Chapter 7: Bit of a Fixer-Upper

Thanks for the layout of the entire chapter once again, Paige.

Chapter 7: Bit of a Fixer-Upper

"Bwah, bwah bwa bwaah bwaah, bwada-bwaaaaaaaaaaaah." Casey said in boredom as she sat on a pile of three tires watching her big brother fix his pickup. It had broken down earlier that morning, hence why they'd had to take the bikes to school.

Thankfully Percy seemed to know what he was doing, his father had taught him some stuff about cars over the years. "You make some good points, ma'am. Tchaikovsky really was the AC/DC of classical music." Percy said, pretending to have any idea what those noises she was making meant.

Casey giggled at her funny brother, and after leaning back her butt fell into the hole of the tyres and she fell in. She sunk into the tyres ass first, her knees were up to her face and she screamed. As Percy looked up from the hood he saw his little sister stuck in the tyres and screaming like she'd just had her leg caught in a bear trap or something.

Artemis walked outside at the commotion and saw Percy lifting his wailing baby sis out of some tyres and hugging her while the toddler cried into his shoulder like she was gonna get PTSD or something.

She had been inside with Apollo and the girls trying not to kill herself. While Hela made good company, Apollo and Aphrodite were getting on nicely talking about clothes and watching chick flicks, and unfortunately because they were watching chick flicks the TV was occupied so she couldn't watch something good.

Eventually Hela just started watching Youtube so Artemis left, walking outside and finding Percy and Casey in the position they were in now. "What are you guys doing?" She asked, crossing her arms and looking at the two.

Casey was still crying into her big brother's shoulder from the trauma so Percy answered. "Was fixing my truck when this monkey had an accident." He said, and Artemis sighed. "Oh, that sucks. What's wrong with your truck anyway?" She asked.

Percy turned around and looked at the hood, which he had been working under. Artemis walked up behind him and caught Casey's eye. They were red and puffy and she wasn't screaming anymore but still sniffling with her head buried in his shoulder.

She looked at Artemis and the teen smiled warmly at her. Casey smiled back, and not long afterwards she felt okay again and lifted her head.

As Percy explained why the truck had conked out, Artemis watched him explain with intrigue. She had always liked vehicles but had never gotten one because A) diesel is expensive so she couldn't get a pickup or something cool and B) normal cars are super lame but as mentioned before, she was too poor to get a good one.

Like who wants a Honda when you could have a Toyota?

Since Casey felt better now he looked at Artemis. "Can you hold her while I fix this?" He asked, and Artemis nodded. Percy carefully handed the toddler over and Artemis was surprised to discover how light she was. The girl probably weighed as much as a Shih Tzu despite being 3 years old.

She held Casey on her hip as Percy grabbed his tools and went to work again. The girl had stopped crying now and just watched her big brother fix his truck with her arms wrapped around Artemis' neck.

Eventually she got a bit more tired after her shock and she buried her head in Artemis' shoulder and slowly fell asleep in her arms. Artemis smiled at the child sleeping on her and sat down on the doorstep. Percy saw the two girls out of the corner of his eye and smiled at them.

"So, uh," He began, not taking his eyes off the truck. "What was that you friend said about you talking about me? Saying I got a nice body and that?" He inquired cheekily, smirking when he saw her face flare up out of the corner of his eye.

She had not expected that question and stuttered to answer. "I, uh... she's lying! Trust me, Zoe's a jokester. She likes to prank and... stuff." She excused, but Percy wasn't so sure. "A jokester? Sure, grandma. Just like how I was a jokester earlier this morning?" He asked.

Artemis' cogs were not functioning properly to really understand what he meant by that, so she said nothing of it.

He sighed. "Still, it's nice to know you don't think my body's bad." He grinned at her, and the girl had to turn away to hide her embarrassment. Suddenly there was a loud hiss and she snapped her head back to him.

Artemis just couldn't get the red off her face as she looked at him. There had been a sudden blast of hot air from the hood into Percy's face. The girl watched as he was blown by the hot air, his shirt being pressed tight against his chest, his messy black hair being thrown back and his oddly relaxed face as he shook his head in the warm air. It was like a scene from a movie, when the nerdy kid watches the hot girl get out of the water or stand in the wind. Artemis felt like she was in some low budget 80s movie and she hated it. She didn't even like Percy!

Percy absolutely loved flirting with her, not because he was interested but because Artemis was so inexperienced that even the smallest compliment could turn her cheeks into the belly of a dragon. Well, he didn't think he was interested anyway.

"Liking what you see?" He asked playfully as the steam died down, and Artemis looked down angrily. "Shut up!" She said, not really meaning it. Percy chuckled and finished up the fixing. Artemis looked down at the sleeping kid in her arms and smiled. It wasn't even 5 yet and already she was out cold.

After another five or so minutes Casey woke up, lifting her head from Artemis' shoulder and blinking drowsily. Artemis looked down at the girl and once again smiled. "Looks like someone's awake." She said.

