Chapter XI:

feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'

There she was, rocking a sky blue crop top with bell bottom jeans, and weathered Birkenstocks that were strapped to her feet. However, everything about her demeanor was off. Her face showed zero emotion. Something was clearly wrong.

Piper quickly entered the ice cream shop and slammed her hand on the table, causing Percy to jump a good foot into the air. "You. Me. Hamilton. One hour. And wear something nice for once, please."

And in the blink of an eye, a beat of a heart, she was gone. The bell jingled wildly on her way out. Percy was left staring, wide-eyed, at a pair of tickets, in complete and utter shock.

Delicately, he examined the glossy strips of paper. Two tickets, stamped for the premier showing of Hamilton, at the brand new Amphitrite Theatre. Two seats in the front row, middle section.

A message and number were written in neat cursive, on the back of one of the tickets. "Meet back here at 7. Give me a call."

He finally had her number now. His last hour had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.

-Ω-

It was, by far, the fastest he had ever run home. Percy blew through the front door, and vaulted up the stairs with the speed and agility that would've made his old t&f coach proud.

He had closed down the store fifteen minutes early. Five minutes to get home. Five minutes to change. Five minutes to get back.

"Percy? Are you alright?" Sally called out from the first floor.

"Now is not the time, Mom!" Percy said as he tore through his closet, desperately looking for something half-decent.

Sally peeked her head inside his room and wrinkled her nose. "It's beginning to smell like man in here. What is going on?"

Percy finally found a wrinkled navy blue polo and was in the process of wriggling it on. "Date at the new movie theatre! I need to leave in three minutes!"

"Amphitrite?"

"Yeah! It's a movie called Hamilton! She said dress nicely!"

Sally allowed herself a laugh at her nervous wreck of a son. "Percy, it's not a movie. It's a play! And they're going to have a dress code! You can't wear that!"

"What, this?" He waved his hands over the polo and khaki shorts. "What's the dress code?"

"Not that!" His mother scolded. "The premier of a play is a big deal. Definitely a black tie event."

A moment later, she pulled out a pristine black sports jacket with an adorning white dress shirt. It was the suit he had worn at his senior prom, with the boutonnière still attached. "This will have to do. Quick, put it on. I'll get your dress shoes."

Percy kissed her quickly on the cheek and hurriedly buttoned the shirt on. "Thanks Mom, you're the best."

Sally smiled at her son with adoration, proud at the young man that he was becoming. "Hurry, she's waiting for you."

Before he left, he made a quick stop in his parents bathroom and sprayed on a random bottle of Paul's cologne. Percy was certain he had just broken the world record for the 'fastest man to ever put on a suit.' That made two new records for the day, and the night was still young.

-Ω-

Percy sat down on the wooden bench outside Rita's, dressed to the nines, dripping in sweat, and out of breath. He watched as the numbers on the street clock changed from 6:59 to 7:00. It was show time.

Nervously, he dialed the number, pressed the call button, and held the phone up to his ear.

After three of the longest dial tones he had ever listened to, a voice picked up on the other side. "Not bad, stupid."

Wait. Did I hear that twice?

Percy swiveled around and found Piper, with her phone in her hand, and a small smile on her face. How she managed to sneak up behind him was something he would never know.

"Wow." Was all he could manage to say.

Piper was wearing a dazzling satin dress that went down to her knees, and suspiciously matched his eye color exactly. Immaculate black stilettos adorned her small feet.

"You don't look too bad either." Piper gave his outfit a nod of approval. "Is that Armani I'm sensing?"

"Should I be worried that you can differentiate men's cologne?" Percy murmured as he rose to take her arm. She smelled like fresh peaches.

Piper accepted the gesture but still pouted. "There are much worse games to play, Jackson."

-Ω-

Amphitrite was nothing short of amazing. It was now easily one of the largest buildings in Avalon by a mile. The theatre area itself could have easily fit five of Percy's houses with more than enough room to spare. Polished wooden surfaces and red curtains blanketed the entire entire chamber. The orchestra had begun their warm-up routine as the guests flooded in.

The two of them were ushered to the front and Percy sat beside Piper and a distinguished looking gentleman to his left. He couldn't believe that they had gotten the best seats in the house.

