Wonderwall
Chapter 25-Christmas
"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess.
It's a love story, baby, just say, 'Yes.'"
~Love Story by Taylor Swift
Before anything else, I told my half brothers to be on their best behavior and not to try anything funny-Will nearly got a heart attack when he first visited because Bobby (or was it Matthew?) thought it would be funny to put balloons under the cushions on the couches for him to sit on. I couldn't even say enough 'sorrys' afterwards.
Helen was not overly happy that I invited Percy over, but she had to just deal with it. It was my dad's idea after all, and sometimes Helen tried very hard to please him.
When the doorbell rang, everyone else was in the middle of a game of monopoly, so I just ran to the door and opened it up. Percy was ruffling his hair hastily, trying to smooth it down but it just stayed messy, as usual.
"You're a bit early." I said, a little overly cheerful. I had a red sweater on, with little dorky green trees littered around the collar. Dad used to buy me Christmas sweaters when I was younger, before Helen got in our lives and we still lived in California. He used to say how much he wishes Christmas would actually be cold there, so that the atmosphere would be better for the holiday. He also said how 'Pallas' used to be fascinated by this particular holiday.
I guess it's not hard to guess why she was so fascinated now. It's probably all a joke to the gods or something.
Anyway, back to door, Percy was just standing awkwardly at the door with a few bags in his hands.
"Um, where should I put these...?" He asked, giving a dubious shrug.
"Oh, Percy, right?" Helen asked, slightly shoving me aside and taking over. "You didn't have to!" She said, taking the bags from Percy's hands. I could tell from her eyes that she's judging Percy for every little thing he did.
"Just step in, don't hang there like a dork." I smirked, inviting him in. Helen was busy putting away stuff, and my brothers were gawking at him. Sensing the awkwardness, my dad strolled over and offered his hand to Percy.
"Dr. Fredrick Chase."
"Perseus Jackson." Percy accepted dad's hand firmly, shifting slightly into a more confident demeanor. It's times like these that make me feel like I don't know the boy at all.
"Annabeth's pretty excited about you coming over. I'm glad that you could make it."
"Me too. I haven't really ever celebrated Christmas before." Percy said, giving a one shoulder shrug. Helen heard what he said and shot him an annoyed look, but I didn't think Percy noticed. I didn't choose to comment, either.
"Well, I better go help Helen with dinner now, you kids enjoy yourselves." Dad said, giving me a sideway wink.
I just bit my lip and pretend not to see it. It was quite weird, this sudden closeness my dad was trying to create between us. It would definitely take sometime for me to get used to it.
"Well." I started, "would you like me to make a drink, or?" Despite being in a relationship for a while already, Percy and I still get weird and awkward around each other at times.
"Let's just sit back and relax," Percy said, looking for something. "Let's get to the couch! Looks like your brothers are playing monopoly or something-"
"Wait!" I said, pulling him up before he sits down. "Let me check real quick."
After making sure the perimeter is safe, we sat down and watched as Bobby lost half of his money to Matthew. It looked awfully boring-I mean, can you even play Monopoly with only two people?
However, it was very nice to be able to just sit with Percy and dwell in our own bubble. Soft Christmas music was playing in the background, and everything was as close to perfect as it can get with my stepmother in close proximity.
After zoning off a bit, Percy nudged my side and gave me a box.
"Merry Christmas, Wise Girl." He put it in my hand softly. "Wait to open it tomorrow morning, yeah?"
I nodded, walking two steps to my Christmas tree and scooping up his present, wrapped in a bigger box. "Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain." I said, presenting it to him. He put it in his backpack, curiosity showing on his face.
I didn't give him a hint of what it was. To be honest, I was very nervous how he would react to it-I got the snowglobe from one of the field trips to a German craft museum, and it was an intricate little thing. I hoped that he would like it-it was one of a family of snowmen, coupling with a lovely cottage. It was completely handpainted, and small shiny white flakes covered everything. I simply adored it.
I was wondering about his present, too, but I supposed that I would find out soon enough.
I put my head on Percy's shoulder, watching my brothers play. I didn't dare to display too much affection; my half brothers are silly tell-tales who try their best to 'please mom and get Annie into trouble'.
"Annabeth! Dinner's ready! Get your brothers here along with your guest! We're ready to start dinner." My dad called from the dining room. Unlike the usual fairy tales, my step-mother doesn't really make me do a million chores and more.
Helen wants to keep the illusion of a perfect family, and that includes her being the perfect housewife. Sure, I still have a healthy dose of chores, but they're just what everyone else has to do. Still, with Percy (or any other guests) here, she'd never make me cook everything alone.
We set the table real quick, with dad at one end of the table and Helen at the other. The two boys sat across Percy and I, and the sudden stench of awkwardness was about to drown me.
