Perfect Little Blue Boy (Percy Jackson)

Chapter Fifty One

Patrick

We started at Goode High School. Which was... Not a very good school. The kids were some of the rudest I've met in a long time. I was called a gay wad at least a dozen times.

Before lunch.

I lost count overall at 30. It was... It was something else. I don't know how Percy goes through it on a daily basis.

It was after the final bell went off. I had made a new friend. Micah. He was really nice, and acted like he already knew me.

"Micah," I remarked as we headed to our lockers, and he changed his expression to show he was paying attention. "What about me makes me seem... I don't know, gay?"

In this moment, Micah looked at me like I was a dumbass. Like it wasn't obvious or something.

"Is it my hair?" I asked. "Or my clothes or...? How do I come off as gay?"

"Dude," Micah insisted, looking a little concerned. "You have a boyfriend. Nico? He lives with you. You're bi? Yeah. Percy and Nico, together forever. That entire deal?"

And then I realized this was one of Percy's friend that got us mixed up because we look, sound, and act alike. Our sexualities set us apart. And fashion sense. But I don't have clothes, this having to borrow his clothes.

I looked like some punk ass from 2005 without the hair extensions and makeup. Depression did weird things to him. Not all bad. Just his clothes... I don't know. I really don't care.

"Oh, uh..." I wasn't sure how to explain this because it seems like Percy never did. "I don't... I'm not Percy. I'm his brother. Patrick."

Not taking me seriously, Micah laughed as Percy snuck up behind him. And mind you, we had identical looks today. Outfit and everything. Just so we could do this at least once.

"Yeah, okay." He remarked. "What are you looking at?"

"That would be me."

Micah jumped probably higher than he ever has before, scared shitless.

Percy and I, the terrible triplet brothers that we are, laughed our asses off. Which is how Paige found us. Our laughing.

Suddenly, Percy's phone starts ringing. Something that didn't seem too common. Something to do with being dad's kid.

"Hey," Percy said and we both looked at him. "Man, what's up?"

The person on the other line said something.

"Um... Well, Patrick and Paige are right here," my brother remarked, sounding a bit confused. "Nico and Rachel are down the hill. We haven't left school yet. Why?"

His expression dropped.

"Will, they don't have any..."

It was silent a little longer.

"Yes, sir." My brother responded. "I understand."

Percy hung up and he knew we were staring. We had big plans for tonight. A reunion dinner.

"Percy, are you okay?" Paige was the first to ask and he took a breath.

"I have to go, guys." He told us, knowing that it meant blowing is off. "I don't... I don't have a choice. I'm sorry, it's not—"

"We've been planning this for two weeks." I insisted. "How long are you going to be gone? In time for dinner?"

"Um... I gotta go."

And with that, he took off. Which didn't make us feel any better about what was going on.

We went home. And Mom was there, of course. She works mornings. But she wasn't alone. Dad was there with some man. And this man was arguing with Mom. About Percy.

"I don't care who the fuck you think you are or what the fuck you think you can do!" It was the most I had heard Mom swear in 10 seconds. "He's my kid! Not yours! He's Poseidon's! Not yours! You can't force him to do shit! It's not your place to tell him what he can and can't do!"

"Have you gone off the wall?" This dude asked Mom, nor quite as pissed off as her. "It's not were sending him to another fucking country or anything! It's just a nice, light—"

"Nice?" Mom questioned, like this guy was insane. "Your idea of nice is sending your kids, 8, 9, 10, years olds and older into a fight they can never win? Do you think it's fun to tell the families that their kid is gone!? Do you find it funny!? How many kids have died? Innocent kids. Do you enjoy how traumatized it leaves everyone else? How they'll never be the same because of what you want them to do. For your enjoyment. You're a sick man."

"I'm no man. I'm a god."

Mom laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh.

"You keep saying that," Mom told him. "because one day one of them will take that away from you. And nobody will feel bad. Now get out of my fucking apartment. If you ever come here again, I'll snap your neck."

In a pissy mode, this guy left and Mom returned her attention to dad. Having yet to notice us.

"Who's on the list?" Mom asked our Father, and I was surprised that she was suddenly calm.

That's where we get it from.

"Well," Dad explained. "Neither Paige nor Patrick are on either list. So Percy must've kept his mouth shut about it. Nico, Rachel, and Percy are alive. I still can't believe he would go this far. This is... We can't do a damn thing about it, either."

Mom let out a breath, relieved to hear Percy, Nico, and Rachel were fine.

Why they wouldn't be, I don't know.

"Um," I broke the silence. "What just happened?"

Mom and Dad looked over and...

Mom and Dad.

That was a weird thing to think.

But anyways, they looked over to see us and both hurried over to us, giving us the biggest hugs ever.

"Oh my gods," Mom expressed as they hugged us to death. "Are you guys okay? When was the last time you saw Percy?"

"Yeah, Mom, were fine." Paige assured Mom as they backed off a little. "And uh... Just before we left the school. He got a phonecall and got really disappointed and said he had to leave. When we asked if he'd be back in time for dinner, he avoided the question and said he had to leave..."

We didn't want to have to ask.

"Is he okay?"

But we did.

"We think so." Dad's answer didn't help out much. But he also seemed pretty worried. Like the rest of us. "He's not dead. Neither is Nico. That's about all we know. That's all we'll get to know until he comes home. If he's dead or alive."