Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters, Rick Riordan does.
All I ever really wanted for this year was to be unnoticeable, utterly unnoticeable.
I know how cliché that sounds, but screw it. That's all I ever wanted. But all throughout the week, I kept getting noticed by, well… Annabeth.
She'd send me smiles, that I both lived and died for. And every time she did, I noticed all the guys around me sending me jealous glares. Worse, all of her friends have definitely taken notice of me. I mean, they didn't accost me the way Piper and Leo did, but I could feel their stares bore into me, reminding me how similar they were to predators. And how it felt to be prey again.
Everywhere I went, I could feel people stare at me and whisper, probably also about me. Lovely.
"Dude… what the hell happened between you and Annabeth?" Conner asked me on the day of the party, setting down his tray.
I was staring at the table, head between my hands. I was currently going out of my mind, mourning my apparently unrealistic dream of a peaceful year. It was wounded when I dove head-first into a fistfight and died the moment Annabeth picked up its tattered remains in the form of my beanie and hoodie.
R.I.P.: PERCY'S PEACEFUL YEAR.
At least it was getting a semi-proper funeral today, although if it were up to me it wouldn't have been Leo Valdez' party.
I sighed. "What do you mean?"
"Have you not noticed everyone staring at you wherever you go?" Travis asked sarcastically.
"Especially the popular kids?" Grover added.
"A.K.A. Annabeth's friends?" Katie clarified, just as invested in this piece gossip as everyone else at the table.
I groaned. "I already told you guys! She fell last week, I helped her up, and then fell myself during the process."
"Aw come on dude, you can't expect us to actually believe that, right?" Connor retorted.
"Yeah, that's obviously bullshit!" Travis exclaimed.
I sighed. I wanted to tell them, I really did, but that would just lead to more probing questions, and I just couldn't deal with that right now. I just became friends with them, I didn't want to mess that up now, I didn't want Gabe to mess that up. He already messed up enough stuff for me.
"I don't care if you believe me or not." I told them.
"Fine, just for a minute, let's say it is true," Grover started, looking at me suspiciously, "why do Piper and Leo think something's going on between you and Annabeth?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose out of frustration. He was totally right, by the way. All throughout the week, they'd wiggle their eyebrows, and wink at me whenever they were with Annabeth. Even worse, when she wasn't paying attention, they'd make some rather... crude gestures. And that's putting it nicely.
"I really really really don't know why on earth they would think that." I said exasperatedly. "I mean come on, I don't have a single shot in hell with a girl like Annabeth!"
Bianca shrugged. "I don't know, she does seem pretty interested."
Katie nodded. "Haven't you noticed the way she looks at you?"
I looked up in disbelief. "What?"
"Dude! How have you not noticed it?" Grover asked me incredulously. "Anyone would've noticed a girl like Annabeth staring at them like that!"
"Even I noticed." Nico admitted silently.
"Shit, that means something dude." Travis said seriously.
"Yeah, Nico doesn't even care, and he noticed." Connor said in awe.
Nico shrugged and nodded. "They're right, it's gotta be pretty obvious if even I noticed it."
I desperately wanted to run my hands through my hair in frustration right now. I'm really starting to hate my beanies. I couldn't even hide behind the shield that is my glasses because of that stupid fight.
"No, there's no way, okay? There's no fucking way Annabeth is the least bit interested in me. She's… Annabeth, and I'm, well, me." I tried to explain.
Katie tsk'ed. "You never know Percy, you never know. Besides, you're not a bad guy."
"Yeah! You're awesome dude." Travis told me seriously.
"And funny." Grover added.
"And totally not ugly!" Connor exclaimed.
"I actually think you might have a shot." Nico noted.
"With the way she's looking at him? Definitely." Bianca concluded.
"Well, what if I don't want to be with Annabeth?" I wondered. "Did you guys ever think about that?"
"Dude, you don't want to be with Annabeth?" Connor asked me incredulously.
"For real?" Katie wondered.
"Annabeth Chase?" Travis clarified with disbelief.
I was rubbing the back of my neck. I didn't put too much thought into it. Didn't let myself put any thought into it, actually. To be perfectly honest, I might've been a little bit interested, she was my childhood crush and first friend ever but… I doubt she even remembers me. She's… Amazing, and I'm… Not.
Besides, I don't think I could handle that kind of relationship right now. I have so much baggage, it would bring anyone down. I could never do that to anyone. If I don't even like myself, how the hell was I supposed to like anyone else?
"I don't know. I just… I just got here you know. I barely know anyone well enough to even think about that." I told them. It was technically not a lie. Sort of a half-truth. They didn't know I went to middle school with them, which was fine by me.
"Huh, yeah, sometimes I forget we just met last week." Grover admitted.
