#'hey percy a guy with the same name as you died by drowning how do you feel'

[nightshadeanura]

The Fact that Percy Jackson was named after Perseus and not after Percy Byshe Shelley, legendary romantic era poet who died by drowning after he decided it would be a good idea to go sailing in a storm. will forever be a personal insult to me

[pjoseries]

“i bear it so they won’t have to” + curse of achilles percy

oh this one’s a doozy, thank u emma 😋

(TLO AU)

══════════════════

Percy doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it—the bloodlust. It starts out as a whisper, a simple low hum drifting across the nape of his neck. It crawls in his ear and settles inside his brain and every time he uncaps Riptide, a single persistent thought crosses his mind: Show no mercy.

And he doesn’t. Not when a hoard of monsters comes barrelling through their ranks. Not when he sees the other campers on their feet, but flagging, exhaustion bogging them down as monster after monster charges at them. Percy holds his own on the front lines, raising his voice to be heard, “Fall back!”

He repeats it again for good measure and the piercing, confused stares from them quickly fade as he gains the attention of every monster in his vicinity. A grin slides across his face and he gives Riptide a twirl. 

“How many of you do I have to kill before you get with the program,” Percy taunts. He lets one of them come close enough to sink their claws into his skin, but it just slides right off, ripping through his shirt instead. 

The monster gapes for a moment and attempts to slice through him again, but Percy just tsks and tilts his head. “Nice try, but no dice, man.”

He impales the monster in a quick movement, leaving him in a shower of dust. He grimaces and looks at the others. They march towards him, but Percy doesn’t even think. He blocks and jabs and slices his way through the dust and the dirt and he feels nothing. The curse really works. 

He doesn’t know how long it takes to slay the last monster. He just knows that at the end, he’s drenched in monster dust and sweat. Percy finally rolls his shoulders, taking in the damage. The borders are safe for now. He spots a few campers a ways away limping and handing each other ambrosia. Footsteps come towards him and he whirls and points Riptide at empty air. 

It takes him a moment, but even that’s too long, before he lowers his sword. It’s Annabeth, of course. He furrows his brows. He knows it’s her. She wipes the sweat off her forehead and tucks her cap into her back pocket. 

“Percy, what was that?” she asks, gray eyes glinting in the afternoon light. 

“I, uh,” he says, pocketing Riptide back into his jeans. “I’ll tell you later. We have to check on—”

Annabeth stomps towards him and grips his arm. Logically, he knows how tight of a grip it is, but it’s weird that it doesn’t even sting. “Did you… gods, you didn’t. That trip with Nico… Percy, that is stupidly dangerous.”

She knows. Of course, she figures it out. Percy’s just a fool for thinking he could have broken the news to her later. 

“I did what I had to do.” Percy grits his teeth and steps back.  

She tugs him closer. “You could’ve died.” 

Percy makes the mistake of looking into her eyes again, shiny with unshed tears and he falters. He can’t stand to see her cry. He musters up a wry smile and shrugs. “I’m here, though.”

He tells her nothing of what he saw as he made his way out of the River Styx, doesn’t say a single word about how the first time he ever felt like he would drown that her voice was the only thing he grabbed onto. All he does is loosen her grip with his free hand and gives it a small squeeze. 

“I’ll tell you more about it later, okay?” Her hand is warm and callused from training and it takes him a few seconds to remember he has something to say. “We need to go to the Big House.”

Annabeth just nods and he lingers for a moment before he lets go. As they make their way to Chiron, their hands brush and all thoughts of the fight vanish from his mind. 

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

It’s on the bridge when he gets an inkling that something is wrong, not with the curse or with the battle itself, but him. It’s similar to the last fight, Percy yelling at the Apollo campers to retreat, but the last of the monsters are dead. All that remain is Kronos himself and his demigod army. 

He slows himself down, aiming to knock them off their skeletal horses and send them running, not maim. Their swords bounce off his skin harmlessly and Percy vaguely notes that he’s ruining his already low supply of shirts. 

The voice is louder now, but still the same. Persistent as a tic: Show no mercy. 

Shut up, he wants to bite back, but he already looks insane just charging through a swarm of demigods and coming out completely unscathed. They make their way almost to the middle of the bridge when Percy freezes, like a lightning bolt just jolts through his body. Then: Annabeth screams. 

“Annabeth!” he yells and turns. A guy stands over her, his knife bloodied and dripping. Percy sees red and the voice persists louder again and he’s almost tempted to take its advice if it isn’t for Annabeth’s weak gasps. 

Percy would’ve died, if not for Annabeth and Annabeth’s dying because of him. Because he’s too damn focused on that stupid voice in his head that makes him want to tear the bridge apart and everyone in it. She doesn’t even know that’s his weak spot. 

He locks eyes with the demigod—Ethan, his mind supplies—and stalks towards him. In a beat, Percy slams his sword hilt into his face and feels a bitter sense of satisfaction as he grunts out in pain and moves away. A couple of other demigods try to come closer, but he swings Riptide as a warning. 

“Get back!” he growls. “No one touches her.”

Kronos merely hums. “Interesting.”

Percy just scowls and steps closer to Annabeth. Suddenly Achilles words come back to him: The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. He was dumb enough to ignore Achilles’ warnings and now his weakness is staring him right in the face, her face turning ashy as her breaths weakening. Annabeth. His tie to the mortal world. He should’ve known. Maybe somewhere in the back of his mind, he always knew, but the war took precedence. Now look where it got him. 

She’s dying and he’s surrounded by enemies. 

“Bravely fought, Perseus Jackson,” Kronos says. “But it’s time to surrender, or she’ll die.”

Annabeth sits up and groans. “Don’t.”

Percy clenches his jaw and bites back the panic at the sight. Her shirt is soaked in blood and he has to get her to a healer. His mind swirls for an escape route and, in a second, he yells out, “Blackjack!”

The pegasus swoops and carries her out and away from any immediate danger. Percy’s glad he knows what to do because he doesn’t have any time to explain. Luke—Kronos’ face twists. 

Percy meets the scythe with Riptide. 

Then their battle begins. And for once, Percy lets the voice in his mind take over. 

Show no mercy.

Percy smiles. He won’t. 

━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━

The voice stays with him, long after the war ends. Despite how many hours he’s clocking in that affects his sleeping schedule, or the lack of one, he notices that he’s itching for a fight. 

It makes no sense. He wants to rest, but the voice tells him he has the curse for a reason. What use is he to his friends, to his family if he lets them go off on dangerous quests to get injured or worse? A couple of extra more hours of sleep is a petty consequence when it means saving everyone the trouble of getting hurt. 

So despite Annabeth’s warnings, he volunteers to guard the fleece, or to head training, or to do any of the more dangerous missions. There’s an undisputed agreement amongst the campers that they’ll let Percy do whatever he wants which is kind of weird but it works in his favor, so he’ll take it. Well, unless their names are Annabeth and Grover, that is.

But after this one quest—if he can even call it that, maybe just a favor for his father—Percy lands back on the shore, sitting with his knees tucked to his chest. His hands tremble as they flex over his own legs. The water rushes to his ankles, an attempt to calm him down but he just flinches. It just makes things worse. 

Percy’s no better than the monsters he fights. 

He wonders if monsters never exploded into dust, if they bleed like he does. He wonders how much blood he’s spilled, how much it stains his hands, his heart, his soul.

“Percy?” Annabeth says quietly. She pads over to him, settling down right next to him. The water drenches her shoes, but she just places a warm hand on his. “Percy, hey. Are you… okay?”

Her tone is awkward, but there’s an earnestness to it that makes him soften slightly. So he lifts his shoulder in response and stares out into the water. 

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

Percy clears his throat. “Do what?”

“Go on all these quests. Try to save everyone. The war’s over, Percy. You can just enjoy camp like everyone else, too. You don’t have to do everything. You’re not Atlas.”

“Annabeth, this curse… I have a responsibility. Why let everyone else get hurt if I can do it? They’re just kids.” Percy unfolds his legs and lets Annabeth’s weight ground him. It’s like the voice gets muffled when she’s near. “And besides, I bear it so they won’t have to.”

Annabeth’s fingers find his cheek and he crumbles under her touch. He turns and Annabeth has this expression on her face that he can’t parse out. He closes his eyes and lets her smooth out the wrinkle between his brows, lets her trace a swooping pattern on his cheek. “You’re sixteen, Percy, not sixty-five. You have to let yourself take a break, Percy. The others need to know how to survive out there without you. You’re not always gonna be there to protect them. You’re gonna run yourself to the ground and I’d like to see my boyfriend awake once in a while.”

