*Disclaimer: I own nothing of Rick Riordan's. And please note that this will not be a very long story.*
*Chapter 1: Costumes for Halloween*
Connor and Travis Stoll found Percy and me in a very unflattering way.
We were sitting (more like hiding) in the strawberry patch. My back was against Percy's chest, his arms wrapped around my waist. Ever since we started dating on his birthday, I was glad to find we hadn't changed or outgrew our 'patterns.' We still bickered, and I still kicked his butt, but the only difference was there was more flirting . . . and, yes, kissing too. We got a long lecture from Chiron about that. It was pretty embarassing.
Another fun perk to being in a relationship was that if Percy did something wrong or thought he did, he became afraid that I would be mad at him. I thought it was cute and sweet that he tried so hard.
"Percy?" I asked him, softly rubbing my fingers across his arm, tracing from his thumb to his elbow.
"Hmm?" His eyes snapped open. He was on the brink of falling asleep, due to the curse of Achilles.
"Why are we hiding in the strawberries again?" Percy had insisted we come out here. He'd tried to explain, but all I got out of it was "Connor . . ." and "trick-or-treating." It was Halloween tomorrow, and I didn't blame Percy for wanting to stay away from the Stoll brothers. This was their time to whip up the evilest of pranks, and everyone they got a hold of was a target.
Percy rested his chin on top of my head. "Connor and Travis. I saw them with a box of water balloons. And I don't think they were filled with water."
"Oh?" I laughed. "Why's that?"
"Because they're not," two voices said in unison. Percy and I both jumped. Travis and Connor were standing beside us, both with wicked grins on their faces.
"If you try anything I swear to all the gods . . ." I threatened.
Travis raised his hands. "We're unarmed! Actually, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us tomorrow night."
"Come with you to what?" Percy asked curiously.
"Trick-or-treating," said Connor.
"Um," Percy said, "We're a little old for that, don't you think?"
Connor scoffed. "Old! Dude, you're never to old to trick-or-treat. Besides, you'll be with a bunch of friends. It's better when you're with friends."
"Who's going?" I asked.
Travis listed off names on his fingers. "Me, Connor, Rachel, Nico, hopefully Thalia, but I figured she'd only go if you went, Annabeth-Grover, and Percy."
I looked over my shoulder at Percy. "What do you say? Want to go trick-or-treating?"
Percy bit his lip. "Will we be back in time for the party?"
Ah, the party. Something Chiron throws every year. It was fun to see the costumes people came up with. Speaking of costumes . . .
"What are we going to wear?" I told Percy. "We only have until tomorrow to find costumes!"
"Then you'd better get shopping!" Connor said.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Arg! I can't find anything!" I groaned. Thalia, Katie, Clarisse, Rachel and I were at the Halloween store. I had to admit, they had some pretty impressive stuff. I think the best part was when a life-sized Ghost Face figure jumped out at Thalia, who shrieked and did a high kick to its face, knocking the plastic head right off. A poor little girl who'd been standing near by screamed and ran off, leaving the mother to shoot us dirty looks and chase after her daughter. Luckily it wasn't a real person. I couldn't keep track of the number of times Thalia apologized to the employers as they tried to reattach the head.
By the time we finally left the store, everyone had a costume but me and Thalia, who'd decided she was going to go as herself. Rachel would be a police officer, and Clarisse was a biker, which wasn't really shocking. Katie wanted to be a nymph, probably to gain the attention of Travis.
"Why a police officer?" I asked Rachel, who was happily swinging her bag at her side. I was glad we'd became friends after the Titan war. She was really fun to hang out with, and I realized the only reason I'd disliked her before was because of Percy, as mean as that sounds.
"Because I figured I'd get dirty looks if I tried to go as Aphrodite," Rachel sighed. No one questioned it.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .
When we got back, I found Percy waiting for me.
"Hey." I kissed him, still loving the fact that I could do so. "Did you find a costume?"
"No," he pouted. "But everyone else did. I couldn't pick. Did you?"
"Nope." I sat down beside him. "Guess we'll just have to-"
"Improvise?" a girly voice said. I blinked, and suddenly a woman appeared in front of us. Percy's jaw dropped, and I couldn't help feeling a little jealous. The woman was beautiful, and seemed to get even more beautiful every time I blinked. Her appearance was constantly changing, her hair changing from straight blond shoulder-length hair to lush brown curls, and her makeup was perfect. "I think not."
"Aphrodite?" I said, seeing as Percy was clearly unable to speak at the moment. I swore I thought I could even see a bit of drool. Annoyed, I pushed his mouth closed. "Close your mouth, you'll catch flies, Seaweed Brain."
He managed to tear his eyes away from Aphrodite. "What?"
I rolled my eyes. "Nothing."
Aphrodite smiled. "You're too sweet. And don't worry about costumes, I have something perfect planned. When I'm done with you, no one will recognize either of you."
"What do you mean?" I said, but Aphrodite just held a finger to her lips.
"Patience, my dear. Now, you two will go to Percy's appartment tomorrow to get ready. I've already arranged it with Sally."
"Uh . . . okay?" Percy managed to say.
Aphrodite smiled. "Excellent. I'll see you two tomorrow, then!" Percy and I covered our eyes as Aphrodite dissapeared in a flash of pink light, a wiff of her perfume still lingering in the air.
After she was gone, I looked at Percy. "After she's done with us, no one will recognize us? What in Hades does that mean?"
"I think it means tomorrow will be a long day," Percy said, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"I think you're right," I murmured, already dreading tomorrow.