A/N: Before I continue on with this chapter, I AM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING!

Thanks to the following for either reviewing or putting my story to their favorites/story alerts: Aliinna, Tilaliastorm, Ginny-Rose95, ilovepercabeth77, zeynel, , melandu95, Doctor Bells, Bloody'Candy'Addict, coolcatuui, DIGIFAN99, Reinier, FictionFan2014, sunrocky and HappyAce88, annabethstwin, Lemon Dropz, vampire luverxoxo and AlexRider I am a flyer, LeArtemis 1234, Booklover565, Sybelle Annya D'Arcanum, ducks-r-homicidal, PeaceLovePercyJackson, XEminemXRocksX3 'imX, BeautyandtheBeast101575, Daughter of sea and wisdom, ThaliaDiAngelo, Crazy909, erica126, Ate Arissa, fablewolf, BlackGrypgon101, Na'viWolf, Nahgemkerr12, mythologyfreakgirl,

Thanks also to those who reviewed: philosophyluver, MalikaiDragonSlayer, RubySongbird, Bwilla, IkutoisSmexy, Division Head, Nico'sfavsister, DrinkingAlcoholicRainbows, happygoluckyfull and last but CERTAINLY not the least JaredLetoObsessed, Seaphantom, I owe you guys a lot! This chapter's dedicated to you… sort of…

IMPORTANT! (Well not really) : In this chapter Hera, had to leave at the beginning to sort things out with the minor god, Janus.

Recap:

The lightning headed at Percy the same time the water shot at Thalia… but they never got to their targets. A girl with blonde curls appeared 5 meter away from the battling cousins.

"Just what do you think you are doing?"

The lightning disappeared into the sky while the water just fell on the floor creating a huge water puddle. Thalia and Percy stared in shock at the person. In front of them was none other than Athena's favorite daughter, the Architect of Olympus and Percy's girlfriend Annabeth Chase, who by the way was glaring at the two cousins.

"H-hey there Annabeth…" the cousins said sheepishly. Annabeth was still glaring at them, her arms crossed and tapping her right foot so fast the gods thought it would create a dent in the floor.

"How many times must I tell you that if you're going to fight, take it to the arena? I will not have the newly built rooms destroyed by you two." She advanced upon the two cousins who backed up till they had their backs against Hestia's hearth.

Annabeth glared at Percy who shrunk shrunk down against her gaze. Thalia noticed this and snuck away, leaving a trembling Percy to deal with the outraged Annabeth.

"Sometimes, Annabeth is scarier than Kronos killing the gods." Thalia whispered to Nico. He nodded wholeheartedly. "Don't remind me."

The campers were staring at Annabeth and mini-Annabeth, going back and forth while the gods were staring at the couple quite amused. Hermes took out his video camera and started filming the two. Annabeth had her arms crossed, she was tapping her foot making Percy all the more uncomfortable. The entire room was silent but not the peaceful kind. Oh no, this was the calm before the storm.

Percy braced himself for the lecture that was to come when he saw Annabeth take a deep breath. He immediately shut his eyes and waited. Waited… waiting…. How long does it take for a girl to start lecturing? Waiting...Finally Percy couldn't stand it anymore. He cracked one eye open and saw Annabeth forcing down an upcoming smile. Laughter was clearly in her eyes and she was clutching her sides.

"Annabeth?" That was when she couldn't take it anymore.

"AHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my goodness Percy. You should have seen your face. You looked like you were going to piss yourself! AHAHAHAHA!"

Percy just looked at her incredulously as she laughed at him. Soon she was joined by Percy's ever-so-supporting cousins. They laughed even harder and ended up on the floor when Percy started blushing. Not long later the gods were laughing with Annabeth, Thalia and Nico.

~ ~ ~ 5 minutes later ~ ~ ~

"Are you guys done laughing yet?" Percy asked everyone. Most of the gods had red faces from laughing so hard while the campers had hurting cheeks from smiling so much. Thalia, Nico, Hermes, Apollo and the Stolls had tears running down their faces. "Yes" they replied.

Percy just sat down and huffed while crossing his arms and not meeting anyone's gaze. "You guys are mean…" He said.

