Hello! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the support! Please read the author's note at the end of this!
Disclaimer: I'm not Rick. Or anybody famous. Kinda unexceptional lol.
~headline: was that legitimate, it sure seems like it.~
…
Percy needs to make a statement about what's going on. He doesn't want to lose Acropolis, but like, he also keeps screwing up, so maybe he deserves to lose her. He can't believe he was so stupid— leaving her phone behind. Now, her name is out into the world, and there's nothing he can do about it. He doesn't know where she goes to school, who she's friends with— other than Tristian Mclean's daughter, what was her name— Piper? So other than that, he has nothing to go off of.
That's a little bit disheartening.
He's already been hounded by his management, Dionysus came in furious, asking him what the hell he did. Percy actually did see a little grin on his face, so he suspects that Dionysus isn't that bad. The man's motto is, "any publicity is good publicity."
Dionysus had come up to him when in the writing office, and demanded they talked. He followed the man out of the room, and then, Dionysus had jabed his stinky little finger into Percy's face. "Percy, you had an obligation to keep this going." He knew in an instant the man was talking about Calypso.
Percy had just shrugged. "No contract though. I could have done anything I wanted."
Dionysus had sputtered. "That can't be right!" And then, the small grin came, though it quickly faded away seconds after its appearance. Percy looked at Dionysus, confused, and then had turned to walk back to the studio.
"Not my problem." He had said. And then, Dionysus hadn't bothered him again. It was a little bit weird, and a little bit funny.
Percy hasn't felt that in control in a while. Just thinking about it, it was a pretty big step. It's the first time he thinks that he's personally stood up to Dionysus. The man isn't horrible, he thinks at least, just terribly misguided and maybe a little bit over the top when it comes to money. More than a little bit. He's way over the top. Percy thinks it has to do with being in the music business for too long. Maybe it's a side-effect.
Look, Percy knows a lot about the fame industry, but he's been told by Leo, by Nico, by Calypso, that he needs to put a statement out. Say something, look for her, find her. He has now, about fifteen million followers under his belt— everything has grown like crazy. Some are bound to have some type of connection, or maybe, just maybe, she'll see it. It could be a shot in the dark, but it's not like he'll lose anything because of it. It's just an Instagram post.
He goes to his Instagram, and begins to formulate a post. One by one, he writes in little black boxes with white script his thoughts. All of them, not holding back. This can't be guarded, he needs to show what he truly thinks, not put on a mask or anything. He's done being controlled. He's done with hiding himself away, like the true Percy isn't good. Because he is. He likes who he is with Acropolis— Annabeth. And he wants to be that person all the time. Showing off the side of him that's vulnerable, passionate, that works hard. It's all worth it. He knows that doing this will cause another stir, but to be honest, the speculation and news on him isn't going to fade away in a long time, so during this peak of notice, he should use the platform he has to try to get at least one good thing out of it all.
He spends a good hour planning out what he's going to say, and then copying and pasting them onto little boxes so he can put it on a post. He only has ten slides available, so he has to make the best of it all. If it's too much, he'll also put everything in the caption, but he needs content for the real post. He should probably put stuff out on Twitter too— he has another seven million followers there, and though he rarely tweets, his outreach should be as far as he can get. Once he's done writing everything out on the notes app, he smiles at it, because it seems genuine. Real. True. He's put all he's got into this, all he is, and he won't be backing down now. All he needs is to post it. Which to be honest, will probably be the hardest part.
…
"A lot of you fans are wondering about me, about what's happened over the past couple of days. That's valid, there's been a lot of news about it. And you all, my fans, the people who helped me get to where I am today, deserve to know. I'd like to clear it up before you start jumping to conclusions, because those are incredibly, incredibly damaging. There's been a lot of news about me. A lot of people have been spreading false news, but also, there's been a lot that misunderstood. There's been a lot that's true too. So, like with any story, I'd like to start at the beginning. Not the beginning of my fame, or the beginning of my life, but the start of everything.
Here's where it all started: Music has always been something I could go to when I was sad, or angry, or just needed something to focus my attention on. I lived with an abusive step-father for a while, and it was the only thing that could keep my calm. My mom was stuck in a toxic relationship, and so was I. Music was an escape. And I've alway wanted to be a musician. That's the one thing about me that hasn't changed, though to be honest, I don't think I've changed that much. I still see myself as the scared teen from New York that held onto his guitar for dear life. My mom, bless her, was the start of everything. We could never afford private lessons, but she made sure I had all I needed. Guitar strings, pics, music books, access to Youtube. No matter what my step dad said, she made sure to help foster my talent. 'You have something special Percy,' she said. My mom is the reason I'm here today, singing, writing, everything. Everything I've earned is because of her.
