Ship in a Bottle

Covering the Chicken's Chest (Elegantly, of course)

It was awkward walking into the department store with one goal in mind: To buy the weirdest bra in the store. There were polka-dotted ones all around him, but he couldn't stare at them for more than a second. He was embarrassed out of his mind, and the rest of them could sense that.

"It's all a part of the test," Hazel claimed. "Don't worry Percy, we're on your side. You'll do great."

"I only have to do it once, right?" Percy questioned hesitantly.

Hazel nodded. "Yeah. Make sure you find a funny one, though. Make them regret ever beating us at State Basketball last year."

"They won't see it coming," Leo snickered, patting Percy's shoulder soothingly. "I wish we could post it on our socials, but then we'd get busted for sure. They're such buzzkills."

"Doing their job isn't being a buzzkill," Annabeth scowled. "Never mind that, Percy. Which are you thinking about using?"

There was one at the corner of his eye, but he could barely stand the sight of it before cringing out of his skull.

"Looks like he found one," Jason tore it off the rack, revealing a bra with Madonna's face painted against both of the cups. "Oh, you made the right decision. This will send Einstein Sr. High spiraling into madness for sure."

Jason tossed it onto the checkout counter, making sure everyone had their disguises on before handing the cashier his twenty-dollar bill. He shot the group a questioning glance, so Jason cleared his throat. "It's for my girlfriend's gag gift for her birthday. It's coming up."

The cashier scanned it, uncomfortably handing him the bag filled with the contents. "Have a nice day, sir. Tell your girlfriend happy birthday for me."

"Oh, I will," Jason winked at the cashier before grabbing the bag and racing out of the doors. Percy was cracking up with laughter at the encounter, and so was everybody else.

"We could be doing drugs, but instead we're buying Madonna bras at the store," Leo chuckled proudly. "I love us."

"It's hard not to," Jason beamed, the bag flying through the air as he skipped along the sidewalk. "So, Percy, how are you feeling about all this? Nervous? Excited?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't know, Jason. I guess we'll see when we pull up to the school."

"That's fair," Jason pursed his lips. "For the record, you were at home when the vandalizing all happened. So were the rest of us. That's our alibi."

"They'll never suspect that it's us," Leo guffawed. "The school just thinks we're a bunch of misfits and nerds who occasionally speak to each other. They have no idea just how evil we can be."

"Let me hear your evil laugh!" Hazel and Leo began cackling maniacally, their mouths hanging open as they erupted into giggles.

Percy stared at those two, genuinely amused at their actions. He observed that those two were different in so many ways, yet they seemed to get along so carelessly. Leo could be a genius at times, and Hazel was a genius almost always, but they could always help each other in some ways. But only platonically, of course. Everyone knew Hazel had it hot for Frank.

He blanked out for the rest of the walk, his eyes focused on no particular point. He missed Estelle, he missed his father... He just felt so alone, even though he clearly wasn't. Deep down, Percy began to realize that his new friends would be there with him along the road of recovery. It was a newfound feeling, one that brought him peace.

"We're here!" Jason shouted, shaking Percy out of his trance. "Remember, Percy, when you put the bra on the chicken, you have to stuff it so it has a little bit of nipple."

Percy sucked in a breath. "What does that even mean?"

Jason grinned, pulling a wad of crushed tissues from his sweatshirt pocket. "Here you go, man. Just make the chicken as feminine as possible. Have a little fun with it."

Percy approached the chicken statue, and somehow caught a face on it. It resembled the man he despised: Smelly Gabe. Percy brought out the Madonna bra from Jason's bag and pinned the bra to the chicken without hesitation.

"Stuff it! Stuff it! Stuff it!" The group chanted, egging Percy on as he stuffed the bra full of the tissues.

The chicken looked insane, and the group immediately cracked up at the sight before pulling out their phones to take pictures.

"Hey! Intruders!" A man called from the school building, pushing open the doors as he began to sprint towards them.

"Ah, shit!" Jason cursed. "Scatter!"

That they did. Percy was a pretty fast runner, so he led the way as they continued their mad dash back home. The man only chased them so far before giving up.

They paused at a corner of the street to catch their breath. "Man, that was amazing," Leo grinned ear-to-ear.

"We've never been caught before," Hazel clutched her stomach as she burst into giggles. "Why did that feel so good?"

"I don't know," Percy answered, his own laughing fit taking over him. It felt good to be having fun after his loss. Maybe the road to recovery wouldn't take as long as he thought.

Jason placed his hand on Percy's shoulder before staring at his ocean eyes. "I think it's safe to say that Percy is now officially our newest member. All who agree, say I."

"I!" The entire group shouted, raising their fists in the air to cheer Percy on.

Jason's lips tugged into a smile. "Motion carried."

I'd like to thank @d3d-ish for getting me back into writing this story. (I'll be honest I just started this chapter today) Thank you so much for inspiring me to finish this. I'll never forget you <3