Annabeth smiled at him and sat beside him, much to the dismay of a certain goddess of wisdom.

"C'mon now, Seaweed Brain. You know we don't mean but your expression was hilarious. Also…." She trailed off. Annabeth smiled sweetly at him making Percy nervous. This smile was one that Percy knew all too well. It shows that Annabeth was angry. Percy gulped and asked his girlfriend. "Also?"

Annabeth twitched and took a deep breath. "WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN, SEAWEED BRAIN? I WAS WAITING FOR 4 AND A HALF HOURS! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR ME TO DO NOTHING WHILE WAITING FOR YOU?" Percy tried to say something but Annabeth was on a roll now.

"I THOUGHT YOU'VE GONE MISSING! TAKEN AWAY BY SOME ENEMY WHEN YOU DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR THE DATE! ARGGGHHH! YOU ARE SOOOO ANNOYING, PERSEUS JACKSON!"

By the time she finished, Percy had shrunk down his seat he fell off it, Thalia and Nico were laughing at him quietly, Athena was looking smugly at Poseidon. Said god was clutching his trident so hard he left marks on it. Aphrodite was absolutely beaming when she heard the word "date". Hermes filmed everything with a grin while the rest of the gods just looked plain shocked.

Annabeth caught sight of herself or her mini-version. Her jaw dropped and she pointed at her younger self. "Y-you're…. you're ME! How is that possible?"

Everyone turned their attention to mini-Annabeth who had a similar expression. Percy quickly explained to Annabeth what was going on as fast as he could. Thankfully his girlfriend's anger subsided when she saw herself. When he finished, Annabeth nodded. "So we're reading books about you, huh, Seaweed Brain?" She smiled and made herself look presentable. Then she turned to the campers who fidgeted under her gaze.

"Hey there! Name's Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena and official Architect of Olympus. Nice to meet you… err… again." The council wondered why they needed to have an architect.

Once everyone got settled and was introduced again Percy picked up the book from where it fell.

"So, whose going to read next?" He raised the book a bit, leaving it open (metaphorically speaking) to anyone who wants to read. Almost immediately, the book was snatched from his hand by a certain daughter of Athena.

"Now I get to know what your thought were on our quests, Seaweed Brain."

This caught Athena's attention. "Our quests? Annabeth, don't tell me you actually went on quests with that!" Annabeth sighed. "Mother, Percy isn't a thing. And to answer your question, yes I went on quests with Percy. Now may I continue?" Athena sighed and waved Annabeth on. The campers stared at Annabeth in awe.

Annabeth flipped to the correct page and began.

"THREE OLD LADIES KNIT THE SOCKS OF DEATH"

"OOoooo, socks of death! Right up my alley, don't you think cousins?" Nico was rubbing his hands together like some evil villain that plotting something. Annabeth sighed, Percy and Thalia shook their head and Demeter glared at a smiling (evilly) Hades, mumbling something about evil boys taking after their evil fathers.

I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly.

This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle.

For the rest of the school year, the entire campus seemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.

"No, it was just Chiron and Grover. The rest of the school was covered with the Mist."Athena said. Chiron nodded showing his agreement even though it hasn't happened yet.

The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas.

"Hmmm, I guess that would be annoying. Some blonde teacher just showing up and people believing that she's been their teacher since December." Hermes mused. Artemis just rolled her eyes and muttered "boys"

Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.

"That's because you are a psycho, Perce." Thalia stated. Said boy just pouted.

It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.

Almost.

Thalia, Nico and oddly enough, Dionysus groaned. "Grover…."

But Grover couldn't fool me

People sighed but none more so than Hermes and his children. "We have to teach that satyr how to lie, boys. Right after we read." On cue, Travis brought out a small black notebook and wrote Grover's name on it.

Dionysus narrowed his eyes at Hermes. "You will not do anything to my satyrs."

When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and then claim she didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.

Something was going on. Something had happened at the museum.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Boys. So clueless…."

I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.

"EWWWW! How could you sweat at night! That's just gross" exclaimed a certain love goddess and her daughter.

The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood.

