Disclaimer- I don't own.
Chapter Thirteen This is My Family
Percy got off the subway and self consciously fixed his baseball cap and sunglasses. Nico was right behind him but with his dark black jacket and pants, long hair over his eyes and pale skin no one would think twice about Nico. He was just some random Goth kid.
But Nico was not Goth.
He made that very clear to Percy when they first met.
"Why do we always take the subway?" Nico complained as they had gotten stuck in the tunnel for an extra fifteen minutes… or at least that was what they had deciphered from the voice on the intercom which sounded more like a monster than a voice.
"Because… it makes me feel normal," Percy said hesitantly as he looked around at the people who sat in the subway, sighing. To them it was just another delay, something keeping them from work, or from school, or from family. Behind each of the different faces there was a story, a story that Percy wanted to know.
W4W: When I walk down the street and I see a person I remember one thing: everyone has a story. Everyone has gone through something hard, something that has changed them in one way or another. I may not be able to see it on the outside but its there on the inside and they feel it and they're hurting from it so I have to remember I can't judge them. They're going through something just like me.
He looked at the man who sat across from him, his face focused on a text message or email he had received on his smart phone, what was his story? Or what about the woman who was gripping onto a pole, clutching the hand of a little child? What was hidden behind those calm masks? They probably rode the subway every day, not even stopping once to think about what they were doing. No one else probably gave them a second glance.
And yet they were human. They were living beings who deserved to be noticed, who deserved to have their stories be told. Before he had read those letters he wouldn't have given a second thought about those people on the subway, he probably would have thought that the kid was an annoying brat and the man was a workaholic. Now he saw people, he saw people living, having their own stories just like he did.
And for some weird reason, he cared now.
His world was bigger than just a population of one: himself. Now it involved people around him.
When they finally got out from underneath New York, Percy and Nico headed down the street towards the Jackson Family apartment. The first thing Percy had done with his money from his music was buy a better apartment for his family.
A much better apartment.
Before Sally Jackson was working at a candy store at Grand Central Station just to squeeze by. When she had been married to Smelly Gabe as Percy had dubbed his step-father, her job was what kept them afloat. How Gabe had managed to keep his job as manager of an electronic store, would remain a mystery to Percy.
Sally would work early mornings to late nights, coming home tired and yet she never once raised her voice when Percy and Gabe got into an argument… which was often, she always had time for Tyson and his ramblings about his school, she always had time to be a mom.
And that was why Percy believed that she deserved everything in the world. Everything.
One day, Smelly Gabe didn't come home from the bar. The next day the police officers showed up at their doorstep with the "tragic" news. There had been a brawl and Gabe didn't make it out. They had offered them their condolences.
That night, Percy celebrated.
Things finally started looking up when Sally met Paul Bolfis (whose last name sounded suspiciously like blow fish), an English teacher at Goode High School. Percy thought he was a good match for his mom.
And while English teachers didn't make millions, they were comfortable.
But Percy wanted to give his mother everything she never had, starting with a house.
Percy knocked on the door for their apartment. Paul opened the door and smiled. "Percy! We're glad you could make it," he said, reaching out to shake Percy's hand. They had long ago agreed that Percy wasn't one for hugs. Paul was fine with that. That was one thing Percy admired about Paul, he didn't try and replace Percy's dad. Then again Percy's dad was a jerk…
"Glad I could make it too," Percy said, taking off his sunglasses and tucking them into his back pocket.
"Hello Nico," Paul said, shaking hands with Nico.
"Mr. Bolfis," Nico said. Sally and Paul had become the family that Nico had never had. When his sister died, Nico was left all alone, working his way through the foster care system, as his mother had died in a freak hotel explosion when he was younger and he had no idea who his father was.
"Tyson's so happy that you two could come today, he's been bouncing off of the walls…literally," Paul said as the three of them walked into the large apartment to the kitchen where Sally was busy making hot chocolate.
"Percy!" She said as she turned to see her son walk in through the door. Percy's heart always ached when he saw his mom. Some people thought that only wimpy boys loved their moms once they got out of middle school, but Percy would openly admit it: his mom was the world to him.
"Hey Mom," he said as he gave her a hug, his tall and lean 6 foot 3 inches frame dwarfing his mom's small form. He breathed in the familiar scent of his mom's shampoo and her favorite vanilla candle that was always burning.
"Sit down, sit down," she said, smiling at her son and pointing at the table. "Hi Nico," she said, not forgetting about her son's best friend. He gave her a hug as well, Sally Jackson had a skill in making everyone feel and home and wanted.
"Hi Mrs. Jackson," he said as he sat down next to Percy.
