Hey everyone, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh! And stupid me forgot to say this last chapter, but tysm for one hundred reviews! You guys are literally amazing— thank you thank you thank you!

Disclaimer: Rick Riordan wouldn't need to have these, and tbh, I'd really be wasting my time if I was him.

~headline: a deep seated secret~

…

Percy bites his lip, as he scrolls through the conversation again. She just sounds so damn exasperated with him. He really didn't think it would be a big thing. He'd made a couple of changes to the lyrics, and they were integrated into the song almost seamlessly.

But obviously he was kidding himself. The minute she sent him that message and he decided to write a song around it, he knew something like this would happen, he knew that confrontation was inevitable.

But he still did it. And why? Simply for the reason it was a good song, and the first good song that he had come up with in a long while. He's actually proud of it. He likes the song, it's the first genuinely good one on his album. The four other's he wrote before everything sound whiny and full of complaints, and yes, some are cheesy love songs, even though Percy's love life is beyond complicated. So although he was dreading it's pre-release, he still did it, because he likes it. And it's inspired by her.

But again, why risk Acropolis's immediate judgment by releasing it? Percy doesn't know exactly why. He just knew that somehow, he'd be able to justify it. And it seemed Acropolis hadn't connected the dots, any of them, for that matter. When he told her he'd tell her later, she seemed resigned, but still didn't prod any longer. So for now at least, he was in the clear.

On another note, it seems as if he's broken through a level of stress and songs are just coming to him now. Over the last three days, he's written a new piece each day. And what's good about these, is that he's actually proud of them. This is literally the exact thing that he needs because he doesn't know the next time he'll reach a brimming point, and not have anything else to give. So he writes non-stop, in the studio, back at home, whenever and wherever he can. With every new song he writes, it feels as if he's getting out of that deep, dark hole he was in. Feels like he's finally gotten out of his funk. The sudden burst of motivation comes from a lot of things— Acropolis, Dionysus, and Calypso. He and Calypso haven't talked in person that much recently (at all, really), but tomorrow, they're going on a date mostly for the press, and Percy doesn't know how he feels about it. Well, he does know how he feels. He's uncomfortable with it. It's not the fact that he isn't attracted to Calypso— she's gorgeous, anyone can see that. It's just that— she doesn't feel like the person he can be the real— him with. He's always second-guessing what he says, even over text, because for one, Atlas, who is actually really fucking scary, but two, because the media prays on the weak. And if he shows he's weak in any way multiple bad things can happen to him. So he can't be vulnerable with Calypso at all really.

Percy thinks that sometimes, to be strong, you have to show your weaknesses, but the big-shots of the world don't seem to think so. Which means he has to continue to put up a false facade of himself, one he can only let down with one person. A person he doesn't even know in real life. If he could meet Acropolis without any complications, without ceasing to be normal he would do it in a pinch. But that seems basically impossible. The minute, no— the second she sees who he really is, he'll become not Pylos, her friend, a person she can rely on, but Percy Jackson, the playboy superstar. There are parts of Percy Jackson that he likes— his confidence, his swagger (as dumb as that is to say), and the way he carries himself. Pylos has some of those too, but he's more vulnerable. He lets himself be seen, sympathizes with himself, and cares. He wants stability.

If only those two personas could come together, in Acropolis's eyes at least, to just form into good old Percy. Percy without the Jackson part of his name. Pylos without the anonymity. Of course, separating those two things is hard, and who is he kidding? That could never happen. It's impossible, so why does he keep thinking about it, dreaming about it?

It's a question that's come up thousands of times. Frankly, it's getting pretty damn repetitive now. But Percy decides that it's a reasonable question. Why does anyone dream? To escape reality. To go to another world— good or bad— that allows them to be the person they truly want to be. Which describes Percy's situation almost perfectly. People dream because they want an escape. It reminds Percy of a song, one that he heard a while ago. The song talked about how it's easy to get trapped in your own head, and even harder to escape. No matter how much you try, you can never leave. He thinks it's called Mind is a Prison, or something like that.

He switches back to his business email account, signing out of his undercover one, and leaves the app. Setting his phone down, he looks into the mirror right across from him. The man in front of him doesn't look… okay.

It's late at night, and although his three-day break is over, he didn't have any events to go to today. His eyes are blood-shot from squinting at a piece of paper from his notebook in the studio all day, which he quickly filled with lyrics. Black hair is messy, raggedy, and he's wearing a blue shirt that's slightly unbuttoned.

Maybe it's time to go to sleep. He has a big day tomorrow, after all. For one, there's an entire date with Calypso he has to go on, which the press is going to have an absolute field day on. The second they see the two of them together, he'll be in the tabloids. And there's nothing better than having his face pressed onto a bunch of shitty papers talking about actor's drug problems.