Everyone glanced at Zeus wondering why he was so mad.

One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room. A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.

Zeus scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. Not even the worst arguments made Zeus act like the way he did in the book. What's going on?

I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.

Athena snorted. "Typical sea spawn behavior."

I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends. I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.

Ares grinned at Percy. "Good job, boy. You might not be so pathetic after all though this book needs more action."

Percy and Annabeth shared a look. "If there's one thing that we DON'T need is MORE action."

Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped. I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.

Athena sat up straighter and began reciting. "Sot: a drunkard, a habitual or chronic drunkard;

a person stupefied by or as if by drink." Everyone in the council groaned as Athena talked like a dictionary. Katie leaned into mini-Annabeth and said "Do you and your half-siblings do that too?"

Mini-Annabeth shook her head, looking offended.

The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.

Fine, I told myself. Just fine.

I was homesick.

"AWWWW….. Is wittle wercy missing wis mommy?" Apollo joked earning himself a hit on the head from Artemis.

I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.

Poseidon's eye twitched when Percy's stepfather was mentioned. Nico and Thalia both looked confused.

"Paul doesn't do poker parties, does he?" Thalia asked. Annabeth shook her head. "This was Percy's first stepfather."

And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods outside my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees. I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend,

Mini-Annabeth smiled at that. "Grover would like hearing that."

even if he was a little strange.

Her smile turned into a frown. "Or maybe not." The campers snickered at her.

I worried how he'd survive next year without me.

I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.

As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.

"The only test? What about the other subjects?" questioned Athena. Everyone sighed. They knew Athena was sensitive about studies.

I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.

The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw the Cambridge Guide to Greek Mythology across my dorm room.

Athena gasped. "How could yo-"

"For Olympus' sake woman, will you shut up?" Poseidon shouted. Athena glared at him while the rest of the council bar Artemis snickered. She just smiled.

Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.

"One-eighties? Mine do three-sixties. You suck, wimp. Even you're dyslexia gets beaten by me." said Clarisse. Beckendorf sighed.

"At least yours only does three-sixties. Mine look like they've been blown apart by a tornado and hastily stuck together with glue by someone who wasn't looking at the letters."

Silena patted him on the shoulder and gave him a smile which Beckendorf returned. Aphrodite squealed in delight at the love while the demigods from the future looked sadly at the two would-be lovers in this time.

There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,

Ares snorted. "That's simple. One's a centaur and the other bring dead people across a river. Even I know that."

Percy rolled his eyes. "I meant it in spelling."

"oh"

or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.

Hermes snickered. "I will not forget it, Percy." The deities rolled their eyes at Hermes' foolishness.

I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.

The Stoll brothers snorted earning them raised eyebrows. "You don't know the real feeling of ants crawling inside your shirt." Percy smirked at them. "and I suppose you do?"

Chiron and the rest of the campers were trying their best to conceal their laughter at the Stolls' expressions. Hermes was grinning so wide that people thought his mouth would rip.

I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.

I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.

Athena nodded in approval. Poseidon rolled his eyes at her.

I'd never asked a teacher for help before.

"Maybe that's why you're failing."

"Athena, if you insult my son one more time, I will drown you in the Atlantic Ocean."

Percy looked shocked that his dad defended him. The other campers looked a bit jealous of Percy.

"Why couldn't our parents be like that?"

Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam. I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.

"teacher's pet." Nico mumbled. Annabeth (both then and now) shot him a dirty look. "What's wrong with that?" Nico gulped and shrunk at the glares he was receiving from the two daughters of Athena.

I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.

I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said,

"... worried about Percy, sir."

Thalia, Nico and Annabeth inwardly sighed. "Here it comes"

I froze.

I'm not usually an eavesdropper,

Will grinned. "Sure, you're not, Percy."

Hermes smiled inwardly. "That's what all the eavesdroppers say at the beginning."

Apollo leaned and whispered to Hermes "I bet you 20 drachmas he eavesdrops at least five more times in this book" Hermes grinned. "You're on, brother."

but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.

"Hmm… I guess you do have a point." Zeus mused. Percy stared in shock that Zeus actually agreed with him.

