Chapter 9: Princess' First Date

It's up in the air as to whether this or the third CoS chapter comes out first. Really it should be CoS but that particular chapter is a writer's block trap. It's a fucking shopping trip, one where I dont even know what theyre supposed to buy. Anyway, i get heaps of ideas for this here story for chapters a bit ahead - a prank, halloween, them sending nudes t'each other, the first lemon, etc. In fact, I have no idea what will be after this here chapter. I'm thinking of doing that order, with some filler before the naughty stuff so it doent seem rushed.

Chapter 9: Princess' First Date

That same day was... weird to say the least. Artemis was shifting sheep with Hela and the dog that morning, and that job was the more desirable one. It was way easier, and she liked sheep. They were funny and she could occasionally get close enough to pet one. The wool was weird though, one thing they don't teach you in school is that sheep wool is really oily. It's to help stop bacteria or for insulation or something, but it feels weird.

"So... you and Percy, huh?" The girl smirked, looking at her as they trudged down the dirt road. There was no point taking a quad, the field wasn't too far away and this particular one was half on a slope so it was more trouble than it was worth. Of course Percy or Apollo would jump at the chance but the girls were likely to crash it and neither wanted to deal with that. Then again, the boys would probably crash it too but they wouldn't care as much.

Artemis' face flushed a deep red. "Yeah, you don't mind?" She asked, looking at her friend as though Hela was about to give her the dad talk. Hela just shrugged as their boots crunched on the dirt path.

"Naw, I don't care. I just wonder what the hell ya see in my brother. Is it the tight shirts? God damn that shit pisses me off. Feel like a Ukranian constantly bein' around that much radiation." She groaned, and Artemis had to laugh.

"I never actually noticed he's always wearing tight shirts." She said, meaning to follow that up with another comment, but she instead zoned out as her mind played back all the memories she had of Percy, only this time zoomed in on his chest.

RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE RATTLE

Artemis was jolted out of her daydream by Hela shaking the herding tool in front of her face to wake her up. She shook her head and looked at her friend wide-eyed. "Chill, muchacho. Y'all been dating for like five minutes, no need to plan the consummation or however ya say it."

Artemis responded by merely blushing extraordinarily.

In fact, blushing was a more common response than words that day. Whenever Percy was in sight, so most of the day, her face would light up red, something that didn't go unnoticed by other girls who had an eye for that sorta thing.

In English everyone was reading a book Artemis hated called Punching the Air - it was supposed to be poetry or something but the 'artistic formatting' meant that her eyes had to traverse the whole page in different directions in order to read 40 words. In the middle of the period, Artemis looked to her left to see the twins, the other twins, Percy and Aphrodite with their desks pushed up against each other as the latter sneakily drew on her brother's arm, cleverly staring at her book and hiding her arm behind the book so the teacher couldn't tell. Upon looking at Percy, Artemis couldn't help but blush as she remembered for the 3784th time that day that she was going on her first date ever later tonight, with this guy.

"Hey." She heard someone hiss-whisper behind her. She turned her head slightly, and saw one of the head cheerleaders, Silena, leaning forward with her head in her book for cover. "Do you, like, have a crush on him? You keep looking at him and you've been blushing a lot today." She inquired, looking for gossip.

Artemis kinda wanted to say is it that noticeable? But she also didn't want this to spread around the school before they went on their first date. Technically they weren't even dating yet as they hadn't gone out yet. "Uh, no. I've been looking at lots of things and it's hot." She weakly excused, and she knew Silena saw right through it, but if she just kept denying it they would go away. Worked in New York whenever rumors started about her.

She also had her first cheerleading practice that day which was only half-humiliating somehow. It ran simultaneously to the football one, so her friends were sorta just standing on the sidelines watching both Percy's and her and Aphrodite's practices.

The first game wasn't till the next friday anyway, so she had next wednesday afternoon to train as well. That was good considering how much she needed it. Artemis was meh as cheerleading. She could do all the actions no problem but it was both memorizing the cheers and actually getting excited that was the problem.

Especially when not everyone was cheering, she was reluctant to raise her voice above inside voice volume. She mostly just shouted when the others had already started, not too keen on her saying it a millisecond early and everyone hearing her scream chants.

So yeah, cheerleading practice was a mixed bag. Thankfully they finished 15 minutes before the football team did, so they all got to stand around and watch the boys goof off and somehow still manage to complete the drills the coach had set them.

Artemis' eyes were almost constantly focused on number 22, star running back Percy Jackson. He was sorta bullshitting with the others since it was first practice. They were currently playing chicken chase, where all the receivers and backs on the team had a ball each and it was the defense's job to get the balls off of them all in the least amount of time.

Currently half of the receivers were out, and it was Percy and two others left. He was pretty good. He was fast but he also had some finesse to his running that allowed him to Matrix his way through defense. He was the second to last one to get out, mainly cause defense hive-minded him and he got cornered by 5 guys.

That was the last exercise, so Percy walked over to their group, panting and sweating. He took off his helmet and bent forwards, catching his breath. It was hard to sprint for three and a half minutes straight.

"Holy shit..." He wheezed. "Summer caught me lackin'" He commented, knowing he'd need to get back into his hardcore fitness routine after slacking off for most of summer.

He turned to his twin and his date - two different people. "How'd that do for ya?" He asked, talking about the cheerleading practice. Aph smiled and bounced on one foot. "Twas gooood! The girls needed some reminding after so long but they got the hang of it. Artemis was good too, just needs to raise her voice more." She and Percy both looked at her smiling, making her blush. "That's cool." Percy noted.

Aphrodite then leant up on her tippy toes and whispered something in his ear, making Percy cringe. "Ew, c'mon Aph." He chided, and his twin shrugged. "Hey, I didn't expressly say anything!" She adamantly denied, but Percy crossed his arms shyly. "You were suggestive."

Hela walked over and tousled Percy's sweaty hair. "Hurry up and go get changed. I wanna go home." She said. Percy nodded and ran off to the locker rooms, leaving the group of four by themselves - Artemis and Aph were gonna get changed at home.

"I still don't know how to feel about this." Apollo said dejectedly with his arms crossed. He had been sulking all day, a sour look on his face whenever he looked at Percy. On one hand, Percy was cool and the best guy he could ever ask for for his sister. On the other hand, that didn't mean he was asking for any guy for he Well, at least he was better than Orion, but so was a pig to be honest.

