Part of the gang sat in the Jackson's basement as Percy and Will argued over who would win in a fight: the Fonz or Bruce Lee. Nico was slouched in his chair in anguish as the argument continued, even Jason was struggling to stay awake.
"Just say it, Percy," Nico grumbled. "Say it and he'll leave!"
"Fine!" Percy said begrudgingly, "Will, the Fonz… could beat up Bruce Lee."
Will smiled smugly. "Thank you. Now, Leo, don't forget to call me tonight at eight."
Leo groaned in annoyance as he sank onto the couch. "But that's when Chico y el Hombre is on."
"I know, but I like it when you describe it to me," Will shrugged. "Oh, do your Chico impersonation!"
Leo blushed and smiled nervously as he squirmed in his seat. "I don't think these guys wanna hear my impersonation…"
Percy and Jason wore matching shit-eating grins as they leaned forward eagerly.
"We'd love it. By all means," Jason encouraged.
Glancing around at the eager, expectant faces, Leo caved. "Alright, alright." He waved his hands in front of him as if to shoo them away. Then he continued in a slight accent, "Looking gooooood!"
Will clapped excitedly before practically skipping out the door.
Nico groaned. "Leo, quick question: why can't you date someone a little less annoying?"
"Like who?" Leo asked as he grabbed a paddle ball and began playing with it.
"Silena Beauregard?" Percy suggested.
Jason added, "Or Butch Walker?"
"Drew Tanaka! Now, that's a beautiful human being," Leo sighed. "That girl's got some knockers, baby!"
Percy shook his head adamantly. "Not bigger than Silena's. That's like comparing…" He froze as Paul came downstairs to rifle through his toolbox, "Exodus and Deuteronomy, both of which have taught us very valuable lessons. Oh, hey, dad!"
Paul continued rifling through his tools. "Dryer broke. Oh, nuts! I need my vice-grips."
As soon as Paul was out of earshot, Leo started up again. "Have you seen Drew in a tube top? It's like you're looking at the Grand Tetons! In a tube top!"
Jason shook his head. "But we all know Drew's are big, but are they bigger than Silena's? Because Silena's are bigger than…" Sally came down the stairs, "the walls of Jericho, which - as we all know - came tumbling down, right? Oh, hello, Mrs. Jackson."
Sally looked at Percy for a quick second before all but bursting into tears.
The boys watched in silent confusion as Sally ran back upstairs with a teary-eyed apology thrown over her shoulder. Percy sighed.
"Sounds like your mom is losing it," Nico said nonchalantly.
"Jeez," Leo muttered. "What's gotten into her? She's like this pathetic chick…" Paul returned downstairs and Leo spat out the first thing that came to mind, "with breasts the size of watermelons is what Moses said to the Egyptians!"
Paul squinted at the young latino before pointing towards the door. "Leo, go home."
Leo quickly took off.
"Percy, we're having a family meeting," Paul informed him before leaving.
Jason and Nico looked away awkwardly as they knew what that entailed.
(***)
Annabeth watched as Percy and Leo played basketball in the Jackson's driveway. She could tell by how loud and boisterous Percy was being that he was upset about something but he wasn't talking to her about it. It wasn't her place to pry, she'd thought, so she waited until he was ready to face his problems.
"Jackson has the ball," Percy announced, "he fakes left, he fakes right, the crowd is on their feet. They're all chanting: Percy! Percy!"
In the midst of his chanting, Leo stole the ball and scored.
"I got winner," Annabeth said.
Leo shook his head as he passed her the ball and started heading towards the road. "I have to get going, it's almost eight. Gotta call Will."
In unison, Annabeth and Percy teased, "Looking gooooood!"
Leo huffed in annoyance before stomping off. Annabeth laughed as she began to dribble the basketball.
Percy smirked as he began his announcer's voice again, "Chase has the ball, Jackson guards her closely. She tries to shake him, but she can't!"