I inched closer.

"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."

"A lot more" Annabeth mumbled under her breath but Percy caught what she said.

"HEY! I am plenty mature."

"Sure you are, Seaweed Brain." Percy pouted then stuck his tongue out. Everyone rolled their eyes at him. "plenty mature? Don't think so."

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead line—"

The gods immediately perked up. "What deadline?"

The demigods from the future shared a knowing look. "You'll see."

"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."

"Sir, he saw her..."

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."

"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

Thalia sighed angrily. Even after all those years, Grover still thought it was his fault.

Zeus looked mad that the satyr was once again allowed to search for demigods after what happened to his daughter.

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"

The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.

Hermes and his kids gasped. "You broke rule number 6! Never give away your position."

Percy just stared at them blankly.

Mr. Brunner went silent.

My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.

Hermes nodded his head in approval. "At least you followed rule number 12."

This time, Percy and Nico looked at him strangely. "What are you talking about, Hermes?"

Hermes sighed and a book appeared in his hand. "This book! Every child of mine has read it and memorized it by heart. You should too."

Upon hearing this, Poseidon narrowed his eyes at the messenger of the gods. "You will NOT corrupt my son's mind with that book." Hermes pouted and made the book vanished.

"Ok, Uncle P."

A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.

I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.

A few seconds later I heard a slow clop-clop-clop, like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.

A bead of sweat trickled down my neck.

As did for everyone else.

Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind me."

The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.

I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.

Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.

Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.

"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"

I didn't answer.

"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"

"Just... tired."

I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.

Dionysus yawned. "That won't work, Pedro. Satyrs can read your emotions."

"I know that."

I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.

But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.

"It seems like you ARE, Percy" mused Apollo. Percy sighed. "Understatement of the year." Annabeth, Nico and Thalia heard him and stifled their laughter.

The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,

"THREE HOURS!" everyone shouted except Chiron, Athena and the two Annabeths.

"Chiron, are you trying to torture my son?" said centaur gulped. "No Lord Poseidon."

my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.

For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.

"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."

Poseidon narrowed his eyes at Chiron who really hoped his social skills have improved but his prayer fell on deaf ears as Annabeth read the next lines.

His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.

Annabeth twitched. This didn't go unnoticed by Percy who was sitting beside her. He gave her hand a light squeeze.

I mumbled, "Okay, sir."

"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."

Chiron sighed and fixed his gaze on the floor as Poseidon glared at him and the demigods all looked at him sadly. Percy however smiled at his teacher.

My eyes stung.

Ares snorted. "Wimp!" Then he got doused by a basinful of water. Clarisse wisely chose not to copy her father's actions no matter how much she wanted to.

Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.

"Right," I said, trembling.

"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"

"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."

"Percy—"

But I was already gone.

Chiron frowned at himself. "Sorry Percy."

Percy just smiled and waved it off. "S'okay Chiron. It was for the best. At least you tried."

Chiron smiled at him but let his gaze return to floor since Poseidon was still glaring at him. Percy too noticed this along with everyone else. He gave a sigh.

"Dad, stop glaring at Chiron! HE has his faults too you know. Nobody's perfect plus it's not nice. Face it. It was or for this time, would be for the best." Poseidon was shocked to say the least. Then he smiled at his son.

"Sorry…."

On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.

The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland. Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they were rich juvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.

The demigods all gulped and looked at Poseidon who stared at the foot of his throne sadly then to Percy who looked like he wanted to go over and comfort his dad. Athena on the other hand smirked at her rival.

"It seems your son was right about you being a nobody. But…." She then narrowed her eyes at Percy who laughed nervously. "It is unwise to call us nobodies, do you understand, Percy Jackson?"

Percy gulped and nodded his head vigorously. Athena looked pleased with herself as the other deities just rolled their eyes

"Nobody, huh?" Annabeth mused thinking about their second quest. Percy heard her and cracked a smile, also thinking about nobody.

They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.

"At least they asked you. That was nice of them." Demeter said.

What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.

Poseidon frowned. "Is this what he goes through every summer? I could help him…. But Sally doesn't want me to. Stupid Ancient Laws."

