Going Viral

Chapter 40

February 14th

The stage was one of Percy's favorite places. Sure, he felt majorly exposed on a raised platform among 17,000 people all screaming their names and he was prone to brief moments where the imposter syndrome really kicked in, but overall he love it. They worked well as a team. Nico radiated energy from where he sat, drum sticks crashing to create a continual wall of noise. Thalia was a blur of movement as she raced about the stage plucking out motifs on her bass guitar. Occasionally, she would knee slide. She had started doing it ironically but it had become so much of a habit that Percy couldn't remember a show where she hadn't regretted not putting on knee pads from the amount of times she burnt a whole through her skinny jeans. And Percy fed off of the crowds, skirting by the edge of the stage and high-fiving fans, chatting away to the front couple of rows in the gaps of their set list.

"What's up, Berlin?" Thalia shouted, the arena screaming back at them. "Happy Valentine's Day to all you loved up couples out there! And to those of you like me who couldn't care less about romance or for whatever reason, are not in a relationship - respect! Also, happy Single's awareness day for tomorrow!"

Nico scoffed audibly through his headset at her speech but hit his drumsticks together to count them into the song. It was always thrilling to hear their audience belting out the songs they had worked so hard on and that didn't change with the number of times they performed.

When they reached the end of the song, Percy took a hold of a handheld mic and set his electric guitar against an amp, pulling a stool into the empty space of stage. "So, we know it's Valentine's Day, right?" The crowd roared as he started speaking. "Well, here's the thing,"

As he talked, the crowd caught on to what he was saying. Already, hundreds of phone cameras were pointed in his direction. "My girlfriend, I'm sure you guys are all familiar with her, Annabeth Chase is busy being awesome and super talented back in New York. But I was wondering if you guys could help me get a Valentine's Day present out to her, huh? How does that sound?"

Someone passes him an acoustic and he strums experimentally, checking the tuning. From the corner of his eye, Percy spots Thalia backstage and inhaling a bottle of water dangerously quickly while Nico takes Will's offer of a clean shirt before he come on for another set. The guitar feels light in his hands and he starts to pluck out a chord sequence, humming before he starts singing. Percy had written this one fairly recently and had desperately tried to keep it a secret from Annabeth, which had been a challenge. He'd wanted to play it too her so badly and ask for her opinion, but somehow he had managed to keep it secret.

Days pass a little slower when you're not here, babe,
Remember all the nights we spent where we just played
music at full volume, dancing round the house
They're the things I miss the most now that you're not about

And they wonder
"How on earth do you know, boy, that she's the one for you?"
But I just sit and smile because they don't know the things I do

A million miles away, seems further every day
My heart feels split in two, a part with me but most with you
And I know, girl, that they won't understand
The words they whisper "they don't have a plan"
But the world could apart and all that would matter to me is you
Girl you need to know, my love for you is true

So many people were filming. A few rows into the crowd, he spotted a young girl with fair hair streaked with various colors who was perched on the back of her friend and holding her phone up to him. Her friend didn't seem to be enjoying himself quite as much as she was but she must have a pretty good view of the stage... Percy winked at her phone, praying that Annabeth somehow saw that particular recording.

As the song came to an end, the audience came to life with cheering and chanting. During Percy's solo, Nico had set up a keyboard on the other side of stage and was preparing to play 'Love Letters'. Percy had written the song but he hadn't minded when Nico had written an extra verse and adopted the piece. It wasn't like Percy was short on love songs by any means. He had pages and pages of unsung lyrics just waiting for him to find a melody. What can he say? He's a hopeless romantic and Annabeth is his muse. The words practically fall out of his mouth and onto a page.

(It was getting to be a bit of a problem really. He had a bad habit of writing down how he felt instead of outright telling Annabeth. At one time, they had shared a sentimental moment and Percy had come incredibly close to blurting out that he loved her. He'd been so desperate to let out what he wanted to say that he had scribbled out a small novella on how in love he was, he couldn't possibly tell her out loud for fear he'd initiate her fight or flight response.)

The night passed quickly, adrenaline pumping through his veins and fingers red raw and aching from the taut strings of the guitar. With one final wave, the three of them ran off stage and back into the wings. Grover, their usual hype-man, had decided to stay in New York for this tour - he was adamant that it had nothing to do with his girlfriend but even if it did, Percy wasn't one to judge - so Will is the person to greet them as they strip themselves of their shirts and mic-packs. Even Thalia, who by now has no shame in flouncing about topless in front of the crew ("Free the nipple!" She would cry whenever someone so much as raised an eyebrow), was stood in a sports bra and unceremoniously wiping her armpits with a towel when Will handed her a bottle of water.

Percy changed hurriedly, eager to check his phone. He did some quick maths in his head to check time zones. His mom would be proud.

Berlin, 11:30pm. New York is six hours behind so thats... (11-6=5) 5:30pm. Perfect. It was a Sunday so he knew she didn't have a show, but it was reassuring that he wouldn't be hassling her too late in the day. He didn't have to wait for a reply, he didn't even have to find a recording to send to her because as soon as he got to his phone, the screen lit up with a message from her.

absoluteannabeth you big sap

absoluteannabeth you're the cutest

Well that just made it all the more worthwhile.