Thank you all so much for the reviews! :)

And yes, I know it took me a LONG time to update and I'm really sorry for that. My schedule has been crazy lately.

Anyway, here's the chapter.

Chapter 7

Percy Pov

News of my success spread like wildfire, circulating through the entire San Francisco area until every resident knew that the Chase's had a new addition to their famous family, a swimming prodigy. Wherever I went, I was greeted by strangers, applauding and congratulating my success, and wishing me luck in the future. It was so overwhelming. One day, no one knew me, students in the hallway didn't pay me a second glance, but now they knew me by name, went out of their ways to talk to me, treated me like some swimming god or something. I wasn't sure how to react to their sudden interest in me. I knew it was only because I made this high-end private school look good, but nonetheless, I felt good, like I finally belonged, found my place in this whole, big scheme of things.

Even my old, senile English teacher, Mr. Hyp, short for Mr. Hypnos, stayed awake long enough to give me a small smile before he yanked his tattered, stained pillow out of his desk drawer, dropping his head on the soft fabric and dozing off.

All of this attention made me think back to the photo shoot when I'd told that photographer that I didn't want to be famous. In a way, I had done just the opposite. I was more popular around school than I'd ever been and even our grouchy, next-door neighbors took the time out of their day to bring me a congratulatory cake. Why, I didn't know. If they were so hell-bent on avoiding me before, why are they being so nice now? Maybe it was because the Chases were such a big deal around here or maybe because everyone figured I'd be the "boring" member of the Chase household, the deadbeat boy with absolutely no talent. I didn't know the answer, but I figured the most likely option would be the latter.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts, and focused on the large, square slab of stone standing before me.

The memorial the Chase's had built in honor of my mother was beautiful. To most people, it would look like every other headstone, but to me, it felt like so much more, held so many more memories. Spread all around the stone in a small circle were my mother's favorite flowers. I couldn't remember their names, but I did know that they came from a small island off the coast that my mom and I had visited a couple years ago. Ogeely? Oglia? Olga? Ogygia, that's it. At the foot of stone, there was a collage of pictures of the both of us together, each of them depicting a happy moment in our lives. Some showed us at our cabin in Montauk while others showed us at home, laughing at some absurd thing that had no doubt come out of my mouth. One of them even had my dad in it, permanently developed into the photo. He was standing beside my mom, one arm wrapped around her waist, a goofy grin on his face, a grin I recognized well. It was my own. My mom had a huge smile on her face, love in her eyes as she looked up at my father. They looked so happy in the picture; I didn't understand how that changed in such a short period of time.

I had no idea how the picture had gotten there and quite frankly, it kind of freaked me out. The last time I'd been out here the photo hadn't been here. Honestly, I didn't even know we had any pictures of my dad. I just figured my mom had burnt them along with the place he once had in her heart, a place that used to be solely his. She'd never really talked about my father even when I'd asked about him, but I knew that deep down that his betrayal had hurt her more than she let on. It changed her.

Deciding to ignore it, I went on with the real reason I had come out here. To talk with my mom and this time I had more to tell her than just babbling on and on about Nico, Thalia, and Grover. I could've talked about stuff with Mr. Chase-he'd made that clear time and time again-, but some stuff I knew I couldn't bring up. Especially when it came to his daughter, which is exactly what I needed to talk about.

"Hey, mom." I began, feeling like a goof ball for actually pausing like I was giving her time to respond.

I sat in the soft, dewy grass for hours just talking to her, revealing the things I've kept bottled up to the one person I knew would understand. I told her about the swim meet, school, the silly things Nico, Thalia, and Grover had done, and just random things that popped up into my head that I wanted to tell her. But when I came the topic of Annabeth, I hesitated. It's not that I didn't want to tell her, but I found it difficult to put my feeling into words. I still wasn't sure what I felt about her, unable to pinpoint one emotion that perfectly described what she meant to me. Her kiss with Luke hadn't settled well with me, that I know, but could my feelings run deeper than just a disliking for the guy?

Finally, I relented and told my mom all about the way my heart had faltered, literally stopped, when I'd seen Luke's tongue practically jammed down Annabeth's throat. And when I finished, I felt oddly lighter, like I'd been carrying a backpack full of bricks and suddenly it just evaporated right off my shoulders.

Picking myself up, I brushed dirt and loose pieces of grass off my shorts when my phone vibrated. I pulled it out of my pocket, a new text lighting up the screen of my new IPhone.

Hey, ur comin 2nite rite?

~B

Yeah, man, I'll b there.

~P

I slid the phone back into my pocket and went up to my room to get ready for dancing and blaring music.

My phone buzzed once again and I pulled it out, seeing another text from Beckendorf.

