AN: Wow I don't know what this is
House parties were everything everyone and movies told you about and possibly more. But if more meant better, than that was sorely mistaken. Cliche drunk teenagers dancing closer together than their mommies and daddies would like. There was a blunt being passed around, people clambering for a hit. The music was loud, trap music, or electric dance, it was hot and cramped. Sweaty people were moving around, way too immersed in each other, or a drink to realize they perhaps hit someone else.
Percy Jackson was not like one of those people. He had no clue how Jason, Nico, Grover, and Leo managed to get him to go out and socialize but they had. He scrunched his nose up and glared at the couple that had run into his side. God, this party sucked. The lights were bright red and considering it was 11:20 PM the black darkness outside oozed in.
Percy wandering around the room aimlessly, possibly looking for an emo looking kid, or a freckled ginger drunk off his life no doubt crying about his girlfriend, or an energetic Latino boy with charms enough to intense a senior, or at the very least the hero blonde boy who was no doubt driving people too drunk to stand home.
No such luck finding them, Percy sighed and went off to find some wall to brood against.
That's when he spotted her. This girl, she did not belong. This party was held by one of the most punk kids in school. The too-bright red lights and hardcore music was no such scenery for a girl like her.
People were in heaps at this party, dressed in black leather, spiked chokers, combat boots that had yet to be broken in. Their hair was dyed the bright shade of pitch black with streaks of neon purple, pink, and green. Every rocker, every grunge, every punk, every emo and every goth kid in school and out of district were here letting loose.
But this girl was not in any of those categories. She was leaning against the wall in a rather stable way considering the black heels on her feet. Other than her footwear, there was not a speck of darkness on her. Her attire was unheard of in this crowd. A light blue tank top paired with high waisted white jean shorts. She was more pretty in pink than the outsiders. Not to mention she had the curly blonde hair a Disney princess would coo over and a figure blessed by every god humans had ever worshipped.
"Hey," Percy said, coming up closer when he gained the confidence to do so. The blonde girl was tapping away on her like the most popular girl in school but took a break to look up at him.
"Hi." She said plainly before resuming to a clearly more interesting conversation on the screen.
"What are you doing?" He asked, trying to sound as smooth as possible.
This girl was… insanely pretty. Clearly she had makeup on, no one was born with those black wings on their eyes and shiny cheekbones, but it was minimal. She hadn't looked long enough for Percy to catch her eyes but they seemed to be a very light yet dark blue. Her lips were full and painted a bright red, not blood red that some of the other girls at the party were sporting.
She shut her phone off with a loud click. "Well, it appears to be that I am talking to you." She said with a small sly smile. Percy barked a laugh. She was making his mood a thousand times better.
"I guess so. But you didn't seem to be mingling with anyone else." He pointed out. The girl cradled her chin between her thumb and pointer finger.
"And what if it just so happens that I intended on mixing in with the crowd?" She said. Percy rubbed the back of his neck slowly.
"Then I say sorry for stomping on your plans." He said honestly. The blonde cracked something between a smile and a right pulled smirk.
"Why are you talking to me."
"I don't know."
The girl hummed. "Terrific answer." She rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"But if it's the truth I could accept it." She hummed after a second. Percy nodded his head quickly to tell her it was. She seemed skeptical but didn't question him further.
"I have a question." He blurted out. She raised a brow for him to ask it.
"Why are you at this party? It doesn't seem quite like your scene, no offense. I try not to judge too quickly." Percy said, adding the last part when she crossed her arms tightly.
"No need. I'm more than aware of my appearance." She said, clearly confident in herself. Her lips pursed to the side.
"After all. I'm the only one wearing pastel." She said with a lowly amused voice, making Percy chuckle. "If you were to judge quick, would do you think of me?" She asked.
Percy almost shook his hand frantically like a cartoon character. "W-what?" He stammered. She smiled and bit back a laugh.
"Judge me." She said bluntly, her stare was blank and intense.