Even as the words left his mouth, Annabeth scored on him. He watched her incredulously.
"Chase actually scores! Tartarus freezes over! A monkey types The Odyssey!" Percy shouted dramatically.
"One nothing," Annabeth gloated.
Later in the game, Annabeth can tell for sure that something was bothering Percy since she was beating him so easily. Yet, she still waited for him to tell her.
She started teasing him again, "Chase the Underdog! Up by five. She fakes right, she fakes left, she fakes right then left, she fakes faking right and fakes left. Now, she actually fakes…"
Percy stood up straight to look at her in frustration. 'Annabeth! What are you doing?"
"Running out the clock," she answered smartly.
"There is no clock!" he shouted.
Annabeth smiled sweetly as she took a shot over Percy's head and scored again. "That's game! Jeez, what a slaughter. I just wiped the court with you, Seaweed Brain."
Percy huffed out a laugh as he headed toward his house. "Well, I gotta go inside. But don't worry, Wise Girl, I'll leave a light on. Wouldn't want you to gloat in the dark." He stopped when he saw his mom moving around in the kitchen. "Actually, do you mind hanging out with me for a little while longer?"
"No problem," Annabeth answered quickly. "You want to go to my house?"
Percy nodded quietly before he began following her to her house.
"My biological father is supposedly coming to town," Percy said suddenly just before they entered the Chase's house. "He called my mom last night. That's why Paul's been 'fixing' everything and mom's been crying whenever she looks at me."
Annabeth froze. She turned quickly to look at him with wide eyes. "But I thought he was lost at sea or whatever?"
Percy's face was blank as he stared at her.
"Are you going to see him?" Annabeth asked instead.
Percy shrugged halfheartedly.
(***)
Sally and Paul were sitting at the dining room table where Paul was pushing on the table.
"Is this table wobbling?" Paul asked.
"No, dear," Sally sighed sadly. "Honey, you can't keep trying to fix everything. You're going to have to face what's going on sooner or later."
Paul kept messing with the table. "No, it's definitely wobbling."
Sally huffed out a breath as Paul ran out the door muttering something about getting his saw. The sliding door hadn't fully shut before Percy was opening it up to come back in. He sat down in his chair quietly and began to dig into his food with gusto.
"Honey," Sally started.
Percy shook his head. "It's okay, Mom. It's okay."
The sliding door opened again as Paul entered with his saw.
"Uh, has dad gone crazy?" Percy whispered to his mother.
"I'm afraid so, dear," Sally answered.
(***)
The boys were sitting in the basement again. Leo and Nico were making fun of Percy for losing a basketball game to Annabeth.
Percy argued half-heartedly, "Why is it such a big deal?"
"She's a girl!" Leo laughed. "A girl you looooove."
Frank picked at some lint on his pants. "In my country, if a woman beats you it means she wants you. But this is America…. Wuss."
Leo started chanting the word 'wuss' over and over.
When Percy didn't throw a sarcastic remark at Leo, Jason turned to give him a concerned look. So, he came to his friend's rescue. "Well, what about Leo. I mean, Will has him totally whipped."
Frank nodded solemnly. "Whipped like the family pig."
The boy in question sputtered in disbelief. "I am not pig-whipped. Where do you get this stuff?"
Nico raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding?" He continued in a cheerful tone, "Leo, call me at eight!"
Jason joined in, "Leo, do your Chico impression!"
Percy stood up and walked out the door as the rest of the group watched in confusion, only Jason knew vaguely what was going on.
"What's with him?" Leo asked.
Jason leaned forward. "Don't let him know that I told you, but Percy's biological father is coming to town. From what I gather, he may be wanting to try for custody but no one really knows."
The guys sat in stunned silence.
Nico finally broke the silence, "Why can't estranged fathers just stay out of town?"
(***)
The Jackson's kitchen is a bit tense as Sally and Paul looked down at their dining room table. It sat at a slight angle from where one of the legs had been sawed down too much.
