Paige and Max
Not only have we seen Paige as nothing but a Percy look-alike, but she's also proven herself kind of bad-ass. However, her friend Max introduces a whole new side of her.
"Gods, dad, it's just a school dance!"
Paige was a freshman in high school, and as a way to get to know your peers, the school held a "First Day of School" dance. Pretty lame, Paige thought, but Max wanted her to tag along with him.
Percy, however, did not want her going out of the house to, of all things, attend a school dance with boys. "I thought school dances weren't your thing, anyway?" he asked.
"They're not, really. I'm just there for Max."
"There for Max huh?" Annabeth teased.
"Mom, don't do that."
"Do what?" Percy asked clueless. Annabeth and Paige laughed.
"Seaweed Brain," Annabeth addressed Percy. "It's just a dance, Perce. Charlie and Natasha are going to be there, too. I give her permission." Before Percy was able to object, the door bell rang, Paige kissed her parents goodbye, and opened the door for Max. Max was only able to say, "Evening, Mr. and Mrs.—״ before being rushed out the door by Paige.
Max has been Paige's best friend ever since she agreed that the Avengers were better than the Justice League in first grade. Max is a child of Apollo. His blond hair and blue eyes account for that. He has always been competitive, and so is Paige, which is what makes them great friends. Tonight, though, Max wanted a chance to get to know people at his new school, but he knew he couldn't survive without his best friend.
Paige was dressed casually in jeans, boots, and a leather jacket over a red and purple plaid button down shirt. Her hair was tied up, and Riptide was, of course, in her pocket. Max was dressed in a pair blue jeans, a white shirt and a black sweater over it. His worn black high tops accompanied his outfit. His hair was spiked in gel.
"Did something new with your hair, did you?" Paige asked.
"Yeah, well, we're in high school now. Figured I'd try something new. Maybe the girls will like it." Paige didn't know why hearing him say that upset her, but she let it go.
"I just hope this night goes by quick," Paige continued. "I'm thinking about hitting the arena afterwards. Wanna tag along?"
"What is it with you and the arena? If you're not at home or at school, you're there!"
"So you're coming?"
"Yup."
They continued to walk toward the school. Lots of kids were entering from the front of the building. A sign above the front doors read, "Welcome, Freshman!" That's just great, Paige thought. Please, announce, to everyone that we're the lowest of the low on the high school food chain. That'll make life easier.
"This is ridiculous, Max. Can't we just skip this?" Paige pleaded.
"C'mon, Mini-Percy, it'll be fun!" Max occasionally called her 'Mini-Percy' because she resembles her father so much.
"Alright, but I won't hesitate to pull Riptide out on one of these idiots." Max laughed, and they went into the school.
A perky brunette at the front door greeted them. She wore pointed glasses, (were those still in style?) and a flowery dress. "Have fun tonight, kids! But please, follow school rules!" Paige and Max nodded, and entered the school gym.
I guess they went all out for this dance, because Paige heard lots of upperclassman give the streamers and balloons praise. Lots of kids were dancing already. Paige just wanted to sit on the bleachers and try not to be noticed. Max noticed her distaste.
"C'mon, Paige. Lighten up! Maybe you'll meet a new friend." He said, dancing horridly next to her.
"Are you implying that you're tired of being friends with me?" she asked, jokingly.
"I'd never get tired of you, Mini-Percy." He kissed her on the cheek, something that Max has done before, but tonight it really warmed up her cheek.
"Alright, Max a Million. But please stop dancing like that."
Max laughed and pulled her on to the dance floor. Usually, Paige didn't like to be around so many people, but with Max she didn't care. She danced crazily like no one was watching. And she was actually having fun.
After about five minutes of dancing, they decided to get some food and lemonade and maybe meet other freshman. Charlie and Natasha came over to them later, holding hands.
"Hey Paige, hey Max," Natasha said, smiling.
"Hi, Nat," Paige and Max said simultaneously. Max and Paige hugged her.
"How come you guys are late?" Paige asked. "The dance started, like ten minutes ago."
"Boarder patrol," Charlie said. "It was pretty quiet, though, so Aunt Reyna said we can head over to the dance and she assigned some other campers to keep watch." Charlie and Natasha looked great together. Natasha had her hair down and it framed her face nicely. She wore a casual striped white and blue dress with black Converse. Charlie wore jeans and a long-sleeved gray flannel. He wore his trident ring on his right hand. Paige wished she looked like Natasha. She was bad-ass but yet she knew how to look good. Paige didn't know how to do that—look good, that is.
