Hey everyone! I gotta confess something, as of now - 22:24 on Monday the 15th of June - I have no idea where this chapter is going. I am writing this author's note before I write the chapter FYI and I don't have a clue what I'm about to write. I never planned on them going to play mini golf, heck, I never even planned on them going shopping, I just come up with stuff as I go along. I did have a plan for this story once upon a time, and I did stick to it, but the chapter by chapter plan ran out around the time of the party, and since then, I have written key points of each chapter once I write it onto the plan, so that I have the outline of the story. I do have most of the future chapters planned now, but at the moment I don't know what's going to happen in this chapter, so let's see where I go with it, and I hope you like whatever my messed up brain comes up with.
Hazel's POV
I have been having a great day. Hanging out with Frank has been amazing. The entire time we were in KFC, we actually talked. Normally, it's always super awkward between us, and neither one of us knows what to say, so we just end up in silence, but today, we had a proper conversation. When we walked over to the table and Percy and Annabeth were already there I was disappointed, because my alone time with Frank was over, but thanks to Annabeth and her obvious scheming, I got to keep spending time with him. For some reason, he seemed a lot more confident than usual. I don't know what happened - whether it was to do with whatever him and the boys talked about, or if it was something else - but it was a welcome change. (And I'm not gonna lie, it was attractive).
Anyway, my day was going wonderfully until someone showed up. Now, I want to get one thing straight, I do not hate Leo Valdez - quite the opposite actually. Wait, no, not the opposite, I don't love him either, but I did like him. Once upon a time, back in middle school, before I knew Frank, Calypso, or even Piper and Annabeth, I was besties with Leo. He was my first everything, ok, not everything, but he was my first kiss, crush, love, all of that.
First year of middle school, I was being bullied by some jerk called Rufus, every night I went home and cried because I was so scared of him, and I didn't know what to do about it. One day, he hand taken my lunch, and I thought he was about to hit me, but then, Leo showed up. He started yelling out directions like we were in a movie, and it confused Rufus so much, he stopped, not forever, just for that day, but after that, Leo convinced me to go to the principal and Rufus got suspended.
Since then, Leo and I did everything together, he was pretty much my only friend for a couple years, and eventually, our friendship evolved into something else. I fell in love with him, or maybe I had always been in love with him, but it didn't matter. Because, by the time I realised, it was too late. Leo was moving to Texas, and we were going to go to different high schools, we tried to stay in touch, but we both made new friends and forgot about each other.
Four and a half years later, Annabeth and I are waiting at a bus station. Piper had gone on a week long class trip to the Grand Canyon and we were her welcome party. The bus pulled up, out comes Piper, hand in hand with some blonde, and behind them, there he was. I was paralysed, I couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't even speak, I just stood there.
"Hey guys, this is-" Piper gestured to the blonde, but when she saw me, she stopped. "Hazel what's wrong?" She asked, concerned. Annabeth shook my arm, trying to get my attention, but I ignored her, still staring at him.
"Hazel!" She yelled, getting seriously worried.
At the sound of my name, he looked up, and our eyes met. It was like a thousand volts of electricity shot through me, and suddenly I could move again. I rushed forward, pushing past Piper, and jumped into his arms.
"Leo? Hazel? You know each other?" Piper asked, confused.
"Umm... yeah." Leo laughed, and I released him, still slightly dazed.
"Leo...who's this?" A beautiful girl walked up to us, I recognised her from earlier, she had been waiting at the bus stop as well.
Leo coughed nervously, and moved away from me slightly. "Calypso! Hi!" He hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek. I realised that she must be his girlfriend, and something inside me broke. I think that ever since middle school, I had been holding on to this tiny bit of irrational hope that one day I would see him again, one day I would get to hug him, and maybe we could have the chance that we never had back then, but I should have known better. "Calypso this is-"
"Hazel." I introduced myself. "I'm Hazel. Leo and I knew each other back in middle school, but I haven't seen him since, so seeing him today was just a bit of a shock. Sorry, you should've been the first one to welcome him back." I apologised, trying to plaster a fake smile across my face, but I'm not sure it worked.
