Eleventh Mistake
Percy
Today is Sunday and my dad and I are walking towards Heffy's house for the party he made for us. I keep scratching my torso since my dad made me we wear a white long sleeve polo, saying that I should look smart. He even tried to make me wear a tie, but I adamantly said no. I feel like we are overdress and I am slowly taking off my shirt from being tucked in. Thank the gods he didn't make me wear black slacks and I am currently wearing dark jeans. Meanwhile, my father is wearing a blue polo with jeans as well and just like me, his polo is tucked in.
Even if Heffy didn't tell us their house number, we would have been able to recognize which house is theirs since we could hear from the edge of their lawn his booming laugh. Their house is a bit like our house with the only difference is their house is covered in white wood paneling and their house is a bit smaller than ours. I could also see that their front porch is definitely bigger than ours and it is completely screened. I notice a white porch couch on the far left of the door.
By the time we entered the screen door and step in front of their entrance, I have successfully pulled out my polo from being tucked in. My dad rings the doorbell and notices what I have done, and he is about to reprimand me when we heard someone coming for the front door. My dad gives me a reprimanding look while I respond with a cheeky grin. The front door then open and we find ourselves face to face with Heffy who I find weird not to be in his overalls. My dad glances at me for a second but I understood what he means; it's a good thing we are wearing a semi-formal attire. The man in front of us is wearing an orange long sleeve polo that I think is a one size smaller than him.
"HEY!" He greets in a deafening voice that I am sure that everyone in the neighborhood has heard it. "Hey there, my fellow Greek fanatics." He extends his rather large hands to shake. My dad takes it and Heffy shakes it rather vigorously. After that, he ruffles my hair once more. "Perseus." He annoyingly calls me.
"Percy." I deadpan once more. I know that he likes to greet me by my full name because he knows I hate it, however, both of them find this amusing as they laugh at my expense. I quickly try to fix my hopeless hair.
"Thanks again for this, Heffy." Dad expresses his gratitude.
"No worries. Love to have the excuse to drink in a party." He howls in laughter and my father joins in out of politeness. "Come on in, then." He ushers us in and I could hear a classical music playing and find ourselves in a brightly lit foyer. "There's already a few guests inside. I'll just go introduce you guys to them." He goes in first and we follow him inside to their dining room. The dining table has already plates laid out and a bottle of wine is already opened. An archway is by the end of the long table where I can smell the food coming from. I notice that there are four people speaking with each other, however, our eyes are drawn to my father's brother.
"Zeus!" My father exclaims, shock laced into his voice.
"Poseidon!" His brother approaches him and puts his arm around his big brother's shoulders. "Surprised you, didn't ya?" He then gives my father a glass of wine.
"Yeah, I didn't expect you to be here." Dad answers while receiving the glass.
"Well, Heffy invited me since he loves calling us Greek fanatics." Heffy laughs at the side as he pours wine into his glass. Uncle Zeus takes notices me and claps me on my shoulder. "Well, you look like you grew up, Perseus." Uncle Zeus greets me.
"Percy, Uncle Zeus." I say reflexively.
"You people like to shorten your name." Uncle Zeus wrinkles his nose. "You should be proud of it." Everybody laughs, and it seems like everyone must have Greek mythology names.
"Easy for you to say, brother. Yours only have one syllable." Poseidon counters blandly.
"True, true. Anyways, let me introduce you to the people here." He turns his brother towards the other three people. "So, you should know Esperanza." My father and her shake hands. "That's Dionysus and he looks like he's between tipsy and drunk. Mind you he's always drunk." He whispers to my dad, but everyone can still hear him.
"Not always." Dionysus winks at us. The guy is wearing a loud yellow colored polo and it looks like it will rip anytime. His face is completely red and his nose in a darker shade. "Just call me Bacchus. My first name sounds like someone threw up." He laughs childishly, and I know that he is completely drunk but still, my father shakes his hand. "This is my wife, Ariadne." I feel like the norm here is husband is of a rotund shape while the woman is quite thin because just like Esperanza and Heffy, Ariadne is the complete opposite of Bacchus. Ariadne and my father shakes hand.
"Are you hungry, Percy." Esperanza suddenly asks me and jump a bit in surprise. I turn my attention to her and I still can't get used to the aura she shares with my mom. She is smiling that motherly smile and feels like she really cares about you. My father notices this as well as Heffy who saw me acting this way before.