My dad cleared his throat, and he bowed down his head. We all did so, except Percy, but I let him be. "Our Dear Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this food. Feed our souls on the bread of-"
"Ahem." Helen cleared her throat and looked at Percy pointedly. He stared back at her. I nudged his leg under the table, urging him to just conform for once. Helen's wrath was not something I would like to dealt with.
But Percy made no move to at least pretend praying like the rest of us were doing.
My father shot Helen a comforting look and continued, "on the bread of life and help us-"
Helen wasn't going to take it. She frowned and then said, "Aren't you a Christian?"
Dad tried to make peace, "Helen..." She shrugged him off.
Percy looked at her and calmly replied. "No. I'm pagan. A Hellenic polytheist, actually."
I didn't understand why Percy can't just go with it. Like, I understood that he's pretty close to his mom and he's Greek and everything, but why can't he just let it go? The awkwardness was so tangible it was practically suffocating me. And it didn't need to be like that if he'd just bow his head down and close his eyes and pretend to pray or something. Or if Helen would just shut up and let Percy be.
As if sensing my annoyance, Percy took my hand under the table and gave me a reassuring squeeze. Great. Now I was too busy trying to not to blush in front of everyone at the dinner table who was all staring quite intently at Percy.
"A Hellenic polytheist?" Helen snarled. "What is that? Some make belief religion?" Oh no, Helen officially hated Percy. Why couldn't she have hated Luke instead and like Percy? Oh right, because Luke was as pretentious as she was after Freshman year.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Chase," Percy stated, "Hellenism refers to the belief of the gods of the Greek Parthenon-the twelve Olympians, Hades, Hestia, and the minor gods on Olympus-"
"I know who they are. And it's obvious they're just little myths and bedtime stories for the children at night. The only actual deity is God, and..." I toned Helen out after that.
I haven't always been a very religious person, but I am respectful of all religions, so Percy and Helen's episode was greatly unappreciated. My father had a helpless look on his face, but he didn't look regretful that he made me invite Percy here... That's good. Bobby and Matthew already dug into their mash potatoes; well, why doesn't Helen direct her energy to that 'disrespectful behavior' instead?
Percy was extraordinarily calm and collected-he took in the yelling and just sat there and waited for Helen to get down with her speech. I didn't need to say this, but the Christmas dinner was an absolute disaster.
I led Percy out the door just a bit after the dinner. The mood was not pleasant, but the atmosphere was so much lighter after we got out the door into the apartment hallway.
"I'm sorry that you were subjected to Helen's wrath." I said, looking on the side, too embarrassed to actually look at him in the eye.
"No, I'm sorry." He bit his lip. "I didn't want to give your parents a bad first impression."
"Then why'd you just not comply to Helen?" I asked, curious. Usually Percy's really easy-going and he wouldn't want to embarrass me like that.
"It's complicated. But when you're really deep into the gods' world like I am, praying to another deity-even pretending-isn't a very good idea. Zeus gets mad pretty easily, and you don't want him to strike you out." Percy said, and I understood.
I guess there was higher powered beings at work here and it sort of made sense. I still doubted that Zeus would care that much, though. Percy was literally just a demigod of Thetis's, it shouldn't even count that much if I was okay and I was a daughter of Athena.
I nodded, and said, "It's alright, I guess I'll see you soon?"
"Yeah, how does New Year's Eve sound?"
"Fantastic." I said. Helen and Dad and my twin step-brothers already have plans to Helen's friend's house for the entire weekend. I could sneak out for the night no problem.
"Good." Percy said, leaned close, and kissed my forehead quickly. "I'll see you soon!" He walked down the hallway and turned to the elevator.
I blushed, breathing a few times before walking back into my apartment.
My dad was counseling Helen in the kitchen, probably saying something to ease her up. I didn't say anything on my end. I just went in my room, called 'lights out' to myself, and fell asleep-slowly, and then all at once.
Happy Summer Solstice! It's a pretty darn important holiday for the Greeks so of course you guys get a little something from me. I had the least number of reviews last chapter... It's okay, I know you guys are busy people, but take a few seconds to review and show me your love? I'd really, really appreciate it since it's a pretty difficult time (in real life) for me right now...
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or TFIOS or anything else that I've referenced... And I am also not officially affiliated with any sort of religion so I don't intend to be offensive for any parts of this chapter. Percy is only behaving like that because in The Staff of Serapis, a PJO/Kane Chronicles crossover story, it is stated that deities of different parthenon cannot actively participate in any activities (prayers, sacrifices, touching sacred objects, etc.) that stems from another. So, I'm just roping that reference in, which would be important for some plot points later. Correct me in the reviews for any inaccuracies!
Anyhow, you guys are welcome to give me any ideas for quotes: I've officially ran out of them so I'm literally pulling lyrics off of songs that I listened ages ago. I'll credit you in my A/N. Thanks for reading!