"Have you met any other freshman yet?" Natasha asked.
"Not yet," said Max. "But, hey, at least I already know some upper classman. One being captain of the War Games." Max nudged Charlie with his elbow and Charlie playfully pushed him away.
"Well, have fun you guys. Nat and I are going dance!"
"Oh, no, Charlie, I'm not—Ah!" Charlie pulled her to the floor. Paige wished she had a relationship like her brother's. The best thing about Charlie and Natasha was that they were best friends before they started dating. Max, she thought, but then dismissed the idea because Max was her friend. And she was pretty sure Max never thought about her that way.
"Where are all the chicks?" Max wondered. Paige felt a mild heart-brokeness.
"Um, we prefer to be called, ladies," Paige said. "And is that what's all on your boy-mind tonight—girls?"
"Well, that and food." They laughed. Max and she walked the perimeter of the gym floor. Charlie and Natasha came up to them, laughing.
"Alright," Charlie said. "Time for me to dance with my sister." He held out his hand for Paige, who took it happily. Charlie and Paige danced together to a rock song, air guitar-ing and air drumming, singing together. Max and Natasha joined them and sang off key alongside them.
Then the fun was ruined when a slow song came on. The four of them calmed down and Charlie asked Natasha to dance. She took his hand and Paige and Max went off to the side. Usually, the only person Paige felt comfortable around was Max, but standing here listening to this slow song made everything . . . awkward.
"So," Max said. Paige looked over, not directly looking him in the eye.
"So," said Paige in desperate need of a response, or something to talk about.
Max laughed. "Just dance with me, Mini-Percy." he pulled her to the dance floor, just as he did before, but this time, it was different. Instead of dancing wildly and embarrassingly, Max held Paige's hand and put his other hand around her waist. Paige put her hand on his shoulder. Max smiled, holding a distant look.
"What?" Paige asked.
"Nothing," Max said.
"C'mon, Maximus, tell me."
Max sighed with humor. "Do you remember in third grade, when Missy Blueko kissed me?"
"Oh gods," Paige said. "And I hit the poor girl with water?"
"Yeah!" Max agreed. "That was probably the best thing I have ever witnessed."
Paige smiled. "Yeah, well. People can't just go around kissing my best friend. That's just plain law." Paige laughed, but Max looked at her more seriously. Paige's smile went away.
"You wanna know something?" Max asked.
"Alright."
"You're the coolest person I know." Max hugged her, and he continued to hug her until the end of the song. Paige didn't notice. She was lost in the trance that is Max Lawrence. It wasn't until Charlie came over and said, "Um, am I interrupting something?" that broke the two apart. Max still held Paige's hand.
"I was just admiring the awesomeness that is your sister," Max said, nonchalantly. Paige's head, however, was spinning. Max had just slow danced with her, hugged her for what seemed like minutes (which doesn't seem like much, but count out five minutes of hugging,) and he just played it off like they were just friends. She didn't know why, but Paige started to feel angry.
She looked at Charlie. "I think I'm gonna hit the arena now, Char." I'll meet you back at home." She slipped her hand out of Max's and ran toward the door.
"Wait!" Max called, but she kept on running. It had already gotten dark outside, and she didn't want to see Max right now, because she was so confused about her feelings. She saw Max running after her. She ran, faster. It was almost scary, running from Max as if he was some sort of a monster, which he wasn't. She finally ran toward Camp Jupiter instead of going to the arena, hoping she would lose Max through the streets.
Once Paige ran past Terminus, god of boundaries, she ran into her Uncle Nico. She literally ran into him.
"Oh, Nico. Sorry for running into you. I didn't know you were visiting." Paige loved her Uncle Nico, who was so cool he let her and Charlie call him by his first name. Lots of the campers felt an uneasy vibe from him, I guess because he is the son of Hades, but Paige didn't care about that stuff. She loved her uncle, and she loved his boyfriend, Will Solace, who was also a friend of her dad's. Nico looked a lot different than he did in her dad's pictures. He was tall, maybe six foot, with scruff on his face for a beard, similar hair to her father's, and intense dark eyes. His skull ring and sword still accompanied him to this day.
"Hey Paige. Long time, no see." He hugged her, which felt strange but familiarly warm. Nico was probably her favorite of uncles. "I just stopped in for a surprise visit. Where's the fire?" It took a moment for Paige to realize he was addressing her running into him.
