Chapter 2 - Percy

The tattoo shop was always a local landmark buried behind the fashion mall. It seemed to be busy during the nighttime scene more than in daylight. Something about the beach across the way seemed to make the vibe of the entire outlet an absolute teenage hotspot. The sheer number of young people threw me back into a time without death and suffering.
It seemed almost…angelic to be so young, wild, and free. My current state was opposite of the people around me and no one seemed aware but me. Mike knew what it meant to keep the happiness going down range. That miserable sandbox became slightly more tolerable when jokes were allowed into it. I glanced one more time at my new ink. The black lines held the bronze color of the bullet perfectly and the ribbon seemed as if it was flowing in the ocean wind. I felt a smile come on may face as I reexamined the artwork. I was brought out of my reminiscing with a high pitched ding coming from my navy blue board shorts.
A notification was on the screen, a text from Grace.
'Hey, I am about to head over. You home yet?' Damn, it almost slipped my mind that Grace was coming over to help me unpack some of my shit. But really I think he's stalling and trying to avoid Piper right now. The pregnancy is probably driving him up the wall. Poor bastard.
'Yeah I'll be back in around 10,' I sent that message and slid my phone back into my right pocket. I put my sunglasses back on my eyes, flipped my camo baseball cap, and grabbed my keys. The California sun was shining bright the entire drive back home. The freshly cut grass smell filled up my convertible Camaro, I definitely was not still in Afghanistan. With Led Zeppelin playing on the stereo and an ice cold bottle of water, I could have driven for another 12 hours.
As I came upon the house, I saw Jason leaning on his truck talking on the phone. He noticed me and threw a friendly hand in a quick wave motion. He seemed intent on finishing the conversation, so I only rightfully assumed it was with Piper about some baby stuff. Typical. I went ahead and parked the car in the drive, letting it idle for a minute or two while the song finished out. Jason seemed to start to wrap up his conversation but it was dragging on as Piper was always the chatterbox. I glanced in the rearview to see him making a face as he slowly tried to pull the phone away from his ear. He somehow managed to cut it off eventually.
"Hey dude. Sorry about that, Piper has been on a house remodel binge recently. She wants to know about putting in French doors into the sunroom." He shook his head a little. "Wouldn't that just be an aesthetic thing? Cause your slide door would be easier to keep in place?" I asked. His hand went through his short golden hair almost in frustration. "Yeah and I tried to tell her-" "But she doesn't want to hear that right now…got it," I replied.
"Exactly man."
"Well," I check my watch, "It's just about 1330 should we get started?".
"Yes. Because the sooner we do we can grab a beer and relax on that sweet couch you just bought," He said with a slight grin.
"Seems easy enough."
"Too easy haha," He gave a chuckle. Before we went inside my hand went to my pocket looking for the familiar cardboard box of Camel Milds. I pulled one out and put one in, I looked over to Grace to see if he wanted one.
"No no, I promised Piper I'd stop the 'bacco. Smoking bad for pregnancy and all round bad habit…ya know?" He gave a shrug but he kept eyeing the cig.
"Props to you, but we all need the stress reliever during the fucking offseason," I felt for my lighter in my pockets, found it and lit the square. The smoke began to flow with the first inhale. A comforting feeling came over me and went into my head, just like in the field.
"I'm thinking of finding a hobby to fight the addiction ya know? Maybe something Piper and I can do together. Her dad mentioned learning how to fly a plane, that could be cool." He leaned on the car while I sat in the drivers seat.
"I never took you for a fly guy. Usually we spend limited time in the air and tons on the ground. But I can see you doing it," I moved the cigarette out of my mouth to expel a small cloud. I flicked the ash outside the car.
"Well I was just thinking about a relaxing thing to do instead of hitting the cigs," I said.
"Fair enough. My mom always said cooking was the way to keep busy, but I was never a good cook. Unless you count MRE's." I gave a chuckle at that, we hardly ever got to eat those meals hot.