"Umm, a-a bit." I stutter once again when I am talking with her.
"Do you mind waiting a little longer? The other guests are running late." She says a bit disappointedly, like she hates getting her schedule ruined. Heffy who immediately notices this wraps his arm around his wife's waist.
"Sorry about that love." He kisses his wife's cheeks and I notice my dad's fingers tighten his grip on the stem of the glass he is holding. "I'll try calling them to know where..," the doorbell chimes, "Speak of the devil." He then let go of his wife and left us to meet the people out at the front door.
Just then, a young boy with same height as I, comes stumbling in from the archway, crashing on a dining chair. "Leo!" Esperanza reprimands the guy.
"Whoopssorrymom." Leo says in a blur that I almost didn't catch it. By the jumpy movements he is making, I am guessing he is overdosed with sugar. He is quite slender, and his ears are a bit pointed, giving him an elvish appearance. His dark brown curly hair is bouncing due to him not standing still and his brown eyes are darting around like he's trying to escape someone. "Whosthis?" He asks when he notices me, pointing at me rather rudely.
"Don't point." His mom chides him once more and he immediately lowers his arm. "That's Percy. He's going to be a freshman like you."
"Cool!" He then shuffles his feet towards me and hugs me out of nowhere before letting me go, holding me at an arm's length. "HeytherePercyNicetomeetyou!We'regoingtobebestfriendandyou'regoingtoloveithere-,"
"Leo, did you eat all of those chocolates in the refrigerator?" Uncle Zeus is the one who spoke this time and it looks like this is a common occurrence.
"What? OfcoursenotcausethatwouldbebadandIwouldgetyelledatbymom-,"
"VALDEZ!" His eyes widen while the rest of us stare at the source of the shouting and we see Thalia who is wearing a white polo, fit in her physique, with black slacks. She is currently covered in mud but didn't hide the fact that she is a dark shade of red, angry at Leo, it seems.
"Wellthatsourcuebuddy!" He then drags me out of the house while Thalia chases us like a predator. I don't know why I am running as well but looking back at Thalia, I can't help but follow Leo's lead. That girl can be scary if she wants to. We pass through the sliding door they have near their living room. I am quite amazed by the sheer size of their back lawn, but I didn't have time to admire it as much as I want to because there's a scary punk girl chasing us.
"PERSEUS JACKSON!" Seriously, Thalia can really shout. "IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, YOU SHOULD STOP THAT LITTLE ELF!"
"Don't listen to her!" He cackles, and I can finally understand him since he is running and have to breathe hard, making his sentences slower.
"Uhh," I say dumbly, not knowing if I should stop him, bail on him or keep running. However, I didn't have to choose since we didn't notice though that Thalia has the top speed of a cheetah and she pounces on us like we are prey. "Fuck! Thalia!" I yell when we skid on the lawn. Meanwhile, Leo is laughing like a madman. Thalia then moves me aside then grabs Leo's leg with her right hand and her left hand went to Leo's neck and starts pulling. I wince when I hear him scream. That looks painful.
"You little shit," Thalia pulls harder when he notices Leo trying to escape. "My dad is going to kill me looking like this."
"I give. I give." Leo exclaims while tapping the ground. Thalia being merciful let go of him but not before poking Leo's ass. "Thalia!" Leo quickly stands up and rubs his bottom while my cousin is laughing maniacally.
"Remember not to me mess with me, Valdez." She threatens.
"No mercy, huh." I say, and Thalia finally remembers me and then tackles me into the ground. "Thalia!" I splutter. "What was the for?!"
"Nothing." She grins at me like she enjoys being cruel to others. "Anyways, looks like you met this doofus." He points to Leo.
"Excuse you!" He says indignantly and points her at angrily. "I told you, introduce me as Supreme Commander Leo! Come on, Thalia. Learn to be a bro!" Thalia rolls her eyes.
"So, ignoring what he said-,"
"Hey!"
"That's Leo and be careful whenever he has too much sweets." She warns me as we both of us stand up as well. I notice that our garments are all dirty while Leo is barely noticeable with his green polo.
"I have to be careful of you too, Thals." I look down at my dirty clothes. "Did you have to tackle us that hard?"
