warnings: swearing; use of cigarettes, for de plot; percy is a dork and extremely down bad from the millisecond y'all make eye contact
word count: 2,1k
the aforementioned remix. I'm gonna start getting serious ab writing guys, I swƦr, bc I lowkey thrived off the pressure bc I gave myself a time limit, and we all know pressure make diamonds.
Percy hadnāt been performing for long but the shitty bars he somehow got gigs in around New York were always filled themselves with fans when he was around (there wasnāt much space to begin with but I digress.) The faces in the crowd shifted from bar to bar like a moving tide but there was one face heād seen that kept coming back, yours.
Youād been to almost all of his shows. You reasoned it was because the music was good, but all your friends said you were obsessed and definitely crushing on him. You couldnāt really deny it, you did find him physically attractive but there was something that wasnāt so superficial intriguing you.
Maybe he felt it too, because every show, without fail, his eyes met yours, almost like he was actively looking for you, that or heās wondering āwho is this girl who keeps showing up to my shows? even in places that arenāt remotely close to each other.ā You hoped you gave mysterious, cool energy instead of obsessed groupie.
You were outside a bar after one of said shows when you got your answer.
Youād slipped outside, before girls started to bat their eyelashes and twirl their hair at Percy and his bandmates, for some air that wasnāt potent with the sickly sweet smell of cocktails and musky sweat and, paradoxically, a smoke. You were mid light up when the sound you heard when you pushed through the backdoor sounded again.
Ever since Percy had first seen you, heād thought you were gorgeous and like any sane person, he was going get your number, so after the show, he pulled off his guitar and put it away before starting his search for you but apparently the gods still loved playing with him even though he was, apparently, passed the age where they enjoy meddling the most because he lost sight of you in the chaos of his bandmates pulling him into conversations and tipsy girls flirting with him.
He mourned you the whole night. His bandmates caught onto his bad mood. Leo was the one to ask.
āWhatās up with you?ā He mused as he wrapped an arm around Percyās shoulders. āYouāre literally surrounded by women who want you and think you make good music, how are you upset?ā
āI think I saw the love of my life.ā
āAnd they call me dramatic.ā He says as he takes a sip of his drink.
Percy huffs and pushes him off.
āWhat do you mean āsawā?ā Leo asks before taking another sip.
āI mean I saw her but I didnāt get the chance to talk to her because of you bitch ass.ā Leo had been the one to pull Leo into the conversation that made him lose sight of you.
āMy bad?ā He apologises, not really knowing what heās apologising for.
āFuck, she was so gorgeous, and we made eye contact and there was this spark. I swear to the gods, I watched our whole future flash before my eyes. Maybe I was hallucinating but she was just that bad, bro.ā He says with his head in his hand.
āHow are you this down bad? You havenāt even spoken to her.ā
āIf you saw her, youād get it.ā
Leo shrugs and goes back to flirting with girls (and boys) at the bar.
So you can imagine his reaction when he sees you, with your friends. different from the ones you were with last gig, he noticed (he replayed the moment you first made eye contact in his memory a million times over trying to find a clue to find you, so yes he knew who you were with), in the crowd at another gig way across town. Heās sure he froze the a second he spotted you. He was also sure he was seeing things.
āDude, sheās haunting me.ā Percy says as he stares at you like youāll disappear if he looked away (you probably will.)
āWhat are you talking about?ā Leo asks as he tucks his drumsticks into his pocket.
āThe baddie from our last gig, I saw her in the crowd.ā He elaborates.
āOh, shit. Maybe the gods donāt hate you.ā He says as he follows Percyās line of vision as he notices heās staring at something (someone). āDamn, she is bad.ā
āI told you.ā He says as he watches you laugh with one of your friends. Gods, youāre even more hypnotising when you smile, he thought to himself. āSo you see her too? Iām not crazy, right?ā
āI do, in fact, see her, homie.ā
āIām gonna go talk to her.ā
āYou do that, or I will.ā
Percy shoots him a glare before stepping off stage to get to you.
