Okay, I'll admit it, I've been really, really, really lazy. My other story, Camp Mental Institution (which you should really check out, by the way), is still being worked on, I've just lost inspiration. Yeah, two chapters before the end and I've lost inspiration. Who does that?

That is why I won't set a regular pace for this one. With CMI I tried to update weekly, here I'm not sure. I've got the first two chapters written out (though mind you they were both written during six hour train rides) and I really hope you like them.

WARNING: This is post-HoO. This is about Percy and Annabeth's kids. Most of you are probably saying 'ugh, not again' but please, give this story a chance. I'm giving the teenagers real teenage problems and trying really hard not to make them Mary-Sues.

Please, give as much feedback as you can, okay?

ANNABETH CHASE-JACKSON

There was a dull thunk from behind the dark wooden door. Annabeth Chase frowned, wondering what her son was up to again. She was about to knock and ask, but stopped herself just in time. Noel had friends over; she wouldn't want to disturb them. Laughing followed the thunk. The doorknob turned and Annabeth fled into a nook in the hallway, as not wanting to be seen. That would probably embarrass Noel.

A girl stumbled out, looked like she was about to fall, but regained her composure quickly, then headed to the bathroom. Annabeth could only stare at the girl open-mouthed; all she seemed to have on were a pair of Noel's boxers and a bra. As Annabeth's eyes travelled back to the door, now open a crack, they narrowed as she saw just the smallest whiff of smoke curl up at the side, disappearing almost immediately.

That was enough. She got up and walked past her son's room, making sure to get a good glimpse of what was going on. Needless to say, she did not like what she was seeing. Over in the corner, on Noel's bed, was Noel's friend Garrett, being straddled by a girl in lingerie. Garrett's shirt was nowhere to be seen, his pants as well were missing, and he was grinding fervently against the girl.

And Noel… Noel was sitting in his beanbag chair in the corner, thankfully still fully clothed in sweatpant-like jeans and slightly oversized black t-shirt. Then Annabeth noticed what was in Noel's left hand. It was the source of smoke. Her son brought the joint up to his lips and took a long drag, a smile spreading over his face as he exhaled the smoke through his mouth and dropped his hand again.

Annabeth hurried on past the room to her and Percy's room, where she shut the door and leaned against it, trying to hold back the tears. There, just there, on her night stand, were the pictures of her kids, all three of them. Noel was in the middle, his shaggy brown hair just long enough to see that he had inherited his father's waves. His grey eyes stared into the camera and the lighting that day had made his well-pronounced cheekbones even more so. As was usual for the time of year, you could see the open pea coat over a dark t-shirt; it was all he wore in winter and fall. He loved his pea coat.

On Noel's left was Percy and Annabeth's oldest daughter, Riley. Her straight black hair was short, down to the base of her neck at its longest point. Riley made it a point to dress darker but, in a way, also classy. The photo had been taken on her eighteenth birthday, right after she had gotten that damn tattoo on her left forearm. Sure, it was a beautiful tattoo and Riley, the artist of the family, had drawn it herself, but it was still a tattoo. Sure enough, Riley was Thalia's favorite of the Jackson kids.

On the right was the perfect on in the family, Clara. Her blonde wavy hair was swept across her face as she smiled into the camera, her green eyes shining as always, making the peace sign with her right hand in front of the Santa Barbara beach.

"Mom?" Speak of the devil. Clara's voice sounded through the door. Annabeth gulped and wiped her eyes quickly. Before opening the door, she checked the mirror; she looked fine. Nothing was visibly wrong with her. Oh wait, that strand of hair. She quickly pushed it behind her ear and opened the door for her youngest, a freshman in high school.

"Yes, honey?" Annabeth smiled, the sight of her daughter soothing her teeming insides.

"Mom, do you think you could drive me to the printing store? I have to print these posters for freshman body president."

Ah yes, Clara. Riley and Noel always lovingly called her 'Prepster' seeing as she was the only 'preppy' one in the family. She was a cheerleader, on the field hockey team, on the track team, and always running for some Student Council part. Last year, she had been the student body president of the whole middle school.

"Sure, honey, let me just grab my keys. Can't Riley drive you?"

Riley was nineteen and a senior in high school. When she was in third grade she had been held back a year, quite unfairly, Annabeth thought, because of her dyslexia.

"Uh, no, she said she's going out with friends."

This caught Annabeth by surprise.

"What friends?"

Clara laughed.

"Wow, you make it sound like she has none!"

"Well, she never talks about anyone," Annabeth grinned in response, and Clara laughed.

"No, she's going go karting with Mickey."

"Who's Mickey," Annabeth asked curiously as she and her daughter exited the house towards the silver BMW in the driveway. The good thing about being the official architect in Olympus and Percy being his father's personal assistant (of course, their neighbors thought that Percy was a marine biologist and Annabeth was an architect for a famous architecture company) was that both jobs paid fairly well, and they were able to give their children the full American Suburban experience, as Annabeth liked to call it. Secretly, she actually wanted to buy an apartment in Manhattan, but she and Percy had agreed to stay in one place until their kids had graduated high school.

