Chapter 5: A Million Years Ago

Will felt… well he didn't know how he felt. He felt happy and excited, but he also felt nervous and a little queasy. Not ten minutes ago he had accepted the job offer of a life time: to record music at 9 Muses, one of the biggest record labels of all time. It was going to be an interesting story to tell in the end, at least.

He had sat down at the bar going through the immense amount of paper-work that Leo, the 9 Muses talent agent, had given him, but just the first page left his head swimming in confusion. Will didn't know what half of these terms were pronounced, much less what they meant. To his relief, he heard his name being called.

"Will! Can you come over here for a minute?" Percy called out from the kitchen. Will gathered up his paperwork and stuffed it in the folder before heading to the back.

"Hey Percy, what's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Percy replied, smiling. "I saw you talking to that Leo guy. Did you take the offer?" Will held up the bulging folder.

"Yep. This is the paper-work." Will flipped the folder open, revealing the many stapled documents. "Could you… uh… maybe help me with it? I don't know what anything says," Will asked Percy sheepishly. It felt really awkward asking his now-boss to help with the paper-work for a new job, but Percy just shrugged.

"Sure, no problem. Clock out and then head to my office."

Will nodded and made his way to the back of the kitchen. After he clocked out, he walked down the hallway that lead to Percy's office. Will glanced at the pictures hanging from the walls: past employees grinning and posing for the annual employee photo. He strolled to a stop as he saw a familiar face. His brother, Michael, was grinning in a tacky Christmas sweater with Percy. Both looked a lot younger, but Michael still had that twinkle in his eyes that always made everyone smile.

"That was a fun year."

Will jumped and spun around. Percy was leaning against the opposite wall, staring at the wall of photos with a look of nostalgic wonder.

"It feels like so long ago," Percy sighed. He reached out and touched the picture frame, which was covered in signatures that Will hadn't noticed before. Will found his brother's almost instantly. He had always found Michael's curvy yet edgy handwriting beautiful, if not distinct.

Will glanced at Percy, who was smiling. Yet the smile on Percy's face wasn't the same as the one in the picture. Was it because he was older now than he was before? Will studied Percy's face, searching for the answer. Percy looked up, and coughed, and straightened his hair before stepping back again.

"We should get started on that paper-work. C'mon," Percy said, gesturing toward his office. As Will walked down the hallway with Percy, he kept thinking about what was different between Picture-Percy and Present-Percy. As he watched Percy enter his office, he realized what it was. Percy seemed genuinely more tired now than he did now. Which made sense, since he ran the restaurant now. That must be it.

Percy sat down in his chair with a grunt. He cleared away some of the many piles of papers that cluttered his desk and grabbed a highlighter.

"Let me see your contract," Percy said, reaching out. Will sat down in front of Percy's desk and handed Percy the papers. While Percy read over his new contract, Will looked around the room. He had only been in the room a couple of times, and not for very long. The walls were covered in nick-nacks, celebrity pictures, and old bookshelves filled with even older books. Behind Percy's desk were filing cabinets, and on Percy's desk amidst the clutter sat a photo of a blonde woman with shockingly grey eyes. She must be his girlfriend, Will thought.

"So basically, what this contract is saying is that you won't sell anything you aren't supposed to, you won't go to another record company, and that you get a lot of money," Percy stated, ripping Will from his train of thought. "In other words: you sing, they sell, you make some money, they make some money." Will nodded, and Percy tossed the contract back at him.

"Seems fair," Will replied, glancing over the contract again before putting it back in the folder. Percy sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"So, this is it, huh. The end of one life and the start of another?" Percy smirked. Will just shrugged.

"I guess so."

"Well good luck," Percy said. He reached under his desk and pulled out an unopened bottle of whiskey and two glasses. To Will's surprise, Percy popped open the bottle and poured both him and Will a drink. "To your future."

Will clinked his glass with Percy's and downed the alcohol. He didn't normally drink, but he could hold his own. He closed his eyes, savoring the burn of the drink while remembering his life at the bar/café. He would miss the bar and the coffee, the mini-stage and the instruments. He would miss the kitchen where he would clock in and out. He would even miss the pictures on the wall.

