Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or the characters, Rick Riordan does.
Salt,
(No going back now. The toast has been given, and everyone was going in for the kill. This might be a mistake though.)
Shot,
(Oh my gods… This was a mistake. Burning. Bittersweet. Slightly savory. Warm. Too warm. My gods, did Connor microwave this thing?)
Lime.
(Oh gods, where is it? I had it a second ago. Did that lime wedge grow legs and walk away? This was definitely mistake. I needed relief. Sweet, scratch that, sour relief. I needed that neutralizing flood of sour juice. And then I realized, it's been in my hand the whole time and bit down hard, holding the rind in my mouth like some sad lime clown.)
"Oh gods, where the hell is that lime?" Travis croaked out.
"I don't know! It was in my hand a second ago!" Connor panicked.
"Here!" Grover yelled out, and threw a bunch of lime wedges at them.
I closed my eyes, feeling the salt, liquor and lime rush into my stomach. I shivered with a mix of pleasure and pain.
You know, now that it's over, I felt great—energized, amped, ready for the night. I could see everyone felt exactly the same way. We were so in sync right now.
"I feel so pumped!" Connor exclaimed.
"Tequila was definitely a great choice." Katie told Travis.
He grinned. "Nice of you to admit it."
She shrugged. "When you're right…"
"You're right." Bianca concluded.
"We've got exactly 10 minutes until we have to leave." Grover reminded us.
"So… Still 10 minutes of our pregame, interesting…" Nico muttered. We locked eyes, and I swear, somehow, I knew what he was thinking. I practically feltit.
"Enough time for another?" I proposed. Holy shit, I can't believe I was the one to say that.
"Fuck yeah!" He said with a grin. Gods, we were vibing so hard right now.
"Dayumn, you guys are playing to win!" Connor said with a grin.
"I always play to win." I said with a cocky smirk.
"Confident Percy… I love it!" Travis extolled.
"So… everyone up for it?" Katie asked excitedly, just to be sure. "Cause I am totally down, if you guys are."
"Oh, you know I'm down girl!" Bianca answered excitedly.
"And we know Percy and Nico are down." Connor said with a grin.
"And you guys know, me and Connor are always down." Travis said, with a matching grin.
We all stared at Grover, who was getting ready to leave.
He stared back at us with a disbelieving smile. "You guys aren't serious right now, right? There's gonna be alcohol at the party."
We all shared a look, before looking back at him, just as serious as before.
"But… The bus!"
"Sooooo…?" Nico asked him, his tone rising at the end.
Grover stared at us for a couple of seconds before shrugging. "Yeah, all right, fuck it."
Connor pumped a fist into the air and whooped. "Yessss, let's all get shitfaced tonight bitches!"
-Line Break-
"He's here!" Leo whooped, the moment he opened the door. "Piper! The fish is in the net, I repeat, the fish is actually in the motherfucking net! No need to go fishing after all."
"Um… What?" I asked, eyes wide in confusion. "Guys, what is happening right now?" Did they just refer to me as fish? Why?!
I heard someone go down the stairs quickly, and before I knew it I was face to face with Piper.
She smirked, and checked me out unabashedly. "Dayumn son, definitely seeing what Annabeth's seeing in you right now. You look just about ready for anything."
"Yeah chico, I must admit, dayumn indeed." Leo said with a smirk. "For someone who doesn't have any shit to sort out, you sure are dressed to play."
I ran my hand through my hair, nerves definitely present in my stomach right now. I think I might need a drink. Like, immediately.
"Um…" I started, not sure how to process all of this right now.
"Help." I muttered quietly to my friends behind me.
I felt the Stoll twins put their arms around me, and saw Grover wink. Oh thank gods for these guys!
"Ohh, Percy's ready alright." Grover started, confidently smiling.
"But he didn't come here to play." Travis added with a smirk.
"He came here to win." Connor finished, an identical smirk present on his face
Oh my gods. Why? Just… Why? I take it back, they were so not helping right now.
"That's not what I meant with help." I noted dryly.
Leo nodded, his smile genuine and opened the door to his mansion of a house wider. "Nice crew you got there dude, respect. Now, make yourselves at home, or as the Spanish put it, mi casa es su casa!"
"Sweet." The Stoll twins said at the same time.
Everyone entered Leo's place, but the moment I stepped foot, Piper grabbed me. "Sorry guys, do you mind if I borrow your Percy for a sec?"
"Guys! Help!" I yelled at them.