Artemis smiled at her brother, not sure whether to think of his sulking and worry as sweet or annoying. "It's all good, man. Me and Perce aren't gonna do anything, just have dinner and catch a movie. Plus, you get some alone time with Aph and Hela in their room." She suggested, knowingly falsely getting his hopes up.

At the suggestion Apollo visibly brightened, but cringed again. "Promise me you ain't gonna do any of that stuff?" He pleaded, the stuff he was alluding to being fairly obvious. Artemis rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't even if you wanted me to. It's our first date, my first date. Again, you know me better than that."

Apollo nodded with a smirk. "Of course. My lil' sis would never sleep with a guy on the first date." He wrapped an arm around her, and she struggled to escape his grip enough to elbow him in the side.

Percy jogged back over after a couple minutes in his school clothes, and Hela gagged as he came to a halt next to her. "Did you shower?!" She choked, and Percy gave her a look and gestured with his arms incredulously. "You said you wanted to go!"

Hela nodded, moving quickly away. "Yup! I do, now let's do." She said, hustling towards the carpark. Percy grinned and ran after her, making Hela yelp and sprint away while her stinky brother chased her off.

The other three laughed and lagged behind, taking their sweet time. "So you guys coming round to ours?" Aphrodite asked her friends, but Artemis shook her head. "Can't. Gotta go home and get changed, and get ready for tonight. Apollo might."

Aphrodite smirked and nudged her. "Ooh, tonight, huh? Planning on coming back late?" She implied, making Artemis flush with embarrassment. "N~o." She weakly responded, her strength failing.

Aphrodite looked past her to Apollo. "You coming?" She asked, and as much as he wanted to say yes, he had to say no. "Nah, sorry. I really wanna see how our parents react when they find out about it." He told her.

Aphrodite smiled. "Understandable."

Knowing her fear of the back, Artemis got to sit in the front seat with Percy on the drive home, windows down so she wasn't inhaling sweat stench. Percy blushed, his left wrist still marked by his twin's drawings. "Sorry. I'll shower when I get home. You comin' to ours?" He asked, and Artemis gave him the same answer she'd given Aph.

Percy looked out the window then back at her as they sped down the country road. "So... where do ya wanna go for eats? What movie you wanna see? Preferably not anywhere too fancy, I'm American, not rich." He asked, and Artemis shrugged.

She had no idea if they had options outside of town, she had no idea how far away the next big town was. It couldn't be too far since there weren't any movie theaters in Elis Springs from what she could see. "Uh, I don't know what movies are out. We could just see when we get there. Do you wanna just go to the diner for dinner?" She asked.

Percy smiled and nodded. "Sounds romantic. I'm fiending for some nachos." He commented, and Artemis rolled her eyes as she imagined him with his face covered in mince licking his fingers. To be fair the basis for that thought was Apollo so she was probably over exaggerating. "Yup. Romantic." She smiled.

So the football player who smelled like sweat dropped his date who was a cheerleader and her twin brother off at the crossroad between their properties and the Jacksons went on their way. Artemis and Apollo began the trek home which would only take a minute or two.

As they trudged along the dirt road Artemis looked up at her brother. "You writin' any new songs?" She asked, and Apollo laughed. "Really? We been here like 4 days and you're already getting a southern accent? We're not even in the south! We're as far north as it gets. Saong. Saungs. Sa-ungs." He laughed, imitating her non-eastern way of pronouncing songs.

He cleared his throat. "But yeah, yeah I done a couple. Lyrics are shoddy and probably need to expand into some verses but I found two good chorus thingies so I'm working with 'em. Tryna experiment with rural songs now that we're out here, singing about wilderness and that." He said, and now it was Artemis' turn to laugh.

"What've you got to sing about? You ain't been in the wilderness!" She joked, and Apollo rolled his eyes. "Y'aint been in the whilderniss." He mimicked with the rural accent he thought she was developing.

Eventually Artemis cooled a bit. "But that's cool anyway. You should show me sometime. I always liked your songs." She smiled, enjoying the moment of bonding. Apollo smiled right back at her. "Thanks sis, that means a lot. Music class is boring - I know everything already from New York - but Aph and Hela are there so it's fun." He told her.

Artemis nodded. "At least you're doing something with your life. I still don't know what to go to college for. Far as I know archery doesn't pay the bills." She complained, and Apollo shrugged. "Hey, music ain't exactly stable y'know! Even if I get a hit, I'll probably only get one and then burn that money. More likely I'll be playing at bars for the rest of my life." He countered, and Artemis nodded. "Fair enough."

As they reached the opening of their property where their dad's truck was parked, Artemis looked down at her outfit. "Shit, mom and dad don't even know I'm a cheerleader." She cursed, but Apollo just shrugged. "Don't worry. I'll gladly tell 'em when we get inside."

Artemis rolled her eyes again but ultimately didn't argue. It was a better method than 'uh, m-mom, dad, I joined the ch~cheerleaders at scho~ol. Can you come w-w-watch?'

Sure enough when they walked inside Zeus was on the couch watching tv while Hera was dusting some of the furniture, and both looked towards their newly-arrived kids. Both parents' eyes widened when they saw Artemis' outfit.

If you were Baptist or Mormon she'd look like a whore. Red and gold uniform made up of a full shell which left the lower back open, a skirt that ran to mid-thighs, and white socks that made it up to her knees. "Artemis, what are you wearing?" Hera asked, setting down the duster and walking over to her.

Artemis blushed, so Apollo answered for her. "She forgot to tell you but she made the cheerleading squad." He said nonchalantly, and both Zeus and Hera looked flabbergasted.

"You're kiddin', right? My daughter, a cheerleader?" He clarified, and Artemis silently nodded, hoping he wouldn't get mad. He shook his head and turned back to the tv. "Well I'll be damned. You any good?" He asked.

She shyly smiled. "Well I made the team, didn't I?" She pointed out. Zeus nodded, then raised an eyebrow. "Might this have anything to do with the fact that Percy plays for the team?" He asked, and Hera whirled to him and hissed for him to shut his mouth.

Unfortunately Apollo didn't get that same message. "Well actually that's the other thing. Arty's going on a date tonight with Perce." He said, and Artemis could hear it. He was right. Only five days here and they were already developing rural American accents.

