#writerinlearning

The Lotus Hotel and Casino had this big entrance in the shape of a Lotus flower, with its neon petals blinking. There was no one beside us here, and by us I meant me, Annabeth, and Grover, but the chromed doors were wide open, and you could smell the scent of flowers – maybe a lotus blossom, but I wasn’t sure, I’d never smelled one before. It just seemed logical that a Lotus Hotel and Casino would smell like lotus blossom. 

Might as well go in and find Hermes, I told myself when I saw Grover and Annabeth walking in front of me towards the entrance. A doorman was waiting to greet us when we walked past him, and I had to admit he kind of weirded me out. Since I found out I was the son of a God, I’d learned to be suspicious of everyone around me, so I’d figured the doorman could either be a God or a monster – the trick was to know how to recognize them. For some reason, I couldn’t seem to put my finger around this guy… maybe he was just a regular dude. But when we got inside, I heard Grover mumble under his breath as I looked around. The lobby was like a giant arcade room, with a waterslide snaking around a glass elevator that went up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on one side of the building and honestly, the Lotus Hotel and Casino looked way bigger on the inside than on the outside. I could see a bungee-jumping bridge, virtual reality suits with laser guns, and hundreds of video games that were the size of a widescreen TV. Whatever you could think of, I was certain they’d have it. Some kids were running around the place, but not much. There weren’t any waiting lines anywhere, and waitresses were roaming around serving all sorts of foods and drinks.

“I know we’re supposed to be saving the world,” I said as I glanced at Annabeth and Grover, “but would it be unprofessional if we just hung out here for a bit?”

As soon as the words left my mouth, a man dressed in a Hawaiian shirt approached us with a large smile on his face. I frowned; he seemed too eager to us and I knew I should’ve been wary of the dude.

“Hey!” he greeted us. “Welcome to the Lotus Hotel and Casino! Here’s your room key.”

“Um, but–” I stammered.

“No, no. The bill’s taken care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up the top floor to room 4001. If you need anything, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash Cards.” He said as he handed us three green plastic cards. “They work in our restaurants and on all of our games and rides.”

“How much is on here?” I asked as I reluctantly took the card he was handing me.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean– when does it run out of cash?”

He laughed. “Oh, you’re making a joke! Hey, that’s cool. Enjoy your stay.”

And just like that, he was gone and I found myself looking at my friends. I bet I looked like a lost fish but I could see that Annabeth seemed just as confused as I was, and when I turned to look at Grover, he was already gone and in his stead I took notice of a teenage girl. She had H/C hair and E/C eyes, and she looked like she’d seen a ghost or something. She looked out of place, I thought, but for some reason — and against Annabeth’s protests — I found myself walking in her direction. She took a step back when I approached her, and I immediately raised my hands up in defense, to let her know I meant no harm, and she dropped her shoulders.

She was older than me, that much I could tell, and when she took a step away from the darkness behind which she hid, I noticed the bright orange shirt she was wearing; one that matched the one I’d left at camp before going on this quest. She’s from Camp Half-Blood. I frowned, confused, and watched as she looked over my shoulder. She frowned, her confused expression matching mine, and tilted her head to the left. I turned around and saw Annabeth walking over to us, tears in her eyes as she looked at the older girl.

“Annabeth?” The girl from camp asked, her voice wavering.

“Y/N? Is it– is it really you?”

I heard the girl — apparently named Y/N — choke back on a sob when Annabeth stood in front of her. I took a step to the side, feeling like an intruder, but I kept my eyes on them. Maybe that girl was from camp, and she knew Annabeth, but it didn’t mean I had to trust her, right? But she opened her arms and laughed in disbelief as my friend wrapped her arms around the girl’s midsection, laughing with her.

“What are you doing here?” the girl asked when they pulled away from each other. “You shouldn’t be here!”

“We’re looking for Hermes,” Annabeth answered with a smile. “Why are you here? Luke said–”

“Luke lied.” Y/N interrupted her, her features darkening at the mention of Luke. “Whatever he’s told you, it’s a lie.”