"Yeah, Thals." Leo joins in and pouts at her.
"Blame Leo for that." She then proceeded to smack Leo's head. "I'm going in and clean up. The dinner hasn't even started, and I am this dirty. I'll get back at you for that Valdez." With that threat hanging, she left us and goes to who knows where. The two of us stare at her retreating form until Leo turns to me and examines me.
"Well, I guess we have to fix ourselves as well. Sorry about that man." He claps me in the back and then ushers me to go inside. "I have some spare clothes. Let's go to my room."
I nod in response and start following him when he started walking towards his house. "So, haven't met you formally yet." Leo begins. "Percy..was it?" I nod again wordlessly, and he stops in his tracks and faces me. "Now, I know I heard you talk a while ago." I just look at him, still not saying anything. As soon as Thalia left, my social personality retreated deep inside me. "I know I was acting crazy a while ago but I'm normal..ish."
"Sorry. Just a little overwhelmed." I lie but he seems to accept it and he just shrugs and starts walking again. I follow with my mind filled with thoughts. I am so swallowed up by my thoughts that I barely noticed coming inside the house and the adults gasping at our looks.
"What happened to you two?" Heffy asks us and both of us look at each other, thinking a way out. Esperanza rushes forward and approaches me first to check what happened to me. Meanwhile her son looks at her with a look of mock betrayal for not being examined first.
"Mom!" He whines like a kid.
"Oh, hush Leo. Now, tell me what happened?" She turns towards his son with a scolding look and Leo shrinks back at her look. My dad just looks at me with amusement. 'Thalia,' he mouths, and I nod in response. Uncle Zeus notices and he grimaces and shakes his head by the thought of Thalia making a ruckus again. Leo, who is being pressed on by his parents, glances at me for help and a thought passes between the two of us.
"It was Thalia." The two of us simultaneously place our blame on my cousin who conveniently shows up just as we said her name.
"What?" She looks at all of us without any knowledge of what is happening while carrying a new shirt.
"Thalia." Her dad's voice sounds like he is about to yell at her daughter, but Poseidon gives a look to his brother and he just let it pass. Thalia still has no idea what happened and stares at us funnily.
"Heffy, do you mind if Leo lends Percy a shirt just for the night?" My dad requests our new friend and he nods immediately.
"Of course, of course." He turns to his son. "Leo, go lend Percy a shirt. Go before the other guests show up."
"I will, I will. That was what we're going to do anyways." Leo responds in an annoyed manner. "Come on, Perce." He drags me once more upstairs but not before seeing a beautiful woman talking with Thalia, who is looking scared at the dazzling smile the woman is showing to her.
We arrive at his room and all I could think is that I would hate to clean his room. Dirty laundry is scattered all over the floor, the chair and even the desk. Different types of books that seems to be connected to machinery are laid open at different spots. Then, there's different contraptions that are either halfway done or burnt. There's also a faint smell of oil in the air and I wrinkle my nose a bit. Leo notices this and says, "Sorry about the mess. I rarely clean up here." That's really not hard to deduce. He then proceeds to walk over this closet and starts looking for a new shirt for the two of us.
After Leo dug through his closet, he finds me standing awkwardly at the same spot since we entered the room. "Dude, you know you could sit down right?" I glance around tentatively trying to convey that even if I want to sit down, there's no place I could sit down. Thankfully, he notices this minor detail as well and just says, "Just push my clothes out of that chair. I'll probably have to clean up this mess before mom comes in here. She'll probably freak out if she finds my room like this again." My heart clenches once more as he talks about his mom because this is the relationship I just recently lost. "I wish my mom would get off my back, you know. She just-," he stops when he noticed that I am just staring blankly at his picture with his mom. "You okay there, buddy?"
I peel off my eyes from the picture. "Yes." I croak.
"Okaay, then." He prolongs his words, probably weirded out by actions. I can't really blame him. "By the way, where is your mom? I don't think I've seen her downstairs." I look down immediately, my face scrunching from the pain.
"Oh. My bad." He notices that my mood dampens even further. "When did she die?" He inquires, thinking that my mother had died.
I shake my head and explain, "No, she's not dead. Not physically anyways."
"Huh?"
"She's just dead to us." I say, and he finally catches on and let go of the subject.
