Chapter Three: The Guests at the Door

Around twenty four hours later, Charlie was sitting on the sofa in her living room, watching Doctor Who, trying to forget about the previous day's events, when she heard a knock on the front door.

At once, Charlie's heart rate quickened. She looked over in the direction of the front hall, hoping that if she stayed quiet, the visitors would leave.

In fact, she was home alone at the moment, and there was no reason for visitors to come for her. What, or whom they needed probably wasn't available

She paused the television, just as The Tenth Doctor exclaimed, "I'm The Doctor, and I just snogged Madame de Pompadour!" And just sat there, listening to the silence.

There was another knock, and this time, Kiddo came scrambling down the stairs, barking.

This time, the following knock came quicker. It became obvious to Charlie that they wouldn't be giving up anytime soon when they knocked yet again.

She waited a moment, looking at the TV, appreciating the greatness of David Tennant's frozen face, before she would be getting up to see who it was.

It's a hard decision to choose between David Tennant and Matt Smith, but David Tennant is definitely the better Doctor, Charlie thought.

Charlie peeled herself away from the sofa, and slowly walked to the door. Kiddo was still barking, and the visitors knocked again.

Charlie stood on her toes and peered through the peephole. There were two people behind the door: a boy, and a girl. The girl looked about thirteen, Charlie's age, while the boy looked around sixteen or seventeen, Kristen's age.

The boy had jet black hair, sea green eyes, and a blue shirt. He wasn't bad looking either. The girl was also very pretty.

She had long, wavy dark brown hair, light skin, high cheekbones, hazel-green eyes, large round glasses, freckles, and a collared white shirt under a gray knitted sweater, and a black tie.

Charlie wished she could be as beautiful as her.

Charlie turned sideways towards the mirror that was always hanging in the front hall, and became suddenly aware of her hair being in a messy, tangled, ponytail.

Charlie quickly arranged her hair and braced herself. She took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and pulled it open.

Before Charlie could say anything, as if she were going to say anything first anyway, the boy said, "we need to talk."

Charlie cocked her head to the side. "Sorry, you must be looking for Kristen."

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm looking for you, Charlie."

Charlie frowned. She was confused, her name wasn't even Charlie. "My name isn't Charlie." Although...

"No, it's not," the boy replied, suddenly slightly distressed. "It's the pseudonym you chose, remember?"

Charlie inhaled. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The boy looked at her, now more distressed than before. "Are you serious? I'm Percy, from-"

The girl put her hand on Percy's shoulder to silence him. "Percy, there's a smarter way to do this." She looked at Charlie. "Hello, I'm Robin Keller, pleasure to meet you." She pointed to Percy. "This is Percy Jackson, the guy who saved you with Leo Valdez yesterday. Are you going to close the door on me now?"

The boy from yesterday! How could she forget? One day, her terrible memory will get her killed.

But the events of the previous day had all happened so fast. How does anyone remember anything in times like those?

Charlie didn't want to admit it, but she didn't even see Robin's point, she was just so persuasive. "N-No," she whispered quietly. "I suppose not. Nice to meet you, Robin Keller."

Curious. Usually, Charlie instantaneously forgets someone's name as soon as they've introduced themselves. This time something seems to be different.

"I can tell you don't want to talk to us, because we're strangers. But what if we weren't strangers? Would you talk to us then?" Robin looked visibly apprehensive.

Charlie liked the sound of that. That sounded good. Yes.

Charlie gave a small nod. Percy smiled. "Great."

Charlie slowly opened the door and stepped aside. Robin and Percy walked in, and at once, Kiddo came darting into the front hall, barking and howling at them loudly.

Percy and Robin jumped back, startled, and then relaxed quickly when they saw him more clearly.

Charlie, sharp eyed as always, noticed this. "Don't like dogs?"

Percy looked at Charlie. Robin looked at Kiddo. Despite his menacing and ferocious demeanor, Robin seemed awed by him.

"Aww! Boy or girl? And, do they bite?" She looked at Charlie, excited.

"Boy, his name's Kiddo, and, no, he doesn't bite. You can pet him," Charlie replied gladly.

The moment Kiddo was declared safe by Charlie, Robin dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around Kiddo's body, who became quiet on contact.

Robin was smothering Kiddo with kisses, caresses, and embraces, and Charlie was watching her. Percy leaned against the wall and too watched Robin.

After a few moments, Kiddo broke away from Robin, ran to his bed, and curled up on it.