This caught their parents' attention, and Hera gasped while Zeus' eyebrows furrowed. "What?!" He reacted as Hera clapped her hands. "My baby's going on her first date!" She almost squealed.

Yup, definitely getting accents.

As she continued to fangirl out about this her husband stood up. "Now hold on a minute! I need to have a talk with him." He tried, but Hera whirled on him too. "Zeus! Don't you start nothin'. This is exactly what we hoped for!" She reminded him, making Artemis gain an incredulous look on her face.

Zeus nodded. "I know that. We hoped that if it had to be anybody, it would be nice if it was him. That didn't mean I wanted anybody to date my girl. It's my fatherly duty to go give him a good talking to." He said adamantly, and Artemis protested.

Hera darted over to him. "Don't you dare ruin this for me. This is maybe my one chance to get a good son-in-law who can provide me with good grandbabies to look after and I am not going to let you screw that up, you hear?!" She hissed, and Zeus was frozen in place.

"Yes, ma'am." He sighed, and his wife calmed down a bit. "Still gonna give him a talk when he gets here." He muttered.

Artemis stood kinda shocked at the door by Apollo. "Wait, so you guys are okay with this?" She asked, and Hera turned. "It's Percy you're going on a date with, right?" She asked, and her daughter nodded back.

Then Hera smiled. "Then of course we are. Better than most other boys we seen in this town." She noted, to which Zeus hummed in agreement. "A polite, physically gifted and good looking football player for a son-in-law? What's to be upset about?" He laughed, seeming very un-Zeus like.

This place was changing 'em all, arguably for the better. Montana has that effect on people.

Percy stepped out of the shower feeling mighty refreshed, grabbing a red towel off the rack and wrapping it around his waist. He sniffed his armpit when he'd dried off a bit and he cringed. It was better but he'd definitely need cologne.

He exited the bathroom and heard crying coming from the living room, as in a child's crying. He thought Casey might just be tired and having a tanty until Hela walked past. She smelled the air and nodded. "At least you're bearable now. Case slipped in the kitchen cause mom mopped it. She'll be fine. Mom and Aph are hugging her and kissing it better." She assured him.

Percy nodded and moved across to his room, glad that Aphrodite was already out so he could change.

He gave a little thought to what he'd wear, but not too much of course. As Artemis had earlier discovered was very common, he wore a tight silver shirt with the blue Dallas Cowboys' star on it, as well as a pair of blue jeans, giving him a truly country boy look. Only thing that would have made it better was suspenders but he didn't think that was very romantic, so he chose one of the belts his dad had given him. It was brown and had an oval buckle with a picture of a lake and elk engraved into it with the words Tucker and Sons Hunting. He was really going all out with the whole country boy look.

Only thing that would have made that better was a pair of work boots...

So he pulled those out too and left them off for now. Sally didn't like people wearing their boots inside, so he would put 'em on at the door. Now he had completed the country boy look. Well, a Stetson hat and aviators would do wonders.

No, he wasn't that desperate. Besides, it would be night, why would he need shades?

Well just in case, he'd take them on his head.

He had no idea why he was doing this. The only thing that suggested Artemis liked country boys was the fact that he was her first ever date, which she acquired only a few days after arriving in rural America, whereas after 16 years in the city she had apparently never even been interested. That didn't necessarily mean she was into the country thing, maybe she was just into his stellar looks.

Yeah, definitely bring the aviators.

Once he was dressed he walked out into the living room where Casey was sitting on the floor in front of the tv, watching Regular Show. She looked up at him and pointed to her knee, which had a band-aid on it. "I slipped!" She said happily, which was contrasted by her tear-streaked face. Percy briefly wondered how she got a band-aid-worthy wound from slipping on tiled floor. "That's nice, you get it kissed better by mom and Aph?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Yup. When are you going to Artemis's house?" She inquired, not knowing the word date, and Sally looked up from her spot on the couch. Percy silently groaned as he remembered the interaction with his parents that morning when he came back in and told them of his new arrangement.

He walked into the house now with a significantly happier look on his face. His little sister was not too far behind, equally as happy as she followed him wherever he went through the house, still holding onto her teddy.

They walked into the kitchen where Sally was making Poseidon some coffee. She saw two of her kids with grins on their faces and raised an eyebrow. "What're you two so happy about?"

Before Percy had a chance to respond, Casey once again filled in for him. "Percy is gonna see a movie with Artemis!" She exclaimed joyfully, making Sally look at him with wide eyes and a smile playing on her face.

Percy rolled his eyes and turned to Casey, bending down to be more level. "Okay, how bout from now on, I say what I gotta say and you say what you gotta say. That sound fair?" He asked, and Casey nodded. He wasn't even sure if she understood what that had meant.

He nodded, looking back up to his mom. "So you and Artemis, huh?" She asked with a cheeky grin, which he reciprocated. "Yeah, I guess so. We're gonna check out a movie if that's cool." He informed her.

Sally nodded and smiled, wrapping him in a hug. "Oh, I knew from the moment I first saw her that you two'd be perfect together. My baby boy's going on a date!" She almost squealed.

Poseidon had been much more chill about it, clapping his son the back. "That's my boy!" He exclaimed.

And now Sally sat on the couch giving him a knowing look. "You be good to her, ya hear? I don't want you doing anything or pushing for anything she's not comfortable with. I raised you better than that." She said like the good Christian lady she was.

Percy rolled her eyes. "Of course I ain't gonna do anything like that. You raised me better than that." He said for extra brownie points. "We'll be back before midnight." He claimed, not actually knowing whether that was feasible.

The afternoon passed fairly quickly, and Percy decided that being ten minutes early was okay and grabbed his keys from the rack. As he passed his dad the Jackson patriarch grinned at him. "Go get 'em tiger, though be careful. It was only the fourth date when you and Aph came into the mix!" He warned, making Percy cringe hard.

"I'll be good, dad. Have fun without me." He gave him a lopsided grin and left the house. He hopped in his truck and was about to start it when he heard tapping on his window. Percy jumped in fright and looked to his left, only to see his mom's face peering in at him. He turned the keys and rolled down the window, looking out at her. "What?"