"Sorry man." He mutters while I shake my head once again.
"It's alright. You didn't know." I look back up again. "It's the reason we left our home." I admit to him.
"Oh, that's tough." He is clearly out of his element here. "Did you leave your girlfriend?" He asks, trying to at least change the heavy subject.
"No. I wish-," I sigh heavily. "No, just my very close friend."
"Oh, umm, I want to get a girlfriend!" He suddenly bursts out. I stare at him for two full seconds before snorting and laughing at his weird way of breaking the heavy atmosphere. "What?" I shake my head and my hand while still snickering. "It's just.., I don't know how to handle this kind of thing."
"Looks like it." I tease him.
"Shut up." He throws a dirty underwear at me.
"Woah dude. That's unsanitary." I say to him seriously. "I don't think throwing underwear will get you a girlfriend." If looks could kill. "Anyways, do you have your eye on anyone then?" I ask him, trying to be friendly.
"Yeah," he has a faraway look in his eyes, "but he is still hung up on some guy. Wanted to comfort her but I just don't know how to interact with her. She interacts with animals while I interact with machines. A bit polar opposite." He admits and for some reason, I can sympathize with him.
"Sorry to hear that..," I start, "but you should really tell her how you feel, you know. Before someone else steals your chance." I advise, knowing that the same thing happened to me.
"Yeah, I guess." He mutters, and a few moments pass before he stands up out of nowhere. "Well. Not that I don't find this heart to heart talk with my new friend fun and interesting, but we really need to go down now. We might start eating and I am quite famished." He finishes with a rub on his stomach before getting out of the room first.
"So, Percy, my man." Leo starts up another conversation with me as we walk towards the stairs. "About that girl I was talking about, how should I approach her. Show her the big guns?" He asks seriously while trying to show the little muscle he has in that thin arms. We then start descending the stairs and by the louder sound coming from downstairs, I guess there are more guests now.
"I'm sorry but even a baby has more muscles than you." I deadpan. He splutters in response.
"I have you know that while I look like this no one can beat the supreme commander Leo!" He laughs like a maniac just as we arrived at the foot of the stairs and everyone is staring at us and it looks like there are even more guests now. Leo immediately shuts up and walks behind me. He then pushes me forward.
"Wha-Leo!" I complain, not knowing who these people are. Someone catches my eye and my eyes sparkle when I notice that she is trying to hide. I don't know who was responsible for it, but Thalia is wearing a ruffled pink dress and it is the funniest thing I ever saw. Leo, noticing where I am looking at, finally glimpse of Thalia's fate and the two of us snorts uncontrollably.
"Don't even think about it." Thalia breaks the silence before our laughter could. Uncle Zeus and my dad just grin at the current state of Thalia while the beautiful woman from before looks like she is the one who made Thalia wear it.
"Doesn't she look lovely boys." That said woman asks us and even though I don't know her name, I reply promptly.
"Yes. Yes, she does." Leo and I respond at the same time. Thalia looks ready to tackle us, but Uncle Zeus grabs hold of her dress, choking her.
"Stop picking fights, Thalia." He reprimands her daughter while my new friend and I smirk at her misfortune and she looks ready to tear us into pieces as soon as she gets out of her father's sight.
Esperanza claps her hand, and everyone turn their attention to her. "Well, it looks like Atlas and her daughter is going to be a bit late. They told us to start without them and they'll catch up." She announces and starts ushering us to the dining table. Leo and I both stay away from Thalia, knowing we won't be able to eat in peace if we sit next to her. The two of us races to the open seats away from her and I bump slightly to the beautiful woman who managed to get Thalia in a dress. My jaw drops a bit when I see her up close and personal.
Deeds aside, I still think that Annabeth is the most beautiful girl I've seen but the woman in front of me is a different kind of beautiful. I believe that no person has the perfect look but the she defies everything I know. I don't even know if her beautiful face is due to the magic of make-up or is it all natural because I don't see any traces of any make-up on her face other than the sanguine lips of hers.
"So-sorry," I stammer, having trouble to find words in front of her.