I frowned again as Annabeth raised a brow, perplexed. There was a story there that neither of us knew about, and I wondered for how long Annabeth had known this girl if both of them knew Luke. My friend shifted on her feet and I walked up to her, our shoulders nearly brushing as I stood next to her and raised a brow at the girl before us. I nudged Annabeth and she shook her head, her lips turning upwards into a small smile as she clapped her hands together.

“Y/N, this is Percy Jackson.” Annabeth introduced me. “Percy, this is Y/N L/N.”

“Percy Jackson?”

Y/N said, more to herself than to us, her eyes wandering from Annabeth to me, then Annabeth again. I held out my hand to greet her, but she simply looked at me like I’d grown two horns on my forehead and she anxiously ran a hand through her hair as she began to pace back and forth in front of me. So she’d heard of me before, I thought as I dropped my hand back to my side.

“Did you eat anything from here?” Y/N asked us suddenly, looking at both of us. “Did you eat the lotus flowers?”

“N– no, not yet, we didn’t,” Annabeth answered as she shook her head. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“Who told you to come here looking for Hermes?”

“Ares,” I answered warily. “Why?”

“Ares… Of course…” she muttered under her breath before she cleared her throat. “I know where Hermes is. Go find Grover and meet me back here. Try not to get caught.”

I had a lot of questions to ask her when I heard her words; like… how did she know Grover and what did she mean by ‘try not to get caught’, but I didn’t have the time to ask her because she disappeared into the darkness where I had first seen her coming out from. I heard Annabeth sigh beside me before she turned in my direction and grabbed the sleeve of my flannel to drag me back to the hotel’s entrance. I could see she was concerned and confused and I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but I had a feeling she still did not trust me completely and I didn’t want her to get mad at me. But my mouth was quicker than my brain and before I could think about it, the words were out in the open anyway.

“Who’s Y/N?” I asked her, nudging her shoulder.

“She’s a friend. I hadn’t seen her in two years.”

“So,” I trailed out the ‘o’, “she’s a demigod?”

“Yeah.. we arrived at camp together. With Luke.”

And Thalia, she wanted to add but refrained herself, biting her lip. I didn’t ask either because I knew she wouldn’t tell me, and I respected her boundaries. And again, I didn’t want her to be mad at me.

“Who’s her parent?” I asked instead.

“She hasn’t been claimed by any God,” Annabeth explained, glancing at me. “At least, not that I remember of. She’s always been in the Hermes Cabin with Luke, back at camp.”

“How old is she?”

“Eighteen– here’s Grover, come on.”

And I knew the conversation about Y/N was over. Annabeth pointed at Grover and dragged me with her when she walked up to our satyr friend. He was talking to another older satyr but stopped the second he noticed us. Annabeth waved her hand in the air.

“Grover!” she called him over the loud music, her voice a little louder.

“Yeah?” He jogged up to us and glanced between us, confused. “You found Hermes?”

“Not yet,” I told him before being interrupted by Annabeth.

“But we found Y/N. She knows where Hermes is, and she’s waiting for us in the lobby.”

Before Grover could ask any question, Annabeth spun on her heels and walked back the way we came from, hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket. I glanced at my friend, watching his expression turn confused and I shrugged. We followed her back to where Y/N was expecting us.

—

“Hey, demigods! Welcome!”

I saw Y/N roll her eyes when we heard the Messenger God’s voice. The people in front of us scattered around, and my eyes landed on Hermes comfortably sitting in a chair. Y/N tensed instantly in front of us, squaring her shoulders, and I noticed her hands balled into fists at her sides. She eyed the God silently before she sighed.

“Hermes,” she greeted him with a nod of the head.

“Y/N,” he nodded back, raising a brow. “What brings you out of your dark corner?”

“I’m here to make sure those kids get what they need from you.”

Hermes looked at us over her shoulder, his brow raising up in that “is that so?” way I had seen too much on my mom’s face growing up. Annabeth shifted on her feet beside me and Grover clutched his crutches a little tighter than usual. I frowned, walking forward until I stood shoulder to shoulder with Y/N.

“We were sent to find you,” I said.

“Well, you found me,” Hermes smiled and opened his arms. “Come join us. You kids know how to play craps?”