"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."

They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.

Demeter frowned too. "Or maybe not."

Artemis snorted. "Boys. They'll never change. Always so insensitive."

The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,

The Stolls started jumping up and down then they shouted "GROVER'S A STALKER!"

The other campers facepalmed themselves. Katie stood up whacked the two brothers, effectively knocking them out. Then she sat back down as if nothing happened.

Everyone tried to surpress smiles but couldn't. Annabeth, after giving Katie a grateful look continued reading.

so there we were, together again, heading into the city.

Aphrodite started giggling. "You make it sound like you're on a date."

She proceeded to giggle at the mental picture. The campers just looked disturbed while Percy looked like he was about to throw up. The same could be said about Annabeth, Nico and Thalia.

During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers. It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.

Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.

Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.

Hermes and Apollo grinned at each other evilly, knowing the strong temptation Percy went through.

I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"

"That's gotta make the poor satyr piss himself." Dionysus said. Everyone jumped slightly. They didn't know he was paying attention.

Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"

I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.

Hermes groaned sadly. "Rule number 15, Percy. It's the easiest one to keep! That's it…" He then turned to Nico and Thalia. "When you get back to your time space, make sure my children teach him everything. It could very well do him some good…. Possibly." He added as an afterthought.

Thalia and Nico grinned evilly at Percy. "With pleasure Lord Hermes."

Grover's eye twitched. "How much did you hear?"

"ohhh… not much. What's the summer solstice deadline?"

The males in the room grinned at Percy while the females just shook their heads.

"Not much, eh. Percy?" Nico said slyly. Percy turned pink-ish.

"T-they had a short conversation and I, uhh… I didn't really hear everything so… not much. I guess…

He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"

"Grover—"

"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."

Dionysus sighed. "Satyrs are such terrible liars. Maybe I should let Hermes teach them how to lie."

"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."

His ears turned pink.

From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.

The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes,

"Why would the card be in fancy script if you guys can't read it?" asked Hermes. All the demigods just looked pointedly at Dionysus who was looking at everything else except the people in the room. The gods and Chiron just sighed, knowing that Dionysus won't let up on the card.

Athena waved at Annabeth to continue.

but I finally made out something like:

Grover Underwood

Keeper

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

(800) 009-0009

Connor and Travis perked up then looked at Chiron.

"We never knew we had a landline…."

Chiron wisely didn't answer seeing the mischievous glint in the eyes of the brothers.

"Gods… please don't let them near the phone….." The deities smiled but none more so than Hermes who was thinking the exact same thought as his children.

"What's Half—"

"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."

My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.

Annabeth looked at her boyfriend. "Is that supposed to mean something Percy?"

Said boy just shrugged. "Not really. He just didn't seem like the type to actually have a summer home and it's not just a summer home but home in general."

"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."

He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."

"Why would I need you?"

Hades, Will and Beckendorf let out a low whistle. "Harsh."

Percy looked guilty. "I didn't mean it to come out like that."

It came out harsher than I meant it to.

"See?"

"No one disagreed with you Percy."

"Oh…. Right. Carry on."

Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."

I stared at him. All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him. I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defended me.

"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"

There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.

"And here comes the bad part of the chapter." Percy said the same time Aphrodite said "Rotten eggs? EWWW!" Everyone just shook their head at the love goddess while Poseidon tried to think of what kind of danger his son had to face this time.

The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.

We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars.

Artemis wrinkled her nose in disgust as well as all the other females and a few males.

On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand. The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice.

Demeter nodded in approval. Fruits were good for your health, as well as cereals.

The boys were practically drooling at the image.

There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.

Poseidon froze in his seat. "Three old ladies…. Socks…. It couldn't be…."

Athena, Hades and handful of other people were thinking the same thing since they all glanced at Percy nervously.

I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.

All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.

Annabeth squeezed Percy's hand. "Seaweed Brain…"

"Keep reading…."

The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.

By now, most of the people in the room figured out who these three ladies were and were now looking at Percy with shocked and worried expressions. Only one thought raced through their minds.

"How did he survive?"

Poseidon bit his lip whilst looking at Percy who seemed to have no care in the world.

