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Lucy POV
I held back a yawn as we waited for a cab. George’s glasses were close to falling off his round face, but Lockwood looked as fresh as a daisy. His dark eyes scanned the night as if searching for a long lost loved one, his wolf-like grin gleaming amongst the darkness. I swallowed hard before coughing to try and break the awkward silence between us.
Lockwood patted my back gently. “Please don’t die, Luce,” he chuckled. “I’d hate to have to seal the source of your ghost.”
“Well, Lockwood, nice to know that’s where your mind goes,” George grumbled.
Lockwood hit his plump friend upside the head. “Shut up.”
I glanced at the two of them, pursing my lips to hold back yet another laugh, but when I turned my head back to face the road, out of nowhere fell five teenagers, most sporting orange T-shirts.
“Um, Lockwood?” I said uncertainty.I met his brown eyes, the light of the ghost lamps reflecting off of them. His smile changed when he saw who had joined us in the shadows. It went from smug to curious.
“Will’s gonna kill me,” a boy in all black said before promptly collapsing, only to be caught by a cherokee girl with chestnut brown hair tied into a loose braid.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,” a boy in an orange shirt said to a girl with curly blonde hair. She punched him in the shoulder as a response.
An impish boy made eye-contact with me before smirking to the boy in orange. “Hey, Dorothy, I think I’ve found the munchkins!”
“Who are you calling a munchkin, shorty?” George snapped.
The imp laughed and pointed at George. “I like you, muchacho!”
Lockwood snickered. “J'apprécie votre sens de l'humour, monsieur!”
While I stared at him in slight annoyance of his showing off, the impish boy turned to the cherokee girl. “What’d he say, Piper?” he questioned.
“He says that he appreciates your sense of humor,” the girl--Piper--responded. “Though he also called you ‘sir’, so I’m not sure how sane he is.”
“Lockwood and sanity don’t really mix,” George told them.
“Well I’m sure this chit-chat is all well and dandy, but should we start questioning why they suddenly appeared in the middle of the street at one in the morning?” I asked.
“I like the Scottish girl’s idea,” the guy in orange said.
“I’m not Scottish,” I said indignantly. “I’m from Northern England.”
“Yeah Percy, get your accents right,” the blonde girl told him. “Let’s get off the street.”
They started walking towards us, Piper struggling to carry the unconscious boy. “Can someone help me with Nico?” she asked. Lockwood ran to her side and slung the boy over his shoulder.
“Thanks,” Piper said, her eyes lingering on him for a second too long. A tiny flare went off in my chest when I realized this, but I reminded myself that now was not the time to worry about things like that.
“Who are you guys?” I asked when they reached the sidewalk.
The guy named Percy pouted. “Annabeth, Ireland doesn’t know who I am!”
Annabeth facepalmed. “Percy, we’re not in Ireland. We’re in… nevermind. I give up.”
“Stupid Scottish…” Percy mumbled, crossing his arms.
Annabeth glanced at him before rolling her eyes and gesturing to him. “This is Percy. I’m Annabeth. The short one’s Leo. That’s Piper, and the boy Lockhart is carrying is Nico.”
“Lockwood…” Lockwood corrected, holding up one finger like the smart student in class trying to correct the teacher without being rude. “And that’s Lucy and George.”
“Nice to meet you,” Piper said politely.
“Pleasure,” George said grumpily. “By all means, continue to interrupt our night.”
“We’re only waiting for a cab, George,” Lockwood chimed in. He met Piper’s eyes. “Nice French by the way. It’s rare for me to get to practice with these uncultured swines.” He gestured to George and I.
“I’ve always known it, it’s instinctive,” Piper replied.
“French household?”
She smiled awkwardly. “Not exactly.” She didn’t elaborate.
“So, you Scotts are waiting on a taxi?” Percy asked.
“Where are your kilts by the way?” Leo added.
“Well, considering none of us are Scottish, we decided to leave them at home,” I replied sarcastically.
“Tourists?” Percy continued.
“It’s England, Percy!” Annabeth snapped. “They live in England! And they’re called cabs here.”
“Wait, if they live in England, why are they here in Scotland?” Leo wondered.
“ENOUGH WITH SCOTLAND!” Piper yelled. “We’re in England, and they live here!”
Lockwood raised his hand politely, still carrying Nico. “If it makes them happy, my grandparents were Scottish."
“Yes, Lockwood. I’m sure that helps convince the nitwits that we’re English,” George sighed.
“I apologize for my nitwits,” I muttered. “Anyway, how the heck did you guys get here? You’re obviously American.”
“Well, technically Nico’s Italian,” Percy said. “But same difference. And we shadow-traveled. Obviously.”
The three of us stared at him in shock.
“You know? Shadow-traveling? Greek gods? Ring a bell?” Leo supplied. “You guys are clearly demigods. Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Handsome over there is probably Pipes’ brother.”
“Excuse me?” Lockwood said, his face flaming either from anger or blush or both.
“Greek gods?” George said. “You mean like Zeus, Hera, and Poseidon?”
All four of them sighed in unison. “Hera sucks,” Annabeth grumbled. “But yes. So if you’re not demigods, then why do you carry swords and Greek fire?”
Lockwood, with a proud grin, unsheathed his blade (somehow still carrying Nico) and began his well practised speech about being an agent, while George and I stood there waiting patiently for our dork of a leader to shut up.
The four--demigods?--stared in silence when the speech was done.
George pretended to be on the phone. “Hello? Barnes? I’ve got a couple of nutjobs for you to take into custody.”
Annabeth gestured to Leo and Percy. “He can have them, as long as I get visitation rights with my boyfriend.”
“Nice to know you care, Annie,” Leo pouted.
“Don’t call me ‘Annie’, Valdez,”
“I think it’s cute,” Percy commented, pressing a kiss to Annabeth’s cheek.
“Have we got a happy couple to wheel away?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Lockwood switch Nico to his other shoulder and slip a hand into his pocket.
“And here’s our cab,” Lockwood said, pulling out a wad of cash. “Do you guys have a place to stay? If not, you’re welcome to stay with us.” George and I looked at each other, then glared at the back of Lockwood’s head. We… didn’t like visitors.
“That would be much appreciated,” Annabeth started, “but if it’s too much--”
“Sure! We’d love to!” Leo and Percy interrupted.
Piper looked away from Lockwood before giving the boys a thumbs up of pride.
Lockwood grinned. “Everbody in!”
Annabeth, Percy, and Leo were the first to enter.
Piper looked back at Lockwood. “Je suis sûr que ta maison est belle.”
Lockwood’s wolf-like smile flashed towards her. “Merci, c'est humble mais ça devrait suffire.”
It was at times like this that I wished I spoke French. We all piled into the cab. It was a tight fit: Lockwood was in front with the cab driver and the rest of us were squished into the back seat with Nico laying across our laps. I sighed. It was going to be a long drive home.