Chapter 7
"You should think about the consequence
Of your magnetic field being a little too strong"
- Gorgeous, Taylor Swift
Percy gets interrupted. Again.
"Come on, Thalia," he complains. "That was a good one!"
"Sorry, sorry," Thalia says. "These articles– sorry, they just crack me up."
"Don't read them if they're going to make you laugh," Percy says. "You keep interrupting me."
"They're about you, too."
"Well, I'm about to karate chop you into pieces if you interrupt me again," he says, sniffing a little because if Thalia's going to insist on being a little brat he's going to very well treat her like one. "We need to get this chorus down, we're performing it live in, like. Four hours."
"Exactly," Nico says, coming into the room with mugs of tea. "Sit down. Breathe. Find your inner peace. Have some tea."
Percy glares half-heartedly at Thalia and then takes his guitar off. They've been practicing their set over the morning, because their last performance in Nevada had been shoddy at best, but it seems Percy is the only one actually doing anything. Thalia had abandoned her bass long ago and is now sitting on an amp scrolling through Twitter (and news articles about him, apparently) and Nico had been god-knows-where until he came in with mugs of tea and a plate of biscuits.
"Guys, we need to rehearse," Percy whines a little.
"Take a break," Thalia says. "We've been going at this for hours."
"I've been going at this for hours, you mean. You're just on your phone."
"Yes, but can you help it?" Thalia leans forward and picks up her tea mug, taking a sip of it. She lifts her chin to indicate Percy should come over, and grudgingly Percy does because admittedly he's a little curious. "I mean, look at these headlines."
Percy reads one aloud. "Is YouTuber codenamewisegirl in a polyamorous relationship with Percy Jackson and Thalia Grace of The Demigods?"
Nico chokes on his tea.
"You're welcome, in any case," Thalia says breezily. "If I hadn't turned up there would have been way more articles about how the two of you were on a date."
Percy frowns a little. "But– if you hadn't turned up we would have been on a date."
She shrugs and goes back onto Twitter. Percy sees she's on the tag percyjackson and secretly he smiles a little. She's a brat but she has his best intentions in heart. Only last year someone had tried to write an article slandering him and she had tweeted it out with just an emoji and by the next day the writer had been fired. "Well," she says. "It hardly matters now. Besides, if it was you would have had to check with Dionysus first."
Nico pauses. "Wait, what?"
"He's our manager."
"That doesn't mean he manages our relationships."
"Actually, it does," Thalia says. "Unlike you idiots I read the small print. He has almost complete ownership over us. Everything we do has to be controlled and run though him first. That's why he got so peeved over the whole 'stealing-an-album' scam. If we want to perform a publicity stunt he has to be in charge."
"But it wasn't a publicity stunt," Nico says. "It was just Percy being dumb."
"Hey!"
"Trust me, he doesn't care about that," Thalia tells them. "As long as he makes money off it it's all he cares about. If it had been a controlled publicity thing he would have shaken it up so we would have made a crap-ton of cash off it."
Percy frowns. "I just thought he was mad that we got arrested."
"I mean, partly. He's only mad because generally getting arrested isn't good for one's reputation. Honestly, do you two ever read?"
Slightly insulted, Percy says, "Of course we do. Just not the small print. Who reads the small print?"
"Well, me, when we're signing off our lives to a complete stranger with an alcohol problem," Thalia says. "Gosh, you're both lucky you have me. You probably couldn't find your way out of a one-way street by yourselves."
She doesn't mean it. Some of the darkest, most hauntingly beautiful lyrics were written by Percy and Nico. They all have their strengths. Percy and Nico's just don't lie in reading the small print.
(Again, who the hell reads the small print?)
"So technically, I did do you a favour," Thalia says to Percy. "If Mr D knew you were having an unsolicited relationship with someone he would have braided your intestines."
"But that's stupid," Percy says. "He can't control my relationships."
"He kind of can."
"Relax," Nico assures him. "It's not as if Annabeth actually likes you back."
And Thalia cries.
"That's not nice," Percy says, as Thalia wheezes with laughter in the background. "And I'd actually beg to differ."
"You do that," Nico says. "Trust me, mate, the friend zone is a nasty place to be in."
"I'm not in the friend-zone! I asked her on a date and she said yes."
"And then she offered for Thalia to come along as well, that's quite a friend-zoney thing to do."
Percy scowls a little because he has nothing else to do. After pathetically floundering for a few moments, he picks his guitar back up and crossly strums a B flat. "Yeah, well," he says viciously, "your feet smell."
Nico smirks and sips his tea.
"Come on," Percy grumbles. "We need to rehearse."
Thalia is still laughing so hard that she can't even pick up her bass.
They're back on tour and Percy is living.