"Yeah, I can't quite kick it," I said back. The cigarette was almost halfway done now, making my lungs satisfied from the a good burn. I could feel the nicotine mellowing me out and reassuring my mind. As I finished it I dropped the butt and stepped on it with my shoe, putting it out for good. I reached down and picked it up, stuffing it upside down into the carton.
"Old habits die hard huh?" Grace asked even though he knew the answer. Leave no trace, that was our motto and it kept people safe…brought them back home.
"You already knew that trick. Back when you were not getting whipped around by a pregnant Piper. If I remember correctly she was a free spirited girl when you first met,"
"Ha you see where that free spirit got us. Not the best scenario to be knocked up at 24 but here we are. Not that I mind much about the age, got to live while you can," He gave his high and tight a good rub. Wiping a little bit of sweat from his brow.
"Anyway, you going to help me move my shit or just we just gonna fuck around all day?" I asked. He gave me a shrug and followed me to the garage. In the extension there was a flat screen, a couch, some dining chairs and a table to follow suit. My bed frame was broken down with a tempurpedic mattress to go along with it.
Grace spotted it and gave me shit for it, "Aww does big man need a comfy place to sleep?" He mocked.
"Doc told me it would help keep me going when my body is resting after a deployment. So fuck off," I told him as we lifted the couch.
It was a bitch to get that couch through the door, but eventually we managed to turn and rotate it enough to get it through the opening. Luckily we managed to not scratch the walls or ding the doorframe during all this bullshit. After a couple meticulous hours of bullshitting and slight arguing, we completely moved all the furniture out of the garage and into their appropriate places. I could finally pull the convertible in and close the door without shit falling over. Even had a special place cleared for a future motorcycle. Which was going to be a birthday present to myself and boy I had earned it.
"Alright that all?" He questioned. He managed to find a box of old pictures and was being nosey as a result.
"Yes I believe so…hey get the fuck out of my pictures!"
"But its baby Jackson, c'mon man this is gold. Wait till the boys see this," He laughed.
"Alright then I'll have to show them that video you sent me instead of Piper back in February…a certain Valentine's Day gift?" Now it was my turn to laugh and his turn to give another threat.
"You know that was an accident and you said you deleted it!" He shouted jokingly.
"Well I meant to, but I..uh..never got around to it. So to speak," I clapped him on the back and we had a laugh.
"Oh hey. You got the new ink. The one for Mikey, damn looks good bro," I moved the sleeve to give him a full view.
"Yeah I thought it turned out great. Makes me miss him a little less if he's with me always ya know?" Jason nodded his head, his tattoos were always more nature center than mine.
His entire left bicep to shoulder was storm clouds with lightning coming out of it. Written on the inside it said Son of Zeus in Greek letters. His mom always joked when he was young he would dress up as Zeus and hurl lighting bolts. The guys and I just think he saw the Disney movie Hercules one too many times. But we let him be eventually on the tattoos. Other ones he has is a forest with a wolf's head in the middle, they look like sequoia trees but I'm not sure if that's intentional.
"Yeah. We all miss him. That funeral will not be fun…not at all." I nodded in agreement. The drinking that night is going to be off the walls nuts. We better have a gameplay for that.
"Right, coming up in a couple days. I'll have to text Beck and Zhang to see what they want to do," I said.
"You mean where we're drinking afterwards?" He asked.
"See you're catching on to traditions no problem," Grace always worried about being left out since he was the last member to be on the fire team. But we never really cut him out, we just would fuck with him to teach him the ways. No harm there, just brotherly love we call it. His phone began to buzz in his pocket and he fished it out just in time to see the call disappear and a missed call notification show up.
"Oh fuck. She gets really pissy when I don't answer the first time. Hey man I gotta go, but I hit you up tomorrow since it's Friday? Hit the town with the boys…maybe a pregame for this weekend?" He began to back up towards his truck as he spoke. The phone still in his hand.
"I'm always down to get fucked up, you know that," I told him. I sent him with a wave and a grin. That poor guy is pussy whipped like every other military guy in the world. Happens for money reasons usually but this time he was just a little too reckless. As he drove off I turned back to my navy blue Camaro, that was my baby and I didn't really need a real child anytime soon. I dragged my hand all along the side as I began to walk towards my house.
