A/N: This has taken me forever to write. Since I last updated, the year had been an absolute living hell. I lost 4 people in my family from September to December, had college applications galore with school work piling up to my ears, and suffering from random fits of severe depression coupled with hospital visits. I've been working on this slowly but surely throughout these past couple months, but never had the time to finish the chapter. It's short, but important. I tried writing it in a different POV too, which was hard as all Hades for me and I will be going back to my style for the next chapter. I haven't decided what's going to happen in the next chapter either, so the time it should take me to write it will probably be longer than my past usual, but definitely not as long as this one. Knock on wood this year has started out better than last year ended, and I wrote the majority of this since 2012 started. Don't hate me, don't give up on me. I love you all so much for being loyal fans of the stories, and I hope to get some reviews, because I feel my writing has started to slip lately, and it's a big paranoia on my mind while I write.
Also, for people who have been wondering what I picture the cast of this series looking like, I am please to announce that I have found everyone's face. I don't know all of their faces, but I do know that these are the closest thing to faces I could find to the people in my head. I will be posting the link to the pictures on my page if I can figure out how haha.(Note: These are not my pictures.) Also Note, this is not my personal tumblr, so please do not follow it haha.
POV: Third Person-Percy/Dave Focus
Percy just stood there as Landon left, in a bit of an awestruck state. He didn't know exactly what to do about the situation at hand. Should he follow after Landon, or should he chase after Annabeth and try to sort things out with her? He ran his pale fingers through dark brown hair, gripping and pulling at it lightly in an attempt to try and make sense of his dilemma. It didn't help much, and he wasn't sure of what to do now. He looked over at David for advice, not sure if he'd actually be able to get any. He just wanted to be told he didn't fuck up everything because he wanted to be spontaneous and act on his urges.
It seemed as though Dave knew what the boy wanted, moving closer to him and staring awkwardly up at the slightly taller boy. His features were a bit more alive and honest then they'd been a couple minutes ago, and he lifted one of his hands up to Percy's face, smiling softly. "Are you okay? This affected you just as much as it affected them."
Shifting slightly, Percy just shook his head. He didn't know how to feel, or what to feel at this moment in time. In some respect, it had been something he'd wanted; some time away from Annabeth so he could further explore things about himself; things that had been prevalently on his mind for quite some time now. "I just… what should I do Dave? I think I love Annabeth, but as of right now, this time apart will be good. I've been having these," he paused, contemplating whether or not to tell the other boy about his urges. Would it freak him out? The green eyed boy didn't know, so he just shrugged it off for now.
Dave seemed to listen to the boy with an almost unemotional face, which was good because it helped Percy feel better about what was going on his mind. He didn't want to be judged by everyone just because he'd made one stupid mistake. "You need to do what's best for you right now, not anyone else. Follow your heart for once, because when you do that, no matter what happens, you know you'll regret it less for at least trying." His face did falter however when Percy mentioned that he may be in love with Annabeth, and the green-eyed boy did notice that. "But please, tell me about these feelings. Is there anything really on your mind right now?"
With a slight movement and a dopey smirk on his face, Percy nodded his head. What Dave said made sense to him, and he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed that the light green eyed boy seemed to know him so well when he didn't even know himself. "I think that's a pretty good idea." He blushed a bit as the boy asked what feelings he was having, because if he was being honest, he didn't know if he wanted to admit them to the boy in front of him. "Well, I was thinking that maybe back when I said I preferred having sex with girls that I was wrong." His fingers trailed up the boy's arms, so slowly and softly that he felt goose bumps forming underneath the tips. "Maybe's it's pretty even actually."
Dave seemed to shutter underneath Percy's touch, making the taller smirk and lean in a bit closer to him. It dawned on Dave as he looked up at the green eyed boy with a sort of shocked look, but the shock was in a good way. He hadn't been expecting this, that's for sure. "Well, that's always a good thing to want to figure out. Is there any way I could help you with this dilemma?" The leaf eyed boy was timid and fragile from his time spent with Brent, so he knew to always question things first before
"I thought you'd never ask." Percy said, leaning in again and pressing his lips softly onto Dave's. This had been exactly what he'd missed. The soft, musky scent that emanated from another man's body wafting up his nose. The sturdy yet soft body beneath him in a completely different figure than what he'd been use to with Annabeth. He had needed this more than he thought he did.
Dave leaned into the kiss, his whole body tingling in happiness. This was different from those times Brent had forced him into a kiss, but then again, it didn't hurt him as much when he watched Brent kiss some random girl he brought back to the mountain either. It was all about Percy it seemed.
