Lukas Jackson

Teagon and I got to my Mom's around 7:30. She said dinner would be done by 8, so.

Well, the five of us: Mom, Percy, Mak, Teagon, and I sat down and maybe 15 minutes into dinner somebody knocked on the door. Percy offered to answer it.

He was gone for two months.

When he came back he wasn't my little brother.

Or at least, it didn't seem like he was. He was so distant about a lot of things, he had grown quieter. New scars could be found all across his body. According to Mom he woke her up more than Hailyn from nightmares alone. Screaming when he'd wake up.

He re-enrolled into the school he went to before everything happened and it only made things worse. It put his stress levels higher and the lack of sleep was just shocking.

It amazed me that Mak didn't seem too bothered by this. I mean, it shocked all of us. But he didn't try to get information out of him like most others did, he just stayed by his side and assured my little brother that things would be okay. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow. But eventually they'd get there. They've managed the last two years. They can manage the next two.

It was a Saturday when a guy showed up. About sixteen, blonde hair, acne. Whatever.

"H-" Mom answered the door and she saw this guy," oh my god, Apollo, hi. Come in, come in. What are you doing here?"

Apollo like...

Apollo?

Mom, are you high?

"I was released from Camp momentarily," he explained, " I just thought I'd stop by. I've heard from like Grover and Nico about Percy. Is he really that bad right now?"

"Unfortunately." My mother agreed.

"Well in that case," he said and dug out a bag full of pills and handed them to Sally," because I know they've tried everything for his depression and everything has managed to fail. I don't give these out often, but it's basically an antidepressant of stronger dosage, mixed with ambrosia and nectar along with some herbs. Just one a day, put it in a glass of water and it'll dissolve. I have yet to see it fail, I've used it on multiple demigods and a few deities. And if that's not working at all. Let me know. I have a few other things up my sleeve. After all, it is my job."

Apollo

All campers were invited to Olympus about two weeks later. I was just released from Camp for the day. Along with my children seeing they were remodeling the cabin.

And it meant all campers as in all demigods not yet in college. Its an annual thing we do, Thanksgiving. Demigods are free to bring mortals or their families if they so choose to.

Clarisse and her family hadn't arrived yet. Neither was Percy. So everyone's kind of waiting to see if Clarisse's family and Percy's would show up together.

"Why one Earth would they of all people come together?" Athena questioned.

"Well Percy's dating Clarisse's little brother." I remarked. "He has been for like 2 years or so now."

Poseidon of all gods is the one who didn't believe he was gay.

"I..." Hades remarked," even I know this, brother."

"Even I knew," Artemis agreed on that," and I have no reason of interaction with him."

Nico Di Angelo

So Bianca showed up. Full well and alive.

She seemed terrified to see me. Mom was here, too.

Bianca pulled me off to the side to talk.

"What's up?" I asked my still older sister. Her age stayed in relevance to mine. So she was 17.

"So I know you're going to hate me and you're going to find this disgusting and a disappointment and all of that and I just... Remember when you used to ask me why I'd never had a boyfriend when I was 13 and 14?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"I never... I never had a boyfriend because I never wanted one," the answer was simple enough, "I never saw the point in having a boyfriend when I could have a girlfriend and be so much happier. So..."

She stopped herself there and it took me a second to realize what she was telling me but it made a lot of sense.

"That's what you were afraid to tell me?" I asked my older sister. "That you're gay?"

"Yeah?" She told me," I haven't told Mom yet. Please don't say anything to her."

"Don't worry about it."

She went to go tell Mom and I walked back over to Will, Leo, Calypso, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Thalia, RED, Percy, and Mak. And then also Clarisse and Chris.

Percy has improved so much in the last couple weeks alone it was almost freaky.

But it was nice. To see him smiling and laughing and happy. That's something I've never seen out of him and it was a nice change.

And if you don't know, Paolo is starting to learn English more. Or catching on, at least. He knows basic stuff. He can communicate with us now.

Apollo walks over to us. Paolo was standing alone and Apollo is a raging bisexual. Everyone knows he's bisexual.

Will nudged his dad. His dad does this to Will all the time. He was simply returning the favor. And my idiot of a boyfriend motioned towards Paolo when he had the former gods attention.

