So… hey! Here's the first chapter of Destined, as promised! Please, follow, favorite, and review!
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Percy's POV
I cursed as I dived into an alley to avoid a group of tittering girls. The last time some giggling girls found me, I was mobbed because they were all screaming my name.
"Percy Jackson! OMG girls, it's Percy Jackson! The Olympian! The one with the good looks!"
As soon as they said that, everyone came over to see it with their own eyes. I couldn't leave because they were all surrounding me. Finally, I said:
"Hey, Manhattaneers! I need to get to swimming practice! You don't want us to lose the Olympics because I'm out of practice, do you?"
After that, they pretty much parted like the Red Sea.
Let me get this straight with you: I'm Percy Jackson, age 20 years old. I have raven-black hair and sea-green eyes. I'm an Olympic swimmer who's won ten gold medals. That's why I'm muscular, but in a lean way. But I'm definitely not perfect. I've been kicked out of almost all the schools I've been to, and I'm not exactly the star student. Now that's out of the way, let's get back to the story.
Suddenly, my phone started vibrating. I took it out of my pocket and saw my mom was face timing me. I smiled, feeling better already without even hearing her voice.
My mom, Sally Jackson is the best person in the world. She has long, brown hair that has grey streaks mixed in. She has auburn eyes that crinkle when she smiles. She can make someone's mood shift from blue to happy with one smile.
But the best people always have the worst luck. When she was five years old, her parents died in a plane crash. She was sent to live with her uncle, who didn't care about her. She wanted to become an author, so she spent high school saving money so she could get into a good college. But then her uncle got cancer and she had to quit everything so she could take care of him. After he died, she was left with nothing.
The one time she got a break was when she met my dad.
We don't have any pictures, so I don't remember him, just a warm glow and a smile. But Mom doesn't like to talk about him because it makes her tear up.
They weren't married. My dad was rich and important, so their relationship was kept secret. One day, he went out to sail on the Atlantic and never came back. She had told him, "Not dead, Percy, not dead. Just-just lost at sea."
Since having me, she's always worked weird jobs to support us. She took classes at night to get her high school diploma. And she never complained or got mad. Not once. I don't know how she did it, considering I wasn't an easy kid to raise. But she held out and had patience.
Then she married Gabe Ugliano, who showed that he was a world-class jerk a dozen seconds after she married him. I nick-named him, Smelly Gabe, when I was young. It's the truth. He smelled like moldy garlic pizza.
We made Mom's life pretty hard. The way that he treated her, and the way that we argued... it was enough to give anyone a migraine. I remember this one time where it got really bad. I was ten years old when it happened:
I opened the door to our apartment with my head bent down, looking forward to hugging my mom hello. As soon as I stepped inside the room, I smelled something that made me want to puke. I was about to put my head up when I walked into something large and squishy. I immediately knew that this was the source of that terrible smell. I slowly looked up, only to see two tiny eyes, that belonged to Smelly Gabe, staring at me with fury.
"BOY! How DARE you hit me!"
"I-I didn't hit you! I just bumped into you!" I had said, my voice trembling with fright.
"Now you've done it! Lying to me like that!" He had howled.
I started to back away, not wanting to get into a fight. I had no idea what he was capable of, and I didn't want to find out. Right when I had put my hand on the knob, he howled yet again and charged at me. I leaped to the side, bullfighter style, but he wasn't stupid. He grabbed out with his stubby arms and just nearly had me in his clutches. I was lucky his arms were so short.
He screeched as he barreled into a wall, breaking it in the process. I winced as I thought about how much we would have to pay to get it fixed. But I didn't have time to dawdle. He was already getting up. He hobbled over to the table, where he and his friends played poker. There were cards strewn all over it, with some leftover beer bottles. He put his hand around a bottle and threw it at me.
