"Go, Thalia!" Percy cheered as he loudly clapped his hands together. The rest of the table cheered as well. It was drowned out by the other patrons at the bar. Usually, their bar was pretty quiet and didn't have many customers. This week was different as a popular band was playing at the bar for a charity event, and Thalia's band was opening for them.
"Let's go!" Annabeth cheered. She looked at Percy and grinned. Percy grinned back, but it quickly faded away. He looked at the stage and watched Thalia shred on her silver guitar. His mind became lost in thought until another cheer broke his train. His gaze moved to Grover.
It had been months since they all went to their favorite bar and listened to Thalia's band. It was a good way to relieve stress after the week he had, but since he kept thinking about getting rid of the stress, he kept thinking about what happened yesterday.
Percy tried to keep his eye on the door that led into the breakroom, but between helping customers and making sure the food wasn't out for too long, he wasn't sure if Reyna had slipped out without him knowing. All he knew was that Nico was in his office when Percy went to lunch.
Percy offered to work Saturday, but Lupa told him they had it covered and to take the day off. That was how he ended up at this bar with his friends. Thalia always played with her band every Saturday after work, unless she had to work the night shift.
"Hey Percy, help me grab drinks?" Annabeth practically yelled in his ear. Percy looked at her and nodded. The two of them stood from the table and walked towards the bar. This part of the bar was quiet enough that they didn't have to shout to be heard.
"Can we have seven beers?" Percy asked the bartender.
"Of course hon. Can I get you any food?" the bartender offered. Percy glanced at Annabeth.
"We'll take the wings and mozzarella sticks. Two of each. Oh, and some tofu bites," Annabeth answered, and she held out her credit card before Percy could. He gave her an offended look. Annabeth stuck her tongue out as the bartender took her card. "What's on your mind?"
"That you stole my opportunity to be nice," Percy answered. Annabeth smiled brightly.
"Seriously, Percy. You haven't been talking much," Annabeth said, her tone turned serious. Percy sighed and leaned against the bar counter. He hadn't talked to anyone about what had happened the day before, not even his mother. And he told her everything!
"Something happened at work," Percy began. He looked down and debated about what he should tell Annabeth. It wasn't like she worked there, and Annabeth would know to keep quiet. Even if it meant keeping something from Thalia.
"Bad customer?" Annabeth guessed. Percy shook his head. "The other manager is giving you trouble?"
"No," Percy answered. He sighed and hung his head. "You've heard Thalia talk about the other manager, right?"
"You mean Reyna? Only every day," Annabeth replied. "Not a week goes by without Thalia talking about her. If you can get them together, I would love you forever."
Percy grinned at the thought and looked at Annabeth. The grin that she gave him made his heart flutter like the butterflies that were dancing in his stomach. He slowly lost his grin and sighed tiredly. "I got called into the store manager's office with Reyna."
"I guess the store manager, Lupa, was trying to make a point about Reyna needing surgery. I don't know what did it, but something caused Reyna to experience a flashback," Percy said quietly. Annabeth moved closer to be able to hear him over the music. "I didn't know what to do, and I feel terrible about it."
"Flashback?" Annabeth questioned.
"Yeah. And, I saw she had medicine. Pro something," Percy struggled to remember the name. He glanced at his phone. "No. It's Paroxetine. Something for depression."
"And anxiety," Annabeth added. Percy nodded. "I'm sure you did the best that you could, Percy. What are you so worried about?"
"I just keep thinking about Thalia. We both know how she is," Percy answered. "She's rash and just jumps to action. I'm worried about what happens if the two start dating. I don't know if Thalia can handle someone like that."
"I think Thalia will surprise you," Annabeth replied. She thanked the bartender as they were handed their beers. "I was worried that Thalia would be rash and jump into this too, but she's been crushing on Reyna for almost a year. I think she's serious about this. Otherwise, she would have already gone for it."
"Yeah. But, I'm worried about Thalia. I just don't want her to get hurt," Percy said.
"Oh, I would kill Reyna if she ever hurt Thalia, so make sure you get trained properly," Annabeth said loudly as they made it back to the table. She passed around the beers.
"Who are we killing?" Jason asked as he took the beer. Percy hadn't really talked to Jason much, even though he was Thalia's brother. Piper leaned on her boyfriend and looked at them.
"We're just discussing your sister's crush," Annabeth answered. Jason nodded. "Hey. You worked with Reyna since she started at the store. What can you tell us about her?"
"Reyna's a great worker. Doesn't open up much. Unless it's about her two dogs," Jason briefed. "What do you want to know?"
"All of you keep this real quiet, okay?" Percy warned. Grover and Juniper took their beers and nodded in silent agreement. "Jason, do you know anything about Reyna having flashbacks?"
"Flashbacks?" Jason repeated. A frown came to his face. Then, he shook his head. "I don't think so. We didn't really work together much, other than on holidays. Lupa trained her. She worked nights, and I worked days. If she ever had any at work, I never heard about it."
"Wait. You worked with Reyna for like a year and a half right?" Grover questioned. Jason nodded. "And, Percy has only worked with her for a week and knows more about her than you. I knew they would like Percy better!"
