Gods in Goode HS ✓

The Dance, Part 1

DISCLAIMER: I'M NOT RICK RIORDAN, AND I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON.

Gods POV

Finally, it was the day of the dance. All the Olympians rode in the limousine that Aphrodite rented.

Aphrodite was pleased that her godly family members finally resigned themselves to their clothes. Even Artemis stopped shooting the love goddess murderous looks, though she still looked irritated.

The limo stopped suddenly and the driver lowered the glass window separating them. "We're here, Miss Angelina," the driver announced, looking admiringly at Aphrodite.

Aphrodite smiled sweetly. "Thank you," she said. She leaned closer to the driver. "Unfortunately, I don't have any money with me, so I can't give you a tip. Is that okay?"

The driver, who had a love goddess's face hovering a few inches from his, nodded helplessly. And with that, the Olympians hustled out of the limo, only to be gawked at by a hundred teenagers. Almost immediately, every male—jocks, nerds, etc.—were blinded by Aphrodite's stunning beauty and they rushed to her side subconsciously.

Zeus rolled his eyes and turned to his family members. "By the way, where's Hera?"

"Oh, she left with some guy," Apollo said dismissively. "Hey, Dad, isn't that your date over there?"

Zeus's gorgeous date steered him away, chattering in a friendly manner. But Zeus, uncharacteristically, did not give her any attention. His mind was reeling, and his eyes were glued to the entrance of the gym.

That's right. His wife arrived. With a great-looking guy who, for the first time, wasn't him.

And to make things worse, Hera looked stunning—her dark hair shone under fluorescent lights, and she was laughing at everything that mortal scum was saying.

"Victor?" his date pressed.

"Who?" Zeus said absently. Then he realized that they were in the middle of the dance floor, being shoved around by dancing high school students. He sighed heavily and dance halfheartedly with his date.

What was that bitter taste in his mouth? Why did his stomach feel like it was infested with slugs? Why did he feel like striking everybody around him with lightning, including his own date?

That couldn't be jealousy... could it?

Meanwhile, Hera noticed her husband with a deflated look on his godly face and grinned to herself, while her date jabbered away about something.

Hera laughed hysterically, keeping an eye at Zeus. "That's so funny," she gushed.

The guy looked at her weirdly. "What's so funny?" 

Hera winced invisibly behind her award-winning smile and smartly changed the subject. "Nothing. Wanna dance?"

~*~

Poseidon popped a cupcake in his mouth. Athena was looking at something by the dance floor, her face expressionless and her eyes flat.

"Is there a problem?" Poseidon asked her through a mouthful of crumbs.

Athena sighed and brushed the crumbs from her sleeve. She refused to look at him. "Look at my daughter," she said.

Poseidon followed her gaze. The blonde was dancing with his son, and both of them looked happy. Poseidon thought that Percy looked even happier than when he had defeated the titans.

"Do we really want to break them up?" Athena said softly. "I did not know that a child of mine could even look that happy. She looks even more triumphant than my son George when he crossed the Delaware river. More victorious than my daughter Amelia when she became the first woman to fly an airplane. What is that supposed to be?"

Poseidon looked at the wisdom goddess. She looked young and confused, something that he never expected a know-it-all like her to look like. "I don't know," he said honestly.

Athena snorted inelegantly and finally looked at him. "Of course you don't. If I don't know, you don't know. Simple as that."

Poseidon rolled his eyes. "Here," he said, shoving her a cupcake. "Eat that up, and then we're going to dance."

Athena smiled slightly and bit the treat. "Fine," she said. "But we are leaving my daughter alone."

"My son as well," Poseidon said firmly. "I never wanted to do this anyway."

~*~

"Lady Artemis," Phoebe whispered. "Is that our sister and lieutenant Thalia dancing with a... A male?"

Artemis nodded grimly. "I shall speak to her later," she said. She glanced at her girls and grimaced. They wore full skirts and long sleeves, definitely looking more appropriate than she did in that disgustingly short hemline that Aphrodite forced her to wear. Luckily, her girls didn't comment on it.

"Hey, honey, dance with me," some guy said, touching the arm of Anna, one of the Hunters.

Before Artemis could say anything, the guy was sprawled on the floor with blood pouring out of his nose.

"Behave yourselves," Artemis whispered, averting her eyes at the passers-by who started to stare. "If a boy approaches you, just ignore him."

Artemis suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She whirled around and saw Diana.

"Hey," she said flatly. She looked at the rest if the girls.

Artemis smiled. "Why, hello, Diana. Care to join us outside? We have an offer to make that may bewilder you."

~*~

Nico tried to dance like everyone was, failed, and retreated glumly to the corner.

Lily already called to say that she was going to be thirty minutes late. Nico hoped that she didn't just ditch him and went out with some jock. After all, Lily was definitely pretty. Way too pretty to be seen with a depressing son of Hades.

"Hey, brother," Apollo said, sitting down on the bleachers with him. He tried to pick up more chicks, but most of them slapped him, laughed at him, or threw punch at him. One particularly scary girl threatened to jam a chair down his throat when he wouldn't leave him alone. Then he realized that that was Athena he accidentally hit on. Whoops.

Nico stared at him glumly. "Oh, hey, um... Burt, right?"

"No, I'm Apol—" he stopped short. Oh, right. Mortal name. Then he tried to remember his mortal name. Was it really Burt? He wasn't sure. It was an actor's name, and it started with a B... Bruce Willis? That didn't sound right.

"Your name is Apple?" Nico said, confused.

Apollo stared at him. Where in Hades did the kid get that? "Um, uh...my name is—"

"Nico!" a girl's voice interrupted them. It was Lily Flowers, looking radiant in a floral dress. She flashed him a smile. "There you are. I've been looking all over for you."

"Hey, Lily," Nico fumbled, his pale face turning cherry-red.

"C'mon, let's dance," she urged. She brought him to his feet and led him to the dance floor.

Nico turned to Apollo, looking happier. "See you later, Apple," he said cheerfully.