He pulled away slowly though, giving the boy a soft smile as he shook his head. "We've got some work to do first Percy. Pick, Annabeth, Ryan, or Landon." His voice was soft, but still certain. He wanted to fix what had happened earlier, and he also wanted some answers. His brain needed them right now, because after what he had heard, it just sounded like Landon was pulling excuses out of his ass to make the situation sound better.
Percy groaned and frowned, really not wanting to go fix any problems right now except one, but from the tone Dave had, he was fairly certain this was more important. "I say we go fix Lan first. He'll be easiest, and I already know what's wrong there."
Dave nodded his head. "Let's go then."
He took Percy's hand and began pulling him towards the direction Landon had gone, but from there he had no idea where to go. He'd never been allowed to roam New York City before, and to top it all off, the boy had left over ten minutes ago, so he was probably long gone by now.
Percy seemed to pick up on the boy's thoughts, giving Dave's hand a tight squeeze. "We'll find him. He headed towards Central Park anyways, so that's probably where he's going." he said reassuringly.
"Okay, makes sense to me." Dave smiled, feeling a bit more secure in what they were doing now. The only problem was, and it really wasn't a problem, more like an awkwardness, was that he was holding Percy's hand as they walked through New York's busy streets. People were glaring at them, and not to mention what happened if Annabeth saw them. That would just be… awkward as all Hades. But she was off finding Ryan, probably having some quality bonding time with the boy as they vented about how their boyfriends were unfaithful, which made Dave sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be the other man, but it just sort of happened, much to his surprise.
They swerved in and out of people's way as they made their way to the fairly large park only a couple blocks from where they were. Central Park, one of the places Dave had wanted to see for the longest time but hadn't actually been able to go visit it because of his father being an asshole. It looked marvelous in the light coating of snow, which reflected the setting sun's light perfectly over the entire sight. It would be a very romantic situation, if the circumstances weren't different. He just sighed, darting across the street with Percy to the entrance.
Percy tried not to focus too much on the situation at hand. He just wanted to get this conversation with Landon over so that he and Dave could have some private time. They'd go find Annabeth and Ryan later, because at least the two of them would be safe together. Plus they had Jen with them, so they'd be fine, he hoped. The only problem that could arise was if the girls convinced Ryan to keep away from Landon, because fuck, that would mess up the plans completely.
They entered the park, Dave leading the way, and began searching through the many different pathways that existed inside the slightly wooded area. This probably wouldn't be easy, so he'd just keep looking around at keeping conversation going with him and Percy, to try and pass the awkward silence away. "So, do you have any ideas what exactly we're gonna say to Landon once we find him?"
"I… honestly have no idea." Percy said softly, a bit of disappointment in his tone. Usually he was the leader, the one with all the answers, but when he was basically the reason for all the drama that had unfolded, well, he wasn't exactly sure what to do.
"Oh… well, I'm sure we'll think of something." Dave was trying to be optimistic, but it wasn't working out too well. Percy didn't sound like himself, and the way things went back there, it seemed as though nothing would be fixed rather easily.
They continued walking through the paths, searching high and low for any signs of the boy that had eluded them. There were none though, and the two had just about searched the entire park by the time they decided to give up. They'd been at it for a couple hours now too, and still no sign of the dirty blonde, until the sun was just setting. It cast this eerie glow about the park, making this one patch of trees twinkle a bit. For some reason, Dave and Percy both felt obliged to check it out, almost as if the sparkles were drawing them to it.
As they walked through the path, it almost felt like stepping through Jell-O. The air was thick and heavy all around for a couple seconds, but once inside, it was calm and normal, just like before. Looking back, the trees still had that eerie glow to them, only the sparkles were gone now. Funny, it seemed as though they were only used to lure people in here, not make them want to leave.
When they looked around inside, it wasn't as you'd expect it to be. There was a fairly large mausoleum or temple type thing, surrounded by an amazing garden full of light blue and white roses, things that shouldn't normally exist.
Percy took a step, then looked down and almost had a heart attack. The ground was gone, covered in a thick layer of fog. His foot sunk into the cloud, almost swallowing it but sturdy enough to hold him up. He couldn't feel anything beneath his feet, but he wasn't falling down anymore. "Holy Hades." The sky rumbled as he said that, signaling that maybe it wasn't the best thing to bring up that god's name here. "Holy Zeus?" The rumbling died down a bit, and Percy looked over at Dave, sighing a bit.
