadily upwards, the next moment, it dipped straight towards a couple of tall buildings. Percy felt like he was going to be sick. Thalia was holding up even worse. She buried her head in her knees, desperately trying not to look down, or in any direction at all. There was a particularly close call just as they were heading out of Manhattan. "Watch the Statue of Liberty!" Travis yelled, "Athena will blow us out of the sky if we so much as make a scratch!" Connor shouted back, "I'm more worried for Percy to be honest. He's already… uh… not on great terms with his future mother-in-law."
"Hey!" Percy retorted, "It's just prom, we're not like… um… getting married or anything!"
"Sure you aren't!" Travis beamed at Percy. "I heard Annabeth was looking at wedding dresses the other day. Hera won't be particularly accommodating, but I'm sure you two will find a way." Percy's face changed from red to green as the car spun vertically. "I can't believe I decided to come! I'd rather go naked to prom then have to put up with you guys!"
Connor and Travis shared a massive high five as the car passed perilously close to the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
"We made it, and I won!" Travis said gleefully.
"You didn't win. He only said he can't believe he decided to come, not that he was leaving!"
"You owe me that bag of water bombs. We agreed that the winner would get first dibs on Clarisse."
Thalia looked up for a split-second and groaned, "Are we there yet?"
"Not even close darling," said Connor, as the car finally righted itself and sped towards the other side of the country.

Three hours into the ride, it could have been more or less, Percy couldn't tell how long they'd been travelling because he felt so sick, Travis announced "Ladies and Gentlemen, we're approaching Los Angeles and expect to be coming into Hollywood Boulevard any second now."
Percy looked up for the first time in the last half hour, "Where exactly did you say we were going?"
The Stolls didn't get a chance to answer. The car plunged towards the ground, weaved in and out of traffic lights, and finally dropped the final twenty meters into an open parking space. A large cloud of smoke rose from the car. Percy had no idea how mortals were going to reasonably explain seeing a car drop out of the sky, steaming. Travis jumped out of the car and wrenched open the rear doors. Thalia and Percy crawled out of the car coughing and choking. "I did this all for you Sand Head," Thalia said, glowering at Percy. "Why did you need to come?" asked Percy innocently. "My father isn't going to blow his own daughter up," Thalia replied matter-of-factly. "These two stooges needed me to pull this crazy stunt off. They wouldn't get off the ground without me," Thalia said self-importantly. The Stoll brothers knelt in mock respect. "Thank you, your highness", they said as they bent down in a ridiculous bow. Thalia kicked them in the shins and they got up gasping in pain. Percy could see her smiling behind her put-on scowl. "Well we're here, so let's not waste time," Thalia said, dragging Percy in pursuit of the Stoll brothers. "Come on!" Behind them, Percy could hear the receding voices of Martha and George, the two talking snakes:
"Bring us back a rat!"
"Or something better!"
"What could be better than a rat?"
"Well I dunno. A bear?"
"I can't eat a bear."
"Well I can, but I'll settle for a rat."
"When's the last time we got anything?"
"Uh…"
When they were out of earshot, Percy asked yet another time, "Where are we going?" This time, he got an answer.

"The Wardrobe of the Gods," Thalia said.

***

Percy and Thalia finally caught up with the Stoll Brothers in front of a very old shop way out of town. A few old, dusty dresses hung on display and there was a 'closed' sign on the front door. The place didn't look like it had been touched in years. Above the entrance to the shop, was an incredibly old looking plaque. The words were written in Ancient Greek, but Percy could read it.

The shop was called "Godiva".

Percy glanced at the Stoll brothers, who were fishing out a special bronze key. He didn't even bother asking where they got it. Travis slotted the key into its appropriate place, and the door clicked open. There was a strange smell emanating from the shop. It was as if somebody had gathered together the scent of all the burnt offerings to the gods, and stuffed them together in a bottle. Percy smelled chocolate, banana smoothies, and other tasty things. Maybe this place wasn't so bad after all. Percy stepped into the shop last and closed the door behind him. It made a deep clunking noise as if it were the gates to a castle. It was dark, and Percy couldn't see anything at first. He opened some heavy curtains which led into a large chamber. "Woah!" Percy exclaimed as he stepped into the room.