Nico looked up in thought. "Well… Fine."
"As long as you bring him back in one piece." Bianca added with a shrug.
"Guys!" I exclaimed disbelievingly.
She shrugged again. "What are you gonna do?"
"Enjoy!" Katie advised me with a wink.
Yep, they're absolutely no help at all. Screw them.
"Drinks are in the kitchen, dance-floor is in the dining room, games are in the basements and pool is in the garden." Leo informed, gesturing vaguely to the directions of the rooms he was listing off. "All on all, drink, dance, explore!"
And then they dragged me off.
"Where are you taking me?" I asked Piper and Leo, who were both dragging me by my arms.
"To the kitchen." Leo answered, wiggling his eyebrows. Oh gods, not the eyebrow wiggle. That damned eyebrow wiggle.
"Why?" I asked, a little fearfully. I could really use a drink. Like, right fucking now.
"Well, you look like you could use a drink." Piper noted. Seriously, that is just getting creepy at this point.
"Or two." Leo coughed out.
"Or a dozen." I corrected.
They both stopped an looked at me, almost reverently. I was definitely freaking out even more than when they were dragging me.
"It's you!" Leo said in awe.
I blinked. "Um… What?"
"It's you! The chosen one." Piper repeated excitedly. "You're our missing musketeer!"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Because nope. Just… Nope. I am not, never will be, their missing musketeer.
"No."
"But-" Leo started.
"No!" I interrupted.
"It's okay dude." Piper cooed. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah! We'll take good care of you! You're one of us now." Leo added, manic glint in his eyes.
"No, no I'm not."
"Yes, you are! We're the same." Piper explained. "All three of us."
I ran my hand through my hair. "Where's the kitchen?" I asked exasperatedly. If I had to listen to them, I might as well forget about it tomorrow.
"See? One of us." Leo concluded smugly.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. Why gods… Just… Why?
-Line Break-
Two beers later, and I felt better. I don't know what it is, but life is just a little more alive after a few drinks. Or maybe I'm more alive after a few drinks.
I was nursing my third beer, still wishing Piper and Leo would leave me alone. I suppose things could be worse, I'm not sure how though.
"So… What do you think of Annabeth?" Leo asked me all of a sudden.
I practically choked on my drink when he asked me that. Oh gods. Things just became worse.
"What?"
"You know, Annabeth." Piper purred out. "Blond, hot, strong as hell?"
I grabbed a napkin off the table, and wiped my mouth. "Why are you guys asking about Annabeth all of a sudden?"
They shared a look, before smirking.
"No reason." Leo said innocently.
"Just curious." Piper added.
I looked at them suspiciously. "Right. You guys are definitely planning something, and I am having none of it."
"And how would you know that?" Leo asked me.
"Because, I can practically feel it emanating off of you two."
"Because we're the same." Piper concluded with a victorious smirk. "See? You are one of us."
"Oh my gods." I groaned out exasperatedly.
"So…? What do we think about Annabeth?" Piper wondered.
I sighed. "I don't know… If we're the really the same, don't you already know?"
"Aha! So you admit we're the same." Leo proclaimed.
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Yes, fine whatever. We're the same. Anything to finish this conversation."
Piper and Leo whooped and high-fived. Oh my gods, what have I gotten myself into?
"And since we're the same, I know you're just dying to talk to her." Leo concluded. "I can feel it in my bones right now bro."
I spat out my drink. "What? How did you even get to that conclusion? I'm not dying-"
"Shh, it's okay." Piper interrupted me, patting my back. "You don't have to say it. We got your back dude. #TeamPercabeth. "
"Yeah, we'll help you with Annabeth." Leo said with a manic grin. Oh gods.
"I don't need your help with Annabeth!" I protested.
Piper and Leo looked surprised at that.
"Dayumn, this one's got some claws!" Leo noted.
"So confident! I love it!" Piper squealed. She fucking squealed. "Annabeth's gonna love it!"
"What are you guys doing?" Someone asked us sternly. Piper and Leo stiffened. And I… I just wanted to die right about now.
I turned around, and yep. There she was. Beautiful and all.
Annabeth fucking Chase.
Kill.
Me.
Right fucking….
Now.
"Annabeth, hey girl! Looking good!" Leo complimented her with an awkward chuckle. "So fierce!"
Piper slapped his shoulder. "Dude, town it down." She whispered.
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "Are you guys bothering Percy?"