"I think I got it!" Paul said triumphantly.
Sally forced a smile. "That's lovely, Paul!"
"Solid as a rock!" he said.
She giggled nervously. "It sure is. Thank you!"
A pitcher of lemonade and a glass were set carefully down onto the table. As Sally put a melon on the table she kept a hand on it so that it wouldn't roll off and show how tilted the table was.
"Why don't you go watch TV while I get lunch ready?" Sally suggested.
Paul stared at the hand on the melon. "Sal, take your hand off that melon."
"You know, you haven't gone fishing…"
"Sally, take your hand off that melon," Paul insisted.
As soon as she moved her hand, the melon rolled off the table.
(***)
The phone began ringing in the Chase's kitchen, Marybai answered the phone only to hand it over to Annabeth without hesitation when she heard the young girl squealing on the other end.
"Hello?" Annabeth answered.
Piper's voice came through the phone. "You beat Percy at basketball, how'd that happen?"
Annabeth sighed. She'd already gotten shit from Hazel and Will about beating her crush at basketball. "So, I beat Percy? What's the big deal?"
"Percy will never be your boyfriend if you keep beating him at stuff! Okay, it's like in West Side Story. If Maria beat Tony at one-on-one, they would never have fallen in love."
"Yeah," Annabeth hesitantly agreed. "And Tony never would have been killed in that knife fight."
Without thinking over her answer, Piper blurted out, "And neither will Percy if you're not careful!" A beat of silence. "Actually, pretty sure Jason and Nico have both stabbed Percy before."
Annabeth quickly said goodbye before hanging up.
Her mother was watching her from the kitchen island with a cup of coffee in her hand. "Honey, I think your pretty friend is right. Certain things change."
With a roll of her eyes, Annabeth argued, "Percy and I have been playing games our whole lives. Sometimes he wins and sometimes I win. I really don't see the big deal here!"
"No, I mean the rules change," Marybai explained slowly. "Women have to pretend to be weak and fragile so that men can feel superior."
"That's insane!" Annabeth insisted. "If women don't stand up for themselves, men will always control the world!"
Marybai patted her daughter's shoulder reassuringly. "Oh, sweetie, men don't control the world."
Fred entered the kitchen as he readied himself to leave for work. Marybai handed him a pickle jar and asked for him to open it for her. He struggled for a second before the lid finally snapped open.
She clapped. "Oh, I'm so lucky to have my big, strong grizzly bear around."
Her husband stood a little taller as he gave her a kiss and then walked out the door.
"Okay," Annabeth started, "first of all, ew. Second, things don't work that way anymore. That's what the equal rights amendment is for."
"That's good, honey," Marybai said. "You stick to your principles. In forty years, you can tell all your cats how you won a basketball game."
(***)
In the Big House, the gang was hanging out waiting for Leo to get off the phone with Will.
"Man, are you still on the phone?" Nico asked incredulously. "Come on, let's go."
"I can't" Leo said.
Jason threw an arm around the back of Piper's chair as he settled in for what he knew was going to be a long wait. Percy and Annabeth were playing their tenth game of air hockey in the corner. Frank was sharing his french fries with Hazel as they sat at their own separate table adjacent to the table the rest of the group was using.
Nico sat up in his seat. "Hey! The movie starts in five minutes. Let's go."
Leo refused again.
"Wuss!" Nico said angrily.
"Hold on, Will," Leo said into the phone. He placed his hand over the upper part of the receiver instead of the lower part. So, Will heard every word Leo said to Nico. "Okay, I'll tell him there's an emergency and I gotta go. He'll buy that, right?"
Piper stood, shaking her head. "Yeah, hun, except one thing."
She moved his hand to the lower part of the phone and laughed as the realization dawned in his eyes. When Leo put the phone back to his ear, the line was dead. He hung the phone back up.
"You're totally cheating," Percy insisted as he returned to the table with a gloating Annabeth in tow.
