Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, or the characters, Rick Riordan does.
My feet ended up leading me to the basement, where people seemed to be playing ping pong, but with… beer? Oh, wait, beer pong. Right. Yeah. That makes sense.
"Percy! There you are!" Bianca exclaimed happily.
I walked over to her and Nico. "Hey guys, what uh.. What are you doing?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Nico commented. "Kicking ass at beer pong."
"Not for long, Di Angelo." His opponent muttered with a glare.
Bianca and Nico were apparently playing beer pong, against two girls. One girl was pretty much the epitome of punk. Black hair, electric blue eyes, DIY clothes, and a glare so scary, I was surprised Nico was able to just smirk at her and make his shot.
The other girl glanced at me, and honestly she looked like she was made to be a ruler. She had impossibly black eyes, that pierced through my soul, her glossy black hair woven into a complicated looking braid.
"Where's the rest?" I asked them, breaking the searing eye contact with that girl.
"Well, the Stoll twins are over there," Nico pointed at the end of the room, where there was another beer pong game set up, "Katie had to go to the bathroom, and Grover, well he's probably moping."
"Moping?"
Bianca nodded, eyes still trained on the game. "Yeah, he saw this girl he likes talking to some guy, and now he's all mopey and angsty."
My eyebrow went up at this tidbit of information. "Grover likes a girl? Which one?"
Nico rolled his eyes. "Juniper. He's liked her since like, freshman year, and we keep telling him to talk to her but…"
"Where he at?"
"Drowning his sorrows over by the drink table." Bianca answered with a headshake.
"All right, well I'll go find him… Good luck with your game?" I said awkwardly.
Nico smirked. "With the way Thalia's playing right now? There's absolutely no need for luck."
The punk girl, Thalia, paused and glared at him, about to retort, but then she just… Closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suddenly she was smirking. Not gonna lie, she looked hella scary right now. I could see Nico agreed, because he paled and Bianca swatted him and muttered, "Nice going hotshot."
Welp, that was my cue to leave right there.
-Line Break-
"Percy!" Grover yelled out happily, waving his arms to grab my attention. Yeah, he's definitely drunk right now. How do I know? He forgot that he was holding a glass when he waved his arms, pretty much spilling whatever he was drinking on himself, and a couple of other, drunk-looking, people.
"Shit! Is there a leak or something?" Grover wondered with a scoff, looking at the ceiling. "Nice house there Valdez, geez. You can afford a pool, but not a decent ceiling?"
I shook my head, unable to contain a grin. "Dude, you're holding a cup. There's no leak."
Grover scowled. "No, I know a leaky ceiling when I see one. And that right there, my friend," he said, while pointing at what to me seemed an awful lot like a lamp, "is a leaky ceiling."
"You sure it's not just… a lamp?" I suggested sarcastically.
He just kept on scowling, but I could definitely detect a hint of pink on his cheeks. Cute. "Okay, what do you want?"
I held up my hands in surrender. "It's all cool dude. I just wanted to check up on you."
"Check up on me?"
I shrugged. "Yeah, Bianca and Nico told me you were kinda down after seeing, um… Well… you know..."
"The love of my life flirt with theCharles Beckendorf in the front yard?" Grover finished forlornly. He grabbed another red solo cup off of the table and started drinking from it.
"First and for all, I don't know who that is. Second and for all, aren't you being a little drama-"
"-You don't know who the Charles Beckendorf is?" He interrupted disbelievingly.
"Um, yeah. Why do you add the the?"
"Because! It's the Charles Beckendorf! He's like, a freaking legend! And, a great dude in general."
"Why?"
"What do you mean why? Why is anyone a great dude?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "No, I mean, why is he a and I quote 'freaking legend'?"
He started squirming. "Well, believe it or not, a lot of people don't really, uh, they don't really like us."
I frowned. "Us?"
"Yeah, me, the Stolls, Nico... you know, us."
"What? Why?"
"We're not exactly the uh, the best-looking people, or you know, popular. So… we used to get bullied."
"What?! Seriously?!" I said, outraged. If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was bullies. "Who? Tell me their names, and I'll-"
"Woah, dude. Chill, it's all good!" He said with a reassuring smile, grabbing my shoulders to stop me from trying to avenge them. "It's all good, all right? Thanks to Charles Beckendorf. People look up to him man, and he… He saved a lot of kids from a lot of bullies. That's why he's a freaking legend to me. And other bullied kids."