"Damn, where does the time go?" Travis wondered.
"I can't believe we've only known you for a week." Connor exclaimed.
"It seems like forever!" Katie agreed.
"Holy shit!" Nico said in awe.
"Hopefully it is forever." Bianca grinned when she said that.
I couldn't hide my smile. Heh, maybe my mom was right. I guess having friends was kind of nice. Really nice actually.
"If it were up to me, B., it will be forever." I admitted.
"Fuck yes!" Travis exclaimed.
"We should totally celebrate our friendship at Leo's party tonight!" Connor whooped.
"What?" Nico asked with wide eyes.
"Leo Valdez' party?" Bianca asked, eyes just as wide as her brother's.
"You guys didn't know? We were invited." Connor reminded them.
"Shit, I knew we forget something!" Travis said with a frown.
The bell rang, announcing the end of our lunch.
"Crap, we've got History." Connor reminded Travis, Grover and me.
We all hurried, Mr. Brunner's was gonna be pissed if we were late. Again.
"Wait! What was that about Leo's Party?" Katie yelled at us.
"I'll text you the details!" Travis yelled back.
"We're all definitely going though!" Connor announced before we were out of the cafeteria.
-Line Break-
"Yeah, so about the party… I think I'm definitely not going." I announced.
"No way! We're all going dude. You agreed." Grover reminded me. "We're all staying over at my place after! Our parents already agreed to it, remember?"
I was currently outside the school, skateboard in one hand, waiting at the bus stop with Grover, Travis and Connor.
"Yeah! I even managed to convince Katie to come with!" Travis implored.
"And I got Bianca and Nico to agree!" Grover claimed.
"Dude, he got Bianca and Nico to agree. Let me repeat, Bianca and Nico. That is a fucking big deal." Connor elaborated. "They never want to have join our sleepovers!"
I was tugging on my beanie. "But… Why do I have to go?"
"Come on! Leo invited you personally!" Travis reminded me.
"Besides, now we're also going to celebrating our friendship there!" Grover added.
I sighed. "Can't we just… Go bowling together as friends instead?" I proposed.
Connor shook his head. "Dude, come on! We never get invited to parties."
"Yeah, and it's like… a rite of passage or something." Travis admonished.
"And isn't it better to go through something like that for the first time together? As friends?" Grover stressed. "And if it goes badly, lament it together at my place after?"
I groaned. When you put it like that, how the hell was I supposed to disagree?
"But…" I tried, when suddenly my phone started ringing.
I almost got a heart attack when I saw who it was.
"Holy shit… is Piper McLean seriously calling you right now?" Grover wondered with wide eyes.
"Dude… answer it." Travis said, eyes wide with wonder.
"No way! I'm not answering that. We don't have the time, what if your bus comes?" I reminded them.
"Fuck that, we'll just uber home or something." Connor answered.
"You've gotta answer it dude!" Travis implored.
I sighed. "Fine." I muttered, but then it stopped ringing.
"Oh, well that's the end of that." I concluded a little happily.
And then my phone started ringing again, same person. "Crap, I jinxed myself there, didn't I?"
"Put it on loudspeaker." Grover advised.
"What? No!"
"Please?" Connor pleaded.
I pinched the bridge of nose, but did it anyway.
"You better not be thinking of skipping Leo's party." Piper said the moment I picked up.
All of our eyes widened, and jaws fell. How did she…?
"I bet you're all wondering how I knew." Piper said without prompting, smirk evident in her words. "Eyes all wide, jaws on the floor, hilarious."
I chuckled uncomfortably. "Um… Are you… A witch?" I asked half-jokingly, but also half- seriously.
"No, but I am a badass bitch." She answered smugly. "Look behind you dorks."
We all did, and there she stood with a smirk, hanging up on me, the sudden wind making her look exactly like a badass bitch.
"What are you even doing here?" I wondered.
She tsk'ed. "I had a feeling you were going to chicken out."
I started sweating. "What? Of course not!" I don't think she believed me.
"I don't believe you." She dead-panned. Oh.
My gods, can she read my mind or something?
"Fine, maybe, I was kind of, sort of thinking that you know… I don't need to be there?"
"He's lying, he was definitely thinking of not going to the party." Connor admitted.
I looked at him incredulously. "Dude!"
He looked a little apologetic, and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry dude, but if we can't convince you…"
"Maybe she can." Travis finished with wide eyes. "Smort."
"But..!" I started. The bus arrived before I could finish.
"Can't talk right now, the bus is here." He interrupted me.
"I thought you were gonna Uber?!" I reminded them. They just ignored me, probably to get away from Piper as fast as possible. Lucky bastards.
"Again, really sorry Perce!" Connor said quickly, getting on the bus.