"What about him?"

"Get some."

And he shoved him over to the Brazilian Demigod.

"Did you just..." Thalia questioned.

"Yes, Thalia. I just shoved Apollo over to Paolo and told him to get some. He does it to me all the time."

"He does it to me, too, and I almost killed him the last time he did."

That was me.

Now yes, Grover does have a sister. She isn't a satyr, it's a half sister I believe. They usually don't admit to being siblings. I guess whatever happened to their parents kind of messed up their relationship. She's a year older than me, a year younger than Bianca. Her and Bianca got along amazingly and had clicked right away before that quest years ago. Madeline was her name. Madeline Underwood. Madeline has dated a couple people at Camp. A few girls, a few guys. She dated Tyson for a while I know. It was short lived, but it happened.

Grover walks over and this is when Rachel points out Bianca. Saying she recognized her or whatever and this is when Bianca was talking with Madeline and the conversation resulted in a kiss of which all of us either whooped, whistled, yelled get some, or cheered.

It was great.

This is how my mom found out I was here, attention slowly drifted a few people at a time from Bianca and Madeline to Will and I.

Will and I aren't very public when it comes to affection. We hold hands. Small kisses. Hugs. Usually not a lot more than that, simply because it's our relationship. Ours. Not anyone elses.

When attention started to shift towards us, when I recognized it was. I just shook my head and grabbed my boyfriend by the waist, giving him a nice, sweet kiss that he did return.

Percy Jackson

After we all had the early dinner at Olympus I figured visit Camp for the rest of the day just to hang out and have fun before my date with Mak tomorrow.

I forgot why I refused to hang out with Grover when he's around Madeline.

So it's Grover and I just wandering around camp, when we run into Madeline, Bianca, Nico, and Will. Which I was talking with Nico, Grover started off initially talking with Bianca and Madeline...

She hates her brother and he hates her in turn. Nobody really knows why, aside that it has something to do with their parents.

Suddenly Madeline just hollered at her older brother. Nico, Will, and I in the middle of a conversation about just whatever and out of nowhere:

"This is why Mom and Dad hated you! This is why they left! Because of you and your stupid fucking ambitions that are never going to happen! Just shut the fuck up and learn to live reasonably for once, would you!?"

An eerie silence fell within the outskirts of the forest where we all remained. The hum of Camp Half-Blood could be heard in the distance although that was all the noise that remained.

As quietly as we could, the four of us left them to be and sort out whatever they needed to sort out.

I was called down to the Big House by Chiron.

In there was a man and a woman. The man had light brown hair and honey brown eyes, much like Grover although Grovers hair was curly. The women had a caramel hair color with bright blue eyes, a lot like Madeline.

I was only to assume this was their parents. The parents Grover has mentioned to me once, maybe twice because he hates to talk about it because he never knew what actually happened to them. He never wanted to say they were dead but he also didn't want to say they were alive. Because he never knew.

Chiron told me him and Mr. D had to leave for a meeting and I was in charge to make sure they knew where everything was and were settled back into camp.

"You must be Luke," Grovers father, Bradley Underwood remarked, putting out a hand to shake,"I'm Bradley."

"And Im Evelyn," my friends mother said as I also shook her hand.

"I'm not Luke," I told them," Luke has been gone for 6 years now. But I'm Percy. I took over Luke's spot as leader of Camp. When was the last time you were here?"

"2003."

So that's why Grover was sensitive to his parents subject when I was new here. It had only been a couple years at that point.

So I showed them around, saving where Grover and Madeline stayed for last, knowing they'd want to see their kids.

Grover Underwood

Madeline was really getting on my nerves and she didn't seem to want to go hang out with Bianca at the exact moment and I had no idea where Percy was so I was in my room, trying to just relax. The whole night prior to today, nobody let me fucking sleep, I wasn't in the mood to argue with my little brat sister.

Sorry, but after our parents disappeared she turned into a brat and I'm not the only one that thought that.

"Are you just going to ignore me!?" She was so pissed off it was almost funny.

"Yup."

"Why can't you just-"

"Madeline, I got no sleep last night, I'm tired as shit and you're not helping. Go hang out with Bianca or go back to your room or I don't care as long as you don't bother me."

