νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 2-29: I am NOT party rockin' rn

TEMPEST

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There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian.

I've been to my fair share of parties, but this was like- wow. The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up.

Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm- his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"

Most of the gods were paying attention to Percy and congratulating him for his heroics or whatever. I didn't want anyone to notice my deadness, but... well, I was really jealous. I was on the quest, too. I helped save Anne and Artemis. I held up the sky. The closest I got to a congratulations was some guy walking around with a plate of ambrosia-topped crab cakes. He tried to say I wasn't allowed to have one, but a slightly menacing expression made him change his mind.

I will say one thing; I am very glad Melinoe resides in the Underworld, so I didn't have to face her. Apate was no where to be seen, but she might have been at the party. She can disguise herself as anything she wants. For all I know, the crab cake guy was actually my mom. But, if she was there, she didn't try to talk to me.

The party was fun, but I was slowly starting to get disgusted with how many people were talking to Percy. It was driving me insane. The least they could do was give me a sticker of acknowledgement. But noooooooo. Percy gets all the glory.

I found a quiet spot next to some rocks, on the edge of Olympus where no one was really going. I stood in front of a temple, and looking at the banners on it and the smell of roses, I realized it was Aphrodite's. I frowned, thinking about that awful memory in her car.

My hand drifted to my pocket, finding the sea shell she'd given me. I pulled it out, admiring it. It was just so very normal. Fragile, too. I guess all my hard work and bouncing around did some damage, since there was a small chip in it now. But, it added to the charm. I'm glad it's not a magical shell or anything. It's magical in the fact that it's normal, I think. I don't get to have normal things a lot.

Touching the shell made me think of Annabeth, suddenly, and how scared I was when I thought she was about to join the Hunters. I thought Artemis was gonna ask her. She's smart and skilled, and already has a really uptight, bitchy demeanor like all those girls do. I think she'd have been a good lieutenant.

Then why did it hurt so bad to think about?

"I know who you're thinking about."

I turned my head, seeing Aphrodite herself strolling up to me. Her resemblance to Anne was really beginning to bother me. She stood next to me, similar in height to Anne, actually, which made the whole situation worse. She was admiring the shell in my hand and grinning. "It's nice, isn't it?"