“Guess my eyes have to be open for that.” Percy smiles into her fingertips and blinks exaggeratedly at her. She giggles and it sends warmth all the way down to his belly. She stands up and brushes off the sand from pants before she holds out her hand. 

Golden light shines behind her, circling her like a halo. He’s suddenly reminded of his dip in the Styx, the way dream-Annabeth held in her laughter as she grabbed his hand and pulled him up. Real-Annabeth wiggles her fingers and he lets her haul him up. 

“Promise you’ll take it easy?” she asks. 

And his answer is an easy one. He kisses the side of her head. “Promise.”

Then they walk back to camp, their hands swinging between them. 

[winryofresembool]

Caleo one-shot: Only Us

Summary: Calypso tries to convince a jealous Leo that he doesn't have to worry about her and Percy.

a/n: Decided to post this here too! Like I said on AO3 (and have said here a few times), I’m still in the middle of reading ToA so this fic isn’t entirely canon compliant, but I still feel like jealous Leo is smth that would probably happen at some point of their relationship so that’s why I wanted to write this fic. Anyways, please enjoy and review! The comments motivate me /a lot/. 

words: 1865

genre: some floof, some hurt/comfort 

warnings: none

AO3 link: [x]

...

Leo was bored. He had already done everything he had planned for that day – finishing his newest mechanic project, oiling and flying with Festus, helping his siblings, coming up with a new bad joke – but he hadn’t had a chance to spend a lot of time with his girlfriend. He was on his way to the strawberry fields where he knew Calypso liked to spend her time because it reminded her of her home, when he noticed her on the beach. That alone didn’t surprise Leo. The sea was another place she considered home-y, after all. What did surprise him, though, was that she wasn’t alone. She was with Percy. And they seemed to be deep in a conversation.

“I’m sorry about what happened in Tartarus,” Leo heard Calypso saying. “I didn’t mean to curse you… it was a moment of whim and I didn’t think… I mean, it doesn’t excuse it but…”

“Hey, it’s OK,” Percy tried to reassure her, putting his hand on her shoulder for a moment. “You were mad because I forgot to make sure the gods had fulfilled their promise… So I’m sorry too.”

Leo didn’t hear more because as the words sunk in, his first instinct in that situation was to leave. Go and never let them know he had heard any of that. However, his mind was racing with possibilities of what that conversation could have meant, so Leo decided to try to distract himself with the best way he could.

His bunker had been a place that had brought him comfort ever since he had found it almost two years prior. However, soon he noticed that this time even that didn’t help; his hands were working on something he didn’t even recognize while his mind wandered elsewhere. When he stopped for a break, one of his hands started tapping that familiar rhythm he always tapped when anxious. He immediately stopped when realized what he was doing, very conscious of the meaning of the Morse code he had used. Love only hurt, it seemed. Leo had been occasionally thinking how lucky he was to have a girlfriend like Calypso, but he should have known it wouldn’t last. Not when he could offer nothing all the other boys couldn’t. Percy was handsome, strong, tall and funny, and he hadn’t broken Calypso’s table when they met (that was always a bonus). It was only natural she’d like him more.

With frustration, Leo started forming fireballs with his hands and shot the first one into an open water container where it wouldn’t cause dangerous situations. Festus, who had been resting outside the bunker, woke up at the sound of the fireball hitting its destination and when the second ball started flying, he threw himself between the ball and the container and swallowed it, then making a rare hissing sound at the person who had rebuilt him.

“What are you hissing me for?” Leo snapped at the metal dragon, another very rare occurrence. Often Festus was the only one who Leo felt understood him, and in general Hephaestus’ son was very calm and patient with him. That’s how the dragon knew something definitely was wrong with his master. He gave his answer by blowing smoke like a morse code from his nose, probably telling him to stop being stupid.

“Fine,” Leo sighed, sitting down on the stairs next to Festus. “It’s Calypso. I saw her with Percy and… I’m probably being paranoid but seeing them interact like that made me think… what if she falls in love with him again? I’m no match for that guy; you know water and fire are not a good combo…”

Festus made some ticking sounds this time, trying to convince Leo that she wouldn’t do such a thing.

“You seem very sure for something that I built… So, what do you say I should do about this?”

Festus pushed him with his huge snout, almost making him fall.

“Okay, okay! I’ll tell her what I saw. Happy?”

Festus made a sound that sounded a whole lot like a snort, reminding Leo that that was literally what his name meant. Happy.

“That was a bad joke, bud. I can still change your name to something that doesn’t mean happy, you know,” he sassed at the dragon but this time the metal creature made so clear a laughter sound that Leo couldn’t mistake it, challenging him to try. Knowing the dragon had won that battle, Leo decided to return back to the camp and face his girlfriend.

…

When the couple was finally alone later that evening, Leo didn’t have time to mention Percy before Calypso noted his weird behavior.

“Leo, you’ve been so quiet this evening. You didn’t even try to outjoke Apollo at the dinner and that has probably happened… well, never, so far. Is something troubling you?”

Leo supposed that this moment was as good as any to confess what he had seen.

“I saw… you and Percy talking at the beach.”

“Oh…” Calypso thought she knew what was coming but she decided to bite her lip and let Leo speak. If she had learned something about him during all those months they’d spent traveling, it was that if you didn’t give him the opportunity to speak out, he may bottle those emotions inside until near explosion point.

“You were looking pretty chummy out there,” Leo continued, staring at his hands awkwardly.

“I don’t know what that word means but we had a good talk,” Calypso replied, crossing her arms over her chest. “We realized that we both had made some mistakes and… while some scars heal slowly, we decided we’re past that point where we can just avoid each other and act like nothing happened.”

“Was that all?” Leo asked doubtfully.

Calypso didn’t know how she should have reacted to that question. She was torn between annoyed and amused because of Leo’s clear jealousy. She chose the latter.

“Leo Valdez. You really don’t have to worry about me and Percy. We've moved on a long time ago. The way he looks at Annabeth… it’s so obvious he loves her a lot.” Before he could argue something about ‘old salt’, she added: “And… even though he has his flaws… I have met a pretty special person as well.”

“Huh?” Leo finally raised his gaze from hands his with surprise. Calypso wasn’t usually that straightforward about her feelings with him, she preferred showing it with actions rather than drown Leo with sappy words.

Calypso smirked slightly. “You know the one. He broke my dining table the first time we met. Sometimes his jokes are very bad and he’s too sarcastic for his own good. He can be stubborn to the point of it getting frustrating.”

Her expression turned back to serious.

“Worst of all, he has a huge inferiority complex, which means he doesn't see himself the way he should and blames himself for things that are out of his control. He can also get pretty jealous because he doesn’t believe that someone could actually love him.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Thanks. Just what I needed. Salt to my wounds and a reminder of my flaws.”

Calypso raised her voice to stop him, but there was softness in her eyes as he continued.

“Listen to how this story ends, OK? This guy… He's more smart and skilled he realizes. He's taught me so much about the modern world, even some embarrassing things.” She stopped for a moment, remembering a time when they had gone to a clothes store and she had seen modern underwear for the first time, asking about their use.

"Right,” Leo nodded, probably thinking about the same incident.

Calypso continued: “He even knows several languages and has taught me some too, although I’m not sure how useful the Spanish swear words will be to me. He also built an entire battle ship and a mechanical dragon that’s basically alive.” (Festus, who was also nearby, snorted, meaning: ‘basically?’) “Rumor has it he died for his friends so no one else would have to and outwitted the death. Those alone are some pretty cool things. But there’s more.”

For once Leo didn’t know what to say. Never had he heard anyone talk about him like that.

“There are moments when I can see the past coming to haunt him. But even though he hurts, he tries his best to make others smile with his – maybe not always bad - jokes, and it usually works. And…” Calypso brushed a lock of black, curly hair behind Leo’s ear gently, “he came back to get me from Ogygia even though it was supposed to be impossible, even though I admit that I probably didn't give you a lot of reasons to like me… But somehow you saw through my cover and knew that I still cared about you, even though I really strongly tried to fight against it because I had been hurt too many times. When you showed up again… I’m pretty good at concealing my feelings but I actually wanted to cry when I saw you that day. Because someone really cared enough to break through the curse.”

She swiped a couple of tears that had fallen on her cheeks, with her other hand lifting Leo’s chin so she knew he was looking at her. His eyes were burning with emotions he didn’t know how to express.

“Of course I care!” he exclaimed. “Was I supposed to just leave you there after everything you did for me?!”