Will looked up at Percy. Percy had always been there for him, no matter what was happening. He was there training him on his first day, he was there when he first picked up the microphone, and he was there when he needed help with literally anything. Will had sometimes wondered why Percy always gave him his support. Before this 9 Muses thing, Will had always just been another worker who sometimes filled in for the normal music guy. He always bussed the tables like he should, but Percy always acted like Will had done something like won an Academy Award or something. Why would he do that? Now, Percy was staring into his glass, slowly rotating the cup and watching the leftover droplets of whiskey swirl around the bottom. What was the deal? He knew Percy was, at least at one point, really good friends with his older brother Michael. But then, of course, there was the incident. No one ever told Will what really happened, but Percy might know…. maybe.

"Hey, Percy?" Will asked tentatively. Percy grunted in acknowledgement, but didn't look up. "What happened with my brother?" Percy went still. After a couple of seconds, he sighed and poured another drink. "I just never found out," Will stammered, "and Dad wouldn't tell me and I know you and Michael were close so…"

"It's a long story," Percy sighed. He downed the rest of his drink and refilled the glass before meeting Will's expectant gaze.

It had been a long morning, yet Percy was in a great mood. He had gotten an unusually large amount of tips from the diners, and Michael had stolen everyone's hearts with the way he sang. In the mornings he sang fast paced songs full of hard vocal rifts, which of course he handled expertly, while in the evenings he tended to sing softer slower ballads with long sustained notes. He had been singing weekends for almost two months now, and the crowds had loved it. Everyone who arrived came back the next weekend with friends. Soon, the restaurant was the most popular place in town, with teenagers visiting every day for coffee in the morning and pizza after school, couples coming in for dates every night, and many adults using the private ambiance for work meetings or just a quiet place to get some work done.

Chiron had unofficially retired a couple of years ago, leaving the place in the charge of a man who everyone called Mr. D, though he often stayed at the café helping clean and giving advice to new employees. Mr. D was a cynical, often impatient man, but he knew what he was doing, and quickly took advantage of the large crowd to get introduce new drinks and food items to the public. Needless to say, the additions to the menu were almost overwhelmingly successful.

Percy was getting ready for the lunch rush when two police officers walked into the restaurant.

"Good morning, officers," Percy greeted enthusiastically. The men smiled and offered their "good morning" replies. Percy waited until they sat down at one of the tables before walking up with a pot of hot coffee. "Would you like some coffee?" Percy asked, smiling down at the uniformed men.

"No, thank-you," the officers both answered politely. After they had placed their order, Percy went back to wiping down the tables and prepping for the lunch rush.

As he scrubbed furiously at a stubborn stain on a nearby table, he overheard the officers.

"It just seems like the Chief is making a big deal out of nothing."

"It's a gang war! It's one of the biggest things that's happened in this town besides that other kid's singing."

"Perhaps, but I think Chief Clarisse is taking it a little too far. I'm already working a double shift and now she wants me to work night hours too? My wife's already giving me a hard time about coming home late."

"Once this is whole thing blows over…"

"IF this thing blows over. Sometimes these things last for years."

"Hopefully this one won't. I hear Major Crimes has already located The Titans' leader's place. Maybe we'll make an arrest soon."

"Maybe."

Percy quickly finished the rest of the table and hurried back to the kitchen. A gang war? What was that all about? Percy didn't know there were any gangs at all in the small town, much less a gang war.

"Something the matter Percy?" Chiron asked, looking at Percy with a look of concern.

"I don't know what to think of this 'gang war' business," Percy admitted. He set the bottle of cleaner down and started washing his hands. Chiron leaned against the war and sighed.

"Sometimes, I don't either. This is a hard world we live in. And with The Titans and The Campers at each other's throats, sometimes I worry about you kids."

"Don't worry about us, Chiron," Michael said, stepping around the corner and flinging his arm around Percy's shoulder. "We can handle ourselves!" Michael grinned. Percy just shook his head, but he was smiling too.

After Chiron walked away, Michael turned to look at Percy.

"Hey, so I'm heading out to go shopping for my little brother… can you come with me?" Michael asked, looking at Percy with big puppy eyes. "I would love the help! And it would be a break from the restaurant. What do you say?"
"Sure," Percy nodded. Michael's eyes lit up and a huge grin grew on his face.

