Chapter 2

Percy

Percy had not made the connection between his cousins the Grace's and the Grace family Fred had reminded his daughter of during his interview. As soon as he had gotten home from the interview, prepared to start bright and early the next day, a pair of khakis and a white button down was shoved into his face.

Around 6, his dad, Amphitrite (who had surprised them all with an early return - yippee), and Percy were loaded into one of their SUV's. The driver pulled out of their driveway and turned left, heading the opposite way of the Chase's home. Five minutes later, after countless trees and acres of land, they pulled into a driveway of a house much larger than Poseidon's and about ten times more extravagant. Cars were pulling up in the driveway, attendants opening doors, a large fountain trickling in the background. Well dressed people entered the house, women on men's arms, children in party dresses wandering in behind them perfectly behaved.

"Welcome to your first Southern party." Poseidon said with a grin, before taking Amphitrite's arm and heading into the house.

Percy wasn't sure where to start with describing the inside of this house. It was like every other rich adult party you could think of, like those ones in the Hamptons, but on steroids. People floated throughout the foyer, mingling and laughing as if they had all been friends for ages. The ceilings were white and gold, waiters passed out free champagne and Percy felt utterly out of place.

"Percy!" A girl's voice yelled, startling Percy from staring up in awe at the ceiling. A blur of black hair and clothes knocked into him, tackling him in a hug. "I haven't seen you since you were like a little kid!" She exclaimed, pulling away.

Percy chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Thalia, we're the same age. But nice to see you too." Thalia and her brother Jason were the only family Percy had known on his dad's side before a few months ago. When his dad left, his mom had stayed in contact with Zeus and Aunt May, and Percy had grown up with them until they moved to LA when he was seven.

Jason came over, dressed in similar clothes to Percy, and gave him a hug. "Good to see you, bro."

Before Percy could respond, Thalia was talking again. "So, what do you say we ditch this thing?"

Another girl came up behind her, typing on her phone before slipping it into a clutch, the same girl who had interrupted his interview this afternoon. "Thals, we haven't even been here ten seconds. My dad will kill me." Her phone must have buzzed again, because she pulled it out and started texting again.

"Anyways, we're leaving. Annabeth, this is Percy, Percy, Annabeth." Thalia said, making quick introductions.

"We already met." She said shortly. Did he do something to this girl?

Thalia just rolled her eyes though. "Text the group. Tell them to meet us at the bonfire. She said to Jason. "Annabeth, you coming?"

"Give me two seconds." She said, sending her friend an apologetic smile. "Just need to go let Luke know where I'm going."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "He's not your owner!" She yelled after the blonde before shaking her head.

"Luke?" Percy questioned.

"Her boyfriend." Jason said. "Annabeth thinks the world revolves around him." The grimace in Jason's voice told Percy the siblings thought otherwise.

Annabeth came running back through the crowd, the forest green dress she was wearing shifting by her knees. Percy noticed she wasn't wearing any makeup, which was odd considering the party.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked Jason as the girls ran ahead of them, giggling as they fumbled with a pair of keys.

Jason shrugged. "Wherever they built the fire. We usually can see it from the road, Leo said it wasn't too far."

"Woah." Percy said, slowing down and thinking twice about getting in the car. "I'm not into all this hick stuff."

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at him. "Hick stuff? Who do you think you are?"
"I'm from New York City." Percy said, realizing immediately how douchey that sounded.

Annabeth gave a short laugh while Thalia called shotgun. "Why are we bringing him again?" She asked turning to look at Jason and Thalia.

Thalia shrugged. "Unfortunately, he's blood. Get in the bed, you two."

"What bed?" Percy said, idiotically and Annabeth practically fell to the ground laughing.

"Follow me, city boy." She said, still giggling and climbed into the bed of the truck. Percy turned bright red in embarrassment, and followed Annabeth into the bed reluctantly.

Jason started up the truck, and it made a groaning sound before he stepped on the gas. The back was lined with a soft blanket and a few pillows and places to sit, but Annabeth had other plans.

"I have to change." She announced. "Look away or close your eyes or something."

"What?" Percy stared at her, eyes wide. "You can't just -"

"Change in the middle of the road?" She stared at him like he was an idiot. "Do you see anybody else around here?"

"Uh, no." Percy said intelligently, but he obeyed and turned his body away from hers. "What would your boyfriend think of this display?" He asked in a mocking tone.

He imagined the blonde rolling her eyes. "Shut up." She said. "He wouldn't - ah!" She yelped as they hit a bump and her hand landed hard on Percy's shoulder as she fell down.

He resisted a laugh. "Decent?"

"Yes." Her voice was small and she was blushing when he turned around. Her green dress was laying in a pile by their feet and in its place were denim cut offs and a USC college sweatshirt. Percy decided he liked this Annabeth much better.

Jason, who Percy realized was driving stick up there (who did that anymore), turned down a remote, gravel road and Percy could hear yelling and music down there. A huge flame appeared in the distance and Thalia grinned.

"This is where the real fun is." She said, looking pointedly at Percy. Percy wasn't so sure, but he followed them out of the car.

A huge bonfire was going, and with the noise they had heard from the road, you would have thought a hundred people were there. In reality, it was a pretty small party, and clearly everybody was best friends. There were only about ten people crowded around the bonfire, drinking beer and singing along to the country music playing from a bluetooth stereo.

Percy realized with a start that he knew nobody. He was not about to be the person who followed the one person they knew like a lost puppy, but he didn't have too much to worry about. When they pulled up, everybody cheered and passed out beers, treating him like he was their best friend.

