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You drum your fingers on the table, performing some serious telekinesis on the clock. Time doesn't go any faster though. Tick Tick Tick Tock.
Sighing, you look around. Friday night. The party's already in full swing.
The music blasted on full volume, deafening everyone within a 5 mile radius. So loud, that whether you could hear a jack-hammer over it was questionable. Yet couples still swayed blissfully on the dance floor, wrapped in each others' embrace as if nothing else could matter. Their loving glances were almost enough for your lunch to make a re-appearance.
Hm. The furniture's changed. Last month it was mod and 60's, now it looks as if it had been invaded by aliens from the planet Frou-Frou. Not that you're complaining of course, potpourri is very nice... And so are those -
You're stirred out of your thoughts by the sensation of someone hugging you, causing you to take a most (graceful) head dive for the carpeting (it's heart-covered, just so you know).
"OMG!! I'M SO SORRY I'M LATE!"
"About time. Could you have been any less aggressive?!" You mutter, rubbing your head and pushing her arms away at the same time. She pouts.
"Oh come on, that's no way to treat your best friend is it?"
You crack a small smile.
"Best friends don't push each other off chairs either. Now what was this all-important urgent thing that had me flying half-way across the world? I had a really good gig lined up!"
"Oops. And please. If you wanted a gig, you could have just asked me. Apollo is technically my brother. Anyway, I want you to guess."
"Okay, I'll bite. Shoe emergency?" She shakes her head.
"Uh... Last minute outfit choice?" Nope. She says popping the p.
"Did you start another Trojan war?!" You pray to the gods she didn't.
"No, no. Nothing like that." She giggles before continuing.
"I've found my OTP!" She says in a sing-song voice.
Wait what. WHAT. WHAT?!
She's got to be kidding. Your best friend, the love goddess Aphrodite found her OTP? That was about as likely as the sun freezing over. You don't know whether to laugh or cry.
*
"Over there." She points to a new group that just entered the club. Hmm... They don't look any special, just ten teenagers with varying shades of hair and eyes. For a minute, they just stand there, unsure what do do. Then a brave boy with sea-green eyes saunters forward and promptly crashes into a porcelain vase, barely managing to catch it without a second to spare. His partner -this boy with sky-blue eyes, facepalms and slaps him upside the head, calling him ... a seaweed brain? The only reply he gets is a goofy grin. They kiss.
A blonde walks in next, deep in discussion with her girlfriend, a chick with black hair braided down her shoulder, creasing her brow every few sentences in thought. They're holding hands.
An African-American girl stands a little ways away from the rest, clutching the arm of her Chinese boyfriend and snuggling into his side while he wrapped his arms around her protectively. She closes her eyes in happiness.
You catch sight of a girl with kaleidoscope eyes flashing from green to brown to blue drag her girlfriend off to the dancefloor. The freckled girl tries to protest, but it's no use. The former looked familiar, but you couldn't quite place your finger on it.
Then you notice two that didn't really fit in with the rest. One had curly hair and tan skin, the other had extremely pale skin (like whiter than toothpaste white) and jet-black hair.
"They're names are Jason, Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, Hazel, Frank, my daughter Piper, and Tommy." She explains, pointing them out one by one.
"Very subtle Aph." You retort, smiling. Ah. That's it. Piper, the one who always used to tag along with her mother when they visited. She rolls her eyes.
"Who are they? You give a very brief nod to the two outsiders. (Unlike her, you actually know how to be subtle.)
"That would be ghostfire. Also known as my new OTP. Leo's (the curly-haired babe) the son of my husband, and Nico's (that pale darling) the son of my brother. Families, I love them! Now don't you think they're perfect for each other?!" She squeals the last part. Giggling non-stop again. Whelp, that's the love goddess for ya.
You laugh, it's so obvious. Even from here you can see the way Nico's eyes dart constantly to a certain brunette boy. The way he tries to cover it up by pretending to look at Hazel, who's just past him. Leo too, was being far from subtle. He constantly fidgeted and seemed to lean almost subconsciously towards Nico. In three words, it was adorable.
"If anyone can match-make, it's you Aph. "
"Thanks bestie." She croons before her eyes go wide.
"Quick! Hide!"
And that's how you ended up getting stuck in a wine barrel with the goddess of love sitting on your shoulders. She murmurs an apology which you quickly dismiss. You strain your ears against the barrel. From what you hear they're close, so maybe only a few feet away. Aphrodite hums and digs through her purse, pulling out a ...compact mirror? You're about to scold her on the timing of her personal pampering sessions before the shape twists and unfolds in her hands, revealing a long, narrow tube.
She hands it over, clasping her hands expectantly. Sighing, you look through the periscope and are greeted by a perfect crystal-clear view of the group. The blue-eyed blond, Jason, whispers something in Leo's ear. He grins and says something to one of the baristas.
"Hephaestus' newest invention." The twinge of pride in her voice was unmistakable.
"I thought so. Any plans?"
"Yup, just follow my lead and if you can, give Ghostfire that little push they need please."
Then you both hear a crash, and scramble to be the first to see what's happened. Leo is sitting on the floor with a dazed look on his face, the remnants of champagne bottles lying around all around him, soaked to the core. At first it's silent, then everybody reacts all at once. Some doubled over and held their sides, wiping away tears of laughter, others simply looked on with an amused smirk. The poor boy stood up, only to fall back down on the slippery hardwood. They just laughed harder.
