Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or the Twilight Saga. If I did, I would be rich and not write fanfiction anymore. JKJKJK, I would never abandon you guys!
I was running frantically up the steps of my apartment complex, skipping three steps at a time. I grasped a small bag filled with my clothes and some ambrosia.
The summer had ended today, as well as the Giant war (which ended a few weeks prior). I had enjoyed the last days with my friends and my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. We had agreed, (Well, Annabeth not-so-subtly insisted) that I was going over to stay at my mom's apartment with Paul for the summer. Annabeth couldn't come because she had been accepted into Harvard, we had a big party celebrating her victory. Meanwhile, the situation of my education still remained a mystery I had gotten news through Iris-message that my mom was now pregnant. I had nearly exploded with happiness when I first heard. I had always wanted a sibling, godly or not. And now I was going to have a little brother or sister!
I finally reached our small apartment and fumbled with the keys for a moment. Before swinging the door open, almost ripping it from its hinges. I took a moment to appreciate the small living room, then I cupped my hand to my mouth and shouted loudly,
"MOM! I'm home!" I waited almost giddily for mom to walk from the kitchen as she predictability spends most of her time in. But after a few seconds of nothing, my smile slowly faded from my face and was replaced with worry. I knew that Paul was most likely at work, but Sally was a stay at home mom, surely she would be here?
I walked further in from the doorframe, and shifted into a fighting stance; one foot in front, the other back, square to each other; guaranteeing balance. My fingers played with the cap of Riptide, my trusty pen/ sword.
I called out again, only more hesitant this time,
"Mom? Are you there?"
This time, I got a reaction. A feminine voice called out,
"Percy? Is that you honey? Can you come over here for a second? I'm in the office."
I immediately sprinted to the office, relieved that mom was okay. I threw my pack on the couch and ran down the hallway, taking a right into a cozy small room with a computer on a large desk and a black swivel chair, that had the one and only, Sally Jackson-Blofis sitting on it.
Mom was sitting in the black swivel chair, the computer was on, and several tabs were open.
I know, I know, demigods weren't supposed to have technology. But the Hephaestus Cabin, along with the help of the Athena Cabin, of course, made a genius software that allowed demigods to use technology without having it send large beacons indicating where the demigod currently is. However, none of us had phones yet, as the software only extended to certain devices.
Anyway, mom was surrounded by files and official looking papers. Some were on her lap, some were on the floor, forgotten, some were just laid halfheartedly scattered around her general area. Right now she was shuffling through a large stack of paper in a large manilla file folder and was flicking through each page, pausing to look at a picture or to read a few lines of text, then moving on.
Sally looked like she had been sleep deprived, with deep circles under her eyes, and hair in a mess. Her clothes were wrinkled and had some stains on it as if she hadn't changed out of them in a while.
I stared at my mom in horror. What was she doing? This couldn't be good for her health! I ran from my frozen position at the door frame and plucked the manilla folder from her tired hands, which offered little resistance. I quickly picked up some papers from the floor and put them on the already crowded desk. I then placed both of my hands on the top of moms chair and swung the chair to face me. I looked straight into her eyes, which were shining… why were they shining? I bent over so my face was right in hers and asked worriedly,
"Mom? What's going on?"
I totally expected her to start bawling or something, but to my shock, she smiled a brilliant smile, then lunged forward to hug me. Promptly she started to sob into my chest. I almost backed away in shock, but then hesitantly patted her back. I said,
"Um… Okay, mom? What are you doing?"
Mom sniffed and lifted her head from my chest, she wiped her eyes and stood up from the chair, causing me to straighten my position as well. I had grown taller than her, and now she had to look up slightly to see my face. When she was standing, I could clearly see her small baby bump on her stomach. Now it wasn't too noticeable unless you knew what you were looking for. I lifted my gaze and stared at Moms jovial face. I asked again,
"Mom? What happened?"