But: it'll advertise his album. And it may seem that it's already been advertised enough, but the big thing is that everything gets boring at some point, and to make things not boring Percy and Calypso have to be an active couple. Which is weird, because aren't all couples active?

Short answer: the media needs proof. They need all the juicy moments, the kisses, the hugs, the conversations. Percy knows that he'll be interviewed, and he really needs to prepare himself for that. Needs to prepare to lie on camera convincingly.

It can't be that hard, because it's basically his job.

…

Percy's rough hand tightens around Calypso's as they walk down a nearly empty street equipped with sunglasses and hats. Calypso's wearing another dress— this time it's a pastel yellow with small white dots scattered around it. Her hair is down up in a low bun, and she has a matching beret on. Percy wears a light green button up shirt, that's slightly open and dark black pants. They almost look normal.

Well, incredibly fashionable normal people. And ones that look exactly like celebrities. The outfit he's wearing right now costs a lot of money. He knows, because as he was getting dressed up by his stylist, he was repeatedly told how lucky he was to be wearing these clothes. The stylist probably was jealous.

Sometimes, Percy forgets to acknowledge how lucky he is.

The restaurant they're headed to is extremely exclusive, which means that they'll hopefully be alone and won't be caught until after dinner. That means they'll have to make peaceful small talk, and not be awkward at all, which is going to be pretty hard considering the circumstances. As they approach the building, a waiter ushers them in, leading them to a reserved table. Percy sits opposite of Calypso, and they stare at each other in silence for a while.

The table is absolutely immaculate. It's candle-lit, and the room is dark except for the illuminating flames. Each piece of silver-ware is set with precision and the two glasses are immediately filled by another waiter, that's passing by.

"Excuse me," Percy puts a hand up, beckoning a waiter over. "Sorry, I'm underage, is this alcoholic?" As much as Percy wishes he could drink, this is not the night he wants to get drunk or even tipsy. Not at all.

The waiter smiles, "of course not Mr. Jackson. We know your situation." Their eyes flicker over to Calypso appreciatively, and she smiles sweetly.

"So I guess you're a big rule follower. Surprising." Calypso prompts, once the waiter is gone. Good, that's a conversation. Percy doesn't know how much longer he can take sitting in silence.

Percy shrugs. "For a while, I didn't really care about being underaged, but then it got bad and a scandal came out of it, you know, like they do," he rolls his eyes, "and I promised I wouldn't anymore."

"To who?" Calypso asks, preening.

Percy bits his lip, and threads one of his hands through his hair. "My mom. I don't want to disappoint her."

Calypso sips her drink. "That's nice." She looks at the menus that are carefully placed in front of them. "What are you thinking of getting?"

Percy glances at it. "None of the seafood probably, it isn't my favorite."

"Oh, are you allergic?" Calypso looks concerned and he's kind of touched by that, "because I was going to get some oysters, but if you don't—"

He cuts her off, holding his hands in the air. "No, no, you can get that, I just don't like it. No allergies over here." Percy cringes at himself. He looks like a picky twelve year old, rather than a (supposedly) sophisticated celebrity. "I think I'll just get a seared steak skillet."

After a moment of silence, a waiter comes over, thankfully saving them, "have you guys figured out your orders?"

"Uh— yeah." Percy says, picking up his menu. "I'll have the seared steak skillet." He repeats.

"And I'll have the baked garlic oysters."

The waiter nods, and notes something on her pad. "We'll have those here for you soon enough." She says, and then looks over at Percy. "And I'm sorry Mr. Jackson, this is a bit unprofessional, but I loved that single you released."

Percy smiles uncomfortably. He loves fan feedback, but always feels so awkward about it. "I'm glad you liked it," he says honestly, "It really means a lot." He gives her one of his signature on-brand, trademarked, Percy Jackson smiles.

She flushes, and then turns away, walking to the kitchen. Calypso looks at him thoughtfully. "Do you get that a lot?"

"I'm not usually in public a lot," Percy says, taking a sip of his water. "But when I am, yes. Don't you get recognized?"

"Unfortunately," she pauses, thinking, "and fortunately, I have a protective father, which means I'm not usually subjected to the media."

"Except for now." Percy says.

Calypso nods. "Right. So…" she trails off, "how's your music going?"

"Uh— it's going well. I'm writing about a song a day, which is good."

"Do you have a process, you know, of creating songs, like a routine?" She looks genuinely interested in it, and it makes Percy feel bad, because he's sincerely uncomfortable.