"Or you just need to step up your game, Seaweed Brain."
Leo started looking for change in his pockets until Frank said seriously, "Pig-whipped."
Hazel gave him a weird look as Leo glared at him.
"Seriously," Nico grumbled. "He hung up on you, let's go. You can call him later."
"Oh, yeah! He hung up on me!" Leo said cheerfully. "Okay, let's go!"
The gang stood up and left for the movie theatre.
(***)
Sally walked into the kitchen to find the table a good three inches shorter than it had been that morning. Paul stood next to it looking excited and triumphant. He pulled a chair up to it and sat down only to realize how short it was.
"Oh, crap," he muttered.
"No, no, no, no! Now, look," Sally suggested instead, "we'll get rid of these chairs and we will sit on the floor like those nice Japanese people in Flower Drum Song!"
Paul started heading towards the sliding door. "I'll be in the garage making new legs."
"Okay, honey, you take your time and do a good job. You call me if you need anything," Sally said with barely concealed relief until Paul froze and headed toward the fridge. "Oh, no."
"Shhhh," Paul shushed. "Is it just me, or is that refrigerator too loud?"
"What refrigerator?" Sally said quickly.
Paul got closer to the fridge to listen to it but Sally started singing loudly and off-key in an attempt to keep him from messing with her fridge.
(***)
Annabeth found herself back in the Jackson's driveway shooting hoops with Percy.
"Nice shot," Annabeth said as Percy made a shot.
Percy smiled at her.
"You want to play a quick game?" she asked as he passed her the ball.
He shrugged and she passed the ball back to Percy who proceeded to dribble passed her to score. Annabeth didn't even try to stop him. Even when she got the ball she made it obvious that she was halfheartedly dribbled the ball. Percy stole the ball easily and scored again.
"Goodness, what an awesome shot," Annabeth cheered.
Percy stopped dribbling to look at her. "What are you doing, Annabeth?"
Annabeth swallowed as she reluctantly replied, "I'm losing to you, you big, strong grizzly bear." She made a disgusted face as the words left her mouth and Percy gave her a strange look.
"You, Annabeth Chase, are intentionally throwing the game?" Percy asked.
"What?" She said in shock. "Me? Never!"
Percy just watched her in silence.
That was all it took to cause her to cave. "I didn't want you to feel bad about losing to a girl, again!"
"Are you serious? You think that's… Wow," Percy just shook his head.
"You actually care about this?" She asked incredulously.
"No," Percy said with a quiet anger, "I care that my biological, estranged father is coming to town to fuck with my life. I just can't believe you thought this was over a freaking game. I couldn't care less about those games. I even told you what was bothering me, I mean, god! Just leave my property."
Annabeth stared at him with wide eyes as she realized her error. In her embarrassed horror, she took off for her house.
Percy turned to find his mother watching him from the patio. "Have you been there the whole time?"
Sally shook her head. "No, I came out to get one of your father's tools. He's in there working on my refrigerator. So, I gather you and Annabeth are going through a rough patch."
"No, mom, we're in a school play about two people who hate each other," Percy quipped.
"Alright, Mr. Smartmouth!" Sally shot back. "But you have to remember that most people don't know what you're going through. You have to understand that Annabeth will never know what you're going through unless you actually explain it to her."
Percy threw the basketball angrily towards the garage. "I did!"
"Did you express your feelings or just give her a quick rundown of events?" Sally asked knowingly.
"Well, she should know how I feel about it!" Percy started but then realized his mistake. "She would have at least if I'd told her about how he might want custody and not just how he's coming back."
Sally smirked confidently. "Great. Now, what did I come out here for, again? Right, your father's fixing my fridge."
She went to the garage and grabbed a sledgehammer which she then used to smash some pipes. "Oh, Paul, honey," she called out sweetly. "Forget the fridge! I think there's something wrong with the garage door!"