There were clothes and shoes stacked to the ceiling like a library - everything you could imagine: corsets, war armor, tuxedos, sweat pants, jeans, you name it. There were even accessories, and a whole corner was dedicated to makeup. Percy walked up to the nearest rack of clothes, and reached up to pick something out. The rack moved towards him like it had a mind of its own. Percy looked through the clothes, and found that he liked almost all of the things on offer. He saw a nice pair of jeans, a blue shirt with waves adorned on the front and some nice trainers. He glanced over at Thalia's rack. The clothes she wore in general were very dark colored, and the clothes on her stand reflected that. There were boots, armor, shorts and even a few dresses for her to choose from. She didn't even look up when the Stoll brothers yelled, "Look at this!" Percy turned around to see them holding up a bright red clown outfit: fully accessorized with deep pockets, rubber gloves and an extendable arm. Percy laughed out loud and started rifling through his own rack. He suddenly remembered that he had prom that night, so he focused on finding a new suit. Within seconds, he picked out a sleek black suit and a dark blue tie. There were even polished black shoes on the floor nearby, which he stooped to pick up and admire. Why couldn't shopping be this easy all the time?

Percy quickly glanced around the room. Thalia and the Stoll brothers were both deeply engrossed in their own clothes racks – perfect. He turned his back on them, and quickly put on the shirt and trousers. He donned the tie and wore the new shoes too. After he was done, he stepped into the middle of the room. "How do I look?" he announced, as he slipped on the jacket. Thalia and the Stoll brothers turned around and their eyes widened in shock. Percy grinned, "What? Am I too handsome for words?" he said, doing a smug turn. He looked down at his suit and realized that something was wrong.

His shoes had sprouted wings like Hermes' sandals and his trousers had transformed into the twin snake trunks of a Dracaena. He flung off his jacket and shirt, which were beginning to smoke, and ripped off his tie, which had become a squirming eel. His shoes made things considerably more difficult for him a few seconds later, when they lifted him up in the air. He flew uncontrollably into a clothes rack, and ducked as a Spartan suit of armor was hurled into his path. Everywhere, armored suits began taking up positions around the room like the statues in the Battle of Manhattan. Thalia and the Stoll brothers dropped everything they were doing, and ran for the exit. Percy was trying to take his shoes off mid-flight while avoiding the suits of armor. He had slipped one shoe off, but was heading for the one place he didn't want to go - the makeup corner.

The large desk that held all the makeup, had transformed into a massive tank armed with lipstick, eye liner, perfume and mascara. He kicked off the last shoe, but couldn't do anything to avoid the makeup tank. He collided head on with it, and was covered from head to foot in a strong, chocolate scented perfume. Percy shook off the worst of the makeup and ran for the exit, weaving and ducking to avoid the vast number of lipsticks that harried him. When he finally made it past the black curtains, he turned around to see all the clothes and makeup return to their original positions as if nothing had ever happened. Too late for that now, thought Percy miserably.

He burst out onto the road with nothing but his Dracaenae styled trousers on. Thalia and the Stoll brothers were panting as they watched him emerge from the shop. Percy rounded on them, "You knew that was going to happen, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me you couldn't put any of the clothes on?" Thalia took one more look at him and couldn't hold it any longer. She burst into an enormous fit of giggles and the Stoll brothers doubled over in laughter too. Percy was too stunned to get angry with them. He looked at his reflection in the glass of the shop; his face looked like the result of an eager three-year-old girl, a bunch of crayons and a big piece of paper. He sat down on the sidewalk and covered his face with his hands, still reeking of chocolate perfume. How could this day get any worse?

