The Time I Didn't Ditch Grover? I still met the Minotaur

This time when Grover went to the washroom, I did not run away, I, unloaded the bags and waited for him like the good friend that I am.

Once he was don't with his business, we went to this new taco place, that I already knew was going to be awesome just looking at it, and ordered everything with extra cheese and veggies.

About half an hour later, we left the place with our stomach full and our pockets nearly empty. I just saved enough for the ride home. We got up on a taxi and gave the driver the address. The cheese taco seemed to have calmed Grover down, he was no longer muttering about 6th grade.

We got off in front of the apartment. I looked at Grover. "I would invite you inside, but I doubt you'd wanna come, my step-fathers stench might just make you faint"

Grover smiled. "so I guess I'll see you if you want to visit or something"

"I will" I promised him. "so how are you getting back?"

Just then, my mom stepped outside the building, "Percy" she said.

My emotions came rushing up to me, I rushed towards her and threw my arms around her.

"I missed you" I said over her shoulder.

"I missed you too"

Remembering Grover, I turned to see him standing awkwardly at the sidewalk. I beckoned him closer. "mom, this is my friend Grover" I gestured to him." he invited me to his home, this summer".

Mom's tensed for a second, looking worried, before she smiled kindly "nice to meet you Grover"

"nice to meet you too Mrs. Jackson" Grover said.

"so how are you getting home Grover?" I asked again.

"I don't know yet, I'll find a way"

I frowned "dude, you can't be just wandering around New York and you have to go all the way to Long Island alone"

"Percy's right. How about you come inside and Percy and I drive you to Long Island in an hour, we are going there today anyway, we'll just drop you on your way there."

Grover looked at us gratefully "thank you Mrs. Jackson."

"we're going to Montauk?" I asked mom. She nodded and I grinned "sweet"

I tugged at Grover's arm. "come on, you can call your parents while I pack"

An hour later we were ready to leave.

Gabe took a break from his poker game long enough to watch me lug my mom's bags to the car. He kept griping and groaning about losing her cooking—and more important, his '78 Camaro—for the whole weekend.

"Not a scratch on this car, brain boy," he warned me as I loaded the last bag. "Not one little scratch."

Like I'd be the one driving. I was twelve. But that didn't matter to Gabe. If a seagull so much as pooped on his paint job, he'd find a way to blame me.

Watching him lumber back toward the apartment building, I made the hand gesture I'd seen Grover make on the bus, the warding-off-evil gesture, a clawed hand over my heart, then a shoving movement toward Gabe. The screen door slammed shut so hard it whacked him in the butt and sent him flying up the staircase as if he'd been shot from a cannon.

I had done this the first time around too, but I never knew how it happened.

"nice job kid." Chronos said. "That guy went whack-a-mole. Ananke was right, you are powerful, the most powerful demigod since Cletus, maybe even better than him"

"who?"

"Cletus, a son of Poseidon, he was the first ever demigod. He was so powerful, that the gods, thought him a god and let him see their true forms, sadly he was not a god and so he evaporated"

"I think I'm fine with being weaker than him."

Chronos chuckled.

"so how can I do this?"

"it doesn't happen often but sometimes you get more than your godly parents power, my guess is since you are descended from Uranus, you got some of his power. In which case you should have some of Gaia's power too, which means you have more control over the ground than the average son of Poseidon."

"how come no one ever realized that over the time 've known I was a demigod. And how have I never been able to use it, except for this"

"not many people are aware of the ability. You need to focus on it specifically, it won't come as naturally as controlling water, but you can do it and mix the abilities together, I'll teach it to you at camp."

Turning around I spotted Grover struggling to put his suitcase in the car. I helped him load in the car and we both sat in the backseat.

Then Grover said that his parents were asking if he could stay the night with us and leave the next morning when they picked him up.

Mom said that it was no problem and he was welcome to stay if he liked.

We talked about random things all the way to Montauk.

We got there at sunset, opened all the cabin's windows, and went through our usual cleaning routine. We walked on the beach, fed blue corn chips to the seagulls, and munched on blue jelly beans, blue saltwater taffy, and all the other free samples my mom had brought from work.

When it got dark, we made a fire. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. Mom told us stories about when she was a kid, back before her parents died in the plane crash. She told us about the books she wanted to write someday, when she had enough money to quit the candy shop.

A couple of minutes later Grover went to the washroom. And I hesitated before speaking "mom, something weird happened to me in school"

And I spilled about the fight with Alecto, and the fates. She listened to me patiently, her face growing more worried every second.

She didn't react to the story at first, looking deep in thought;

I heard Grover's footsteps behind me, she looked up and asked. "Grover, why didn't you tell me about what happened on the field trip?"

Grover froze, "there was no time, I planned to talk to you when Percy went to sleep"

"wait" I feigned confusion "why would Grover tell you about it."

"Percy, I know this is confusing but bear with us for tonight, tomorrow, we will explain everything. But after this you would have to go somewhere, a camp where your father wanted you to go" she said gravely.

" my father?" I asked

"Percy please wait till tomorrow" my mother pleaded.

That night I had a fitful sleep. A sudden boom woke me.

"Hurricane" my mother said. Grover was nowhere to be found. Suddenly I heard footsteps and yelling. Someone banged on the door, I ran up and threw the door open.

Standing outside was Grover, his furry hindquarters on display. "its right behind me" he shouted "we've gotta go fast."

I sighed behind the both, time to meet my old pal.