Disclaimer: Rick Riordan is the king of trolls, I am merely his servant.
This chapter is dedicated to: ArtemisApollo97. Thank you so much for doing the 3x combo: review, favorite, follow! You made my day and I love talking to you. Keep being awesome as cheeseburgers.
Without a Trace: Chapter 1
Percy had surprisingly adjusted well to the life of a small town. While the closeness and the fact that there were no secrets in a town this small had scared Percy a bit in the beginning, he was now used to it. He had to admit he enjoyed the simpleness and daily routines that came along with it.
He knew that his comfortableness was mostly because of Hazel Levesque. Hazel had quickly become a very close friend to him; he definitely owed her a lot. He had met Hazel in the hospital where he stayed for over half a year, she was one of the nurses that had kept him company. It was no surprise they ended up being good friends; it was hard to not like Hazel.
It was she that encouraged him to check out the place that had recently vacated across the hall from her's. With some persuasion and promises, Hazel was able to convince the landlord of the apartment to let Percy get the space. Percy had thanked the man profusely. He had even told him he wouldn't regret it.
It was this that finalized the thought of finding a job. Percy knew he needed the money. This, however, proved to be a hard and admittedly weird search. He didn't know what he was good or bad at. He also didn't know what was his degree or if he even went to college. The endless questions and blank answers frustrated him to say the least.
One night he was unlocking his front door, exhausted and barely keeping his eyes open. All he wanted to do was go to bed, and never wake up. He couldn't imagine going through another long day, having to see the pity in people's eyes while swallowing his disappointment.
He heard a commotion behind him. He turned around and saw a tall man struggling to make it up the stairs. His arms were full of grocery bags and he was muttering curse words to the broken elevator. Percy rushed to help the man, stuffing his keys in his pockets.
"Thanks, man," the man sighed. He let Percy take a few of the bags in his arms.
"You know, sometimes it helps to carry a few bags one at a time," Percy stated as he followed the man.
The man blushed, surprising Percy. "Yeah, I'll have to remember that," he muttered.
The man stopped at a door right next to Percy's. He saw Percy curiously looking at it and then at the man. "I'm Frank, by the way. Frank Zhang."
He nodded. "I'm Percy. Normally, I would shake your hand, but-" Percy looked at the bags in his arms.
Frank slightly jumped. "Oh yeah, sorry about that."
Frank dropped the bags on the floor, and fished for his keys in his pockets. His face was the picture of concentration, his tongue poking out of his mouth and his eyes narrowed. He gave a small cheer as he took out his keys.
Percy followed Frank inside. He copied Frank and dropped the bags on the table. He looked around the place. The layout of the place was similar like his, a small kitchen connected to the living room. In the hall next to the kitchen, there was a bedroom to the left, and the bathroom to the right. The only difference was the decoration. While Percy's was vacant and cold, Frank's was full of warm bright colors and pictures. Framed Chinese sayings were scattered around the kitchen. The bookshelf in the living room had various antiques such as elegant elephants, old pottery, and a symbol of a phoenix.
"Hey, do you want some tea?" Frank asked. He was already making his way to the kitchen.
"Um, sure."
"I was wondering when I was going to meet you," Frank said.
He turned around just in time to see Percy's confused look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to creep you out. It's just that in a town this small, everything is old news and bam! Suddenly, you have a guy with no memories and no one knows anything about him. It's like an action movie or something," Frank chattered excitedly.
Percy leaned against a wall. "I guess?" he answered slowly, not knowing how to respond.
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sure it's terrible to not know anything about yourself." Frank's eyebrows pulled forward in concern.
Percy ran his hand through his hair. It was a habit that he had subconsciously picked up. He racked his brain, trying to desperately come up with something that could change the subject. He was starting to regret accepting Frank's offer.
"Do you fish?" Percy blurted out. He noticed a fishing rod lying around Frank's living room.
Frank chuckled.
"Well when you live in Alaska, it's kinda second instinct. Instead of teaching you how to walk, they teach you how to hold a fishing rod at an early age. It wasn't a big surprise I decided to work in a fish processing plant," he joked.
Frank brought the steaming pot of tea in the small table, and poured it into two slightly chipped tea cups. He gestured for Percy to take a seat.
He watched as Percy carefully took his cup and blew softly in it. "I reckon this is too fast and straightforward but I was wondering…"
Frank stared at his hands. "Look I don't mean to make you uncomfortable or anything, but it's no secret that you're looking for a job. There's an open space in the plant, and if you want it, it's yours."
Percy looked up suddenly. "W-What? Are you serious?" he stuttered.
"I'm very serious. We can get you settled in as soon as possible, let you learn the tricks and all."
Percy's heart felt like it was soaring. Finally, something good had appeared in his life. "You know this might be the best possible news - besides meeting Hazel - I've ever received in my life," he grinned.
"Hazel? You know Hazel?" Frank asked in a firm tone.
"Of course I do, she nursed me back to health," Percy chuckled.
"Nursed? So what? You guys are close friends or something?" Frank paled.
"Yeah, I guess you can say that. She was the one who suggested I get the place next door when I put my foot down at the suggestion of staying at her place," Percy said, amused.
It was clear the poor guy had a crush on Hazel, and damn it if Percy wasn't going to poke a little fun in it.
"So Hazel wanted you to stay with her, huh? Well isn't that nice of her," Frank huffed.
"Yeah, she sure is a sweetheart. Plus, it's no secret that she's pretty too."
"Okay, enough, stop it right there! What, you like Hazel or something?" Frank demanded.
Percy couldn't contain his laughter anymore. "Dude you got it bad for her," he laughed.
"What? No!" Frank panicked.
"Oh come on! I was just messing around about Hazel and you act like I'm about to deflower her or something," Percy said casually as he took a sip of his now cold tea.
"Oh so you don't think Hazel is pretty enough for you, is that it? Well I'll have you know mister-" Frank's face had turned bright red with indignation.
Percy leaned back in his seat, his eyes wide. He ignored what Frank was saying; at this point, the guy was just speaking gibberish. He started to wonder if Hazel knew about how Frank felt. He asked Frank this.
"What are you on about? I don't have a crush on her," Frank choked out.
Percy rolled his eyes.
That night continued with Percy trying to get Frank to admit that he wanted to get hot and dirty with her. Of course, Frank kept denying it, saying Percy was barking mad.
It was late when Percy finally left. He had forgotten about being tired, because quite frankly, that was the most fun he had in a while. Percy thanked God that he had met Frank. While Frank was a bit old fashioned - for god's sake the guy blushed and stuttered over the word sex - Percy was pretty sure that Frank would be a great friend.
He was also determined to repay Frank's and Hazel's help by hooking them up. After all, all you needed was love, right?
A/N: I just want to say that I'm not going to write about Percy playing matchmaker. In the next chapter, you'll see that Frank and Hazel are already together.