“Leo… Do you know how many times I had to listen to men promising to come back to me and they never did? I had already lost my hope after Percy and that was why I got so mad when you showed up for the first time. But… when I got to know you better, I think I started sensing that there was something different about you. That you’d really go through enormous lengths for someone you loved. Of course, I didn’t think you’d fall for me because I was acting the way I was, but for once, I got lucky.”

“No, you didn’t get lucky. You deserved it,” Leo said quietly.

“Whatever you say.” Calypso smiled a bit sadly. “Anyway. There are some things we still need to work on. For example, you still have to learn to appreciate yourself more. I can't do that for you… but I can be by your side and support you, as long as you let me.”

“Cal… thanks. I feel pretty stupid for doubting your feelings. Lo siento, for reals. If I do something like that again, feel free to punch me, or whatever. And if someone’s lucky here, that’s me because you’re pretty damn amazing.” Suddenly his face got his usual mischievous expression. “Now, as for those bad jokes...”

Calypso couldn’t help but smirk as well. “Ha, I knew you'd get stuck on that. You idiot. But maybe they are a part of your charm,” she shrugged.

"Wait. You think my jokes are charming?" Leo asked, now sounding a lot more like himself.

"Hush. Or I may change my mind about that," Calypso noted and pulled him for a much needed kiss.

[percabeth4life]

Grover Unexpectedly Loses His Pants

First Chapter || Previous Chapter || Next Chapter || AO3

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Naturally I ditched Grover as soon as we got to the bus terminal.

I know its rude, but I’m still nowhere near able to trust him. I’m getting really mixed signals from him.

Ugh, I wish I could talk to Triton. He’d know what to do.

I fingered my bracelet and caught a taxi uptown.

“East One-hundred-and-fourth and First,” I told the driver.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

Now, everyone of course knows how amazing my mom is.

Her name is Sally Jackson and she’s had a sucky life, but she deserves the world.

She’s really the best person I know and an amazing mom, even if she’s a little overprotective of me.

Her parents died in a plane crash when she was five, and she was raised by an uncle who didn’t care much about her. She wanted to be a novelist, so she spent high school working to save enough money for a college with a good creative-writing program. Then her uncle got cancer, and she quite school her senior year to take care of him. After he died, she was left with no money, no family, and no diploma.

The only good break she’s gotten was meeting my dad, probably Oceanus.

She won’t tell me about him, and I don’t have any memories of him except for the dreams I’ve had of being in his palace. My mom doesn’t like to talk about him cause it makes her sad. She has no pictures too.

They obviously weren’t married, Oceanus has Tethys, and Tethys is really nice, so I can see why he wouldn’t want to leave her. But I can’t understand why he would cheat on her with my mom. Unless Tethys was okay with it? Immortals don’t make any sense.

Mom just tells me that he’s rich and important, so their relationship was a secret. Then one day, he set sail across the Atlantic on some important journey, and he never came back.

Of course, Oceanus is a sea king. He’s extremely busy. And has a bunch of kids, even if most are fully grown and immortal. Of course, he can’t visit. That doesn’t make it hurt any less.

The myths speak highly of him from what I can find, and he was nice when I was there. I still wish that I had a dad here though, then mom wouldn’t need to marry Smelly Gabe.

She’s raised me all alone, taking odd jobs and taking night classes to get her high school diploma. She never ever complained or got mad, not even once. I know I’m not an easy kid, but she’s amazing.

I did my best to ignore the faint buzzing tugging at me and walking into the apartment.

Unfortunately, mom was not home from work. Instead, Smelly Gabe was in the living room, playing poker with his buddies. The television blared ESPN. Chips and beer cans were strewn all over the carpet.

Hardly looking up, he said around his cigar, “So, you’re home.”

“Where’s my mom?”

“Working,” he said. “You got any cash?”

His greeting wasn’t a surprise, that was his usual response.

Looking at him I could see he’s gained weight. He has like three hairs on his head instead of the previous five, and all are combed over his bald scalp. As if that could make up for the rest of his ugly.

He manages the Electronics Mega-Mart in Queens, supposedly. I have no idea how he hasn’t been fired previously, seeing how he’s never gone into work as far as I know.

All he does is collect paychecks, spend money on cigars that made me nauseous, and buy enough beer to drown in. Whenever I’m home I’m expected to fund his gambling. Thankfully the river has lots of money so all I have to do is give him a little and that covers it.

The few times I’ve refused… Well let’s just say it’s a good thing I have healing in water.

“Here,” I grumbled, tossing a five at him, “I hope you lose.”

He sneered as I stalked out, “Your report card came, brain boy!” He shouted, “I wouldn’t act so snooty!”

Jerk.

I slammed the door to my room, which currently smelled like cigars and beer.

Gross.

Gabe was using it as his “study” while I was at boarding school. All the more reason to never go to another ever again.

I pulled Carl, in his newly adapted portable fish tank, from my enchanted back and settled it (and him) on the desk.

He swam in circles happily, until he noticed the mess. Then he grumbled about Gabe.

Honestly the smell was almost worse then the feeling that those old ladies gave me, definitely worse than the nightmares I had about Ms. Dodds. She’s okay now after all.

I shuffled, scratching at my arms, the feeling from the old ladies itching at me, my breathing sped up.

“Percy?” My mom called.

She opened the bedroom door and suddenly everything felt better.

She can make me feel good just by being there, it’s always been like that.

Her and Triton are safe places, I know I’m okay when I’m with them. Nothing could ever go wrong around them.

Her eyes sparkle and change in the light, her smile is as warm as a quilt, she’s got a few gray streaks mixed in with her long brown hair, but I never think of her as any where near old. Whenever she looks at me it’s like she sees all the good, all the things that make her proud, she never sees the bad. I’ve never heard her raise her voice or say an unkind word to anyone, not even when I was younger or to Gabe.

“Oh, Percy,” She hugged me tight. “I can’t believe it. You’ve grown since Christmas!”

I blinked, had I? My clothes from Triton fit the same. Though, my normal clothes were a little tight…

“And your hair is so long now, we’ll have to cut it later.”

I touched my hair.

“Oh and it’s still so blue, it looks nice.”

I smiled.

Mom looked well though. Her red-white-and-blue Sweet on America uniform smelled like the best things in the world: chocolate, licorice, and all the other stuff she sold at the candy shop in Grand Central. She’d brought me a huge bag of “free samples” it looked like, just like she always did when I finished school, or like she did when I came home for winter break.

“Sit,” she tugged me to sit beside her on the bed now, before starting to question me.

We sat together on the edge of the bed. I attacked a thing of blueberry sour strings and she ran her hand through my hair demanding to know everything that had happened to me while I was away for the last few months that hadn’t made it into my letters.

She didn’t mention me getting expelled, she didn’t seem to care. But was I okay? Was her little boy doing alright?

I leaned into her while laughingly saying she was smothering me. Her presence made everything so much better. I’m… I’m really, really glad to see her.

I blinked back tears, everything has just been so much I don’t know what to do.

From the other room, Gabe interrupted, “Hey Sally—how about some bean dip, huh?”

I gritted my teeth, I really just want to drown him.

My mom is the nicest person in the world. She should’ve been married to a millionaire, not some jerk like Gabe.

For her sake, I kept my last days at Yancy Academy happy. I told her I wasn’t down about the expulsion, I’d lasted longer than usual this time. I’d made a new friend (even if I ditched him now), and I’d done good in Latin and Pre-Calc. Honestly the fights hadn’t been anywhere near as bad as the headmaster said.

I put the best spin on the year that I could, pasting a smile on my face and keeping my voice light.

“Until the trip to the museum…”

“What?” my mom asked. Her eyes tugged at my conscience, trying to pull out the secrets. “Did something scare you?”

I couldn’t lie, not to her. But I also can’t tell her about Ms. Dodds.

“No Mom, just… Nancy pushed Grover and I lost control of my waterbending a little. It shoved Nancy into the fountain. But no one seemed to really notice!”

She pursed her lips. “But no one noticed?”

I nodded, “Yeah.” No one that could do anything at least.

She relaxed, “I have a surprise for you,” She said. “We’re going to the beach.”

My eyes widened. “Montauk?”

“Three nights—same cabin.”

“When?”

“As soon as I get changed.”

I was excited, we haven’t been able to go for the last two summers. Gabe said there wasn’t enough money, as if we didn’t get a massive discount because my grandmother had been close friends with the person that owns the land the cabin is on. I doubt we’d be able to afford it if we didn’t have that discount, but we did so there.

Gabe appeared in the doorway and growled, “Bean dip, Sally? Didn’t you hear me?”