My eyes widened. "For real?"
"For real times a million dude."
"Shit dude. He sounds great!" And I really meant it. Guys like him, just… Make this world a better place.
"He's the greatest." Grover said with a smile, and then he frowned. "Which is probably why Juniper is better off with him."
"Hey, no. You're great too dude!" I tried to comfort him, not expecting the sudden switch.
Grover just looked into his cup. "I'm no Charles Beckendorf."
"Aw come on Grover! Maybe it isn't as bad as you think. Maybe they're just... friends?"
"Get your head out of your ass Percy! She's gonna date him, and before you know it, they're married, with three kids and a kickass house that Charles rebuilt, because he's super handy, and I'll be all alone surrounded by caged rabbits that I saved from a testing facility and before you know it they've become carnivorous because I died all alone and they're desperate enough to eat me and-"
"-Okay, skipping a couple of steps there buddy. Also, that took a really dark and unexpected turn at the end there." I interrupted him with a disbelieving laugh. "I mean, you're not exactly sober right now, so can't you admit that maybe, just maybe, you made a mistake? Maybe they were just two totally platonic friends, having fun at a party?"
Grover looked up pensively. "All right, you may have a point there." He started grinning. "Yeah, you might be right, maybe it was all in my head!"
I grinned, glad I could help Grover out of his funk. And then I saw Grover's eyes widen with a mischievous twinkle.. Oh gods. That cannot be a good sign.
"We should spy on them!" Grover yelled out, setting down his empty cup.
Now my eyes widened, out of horror. "What?! No! Oh my gods, no!"
Grover grabbed my shoulders, and looked into my eyes. "Please? I need your help dude! I need an impartial observer!"
I shook my head. "Nope. Nuh-uh! I am not spying on, what is for me, two random strangers!"
"Aw come on! I'd do it for you!"
"I don't care! There's no way in hell, that I'm helping you!"
-Line Break-
"Thank you so much for helping me dude!" Grover whispered to me. We were currently hiding behind the bushes in Leo's front yard, because of… Reasons that escape me.
I scowled. "You dragged me here."
Grover just shushed me. "Okay, you see those two there?"
I looked at where he was pointing. I saw a dude who must be the Charles Beckendorf, and I gotta admit. Yeah, if that guy came up to me and told me to stop doing anything, I would definitely listen.
He was a huge African-American dude with a permanent scowl, muscles like a pro ballplayer's, and hands like catcher's mitts.
I saw him talking to, who I'll assume is Juniper. She was cute, small and petite, with wispy hair the color of amber, and a pretty, kind-of elfish, face
"Yeah."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
He bit the nail of his thumb. "Do you think they're like… dating and stuff?"
"Dating and stuff?" I squinted, trying to discern their relationship through this shrub. "Um, to be honest dude, I can't really tell. They're too far away."
"It's not like we can come any closer! What if they notice us?"
"I don't know dude! It's not like I brought a pair of binoculars with me!"
"Why the hell not?"
I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Dude, I didn't think I'd be spying on anyone at a party."
"Bad move hombre, you should always expect that." Leo advised.
Grover and I stilled when we heard his voice. "Is he…?" I asked Grover quietly.
Grover gulped. "Yeah, I think so…"
"So, who we spying on?" Leo asked us nonchalantly.
"Spying? We're not spying!" I tried to say convincingly. "We, uh… We were just…"
"Looking for berries?" Grover suggested 'helpfully'.
Leo and I looked at him incredulously.
"What? Most berries grow on bushes you know, I'll have you know!" Grover explained indignantly.
I just pinched the bridge of my nose.
Leo just grinned and wriggled his eyebrows. "No sweat homies! I totally get it! I've hidden in my fair share of bushes. If you know what I mean."
"I don't think I want to." I muttered.
"So? Who we spying on?" Leo repeated.
"No one."
"Aw come on! It's my party, and I want my guests to have a great time. Who knows, maybe I can help you guys?"
Grover started biting on his nails. "Fine. We were spying on…"
"Um, can you repeat the last part? You kind of started mumbling at the part with the names."
