¹𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐒 ! - percy jackson

-001

ESTELLA CRUZ NEVER THOUGHT Percy Jackson would see the inside of her bedroom, let alone her apartment, yet there he was. 

Granted, the only reason he was there was because he was early. He had sent Stella an Iris message yesterday telling her that he would be picking her up first before driving to Maine for their mission. Since Stella also lived in Manhattan, she was Percy's first stop before they picked up Annabeth and Thalia from their boarding school in Brooklyn. 

The drive was going to be long, but everything was fine because it was planned out. That was until Percy showed up half an hour early. She was trying to collect all the spare ambrosia and nectar vials she had lying around her room when she heard a knock at the door.

Stella opened her apartment door to find Percy standing there, a few inches taller than when she last saw him in August. His tousled black hair had also grown a bit longer, she noticed. Gods, why was he more handsome?

"You're early," Stella pointed out.

Percy looked at her, noticing her long brown hair had been pulled into two braids, and her amber eyes seemed darker in the winter. Yet, she still managed to effortlessly emit a warm glow that mortals or others couldn't notice unless you truly looked at her. 

"Hello to you too," Percy grinned, "so are you going to let me in, or am I just going to stand here?"

Stella rolled her eyes and stepped aside, allowing Percy to enter her apartment. 

"If you were coming earlier, you could have let me know, I'm not ready yet," She said gesturing to the school uniform she was still wearing. It was the Friday before winter break, and Stella hadn't changed out of her uniform since she left school early.

Percy looked down sheepishly at her outfit, and Stella could see the light blush that coated the son of Poseidon's cheeks. She was wearing a white polo, a plaid blue skirt, below-the-knee socks, and loafers.

Stella laughed at his reaction, and he quickly looked back at her face. She playfully hit him on the arm, "Come on."

Stella led him to her room and resumed what she had been doing. She had left all the vials dumped on her bed, so she started packing her overnight bag with as many vials as possible. Once she finished stuffing her bag, she turned around to see Percy still standing in the doorway of her bedroom awkwardly as if he shouldn't be stepping foot inside. 

"You can sit on my bed as you wait instead of standing there all weird," Stella commented.

Percy rolled his eyes but followed what she said and sat at the foot of her bed, "Is your mom home?"

He didn't know it, but he struck a nerve. Stella felt her body freeze for a moment before she felt the words come out of her mouth, "No."

"Is she at work?" Percy continued. He looked at her as she emptily stared at her bag. Stella only shrugged.

"Oh, okay." Percy mentally face-palmed at the fact that he didn't process that it was obviously something Stella didn't want to discuss.

She had never spoken about her family situation, always staying quiet even when others like Thalia or Annabeth talked about their own. There was a lot Percy didn't know about Stella.

They had become good friends at Camp Half-Blood the past summer, but Percy felt nervous being alone with her. Even though they had spent plenty of time executing amazing pranks and laughing together at camp, seeing her at home with nobody around felt oddly intimate. 

Silence lay between them as Percy watched Stella hastily grab clothes out of her closet before walking into her bathroom and closing the door behind her.