Authors Note at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: A Reason to Live

Percy let out a groan as he relaxed into his recliner in his office. The night had gone by really well. Will's singing had gotten him more customers, which wasn't surprising. The kid always had done an amazing job when it came to the music. He had left Will to clean and lock up, which meant he could retreat back to his comfy chair in his comfy office.

After finishing a few emails, Percy felt really exhausted. This past week had been torture: the band who was supposed to be here of course bailed at the last second, no one could fill in, and customers were still complaining about the beach oriented bathrooms. Why the hell would a bar in the middle of a huge city like this have a beach oriented bathroom, they asked. Personally, he didn't see the problem. The beach was amazing! There was nothing wrong with the beach.

So when Will agreed to fill in the music slot, Percy had felt so relieved. The kid was good. Just like his brother…

Percy shook his head. He couldn't think about this. He wouldn't. Not now. He stretched, and decided he was thirsty. As he walked to the kitchen, he glanced at the wall of photos. Most of the photos were birthday photos or celebrity visits, but there was a row specifically dedicated to the employee group. At the end of the annual Christmas rush, a photo was taken of the tired, worn out employees who despite all the chaos that they had just endured, wore a smile at the end of the day. Percy didn't try to deny that they were smiling mostly because they all got a big "surprise" at the end of the day: an added bonus to their paycheck. It was definitely well earned, since in the morning and afternoons, the café was filled with couples going on dates and in the evening, the bar was filled with singles trying to find someone. The employees didn't have time to take a break until around 4:30, when the café closed and the bar got prepped for opening. Even then, the short two hours given were barely enough to wipe down tables, clean the kitchen, set up the dining area, and scour the bar, let alone take a real break. Percy knew how hard it was for everyone to do that on a daily basis. He once had to do it himself, when he was a humble busboy. That's why he never felt bad about giving the extra money to his employees, who never complained about the work load, not to his face at least.

Making his way down the line of photos, Percy paused at an older photo, back from when he had worked as a waiter at the restaurant. He was in the middle, next to a blond kid with blue eyes. Both of their faces showed fatigue, but they both were grinning. The bar was covered in tacky Christmas ornaments, since Percy's old boss, Chiron, believed in "decorating for the season". Percy was flooded with nostalgia, and he sighed as he looked over the blond boy's smiling face.

"Hey, Percy," he said grinning. He ran up to Percy's table and handed him an envelope. "Here's your Christmas card."

"Thanks, dude," Percy replied, grinning back. Every year, this guy gave out Christmas cards to all the employees. All of them were super cheesy, saying something like "All I want for Christmas is You!" or "Happy Holidays!" The other employees found it kind of silly, but Percy thought it was awesome that someone would put the effort of giving out Christmas cards to everyone.

"Everyone! I've posted the shift schedules for this evening!" Chiron called out from the back. Percy glanced up, worried.

"Don't worry," the boy reassured, "you have the earlier shift." Percy breathed a small sigh of relief. The earlier shifts were less harsh, which meant Percy could spend the rest of the night relaxing.

"What shift do you have?" Percy asked, curious.

"I'm on the music shift!" the boy replied, puffing his chest out with pride. The music shift meant singing a couple of songs for the entire evening on the hour. Percy wasn't surprised that the boy got the shift though. The boy could really sing.

"Do you mind getting me a new towel? This one is super dirty now," Percy asked.

"Sure thing!" the boy replied. He spun around on his heels and quickly headed back into the kitchen. Percy chuckled. He didn't have that many friends, but this guy had automatically become a beacon of friendliness as soon as he was hired. He and Percy weren't even that close, yet they weren't not friends, so Percy relished his company.

Percy smiled at the memory. He turned and walked to the kitchen. After finally getting his sought after water, he turned around again and made the journey through the hallway once more. The floor creaked under his feet as he walked slowly back to his office. He didn't want to go back to work. Just like someone he knew…

"Where is he? He's on in seven minutes! He always does this!" Chiron angrily muttered in the backroom. Percy glanced at the clock. His friend was cutting it close.

"Exactly," Percy said, "He always does this. And how many times has he let you down?" Chiron looked up. His eyes were filled with weariness, but there was a spark there that wasn't there before.

"Never. He's never let me down," Chiron replied with a smile. "I'm sure he'll turn up." Percy grinned before he turned around and headed back into the thrall of the dining room. They were at the peak of the dinner rush. People were lining up at the front, waiting semi-impatiently for any of the reluctant couples to leave their tables.

Percy heard the doors to the dining room open. He glanced at his clock, confused. Technically, they weren't closed, but this late in the evening people usually were leaving, not coming in. But he didn't hear any gunshots or shouting for money, so he just shrugged and kept walking. Will could handle it. Whatever it was.

