Happy Early Birthday Percy!

I did the math, and Percy's 16th birthday is either August or September 2009. I used LT's publication date to find his birth-year (1993). I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO! Who didn't know that?

Percy's POV

My birthday was tomorrow, my sweet sixteen. Or should I say: 'my not-so-sweet sixteen'? I have been training with Tsunami for the past two weeks, and I'm pretty sure I've mastered its power.

Chiron called me to the Big House for something important, and I assumed it was about tomorrow. One thing I thought was odd was that I saw nobody around camp. Not even a single satyr!

When I entered the Big House, all the lights were off. I switched them on, and almost fell over in surprise as a chorus of; "Happy Birthday Percy!" rang out. The whole camp was in here, all smiling. The only person who looked absolutely bored was Mr. D. The Ares kids looked annoyed, but that was a step up from bored. I even saw Rachel! Someone must have allowed her past the borders. (*cough* Tommy *cough*)

Annabeth ran up to me with a box with sea-green wrapping paper on it, "Happy birthday Seaweed Brain!" she exclaimed. I smiled at her.

"No matter what is in that box, I want to choose a simple present from you," I whispered to her. Chiron had turned on music, and everyone else was dancing.

"What is that?" she asked.

"A kiss," I asked of her.

"That is probably the easiest present to give in the history of presents," she told me as she leaned up to kiss me. The Aphrodite girls started going, "Oooooo!" Some guys whistled. I ignored them. Annabeth pulled away, blushing, "Now, you better open your real present, or you might not live to make the choice tomorrow!" she threatened.

I took the box from her and stripped it of its paper. She had cleverly placed whatever the present was inside a box so I couldn't guess what it was. When I opened the box, there was a bunch of paper, probably to make sure I couldn't just shake it and guess. I removed the paper, and I found a hand-made picture frame. The frame looked like pieces of the beach. The very top was sky blue with white clouds and a sun. The middle was a mix of a lot of blues and greens, creating the ocean. The very bottom was a tan, sandy color. There were tiny shells glued to the frame there. I could tell that Annabeth worked really hard on this.

But this frame was not empty. The picture was a frozen clip from Hephaestus TV, when we rode The Thrill Ride of Love. I looked like I was frantically thinking, and Annabeth looked scared. I always thought that we looked the other way around, but I guess this was an exception. Annabeth was probably still recovering from the spiders. I looked at our faces, and I couldn't believe how young we were. It doesn't seem that long ago, but it was four years ago in actuality. Nonetheless, the picture was hilarious!

Just then, an Iris Message appeared in front of me. Chiron turned off the music and all the campers and satyrs went quiet. It was my father and Ares. Ares looked angry. My father greeted me, "Happy birthday Percy. Now, I did not just send you and IM to tell you that. I am here to make sure Ares gives you a certain present."

Ares glared at me and said through gritted teeth, "The curse on your sword has been lifted. Changing your sword would not have lifted the curse, so I had to myself, rather reluctantly." I was ecstatic! Now I don't have to worry about it failing me while I fight the Titan Lord!

"Thank you, Lord Ares," I thanked. This was no time to be angry. My father broke the connection. Then there was a knock on the door. Tommy, who was standing with his arm wrapped around Rachel, was closest to the door. He opened it to reveal Hermes.

"Delivery for Percy Jackson," he called out, reading the back of a letter, "You do know that I charge for delivering for people who have no god blood in them. I don't charge for godly messages," he said, looking up at me. That must mean that it was from my mom.

I gave him a drachma and in return he gave me a white envelope with my name printed on the back in my mom's handwriting. I opened the letter and gave it to Grover to read for me. He read aloud:

"Dear Percy,

I hear that the camp is throwing you a party! I hope you enjoy yourself, so I want you to forget about the prophecy for now. I am sorry that I was unable to attend. I love you, and I really hope you survive. I don't think I could walk this earth if you could not.

Happy birthday!

Mom

PS- Iris Message me as soon as you get someone to read this for you, or decipher it."

Grover looked up, "What are you waiting for? IM your mom!"

"I don't have anymore drachmas," I told him. Annabeth dug into her pockets and retrieved a gold coin. She gave it to me. I went to the porch with a bucket of water that I filled in the bathroom. Theodore followed me with an extra bucket just in case. I set the bucket on a table and controlled the water to make it mist away from the bucket to catch the sunlight and make a rainbow.

I threw the coin in and recited the offering, "O goddess, accept my offering," I waited a few seconds and said, "Sally Blofis." The rainbow shimmered, and my mother's face appeared. She was sitting on the couch with Paul.

I realized that Paul has never seen an Iris Message before. My mom noticed me first, "Percy! Happy early birthday!" Paul looked at her first as if she were insane, and then followed her gaze to me.

"Holy shit!" he cursed, surprised. I've never heard a teacher curse, "What in the world is this?" he asked.

"An Iris Message," my mom answered, "Percy, I want you to be careful tomorrow, okay? Do you know what you are going to do?" she asked me, worried.

"Yes Mom, we have a battle plan ready. Don't worry about me," I told her.

"I just…I just don't know what I'd do…what I'd do if you…if you…," she couldn't bring herself to say 'died'. She started sobbing.