He doesnāt know how it happened but one second he was looking at you, practically pinning you down with his gaze so you wouldnāt move, then somebodyās bumping into him, spilling a drink on his shoes and apologising with slightly slurred speech and the next heās looking up and youāre gone.
āJesus, sheās like fucking Houdini.ā He mutters to himself before returning to his bandmates in defeat, already sulking enough for everyone to notice.
āWhatās wrong with Percy?ā Jason asks as he pushes up his glasses.
āHeās mourningā Leo replies.
āMourning who?ā Frank questions.
āA bad bitch.ā Leo shakes his head in sadness.
āDid someone die?ā Frank asks
āShh, Franklin,ā Leo shushes him dramatically with a finger on his lips āa moment of silence for the fallen angel.ā He puts a hand over his heart just as dramatically.
āDid someone actually die?ā Jason whispers after what he deems is a respectable amount of time for a moment of silence.
āNah, Percy just saw a really pretty girl and didnāt get her number.ā Leo shrugs.
āSo whyās he acting like he lost his wife?ā Frank asks.
āHe mightāve, he told me something about seeing their future flash before his eyes. I donāt know, she was really bad, bro. Iād be like that, too.ā He says before walking off.
Jason and Frank look at each other, not knowing what to do.
By the end of the night, all the band members, Jason; frank; and Leo, had taken their turn at comforting him about the ābaddie who got awayā as Leo dubbed it.
The third show, you didnāt attend and he convinced himself that you werenāt real and that heād had some kind of shared hallucination with Leo. He spent the night sitting in the corner on his phone, checking through every view on the Instagram story that announced that where theyād be performing tonight in case he could find your account by your profile picture thatād ideally be a picture of you. He had no luck.
The forth show is when he saw you again and he made it personal mission to talk to you, no matter what; he was not leaving this bar without at least knowing your name. He dodged every drunk fangirl and bandmate trying to talk to him and he didnāt take his eyes off of you. He watched you as you slipped out the back door and he followed after you.
It couldāve been literally anyone coming through the door but you guessed (hoped) it was him. You took a drag of your cigarette, letting him sit in the silence or as close as you can to it in New York City; you know, let him bask in your badness for a second, before turning around. You guessed right, you smirked in satisfaction and at the fact that this might actually start going somewhere, to him itād come across as a knowing smile.
He stared like he couldnāt believe heād finally caught you. The gods were finally having some mercy on him and he was not about to fumble what could very well be his last shot.
He opened his mouth and promptly shut it as he realised the words would not be coming out. You smiled like you thought it was cute; Percy came to the conclusion that your smile was (somehow) prettier when it was directed towards him specifically.
āUh- could I bum a cigarette?ā he asked, smooth.
Gods, what was he thinking? āCould I bum a cigarette?ā āheās a rockstar for the godsā sake, he shouldnāt be bumming cigarettes from fans and who even uses the word ābumā? He mentally facepalmed.
āHelp yourself.ā you shrug and open the pack, holding it in his direction.
He takes one, grateful that you didnāt question. āDo you have a lighter.ā
āMhm.ā you hum as you spark your light and hold it up to his lips, your eyes, though, were on his, all pretty and green. Youād always been had a thing for green eyes. His were crown with long black lashes and you were pretty sure the colour was shifting as if you were watching a moving tide.
When Percy looked up from making sure the end of his cigarette lined up with the flame, he was met with your eyes locked on his. It was like he got hypnotised for a second, giving into the warmth swirling in your irises, and when he snapped out of it, he did the dorkiest thing he couldāve done: he choked, full on. The kind where you start coughing and struggle to breathe between your muscles spasming and expelling air from your lungs.
A panicked look was quick to grace your face, you patted his back because you didnāt know what else to do, āOh my gosh, are you okay?!ā
He replied with a gasp as he was finally able to get some air back in his lungs, āIām good, this is just, uh, not my regular brand.ā
āRight.ā You nod.
āItās like when you switch milk brands and you have to get used to the taste.ā He didnāt know why he was driving this home this hard.