Sally reached into her pocket and pulled out something, showing it to him. "Here, I went in and got one of these today, just in case. I want you to be safe tonight-" She handed it to him, but Percy cut her off by dropping it down into the cup holder.

"Gross, mom! I ain't planning on doing that!" He told her, staring at the condom as he moved it from the cup holder to the tray in between seats where he stored shit like his mints and change.

Sally nodded, tapping on the truck door. "Well just in case. You can never be too careful. You know you and Aph were-" She began, but he cut her off eagerly. "Yeah yeah, you got knocked up on the fourth date, be safe, yada yada. I'll be fine mom." He said, not wanting to hear that story again. He started the truck and put it in reverse.

He backed up and then turned around, heading down the driveway off the Jackson property. "Be safe!"

The ride to pick up his date only took a minute, and in no time he was sitting outside the Olympia household waiting for her to come out. He didn't want to honk because in the evening it might piss off her parents, so he texted her saying he was there.

It took another couple minutes but eventually Artemis came out wearing typical clothes for a city girl her age. Skinny jeans, rock band t-shirt and sneakers with a blue hoodie that was unzipped. She walked round the other side and hopped in, giving her date a smile. "Hey." She greeted, and he greeted her back as such.

She clicked on her seatbelt. "Right, you ready?" He asked, hand on the gears, but she didn't answer. Instead she chose to sigh as she looked past him out the window.

Tap tap tap tap

He jumped once more and looked at his window to find another face peering in at him, only instead of a kindly woman it was replaced with a solemn, bearded man. He sighed in relief and wound down the window. People gotta stop jumpscaring me like that.

Zeus cleared his throat as Percy sat patiently and politely for what he wanted. He had the feeling he was about to receive the dad talk and sure enough Zeus began grilling him with questions.

"So what're you two planning tonight?" He asked, and Percy took his hands off the wheel so it didn't feel like he was being interrogated by a police officer.

He looked at Artemis "Uh, well I assume we're still hittin' the diner for dinner and then we're gonna check a movie in the next town over, half hour drive from here. Don't worry, I'm sober." He assured, and Artemis nodded at the plan.

Zeus also nodded, still suspicious. "And what about after that?" He asked. Percy breathed, tensed up from this. "Well I guess that depends on Artemis, here. If she's tired I'll bring her home. If not then I don't know, up to her."

Zeus' knuckles were white. "You know what I'm tryna insinuate, right?" He asked, and Percy gulped. "I don't know what insinulate means but if means like... underlying tone then yeah I'm gettin' it." He said quietly.

Zeus' eyes narrowed. "And you know what I'm thinking and want to say but can't right here, yes?" He confusingly said, and after a second Percy nodded. "I'm gettin' the vibe. Yeah. Don't worry, I'll be good."

Zeus grinned and backed up. "Don't be late!" He yelled as Percy started the truck back up. "Yup! Midnight-ish!" He called.

They pulled out of the driveway and Zeus stood on the doorstep watching them go. Artemis called out as they left. "Bye, dad!"

Zeus stood with his arms crossed, beard flowing in the wind. "I just had my first dad talk and I didn't even say anything. My daughter's goin' on her first date. God, I'm gettin' old. Least I still got Athena." He muttered to himself, walking back into the house.

Percy breathed for once as they pulled out of the property and onto the road that led off to the main one. Artemis was slightly embarrassed by the situation. "Sorry about that. He can be... protective." She apologized.

Percy tried desperately not to look at the condom and turned to look at her since it was a straight road. "Ain't nothin' to apologize for. I was honestly thinking he'd be more angry. He seemed relatively cool with this." He noted, making his date nod. "Yeah well part of that was mom telling him to shut up and sit down." She laughed.

He looked at her outta the corner of his eye as they reached the main road. "You still keen on diner?" He asked, and she nodded.

They pulled up to the diner that night to find it busier than the other time she'd been here. There were quite a few people inside but it wasn't overloaded or anything. The two of them rushed out of the truck and inside to get a booth before they were all snatched up.

Thankfully they had apparently gotten there just in time, as there were only a few booths left. The two of them quickly claimed one by the front window, and once Artemis was securely guarding it Percy dived off to get some menus and go bathroom.

Artemis sat in the red leather booth looking down at the table in front of her. Her hands rested on her lap she smiled as she began to comprehend that this was her first date ever. In the history of Artemis Olympia, this was something never seen before.

And the fact that she was dating this guy, who she genuinely thought was the most attractive guy she had ever met, was mind boggling to her. Kids were single and starving in Africa and here she is with the closest thing to the man of her dreams on a date in a retro diner after knowing him for less than a week.

She heard the sound of pitter patters coming from outside rapidly and she looked out the dark window. Faintly she could see rain, a pity but ultimately it wasn't affecting the date. It was outside, she was inside. She sat there staring as the rain kept pouring until Percy came back a minute later with two laminated menus.

Artemis skimmed the menu, focusing on the burgers because that's what she felt like right now - only she didn't want tomato. Tomato sucks ass. "Would you eat my tomato?" She asked him out of the blue, and Percy sat there with a strained look on his face before he let out one little snicker.

Artemis' eyebrows furrowed and she realised what that had sounded like. "No, not like th-" She began to explain, but Percy cut her off. "That's what she said!" He cackled, and Artemis rolled her eyes.

Percy started dying on the table in fits of laughter and all Artemis could do was roll her eyes. "Good start." She muttered, not able to hide the small smile that plagued her face as her date was on his way to deceasing in front of her.

Percy finally calmed down and looked at the menu. "Uh no, sorry. Hate tomatoes." He told her, and she nodded. His eyes skimmed the menu and he found what he wanted. "Cool, I'm having nachos and a coke." He said, putting the laminated paper down and looking around the diner.

"Oh god." He murmured, and Artemis looked up. "Hm?" She questioned, and Percy nodded in some direction. "They're here." He hissed, and she turned around, but her face immediately fell.

Orion and his two goons had a booth across the diner and were mucking around, causing a ruckus on that side and being a nuisance. They both turned back around. "Just ignore 'em." He said, but Artemis sighed. "I would if I wasn't in full view of them."

Percy shook his head. "They won't even notice us. What're you ordering?" He checked, and Artemis skimmed it once more before making up her mind. "I'm basic. Just a cheeseburger with a strawberry shake, no tomatoes."