I wanted to punch him, or better yet, drown him. But I met my mom’s eyes and I understood the deal she was offering me: be nice to Gabe for a little while. Just until she was ready to leave for Montauk. Then we would get out of here.

“I was on my way, honey,” she smiled at Gabe. “We were just talking about the trip.”

His eyes narrowed, “The trip? You mean you were serious about that?”

I bit my tongue to keep from snarling at him. Mom wouldn’t let him stop us, she never broke her promises and she’s probably already paid. If I snap now, then he might try to stop us out of spite.

I just glared.

“Of course, I’m serious,” Mom said evenly, “You won’t have to worry about money. And besides,” she added, “You won’t have to settle for just bean dip. I’m going to make enough seven-layer dip for the whole weekend. Guacamole. Sour cream. The works.”

He softened a bit. “So this money for your trip… it comes out of your clothes budget, right?”

“Yes, honey” she said.

I made a mental note to use some of the money I have hidden in my magic bag to buy her something nice to wear.

“And you won’t take my car anywhere but there and back.”

“We’ll be very careful.”

Gabe scratched his double chin. “Maybe if you hurry with that seven-layer dip… And maybe if the kid apologizes for interrupting my poker game.”

Maybe if I kick you in your soft spot and see how long you can hold your breath under water, I thought.

But mom’s eyes warned me to not make him mad.

I wanted to scream, I can’t understand why she puts up with this guy.

I put on my princely face just like Triton taught me and turned to him, “I’m sorry. I’m really horribly sorry for interrupting your incredibly important poker game. Please go back to it right now, don’t let us keep you from it.”

Gabe’s eyes narrowed, probably trying to use his jellyfish sized brain to look for sarcasm.

“Yeah, whatever.” He decided.

He went back to his game.

“Thank you, Percy,” my mom said. “Once we get to Montauk, we’ll talk more about… everything.”

For a second, I saw a fear in her eyes, the same kind that I saw in Grover’s. A nervousness, as if my mom could feel the buzzing too.

But then she smiled again, and I could almost believe I’d imagined it.

But the image didn’t leave my mind.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

We were all ready to leave, I didn’t bother to unpack my bags, just put Carl’s magic portable fish tank back in my magic bag. I don’t trust Gabe to not mess with my stuff so I’m just bringing it all with me (except my school books). My magic bag holds all of the important things, my books from Triton and my friends, all their gifts, and a few changes of extra clothes (the nice ones from Triton and one pair of normal mortal clothes).

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom’s bags to the car, griping the whole time about losing her cooking—and more importantly, his ’78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.

“Not a scratch on this car, brain boy,” he warned me as I loaded the last bag. “Not one little scratch.”

I rolled my eyes out of his sight. Obviously, I was planning to drive the whole way, I’m already twelve, might as well get the practice in. I snorted.

I watched him lumber back towards the apartment building. I felt the well of anger in me, just needing a release somehow, and I did the same symbol that Grover did before, only this time I channeled a bit of my power into it, just like I do purification powers.

The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the suitcase as if he’d been shot from a cannon. I hid a smile and got in the Camaro, telling my mom to step on it.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

The rental cabin is on the south shore, way out at the tip of Long Island. It’s a little pastel box with faded curtains, half sunken into the dunes. There’s always sand in the sheets and spiders in the cabinets, most of the time the sea is too cold to be considered swimmable.

I love the place.

We’ve been going here forever, since before I was born even. My mom met my dad here, even if she never told me I know that’s why it’s so special to her.

It’s special to me because it’s where I waterbended for the first time.

I smiled at the sea and could almost imagine it was welcoming me back.

My mom almost seems to grow younger as we get closer to the sea, years of worry and work disappearing from her face. Her eyes turned the color of the sea. They change color a lot, but this spot, here at the beach, is when they look the most like the ocean. I think it’s where they’re prettiest.

Sometimes I wonder if she has immortal blood in her somewhere, it almost seems like it with how she changes based on the place.

We arrived at sunset, opened all the cabin’s windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work. I left Carl’s portable tank in the bag for now, I’d pull him out tomorrow (though I did remember to feed him).

When it finally got dark, we made a fire.

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told me stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash.

She told me about how her dad was so very handsome, she’d inherited his eyes, and how her mom had eyes the color of seafoam and had loved the sea just as much as my mom does.

She told me about all the books she wants to write someday, I really want to read them too. Fantasy books are more fun to me, if there’s audio books of her books I’m definitely reading (listening to) them.

Eventually I pulled together the nerve to ask about my dad, maybe she’ll say something new, something that would help me be sure that Oceanus is my dad. I’m almost positive of it but… but a little more confirmation wouldn’t hurt.

I mean though, who else would be a danger for me, even at the camp, to have as a parent? I would think Poseidon, but the myths are filled with his kids. He wouldn't be a danger as a dad at all. So it has to be Oceanus, he's the only one strong enough that would also be someone the gods might not like.

“He was kind, Percy,” she murmured. “Tall, handsome, and powerful. But gentle too. You have… had,” she gave a small laugh as she glanced at my blue hair, “His black hair, and his green eyes. Yours is a bit longer than his though.” She ran a hand through my hair.

Mom fished a blue jelly bean out of her candy bag. “I wish he could see you, Percy. He would be so proud.”

I wondered if he would. In terms of sea magic, he might, I know Triton is proud. He tells me he is, that he’s very pleased with how far I’ve come. Oceanus might be pleased with me by sea standards, but would he agree with Triton that land lessons are dumb and shouldn’t count? Or would he see me, a dyslexic, hyperactive boy with at D+ report card, kicked out of school for the sixth time in six years and be ashamed.

“How old was I?” I asked. “I mean… when he left?”

Does he just not recognize me?

She watched the flames, “He was only with me for the summer and a little into the fall Percy. Just the one short time. Right here at this beach. This cabin.”

I blinked, I swear I have a memory of a smile, something…

“But… he knew me as a baby?”

He had to… right?

“No, honey. He knew I was expecting a baby, but he never saw you. He had to leave before you were born.”

My heart sank, but also lightened.

If Oceanus had never seen me then I suppose it makes sense that he couldn’t recognize me, even if he could tell that I was something familiar to him based on his comment in my dreams.

“I sense my power on you, you’ve interacted with something of mine.”

Was he recognizing me? Did he not expect me there and assumed I was someone else that had met… me?

I’m not sure but… I was still sad.a

He obviously has his duties as a king, Triton is so busy as a prince being a king must be so much worse, but still. He couldn’t even come to check on mom?

The ancient laws that Zeus made wouldn’t apply to a Titan, would they?

I only know the basics of these laws but…

“Are you going to send me away again?” I asked mom now. “To another boarding school?”

She pulled a marshmallow from the fire.

“I don’t know, honey,” Her voice was heavy. “I think… I think we’ll have to do something.”

Does she not want me around? I just… I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to leave again.

“Are you… are you sending me away because you don’t want me around?” I whispered.

My mom’s eyes welled with tears. She took my hand, squeezing it tight. “Oh, Percy, no. I—I have to, honey. For your own good. I have to send you away.”

But why.

“Because I’m not normal? Because… Because I can waterbend?”

“Oh, oh Percy, you not being normal isn’t a bad thing. And your waterbending is wonderful. I just, I just want you safe. I thought Yancy Academy was far enough away, I thought you’d be finally be safe.”

Safe from what? The monsters? Does… does mom know.

I’ve been assuming she didn’t, but maybe that was dumb.

Does she know? Know who dad is? Know what I am? Does she know about the myths?

“Safe from what mom?”

She stared at me for a long moment…

“I’ve tried to keep you as close to me as I could,” My mom said. “They told me that was a mistake. But there’s only one other option, Percy—the place your father wanted to send you. And I just… I just can’t stand to do it.”

I frowned, Oceanus wanted me to go someplace special?

“He wanted me to go to a special school?”

“Not a school,” She said softly. “A summer camp.”

Camp Half-Blood. Grover had a card for it.

Triton told me about it, though not the name, the camp for Half-Bloods, half immortal, half mortal.

That had to be what mom is talking about.

“I’m sorry, Percy,” She said, her voice breaking. “But I can’t talk about it. I—I couldn’t send you to that place. It might mean saying goodbye to you for good.”

I frowned, Triton didn’t tell me much about the camp, but for good?

“For good?”

She turned towards the fire, and I knew from her expression that if I asked her any more questions she would start to cry.

OO OO OO OO OO OO OO OO

I stood on the beach, a storm raging overhead.

I know that I fell asleep, that I was in the bed in the cabin. But now I’m on the beach.

