Lucy

Chapter Nine

Percy had been given a room on the first floor, down a hallway that he hadn't noticed, near Lucy's office, probably so that she could keep an eye on him, wouldn't want him walking off somewhere again. Percy didn't know where else to go, so he stayed in the room he was given and tried to sleep. Instead, he ended up staring at the ceiling for hours, overthinking. 

Angie would be worried, looking for him. He didn't know the exact time or even day, but he knew he had missed a lot of school. Did it matter? He probably wasn't going back. He had no tears left to cry about it, that horrible room had drained him emotionally and physically. 

Percy thought about Lucy's hand on his, how soft and comforting the gesture was, it seemed very unlike her. It was embarrassing to be seen in such a state by someone he hardly new, let alone a goddess such as Lucy. She had been quick to let go of his hand as soon as they'd gotten out of the memory. 

There was a loud knock at the door, a grunt followed.

"Food in the dining hall," The gruff voice said, Percy listened as heavy steps faded away and then he stood. He had no idea where the dining hall was. Percy crossed the large, mostly empty room and opened the door, looking both ways, the man who had knocked on the door was turning left down the hallway, Percy thought maybe he was going to the dining hall too. He followed the man a fair distance behind as they walked past Lucy's office to the stairs that led down to the lobby.

The floor was busy, there were people everywhere, they were slightly transparent, and most were in some state of distress. A little girl in a pink polka dot dress ran up to him.

"Where's my mummy?" She asked. The girl had to be about 4 years old.

"I...I don't know" Percy stammered, this girl had died somehow and must've been here alone "why don't you go ask the lady at the counter where to go?" Percy knelt to her level and pointed to administration. The little girl ran in the direction he pointed, bouncing along the floor carelessly. Percy hoped he'd helped her. 

He looked around, the man he'd been following was long gone. To the left of the staircase was a large pair of double doors. Percy walked toward it, there was a gold sign bolted to the right door. It read:

Dining Hall. Permanent Residents Only.

Percy wasn't a permanent resident (at least not yet), but he had been told to come here, so he pushed one of the heavy doors open.

The hall was magnificent. There was a huge chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, directly below it was a massive oak dining table, it could easily seat 100. There were at least 30 people already seated and eating. All of them were quiet when Percy entered. 

Lucy was sitting at the head of the table, in the tallest oak chair. She had been quietly thinking to herself until Percy entered, when she looked up their eyes met for just a moment, her brilliant blue eyes stared, unblinking, into his. He couldn't understand her emotions, she was completely closed off. Lucy looked back down at her food and ignored his presence. 

Everyone in the room aside from Lucy was a man, a leather-clad, tattooed, scary-looking man. Clav sat to the right of Lucy, the spot to her left was empty, but Percy didn't think she would appreciate it if he sat there. 

"Over ere boy! come pop a squat next to papa" Clav laughed "Giddian will move won't ya buddy?"  The scarred man that had brought Percy here, Giddian, was very unhappy about having to move. Percy didn't want him to anyway, he would've been glad to sit by himself at the end of the table. But Clav had already forced Giddian to move, he must have higher power over the gang, considering he sat to the right of Lucy. Besides, judging by the way that Lucy looked at Giddian, he was in trouble, most likely for bringing Percy here for a stupid reason and disrupting her normal life.

The seat beside Clav was vacant, and Percy didn't want to be rude, so he made his way to the seat, everyone but Lucy watched as he did so, snickering and whispering. Percy sat, and for the first time, looked at what they were eating.

"Pizza?" Percy said to himself. It was from Dairios, a well-known spot in New York. Percy almost laughed. 

"Somethin wrong with pizza?" Clav said, shoving a large slice into his face and chewing with his mouth open.

"No," Percy said, Clav nodded and chucked a slice of ham and pineapple pizza on the plate in front of him. Percy began to quietly pick at his food, taking the pieces of ham off and eating bits of pineapple by themselves. Then he ate the now plain cheese pizza slice, chewing with his mouth closed. 

"You're a neat little fella, mind if I take that ham?" A guy to his left asked, he was bald, with tattoos covering every inch of scalp he had. Percy shook his head and pushed his plate to the left. There was no food left, it had already been half gone when Percy had entered, he wasn't that hungry anyway. For a few minutes, Percy quietly observed Lucy and the men in the room. The men lived up to their name, they acted like hounds, yelling, eating fast and messily, throwing things, fighting. Only Lucy remained quiet, having hardly eaten (did she even need to eat?). She stared at the wall with a neutral expression, only speaking when Clav addressed her.

Percy cleared his throat and thought about how to ask the question that occupied his mind.

"Lucy?" He started tentatively.

Lucy looked at him, her hair fell from her shoulder when she did, Percy was silent for a moment as he watched her move, everything more graceful than he could ever be. Lucy's raised an eyebrow, waiting. Percy pulled himself together.

"How long will I be staying here?" He said. At that question, every head at the table turned to see Lucy's reaction. They didn't seem to know why he was here either. Lucy's face remained completely calm, but her eyes seemed angry. They seared into Percy's head until he felt guilty for even opening his mouth. Then she smiled, it was not a kind smile.

"Not much longer" Lucy raised her delicate hand and clicked her fingers together, the sound they made emanated throughout the hall. A second later, there was only darkness. Was he dead? He seriously regretted speaking now.

***

Lucy took Percy to the front of the house she had seen him entering a few days ago, Percy would see that if he opened his eyes. She waited impatiently for him to figure out he wasn't dead, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes. She was unbelievably angry, at Percy and at herself. Nobody, not even her, knew why Percy was still with her. The whole situation would be a lot easier if she could kill him, and yet, here she was, setting him free.

Percy finally opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He let out a breath he was holding in and took a few more deep ones. Percy looked at Lucy guiltily, he was an inch or two taller than her, and yet he managed to look smaller. His pretty brown-green eyes were only taking her off the edge, she didn't understand anything that was happening, she wasn't in control anymore.

Before she knew what she'd done, Percy was holding his face. She'd slapped him, not horribly hard, but she'd slapped him nonetheless. She felt bad instantly, of course, she would never say that.

"Don't ever question me in front of my men again," Lucy said, she didn't sound nearly as scary as she was trying to be. She still scared him though. Slowly, he adjusted his glasses and looked at her once again. She saw in his eyes that he was thinking about who she was, the living embodiment of pain and death, someone much more powerful than him. 

"I'm sorry," He said. Percy didn't look down when he apologized this time, he looked her straight in the eyes. Lucy had no idea why he was doing this, but it made her angry. She took a step closer to him, they were inches apart and he wasn't backing down, she still couldn't kill him. They looked into each other eyes until she couldn't anymore. She looked up at the sky instead. 

"Just go" Lucy huffed. 

"Thank you, Lucy" Percy walked past her slowly and Lucy watched him go.

She sighed, she hated the fact that she wanted him to stay.