Chapter 9

Two weeks later, it seemed everyone was talking about the dance. Even Nico was, although it was just about what he was going to wear.

"She's going to wear a pink dress! How girly is that? That means I have to wear a pink tie. She's lucky I look nice in pink." Nico complained, taking food from my fridge.

"You seem a little excited." Grover said, reading a comic.

Nico rolled his eyes. He sat down across from me. "What's Juniper wearing?" He asked.

"Green of course. I'm wearing a black suit." Grover grinned.

"Everyone's wearing a black suit; do be so upbeat about it." Nico grumbled, taking a bite out of a huge sandwich.

"I'm not." I said, absently, thinking.

"What are you wearing?" Nico asked accusingly.

"I got white suit and a blue tie. Cal's wearing blue." I said, not really paying attention. I've been daydreaming a lot lately.

Nico smirked, "Aw, how cute. White, stepping it up, bro!" Nico laughed and high-fived Grover.

I finally tuned into the conversation and rolled my eyes, "You're ridiculous." I said.

Nico leaned forward, "What is the deal with you and Cal? You guys seem to be getting real close. Closer than a fake relationship would allow."

I shook my shook, "What are you talking about? We're just close friends. She knows I like Annabeth."

"Do you like Annabeth? You blew her off a couple of times to be with Cal." Grover added.

"How do you know?" I argued.

"Annabeth told me." Grover shrugged.

I showed my shock. "Do you still like her or not?" Nico asked.

I frowned, thinking about it. "I really don't know…" I said, surprised at my own words.

"That proves it!" Nico suddenly yelled, making me jump. "You like Calypso!"

"Sh!" I grabbed my hair, "Jeeze, Nico!"

Nico smirked, "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know anything, Nico. I don't know what I'm going to. I don't know what to think." I groaned.

"Guess we'll find out on Homecoming." Grover said, grabbing a snack from one of the cabinets.

"Yay." I muttered darkly.


The next Saturday night, at around eight, Grover, Luke, and I met up at Nico's house. I wore my all white suit, along with my blue tie. My hair was a perfectly organized mess. Nico's suit was all black with a pink tight. Grover's suit was black, and his button-up white, his green tight was squinted. We all had a drink before the girls got there.

"This is going to be an entertaining night, I just know it!" Nico exclaimed, holding his cup in the air.

"Cheers!" Grover said, and we all took a shot.

I shook off the sour taste and looked down at my phone. "They're outside." I said.

Nico let them in, and I was absolutely stunned.

Juniper's dress was strapless and to her ankles. It was dark green, and it suited her perfectly. Her hair was straightened, which was the first, and she looked amazing. Zoe's pink dress was one-shoulder; it was tight around the chest area and a puffy around the waist. It was silk, I could tell, and looked really expensive. Her hair as curled and she looked gorgeous. Annabeth was wearing a silver dress with a low V-neck; I was shocked at how much it showed. Luke must've liked it a lot. Her dress was loose and long. Her hair was straightened and she looked beautiful.

Calypso's dress was strapless. The light blue was a soft silk. It was tight around the chest, and a little loose around the bottom. It was short, it stopped around mid-thigh. She wore black heels and held a blue handbag. Her hair was wavy and it looked longer than I thought it was; it fell pass her shoulders nicely She had little makeup on, on eyeliner. I think she looked… indescribable. I could not stop staring at her.

"You look stunning." I whispered to her, as I slipped my arm around her waist.

She gave me a kiss on the cheek, I could feel her smiling, "You look pretty nice, too, hotshot." She winked.

I swear my heart skipped a beat.

"You look beautiful, girls." Nico said, smiling at Zoe.

She smirked, "It's what we were aiming for, Nico."

Luke gave Annabeth a kiss, and strangely, I wasn't bothered by it. Juniper gave Grover a hug, and they whispered to each other and giggled.

"Come on, girls! A drink for everyone." Nico handed out small cups to the girls.

"What about you guys?" Juniper asked, looking at the cup suspiciously.

"We already drank." Luke said. We nodded.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Let's get this over with." She said.

They raised their glasses, "Cheers!"

Calypso shook a little at the taste, but grinned. We all slipped outside, ignoring the cold, and stepped into Nico's car. The ride took about five minutes, Nico was driving pretty fast. We hopped out the car and to the school.

The gym was huge, so I bet it was hard to decorate. Streamers hung from everywhere, colorful lights flashed everywhere. Music blared from the speakers. The DJ was doing his job in one corner. There was a long string of tables with food on it. Tables sat around the perimeter of the gym. People were already dancing, half of which were not sober.

Everyone quickly disappeared, until it was just Calypso and me. I turned to her, still mesmerized. "Would you like to dance?" I asked.

She grinned, "Duh!"

She pulled to the dance floor and we danced. A little awkwardly at first, but as the songs progressed; we slipped closer and closer to each other until we were pressed against each other. I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed just being with Cal. I think she felt the same way, too. We could not take our eyes off each other. She was also a really good dancer. Especially when a bunch of house music came up, I was having a little trouble keeping up.

