6: The Candy

Annabeth POV

"Guys, this is so hard," Leo whined.

I sighed as I set my notebook down. To be honest, Leo was right. Writing a song was extremely difficult. Every time that I got inspired, the words failed me.

"I'm gonna get a drink," I informed everyone as I got up.

It was so frustrating because I hated not knowing things. I hated being bad at something. It was a blow to my ego and pride.

I walked into Piper's kitchen and grabbed some orange juice. I was over so often that this was practically my second home. Piper lived in a mansion thanks to her father. Tristian Mclean was a famous movie star and model.

"Anyone else want anything?" Piper hollered as she came in.

No one responded. Everyone was probably too busy trying to write some lyrics, but we were all getting annoyed.

"This is too much, Annabeth," Piper commented.

"Tell me about it. Considering how much I love music and singing, I'm so bad with lyrics and expressing my thoughts," I said firmly.

"Actually, I'm talking about your coldness towards Percy."

I stared at Piper before sighing. I knew that everyone was thinking about this. However, Piper was the only one brave enough to bring it up.

Percy was trying pretty hard to interact with me, but I was ignoring his efforts.

"Piper, you know how he just ghosted me. We were best friends," I replied. Ugh, I didn't like rehashing the past like this.

"Percy probably had his reasons," Piper said.

"No, he didn't. Percy managed to keep up with Jason and Thalia, and other people with whom he wasn't even that close."

I finished my orange juice and washed the glass.

"Maybe, it has something to do with you specifically. Maybe, it hurt him too much to have to separate from you," Piper assured.

I sighed as I dried the glass.

"I don't buy it, Piper. Let's just stop talking about this," I stated.

Even though she wasn't satisfied, Piper nodded. We both returned to the large living room and noticed that everyone was working or trying to.

However, no one seemed to be making any good progress except Percy.

He was writing away in his notepad. His hand was moving so fast that it seemed like he was just scribbling.

"Percy, what are you doing?" Piper asked as she walked over. She leaned down to try to read Percy's notes.

However, Percy quickly hit the notebook.

"Woah, what's with the hostility?" Jason asked in confusion.

"Sorry, I was working on a song for myself. I don't know, the concept randomly came to me now, and I got into it," Percy explained.

"Percy, we're supposed to be working on our project," Piper scolded.

Percy looked down at his notebook before sighing. "Yeah, you're right, sorry guys," Percy replied before turning to a new page. "So, where are we?"

When Percy was writing his songs, he lost track of time and his surroundings. He didn't even seem to realize that everyone was struggling.

I was curious about the song that he was working on.

Percy's music was quite good, so it was interesting that he was writing more songs, probably for his next album.

"We're nowhere," Leo exclaimed. "Ugh, I want candy!"

I chuckled as I sat down again. My notebook had random words and sentences in it. I realized that I wasn't good at writing songs.

Everyone smiled or huffed at Leo's joke.

"Guys, I'm being serious. I literally wrote down, I Want Candy, four times in my notebook. Piper, do you have candy?" Leo asked.

"Oh my god, guys, he's not lying," Hazel chuckled as she looked at Leo's work. Several people laughed at Leo's humor. Honestly, he was a total vibe.

"All right, guys, so let's just write a song on that," Percy said with a smile.

That caught everyone's attention. All of us were staring at Percy as we waited for him to elaborate. Technically, Percy was the most experienced and talented at songwriting.

"What do you mean?" Frank asked.

"Let's treat candy like a metaphor," Percy answered.

"Kelp head, what is candy a metaphor of?" Thalia asked gruffly. She was clearly annoyed about this whole creative process.

"Girls, duh," Percy stated matter-of-factly.

My gaze intensified into a glare. So, Percy was gonna talk about girls like candy. This bugged me for several reasons.

"Don't get me wrong. It's a fun metaphor. We're not being disrespectful or anything," Percy said quickly. "Here, Leo, let me see the lyrics."

Leo exchanged his book with Percy.

Percy's sea-green eyes were sparkling as he analyzed the words on the page. He took his pencil and scribbled down several notes and lyrics.

"Seaweed Brain, how can you read that?" I asked as I looked at his handwriting. I couldn't even read it; it was that bad.

