Author's Note - Here's the second chapter of this story! I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone who have given their support for this story so far even while it's this early on - it's much appreciated and I hope you continue on liking it! I wanted to mention that usually it take a few days in between for me to update, as I want to make sure that each chapter is good and ready to go. So thank you in advanced for your patience!

(Also - just a small thing to note - I tend to favor on building up stories when they multiple chapters, so it may take a bit for some action to finally take place. I promise things will start picking up soon! Thank you for reading!)

Enjoy!

Through the Mist

Chapter Two

Becoming acquainted with everyone proved to be more tiring than I thought it would be. I don't think it was really them, though. I think I was still a bit beat up from the flight over and by the time evening finally rolled around, I found it a bit hard to keep my eyes open. I think at some point I actually began to doze off, because the next thing I knew, I felt someone crawl up onto my lap. My eyes opened and I was surprised to see that Nessie had made herself comfortable. She had been shyly avoiding me most of the time during our visit so I hadn't expected her to approach me like this.

"You're comfy and smell nice." She yawned, leaning her head against my shoulder sleepily.

"Um, thanks." I replied, not able to bite back a smile.

The others had paused in their conversation and were now looking over at the two of us. My mom was the first to smile at the scene. "That's really cute... I should get a picture."

I groaned softly. "Mom."

Suddenly Nessie's eyes opened, and she beamed up at me. "I want a picture!" She said excitedly, the sleepiness from before seeming to lift like a cloud. "I've never had a picture with a cousin before. Pleaseee?"

Her puppy dog eyes were killing me. They were almost as bad as the charm speaking of an Aphrodite kid. Personally, I've never had been one to like too many pictures, but I was finding it rather hard to say no to her and could already feel like this would be a losing battle. Sighing, I finally relented, giving a slight nod. "All right. But just one picture," I grumbled, "I don't want the flash of the camera to be engraved in my eyes or something."

My mom was already on her feet, taking out the camera. There was a smug look in her eyes as she turned it on. "I think I might borrow you a few times, Nessie, if it's okay with your parents. Trying to get pictures of Percy is almost like pulling teeth." Nessie gave a happy giggle, hugging me tightly as my mom raised the camera. She took more than one shot, but it was worth it. She seemed to be really enjoying herself.

"So, Percy," It was Edward who spoke - his voice was curious, "how old are you?"

"I'm seventeen." I was a bit more relaxed around them now. When they first walked into the room, every warning bell ever had been ringing in my head, but they seemed a bit different. Friendly monsters weren't unheard of - I mean there's Mrs. O'Leary for example - she was literally the only hellhound I could think of who was friendly, but it's still possible.

"I see. Are you still in school?"

"Yeah, I'm planning on going to college soon - hopefully." I smiled, my thoughts drifting to Annabeth, "I'm thinking about majoring in marine biology."

"Marine biology?" Edward seemed mildly impressed, "I heard that can be a bit difficult at times. Especially while studying it in school."

I grinned. "It'll probably be a bit hard, yeah, but I'm already pretty much a fish myself so I think I'll be fine."

Nessie was asleep by the time we were ready to leave, and as Bella picked her up gently from my arm, she woke up a bit. "You should come over to my house, Percy," She sounded only half awake and her words a bit blended together, "it's really nice there."

"I could swing by, maybe," I glanced towards Bella and Edward, "as long as it's okay with your parents."

Bella smiled. "I wouldn't mind it. We could introduce you to everyone else. We live near Edward's family and I'm sure they'd be happy to meet you."

"Can he come visit tomorrow?" Nessie asked, sounding hopeful.

"Well," Bella's amber eyes flickered toward me questioningly, "as long as he's not too tired. He's had a long trip here, honey."

"Nah, I'm okay," I shook my head. I was pretty tired, but as soon as I had arrived to Forks I wanted to get out and explore a bit. "How about I come by after breakfast tomorrow?"

After arranging everything for tomorrow's visit, we headed back to the hotel. I was pretty much already asleep as soon as I hit the pillow, but before I could drift off, there was a soft buzz in my pocket. Now, I know what you're thinking already: Percy, is that really a cell phone? Do you really want to die that much? I get it. It's not the best idea in the book when it comes to being a demigod, but even if it was a basically a beacon to monsters, it did have a few perks. I've already had cases of being called crazy for talking to puddles when in the middle of an Iris Message. That, and now I wouldn't be completely screwed if I didn't have any drachma. I really only use it to keep in touch with Annabeth, anyway, and so far it hasn't caused too many monsters to viciously kill me yet.