Another one of my dreams? It’s not someplace familiar.

There were two beautiful animals, a white horse and a golden eagle, trying to kill each other at the edge of the surf.

The eagle swooped down and slashed the horse’s muzzle with its huge talons. The horse reared up and kicked at the eagle’s wings.

A low, familiar, chuckle rumbled from beneath the earth. The chuckle from the pit. I could hear whispered goading, urging the two animals to fight harder. The ground rumbled. Sand curled around me. Salt rubbed at my skin, lightning sparked over me.

None of it was there, but the sensations were clear.

I moved toward them, they shouldn’t fight!

“Stop it!” I called, “Stop it Mr. Pit Guy. Stop!”

I was moving so slow, like time was slower for me than for them.

The voice laughed again. “Stand away little Half-Blood,” It crooned. “Let them fight, do not interfere.”

I reached out as the eagle dive down, its beak aimed at the horse’s wide eyes.

I screamed.

I woke up.

For once there was no peaceful sunlight to wake from my dream to, a storm raged outside. Lightning crashed, the wind howled, the waves pounded the dunes.

There was no horse or eagle fighting.

With the next thunderclap, my mom woke. She sat up, eyes wide, and said, “Hurricane.”

It’s crazy, Long Island never sees hurricanes this early in the summer.

But the ocean was like salt rubbing into my skin, rough and course, like there’s an open wound. The lightning was crackling across my skin. My senses are on fire. This was no ordinary storm. And it’s a very bad one.

Over the roar of the wind, I heard a distant bellow, an angry, tortured sound that made my already frayed nerves worse.

Then much closer, another noise, like mallets in the sand. A desperate voice—someone yelling, pounding on our cabin door.

My mom sprang out of bed in her nightgown and threw open the lock.

Grover stood framed in the doorway against a backdrop of pouring rain. But he wasn’t quite the Grover I knew, or… now he was showing the Grover I’d been suspicious of all year.

“Searching all night,” he gasped.

Creepy.

“What were you thinking?”

Obviously that you were out to get me?

My mom looked at me in terror though—she wasn’t scared of Grover, that much was clear. She was scared of why he was here.

“Percy,” she shouted over the storm. “What happened at school? What didn’t you tell me?”

Where should I start!? Why did it seem like I was in trouble? I’ve dealt with everything before! There was nothing really new!

“O Zeu kai alloi theoi!” Grover yelled. “It’s right behind me! Didn’t you tell her?”

Tell her what.  

Grover is standing there, a satyr, mom isn’t surprised at all, there’s a storm raging filled with so much blazing power that I’m shocked it didn’t wake me sooner, and no one seems to want to explain anything.

My mom turned to me though and talked in a tone she’d never used before: “Percy. Tell me now.”

I blurted out that Ms. Dodds had turned into a vampire bat lady and attacked me, my mom listening with a deathly pale face, visible in the flashes of lightning that scorched my skin with their power.

She grabbed her purse, tossed me my rain jacket, and said, “Get to the car. Both of you. Go!”

I grabbed my magic bag, and hurried to the car, following Grover.

[imwastingmylifeinhere]

Magnus Chase and the Obligatory Hogwarts AU Ch12

On ao3

Having the Ilvermorny students at Hogwarts reminded Magnus a lot of the fourth year when Alex was still the new kid. Most of their free time was devoted to showing Percy and Annabeth around the castle and exploring every knock and cranny. Both Americans were very into it, for their own reasons. Annabeth was very interested in the architecture of the castle and how everything worked. She especially loved the sifting staircases and Magnus noticed her making a note in her notebook. When he walked by her and sneaked a glance to see what it was, the note turned out to be a reminder to herself to ask about the spell cast on the stairs.

Percy on the other hand was really into all the secret passages and rooms the school had to offer. He seemed set on pushing every single brick in the wall to see if any of them opened hidden corridors, especially after they told him that even the Headmaster himself didn’t know everything about Hogwarts.

“We better keep an eye on him,” Sam whispered to Magnus and he nodded back. There was a reason why first years weren’t allowed to go to a lot of parts of the castle; when you were new to Hogwarts it was amazingly easy to get lost with how vast the castle is. They didn’t want new students to get hurt somewhere where it would be hard to find them.

They were turning down another corridor and Alex kept talking as she was giving them the grand tour. She was really enjoying this, maybe as much as she had when she was the one being shown around Hogwarts. Telling Percy and Annabeth everything she knew about the castle made her feel strangely proud. She was no longer the new student, she was a sixth year Slytherin. She had made this school her home, she belonged here, and she was going to show these two what made it so great.

“And this is the armor of Sir Reinhart of Baltimore, who died from a humongous dump after eating his mother-in-law’s cooking,” Alex said as she gestured at a random armor. From the corner of her eye she saw Magnus look at her in a ‘I see what you did there’ way and she smirked back at him. This wasn’t the same armor Magnus had showed her in her fourth year (she wasn’t even sure how to get back to that corridor) but the joke he had made back then was too good to pass up.

“That must have hurt,” Percy winced, looking at the inanimate knight with sympathetic eyes. “And what about this one?” He pointed at another suit of armor further down the corridor that was holding a big axe. “Did he die a tragic death too?”

“Oh, this guy?” Alex said, hooking her arm around the armor’s waist. “This is Sergey and he fought bravely at a war only to die when he tripped and fell in a puddle of mud in which he drowned.”

The rest of their group chuckled at Alex’s random story, some exchanging glances wondering what exactly even gave her the idea for such a scenario. They didn’t pay much attention to the fact you probably couldn’t drown in a puddle of mud because they were too busy giggling over the name ‘Sergey’.

“Remind me to mention that name to Nico the next time he brings up his card game,” Percy told Annabeth who rolled her eyes at him.

“You know he will probably kill you, right?”

“Maybe, but it will be worth it. And at the very least Will will use it as a name for his knights.” The thought must have been very funny to Percy because he started chuckling again. Why exactly, Alex didn’t know, but she didn’t bother asking.

“Do they play Knights and Demons?” Magnus asked Percy with an excited glint in his eyes. Alex mentally rolled her eyes. Magnus was instantly all over anything nerdy and it was kind of adorable.

“Mm? Yeah. Nico was really into it when he was younger.” From the way Percy spoke to him, he guessed whoever Nico was he was very close to him. His tone reminded Magnus of how Mallory would speak about her siblings and cousins. “He pretends he’s grown out of it but he still plays, especially since his boyfriend is into it as well. I thought he’d appreciate a new name for one of his knights.”

“I’m still saying he’s going to kill you for it,” Annabeth said with a smile. Something in the way she smiled told Magnus that a part of her wanted to see what would happen if Percy did suggest the name.

Alex stopped them in front of a painting, doing a sharp turn on her heels to stand in front of it and face her crowd. The painting behind her was done in oil paints and it showed a man and a woman embracing underneath the bed sheets.

“Here we see another beautiful piece of art hailing from the 17th century,” she said in her best tour-guide ascent (which pretty much meant that she made herself sound like an old man who smoked three packs of cigarettes a day). “It depicts the passionate embrace of two lovers in their secret meeting. You see, Miss Abigail Birdwhistle was married at a rich merchant at the time this painting was created. Yet her husband was more loving towards his job than his wife and cast aside as she was, poor Abigail found comfort in the arms of their gardener, Brian. This painting shows one of their many sexual meetings at the small hut Brian lived in on their estates grounds.”

Much like a teacher who kept going on even when his students paid no attention to him whatsoever, Alex kept talking even when her friends and boyfriend were barely holding themselves from laughing. How did she even manage to keep that ridiculous ascent going for so long?

“However,” Alex kept going, “I would like to point your attention to this part over here.” She pointed to the back of the painting, where a figure was visible. “Many have claimed that this is Abigail’s husband who happened to stumble upon the meeting. Even if he is, whether he’s there to ruin their fun or join in on it is still a bone of contention among art critics. Regardless, what they do agree on is that Abigail and Brian were a beautiful love story.”

That seemed to be the last straw as all of them burst out laughing together, Alex included. Mallory was swaying from side to side and Magnus had bent over as their laugher boomed across the empty halls and it sounded as loud as a thunderstorm.

The occupants of the painting said nothing and stood still, as if they were from a Muggle painting and listened to the stories the weird green haired one made up about them. It took everything in their painted bodies not to start laughing too.

Once they finally stopped laughing and remembered how to breathe properly, they kept moving down the hallway. What they saw was pretty much still the same, armors proudly standing guard and paintings hanging from the walls. But they decided to make up another game where they tried to mimic whatever a specific painting they passed by depicted. They never set down the rules about what it would take to win, but it didn’t seem to matter. With every new painting they acted more and more over the top.

