Percy was tired—absolutely worn out, physically and mentally. How could he not be? The music blaring over the loudspeakers and the sweltering throngs of people packed around every corner of the dance floor weren’t exactly helping. Even worse, he’d ended up eating too many of those lotus cookies and completely forgotten his plan not to get too carried away. Talk about a long night.

They—Grover, Annabeth, and himself—had stopped here on a whim after a few rough nights of their quest. Their plan? To stick together and get through one night without being chased down by any… “obstacles.”

He had to admit, it was a nice place. But he had lost all track of time, and both Grover and Annabeth had slipped off the dance floor and casino without so much as a notice—Grover was probably getting his hooves painted, and Annabeth… who knows?

Tired of missing out on the fun his friends were having, he decided to people-watch, staying rooted in his little corner of the party area.

His eyes lingered on everyone who passed or bumped into him, despite his clear disinterest; no one looked more sober than him. Besides that ridiculously attractive guy across the dance floor, of course. At once, he threw away all his plans of being discreet.

“Get it together, Perseus Jackson. He’s just a guy. What’s the worst that could happen?”

A lot, apparently. Wasting no time, Percy noticed the stranger’s eyes land on him, and he took the chance to confidently stride over, hoping to look less out of it than he really was. He didn’t know why he was so nervous—and what the hell was up with this guy’s stare?

Holy shit, never mind. He’s a demigod too.

He had a rather strong presence. Percy stepped closer, leaning in, and cleared his throat, immediately regretting it as his voice cracked out of nowhere.

“Hey.”

“Wow. Great job, Percy. That was so smooth. Now the guy thinks you’re some kind of freak.”

He ran a hand through his hair, still trying to keep up appearances. It was a fruitless effort, he told himself; he’d already botched his well-practiced, charming greeting.