“Look, we don’t really have a lot of time. We need your help to–”

“I know what you need my help for.” He interrupted me, his face darkening. “You want my help to sneak into the Underworld.”

“What?” I heard Y/N mutter under her breath before she glanced at Annabeth over her shoulder.

“Wow,” I breathed out. “You’re a really good guesser.”

“I exist beyond space and time, kid. Why do you think they put me in charge of delivering the mail?”

Y/N snickered beside me, and I turned my head just in time to watch her roll her eyes at Hermes’ comment. She put a hand over my shoulder then, and pushed me gently behind her. If I didn’t know any better, I would have said she was trying to protect me from Hermes. For what reason though, I had no idea. Annabeth frowned next to me, and I figured she hadn’t seen Y/N acting that way before either — as if she knew something we didn’t.

“Look,” Hermes sighed, watching as Y/N stood in front of us. Then, he glanced towards me and shook his head. “You’re not the first demigods to ask and, trust me, you won’t be the first demigods to walk away disappointed. So, you might as well play a little–”

“They’re friends of Luke’s.”

Y/N interrupted him suddenly, but it seemed to get his attention because he looked at her as if she’d grown two horns on her forehead. Her demeanor shifted, and I could imagine her having a satisfied smirk on her face when she crossed her arms over her chest and held her head higher, as if defying him.

“Yeah,” she breathed out, and I could definitely hear the satisfaction in her voice.

“Okay,” Hermes sighed. “Time and space are easy, kids. Parenting is… something else entirely. Have a seat.”

Almost instantly, our surroundings changed and we found ourselves sitting in a booth in a corner of the hotel’s restaurant, with the God of Thieves sitting across from us. I was sitting between Annabeth and Grover, with Annabeth being closest to Hermes and Grover being squished between me and Y/N, who sat at the edge of the booth seat, her hands locked together on top of the table. I watched her carefully, the way her jaw tensed and how her eyes never left Hermes as if she were waiting for him to say or do something out of line.

“I remember you,” Hermes spoke up when he looked at Annabeth, and I turned my head to look at them. “You were there the last time I saw Luke.

Y/N whipped her head in their direction, brows furrowed together and mouth slightly open in disbelief. I blinked, glancing between my friend and the God, utterly confused. Annabeth tensed in her seat and she shifted uncomfortably, inhaling deeply before she answered.

“Yes,” she nodded. “I saw you argue, and I heard what he said. That what happened to his mom was your fault, that he hated you.”

I didn’t know the story, but I chimed into the conversation anyway. “Help us get to the Underworld, and help us retrieve Zeus’ master bolt from Hades. Luke will see that you care.”

He didn’t say anything, didn’t even answer me. Instead, he turned his head towards Y/N and I saw a mutual understanding of sorts pass between them. And yet, Y/N looked down, moving her hands to rest in her lap as if she were ashamed of something; something that Hermes would know about. Her shoulders slumped and I glanced towards Annabeth, who looked as confused as I was.

“There is a way into the Underworld,” Hermes spoke up again, and I looked in his direction. “A secret way. I’ve helped others find it before, but do you know what happens every time? And I mean, every single time?” He took a dramatic pause, looking at each of us. Then, he added, “You don’t want my help.”

I blinked before shaking my head. “No, we actually kind of do,” I told him, but from the corner of my eye, I could see Y/N shaking her head slowly.

“I was warned to stay away from Luke and his mother,” the God continued and if I didn’t know better, I said he’d ignored me. “Warned that no matter how much I tried to help,” he went on, “I would just make things worse. And I went anyway. It wasn’t just awful for Luke, it was awful for all of us. Do you know what that feels like?” He asked all of us, but his eyes were on Y/N. “To be so close to someone you love, knowing neither of you has any choice but to keep hurting each other? I know you do.”

So, let me be clear. I didn’t get a single thing Hermes said. Probably because I lacked details with whatever had happened between Y/N, Luke, Annabeth and Hermes himself, but I saw Annabeth turn her head to look at Y/N. So, of course, I did the same. Y/N had that faraway look in her eyes, as if she were missing something in her life. And she was crying. I didn’t do well with people crying, but I knew something had indeed happened between Y/N and Luke, something that Hermes clearly knew about but that Annabeth was clueless of. Which meant it had happened before I got to camp and before the two years where Y/N had been missing. Clearly she wasn't, because she was here, but you get the idea. 