Piper and Leo shared a look, and then stared back at me with a manic glint in their eyes. No, don't tell me this was their plan. Don't tell me they're gonna…
"Bye!" Leo yelled, and ran off.
"You lovebirds have fun!" Piper yelled while she was running away.
Yep. They did it. They actually did it.
I pinched the bridge of my nose for the millionth time tonight, for I… was left alone with Annabeth Chase. Just as they planned. Those ingenious bastards.
Okay, maybe I was being a tad dramatic, there were like 6 other people in the kitchen. But still. Annabeth Chase.
She cleared her throat, probably to catch my attention, not knowing she already had it.
"Hey Percy, can we um.. Can we talk?" She asked me, sounding (if I'm not mistaken and drunk) nervous.
I looked at the bottle of beer I was holding, a quarter left. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."
"Um, in private?" She added.
Ohh… No. That's dangerous.
I was about to protest, when I made the mistake of looking up. I saw the determination in her grey eyes, and I knew that she wasn't actually asking me, she was ordering me. Why was that so hot? What the hell is the matter with me?
I chugged the rest of my beer, and slammed the bottle onto the table.
"Lead the way." I said in a resigned tone.
She smirked, and grabbed me by hand, and led the way. Where we were going, I didn't know, nor did I care , she could've been leading me to my death right now and I'd be absolutely powerless to stop her.
She was holding my hand tightly, as if she was scared I'd just... disappear.
Holding her hand made me shiver the same way the tequila did.
A mixture of pleasure and pain.
-Line Break-
"So… What did you want to talk about?" I asked, breaking the silence that ensued the moment we sat down.
We were currently on the roof, which had a nice view of the garden, but was far enough that you could hear your thoughts.. All alone, just the two of us. But I was totally not freaking out.
Except that I was. What am I supposed to do in this situation? Nothing in my life could've prepared me for… this.
She was looking at me again, an emotion I couldn't quite place present in her stormy grey eyes. She rested her head on her bent knee, head tilted to her right.
She smiled, that damned dimply smile, that showed off her perfect teeth. I mean seriously, who the hell had teeth that perfect? I swear, her teeth made me so much more aware light, they somehow made the stars and the moon shine brighter.
"I don't know."
I frowned. "What?"
She shrugged, smile still on her face. "I just wanted to hang out with you, alone." She admitted with a small blush. "No staring, no music, just us."
I gulped. No, that is so unfair. She really shouldn't be allowed say things like that to me. Because, holy shit, was it affecting my thinking process more than any amount of alcohol. Not only that, but she figured out I hated crowds. That realization drove the butterflies in my stomach absolutely wild.
"Just us?" I repeated nervously,
"Just you and me." She affirmed, her voice strong and clear, only softened by that damned smile of hers.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Why? I mean, why me?"
She lifted one of her eyebrows. "Because you're my friend Seaweed Brain." She reaffirmed. "And I want to hear all about the things that go in your head, without missing a single thing because of music that's way too loud, or people that aren't interesting enough."
I felt my face heat up at her confession. She was tearing down my defenses faster than I could replace them, and that scared the absolute shit out of me. Because what happens then? I tell her my deepest darkest secrets? Then what? She's absolutely horrified, decides that I'm not worth it, and abandons me just like my father did, leaving me a broken husk of a man.
I closed my eyes, trying to calm down the storm her eyes inspired into my stomach, my head, my heart, my very being. Godsdamnit, this is so unfair. It shouldn't matter that she was my childhood crush, it really shouldn't. She isn't my crush, and I'm not a child anymore. I have to stop living in the past. Ican't let myself hope.
"I don't even know what's going in my head." I admitted.
"Well, what are you thinking about right now?"
"You." I confessed softly, oh so softly, I wondered if she heard it.
I saw her smile go wider (which I didn't even know was possible), her eyes shine brighter, and her face glow hotter. "What about me?"
Everything.
Maybe it's because I'm not entirely sober right now, maybe it's because we're sitting beneath the moon and the stars, maybe it's the way she was looking at me right now, but I wanted to tell her all about my dreams, my hopes, my nightmares, everything. I wanted to voice the words I'm afraid to say, the ones I kept hidden in between the folds of my heart and the ridges of my mind. I shook my head. What is the matter with me? She'd run for the hills screaming if I ever let her in too deep. Worse, she'd stop looking at me the way she does if she ever knew.
I cleared my throat. "Um… You know, I uhh, I was wondering how you were doing?"