Annabeth immediately caught the eye of a blonde guy with sharp blue eyes. "Luke!" She called out, leaving her purse in the truck. The two of them ran off together, probably to go makeout.

Thalia rolled her eyes.

"What?" Percy asked. "Why don't you like him?"

Thalia shook her head. "Tell you later. Leo!" She yelled, calling him over. A small hispanic kid came running over, beer spilling from a red solo cup.

"Yo!" He said, his voice high pitched for a sixteen year old. "Who's the newbie?" He asked. Percy took a drink of liquid courage, then stuck out his hand. Leo took that as an invitation to give him a one armed hug, and Percy blushed, chalking it up to being drunk. City people were never this touchy, drunk or not.

"My cousin. He's staying with Poseidon for the summer." Thalia said, her eyes shifting through the people, looking for somebody. "I thought you guys would be good friends since you're both idiots."

Percy was offended, but Leo just laughed. "Come on, city boy. I'll introduce you to some more people." Leo said, clapping him on the back.

Percy frowned. "How do you know I'm from the city?"

Leo laughed again. "Dude. You've got that douche look. All city guys have it. Plus, you're wearing shoes with no spots of mud on them. That, my friend, does not happen here."

Percy glanced down, suddenly insecure about his blinding white shoes, which was dumb. He didn't care what these people thought. They were weirdos, and besides, he was only going to be here for a few months.

Leo introduced him to all of the others. A burly Asian man named Frank, his pretty girlfriend Hazel, and Piper, who apparently Jason was major crushing on. Frank and Hazel were fairly shy, sitting on a log by the fire with a wool blanket over them. Piper, on the other hand, was the life of the party. She had dragged Annabeth over who was done making out with Luke - Percy knew this for sure now because her lips were bruised and her hair had leaves in it - and the two of them were singing and dancing to the radio, probably a little too drunk. Percy had always despised country music, but out here in the trees and the bonfire and the smoky air and the stench of beer, Percy didn't think it was as bad.

After a couple beers, Percy had loosened up. It didn't take long for him to figure out that most of these people lived here year round, unlike his dad. Percy tried to imagine what that would be like. Coming home from school and having to work a farm, never having days off, the beating sun and relentless winters. He shivered. No thanks. He had also realized that not all these people were wealthy like his dad and neighbors. Just across town was a drastically different area, where people were normal and acted more normal. They didn't have mansions or pools and they had to get jobs and help with chores. It made him feel a little more hopeful for the summer because he wasn't sure if he could deal with a bunch more stuck up Annabeth's for three months. After a long conversation about nothing with Frank, he stood up to go take a leak. Frank said he could go back in the woods, so Percy headed a little farther out. He was about to unzip when he heard a snap of sticks in the woods.

Percy whipped his head to the sound and found Annabeth with a small smile on her face.

"Sorry." She didn't sound very apologetic. "I had to stop you before you exposed yourself."

Percy blushed. "You could have said something. I thought there was like a bear or something out here."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous." She turned back around, her eyes on a glittering lake that Percy hadn't noticed before.

"It's beautiful out here." He said quietly, sitting down next to her. She raised an eyebrow, but didn't complain.

"I thought you hated it." She quipped, skipping a rock perfectly.

Percy shrugged. "It's not as bad as I thought."

She was quiet for a minute, finding the next perfect rock to skip across the water.

"Where's Luke?" Percy asked.

Annabeth sighed, like she didn't want to talk about it. A minute passed, and she spoke again. "He went home. Something about curfew. Bullshit." She said.

Percy watched the reflection of the moon in the water. "I thought you liked him?"

She glanced at him. "I do. I just… I don't know. I might have done something I regret tonight."

Percy frowned. "But - what?"
Annabeth sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. Did you get the job?" She asked, changing the subject.

"What job?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes again. She did that a lot, Percy noticed, or maybe he was dumber than he thought. "The job. For my dad. Jeez, do they teach you anything in New York City?"

Percy scoffed. "Hey, at least I don't roll around in mud for fun." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.

Annabeth's eyes turned cold. "And just when I thought you might not be a dick." She stood up suddenly, dusted off her legs and went back to join her friends.

Percy stared back at the lake, its reflection now harsher and more uninviting. Percy picked up a rock, trying to copy Annabeth's movements but the rock just sunk.

On the way home, Percy asked where Annabeth was.

Thalia glared at him. "She got a ride home with Piper." She said shortly, and his cousins didn't say a word to him when they dropped him off.

Percy was already in a bad mood, so when he got home at 2 AM, stinking with beer and sweat, his dad was waiting up on the couch, sipping some expensive whiskey like they did in the movies.

"Percy." Poseidon said. "Where were you?"

Percy groaned and ignored him, heading up the stairs. "Out."

"Percy. You were supposed to be with us. At the Grace's. They're gracious enough to put on this dinner party every year. You can't just leave without letting us know."

Percy didn't mean to yell, but he was too tired and angry at himself and just over this whole thing. "Yes, I can. You're not my dad, you're some random guy my mom shipped me off too. So don't talk to me like you're my parent because you're not. You're a guy who can't keep his dick in his pants."

Poseidon looked at him in shock, but Percy had already locked his bedroom door before Poseidon could follow him.

So, I'm back. I promised another chapter on Sunday, but then I got super busy. Yesterday was my last day at my summer job :(, and I'm back to college on Monday. I really wasn't sure I was going to update this again because I wasn't sure how I felt about it, but I got a ton of follows and favorites so thank you guys so much! Those are the things that make me want to update, honestly. Hope you all liked this chapter. Also, let me know if you want Annabeth's POV in this story, or just Percy's!

Love y'all.

-a