Goode Rivalry || Demigods in High School Mortal AU

Chapter 27 || We Ain't Nothing But Mammals

Nico Di Angelo, October 7, 8:00 PM

If this is a cliche, I don't fucking care. But I know my cousin. I know his usual hoodies, baggy jeans, and obsession over graffiti-style clothing. I also know his sports obsession, his Eminem obsession, and his fuck-boy syndrome, which I want to hate but I can't. But there's something different in the air.

Though, it doesn't seem like an obsession. Percy already has enough of those. He's already spent so much of Uncle P's money on stupidly exclusive jerseys and hoodies or signed basketballs people sell on eBay. And that shit costs a lot.

Let's back up.

1. Why am I seeing Percy? 2. Why the hell do I know something's up? Yeah, whatever questions you're thinking, just be fucking patient. If you think I'm impatient, just wait until you see Thalia. She can be a real monster.

Well, Percy, Thalia, and I all meet up a ton already, but we specifically stay longer during the weeks of fall, winter, and spring break. Our parents are all super busy and basically don't care about us, since we're all 'old enough to take care of ourselves,' so we kinda have to rely on each other.

Thalia goes to some fancy school in the big city, which is just a few minutes of a walk away from Goode High. I'm in some weird boarding school situation where I go to school near the coast during the fall, near the city in the winter, then back at the coast during the spring. I used to go to Coastline, but my older sister Bianca did this program and apparently she convinced my dad to sign me up, too.

Bianca's never really been my type of person though. I could see why she liked this program because of all the talking and the smiling, but Bianca also wears lace and carries aesthetically-pleasing tote bags. If I switched my Queen shirts with her Beatles ones, she would have a mental breakdown with a matcha in hand. Yeah. She has what I like to call it-girl-syndrome. Oh, and there's Thalia.

Thalia is probably the only person who can fight Uncle Z. Though, if she weren't his daughter, he would've murdered her at this point. He was also considering signing Thals up for the program, but she's got a heart of steel and a lightning grip, so when she started threatening to take his priceless paintings and graffiti them, he let go. As for Uncle P? Well, Percy doesn't really follow the rules anyway, so there's not much of a point in that.

For the kids of three wealthy businessmen, we definitely weren't the most... rule-following kids. I'm more speaking about Percy and Thalia, since I've been pretty good with rules for most of my life, but it's pretty hard to match their energy.

Though, this Annabeth girl may be the only person who may be able to... I thought. 

"Nico?" Thalia waved a hand in front of my face. "For fuck's sake, stop spacing out and help us already! We need to set up the sleeping bags outside!"

"Why don't we just sleep in the living room? Or, better yet, just at our own house?" I groaned.

"Piper invited us for a sleepover and I intend to beat Percy in his stupid games. Because this bitch doesn't lose to anyone, especially him," Thalia snapped back. "Now, will you please help me get these sleeping bags and your ass outside?"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed two, tucking them under my arm. "Fine, fine. Jesus, woman. Calm your tits." I mock gasped. "Wait, you don't have any."

Thalia shot me a dirty glare. "Wow, Nico. So nice. Don't act like you know what hot tits look like. You don't even like women."

"Will has better tits than you," I responded confidently. "It's either big or flat."

"Why are you two talking about tits?" Percy's voice came from behind me. He was wearing an extremely weirded out face.

"Percy. Big tits or small tits?" Thalia immediately asked.

"Wha--"

"No, that's not the question!" I whined. "Big tits or no tits?"

"That's not even a correct question!" Thalia shot back.

"Yes, it is!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not--"

"You guys are turning into Annabeth and Percy!" the Asian dude, Frank, was walking down the stairs, fingers plugged in his ears.

At the mention of 'Annabeth,' Percy's eyes widened and he immediately sprinted outside, snatching both of my sleeping bags in his speedy escape. Thalia and I shared a glance and Frank sighed, shaking his head.

"You don't wanna know," he grumbled, grabbing a sleeping bag off the couch and dragging it outside.

We met all of them by the fireplace, where we were setting up a nice little pizza area. Percy had gone inside for something, presumably something rebellious, and Annabeth was nowhere to be seen.

Percy Jackson, October 7th, 8:30 PM

I reached for the alcohol, only to realize that we didn't have any shot glasses. Shit! How are we gonna play Never Have I Ever the RIGHT way without alcohol? I glanced over at the storage room. While it was highly unlikely someone had brought shot glasses, there was always a chance. I pushed past the weird, orange-colored broom leaning against the wall next to the door and tried to get the door unlocked.

"Seriously?" I grumbled.

"Need a little help?" a voice I hadn't heard in ages asked.

Annabeth strode over to the door and began to jiggle the knob. 

I chuckled. "You really think you're smart enough to unlock the door?"

"I'm pretty sure they keep it locked for a reason," she muttered. "And yes, I'm smart enough to unlock your brain, if you had one."

"Ouch." I smiled. "Were you the typical middle school bully?"

"Oh, shut up, dumbass." Annabeth whacked me in the shoulder and opened the door.

The minute she did, I shoved her inside and slammed the door behind us, causing her to yelp. I laughed at her scared expression and she slapped my arm.

"You're an idiot, Percy Jackson!" she laughed. "Why would you do that?"

"You're always cuter when you're scared."

We both stared at each other in the darkness. I turned away and began to scan the shelves.

"Extra batteries, extra lightbulbs, oh, some weed... aha!" I tapped the top of the box triumphantly. "Shot glasses!"

"Great." Annabeth started for the door. "Let's get out of here. It's kinda stuffy."

The door didn't open. She frowned, jiggling the knob. "It's stuck."

I peered closer. "What the fuck? It doesn't lock from the inside."

"Fuck!" Annabeth banged her fists against the door. "SOMEONE GET US OUT! LET US OUT! LET. US. OUT! AT LEAST LET ME OUT!"

"Wow, I see your priorities," I muttered.

A/N: this is kinda a short chappie, so I'm sorry, but I also have a lot of shit going on right now for the week, so I'll not really be updating much!