"I don't know, he doesn't go to our school," Clara replied, shrugging. Annabeth made a mental note to interrogate Riley about this 'Mickey' person later. "Hey, could Jackie and Angela stay over tonight?"

"Sure, just tell me in time what you guys want to eat," Annabeth said. Jackie, a very openly and very incredibly gay boy in Clara's grade and Angela, a petite Asian girl, also in Clara's grade, were Clara's best friends, and the three of them practically lived at each other's homes.

Once all the posters were printed and carefully put in the back of the BMW, Annabeth and Clara stopped by the grocery store to buy dinner and drinks for later. Back home, Clara immediately called Jackie and Angela, and Annabeth went back upstairs in hopes that Noel's friends were gone. The door was closed, and the stenciled graffiti letters 'Censored: Don't Enter' in neon green glared out at her. Somehow, she was nervous. Part of her wanted to open the door to find her son in a sweater vest, studying an architecture book, and the other half wanted his friends to bet here so she could really embarrass him. Gulping down her anxiety, she knocked on the door and turned the knob.

The sounds of a guitar being played hit her as she swung the door out, ready to get really, really, really pissed at Noel. Her son was in the same clothes, though sitting on the bed, the black vintage guitar he had gotten ages ago resting on his lap. He was playing a slower melody, slightly sad. The girl who previously had been wearing Noel's boxers and a bra was singing along softly to it. She was wearing a dark green tank top and brown skinny jeans. Garrett, now also fully clothed, was sitting on a wooden box that appeared to be hollow and functioning as a drum. The girl he had been fooling around with earlier was not there.

The sight simply stunned Annabeth. She had no idea that Noel played so well; she never heard him practice. Noel's head shot up at the sight of his mother and he abruptly stopped playing.

"Noel. Uh, are your friends staying for supper? If so, I'd quickly have to go get some more pizzas," Annabeth said, desperately trying to find the right words; the right excuse for bursting into her son's room unannounced.

"No, they're not," Noel muttered. "They're leaving now."

His word seemed to be law there. Garrett and the girl got up and left, not even acknowledging Annabeth in the doorway. Annabeth cleared her throat as she fixated Noel with a hard glare. Said young man sighed and put his guitar aside, standing up to face his mother.

"Who were they?"

"Channy and you know Garrett," Noel muttered, not meeting his mother's eyes.

"Who's Channy?"

"She's a friend."

Annabeth hated this. She absolutely hated how distant her son had gotten, the very same son who had gotten distressed when he first liked a girl in second grade, and who had cried in her arms for hours in seventh grade when he was questioning his sexuality; something that ended up with him reasoning that he was a little bi-curious, though Percy and Annabeth were firmly convinced that their son was bisexual.

"Just a friend?" Annabeth smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"God, yes, just a friend, mom. Why do you need to be in my business all the time anyway?"

"Noel, please don't talk to me like that. Is something bothering you? May I come in?"

Noel didn't seem too keen on the idea, but knew better than to raise suspicions, so he gave the doorway free, letting his mother come in. His pea coat was thrown over the chair in front of his desk, concealing the seating area. This seemed suspicious to Annabeth, but she knew better than to make her son feel unsettled, so she sat down on the bed, trying to ignore how the covers were conspicuously thrown over a spot in the center instead of being pushed to the side as usual.

"So?" Noel asked as he sat down on the beanbag, staring directly at his mom, though still not meeting her eyes. That was when Annabeth noticed that Noel couldn't meet her eyes. His pupils were dilated, eyes unfocused; she could see he was already having trouble keeping his eyes on her face.

"Are you fine, honey? How's school going? Did you sign up for the swimming team?"

"'M fine, mom. School's fine, I'm not failing. No I didn't. Why do you people always expect me to be part of swimming? I'm not a fucking legacy of Poseidon or shit."

"Language, Noel," Annabeth reminded him in a strict voice. She had never been too strict with her children, except when it came to language. "Anyway, I thought that a sports team might be a good way to make friends."

"What are you saying, that I don't have friends?" Noel snorted, leaning his head back in annoyance. "You just saw that I have friends, 'kay?"

Annabeth took the chance to stand up and walk over to the desk chair. She placed her hand on the coat as she glared at her son.

"Yes, but sometimes I wonder what kind of friends you're bringing home, Noel." And with that, she grabbed the coat and threw it onto bed to reveal… a stack of joints. Annabeth's heart rate quickened at the sight of the drugs; part of her had really been hoping that there would be nothing under the coat.

A snort came from the open doorway to reveal Riley standing there. Noel turned and mock-glared at her.

"Busted," Riley grinned. "Hah! Clara owes me twenty bucks! And now I can actually call you-"

"You and Clara knew about this?" Annabeth exclaimed, which shut Riley up. Said girl looked guiltily down to her right. "We'll talk later, young lady. For now, both of you, get ready for dinner. Jackie and Angela will be over and they-"

"Oh, they know, mom. Noel's, like, the biggest pothead at school!"