I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.

"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"

"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"

"Not funny, son. Not at all." Poseidon gripped his throne so hard he left a dent in it.

Annabeth smiled a bit before reading the next line.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."

Everyone was able to crack a small smile but the tension quickly returned. Unknowingly, everyone felt drawn to the 16-year-old son of Poseidon. They all knew that he was someone who nice to have around.

The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.

As did everyone else besides Percy who was now concentrating on the slight pain Annabeth was putting on his hand.

"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."

"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there."

Athena shook her head sadly. "That won't work, you know. If the Fates want him to witness something then nothing can prevent it from happening."

Hearing Athena say this Poseidon gripped his throne even harder. Annabeth had a hard time reading since her hands were shaking.

"Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.

Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear that snip across four lanes of traffic.

"No. No no no no no no…. this isn't happening. It isn't happening…." Poseidon buried his face in his hands and let out a small sob. The gods and campers were surprised. Never before had they seen the god of the seas cry.

Percy stood from his seat and crossed the room till he was at the foot of his father's throne.

"It's okay, dad. I promise, everything turns out fine in the end."

Poseidon nodded but kept his head in his hands. Percy motioned for Annabeth to continue.

Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.

A few managed to crack some smiles while others just stared at the floor, avoiding looking at the son of Poseidon.

At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.

The passengers cheered.

"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"

"NOW it works…."

Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.

Poseidon bit his lip so hard the ichor, a single drop of golden blood, dripped down. The occupants of the room, to say the least, were surprised. The gods have never seen Poseidon so worried about a demigod and the campers had never seen a god worry for any one of them. Only Percy, Annbeth, Nico and Thalia weren't surprised.

Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.

"Grover?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling me?"

"Everything" Athena murmured to herself. Demeter heard her and gave a small smile.

He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve. "Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like ... Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much worse than Mrs. Dodds. He said, "Just tell me what you saw."

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."

Everyone shivered at the mention of the Fates. Athena looked calculatively at Percy.

If this demigod has seen the Fates themselves… He must be very essential then… perhaps HE is the child of the prophecy. I wonder….

He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost—older.

He said, "You saw her snip the cord."

"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.

Annabeth squeezed Percy's hand.

Percy rolled his eyes at her. "Annabeth, you know it's no big deal now."

"How can it NOT be a big deal? You just saw your life cord get cut!" All the campers said. Then Percy got a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Did I?"

The single phrase left a small air of confusion for many but to Athena and Annabeth, both young and older version had their brains going on overdrive.

"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing at his thumb. "I don't want this to be like the last time."

"What last time?"

"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."

Thalia twitched then sighed loudly. "He still blames himself for that, doesn't he?"

The future demigods just smiled at her sheepishly. Thalia twitched again knowing she was right.

"Remind me to have a talk with him when we get back home."

"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."

This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.

Hermes and Apollo suddenly perked up. "We bet anything that you don't keep that promise."

Percy smiled at them sheepishly. "Hehehehe….. riiigghttt….."

"Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.

No answer.

"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"

He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.

Annabeth closed the book and let go of Percy's hand, much to his dismay. Silence filled the room until Zeus cleared his throat.

"Well, wasn't that a bit dramatic." Zeus said, yawning a bit. The deities all rolled their eyes at him.

"Says the god who blasted a hotdog stand with lightning just because they didn't have ketchup." Poseidon whispered to Hades who was snickering at the memory.

Zeus heard them and immediately blushed scarlet. "You will not speak of that again, brothers."

Poseidon and Hades just kept on snickering. "Whatever you say, brother."

Athena who was listening to them smiled then turned to the demigods who seemed to be falling asleep. She frowned then checked her watch. It read 10:32pm. She cleared her throat earning everyone's attention.

"Seeing as it is late I believe that we should give the demigods rooms because it appears they'll be staying for a while." The gods/goddesses looked at their children who were slightly dozing off. The only ones who weren't were the Big Three kids and older Annabeth.

Zeus nodded and waved his hand. Then Hermes stood and said "Okay guys. If you have enough strength and want to sleep in a bed, please follow the messenger of the gods to your rooms. Maps are placed in them so you'll know your way around."