āYeah.ā you smiled, amused by the weird analogy before taking a drag of your cigarette.
He thanks the gods that you smiled instead of looking put off. He spends the next few seconds of silence berating and telling himself he needed to lock in and the next admiring your profile.
āStaring problem much?ā You tease as you turn your head to look at him.
āSays the person who keeps showing up to my shows, groupie much?ā He teases back.
āIām not a groupie, you just make good music.ā You roll your eyes.
āYou could stream it on platforms instead of coming to multiple shows.ā He adds
āMusic sounds better live.ā
āSo youāre not an obsessed fangirl? Just a music connoisseur.ā
āExactly.ā You nod.
āSo youād be opposed to giving me your number?ā
āI never said that.ā
āJust checking.ā Percy smiles a little to himself.
A comfortable silence falls between you two. Percy tucks his phone that had just been graced with your number back into his pocket. You can hear the music from the bar bleeding out onto the street; cars zipping by and other nightlife of the city that never sleeps.
āSoā¦ does my number one groupie have a name?ā
āIām not a groupie.ā You frown
āDoes it help if I say youāre my favourite and prettiest groupie?ā
āOh so there are other groupies youāve been comparing me to?ā
āUh- Thatās not what I meant. You donāt compare to anyone else Iāve ever met.ā He say, flustered.
You tilt your head at him, not expecting a genuine compliment āI was kidding, but thanks.ā You smile. āOh and itās Y/n, my name.ā
āY/n,ā he tested it on his tongue āPretty name. Iām Percy.ā
āNice to meet you, Percy.ā
Your cigarette is almost finished even though youāve barely smoked it, too occupied with the man standing next to you. You snub it out and throw it into the big dumpster in the alley.
āWell, Percy, this has been great but I think Iām gonna get going.ā
āWait,ā he says before he can think it through; he just really doesnāt want this to end. āthe night doesnāt have to end here.ā
āAre you asking me out?ā You cock your head teasingly with a smirk.
āYeah, we could, uh, get pizza. The best slice in the city isnāt too far from here and it closes pretty late. You like pizza right?ā
āWho doesnāt but donāt you have to, yāknow, get back to your band?ā
āTheyāll be fine; theyāre all adults. Iāll shoot them a text and everythingāll be right as rain. Just say yes. please?ā Percy wasnāt even embarrassed by how desperate he sounded at this point.
āWell, since youāre begging. I guess, Iāll go out with you.ā
āYou guess?ā
āSarcasm, Percy. Iād love to go out with you.ā
Percy smiled giddily at your response before putting his arm out for you to take.
āLead the way.ā You smile as you take his arm.
There will be an extended version where the date actually happens and maybe other parts bc they're too cute together and I have hella ideas. Comment if you want to be on percy taglist!!
a/n i did only want three parts but iām thinking iāll make the finale after this. thereās just so much to fit in there
i tried my best guys. weāre FINALLY getting to a bit of the romance aspect now
now i feel really bad that THIS is the last thing iām posting š umm hope you like it ?? will try to post finale before official quitting.
mikeās started to get used to you. heās started falling into your routine. you wake up earlier than him. or sometimes when you wake up, heās already up. you always know that he hasnāt slept.
āgo to sleep,ā youād say to him, like itās an option. but youād make him lay down (in the tree, because thatās where you both sleep. weird, he knows) and place a hand on his forehead. something about the weight was so solid, so grounding. he never really remembers falling asleep, but he knows he wakes up refreshed (aside from his back hurting from those fuckass branches). he doesnāt know how long itās been. heās sure the others think heās dead.
despite how heās feeling about you, you wonāt tell him anything more than your name, not even who youāre looking for. he doesnāt know your steve harringonās strange little sister that he loves so much. that heās crying about at this exact moment, probably. and youāre not telling him. why should you?
ādo you want one?ā
your voice snaps him out of his daydream. itās blooming daylight now, slowly. the sun is taking its time today. your smile is the only light mike needs anyway.
