Harley's POV

When I woke up, the first thing I saw was an unfamiliar cream-colored ceiling. I blinked and sat up, and an aching pain registered in my gut. "Ow..." I rested a hand on my chest, grimacing.

"Finally awake, are we, Mr. Allen?" a voice I recognized asked. I saw Mr. Brunner- no, Chiron, standing near the door. "Where am I?" I asked, seeing a tall glass of what looked like iced apple juice on the stand next to me. That must be nectar. "Camp Half-Blood." He stepped forwards, looking concerned. "How are you feeling? You've been out cold for almost four days."

"Four days?!What about Percy and Grover? And the-" I hesitated. "-the monster?"

"It's gone. And Percy and Grover are both fine as well, thank the gods. They've been waiting for you to wake up."

I let out a small relieved sigh, barely registering that Chiron was in his centaur form. But for the sake of the facade, I raised an eyebrow at his appearance.

"So... you're not human either? Like Grover?" I asked, glancing at his lower horse-like half. "You're not surprised?" It didn't really sound like a question. "We went over the whole Greek-mythology-is-real thing in the car. It's hard not to believe when you see it with your own eyes. And when it slams you into a tree."

"Ah... I see." He didn't really seem to buy it.

I glanced around the room I was in- it looked like some sort of guest room. I was sitting in a clean white bed. It must've been early in the morning because the window to my left was streaming warm sunlight into the room.

Suddenly, the door opened, and three people walked in. "-much more severely, which is clearly why-" The blonde stopped talking when they noticed my presence. She had curly blonde hair and striking gray eyes. You could tell she was one of those smart people just by looking at her. And she almost looked familiar, despite me never having met her before.

...Annabeth?

"Harley!" Percy nearly tackled me into a hug, and Grover rushed to my side. "Percy- my lungs. I can't breathe," I managed, and he quickly let go. "Sorry- sorry! But you're finally awake! You have no idea how much you missed-"

Grover suddenly dipped his head. "I'm so sorry, Harley! Because of me, you and Percy were hurt, and..." He sniffed, deciding not to continue. I already knew he was going to mention Sally. "It's not your fault. You had good intentions, and we're still alive. We weren't even hurt that badly." Okay, that was a half-lie. I definitely broke a few ribs.

"But..."

"Grover, he's right. Don't dwell on the past. It won't fix anything. Focus on the present," Chiron advised. He looked guilty, but the satyr nodded and kept his head down. "Harley, right? I'm Annabeth. Annabeth Chase. Percy over here talked about you quite a lot," the blonde spoke up.

Wow. Annabeth Chase, in the flesh. This just made the fact that I'm stuck in this world ten times more real. But... at least I'm stuck with characters I admire.

I smirked. "Looks like I have a fan."

"It's not like that, idiot! I was just worried because my friend was out cold for four days!" he exclaimed, slapping my arm playfully. "Sure," I said, laughing.

"Besides that, won't you try drinking the iced nectar over there. It's got great healing properties," Annabeth said, nodding towards the side table. I paused before wrapping my hands around the cool glass. I won't... combust, right?

Nervously, I sipped the drink as the four of them watched me carefully. "What is this, America's Got Talent?" I joked as I put the drink back. A warm surge of energy emerged from my chest. It felt like I was being wrapped in gentle light. "What did it taste like?" Percy asked. I blinked. "Um... good?"

"Just good? Not like... delicious cookies, fresh from the oven?" he asked. "It's different for everyone, dummy," Annabeth said. I frowned. "I can't really explain it. It kinda made me feel warm. Does that make sense?"

Chiron smiled. "Perfect sense. That means its healing properties are working."

"That was fast."

"Well, it's not normal medicine. It's the drink of the gods," Grover explained. "I thought nectar was just fruit juice," I mumbled. Percy and Annabeth chuckled. "I guess it's confirmed. Harley, you and Percy are demigods."

"...Demigod? As in half-god?"

"Exactly."

I pretended to be surprised. (I'll probably be doing that a lot from now on.) "So then my dad is a god? And Percy's too?"

