24 hours. Percy had 24 hours all to himself. And he had absolutely no idea what he was doing.

Normally, whenever he went out for the night, Annabeth would always be beside him, her hand in his as they would smile, going to stupid places like a bowling alley and laughing harder than they’ve ever before. Now, Percy's hand felt cold and empty, like something that should be there isn’t, and even though that something came from another person, he had become so attached to it that he considered himself part of it. Like he owned it. Like it owned him.

It was starting to cool off before the morning as Percy reached the bar he was looking for. He hadn’t even stopped to think whether or not he’d be let in, whether or not he looked old enough, or whether or not he was going to be tempted in this bar. Then Percy realized he was now old enough to drink.

Well, he told himself, one problem down, so many to go.

All Percy knew about why he was walking towards this club was that when people break up, they get drunk. So Percy was, for once, going to be normal.

Right before the bouncer saw him, a man who looked like some kind of male model tapped his shoulder lightly and said under his breath,

“Here, take this, they won’t notice your age as much, even if you are just 21 a couple weeks ago.”

He handed Percy a button down shirt that looked stylish enough, and Percy put it on quickly. Somehow, it fit perfectly. Then they both got in line. Percy hadn’t even stopped to ask why the man knew he was trying to get into the bar, what his name was, why he wanted to help him, why he knew his age, or any of that. If he had been a monster, Percy would have been dead by now.

But he wasn’t. When Percy looked at him to ask for his name, a distant, very dim memory sparked in his mind. Percy had seen this guy before, but where? Before he could introduce himself, his shoe caught on its laces and he had to kneel down to tie it. When he got up, he was gone, and so were the people in front of him.

He quickly stepped forward, and the bouncer let him in without even asking for an ID.

No way, he thought.

But Percy quickly forgot about getting in without a hitch, because as soon as he had stepped into the club, he was amazed. The most beautiful girls, dressed in not much danced to loud techno and it was almost like he couldn’t notice the weird guys getting smashed at the bar or dancing weirdly with the girls.

All he started to focus on was revenge. Revenge on Annabeth. Revenge on the world that had left him so alone. He felt lustful, like he’d be prepared to steal any woman from their husband’s arms—

Woah, Percy told himself, this is NOT you.

He tried to breath, to calm down, and he realized that as beautiful as these girls were, they weren’t Annabeth. None of them could ever possibly be Annabeth. Then Percy saw him again, standing in the shadows.

“You again!” he exclaimed, surprised to see the guy who had given him his shirt just casually standing in the club, “I thought I lost you in line. Thanks, by the way, by name’s—”

“I don’t care,” the man said, “I mean, look at you. I don’t need your name to know you. You are so lonely, you look like you broke up with a long-term girlfriend within the last…two weeks. Am I right?”

Percy's solemn look downward answered his question.

“That’s the problem, man!” He exclaimed softly, grabbing Percy's shoulders and hoisting him up straighter, “whoever that girl was, she was controlling you! You need to find a pretty girl in here, take her back to her place, and have a night. You can’t be weighed down by this, dude!”

With his every word, Percy agreed with him more. But a small part of his brain knew that this was insane. He loved Annabeth, far more than any other anything ever. He couldn’t just violate what they had, could he?

“Oh, sure you can!” the guy’s persuasive voice said, reading Percy's mind. “Here, drink!”

He felt woozy with the idea, but Percy threw back the shot of clear liquid the man gave him, and the idea took hold. Percy would take a girl to her place tonight. He needed this.

“There we go!” He encouraged as the alien thought warmed up to Percy's face. He drank another shot of whatever he had given him, and when he got up enough courage to smile at the man, he was gone. Again.

But that didn’t matter, because he already had his eye on a girl. Red-head, five-foot-five with bright blue eyes. She reminded him a little bit of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, which sparked enough movement in his heart to suddenly jolt forward, walking towards her hungrily.

“Hey,” Percy almost purred, and she scowled at him,

“What do you want?”

“Your wildest dreams,” He said in response, and she looked into his eyes for a second, starting to bite her lip sensually.

“Hey, I see you two are acquainted,” cut in a voice, “well, have a nice night!” It was the same guy who got Percy into the club. But he was too busy looking at the girl to look at the guy.

Percy was gone at this point. Everything he knew about whom he loved, who he was, anything. All gone. It was like he had amnesia again, but remembered everything except Annabeth. The girl leaned in and whispered into his ear,

“I have a car out back. Wanna join me?”

He just smirked, and took her hand as they walked out of the club. The next few minutes were a blur for Percy. He remembered her kissing him, her hot breath on his neck, her body so close to his.

Percy had lost his virginity to Annabeth, but this was so different. There was no nervousness, no possibility of losing the girl next to him because she was never attached to him.

Percy put his clothes back on just as her boyfriend realized what had happened. He must have been looking in the club for her for a while, because when he saw what had happened with them in the car, he nearly ripped the doors off.

Percy remembered getting out to meet him in the dark, cold alley. He remembered feeling sick with guilt, drunk and half-conscious. He remembered the guy punching Percy, Percy drawing Riptide, which of course wouldn’t have worked, and falling over as the man punched Percy again. Then he passed out.

When Percy woke up, the guy who had gotten him into the club was crouching over him, looking satisfied. Percy didn’t think the man knew he was awake, partly because his eyes were swollen almost shut from black eyes, partly because he was so dead-looking.

“Mission accomplished,” he murmured to himself.

Percy passed out again, and when he woke up, the man was gone.

Notes

So, I haven't posted on this in a while. Hope you like!

Enjoy,
Grafon