A loud woof caught Percy's attention. Before he knew it, Mrs. O'Leary was all over him, licking his face. "Enough, enough!" Percy moaned. Mrs. O'Leary stopped licking his face and moved on to his legs, which still smelled of chocolate. Meanwhile, a boy around fifteen walked up from behind them with a big grin on his face. He wore black jeans and a red top that said 'I returned from Hades and all I got was this T-Shirt.' It was Nico DiAngelo. "Looks like somebody got caught in Aphrodite's closet!" Nico said with relish. "How did you know where I was?" Percy spluttered. "O, my father is quite the fashionista," Nico said, with a hint of admiration in his voice. "He regularly pops in to get his latest gear. Who do you think started that whole trend with metal chains and leather?" Nico continued. "Anyways, the dead are horrible gossips, and lots of them have memories of this place. It didn't take much for me to work out you'd be here."

Percy glared at Thalia and the Stoll brothers who were still holding their sides, doubled over in laughter. "I've got to get back to New York." Percy said dejectedly. "I guess I'll just have to borrow one of Paul's suits."
"Or maybe not," Nico said, with a sly look over his shoulder. Percy turned around and his jaw dropped. The suit that had caused him so much grief hung loosely on the entrance to the door, a small note attached to the breast pocket of the shirt. He walked over to it suspiciously and fished the note out.

It was written in Ancient Greek, and Percy could read it fluently:

Dear Percy,
Everybody on Mt. Olympus enjoyed that broadcast of Hephaestus TV. As payment for your services as lead actor, we present you with this suit as a token of appreciation.

Love the gods

p.s. Remember to return the suit, or you'll be sorry!

Percy didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He settled on a tired sigh and sat down again. Thalia and the Stoll brothers walked over and read the fallen note. A few seconds later, tears started streaming from their eyes as they fell about on the pavement cackling hysterically. Nico took Percy's arm and said, "Let's get you cleaned up, Chocolate Dragon Boy." He seemed nice enough about it, but Percy could see that he constantly had to restrain himself from bursting out laughing.

It seemed kind of odd, but there were no mortals nearby; it was as if the whole area was invisible to the general public. Percy was very grateful for that. He didn't want to think about the reaction an elderly woman would have at the sight of him with snake trunk trousers, no shirt, tie-dyed face and chocolate perfume. Niko led Percy to a nearby water fountain and Percy duly jumped in and cleansed himself. He managed to wipe off all the makeup on his face after an hour or so, but he couldn't do anything about the chocolate perfume; that might take months to fully wear off. When he was nearly clean, Niko walked over with the suit. Percy frowned and said, "How do I know this isn't another trick?" Niko shrugged and handed him the suit. "You don't exactly have a choice. Your clothes are stuck in the Wardrobe, and I'm guessing you don't want to go in there again…" Percy reluctantly put the suit on again, and this time, things felt different. The suit shimmered with polish and he glowed like a man reborn. He was ready to go to prom. He glanced down at his watch, 7:55 pm.

Uh-oh!

"Dude, prom is in five minutes and I'm on the other side of the country!" Percy shouted agitatedly. Thalia and the Stoll brothers walked over, still aching from laughing so much. They stopped and admired Percy for a bit, clearly rather envious. "See," Thalia said, "you owe us one." Travis nudged Connor, "We're going in again soon. I'd run around naked for five hours to get a suit like that!"
"Nah, I'd rather not smell of chocolate for the rest of my life," Connor replied.
They gave Percy a quick pat on the back and headed back down the road, probably planning their next mischievous raid or prank. Thalia looked Percy over one more time and said, "The hunters are expecting me. If I wasn't sworn off men for life, I'd say you're just about in my league. Of course, I have higher standards than Annabeth does…" She ducked as a large torrent of water flew towards her. "Catch you later!" she yelled with delight, as she ran off down the road, dodging another vicious stream of water. Percy suddenly forgot about her as his eyes drifted to his watch - 7:57. He looked around frantically and his eyes settled on Mrs. O'Leary. Of course, Shadow Travel! He leapt onto Mrs. O'Leary's back and said a quick thanks to Niko, who smiled mockingly and said, "It was worth coming all the way here, just to see you. Those Dracaenae pants…" He quickly darted off into shadow before Percy could hose him down too. O well, it's the end result that counts right? Percy thought to himself as he looked down at his perfect suit. "Let's go Mrs. O'Leary," he said, thinking hard about the location of the ball. Mrs. O'Leary ran straight into a building and Percy felt a strong squeezing sensation as he entered the realm of shadow.