Percy nods, biting his lip. "Yeah. I usually write the song first, the lyrics, I mean, and then record myself singing it. Then, I guess I just add whatever chords, notes, or sounds that seem good with it. Sometimes I compose first, but that's rare. Once I put it all together in one track, we take my best cuts of music, and then I add any other vocal sounds to it. Depending on the song it can take from three days to a week."

"Do you like doing it?"

That's a good question. Percy thinks he does. "Yeah. I mean, some parts are harder than others, but overall, I like making music. It's why I dropped out of school. It's why I'm here now." Despite everything he's felt over the last couple of months, he really does genuinely like music. He loves listening to it, he loves making it, he loves writing it. He loves everything about it. And although plenty of parts of it as a career sucks, he truly does enjoy doing it.

"It looks like you have a big passion for it, like you're really invested."

"How can you tell?"

Calypso just shrugs, "it's easy to see it."

Percy swallows a sip of his drink. "How's your career doing? You're a model, right?"

"And an actress." Calypso replies quietly. "It's kind of boring, the modeling part at least. Right now, I'm trying to shift over to become more of an actor. I just got casted for a pretty decent role, so I'll be working on that sometime in the next couple of months, which is fun. It's better than just posing for pictures. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that, but it's not really my thing. Acting is better in my opinion."

"Better," Percy muses. "Sounds like it. I mean, I could never act, but you seem pretty good at it."

"Yeah." Calypso says and then pauses to look at him intently. "You're not a great actor." It's kind of blunt, coming from someone as sweet as her. She assesses him for a moment, before elaborating. "You don't want to do this."

Percy stares for a moment, taking what she said in. He doesn't want to do it, but how does she know? She doesn't know anything about him, and although he's a bad actor, he's actually trying to have a good conversation. He's not acting here. "I don't." He says slowly. "But who would? Being forced to pretend you're in love with someone else, it's how people crash and burn."

Calypso shakes her head again. "No, you really don't want to be here. Because you love someone else."

"No—" Percy starts, but he's conveniently cut off by a waiter, carrying two large platters of food.

"A Seared Steak Skillet," the waiter holds up one of the plates.

Percy blinks. "That's me."

"And then oyster's for you." The waiter sets the platters down. "Enjoy. We'll put the fee on your tab Mr. Jackson." He feels weird about them calling him "Mr. Jackson." Like he's some fifty-seven year old man. When he's not. He's still a teenager.

But he nods, and they both individually thank the waiter, before digging into the food. The steak tastes extremely good, and Percy sees that Calypso is enjoying her oysters. Percy's never liked sea-food, he's always had this weird distaste for it. He's fine with anything else— steak, chicken, beed, whatever— but not seafood.

"So," Calypso says, just as he goes in for another bite. "Who is it?"

Percy takes his time chewing, because this really isn't a conversation she wants to have. Once he's done, Calypso stares intently at him, waiting for an answer. So he sighs. "You'll think it's stupid."

"Try me." Calypso dares, and he's surprised. He hasn't really seen this side of her before, it's a bit feisty. Of course, there are multiple different sides of people, so maybe this is one Calypso is now comfortable showing.

Percy shuts his eyes. "There is a girl." He says, laying the facts down first. "But it's not— a normal relationship. I like her— love her, I think at least, but we can never meet."

"Oh."

Percy chuckles. "Yeah 'oh'." He shakes his head. "So of course even in general I wouldn't want to do this, but the fact that there's someone else makes it worse. And I shouldn't have to think about that someone else, because she's— she's never going to see me. But I still… I still want to."

"So do you want to stop?"

Percy stops, and looks into Calypso's eyes, surprised. "Stop?" He enquires. "Is that even an option?"

"I could pull some strings." She implies. Percy doesn't know if she can even do that, is that really in her power? She probably has some influence over her father. But if she did end up talking to her dad about it, Atlas would probably hate him even more than he already does, if that's possible.

"I—" Percy stutters. "I'd have to think about it. Probably no. I just— no. That's final. I need to just wait this out. I have stuff to plan. There's too much already set in stone, we have a meet and greet together soon, right? I can handle this for now. Nothing is going to come out of her and her." Acropolis. How he wishes something could come out of it all, something other than heartbreak and false hopes.

"Okay." Calypso says. "That's fine."

"There's just so much already set in stone. Like, we have to meet fans together, right, or something like that?"

"Yeah, fine. But please know, I am sorry Percy." She looks and sounds genuine. Calypso's a really nice girl, and he hopes that after all of this ends, she'll find someone right for her. Someone who truly understands and loves her. Percy just isn't the right person. Maybe if Acropolis wasn't in the picture, he would be able to like her that way, but right now, it's pretty impossible.

Percy's voice cracks. "Thank you Calypso."