What the hell was I even saying right now? Of all the things I wanted to say, I go ahead and say... that?
"What?"
"Well, um, I wanted to know if… you're okay? Like for real?" I stumbled over my words, my mind drunk on her eyes, her smile, and you know, alcohol.
She blinked, and looked a little disappointed and honestly, so was I. "Oh, that's… not what I was expecting, but yeah, all right. I'm okay, all things considered. What about you? How are your bruises?"
"Okay, all things considered." I repeated with a playful smirk.
She pushed me little, but I could see her mirror my grin.
"For real though, my bruises are healing just fine. I haven't had any headaches or nosebleeds since the fight, which is, you know, a great sign." I explained.
I saw her frown. "Do you still have bruises?"
"Um, yeah, they're pretty faint."
"Where?"
"My jaw."
And then I felt her cup my face once more, making me realize how much I've been missing her hands ever since she last stopped cupping my face.
"I thought they healed last week?" She asked me, stroking my jaw slowly, making my skin tingle as if it was the first time all over again. Yeah, I don't think I'm ever getting used to this. To her.
"What?" I asked, doing my best to concentrate on her words instead of her hands.
"Last week, you told me they were gone." She reminded me.
I blinked. I can't believe she actually remembered. "Um, yeah no, sorry. I uh, I couldn't really think properly. They're still there, but uh, you know, it doesn't hurt or anything." I stammered out.
She frowned. "Why couldn't you think properly?"
I felt my face heat up. Oh, she probably felt it too, with her hands. Lovely.
"Um… You." I confessed clumsily, avoiding her eyes. "I mean, I'm not used to you, or any girl really, being this close to me, and well... I kind of say stupid things… Well, more than usual."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, Annabeth, you uh, you kind of make me nervous." I told her earnestly, still looking down at my lap. "Really nervous."
I felt her grab my chin, pretty much forcing me to look her in the eyes.
"Does anyone else make you this nervous?" She asked me softly, nervously biting her lip.
I gulped, my eyes trained onto her lips. "No. Definitely not." I saw her smile at that.
"You make me nervous too." She confessed. "Really nervous."
I blinked. "Really?"
"Yeah, I… I'm usually not this shy. Or clueless."
Shy?
Dude, if stroking my jaw is something she can do when she's shy, then I kinda wanna know what she can do when isn't feeling shy, because holy shit. I can't even imagine stroking her jaw when I'm feeling confident.
"Why do I make you nervous?" I asked her disbelievingly. "You're… You. And I'm just… Me."
"Oh Seaweed Brain, that's exactly why I'm so nervous." She explained, her eyes constantly dropping to my lips. What is happening right now?
I furrowed my eyebrows. How on earth could I, Perseus Jackson, ever make anyone, least of all Annabeth Chase nervous? Seriously, someone please explain.
I don't know if I was doing this unknowingly, or if she was pulling me closer, but either way, our faces were inching closer and closer, just a little bit more and we-
Right as we're about to um… meet, her phone rang, breaking whatever spell we were both under. She let go of my face, her eyes wide with surprise and… disappointment? I rubbed my eyes, because I have got to be mistaken. There's no way she wanted to actually kiss me. There's no way I would actually let myself go like that... Right?
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I thought… I could've sworn I put it on silent." She mumbled with a blush.
I shook my head, running my shaking hand through my hair. "Um, no worries. You should probably get that."
She bit her lip and looked at her phone. "Yeah, I guess I should."
"I'm just gonna… Head down." I said, pointing towards the window into the house.
She frowned, definitely disappointed with my answer, but screw it. I had to get as far away possible from her, before I said or did something I couldn't take back.
"Oh, okay… I'll see you around the party?"
"Um, yeah, maybe."
-Line Break-
Oh gods.
I almost…
We almost…
I can't believe it.
I was currently in the kitchen, looking for something stronger than beer. Needing something stronger than beer, to help me, escape... forget.
"Hey Percy, you okay there?" Someone asked me.
I looked up, and was surprised to see… Jason Grace. Sure. Sure. Why not? Why the hell not?
"Um hey… Yeah. I'm just… Looking for something stronger."
His eyes twinkled. "Well, me and the guys were going to have a drinking contest in the garden. You're more than welcome to join." That sounds like a great idea!
"Uh, okay but… why are you inviting me?"
"Well, any friend of Annabeth's is a friend of mine." He answered honestly. "Plus, and no offense, but you look like you could use a drink."