They re-appeared in a quiet park, two blocks down from where he needed to go. Percy stumbled off Mrs. O'Leary's back and fell to the ground, dizzy. Geez… what a day… and the main event hasn't even started yet… Percy thought. He gave Mrs. O'Leary a bit of his forearm to lick, and promised her some big dog biscuits back at camp. She whimpered appreciatively, and then ran off into shadow once more. Percy lumbered towards the ball, this was it. He rounded the corner and was faced with a large crowd of boys and girls around his age, all chatting excitedly about the upcoming ball. A couple of girls turned their heads, eyeing Percy like a particularly delicious dish. He blushed and continued up the stairs, eyes only focused on one person. As he ascended the final steps of the stairs, he saw her.

She was wearing a silver dress and her trademark owl earrings. Her blond hair was curled tidily and she had a tiny pinch of makeup on, which only accentuated her beauty. She saw him approaching and gawped in wonder, but only for a split-second, as she ran over in her high heels and pushed him. "You're late!" she scowled, "I've been waiting here for ten minutes and Derek Bones asked me to dance three times already!" Percy flushed embarrassingly, "Uh… It's nice to see you too Annabeth." She grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him inside the room. It was lit by a bright chandelier, and Annabeth's grey eyes sparkled as she gave Percy her first smile. They sat down at one of the tables, as people came up and gave speeches about their memories of Goode High School. Percy had been there four years, and was proud that he had lasted that long. Across the room, Paul Blofis, Percy's step-father waved and smiled. Percy waved back, but his eyes kept returning to the girl sitting beside him. After all the speeches were over, it was time to dance. Annabeth got up and pulled Percy to his feet. Percy gagged and choked uncomfortably as his eyes met hers. "Are you going to say something, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth said, as her eyes flashed teasingly.

Why does she always make it difficult for me! Percy thought irritably. "Will you… er… dance with me…? Annabeth?" Percy managed to get out. Annabeth met his gaze for a full second then finally smiled. She let him guide her onto the dance floor, where they joined lots of other couples who were already dancing merrily. Percy held her waist and brought her closer to him. She paused for a moment, and whispered in his ear, "Why do you smell of chocolate?" He felt his face turn red. "I made a quick trip to Godiva today," he answered. "Long story," he added, in response to her confused expression. They danced uneasily for a few moments, before the music changed to a slower waltz. Annabeth looked up at Percy, and he looked down at her. Their lips met in a tender kiss midway, and Percy felt as if he were transformed into a chocolate fountain. He completely forgot about returning his suit, but that, is another story.

I had my own prom a few months ago, and I didn't even get a dance, yet alone a kiss! I spent the night with some friends drinking coke as we watched other people dance. I'm a good dancer, but I'm also a bit shy. It was quite fun though, and there's a certain magical feeling about it. Luckily, I was more organised than Percy and got a nice suit to wear two weeks before the night. I've heard loads of stories about people panicking last minute about what they're going to wear, so I sort of made this story based on that.
If you're willing, I'd love to hear some of your stories about prom night. If you haven't had a prom night yet, make sure you sort out what you're going to wear way in advance!

Also, it's a bit weird being a straight guy writing about stuff like this, I don't know any brand names or perfume labels so describing them was awkward at times. On the whole though, it was refreshingly fun. Anyways, like I said before, I won't be writing a sequel. However, I will probably write a few more oneshots as I continue my main story. Please do check it out, it's on my profile!

Thanks for reading, and remember to -

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