Percy looked up in surprise. His gaze locked onto mine as he smiled.

"I, um, I guess that I'm used to my own handwriting," Percy said softly.

His smile was so genuine that it lit up the whole room. Gods, I had missed him over the past few years. He was funny and sweet.

I shook my head as I straightened my thoughts.

"Can someone get me a beat? Make it a deep bass and rhythmic," Percy informed. Jason immediately took out his IPad and opened a DJ app.

I listened as he fiddled with a fun drum rhythm.

"Is this good?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, it should work," Percy said as he stood up. It was at that moment that I realized that Percy was gonna sing for us.

"Ooh, we're getting a private show," Hazel squealed.

I chuckled at her excitement. I've seen Percy sing in private many times before. After all, I was there, supporting him, before he even got recognized.

Percy took a breath and started singing. It was a fast-beat song with quick lyrics.

"I know a girl who's tough but sweet. She's so fine, she can't be beat. She's got everything that I desire. Set the summer sun on fire,"

Percy smiled as he paused for a second.

"I want candy. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy."

Percy's body moved to the beat as he danced instinctually. Hazel and Leo were on their feet as they became excited.

Percy hummed the next verse since he didn't have the words for it yet. Then, he sang another impromptu lyric:

"You're my girl, what the doctor ordered. So sweet, you make my mouth water."

"I want candy. I want candy. I want candy. I want candy."

Everyone got onto their feet as we sang the second chorus, which was just three words repeated four times.

We laughed loudly as we finished.

The song was fun and upbeat. It wasn't complete yet since we needed at least one more verse and a climax, but it was an excellent start.

"Woohoo," Jason cheered as I clapped in happiness.

"Oh my god, Percy, that was incredible," Frank exclaimed. Percy smiled as he sat back down with some water.

"Well, we have Mr. Valdez to thank," Percy said humbly.

The song lifted everyone's spirits. It was a good song. I mean, it didn't match Percy's artistic image, but it showed his versatility in music.

I smiled as we continued to work on the song. The project became a lot more fun, especially since I was with my friends.

I gazed at Percy, who was already looking at me. His eyes sparkled as he smiled. I felt some things churn in my stomach as I turned away.

I was still mad at him, and I wanted to know the truth about why he left me. However, I couldn't deny that it felt amazing to have him back.

It was like finding the missing piece of a puzzle that was previously lost.

***

I woke up to a weird rasping noise.

I groaned as I sat up on my bed. I rubbed my eyes as I looked around my bedroom. Suddenly, the knocking intensified slightly.

My eyes snapped towards my window. What the freaking hell?

I immediately jumped out of bed and ran towards my window. I watched Percy sitting on the edge of a branch as he knocked on my window.

I quickly slid the window open.

"Seaweed Brain, what the hell are you doing? Why are you in the tree next to my bedroom?" I asked. I was annoyed about being woken up.

He was in gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. He was tightly clutching the branch he was sitting on with one hand and my window ledge with the other.

"What do you mean? I used to do this all the time," Percy said out of breath. "A little out of practice, though."

I simply stared at him. Gods, this boy is crazy.

"Wise Girl, I really need to come in before I fall and die," Percy stated.

"What? No way. Helen will kill me if she found a boy in my room. Also, it's freaking two in the morning. You should be in bed," I whispered harshly.

Percy shook his head as he leaned forward.

"Wise Girl, you willingly talked to me today," Percy commented with a smile.

Oh my god, that's why he was here. Me talking to him meant so much that he snuck out and came here. Sometimes, I didn't understand Percy at all.

I simply watched as he reached forward. Both of his hands clutched my window ledge as he launched himself into my bedroom.

His body crashed onto the floor with a thud.

I closed the window quickly before staring at the boy laying on my bedroom floor. He had a leaf sticking out of his raven hair. The moon was the only source of light illuminating my room.

"If my security found out that I snuck out, I'd get in so much trouble," Percy stated as he smiled up at me.

His eyes sparkled with simultaneous warmth and mischief.

Despite everything, I couldn't stop myself from smiling back. Then, I reached my hand out towards him.

"You are such an idiot sometimes. Come on. Take my hand," I whispered.