They all nodded. "But then... who is he?"

"We don't know yet. So once you're fully healed, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin until your godly parent is revealed," Chiron explained kindly.

Though there was something else behind his eyes. It was faint. Confusion, maybe? Curiosity? Fear?

I sighed mentally. I need to bring the notch up on my acting skills.

"So, who do you think it is?" Percy asked me a few hours later, leaning back in his chair. "Who who is?" I asked. "Your godly parent, duh."

"Oh... I'm not sure. It could be anyone." Hopefully none of the big three. "Yeah... you don't really resemble any of the 12 stereotypes. I guess you could be Aphrodite's though. Her kids don't really have a common hair or eye color. But then again, her kids are all lovey-dovey, and they're all good-looking."

I hit him jokingly. "I'm plenty good looking, kelp head!"

"Kelp head?" He laughed. "That's a new one."

I froze and swore quietly under my breath. I'm not supposed to know anything about his relation to Poseidon. Argh, next thing you know, I'll be calling him seaweed brain.

"What about you?" I asked Percy, changing the subject. "Hm... same as you. I can't tell at all."

"I would bet you're Hermes. You got into so much trouble at every school."

"Hermes kids don't have black hair, or green eyes!"

"Sure, but you've got more than enough of the mischievousness." He rolled his eyes. "None of those incidents were my fault."

"The time you fired a cannon?"

"It was self-defense."

"When you released all the sharks at the aquarium?"

"...They asked me to."

"Sure, Percy. The sharks asked you to pull the lever."

"They did!"

A couple seconds passed and we both burst out laughing. It took us a few minutes to calm down completely.

Percy let out a deep breath, leaning against the windowsill. "So, how do you feel? Any better?" I tried rounding my arm. "Yeah. I should be able to walk around now."

"That's good," he said, grinning. "I've been meaning to show you this place. It's unbelievable." Although he smiled, I could see he was still upset about Sally. It took a lot out of me to keep from telling him that she was still alive and well.

Grover entered the room, checking up on my condition.

xXx

"So you really feel okay?"

"Yeah, a walk won't kill me."

"Well, you've already met Chiron, right?"

I nodded. He looked nervous. "He and Mr. D are waiting for you. I was told to come get you, but if you're still-"

"I'm fine, Grover," I reassured him, sliding out of bed. "Lead the way."

I threw on a hoodie over my sweats. The porch wrapped all the way around the farmhouse. My legs felt a bit wobbly trying to walk that far, but I wasn't going back now. Besides, I had Percy and Grover with me just in case.

As we came around the opposite end of the house, I caught my breath. Camp Half-Blood was more beautiful than I'd ever imagined it to be.

The valley marched all the way up to the water, which glittered about a mile in the distance. Between here and there, the scenery was... just as Percy had described it. Unbelievable.

The landscape was dotted with buildings that looked like ancient Greek architecture—an open-air pavilion, an amphitheater, a circular arena—except that they all looked brand new, their white marble columns sparkling in the sun.

In a nearby sandpit, a dozen high school-age kids and satyrs played volleyball. Canoes glided across a small lake. Kids in bright orange T-shirts like Grover's were chasing each other around a cluster of cabins nestled in the woods. Some shot targets at an archery range. Others rode horses down a wooded trail, and, unless I was hallucinating, some of their horses had wings- the pegasus. Pegasi? I didn't really know.

Down at the end of the porch, two men sat across from each other at a card table. Annabeth was leaning on the porch rail next to them. It all still felt surreal to me- standing right in front of all of these people who were supposed to be fictional. They were almost like perfect cosplayers, but more... real.

The dark-haired man in front of me was small, but porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly hair so black it was almost purple. He reminded me of a middle-aged cherub, but instead of white robes, he wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt- a lot like the loud shirts I imaged Poseidon to wear.

So this is Dionysus.

