Percy Jackson

The sleepover went well, although it was a little awkward at first when we were figuring out sleeping arrangements before we ended up accidentally falling asleep (or, I fell asleep on top of Nico) while watching Up because Up is a classic that Nico needs to know.

He didn't wake me up, though, which was very sweet because we we're on my bed anyways.

An anxiety dream ended up waking me up, though, which is different than the usual demigod dream doing it.

The dream? About me making up the idea that my parents are on a honeymoon right now and that they actually died in the war and I just haven't processed it so when I got called to arrange their funeral stuff I thought they died on a plane or something and yeah.

Sitting up and looking at the time, seeing Nico out cold in bed, I walked out to the living room because what if it was a demigod dream and not an anxiety dream and they are dead, you know?

I don't know..that's why I grabbed the landline and dialed my mom's number, holding my breath in anticipation as I could feel my anxiety rising.

What if they already gave somebody else her number?

And then it rang.

What if her phone got destroyed?

And it kept ringing.

She almost always picks up on the second ring.

"Hello? Percy?"

Her voice subdued my anxiety, though, and let me take another breath.

She's alive.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" But being in the  right now I believe, she almost has to be aware of the time difference from there to here. It's at least 5 hours, I think, so it's around 8 or 9 there. "It's very late, is it not? Did something happen? Do we have to come home?"

"Hi!" I said, letting out another breath as I seemed to hold onto the one I had finally taken when she started talking and sounding worried. "And everything's okay, I promise. Sorry, I just like... Had a weird dream and I don't think it was a demigod dream but I wanted to make sure you were okay. I tried going back to bed but my brain wouldn't let me until I knew for sure. Please enjoy the last couple days of your honeymoon, don't come home for a weird dream I had. Sorry to like, make you worry, just... Yeah. I'm okay, nothing has happened, my brain just makes up really realistic dreams."

"Oh, okay!" Mom responded, seeming now less worried, which was good. "Well if anything happens, please don't hesitate to tell us, okay? We'll be back soon, and if you need anything more urgent than what we can do, the Dares and even Chiron or your Dad are always there!"

And I could agree to the first one and sort of to the second (depending on the situation), but my dad was a joke.

"I know, I'll let you know if anything happens," I tried to reassure her as if I wasn't suicidal earlier today and most of this week, which is maybe something I should've called them about but I didn't. "I'm going to try to sleep again, though, so go be gross with your husband."

"Get some sleep, sweetie," she returned. "Love you."

"Love you, too, Mom.

And that was it, that was the conversation.

It left me unable to move for a bit, which I figured was fine, but after a bit Nico actually came out, looking tired along with a mix of confused and worried.

"Hm... Oh, hey, you are out here," my date voiced aloud as he walked over to where I was and crouched down to be at the same level as me, moving some hair from my face.

"Hey," Nico said, softly I think so he wouldn't alarm me. "are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, sorry," I apologized for the worry. "I had an anxiety dream earlier and it woke me up and I couldn't tell if it was a demigod dream or not and it was about my mom so I called her, but she's okay so we talked for like a minute and now I'm just like... Here. Sorry if me moving around woke you up."

My apology seems to confuse him, though. Throws him off.

"It didn't wake me up, please don't apologize for wanting to make sure your mom was okay," Nico tried to reassure me. "Were demigods, that's a reasonable concern after having a weird dream. I woke up because I had to pee and then I realized you weren't in the room or in the bathroom so I figured I'd make sure you were here. Do you want to go back to bed?"

Nodding my head, Nico stood up and offered me a hand up, which helped a lot as I put the phone back on it's charging stand and walked back to my room with a certain son of Hades who would allow me to be touchy and cuddly with him as I fell back asleep, this time not remembering any dresms I had and to wake up just in time for brunch.

Waking up in the morning, Nico was in the state of denial waking up, so I didn't feel bad that when I sat up to take a drink of water, he woke up because he was basically already up.

It took a while to get out of bed (like an hour) and I didn't get dressed until after brunch, but we made brunch together which was a lot of fun and he left after brunch since Rachel and I have plans today and I need time between people to reset.

I did thank him for staying over a million times I'm pretty sure. We planned for a second date next Tuesday, though! So that's a reason to not like, attempt this weekend.

And according to Rachel, any reason is a good reason.

After Nico was gone, I just relaxed a took some time for myself; aka I took a shower and then sat on the couch in waiting mode for a little bit until Rachel showed up, which was only maybe 10 minutes or so after I sat down because I was in the shower for like 45 minutes.

No big reason, it was just warm and relaxed my muscles. Felt good.