It was a message from Annabeth - other than Paul and my mom, she was really the only other contact on there. Hey. How did the meeting go? Are they nice?

Yeah, they're cool. Bella's daughter, Nessie, is very cute. It was kind of weird though - when I first met Bella and her husband they seemed… off. Ya know the feeling you get when you feel like there's a monster ready to kill you? It was that feeling.

She was quick on replying. Do you think..?

I don't know. Hard to tell, honestly. They seemed really nice after a while and the feeling pretty much disappeared. But still...

Just be careful. Maybe we shouldn't text each other for the time being - just in case.

Yeahhh might be a good idea. I'll IM you, though, if anything comes up. Love ya.

You too, Seaweed Brain.

Turning my phone off, I slipped it into one of my suitcase pockets and settled back down under my blankets. It was starting to rain again and the rhythmic pat-pat against the glass was enough to lull me to sleep. It was a peaceful night - no strange dreams or anything - just sleep for once. I'd never admit this to my mom, but my bed at home could never compare to this bed - it was really comfortable. The first thing I heard the next morning was the low voices of Paul and my mom in the bed next to mine. I was still partially asleep, so I couldn't really understand what they were saying, but it was still a nice feeling… waking up to the sound of my parents talking, I mean. I know it was just a simple thing, but it made me feel normal.

I must have fallen back to sleep at some point, because the next time I woke up to someone shaking me lightly. Paul stood there, a light grin across his lips. "It's almost ten, so we thought we'd wake you. You wanted some breakfast before you headed off to the Cullens' place, right?"

I noticed that he put a bit of emphasis on the "you" part. "You and Mom aren't coming?"

"We were, but then Charlie sent a message to your mom this morning asking if she and I would want a tour around town with him. He was gonna swing by and pick us up, so you'd be able to use the rental." Paul stated, "And I've always wanted to ride in a police cruiser so…"

I smirked. "This is probably better than your original plan to get temporarily arrested."

"What's this about getting arrested?" My mom walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair off with a towel.

Paul laughed nervously. "Nothing – are you ready to go?"

Instead of responding to him right away, my mom looked towards me as I rose from my bed. There was a touch of worry in her eyes and I already knew what was coming. "Are you sure you'll be able to get there on your own, Percy? We can always tell Charlie that we're dropping you off first, I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"No. I'll be just fine," I chuckled, "even if I get a bit lost, it'll be cool exploring a bit. Plus I have your number now."

One other positive on having a phone was that it relaxed my mom a bit. She'd always have a way to get a hold of me – even if I don't check it regularly. "Okay, if you say so. Paul and I will be heading off here soon. You should get down to the dining area, though. They're going to stop breakfast soon."

By the time I changed out of yesterday's clothes and made my way down to the dining area, they were beginning to clean up after breakfast. Lucky for me, they were still technically serving it, so I was able to fill my plate up. There was nobody else around other than the staff, but it was a nice place. There was soft music playing overhead and it was quiet. Compared to my last hotel experience – which involved screaming kids and faulty air condition – this was pretty fancy. "We're leaving now, Percy," My mom's voice made me turn my head. She waved. "Just message Paul or me if you need anything."

"Okay. Have fun with Charlie." I waved in return, watching as they disappeared through the sliding doors. From what it looked, it appeared to be still drizzling out and the sight made me sigh a bit. I didn't mind rain – being around a source of water was always convenient, but I was starting to miss the sun a bit. After finishing my breakfast I decided that a quick shower was probably a good idea before I headed out. It caused me to be a bit more ate than I originally intended, but now I felt more awake and refreshed. As I slipped my shirt back on, I glanced down at my nightstand. Riptide, in its pen form of course, sat there and without a second thought, I slipped it back into my pocket. Just in case. I had a feeling that Bella's family were okay and not raging monsters, but one thing I've learned the hard way was that you could never be too prepared.

As soon as I was on the road, I sort of regretted my choice of doing this by myself. I was a master of direction when it came to being out in the water, but if you give me directions while out on the road? No so much – I might end up in Canada or something. The Cullens didn't really make my life easier either because they apparently lived out in the middle of nowhere on top of it all. I couldn't really count how many times I went in the wrong direction, but by the time I finally was able to find their place, it was already a bit past noon. As I pulled up, Nessie was the first to rush out into the clearing, bouncing excitedly as I parked and stepped out. "Percy! You're finally here!" She squealed happily, giving me a hug.