Casey smiled at her and turned to look at Percy. Upon seeing he was apparently done with the truck she lightened up a bit. "Can we ride it?" She asked, not knowing the word drive. Percy shook his head.

"Sorry Peaches, truck needs some rest for the night. Hows about we take out the quads?" He thought, leaning forward to be more level with his sister. At the suggestion Casey's eyes widened as she looked back and forth between Artemis and Percy. "Really? Fourlies!?" She started getting hyped for the four-wheelers, or fourlies as she called 'em.

Percy nodded with a grin and she jumped up in excitement. As he ran off down the dirt road to the bike shed Casey continued to bounce around in front of Artemis, making the teen chuckle. Casey stood there and waited with her neighbor as her brother got the fourly.

Eventually they heard the sound of a motor starting up from a couple hundred yards away and after a couple seconds a cobalt four wheeler appeared from behind the line of pine trees speeding down the dirt path with a familiar green-shirted teen driving it.

Casey's eyes lit up in excitement as it sped towards them and she would have ran at it if not for Artemis holding her back lest she get run over by her own brother. Percy sped through the open gate and swirled to a halt next to them, getting off and taking the two helmets out from the bucket in the back. He unlatched the bucket and chucked it on the gravel before running over to the garage.

Casey followed him ecstatically, not keen on letting her big brother take off without her. Percy walked over to the coat rack and found some overalls, two of them adult sized and the one kiddy pair. Artemis was confused as to why he'd grabbed two adult pairs until he threw the green one to her. He kept the navy-blue one for himself and gave the light-blue kiddy one to Casey.

"What- I'm not going?" She looked up at him, holding the overalls. Percy stepped into his and looked at her. "What do you mean, you're not? Of course you are! You have to!" He exclaimed.

Artemis, remembering his driving that morning, shook her head frantically. "Hell no! I've already seen you on smooth road, I don't wanna see you off-road. I'm going back inside." She said, putting the overalls back on the rack and turning.

Percy looked offended. "Come on! I already told you ya need to learn how to ride 'em! This is the perfect opportunity! I won't risk it with Casey! Tell her, Case." He said, and the now-dressed girl flapped her arms sadly. "Awtmis! Pleeeeeeeeeeease. Can you pleeeeease come?" She begged, and Artemis cursed inwardly as she felt herself being pulled under the little girl's spell.

"I- uh, god dammit. He's gonna crash!" She rationalized, but even she knew that was wrong. Percy was right, he wouldn't risk anything too dangerous with his baby sister on board. If it were just him and Artemis then she'd be worried, but she had that insurance.

She turned and immediately regretted it, as she saw the usually chipper young girl doing the puppy dog eyes to her like something out of Shrek 2. "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease." Casey begged, and Artemis felt her heart cave in.

"Ugh, fine. But if we die on that thing I'm gonna kill you." She warned Percy, who finished getting his overalls on and saluted her. "Aye, aye, capitan."

As Artemis pulled the overalls on and took off her shoes for the boots, Percy helped his little sis get her helmet on. When she was clipped in and ready she hopped up on the bike - with his assistance - and waited patiently for the two teens.

Percy waited for her to finish as she clipped on his helmet and then when she pulled the straps over her shoulders he chucked her a white helmet. The girl clicked it on and both hopped on the bike. Casey was at the very front so Percy sat right behind her and grabbed the handlebars. Artemis sat behind Percy now that there was room with the bucket gone and reluctantly wrapped her arms around Percy's stomach knowing that she'd need the support.

Percy cheekily looked back at her as he revved the engine. "You're just lovin' the feel of my chest today, aren't ya?" He grinned, but before the glaring girl had time to argue he let rip and they swirled around the gate, where he then drove down the dirt path until they reached the edge of the property and the beginning of the untamed, unclaimed, wide open hilly land.

They spent an hour out there having the time of their lives, well at least Casey and Percy were. The little girl had a grin permanently plastered on her face with her missing front tooth prominent as they flew over ridges and got airtime. Percy laughed as he floored it - hypothetically of course since it's a bike - and he tried his best to freak Artemis out.

It worked all right, and the usually tight and stoic girl was squeezing the air out of his abdomen with every bump, practically performing the Heimlich on him. They hit a particularly big rock on the road and the bike jumped at an angle which made Casey scream in excitement and Artemis yelp in fright.

As Percy took them over a hill he saw that at the bottom lay a large pool of mud, and a brilliant idea formed in his head.

The three pulled back into the driveway just over an hour later, exhausted after all the fun they'd had. Even Artemis, who was up to her neck in mud and had splatter on her face, had enjoyed it. Percy had some smeared across his cheek from Artemis desperately grabbing for support after they got a little bit of airtime.