"That's Mr. D," Grover murmured to me. "He's the camp director. I'd recommend being polite. You've already met Annabeth- she's been here longer than just about anybody. And you already know Chiron too..."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. D. I'm Harley Allen." I dipped my head a bit as a greeting, taking Grover's advice to heart. I didn't want to be turned into a dolphin or anything.

I saw that Chiron was back in his wheelchair, and he and Mr. D were playing some sort of card game.

The man (god?) sighed, snapping his fingers. A can of Diet Coke appeared on the table. I eyed the drink. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, I suppose." Lazily, he popped the lid open. "I have one rule for you, Hadley Aaron- don't be a nuisance. I'm not here because I want to waste my time watching after a bunch of half-bloods."

I nodded and ignored the purposely miss-said name, glancing over the cards on the table. Chiron sighed. "Don't listen to him, Harley. There are actually a few rules to be followed, which will all be introduced in the orientation film." Ah, the legendary Camp Half-Blood orientation film.

"Annabeth, could you go check on Harley's bunk? He'll be staying with the others in the Hermes cabin." She nodded, sprinting down the lawn.

"So, is this your real job? A camp director for demigods?" I asked. "Something like that." Chiron smiled. "I'm glad to see you alive. It's been a long time since I've made house calls to potential campers. I have a feeling you and Percy will accomplish great things." I saw Percy lean against the railing in the corner of my eye.

Next to him, Mr. D snorted. "They are nothing but annoying demigod gremlins," he muttered. "Come now, Mr. D. I'm sure you see the potential as well," Chiron chided. When he took another sip of coke instead of replying, the centaur turned back to us.

"So you see, we have satyrs at most schools, keeping a lookout. But Grover alerted me as soon as he met you two. He sensed you were something special, so I decided to come upstate. I convinced the other Latin teacher to ... ah, take a leave of absence."

I hummed, recalling a fuzzy memory of the previous Latin teacher. He'd only been there for about a week before disappearing without explanation.

Once the Diet Coke was gone, Mr. D waved his hand and a goblet appeared on the table, as if the sunlight had bent, momentarily, and woven the air into glass. The goblet filled itself with red wine.

I stared at the glass in slight awe. "Mr. D," Chiron warned, "your restrictions." He looked at the wine and feigned surprise. "Dear me." He looked at the sky and yelled, "Old habits! Sorry!" Thunder boomed above, and it almost sounded angry.

Mr. D waved his hand again, and the wineglass changed into a fresh can of Diet Coke. He sighed unhappily, popped the top of the soda, and went back to his cards.

"Mr. D offended his father a while back, took a fancy to a wood nymph who had been declared off-limits."

"A wood nymph?" I repeated.

"Yes," Mr. D confessed. "Father loves to punish me. The first time, Prohibition. Ghastly! Absolutely horrid ten years! The second time—well, she really was pretty, and I couldn't stay away—the second time, he sent me here. Half-Blood Hill. Summer camp for brats like you. 'Be a better influence,' he told me. 'Work with youths rather than tearing them down.' Ha. Absolutely unfair."

The way he ranted and pouted reminded me of a toddler being put in timeout, if the toddler was in his 40s.

"So... your father is..."

"Zeus, obviously. God of the sky and lightning and whatnot."

"So then you're Dionysus, god of wine?"

He sniffed arrogantly. "That would be me, yes."

I briefly remembered how he'd made hundreds, maybe thousands, of people go insane. Note to self, don't make Mr. D angry. Not that that wasn't clear before.

He turned back to the card game. "I believe I win."

"Not quite, Mr. D," Chiron said. He set down a straight, tallied the points, and said, "The game goes to me."

Mr. D just sighed as if he were used to being beaten by the Latin teacher. He got up, and Grover straightened.

"I'm tired," Mr. D said. "I'm going to take a nap before the sing-along tonight. But first, Grover, we need to talk, again, about your less-than-perfect performance on this assignment." Grover's face beaded with sweat. "Y-yes, sir."

Mr. D turned to me. "Cabin eleven, Harley Allen. You're with the other unclaimed brats. And don't forget my rule." His eyes glinted a faint purple.