You guys know several parts of the story. I'm just here to provide the behind the scene things that have happened. I'm going to do my best to tell you what I can, but I may get repetitive. Just be warned: this is going to be messy. More than a little. So yeah. Beware. I'm just a kid, which many people don't seem to pick up. Only seventeen. Crazy right? Glad we've reestablished that, because so many media outlets seem to ignore that.
But back to the story. So I started to post stuff on Youtube. Which was fun. Carefree. I got to be myself, and people liked that. My music came naturally, and I was excited about every new song I wrote. I was happy. I gained traction, and was enjoying myself before I got picked up by The Olympus, the most popular management company there is. It was good for a while, but I felt the pressure, all of it. There was so much weight on me, each song had to be perfect. I felt myself fall out of love with the process of it all. And that's when I meant this girl, Acropolis. That's not her real name. You can figure that out yourself, because I did the dumb fucking thing of leaking it. She was the person who gave me a sight on reality. She showed me how I had changed, and most of all, made me feel normal. I know I gave up normality a long, long time ago, but she showed me that I could still be famous, and be me at the same time. It kept me sane, and I found myself falling in love with her. I am in love with her. Acropolis is the girl I was talking about in Girl in My Corner. Calypso and I, I'm sad to say, were never dating. It was a publicity stunt forced on the two of us. I'm sorry to those who feel deceived by this, but please, we were both incredibly misled. No hate on her, she's a wonderful person, a great friend. I just can't love her, because I'm in love with someone else. Calypso has helped me out in many ways, and I'm glad for her for it. She's always going to be a dear friend of mine, just not a lover.
The sad truth is that fame has a dark side to it. And that's a dark side I've denied for a very long time, one I wasn't sure I could accept. I couldn't accept the fact that I've changed. And I have. At least, to the public eye. The only time I felt like the real me, is with her. And also, several other choice people, though there's always a level of restraint there. But anyway, I feel that things have turned me into something I hate— something I've always hated. And I'm trying to find myself again. I've made mistakes. We all have, but I think one of my biggest mistakes was letting go of her— Acropolis. I don't have much, a glass slipper, and a piece of information. However, that slipper, or in this case, phone, has been taken away, so to this, I have several things to say. Number one: if you are affiliated with the news source that has taken the phone of Acropolis, please hand it over. Give it back, and no harm will come your way. My agents will refrain from leaking private information of a (key-word) minor. Return it, and back off. Number two: If anyone who knows (with proof) can help me find her, then please, please, please contact me. DM, email, Youtube comment, whatever. Just, if you can help me find her, then I don't know, I'll give you some type of reward. She's really important to me, and I know it's a lot to ask, but it really would mean the world to me if you could help me find her again. This may be a shot in the dark, but like. Please. I don't want it to be for nothing.
This is not meant to sound self-centered, or insensitive, but if you feel that way about this post, feel free to let me know. I'm not trying to bring down other issues by promoting my own, just trying to find this girl. Then, I think I'm going to take a little break from social media. It'll be good for me. Let me think about the more important things in life. Help me process everything. I'll still be focusing on my album, but I won't really be promoting and stuff like that. I just think for me to really really get back into the game, I need to focus on my content so I don't disappoint anyone.
One more time, I'd like to say this. (Mind the repetition and 'all over the place' warning). Please help me find Acropolis. Again, not saying her name, you can find that out on your own, and many of you already know. I'd really liked to talk to her, fess out everything. If it doesn't work out, okay. I'll accept it. But I want the chance to make sure I have a chance for us to happen. Even if it's a small one. I'd also like to thank you all, my fans, who have seen me grow and expand. You all are just awesome. I'm so lucky to have you, and I wish I could individually say thank-you to everyone one of you, but this is the best I can do.
Before I sign off, I'd like to say a couple of things. For one, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for bailing out on my own meet and greet. I'm sorry for being involved in countless scandals (some, I will say, that aren't entirely my fault), and I know most of you have lost hope in me as a person. My new music is coming out soon, and I think that you'll like this album. It has more meaning attached to this. Obviously, this isn't an advertisement, but I'm back on track, that's all I'm saying. Again, I hope that you all haven't lost hope in me, because I haven't yet. Through everything, I, again, hope you'll find some in this. Because all of it's from the deep depths of my heart. It's true. No— scratch that. It's more than true."
…
His hand shakes a bit as he finally presses the "Share" button on his profile, and then prepares each individual tweet, since there is a two hundred eighty word character limit, and this is way over. By the time he's done doing that. He looks back at his Instagram, and see's comments, and likes and DM's coming in. He scrolls hastily through them all, and most seem fairly positive. He's only seen five or six hate comments, which is good.