At one point, they passed a painting where a warrior was raising another man in the air while letting out a battle cry. Halfborn had grabbed Mallory by the waist and held her up, doing a gorilla scream. It was funny, especially with Mallory’s startled expression. Conall tried to do the same but failed miserably (the boy was a scholar, not a wrestler). Alex had managed to hold him up for a little but eventually her arms gave out and she had to put him down.

“Won’t you give me a kiss for holding you up?” she asked and Conall was quick to comply, whispering something along the lines of “my warrior” to her. Magnus had to look away to keep himself from vomiting.

What they hadn’t been expecting was for Annabeth to put her hands at Percy’s wait and just raise him up like it was nothing. Everyone gawked at her, especially when it seemed like she wasn’t struggling at all with it. Percy appeared calm too, holding his chin up and throwing his arms wide open like he was in the Titanic.

“I’m flying, Jack!” he said in a lovesick high-voice and they all laughed at that.

They started dancing in front of a painting of a ballroom, at first doing a really bad imitation of waltz before they started doing whatever random dance move they could think of, from the Macarena to freaking dab. Magnus, T.J and Sam had linked hands to create a wave and Alex was leading Conall in a very over the top tango. (Magnus had to admit it was funny but it still left a sour taste in his mouth for some reason.)

After about a dozen of paintings and getting spotted by students who looked at them as if they were on crack, the group decided the better start heading to the Hall of the Slain for dinner.

“Hey, isn’t tomorrow the day we’ll go visit Hogsmeade?” Percy asked when they passed by a group of fourth year girls who were talking about what they would do tomorrow.

“Oh, yeah! I really want to visit it, I’ve heard a lot of things about it!” Annabeth’s eyes glittered at the thought of getting to go to a new place and learning about it. They more time he spend with her the more Magnus realized his cousin still had the same thirst for knowledge she had when she was young.

Alex’s eyes, on the other hand, glittered a in mischief as she thought of all the things they could do tomorrow at Hogsmeade. “We’ll give you the premium tour, don’t worry,” she said with a smirk and amidst the weird loopy thing his stomach did at the sight, Magnus had time to think only one thing.

Oh oh.

//////////////////////

And ‘Oh oh’ indeed. Why, you ask? There’s a lot that can go wrong when you have nine teenagers left to their own devices in a village. They were lucky they didn’t burn it down (though they might have scared a little girl for life).

When they stepped into Hogsmeade, Percy and Annabeth had the expression every student has on their first visit -- wide-eyed awe and glee at all the possible places to explore and have fun in.

“I feel like I look like one of those stupid tourists in New York but I don’t care,” Percy whispered to Annabeth as he looked around. Or maybe he was meaning to whisper it and forgot because everyone heard him

Their first stop was obviously the Joke shop. They had headed there immediately after they arrived at Hogsmeade so the crowd of students that was always around the entrance every time they visited hadn’t fully formed yet. They walked into the shop, easily making it feel more crowded by the size of their group.

They walked around the aisles, looking at different pranks and touching them. Magnus knew that just touching a magical prank that did God-knows-what wasn’t such a good idea but he couldn’t help himself. The Joke shop just did something to him that made him want to touch everything (yes, even that weird green mass in a jar).

When he turned down another corner, he found Alex, Halfborn and T.J grouped around the fart pillows. They each held one between their palms and they stood with determination as if they were about to have an epic rap battle.

Then Alex pressed her palms together, making the little pillow fart. She did it again and again and Magnus realized surprised that she was farting Darth Vader’s theme (that sounded wrong).

“Let’s see if you can do that,” he said with a smirk to Halfborn.

“Oh, you’re on.” Magnus was somehow able to get most of the melody down, only missing a few notes (farts?) here and there.

“Puh-lease,” Percy said after Halfborn was done with his recital. “Watch this.”

What followed were intricate hand moves and twists along with the fanciest farts Magnus had ever heard. Percy’s tongue stuck out from the corner of his mouth in concentration and by now the rest of their group had gathered around to watch as well as some other students.

When Percy finished, he took a deep bow and sent Alex a completive look.  

“Was… was that Beethoven’s ninth Symphony?” She asked, sounding equally confused and awed.

“Yep. A friend showed me how. Nobody beats Leo in musical farting.”

Magnus turned to Annabeth who was standing next to him,  his expression practically yelling ‘what’. She had a smile on her face that just barely pulled at the corners of her mouth. Yet, even though it was small, it radiated warmth and happiness and turned her eyes from stormy grey to a cloudy sky just before the sun broke through.

Whatever comment Magnus might have had about the recital never made it past his lips. He remembered how his mum used to say that loving someone was like spending a day outside during the summer. It might be hot and the heat and mosquitoes might be annoying at times, but you still enjoyed bathing in the sun.

The way Annabeth looked at Percy, it looked like she really enjoyed it.

“Okay, I think you showcased your musical talents enough today,” Mallory said as she cut through the little crowd that had gathered around the ‘musicians’ to get to Halfborn. She took him by the arm. “Why don’t we go look over there?”

Alex’s boyfriend soon came by too and he and Alex wandered off in the store together. Magnus felt a weird bitterness in his throat but he kept moving through the store. He played around with the samples, which, again, he knew wasn’t such a good idea but it was fun. (So what if he had gotten glitter thrown at his face? He looked good in it.)

He stumbled up Conall and Alex at the optical illusions aisle. A large mirror hang over the wall above a series of accessories that gave you weird features, like real life snapchat filters. He browsed through the samples and watched the couple from the corner of his eye as they tried on glasses that made moustaches grow on their faces and bowties that gave them cute dog ears. Conall leaned closer and woofed before fake licking Alex’s face. She giggled and pushed him away but barked too.

Magnus turned away and decided to check something else out. He wasn’t feeling like optical illusions at the moment.

He lingered around near the cheap tricks at the front near the register until the others were ready to leave. Percy and Annabeth had bought a few items, thought Magnus didn’t know what. When Magnus sent his cousin a questioning glance, she replied with, “Gifts for friends back home. They love pranks. Maybe it’s a bad idea to get Leo and Piper prank materials, but at least they won’t use them on us.”

Magnus nodded, thought he made a mental not to ask Annabeth about her friends from Ilvermorny later. They sounded interesting.

They decided to try a different variation of the game they had played back in fourth year. They headed to Blitzen’s Best, where each person would have to pick an outfit for their significant other. Since Sam’s wasn’t here and they had an odd number of people, she would be the referee. Magnus and T.J ended up playing together because they were the Forever Alone members of the group.

They stood near the entrance of the store but not directly in it because, you know, they didn’t want to be gits and annoy the other customers. “Alright,” said Sam, her hands on her waist. “Since you all know what you have to do, let’s start. Get set,”

All members of the group turned their backs to Sam so they could face the inside of the store, their eyes scanning over all the racks to see where everything was.

“Ready,”

They got into position, one leg in front of the other and their weight leaning slightly forward. Magnus glanced out of the corner of his eye at his friends. They all looked ahead with determined expressions that would have lead you to believe they were about to partake in an important race rather than a dumb game. Thought they did have only thirty minutes to go around the store and find the perfect outfit, so he couldn’t blame them for wanting to be fast.

“GO!”

The group of teenagers rushed forward and run into the rows of clothing stands, racks and mannequins. Magnus barely didn’t hit a lady that was looking at a cute yellow skirt, managing to steer clear from her in the last minute. He looked around frantically, trying to see where the kind of clothes he wanted were suited. When he found them, he run to them like the Flash and started going through them. Part of him wanted to just through them around as he searched for what he wanted, but he felt sorry for the poor employee who would have to clean up after him.

Putting everything he took out back in its place cost him quite a bit of time and he had but a minute to get the final piece of his outfit. Dashing back to where he had almost hit the lady, he grabbed the skirt and headed for the dressing rooms.

He was the last one to arrive. Everyone else had exchanged clothes and were waiting for him to arrive before they changed into them.

“Here,” Magnus said as he handed T.J his outfit. He took his own lump of clothes from T.J’s arms and after Sam’s command, they all went into their respective changing rooms.

After fumbling with the clothes for a good ten minutes and at least a dozen “How are you supposed to put this on?” exclamations, they were finally dressed.

“All ready to be in the spotlight?” Sam asked, doing her best to sound like a TV game host. It was pretty bad but funny at the same time.

“Yes!” was the unanimous answer from the group.

“Alright. Come out, then!”