"A little help here, guys?"
Seeing that no one else would go, Nico finally walked over with a pretty straight face, but you could see how even he was fighting the urge to laugh. He reaches down and helps Leo up, who's pride at this point looked about as damaged as his bottom.
"Alright everybody, it's that time again!!!" The goddess announced, cupping her hands around her mouth.
All the clubgoers turned to look at her.
"In your seats please darlings." As soon as the words left her mouth, half the floor flipped over, pushing forth pink personal sofas that automatically arranged themselves in 3 perfect circles down the hall. The middle one was largest.
Next to her, a game show-esque wheel popped out from beneath a square hatch. Aphrodite waited until everyone was seated before walking to the wheel, giving it a good hard spin.
You take your seat, the matching pink seatbelt fastening itself around your waist.
"Welcome back all returning members and my! So many new faces today, nice of you to join us! (She looks pointedly at Leico) Anyway, every Sunday here we have the fun fun tradition of playing a game! Winners receive fabulous prizes, such as an exciting week in Paris or a culinary tour of London. But there's a twist, they all have to do with love." She pauses for a moment to let that sink in. Cheers erupted from the two farthest circles. The newcomers looked agitated, except Piper who looked absolutely delighted. By now, the wheel's completely stopped. She rips off the attached envelope and reads aloud.
"Today's game is... Loveytalky! Yay!" She giggles, tossing it over her shoulder. Things were about to get interesting, if the mischievous light in her eyes was any indication.
"See you there!"
All the chairs swiveled suddenly and ascended into the air, shimmering and disappearing in the wink of an eye -along with their occupants.
You close your eyes, opening them when you feel yourself touch solid ground again.
Now you can see the others, everyone was back to back with a (supposedly) random stranger, but you know better. They were angled so that you could not see who's behind you unless you fully turn around, which was kind of impossible to do with seatbelts.
"Loveytalky is an old favourite. The rules are simple, your partner is blindfolded in a maze and you must guide them out. Then you switch. Following? But there's a twist, you are not allowed to yell anything to do with directions (left, right, up, down, o'clocks, paces, whatever) and everything you say must end in an endearing nickname that doesn't have to do with their actual names. The more romantic the better! First team to finish wins. Got it?
Judging from their various reactions, this was definitely not what they expected.
"Ready, set, go!" Everyone scrambled out of their chairs at the exact same time. They didn't really have a choice. It was either move their tush or get a very nasty injury from a snapping Venus-fly traps that had somehow sprung up in their seats.
*
The air was soon alive with shouts and laughter. You watch from a distance, trying to keep tabs on all the newbies while simultaneously leading your own partner (who was dumb as a doorknob) through the maze. Jason and Percy were surprisingly doing well. Jason kept yelling stuff like "Not your writing hand Seaweed brain!"
Annabeth and Reyna were doing equally as well, the blonde was actually quite smart...
"6 + 1 points to where you should go Love!"
Piper and Rachel were almost unstoppable, with Piper shouting,
"When you lose money, where do you go Mona Lisa?"
Frank and Hazel were speeding up too, with Hazel saying,
"When you start on ground and press the 4th floor which way do you travel Tiger?"
"Hot air balloon you big baffoon!" You shout to your own partner, who was STILL way, way behind the others. He completely ignores you and turns left, bumping into an azalea.
Ghostfire seemed to be at odds. Nico was mumbling under his breath so quietly that YOU, standing 5 feet away couldn't even hear him, let alone poor Leo who was bumping into all kinds of shrubbery without Nico's guidance. It was kinda sad to watch. Sidling up, you could literally feel the dark waves roll off him, dread and embarrassment washing over you in a lead-like mixture. You want to turn on your heel and leave, but you have orders from Aphrodite.
"Need a little help?"
He jumps at the sound of your voice, obviously not expecting it.
"Why do you care?" You can't help but grin.
"Because you look like you're not having any fun! And I think that's the third time your partner tripped over that cactus."
He grumbles something you can't make out and turns away. You turn him right back and hold his shoulders to keep him there.
"Listen up buddy. Don't be afraid to make a fool of yourself, everybody's doing it. Have you heard of the phrase, "fool for love" by chance?
"Leave me alone."
"Shout it loud and proud boy!"
"Leo! When you're not wrong, you're what, darling?!" Leo quickly deciphered the riddle, turning right.
"Now you try."
He was still glowering but decided to follow your lead, seeing as you won't leave any time soon.
"Fine. Leo, Flame boy lives in Texas. Ghostking lives in New York. Follow whoever gets the warmer weather... um... bad boy supreme?"
"Just like that! You go Nico!"
He raises the corners of his mouth.
Believe it or not, they actually won the race, a trip to the Bahamas. Whether it was because of the love goddess's meddling, you'll never know. They left holding hands and you didn't have to be a genius to know why Nico's lips were swollen and Leo's hair disheveled.
That night over a glass of champagne, Aphrodite squeals and fangirls like no tomorrow. You both toast to the new pairing. Ghostfire has officially sailed.
-Fini.