God, her eyes, they were gray. Not blueish grey. Dark storm clouds gray. The type you saw at 8:30 PM when you were just about to go to sleep, but you heard thunder and ripped one the window to stare at the coming rain. Oh my god. When did storm clouds become so pretty and breathtaking? He ripped his eyes away from her face to not seem like a staring creep for just a second before recounting on the wall above her head. After a breath, Percy stuttered out an okay and looked at her thoughtfully again.
He couldn't very well say, you are the prettiest girl I've ever met, without sounding crazy. "You look like you're one of the popular girls at school who everyone adores and has like 3.6k followers on Instagram." Percy decided on.
The girl raised a brow up high. "I was expecting that." She said flatly. Percy smiled sheepishly.
"You didn't answer why you're here," Percy said, pointing a finger. The blonde girl smiled in an impressed way.
"I came to lean on this wall." She said in a serious voice and Percy began to chuckle before stopping and tried his darndest to figure out if she was serious or joking.
Dang, her blank death stare was terrifying. And hot. But terrifying. She then cracked a small smile and shook her head. "I'm kidding, calm yourself. I came here with some friends. I'm sure you did too. Or did you plan to go find a random girl and strike up conversation?" She said, raising a brow in a playful and accusative way.
"Nah, I had a group that convinced me. What friends dragged you here?" Percy asked, shoving his hands in his pockets over and over. She smirked at him.
"And when did I say I came here against my will?" She asked innocently, a laugh in her tone. Percy gaped at her.
"You didn't get forced to come? Man, even I was." Percy leaned back as far as he could without falling, though that did mean hitting a person who fiercely glared at him.
"Ah, well as appearances can be deceiving. So can people themselves. I'm more than just a 'popular girl'. Despite what you and what the rest of the party are thinking I'm sure."
The girl looked like she was melting into the background, the wall, the outside of the party. Clearly, if she was popular, she was not the life of the party. She was probably the best friend if they were in a movie. Yeah, she'd be the best friend that was always there but was nothing more than the necessary background. Though with one look you could know she could not be just background.
"So what friends did you come with?"
"Just a small group of girlfriends. Haven't seen them though. They're probably off who knows where doing god knows what."
"You sound like you don't have much faith in them."
"I don't have much faith in humanity."
"That's...interesting," Percy said stiffly, not sure if he should agree because humanity was tearing the world apart or by defending the race that created and experiences so many wonderful things and loved others so dearly.
"What were you doing leaning against the wall?" He asked, switching the conversation. She clearly noticed because a quiet swallowed laugh came from her, making Percy's ears cry to hear a full silver bell-like one come from her.
"My, my. So many questions. You do know curiosity killed the cat?" She said, the smirk/smile back on her beautiful features. Percy gave her a full smirk, no pulled back stuff she was giving.
"But satisfaction brought it back." He threw the rest of the popular saying at her. She tilted her head to the side in interest.
"How educated." She breathed and Percy felt his cheeks go warm. If it weren't for the already red room, she would have seen the pink stain that had blossomed on his face.
"Uh. Yep. That's me." He said awkwardly.
She smiled a tight line pulled to the right. Percy smiled awkwardly back at her, not sure what to say. He raised his arm and started combing through his hair. "Well, I'd say I kept you long enough. I'm sure you'd like to get back to your friends." The girl said, pushing off the wall.
"Uh, wait, no. It's fine, it's fine. I couldn't find them anyways and you're more interesting to talk to them." Percy winced, his voice came out as a desperate cry and too quickly to seem chill. Even the girl noticed and raised one perfect blonde eyebrow at him as if to ask, okay?
"Leo's probably drunk out of his mind dancing with random chicks he caught," Percy muttered under his breath.
The girl's mouth twitched up as if she was about to truly smile but alas it never came. "Aren't you just in such desperate need of entertainment?" She said sarcastically. Percy barked a laugh.
"You're a cynical one aren't you?" He said.
She gasped dramatically, putting a hand to her heart. "I resent that. I like to think the best of people." She mock defended herself, making Percy chuckle.