āmicheal.ā
his eyes go to yours. habit. or instinct, maybe. thereās no easy way to say youāre house training him all over again. the only reason itās okay with him is because it shows you care. nobody else ever bothered to correct him, so he did whatever he wanted to. nobody spoke to him enough to be bothered by it. but you are.
ālook. there you go again. do you want one?ā
he glances down to your hands.
you do this thing when you notice his drifting. sometimes youāll lightly smack his cheek to bring him back. you tell him heās daydreaming. he wonāt admit it.
youāre holding a lightning bug, he realizes now.
āwhat the hell? how did you even get that?ā
you blink at him, a smile deep on your cheeks.
āi caught it! do you want it? it will help us see in the dark.ā
youāre so excited, and mike has a habit of ruining everything with his big fucking mouth.
āyouāre so weird. where did you find that?ā
itās nothing serious, or mike doesnāt think so. he calls you weird all the time. or maybe he just does in his head. you are weird, itās just a fact.
your eyebrows furrow.
āno iām not. youāre weird. iām not weird.ā
you defend, suddenly breaking that awfully strong eye contact you always keep. the confidence leaves your tone. heās never heard you soā¦unsure.
āyou are. not in a bad way! youāre justā¦strange. but thatās okayāā
you turn away from him, blinking fast. why would he say that? why does everyone say that? is that why no one sticks around? there has to be some truth to it. maybe thatās why you havenāt found steve. maybe he doesnāt want to find you. maybe heās happy to finally get rid of such a weird thing.
āwait, no. cāmon, you know i didnāt mean that. itās notāitās not a bad thing.ā
fuck. mikeās heart drops to his ass. he fucked up again.
you wonāt look at him. he takes a deep breath. heās had to get used to how you react to things. shutting down and moving on, like youāre used to being ignored or something. mike knows that feeling all too well. taking it in stride and pretending to forget how bad it feels.
he doesnāt know why he cares so much.
he finds his way in front of you and takes your face in his hands. you move around so much, itās the only way heās found centers you. and youāre so warm, and your face is so soft.
āhey. there you are. iām sorry, angel. i didnāt mean it that way. youāreā¦youāre perfect, okay? iām just projecting. youāre not weird.ā
he reassures. he can see the tears collecting near your lash line. he hates it. he hates that it was him that caused it.
he canāt stop feeling your face in his hands. and now youāre looking directly at him. God, your eyes just seem to sparkle. the way you donāt just look at him, but through him. you see him and it makes his heart race.
āwhatād you say?ā
your head is tilted slightly now.
mike furrows his brows.
āwhat? that youāre perfect? youāre not weird, angel, i didnāt mean thatāā
āangel?ā
oh. he hadnāt meant to let that slip. but it fits. itās the only thing that does fit. it sounds intimate, he knows that. but heāll be damned if he calls you anything other than your true form.
still, he finds himself slightly embarrassed. God, he probably sounds so corny saying that. but mike never admits defeat. he doubles down.
āuhā¦yeah. you hate it? i can quitāā
you shake your head.
āno itās justā¦thatās what my brother calls me.ā
it all hits mike at once. angel fucking harrington.
steve hasnāt slept in three days. youāre gone. he doesnāt know why the sun still rises, why the stars still twinkle like thereās any light left in the world at all. his pride and joy is gone. youāre dead.
nancy isnāt doing much better. her little brother, gone. honestly, nobody is happy. one of the cons of being such a tightly knit group is that when you lose one, everyone loses one.
āi have to go look for him.ā dustin says for the fifth time that hour. the guilt is eating him alive.
āyouāll only find skeletons.ā
steve canāt help saying things like that. part of him wants to believe itās his way of coping, instead of admitting maybe heās just being an ass.
everyone gives him a pass.
but it makes nancy cry again.
steve leans further into his knees. fuck, heās a wreck. how can he ever get back on his feet without you? thereās no reason to stand without you. what else does he have? heās losing people left and right. how can they blame him for losing himself too?
āwhy doesnāt he ever talk about you?ā
youāre not sure what to say to that. so you say the same thing youāve said for the past hour.