Percy nodded. "No tomatoes in the shake, got it." He gave a lopsided grin and Artemis couldn't help but laugh.

A waitress came over and stood there with a smile on her face. "H- Well, helloooo." She said, and the two of them looked up.

A familiar brunette stood there with a smile on her face and a small braid in her hair. "Hey, Pipes. I didn't know you worked Thursdays." Percy greeted, and Piper shrugged. "Needed money so I picked up extra shifts. Are you two..." She trailed off, grinning.

Percy turned back to smile at Artemis and so she took it upon herself to answer for the two of them. "Uh, yeah, we are... doing that thing. It's my first, too." She explained, making Piper gasp. "Your first date! With Percy too!" She squeaked.

She shuddered as she looked between the table and the counter. "Oh god I wish I could just watch but that would be really weird and I have work... ugh. So what'll ya have?" She asked with a smile as she brought out her notepad and pencil.

Percy looked back at Artemis for confirmation and then ordered for them both. "Uh, I'mma have some nachos and coke n' she'll have a cheeseburger and strawberry shake - oh, no tomatoes." He said, pronouncing the a in nachos like the word at.

Piper nodded and jotted it down on the paper. "Cool. I'll be back with your drinks soon." She assured them, walking off to place their order with the kitchen.

Percy turned back and put his hands together, resting his elbows on the table. "So what now?" He asked, and Artemis just gave him a weird look. "Don't ask me. I ain't done this before. What are we supposed to do at this point?" She reminded him.

Percy shrugged. "Haven't been on many dates myself. In movies they just talk a lot on dates." He said with a lopsided straight face.

Artemis got more comfy on her elbows as they waited for drinks. "Well then what do you wanna talk about?" She asked, just wanting him to lead this conversation already. Percy shut up and thought for a moment with a long and hard look on his face.

"Okay. Baked beans or spaghetti?" He asked, and Artemis turned her head. "Like the cans? Spaghetti." She said.

Wrong answer. Percy cringed, scrunching his face up in disgust. "How? The sauce tastes bad." He argued, but Artemis shrugged. "Tastes alright to me, I guess."

"Well then what kinda music you like?" He then moved to ask, and Artemis actually had to think about that one. "A mix, I guess. I like a lot of alt-rock, some pop-rock, even a bit of hip hop I guess. I like RHCP and Imagine Dragons." She admitted.

Percy sat there smiling like an idiot. "I dunno what any of that means, but I like good rock. Like the old school stuff. Like this!" He said, gesturing to the roof, or rather their surroundings, and in the background Artemis could hear The Stroke by Billy Squier.

"Stroke me, stroke me. Stroke!" He quietly sang, headbanging and earning a laugh from his date.

Piper suddenly reappeared with a plate, which held two large glasses on it. Honestly how she could balance that without knocking into something was beyond Artemis' comprehension. "Here ya go! Shake and coke. Ya food'll be out soon." She said, handing them their drinks. "Enjoy your date!" She gave her best wishes, walking off to continue her job.

As they took their respectives sips they sat in silence for a moment, enjoying the peace and comfort of the situation. When they put down their drinks Percy was the one to speak. "Okay, now it's your turn to ask me stuff." He offered to let her take the reins, and so now Artemis had to think of a question.

"Ummm, tell me about... you. Wait, no, that's dumb, how bout-" She groaned, but Percy interrupted her. "No no, that's a good one. Well I mean it ain't excitin' but it'll do." He assured her, then taking a sip of his coke.

He then began to explain his story. "Well I was born in Montana, lived in Montana my whole life, but somehow your brother thinks I sound like I'm from Texas." He grinned, and Artemis laughed. Well... he's not wrong... She thought to herself.

"As y'know I got a twin sister, a baby sister, and an adopted sister. I don't really think it's my place to talk about Hela's backstory, she doesn't like talking bout it much. Umm.... My birthday's in August. My favorite color is blue.... I've broken a lot of bones - actually I shattered my ribcage like twice - I don't know how many ribs exactly. First time I was 11 and crashed the quad down a hill. Second time I was 14 and got kicked by a horse. Both times couldn't get outta bed for like a month, movin' my body hurt like a mothertrucker."

Artemis couldn't help but cringe at the story. "Lovely. I've never done anything that bad but I broke my leg in hockey and fractured my arm skateboarding. That shit hurt like hell." She reminisced on those painful winters. That's what she got for trying to skateboard in January in New York.

Percy just laughed. "Wait 'till you spend more time out on the farm. You got, what, two years till college? Plenty of time to fuck up your body. All sorts o' stuff'll do it out here. Get trampled by an elk, bear attack, shooting accident, get run over on the main road, etc." He assured his date, who sighed and took another sip. "Great."

"Ooh, I got one!" Percy interjected the silence. "Would you rather be a werewolf or vampire?" He asked, and Artemis rolled her eyes. "What kinds?" She needed to clarify.

Percy tilted his head, not getting it.

"Like is it Twilight vampires or cartoon ones? Wolf man werwolves or like actual dogs that walk on two legs? Give me specifics." She requested. Percy laughed and leaned forward, rethinking the question a bit.

"Okay, how bout this. In one corner you got werewolf. You become a werewolf every full moon, you lose your humanity and go apeshit, and you get killed by silver and all that. On the other hand you have vampires. You look super sexy, you get to live forever, only problem is you can't go out into the sunlight or eat garlic." He offered two choices.

Artemis was silent for a second. "When I go out into sunlight do I explode or does it just slowly burn?" Percy looked to the side for a second. "Slowly burn."

Artemis sat back in her seat. "Well then that's easy. Vampire. As much as I like going outside and eating cheesy garlic pizza, I can just be a night owl and eat simply cheese. As long as I still look like a human being." She said.

Percy shrugged. "I dunno. I think I'd choose vampire but being a werewolf would be cool as a side thing. Why not both?" He asked, and Artemis rolled her eyes. "Because that's called cheating."

"Heeeey. Guess who's back! And look what I got!" Piper piped cheerfully, walking back over with two plates. Percy clapped like a happy little boy as she put down his plate of nachos in front of him whereas Artemis thanked the cheerleader when she received her burger. "Again, enjoy your date!" Piper said gleefully, leaving them to their dinner.

