2 AM
Percy Jackson loved Halloween. He lived for it. It was one of the few holidays on the calendar that brought a smile to his face, other than Christmas and maybe Thanksgiving.
Even though he was now in his late-twenties, he would never grow out of dressing up for the annual celebration. At this point, it was nostalgic for him, reminding him of the old times he used to spend back at Camp Half-Blood. A time, back when all he had to worry about was battling monsters, and making sure the gods did not blast him to smithereens.
After defeating nearly every possible enemy of Olympus in quick succession, there had not been much for him to do in his later years at Camp, nor in New Rome. The Greek dynamic inside of him was still everpresent, but the only traits that bothered him now were whatever was left of his ADHD and dyslexia.
It was these thoughts about the maverick he used to be that elicited a wistful look on the aging demigod's face, as he kicked his feet up onto the table from where he was leaning on the couch. Nowadays, he was finding it increasingly difficult to even muster the willpower to wake up for his job. He could not imagine how sore his body would feel if he had to roll out at the crack of dawn to bash some dracaena back to Hades' realm.
Simpler times it had been, back then.
Unfastening the belt around his waist, Percy then let out a neutral sigh.
For this year's Halloween, he had decided to go pirate, and had dressed from head to toe in an outfit that resembled a poor-man's version of Captain Jack Sparrow. Or rather, he was still dressed. The time on the clock hanging from the wall showed that it was nearing two o'clock in the morning. Halloween, for most, was already over.
Empty plastic bags were strewn about the floor of his humble abode, devoid of the assorted candy goodies that had already gone out to the children of his neighborhood. Except for the Almond Joy's, nobody seemed to like those, including himself.
The most popular costumes this year had come from Marvel, thanks to all the movies they had been pumping out as of late. The amount of little Captain America's and Black Widow's he had seen running about was absurd, so absurd that he had given extra candy to those that were wearing anything other than superhero outfits.
He found it to be a tragedy that the children of this generation no longer grew up watching the classic Star Wars movies, and other sci-fi films that he had been invested in during his early childhood. Not to mention the modem of their video games, all iPad's, Xbox's and whatnot, when before kids their age would all go down to the arcades to hang out and play.
A loud cheering sound aroused him from his plaintive state of thinking, and turned his attention back to the football rerun playing in front of him on the TV.
Percy had no idea how his eyelids were still managing to stay open. He had entered a state of consciousness where he knew he was tired, but at the same time did not feel like going to sleep. It was a Saturday night, so he could afford to sleep in the next morning.
Gosh, he hated himself.
Dutifully, he reached over towards the nearby table in search of his unfinished beverage, only for his hand to fall short when another surprising sound greeted his ears.
Ding! Dong!
Percy blinked groggily, and rotated his head accordingly towards the aft hallway, where his door stood.
Ding! Dong!
"What the hell." He muttered as his eyes trailed back to his clock, not entirely believing what he was hearing.
The hands had just passed two, what on Earth was somebody doing at his doorstep?
Habitually, Percy's hand found its way inside his pocket, his palm rubbing against the familiar casing of Riptide's ballpoint form as he treaded towards the doorway.
Checking through the peephole first, he was met with a pair of eyes that were some of the most intimidating he had ever seen before, and a smile that was eerily recognizable.
Throwing open the door fully, he came face-to-face with his unexpected visitor, and the only thing he could say was,
"What…"
Piper McLean stared straight back at him, intelligent kaleidoscopes peering what felt like deep inside his soul, nimble arms unmoving from where they were crossed around her chest. Appropriately dressed for the cooling weather, she was donning a gray simple hoodie and jeans. On her feet were this year's most fashionable shoes: New Balance 574's, in matching gray.
Percy blinked before finishing, "Piper… what are you doing here?"
Memories of the times of old, instances where she had caught his eye flashed across his mind as he fought to recall every single moment they had previously spent together. In many ways she looked exactly the same, and in many more ways she looked completely different.
"Are you not going to offer me any candy?" The girl—well, now a woman he had not seen in over a decade, postulated in her all-too-familiar tone.
Percy shifted consciously and offered an edgeless remark instead,
"That just didn't answer my question, McLean."
He watched as Piper gave him what looked like a quick once over, before responding,
"You're a sad looking pirate, Jackson. I figured that you would've picked up a sense of fashion by now."
"There's quite a lot of things I figured I would've picked up by now," he jibed lightheartedly and somberly at the same time.
Piper's face contorted a bit at that, the glint from the covered moon shining across her bronze skin.
"So, got any more candy?" She asked, a little more softly this time.
Percy reached behind the door for the nearby bowl of sweets. "I do, but sorry, only got Almond Joys left."
Piper accepted one of the small bars with a shrug, and immediately began to peel back the pacific blue wrapper.
"Not a problem for me." She assured.
Percy watched, absolutely enthralled, as she gently slipped the piece of chocolate in between her lips. He could not remember the last time he had thought about her. Quite frankly, she was probably one of the last people he would have brought up if he was asked to name his old friends. Yet here she was, standing right in front of him, all these years later.
"What are you doing here?" He decided to ask again, once she was done consuming the candy.
"I've been traveling." She said simply in return, like that was all that needed to be said.
"Have you visited any of the others?"
"Nope."
"Really?" Percy asked, brow furrowing, thinking that surely he could not have been first on her list, if such a list existed.
"Really." Piper affirmed, crinkling the wrapper inside her perfectly-kept hand.
They stared at each other for a bit while longer, the autumn breeze providing the only ambient noise for their soundless conversation. Percy took it as an opportunity to study her more closely, and had no doubts that she was doing the same to him. While there was no doubt she was Aphrodite's daughter, what struck him the most was the sense of peacefulness that she seemed to radiate, washing over him like a calm, cool summer wave.
"Are you going to let me in?" She said after a while, leaning forward as she did so.
Percy stepped aside, while at the same time questioning why he did.
"You're not charmspeaking me, are you?" He asked unsurely, remembering the many unfortunate souls she had manipulated during their heyday.
"I don't know, Jackson. I don't know." She answered, wearing the same smile she had shown him when he had first answered the door.
"Well," he started to say as he welcomed her inside his house, closing the door behind them with a light push, "I guess I'll never find out."
"No, no you won't."
This submission was a part of an Emerald Library writing competition starting on October 4, 2021. To participate or vote in the competition, you're welcome to join the discord link we have on the profile.
Written by Const3llations. Winner.