Grover clapped me on the shoulders and said "Good luck with Piper dude. If you survive, I'll see you at the party!"
And then they left me all alone with Piper McLean.
You know what? I take it back, I don't think I like having friends after all.
"So?" Piper broke off the momentary silence.
I sighed. "What do you guys even want from me Piper?"
Her eyes softened, as she walked towards me. "We just want to get to know you."
I tugged on my beanie. "But why? There's seriously nothing special about me, all right? I'm nothing special. You're not missing anything."
She shook her head, an arms-length away from me. "That's not true."
"How would you know?"
She smirked, with a playful glint in her eyes. "Just a feeling. You could try and prove me wrong I guess."
"And how would I do that?" I asked earnestly.
"Come to the party."
I snorted. "Wow. You're a persistent one, aren't you?"
She lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow, playful glint still evident in her eyes. "What? Don't tell me you're scared?"
My eyes narrowed at that. Don't let her get to you Perce. Even if…
"I'm not scared."
She shrugged, with that infuriating smirk of her. "Could've fooled me."
I clenched my jaw. "And, theoretically, how would coming to the party prove you wrong?"
She looked up, as if in thought, ruined by the smirk she still wore. "Guess you'll have to come to find out, huh?"
Ohh, this girl was definitely dangerous too. Then again, aren't all the populars?
"Can't you just tell me now?" I tried.
She shook her head. "Nope."
"You're going to track me down and drag me to that party if I don't come, aren't you?" I concluded.
She smirked victoriously. "What do you think?" My gods. She was nothing but trouble. Oh, but how tempting the trouble seemed when it looked like her.
I closed my eyes in resignation. "What time does it start?"
-Line Break-
"You sure you packed everything Percy?" My mom asked me for the hundredth time, making sure before we left.
"Yes mom, I double, triple, quadruple checked, all right?"
She smiled and hugged me. "I'm sorry, I'm just so excited! Your first sleepover since we last left New York! That's a big deal."
I rubbed the back of my head. So, I didn't tell her I was going to a party. Obviously the Stoll twins' idea. Although I'm starting to regret agreeing to it.
"Yeah haha, I know, who would've thought it?" I said, with an uncomfortable laugh.
She smiled. "I'm really proud of you Percy. I know how nervous you were about making friends, and now look at you! A sleepover after one week."
I smiled more genuinely at that. She was right. I never thought, that I could in a million years, make friends this easily.
"Yeah, I'm pretty excited too." I admitted for the first time out loud. "How do I look?"
"Good! But honey, why are you wearing your beanie?" She wondered.
I tugged on it. No one's seen me without it. Well, except for Annabeth, but if I could've avoided that I would've.
"Why? Does it look bad?"
She took it off, and tussled my hair. "No, of course not, but isn't it uncomfortable?"
"A little." I admitted.
She looked into my eyes and smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure your friends will recognize you without it."
I gulped, I wouldn't count on it. "I just feel better with it on."
"I don't think you'll need it Percy honey, you're going to a sleepover." She reasoned.
Shit. She had a point. But there's no way I could go to that party without it! I didn't even have my glasses to shield me, this beanie was all I had left.
"Well…."
"Perseus Jackson, you are not going to a sleepover with a beanie, and that's final" She said sternly.
Crap, she used my full name in that tone. There's no way I could convince her now. I'm really regretting all of my life choices right now. Especially befriending the Stoll twins.
I sighed dramatically and gave her my beanie. "Fine." My stomach fluttered with nerves.
"Actually, you are dressed very nicely for a sleepover." She noted.
I looked down at my only good dress shirt (it's midnight blue by the way), ripped black jeans and my least damaged white converse.
"Yeah, um… We were thinking of maybe eating out later tonight, so…" I improvised on the spot.
She grinned brightly and grabbed her car keys. "Oh, that's great! Get your stuff and I'll meet you downstairs."
I let out a sigh of relief and nodded my head. "You got it mom."
-Line Break-
"Dude… You're like hot. Really really hot." Was how Grover greeted me, the moment I entered his living room. Everyone else was already there, looking at me with wide eyes.
I nervously ran my fingers through my hair and rolled my eyes. "Shut up."
"No, he's being serious." Travis told me.
"Oh. Um… Thanks?" I said, feeling my face heat up.
"You might actually give Luke and Jason a run for their money." Katie noted.
"You kidding me? His black messy hair alone puts him ahead of those slices of Wonder Bread." Connor commented. "With them it's like, thank you, next. But with you it's like, check please!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "What? What does that even mean? You know what, never mind. Can we just… stop talking about me right now?"
"Sorry Percy… We've just… Never seen you without a beanie before." Nico admitted.
"You look great without it!" Bianca complimented me.