Now the guy really was pushing it. He had never been this late before. He was on in two minutes, and this time Percy was getting worried. Percy power walked around the restaurant, searching for his friend, but he was nowhere to be found. He couldn't have left, could he? His friend always loved performing.

"Yo, Perce, I can't find the busboy. Can you take this out to the dumpster for me? I promise I'll pay you back!" the chef called out. Percy was hesitant, since he was looking for his friend, but he took the bag and headed out the back door.

As soon as Percy opened the door, he heard grunting and muffled shouting around the corner. He quickly threw the bag into the dumpster and raced down the alley-way, intent on finding the source. Percy rounded the corner and gasped. His friend was fighting with two bigger guys! Both could have easily overpowered his friend if he wasn't so quick. Every time one of the guys threw a punch, his friend would try his best to move out of the way. He would just barely get hit, or dodge it all together. It was pretty impressive.

Percy ran forward and jumped, making his foot arc through the air, over his head, and onto the face of one of the attackers. The thug grunted as he stumbled backwards, his back hitting the wall behind him. Percy landed squarely on his feet. He automatically raised his hands, just like he was trained to do. When his opponent punched at him, he blocked it and immediately went in for the counter attack, his fist landing hard on the thug's lower abdomen. When the attacker doubled over in pain, Percy quickly brought his knee up to meet his face. The thug collapsed, and Percy stared down at him with cold eyes.

He relished his victory, standing over his victim like a conqueror does with his newly acquired kingdom, until he heard the sound of his friend gasping. Percy whirled around, and stared at the knife that the second thug had pulled out. His friend's eyes were full of shock and fright, and he locked up. The knife clearly intimidated him. Percy sprang into action, spinning around and smacking his heel against the side of the thug's head. His opponent fell, dropping to the ground disoriented. Before he could react, Percy dropped down to one knee and twisted the arm that held the knife until he heard the man cry out in pain. He punched the knife out of his opponent's hand and then punched the thug's face once. The thug stopped screaming. He stood up, glancing over at his friend, who just looked at him in a mixture of shock and gratitude. Percy brushed off his friend's vest and collar before brushing off his own. "You need to go get ready for your performance. You're on in…" Percy glanced at his wrist, only to notice that he wasn't wearing a watch. He bent down once more and grabbed the wrist of one of the fallen thugs, "One minute."

Percy sat down with a huff. His watch read 11:45, and the bar closed at 12. He sighed, not wanting to be here for another second. Nectar Falls, despite being his second home, was entirely too stressful. He needed a vacation… oh well. Maybe once he had set a strong manager in his place. He picked up a pile of papers that he had been tossed on his desk and straightened them out, in a vain attempt to make his desk neater.

"Where the hell have you been?" Percy heard Chiron yell as he walked in. He saw his friend frantically wash his face and hands at the sink in the kitchen as Chiron towered over him, clearly furious. "Go get on stage!" Percy grimaced as he thought of the louder conversation that Chiron would have with his friend, but hastily buttoned his vest and stepped back into the dining area to wait tables. As he took the order of a couple who smelled like old fish, he heard the whine of the sound system boot up. He looked up and saw his friend, who was smiling from ear to ear. He clutched a microphone in one hand and the mic stand in the other, grinning at each of the audience members in turn.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! I am the live entertainment for this evening!" He declared, bowing. Applause erupted from the tables, and a feeling of pride came upon Percy. "My name," his friend said with a wiggle of his eyebrow, "is Michael."

"Hey, Percy?" Percy glanced up, startled. Will stood at the doorway of his office, holding a piece of paper and a business card. "I, uh, have something I want to talk to you about…" Will tentatively asked. Percy nodded, and Will sat down.

Hey y'all! I know that this chapter is seriously overdue, and I apologize. However, I now have more time because I am in between schools! Don't bother asking why, I'm not gonna tell you, but I pulled out of my school and am in the process of finding a new place. But that's good for y'all because now I have more time for writing!

Like I mentioned in the last chapter, this chapter is a little shorter than usual because both this chapter and the previous chapter are considered "mini-chapters". Next chapter, though, will be a normal length, and we will get back to Nico and see how he's doing. If you feel like there's a cliffhanger, you're probably right and it's safe to assume that it was intentional.

Please leave a comment/review below! Y'all have NO idea (unless you're a writer yourself) how much it means to get a review of ANY kind. It's literally the only way you can tell me what you want with the story, and this story is just as much your story as it is mine. Well, not quite, but your opinion matters. If you like the story, please favorite and follow! Until next time!