(***)
Frank and Nico had been hanging out with Leo at the Big House when Will walked in.
"Leo, we need to talk," he said adamantly. When Leo proceeded to ignore him, he angrily stated, "I'm right here!"
"Oh, god. What am I going to do?" Leo stage whispered.
Nico rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Well, you could, and I know this is a radical suggestion, but be a man!"
"You're right, Nico. No more excuses," Leo said with determination. He got up to talk to Will.
Frank looked at Nico, confused. "He will crush Leo, yes?"
"Like samurais crushed your forefathers," Nico stated.
"My forefathers weren't crushed by samurais," Frank said with a smile.
Nico scoffed. "Like anyone cares."
"So, Leo?" Will crossed his arms as he waited for Leo to start talking.
Leo instantly started begging for forgiveness. "I didn't mean to make you hang up on me. I'm sorry, it will never happen again."
Will scowled over Leo's shoulder at Nico. "That's okay, you were obviously under a bad influence. Can you get me a pop, Leo?"
As Leo walked passed his two friends, they chanted 'wuss' at him.
"Uh-huh, well, all those getting some, hands up!" Leo threw his hand up in the air and glanced at his two friends smugly. "Anybody else? No? Yeah, that's what I thought."
(***)
Percy came back from a walk around the block to find Annabeth shooting hoops in his driveway. As he approached her, she stopped shooting and turned to look at him with a sadness in her eyes.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
"Just shooting hoops, wanted to apologize," Annabeth admitted. "Look, I wasn't thinking clearly and I am so sorry. Please, forgive me."
He grabbed the ball from her without a word and took a shot. "Well, you're off to a crappy start, Chase. One to nothing already!"
Annabeth barked out a laugh. "Oh, really? Is that how it's going to be? You remember when we were kids and I made you eat dirt whenever you lost a game? I think we should start that tradition back up."
"We'll see," Percy taunted.
As Annabeth went to score, Percy stole the ball and ran back down the driveway as she chased after him. "Jackson has the ball, he fakes left, he blows by Chase! And he scores!"
Annabeth took the ball from him again. "You know, if you want to talk about it, I am here for you."
"Yeah, I know, Wise Girl," Percy said. "I don't really want to talk about it right now, but you'll be the first one I tell. Thank you."
As the game continued, Percy was back to his normal self and was wiping the floor with her. He started boasting as she inched towards the grass. When Percy asked what she was doing she replied, "Reaching for a clump of dirt."
"Don't!" he ordered.
She continued to reach for the grass when Percy wrestled her to the ground. Suddenly, their laughter died off as they realized how close they were and how easy it would be for them to just lean in to close the gap.
"What?" Annabeth breathed.
Percy shook his head.
Distantly, they heard Fred calling for Annabeth who jumped up and made an awkward goodbye before leaving.
Paul came out a second later with his toolbox. "Son, let me talk to you about what is and is not acceptable to do with a girl. Starting with tackling them to the ground."
"What? But I thought… Mom needs your help!" Percy tried.
From somewhere in the kitchen he heard his mother shout, "I can't hear you, Percy. I'm ironing. Lalalalala!"
(***)
Leo was talking to Will on the phone while Jason and Frank listened in.
"Barbara Streisand becomes this huge star, right?" Will was rambling. "But Chris Christopherson could not take it anymore. So, he drinks and drinks and crashes his car. Isn't that romantic?"
In unison, Frank and Jason said, "Say, yes its."
Leo did as they said.
"Oh, I just love romantic movies, don't you?" Will asked.
"Say, yes I do," the two said in unison again. Leo did as they said again.
Will hesitated a moment before continuing, "You know what was really romantic? That night we had by the reservoir, when we went skinny-dipping. Remember?"
Frank blushed scarlet as Jason busted out laughing. Unfortunately for Leo, Jason laughed close enough to the phone that Will heard it and instantly knew what his boyfriend was up to.
"LEO!" he shouted.