Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I'm doing a very quick turnaround for this story in order to get it finished if you haven't figured that out yet.
Last chapter I asked you guys about the camp's cover name and a few people gave me the correct answer of Delphi Strawberry Service. The following people reviewed with the correct answer: ADayWithNoLaughterIsADayWasted, Louisa4533, 1L2Y3R4A, annabeth the wise girl, and Gios tios flogas chorou. Congrats goes out to all.
Without further delay, enjoy Chapter Ten of The Big Three.
Disclaimer: Did anyone see the parody of the cover of HoH? It's called House Party of Hades. Look it up, it's actually pretty good.
Chapter Ten
Thalia POV
End of November, Miami, Florida, 5:42 PM
We hadn't even rounded the corner of the elevator before someone came up to us asking for an autograph. We were quickly surrounded by kids and adults alike, along with a few teenage girls around Percy and Nico.
The four of us signed autographs for a good fifteen to twenty minutes. Occasionally someone would want a picture with the four of us, or just Percy, or me and Percy, et cetera and we would gladly pose with them. Eventually the group was finally satisfied and they moved off.
A huge buzz from outside the hotel began to erupt as the four of us grouped back together before starting to head towards the cameras. Fans were lining the ropes on either side to get our autographs or take pictures before we left for the concert. These fans were the ones who were your normal fans, those that could not book a room in the same hotel as us.
The four of us exited the hotel in a line and we posed for a picture in front of our photographer who snapped a couple photos before moving onto the bus.
Once he had moved on, the four of us separated, Abby and I on the one side, Percy and Nico on the other. We signed autographs and took pictures for another twenty minutes or so before we were notified that we had to leave. Percy signed one more autograph before the four of us stepped onto our tour bus.
We had barely sat down before the door was closed and we were moving. After around thirty seconds, it finally became quiet.
"Phew," Nico said. "Gotta love the fans."
"Don't even get me started," Percy replied. The rest of us nodded our heads. We could all relate to what he was saying.
"So, George," Abby said, turning towards our photographer. "How did the photo turn out?"
"Great," he replied. "Definitely one to send to the parents."
"Sounds great."
"Send one to Chiron, too," Percy put in. I nodded, agreeing with him. Chiron had been more influential in the recent weeks as we were preparing ourselves for this tour. He specifically was helping us with our interviewing skills, something we didn't have to worry about when we were anonymous. We were actually having our first interview as a band right after the concert today.
"Yes, please send one of them to me."
The four of us immediately whirled around towards the back of the tour bus. A man in a wheelchair had just come from the back room.
"Chiron!" Abby exclaimed. The rest of us voiced a greeting as well.
"Nice to see you all again."
"Chiron, what are you doing here?" Nico asked.
"I'm one of your managers, aren't I?" The four of us looked at each other. It was true. "I'm here to run you through the schedule tonight, to make sure you guys know what you're doing." I saw Percy exchange a look with Abby.
"Never hurts to check," Percy put in.
"Okay. When we get there, you are going to head straight backstage, maybe a few autographs here and there, but then you need to move on. We're on a tight schedule from here on out." The four of us nodded. We knew what it was like. "Then you'll meet with the people who have backstage passes and that should take around ten or fifteen minutes. By that time it will be 7:15, so you have fifteen minutes to get prepared to walk out on to the stage. Are we good so far?"
"Just like any other concert," I said.
"Okay, onto your song order. You're going to start with Family, correct?"
"Yeah," Percy answered.
"And then Fight?"
"Yes."
"Followed by…" Chiron read off seven other names of songs, as Percy nodded after each one. When Chiron finished, Percy caught my eye. I nodded at him, telling him it was ok to include it.
"One more, Chiron," he said. Chiron looked up from his tablet, intrigued. He seemed to catch our drift.
"You want to end off with the new one, eh?" He asked.
"Yeah, it would be a great way to debut it."
"Okay. I'll let the producers know, so they know not to cut you off."
"Thanks, Chiron."
"No problem. Now you go rock Miami beach."
The four of us looked out of the window, surprised. The tour bus was slowly coming to a halt and people were lined up, trying to get a glimpse of their favorite band.
I looked over at Percy. "You ready to go?"
Percy fitted his snapback backwards on his head. "Yeah, let's head out."
With that, Percy stood up and made his way towards the front of the bus. Nico followed him, then me, and Abby brought up the rear.