Until it, you know, made me feel like a prune.

"Hey! Sorry, I was running a few minutes late, I tried to call but it wouldn't go through," Rachel told me when I let her into the apartment. "You went on a date last night, though! I want every single detail."

Rolling my eyes, I closed the door behind her and insisted that there wasn't a lot to tell.

"Hmmm no, there has to be," my best friend insisted. "especially since you never told me about him. At the very least, tell me about him and gush about him or whatever. Be gross."

"What?" I questioned. "So you can live vicariously through me?"

"Yeah!"

But she wasn't going to let me not talk about it, so I just sighed before letting myself give in and tell her about our date.

"It was a lot of fun," I insisted as we walked back to my room so I could grab my shit before her parents get here because apparently after I called last night, my mom's worried so she wants them to like, check in and then we're supposed to also go out for lunch and yeah.

Rachel's basically here to make sure I got out of bed in time to go out for lunch.

I touched myself up a little and told her about the date a little and about how we have another one planned for next week and that excited her a lot more than it needed to, and the excitement was cut short when there was a knock at the door.

Which I, reasonably, figured was Rachel's parents.

And you know, it was.

But it wasn't just them.

"Percy! Son!" My dad's voice being the first one I heard when Rachel offered to answer the door made me want to shoot myself just a little bit.

Not because he was here.

More so because I could see that Rachel's parents were also here. And I know that they don't know about the gods yet.

They almost found out when I had my breakdown. But somehow it never got brought up.

Now we're... Here.

With Mr. And Mrs. Dare being severely caught off by a man calling me his son because the last they heard, my dad isn't really involved too much in my life because it's not like I see him in the summers, which is when he has custody of me.

I know him, but we don't talk. We're not close.

It's more like I know of him and I've heard stories, but our relationship isn't personal.

And that's about to be a lie even though it almost isn't. I don't want the personal relationship anymore. I'm tired of it. I want him to just be another god that I have to deal with to make this fucking deal work out with the new thrones and cabins and I don't want to be his token of glory. His hero. His kid.

We've talked like 3 times in my life, I don't even know why he's here, our relationship isn't any more personal than a relationship with a school counselor.

I've had more personal relationships with school counselors, and I've been expelled every year for the last like 8 years. 9 years.

This year will be the first school I've gone to in two years in a row like... Ever.

So while Rachel's parents are shocked that this is my dad, I'm shocked that he's here right now, without a warning.

"Uh, hi?" I figured that was good enough for him. I'm not bowing, I don't care anymore. "What... What are you doing here?"

Poseidon raised up a folder that I already knew would be hell to read.

"A bunch of stuff from everyone on Olympus about the recent deals and negotiations that happened on your birthday," he explained. "including transfer paperwork for our new Oracle, which should be easy since she's right here, right?"

And he shifts his attention to Rachel, who looks sightly afraid.

"You're Apollo's new Oracle for Delphi, correct? You spit out what they're calling the prophecy of seven?"

Knowing she can't just lie to a god, Rachel nodded her head.

"Yeah, that was me," my best friend confirmed in front of her now insanely confused parents. "We haven't met, though, I'm also one of Percy's friends, Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Yes, I'm aware!" But of course he knows her because he's a god and be knows everything. "You're the one who threw a hairbrush at my father and who also took a helicopter in order to help the campers here the other week and now you're our new Oracle. You'll also get your own place at camp near the satyrs!"

"Okay, cool, well thanks for the paperwork," I could already sense a long conversation to come that I didn't prepare for, though, so I was pushing him out. "Is there anything else you wanted or...?"

"What? Can a dad not come and say hi to his son?"

But that felt like a trick question.

"I mean, literally, yeah, you can, and you did say hi," I pointed out to the god. "But you've also never done that before without some sort of catch with it, so... If it's just the paperwork you can leave. I kind of have guests over right now. You can come over later if you like... Care or want to or whatever, but I'm busy right now."

Scoffing as if it were so hard to believe that I'd rather hang out with my friend than be stuck in a room with him awkwardly, Poseidon insisited that he should to then, since he also has busy, godly manners to attend to.

And then he, you know, did the god thing where he basically vanished and left Rachel's parents absolutely floored.

"Anyways," and props to Rachel for trying to change the subject. "Where were we planning on eating?"

"He just disappeared." But there was no fooling her parents.

"Forget disappearing, he called Rachel an Oracle!" Her dad exclaimed. "What does that even mean? Apollo's Oracle? What kind of...?"

He locked his sight onto me.

"What did you get her involved in?"