He sighed dramatically. "Juniper and Beckendorf."
Leo's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Huh, didn't know you liked my half-brother."
Grover started blushing. "What?"
Leo started grinning, which I'm starting to suspect is actually just his default facial expression. "Yeah, okay. I can work with that!"
Grover shook his head and started spluttering. "What? No! I mean, I think Beckendorf is awesome and all, but I don't… He's not… That's not to say… I'm just not…"
"He likes Juniper." I told Leo, to help Grover out of his, admittedly hilarious, situation.
"Ohh, right, yeah, okay. That makes a lot more sense." Leo muttered. He stood up.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
He looked at us like we were crazy. "What do you think? Like I said, I'm gonna help you guys."
Grover stood up quickly, eyes wide. "Help us… how?"
"I'm gonna introduce you to Juniper." Leo explained. "Duh."
I stood up, mostly because it was really awkward being the only crouching guy. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was still hella weird, all three of us just casually standing in a bush, but… That's my life now, I guess.
Grover started panicking. "Um, no that's all right. I don't… We shouldn't.. I mean… I'm not mentally ready to-"
"Aw come on!" Leo interrupted good-naturedly. "Life doesn't wait for anyone! If you like someone, you should do something about it."
Grover frowned and looked down. "Well… It's not like I don't want to do something about it."
"So why don't you then?" Leo asked him.
Grover gestured to himself. "Look at me dude. How can I compete with Beckendorf."
Leo rolled his eyes with a grin. "Is that what this is about? Dude, it's all good. Beckendorf and Juniper are just buddies. He told me so."
I grinned. "All right! Grover, dude! Here's your chance."
Grover didn't look as happy as I thought he would be. In fact, he looked absolutely terrified. "I don't… I don't know how to talk to girls!"
Leo patted him on the back. "Don't sweat it homey! I'll help you out. Just follow my lead all right?"
Grover was breathing in and out.
I grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. "Dude. You're awesome, and you can do this."
"For real?"
I grinned. "For real times a million dude."
He nodded his head and smiled, looking a lot more relieved. "All right. Yeah, you're right. I can do this. I can totally do this."
"That's the spirit!"
"This is so beautiful." Leo commented, looking at us with a happy grin and wiping away a non-existent teardrop. "You guys have a beautiful friendship."
I let go of Grover and looked at him weirdly. "Um… Thanks? Take care of my buddy all right?"
He winked, and grabbed Grover by the shoulder. "You got it dude! You take care of my brother, all right?"
I frowned. "What do you mean, 'take care of your-'"
"Yo Charles! Get your ass over here and meet Annabeth's future boyfriend!" Leo yelled towards Beckendorf.
I felt my face heat up, and my eyes widen. "Dude! What the actual fuck?!"
"Oh, he's coming! That's our cue Grover!" Leo muttered with a manic grin. "Yo Charles, this dude right here is the guy I was talking about!" He patted my shoulder, and winked at me. "Good luck dude!"
I seriously wanted to kill Leo right now.
-Line Break-
I thought about running away, I really did, but I figured—a guy like Charles Beckendorf? I didn't stand a chance.
Then again, I was pretty fast, maybe I could find a place to hide?
He reached me before I could make up my mind, and smiled. It was a nice smile, the kind that held nothing but friendliness and curiosity.
"So, you're Annabeth's future guy huh?" Were the first words the Charles Beckendorf spoke to me.
I ran my hands through my hair out of sheer frustration. Why, just why, does everyone keep saying that? Don't they know how awful that is? How absolutely impossible that is? Even if by some sheer miracle Annabeth does end up liking me, I could never return her feelings. She deserves better.
I chuckled uncomfortably. "That's uh, that's what everyone keeps calling me, for some reason, but uh, my name is actually Percy."
He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the steps in front of Leo's house. "All right Percy, I've only got one question: You smoke?"
My mind was racing with the possible implications of the question: Was this a trick question? Should I be honest? Or give the answer that everyone usually prefers? OR would he see right through me?
What should I do?!
I started sweating. "Um…"
He chuckled and patted me on the back. "Relax dude, I'm just asking cause I could really use a smoke right now."
