November

"Alright Estelle," Percy asked as the two of them walked around the edge of the lake. "Wanna see me catch a fish?"

The little girl flipped some of her peppery hair behind her neck, and nodded vigorously. Usually Paul would tag along with a book and a can of lemonade seltzer, but he had an obligation down at the city library.

Fishing was one of Percy's favorite past times. There was never a more peaceful time than sitting casually by the water.

This trip would probably be their last, however, since the lake would soon freeze over completely until the spring. Also because the fact that he might...well, yeah.

"Wait, Estelle. Do you want to try?"

"Mhm!" She yipped excitedly, bouncing up and down like a puppy. A six-year old, fifty pound puppy.

He tried to keep his emotions in check as he held her small hands, and helped her secure the bait before tossing the line over.

There wouldn't be a single moment that was taken for granted.

-Ω-

Reyna prided herself on making her own choices, but every now and then there came along a task that required some assistance.

In this case, the assistance came in the form of Piper, who was also going to buy a dress. Thalia refused to go with them, citing undisclosed reasons.

"I definitely don't want a fancy one." Reyna said clearly as they entered the store. "I hate those."

Piper snorted and headed directly towards the back of the establishment. "Do you want to look like a pilgrim?"

"No…"

They arrived at a rack filled to the max with a wild ensemble of clothing. It was more in line with what Reyna would usually see in a Salvation Army, being that there was no rhyme or reason to anything.

"Clearance section." Piper explained as she began to rifle through the dresses. "Most of these are brand new, or only worn once. But because they don't have tags on them, they're half-priced."

"I'm starting to like you more and more, McLean."

"Don't get too excited, this is only our first stop."

About three hours, five shops, twenty-seven dresses later and one flat tire later, they arrived back at Reyna's house with two bags, capping off the most stressful day of her life.

-Ω-

Reyna scrutinized Percy's outfit as she pinned the boutonnière to his sports jacket. "You clean up nicely."

"I like your dress."

Reyna playfully slapped him on the cheek when she caught his gaze trailing downward. "My eyes are up here, Jackson. Don't make me regret it."

Percy carelessly unpackaged her corsage and reached his hand out for her wrist. "I already am."

Their group consisted of them, Piper and her date Charlie, and Thalia who had shown up wearing just a pair of sweatpants and a loud tank top.

Although there was no way to confirm, Reyna figured they had one of the more unusual homecoming group pictures ever taken.

The DJ was way better than she expected. Maybe because the school had hired an actual teenager to run the event. Leo Valdez had the crowd going wild over Drake's latest hits.

One of the highlights was definitely the teachers getting in on the fun too. She was never going to forget Coach Hedge strip dancing in front of the whole school to kickstart the event.

As she was on her way to the refreshments table, she caught a glimpse of Percy sulking at the back of the gym. He looked like he was in a completely different world.

Immediately she felt a wave of guilt come crashing down on her. She was so engrossed in talking to Piper and Thalia that she had completely lost him. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, hopefully it wasn't too much.

"Hey, Percy." Reyna said cautiously as she approached him. "Is… everything all right?"

He turned towards her and gave a half-hearted smile. She pretended to not notice the obvious dried tears. "Yeah everything's chill, I was just thinking for a little bit."

Reyna leaned her back against the wall next to him and observed the growing crowd on the floor.

The loud music dulled to an ambient noise in the back of her head. It was almost peaceful watching the massive gathering of people mingle about. A different perspective.

"Alright lovebirds, last song of the night!" Leo announced over the speakers. "It's Lionel Richie time mamacitas!"

"Come on, Jackson. The night is still young."

It turned out that trying to slow dance to intense French rap wasn't exactly ideal, but it did make for one helluva awkward moment. Reyna and Percy quickly exited the gymnasium, along with most of the others, and made a straight line to his car in the parking lot.

"That was… something else, huh?" Reyna exclaimed as she carefully entered through the passenger's side, making sure that her dress didn't get caught.

Percy grinned and started to loosen his tie. "Yeah, Drew looked legitimately pissed off there for a second, thought she was going to chuck her phone at Leo."

He started the car, and Reyna tracked his hand moving from the steering wheel to the gear shift. As casually as one could be, she placed her hand on top of his, and gave it a soft squeeze.

She tried not to smile too hard when he swapped positions, and squeezed back.

-Ω-

Reyna hit the asphalt running, using the first mile to slowly build up to her long distance pace. Her new shoes were in dire need of breaking-in. The soles were impossibly stiff to start off.

The sun was a possibility on the horizon, it's first rays just beginning to shine through the bare branches. She enjoyed how she could see her breaths in the cold air. Perfect running weather.

It was also a perfect outlet to reflect on the brief moment that she shared with Percy in the car the night before.

Did she like him? No idea.

Did he like her? No idea.

Were they still just friends? No idea.

Did she forget to close the garage door? No idea.