Suddenly, a miniature red and blue basketball came rolling into my driveway. It rolled and rolled until being stopped my foot. I was slightly taken aback cause it looked like a small globe trotters ball and that was my childhood so who was using this old ass ball. I turned to see a small dirty blonde girl dressed up in a stripped t-shirt and blue overalls came lurching up towards me. Her stormy gray eyes staring down this ball with no regard to me whatsoever. Her arms were out in front of her as if already reaching for the ball she was 10 feet from. Her small hands were clamping shut and opening as if to say 'gimme'.
"Vanessa come here sweetie!" I had to look around for the source of the voice calling out. I found it in a short woman who seemed to be just a more grown up version of the child before me.
Instead of childhood glee she looked terribly embarrassed. Her cheeks were turning bright red and she looked at the ground as she approached. The little girl was harmlessly sitting down by my car not really caring as she now had her basketball. My eyes started to examine the situation in front me. The woman looked young but not too young to be a nanny or a teen mother but still a young time to have a child. She looked well put together and not ugly by any means. Actually she was quite beautiful and seemed to have soft eyes. Although her facial expression looked as if something or many things were on her mind all the time, not stressed but trying to think every detail through.
"Oh, I'm so sorry that ball came into your drive," She began to say as she went to pick up her child. She held her in her arms while the child continued to hold onto the ball.
"Not a problem at all, she was just playing. No harm no foul," I said calmly. I doubt the kid would be able to damage my car with a small basketball that was rolling around. "Well I know how some people are with kids and them playing on their property so I just wanted to say it wasn't intentional," She sputtered.
"Hey it's okay. I don't mind. I just moved in so I'm not really sure about the history of the neighborhood but I doubt anyone will be of too much trouble for me," I replied with a smile, trying to get her to relax.
"Oh so you're the new neighbor. I was trying to figure out when you were going to move in since the sign had been gone for a couple weeks now, but no one had come near the house," She told me.
"Yes I had to buy it proxy through my parents since I was out of country," I explained.
"Oh you in an international business field?" She asked me. The child had turned in her arms to try to pass me the ball, but I gently pushed the ball back to her.
"Uh…no not really a business man at all actually". "I don't think I follow…" She trailed off.
"I am in the Army currently. Actually I'm a Lieutenant in the Army Rangers if we're going to be specific," I responded. Not that it was a major secret or top secret, but usually you don't start off with hey I kill people for a living.
"Oh. Is that like… a special thing?" She asked.
"Um yes its a very… distinct profession. Imagine the navy seals if they weren't stealthy they just went kicking doors in, that's what we do," I explained.
"That's very cool and sounds dangerous. But thank you for your service. I have never had family go into the military but I'm thankful for the freedom you protect," She said with a genuine smile.
"Well uhh..sorry I didn't get your name," I faltered.
"Oh oh sorry, scatterbrain. My name is Annabeth," She shifted the child in her arms to put her hand out.
"Well Annabeth its nice to meet you, I'm Percy. Percy Jackson and thank you for your support. Hopefully this isn't the last time we meet," I said as I shook her hand and gave her my winning smile. She blushed slightly and looked away before pulling her hand back. Turning slowly she made her way back towards her uniquely designed house.
"Bye bye," Vanessa gave me an open then clamp wave as they walked away. I returned with a small wave as the pair walked back on the sidewalk and into the brick house. I turned back to face my own home with its Mediterranean style and clay tile roof. I don't know why I needed the extra two bedrooms and bath but maybe I'll need it eventually. But I bet that's a long ways away from now. I strode inside the garage after pulling in the convertible. Pressing the button the garage door came clanking down and I went inside to find something to eat, drink, and watch on the tv. Perfectly satisfied with how the day had transpired.

Yo so it was a chapter about moving and greeting. But all great stories begin with a brief meeting and progress into relationships and friendships. I'm back from basic training and I love you all. More stories coming soon. (R/R)
With love,

-SG