WHAT A DINNER. :D
What an unpredictable night. Not in a bad way, but still. At first, I doubted they would be that talkative, however those two can surprise you.
I was setting up dinner for my two guests, contemplating which tablecloth to use and whether to make an appetizer or not. Ugh, with all the work I'm doing, I deserve a medal, I thought when the phone rang. It was my special guest for Johnny.
"Hey Leah. Sorry, but I'm going to be late." he said.
"Oh, it's totally fine. I'm just happy you can make it." I replied, cheerful as always. He hung up the phone and I continued with my preparations.
An hour and half later, my door bell rang.
"Uh, hello," a timid voice called, "Anyone home?"
"Come in!" I shouted from the kitchen. It was Johnny.
"Hi Leah," he said. "Who's the special guest you were telling me about?"
"Oh, I think you two will get along just fine. Just wait, he's going to be a little late."
"Okay," Johnny replied, a bit nervous, "I'll go sit down at the table." Sodapop was right. Johnny was still nervous. Even when I explained how nice of a person the guest was. He was not anything like a soc, he wouldn't jump Johnny or even pull a knife out of his pocket. Maybe he didn't believe me.
An hour later, the door bell rang again.
"Come on in," I called, knowing who it was. "I just got the chicken done."
My guest walked in. "Smells nice." he smiled.
"Hope it tastes as good as it smells." I rolled my eyes.
"Hey Johnny!" I called. "It's our guest! Meet, the one and only, Percy Jackson!"
Johnny was eyeing the utensils when we walked in. He jumped a little at my loud voice and looked up. I don't know what he thought he was seeing. Another soc come to finish the job? A cop? A mad man? I was clueless. But, Percy smiled warmly and put out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Johnny, Percy Jackson here."
After looking at his hand for a few seconds, he lifted his own and shook it.
"Johnny. Nice to meet you, Percy."
"Alright, enough with the introductions. I'm hungry. Let's eat." I said, thinking this was off to a good start. Percy sat down and I went to the kitchen to fetch the appetizers. I took longer than I needed to, hoping they were still talking, trying to get to know each other. I walked back into the middle of their conversation. They didn't notice me coming in.
"Wow, Percy. You really that strong?" Johnny exclaimed.
"Hard to believe, I guess. I don't look very strong. But I got some tricks up my sleeve." Percy said, with a sneaky smile.
"I'd like to see you take on some socs." Johnny smirked.
"What the? Socs? Who are they?"
"Some gang that lives on the other side of our town. Likes to come on to our territory and beat up us greasers, which are my gang," and then, surprisingly, he confessed, "I'm the one who got beat pretty bad."
There was a silence in the room. I knew of his beat up. It was terrible. Blood. Bruises. Cuts. Wounds. So much to sweet little Johnny.
"Shoot, really?" was all Percy could say.
I decided now was a good time to sit down.
"Alright, here are the appetizers. Help yourself to anything on the table or in the kitchen. So, what are we talking about?" They both jumped a bit and looked at me.
"Percy was telling me about this time when he had a pretty rough fight once. And Percy practically brought him down." Johnny said, in awe.
"Oh, uh, really?" I acted surprised because I knew the story. Percy wasn't telling Johnny everything. Percy Jackson was a demigod. Half human, half god. His mother was mortal, a really nice lady named Sally Jackson. But his father was Poseidon. Yes, Poseidon, god of the seas, earthquakes, horses, etc. Percy had many in humane abilities; breathing under water, able to withstand pressure in water, control water, and other water related abilities. Because of him being a demigod, his life is very dangerous, monsters chase him and try to eat him, he's not on the best side with some gods and his life is in constant danger. The socs might be bad, but those monsters . . . It's shuddering to think about.
The story Percy was telling Johnny was when the Minotaur, again, yes, THE Minotaur, from the labyrinth, was chasing after Percy while he was trying to get to Camp Half-Blood, a camp for demigod kids. Percy ended up killing the Minotaur with his own horn. He was only twelve and scared out of his mind. I think he deserves some recognition of his strength.
"Well," Percy admitted, "It was NOT easy. He was big and I was terrified. But when you have a drive and the courage, you can do a lot." he smiled.
"You're really brave."
"Well, I'm not the bravest person."
"Sounds like it to me."
"Aha, well you're pretty brave, too."
Johnny's expression turned from awe to shock. "Me?! C'mon, I got beat up and bawled like a little baby."
"That's the thing. You didn't try to hide your feelings. You react on emotion. No matter what they are. Only the bravest people shed the bravest tears. Cheesy, but true."
Johnny pondered this for a few seconds. "I never thought about it like that."
"You know what I also think? I noticed when I came in and wanted to shake your hand, you were very . . . careful. As if you weren't going to trust me. But you warmed to me and you told me about your beat up, so I understand why. You figured out quick that there are some people you should trust and some you should not. You're really nice and have a good judge of character."
"Thanks a lot. I mean it. I don't get compliments much."
"You deserve them. What about your parents?"
Ouch, sore subject for Johnny. His parents never cared for him. His father beats him and his mother neglects him.
"Not the greatest relationship with them?" Percy guessed.
"Uh, how'd you guess?" Johnny replied in disbelief.
"I know how you feel. I hated my first step dad. I found out he hit my mom and I was so angry. But I found confinement in my friends. Like you do with your gang. Which are called?"
"The greasers. That's what we're known for. We stick by each other, fight side by side and are like a family. Our escape." Johnny smiled blissfully. "I'm really glad to have them or I would have run away a long time ago. Everyone's so different. Mind names, but Ponyboy is the smart one, Sodapop's the happy go lucky one, Steve's the sort of serious one, Darry is the one who keeps us in line, Two Bit is the joker, Dally is the one with experience and stuff and then there's me."
"I'm glad you're mostly happy. A few good friends are all you need."
"You're a great guy, Percy," Johnny turned to me. "Thanks Leah, for introducing me to him."
"Yeah, thanks Leah." Percy said.
"Aww, you're welcome you two. But, uh, you haven't touched your food."
"Oh, sorry!" they both exclaimed in unison.
I smiled. "You guys are so sweet. Just finish up and eat and I'll see if we can get a movie."
"Sounds great." Percy said.
"Mhmm. Now, let's dig in!" Johnny said, his mouth almost full already.
Well, we watched 21 Jump Street after I got everything cleaned, with both of their help, the sweethearts. After, Johnny had to get to Soda's place and Percy had to meet Annabeth, his girlfriend.
"It was cool to meet you, Johnny." Percy said.
"You, too, Percy." Johnny said.
"Thanks for coming!" I said, hugged both of them and said good bye.