Robin stood up, and followed Charlie into the living room. When she saw the frozen image of the Tenth Doctor standing by a fireplace with a maniac grin on his face on the TV, she squealed quietly.

"Is that The Girl in the Fireplace?" She demanded, pointing to the TV.

Charlie grinned. "Yes. Are you a Doctor Who fan?"

Robin's face fell. "Well, I uh, don't have a television anymore, so I don't watch it anymore, but I used to be a huge Whovian."

Charlie's heart beat was completely calm now. They had something to talk about.

"I kinda like Doctor Who too, you know," Percy piped up.

Robin looked at him with a bored expression on her face. "Annabeth already told me that. She never shuts up about you, you know."

Charlie felt a little left out. She didn't want to sound rude, but, on the other hand, she didn't like feeling left out. A true dilemma for one as shy as she. So, naturally, her heart beat just a bit faster as soon as it was completely calm.

"Who's Annabeth?"

"Oh, she's my girlfriend. And, uh, Robin's half sister," Percy replied nonchalantly, looking around the living room.

A bookcase stood near the glass door that leads to the very much dead garden. The bottom shelves were filled with card games, board games, puzzles, pretty much anything Andrew could ask for.

The higher shelves were filled with junk and other junk and only junk. And the very first and highest shelf was used to display Derek's extravagant shot glass collection.

Andrew's unfinished game of snakes and ladders was strewn across the floor, there were crumpled up tissues everywhere, and Kiddo's toys were scattered on the floor.

Charlie felt extremely uncomfortable because of the mess. First off, it was messy. Second, she had guests, and the house was in no shape to welcome any at that moment.

They all were silent for a few moments too long, at least in Charlie's opinion. "I'm gonna go use the bathroom, I'll be right back, okay?"

And with that, she hurried up the stairs to the second storey bathroom. She closed the door behind herself and locked it. Leaning against the door, she sank into a sitting position.

Deep breaths, Charlie, she thought to herself. She decided to stay in the bathroom for as long as needed for her to feel comfortable again.

That didn't exactly go as planned. Charlie heard the voices of Percy and Robin bickering as they came closer to her, ascending on the stairs and passing her in the bathroom, making their way to somewhere else.

Charlie didn't feel very comfortable with them waltzing through her house aimlessly, so she got up, unlocked the door, stuck her head out, looked both ways, and witnessed them bickering in her bedroom. She was so glad her room happened to be extremely clean at the moment.

Her heart rate quickened yet again, but this time she was irritated. She stalked over to them and asked them loudly, "what are you two doing in my room?"

They stopped bickering and turned around to look at her. Robin then looked, infuriated, at Percy. "I told you it's extremely rude to go about someone's house uninvited!"

"I'm sorry!" Percy exclaimed. "I just wanted to have a look around your room to, you know, learn some stuff about you. I didn't mean to be rude."

Frankly, Charlie felt flattered to have someone want to learn things about her, but, still...

Charlie walked over to her bed and flopped down on it. She crossed her arms. "Well, if you must know, ask me anything. Almost, actually. Almost anything. Probably."

Percy sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, while Robin pulled out Charlie's wheeled ottoman - the one that Helen had made her from a car tire - from behind her door and sat on that.

"What should we ask you?" Percy asked Charlie.

Robin looked at him like he just squirted hairspray into his own eyes and was surprised when it hurt. "That's literally the stupidest question you could ask someone, Percy."

"What do you want me to do about it? I don't know what to ask her," Percy replied defensively.

Charlie sighed. "Don't worry. I keep a list of small talk questions on me and in my room at all times in case of emergency."

She got up and walked over to her desk, opened the top drawer, and grabbed a folded piece of paper from the top of a pile of thin notebooks.

"Emergency?" Percy repeated quizzically as Charlie strode back over to her bed and flopped down on it.

"Having to talk to people." Charlie unfolded the paper. "I have one condition, though. We all have to answer the questions. I'm the one who needs, or, maybe wants, to get to know the other. I don't know why you're so insistent to talk to me, anyway," she added under her breath.

"Now, who wants to read the questions?"

Percy held his hand out for Charlie to give him the paper. Charlie handed him the paper and snatched her pillow from the head of her bed, positioned it against the wall behind her, and leaned against it comfortably.

"Okay, first question, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Percy read. He looked up from the paper and gazed out the window.

He grinned. "Scuba instructor."

Robin snorted. "Figures."

