[2] 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘 ― l.valdez ✓

012.

「012. barbie's nail salon」

BARBIE DIDN'T like the fact cherry had just been... swatted overboard. and another thing, fighting the dumb shrimpzilla was difficult. no matter how many times she slashed her sword at it, it seemed to just come back stronger. but the strangest thing about it was that halfway through just trying to kill it- the monster had sunk into the deep sea, disappearing with her four friends.

afterwards, annabeth, coach hedge and buford the table rushed around repairing things so the ship wouldn't sink. percy, still exhausted (she'd told him not to go- but he never fucking listened. suppose it was another new episode of percy jackson does something stupid, but what's new?), searched the ocean for them. jason, also very exhausted, flew around looking like a blond peter pan, putting out fires from the second green explosion that had lit up the sky just above the mainmast. barbie was just thankful the sails hadn't been damaged. as for piper, she sat with her knife, katoptris, trying to see if she could locate their friends.

and barbie?

she was on baby sitting duty. or more so, make-sure-goldie-doesn't-go-overboard-duty. which was proving to be more difficult than she thought it would be.

the small golden little mouse had been bounding around on deck, screeching loudly, no harmonious music to be heard. the poor thing was sick with nerves- probably worried why cherry had been yeeted off the ship into the water. he didn't seem too bothered about the others, more so about cherry.

how did barbie know this?

because everytime anybody said anything close to cherry's name, the little field mouse would start humming 'sherry baby' very loudly. she picked up the field mouse after a few moments, the little nervous goldie running along her palm and up her arm before settling on her shoulder. how goldie managed to balance and lay there- she was not sure. but she decided not to question it.

"you alright there bud?" barbie spoke, stroking goldie softly, "i know... cherry'll come back. we'll make sure of it."

goldie hummed in agreement, and began to hum something that sort of made barbie's blood run cold. la vie en rose.

percy and her and hadn't talked about that night since. they'd agreed to friends. yes, friends. she'd agreed too- actually, she'd been the one to enforce the whole idea. percy had been ever so confusing that night, but he seemed to be coming round. he was starting to act more like himself- perhaps a little more mature in some ways. but still him.

but gods forbid she even think about the kiss. her face might be mistaken for a red stop sign. she didn't know what had brought it on (perhaps her singing?) but she couldn't just lie and say she hadn't enjoyed it.

goldie continued to hum, and barbie hummed along with the small little mouse- who seemed to rather enjoy a musical partner.

she mulled over the idea of percy once more in her mind. it felt so nostalgic in a sense, the way they were now acting. looking back and reflecting, it oddly felt like they were fifteen again, in the labyrinth and just teetering between friends and lovers.

there was that words again.

lovers. love.

barbie no longer exactly hated the word or the feeling- but she found herself being increasingly annoyed at the fact she couldn't bring herself to even say the words out loud. it was a simple thing- and she couldn't say them. she couldn't even admit it to herself out loud. she knew not to say it in front of percy.