Gah! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a week! I've been busy with waking up at FREAKING 6 IN THE MORNING, going to bed at FREAKING 10 AT NIGHT, due to homework, and just going to school overall. I'll be updating from no on only on the weekends. And I can't promise a chapter next weekend, as we have family coming in town. Thank you for being patient. If you have any ideas for the letter 'D'or another letter, please, please, PLEASE tell me! Thanks to all of you who reviewed;
PJ HOA HP FAN
ExtremeFanBoy
booklover484
..LIFE.
Cait Jackson-Mellark-Blakelee
BobJacksonSSJ (good guesses!)
And FutureNovelist887, of course! Thank you all SOOO MUCH! Anyways, enjoy!
C: Christmas...Third Person POV
***One Week Later***
Pearly white snowflakes fluttered down in the chilly air, coating the already frosted ground in a blanket of milky bliss. The smooth grey sky blocked the sun and only deepened the below thirty atmosphere. Annabeth, Percy, Thalia, Rachel, Nico, Tyson, Travis, Katie and Posey and C.J (Travis and Katie's two year old twins) sat outside on Percy and Annabeth's porch.
"Brrrr. It's cold!" exclaimed Rachel, wrapping her red fleece sweater tighter around her slender shoulders. "But it's so pretty," sighed Katie, her hazel eyes carefully watching as Posey and C.J pranced in the snow.
Thalia sharpened the end of her acute bow, the tips of her ebony hair frozen into miniature daggers. "Are we going to draw names of what?" she demanded.
Percy nodded, holding up the paper bag filled with slivers of paper. "Who wants to go first?" Tyson's huge, gnarly hand shot into the air. "I will, brother!" he volunteered. Tyson's greasy brown hair clung to his wide forehead, just brushing his single calf brown eye. His massive form was sqeezed into a navy blue coat, pink scarf and black snowpants.
"Alright." Percy held out the bag. Tyson reached inside, the bag almost ripping from the impact. He pulled out a piece triumphantly. "It says 'K-'"
"SHHHH!" shouted everybody. Tyson blushed and crumpled the paper. "Next?"
In no time, everyone had chosen. Nico looked down unhappily at the scrawled writing in his sweaty hand. Thalia. Thalia? Thalia? Of all the people to pick, he had chosed Thalia. Honestly. What did Thalia want? He considered asking Annabeth. She knew right? Maybe Thalia wanted jewelry. He glanced over at her. Yeah, she definitley wanted jewelry.
Thalia chewed the corner of her lip. Tyson. She shrugged. What the heck? Tyson'd be content with half a Christmas cookie. No effort or money spent there. But on the other hand...Tyson was kind and innocent and she didn't want to crush his tender spirit by decieving him.
Tyson cocked his head. K...Kat...Kitty cat? No...K-A-T...I-E...Kuh Aaa Tuh Ee? Katie. Katie! He beamed at his work. Katie Stoll! Wasn't she the daughter of Demeter, the pretty flower goddess? Yes! He knew then what the perfect gift for her would be.
Katie's eyes flicked up to steal a peek at her husband. Travis. This was too easy. She had drawn his name. Already, she had the present picked out. For days, she'd been keeping a prank book she had bought at a garage sale. He'd just love that.
Travis felt like cursing. Rachel? Rachel Dare? Ugh...Zeus, no! Out of the people here, she was the one he dreaded picking the most. A couple years back, just when he'd realized he had feelings for the woman that soon became his wife, he'd taken notice of Rachel and they had started a simple relationship. Then, out of the blue, Travis had made her mad. She dumped him roughly and spread the news to every girl at Camp. Can somebody say "no dates for a year?". He hadn't spoken to Rachel since. This was going to be so much fun.
Rachel glowered down at her paper. Nico. Blech. The son of Hades and a fan of death, something she would never experience. She loathed him. Wherever he went, he seemed to depressen the mood. Her mood. What would he want? A dead animal? A t-shirt from Hot Topic? An Evanescence CD?
Annabeth grinned so wide, she was afraid her teeth would freeze like that. Percy. Perfect!
Percy licked his chapped lips. Annabeth. He almost felt like whooping.
The blinking rainbow bulbs hung lazily from the outstretched green branches. The whole room emanated warmth and happiness. Underneath the tree were presents, each acutely wrapped in shining papers.
"Alright, alright! Calm down!" shouted Percy, standing up from the caramel carpeting and glancing around the room. He wore a crimson sweater and jeans. "Who wants to go first.
Nico raised his hand, brushing cookie crumbs off his blue t-shirt. "I will. Where's the present?"
Annabeth dug through the packages and finally tossed him a flat square covered with snowflakes drawn on in sharpie. "Ooh, fancy," said Nico sarcastically. Impatiently, he peeled off the lid and looked inside.