"That's enough, Riley Jackson. Go to your room, put on something more appropriate, and come down for dinner," Annabeth fumes, gesticulating at Riley's outfit, which consisted of extremely ripped jeans and a tank top that swooped dangerously low. Riley's leather jacket was slung over her arm.

"Yes sir," Riley grumbled and disappeared from the doorway, making her way towards her room. Annabeth turned back to Noel.

"And you, Noel Jackson, really, I expected better from you. You, your dad and I will have a long talk after dinner."

…:…

"Oh my god, Mrs. Jackson, you look fabulous," Jackie exclaimed when he set eyes on Annabeth, who smirked. "As always," he added, sending a charming smile her way. He was gesturing to her grey sweater, which was new; a gift from Athena for doing a little extra work on Athena's temple. Percy had said she looked absolutely gorgeous in it, and if Jackie even approved, Annabeth knew it would work.

"'Sup, Prepster's preppy friends," Noel said teasingly and Angela and Jackie rolled their eyes.

"Oh my god, did you see Garrett Craven here earlier?" Angela started gushing at her friends, who both immediately blushed.

"Oh. My. God. Yes, oh god he is so hot," Jackie giggled, getting a dreamy look on his face.

"And still not gay," Noel smirked darkly at Jackie as he sat down across from said boy with two slices of pepperoni pizza and a can of Sunkist. Jackie rolled his eyes in response but still grinned.

"Yeah, but I heard he sleeps with anyone and anything, so I've got my hopes."

Sometimes, Annabeth couldn't really believe what her children and her children's friends said, and it was just accepted by society. Jackie was fifteen; he wasn't supposed to be thinking about sex! When she was fifteen, she and Percy had been worried about saving the world. Of course, times had changed. Her kids went to Camp Half-Blood in the summers, when she and Percy acted as instructors. The children stayed in the Big House, even though Annabeth was in the process of building Athens and Sparta, which would be two little cities on either side of camp where people could go to school and get a job and so, like New Rome.

"Yeah, but still, fat chance. Garrett has a girlfriend and intends to stick with her."

At this, Riley nearly choked on her pepperoni pizza because she had to laugh.

"The Garrett Craven, sticking with a girlfriend? For how long?"

Noel also was laughing.

"He says he's gonna try for six months. I give it six days; it's only day two and he's already slept with her."

"Hah, I give it two more days," Riley replied. "We could always set Jackie loose on him."

And so the conversation continued. Annabeth just sat in the kitchen, letting the kids eat in the dining room by themselves. It was five minutes to seven; Percy should be home anytime soon. And then she'd have to talk with Noel. A wave of sadness overtook Annabeth again; it was not a conversation she had ever planned on having – with any of her children.

"You're beautiful," Percy's hot breath tickled Annabeth's right ear as her husband took her by surprise and hugged her from the back. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't heard him come in. She squealed and turned, wrapping her arms around Percy, as if she never wanted to let go, which, of course, she actually didn't.

"You want to annoy our beloved children?" Percy smiled down at her. Annabeth chuckled and nodded, pressing her lips to Percy's. Their children hated it when their parents were overly affectionate around their friends, which just gave Percy and Annabeth more incentive to be so.

"Get some!" Noel's voice sounded loudly through the pass-through. His voice, his beautiful voice. Now Annabeth noticed, for the first time, it had a certain hoarse quality to it that no doubt came from smoking. Laughs followed Noel's call and the sound of a high-five, probably between Noel and Riley, was heard. The two really were a good team; it was like there was no two year age difference. They were like twins. The fact that Noel was about as tall as Riley, if not taller, of course also supported that.

Percy pulled away and stared lovingly into Annabeth's eyes. He didn't know how, but every time he saw her, yes, every time he thought of her or saw her name, his heart fluttered and he felt like a love-struck teenager all over again.

"I missed you," he murmured.

"It's only been since eight," Annabeth laughed.

"Yeah, and that's eleven hours too long. I swear, this new bridge they're building in New Jersey has got all the fish rallied up. And to add to that, the Big Fish Group filed for an official complaint!"

Annabeth couldn't help but smile at her husband's problems. Fishes were either very unimaginative when giving their groups names, like the A.D.H.D. (Attractive Damselfish Helping Democracy), or they were extremely boring, like the B.F.G. (no, not the Big Friendly Giant, but the Big Fish Group, a group for big fishes).

"Are you okay?" Percy asked, looking extremely concerned. He always seemed to know when something was wrong with Annabeth, and he always got way too concerned Annabeth blinked slowly and turned her head just enough so that she could see Noel, Riley, Clara, Angela and Jackie. They were all being loud, laughing; having a good time.

"It's Noel," Annabeth murmured.

"What about him?" Percy asked in an equally hushed voice.

"He… he has a drug problem."