I cleared my throat. "Right… Thanks. And yeah I know, I feel better with a beanie but…"
"But?" Grover repeated.
I sighed, my face heating up again. "My mom wouldn't let me wear it." I mumbled.
Everyone was quiet for a second, and then they started chuckling.
"Seriously dude?" Nico asked me, chuckling and looking more at ease.
I wanted to be mad at them for laughing, but to be honest, yeah, that is kind of funny.
I cracked a smile. "She used my full name and everything."
"Shit, you know she ain't playing when she does that." Travis exclaimed.
"Damn straight!" Connor agreed.
I looked around at everyone excitedly discussing the upcoming party. I had to admit their excitement was contagious. Maybe a party isn't the worse thing in the world. Especially if I was going with these guys.
"Guys, check it out! Pregame!" Travis whooped, taking out a bottle Cuervo and a couple of shot glasses, while Connor came back from the kitchen with a bowl of lime wedges and a salt shaker.
Oh Hell.
To the.
No.
I shook my head. "Nuh-uh. No. I am not doing tequila shots."
Travis ignored me and poured seven shots.
"We're not seriously doing shots right?" I wondered. "Nico?"
He squirmed. "I dunno…. I kinda wanna try it."
My eyes widened. "For real? All of you?"
Everyone around me nodded. I blinked.
"You don't have to though." Grover told me earnestly.
Connor nodded. "Yeah dude, we're not gonna force you."
"Totally. No peer pressure whatsoever." Katie agreed.
"I just thought it'd be fun to try it out together for the first time." Travis admitted with a blush.
I bit my lip. When you put it like that…
"Fuck it, I'm in." I exclaimed.
Everyone whooped, and high-fived. "Wow, you guys sure are excited."
"Are you kidding me? Not only are we going to our first party ever, but we're also doing shots for the first time!" Travis whooped.
"Tonight, is going to be epiiic." Bianca announced uncharacteristically.
"You got that right!" Katie squealed.
"So how do we do this?" Nico wondered, staring at the table. "I know we've gotta take the shot, lick the salt and suck on the lime wedge, but I don't know in what order."
"Gimme a sec." Grover said, scrolling on his phone. "Ah, here we go: Salt, shot, lime. Huh,seems easy enough."
"You wrote it down?" I asked him.
He shrugged. "Yeah, didn't want to mess this up"
I blinked. "Fair enough."
"I think you're supposed to hold the lime wedge with the same hand as the salt." Travis noted.
"I think we can do that." Connor concluded.
Everyone grabbed a lime wedge, licked the back of their hands and poured some salt on it.
"Before we do this though, a toast." Connor announced, shot glass raised. "Here's to us."
"To the start of a beautiful friendship." Grover added.
"To firsts, and probably not lasts." Bianca added.
"To our youth." Nico added
"To an epic party." Katie added.
"To the start of an awesome adventure." Travis added.
"To a night, we'll never forget." I finished with a smirk.
Here we go…
Salt,
Shot,
Lime.
Hey, I hope you guys are all doing all right! I know it's been a hit minute since I last posted, but life's been pretty unpredictable these past few months. Although, I'm sure you all know that by now. Consistency isn't something I'm great at, so I don't know when the next chapter will come out. Hell, I don't even know if anyone's still interested in this story. Inspiration comes and goes I suppose.
That being said, I really do I hope you and all of your families have a safe place to stay in and quarantine. And that you liked this chapter of course xD.
All jokes aside, I don't know when the next chapter will be done, I'm kind of making all of this up on the spot. I've still got stuff to figure, and like I said, inspiration comes and goes, kind of like a wave. In an ideal world I'll be updating next week. No promises though...
Hope you all liked it, and you know, that you're washing your hands and stuff.
Oh and here's a PSA:
You don't need to get drunk to have a fun time. That is not at all what I'm going for here. You can totally enjoy a party without a sip of alcohol! I just thought it would bring these kooky kids closer together, doing something that for the first time ever. Ideally, you wait until you're, you know, legally allowed to drink. However, this is all fiction, so I figured, why not? Again though, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DRINK TO HAVE FUN! Can't stress that enough. I just see this as a bonding moment for these fictional characters.
So, yeah, that's all I wanted to say haha. Let me know what you thought about the chapter, and if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!
MapleRose150: Aw, thanks dude! I'll try, but I'm not the best at being sassy... Hope the wait was worth it tho ;)
IhaveStupid: Thank you so much dude! Happy to have you. Or, happy to have had you? Idk...
Darkar Sam: Thanks dude! Yeah, I know, I can't help it though XD I have a cheesy sense of humor... Tbh, Percabeth isn't set in stone, I'm still figuring stuff out. I'm open to suggestions, if you (or anyone else) has any.