"It's alright. I probably would have had the same reaction." She laughed, and it was so genuine. She was so nice. Why did she have to be nice? I can't hate her if she's nice. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too." I smiled again, hoping that it looked convincing enough. "Piper!" I turned around, tearing my gaze away from Leo. "I'm sure it was a long bus journey, you must be tired. Let's go home, you can tell us all about your new boy toy there." I took her bag from her, I couldn't look at Leo.
"Hazel I-" She was about to protest, but I met her eyes and silently pleaded with her, and she understood immediately. "I'll text you later Jason, I need some time with my girls." She slipped her arms through both mine and Annabeth's and we started to walk away.
"I'll see you around Hazel?" Leo called from behind us.
"Uh yeah, see ya." I couldn't meet his eyes, so instead I focused on his hands, still in constant motion, just like they were in middle school.
Over time, any residual feelings I had for Leo dulled until they were hardly there anymore. But I was never going to be able to truly forget about them, he was my first love after all.
That was why it was so weird when he and Calypso showed up at mini golf. Normally, I would be fine hanging out with him, after that awkward encounter at the bus station, we became friends again, but there was always this weird tension between him and Frank. And it was kind of hard to try and flirt with my current crush while my first love is standing a meter away, even if he is with is beautiful girlfriend.
"Leo! I'm glad you guys could come!" Piper said when she saw them. Apparently she had invited them, Leo had said that they had nothing to do today, so she said they should come and meet up with us. Great.
Percy's POV
Mini golf was really fun, well, except from the fact that I'm completely shit at it. And I'm not exaggerating, it took me at least four shots to get the ball in the hole every time.
"Percy you are so bad at this!" Annabeth laughed, as I hit my ball into the hole on the seventh try.
"Oh yeah? Then you show me your mastery at the sport." I challenged her, even though I already know that she's really good at it, it's just fun to see her do her little victory dance when she beast me.
"Ok, I will." She said, sauntering up to the tee. She positioned herself behind the ball, and swung her club. I watched it go up and down the little hills, until it rolled straight into the hole. Annabeth jumped up and down, smiling. "Haha sucker! I win!" She said to me, doing her little dance. I couldn't help but smile, she was so cute.
"You're right." I put my hands up in surrender. "You'll have to show me some pointers."
"Next hole." She smirked, walking over to stand next to me while the rest of our friends took their shots. Jason shot me a knowing look, glancing between me and Annabeth, so I stuck my tongue out at him, and once he finished his turn, he came and stood next to me, so I elbowed him in the ribs.
"What was that for?" He asked, playing the innocent card.
"Oh you know, you prick." I told him, taking minor pleasure in his pain.
"Would you two shut up? I'm trying to focus." Leo said, a look of determination on his face. We did as we were told and watched in silence as Leo took a few practice swings, taking it way too seriously. Hazel snuck up behind him, and when he was just about to swing, she hit his arm and yelled 'BOO!' causing him to hit the ball far too softly and in the wrong direction.
"HAZEL!" He exclaimed, turning around to face her in anger. "You suck!" He yelled, annoyed, slapping her arm. She ran away from him, and he followed, chasing her around the hole.
"Did something happen between them?" I whispered to Annabeth, because it looked like there was something there.
"Yeah, a long time ago in middle school, they were each others first love." She informed me, watching as Leo caught up with her and grabbed her wrist, leading Hazel to squeal with giggles. I looked over at Frank, who was watching them with a scowl on his face.
"Leo! You might want to finish your shot - there's other people who want to play this hole." I told him, seeing that there was a family finishing the last one. Frank shot me a grateful look and I smiled, understanding his pain. It's not great watching your crush joke around with another guy, especially if that guy is her ex.
We finished up that hole, and went onto the next one. "Okay Wise Girl, show me how the pro does it." I said, smiling at her.