Finally, after an hour of non-stop dancing, we took a break. We laughed loudly and too much as we grabbed food and drinks and headed to a table, where Juniper and Grover were sitting. They were talking amongst themselves, laughing.

We settled down and ate the fires on our plastic plates. Then, Nico sat down at the table, almost falling. Cal and I laughed at him.

"You alright, Nico?" She asked.

He nodded, grinning, "I'm so hype, man." He said.

I sighed and shook my head, "Where'd you get more liquor?" I asked.

"Travis. And Conner." He replied causally,

"Where's Zoe?" I asked.

"Either trying to get another drink from Travis or dancing with Conner." He responded, taking some of my fries. "Travis probably won't give her any, since she's a girl."

"Doesn't that bother you?" Calypso asked.

Nico shrugged, "We're not together or anything. I don't care if she hooks up for Conner. I care for her well-being, but she can take care of herself." He spilled a little of my drink as he tried to drink it.

Zoe came out of nowhere and gave Nico a large kiss on the cheek, and then ran away giggling. We laughed as Nico looked astonished and got up, chasing after her. I shook my head, "They're exactly alike"

Cal laughed and then quieted down for a second. She turned to me, "Percy, do you still like Annabeth?"

I hesitated, "Um…"

She shook her head, smiling, "Sorry, that was random. Forget I asked, alright? Let's go dance. I love this song!" She exclaimed.

She grabbed my arm and jumped up, dragging me to the middle of the gym. After a few songs, a slow song came up. Calypso had put her hair up, and I abandoned my white jacket, it was super-hot. We looked at each other and shrugged.

I put my hands on her waist and pulled her closer to me. She slid her hands around my neck, grinning. We danced in silence for little while, and then just started talking. About how she liked the school, New York, and the people.

"Percy, I have a confession." Calypso said, sighing.

I twirled her and then pulled her close, getting nervous. "What?"

She took a deep breathe. "I really like you. Like, a lot. For a little while now. I was afraid to say anything because I think you still like Annabeth. I mean, I thought so, not so much anymore. You are still in this fake relationship with me, so I just assumed you still liked her. That's why you still hang around me, so she can finally notice you. I just have to know something. Do you still like Annabeth?"

I stopped moving. I struggled for words; I didn't know what to say. I was nervous as hell. My heart was going a mile a minute. Also, I swear my face was bright red. That proved one thing, I totally liked Calypso, but do I like Annabeth? Do I still have feelings for her?

Something caught my head. I glanced to the right, and saw Annabeth running through the crowd of people, rubbing her eyes. Luke was by the door, frozen, looking surprised.

I suddenly felt cold as Calypso pulled away from me. "I knew it. You still like her." She said quietly, laughing softly. She refused to meet my eyes. "If you do, I can't do this anymore. It'll hurt too much." She abruptly turned away from me and left through the back entrance.

I stood there, thinking about what just happened. Annabeth, the girl of my dreams was probably crying because something happened with Luke. Annabeth, the girl I've known since I learned what puberty was. Annabeth, the girl I tried for so long to get to like me.

Calypso ran because of me. Because I got her hopes up about us. I probably made her cry. I always felt so comfortable around her, and I was never bored when I was with her. There was never an awkward moment.

I cleared my throat as I made up my mind. I went to Travis Stoll and took the drink form his hands, knowing I was going to need it. I suddenly felt like I was on the verge of discovering something amazing. I smiled to myself and ran.


I burst through the doors of the gym and ran around the school looking for her. I looked everywhere, except outside. I went out the back entrance. I burst through the doors and spotted her leaning on the railing, her back towards me.

Her blue dress ruffled softly in the cold wind. She had put her hair down and it whipped around. She was looking up and barely looked back as I approached her.

"What do you want?" She growled, sniffling.

I stood next to her, begging her to look at me. "Why else would I be here?"

"Annabeth turned you down?" She asked bitterly.

I chuckled, "I didn't even try to go after Annabeth. I thought it, yes, but I realized I like you. Not her. I want you in my life right now. She's had her chance. With you, I just feel like I'm me, not like I'm someone else who craves your attention. I do not have feelings for her anymore, and I can prove it." I stepped closer to her.

She turned to me, glaring. "How do I know you're not lying? I do I know you're over her?"

I smiled, looking down at her, "I'm here, aren't I?" I breathed, before leaning down and crashing my lips onto hers.

Every sense in my body came into view. The smell of her coconut perfume. The taste of her cherry chap stick. Her surprised yelp. I could feel her trying to push me away, but eventually gave in and pulled me closer. I opened my eyes slightly, and saw her grinning into the kiss. I shut my eyes and pressed forward, cupping her face into my hands. My heart raced. I felt like the happiest man on Earth.

"Does that answer your questions?" I asked as I pulled away, both us breathed heavily.

She grinned and pulled me in for another kiss.