"Piper, how did you get these? It must have cost a fortune. I have to pay you back." Percy whispered as the lights began to dim.

Piper took his hand and squeezed it. "It's starting. Pay attention."

The play made Percy wish he hadn't slept through AP US History. Science had always been his strong suit, it was taught by Mr. Brunner, who had always liked him because he had gone to the Naval Academy with his father.

Hamilton, who was the main character in the play, was portrayed by a well built man with a dark complexion. Percy thought he faintly recognized him from an Avengers movie, but because of the clothing and makeup he couldn't be sure.

Percy noticed that the actor was also making direct eye contact with Piper, which made him surprisingly jealous.

To his surprise, he actually managed to doze off and Piper embarrassingly had to wake him up, half way through, to tell him that it was intermission. To make matters worse, there was an extremely long line for the bathroom. Percy barely made it back in time for the start of the second half (If you think the line to use the urinal was bad at airports, you've never tried to use one at a theatre).

He somehow was able to stay awake for the remainder of the play, and was mildly interested in the dueling scene between Hamilton and Burr. Piper, on the other hand, was wide awake the entire time and started crying when the musical finally ended.

The actors all lined up at center stage and took one final bow that was answered with a thunderous applause.

Percy held Piper's hand and guided them through the audience, who were rushing the stage armed with sharpies and cameras. The actors began signing various memorabilia and articles of clothing. He even saw one man request an actor to sign his bald head.

Just as he was about to lead them to the exit, Piper stopped. "Wait, Percy."

Something was again off. Her fingers were subconsciously picking at the seams of her dress. Her aura of confidence was gone, almost like she was...nervous.

Percy felt a brick drop into his stomach. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Um, can you wait here for a second, please?"

Concerned, he nodded silently and watched Piper as she began to weave her way back through the crowd. Percy made his way outside the theatre and began to pace, back and forth, with his own nervous energy.

Mentally, he went through every single moment of the night, trying to figure out where he went wrong. Was it the way he dressed? She told him he looked good. Or did she only say it was ok? Was she really that judgmental?

Before he had time to finish dwelling, Piper returned, along with the main actor of the show, who was now in street clothes. Percy's intense worry immediately became a mixed bag of confusion and jealousy.

"Dad, this is my...boyfriend, Percy Jackson. Percy, this is my dad." Piper said shakingly, clearly in a state of panic.

Percy couldn't believe it. It suddenly all made sense. Why Piper was staying only for the summer. Why she lived in a mansion. How she was able to afford the tickets. He had completely forgotten that her dad was a Hollywood star. She had told him time and time again, but she had never said his name. Tristan McLean. He played Erik Killmonger in 'Black Panther.' This man was a multi-billionaire. And Piper was his daughter. The dots had never fully connected in his mind.

Her father observed Percy as if he were a floating turd in a toilet, waiting to be flushed away to Neverland. Percy was taller than him, but the way the man carried himself made Percy feel like he was constantly looking up at him.

Percy took the initiative and reached his hand out. "I—It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Tristan McLean." He took Percy's hand and gave him a firm handshake. His voice was rough and gentle at the same time. "You must be the young man that Piper has been talking about."

"Y—Yes sir." Percy internally cursed himself for stuttering. This was the last thing he had expected. He wasn't sure if he was hallucinating.

"Unfortunately, as much as we love it here, Piper and I will be heading out tomorrow morning. Piper, that means you have to come home with me, tonight."

The surrounding noise around them dulled inside Percy's mind. He wanted to throw up. His heart felt like it had been run through with a searing hot blade. He looked at Piper, praying to God that he wasn't telling the truth.

To his horror, tears were already streaming out of her eyes. "Dad! You promised me! NO! Dad, please!" She wailed as she tugged on his arm.

Tristan chastised his daughter, no doubt worried about a potential dramatic scene in front of the mass media. "I promised you that I would think about it. We must go now, it was nice meeting you, Percy."

Anger started to boil, from deep inside his gut. But he could do nothing but stand there, hopelessly, as Piper left him. Far too soon.

Author's Note:

Hahahahaha. Btw, join my discord. Link is in my bio. Cheers.

Disclaimer: Lyrics from Bees Gees's 'Stayin' Alive.'