āi donāt know.ā
but you do know. itās just hard to explain. steve loves you so much. and he knows how you are. he knows how many people call you weird, how many people talk behind your back.
and he knows something more that you donāt. something about the group of kids heās always hanging out with. more than anything, steve knows about the upside down.
āhe just wonāt let me around you.ā it feels strangely intimate, the use of āyouā. because itās not just mike. itās that whole godforsaken party. but something tells you that even if steve finally decided to let you around them, mike wouldnāt be an exception. and steve would be more than a little unhappy about your current position.
in your defense, itās cold. too cold to be so high up. so youāre on the forest floor. but you wonāt stop squirming with all the bugs crawling on you.
so you compromise.
mike lays on his back, you lay on top of his chest, head tucked beneath his chin. it started as warmth, but the jumping in your stomach and his thumb running up and down your spine is making it start to feel like something else. something that itās sort of always been.
āmaybe he knew id like it a little too much.ā
you donāt know what that means. or maybe you do, and you donāt want to say it.
you hum in response.
āhe just wants me to be safe. and sometimes he goes overboard.ā
you try to explain, feeling the rumble of your own voice through his ribcage. feeling the ripple of his heart.
you lift your head and shift slightly, so that you can see him. he looks you in the eyes.
āthereās nothing dangerous about me.ā
maybe itās a half lie. mike knows why steve doesnāt want you around the party. but thereās nothing wrong with mike on his own.
his heart races every time you look into his eyes, but now itās going into overdrive. youāre gazing at him, for lack of better words. your eyes dart around his face, from his freckles to his eyes to his nose. to his lips. fuck.
he doesnāt know how youāre doing this to him. how the way your cheeks are soft in his hand, the way your eyebrows quirk when you are confused, the way your eyes crinkle when you smile, how that can make him crazy like it is.
āi could name a few things.ā
rhe silence is loud. mike doesnāt even want to blink. he doesnāt want to miss a single frame.
āyeah?ā
you smile again, but itās softer. you donāt look away from him.
āyeah. your eyes, for one. i could get lost in them,ā
you mumble. it would be cheesy if it was anyone else, but mikeās heart skips an entire few beats.
āoh and these freckles. id lose a whole week trying to count them over and over again.ā
mike doesnāt know what magnetic force is pulling your noses to touch, but itās unauthorized. he can feel your breath fanning against his cheeks now.
āand your big. fucking. mouth.ā
itās not said with the slightest bit of animosity. thatās whatās making his heart ache the most. the pure and utmost affection youāre expressing.
āangelā¦ā
his eyes flicker between your lips and your eyes.
āoh, please mike, wonāt you kiss me already?ā
your bluntness doesnāt surprise him anymore.
one of his hands find itās way up to your cheek. it doesnāt take much for your lips to meet.
the kiss is soft and sweet, despite you both having been out in the woods for quite a while. you always manage to naturally smell like some sort of fruit, and now he can taste it on your lips. maybe thatās why he goes in for another once the first is finished. again, he kisses you, longer this time. your hand falls flat on his chest and you adjust, like getting any closer is possible at all.he chases your mouth with his again and again. your hand goes to his hair now, thick and soft. again and again and again until youāre pulling back for air and itās just your foreheads touching.
āstill think my big fucking mouth is dangerous?ā
he teases. you barely even look at him, still trying to catch your breath.
āmore than anything.ā
dustinās been gone for five hours now. heās not actually sure of the time, but he knows he gets closer and closer to his death every second he stays out. trekking through the forest. following whatās left of the wind swept trail mike insisted on leaving. for good reason, which is clear to him now. he thought mike was just being stupid and paranoid and stupid, like he always is.
but alas, he was right. and this time it might actually cost them.
heās not entirely sure where he lost mike. in fact, heās not even sure how he lost mike. heās tall and lanky and never shuts the hell up.
