okay, so I lied || a pjo/hoo fanfic

2. The Guest

THALIA

'No, no, no. That's not the right beat, Leo. It's 4 beats per bar not 3. Are you even trying?' I march over to him. His phone chimes again with a new message and I resist the urge to throw it against the garage wall so it shatters to bits.

I clench my fists as Leo gives me an apologetic smile and shrug.

'Sorry, babe. There's just too little of me to go around. You know how the ladies love me,' he winks at me. I feel all the blood rush to my face. I. Am. Going. To. Kill. Him.

I guess Nico reads my mind because just as I'm about to lunge at Leo and rip his stupid curly hair off, he grabs me by the waist and picks me up effortlessly as I struggle and thrash.

'Calm down, Thals. Leo's just gotten on this new dating app. The desperation is just rolling off him in waves these days. Maybe it'll be good for him to not be so lonely and horny all the time,' he grins.

'Hey!' Leo says defensively, getting up and dropping his drumsticks that clatter noisily to the ground, 'Offense taken, muchacho. I don't see anyone lining up to date you either.'

Will laughs silently and tries to hide his face behind his bass, his blond hair flopping down to cover his eyes. I don't get what someone like him is doing in our band, but we needed a bassist and the guy is a musical prodigy. Yes, he totally clashes with the band's aesthetic, but I'm glad Nico knew him.

Nico puts me down and I cross my arms angrily on my chest.

'Leo, what's more important here? Winning this year's Battle of the Bands or some 40-year-old dude catfishing you on a dating app?'

Leo gives me a mischievous grin i definitely do not like.

'Is that a trick question, babe?'

I give him the fakest sweet smile I can muster and say: 'Call me babe one more time, elf boy, and I'll rip your pointy little ears off. Got it?'

I think I've freaked him out a bit as I stomp off to my guitar. Even Will and Nico seem a little scared. Whatever. I'm about to ask to take it from the top when I hear Leo whisper to Will: 'Did she mean like one of Santa's elves?'

I roll my eyes. 'More like one of Satan's elves,' I mumble under my breath.

I hear the doorbell ring and sigh in exasperation .

'I'll be right back. Please, please try to get it together until then.'

I rush out of the garage to the front door. I hear Leo start playing his drums clumsily and yelling "HALF BLOOD HILL". At least he's not on his phone. I hope it's not those girl scouts selling cookies again. I don't have the heart to send them away (yes, I have one of those), but I also don't want ten boxes of thin mints in the house (still trying to lose the last ten pounds I gained so I don't have to buy new clothes).

I look through the peephole and see it's a boy. Frowning, I open the door. He's several inches taller than me, as is everyone, with a quiff of blond hair and glasses.

'Can I help you?' I ask him.

He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. 'Uh, yeah. Thalia Grace?' He asks.

My frown deepens.

'Yeah, that's me.'

'It's me. Jason. Your brother.'

That's when I see it. The electric blue eyes. The straight prominent nose. The scar on his lip from when he tried to eat a stapler as a toddler.

'What..? What are you doing here?' I haven't seen him since our parents' custody battle. He ended up staying with our stupid famous father and I ended up with our bipolar alcoholic mother. Really got the short end of the stick there.