"Mom, I will be fine! Please don't cry!" I told her. I couldn't stand to see her cry. Paul just rubbed her back as if this was a regular occurrence, these over exaggerated emotions. I was confused, "Uh…Paul? Why is my mom acting like this? I know she's worried, but this is sobbing, as if I were already dead!"

Paul looked at my mom. She was starting to recover, wiping away her tears, "I'm sorry for acting like that. I'm not bipolar; don't even think like that," she told me. I noticed her hand was in a weird, unnatural spot: her stomach. She noticed my gaze and she removed her hand. There was a little bump.

"Mom, are you…?" I asked. She smiled at me.

"You will have either a new half-brother or half-sister!" she beamed. Silena squealed. Any form of love excites her, and a baby is fresh proof of love.

I was shocked. So soon?! They just got married! I will live though; it's not like this baby will kill me, "Wow, um…congratulations!" I told them, still in shock.

"Now, back to you Percy. You better say alive! I don't want to loose you," my mom instructed.

"I will do my best," I reassured her. She frowned, but did not go on.

"Well, I hope you enjoy your party. I'm sorry I can't be there. Happy birthday Percy! Annabeth, would you please be careful too?" my mom said her goodbyes.

"Bye, Percy and Annabeth, and good luck," Paul spoke up. I broke the connection and enjoyed my party. This is the last fun I will have until the battle tomorrow, and I plan on making the best of it. Tommy was glad to be with Rachel again; he really likes her. I couldn't help but notice Theodore stealing glances at Thalia. Poor guy; he has a crush on someone who either A- will never have a relationship with a guy or B- likes Luke, the traitor. Tracey and Eliana were becoming best friends, and I was glad that my friends are making friends.

I walked up to Theodore, "If you can't be her boyfriend, the least you could do is be her friend." He looked startled that I was standing next to him.

"Who are you talking about?" he replied, trying to cover up the fact he likes Thalia.

"Dude, I'm not stupid. I might be a Seaweed Brain, as Annabeth calls me, but I'm not stupid. It is obvious you like Thalia. I will repeat myself once more: if you can't be her boyfriend, the least you could do is become her friend," I told him. He bit his lip and walked over to Thalia with the motive of becoming her friend.

I was surprised that camp had gotten a blue cake! This day will be one to remember. I got many presents from my friends, and I was grateful for every single one.

I saw Tommy go out the front door without Rachel. I decided to follow him. When I walked out the door, I saw Tommy leaning against the railing of the porch, deep in thought, "Hey," I got his attention. He whipped his head around.

"Hey. I have a question for you, Percy," he informed me.

"Shoot," I waited for him to ask.

"When you're around Annabeth, the person you claim to be in love with, how do you feel?" he asked me. There are a lot of answers to that question!

"I feel more alive than I've ever felt. I feel as if I could hold up the sky for thousands of years, because she makes me feel that way. I feel the happiest I have ever been, and will ever be. I feel an unusual amount of love, more than I've ever experienced. And that's just scraping the surface," I answered.

"I think I'm in love," Tommy told me, "At first, I thought I just liked her more than a friend. I thought I really like this girl. But as I got to know her, and listened to what you just told me, I realize that it is much more than that. I'm in love with Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I know this, and I haven't even kissed her yet."

"Well, I'm happy that you sorted out your feelings so soon; it took Annabeth and me a while! We met right here on this porch when I was twelve. I had just collapsed, and Annabeth was telling Chiron that she was sure that I was the one from the prophecy. My first description of her was a pretty girl with blonde hair curled like a princess's. Now here we are, boyfriend and girlfriend, almost sixteen years old," I informed him.

"I guess I'm glad too. But how can I tell her that what I feel is more than a like-like?" he asked me.

"You just do. I'll go get her!" I enthused. Tommy looked as if he wanted to protest, but his lips would not listen. I ran back in the Big House, gave Annabeth a mischievous grin (which made her suspicious), and ran to find Rachel. I found her talking to Tracey.

"Rachel! Follow me!" I shouted above the music. She looked confused, but followed all the same. I opened the front door, she stepped out, and she was even more confused when I just waved and closed the door. I turned away from the door, and my eyes fell on the window. I wasn't looking through it though; Silena and one of her sisters were pressing their faces to the glass. They wanted to see more love. I already knew that Tommy would be telling Rachel he loved her and kiss her, so I didn't need to watch.

I went back to my party, where I found Grover dancing like an idiot. It was to be expected. I danced with Annabeth and had fun, forgetting about the prophecy for now. During all the fun, I saw Tommy and Rachel return, hand in hand, both grinning stupidly. I know what happened. Annabeth noticed too.

"Whatever you did, I guess it's for the best. They look happy. What did you do anyway?" she asked me. I told her about the conversation Tommy and I had outside. As I told her the part when I was telling Tommy how I felt when I was around her, I saw her smiling a little to herself. As she smiled, she fingered her pearl necklace that I gave her. I was satisfied that she never took it off.

The party had to end sometime, and now was that time. Annabeth and I walked to the cabins together. I had one arm around her waist. Her cabin was first, so I walked her there, and just as I was about to turn around to go to my cabin, Annabeth kissed me lightly and whispered, "Happy early birthday Percy." I fell asleep that night with a smile on my face, not even thinking once about tomorrow.