They'd taken around a month off just to sleep (and work on more songs in the studio, too, something Mr D had conveniently forgotten to mention until he had woken them at eight am on the first crash day with a phone call) but now they're back to performing almost every night and Percy is so excited.
Tour has always been a funny thing. Percy loves it, loves the idea of travelling and seeing new places and meeting so many fans and performing his songs to a crowd who screams them back to him, but also it can be so exhausting. He's working his fingers until they bleed every day on the same guitar to the point where at the end of the European leg of their tour his old electric guitar's fretboard had literally been crusted with blood. Which is gross, but you get it.
In any case, he's excited. Up until last night, their first show in Nevada, he hasn't been on a stage for a month, and he already misses it. He's glad they're back to touring.
And of course, he and Annabeth text every day.
Despite his big gross crush on her, he's found that she's a really solid friend. After every concert he comes back to his phone with a series of bad jokes, blurry close-ups of Socks' permanent scowl and various forms of the phrase "good luck!". The next day is generally worse, because that's when all the fan pictures from the night before have come out, and as Percy has discovered he tends to pull a lot of curious faces when he's going particularly hard, and by now Annabeth must have a whole folder with the amount of awful photos of him she's sent.
Annabeth: [picture72]
Percy: hes frowning because he misses me
Annabeth: youre a liar by the way
Percy: how
Annabeth: i tried ice cream
Percy: don't worry annabeth its all right that ur cat prefers me to you
Annabeth: i will not tolerate this
Annabeth: socks is my baby how does he like you better than he likes me
Percy: maybe he does love you
Percy: but he's a bit like Thalia so he shows it in different ways
Annabeth: im telling thalia you said that
Percy: go ahead she cant kill me we're on in ten
Annabeth: bad why are you texting me then
Percy: because youre my friend
Percy: also i need the ego boost
Annabeth: um excuse you
Annabeth: fine then i'll just take my cat and we'll leave
Percy: no come back
Annabeth: you just betrayed my love ill need more than this
Percy: im sorry
Annabeth: wow real convincing
"Percy!"
Percy looks up. Thalia is standing in front of him, her eyeliner thickened to perfection and her black outfit on, as per usual. "Come, we're on in a few minutes. You got your guitar?"
"It's here. Hang on a second."
Thalia rolls her eyes but she's smiling a little. "Bid your wife goodbye and get your arse up, Jackson."
"Yeah, yeah, just a minute."
Percy: i need to go
Annabeth: good luck out there rockstar you'll be great 33
Annabeth: see socks thinks so too
Annabeth: [picture73]
Percy: thanks beth
Annabeth: u still owe me an apology by the way
"Percy! Put your phone down!"
Percy: check twitter after the concert
Annabeth: what does that mean
Annabeth: percy
Annabeth: percY
"Coming," Percy calls, switching his phone off. He stands up and meets Thalia and Nico by the side of the stage. "Let's blow their socks off."
The concert is electric.
Percy feels it in every inch of his bones and he explodes on stage. He was right to nag the others to rehearse – this show goes so much better than the one in Nevada (sorry Nevada) and in the moment where the lights are down and it's just the fans yelling out the lyrics he remembers why he loves performing. Thalia bounces all over the stage with her bass, her black hair flying across her face, somehow still not even breaking a sweat, and Nico, the only immobile member, is standing up at every opportunity he gets and yelling.
It's so much fun. Percy feels it in the thrum of the baseline, the whine of his guitar, and he only falls deeper in love with what he's doing.
However, the real fun comes during their talking break in between songs. They're setting up for the next song, Percy experimentally strumming a few chords on his guitar, and he leans into the microphone. "So," he says. "This next song."
"This next song," Thalia echoes.
"This next song," Nico agrees.
He flips them off and the crowd roars. "This next song," he says, "is a pretty awesome song. You might know it. Hopefully you do, anyway, because it'll be really awkward if you don't."
Thalia rolls her eyes.
"But," he says, "I want to actually dedicate this song to someone tonight. You know who you are. You're a cow and you overreacted but you're also pretty cool so this is Apologise!"
The crowd screams as Percy plucks the opening. He catches sight of Thalia standing on one of the amps and she raises a questioning eyebrow, but he just smirks at her and launches into the verse. It's one of his favourite songs to play live, and also one of their oldest, and as the verse carries into the chorus and Thalia's bass sends the stage shuddering beneath his feet he throws his head back and laughs because God, he's so in love with his job.
The rest of the concert is just as beautiful. All of them are high off each other, high off the crowds and the screams and the deafening screech of instrument feedback too close and too loud to their ears to be good for them but it's all good because when they take their final bows at the end and the crowd screams the loudest it has all night it's so worth it.