"It's alright." She says rather magically, and I almost let out a sigh. "I don't think I have introduce myself. My name is Aphrodite, but I let people call me Venus. The roman versions of our names are much easier to say." I nod dumbly while Leo elbows my side. I eye him evilly while he is walking away from me. She smiles at me before moving aside and I am greeted by a large mass of muscle, sneering down on me. I gulp in fear and this time I move aside and sit by Leo immediately who is snickering by the whole scene I caused. "Nice going with Ares." He whispers. I punch his arm in retaliation.
On to my left, Leo is sitting down trying to move his chair backwards as Thalia is in front of us, trying to inconspicuously kick us. I do the same and I wish her father notices her already. On my right, a chair is left unoccupied, probably for one of the guests arriving. After a few minutes of chairs scratching the floor, all of us were able to settle in. The food is all laid in front of us.
Heffy, on the far end of the table, stands up and welcomes everyone. "Good evening everyone! Thank you for coming to this dinner to welcome new friends!" He gestures to my father and me. "Well, we can get to know each other later on. I know everyone is hungry, so let's eat!" He then sits down, and everyone starts grabbing food. Suddenly, the doorbell rings once more, signaling the arrival of the last guests. Heffy, who is about to get a bread, sighs and stands up to meet the guests at the front door.
However, for Leo, Thalia and I, we are currently having a silent foot war with Thalia attacking. Leo and I couldn't even get our chairs near the table for us to be able to eat. We keep eyeing Thalia who is trying not to look at us but both of us can see that she is smirking. Uncle Zeus, who looks like he wanted to ask Thalia, notices our current position and immediately looks under the table.
"Thalia." He says reprimanding. Thalia, on the other hand, just looks at her father innocently. "Let them eat first, then you could go ahead and be violent." Both Leo and I stare at him with open mouths and he glances at us aporetically because he knows that he can't control her daughter's violent tendencies. Her daughter just smiles evilly and retracts her feet and starts eating. The two of us eyes her suspiciously and move towards the table slowly. Seeing that she won't do anything, we begin eating as well.
Both Leo and I eat at a fast rate and Thalia looks us in disgust when we are just shoving food in our mouths. When I noticed that she is shaking her head, I realization dawns to me and I stop munching on the chicken leg I'm holding on to. I notice that this just feels like back home. The times I experienced with my friends where I could just act like a kid and suddenly, the nightmare that I keep having hits me full force. Leo spots my frozen form and is about to say something when someone sat beside me. I got out of my suspended state and turn my head with the chicken leg still dangling in front of my mouth. I almost spit out the food when I saw it is the girl from the aquarium and she is smiling at me brightly.
I cough uncontrollably while my cousin is laughing her head off, "You okay there, cousin." I immediately reach for my water and down it in two gulps. I finally notice that Leo is laughing at me as well to the point he is tipping his chair. Of course, I give him a nudge, causing him to crash onto the floor. Thalia and I laugh at him and the girl beside me is chuckling softly as well. The adults don't seem like they care.
"Perce. Not cool." Leo complains as I help him get up.
"Well, that's what you get for laughing at me." I reply to his whining.
"You never change, Leo." That girl speaks again, and I turn to her again and she is already looking at me with a smile in her face. She then shifts her gaze to my new friend. "You okay there, supreme commander." Leo's face heats up at the comment. "Hey Thalia."
Meanwhile, feels like Thalia is having fun snickering at the other side of the table. "Hey Cal." She wipes the corner of her eyes as she began tearing up by her constant giggling.
"So, who's our new friend here."
Cal was asking Thalia but Leo butts in obnoxiously, "Cal, meet Percy. Perce, this is Calypso, Cal for short." He introduces the two of us and Cal lifts his hand for me to shake. I grab her hand tentatively and I stare at our joined hands and for some reason, a memory assaults my brain. The memory of small boy in the playground with a small girl approaching him.
"Umm," before I could delve too much in my past, a voice pulls me out, "can I have my hand back?" Calypso asks, smiling at me sweetly. I immediately let go of her hand and turn to my food once more and resume eating. I stare at my food with a hard gaze, not wanting to look at them but I know that they are looking at my weird actions.
"Oh, let me shake your hand now, Cal." Leo tells Calypso from my side and I can feel that they are shaking just behind my back. I stare adamantly at my food until I couldn't take the pressure of someone gazing at me. I lift my head for a bit and train my eyes towards Thalia who is staring at back me. From the looks of her face, she knows that I am feeling down because of the people from New York again. I didn't lift my head the entire dinner after that.
