Bewitched || P. Jackson

𝕃ive from the Princess Andromeda

Nicki dangled her legs over the stern of the Princess Andromeda. She was wearing plaid pj bottoms that she had gotten from Ethan as part of her Christmas present, a hoodie she had stolen from Percy almost a year prior on her birthday, and like always her aviator jacket.

The earphones Percy had mailed her for her 16th birthday pumped Jump Then Fall by Taylor Swift into her brain.

Percy had also bought her new converse (something she was very excited about considering how much they cost) which she wore proudly as they swung above the choppy waves.

"Don't be afraid, please. Jump then fall. Jump then fall into me." Nicki's voice was soft, yet carried across the empty back deck of the cruise ship.

Nicki hadn't spoken to Percy a lot since his birthday. Things were fine for the first few weeks, they called and wrote to each other every day. Then, when Percy went back to school, his communication nosedived.

Of course, Nicki was getting homeschooled in the titan army. She would head home twice a month for 4 hour-long tutor sessions that her grandmother had arranged for her to ensure she stayed on top of her work.

She understood that schoolwork placed an awful lot of pressure on you, but she still wasn't sure why she had only spoken to Percy 6 times since the summer had started.

The song switched in her ears to The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift.

Every Saturday, Sally rang Nicki's phone so the pair could talk. As weird as it sounded, Nicki really enjoyed talking to Sally.

Having a mother figure was different from anything she'd felt before. She had her grandmother who acted as every grandparent to her. She had her father who acted as both parents to her. Yet, now she had someone willing to act as her mother figure, annoy her about the essays she hadn't completed, and scold her over her room getting messy.

Admittedly, Sally had never seen Nicki's bedroom. She still gave out to Nicki every two weeks over her room.

Nicki had finally gotten her official driver's license that past Christmas. As a joint 15th birthday, Christmas and 16th birthday present, George and Marilyn bought her a brand new car. Her black Range Rover Sport had become her child.

The first thing she had done was bring Thalia on a spin (or 12) in the car. The girl could still remember the pure joy she felt in those moments when she was nothing more than a normal teenager on a drive with her best friend.

Nicki rested her chin on the metal railing in front of her.

"Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated. Got away by some mistake..." She trailed off. Her eyes burned with tears and she wasn't sure if it was from the racing winds or the stabbing pain in her heart. "That's the way I loved you..."

Nicki let out a forced laugh and wiped her cheeks aggressively. She ripped one of her earphones out of her ear and let out a shaky breath.

The darkening sky offered no comfort to Nicki outside of her energy growing. Nicki squinted her forest green eyes as she spotted three shapes approaching her deck. She parted the shadows as far as she could from a distance. Vaguely, she could make out a pegasus with two riders approaching.

Nicki's lip twitched slightly. For weeks, she had been telling Ethan that she was sure Camp would be arriving. Ethan would always laugh her off, telling her she was being overdramatic.

It was obvious that Ethan was beginning to doubt his place in the titan army. He was drifting closer to Nicki with each passing day, asking more and more about Camp and things he might be able to help her do concerning her role as a spy.