Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝔻ate crashed

Nicki stretched herself out on the picnic blanket and sighed softly. Her dark green eyes studied the side of Percy's face like he was a sculpture in a museum. A gentle breeze blew through his hair. Reaching up, Nicki adjusted his hair so his grey streak took pride of place. Nicki's matching grey streak rested behind her left ear, exposed by her half-up hairstyle.

"You forgot, didn't you?" Nicki's words were light, but immediately Percy went into red-alert mode. Nicki could practically see the gears turning in Percy's mind as he pointed at different items like a checklist.

Comfy blanket? Check. Nicki's favourite pizza with extra chicken? Check. Chocolate toffee from La Maison du Chocolat? Check. Chilled lemonade from Sally? Check. Weapons in case of sudden Greek mythological apocalypse? Check.

After a long moment of internal debate on what to do, Percy did what he does best. He stared at her blankly and acted dumb.

Nicki rolled her eyes. "Percy, today is September eighteenth. What happened exactly one month ago?"

"It was my birthday," He said. That was true: August eighteenth.

Nicki stifled a laugh and shook her head softly at the messy-haired boy. "Our first kiss, Perseus," she said. "It's our one-month anniversary."

"Well... yeah!" He tried for a smile."That's why we're having this great picnic, right?"

She tucked her legs underneath her. "Percy... I love the picnic. Really. But you promised to take me out for a special dinner tonight. Remember? It's not that I expect it, but you said you had something planned. So...?" Nicki couldn't hide the hopefulness in her voice.

Ethan had spent ages arguing with Annabeth over the perfect outfit for Nicki to wear. Eventually, the pair agreed on Percy's letterman jacket over a white slightly cropped top, that they had paired with black denim shorts with a white moon embroidered on the back pocket. Nicki's thick black leather cord hung around her neck adorned by a camp bead and her silver wave charm.

Even Chiron had wished her luck before she left camp, saying he hoped this date went better than the last.

In charge of her transportation were Travis and Connor, who had somehow convinced Argus to let them come on the journey with Nicki. Of course, that meant the whole car ride was filled with terrible dad jokes and speeches about staying safe and using protection. In a weird way, it calmed Nicki's nerves about the date.

Her hopeful eyes blinked lightly at Percy, filling his stomach with a pit of guilt. He cleared his throat. "Well—"

A sudden streak of light made Nicki jump as if someone had flashed a torch in her face. Nicki looked around and saw a brown delivery truck parked in the middle of the Great Lawn where cars were allowed. Lettered on the side were the words:

HERMES EXPRESS

"Oh, good," Nicki muttered. "Gramps has got mail for us."

"What?" Percy asked. Nicki pointed at the truck with the ghost of a grin.

The driver was climbing out. He wore a brown uniform shirt and knee-length shorts along with stylish black socks and cleats. His curly salt-and-pepper hair stuck out around the edges of his brown cap. He looked like a guy in his mid-thirties but Nicki knew from experience he was actually in his mid-five-thousands.

Hermes. Messenger of the gods. Great grandfather, dispenser of heroic quests, and frequent cause of migraine headaches.

He looked upset. He kept patting his pockets and wringing his hands. Either he'd lost something important or he'd had too many espressos at the Mount Olympus Starbucks. Finally, he spotted Nicki and beckoned, Get over here!