I let out a nervous laugh, doing my best to avoid thinking about what I almost… nope. I'm not going there.
"Lead the way."
"So the rules are simple. First one to not only finish the ten shots of vodka, but also keeps it in, wins." Jason explained.
"How about we make this interesting?" Luke proposed with a smirk aimed at me. Maybe this drinking contest wasn't the best idea.
"What do you have in mind?" Jason asked him.
"The loser has to be the winner's slave for a week." He announced.
Jason thought about it. "Well… If everyone here agrees…?"
All around me the guys nodded their heads in agreement, everyone but me.
Jason looked at me, a concerned look in his eyes. "You okay with that Percy?"
I gulped, obviously not confident in my chances. "Um-"
"What? You going to chicken out like a little bitch?" Luke goaded, all the guys shouting 'Oooh' like middle-schoolers.
My eyes narrowed, words I would probably regret at the tip of the tongue, when I was tackled to the ground.
"Holy shit!"
"What is happening right now?"
"The fuck?"
"What the fuck?" I groaned out the moment I made contact with the ground.
"Whoops, sorry about that Percy!" Leo told me, not at all looking apologetic. "I was tying my shoes, when all of a sudden I slipped. You know, because my shoes were untied."
"Oh, no! You don't look so good!" Piper announced dramatically, putting her hand on my forehead. "Sorry boys, but I don't think Percy can compete in this drinking contest! He looks like he needs to rest his head."
I furrowed my eyebrows, about to retort, when Leo put his hand over my mouth. He took a hold of my torso, while Piper grabbed my legs and they carried me to the living room couch, where they unceremoniously dropped me.
"You're welcome." Leo told me happily.
"What? Why did you tackle me?!" I growled. "That really hurt!"
His eyes softened. "Sorry dude, but I had to do something! We had to something."
"What are you talking about?"
"Luke." Piper said, as if that was enough.
"What about Luke?"
"He was totally planning something." She announced.
Leo nodded his head. "Totally. And that ain't good news for you."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Why?"
"Cause he hates you." Piper explained.
"What?!"
Leo nodded his head solemnly. "For real dude, Luke does not like you."
"What did I do?" I wondered.
"Nothing." Piper answered. "It's just…"
"Annabeth." Leo finished.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "What about Annabeth?"
Leo put his arm around. "Look dude, I'm all about her happiness, right? Well, Luke is all about her happiness too! But, you know, only if it's in the shape of him."
I rubbed my temples. "Wait, so if I understand you correctly, Luke wants to be with Annabeth."
"Yup."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Everything!" Piper proclaimed.
"How? Just… How?"
"He's jealous of you." Leo explained.
Maybe Leo tackled me harder than I thought, because I was for real starting to have a headache from all this drama. This was exactly why I needed to stay away from Annabeth. Things were getting way too complicated, way too quickly.
"You know what, I can't deal with this right now." I told them, turning around and walking away. "Maybe ever."
"Wait, where you going?" Piper yelled out.
I ignored her question, mostly because I didn't know the answer.
All I knew was I needed to get the hell out of here.
Well, apparently when it rains, it pours cause here I am updating already. I'm just as surprised as you are tbh.
I'm so not done with this party event, I actually had more written, buuuut this seemed like a.. suspensful(/evil) place to end it XD. I'm really just making things up as I go at this point. The next chapter... I don't even know when that's going to be done at this point... Could be tomorrow, could be next week, hopefully before next month haha.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you liked it!
Let me know what you liked, hated, and what you'd want to see in future chapters :)
MapleRose150: Hell yeah! I'm always open for criticism, cause how else am I supposed to know whether I suck or not? I'm like so stoked you like my writing style, and this story! For real, sometimes I worry that my sentences don't make any sense, or that I use wayyy to many commas, or that this story isn't really going anywhere and stuff. I get what you mean about Annabeth being too shy and I tried to address it in this chapter (in a hopefully not too obvious way). All in all, if you've got any more comments, thoughts or ideas throw em this way, cause I'm open :D I hope you liked this chapter! (p.s. I don't have any knowledge about Wattpad, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to educate me ;)
xmariex2525: Omg same dude, same! This quarantine is driving me absolutely nuts. On the plus-side, I probably wouldn't have updated this story so soon without it... Either way, I'm glad you love my story and that I could provide you with some form of relief in this crazy, chaotic period of history!
ApollosCreed8: Thank youuu!