"I am so hungry." Percy said breathlessly as he grabbed one of the chips, scooped up some mince and took a big crunch. Artemis rolled her eyes and rolled up her sleeves before grabbing her burger and digging in.

The two ate in silence for a while, neither keen on speaking with their mouth full, and the two quite enjoyed their meal. Artemis was thankful they had remembered to leave out the tomatoes, and the burger tasted great as well.

Contrary to her earlier thought, Percy was not very messy when eating nachos. He used the chips to scoop the mince unlike her brother, who attempted to do so but would end up getting it all over his fingers. Percy also didn't get much on his face, so that was a plus.

"Hey," A snarky voice came from beside them. The two of them turned and their worst nightmares were realised as Orion and his two goons stood looking down at the two of them. "What're you doin' here?" Orion asked with contempt in his voice.

Artemis' eyes narrowed. "What? We're not allowed to eat here?" She became defensive, hating this guy with a passion. Orion sneered. "Y'ain't answered my question. Why ya here?"

Percy sighed. "What d'ya think, Orion? We're on a date, beat it." He jabbed a thumb in the direction of their table, and the two goons frowned angrily while Orion smirked at Artemis.

"You? You're on a date with him? Heh, yeah right. Hey missy, why don't ya come join us at our booth. Plenty of room." He offered with an almost malicious grin.

Artemis was about to retort with some threat but Percy just slammed down his glass and grabbed a fork. "Did y'not fucking hear me? We're on a date, fuck off!" He said as loud as he could without attracting attention.

The three kids just laughed. "A fork, real funny. That sposed to be scary? Look, all I'm sayin' is ya misses here can do way fuckin' better, and better is over that way." He said, pointing to their booth.

"Go shave your grandma's asshair and drink it out of her fleshlight." Artemis snapped with a surprising amount of brutality. Percy wasn't even sure how she knew what a fleshlight was.

Orion's frown turned into a scowl. "What'd you say to-" He moved towards Artemis but was halted by Percy stabbing him three times in the gut with the fork. Well stabbing was an overstatement. He was forcefully prodded multiple times.

"Watch your fucking back, Orion. I will gut you." He threatened, very much pissed off. Orion glared, fists clenched as he backed up. "You gon' regret that, Jackson. You watch your back." He warned, turning and hustling back to his own booth with the goons, Otis and Ephialtes.

Once they were gone Artemis turned to look at him. "You shoulda let me have more goes at him. I've had some creative insults prepped for him for a couple days." She said.

Percy shrugged. "Ya got school for that. It ain't anywhere I can stab him and get away with it. You finished? Wanna dip?" He asked, and she nodded.

Percy went up to the counter to pay while Artemis hung beside him, not keen on going out into the dark carpark alone with Orion's gang still lurking. They left together and she stuck close by Percy while they made their way to the truck. Upon entering Percy looked at her. "Still up for movie?" He asked.

Artemis nodded, and he pulled outta the carpark and drove out of town down the main road.

They sat in silence for a while with the radio playing before Artemis broke said silence. "You shoulda fought him. That woulda been pretty funny." She suggested, making Percy himself laugh. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Halloween on Friday." Artemis brought up another icebreaker, and Percy looked at her from the corner of his eye. "You sure you wanna do something' for that? It's a lot different out here, all sorts a evils lurking about. I mean, don't get me wrong I know you can handle yourself but... after last year and all that..." He muttered.

This piqued Artemis' interest. "What? What do you mean after what happened last year? What happened." She asked curiously. Percy had to hide his smile as he shook his head. "No, no, I probably shouldn't. It would ruin the holiday for ya." He smirked.

Artemis gave him a deadpan look. "Fuck you. Nothing happened." She was in denial now, but Percy shrugged. "Well fine. Probably best that way. Wouldn't wanna scare ya." He egged her on.

Artemis' pride got the better of her. "Pfft. As if. I don't get scared by stories." She fell for the trap.

Percy nodded his head to the side. "Well then. Guess you'll be fine and dandy on Halloween. Speaking of which, I dunno what ya wanna do but me n the girls gotta take Casey trick or treatin' first and the town usually holds a little Halloween fair, pretty much for the little kids, but there's some stuff for older kids. We're probably gonna take her to that unless mom and dad do. If you want you can tag along for all that and then we can do whatever we want after Case's back home. The haunted house might be interesting." He smirked.

Artemis considered it. "Could be fun. Haven't been trick or treating since I was like 10. Is the fair usually good?" She asked, and Percy shrugged.

"They pretty much just decorated the main street. They got a carnival thingy at the primary school. It's corny as hell but fun with friends. Even more so considering it'll be you and Apollo's first year." He told her.

Artemis nodded. "We need costumes?" She asked, and Percy nodded. "Don't need 'em but we're gonna get 'em. Aph wants to take Casey shopping for one tomorrow so guess I'll get one too. Be a lot cooler if you did." He encouraged, and Artemis relented.

"If I can skim $15 off my dad then sure." She agreed, getting Percy to grin. He was silent for a while, gambling as to whether he should make this joke, but eventually he cracked.

"You should talk to Aph. She can get her hands on some... party costumes." He suggested, and it took a few seconds for Artemis to understand as her eyes widened. Percy burst out laughing as she had to hold in her anger, choosing to hit him repeatedly in the side. "Stop, stop, I'm drivin'!" He begged.

Artemis settled into her seat, crossing her arms and looking out the window into the blackness. She couldn't help the small smile on her face. "Prick."

He nodded his head. "Camping would also be fun." He suggested. This piqued Artemis' interest. "Camping?" She asked with intrigue.

Percy nodded. "Yeah, I know you guys don't do that in New York since over there it's called homelessness, but we can go camping any weekend we want." He informed her.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "I been camping before. We used to go up to Maine and Michigan for some outdoorsy trips during summers. I've also hiked the Appalachian trail." She said smugly, which made Percy scoff. "Really, you hiked the Appalachian trail? A 16 year old girl. Y'know that takes like six months, right?"

Artemis still had her arms crossed. "I never said I hiked the whole thing, just that I've done it. And for the record, three days. Yeah. Try hiking for three days." She boasted.

Percy smirked. "I have, it's called getting lost." He quipped, getting her to laugh.