"Well, everyone at Percy's old store likes me better," Jason quipped.
"Oh babe," Piper butted in, placing a hand on Jason's arm. "Don't kid yourself."
The table burst out laughing. There was a comfortable lull of silence around the table as they heard a song finish. They all rose up into a cheer for Thalia and her band. As the band walked off the stage, they cheered louder.
The bar slowly fell into a quieter atmosphere as everyone waited for the next band. Juniper looked over at them and leaned on the table. She spoke, "You guys will never believe who stopped by the coffee shop right when the store opened."
"Don't remind me," Annabeth groaned. A waiter walked towards their table and passed around their trays of food. They all rose up into a quick unison of thanks.
"I thought we were safe from him," Grover groaned. He grabbed the carton of tofu bites and placed it between himself, Juniper, and Piper.
"Wait. Him? As in Him?" Percy asked.
"Him," Juniper confirmed.
"I still haven't met this guy," Jason began.
"Pray you never do," Piper added.
"It's not good, Jason. Let me tell you a story," Percy began, readying himself to spin a tale. "There is this man who comes to the store every day. If you haven't seen him yet, it's because he's coming in during the closing shift. The only thing he gets is this drink called Kabachi."
"Isn't that the thing you two always drink?" Jason asked as he looked at Grover and Juniper. "The weird green thing in the glass bottle?"
"Don't associate us with him," Grover ordered gravely. Percy laughed.
"He always grabs this one bottle of Kabachi, but it has to be the green flavor. If there is no green and only that yellow one that looks like honey, it is the actual end of the world. He always brings it up and pays at self-checkout, but God forbid you try to help him. He'll think you're accusing him of stealing," Percy explained.
"He can't be that bad," Jason argued.
"Oh, you sweet young boy," Piper teased. She kissed Jason's cheek. "You'll learn. Sooner or later."
"Not to mention how he leaves the store," Percy commented. His eyes moved to Juniper. "Why did he stop by Ambrosia and Nectar?"
"To tell us that we were killing the environment," Juniper answered with a groan. Percy winced. Everyone in their group of friends cared enough about the environment to not litter and mostly recycle, but would Percy ever volunteer to pick up trash out of the river? Well, he did have to serve community service a few times.
Grover and Juniper volunteered one of their days off to help clean up the environment or protest corporations that were using more plastics than a nation did. They even had an elaborate recycling system in their home and relied on solar power. If there was anyone who should not be accused of trying to destroy the environment, it was those two.
"What did you tell him?" Percy inquired further. All of his friends grinned, and Percy felt a pang in his chest. Sure, it was cool to be making more money as a manager and to have this opportunity to work with great people and make new friends. It still sucked that he missed out on all these stories with his current friends when they happened.
"I lectured him for five minutes on how his glass bottles destroy our environment more than our biodegradable coffee cups," Juniper answered.
"I had to pull her away, and he wanted to speak to the manager. But, there was only one manager that was there at the time," Grover said, and his gaze moved towards Piper. Percy burst out laughing.
"Yeah yeah. Keep laughing. I'll send him to your store next time," Piper threatened. Percy instantly stopped laughing.
"That's not funny," Percy retorted.
"What's not funny?" Thalia asked as she appeared next to them. Her drumsticks were twirling around in her hands, and she gently played on Jason's shoulders.
"They want to send the Kabachi man to us," Percy answered. Thalia stopped drumming.
"I will literally kill all of you," Thalia threatened. "Even you Percy."
"Wait. What did I do?" Percy asked offended.
"You said something that caused them to send him to us," Thalia accused. The table started laughing again. Thalia stuck her drumsticks into her pocket and grabbed the untouched beer. She grabbed a mozzarella stick and ate it. Her guitar was slung across her back.
Depending on the song, Thalia would either play drums or guitar. She wasn't an amazing artist, but she did well enough. And, she was living out her dream. Percy leaned on the table and felt his pocket vibrate.
Percy reached into his pocket and frowned as he saw an unknown number had texted him. He sat his beer down and opened the text.
Is this Percy? It's Reyna. Nico gave me your number. I'm sorry about yesterday.
Percy froze, and it seemed to draw the attention of everyone else. Thalia spoke, "What's going on?"
"Nothing. Just a text from Reyna," Percy responded. Thalia lowered her beer and stared at him.
"From who?" Thalia asked. She gave Percy a piercing look.
"Reyna," Percy repeated.
"I guess you were right, Grover. After meeting Percy, everyone does love him," Jason teased.
"You've known Reyna for a week, and she already gave you her number?" Thalia demanded.
"She got mine from Nico, if that helps," Percy said with a weak smile.
"Nico has her number?! And he didn't give it to me?" Thalia practically wailed.
"You never asked her for it," Jason commented. "Granted, it's not something she just hands out. I didn't even get her number."
"That's good," Piper said with a scathing glare. Jason winced, and Piper wrapped an arm around him. Grover and Juniper stood up to get them a refill on their beers.