He heads to his DM's, and checks through everyone who has sent him something. Most of it is illegitimate (and like, seriously people, this isn't the time). Some of them are good luck messages, but nothing that proves Annabeth has a relation to them. He sets down his phone, exasperated, and shuts his eyes tight.
Just as he does so, a chorus comes to mind. One relating exactly to his recent post. He pulls out a notebook, and quickly scrawls the words onto his paper. As he writes, more than just the chorus forms, and soon, an entire song is created, just the lyrics. He looks back, to where everything stemmed from, the chorus, and smiles over at it.
"I don't know what else to do,
as I sing this song for you
but what I say is more than true."
More than true. That phrase resonates with him. More than any other thing has. He's gone through album name after album name— contenders consist of SuperNova, In My Corner, and Faker. Past album names have been so easy to come about, but this one, this one has been harder. His first album was called, Falling in Fear, an ad-lib off the phrase Falling in Love, and it came from a song called Of Misery. His second album was titled, Only For You, when the pop-like, lovesick ways of the music industry were rubbing off on him. His third, Eyes Like Stars, came from a book he forgets the same of. All of them weren't hard, but this album was different.
And he thinks that maybe, with this name, he's hit the jack-pot. The context is there, so is the inspiration.
So he writes it down on his notes app, finalizing it. As much as he's worried about so many other things, it's nice to get one last thing about his album snapped in place. And now, all he has to do, is furiously go through his DM's for an answer, hopefully one sooner rather than later.
…
After several hours of going through his messages from both Twitter and Instagram, he loses hope. Just as he's setting his phone down, about to head over to make a frozen burrito in his kitchen, he glimpses a name he recognizes.
Piper Mclean. Tristian Mclean's daughter, and Annabeth's friend. She has around 16k followers probably because of her dad, and she's just messaged him. He clicks onto the DM, hoping that he'll be able to respond while she's still active. The little green dot beside her profile is there, which is a good sign.
Her message reads. "You know I know Annabeth. I saw your post, but Annabeth hasn't because she's kinda just disappeared from social media. I can set up a time for you two to meet."
"Have you told her?" He types back quickly, his hands moving at the speed of light.
Piper replies a minute later. "No. Surprise and all that."
"Are you sure she'd want that?"
"Again, no. But it'll be a damn good surprise, so like. I don't think she'll mind."
Percy sighs. He just really doesn't want to anger her. That would be the worst possible thing to happen. "Fine. Let's get some details together."
Hope regained.
…
Later, he gets emailed by the so-called "media company" who took Annabeth's phone. The name feels oddly familiar, and so does the writing style. The email is long and apologetic, and to be frank, Percy thinks that it's all just trying to get the address to his home. He sends back a short email saying that they can drop it off at Olympus Studios, purposely trying to be passive aggressive, because they deserve it. The next day, he goes into the studio, with a full on plan on how, when, and where they're going to meet. He's confident, and when he sees Annabeth's phone at the front desk, he's even more so. He's had to be extra careful when entering in exiting public spaces because the flare up with news about him is making it even harder. He's sure that at least one person has spotted him, which is pretty good, for an average day. He's laid on the disguises, and Leo even offered to send him a fake, adhesive mustache. Percy declined, but he did put some thought into it.
Once in the writing room, he starts to show them the song he wrote, but Silena (and Leo, for that matter) are both gushing on and on about how romantic the social media post he put out was. Percy's rolling his eyes, because they're ridiculous. Several news outlets have already put stuff out about it, which is spreading the word, despite the fact that Percy has an arrangement now. They're meeting in a secluded park near downtown LA, and Piper is going to bring Annabeth. He's really really excited. He's not sure what he'll do when he sees her. Kiss her maybe. He's already made super clear that his feelings for her are romantic, and he can only hope that she'll feel the same way.
Once Leo and Silena are done gushing, Percy is able to show them the song, More than True, is what he's titled in it. "I want to name the album after it." He tells them.
"That seems like a good idea." Austin says seriously.
Nico nods. He looks a little bit sad, which Percy is confused about. "Yeah, first one in a while."
Percy slaps him. Leo laughs. It feels like everything is slowly getting back to normal. His friends, treating him normally, are the first step.
~there's a point in most lives, where everything just clicks together~
…
I don't really know how I feel about this chapter lol. I think it's pretty important for Percy (and Percabeth for that matter too)! Also: next week updates will be inconsistent, but I'll try my best (no promises, I have a life too lol, perfection is impossible). I'm going to be in a place with an unreliable internet connection, so beware of that.
Also: keep in mind that more things will come together as the plot moves forward, so stuff that's a little bit clouded will become more clear. Tysm for reading! Leave a review, lmk what you think! Stay safe and healthy! Until the next chapter!
MilaKuhn: It's coming, just in later chapters. LadyHW: ty that's so kind, I really really appreciate it!
TheLil'Lion