Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the song "Fifteen".
"When will she be home?"
"Percy, she left twenty minutes ago."
"Has it really been that long? What's taking them so long?"
I peered over my glasses at my husband who was leaning against the door of my study, looking agitated as he checked his watch for the dozenth time.
"Percy, it's a date. They're going to eat and see a movie. It's going to be a while."
"How much longer?" Percy demanded, faintly reminding me of my son on Christmas morning.
"I'd say three hours, hon." I returned to typing on my computer, editing a blueprint I had drawn up months ago. Percy just sat there, opening and closing his mouth and closely resembling an extremely frustrated fish.
I sighed; Percy had a hard time letting go. He was the father who stressed about firsts; first birthday, first day of school, first piano recital, first drivers license. I dreaded the graduations and weddings that would occur over the next few years. Basically any milestone that our fledglings reached reminded Percy that our kids were growing up, and that one day they wouldn't need us. Of course it saddened me too, but I preferred to celebrate the landmarks. Percy, on the other hand, had a hard time with the concept.
He had done relatively well with our eldest, Ruby, primarily because she was a free spirit from the start. As wild and untamable as the ocean, she was lovely with flowing ebony curls that flounced behind her when she stalked out of a room. She could skip before she walked, sang before she talked. Always a peculiar child. Though she was clearly the rebel of the bunch, she was a good girl at heart and always watched out for her younger siblings. She was certainly a handful; but at seventeen now, Percy and I usually opted to let we run her own affairs and intervene only when necessary. It kept the fights and my gray hair to a minimum.
Don't get me wrong, Percy loved Ruby dearly. To the moon and back again. But from the moment Harper was born, she was daddy's little girl. People at camp used to joke that I had Percy whipped... well that was nothing to the way little Harper had her father wrapped around her finger. She had soft, pale gold curls that framed her tiny face; different from Ruby's curls, much finer and they seemed to float about her. She was a gentle creature who could be found most often tinkling on the piano, reading, or playing with our two cats, Minerva and Kermit. Harper and Percy had always held something incredibly special, a certain bond. Even at fifteen, she would hold his hand in parking lots and snuggle up to him while they watched weird movies that neither I nor Ruby nor the twins enjoyed. While Ruby would go to the movies or hang out with her boyfriend, Harper went fishing with Percy and Grover. That's just the way it was.
So naturally, watching Harper drive away on her first date was probably the hardest thing Percy had ever done, right up there with defeating Kronos and holding up the sky.
"Look, Percy, you're just going to stress out the whole night if you just sit here and wait for her. Why don't you go take the twins out for ice cream or something? Ruby's working tonight." The words were no sooner out of my mouth than the crashing sound of a certain ten year old banging on the keys of the piano down stairs.
"Please?" I asked as the piano continued to make tortured sounds.
"Troy, stop that!" Percy called downstairs to our son. The noise stopped, and in a matter of seconds Troy had dashed upstairs, his blonde hair in a state. "I'm bored," he whined.
"Good," I said, smoothing down his untidy hair. "Because Dad is going to take you and Lena out for ice cream."
"Ice cream! Ice cream!" Troy began to bounce in circles around Percy.
"See, Annabeth? They don't need any more sugar." he said groaning.
"Then taken them to the pet store and let them get another fish for the aquarium," I said, trying in vain to get Percy's mind on something other than Harper.
"Yeah!" Troy enthused, looking, if possible, even more excited than before. "I want to get a clown fish!"
"Pal, we already have seven clownfish." Percy said.
"I'm going to name this one Nemo."
"Honey, you've named all of the ones we have Nemo." I said.
"I knoooooooooow..." my son said, giving me a look that said, C'mon Mom, do I look like a fool to you?
"Well, I'd like to go get another fish," said the youngest of the two twins, Helena, as she flounced into the room. "I want to get an angel fish."
Sighing, Percy threw up his hand in surrender. "Fine! We can go to the pet store, and you can get your angelfish, Lenny," he said, ruffling her hair.
"Guess what I'm going to name her?" my daughter asked, her eyes shining with excitement.
"Angel?" I guessed.
"Nooooo..." Helena said, exasperated. "Jesus!"
Percy and I exchanged a wary glance, and I faintly wondered if it was moral to let my child name a fish after Christ.
"How about Steve?" Percy suggested.
"Yes, Steve's a wonderful name, sweetie," I said, happy to have any other name.
"Can we get a puppy?" Helena asked.
"Ha...no," Percy said.
"What about a swimming pool?" Troy asked, bouncing up up and down.
"Yeah!" Percy and Helena said in unison.
"We are not getting a pool," I said sternly.
