In between my heroes

Chapter 2

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock beeping. Time for work. The rest of Friday had gone by without much bother until I had been nicely tucked up in my warm bed once again. "Percy! Turn that damned thing off. Just because you have to go to work on a Saturday morning doesn't mean I do!" shouted Annabeth from her room. I promptly did as she said and got changed in work appropriate clothes. Grabbing my keys and my wallet, I raced out the door realising I might be a little late. Oh well. The cafe wasn't that far from my apartment, about a fifteen minute walk, but I was in a hurry so I took the subway. In no time at all I was putting on my apron and serving the first few customers of the day.

"See anything you like, miss?" I ask to a regular already knowing what she would order.

"Oh yes deary, I'll have a black coffee, beans on toast and-"

"A slice of vanilla cake to take away." I cant help but finish. She smiled and nodded as I walk towards the counter to gather her order. When I return I notice there's been a sudden rush of people and I quickly serve four different tables before approaching the last one. Sat down at it are two men wearing big biker jackets with the kind of demeanor that would make even a pro-wrestler wet his pants. "Hello sirs, you see anything you like?" I asked politely like I do with all the cafe's customers. One of them looked up at me with a grin that made my skin crawl as his eyes unashamedly roamed up my body. "Yes," he drawled, " I do...You."

I immediately felt uncomfortable,"Um. Sorry sir, I meant do you like anything on the menu." I corrected although I was aware of how weak and shaky my voice sounded. He laughed as he stood up and came closer to me, his hot breath unwanted on my exposed neck. "Well, I'm sure such a treat like you has got to be on the menu. How else are people supposed to get a taste of that sweet, alluring, heart-shaped ass of yours?" I continued to back up until I jumped at the contact of anther person behind me. The other biker. "Waiters really aren't on the menu..." I squeaked desperately trying to escape the prison of bodies.

The next few seconds were a blur. They were still in the cafe, in total view of everyone but the men didn't care. The only thing they cared about was the helpless beauty in between them. Hands touched my backside as the first man licked along my neck. I yelped at the hand groping my butt as the pressure was increased. "I'm pretty sure the punk said no." grunted a new voice, even with the rough tone I could tell it was female. The touches stopped long enough for the men to get a glimpse of the intruder. A tall girl with stringy brown hair carrying a spear and wearing a camouflage-coloured mask. Wait, mask? "Move it, kid. We're busy here." one of the bikers declared before turning back to my neck. As his teeth clamped down on my skin I couldn't help the cry that escaped my lips. And then it just stopped. They were all over me one second and the next they were held at the point end of what now looked very much like an electric spear. "I don't usually let people get away with an act like that but for the benefit of those gathered around us, I don't want this to get ugly." You could clearly tell that this person was reluctant to say that and had trouble delivering the line, obviously she wished a far worse fate for those two men.

Looking closer to the girl I could start to see resemblances and the familiarity of someone I've seen before. The spear came to my mind - no, the electric spear and then the authoritative voice plus the mask... I gasped in my realisation but luckily not loud enough to revert the attention back to me. "War Princess." I muttered under my breath. The bikers didn't seem make the connection or seem to be getting the message. Or worse, they did know who she was but were stupid enough to challenge her still. "Yeah, yeah. Keep waving that pointy stick at me. You do know anyone can get a fancy costume and play dress up." snickered the more burly of the blokes. Before I could even warn them to not provoke the girl, she made a hard jab hitting the guy in the guts and sent him spiraling onto the other man. They didn't even get time to recover before she grabbed their heads and clunked them together. "Now scram before I decide that I can actually be bothered to deal with you." Wisely the two she'd been addressing scrambled as quick as possible out of the cafe, looking exactly like squealing schoolgirls as they left.

"Um, thanks." I said awkwardly. She turned and gave me a short look-over before pulling up a chair and making herself comfortable on the same table I had been about to wait. Not really wanting to think much about what just happened, I proceeded to ask her order. War Princess gave the menu a quick glance and then grunted a 'no'. I wasn't really sure why she'd sat down but I wasn't about to question the superhero who had just gotten rid of those ugly brutes. "Listen here," the hero began, not even caring about the load of other customers listening in and taking videos, "err, whats ya name?"

"Percy." I answered.

"Prissy?"

"No. It's Percy."

"Sissy?"

"It's Percy."

"Well I think that Prissy sounds better. Anyway, you gotta not let any punks do that sorta stuff again. There might not always be a hero 'round to save you. Plus, you can't let any of those pervs think it's something they're allowed to do." I nodded absentmindedly not really taking in the warning but instead focusing on the numerous camera lenses pointed our way. "Yes, I understand." I told her in a voice that sounded a lot like one I would use on my mother. The brown haired girl just raised her eyebrows and pushed the chair back so that it scraped across the floor. "Whatever, Prissy." she snorted as she walked out the cafe followed by a dozen fans.

What the hell just happened? I could still feel the touch and the bruises of the hickeys on my neck. Wait - there is more than one? I inwardly groaned and tried to conceal them but to no avail. It was useless anyway, by 10 tonight the whole scandal would've reached at least 100,000 hits on YouTube. Mum was going to freak and I didn't even want to consider how Annie and Red would take it. Thinking along those lines I started to feel embarrassed that everyone would see just how helpless I was. People near our flat; people I pass in the streets;all the other kids at school.Taking a deep breath I told the other staff on duty that I needed to end my shift early. Of course after witnessing what had happened, she let me go without protest. I let out another deep sigh, past memories flooded my head and it was hard to keep up. Flashes of things I would rather forget. Gabe. Drinks. Mum away at work. Hands. Hands everywhere. Gabe's buddies. Touching. All of it was too much and I barely made it back to the apartment before collapsing onto the sofa as a wave of darkness overtook me.

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A/N - I'm thinking this is just going to be a short story. (Nothing too long) Peace x