Angel's Advocate

Luke felt like death.

His thoughts were clouded from sleep and he was unsure what was even going on. A bang on a door jolted him to reality,

"Damnit Luke if you stay in there a minute longer I will strangle you!"

Luke blinked and realized his surroundings, When did I get in the shower? He wondered vaguely.

"Castellan!"

"One sec Ethan," he called back.

"That's what you said ten minutes ago!"

"Aright! I get it!" Like hurriedly turned the shower off and stepped out and dried and then wrapped a towel around himself. He opened the door and smiled down at a glaring Ethan. "What's the rush, it's not like you even need to go anywhere?"

"I need to take a fucking piss you piece of shit!" Ethan shouted back shoving Luke aside and slamming the bathroom door behind him. Luke gave a chuckle and rounded the corner walking to his room when he nearly bumped into a person.

The person looked up from their phone to glare at Luke, and Luke could see they were a blue green. Luke's eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to figure out why the hell there was a stranger in his apartment.

"Who the fuck are you?" He demanded.

The guy raised an eyebrow, "Are you high or drunk?"

"Neither, who are you?"

When he noticed Luke didn't budge he rolled his eyes. "I'm Percy? Your other roommate?"

"I've never had another roommate," Luke said seriously as he wished he was armed with something more than his towel- and that he was wearing something other than a towel.

"Percy" stared at him for a moment before he took a step forward and looked Luke directly in the eye.

Luke took a step back, "What are you-" he cut himself off and put a hand to his head. His mind was like TV static and he shut his eyes shut trying to understand. Then his eyes opened he took a breath looking at his roommate Percy, the guy who had lived with him and Ethan for over a year at this point, "Sorry. You're right dude, I think I'm still hungover."

Percy nodded and walked around Luke, "You're also gonna be late for class."

A curse escaped Luke's lips as he ran to his room and began looking for clothes.

~~~~

Luke was unsure how he made it through his classes. He was also unsure of how he was supposed to make it through his part time job at the bookstore without deciding that the floor was comfortable enough to sleep on. He was about to lay down when his manager walked over.

"You look dead, Castellan," Zoë commented as she looked at him. "It's a good look for you."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Watcha want Boss?"

"The ladder is still broken."

"And?"

"And that means you need to go help Bianca climb up and get a box, I'll handle up here."

Luke groaned as he stood up straight and walked to the back of the store. He passed through a door into a closet to see Bianca glaring at a stack of boxes, "Stupid survey," she muttered to herself. "If only I could-" She broke off and turned around realizing he had walked in.

"Use magical powers to make yourself taller?" Luke suggested.

She rolled her eyes, "Just give me a boost. We need that box up there."

Luke nodded and bent down and she climbed up on his shoulders. He wobbled and then planted himself so she could try and reach the box they needed.

"Oh are we all still on for the movies tonight?" She questioned as she reached forward. "I texted Ethan, but he didn't reply."

"That's weird. He always ignores my texts to text you."

"No he doesn't."

Luke shifted her weight slightly, "Please Bianca, how long until you realize he's hopelessly in love with you?" He could feel her legs tighten around his neck, "Sorry!" He choked out.

She must've accepted his apology because she stopped, "Alright I've got a hold of it. Step back and we'll just let it fall."

"Let it fall? What's in there?"

"Should be sweatshirts."

Luke moved back and he felt Bianca lean forward and he watched as she pulled the box closer to her until it was sent crashing to the ground and the sound of glass shattering echoed. The sound managed to surprise Luke and he moved backwards. Effectively losing his footing and he and Bianca were sent crashing to the ground.

Luke groaned in pain, but he heard as Bianca jumped up, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" She shouted repeatedly.

Luke peeled himself off the ground as the closet door opened and Zoë walked in looking pissed, "What the hell did you do Castellan?"

"Me?" Luke cried standing up. "I did nothing!" He continued pointing to Bianca. "She told there were sweatshirts in there!"

"That's what the box says!" Bianca shouted back pointing at the words on the box.

"Well clearly there aren't sweatshirts in there!"

Bianca huffed annoyed, "It's not my fault. It's whoever did the last inventory. They didn't cross out sweatshirts and write 'delicate glass things'."

Zoë nodded in agreement, "Who did the last inventory?"

"Ethan," Luke answered.

Zoë clenched her first, "Nakamura," she growled. "I'm gonna fire his ass and then kill him."

Luke raised his hand to get her attention, "Uh Zoë?"

"What?" She snapped.

"You fired Ethan last week. It was after he punched that customer."

"In Ethan's defense the guy was making fun Of his eyepatch," Bianca put in.

"Guess I'll skip the firing him and just kill him," Zoë decided.

Bianca and Luke locked eyes and Luke slowly pulled his phone out his pocket.

"Don't you dare warn him!"

Luke put his phone back.

"Bianca go run the front. Luke help me figure out what was in this box and find the real sweatshirts."

