The End of an Olympian

14 | Magic Sprite

A/N: This chapter has some suggestive themes and mentions alcohol a lot. Nothing explicit is written or described, but proceed with caution.
If uncomfortable, this chapter can be skipped entirely.

Too soon, Apollo and Hermes showed up. They came early to see their kids. And I suspected they preplanned our night out as a cover to visit camp. I can't blame them and actually admire them for making the effort. Zeus was still a dick about the whole "Gods should not interfere with mortals even if they are our children" thing. But once night fell, we departed and headed into the city.

910 words

Percy

"Dude! Chill out! We'll just go in, dance a little, meet some people, have a good time, then get out. No sweat!"

Apollo's blinding smile did not reassure me in the slightest. Nor did the mischief Hermes had in his eyes.

"We already told you, you can get a nonalcoholic drink. And even if you do drink a real drink you'll barely feel it."

A deep sigh was followed by, "Fine. Let's go in."

In truth, I didn't mind. Parties were fun, I just didn't like to drink. I had on a tight fitted shirt and casual jeans with a leather jacket and Italian shoes. Not many people wore this style anymore, but Aphrodite told me I still made it work even if it was technically out of fashion. My hair was well styled, yet just messy enough to be on brand for me. Godhood gave me a natural glow and perfect skin (save the scars I chose to keep).

As expected, we were head turners. If people didn't try to sneak a look at one of us, I'd be surprised. As soon as we entered, Apollo and Hermes shot off to dazzle the ladies. I chose to get a ginger ale, which is nonalcoholic, from the bar. A woman with a very revealing top strode up next to me.

"Hey there, handsome." She winked.

Not wanting to be rude, I smiled back. "Hi. Can I help you?"

She batted her eyes. "That depends. You like what you see?"

The suggestive nature of her question was not lost on me. But to spare her feelings, I pretended they were.

"Yes, the bar is nicely designed. Their display of liquors is extensive. The lights feature them well. And this is one of the cleaner clubs I've been in."

She not-so-gracefully took the hint as she knocked my glass out of my hand and spilled it on the floor. I managed to push the liquid away from me with my powers, so at least my outfit wasn't ruined.

Before I could ask the bartender for another, Hermes spun me around. Before me stood three women in between two annoying gods.

"This is my friend Percy. Percy, meet Britney, Britany, and Brittany."

They all waved suggestively while synchronously saying, "Hey." It was honestly kinda creepy.

"Britney is with me," Apollo announced as he and the girl closest to him walked away.

"And Britnay with me," Hermes said. "But Brittany would love to join you." He pushed the middle girl my direction as he left with the other.

Brittany held one of the two drinks she held out to me. "They said you don't drink. Shame, but here's a sprite."

Her nonchalance seemed a little too forced, but I didn't sense any poison in the drink, so I took it.

"Thank you." An awkward pause. Then, "Would you like to dance?"

"Sure," she said.

So we both headed to the dance floor and actually had a good time. The music was too loud for a conversation, but we wouldn't have been talking much anyway.

As the night went on, Brittany and I had split apart; however, I found a few other dance partners to occupy my time.

I don't remember when, but my head started feeling very fuzzy. I couldn't understand why, though, because I hadn't consumed any alcohol all night. I only had the one sprite actually and nothing tasted funny about it. It wasn't until Apollo and Hermes came over that I realized what had happened.

"Isn't this better?" The god of the sun chorused.

"W-what are you," my vision unfocused for a second, "talking about?" I questioned.

The god of thieves laughed obnoxiously. "Relax, man. We just spiked the sprite! No big deal. It'll just loosen you up."

Unfortunately, I had to admit I felt less tense. Yet I also felt out of control of my emotions. And I didn't trust my judgement either.

"Are you fucking with me right now?!" I hissed at them.

"Don't be mad, cuz. We did it to help you get out of your own way. It's a potion Hecate made to get gods drunk quickly. Can't even taste it. You'll thank us," Apollo winked.

My anger was just barely contained. I wanted to punch those two senseless. The only thing that stopped me was the little voice in the back of my head reminding me that that was exactly what I wanted to avoid. I didn't want to get violent and prove I was just like my first step-father.

Instead, I stormed out of the club. Not really paying attention to where I was going, I found myself at a small fountain. Cupping some of the water in my hands, I purified it and took a sip. Doing this a few more times reduced the pounding in my brain and washed away most of the potion's effects, but I still felt unbalanced and unfocused. Plus, I had no idea how long the impairments would last or if there were side effects that had yet to present themselves. This was only a temporary fix.

Seeing no other option and not wanting to put others in danger should I loose my cool, I decided to just hide in my room at my palace. So I quickly flashed there as I quietly fumed over Apollo and Hermes's actions. I hoped gods couldn't get magical hangovers from potions that get you drunk. That would suck.