Just because they were close friends didn’t mean that they lived remotely close. The drive there took almost two hours, painful with the stubborn six o’clock traffic. Lane’s house sat uptown where skyscrapers of impossible heights huddled together within the same radius and loomed over the simpler suburbs, the way the ‘popular’ students at school would herd together and look down upon the rest. If only they knew they were only popular amongst themselves and that no one else really cared.

More specifically, Lane’s house was one amongst many identical villas that stood neatly in rows across the surprisingly clean city creek, giving the place a country-club sort vibe. Kenny got off at the most vibrant garden of the bunch, easily indicating that he was at the right house. Lane’s strange obsession with gardening reflected off the entire yard. The once plain white fence was overgrown beautifully with blue butterfly-pea vines. Overhanging from the little roof over the verandah were sweet-giddying honey suckle and at the base of the cream columns: bushes of hydrangea in both blue and pink. Other than that, aligning either edge of the property were tomato plants arranged in a perfect single file, each one filled with the most voluminous, juicy tomatoes Kenny had ever seen- no doubt all of them named something goofy like ‘Tubby Tommy’. If they weren’t, the person the house belonged to wasn’t Lane Bratislav Kalchik. The logo of the Tesco’s Grocery store peeked over droopy willow at the corner, shading the canopy in a blue and red halo. Kenny only realized he had stood there with his backpack dangling over his side when he felt the presence of two eyes staring right back at him. Adjusting the weight of his luggage on his shoulder, he looked around nervously, suddenly catching the glimpse of two small red glistening spots from inside a bush.

“P-Percy?” Kenny squeaked. The bush seemed to growl back in return. Kenny gulped, his upper body losing the consciousness that flowed down to his legs which slowly reversed him away. “I-I know Lane” he squeaked before he took off, not knowing what was happening as his legs carried him at full throttle. He could here it’s heavy breath as it panted – barking as it chased after him. He didn’t need to look behind him to know it was an absolute unit of a dog. “Lane!” he yelped, narrowly swerving the corner of the wall with the fresh tomatoes. Kenny could see Lane’s thin shadow flitting here through the glazed window of the kitchen. He felt the wind getting knocked out of him as he slammed onto the ground, the weight of the beast cracking the bones in his spine. It shook him, it’s jaws unrelenting as it pulled and threw him all over the front doorstep. “LANEE!!” Kenny shrieked, spitting out the dirt he had eaten when his face had been dragged across the floor.

“KENNY!” Lane gasped, yanking open the door. “Percy, get off him!” he chided as he tackled it, having to throw his leg over the massive creature’s body to give himself enough leverage to pry it off, “Stupid dog!!”. With the dog distracted, Kenny quickly slipped away from under it, scampering and hiding behind the door. It was huge – more of a wolf than a dog and blacker than the night sky. It seemed like Lane was herding a miniature black hole with eyes the colour of red currant. “Go!” Lane finally let it go, seeing that Kenny was safe, giving it a light spank on the hind, “Don’t come looking for me, you hear! Go away! . Kenny couldn’t believe the sight he was seeing: the way Lane – the most delicate human being (so fragile even a gust of wind knocked him over) get such a monster to yield. His cheeks felt rather warm. Sweaty and out of breath, he smiled at him apologetically as he joined him on the little step that led into the house. “Are you hurt?” he croaked, his green eyes scanning Kenny’s body worriedly. Kenny’s shirt was not in its happiest condition and his face was scratched up a bit, but he didn’t mind, keeping quiet as Lane grabbed his arms and checked him over. “I am so so sorry, Kenny” he blubbered, stepping back and opening the door wider to invite him in, “I meant to put him in the backyard after I finished cooking – “

“I guess I am a little to early” Kenny shrugged, smiling back at him, “I should have let you know when I was coming”

“No” Lane beamed his flashy pearly whites at him as he reached to get Kenny’s bag that now had little holes poked into it. “I never told you the time”

“I’ll handle it” Kenny said as he snatched the bag away. He had already saved his life; Kenny was sure he could handle something as simple as carrying a ruck sack into the house. He followed Lane indoors, getting showered by the warm light of the chandelier that hung itself perfectly at the centre of the sitting room.  The whole room wafted of lilies, making Kenny feel just slightly nauseous. He quietly followed Lane inside towards the sofa where the TV was already playing a music video – ‘Blue Jean’ not surprising. On the coffee table were newspapers and magazines meant to distract you from the piles upon piles of Superman comics shoved beneath it – Mr. Kalchik’s prized collection. He noticed the way Lane walked. It filled everyone in the room with confidence they never had- because he walked with the confidence of someone that was beautiful, knew they were beautiful and carried themselves upon it: a pretty sort of strut his with his spine as straight as a pencil, hips swaying slightly and his fingers dancing rhythmically on his side at every step. Where was Lois? Lane waited till Kenny settled himself and headed back to the kitchen. Making himself at home, he asked Lane a question he had been meaning to ask for quite a while. “Gosh!” Kenny panted, “Why’s everything in your family so big? I mean…you, you’re sister, your dad, your DOG!” Lane grimaced in confusion. “Why’s he named Percy?”

Lane chuckled, “Short for Persephone Von Whiskerfina the first, of course!” he shook his head as if it was general knowledge that Kenny was supposed to know. He felt a bit sheepish that he hadn’t. “I named her when I was four…...” Lane shrugged.

“I’m sorry, that’s no Persephone, that’s one third of  Cerberus”