As soon as Percy showed his face, the crowd went crazy. By the time I made it out of the bus, Percy was already over to my left, signing an autograph for a cute teenage girl. I stopped over on the right to sign one, but I saw Percy was soon on his way. He stopped every fifteen feet or so in order to sign an autograph, but then he was moving on once more. The three of us followed his example, slowly making our way towards backstage. We each signed about four or five autographs before we finally made it through the crowd.
Percy was the first one backstage, but the rest of us weren't far behind. The first one of our friends to notice us round the corner backstage was Annabeth, so she was the first one to reach us. She gave Percy a hug, which definitely piqued my interest, but she was soon on top of me, giving me a hug as well.
"Good luck tonight," she whispered in my ear.
"Thanks," I replied. "You'll enjoy it, I'm sure." The two of us broke apart.
"I enjoyed it in San Fran, so I don't see any reason why I won't enjoy it here."
Annabeth moved on and hugs and wishes of luck kept going around. We moved onto autographs and pictures for the next ten minutes, but that didn't really take that long, so we stood around in a circle to talk for the remaining time. I noticed Annabeth was standing next to Percy, but I didn't really think much of it. It was probably coincidence after all.
After seven minutes or so of us talking, Chiron came rolling up to us.
"You're on in fifteen," he said simply.
I nodded at him and the four of us sent our friends towards their seats. Our first East Coast concert was fifteen minutes away.
As the curtain rose on our first East Coast concert, the 80,000 fans packed into the stadium screamed as one as the four of us walked out to take our places. Percy glanced back at each of us, making sure we were ready, before he finally walked up to the microphone at the front of the stage.
"Miami!" He yelled. "How are we doing tonight?!"
A huge roar came from the crowd. We were starting off well.
"That's great to hear. Are you guys ready for the night of your lives?"
Another huge roar came from the crowd.
"Alright! Then let's get this show on the road!"
Percy didn't even have to look back before Nico started the intro, which we had based off of Breaking Benjamin's Dear Agony.
About twenty seconds in, Percy started singing.
It's always nice when someone's there,
When you have someone to see,
When times are hard,
There's nothing like family, family.
I joined in as Percy began the second verse.
They stand by you when you need them most,
Even when you don't need them,
Even when you don't want them,
They stand by you.
Family.
Nico faded out as Percy and I went into an instrumental section.
Abby rejoined with Nico as Percy began the third verse.
It's always nice when someone's there,
When parents become friends,
When times are simple,
There's nothing like family, family.
Brothers and sisters,
Your best friends when you need them,
You talk with them and they talk with you,
About all the things you've been through.
Nico and I faded back out as Abby and her brother went on another instrumental section.
Abby faded out as Percy played the last chord.
There's nothing like family, family,
Oh, yes,
There's nothing like family.
The crowd went nuts as Percy sang the last line.
Percy let them quiet down before he stepped back up to the microphone.
"Thank you, thank you!" He said. "My name is Percy Jackson and I'm the lead singer of The Big Three." The crowd raised its voice again as Percy said this. Normally I would be annoyed with Percy for saying something like that, but he had run it through with the rest of us and we said it was okay for him to go ahead. "Thalia Grace is on bass and Nico di Angelo is on the drums." I raised my hand as Percy said my name. Successive cheers arose as Percy said our names. "My sister Abby is our keyboardist for this evening." Another cheer arose as Abby acknowledged the crowd. "Now, moving on. For those of you new to TB3, the song we just opened with was from our recent album, Summer Break. It was called Family." A short cheer came from the crowd. "The next song we will play for you guys is one of our more popular songs. You guys should recognize it." Percy nodded back at me and I started the intro to Fight.
The concert continued like that for the next several songs. The crowd got more into it as we went along. We were currently finishing up what would have been our last song before we added our new one. It was called California and it was our most popular song on our first album. Percy and I were facing each other at the front of the stage and we played the last note together as the crowd went crazy. Percy made his way back to the microphone.
"Thank you!" Percy said into the mic. "Most of you recognized that as California and we thank you so much for joining in." Another cheer from the crowd. "We have one last song for you before we have to call it a night." A groan arose from the crowd. "I know, I know, but we have something special to end you guys off with. The four of us have been working on a new single for the past month or so and we are proud to play it live for the first time to you guys here tonight. So, without further ado, here is our new single, End of the World." There was a quick cheer from the crowd which quickly quieted in anticipation.
