A Love Like War (A Heroes of Olympus love story)

Chapter 6

• Percy's POV •

     The last bell rang to dismiss us to leave, and I walked through the crowd of rushing students to get to the front. I stood awkwardly by the bike racks and pulled out my phone so I didn't look weird standing alone. I texted my mom,

     I'm going to my friend, Jason's house to work on a project for science. I'll be home around 5:00

     Message sent. About a minute later, I saw Jason trotting over to me.

     "Sorry, my teacher held our class a minute after the bell. 'The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do.'" He imitated in a high pitched voice.

     "Wow, I hate that. I mean, then what the hell is the bell for?" I added.

     "Exactly!!" Jason agreed. "But anyway, my car is over there." He pointed somewhere in front of us.

     "Where's Thalia?" I asked, looking behind him.

     "Oh, she's going over to Annabeth's." He informed.

     I nodded and started to follow Jason into the parking lot. His car was decent. Just a black 2005 Toyota Camry with a little scratches here and there. He unlocked the vehicle and I sat in the front passenger seat. Inside it smelt of lemons, and suffocating heat filled the atmosphere. Jason hopped into the drivers seat and put the keys in. As the car turned on, loud death-metal blasted from his stereo, causing me to jump a little.

     "Sorry," Jason said loudly as he changed the station. "Thal demands that we play 'her music' when she's in the car."

     I nodded. "Okay, makes sense now."

      "Yup." Jason put the car on reverse and started to leave the parking lot. To be honest, he wasn't the "best driver". But I'd give him a C+. The car ride wasn't that long, but it was pretty quiet.

     We pulled up on his driveway, and his house is two story, it was painted a faded green, and there were no other cars in the driveway.

     "Ah, I think my mom's at work or something." He said.

     We got out of the car and Jason opened his front door with his keys. Inside, it smelt of apple pie. It was fairly clean and plain, and the walls were painted a vibrant lime green.

     "You want anything to drink or something? My mom made apple pie." Jason suggested.

     "Um, I'll think I'll just have some water." I said.

     Jason walked over to the fridge and tossed me a cold water bottle. I thanked him and he headed for the stairs. I quietly followed him to his room.

     "So, where are ya from?" Jason asked as he closed his bedroom door.

     "Um, why'd you close the door?" I asked curiously.

     Jason shrugged. "I just like keeping my door closed."

     "Oh. And I'm from New York, but I had to move down here to Florida because of my mom's job."

     "Cool, what does your mom do?" He sat on his unmade bed.

     "She wanted to open a restaurant." I walked over to Jason's desk full of miscellaneous things and sat cross-legged in his rolling chair. "Its over by Clearwater Beach."

     "What's it called?" He asked.

     "Cap'n Sally's, I think."

     "Oh! I think I've been there! The lobster mac 'n cheese is so good!" Jason said.