She started laughing. I was seriously starting to worry about her health. She apologized,
"Oh, I'm sorry Percy for worrying you, it's just that I couldn't believe it…"
She started to look at the files again. She glanced at me and reached for the manila folder. I let go of her as she flipped through the pages. She seemed satisfied with a particular picture. The turned back to me. I was getting really impatient now. She said,
"Do remember my Uncle, the one who died of cancer?" I looked down and nodded my head quietly. Instead of her usual sober attitude when talking about her deceased uncle, Sally went right along.
"Well, it seems that when dear old uncle was young, he had a run in with a lady called Helen, and they had a boy called Charlie, Uncle left before he was born, it was more of a one night stand thing, shortly after Charlie was born Helen married a man called Geoffrey Swan, and they raised Charlie as their own son, and he got Geoffrey's last name, and look-" She was talking rapid fire, and she stuck a picture in front of my face. I took it from her hand and saw that it was a picture of Uncle and a Lady, who must've been Helen. My eyes widened as I stared at the picture, and the weight of the situation suddenly hit me full blast.
"I- So you... you…"
She squealed, which was very uncharacteristic of her, and threw her arms in the air.
"Yes! I have a cousin! I can't believe that I still have other family!" She suddenly froze at those words, and rushed to me pleading,
"Oh I'm so sorry honey, I didn't mean it that way, you are my one and only baby son, well, for now at least-"
She looked at her swollen belly, and raised her hand to it protectively. She returned her gaze to mine. "But you will always be my family, don't worry honey." I shook myself from my stupor and grabbed my mom's trembling hands.
"Mom! It's okay, you just discovered your long lost cousin, you have a right to prioritize him over me, after all, he is your last remaining family on the normal side, at least." I paused, considering what I was going to say next. "You should spend some time with him."
She smiled her brightest smile yet and hugged me one more. Then she suddenly whipped back around to grab another fie, and she pulled out another paper. She looked at my face and said happily,
"And I also discovered that Charlie Swan has a daughter, Isabella Swan, who is-" She read a line from the sheet, "currently 19 years old and married to Edward Cullen. They have an adopted daughter who is 7 years old called Renesmee Carlie Cullen. They reside in Forks, Washington."
I slowly blinked at the shocking news. The only thing I could think of the moment was,
"She's 19 and married?" Mom sighed and the energy slightly dissipated.
"You know, I don't really approve of early marriage, but if her parents let her get married at that age who am I to tell them off?"
We stayed in silence for a few seconds, absorbing the fact that my mom had living relatives. Mom had a cousin, her cousin had a daughter, and the daughter had another daughter, that made Charlie a grandad…
I asked a question that had been nagging in my mind for a few seconds,
"So do you want to see them?" Mom looked up at me. She sighed.
"Yes, yes I do. But I can't leave Paul, he has a job here, and I don't want to hurt the baby in a long train ride… But you can go." I snapped my head up.
"What?" Mom smiled at me.
"Paul, the baby and I can't leave, but you have nothing hindering you. I checked the general area, and they have a high school there. You can go there for the school year. By now every school in the surrounding states know of your reputation with schools. You can also see your cousin, uncle and niece!" She said with a wink.
I just stared open mouthed at my mom. Would she really let me go? I smiled and jumped on her for a hug. I squeezed her petite body and whispered,
"Thanks, mom."
"Your welcome sweety. Now pack your bags, you're heading to Washington!"
.:~*~:.
.After packing my bags and sending my goodbyes to my friends via Iris Message, (Annabeth screamed at me) I was being sent off by my mom and Paul onto the train.
Mom kissed my cheek and I gave Paul a hug, then I stepped into the train as the electronic voice called the train was about to depart. I searched around until I found an empty compartment. I placed my bag on the seat. I took a deep breath. There was no turning back now.
Edward and I were sent to the train station to pick up my long lost cousin. Renesmee was staying with the Cullens for now. It was a shock to me to discover that I had another relative, something normal amidst all this supernaturalness. But it worried me, I didn't want to spoil my cousins' life, when he still had a chance at a normal existence. Don't get me wrong, I love my life right now, nothing could be better! I got a husband, a daughter, awesome powers, and an amazing family. It's just, I don't want someone to get caught up in the middle of all of this, especially since I don't know how my cousin would handle it.