Eight curtains were simultaneously drawn back and the three couples and two Forever Alone boys came out. Some, like Alex, T.J and Percy, stroked up poses to look like models and others, like Magnus, looked very awkward in their new clothes.

Percy was wearing a short jean skirt that reached his mid thigh and bright pink flip-flops with seashells on them. His shirt was ocean green like his eyes, with two purple shells at his chest. When he posed again, Magnus saw that ‘Mermaid off-duty’ was written across his back in black letters. A shiny pink purse that had to be very impractical with how small it was hang from his shoulder and a pair of sunglasses rested in his dark hair. Percy seemed quite comfortable in the look, even though the arm holes in his shirt were so big they showed his chest.

Annabeth was dressed… relatively normal, weirdly enough. She wore a flowy white summer dress with silver sandals and a big straw hat with a sunflower on it. A long pendant with a little clock hang from her neck. The look wasn’t without its random touches though, as she also wore a rainbow colored choker with a daisy charm hanging from it, heart glasses that had stayed behind from Halloween and colorful socks inside of her sandals.

Halfborn wore one of those leotards that looked like shirts. The laces that strung together the deep V-cut at the front were so stretched they might as well have not been there. He wore frayed short shorts over it that were so small on him he couldn’t zip it all the way up. A flowery shawl was draped over his shoulders and he looked at the group with a sultry look that was more hilarious than seductive.

Mallory was dressed in her worst nightmare. Every color in her clothes was obnoxiously bright, borderline neon, and they all clashed horribly. Her sweatpants had “Work” written in the back in bold black letters, her shirt was something only a grandma or someone with the fashion style of a grandma would wear. She had a bunch of different necklaces around her neck like a nineties rapper.

Conall emerged from the dressing room in a long, lace appliqué midnight blue dress that reached his knees. It puffed out at his waist and made him look slimmer than he actually was. He was struggling to stay standing in a pair of red six inch pumps and a necklace of giant pearls rested on his collarbones. Magnus wasn’t even sure if pearls could be that big.

Alex stood next to her boyfriend in a green crop-top that had a little monster, though whether it was an actual crop-top or just from the children’s section he didn’t know. She wore a pair of tight black jeans and Magnus had never noticed quite how lean her legs were, clearly fit from Quidditch but they still had some curves and the high-waist jeans made them look so long and they hugged her form in a way Magnus didn’t know clothes could and she looked really good in them, especially her as—

Maybe he should look elsewhere.

T.J wore the lacy yellow skirt Magnus gave him, the white blouse tucked in. Underneath the fabric of his top you could see the bright magneta of a sports bra Magnus had picked out clear as day. A bow hairclip was barely holding on to T.J’s short hair and his legs were covered by cat stockings. He seemed to be quite enjoying the look.

And, weirdly enough, Magnus looked… normal. Not like Annabeth, were the main elements of her outfit were ordinary and the accessories made her look like something out of a carnival. He might not have picked out these clothes on his own but they weren’t weird and they suited him.

A pair of jeans as tight as Alex’s hugged his legs and he had to admit he looked good in them. He wore simple black shoes and a plain black button-up. The clothes had come with a message to slick back his hair, so for once he didn’t have blonde locks in his eyes.

“I think I look fabulous,” T.J said and examined his stockings in the mirror. “These are pretty comfy, you know.”

“It’s breezy, but nice,” Conall as he moved his hips around to feel the fabric of his skirt shift against his thighs.

“And you look great in it,” Alex added and kissed him on the cheek. Magnus quickly turned his eyes elsewhere. (‘Elsewhere’ being a stolen glance at Alex’s legs.) (Alex had nice legs.) (Why was he thinking about Alex’s legs? Stop it.)

Too busy trying to convince himself that he hadn’t been checking out Alex, Magnus didn’t notice the knowing look Annabeth was sending his way.

“Oh, by the way,” Alex said, “it’s he/ him now.”

“I feel like Ariel,” Percy noted as he turned around to look at himself in the mirror.

“You better not start singing ‘Part of your world’,” Annabeth warned him in an affectionate tone that made Magnus thing that if Percy burst into song she would likely join him.

“I’m going to need a psychiatrist after this.” Mallory was staring at her reflection in horror, hugging her body like a teenager in a horror movie (though her clothes were a horror movie all on their own).

Her boyfriend ignored her, simply throwing his shawl around his neck like a Hollywood starlet and made kissy faces at his reflection.

“This is strangely normal,” Magnus said as he looked at his reflection. He felt weird saying this (well, more like thinking it) but he looked good.

Alex turned around to look at Magnus and the smile on his face momentary faltered. It happened so quickly you wouldn’t have noticed if you weren’t paying attention, but his eyes widened just a little bit when he looked at Magnus in his new outfit. It really suited him. Like, really suited him.

“You look good,” Alex said. He hoped his voice sounded normal enough. Damnit, what did his heart do just now?

“Black button-ups are a classic,” T.J said with a smug smile. He, Annabeth and Sam were the only ones in the room that had noticed the look in Alex’s eyes and the way his voice sounded just a little bit strained.

A handful of magical pictures later, the gang was back in normal clothes and exiting the shop. They didn’t have much time before they had to leave for Hogwarts and since there was nothing else they wanted to do they decided to just wander around the village. Magnus was trailing at the end of the group, walking slower that the rest, when Annabeth fell behind and started walking next to him.

“You have pretty good taste,” she said simply.

Magnus scrunched his eyebrows together. “What do you mean?”

Annabeth grinned at him and gestured in front of them where the rest of their friends were walking. Magnus’s eyes immediately landed on Alex. Annabeth sent him a knowing look and Magnus’s cheeks burned when he realized what she was insinuating.

“I-I don’t… what makes you think that- I don’t, not like that, I-” he stammered out, cheeks bright red. He-he didn’t like like Alex. They were just friends. What if he was too flustered to look at him when he wore shorts and crop-tops in summer and had been gawking at his legs just moments earlier? What if Halfborn constantly joked that he was jealous that Conall was dating Alex? What if Annabeth wasn’t the first person who had thought Magnus liked Alex?

What if his heart almost stopped when his eyes fell on Alex play fighting with Halfborn, flushed cheeks and ruffled hair, a beautiful smile on his face that made his eyes shine? What if Magnus wanted to reach out and smooth down Alex’s hair and hold his hand and kiss him?

… Fuck.

“I think I like Alex,” he said absentmindedly as he still looked at the green haired boy in front of him.

Annabeth couldn’t help but smile at the helpless expression on Magnus’s face. He had it bad.

Soon enough they were back at Hogwarts. The students started splitting up, heading to their own dormitories for the night. Mallory kissed Halfborn on the cheek as goodnight (which made the big oaf blush like a tomato) and Percy pecked Annabeth on the lips.

“Don’t I get a goodnight kiss?” Alex said teasingly, a clear invitation for Conall to kiss him, but the Ravenclaw run off with a quick hug because “I forgot to do some homework”. Alex stared at him leaving with a hurt expression and a pout on his lips.

It didn’t last long because Sam and Mallory dragged him of quickly. Something Mallory said made him laugh as they walked away and Magnus hadn’t realized he had been staring at him leaving until a young Gryffindor bumped into him.

He walked back to the Hufflepuff common room in a daze, Alex’s laughter ringing in his ears and his heart beating fast because I like Alex I like Alex I like Alex.

Fuck.

Ah, yes, he finally admitted it. And yes, T.J choose those clothes on purpose. Once a matchmaker, always a matchmaker ;) Stay tuned for the next chapters because BOI do I have things planned for you! >:3

[dreamerwithafeather]

A magical night

Pairing: Percy x  Nico (Percy Jackson and the Olympians/ Heroes of Olympus)

This is a gift for @simple-nd-teal for  PJO GC Valentines Exchange 2017

I really hope you like but I’m sorry If it’s bad. It’s my first fanfic without original characters. 

Enjoy!

The dream started as it always did. I was on the Santa Monica beach, standing in front of a wood cabin.  I was alone but  I could swear that something was calling me towards the sea. Having no control over my body I started walking towards the water. I walked and walked till the water reached my shoulders but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Before I knew it I was completely under the water. But I wasn’t drowning. No. I could breath as easily as on land. Suddenly I could feel a tingling sensation coming from my feet. As I looked down I saw my legs shifting. No, uniting is a better word. It stopped pretty quickly. But now I didn’t have feet. They turned in a dolphin tail. I couldn’t think for a long while about my sudden mermaidness , or is it merman?, because I started swimming forward, I could feel the currents around me and I knew, I just knew that in front of me is an abyss. I was so close! Just a little longer and I could reach it! I could reach h….