Tick, tock,
Tick, tock,
Tick, tock,
Gong,
Gong,
Gong,
The sound of a clock as it struck midnight made its way throughout the stadium. It would sound twelve times before Nico would pause before starting the intro.
Gong,
Gong,
Gong,
As the twelfth 'gong' sounded, Nico began the intro. After ten seconds I joined in on the bass and five seconds after that, Abby joined in on keyboard. After forty seconds of instrumental, Percy finally started singing.
The year of the date was 20-12,
December 21st, the end of the world.
Another short instrumental before Percy picked the lyrics back up.
The end for the Mayans is the end for us,
Life as we knew it, headed for dust.
The end of the world, it makes you think,
Of all the people who haven't completed the link.
Mothers and fathers,
Aunts and uncles,
Nieces and nephews,
Cousins….brothers….sisters
You realize what your life was,
How complicated you made it,
But nothing matters anymore,
Because it's the end of the world.
I smiled as we shot into another instrumental. I had a singing part coming up. Percy was the lead singer, but occasionally I would have a line or two to help back him up. Percy swept into the next verse.
Partying with friends, you meet a girl,
She looks at you and gives a twirl.
I answered him.
Partying with friends, you see a guy,
Checking you out, hey, you're not shy.
Percy picked it back up.
Things progress and then you kiss,
Everything's fine, except you miss.
You realize what your life is,
How simple it could be,
But nothing matters anymore,
Because it's the end of the world.
We went into one more instrumental before the final verse.
Back home, talking with mom,
Life's fine, the dog's chillin',
No one realizes there's hours to live,
The world is dying and here you sit.
There's not that much time,
But when has that stopped you?
The clock's tickin', the world's partyin',
But you don't care because it's the end of the world.
You start to think about your life,
About how you have been livin' it,
The lightbulb goes off inside your head,
And then you wonder where you've been.
You realize what your life could be,
How important things are,
But nothing matters anymore,
Because it's the end of the world.
It's the end of the world,
Because it's the end of the world.
The music faded out as two last chimes of the clock could be heard.
Tick, tock,
Tick, tock.
The crowd went absolutely ballistic.
"Thank you! Good night!" Percy yelled into the microphone as the curtain started to fall.
Percy ran towards the back of the stage to avoid the curtain. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
"What an amazing concert," he said. "I can't wait until we come back here again."
"Tell me about it," I replied. "Miami's amazing."
The four of us rounded the corner after Percy and I had dropped our instruments off and Chiron was waiting for us.
"Amazing job," he told us. "You really put on a show out there."
"Thanks Chiron," I replied. "We're definitely thinking about coming back here sometime in the future."
"You should. You had a great crowd tonight."
"You could say that again," Nico inputted. The three of us laughed, relishing in the moment.
"Okay, okay. Sorry to burst your bubble, but you four have ten minutes before your news conference."
I gulped and looked over at Percy, expecting him to be just as nervous as I was. He caught my eye and grinned.
"Psh," he said with a wave of his hand. "News conference? Piece of cake."
I had to smile. Percy always knew the right way to brighten things up.
A/N:
So, what did you think? The news conference along with a special interview will be in chapter 11. You can look for that on Monday.
Tell me what you guys think of the songs. I made up the lyrics myself, although it does give the impression that the songs are short. Overlook that fact, please. Thanks.
Chapter 11 will start in Thalia's POV just like this one, but then it will transition to Nico after the news conference. Like I said earlier, look for chapter 11 on Monday.
Now for the Question of the Chapter. This will not be a trivia question this time, but rather a survey-type question. My question to you guys is this: At what time do you normally get on fanfiction to read these stories and in where in the world do you live?
Let me explain before you guys think I'm going to stalk you. My plan here is to try to nail down a specific time of when most of my readers are online in order to come up with the right time to upload my new chapters for all of my stories. The second part of that question is included because I'm sure you all don't live on the East Coast like I do, so just giving me a time of say, 9:30 every night would not help me because that could be anytime of the day depending on where you live. If you don't want to tell me the exact location of your house, just give me a time zone, or, if you're really good, you can convert your time to Eastern Standard Time and save me the trouble. Whichever way you do it, I will be eternally grateful, and you guys will be better informed of when I will upload, so then you don't have to guess. Like I said, thanks so much in advance.
Now, make sure to review!
Thanks!
-PSON