…

When they leave the restaurant, the paparazzi is already there. Someone must have informed them, which really sucks, but it's inevitable. Two famous people walk into a bar— or a restaurant— they come out, and are paparazzied. If that isn't a verb, then it should be. Because it's definitely real.

"Percy! How long have you and Calypso been together?" He's being bombarded with questions, and Calypso is too.

"Percy! Is 'Girl in My Corner'inspired by Ms. Atlas herself?" God, don't they have better things to do?

He sighs, and pushes his way through them. A car is already coming their way, it's scheduled to arrive right about now, so he just needs to push his way out of the crowd, and keep Calypso close and safe. He wraps an arm around her protectively, as they surge forward in the crowd, avoiding cameras and covering their faces when a flash goes off. All in all, it's a disaster.

Once they manage to get out of the bigger section of the crowd, Percy sees a familiar car pull up, and they rush over, to get into it. Some reporters block the road, but with one honk, and another push on the gas, the car surges forward, and they leave. Percy sighs, and then looks up to see who's in the driver's seat.

It's Leo. "You guys okay?" He asks, concerned, looking at them through the rearview mirror.

"I think so." Percy looks over to Calypso, whose hand is still around his. "You good?"

Calypso nods, shaken up. "Thank you, Leo." She says her voice is soft and kind. How does she know his name? He doesn't think they've ever talked at all.

"No prob Callie," wait, what the hell? Do they know each other? Percy can't remember them ever talking, at least, ever seeing them talking.

"How do you—" Percy's almost afraid to ask. "How do you know each other?"

"We talked a bit that first day." Leo shrugs, and continues to drive, leaving the paps in the distance. "Got to know each other."

"Okay." He replies suspiciously. "Cool, I guess."

Calypso smiles at him. "There's nothing to worry about Percy," she says softly to him. He's not sure what she's telling him to stop worrying about, but he's still oddly comforted by it, because it means any potential worry he will have is unneeded.

"Okay." Percy says, and they continue to drive. Leo drops Calypso off at her father's mansion, and then Percy goes up to the front, riding shotgun. The sun is slowly setting, because it's late at night, and Percy collapses on the seat, exhausted. He's a bit surprised about how tired he is. "Shit!" He groans. "Leo, this is honestly—"

"I really don't understand you sometimes," Leo interrupts him, "you have everything in the world, and you still complain?"

Percy's eyebrows draw down, he's confused. "What do you mean?"

"You take so much for granted," Leo shakes his head as he continues to drive. "I would do so much to have the life you have, but you still complain."

"Leo!" Percy stops him, irritated, "I have no fucking clue what your talking about. Like—"

He cuts him off. "You don't understand. You just don't fucking understand what it feels like to be constantly in your shadow. You helped me out, I get that, okay? You gave me a job. You're like a brother to me, but it's so annoying to see you taking everything you have for granted. I really don't get it. Like, Calypso, she's amazing, but you're like—"

Percy eyes widen, in realization. "Are you jealous of me… for Calypso?" He asks. "Do you like Calypso?"

"It isn't about Calypso, Percy, I swear!" Leo grips the steering wheel, and the car veers to the side a bit. They get closer to Percy's home, and he's relieved when he sees it in the distance. "And that's none of your business."

"I'm your friend Leo, so it is!" He argues.

Leo laughs. "Just— for once, can you consider the fact that you're lucky? That there are people in the world that are actually suffering. I know, Gabe sucked, really sucked. Being in a fake relationship? That sucks. Toxic industry? Sucks. But dude, there's so much worse things going on."

They pull into the parking lot of his home, and Percy slips his sunglasses on. "I'm sorry Leo."

"Whatever." Leo grumbles. "Go to your damn pent-house playboy."

Percy almost— and he means almost— laughs at it, because Leo's still a joker, even though he's angry. He leaves the car (which might be a mistake, because he does not want to be arguing with his best friend), and goes to his "damn pent-house."

Maybe Leo's right. He probably is. But how is he supposed to stop it all? Of course he takes things for granted, he knows that, but just— having that said to him makes him think about it in a whole new light. The way Leo presented it was in a jerky way, and he's a bit ticked by that, but it's still relevant to think about it.

Is he really just as pretentious as the rest of them?

…

~privilege can be invisible to those who have it~

Okay I had to slip in an Alec Benjamin reference because he's such a sweet adorable bean and if you haven't noticed I have like two one-shots based on his songs and probably more coming cause he's just amazing and I feel like I say that too much. Also on that note a one-shot is coming out soon probably in the next weekish.

Tysm for all of the support! You guys are incredible! Leave a review, lmk what you think of the chapter! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!

TheLil'Lion