haunting ＊ percy jackson

xiii. percy takes a dip

Annabeth was surprisingly easy to convince when it came to them taking advantage of the LotusCash cards. Maybe it had something to do with the quest and how draining it had been for them all — it was a well-needed break — but Amos secretly thought it had something to do with her finally taking a break. For as long as he'd known of her around camp, Annabeth had always had a reputation for being the responsible one, always ready to take charge. Even on the quest, for the most part, when they needed someone to steer them in the right direction, the three boys knew they could look to Annabeth for the right answer. He hadn't realized it until she had excitedly agreed to join them in the arcade, but it must've been exhausting, having that constant weight on her shoulders. She deserved to enjoy just being a kid for once, they all did.

Amos had never really been to an arcade before, but the Lotus Casino was really exceeding his expectations. The four had tried to stick together, but then Annabeth set her eyes on this architecture game, and Percy wandered over to more physical games, and before they knew it they were all separated.

As he wandered, Amos did what he did best and blended in with the crowd. It was strange, being avoided again. Amos had gotten so used to Percy seeking him out and the company Annabeth and Grover provided that he almost forgot what it felt like to be ignored once more. If he were someone else, accustomed to different things, Amos might've been hurt by this, the natural aversion most people seemed to have for him. Now though, it almost felt weirdly normal, like this was the way things were supposed to be. It was sort of like slipping on an old sweater, the fabric worn but soft, and the warmth expected.

He weaved through the crowd effortlessly, people subtly moving out of his way without realizing it. Maybe I should look into if there's a god of ignored people, Amos thought to himself, Pretty sure that's my only natural talent. He fiddled with the plastic LotusCash card absentmindedly, looking for any game that caught his eye, but truthfully they were all just too flashy for him. They were overstimulating, with bright colorful lights and obnoxiously loud noises.

Amos stared at one of the games for a moment — one of those stupid shooting ones about hunting ghosts or zombies judging by the gruesome art flashing on the screen — when a boy bumped into him. The boy, who must've been only a couple of years younger than Amos barreled past him, laughing and yelling out an obviously false apology as he headed towards some sort of card game tournament.

"Nico!" A girl shouted, trying to run after him but slowed to a stop as she neared Amos, panting with her brows furrowed in frustration. Her voice had a light accent, though he couldn't quite place from where, and she seemed unamused, as though she had been chasing the boy for some time. "I'm so sorry," She told Amos. The girl looked to be around his age, with dark hair pulled back and a floppy green hat atop her head. Frankly, her clothes looked like they had seen better days, and they were strangely outdated, not super obviously, but enough for Amos to get a strange feeling in the back of his mind, like something wasn't quite right. "My little brother's a handful, I swear he's usually not this rude."

Amos blinked in surprise. Honestly, he didn't think it was such a big deal, though it did surprise him that both kids weren't avoiding him. He gave her an awkward smile, "Oh uh, don't worry about it." His eyes darted to where the boy had run off too. It was an amusing sight, to say the least, this young boy playing cards with a bunch of older teenagers — and judging by the way the teens around the boy seemed to grow angrier, winning said card game. "You should maybe go get him though," He pointed his finger to where the boy was just a couple of yards away, oblivious to the growing frustration of the other players. "Those other kids don't look too happy."