Rachel chewed her lip and dug her nails into her palm. Nico held up a size SMALL ebony t-shirt, the words: EVANESCENE printed in white along the top. His expression was blank. Then, almost mutely, he muttered, "Wow. Cool. Thanks to my secret Santa."
Percy smirked. "Well. Are you going to guess?"
Nico's deep chocolate eyes scanned the room. "Um...Red. It was you wasn't it? Aha! You're blushing!"
Rachel covered her face with her hands. "Yes, okay? It was me! I didn't know what you like," she said desperately.
Nico held up the tee in disgust. "That's obvious. You know I'm not goth, right?" "Yeah, I know."
"Rachel. You're up!" announced Annabeth, throwing a red and silver striped box to her. Rachel tore at the corner, cautiously picking away at the wrappings until it revealed a new paint set. On the cover, a slaphappy brunette waved a paintbrush in the air, a rainbow following from the tip. "Oh, gods, this is amazing!"
Travis picked at a loose thread in his furry brown boots. "I knew it," he murmured to himself. "Thanks, Travis," laughed Rachel, twirling a fiercy curl around her finger.
"Daddy's turn!" cried C.J. Travis ruffled his son's shaggy brown hair. "Thanks, lil' Connor." Annabeth handed him a plain white gift.
Not wasting any time, Travis threw the torn paper over his shoulder, uncovering a paperback joke book. "Haha, Katie," he snickered. "I was wondering when you were going to give this to me."
Katie frowned. "You saw it? But it was in my 'undergarments' drawer." "Excactly," snorted Travis, high-fiving Nico and Percy. Katie crossed her arms, pressing Posey closer to her chest. "Hmph."
"Kate- babe. I was just kidding!" he exclaimed, attempting to peck her cheek. "I think not," she replied crossly, leaning back. Annabeth raised her eyebrows and held up a tall, wide box.
"Katie...?" she asked uncertainly. Katie smiled. "Hand it over." Whipping her braided chestnut hair over her shoulder, she first peeled the tape off and crumpled the paper.
Inside, tenderly wrapped, was a flourishing plant. It resembled a pointsetta, with blue spiked leaves. "Oh, my gods!" she screeched. "This is beautiful! Let me guess- rare undersea Lejuntija flower? Wow! I love it! It's so beautiful...Thank you, Tsyon!"
Tyson's pale cheeks flooded with crimson. "Welcome," he said bashfully. "My turn!"
His present a simple silver package, with a white ribbon. "Pretty!" he exclaimed, before snatching off the wrappings and revealing a miniature carousel. The base shone rainbow in the reflection from the fire. His huge fingers gingerly carressed the glass ponies, sending a calming tune spiraling into the room.
"Soooo pretty!" he sighed dreamily. "Did brother do this?" Percy shook his head. "Nope." "Did Beth do it?" Annabeth laughed. "Think again."
"Hunter girl!" cried Tyson. Thalia nodded, shrugging. "Yeah. It was nothing..." "Hug!" he demanded, holding out his arms. "Psht. In your dreams, cyclops," she replied.
"Thalia!" Annabeth tossed her a black present. It was a tiny box, with a piece of string around it. She unclasped the top and stared in disgust inside. "What the heck is this?" she shouted, pinching a squishy, light up, 'Red Flash' superhero ring. "Nico!"
Nico's head snapped up. "Why do you think it was me?" "Stupid, it says 'NICO' on the back of this!" Thalia snarled. "We're supposed to get brand-new, quality gifts. Not some junk we found under our beds, next to the moldy doughnut."
"It is quality!" he protested. "And for your information, it was moldy pizza. If you don't like it, I'll be glad to take it back." Thalia chucked the ring at him and he sighed.
"I guess, since Nico's already gone, it's Percy's turn, even though we all know who got him the gift," Annabeth announced. "Here you are, sweetie." Percy's present was flat on the top and circular all around. "A fish!" he yelled. Inside, a plump goldfish swam happily inside of a glass bowl, purple rocks at the bottom.
"Annabeth, this is amazing. Thank you so much! I'll name him Rob." Annabeth laughed behind her hand, eyeing the last present underneath the tree.
After a minute of tearing the paper off, a simple box of LEGOs was held in her hand. Grey, owl ingraved LEGOs. She beamed and kissed Percy on the cheek.
"Best Christmas ever," he mumbled, sliding his hand into Annabeth's. And as he looked around at his laughing friends, he knew it was true.
I seriously threw all their names into a hat and drew randomly. I also forgot to include Grover and Juniper! I'm sorry! Haha! I hope you liked it! Please remember to submit ideas! Oh! And my profile picture is the cover for 'The Next Generation'! The blonde is Rosie and the brunette is Carter :{)