"Do you two want any hot chocolate? It's starting to get cold outside," she said as turned back to the stove and stirred the boiling mixture of chocolate and milk.
"Sure Mom," Percy said.
"There are cookies too," Sally said as she ladled two mugs of hot chocolate and put them down in front of the two boys. She set a plate of blue cookies down in front of the two of them.
"Thanks Mom," Percy said. Nico echoed his thanks as he bit down into a chocolate chip cookie. One of the only things that could make Nico smile were chocolate chip cookies and blue cake. Most people wouldn't think he'd have a sweet tooth like he did.
"Paul went to get Tyson," Sally said as she sat down next to Percy, blowing a stray brown strand of hair away from her face. "He was busy working with his tools."
Tyson had been a natural metal worker, it was almost as if he could touch metal and it would bend however he wanted it to. People were always shocked that Sally and Paul let Tyson handle such dangerous tools but they never could look past the outer image or past his speech impediment.
No one could, Percy realized. They only saw the outer shell of a person.
"How have you been Percy?" Sally asked, looking over her son.
"Fine," Percy said, looking down at his hot chocolate.
"So you and Rachel?" Sally asked. Percy winced, he knew that question was coming and he had been dreading it.
"Yeah… me and Rachel," Percy muttered.
"Percy's not too keen on the whole Rachel thing," Nico explained.
"Then why are you dating her?" Sally asked. Percy gave a half hearted shrug. Sally raised an eyebrow. "I see," she said. "Why not date someone you like Percy? Honestly who cares what the media thinks? Love isn't about cameras and front page magazines and all that, it's about what's inside your heart Percy. You need to stop messing around and figure it out."
Percy suddenly became very interested in his cookie… one of the chocolate chips looked like Texas.
"Well he met at girl at the masquerade party we went to a few days ago," Nico volunteered. Percy shot him a dark glance.
"Oh really?" Sally asked. "What was her name?"
"I don't remember, she was one of Thalia's friends… what was it Perce? Agatha? Angie?"
"It was Annie," he said, thinking back to the blond haired beauty who had seemed to light up the room whenever she entered. He really should have gotten her number, looking back on it all.
"Yeah! Annie! That's right. Anyway Mrs. Jackson, her and Percy spent the whole evening together," Nico said.
"Look can we please stop discussing my love life?" Percy sighed.
"Percy has a love life? I'm surprised," Paul said as he came into the room, grabbed a cookie from the plate and popped it into his mouth.
"Ha ha Paul, very funny," Percy said.
"Tyson should be coming any-"
"Percy!" A loud voice rumbled through the whole house as a tall boy came running into the room and launched himself at Percy, tackling him into a hug.
"Whoa! Hey there big guy," Percy said, as he patted his half-brother's back.
"You came!" Tyson said, not letting go.
"Of course I did," Percy said. "Uh… Tyson…choking," he struggled to say. If not for his accident, Tyson could have made the perfect defensive linebacker in football.
"Sorry," Tyson said as he let go of Percy, grinning. "We are going to see fish ponies today?" He asked excitedly.
"Yeah big guy, we're going to the aquarium." Tyson always had a thing for aquatic animals just like Percy had a thing for the water, for the sea.
There was something enticing about the sea, something that seemed to speak to him. His mother used to tell him that the sea ran through his veins. There was something powerful about the ocean that made him feel even bigger. The ocean scared many with its vastness but Percy couldn't help but feel bigger and more powerful when he looked at the ocean. There was something about the sea that called to him, that spoke to him.
It reminded him of something in the story he was reading by WiseGirl36, The Letter Writer:
T4H: I went to the ocean the other day, one of my items on my bucket list. And I stood there. I just stood there for a good half hour with my feet in the water, lapping at my legs and the waves rolling up onto the shore. There's something about the ocean, something so great and awe inspiring that I couldn't move. I was captivated by the beauty of it all. For a girl that has never seen the ocean it was a big moment to look out at the horizon and realize just how big the world is. I wanted to almost cry. So let yourself be captivated. Let yourself feel those amazing moments in life. Let the tears well in your eyes. Don't hold the emotions back. There is a greatness and a beauty in the big things in life just as there is in the small things. Sometimes we just have to understand and look. (AN: Okay so for those of you who are a bit confused. This is an excerpt from the Letter Writer, the story which Annabeth is writing about Hannah and Birch. It's a Thoughts for the Humble).
"Yeah! And then we can eat peanut butter!" Tyson said. Percy laughed.
"Yeah and then we'll eat peanut butter Tyson, why don't you go get your coat on," he suggested. Tyson lumbered off to find his coat.