Don't forget. Wear something nice. U never kno who ull meet. ;)

~B

Great. Leave it to Beckendorf to manage my love life. Silena, the biggest romantic in the books, is officially rubbing off on him. But how could she not, she goes gaga over everything lovey-dovey. Hell, the girl could be Aphrodite. But that's besides the point. Beckendorf has been trying to set me up with random girls for the last couple of days, to which, I'd gently declined for a multitude of reasons, but it seems he's not giving up on his unspoken vow to spark a love connection between some stranger and I. Personally, I think he's so love drunk on Silena that he wants everyone to feel the same, the happiness that brings a smile to his face. I appreciate his effort, but I just can't picture myself with anyone besides-Don't even finish that thought, Percy.

Feeling rebellious and not at all in the mood to dress up for someone I don't even know, I threw on a green shirt that I'd been told matched my eyes perfectly. The soft green fabric was comfortable and casual without making me look like I've been diving in dumpsters to find clothes. A pair of dark wash jeans clad on my legs and my black converse on my feet and I was ready to go.

Shutting the door behind me, I headed down the hall and thundered down the steps, heading out the door and to my car. I threw the door open and slid into the comfy, leather seats, sticking the key into the ignition and making the now familiar drive to Beckendorf's house.

In an attempt to get into the party spirit, I switched on the radio. A poppy feminine voice sounded from the speakers, the beat fast-paced and fun. I recognized it immediately. Annabeth. The girl may have a stiff, prickly personality, but damn can she sing. Her voice fluxuated flawlessly to match the tempo of the song, the pitch perfect.

Before I knew it, I lost myself in the words and found myself bopping my head to the beat, my hand tapping the addictive rhythm on the steering wheel.

I may not have been in the mood for a party before, but now I sure was. I wanted to get up and dance, lose myself in the music, and most of all, have a good time.

And that's exactly what I was going to do.

"To Percy!" My teammates clinked their glasses and gulped down the pungent contents in their red plastic cups. I nearly gagged when the sharp taste devoured my taste buds and its searing warmth worked its way into my belly.

My team had kept their promise, throwing me the party that they thought I deserved, which, according to them, was centered around alcoholic beverages, pretty girls, and blaring music.

The moment I'd walked in the house, they'd pushed drinks at me, claiming it was time to let loose. I'd accepted, but hadn't drunk enough where I was as wasted as ninety-nine percent of the guests. Mostly because I didn't see how stumbling around the room blurry-eyed with delayed reaction timing and poor judgment could be any fun whatsoever.

The Stolls downed yet another drink before making their way over to me on wobbly legs. They staggered around, careening sideways as the alcohol dominated their systems, knocking over things that would no doubt cost a fortune to replace. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up inside me when I watched them. They sure were quite the entertainers….even when they weren't trying to be.

Travis tripped over the little brown rug hugging the floor and resorted to flopping on the floor like a fish when he found that he wasn't able to pick himself back up. While Travis was trying to imitate a beached whale, Connor had run into the little coffee table in the corner of the room, swearing like a sailor as he clutched his knee.

"Did you see that?" Connor slurred, a bewildered look on his face. "It jumped right out in front of me." He leaned forward and gingerly poked the table, flinching away the moment his finger made contact as if it were a vicious animal poised to strike.

Once he lost interest in the solid, inanimate object, he continued making his way toward me, spewing gibberish about how the table must be a wizard in disguise who's out to get him. By this point, my stomach was literally cramping from the unending fits of laughter bursting out of me. And it only got worse when Connor face-planted the wooden floorboards after tripping over his brother.

Red-faced with both embarrassment and annoyance, he threw himself back up to his feet and approached me cautiously, putting one foot in front of the other very slowly.

"Hey, Percy." Connor garbled out, his stale breath hitting me in the face, reeking of alcohol. "Wuz up?" He was drunk as a skunk, totally out of it, in his own little world. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. From what I've heard, the Stolls had always been the party type, the crazy, wild, and free kind of guys. Live for the moment guys.

"Nothing really. What about you?" I asked.

"I cum wit uh message." He slurred, his words almost incomprehensible.

"Which is?"

"Beckendorf says to meet him in the backyard. There's someone he wants you to meet." He winked at me-or at least I think it was a wink. That or his eye's twitching. And walked-er-stumbled away.

I sighed heavily and mentally prepared myself and my little speech to gently turn down my potentional "love interest". After this, I'm totally done; I'm telling Beckendorf to give it up because I'm not interested. It never gets easier kindly rejecting those girls' offers to dinners and movies mainly because I hate hurting people. And they always, always give me this crestfallen look that makes me feel like an asshole for not even giving them a chance. So I'm done; I don't need anymore pesky emotions nagging at me.

