A/N: For the AU OTP Bootcamp at the Percy Jackson Forum. PercyRachel & Brothel au.
x.X.x
The first sign that he's screwed up is the pile of failed reports on his bedroom floor. Percy sidesteps over them, crumbles them into balls and tosses them one by one into the garbage can. They all land perfectly. He's had practice.
The apartment is loud with the sound of his obnoxious stepfather and stifling with his mother's fake smiles. Percy grabs his sweatshirt and pulls it on, slipping out the door.
He walks wherever his legs take him, his phone vibrating with pitying texts from people who might as well be strangers and it doesn't even surprise him. Nothing does, not since the day Annabeth dumped him for Luke and her dreams, and he got drunk and fell asleep in an alleyway.
The district he's walked into, lost in his thoughts, is obviously not one for a teenager but for adults. He hears the sound of men cheering at half-naked woman. A brothel then. How lovely.
What the hell not, Percy thinks. What do I have to lose?
He walks in and the man guarding the door give him an amused look. It's clear he doesn't belong but he's over the legal age and it's not like the man can stop him.
That's when he sees the ladies. Half-naked, so beautiful it's almost a sin. Something in him stirs.
"Want a private show?" One of them asks and he knows it wrong but his body is a lot faster then his mind and he blurts out, "yes."
"Follow me then," she says and raises her eyebrow. Percy follows, mouth dry.
x.X.x
"I'm Rachel," she says once they're inside a private room.
"I'm not sure I can afford you," Percy blurts out and she cracks up, laughing so hard she has to clutch at the walls to keep upright.
When her laughter finally dies down, she asks, "What are you even doing here?"
It's a good question. What is he doing here when he should be convincing his mom to dump Gabe or convincing his ex-girlfriend to take him back or literally anything else but staring at a girl who stares right back, raising an eyebrow.
"I have no idea," he says and it sounds pitiful to his own ears. She snorts.
"Look, you clearly can't afford any of this. I have no idea how you even got in, I'm going to get Trevor fired. But my shift is over and I still want to hear you sob story, so come along," she says and gestures him to follow her. Like a puppy or perhaps a blind man, he does.
x.X.x
"Anywhere you wanna go in particular?" she asks and he shrugs. There's nowhere for him.
Rachel takes his silence as an answer and hits the pedal. Her car is quiet but it's comforting. He can almost get used to it.
"How about you? What's the story?" Percy asks, tracing his hand over the leather seats. They're expensive, not the type of thing a stripper should be able to afford.
Rachel notices what he's does and smiles amusedly. "Wanted to piss off my dad. It's not bad, really- you should hear some of the crazy stories I have from it."
Percy half-smiles at that. At least she's content with her life and really, spite is just as much of an motivator as anything else. He says as much and she bursts into laughter again, so carefree and amused it makes him laugh too.
"Now, I want to hear yours," she says teasingly and he makes a face. She may be easy to talk to but he doesn't want to relive any of it.
"Later," he decides and she smirks. "For now, I want to do something and not think."
"Are you in the mood for an adventure?" She questions and doesn't wait for him to answer.
He'd say yes anyways.