"Ohh, okay, yeah sure, here you go." I said, relieved, giving him my lighter and a cigarette. "Sorry, it's just…"
"You thought I was testing you?" He asked, sitting down to light his cigarette.
"Yeah, pretty much." I admitted sheepishly, joining him on the steps.
He grinned. "Nah, who am I to judge, right? Although don't let Annabeth catch you, she's definitely going to judge."
I snorted. "Yeah, a little too late there." He gave me back my lighter, which I used to light my own cigarette.
"No way! She caught you smoking?" He asked with a disbelieving laugh, the smoke escaping from his nose.. "Ohh, I bet she gave you an earful!"
I grinned, letting out a puff. "Nahh, I was able to stop her before she could really get started."
"No way! How'd you do it?"
"Oh you know, I used my natural charm to change the subject."
"Cool, cool, so… what really happened?"
I started sweating. "Uh, what do you mean?"
"Bro… Come on."
I sighed. "Fine, I used sarcasm and then she called me Seaweed Brain."
Beckendorf furrowed his eyebrows. "Seaweed Brain?"
"Seaweed Brain." I affirmed.
He grinned. "She likes you man."
I looked at him as if he was insane. "Dude, she insulted me. She so does not like me."
"Nah, they always do that. A girl starts insulting you, that's when you know she's into you."
"Makes a lot of sense." I muttered sarcastically.
He shrugged. "If it made any sense, it would be too easy."
I sighed. "Yeah… That would just be the worse."
"So? Do you like her?"
I frowned. "Why does everyone keep thinking that? I barely know her, how could I even begin to think about liking her?"
He exhaled smoke before answering. "Sorry dude, I guess it's in the way you look at her."
"What do you mean?"
He looked up at the sky. "It's just… Your eyes follow her wherever she goes."
"Jesus Christ, really?" I asked, coughing from the surprise, eyes wide and cheeks burning. "Gods, did anyone else notice?"
"Nah, I just like people-watching." He let out a puff of smoke. "Some of the people I sit with, well… Let's just say we don't have a lot in common and leave it at that."
"Did… Did Annabeth notice?" I hated myself for asking that, but I had to know. I didn't even realize I was staring at her like some stalker. Gods.
"Nah… Well… Maybe."
My eyes widened. "What?! Seriously?!"
He shrugged. "I dunno, I mean, you're not exactly subtle."
I dropped my cigarette and stepped on it. "Well… Thank you for that information. I think I'm gonna go and… start out a new life. It's been nice knowing you, uhh… Tell my friends I'll miss 'em."
He stood up and grabbed me by the arm before I could properly run away. "Dude, chill! She stares at you just as much." He said reassuringly. "Maybe even more."
That got me to stop in my tracks faster than my mother's freshly baked blue chocolate chip cookies.
"…really?"
He grinned triumphantly. Shit. "Really really."
I had to sit down, because… Maybe, just maybe, they were all telling the truth? Annabeth Chase might actually like me. Maybe. I mean, Beckendorf didn't have any reason to lie to me.
My eyes were wide from the shock.
"What do I… What do I do?"
"Well, what do you want to do?"
I ran my hand through my hair. "I don't know! I mean even if I did know, I don't think I'm brave enough to do anything anyway."
He put his hand on my shoulder, I guess to grab my attention. "Do you want to hear a secret?"
I looked at him weirdly. "Um weird time to switch subjects but… sure?"
"Sometimes, all you need is twenty seconds of embarrassing bravery, just literally 20 seconds of insane courage. And I promise you, something great will come of it."
I stared at him, wondering how he was Leo's half-brother.
"Percy?" I heard someone achingly familiar say behind me.
Beckendorf looked behind us, and smirked at me when he saw who it was. I saw the twinkle in his eyes, and… Oh gods… Don't tell me he's going to-
He cleared his throat, looked at his phone and exclaimed dramatically, "Oh, no! It looks like there was an avalanche in the kitchen! Sorry dude, but I've got to go handle this. I'll see you around Percy."
I pinched the bridge of my nose.
Yep. He did it. He actually did it. He ran away.
That bastard. I could definitely see the family resemblance now.
I turned around reluctantly, and came face to face with stormy grey eyes, reigniting the fire within my cheeks. Gods, how much of that conversation did she hear?