"Really?" He questioned, making her lowly laugh. "You clearly don't give your friends the benefit of the doubt before thinking they're off doing the worst." He pointed out but she pulled a question face.
"When did I say they were doing the worst? I said, their who knows where doing god knows what but does that equate to disastrously dancing on a table? I don't think so." She said with a sly triumphant smile. Percy gave in.
"But seriously. You seem so cynical." Percy said, going back to the original question. He noticed she really liked bouncing around, leading the conversation around to whatever topic she pleased without answering the original question.
"Why is that?" She said, seeming genuinely interesting in the answer. 'You're so… witty and sarcastic. Just, you give off cynical vibes." He tried to explain but failed miserably. The blonde nodded her head slowly.
"I guess my humor is too misleading." She sighed.
"I like to think that I'm only just the slightest bit." She hummed, looking to the left of Percy.
"Are you?" She asked what was perhaps the first genuine question to him that wasn't laced with hostility, sarcastic, or her own brand of wit. Percy almost lost his breath looking at her, her red hot slightly parted mouth, intrigued eyes cocooned by thick black lashes.
"Nah. Not at all." He said coolly once he found his voice again. He plastered on his signature troublemaker smile on. "Some people see the glass half-full. Some half-empty. But I see it as something I can pour over a substitute teacher's head when they give us a worksheet." He finished with a cankle and she had an amused expression on her face, albeit she was not laughing along.
She clicked her tongue a couple of times while he was still laughing at his own little joke. She didn't push him to shut up or that it was a dumb joke but her she did imply it. "How old are you?" She asked, clearly this was a precursor to something else.
"17. Why do you ask?" Percy responded.
She threw him a surprised look but quickly removed it and put on a mask of calm and emotionlessness. "Could've fooled me." She said with a slight smile. "17 years of age or 17 months. I'm sure either applies." She continued.
Percy tilted his head and grinned fully at her. "Really? I can walk into a bar and no one would bat an eye." He scrutinized her.
She hummed and nodded at this newfound information.
"And I'm guessing it's happening before?" She said. Percy gasped dramatically. "How'd you know?" He said in a grandiose voice. The blonde shook her head with silent laughter, Percy found himself disappointed that he didn't hear or see it as her face was covered by the golden tresses that looked soft and knot-free. His heart urged him to run his digits through but his brain told him that was a creeper move. It was really.
"What do you take me for? A fool?" She said with the thick amusement back in her voice. Percy shrugged. Her eyes narrowed and the once bright face became dark. She leaned towards him, not moving a step forwards or even straightening up but yet she seemed to tower over him, and considering the fact that she went up to his shoulder, in reality, was saying something.
"I will have you know. It is rather dangerous to underestimate me. I suggest you smarten yourself up." The girl snapped at him, her voice seasoned with ice and hostilely. Percy almost gulped and nodded quickly. "Noted." He croaked out. She leaned back and smiled in an overly sickeningly sweet. It was the type of smile he would have expected to be one her face before he started talking to her. Percy felt the awkward air and decided he didn't like it.
"By the way. What is your name?" He asked. The girl smiled, her teeth barely showing. She crossed her arms and pulled a smirk.
"And why do you need to know that information?" She asked slickly.
"You are very aware, we're not going to stay in contact. It's not necessary for you to know." She stepped towards him, the heels clicking against the ground every step. Percy lost his breath and his voice and just stared at the smirking girl in front of him.
She gave a mock gasp. "I can be that one girl you met at a party in high school and talked for 20 minutes." She smiled fondly as if she could see the title in the air. "Your future kids are going to love this story." The blonde said in a sing-song voice.
With that, she patted his cheek softly and turned on her heels, whipping him in the face with her hair. Percy's eyes shut to avoid being sliced, though he doubted the sharpness of the soft locks that smelled coconut. When he opened his eyes, she had already disappeared into the crowd. Loudly cursing and disrupting the people around him, Percy groaned and turned into the crowd to find the girl again. Couldn't be that hard. She was wearing a blue tank top and white jean shorts in a crowd of black leather.