"What did Reyna need?" Thalia interrogated. She walked around the table, and Percy stuck his phone under the table. "Is it about me?"
"It's not," Percy said quickly.
"Thals, I have a question," Annabeth spoke up suddenly. Thalia glared at Percy for a long moment and then moved to Annabeth's side. A small smile came to Percy's face, and he looked back at his phone, sending a quick text.
It's no problem. Are you doing better?
Percy didn't get an answer, and he would be lying if he said it didn't sting a little. He saved the number to his phone just to be safe. Then, he put it into his pocket and focused back on his friends.
"I think we need to make a toast," Piper began. She grabbed one of Thalia's drumsticks out of her pocket and tapped it on her beer bottle. Everyone looked at her. "To kicking out that cheating bastard once and for all."
"Yeah. Screw that guy," Grover cheered. Percy frowned and glanced at Thalia.
"You promised you wouldn't do this," Annabeth said, her cheeks turning red.
"Hey, I said we were going to cheer you up," Thalia reminded. She wrapped her arm around Annabeth's shoulder. "That's why we brought Percy, so you can laugh at anything stupid he says."
"So anything he says really," Piper commented.
"You're a terrible HR," Percy bit back.
"I don't have to be nice to you since you left our store," Piper shot back. A grin came to her face. "Traitor."
"Thalia is a traitor too," Percy complained.
"Oh no. She can't be a traitor. She only went to Gracchus Co for love," Jason teased.
"That three-dollar raise really helped," Thalia commented.
"Well, Thalia's a traitor too then," Annabeth chimed in. Thalia groaned as a small traitor chant started around the table.
Percy leaned in closer to Piper and spoke, "Who are we celebrating getting rid of?"
"Luke," Piper answered followed by a frown. "You didn't hear?"
"No," Percy replied. He glanced at Annabeth. Luke had cheated on her? Someone had cheated on Annabeth Chase? The nicest, kindest, and smartest person that Percy had ever met. How much of an idiot was Luke? Percy's fist curled up into a ball, and Piper grabbed his hand and gently squeezed it.
"It was two weeks ago," Piper explained. She was trying to be quiet, but she had to raise her voice as a cheer rose up from the rest of the patrons. "Annabeth is still heartbroken, but we're not letting her be sad. I told her we should change the slogan of the store to 'Luke is a bastard man!'"
"I'll drink to that," Percy said cheerfully.
"I love drinking. What are we drinking to?" Thalia asked. Percy raised his beer.
"That Luke is a bastard man!" Percy called to be heard over the crowd. Annabeth looked at him and smiled slightly. She raised her beer bottle and clinked it against Percy's. The rest of their friends did the same.
Percy kept his gaze on Annabeth the entire time, but he was still upset that someone would have the most perfect woman in the world and cheat on her. And while Percy himself wanted to be dating her, he wasn't going to push it. It didn't matter how many walls Annabeth was putting up. She had to be hurting. Percy would be there for his best friend.
"Should we get out of here before the losers start playing?" Thalia asked. "I don't have to be at work until noon tomorrow if you guys wanna catch a movie or laser tag."
"Laser tag!" Grover called. Everyone quickly agreed. They finished their drinks and food. After discarding their trash, they all headed out of the bar. Percy walked towards Thalia's car and opened the trunk for her. As he did, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone.
Upon looking for a reply, he found nothing. Percy frowned and slipped his phone back into his pocket. Annabeth gave him a side look as she moved towards the passenger seat. Thalia moved to the driver's seat. Annabeth nodded her head and spoke, "Another text?"
"No. I was just hoping I could help," Percy responded, and he shrugged. Annabeth nodded and opened the car door. "Uh, Annabeth."
"What's up?" Annabeth asked as she leaned on the car.
"I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but if you do, just let me know," Percy said.
"Thank you, Percy. I appreciate it," Annabeth said.
"I'm also sorry that I didn't message or call you as much. I just had a lot on my mind with the whole finding a job thing. Just know I am sorry," Percy apologized.
"Percy, it's okay. I get it," Annabeth deflected. She smiled and grabbed his shoulder. "I wasn't going to tell anyone about Luke, but Piper found me crying. I couldn't hold it together. I do have a question for you though."
Percy froze. Was Annabeth going to ask him why he hadn't talked to her? He wasn't ready for that conversation yet. Percy truly did regret completely just cutting off contact with her, It had just been so tough with her being engaged and his own complicated feelings, but he missed her so much.
"Are you working Monday morning?" Annabeth finally asked. Percy slowly nodded. "With Reyna?"
"Should be," Percy answered. "Why?"
"I've been hearing Thalia talk about this woman forever. It's about time that I met her," Annabeth said. "And, I need to see you at work."
Percy blushed and heard Thalia honk the horn. He rolled his eyes and got into the car. Annabeth got in as well, and she turned in her seat. She put a finger to her lips as Thalia started the car. Percy brought his two fingers together and ran them across his mouth like he was closing a zipper. Then, he leaned back in his seat. Annabeth smiled and looked back at the front. Percy closed his eyes and relaxed, just trying to enjoy his weekend.