Percy Jackson and Twilight

Chapter 8

Percy's POV

As soon as I said the word shopping his face lit up like I had said Christmas. Of course, for Tyler, they're the same thing. He is shopping obsessed. "Really! Ok, what's our budget and where are we going?"

I grinned, he was going to love this. "We don't have a budget, and we're going to the mall. I need a whole new wardrobe and school supplies. I'm thinking a new hairstyle also, and I want to get my ears pierced."

He let go of my neck and started jumping up and down. "Yay! Ok, we need to get the school stuff first and then..." He continued rambling about his plan as I lifted him on the motorcycle and buckled a helmet on his head. I got on in front of him, he wrapped his arms around my waist, still talking, and we sped off.

The whole way to the mall Tyler was talking my ear off. I listened for the most part, but Tyler's thought process is impossible to follow, so I ended up just nodding like I could understand him over the sound of the wind. Once we got there I pulled up and parked the bike. The mall we were at was gigantic. They sold everything.

Immediately Tyler hopped off, took off his helmet, and started walking inside. He had the place memorized.

His home life wasn't great. His parents threw money and stuff at him instead of affection or attention. That doesn't sound so bad for most people, but Tyler craved affection like a cat. One time he stayed at my house for a whole week and when he got home, all ready to be yelled at, his parents hadn't even noticed he was gone. It had gotten to the point that he didn't even refer to them as mom and dad. To him, they were Sung-jin and Min-young. Back to the point, he spent a lot of time here trying to ignore his issues.

"Ok, so there is an office max on the third floor, and we need to hit that for school supplies first. After that, we work our way down. We hit all the great clothing stores for your new wardrobe, and there is a place to get piercings on the 2nd floor where you can get your ears pierced. There is a hair salon on the first floor, and then we're done!" He grinned and headed for the escalator. I caught up to him and put my arm around his shoulders. He grinned even more and moved a little closer to me.

Tyler was like my little brother. He was so innocent that I made it my mission to protect him. His parents ignored him so much he needed someone to care about him, and I happily stepped in. I was very protective of him. A lot of the times in school when I got in trouble, it was because I beat up anyone who made fun of Tyler.

We got to the Office Max pretty quickly, but before we even walked in he stopped and turned to me. "Ok. What are we looking for? I like to have a plan." I pulled out the crumpled supply list that I had ignored and handed it to him. He gave me a glare as he tried to smooth it out on his leg. His glare was equivalent to an annoyed kitten. It was adorable.

"Ok" he read over the list, "I will get the binders and notebooks. You get pens, pencils, and a pencil pouch." I nodded and headed toward the pens.

I hate shopping for pens. There are way too many options. Thin or thick, blue or black, click or lid, it's ridiculous.

"Percy!" I hear Tyler scream sounding scared. Immediately I started running towards where I heard the yell. Coming around the corner I see Tyler backed up against the binder section surrounded by 3 guys wearing letterman jackets from Tyler's school. I grabbed the middle one's collar from behind and yanked him back so I'm in front of Tyler. I lean down a little and touch his face.

"You ok?" He nodded. Once I was sure there was nothing wrong I turned around.

"What the hell are doing to my little brother," My voice had gone deaf con 1 and I was going them my alpha glare.

The one in the lead gathered enough courage to speak. "What d-do you mean little brother? This nerd is a wimp."

"This 'nerd'" I used air quotes "Is my little brother, and if you touch a hair on his head I will kill you. Understand?"

They practically tripped over each other trying to get away. I immediately turned around. "What happened?"

"They go to my school. The one that was in the middle is the quarterback, and the other 2 were his buddies. Also on the football team, but I don't know any positions other than quarterback."

I shook my head a bit chuckling at his sheer Tylerness. He perked up immediately, remembering we're at the mall. "I got the stuff! Did you get the pens?"

"No, too many options."

He laughed out loud. "Come on." He marched toward the pens.

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I must be carrying over 100 pounds of clothes, school stuff, and various other random items Tyler saw and wanted for either himself or me. We were headed to the place to get my ears pierced. I decided I wanted 2 on my earlobe and one on the upper cartridge. Tyler thought I was crazy for getting 3, but he jumped at the chance to go earring shopping.

We got there and a heavily tattooed man with gauges about 4cm across sat the counter reading a magazine. He glanced up when the ball over the door rang. "Can I help you?" He drawled with a slight accent. I couldn't place it, but it sounded vaguely British, maybe Australian?

"I'm here to get a couple of ear piercings please."

The man put his magazine down. "Where?"

"I want two on my ear lobe and one up here," I pinched the top of my ear so he could see what I was talking about. He nodded and went to the back.

"Are you sure about this Perc?" Tyler looked slightly nervous

"I'm positive."

The man came back with the piercing thing that looked sort of like a gun from a sci-fi movie. He showed me a couple different pairs of earrings and asked me which ones I wanted. He said I would have to leave the same pair in for about 6 weeks to make sure the hole doesn't close.

I picked two small silver hoops and one silver stud. The whole process of the 6 piercings took about 10 minutes then we were ready to go.

Tyler led me to the hair salon. A lady stood at the desk in the front. "What can I do for today boys?" she asked brightly.

Tyler took charge. "My friend here desperately needs a haircut." She looked me over and nodded.

She disappeared into the salon then came back with another woman. The new lady took me to a chair all the while discussing potential haircuts for me. I figured it was in my best interest to let them decide.

A half hour later, she spun me around to face the mirror. She and Tyler were clearly geniuses. She had shaved the sides down really short and left the top to curl naturally to the left. It was long enough that I could put it back in a hair tie if I needed to, but not so long it would be annoying.

I stood up from the chair grinning. "This looks awesome, thank you!" She smiled at me and, after paying, Tyler and I left.

I drove Tyler to his house and we both got off. I took my helmet off and leaned against the bike. He stared up at the huge house with a sad stare.

"You know," I started, "You can move in with me if you want."

He spun around. "Really?!"

I nodded, grinning. "You're 18 and I've got plenty of room. You can go to my high school. It'll be great!"

He squealed and jumped up and down. "I'll go pack some clothes for the week and we can come back this weekend to pack the rest of my stuff!" He dashed off into the house.

Not even 5 minutes pass before he's back outside. "Ready!" He grins brightly.

We climbed back on the bike and drive off.