"Oh, um, nothing. It's stupid, anyway." Paige looked up at her uncle hoping he would just let it go. He gave her a sideways glance. Of course not.
"Well, trust me, I have gotten myself in into many 'stupid' situations. Need some help?" Paige loved Nico for trying, but she really didn't want anyone's help. She just wanted to scream and thrust her sword into someone's neck. Then, she wanted to go back to Max and yell at him for being so dense. Then she wanted to kiss Max because she was pretty sure she loved him. Then she wanted to scream again. Nico sensed her frustration.
"Tell ya what, I'll trade stories," he said.
Paige looked confused. "What?"
"I'll tell you my worst 'stupid situation,' and you can tell me yours, and I'll hopefully try to help." Nico smiled, which people said was rare, but not to her. They smiled together a lot.
"Alright, so what's your story?" Nico held Paige's hand as they walked into Camp Jupiter, which Paige usually minded, but she made an exception for Nico.
"Well, as you surely know, I am not from this time. I lived in around the 30's."
Paige nodded. "Yeah, Aunt Hazel told me something like that. She was brought back too, right?"
"Right. Anyway, as you can already imagine, I felt left out form the normal people. And, of course to add on to the abnormality, I found out I was a demigod. A son of Hades, of all people." Paige was sure some these past feelings were going to consume Nico, so she gripped his hand tighter, but he remained calm. His tone of voice didn't stir from that of a reassuring uncle.
"That must have been hard," Paige said to break the silence.
Nico shook his head. "Yeah, no kidding." He smiled down at Paige. "Anyway, it wasn't until I met your father that I thought I had found a true hero. I thought this guy is legendary. He is so cool."
"Seriously, you thought my dad was cool?"
Nico laughed. "Hard to believe, right?" Then his face turned serious again. "That's also when I found out I was even more of an outsider than I thought." He held a distant look.
Paige turned serious, as well. "You had a crush on my dad."
Nico stopped walking and let go of Paige's hand. "You have no idea what I felt, Percy," he said, but quickly realized he was talking to Paige, not Percy.
"I'm sorry, uncle. We don't have to talk about this anymore." Paige didn't know if it was possible, but she did not want to see Nico cry.
He laughed it off. "No, that's okay, Paige. You just look so much like Percy."
Yeah, I get that a lot, Paige thought. She gripped Nico's hand again. "Please, continue."
"So, you can just imagine how alone and confused I felt. After my sister died, I blamed Percy for it, but I know now there is nothing he could have done. Your Aunt Hazel helped me so much. And so did your Aunt Reyna and Uncle Will." Nico's smile returned. "That's one good thing your father taught me, Paige: To not lose hope. Unfortunately I learned that a little late, but I'm surprisingly happy now, for a son of Hades." He hugged Paige.
"Well now my problem just seems too stupid to talk about," Paige said into Nico's shirt. The two laughed, and just as the two broke apart, Max ran up from behind them up.
Max panted. "If you'll excuse me, Uncle Nico, I have to talk to my friend." Max has been Paige's friend for so long he treats her family like his own. However, even Nico was surprised by his confidence, because he is usually uncomfortable around Nico. No "Hello sir's" or "How are you's." Just I have to talk to my friend.
Nico smiled. "Well don't let me stop you. I'll meet you later Paige." He walked back toward New Rome. Max stood there, sweaty, and with a sad look in his eyes.
"What?" Paige demanded. "Are you gonna hug me again and tell Charlie how such a good 'friend' I am? Do you wanna get down on one knee, tell me I'm an awesome person, and then get back up? Tell me what to do Max! Because I'm tired of playing games." Paige felt good for letting that out. She liked Max, (there, she admit it) and she thought for maybe one second he liked her, too, but she was wrong.
Max walked closer to her. "I don't want you to do anything. I just forgot something." he continued to walk toward her until they could feel each other's breath.
"What did you forget?" Paige asked.
Max smiled. "This." He kissed her, and Paige's heart nearly beat out of her chest. Max wrapped his hands around her waist and picked her up, and Paige slipped her hands behind Max's neck. They kissed for what felt like forever, until Charlie again shows up and said, "Dude, you are not making out with my sister, are you?"
Max laughed. "Now do you get why I didn't say anything in front of Charlie?"
And the rest is history.