My dad is waving goodbye as we start walking home while I keep my head low, not looking at them. I just nodded at the people inside before getting out of the house. I know I was being rude, but I felt suffocated by that place and I can't take it anymore. Seeing that my dad is still saying his goodbyes, I walk ahead which he notices and jogs after me.
"Hey Perce." He calls my name as he walks besides me. I didn't respond. "You okay there, son." He asks. I nod wordlessly, and I know my dad is worried again for me. "Well, that was a great dinner. We should practice more so that we could be the one to throw a dinner like that." He tries for a small talk but I'm not listening that much because my mind is filled with so many thoughts.
I never thought that my nightmares would come true but that dinner and that scene with them came to pass. Now, I am being swallowed up by a concept that is hindering my actions. Meeting with Thalia had put down my guard and made me think I was crazy for letting some silly dreams make me worry. My interaction with Leo, with Thalia and now the new girl, Calypso, it was all too reminiscent to the life I left. I thought that I was okay and even dismissed my father's notions days before, but right now, I am confirming what I keep denying myself. I look at Thalia, Leo and Calypso but what I see are Nico, Grover and Annabeth's backs and I never felt more afraid.
"-what do you say, Perce?" My dad asks me, and he notices that I wasn't even listening to him. "Perce, are you alright?" His face shows complete concern for me while I just look at him blankly and I nod once more. "Don't lie to me." His voice is hard. "Is this-is this about our conversation before?"
I immediately put up my guard and walk even faster and my dad follows through. "It's nothing, dad." We immediately arrive at the front of our house.
"Well, it's obviously nothing. Don't think I didn't notice your behavior a while ago at dinner." His voice is rising, and I can feel a hint of anger in it. I move faster towards the front door, hoping that I could shut myself in my room.
"I told you it's nothing." I still insist. "There's nothing to worry about, dad." I wait for him to open the door of the house.
"Stop lying, Perce." He fishes out his keys and puts it in door handle.
"I'm not lying. Just leave it alone, dad." I tell him, while staring at him twist the key and opening the door. I push it open for him and walk past him towards the stairs, wanting to just shut myself in my room.
"Percy." His voice sounds desperate, making me stop from my tracks, my hand already at the banister of the stairs. I close my eyes for a second before turning and I see my dad looking depressed. I know that he is having a hard time already and with me being difficult, he is getting more stressed by the day. "Could you just tell me what's wrong? We only have each other now." He pleads, and my heart keeps getting crushed.
I sigh deeply and start, "I am depressed, dad." I declare. "I am freakin depressed and all I want is to wind back the time, to the time where everything is alright. I know that it's been over a week only and I will get used to this new place, but I feel like I won't. I keep making myself busy, hoping that I will forget that place...," my eyes start to water, "but I can't dad. I can't, and I feel stupid for feeling like this when I said yes to your offer faster than light."
"Son...,"
I rub my face harshly. "Dad, I know why we are doing this. I know why we left. I know what they have done is unfair to us. I just..., I miss Grover and Nico. I miss Annabeth. I miss mom." I can see that my dad is about to tear up as well. "I miss them."
"Oh, son." He then engulfs me in a hug and I return it as well. "Look, I know that you want them but like you said, it's unfair to us. Do you want to be stuck in that kind of relationships? That's why I want you to make friends here."
I wiggle myself out of dad's hug and starts pacing back and forth. "But that's it dad. I keep imagining that mom will suddenly arrive in our front door, begging for our forgiveness and telling us that she can't live without us." I stop and stare at my dad. "I keep imagining flying back to New York, to our home. I will be reunited with my best friends and there's no people ruining it. I keep imagining this things that I am keeping away those people away from me because if I move on, then there's no chance for us to make up."
"Do you really want that? Are you really ready to forgive them?"
"I-I don't know. I hate them dad. I am so angry with them but." I sit down at the step of the stairs. "I love them, dad."
My dad sighs and sits down as well. "So, what are we going to do now? We could go back you know." I turn my head towards him quickly. "We could go back to those people." He then looks at me as well. "Or you could befriend this new people and help you move on."
I look down, ashamed of why I am having a hard time befriending them. "I'm afraid. What if they hurt me as well?"
"They won't."
"What if I hurt them?" My dad doesn't say anything.