Shutting the backdoor behind me, I stepped out into the cool, night air, the chilly breeze nipping at my exposed flesh. I scanned the yard, my eyes brushing past the campfire with guests crowded around it, past the cluster of teens playing beer pong on an old ping pong table, until they finally landed on Beckendorf, standing off to the side near an enormous, oak tree. A rather pretty girl stood beside him, chatting lightly, her back leaning against the trunk of the tree, hands clasped behind her back. Long, brown hair tumbled down her shoulders, half of it left down, the other half styled into an intricate braid, stopping at the middle of her back. Warm almond eyes met mine and she froze, her eyes taking me in, before a soft smile lit up her face and light pink tinted her cheeks.

She was beyond beautiful, that I'll admit, but I'll bet all the money in my wallet that she's knows it and is a total b with an itch about it.

Beckendorf, having noticed me, walked over to me and threw his arm over my shoulders, leading me over to the girl. He bent his head down to whisper in my ear.

"Try not to mess this up, man. Okay? It took a lot of coaxing to get her here." He breathed, his voice kind yet firm.

I nodded despite my hesitance to actually take his advice.

When we reached her, Beckendorf removed his arm and subtly nudged me a tad closer to her so I wasn't standing awkwardly far away from them as I had been.

"Calypso, I'd like you to meet my friend, Percy." Calypso straightened herself from her relaxed position and held out a small, dainty hand for me to shake.

Her hand was soft and smooth and girly while mine, unlike hers, were rough and calloused. A smile grew on her face the moment my fingers had made contact with hers.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Percy." She said.

"It's nice to meet you, too." I replied, retracting my hand.

"Well," Beckendorf began, "you kids have fun." He left, burying himself in the crowd of drunken partygoers, leaving me alone to kindly reject yet another date.

"So, what do you like to do?" Calypso said, a slight waver in her voice as if she were nervous.

"I love to swim. Anything to do with the water is right up my alley."

"That's really cool. You're like a fish."

I laughed, imagining myself as a hybrid man-fish. "Just without the gills and scales. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be very attractive."

She giggled at the joke and I smile in return.

Finally, someone with a real sense of humor. Take that, Nico, my jokes are funny.

"What about you? What do you like to do?" I asked, genuinely curious with what she likes to do in her free time.

"Garden, mostly. I'm a huge fan of nature, but I love flowers most of all. My whole house is decked out with them. I even planted an embarrassingly big garden in my backyard. The moment you walk out there, you're practically swallowed by it. It's sort of like a labyrinth. But one of my favorite things about it is when you get an aerial view of the lawn; from all the way up there, it looks almost like an island, a little spot of land known by no one, but me. It-" She breaks off, looking a little embarrassed. "I know it sounds silly, but that's just what I think."

"No, it's not silly. It's actually really great. More people should be so into nature and stuff like you are. The earth is polluted enough as it is and most of the population, don't even care and only make it worse. My friend, Grover, is the biggest tree hugger you'll ever meet; no one, and I mean no one, will ever care as much about the environment as him."

Calypso smiled before stepping closer, a flirty smile sprouting up on her face.

Uh oh. Here it comes.

"Do you wanna-" I tuned her out, evaluating my chances of this not ending in fits of tears. Unfortunately, it seemed that either way I approached it, she was going to be upset.

I cut her off. "Listen, Calypso, you seem really nice and you're really pretty, but," I paused-she blushed at the pretty part- and found that I couldn't get the words out. She'd been awfully nice to me, way nicer that a certain someone had been when we'd met, and in all honesty, I could see us being a good couple. She was sweet, down to earth, nice, pretty, didn't treat me like dirt. Basically, everything I'd ever hoped for in a girl and yet, my heart's still not completely on board because of her, the polar opposite of Calypso. Granted, she'd been nice that day up in her room when I'd made her laugh so hard tears leaked from her eyes, but since then, it seems like she hasn't even made an effort to build up our seemingly-budding friendship. So why should I? She wants to spend all her time with it-Yes, I am indeed referring to him as an it-so why should I even try? That's right, I shouldn't.

I'd already made up my mind on the whole Calypso thing, but when my eyes landed on the stocky, blue-eyed boy mingling around the ping pong table, my annoyance only grew and I steeled my resolve, my decision seeming like an even better one.

"But," I continued, turning my attention back to Calypso, "I really want to know if you'd like to dance."

Catchy beats encircled me, thrumming through every pore in my body as I swayed my body in time with the music. This was what I'd been aiming for the moment I'd stepped foot on the makeshift dance floor in the living room. To lose myself in the booming, tantalizing sounds emitting from the big, blocky speakers. My body rocked to the rhythm on its own accord. Not once did I have to think about what I move I should perform next and for once, I didn't care that my dancing was bad enough to make children scream with terror and make old ladies cover their eyes and wish they were blind.

