People Meet Percabeth

Peter Castelluci

Peter Castelluci

It was Tuesday, a pretty average day at college. I was sitting in Engineering, copying down notes while the professor talked. It was my third year here, and I was studying to be a mechanic. My friend Leo sat next to me and tinkered with a few spare parts.

A few things you should know about Leo. He has curly black hair and mischievous eyes. He can build or fix ANYTHING! He's at the top of our class, but he's always hyper and energetic, seriously ADHD. He looks so much younger than 21. He also had strange friends with strange nicknames.

One day, I was looking for my phone, so I was scrolling through his contacts to find mine so I could call it. He had contacts like Beauty Queen and Sparky. He lived off-campus, in an apartment with his smoking hot girlfriend who stays home and cooks during the day. I'd seen her a few times when I'd gone over there.

So anyway, we were in class when Leo leaned over and whispered, "do you wanna meet for lunch after? At Lingo's?" Lingo's was a small cafe off campus a little bit. I nodded to him and he grinned.

After class, I met Leo outside of the classroom. We got in my crappy green Subaru that was older than my grandma and I drove to the restaurant. When we got there, it was practically empty. I guess 4 in the afternoon wasn't a popular time. We sat at a table in the corner, far away from a loud group of people who looked about our age.

Leo and I made small talk until the brunette waitress came over.

"Hi, I'm Kate and I'll be your server. Is there anything I can get for y'all today?" She asked us I a Southern drawl. Leo and I both got Coca-Cola's and tacos. Our waitress nodded and left to take the orders of the big group in the corner.

From the looks of it, there was about 9 of them. They were all laughing at a buff Asian dude when the server walked to their table. She introduced herself and they all ordered the same thing. Strange.

"Whatchya starin' at?" Leo asked.

I turned to him and answered, "oh, just that big group in the corner."

He looked at them and his eyes went wide. A smile lit up his face and his eyes glittered mischievously.

"Oh no, do you have a plan?" I said.

"Yes, Leo the Amazing always has a plan. This one, is going to involve those nine people and you." Leo explained to me his plan and I grinned.

"Okay...but I'm pretty sure that's not going to work," I told him.

"Trust me, it will. It was made up by moi! Of course it'll work."

Just then, Kate arrived with our food. She set it down and said, "okay boys, if you need anything, just call me over. Enjoy your food!" Leo flashed her a smile and she winked. Then he realized what he had done,

"Oh my gods, did I just flirt with that waitress?"

"Yeah. I think you did." His face turned pale.

"You do not say one thing to Caly, okay?" He whispered.

"Yup. And by the way, what's with the 'oh my gods' as in plural godS?" I had always wondered why he said that.

"Oh... um. My family is Greek," he stuttered.

"No they're not. You're Spanish."

"Yeah! I'm a double whatever it's called! That makes me twice as hot and twice as desirable!" He winked and I shook my head, laughing.

He chuckled along with me. As his laughter grew louder, his fingers started turning orange. Then, his fingertips burst into flames. The fire spread across his whole body and Leo looked fine, inside of a FLAME! He was burning and he looked fine!

A waiter strolled out of the kitchen holding a plate of nachos. He took one look at Leo on fire and dropped the platter. This got the attention of the group in the corner and they stared at Leo. A blonde guy muttered something that sounded like, "oh no, not again," to a girl with choppy brown hair sitting next to him.

What did he mean, not again? Leo didn't know these people! At least, as far as I knew. Two people from the group got up, sighed and jogged over to Leo. The girl had blonde curls in a ponytail and was wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants. The guy had black hair and was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans.

They both looked about 22, give or take a year. The guy did some gesture with his hand and water came flying out of a glass and splashed onto the flaming Leo. His fire extinguished and he looked at me sheepishly.

"But- you- what?" I stuttered under my breath. A girl with frizzy brown hair came over and muttered, "you didn't see anything." I did- wait, what was I talking about? Leo grinned at me.

"I suppose I should introduce you to my friends," he said. I nodded my head slowly.

"This is Percy and his girlfriend, no fiancée, Annabeth," he pointed out the black haired guy and Blondie. They smiled at me brightly and as she waved, Annabeth's ring shine proudly.

"This is Jason and his girlfriend Piper," he introduced me to the blonde guy and the choppy haired girl, who was actually quite beautiful. The two of them looked about my age, 21.

"Hazel and Frank," he showed me the frizzy haired girl and the buff Asian dude. The girl looked about 19 and the boy was probably our age.

"This is Reyna." A girl with long obsidian hair and a purple t-shirt waved to me. She looked to be 21 as well.

"And Nico," Leo finished. An emo looking guy dressed in all black waved a little. He looked about 19.

"Oh, and you know Calypso, of course." Leo said.

We moved our food to their table and I learned about all of his friends. They were a very interesting group, that was for sure.

Sorry, not much Percabeth. I'm going to start doing a question of the chapter. 1st Question:
In which PJO book does Thalia join the Hunters?