She proceeded to give me two minutes worth of golf instructions, but, to be honest with you, I wasn't really listening. I couldn't focus on what she was saying, because the entire time I was staring at the strand of hair that kept falling in her face, no matter how many times she tucked it behind her ear.
"You got that Seaweed Brain?" She asked, pulling me from my trance.
"Uh yeah." I said, although I really didn't. I walked up to the tee and positioned my club.
"No you're holding it wrong." She said, walking up to me. She reached out to my hand, and when her fingers touched mine, sparks flew. Okay, not literal sparks, but she did shock me.
"Ow!" She exclaimed, "You gave me and electric shock!"
"Sorry." I apologised, going slightly red.
"Well that's because they have electricity." Jason muttered to Piper who burst out laughing, and I glared at them.
"Shut up Jason." I grumbled, averting my eyes from Annabeth's.
"Anyway," She said, changing the subject. "You need to hold the club like this." She moved my hands into the right position, and swung the club. The ball rolled, and rolled, and...didn't go in the hole, I don't know what kind of miracle it was hoping for, just because I'm holding the club right doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to a pro player.
"It may not have gone in, but it's a hell of a lot closer to the hole than it normally is." She laughed, and the sound of her laugh made me laugh too, it was contagious.
The rest of mini golf was pretty uneventful, Annabeth won (no surprise there) and I came last (once again, not surprising). Apparently, Annabeth had gotten the best score that anyone had ever gotten there, so as a prize, she won a stuffed toy, like you would get from a booth at a carnival. It was a baby seal with really big eyes, like one of those beanie babies.
"I love it." Annabeth laughed when she got given it. "It's so cute!"
"Oh my God Hazel." Piper said, grabbing the smaller girl's arm. "It's a cute, baby seal, with big eyes, it's Per-"
"Fect!" Annabeth yelled, clamping a hand over Piper's mouth. "It's perfect." She glared at Piper, and if I was Piper, I would be really scared. If that glare was directed at me, I would be running for the hills.
Hazel burst out laughing. "OMG Piper you're so right, that's exactly what she said about-" Annabeth caught her eye. "Uh, about that phone case she wanted that time." She mumbled, staring at the ground. I wasn't sure what was going on between them, but judging by the look on Annabeth's face, I didn't want to know.
"Ok, time to go home guys!" Annabeth announced, clutching the toy to her chest and marching out of the mini golf place, in the direction of the mall exit.
Annabeth's POV
Percy and I got in his car. I had tried to tell Piper that it made more sense for her, Hazel and I to take her car, but he was having none of it. So, here I was, sitting in a car, alone, with Percy, again. I hugged my new seal toy, the first thing I thought of when I saw it was Percy - it even had the exact same coloured eyes as him. I was fully ready to murder Piper and Hazel earlier, why on earth did I tell then that I thought Percy looked like a cute baby seal? It was obviously going to come back to haunt me.
"So what are you going to name it?" Percy asked, distracting me from thinking about my many colourful ways to commit murder without getting caught.
"What?"
"The seal." He said, looking at the toy in my hands. "What are you going to call it?"
"Oh." I thought about it for a second, and the perfect idea came to me. "I think I'll name it Persassy, after the worst mini golf player in the world."
"Hey!" He laughed. "I wasn't that bad! I was getting better near the end, I even got a hole in two once." He said proudly, and I smiled.
"You were only getting better because I started giving you tips." I told him, setting Persassy on my lap.
"That's not...okay that may be true but I was still getting better." He insisted, smiling at me.
"Just think, if I keep helping you, maybe one day you'll get a hole in one!"
"In that case, we'll just have to go again someday, maybe you can win another toy."
"It's a date." RED ALERT! WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST SAY?! Did i just ask him on a date? Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shiiiiiit! Hopefully he won't take it literally.
He cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh yeah." He mumbled, and I was glad he didn't say anything else. For the rest of the car ride we sat in an awkward silence, the only noise coming from the radio.