"Thank you Percy and Nico for taking him. He's been asking about you ever since we saw you on TV performing during Good Morning America," Sally said.
"Oh yeah… what did you think about that?" Percy asked.
"I enjoyed it," Sally said, pursing her lips. Percy had a feeling there was something else behind those words but he let it go.
"At least you weren't spouting curse words every other line like some of the other performers," Paul said as he pulled out a massive pile of grading from a brief case that he had used even when Percy went to school at Goode.
"I am ready!" Tyson said. Nico stood up and Percy pulled out his sunglasses and put them on along with cramming his baseball cap on his head. Nico stuck his tongue out at Percy.
"Okay then, let's go big guy," Percy said, clapping Tyson on the back.
"So you really ran into Luke again?" Thalia asked as her and Annabeth walked through Central park, their coats wrapped tightly around their bodies and a steaming cup of coffee in each girl's hand. Annabeth nodded and took a long drink of the coffee. "As in our Luke?"
"Is there any other Luke Castellean you know of Thalia?" Annabeth asked, her boots crunching on the leaves on the pavement. Thalia let out a low whistle.
"Who would have thought you'd meet old scar face after all these years," Thalia said, kicking at a pile of leaves the wind had blown together.
"Oh come on Thalia, you liked Luke," Annabeth said.
"Sure I liked Luke, before he used you and then tossed you out like Tuesday's trash," Thalia grumbled. Annabeth winced at the memory of High School. "What did he want? To get in your pants again?"
"Shut up Thalia," Annabeth said. "He just wanted to talk and he never did anything like that at Goode." There was still a part in her that wanted to defend her best friend from when she was younger, the boy with the bright blue eyes that promised he'd always be her family.
"Come on Annie, we all know that's what he was planning to do. He was using you! I don't trust him around you," Thalia said stubbornly.
"I can take care of myself Thals, I'm not a little girl anymore," Annabeth said just as stubbornly. And I don't need him anymore.
The only reason she had dated Luke when she was at Goode was because Luke felt safe. Luke felt like home. And that's all Annabeth wanted: home. She wanted to feel safe and she wanted to feel wanted. She thought that home meant where someone loved her. She thought that was Luke.
But then when she found out that he hadn't even been serious about her, that he had just been using her for a stupid bet, that he had been dating the cheer captain at the same time, that he never had even thought of her as pretty, she called herself stupid. She should have known it was too good to be true.
And it was then that she realized something about home.
W4W: We live in this world. It could have been any other world but this is the one we call home, this is the one we were destined to live in. They say home is where the heart is. But I say home is where you choose your heart to be. It's not someone else's choice, it's ours. It could be at the park underneath the stars, it could be at the library, words comforting you more than kisses could, it could be at school, surrounded by the ones who care about you, it could be at that corner shop where you had your first ice cream that made you smile, it could even be where you had your first kiss, where you thought that you couldn't be happier. It could be any place, any place at all. No matter where it is, you call it home. It's home. This world, this world is what I call home. My home.
Home was a place that meant something to you in great significance and she didn't need Luke for her to have a home. Her home was when she had a pen in her hand and a piece of paper in front of her, her home was when she was with Thalia laughing, her home was when she was at Olympian Scrolls with Malcolm. Her home was when she was working on The Letter Writer. Her home was what she wanted it to be.
It wasn't with her step-mother, it wasn't with Luke, it wasn't what people tried to tell her it should be. It was where she wanted it to be.
She would make that choice.
"I still can't believe that out of all the bookstores he could go to he chose yours," Thalia said, "It just seems too weird."
Annabeth began to hum.
"Oh no you don't! You do not start humming It's a Small World on Me!" Thalia said, punching her in the arm.
"Thals! You nearly made me spill my coffee!" Annabeth complained.
"Come on, don't you think it's the least bit weird that it was your book store and not some other book store? I mean there's got to be dozens in New York."
"Yes Thalia, I believe that my ex-boyfriend from High School who is also my ex-best friend from elementary school is stalking me," Annabeth said sarcastically.
"I just don't want to see you get hurt again Annabeth, that's all," Thalia said. "I don't want him to use you again." She looked at Annabeth with such a pained expression that Annabeth bit the inside of her lip for being so sarcastic.
"Don't worry Thalia, I'll be fine," Annabeth said. "I'm not afraid of Luke. It's not like he's the Big Bad Wolf."
"His scar does make him look big and bad," Thalia muttered.
"I know, looking back on it, I really should have given Orion a scar," Annabeth commented. Thalia snorted. (AN: Okay quick refresher, Orion is a character in Annabeth's story that she wrote in High School which the publishers thought was stupid. He was somewhat based off of Luke).