"But-"
"No-"
"Just-"
"No-"
"Annabeth--" my husband said, giving me puppy dog eyes.
"No!"
"How about cheesecake?" my daughter asked.
"Fine! I don't care." I shooed them out of my study and down the stairs.
"Troy, do not let me see you slide down that banister ever again!" I shouted.
"I won't!" he called up. "Let you see," he added to Lena, who giggled.
"I need a bubble bath," I muttered to myself as I watched through bay windows what was left of my brood pull out of the garage and down the driveway, off to get cheese fish or ice cake or cream or whatever.
I took a deep breath and just enjoyed the silence of my house.
I loved my house. Well, how could I not? I'd designed every last bit of it, nestled into countryside of Long Island, several miles from camp. Dark wood floors, creamy carpet, granite countertop, the whole shebang. I ended up taking the chandelier from the Poseidon cabin because I loved it so darn much. Admittedly, it was a bit over the top and was more a mansion than a house, but I figured an architect couldn't very well design a conservative house for their own family. The only thing it was lacking was a swimming pool, which I put off simply because I didn't want to clean it, though my family had been clamoring for one for quite some time.
After my miscarriage, Percy and I reexamined our life and decided that it was the perfect time for me to resign from the architecture firm I was working at to finally go into the business for myself. I was pregnant with Ruby before the final papers where even signed. Ruby spent her first year of life on my hip as I oversaw the construction of the office building that would serve as headquarters for my growing company. I mainly designed monuments, skyscrapers, bridges and museums and the like, but every so often I'd do the odd mansion here or there upon request. My name was a prominent one in the world of architecture, and I couldn't have been prouder.
Truthfully, Percy and could both retire now and live comfortably for the rest of our lives. But at 44, we really weren't ready to stop working. We both loved our jobs; I obviously viewed architecture more as a fun activity rather than work, and Percy, who had gone back to school to get his PhD, now taught Greek Mythology and Ancient Civilizations at the college level. Percy and I were ridiculously happy- our own family, our own home, our own happily ever after.
Just then, I heard the garage door open. I peered outside as Ruby pulled into the garage, home from work. I decided to call it a night and shut down my computer. I went down stairs to find my daughter in the kitchen, poking around in the fridge for something to eat.
"Hey sweetie, how was work?"
"Cold," Ruby replied, pulling out a half eaten pan of lasagna. "But that's what I get for working at an ice cream parlor," she said, smiling. "Where is everyone?"
"Well, Harpers on her date," I said, and Ruby nodded. "And your father was driving me nuts, so I made him go do something with the twins. Here, I'll do that," I said, taking the lasagna and motioning for her to sit down.
"So I take it Dads not handling it well?" she asked, perching on a barstool at the island.
"No, he's stressing out big time," I said as I dished noodles onto a plate. "How much do you want?"
"That's enough. I don't get why Dads freaking out so much, other than its Harper," Ruby said, twisting one of her long black locks around a slender finger. "I mean, he was all right when I started dating."
"Well, we knew Ajax," I said, putting the plate in the microwave and turning it on. "You guys had been friends since the day you were born... literally. Piper and Jason brought him to the hospital to visit us right after I had you." While the microwave hummed quietly I poured myself and Ruby a mug of tea. "Besides, your Dad trusted Ajax because he trusted his parents." Not to mention the charm speak he had inherited from his mother calmed Percy down considerably, but I didn't say that. "How is AJ, anyway?"
"Good," Ruby said, smiling at the thought of her boyfriend. "He's really loving UNL, they've got a great football program there for him. He's going to be the starting quarterback next year, and sophomores never start," she said proudly.
"So are you going to follow him out to Nebraska then? Become a Cornhusker?" I set a chunk of feta cheese down in front of Ruby.
"I don't know," she said softy. "It seems crazy to, but I miss him a lot..." she trailed off, looking distant.
"It's certainly rough, dating someone halfway across the country. Or all the way across," I added, considering Percy and I had been living in New York and San Fransisco.
"I'll bet," Ruby said as the microwave beeped. I set the steaming plate down and sat next to her, gripping my mug of tea.
"I don't know how Dad can be so uptight about Harper though." Ruby waved her fork around while she chewed thoughtfully. "I mean, weren't you and Dad running around in love, slaying monsters and shit when you were fifteen?"
"Yes, monsters and shit," I said rolling my eyes. Ruby just grinned at me and took a huge bite of food. We sat in comfortable silence for a while as I pawed through a magazine and my daughter attacked her dinner. It was shaping up to be a peaceful September night after all; the crickets were chirping softly, the moon was shining, and the dog was barking.
Wait.