dustin had turned away for one second. heās sure of it. maybe heād made a turn that mike didnāt follow. maybe he was too caught up in daysreaming. but he tripped. he came to a fall and expecting to have mike laugh at him, realized he was nowhere to be found. and dustinās dumbass hadnāt been leaving a trail. heād stumbled around aimlessly for a while. time seemed to pass slower in the forest. when he finally managed to find his way out, it was afternoon, probably going on evening.
dustin has felt guilty for days, or weeks now, he guesses.
this isnāt a game anymore. it isnāt anything predictable. they donāt know their enemies this time. at least with eleven, they knew dr brenner was the bad guy. they knew who the bad men were. but out here, they have no idea. anyone can be anything. that includes a bloodthirsty monster.
all he knows is that he needs to find mike. if not just for everyoneās peace of mind.
mike thinks heās going crazy. he doesnāt know how long itās been, but he knows heās hearing his name somewhere within the forest. indefinitely. you are sleeping peacefully on his chest, your hair tickling his nose.
āangel,ā
he whispers, shaking you lightly. you donāt rouse.
the voice doesnāt really sound like a voice at all. itās more of an echo or a reverberation.
he hears it again. shakes you harder. he calls your real name, this time.
you open your eyes, already wide with the abrupt awakening.
he tries to coax you awake without scaring you any further.
his hands go to your face. he looks you directly in the eyes.
āhey. angel. do you hear that?ā
youāre both silent as you listen. and there it is again.
he can see the recognition in your face. in your eyes and how they flicker towards it.
āyour friend?ā
he blinks. shit. dustin. heād completely forgotten that maybe, just maybe, he was still looking. heād forgotten he wasnāt alone out here after all.
he opens his mouth to call out but your hands quickly cover it.
ādonāt. just wait.ā
you whisper.
you help him climb into the tree again, cus itās better to have the high ground or something. heās not going to question you on this one. heās not exactly sure how long youāve been out here, but he does know you almost took his head off the first day you met.
dustin comes into view pretty soon. stumbling around aimlessly but following the bits and pieces left on the trail. heās calling for mike and he has to fight everything in him telling him to scream his name.
āis that him?ā
he nods quickly.
āare you sure?ā
he knows why youāre being so careful, obviously, but this is undeniably dustin. he canāt be mad. he knows you donāt know.
but you give him the green light.
āhey. dustin. up here.ā
dustin looks around first, then up, like a dumbass.
his eyes almost pop out of his head.
āmike? oh my God! what the fuck? youāre alive!ā
he jumps for joy like the little nerd he is.
you giggle and mike feels his heart jump from more than just adrenaline.
when you both get down to the ground, dustin hugs mike for a solid minute. it doesnāt take him very long after that to notice you.
āwhoāsāā
he stops himself. looks you over.
āno way. holy shit. angel harrington?ā
you blink. mike blinks.
āhowād you know that?ā you ask, head tilted slightly.
āyouāre just like steve described you.ā
mike can almost visibly see you perk up at your brotherās name.
āsteve? is he here?ā
dustin shakes his head.
āno, heās back at base. i came looking for mike. i didnāt know heād found you.ā
dustinās eyes dart between the two of you. standing close, like you know each other. like you like each other.
āshe found me. she held a knife to my throat and made me dump out all my rocks.ā
hey guys gone baby, gone might be my last fic LMFAO at least for a while. i have more lined up so iāll try to come on and post but iām not doing so hot mentally and iām honestly just trying to graduate. iāll probably be here just less active by a lot and honestly iām not sure youāll ever see me again
i was asleep for literally thirty minutes and then had double sleep paralysis and woke up screaming before the monster could sit on me. bro. my dad rushed in cus he heard me screaming āget off meā at the top of my lungs wtf guys when does it STP
what position do you sleep in bc my dad says he gets nightmares every time he sleeps on his back, idk if that's scientifically sound, but maybe sleep in a different position ??
i was asleep for literally thirty minutes and then had double sleep paralysis and woke up screaming before the monster could sit on me. bro. my dad rushed in cus he heard me screaming āget off meā at the top of my lungs wtf guys when does it STP
