Okay, I decided the first chapter of this was way too short to stand alone. So here's the second (and final) chapter. Thanks for reading!
For the better part of the day, Sally had been running around like a madwoman. Rush to, and buy out, the grocery store; come home; cook and clean; find something else messy about the house and get Paul to clean that; shower; set the table. Of course, Paul didn't blame her in the least. Not today. Not the day her only son finally returned home.
Paul had met a few demigods before- Percy of course, his girlfriend Annabeth (she was by far the most normal of them all), Rachel Elizabeth Dare (she was mortal but he was fairly certain she counted), and Nico diAngelo (who had literally popped into the apartment more times than he could count).
He had heard about countless others, too. Thalia, Clarisse, and the Stolls seemed particularly... er, interesting. Percy's pet giant dog, Mrs. O'Leary, had visited them once before as well. But this time, Percy was bringing six other demigods, five of whom he had never met. He only hoped they wouldn't destroy the place... he had heard far too many stories.
"Paul, can you help me with these plates?" Sally called from the kitchen.
"Sure, one second." He took the (thankfully plastic) dishes and set them on the table. Sally followed suit with heaping plates of hamburgers, bowls of chips, and her homemade blue chocolate chip cookies. It looked like enough to feed all the students in Paul's English classes. But then again, he had seen Percy eat...
There was a polite knock on the door, followed by muffled voices coming from outside. A laugh, and Paul heard the doorknob turn and the door creak open.
"Do I need to knock on my own door?" A familiar laugh- Paul realized it was the one from outside as well. Sally turned, her eyes already wet.
"Percy!"
Paul tried his best to advert his eyes from the undoubtedly new scars lining Percy's arms. He didn't look very different otherwise, though it was pretty obvious he hadn't bothered to brush his (even longer, more scraggly) hair since he'd gone missing months ago. He was seated on the couch next to Annabeth, their hands barely intertwined.
The couch was sagging under the weight of all the demigods. Percy had introduced them; Paul only hoped he could remember the names...
On Percy and Annabeth's left, a very pretty girl with a braid (Piper) sat next to a blonde guy in a purple shirt (Jake? No, Jason). On the right was a buff-looking Asian boy (Frank) and a girl, the youngest of the group by the looks of it, with coffee-colored skin and curly hair (um, Hazel, right?). But weren't there supposed to be seven total...?
"Hey! Who started the party without me?" came a loud shout from the hallway. Piper rolled her eyes.
"Leo! In here!" Percy called.
"Percy! Where the Hades...? You never said your apartment was this big, man." This time, everyone visibly rolled their eyes.
"Gods, Leo. How dense can you get? If you come in the door, we're at the end of the hallway. Do you not see the couch?" Piper called out.
"Oh, that couch. Got it," Leo laughed, his voice growing louder. Finally, the boy emerged through the doorway. Paul literally did a double take. Same curly hair, wild eyes, crazy smile... no way it could be. But then again, wouldn't it explain a lot?
Leo, obviously having caught Paul's stare, cocked an eyebrow.
"Uh, nice to meet you, Mr. Percy's stepdad."
"You- you-"
"Um, Perce? Is he okay?" Percy looked concerned as well.
"Paul, you alright?" Paul blinked a couple of times, waving Percy off.
"I'm fine, no worries. Sorry about that- it's nice to meet you, Leo. You just look like someone I saw on a billboard in Time's Square a while ago..." Paul raised his eyebrows in his perfected "know-all-teacher" look. Leo's eyes widened.
"Oh, really? Heh, I get that a lot; as a matter of fact-"
"Leo, what the Hades did you do?" Hazel asked. Leo gave a wicked grin.
"Nothing, never mind. Did I see cookies on my way in here?"
"Percy, do your friends want anything to eat?" Sally called from the kitchen as if on cue.
"Be right there!" Percy called. "Hope you guys are hungry- my mom's the best chef out there."
"Let's just hope there are enough blue cookies to go around, Mr. Bottomless Pit," Annabeth laughed. Percy blushed slightly.
"Really, Percy? Blue cookies? I'm surprised your mouth isn't permanently stained from all that dye," Frank smirked.
"What can I say? C'mon, the kitchen's this way." The demigods followed Percy out of the room. Paul slumped on the couch, relieved. A familiar head poked out from behind the doorway.
"Not that I had anything to do with the billboard in the least or anything, but what you saw on it? It's all true." Leo gave another grin and disappeared to go join his friends.
Well, at least Percy wasn't so odd and troublemaking after all.