Once again they sat in silence for a while, just enjoying each other's company. The town was only a few minutes away now, since Percy was going like 90 mph and it was a straight road. All of a sudden he spoke again. "It'd be cool to hike that one day." He said, obviously talking about the Appalachian trail.

Artemis hummed. "Mm, though more like one year. How do you reckon you'd survive?" She wondered, and Percy shrugged. "I dunno if you're allowed to hunt so I guess you could stop off at a grocery store in whatever town you hit. Would be an experience anyway."

He then had a thought. "Tell you what. If we're still friends in a few years when we're adults - dating or not - you wanna attempt it?" He offered.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at the offer. Not a typical friend trip, or honeymoon or whatever standard the two of them would be in in a couple years. Still, if they were still friends by that point it would be fun, and having someone with her would make it much more tolerable.

"You know what, if this works out and we're still good friends by that point, I may just take you up on that offer." She agreed, earning a grin. "You got yerself a deal then."

They flew into the nearest and Artemis was shocked at the stark contrast. Elis Springs hadone main street and a couple hundred residential homes to it, this place had a Walmart.

"Hate this place." Percy muttered, making Artemis raise an eyebrow. "Why?" She asked, genuinely wondering.

Percy shrugged. "Just a pride thing I guess. Small town rivalries. Rural America's very national-istic, if that's a word, both for the country, our states, our counties and our towns. We always find reasons to get upset when someone insults our shit. This town's just close to us, got more shit than us, and wins a lot at sports. What's not to hate. It's better than us." He whined.

Artemis frowned, looking out at the flashy neon lights on the shops. "I dunno. I think I prefer the quiet." She said, and once again Percy scoffed. "Oh really? Miss city slicker likes the peace and quiet?" He pressed X to doubt.

Artemis nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. The city kinda sucked to be honest. I've always liked the outdoors, I just thought living outside of the city would be a lot harder than it actually was. I mean, cities are great and all but living here... it's the best I've felt in a while." She admitted.

Percy smiled. "I'd hug you if I wasn't drivin'. Hold on, we're almost there. Once we park I'mma give you a bigass hug." He promised, making Artemis laugh.

They reached the cinema and luckily it wasn't that busy so Percy just pulled over on the side of the road and the two of them got out. Percy ran around the truck and tackled her in a hug, making Artemis giggle and squirm. "No, no! No hug!" She cackled, but he did not relent. Instead he held her in the air with his arms wrapped around her waist.

Eventually he had to concede and release her, to which Artemis slapped him playfully on the arm. "Prick." She half-muttered, half-giggled.

Percy led her over to the cinema. It was a typical one you'd see in high school movies, small with a bigass sign on the front that said what was playing that night. There was a small booth in the front where a guy stood boredly, people in line buying tickets. The two of them got in line and waited for their turn, trying not to freeze their asses off in the cold night.

While they waited the two of them looked at the posters on the wall. They couldn't choose, as the only movie playing that night was Mortal Kombat. The two of them both liked action movies anyway and Percy was a fan of the games so it was a win-win.

It took only two minutes to reach the ticket stand and Percy was the one paying. "Hey, two tickets please." He ordered, whipping out his wallet. The guy in the booth nodded. "You both 16?" He asked.

Percy nodded and whipped out his ID, and the guy conceded the tickets. They thanked him and walked to the concession stand, where there was surprisingly no line. "You want food?" He offered, and Artemis paused for a second. "Hold up, I feel guilty you're paying for everything." She said.

Percy shrugged. "It ain't my money. Dad was excited I'm goin' on a date so he gave me a hundred bucks. And look! If we get a bucket and two drinks I'll have twenty spare!" He flashed an Andrew Jackson - no relation - excitedly.

Artemis laughed as he waved around the twenty dollar bill. "Okay then. A coke will do, again." She agreed, and Percy smiled. He turned to the guy at the stand and ordered one jumbo popcorn and two large cokes. The dead-inside teenager nodded and prepared their food for them. Artemis took the drinks while Percy grabbed the popcorn and readied their tickets. The two of them handed their tickets off to the guy and entered the theatre.

It was relatively empty, so the two were able to get a whole row to themselves near the front. They sat in the middle and patiently waited for the movie to start.

It was a good movie, if a bit boring sometimes. The fight scenes were great too. Halfway through the movie Percy considered doing 'that thing a guy does on a movie date', and after rationalizing that it would at least earn a laugh from her, went through with that plan.

During a rising tension period, Percy felt a yawn coming on and seized the moment, stretching his arms in the air and giving an exaggerated yawn. On the comedown, he had his right arm gently descend down the back of her chair and around Artemis' shoulder.

Artemis felt this sudden invasion and her base instinct was to kick the shit out of him. She'd had guys lay their hands on her before, and it generally led to knee to the knads. If it was during gym, she'd wait for the game to start back up and then 'accidentally' slam them down onto that stupid shiny floor.

What are gym floors made of? It usually looks like wood but it's as hard as concrete yet too smooth and shiny to be so.

When she remembered it was Percy she considerably cooled a bit and analysed the situation. She had known Percy for four days, he didn't seem like the cliche 80s asshole guy type who would usually do this. In that case he either had no idea what the fuck he was doing and was going off movie logic or he was doing it ironically, and knowing him she guessed it was the second.

On top of that, this was a public place. If he was to try anything she could just get up and find help.

It also helped that she liked him back.

"You expectin' to get a laugh, a kiss or a slap?" She whispered to him in the dark, looking up at her date. Percy gave her a lopsided grin. "The first two?" He asked, and Artemis smiled.

"You can settle for the first one." She laughed, which sent a wave of relief over Percy. He didn't detach his arm, which Artemis keenly noted. She didn't bring it up though. In fact she did the exact opposite of what Percy expected her to do. She leaned over to the left to rest herself on his chest.

Percy's breath hitched as he calculated what the best course of action was. In the end he decided to push his luck, and as she was munching down on some popcorn he dived in for the second cliche movie date trope. He reached into the bucket and purposely brushed against her hand.

Once again Artemis froze, but instead of considering assault, she looked up at him. He flashed a quick smile and then munched down on some popcorn. Artemis smiled and turned back to the movie, right as something was about to go down.

The two of them left the theatre an hour after that, chatting as they walked back to the truck. "I liked Scorpion and Sub-Zero." Percy said, and Artemis had to double check. "They were the ninjas, right?"