"Speaking of Orion, how's your top secret book project coming along?" Thalia asked as she took a drink of her own coffee. She made a face. Thalia wasn't the biggest fan of coffee but she drank it anyway. Most people in New York did.
"It's going fine," Annabeth said, shrugging.
"Just fine?" Thalia asked, probing for more details. "Come on, I want more. What's it even about?"
"Um… a girl and a boy," Annabeth said. She wasn't sure if she could tell Thalia about the Letter Writer. It was so different telling someone you knew about your writing. It was easy to share it online with people who wouldn't judge you, they would just judge your writing. But sharing it with someone you knew… well that was different. It was harder and far more personal.
"Yeah well I got that much. Come on Annie give me more dirt! What are their names?" Thalia prodded. "Unless you tried to go for the angle where they don't have names and they just go by girl and boy like in that one movie."
"Hey I love that movie!" Annabeth argued. "And no of course they have names!"
"And they are…"
Annabeth opened her mouth to tell her and then she shut it. "Oh no you don't! I know what you're doing!"
"Doing?" Thalia asked innocently.
"Stop the whole innocent act Thals, you're terrible at it. I'm not going to tell you about it. You can read it when I'm done," she sighed.
"Fine, fine, but I better be the first one to read it when you finish it," Thalia said, scowling.
"I solemnly swear that you Thalia Grace will be the first one to read my finished work in its entirety," Annabeth said, raising her right hand and grinning.
"Good because if I'm not then I seriously will have to rethink that best friend pact we made when we were in fourth grade," Thalia said, trying to keep her face serious.
"Oh yes and that would just be terrible," Annabeth said sarcastically, thinking about when they were younger and had both drank a disgusting mixture that they had concocted to swear their friendship on. Most girls just made friendship bracelets, but not the two of them, they were far more creative than that.
"Rainbow!" Tyson called as he hurried through the aquarium straight to the tank that held a variety of seahorses. Tyson always had a fond liking of seahorses… or what he referred to as "fish ponies". "We are here Rainbow, me and Percy," Tyson said, waving at the seahorse that looked like a rainbow as it moved through the water, shimmering with the light.
"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Nico muttered as Percy and he leaned against the wall, watching Tyson. They had made their way through the aquarium, slowly of course. Both Tyson and Percy loved the aquarium and they always took hours, much to Nico's displeasure, wandering through the different exhibits, pointing out different rare creatures.
"Yes Nico, you are," Percy joked, as straightened up from the wall and headed over to where Tyson was watching Rainbow in the tank with his one large brown eye. "You almost ready to go big guy?" Percy asked him.
Tyson didn't look away from the tank. "Rainbow is happy," he said, satisfied.
"Yep, they treat Rainbow really well here," Percy agreed. Tyson and the seahorse had formed some sort of bond when Tyson and Percy had gone to the aquarium together for the first time and Rainbow had just stared out of the glass at Tyson.
Rainbow was able to see past the gruesome scars on Tyson to see his heart of gold inside.
That was one thing that Percy liked about animals. Most of them didn't give a care if you were tall, small, ugly or pretty. They loved you. Why couldn't people just love other people? So what if they were different? So what if they are black or white, Italian or Greek, smart or not smart? What if they're purple with poka dots? They're still human, they're still living, breathing humans. Everyone is different. So what?
That was one thing Percy had learned about the world when he became famous. Everyone cared about appearances but appearances don't last. They change as often as the day. The only thing that stays the same is what is inside your heart.
Percy always enjoyed these times with Tyson. It made him feel almost…normal. Not like he was a two time Grammy Award winner. There was something about being with his family that made him feel loved. He liked that feeling. It was something he missed in the world of fame and fast cars and bright lights.
Love.
"Bye Rainbow," Tyson said waving at the tank and then turning around, grinning. "We will come back right?" He asked.
Percy nodded. "As soon as Nico and I can, but we got to get home before Mom begins to worry." Tyson frowned.
"We do not want that."
"No we most certainly don't," Percy agreed, putting his arm over his younger brother's shoulders and walking towards Nico who got off the wall and walked next to them.
"Do you realize we've gone this whole time without anyone asking for your autograph?" Nico whispered, leaning in towards Percy. Percy shot him a look.
"Yes and now you've gone and jinxed it," Percy growled.
"Oh come on Percy, you don't really believe in that," Nico joked.
"Just you wait and see," Percy said as they walked out of area of the tanks towards the front entry way. Percy felt someone grab his arm. Here we go again. He thought. He turned around and sure enough, a girl was standing before him.
"Can I have your autograph?"