They bounce backstage, suddenly so high off adrenaline that Percy thinks he could probably bring down the building. Which wouldn't be good, because it would kill a bunch of people, but whatever. He's so sweaty his shirt is practically plastered to him and when he reaches the dressing room and peels it off with much difficulty it lands with a wet smack on the ground. Thalia pulls a face but that's only because she's still as dry as a bone (she doesn't sweat it's so unfair and she's the one wearing all black plus a jacket onstage). Nico isn't bothered. He's already naked and standing in front of the fan.
The usual.
"Rocking show, lads," Percy says, giving Thalia a weak high-five and collapsing on the sofa. He's going to have to peel himself off it later but the cool leather against his skin is too good to pass up. "S'good."
"It was more than good!" Nico turns around. No one even bats an eyelid at his very visible junk now just– there. "It as phenomenal! That was the best show we've ever played!"
"You say that every time," Percy says.
"Well, it's true!"
"Also, Perce," Thalia butts in. "What was that up there?"
"What was that?"
"That thing with Apologise."
"Oh, I owed someone an apology."
"So you decided to do it onstage?"
"Go big or go home, right?"
Thalia stares at him. "Who was it even to?"
"I'll give you three guesses."
"You're kidding."
"You've known Annabeth for like, a month," Nico says. "How have you already upset her?"
"It was a joke. I said something about Socks liking me better and she said that she was mortally wounded and that I owed her an apology."
"So you went big."
"I went big."
Thalia shakes her head. "You're nuts."
"Thanks."
"But Annabeth wasn't even at this show," Nico says. "How's she going to see it?"
"Ah, Nico." Percy smiles lazily at the ceiling. "The benefits of social media."
"I can't believe you literally took the pettiest fight in existence and blew it up. The media is going to have a field day."
"Well, they're welcome," Percy says. "I don't care. They can theorize to their little hearts' content."
"You're gonna regret that."
"The only person who needs to know who it's for is Annabeth. And maybe you two. I was betting on your curiosity to know every detail of my love life."
"You mean your lack thereof," Nico corrects.
"Just you wait, Nico. Soon it's going to be flourishing and I'll be the one laughing while you're single and unable to mingle."
"Hold your horses there, Jackson," Thalia says mildly. "Let's just see how Annabeth feels about this whole sorry shebang first, and then you can start planning your wedding."
Annabeth: omg
Annabeth: percy you NUTCASE why did you do that
Annabeth: i cannot believe you
Percy: told you id make it up to you
Annabeth: you're crazy
Percy: thank you
Percy: did you like it
Annabeth: im still in shock
Percy: are you sh00k
Annabeth: percy
Percy: sorry
Annabeth: i am a little though
Annabeth: you're insane i love you
It is arse o'clock and Percy is pretty sure he's going to drop off standing up.
They're in the arena they'll be playing in later, bundled up in hoodies and fingerless gloves. It's early in the morning, too early ("it's still dark outside," Nico had moaned, "and we literally got to the hotel at one am, why won't he just give us a break") and Percy is still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. All of them are drowsy. Thalia is so tired it appears she's falling asleep hunched over her bass.
It's not a serious practice, in any means. They're sitting in a circle in the middle of a massive arena, and Mr D is standing by himself in the corner the stage on the phone.
"This is too much," Nico says. "I'm about to fall asleep."
"Speak for yourself," Thalia says, with a yawn. "It's barely six and we're already up, my eyes are on the verge of falling out my skull."
Percy opens his mouth to say something before Mr D ends the call and comes up to them. For the first time he seems to realise how higgledy-piggeldy they are, a group of sleep-deprived teenagers in holey sweaters and fuzzy socks, and frowns. He just shakes his head at them and says, "That was Zeus."
Nico stifles a yawn. "What did he want?"
"He said we need a tour photographer."
Percy frowns. "A what?"
"A tour photographer. Someone to tag along with you on tour and take professional photos of you onstage. You're an uprising band and you're beginning to make headlines, they need more than blurry fan pictures if you want to be anything."
"People don't like us for the pictures, they like us for the music," Nico says.
"And what's keeping them here while the music goes sour is the tabloids," Mr D says pointedly, making Percy's frown. Sour? "But all the Olympus photographers have been taken up, they're already across the world with everyone else."
"I'm sure you'll find someone," Nico says dryly. "There are lots of photographers out there trying to find work. Literally just search 'photograph' in Instagram and you'll come up with thousands."
"That's not the point, none of them are concert photographers."
"There's a difference?"
"Of course there is." Mr D shakes his head adamantly, like he's stressed. Percy wants to snort. Please. Mr D, stressed? All he does is grouch and occasionally put them in line and gets paid masses for it. That's not stressful at all. "That's not the point. We need to find someone, and soon."
Thalia hasn't spoken since he started talking. She looks deep in contemplation. "What about Piper McLean?" she asks finally.
Mr D blinks. "Who?"
"Piper McLean." Percy's heard that name before, but he can't for the life of him remember where. "She's a YouTuber."
