Percy Jackson x Male Reader The Lightning Thief

This Is Why I Like Cats

Y/n's POV

We stood in the shadows of Valencia Boulevard, looking up at gold letters etched in black marble: DOA RECORDING STUDIOS.

Underneath, stenciled on the glass doors: NO SOLICITORS. NO LOITERING. NO LIVING. The last part worried me, for obvious reasons.

It was almost midnight, but the lobby was brightly lit and full of people. Behind the security desk sat a tough looking guard with sunglasses and an earpiece.

Percy then turned back to all of us as he spoke. "Okay. You remember the plan."

"The plan." Grover gulped. "Yeah. I love the plan."

"Love it." I added.

Annabeth said. "But what happens if the plan doesn't work?"

"Don't think negative."

"Mhmm." she replied. "We're entering the Land of the Dead, and I shouldn't think negative."

Percy then took the pearls out of his pocket, the three milky white spheres that he had been gifted. It didn't feel like much but it was all we had.

I looked back up at Percy and I could tell he wasn't feeling all that confident, so I tried to lift up his spirits.

"Don't worry Percy, I know this may feel a bit stacked against us. But just look at how far we've come. Battling snake ladies, bird ladies, bull men, giants, and a heck ton more. We didn't survive all of that just to die here."

Annabeth nodded her agreement. "We've got this Percy, we'll be right beside you."

She nudged Grover. "Yeah, like Y//n said we've gotten this far. We'll find the master bolt and save your mom. No problem."

Percy looked back at all of us. An expression of appreciation and gratitude washing over him. He then slid the pearls back into his pocket. "Let's kick some Underworld butt."

We walked inside the DOA lobby.

Music played softly on hidden speakers. The carpet and walls were steel gray. Bone like cactuses sprouted out in each corner of the room. Like clawing skeletal arms. The furniture was all black leather, and every seat was full. There were people standing, sitting on couches, laid out on the floor, staring out the window, or waiting patiently by the elevator. Nobody moved, or talked, or did much of anything. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see them all just fine, but if I focused on one of them specifically, their form began to flicker. Their skin becoming transparent, like that of a ghost.

The security guard's desk was a raised podium, so we had to look up at him.

He was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore simple black shades and a silk Italian style suit. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag. Just looking at the flower, made me feel a warm glow against my chest, where I knew my own rose laid in my pocket.

I turned back towards him as I peered at the name tag. I was about to make it out when Percy suddenly spoke up.

"Your name is Chiron?"

He leaned across the desk. I couldn't see anything in his glasses except our own reflections, but his smile was oddly warm though somehow cold at the same time.

"What precious young lads." He had an odd accent I couldn't quite place. It was something European, but what country I couldn't say. Like English wasn't his native language.

"Tell me mate, do I look like a centaur?"

"No-no."

"Sir." he added smoothly.