"Annabeth… Hey, um… Long time no see." I wanted to slap myself after I said that. Long time no see? What the fuck is wrong with me?
She smiled at me in a way she never did before— it was less of a smile, and more of a seductive smirk really— and sashayed towards me, all but demanding my attention without using any words. She smiled, and yeah… Oh, I was done.
Once she reached me, she grabbed my shirt— almost desperately— and stared into my eyes, that damned smile still on her face. Taunting and challenging at the same time.
"Way too long." She purred, her face coming dangerously close to mine. I could smell the alcohol on her breath and leaned back, grabbing her arms and pushing her softly away from me, my hands never leaving her arms.
I frowned. "Annabeth.. Are you drunk right now?"
She winked, her legs somehow swaying even though she was standing still. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Oh yeah, she was definitely drunk.
I smiled reassuringly. "Right, okay, um… Do you know where Piper is?"
She frowned, looked at me suspiciously and pulled my arms off of her. "Why do you want to know that? Do you like her or something?"
I looked at her weirdly. "What? No!"
She hmphed and rolled her eyes. "Could've fooled me."
I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was way too sober for this right now. "Annabeth, I just want to help you get home safe. You're drunk."
She just crossed her arms and looked away. "Likely story."
I sighed. "You know what? Fine. I'll just call her then."
She gasped, making me look up from my phone. Big mistake. She looked pissed. Really pissed.
I looked around, wondering what on earth could have made her that angry.
"What?" I asked carefully when I couldn't find any obvious source for her anger.
"Piper has your number? Piper McLean?" She asked, looking indignant and offended.
I was at a loss for words, wondering how the hell I got here, and why that offended her so.
"Um… Yeah?"
"I didn't know you guys were such good friends." She said dejectedly.
I frowned, phone in my hand forgotten. "We're not, well… Not really."
"Could've fooled me." She mumbled glumly. "You know what, yeah I should… I should just… go."
I grabbed her arm, frown still on my face. "Hey, Annabeth. Look at me."
She didn't turn around, but, she also didn't pull away from me, so that made me a little bit hopeful. I sighed, "I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what I did wrong, but… I'm sorry."
She pulled her arm away, but turned around, with a frown on her face. " Don't. Don't do that, don't just apologize for the sake of apologizing. Why do guys think that's what we want?"
I ran my hand through my hair out of frustration. It seemed like nothing I did was ever right. " Honestly, I don't know what you want from me Annabeth, I really don't but my gods I wish I did. I wish I did. Because I would give it to you Annabeth, I would give it to you in a heartbeat."
"Whoa, am I interrupting something beautiful here?" Piper asked, smiling suggestively. Of course. Why wouldn't she show up at the worst possible moment? Also, why'd she have to phrase it that way? Seriously, who says it like that?
Annabeth scowled. "No, definitely not."
Fuck this.
I didn't even want to be here anyway.
I threw my arms up in defeat. "You know what, I give up Annabeth, I give up. I can't believe, I even thought for a second that you of all people might've liked… No. Forget it. I don't know what you want from me Annabeth; first you say we're friends, but then you act like… and all your friends kept saying that… Ugh, just… Forget it. Forget you, and your friends, all right? This is all just way too complicated for an idiot like me. I'm done."
Now it was me who was walking away. Well, actually it was a cross between walking and jogging, but you get the general idea.
"Percy!" I heard someone yell, I don't know who it was, because I didn't bother turning back.
Fuck them.
The more this night went one, the more lonely and trapped I actually felt.
I didn't belong here, with the sweaty bodies that swarmed the house inside, and drowned themselves in alcohol outside on the porch, all while filling their lungs with smoke until their lungs gave out.
It just confirmed what I already knew deep down, that I didn't belong, and never would.
Fuck this.
MapleRose150: Dude, of course I would read the reviews! It's where you guys can let me know how I can improve! :D (Ohh, okay, I'll check it out!)
ApollosCreed8: Dude, thank you so much! I'm glad it doesn't come across as forced or clichéd, it's a fine line with stories of this genre. I hope you liked this chapter! (But if you didn't, let me know what and why ;)
Jason: Yo, sorry, forgot to reply! Thanks for your review dude, glad you liked the last chapter, and I really hope you liked this one too!