He started out the door, followed by the younger demigods, Thalia and Nico. Chiron hesitantly followed seeing as he would return to Camp Half-Blood the next day. The gods and goddesses flashed out of the room, leaving Percy and Annabeth to talk.

But they didn't REALLY intend on leaving now…. Did they?

DELETED SCENE! (Percy's POV and 3rd POV)

Everyone already left except for me and Annabeth. We hadn't even moved from our chairs yet. She was holding my hand while her head rested on my shoulder.

"Seaweed Brain?" I smiled inwardly. I love it when she says my pet name.

"Yeah Wise Girl?" She let go of my hand and hugged me tightly. Then she buried her head on my shoulder.

"I thought you didn't come because you didn't like me anymore." What? How could she think that? She's my Wise Girl. I love her with all my heart.

I think I said this out loud because Annabeth responded. "I love you too Percy." Then… she kissed me. Naturally, I kissed her back. All in all. This is one of the best kisses I've received.

Unbeknownst to me and Annabeth, we were being watched.

Hushed whispers were exchanged in the shadows.

"Pay up Apollo. I won the bet."

"Darn. Here…"

"They are so CUTE! I'm going to mess with them sooner or later."

"I wonder how Athena will take to this."

"OH! 15 drachmas to Percy getting pulverized!" Poseidon wanting to stand up for his son also placed a bet.

"20 drachmas to Percy staying alive and unharmed"

More bets were made. Those things went on until a red-faced Athena teleported behind the couch in which Percy and Annabeth were making out on and cleared her throat.

"and what do you think you're doing with my daughter?"

The two teenagers sprang apart instantly. Percy was chalk white while Annabeth was blushing.

"M-mother! We didn't hear you enter…" Athena ignored Annabeth and stared coldly at Percy. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You have ten seconds to run for your life, sea spawn." Percy gulped and looked ready to bolt.

"MOTHER! Don't…." Annabeth was silenced by Athena's stare. She redirected it to Percy.

The gods who were hiding in the shadows (AKA Hermes, Apollo, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Hades and basically all the Olympians minus Athena, Dionysus and Hera) counted down silently.

10… 9…. 8….

Percy gulped as Athena lifted her hand and created a yellow ball of light.

7…. 6….. 5….

Ares and Zeus had to hold down Poseidon from bolting to Percy's rescue.

4…. 3…. 2….

Annabeth covered her face with her hands.

1….

"Zero" Athena said evilly. Percy bolted for the door and ran with Athena's ball of destruction chasing after him.

"HHHHEEEELLLPPPPP!"

Athena laughed evilly and conjured a chair and a plasma screen TV where she could watch Percy run from her destruction ball. Annabeth sighed and prayed that Percy wouldn't get hurt. The gods watched from the shadows, laughing quietly.

They saw Percy dodge the ball once, then twice. Good thing the ball of destruction didn't hit anything…Then he jumped over it and headed back to the direction he came from, meaning the throne room since the place he was going to was a dead end while being watched by the people in the streets.

Hestia appeared in the throne room sensing a foreboding. She turned to Athena who was laughing maniacally. "Niece, what's happening?" Athena gave her an innocent expression. "Nothing Aunt Hestia… nothing at all." Annabeth sighed dejectedly from the couch.

A few moments later Percy burst into the room with the ball 5 meters away. He looked back and ran faster. That's when he saw Hestia and gave her a pleading look. She pitied him and raised her hand. The moment Percy passed her, she absorbed the ball into her palm then turned to see a panting Perseus on the throne room floor.

Percy glared at Athena who smiled innocently. "That'll teach you to kiss my daughter."

Hestia gave him a smile and waved her hand. Soon Percy and Annabeth were transported to their respective rooms. So did the gods but Poseidon held them back. HE gave them a smug look and said the two words the gods dreaded.

"Pay up."

A/N: There you have it. Chapter 4! Credits for the "deleted scene" go to Nico'sfavsister who gave me the idea. Also to my best friend who shall remain unnamed for now for adding the little details. Review if you want to.

-magicdemi