I shook my head and turned my gaze back onto the Messenger God, unaware of the furtive glances Y/N kept throwing our way.

“Are you gonna help us or not?” I asked, hoping I did a good job at hiding the annoyance I was feeling.

“I don’t get involved anymore,” Hermes answered, leaning back into his booth seat, and I gritted my teeth. “It’s just not worth it, I’m sorry.” Then, he looked at Y/N knowingly. “Did you tell them?”

“Tell us what?”

Annabeth was quicker than me. She sat straighter and folded her arms over the table, her eyes narrowing at Y/N. I shifted sideways, turning to face Y/N and nudging Grover, who blinked and tilted his head in mild confusion. 

Y/N’s mouth opened and closed, her eyes darting to where Hermes sat. But he was gone now, and she started to shake like a leaf in her seat. She’s trying to avoid our eyes, fiddling with her fingers in her lap and anxiously biting down on her bottom lip as she muttered under her breath — probably cursing the Gods. To be fair, I couldn’t blame her. I would have done so too, but I was advised against it and I wasn’t about to test the Gods when I was doing this whole quest only to get my mom back. I couldn’t risk losing her.

I heard rustling beside me and when I looked over my shoulder, Annabeth was moving from her spot, walking around the booth to stand next to Y/N, putting a hand over her shoulder.

“Y/N, what happened to you?” She asked her, but Y/N shook her head. “Why are you here?”

Y/N took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Her shoulders dropped and she ran a hand across her face before her eyes fell on me. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, looking anywhere but at her because frankly, she was making me nervous and I didn’t like it when someone eyed me so intensely. But then she said something that caught me off guard, and I looked at her like a deer caught in headlights.

“What?” I breathed out, confused.

Y/N sighed. “Your father told me you’d come here, eventually. He said you’d be the one to get me out of here. I didn’t believe him, not until he woke me up from the dream I’d been stuck in.”

“What do you mean?” Annabeth asked before I could say anything.

“When you eat the lotus flower, you get stuck here. In a trance. You forget who you are and why you’re here. The Lotus Hotel and Casino… It's the lair of the Lotus Eaters. Time passes differently here. I– I don’t know how long I’ve been here…”

“It’s been two years, Y/N,” Grover told her, and I saw the sad smile on his face which told me that he’d been the one to find Y/N, the same way he’d found Luke, Annabeth and Thalia. “Everyone at camp thinks you died,” he added. “That’s what Luke told us.”

“Well… Luke lied,” Y/N scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“But why would Poseidon wake you up from the trance you’ve been stuck in for two years?” I wondered, looking at her.

I knew I was frowning, I didn’t exactly hide my confusion either. I watched her take a deep breath, her nose scrunching up in the slightest as if she were deciding what she could tell me, and what she couldn’t. And by the way she pressed her lips into a thin line, I figured there were things she definitely didn’t want to tell either me, Annabeth or Grover. 

“On the quest I went on with Luke,” she began to explain and she resumed fiddling with her fingers. “It’s when my parent claimed me. I don’t remember how it hap–”

“You’re a daughter of Poseidon!” Annabeth gasped, slapping one hand over her mouth as realization settled on her face.

I held my breath, blinking rapidly. I looked at Annabeth, then at Y/N. And at Grover. Then back at Y/N. I blinked again. She was smiling, maybe because she was impressed with Annabeth’s quick realization, or maybe because the trust was finally out in the open, but she didn’t seem to see that I clearly was freaking out on the inside. I had a sister. Or half-sister. Granted, I’d never spoken to my father before, but he could’ve at least told me I had a half-sister, right? I feel like that was something I should have known.

Y/N cleared her throat and sighed. I blinked out of my thoughts, looking at her in confusion. She gave me a thin-lipped smile before she looked down at her hands in her lap.

“It’s very hard for a God to feel… powerless,” she commented but I almost didn’t hear her from how low her voice was. “That’s why, most of the time, they choose not to interfere in our lives,” she added. “Because it’s dangerous for everyone. It makes things worse.”