We pulled up in front of my apartment building, and Percy turned to me.
"Well, this is your stop." He said, and my eyes flickered down to his lips. Oh, how I longed to kiss those lips. I couldn't hold it in any longer, I finally gave into my desires. I leaned forward, wrapped my hands around his neck, and pulled him towards me. The second his soft, salty lips met mine, I thought I could die, I could die right in this moment and I wouldn't even care because I would have died in a moment of pure joy. His hands wove their way around my waist and my lips found their way to his neck, as he left a soft trail of kisses along my jawline and up to my ear.
"Annabeth." He whispered, breathless. "Wake up." My eyes jolted open and I turned to see Percy shaking my shoulder.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You fell asleep, I didn't want to wake you, but we're at your house." He explained, gesturing out the window to my apartment. Oh. That was a dream. It was all...a dream. That moment of pure joy was...a dream. Oh.
"Oh, right. Okay, well, thanks for the ride." Embarrassed, I grabbed my toy and my bag, and opened the car door. "See ya." I said, climbing out of the car.
"Um, bye." He said, as I stood up.
"Yeah...bye." I cast one last, longing gaze down at his lips, before slamming the door Shut and turning around. I walked away without turning back, because, if I did, I would probably run straight back into the car and into Percy's arms.
Please don't kill me! I'm sorry, I know I'm evil, but once I got the idea I couldn't resist. Anyways, I hope you like what I wrote in this chapter, I am very proud of myself for it, especially since I never planned to write it. I want to thank LeobadboyValdez0 for the idea to have Leo and Calypso join them in this chapter, I admit, at first I wasn't planning on using it, but then it inspired me to create the whole first half of this chapter about Leo and Hazel, so thank you, I don't know what I would have done without that suggestion. Also, I want to thank you guys for all of you lovely reviews, I get more and more each chapter, and every single one brings a smile to my face. That's it for today, I love all of you wonderful people, and I look forward to seeing you next time!
Replies to Reviews:
dodoking666: Thank you, and lol yep, she definitely did.
Perceus-Prior: Thank you so much! Yeah, I update minimum once a week, but normally more often than that.
molmeal: Oh thank you! That's so nice of you. I have little to no confidence about how good my writing is so that means a lot.
SeaMaster: I'm glad you liked it, and yeah that was the plan. ;-)
Guest: I'm so glad you liked it, and you'll just have to wait and see.
molmeal: I'm glad you like it and I'll be expecting that cookie.
TheLonelyViolist: I have been thinking that I've been improving as I go, so thank you for saying that. You should definitely have that feeling and I hope you liked this chapter just as much.
DaughterofBlueFood: Thank you! I'm happy you found it so funny. P.S. Judging by your username we must be sisters.
NoAccount: Thank you and thank you.
Hestiaisboss389: I'm glad you like it!
JasperWho: Thank you, and tell your brother I'm glad he liked it.
RavenclawHermes2: Elephant shoes forever! I'm glad you like it.
FrankisMine271: Thank you! And thanks for that idea, even though I didn't use it exactly, I hope you liked how I used it. I just kind of felt like it was sorta stereotypical to have the guy help the girl with her golf swing, so I reversed it! (Plus what is there that Annabeth can't do?)
Percyandme: Hi to QueenRenya and I'm glad you liked it.
LeobadboyValdez0: Thank you! And once again, thanks for that idea!
SingingHermione: I'm glad you liked it!
Carrot Lord: I'm happy you found it so funny! :-) Thank you so much and yeah, I thought it would be more entertaining to have it from Jason's POV while Piper's plotting, because it was fun to have him be slightly clueless about the whole thing. Oh yeah, don't worry, Annabeth is definitely going to need that King of Sparta again soon.
Howdareyou1103: Thank you so much!
ya6789: Cool!
Guest: I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Imtheboss: Thank you! The next chapter's here! I actually got your review while I was adding the finishing touches to this. I think people just call chapters chappies because it's kind of a cute little word for it, and yeah, sometimes I call them that.