Ding! That's where she's from. She's Annabeth's best friend.
Mr D sighs impatiently. "Thalia, we don't need a YouTuber, we need a professional concert photographer–"
"Which she is." Thalia sounds extremely calm considering she's only had three hours of sleep. "I've seen her Instagram. She does concert photography on the side to YouTube. Last month she did a Paramore concert, I think, and the pictures that came out were pretty spectacular. We can bring her along."
"I don't know..."
"Look at her Instagram," Thalia says coolly. "She's got one just for photography. It's piperphotography. She's got a pretty big following, too, just her. We'd bring in some fans. And that's what you want, right? Us to get popular?"
She's got him there. From the beginning they knew that Mr D's main focus was to make money. It seems like a pretty greedy motive, and to an extent Percy supposes it is, except it fuels him to hire good producers and sign promising bands and he works hard on every artist he signs. They're released albums better than they could have dreamed under his label. "I suppose," he says finally.
"Good," Thalia says. "Then check out her Instagram and ask her to come along with us."
Mr D frowns. "I still don't feel good about this," he says, "but I'll do it because we're desperate. What's her Instagram again?"
Thalia takes his phone and starts typing it in. Percy turns around to look back at Nico and finds him blinking blearily at him. "Well," he says intelligently.
"It's not Annabeth, but we'll make do," Nico says.
"What?"
"Obviously you wanted Annabeth on tour with us," he says.
"No I didn't? I've only known her for like, a month."
"Love is timeless, as they say. A month means nothing. Romeo and Juliet only knew each other a couple of days, didn't they?"
Percy pauses. "Nico, Romeo and Juliet both ended up dying."
"They still technically ended up together."
"They died."
"That's not the point." Nico waves his hand. "I'm sure Piper will be nice. And if you're really suffering from withdrawals that badly just ask Piper to tell you embarrassing stories as you're falling asleep, like a nice comforting Annabeth-y ASMR."
"What?"
"See, you got it." Nico beams at him, and then at Thalia when she joins their circle again only moments later. "Thalia, tell Percy that Piper will be good."
"Piper will be good," Thalia says emotionlessly. She sobers up almost immediately, picking her bass back up and absently playing a sleepy rendition of Boulevard Of Broken Dreams. "Well, that's sorted."
"Why Piper?" Percy asks.
Nico sighs. "Percy, we were talking about this literally two minutes ago."
"No, not for that reason," Percy says. "It's just – Piper's a bit of a random choice, isn't she?"
Thalia shrugs. "Not really. I know her."
"How?"
"She's dating Jason."
Percy stares at her. "What?"
"Oh, did I never tell you?" Thalia sounds very unbothered. Meanwhile, Percy's head is whirling a million miles an hour. "Yeah, they've been going out for a while."
"Why did you never tell me?"
"You're still in contact with Jason?" Nico asks.
"Yeah," Thalia says, completely ignoring Percy. "I found him on Facebook, and we started texting again. Did you know he's in LA?"
"Wait, hold up," Percy says. "I've been chatting to Annabeth for a month and only now do you mention that her best friend is dating your long-lost brother? We lived in her house and everything!"
"Just slipped my mind," Thalia says casually. "It's not that big of a deal."
"I didn't even know Jason was still alive," Nico says. "It's quite nice to know that he is."
"Of course Jason's still alive," Thalia says, sounded slightly insulted.
Nico holds up his hands. "We haven't spoken to him in years. It's been, what, twelve, thirteen, years since I saw him last? And you never bothered bringing him up, so, I dunno, I thought having dead siblings was, like, a tradition."
"You did not just say that," Percy says.
Nico raises his hands. "It's a fair point."
"Either way," Thalia says. "My brother's girlfriend now our photographer. Time to get used to it."
A/N that ended in such an awkward place i am so sorry i just didn't know where to end it
anyWAy how are we all my pals? I hope we're all good! i'm currently at a friend's house where i'm uploading this from (woo) and also to celebrate taylor swift's new single that's where the song quote of the chapter comes from (say what you want about her but i actually really really like gorgeous it's a great song)
thank you to so many people congratulating me on the competition! i actually made it in my local newspaper so that's pretty cool (although the picture is utterly revolting ew) also i got one of the highest scores in my english test so that's cool too
how are you finding percabeth? did you like them? they're ever so much fun to write so i hope you enjoy them as much as i enjoy writing them but i digress
thank you all so so so much for 74 reviews! you guys are utterly amazing (also allineedisabook THAT'S SO COOL harry potter world is literally the best i've been twice [fun fact once was in a bin bag] you're gonna have so much fun) and i always get so happy whenever i see i've got a new review you are literally the best ever i love u xxxx
anyway i hope you enjoyed the chapter! please tell me what you thought and i shall see you next Saturday love u my beans xx