 Right at that moment a book was slammed on my desk. When I looked up I saw Mrs. Dodds, my math teacher, glaring at me.

“ That is the third time just this week, Mr. Jackson. Detention today after school.’’

 She left the already familiar pink slip on my desk and went back to the her desk, I tried to concentrate on the lesson but the dream never reached this far. What was in there? Why dream-me wanted to reach it so badly? And why did I become a freaking merman?

Time skip

“ Could you at least try to not fall asleep every lesson, Seaweed brain?” 

The blonde currently glaring at me is Annabeth. I’ve known her since we were twelve, and she was my girlfriend for two years but we both decided it would be better for us to remain friends.

My name is Percy Jackson. I am a Junior at Half-Blood High school and the captain of the swimming team. If you didn’t realize already from my nickname and my dream, I am an ocean freak, even if my mother is a bit scared for me. She told me that my father used to work on ships and died at sea before I was born. I think she sometimes thinks that it will happen to me too. Even so, after High school I want to study sea creatures and become a marine biologist. But before I bore you anymore with my future plans, It looks like Annabeth has been trying  to catch my attention for a while as she hit me upside the head.

“Aw! What was that for?” From the look she was giving me I knew I was In trouble.

“ You have been staring in space since we left the classroom.”  She turned from me and opened the door of the cafeteria. Have I been lost in thought for that long !? 

“Sorry, Wise girl. Let’s look for the rest of the gang.”

It didn’t take us long to find the rest of the gang, especially with the sound of arguing.

“Look, it’s easy! You have to add to participle passe the suffix for each person!”

“Easy? There is a billion of those! How can anyone remember them!”

Before it could escalate in something worse I stepped in.

“Wow! Both of you calm down! What’s the problem?”

“The problem? The problem is that  this meapilas thinks it’s humanly possible to remember all past  participles. In French.” The Hispanic elf, or Leo, said the last word as If it was a blasphemy.

“ It’s not that hard if you would pay attention. And what did you call me?” that one was Frank, our dear Chinese-Canadian teddy bear.

“A hypocrite, Mr. ’Oh Spanish is too hard and has too many rules’” Leo said in a high pitched voice in an imitation of Frank voice.

“ I do not sound like that!” said he in exactly the  same tone.

“Both of you calm down” as I looked around the table I realized why the argument went on for so long “Hey, where is Hazel?”

Before they could answer, from next to Frank a girl with kaleidoscopic eyes, Piper, spoke up “She is showing two new kids around”

Annabeth frowned from her seat next to mine as we sat down. 

“Shouldn’t that be Will’s job? He is the one that usually shows new kids around.”

“ He was busy with the first aid course so Hazel said she will show them around the school.”

Right as she finished talking from behind me I heard the voice of the youngest from our group.

“ Hey guys! I want you all to meet someone!”

As I turned around, first I saw Hazel, smiling with her golden eyes glowing. On her right there was a girl who looked around our age, with black hair and olive skin. I put on a smile and opened my mouth to great her but I felt my mouth go slack as I looked towards Hazel’s left, where stood someone that for a second I thought it was an angel.

He had hair as dark as night with alabaster skin that seemed to glow and lips looking so, so soft. But his eyes…. His eyes looked like melted chocolate and I felt as if I could drown in them. Before I could continue checking him out I received a sharp elbow in my ribs. I tried not to flinch and glared at the culprit, just to see a pair of stormy grey eyes staring back, making me realize that I got lost in thought once again and that everyone was staring at me.

“Yeah, sorry, got lost in thought.” I turned towards the two stranger to see that they and Hazel had already sat down, maybe Piper invited them, or Leo? “My name is Percy. And you two are?” 

The first one to speak up, I could tell she was a confident and friendly girl “Hi to you too! My name is Bianca DiAngelo and this is my brother Nico” he didn’t say a thing, just gave a tiny wave. “We are from Italy and we moved with our father here a month ago. It’s a pleasure to meet you all!”

Jason was the one that spoke up after that. “The pleasure is ours. So the two of you are from Italy? How it’s like there?”

The rest of the lunch break was spent discussing about Italy and getting to know each other. And let me tell you. Every thing I learnt about the  angel, I mean Nico, made me like him more and more. He was a freshman and into art. His favorite color was black and he hated pomegranates  ,But even so I didn’t found as much as I would like, but I already had an idea to how to make that happen. As lunch finished, I escorted Nico to his new locker. I waited till he took what he needed out before putting my “plan” in action.

“So Nico.” He gave a little hum and turned towards  me with a raised eyebrow. “ I was wondering, since you are new to this town an all, to maybe show you around the city, maybe go to the movies. Or anything else at all, whatever….”

As I rambled on I could see that Nico’s face was darkening even if I didn’t know why, till he suddenly stopped me by raising a hand.

“No.” I was so surprised that I stared gobs smacked  at Nico. “Sorry to announce you Percy but you are not my type.” He turned around and started walking, throwing an “ I’ll see you around” as he went. 

Normally, If this happened to me, I would accept and move on. But as I thought about what he said more I realized there was something more about it, the way he said it not like a dismissal, but more like he was angry for a reason I didn’t know. Kind of like a challenge. I smirked as I looked in the direction Nico went. “Game on DiAngelo”

Time skip

A couple of weeks went by since the DiAngelo sibling arrived. Bianca easily made a lot of new friends and entered the archery club soon after meeting Thalia ,Jason’s older sister, and not long after that they got together. 

Around the same time Piper, as the head of the cheerleaders, started organizing  the Valentine’s day prom. It was an yearly event our school was hosting. I went to the last two with Annabeth  and when we broke up we decided that If by the time the prom rolled around again we didn’t have dates we would go together to avoid any unpleasant situations.

Talking about dates, I didn’t make any progress with Nico. When we spend time one on one all seems okay and he responds to my flirting, but when we are in a group or I ask him out he seem to get angry quickly. I couldn’t understand. What is his problem?

Take today an example. While we were walking towards the cafeteria he laughed at what I was saying and flirted with me, but the second we reached the table he shut up and sat between Hazel and Bianca. Seeing as there weren’t any other places, I sat next to Annabeth. Soon the subject of the prom and dates came up. Piper and Jason were going together, the same with Thalia and Bianca , Hazel and Frank, and Leo and his girlfriend Calypso. 

"So Annabeth" asked Bianca with curiosity on her face " who is your date to the prom?"

" I'm going with Percy like in the last two years. Isn’t that right Percy?"

Annabeth barely looked up from her book about ancient architecture as she was answering, only turning towards me at the end of her question. 

I thought for a bit before answering, realizing that the only person I really wanted to go with would surely refuse If I asked. "Sure, Wise girl, like always"

From the corner of my eye I could swear that I saw Nico frowning but when I turned to check, he was working on something in his sketch book.

Time skip till the prom

Faster than I realized the night of the prom arrived. I picked Annabeth up, with flowers of course, and after dancing to a couple of song and spending time with the gang, she went to find someone and I lost her in the crowd so I ended heading towards the punch bowl, only to find Nico there too, so I headed towards him.

"Hey Nico" In response he nodded towards me. I didn't know why but he seemed to be glaring at me. " What's up?" I said trying to start the conversation "Came with anyone? Are you having fun?"

"Shouldn't you go to your girlfriend?" he spat at me, now full on glaring. I looked at him confused . Who was he talking about? I didn't have a girlfrie....

'Oh!'I said as i realized what he was talking about. "You mean Annabeth?"

He rolled his eyes at me "Who else could I be talking about? How many girlfriends do you have?"

I could feel a spark of hope in my chests. If he thought that Wise Girl was my girlfriend, maybe just maybe.....

"Annabeth is not my girlfriend. We broke up a bit before school started"

Nico spun around with wide eyes. " Do you mean that all those times when you flirted with me and asked me out ....."

" That I was single? It sure does"

Before he could say anything else, a slow song came on, so i turned towards him

"Would you like to dance?"

He took my hand with a small smile and we went on the dance floor. I put my hands around his waist as he puts his around my neck and we started to slowly spin around. Yeah, It's a cliche situation, but, with the dim lights surrounding us, with the music playing slowly and with Nico in my arms? It felt pretty magical. So i did the only thing that would make this unforgettable.

I kissed him. 

I could feel electricity running through every place where we touched. His lips where softer than I could ever imagine and he tasted like dark chocolate. When it ended he put his head on my chest and I rested mine on his.

It was truly a magical night.

"Sooooo, I'm not your type?"

"Shut up Percy!"

"Make me!"

And he did, closing the distance between us once again.