My mind screamed, 'MOVE!' but I couldn't. I was paralyzed with fear. The best I could do was turn around to run in the other direction. But I was too slow. The bottle hit me on my left arm. I fell onto the ground, my left cheek plastered to the floor. I tried not to feel the excruciating pain that was spreading all through my hand. I heard Smelly Gabe collapse onto the ground. After a couple of minutes, everything started to get fuzzy. I closed my eyes and blacked out.
When I came to, I was laying on a bed in the hospital. I could hear someone crying, and looked to my right. There, my mother was sobbing, holding my hand.
"Mom?" I had said.
She looked up. Her look of sadness changed to one of relief. "Percy!" she cried. She got up and hugged me so tightly I felt as if I was being crushed.
"Mom, I can't breathe!" I croaked. I could feel the pain in my arm coming back.
She pulled away. "Percy! I-I was afraid of the worst when the hospital called! What were you thinking, ramming your back into the glass like that!"
I must've looked really confused, because she said, "That-that is what happened, right?"
I opened my mouth and everything came tumbling out. She looked surprised at first, then she looked mournful.
"What?" I had asked her. "What's the matter?"
"Percy, now that Gabriel hurt you, who knows what he'll do to you? I-I don't want you to get hurt just because I made the mistake of marrying him." She said, her voice sounding grave.
I told her, "Why don't you just divorce him?"
She looked stunned. "Percy, I can't. I don't want him to get angry and-and do something else." She burst into tears and said, "Percy. You can't tell anyone the truth about what happened, at least for now. When I'm ready to divorce and report him to the police, then you can tell people if you want, okay?"
I nodded, not wanting to make her sad. So for the next two years, we told everyone that I had accidentally rammed my back into a piece of glass.
I recovered, eventually. The doctors said I healed pretty fast for my age, which I thought was a bit peculiar. But I never thought about it after that. I was just happy that I'd convinced my mom to divorce Gabe, even though she didn't say when.
I answered the call with a grin.
"Hey, mom!" I said, angling the phone so that she could see me.
She chuckled. "Hello yourself, Percy! How have you been?" I could see she was draped across the couch in her apartment. She looked so comfortable and content that I felt right at home. But then she frowned.
"Perce? What are you doing in an alley?"
My eyes widened. "Uh... well... there's a bunch of these girls who keep calling my name and causing these mobs and they make me feel uncomfortable and-" I said, walking back onto the sidewalk.
"Of course!" she said, interrupting me. "I should have known. But next time, try not to jump into an alley to avoid them, all right?"
I blushed and cleared my throat. "All right. Now, why did you call me, again? Did you need anything? Or did you just want to talk with your lovely son?" I said, teasing her.
She smirked. "Oh, Percy, you wish. What, do you not enjoy the company of your beautiful mother? Or are you meeting someone even more beautiful than me?" Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
I used all my willpower to stop myself from blushing. I cleared my throat yet again. "Mom, stop it!"
She laughed. "What, you started it! Anyway, I needed a book from a local bookstore. It's a great place. But unfortunately, it's on the other side of the city and I'm not feeling up to the drive. Could you go there and get it for me? Please?"
She looked at me with puppy dog eyes she knew I couldn't resist. I got my habit of using puppy dog eyes from her. "All right, all right, I'll get the book." I grumbled.
She, on the other hand, was all smiles. "Thank you so much, Percy! The address is 9468 Oakwood Avenue." I went to Maps on my phone and put that in.
"Oh, and Percy? The owner of the store, Annabeth, helps out from time to time. Just tell her you're my son and that I said hello." she said.
"Of course! Don't worry, I'll get you your book." I said, already on my way. "Err… what's the book called again?" I asked her.
She giggled. "Oh Percy, what am I going to do with you? The book is called The Fault in Our Stars. Bye!"
"Bye Mom! Love you!" I told her, right before she hung up. I smiled. It was going to be a long walk, but it was worth it. Anything was worth it for Sally Jackson.
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Oh, my gods! I've already made the first chapter! So make it worthwhile, and review! Reviews mean so much to authors. For instance, if an author's having a crappy day, a couple of reviews can get them smiling again! So, again, please follow, favorite, and review!