“Why wouldn’t he say anything to me?” I asked her, and I hated how small my voice sounded. I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders, straightening my back. Then I added, “Why wouldn’t he tell me about you? After he claimed me?”

“I wish I knew,” she shrugged, pain in her eyes as she looked up to me. “He doesn’t come to me often either. Only once, in fact. To tell me you were coming, and that I needed to wake up.”

I opened my mouth to say something then closed it again. For once, I didn’t know what to say. First, my maths teacher turned into a wild beast during a field trip to the Met Museum. Then, I found out that Grover — who’s been my best friend since forever — was actually half-goat and my protector, for whatever reason. My mother took me to this camp, for my safety as she said, and we got attacked by a dam Minautor who killed her. And I got into this camp for Half-Bloods and my father decided it was a good time to claim me as his son — a son of Poseidon, might I add, which seemed to be a big no and that I was a danger to anyone or anything Greek. And now. Now, I find out that I have a half-sister. That’s a lot to take in in less than a week, if you were to ask me. But then there’s Y/N, and she was looking at me with something in her eyes; something I’d seen in my mom’s eyes before. And it’s weird because we’ve just met but I can’t stop thinking about my mom. That’s how she looked at me whenever she cared or worried. I swallowed and my shoulders slumped, and I tilted my head towards Y/N.

“So. You’re my sister?” I asked her again, just to make sure I hadn’t heard wrong the first time.

“Half-sister,” she smiled, nodding. “But yeah, I guess I am.” She paused, I supposed to let her words sink in, and then she pointed an accusatory finger at me, Annabeth and Grover, one at a time. “Now, why would you three want to go to the Underworld?”

“To retrieve Zeus’ master bolt,” Annabeth answered as if it were the most normal reason for three teenagers to go into the Underworld. “Before Poseidon and Zeus declare war on each other,” she added.

“And you think Hades has Zeus’ bolt?”

“Who else would want Poseidon and Zeus to fight against each other?”

Y/N hummed as if she were thinking. “Alright then. I’m coming with you.”

“But we don’t know how to get to the Underworld,” Grover sighed.

“Don’t we?”

Y/N smirked and turned to Annabeth. She chuckled and I watched as she lifted her hand up and dangled car keys from her fingers. 

“You picked Hermes’ pockets?” I asked my friend, and by the smirk on Annabeth’s face, I knew I did a poor job at hiding my surprise.

“Got invisible. Picket his pocket. I’m multi-talented,” she answered me proudly.

I turned to Y/N. “And you knew she did that?” 

“I was counting on it,” Y/N chuckled. “You could say old habits die hard.” She nudged Annabeth’s shoulder and got out of her booth seat, adjusting her bag strap over her shoulder. “Come on, let’s go,” she said. “Time moves slower here. Every second here is like minutes outside. Like how it’s been two years for you–” She turned to Annabeth. “–Well, it felt like two months for me.”

“So, time’s running out on our quest,” Annabeth stated.

“Then I guess we just have to find Hermes’ car,” I finished for her. Y/N smiled at me before she turned on her heels and started leading the way to where I supposed the garage would be. There were still a lot of things I didn’t know about the world I’d been suddenly thrown into, but I was glad to have Annabeth and Grover with me. It made things a little less confusing sometimes. I couldn’t say the same about Y/N, because I’d just met her, but maybe having someone a little older on this quest was a good thing. Or maybe it was a bad thing and the Fates would do something about it somewhere along the way because, according to Annabeth, a quest had to be taken on by three people. No more, no less. But Y/N came along while we were on our quest, so that didn’t count. Right? And Poseidon wouldn’t let something happen to one of his children, would he? I had no honest or logical answer to these questions. I just hoped it wouldn’t be a problem for me to get my mom back and resume my very normal life back in New York.

Someday parallels through the movies because every rendition of the ballad has me fucking sobbing in my late 20s (and yes. i cried while making these).

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 1,2,3 & 4 parallels

nb: these movies have lived rent free in my head since Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 4 came out. someday and dream come true have been living rent free in my head. so enjoy these gifs i made because the main characters give me so much serotonin and i have no self-control