Charlie didn't need any time to think. "I want to be an author. No contest. That's all I've ever wanted to be." She cleared her throat. She must have sounded asinine. "What about you, Robin?"

"College professor. I've always wanted to be a teacher, but I just don't think I can deal with a room full of childish brats. So I compromised, and decided to deal with a room full of less childish brats who aren't actually even children anymore. I know how bad this makes me sound, but I honestly can't stand children. They're just dirty, sticky, sacks of germs. Especially five year olds."

"How so?" Charlie asked.

"Well, pretty much all children are feeding themselves by the time they're five, resulting in dried food all around their mouths. They also practically all throw tantrums when their parents try to blow their nose for them, which results in dried snot all over next to their nostrils.

"They're always screaming at the top of their lungs. Some have an annoying speech impediment and you don't know what they're saying, and they just end up screaming the thing their trying to say to you over and over and you have no idea what to do, and it's really stressful.

"Then, if they happen to start school when they're five and not six, they always get home from school in a bad mood because they hate school.

"You couldn't pay me forty bucks a week to babysit six at a time. I swear, I'm never doing that again. What a nightmare."

Robin finished her rant and scowled at nothing. Charlie could not express how she couldn't agree more in any way other than saying, "Tell me about it. My brother, well, half brother, was a complete and utter nightmare. He usually still is, actually."

Charlie laughed, but she was secretly crying on the inside. She felt so jealous of Kristen, whom was always loved unconditionally by Andrew. While she occasionally even tried to do nice things for Andrew, and then he would love her for about fifteen minutes and no more.

"Okay, next question." Percy frowned. "Oh, it's actually crossed out. Wait…"

Charlie didn't exactly know what to do, does she tell Percy what the question is, or does she leave it crossed out? Who even has favorite books anymore, besides Charlie. Usually, other kids would laugh at her for liking to read so much. They tease her for wanting to be an author.

"Oh wait, it says, what's your favorite book?" Percy managed to read the question with some difficulty. "I don't really read, actually."

Charlie realized that she had just been disappointed, why hadn't she been aware of her own hope that Percy would be a reader? She didn't know what she had expected.

"Well, mine is Wonder, by R. J. Palacio. Have you heard of it?" Charlie answered the question hesitantly but quickly. She had so many favorite books, how was she supposed to choose? Luckily, she likes to spend time thinking, and she always ends up thinking about books, and which is her favorite, she usually comes up with different conclusions every time, but lately, it's mostly been Wonder. So that's what she went with.

"Oh, I love Wonder! It's a great book. But not my favorite." Robin seemed very cheerful that Charlie's favorite book is one that she has read, and even better, liked.

"My favorite is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. No one loves Harry Potter as much as I do, which is not a proud comment, it's a sad one, because even all my 'Harry Potter insane' friends think I'm freaky." Robin got a slightly sad look in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it and was cheerful again.

Holy crap… Charlie thought. She likes Harry Potter!

Robin turned to Percy, who was examining the list of questions. "I think you could have been quite the book fan, Percy. It's a shame you aren't."

Not looking up from the list, Percy inquired, "and why is that?"

"Because of your mother. Annabeth told me she wants to be a writer. It's true, isn't it? She could've raised you to read books twenty four seven."

"Well it's kind of hard to like reading when you're dyslexic and everyone just says you're lazy and forces you to read against your will. You've probably never had a problem with that, have you? People probably had to force you to stop to read." Percy chuckled.

"No. My dad wouldn't tell me to stop reading, even if the dyslexia made it hurt my brain a lot. What else do you think my mother saw in my father?"

Charlie wasn't really listening, she just kind of zoned out. She was faintly aware of Percy and Robin discussing reading, and their struggles with dyslexia. When her brain actually started processing what she was hearing, thanks to dyslexia, Charlie's trigger word, she snapped to attention.

"You two have dyslexia?" Charlie asked enthusiastically. Percy and Robin nodded, smiling to themselves.

"Me too! Wow, what a coincidence."

Robin smiled. "Yeah… Coincidence."

Hello, readers!

I am so sorry for this extremely late update! I swear that not all updates will be this far apart!

I never had any time to write, I was always so swamped with other things!

I promise that the next update won't be as late!

I'll try and update every week or so. Also, I don't write on Fridays and Saturdays. So don't expect an Update Schedule chiseled to perfection. I may be late on some deadlines.

Again, I'm very sorry for this late update. Really, I am.

Yours truly,

- Pandemonium