Sea Green Eyes

The Chalice of the Gods - Part Two

Cressida had met Annabeth and Grover at the Himbo Juice place and they were waiting for Percy who was supposed to meet them after he finished school for the day.

And he'd been having a very nice day up until lunch. Cressida felt bad that he still had to endure actual school for three days a week more than she did, so on the days she didn't attend Goode High, she made lunch for Percy. And she was really good at making lunch for Percy. Today's feast consisted of a peanut butter and banana sandwich (one of his favourites), a Capri-Sun, mini Oreos, some cold cuts, and a container full of her specially grown grapes. Lunch was the best part of his day when Cressida wasn't here. And it was at lunch, that he was approached by a god that he then took to meet his friends.

Grover and Annabeth were sitting opposite Cressida as they waited, the three of them grinning and animated in conversation. Cressida was in the middle of explaining something, her hair scooped into a high ponytail and making her indigo eyes stand out more, and Percy couldn't stop staring.

As if sensing his eyes on her, Cressida paused mid-sentence as their gazes locked and she gave him that smile that was just for him as she waved him over, but that smile fell when she saw the golden guy trailing behind him.

"We put in our order already," Annabeth said as Percy slid into the seat next to Cressida, the two squeezing close so that the gold guy could fit. "We didn't know you were bringing a friend.

"Order for Grover!" called the server. "I've got a Fiji Fro-Yo, a Salty Sailor, a Grape-Berry Guzzler and a Golden Eagle!"

"An eagle?! Where?" the gold guy exclaimed as he nearly hid under the table.

The two girls exchanged a weird look with Grover.

"I'll get the drinks," Grover said, and he jogged over to the counter.

"The Golden Eagle is just a smoothie," Annabeth told the gold guy, who was still hunched over and quivering.

Cautiously, the god straightened up. "I . . . I have some unresolved trauma about eagles."

"You must be Ganymede," Annabeth guessed, and Percy's jaw dropped in surprise.

The god frowned. He looked down at his shirt. "Am I wearing a name tag? How did you know that?"

"Well, you're gorgeous," Cressida filled in, implying that she'd known as well, which also wasn't surprising, but Percy definitely found her statement offensive.

"Hey!"

"Oh, relax. There's a difference between gorgeous and attractive and you are already well aware of how attractive I find you," she said boredly.

"You're gonna give me a refresher when we get home," Percy said as he leaned back and slung an arm over her shoulders.

"We'll see," she returned as she leaned into him and Ganymede seemed to be pleased with the compliment as Annabeth spoke.

"About getting home or the refresher?" 

"Both." 

That didn't pose good odds for Percy on both fronts. 

"And Ganymede was supposed to be the most beautiful of the gods," she continued. "Along with Aphrodite, of course."

Ganymede bobbed his head like he was weighing the comparison. "I suppose I'll allow it."

"You used to be mortal," she went on. "You were so beautiful that Zeus turned into an eagle and snatched you away, brought you to Olympus."

Ganymede flinched. "Yes. Long ago, but it still stings. . . ."