Pernico :)

#1 In Which I Find Out About My Antisocial Cousin and He Comes to Stay with Us

4 years later...

"Percy, can you come in here for a moment?", my mom Sally asked me.
"Sure, Mom!"
I raced into the kitchen where my mother was sitting at the table.
She had her hands folded in her lap on her clean white apron.
When she saw me, she smiled.
"What is it?", I asked, plopping down in the chair across from her.
My mom didn't look up, just continued to sit there.
Finally, she spoke: "I have something to ask of you."
I shrugged.
"Sure"
This didn't relax her, instead she seemed kinda tense.
"I was wondering if you'd be okay if your cousin came over for a week or so..."
Giving her a confused expression, I asked: "Which one?"
She didn't look at me and she bit her lip.
"Nico."
I was a little startled.
"Um okay, that's fine I guess... When?"
My mom got up and pretended to look through the cupboards for something.
"This week. Tomorrow, actually."
Nodding my head, I looked at her curiously.
"What's wrong?"
She sighed and sat back down.
"Well, I guess I might as well tell you. I mean, I think you're old enough now. Percy, it's your cousin Nico. There's something you should know about him..."
And so, my mother told me everything.
How my weird antisocial cousin was really the son of the all powerful Hades, how he lived in the Underworld, how he could travel using shadows, and how he could communicate with dead people.
I stared open-mouthed at her, having a hard time believing this all.
I mean, I knew who my real father was but, I'd never expected that one of my cousins was the son of Hades.
Not in a zillion years!
"So that's why", she said, a little less tense.
"I wanted your permission first. Percy, your cousin is strange. But, I think this will be good for him. You know? Having another boy around to hangout with..."
I nodded, I knew my mother was right.
She smiled.
"Persephone thought it would be best for him. As do I."
Trying to rack my brain for a recollection of who Persephone was, I realized that she was the Greek Goddess of the dead. The same one who only lived there half the year or something like that...
"Is that okay with you?", she asked again, staring into my green eyes.
I nodded.
"Yes mom, that's fine. Great, actually."
She looked kinda surprised, but nodded.
"Anything else?"
My mother shook her head.
"No Percy, you can go play."
And so, I went to my room and thought about what I'd just agreed to.
Sure, Nico was my cousin and all, but I couldn't blame my mom for being so unsettled and tense about asking me if it was okay.
Heck, the guy hadn't even ever really said hi to me.
I sighed.
Okay, maybe he was weird, but I was determined to get to know Nico Di Angelo this week whether he liked it or not...