Percy nodded as they both opened the truck doors and hopped in. "Yeah, the fire and ice guys. So where you wanna go?" He asked, and Artemis checked the time. It was only ten, so they had an hour and a half to do stuff before they should head back.

She shrugged, looking out the front. Something caught her eye, and she leaned forward to look up at the sky. It was clear tonight, so the galaxy was in full view for everyone to see. "Woah." She whispered, and Percy looked up to see what she was staring at.

"Like I said the other night, never gets old." He commented, and the two of them sat watching the stars for a bit. Percy then got an idea. "Tell ya what," He said, starting the truck and pulling out onto the road. "Let's go stargazing." He suggested, to which Artemis comfortably sat back in her seat and waited for them to arrive.

As they were driving down yet another country road, Artemis' gaze turned to the tray under the dash where a bunch of change and a packet of gum sat. Though something else sat there too, something that made Artemis' eyes widen.

Her breath hitched, which Percy heard, and he turned to her. His eyes followed her gaze down to the tray, where he saw the small rubber in its plastic wrapping. "Shit." He muttered, grabbing it and chucking it out the window. "Hey!" Artemis said, and Percy was tense.

"Don't worry about it." He smiled, which did nothing to help Artemis' outrage. "Why did you have a condom?!" She asked with an angry tone, making Percy gulp.

"I didn't! My mom put it there!" He excused, to which Artemis rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, sure. Is that why we're going 'stargazing'? You wanted a quiet place to get laid?!" She accused, royally pissed at him.

Seeing as it was a dead road in the middle of nowhere Percy halted the truck and turned to her. "No, Artemis... no. I didn't- I wasn't expecting that. Look... I'm sorry Artemis. My mom got all excited and gave me that even though I didn't want it. I shoulda chucked it out the window immediately. Sorry." He apologized profusely.

Artemis sat with her arms crossed in silence as Percy waited for a response. The glare was gone from her face as she once again thought it over. She didn't really think Percy was like that, and honestly the mom story was more plausible than him tryna get laid. Her eyes flicked to him. "You promise you weren't gonna try anything?"

Percy smiled. "Promise." He whispered. He then reached over to the tray and whipped out the can of green Eclipse. "Mint?" He offered, and she smiled. Artemis held out her hand and he dropped two mints into her palm before doing the same to himself. The two downed their mints and Percy started the truck back up and took off.

They found a nice field which had no livestock or crops in it on some land that didn't seem to be owned by anyone so Percy parked the truck and got out. "You coming or what?" He asked when he saw Artemis was still sitting there. Still swishing the mints in her mouth, Artemis nodded and hopped out.

He hopped up on the bonnet of the truck, to which Artemis reluctantly followed. He helped her up, and they sat with their asses on the windshield wipers and their backs on the glass. The two crossed their arms and looked at the night sky.

They sat in silence once again, watching the stars. "You recognize any of 'em?" He asked, and Artemis hummed. She was no astrologist, so she mainly just tried piecing the ones she knew together in a clump of stars. Unfortunately, she couldn't find a crab, centaur, bull, fish, twins, lion, or anything. What she didn't know at the time was that constellations are fucking dumb and don't look anything like they're supposed to.

"That one looks like a girl holding a bow." She pointed to a random mass of stars. Percy squinted in confusion. "Isn't the Hunter a boy?" He corrected, but Artemis shook her head.

"No, that one looks different. This one's like a mix between the centaur and the hunter. See, there's her rectangle body, her arms, her head, her hair, and then her bow." She drew with her finger. Percy's eyes remained narrowed as he tried to figure it out, but eventually shook his head.

He turned to the left. "Oh look, there's Taurus!" He said, pointing with his finger to a dozen small stars, making Artemis want to facepalm.

They sat in silence again for a while, and as usual, it was Percy who broke it. "This has been nice. Our date." He clarified, making Artemis look at him. The two smiled as they looked each other in the eyes. Artemis hummed in agreement as their gazing turned from the stars to each other.

Percy was quiet for a moment, contemplating his next risky move of the night. As with the other ones, he shrugged and dove in. "You wanna have your first kiss now?" He offered, making Artemis freeze up.

This was becoming something of a running gag as she thought it over and analyzed the situation in her head. She had gone kissless for 16 years, not necessarily waiting for marriage. Then again, she had been dateless for 16 years as well, and a virgin. Maybe she didn't have to wait for marriage. She was only a teenager for a few years after all and her time was running out. Maybe it didn't matter if she lived life to the fullest.

Maybe she should stay a virgin for a while though.

She didn't answer him as she uncrossed her arms and leaned in. Percy's eyes widened in a moment of panic as he had no idea what to do, until it came to him and he leaned in too. He closed his eyes, and Artemis took that cue to do so as well.

They didn't stop leaning in until their lips touched, and Percy uncrossed his arms. To Artemis, it was like the 4th of July 2026. His lips felt like LSD - or at least what LSD was supposed to be like. She almost melted against him as she wanted to spontaneously grow wings and fly up into the heavens.

Percy parted their lips, and she unconsciously leaned forward for more, before sense came back to her and she opened her eyes. "Woah." She whispered dreamily. Percy gave her that grin as the wind pushed against his hair. God, she was so turned on right now.

"That was amazing." She breathed, and this time it was Percy's turn to hum in agreement.

They lay on their sides for a moment just breathing and staring each other in the eyes. There was so much more Artemis wanted to do yet she knew she shouldn't. If she couldn't retain her first kiss, she could at least retain her virginity for a while.

Thankfully she need not instigate it. She had Percy to do that for her. "Wanna make out?" The sexy country boy asked upbeat with a shrug, and it was all Artemis could do but thank the Lord as she leaned in to capture his lips more passionately this time.

They lay on the truck for damn near half an hour, her straddling his lap and grabbing his hair as they kissed feverishly, finally together.

So funny story, originally I didn't know if this chapter was gonna be 3k words (my minimum), so imagine my surprise when the word count rose like the Venezuelan Inflation Rate. I haven't yet eaten dinner, and I'm hungry, so I will go now. I'm honestly surprised the chapter took this long. I was at 8000 words like 3 days ago. Plenty of ideas for future chapters but please do give me more. Bye bye now.

Happy Birthday 

Word Count: 10657