Calypso appeared to be feeling the same way. Her face looked alive and high on the words pouring through the surround sound. She twirled her hips to the beat and swayed, eyes closed. She, much like myself and the majority of the other teens here, sans the guy passed out in the corner, looked as if the music was a rollercoaster and she hopped on for a ride. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world aside from bopping her body to the harmony and I was certain I looked the same.

Generally, I'd always avoided parties, considering I wasn't really the party type, even before my mother's passing, I still rarely went out, no matter how much my friends used to complain. My friends would want to dance their socks off while I just wanted to leap into the pool. They would down spiked beverages while I preferred to sip my blue Coca-Cola. But, now I understood why it had all been such a big deal. Why they'd been so determined to attend as many as they could. Because they could let their worries and problems fly out the window, at least for a little while, and just enjoy the moment, now. I genuinely understood what the hype had been about and I guess you could say that I like it, parties. Now, don't go thinking I'm going to get sucked in and get drunk off my ass because that's not going to happen, but in all honestly, I could care less about the food, the drinks, everything but the music and the rush you get to just get out there and bust a move.

I was surprised to find that I was thoroughly enjoying myself with such a rowdy group of people and a girl I'd been prepared to turn down. It didn't even faze me-that much-when it walked by with her following closely at its heels. I wasn't even sure why they were here, not to congratulate me, that's for sure. A publicity stunt to gather more popularity and gain attention seemed much more likely than Beckendorf or the team inviting them.

I didn't dwell on the unanswered question and let it go, popping the pesky thing like bubble gum until it became almost non-existent in my mind.

Later in the night, Thalia and Nico arrived-Grover couldn't attend because it was his and his girlfriend, Juniper's, six month anniversary and he wanted to take her on a nice dinner- and joined us on the dance floor, laughing at my disastrous attempt at the worm. Sadly, I just couldn't seem to move like the sticky, flexible creature. I guess it didn't help me that, unlike it, I have a spine.

The four of us danced for hours unaware that time was quickly racing by until our feet began to ache, but still, we didn't stop. A familiar song drifted through the crowd of sweating bodies and Nico, Thalia, and I all looked at each at the exact same moment, eyes wide along with our smiles as one of our favorite songs made an appearance.

I was having the time of my life, dancing with my friends to the song that's been my top fav since forever, but it ended all too quickly.

Through the throng of people dancing their little hearts out, I caught sight of a boy around my age with hair so dark brown it almost looked black, but that wasn't what stopped me in my tracks. It was his eyes when they locked onto mine. They were the color of sea-foam, a color I was well familiar with. Because they were my own.

I'd never seen anyone and I mean anyone with eyes that were a shade as unique as mine on another person ever. Now, it might seem like a small circumstance to find someone with the same eye color to most people, but a thought struck me that made me think that this was more than a coincidence.

Which is how your half brothers came alone. Walter had said. Could it be true? Could I really have just met a boy with my flesh and blood randomly at a high school party or was I just over thinking things? But, then again, why would Walter lie? The answer is simple. He wouldn't.

I started forward, fully prepared to barge through the crowd like a charging bull to hopefully find out the truth, but I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, man, you okay?" Nico asked, his eyebrows knit together at my sudden change in mood.

I brushed past him, not bothering to answer, because the honest truth was that I wasn't sure myself. Was I okay? I didn't know. I could quite possibly meet the person who shares my bloodline, the person who could be the brother I'd always wished for. But if I were wrong, I'd no doubt make a fool out of myself, but nonetheless, I have to know, which is the only reason why I push forward and shoulder passed party guests.

I stopped, having lost sighed of the boy, and scan the area, looking for some indication for where he could be. Coming up short, I start to head in the direction I'd last seen him, but I don't get far. The music abruptly stops and I-party guests included-halt, confused to why the tune no longer blared from the speakers when a gruff voice cleared their throat from behind me.

Spinning around, I find a man, standing tall near the entryway, the door ajar. He glanced around almost disapprovingly at the guests before his eyes fell on me. I felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia blanket over me like a fresh layer of fallen snow as I studied him. He looked oddly…familiar.

I couldn't recall how I knew him or why I felt so strongly that I'd seen him before, but then it hit me, like a giant sporting a club just thwacked me over the head.

Even before he opened his mouth, I knew exactly who he was and I knew exactly what he was going to say.

He opened his mouth to speak, eyes still burning a hole through me, and as the words left his mouth, my theory was confirmed. And the well-known familiar feeling made perfect sense.

"I'm looking for my son."

Because he was my father.

Surprised, Percy? It's okay, I would be too if I hadn't written it. Haha. :)

Anyway, there's chapter 7. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.

Review!

~TwistedTrident~