"Do you hear... a dog?" Ruby asked, my suspicions confirmed as the persistent yipping continued to resonate. Just then, Helena and Troy burst into the room with a puppy.
"A wiener dog?" Ruby asked incredulously as my husband walked guiltily into the room.
"Miniature dachshund, actually," Percy said, as the small dog began to run around exuberantly.
"You're kidding me," I said, looking at Percy who was avoiding my gaze and characteristically scratching the back of his neck.
"This family..." Ruby muttered as she cleared off her plate.
"It's name is Fluffy!" Helena said happily, trying unsuccessfully to pick the dog up.
"Nooo, it's name is Nemo!" Troy exclaimed as the small puppy slipped between his hands.
"How about we name her Pandora?" Ruby said, scooping her up. "Aw, she's sweet."
"I said you could get cheesecake, not a dog!" I said exasperatedly. I took the squirming dog- which was roughly the size of a guinea pig- out if Ruby's arms. "Look, guys, I said, bending down to Troy and Lena's level. "I don't think our family needs a dog right now, okay? Daddy will take her back to the pet store tomorrow. She'll be much happier there."
"Mom..."
"Mom..."
"Mom..."
"Annabeth..."
"No, I'm sorry but we really don't have room for-"
"Mom-"
"We're simply too busy to care for her and-"
"Mom-"
"Ruby, please quit interrupting me!" I said, putting on my sternest mommy voice.
"But Mom," she said, as the twins began to giggle. "I think you're in a bit of a... sticky situation."
I looked down at my arms to see a big mess made by a small puppy, who was looking up at me innocently.
"See? This is exactly why we don't need a puppy," I said, shoving the dog at Ruby and going off to change my shirt.
That night as I brushed my teeth, there was a small dog in a diaper running around my bathroom.
"Percy, this isn't what I meant by 'Take care if the dog's bathroom needs'," I said around a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Well, what did you mean?" he said, wandering into the room with his pajamas thrown on sloppily.
"Uh, take it for a walk maybe?"
My husband looked slightly dumbfounded, as if the thought had never occurred to him. "Oh," he said. "Right."
"That's okay," I said, sighing. "Did you tell the kids goodnight yet?"
"Yeah, twins are in bed. Ruby's talking Ajax. And Harper," he said, checking the clock on the wall, "Isn't back yet."
"It's only ten, Percy. She said she'd be home around eleven." I frowned at myself in the mirror. Thankfully, the Olympian blood was keeping wrinkles to a minimum, though I wore glasses when I worked now. They were cute little Ray Bans though, and according to Ruby, they were "Chic meets Hipster". I just thought I looked good in them.
Percy just sighed and scooped up Pandora before leaving the bathroom. I flicked off the light and padded out into the bedroom, following Percy. In our twenty years of marriage, neither of our night stands had changed much. Mine was neatly piled high with books and blueprints and magazines, along with our wedding picture and a snapshot of our family. Percy just had an alarm clock and a picture of us at age twelve, laughing at the camp fire.
"Ugh, why do you have that thing in our bed?" I asked as I slid between the sheets, gesturing at the puppy who was happily curled up between Percy and my pillow.
"Well, I can't leave it on the ground. It would get lonely," Percy said.
"Why'd you even let them get that thing?" I asked as I put on my hand lotion.
"I dunno... I guess I was just sort of preoccupied thinking of Harper that I agreed to it without really giving it much thought." Percy petted Pandora, who happily snuggled into his hand.
"Honey, why are are you so worried about Harper?"
"Why aren't you, Annabeth? She's only fifteen, for crying out loud."
"Don't you remember what it was like being fifteen?" I asked, looking pointedly at him.
"Sure I do. I killed monsters and dreaded the impending doom that loomed ahead thanks to the prophecy while the Gods voted on if they should let me live or not."
"And you started dating me," I said rolling my eyes.
"Hey, we were sixteen!"
"Barely! We started dating on your birthday. Besides," I argued, "You had feelings for me before hand. Those just didn't pop up out of nowhere the second you turned sixteen."
Percy said nothing.
"Look, I don't want my baby to date either, but we can't hold her back. She has to learn by herself."
"But she's just a kid yet!" Percy flopped back onto his pillow, frustrated.
"Well, being a fifteen year old girl is hard, babe. You feel grown up, like there's nothing to figure out, but everyone still views you as a child."
"Annabeth, shes-"
"Just look at me and Luke," I said cutting him off. "Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday, but I realized some bigger dreams of mine."
"That, and he was evil," Percy pointed out.
"Well, yes that too..."
"Look," Percy said. "I'm just worried she's going to get heart broken. It's her freshman year and she's gonna be here for the next four years. What's the rush?"
