Happy MLK day to my fellow Americans!
GUEST REVIEWS
Guest: Yup, that's the song and the band!
Guest/thereadingturtle: Not including this chapter, we're two chapters away! And hearts must always beat lol.
Guest: Canon without a doubt.
Shipper: I really need to talk more about Laurel, don't I. But that would involve a PowerPoint presentation, so maybe right now isn't the best time! Don't worry, I'll be publishing a story someday about all the lost scenes in this story. (And I'm a sucker for stories with Annabeth/Percy/Nico, but shh don't tell anyone. It's always the three-way relationships that get me.)
Another one of my ideas whoop.
Disclaimer: *Listen to "Anaconda" for the tune for this disclaimer*
MY ANACONDA DON'T
MY ANACONDA DON'T
MY ANACONDA DON'T OWN PERCY JACKSON
OR HEROES OF OLYMPUS, BRUH!
Chapter 23: Kleenexes Come In Black?
"I swear, out of every idea that we've had so far, this one is the weirdest," Lacy muttered, sticking her head out from behind the cabin.
"Get back here!" Drew hissed, yanking her half-sister back.
"Hey, can't you move?" Amelia whined. "I can't see!"
"Both of you shut up!"
They did.
Lacy was right: Out of every idea that the Aphrodite cabin had used, this one was rather strange, and was less likely to work than that random one that involved kicking a cow over a hot air balloon (The creator of that idea was still unknown, and people preferred it that way).
"And it's a good idea," Amelia defended. "I mean, it's basically a classic!"
Drew rolled her eyes. "I don't care, let's just hope that it works."
"I still can't believe black Kleenexes actually exist," Lacy muttered. "I mean, why? So that people can disguise that their eye makeup is smearing when they cry?" She paused. "Actually, that's a good idea. I take back everything I said against black Kleenex. I want some now."
"They're coming! They're coming!" Amelia squealed. "Ooh, I can't wait!" She jumped up and down excitedly. Drew shushed her.
Nico di Angelo casually tossed his sword up into the air as he strolled past the Aphrodite cabin, causing Will Solace to lean away from him and said sword. The Kleenex in question was stuffed in Nico's pocket, the top part of it hanging out.
The plan had been simple enough: Dare Nico to drop the Kleenex in front of the Aphrodite cabin, using a little convincing from Amelia's platonic powers. Of course, the redhead had created it herself. The only reason that her sisters had gone along with it was because Amelia had pointed out how it was very similar to what some ladies did back in the day: They would drop their handkerchief to attract a man's attention, and he would pick it up.
What could possibly go wrong?
"Ooh! Ooh! He's reaching into his pocket!" Amelia whisper-squealed, bouncing again. Drew would've shushed her, but she was just as eager to see it work as Amelia was.
Nico casually reached into the pocket that held the Kleenex and yanked it out, letting it drift casually to the ground. The three daughters of Aphrodite held their breaths. Would Will notice? Would he do the gentlemanly thing and pick it up? Oh, how they hoped so.
Will glanced down at Nico's hand, and then stared at the Kleenex as it drifted slowly to the ground. He stopped walking entirely, and Nico stopped with him.
The son of Hades frowned. "What?"
Will pointed at the tissue. "Is that a Kleenex?" he asked.
Nico glanced down at the tissue, blinking in surprise. "Yeah, guess it is."
"You just dropped a tissue."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious."
Without warning, Will slapped his hand on Nico's forehead. He yelped and lurched back. "Solace, what the fuck-" Amelia started hyperventilating, and Drew and Lacy turned back to shush her.
"No fever-at least, not yet."
"What are you even talking about?"
Will scoffed. "Oh, please. It's January-it's winter! Flu season, not the winter season, if you ask me. I'm not risking you having the flu, there's enough people in the infirmary as there is. Now, you're coming with me, Death Boy."
"Don't call me-HEY!"
Will had latched his fingers around Nico's wrist, and started to drag him in the direction of the infirmary. "I am going to give you a checkup, because if you really do have the flu, a cold, or even plain old allergies, I will make good on my threat from before Christmas about chaining you to a bed in the infirmary.
"Solace, I'm fine, I wasn't even aware of that tissue-"
"Doctor's orders, di Angelo!"
"You're not even a real doctor!"
"Don't crush my dreams."
As Nico's sounds of protest faded off into the distance, Lacy facepalmed and Drew turned to glare at a sheepish Amelia.
"I sorta forgot that he was a son of Apollo?" she said weakly.
"Great going, Amelia," Drew scowled. "We've been trying since August, and yet nothing will work! Nearly six months of hard work down the drain…" She moaned, rubbing her temples. "All of these migraines cannot be good for me."
Amelia winced. "Sorry, Drew," she mumbled.
"It's alright, hon. We'll just find some other way."
Lacy snapped her fingers. "Wait a sec. It's January, right?" Her voice sounded more strained than usual.
Drew nodded. "What, did you miss the fireworks three weeks ago?"
Lacy stared at her, and then at Amelia. "Amelia, what's next month?"
"Um, February. Why?" Then her green eyes widened. "Oh, gods."
"Valentine's Day! Less than a month away, and we still haven't finished planning everything!" Lacy cried, shaking her hands up and down, as she always did whenever she got upset.
"Valentine's-Shit!" Drew cursed, running a hand through her hair slowly. "We got so preoccupied with our latest OTP, we completely forgot about the dance, the party-Oh!" Her eyes widened. "The list of couples to try to get together!"
Lacy nodded. "Quick, back to the cabin. We have to work on that! Maybe if we pray to Mom…"
Her sisters nodded eagerly, and they raced back into their cabin. As the door slammed shut behind them, a graceful figure stepped out from behind the Ares cabin. She was nearly impossible to look at. Her hair's length and color would change in the blink of an eye, along with her skin tone and eye shape and color. Her nose went from button to strong and back again. With each step that she took, she either lost or gained inches. Her body shape also changed, going from impossibly skinny to beautifully curvy, and her long white dress changed sizes to fit her perfectly. Moles and freckles appeared and disappeared. She was dizzying to look at, and yet she was so gorgeous that you couldn't tear your eyes away.
As she stared at the Aphrodite cabin, her appearance suddenly stopped shifting. Her hair was short and curly, the golden color of the sun. Her eyes matched the blue of the sky above her. Her skin darkened from tan to a dark brown, and she shot up to around six feet. Her body grew a few sizes, until her dress no longer hung loose on her. The dress in question shimmered, until it had become a Camp Half-Blood tank top with denim shorts. The golden necklace around her neck shimmered as well, until it had become a standard Camp necklace with exactly thirteen beads. Freckles lit up around her body.
In short, she was practically a female Will Solace.
"Oh, my dear girls…" she sighed, and suddenly her appearance changed again. Her skin lightened up to become an Italian tan, and all but a few freckles faded away. She shrunk down to a few inches above five feet, and her body shrunk again until she was nearly a skeleton. Her hair became wavy and ebony black, swishing above her shoulder. Her eyes darkened until they were dark brown. Her clothes shimmered again, becoming a black bomber's jacket with a skull shirt and dark jeans. A sword shimmered into existence at her side. The necklace disappeared.
"However shall I help you?" Aphrodite whispered, before she slowly faded away, so nobody would see her and question why Nico di Angelo had suddenly become a girl.
Well, Aphrodite is finally getting involved. You know what this means?
Brace yourselves. Drama is coming.
What movie is that even from anyways. Or what show. Because I see pictures of it everywhere, plus it was referenced in a Thomas Sanders Vine. Can someone tell me? I've been wondering since 2012, at least.
Deranged Shadow Fangirl