I felt Edward's worried gaze boring down on me, I looked up at him and took in his perfect features, his enchanting eyes, his copper hair, perfect face, I almost got lost in it once again, becoming oblivious to the crowds of humans bustling pass, the hunger waning into a background burn.
I snapped out of it, and I pushed away my shield so he could know my worries. Doing this was becoming easier for me, It was almost second nature.
He was silent for a few seconds, then he stroked my hair, which was falling into perfect chocolate brown ringlets, and whispered, so quietly that only vampire ears could hear,
"It will be okay darling, it always turns out okay. Besides, he will only be staying for the summer, then he goes back and life continues." I nodded doubtfully and leaned into his chest. Edward wrapped his arms around me, and we waited until an electronic voice called out.
"Train from New York unboarding now." I took out the picture that Charlie gave me. It was a picture of my newly discovered cousin. He was standing solo, leaning on a wall and grinning at the camera. He looked to be 17, had a lean but well muscled body, that was well defined with a tight orange shirt, and jeans. He had an olive skin tone, and raven black unruly hair. His eyes were bright and full of mirth, they were a sea-green color. I didn't really think that we looked much alike, I mean, when I was human. But the research was done, and apparently we were related. I easily memorized the picture, and handed it to Edward, who did the same. We were scanning the faces that were now exiting the train, to identify him.
We didn't Want my cousin, who's name was Perseus Jackson, to freak about our eye color, so we were wearing contacts. We would need to switch them occasionally, although i didn't need it because my eyes weren't gold yet, more like a bronze color.
Suddenly, a heavenly stench hit me, and I had to summon all my self control to refrain from running at top speed to reach the source. It was blood, but for some reason this blood was 100 times more alluring than the normal human blood. My eyes darkened slightly, even if I had just fed an hour before, and I shared a worried glance with Edward. We both quickly held our breath. I mentally sighed in relief as the intoxicating smell was removed from my senses.
Suddenly I caught sight of a mop of black hair. I craned my head to see the person's face. He was identical to the person in the photo, but looked a bit older, and much more handsome. He was slowly walking, his swirling sea green eyes scanning the crowd, most likely looking for us. He had a green T-shirt on and jeans, a large backpack carelessly slung over one shoulder. He also appeared to have a picture in his hand. It was a picture of me, as a human. I felt a pang of sadness, but not regret, never regret.
Edward had caught sight of him as well, and we shared a conforming glance. We walked towards him, and I started waving. He looked at us, took a double take, and looked back at the picture dubiously. We approached each other. He had a confident posture, and had a demanding aura. He said uncertainly, in a surprisingly smooth deep voice,
"Ummm…. You wouldn't happen to be Isabella Cullen, would you?" I smiled at him and said back,
"Yes, I would be. And you are Perseus Jackson, am I correct?" He nodded, his unruly black hair falling over his eyes. He jerked him thumb at Edward and said,
"And I presume that this is your husband Edward." I nodded and leaned into Edward' s chest a little to show our connection. Edward stroked his perfect fingers through my hair. I looked up at him, but was taken aback by the worried expression on his face. Edward said,
" Yes, I am Edward Cullen. It is a pleasure to meet you."
We stood in awkward silence for a while, me and Edward standing stock still and observing, while Perseus was fidgeting with his shirt and tapping his foot impatiently. He cleared his throat, and said,
"Well, I wasn't really sure is you were you, because, um, you looked very different in the picture than you do now. How long ago was it taken? Because you can't be older than 20, i mean, from what I can tell of course, no offence, uh, Isabella." I chuckled,
'Oh, none taken. That picture was taken a few years ago." I lied easily. As an afterthought, I said,
"Call me Bella." A crooked grin spread across my cousins face,
"Well, then call me Percy!" We all laughed, and I could tell at that moment, that we would get along just fine.
Not.
.:~*~:.