"Yeah, and those next four years will be spent hoping one of those senior boys will wink at her and say he hasn't seen her around before. You know how it goes," I said, taking off my glasses and turning off the lamp. "At fifteen, all you wanted was to be wanted."
"Yeah," my husband admitted as I snuggled under his arm, the streetlight dimly illuminating the room. "I wish I could go back and tell myself what I know now."
"We all do, honey," I said, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. We laid there in comfortable silence. Pandora wiggled her way over to me and, giving my hand and experimental lick, decided she approved of me and curled up in the crook of my elbow, looking ridiculous in her diaper.
"You know, she's actually kind of sweet," I said to Percy, who just raised an eyebrow at me.
"Don't give me that look," I said, stroking the puppy.
"What look?" Percy said innocently.
"Goodnight, Percy."
"Night. I think I'll wait up for Harper, is that okay?"
"Sure," I said, yawning. "I'm going to sleep though."
Twenty minutes later, Percy was sprawled out snoring while I lay there, wide awake.
So much for staying up, Percy.
I saw the headlights of a car sweep across my window, and I slipped out of bed and peered out the curtain. Typical mama, waiting up. My Harper swung her legs out of his car, her very first date coming to a close. He walked her to the door, making her laugh with whatever he was saying to her. I smiled inwardly, wondering if Percy and I looked that silly together when we used to flirt. The climbed up the porch steps, their breaths visible in the crisp autumn air.
He kissed her, and I think Harper was as surprised as I was. But she was grinning when they pulled apart, and continued to smile like an idiot as he drove off. I flashed back briefly to my first kiss; I was sweaty, scared, about to go kick monster butt and had randomly decided now would be a good time to kiss Percy. Which was dumb, since I'm pretty sure both of our heads were spinning round as we went into combat, but hey; live and learn. Yeah, my daughter's first kiss defiantly out scored mine.
I gave my daughter two minutes to get to her room before I went to go check on her and casually interrogate. I heard the light thumping of Pandora following me out the door as I made my way down the hall.
I peeked in Harpers room to find her dancing around her room, looking as though she could fly. I took a deep breath as I was about to walk through the doors, awaiting whatever state of ecstasy that my daughter would be in. Because despite all of those brains of hers, when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them.
"Well, I take it you had fun?" Ruby said, walking into the room via the bathroom she and Harper shared, just before I could enter. I hing back in the hallway, being a nosy mother and listening to what they had to say. Harper stopped dancing mid-twirl and promptly feel over.
"Nice," Ruby said, laughing as she pulled her up. She just blushed.
"We had fun," she said, standing up with as much dignity she could muster. "How's Dad doing?"
"Sleeping now," said Ruby, perching on the end of Harper's bed. "Though earlier he was in quite a fix. He was so worried he went out and bought a puppy."
"A what?" Harper faced Ruby, possibly thinking that she had misunderstood her.
"A puppy. We named her Pandora, she's around her somewhere..." As if on cue, the dog slipped in between my legs and trotted into the room, diaper securely on its rear end.
"A mini wiener dog... in a diaper," said Harper, shaking her head as she watched Pandora canter about jovially. "Man, go on one date and you miss everything."
"That's about right," said Ruby, snatching up the little puppy. "So anyway, back to your night..."
"He kissed me, Ruby!" Harper whispered excitedly, bouncing on her bed.
"Really?!" Ruby said, eyes wide. Pandora yipped in excitement. Harper just grinned widely, nodding vigorously.
They launched into a series of squeals and screams, both giggling madly in excitement. I smiled and stepped back from the door, deciding to leave my girls alone for some sisterly bonding. I went back into my room and snuggled up next to my husband, who merely grunted in his sleep and threw and arm around me. Rolling my eyes, I positioned myself to make sure I was out of the way of any potential drooling.
Avoiding drool. Now that was true love.
I sighed, thinking back to Harper. No doubt she's thinking he's the one; that's what all girls do at fifteen. In her life she'll do things greater than dating the boy on the football team, but she doesn't know that yet. All she can think about is that kiss, which I understood. Feeling Percy's body heat next to mine, I felt extremely lucky to have married the first guy I dated. I mean, how many people get it right on the first try? And maybe Harper had too... but if not, I've found time can heal most anything and she just might find who she's supposed to be. I didn't know who I was supposed to be at fifteen.
Besides, if that boy ever breaks her heart, he's got a long list of people to answer to; Percy and myself, Ruby and Ajax, Nico, Thalia, and probably half of the gods...
...yeah, we don't need to worry about Harper. She's covered.
I loved writing this chapter, I hope you like reading it! Please, PLEASE REVIEW!