"Thanks Perce! I'll go grab my stuff and clock out. I'll meet you at the front of the shop!" Michael ran toward the lockers, leaving Percy standing in the kitchen. Percy sighed. What had he gotten himself into?

Thirty minutes later, Percy and Michael were walking through town, window shopping for something amazing for Michael's younger brother.

"So, what's the special occasion?" Percy asked Michael, "Why are we buying a gift for your brother?"

"Well, Dad sent me a check, telling me to buy something for both of us, so technically Dad's buying a gift," Michael explained, "But he's so busy with work and everything that he doesn't really have time to go shopping." Percy nodded in understanding, peering into more windows. "Plus, Dad doesn't really know who we are," Michael added, "He knows what we're doing, sorta, and where we generally are, but he doesn't really know us. That's kinda the second reason why I'm buying the gift for my brother and not Dad."

Michael laughed a little, but Percy just stayed silent. He had never really been close to his father, either. His dad had left him before he had been born, and even though they had reconnected, he was still quite distant from him. He still loved going to see him and talking and hanging out, but they weren't as close as Percy would have liked. Also, Percy wasn't his father's only kid. His father had had other children with different women over the past couple of years, and while Percy certainly wasn't the first (a guy named Triton was the oldest, not a complete jerk, but he had his moments), he wasn't the last. He had at least one younger brother, whom he adored. Tyson was definitely Percy's favorite half-sibling. He was stronger than he looked, both emotionally and physically, but was actually really sweet and caring.

While Michael's dad sent them gifts every so often, Percy's dad hadn't sent him anything. He had gotten a pen at one point, but no matter how hard Percy tried to get rid of it, it always managed to show up on his desk again. Percy kinda liked it because it was pretty, but it never did write really well. Just kinda sliced through the paper.

Percy heard Michael gasp. Percy spun around, hands quickly forming fists, but Michael was standing in front of a beautiful guitar.

"Oh my GOD! This guitar is the most perfect thing for Will!" Michael squealed, gazing lovingly at the instrument. Percy let out a small sigh of relief, and slowly unclenched his hands. He had to admit, the guitar was a beauty. It was a slick acoustic guitar, already fitted with a jack plug. The wood was polished and when Michael strummed a chord, the sound resonated in Percy's ears.

While Michael chatted with a store employee, Percy glanced at the price tag.

"Uh, Michael?"

"Yeah, what's up?" Michael said, browsing different guitar strings

"Did you see the price?"

"Don't worry about the price, dude. Dad gave me a blank check."

Percy opened his mouth to say something, but then he shut it. Of course the CEO of Haiku Music Records would send a blank check. He smiled at Michael.

"You should totally buy it. Will would love it and you forever." Michael looked up at Percy, his eyes full of a mixture of worry and wonder.

"You really think so?" Michael asked.

"I know so," Percy reassured. Michael beamed and grabbed the guitar.

"Thanks a lot, Perce. I can't wait to give it to him!" Percy just laughed.

Percy looked up. Will was gazing at him with such an intense stare that it startled him. A single tear was rolling down Will's cheek.

"You okay?" Percy asked, hesitantly. Will just nodded before wiping his face with his hand.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just caught up in all of it, I guess," Will answered. He leaned back in his chair and stretched his arms. "So you helped Michael buy the guitar, but that isn't the end of the story, is it?"

Percy shook his head. "No, it's not."

Hey, y'all. I'm SO SORRY it took me four months to make an update. Things got a little crazy. I had a lot of school work that I had to get done and then I was going out of town for all of this other stuff. It's been a little rough.

But here's the update! The next update shouldn't take me that long to upload since I've already got it outlined and stuff. But no promises… the sad truth is that writing has kinda been on the backburner while I've been focusing on school. It might be a while before I update.

If I do post anything within the next couple of months it will be a Solangelo one-shot that I've been cooking up when I didn't work on this, so we'll see.

Title is taken from Adele's beautiful song "Million Years Ago". I didn't write it and I don't claim it as my own.

Thank you all so much for your comments and reviews! I truly do love it when you talk to me, and I would love it if you did it again! Until next time!