DEMIGODS. (Percico/Pernico)

˚‧º·Chapter Sixteen‧º·˚

I entered the building: a simplistic, inconspicuous place, with plain white walls adorned with pictures of men in expensive, sleek suits with beautiful women hanging over them. I rolled my eyes mentally as I strolled up to the front counter. I already had called a couple of days ago, telling them my dimensions, and my mom already paid with her credit card. I had to do some extra chores around the house, but she had coupons, so it made it cheaper.

The brunette lady at the front desk smiled at me and asked me for my name. I obliged her, and she typed a couple of words quickly onto her keyboard. She tapped her pink, pressed nails on the counter
as she waited. She showed me the design to confirm it, and I nodded.

"Perfect," she said. "I will get that for you."

She turned, her hair flipping slightly, and ventured in the back, only to return a moment later with a translucent bag with an elegant suit inside. I took a second to admire it. It was a pristine black with a light green tie, which my mom said was "mint green" and "matched my eyes". I still don't understand women and their coordination skills, but I went with it, hoping Nico would be impressed. I wanted to look the best I ever looked on prom night for him. I was more excited for prom than I should have been. If my behavior was girly, I didn't care. I was allowed to be excited without criticizing myself.

I thanked her, and carefully held up my suit as I walked out the door to Baby Blue. I unlocked the door with my key, placed my suit in the back, and climbed inside. Prom was coming up quickly, only in a little under a week, and I wanted everything to go right. If anything, I felt a strange combination of anxiety and excitement since it was so close.

I headed to the mall to get some hair gel and some dress shoes, maybe stop by a flower shop and get Nico a boutonnière, one that would match his suit. He said his tie was red (Nico didn't want to match, because he still wasn't out of the closet yet), so I would get him a rose and some of those white filler flowers my mom called "baby's breath". I didn't understand why the floral industry decided to call it that; it was a strange name for some little flowers.

I searched for a parking spot at the mall. It was packed with teenagers' cars, spending the afternoon there for the mere fun of it or for frantic, last-minute preparations for prom. I was the latter.

I finally found a spot around the middle of the parking lot and locked my car, making my way to the entrance. I didn't go to the mall often, so I checked the map near the food court where all the stores were located.

"Hey, Percy!" called a familiar voice from behind me.

I looked over my shoulder to see who said my name, only to see Jason waving at me. I waved him over to me, and he obeyed.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Oh, y'know, prom stuff," he answered, his hands anchored in his blue-and-white letterman jacket pockets.

"Same. Who're you going with?"

"Oh, Piper," he said.

"Why not Reyna?"

"Oh, well, she already had a date. Some guy in prom committee."

"Which one?"

"Dakota, I think."

"Oh, cool. So, wanna come with me?"

"What do you need?"

"I need some dress shoes, some hair gel, and a boutonnière for Nico."

"What color is his suit?"

"He has a red tie, he told me, so red. Probably a rose."

Jason nodded. "Sounds good. I think Piper's dress is maroon, so I could get her a rose corsage, too."