7: The Demos

Percy POV

I gazed up at Wise Girl.

The moonlight was gently illuminating the well-sculpted structures of her face. Her hair was shining in the light. A small smile was on her face.

I reached forward and clasped my hand, and she pulled me up.

I had snuck into her home many times before. She didn't have the best stepmother, considering she was super strict about everything. Helen didn't care much about Annabeth.

"Why did you come here, Percy?" Annabeth asked.

We both sat on her bed. To be honest, her bedroom hadn't changed much. There were more books on her desk and shelf though.

"I see that you're still a huge bookworm," I commented.

"Seaweed Brain, you are really pushing it here," Annabeth warned. Her glare would normally be enough to set me straight.

But, I was having too much fun. I was happy that she was talking (somewhat normally) to me again.

"Come on, Wise Girl, do you know how many girls would love for me to sneak into their bedrooms? Plus, I'm seriously risking my safety and freedom by coming here," I said slyly.

She smirked before turning to me.

Suddenly, she started leaning towards me. My smile faded as I felt her breath nearing my face. I realized that her lips looked quite soft and pink. I instinctually closed my eyes as she closer and closer.

I don't know what I was expecting. Annabeth wouldn't just kiss me even though, so I guess that I was just being dumb.

"You're not that special, Percy," she whispered into my face.

I opened my eyes to watch Annabeth demonstrating a sly, victory smile. She laughed lightly before hitting me with a pillow.

I quickly snatched the pillow and set it on my lap.

Annabeth didn't need to know that she got me in more ways than one.

"Okay, stop that, Wise Girl. I seriously risked a lot by sneaking out and coming here. My security would lose their shit if they found out," I expressed.

"Well, then, I guess that I'll tell them tomorrow," Annabeth replied.

She was smiling as she stared at me. However, I knew that she didn't get it. No one understood the importance of security until they got to the status of needing it. Being a celebrity was dangerous at times.

"Don't you freakin dare," I said firmly.

She laughed as she laid back on her bed. My gaze intensified as I watched her. I felt an uneasy feeling in my stomach as I smiled at her.

Gods, Annabeth was beautiful on the outside and inside.

We simply connected even after all these years and experiences. We were in completely different places and statuses of life, yet I was so strongly drawn to her.

Suddenly, I shook my head and got up. No, this could not be happening again.

"Anyway, I should probably leave now. I just wanted to see you, and you know, we're friends again, right?" I asked cautiously.

Annabeth sat up and stared at me.

She seemed to be searching for something in my face. I tried to hide my feelings as I stared back. Then, Annabeth sighed.

"I guess that neither of us will benefit from pettiness, so yeah. Yes, we can be friends even though you're clearly keeping something from me," she said firmly.

"Wise Girl, what are you talking about?" I blurted out.

"You know what I'm talking about, Percy. You simply ghosted me as soon as you achieved fame and success like I didn't matter at all," she expressed.

Her eyes stormed with tears as mine burned with guilt.

We were best friends, and I did leave her. However, I left her because I needed my feelings for her to go away. There was so much going on, and we wouldn't have worked. Also, we were friends, and I couldn't jeopardize that.

Of course, now, that friendship wasn't the same.

Fighting my feelings away only strained our friendship more than admitting them. Now, it was too late and our lives were too different.

"Annabeth, you did matter. I just-" I faltered off.

Despite moving on, I still couldn't admit my past feelings--probably because they were still present in some way. Ugh, I didn't like the realization at all.

"It's fine, Percy. I'm ready to put it behind me. I can forgive, but I can't forget," Annabeth said firmly.

I gulped a lump of emotion as I nodded.

"All right, Percy. We're fine; we're friends," she expressed. Then, she gave a small smile and came towards me.

Warmth and comfort shot through my body as my arms wrapped around her. My embrace tightened as her head buried into my neck. Her hair was in level with my cheek and she smelled really nice.

As I climbed out the window and down the giant tree, I realized one thing.

Annabeth was an amazing best friend, and I treasured our friendship. However, I didn't want to be just friends.

Suddenly, my foot slipped, and I fell to the ground from the tree.

I groaned as pain shot through my back. I've fallen from this tree a few times before. It didn't hurt that much, but it was still embarrassing.

I could hear Annabeth's melodious laughter echoing down.

"You okay, Seaweed Brain?" she called down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's great that you find such enjoyment in my pain," I hollered up. She continued to laugh as I looked up at her.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Wise Girl."

I smiled before walking back towards my car. As I drove home, a bunch of lyrics flowed through my head. Emotions gave rise to my songs.