"Sorry," I gave her a grin, "I got a bit lost."

"It's okay!" She grabbed my hand, tugging me lightly along.

I whistled lowly in amazement as I took in the house. It was gorgeous – and it looked so open with all the windows. "Wow. Your house is so cool."

She giggled. "That's actually my Grandpa Carlisle's house. My house is behind it – I'll show you that first—"

"Hang on, Ness," Edward's cool, amused voice interrupted her, "let the others meet him first." The two of us paused, and as I looked over, Edward stood there. Bella was next to him and behind them there were curious faces of the Cullens waiting patiently.

The oldest guy – Carlisle I assumed – walked forward first, giving me a friendly smile as he offered me his hand. "Hello, Percy. I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is my wife, Esme. It's nice to finally meet you." Esme gave me a kind smile as he introduced her and it was hard not to return the gesture.

"Finally?" I wondered, taking his hand. It almost sounded like they were expecting me when he put it that way.

Carlisle's smile turned into a slight grin. "Renesmee was talking nonstop about you coming over this morning, so all of us have been a bit eager to meet you."

Before I had a chance to respond to that, I was suddenly hugged by the shortest of the women. "It's nice to meet you, Percy." She said, her voice cheerful. "My name is Alice."

"Um, it's nice to meet you too." I blushed a bit – totally caught off guard.

The guy next to Alice was smiling in amusement and he leaned towards Alice's ear. "I think you're scaring him a bit."

Alice quickly let me go after hearing that, but her excitement still shone in her eyes. "Sorry." She grabbed the man's arm. "I'm Edward's sister, though, and this is my husband, Jasper."

There were two others waiting to introduce themselves – they seemed to stand a bit away from the commotion, but I assumed that they were together by the way the guy had his arm wrapped casually around the girl's shoulders. I'd never say this in front of Annabeth (she'd kill me – no joke) but the girl was absolutely beautiful – like model worthy beautiful. She also didn't really look too sure about me because each time I glanced in their direction, she was giving me a guarded look. It was only when the commotion died down a bit that the guy spoke. "Emmett's the name." Unlike his partner, Emmett had a light and relaxed look in his eyes. "And this is Rosalie." Despite the friendliness in his voice there was a spark in his eyes that reminded me very suspiciously of the Stoll brothers. I'd definitely have to keep my guards up.

"So you guys all live together?" I cringed a bit when the question slipped out. I didn't mean it in a rude way, but it still was a bit strange. They all seemed old enough to have their own places – I mean Bella and Edward did – it wasn't my place to handing out judgement, though.

Luckily, my question didn't seem to offend any of them. "We do. We're really… family orientated you could say," It was Esme who answered my question, "granted the house wasn't nearly big enough for all of us to fit once Bella and Renesmee joined our family, which is why they live separately now, but we're all very close."

"Is there a problem with that?" Rosalie narrowed her eyes a bit on me, as if daring me to try and make another poke at their lifestyle.

Quickly I raised my hands, and shook my head. "No, no. Definitely not. I actually think it's really cool that you're all close to one another. It was just my mom and I for a while so I'm still kind of getting used to all this family stuff." Probably best not to mention that I had other family than just Paul and my mom.

"How far is your mother's baby along?" Bella asked me curiously. "She looks close."

"Seven months." The idea of having a little sister was still a bit nerve wrecking to me as it was exciting. "I'm a bit nervous about it actually," I admitted, grinning lightly, "There will be a big age gap between us so I won't always be around for her."

Rosalie was seeming a bit more relaxed now – she was actually smiling a bit. "So it's going to be a her?"

"Yeah. My mom originally wanted it to be a surprised, but then she got impatient and wanted to know." I snickered. "My step-dad and I called it way ahead of time, too. She and surprises don't really mix."

"You could be my brother if you want to practice." Nessie suggested, giving me a light tug on my hand to draw my attention back to her. "Do you want to color with me?" She wondered, giving me a hopeful look.

"Color?"

"Ness—" Bella began and I held up a hand.

"No, it's okay," I laughed a bit, "I don't mind a bit of coloring. But in exchange," I gave her a playful, serious look, "You'll have to promise me a tour around here."

She gave another happy bounce. "I promise! I'll show you my house first."

As she began to lead me away, Edward leaned toward me to murmur in my ear. "Just be careful – she might end up wanting to keep you for herself. She's a feisty little thing."

"Duly noted." I exchanged a grin with him before allowing myself to be dragged away.