That's nothing compared to Casey though. The Jackson girl was completely drenched in mud. There was not a part of her body save for her brown hair that wasn't stained brown by mud. Nevertheless the girl was giggling as they pulled to a halt and both the teens got off. "More?" She asked, but Percy shook his head.

"I think you've had enough, monkey." He told her, lifting her from her seat and placing her on the ground next to the fourly. Casey giggled and shook herself like a dog trying to dry itself. "I'm not a monkey, you're a monkey." She said still laughing.

He ushered the two girls over to the garage and had them wait outside around the side of it. Artemis waited patiently wondering what was happening as Casey stomped around in circles chanting 'Bom bom bom bom.'

They waited there for a whole minute before Percy walked back around the corner holding a hose. Before Artemis had time to process what was happening he turned the lock on the head and the hose let loose, spraying like a fire hydrant all over the two girls. She was lucky she was wearing overalls, otherwise Artemis surely would have been pissed to have soaked clothes.

Casey loved it though, and she squealed in delight as her older brother sprayed her clean. She jumped around and played in the water as the mud rolled off her face down her overalls to the ground. Artemis, who was clean pretty quick, made sure to run out of the firing line so she could get the overalls off.

Eventually Percy was just hosing Casey for the fun of it and the girl did not mind at all, laughing as he aimed for her face. When she was starting to tire out from all the moving, Percy turned the hose on himself and gave his face and overalls a quick spraydown.

With themselves now clean the three took off their overalls and hung them on the rack by the door. Percy sighed and looked around the garage before his eyes landed on the freezer. "Ice creams?" He offered, despite it being Fall.

Casey's eyes exploded with excitement as she heard those words and she nodded frantically. "Ice cream! Ice cream! Ice cream!" She chanted as she skipped laps around Artemis, making the teen laugh at the little girl's behavior.

Percy knelt down and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Well then while I get 'em out, why don't you go ask Hela, Aph and Apollo if they want some?" He asked, and Casey nodded happily. "Dokey dokey!" She yipped, skipping off inside the house.

Percy opened the freezer as Artemis walked over and began digging through the meats. "Okay, unfortunately all we got is vanilla since dad likes getting the crappy McDonald's pre-made ones from the supermarket so you want one?" He asked, and Artemis nodded gratefully.

Percy dug 'em out and placed them on the lid as he turned back to her. Artemis then noticed he still never put a shirt on after fixing the truck and blushed, still not used to seeing her neighbor shirtless despite it being true 70% of the time.

"So your truck's good then?" She asked with her arms crossed, hyper-aware of the fact that she didn't have a hoodie on so she was only left in a white tank top and nervous about the visibility of her bra. Percy nodded as he handed her an ice cream. "Yeah, just some engine troubles. Nothing I can't fix tonight with a flashlight. Accidentally bonked the radiator so I had to let that cool off which is why we took the fourlies out. I'll continue after dinner." He informed her.

Casey hopped back out into the garage with her sisters and Apollo in tow, and Percy handed each of them an ice cream. They all sat on the freezer with Artemis having to help Casey get up on the freezer and open her ice cream, and the six ate happily together listening to the sounds of that sweet Blue Sky Country.

As she liked the ice cream Aph made a passing comment. "You two are so cute with Casey." Making Artemis' head snap to her. "What?"

Apollo laughed. "Yeah, I mean if you were a bit older you'd look like her parents." He joked, making Artemis' eyebrows furrow. "Shut up." She snapped to her twin brother, who was unaffected and kept laughing to himself.

Hela shrugged. "I mean they're kinda right. You two have been hanging out so much and now Casey's in the mix it looks like you and Percy had a baby overnight." She jested, making Percy laugh and Artemis' face redden. The two of them had really different senses of humor with that common joke of them having crushes on each other.

Hours later after they had all finished their ice creams and Artemis and Apollo had headed home, she ascended the stairs immediately after eating dinner. She walked down the upstairs hallway to her room which was one of the end ones, and immediately flopped down onto her bed.

She heard her mother start loading the dishwasher downstairs and Artenis let her hair out. As it sprawled all over the bed behind her she grabbed her phone and earbuds, intent on opening her Spotify and listening to some Imagine Dragons or something.

When she opened she saw a missed call from Zoe from a couple of hours ago and since she felt like chatting now she opened up her contacts. As always, Zoe was at the top of her most recents and she opened it up and facetimed her.

It rang for a few seconds, understandable since it was nearly ten there, and eventually Zoe picked up and her face came on screen, hair wet and she was moving around. "Hey, Artemis! Sorry, just got out of the shower n I'm getting dressed but I'll try not to nipslip you. How's it been?" She asked, only her head in frame as she got dressed off camera.

Artemis smiled at her friend and looked off to her wall and calendar absentmindedly. "I think I have a crush on my neighbor."

"Aren't you guys already dating?"

I'm back baby! There Paige, you got your fan service for the month. You're lucky i actually managed to write this before Thursday. No idea what I'll write next lmfao bye.

Word Count: 3103