And, Annabeth was the best at stimulating my emotions.

***

"All right, Percy, this will be ready in 10 minutes. I hope that's okay," Leo said quickly before tampering with the equipment.

We were in Goode High's music studio at one of the booths.

"Leo, you never cared about the time before," I chuckled.

"Yeah, well, I'm recording for the Percy Jackson, so I'm definitely feeling the pressure," Leo huffed.

I walked over to Leo and patted his shoulder.

"Leo, it's fine. Take a breath and relax. We're only recording a demo. This isn't gonna be a masterpiece or anything," I said with a smile.

Leo relaxed and continued his work more casually.

A wave of nostalgia flooded over me as I walked around the sound room and towards the vocal booth. This was where I initially recorded my songs: covers and originals.

Of course, I 'surpassed' this place as soon as Arcade went viral.

I had to rerecord Arcade at Olympus Records after getting signed. My original recording from Goode Academy was taken down, but I still have it. In my opinion, I loved my original record, but it lacked the professional touch that Olympus Records brought.

I was in the vocal booth, fixing the microphone, when Jason, Thalia, and Piper came in. I was glad that Annabeth wasn't here.

I probably wouldn't be able to record the song while her here. After all, it was about her.

A lot of my songs were about her, but almost no one knew that.

"Perce, I thought that you were on a break. Why are you still recording?" Jason asked after pushing a button on the soundboard.

"I have to have a list of 15 songs ready for recording in a year. Of course, I'm recording demos of the songs to remember my thoughts and music," I answered.

"Think about it, Jason. Percy wrote a song now (with a tune and music). If he doesn't record it, then he could forget in a year," Thalia explained.

"Exactly, Thalia. Also, I have two songs to record right now," I said.

Leo stood up and gave me a thumbs up. As such, I started setting up and preparing myself for singing. I had my lyrics notebook in my hand.

"Bro, do you think any of these will be hits?" Jason asked.

"I don't know. That's up to the listeners," I said.

No one could guess whether a song would be good or not. Artists record songs that they connected with. The fans and critics respond to the songs that they like.

Another copy of the lyrics was with Leo. I wrote more musical notes on that sheet, so he could adjust the instrumentation.

A lot of work went into recording a single song (let alone an album).

"Percy, who is this song about?" Piper asked.

Her kaleidoscope eyes were sparkling with knowledge as she looked at me. Piper was really good with emotions and relationships, so obviously, she'd decode the song.

"No one," I lied quickly. "I just randomly got inspired."

Fortunately, Piper dropped the subject, and we got to work. It took several hours just to record two demos. Technically, the songs were far from complete. This demo was simply for figuring out the general tune and lyrics.

First, I recorded a song about life: I Lived.

Then, I recorded the song about Annabeth: I'm A Mess.

I was proud of both songs but for different reasons. However, they were both very good, and I was confident that they'd both rank high in the charts thanks to my fans.

"Thanks for your help, Leo," I said as we walked out.

"Are you kidding? That was so much fun. I missed being able to record songs with you," Leo said genuinely.

I missed working with Leo too. He was so good with all of the sound technology. He had a great mind when it came to technology and sound-mixing. Plus, we clicked in terms of artistic vision. After all, we were similar in many ways.

An idea popped into my mind, and I got lost in thought.

"Bro, your phone's ringing," Jason said as he nudged me. I quickly came to my senses and pulled out my phone.

"It's your dad (ie the record label)," I affirmed.

"You should probably answer that. It's crazy that my dad calls you more than he called me and Thalia," Jason said. His tone was indifferent, but his words were sad.

I walked away from the group and answered the phone.

"All right, I'm going to make this quick. I know that you're on vacation, but I need those songs to be a top priority as well," Zeus's gruff voice expressed.

"Yes, sir. I'm already working on a few demos," I answered.

"Good. Also, kid, you should watch yourself. I know that high school can lead to drama and mistakes very quickly. However, you don't have the liberty to screw up," Zeus said firmly.

"Sir, I know that-"

"Percy, I'd especially be careful with girls. They can lead you into deep trouble that can make your life very torturous."

My mind immediately went to Annabeth. While Wise Girl complicates my life, I never thought of her as making my life difficult or bad. However, I was already in deep with Annabeth, and I did have to be careful.

Zeus was bossy and rude, but he wasn't wrong.

"Sir, the demos are coming along, and I am being careful," I answered firmly before hanging up. My record label could be a pain sometimes.

Then, I returned to my friends, who were waiting near my car. My security was also there to escort me and my friends home.

However, I couldn't get Zeus's warning out of my head.