She didn't like that idea and kept on criticizing me and talking bullshit and I heard somebody come in but at this point I didn't even care.

"Madeline," I repeated myself. An arm draped over my face so I didn't see who was here," I am tired. Nobody let me sleep last night, you included in that bunch. I'm crabby, grumpy, and cranky and I don't want to argue fight now. Go to your room or go out to the camp, just as long as you leave my room so I can sleep some before we have to send Percy back home tonight."

I found out Percy was in my room when he said my name.

"What?" I asked my best friend.

He said somebody wanted to see me.

"Who?" I further questioned, still unable to see with my arm over my face.

"Your parents?"

That prank has been pulled on me 4 times, I'm not believing it a fifth. I'm too tired.

"Percy, my parents went missing to never return like 10 years ago. Trust me, they're not here. You know that just as well as I do."

My best friend walked over to me and took my arm away from my face.

It wasn't my best friend, though.

It was my dad.

I jumped back on my bed and also saw my mother.

I'm too tired for this shit right now.

I visited with my parents for about an hour and they took the room that originally would've belonged to them that is usually used as a guest room but now that they're here.

I managed to get in a nap for a few hours until I woke up and noticed it was almost time to send Percy back. So I headed out of my place to find my best friend.

Percy was down at the beach, just sitting down. Looking out at the ocean. Like he normally did when he was either dreading something or seemed let down by something.

So I joined him.

"Hey!" I said to my best friend, sitting down next to him.

"Hey," the son of Poseidon returned the greeting," you seem better."

"I slept, yeah," I agreed and noticed the expression on his face," you don't."

Percy hung his head down, as if in shame. Closing his eyes. Fighting back tears. And he just shook his head before looking back up.

"You'd be right about that."

"What happened?"

He slid his phone over to where I was, and I opened it up. Knowing his password. Text messages were opened. Him and Mak. Scrolled up to about an hour ago.

Hey, Percy, you got a minute?
Of course, love, what's up?

I smiled at the response Percy gave him. Percy really did love Mak. He made him so happy. It was hard to imagine them any other way.

You're at Camp right now, right?
Yeah, why?
Just curious. Are you alone?
At the moment, yeah. What's up? Are you okay?
Yeah, I'm fine. Just something I need to get off my chest.
Oh, okay! And what's that? I'm all ears.
We've been dating... We've been together for a long time.
Two years, yeah.
Do you remember before we dated? When we were friends?
Of course. What about it?
Do you think we could do that again?
Do what again?
Be friends.
We are friends, Mak. If we were never friends I doubt we would've ever dated in the first place. You don't do it again, it just sticks.
No, I know. I mean, um... Without the dating part.
What?
I've been debating this for a while now, Percy. And I'm sorry, but it's gone. Whatever we had. It's over. I'm breaking up with you.

There wasn't another response or another text sent. That was 45 minutes ago Mak sent that last text.

Percy decided against leaving that night. And the next day it didn't go unnoticed that something was wrong.

Clarisse showed up the next week. Break. Her plane landed late.

"What's wrong with him?" Clarisse asked me as we were getting food, motioning at the demigod. "I thought he was supposed to be with my little brother today. Mak wouldn't shut up about it for 3 months."

"He..." I tried to explain," you know, if it was his choice he would be."

"What happened?"

"Mak broke up with him," I told the daughter of Ares," last night. I had taken a nap and when I got up he was on the beach, where he goes when he's upset and I asked what was wrong and he showed me the text messages. Apparently Mak was wary about it for a long time, a few months or whatever. There was no consideration of anything behind it aside him saying he was sorry, but it was time to break up."

Clarisse La Rue

I visited home that night. Pissed off at my brother.

He knew better than to break up with Percy through fucking text messages. After he saw my heartbreak over a text message break up, he knew better.

Mak always seemed so happy with Percy. And in return I hadn't seen Percy happier than when he was with Mak. My little brother was always saying how much he worried about him and how much he cared about him. He was saying that last week.

So what the fuck was this?

I got home and went straight up to his room, where he was on the phone but hung up 3 seconds after seeing me.

"Clarisse, what are you-"

"What did you do?"