~~~~

"Zoë is going to murder you," Luke informed Ethan when he walked through their apartment door and promptly chose to collapse on the couch.

"Why?" Ethan questioned confused.

"Get your feet off me!" A voice shouted and Luke's legs were pushed away. Luke sat up straight and his eyes squinted to see someone sitting on the other end of the couch glaring at him. He blinked once confused and then he suddenly relaxed. "Come on Perce," He complained.

"Don't call me that," Percy snapped in reply. "Only my friends call me that."

"And what am I?" Luke smiled, "Come on dude, you've been living with us for how long now?"

"Too long."

Luke rolled his eyes.

"Back up to Zoë killing me," Ethan stated turning in the chair he was sitting in.

"Oh right, you did last inventory and labeled a box wrong. So lots of things broke," Luke explained.

Ethan groaned, "Guess I gotta watch my back then."

"Not gonna work. She decided to join us for the movie tonight so she can kill you. They'll be here in like ten minutes by the way."

"Zoë is coming here?" Percy asked slowly and Luke turned to see the guy looked pale.

"Yeah Bianca too," Ethan nodded. "Oh you wanna come with us to see the movie? We're gonna see-"

Percy shook his head quickly, "No. I uh- I haven't been feeling great today."

"You should take something then."

"No no," he insisted standing. "I think I'll be fine, I should just lie down." Luke raised an eyebrow but didn't question as he left the room seemingly in a hurry.

"Well that was weird."

"He always is isn't he?" Luke shrugged putting his legs back up on the couch.

"Very true."

Fifteen minutes later on the dot Luke found himself trying to stop Zoë from spilling blood on their floor.

"Come on Zo! Our landlord will kick us out if he finds blood!"

"Don't worry," Zoë responded putting her knife away and grabbing Ethan in a choke hold. "Wait," she stopped suddenly. "Did you just call me Zo?"

Luke cursed and backed away toward the door.

"We're gonna be late for the movie!" Bianca complained.

"You're all gonna wake Percy up too," Luke commented offhandedly.

"Percy?" Zoë asked tightening her grip on Ethan, "Who's that?"

"You know, Percy?"

Ethan looked at him just as confused.

"Percy Jackson," Luke tried. "Our roommate?"

"Percy Jackson?" Zoë repeated releasing Ethan suddenly.

"As in dark hair, greenish blue eyes?" Bianca asked looking horrified.

Ethan stared at him confused before he gripping his own head and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. "Oh right," he said after a moment letting go of his head. "He's not feeling well so he's sleeping."

Luke watched as the two girls locked eyes.

"Can we see him?" Bianca asked. "I meant to ask him something."

"But we're gonna be late for the movie," Ethan complained.

"It will only take a minute," she promised.

As always Ethan gave into her dark eyes and turned leading the way from the front door and back to Percy's room. The four stood outside of of for a moment before Ethan knocked, "Percy you awake?"

They waited, but no reply came.

He knocked once more with the same result.

"He's sleep I guess," Ethan shrugged. "Let's go-"

Zoë stepped past Ethan and opened the door to reveal a bedroom void of Percy. Luke stepped closer and peered in the doorway looking around confused, "He wasn't in the bathroom, and I doubt he's in-" Luke cut himself off as his vision flickered. First he could see Percy's bedroom, and then it violently switched to the wall- nothing but a wall. He blinked tightly and opened his eyes to see Percy's room once more before all was gone and the wall was all there was.

Luke shook his head and turned around rubbing his eyes, "I must be seeing things."

"At least I'm not alone then," Ethan mumbled rubbing his temples. "Maybe that milk was spoiled after all."

"I don't think bad milk makes you hallucinate."

"Then what else explains this?"

"What do you two see?" Luke asked the two girls.

Zoë clenched her fists and turned marching away Bianca right behind her.

"We're gonna need to cancel if you two are seeing things," Bianca stated. "I'll call you both in the morning, you should go sleep."

Luke opened his mouth to argue when overwhelming fatigue hit him and he found himself barely to keep his eyes open. He mumbled a "Night" to his friends before going to his room and off to sleep.