Looking over at the monument, he noticed that there were lightning bolts engraved on the pillars, and a monument of an eagle was resting on the top of it. Putting things together, he figured out who this monument was made for. "Wow, quite the impressive building." The sea demigod said, looking over at the boy next to him, jaw slightly hung open. "Zeus' has his own private temple of worship in the middle of central park?"
David just shook his head, snapping back to reality and nodding in agreement. "I guess so. It's… rather impressive I must say." He looked down, noticing that his and Percy's hands were intertwined rather tightly. His face got hotter upon noticing, clearing his throat slightly and running his thumb across the top of the sea child's hand. "You okay?"
Percy took a deep breath, smiling once he looked at the leaf eyed boy next to him. "Yeah, I'm okay now." Perking his ears, he heard crying, or what he thought was crying, coming from the temple. Knowing that Dave was hearing the same thing, he slowly began walking through the clouds to the temple, gaining a bit more relaxation when they were standing on something solid. The crying got louder as the two made it closer to the temple, and as they pushed the large, golden gilded doors open, noticed a body curled up in a ball at the alter. He was sobbing, his face was covered in his knees, but his dirty blonde hair made it obvious to who it was.
Percy, letting go of David's hand, ran over to the boy and knelt down in front of him. "Landon. Landon please stop crying." He knew his efforts were futile though, because the boy had something that not even Apollo could cure; a broken heart.
The boy wouldn't even show his face, rubbing his face on his knees and holding them close to his chest. "I… I don't k… know what to d… do. He… he's gone." His voice was raspy and weak, barely above a whisper. Overall, he sounded horrible, in any and every interpretation of the word.
Percy just stared at the boy, unable to for a sentence to make him feel better. "You know he loves you though. He's just hurt." There was nothing more he could say about the situation, and he was worried that it wouldn't be enough. "And your plan, don't give up on it, please."
David's ears perked up at the mention of a plan, looking between the two with a bit of a confused look.
"Bu… but it's not goo… good enough." His sobbing wasn't slowing down yet, but at least he was able to form sentences better. "And th… that plan won… won't work anymore." His hands reached into his pocket, feeling for something Percy knew about, yet David didn't.
"What plan are we talking about here?" David asked, running his hands through his dark brown hair. There really was something going on between Percy and Landon that nobody knew about. Holy fuck, Annabeth was right all along, but what exactly the plan was only they knew. It didn't seem like something horrible though, more like something helpful, making the leaf eyed boy even more curious.
Landon just shook his head, pulling out the bracelet from his pocket and setting it down on the alter steps. He looked broken and defeated, a combination neither boy had ever seen on the dirty blonde haired male. "I can't do it anymore. I don't want to do it anymore. I can't chase after someone who's mad at me for not knowing a secret." He wiped his eyes, taking a shaky step past the two flabbergasted individuals and leaving the temple.
David looked at Percy with a questioning look. With a nod of the head, David knew exactly what they needed to do; split up and talk to the both of them. But which one would they take? It seemed a bit obvious to him; he'd take Landon while Percy talked to Ryan. They were brothers after all, so if anyone had a chance of breaking through to the most likely sobbing boy, it was Percy. "I got Landon. You go take care of Ryan."
Percy nodded, knowing it was time for him to dart out. Unexpectedly, he leaned in and pecked David on the lips, then smiling. "We got this, don't worry." And with that, he darted off out the temple off towards somewhere, anywhere, the only idea in mind on how to start revolving around a little golden coin settling in his pocket.
David sighed, looking back at the bracelet on the alter steps. He knew he had to bring it back to Landon, there was no doubt about that. Stepping closer to the band, he picked it up and examined it closely. It was truly gorgeous, the stark white and the sea blue meshing perfectly together in some odd dance of colors.
Shoving it in his pocket, he knew it was time to go. He darted out the door after the dirty blonde boy, not realizing what had happened right before. When he picked up the bracelet, something had fallen, something very important. A ring had been tangled up with the other piece of jewelry, and had fallen when the bracelet was picked up. It had a diamond and a sapphire on it, with a soft white gold band. It was the other half of the godly jewelry; Gamos.
As the ring laid there, a shadow loomed overhead, leaning down and picking up the small piece of jewelry. A woman, gorgeous and powerful, held the tiny thing in her hand, a daunting smile on her face. "Well now, this was unexpected to find." Her voice was soft, motherly almost. She slipped the ring into her pocket, her face an unreadable mixture of emotions, yet none of them showed. The only thing that distinguished her was the peacock broach she wore above her right breast where her heart was. The woman was Hera, and she now had the ring.
