Percy POV

Crap.

Yup, basically my life in a word. But especially right now.

My entire world has fallen apart. And apparently some guy in a wheelchair named Chiron Ambrose thinks he can fix it.

He thinks he can fix the years of abuse I suffered at the hands of my stepfather, Gabe Ugliano. He thinks he can fix my mom lying in a coma because Gabe hit her. He thinks that because he knew my dad, Poseidon Jackson, who died in a school shooting working as a security guard before I was born, he can fix all my problems.

Well, he can't. There's no magic cure for my messed-up life.

I get out of Chiron's beat-up black car and find myself staring at a four-story building. Its baby-blue paint is chipping, and it has white trim. All in all, it seems like it's trying too hard to look cleaned-up when it really isn't.

"Well, Percy," Chiron says. "Come inside. I'll introduce you to the other residents."

Inside, there is a lounge area. A gangly man stands hunched in a corner with a flowerpot, probably trying not to be noticed.

I hear a voice from another room yell, "GROVER!"

He flinches, drops the flowerpot, and runs off.

A sandy-haired boy who looks to be in his late teens walks in. He nods at Chiron.

"Hey Chiron. New resident?" he asks.

Chiron nods. The boy looks at me.

"What's your name?" he asks.

"Percy," I reply.

"Cool. I'm Luke." He extends his hand, and I take it.

"So… what exactly is this place?" I ask.

"It's-" Chiron starts, but Luke interrupts him.

"Welcome to the Half-Blood Home. You can meet anyone here, from Grover, the nature-obsessed secretary, to Annabeth, the nerd who will beat you up if you say that to her face. The one thing we all have in common? Our pasts really, really sucked. I'm guessing, Percy, that you'll fit right in," Luke says.

I nod. I'm not really sure what to think of anyone here. Chiron seems well-intentioned, but he seems to think he has the answer to all my problems when he doesn't. Luke seems friendly enough, but if the people here had upbringings as bad as mine, all of them are more than meets the eye.

Chiron clears his throat. "Well, I'll leave you two to take the tour."

Luke doesn't just show me around the place. He fills me in on gossip.

Grover, the man I saw when I walked in, is the secretary of Mr. D, the director of the Half-Blood Home. Chiron, he says, is the "activities director."

"But we all know what that means," Luke elaborates. "It means that Chiron does all the important work and Grover does all the less important work. Mr. D. just sits around with his Diet Coke can all day."

When I ask about the other residents, Luke says, "You'll meet them soon enough. Not my business to tell you about their personal pasts, because they might not want you to know. At least, not yet. But I'll give you some advice about handling them."

The gist of Luke's advice was this:

Don't mess with Clarisse, Annabeth, Thalia, or Ethan.

Silena will try to pair you with another resident. Don't give in.

Despite his huge appearance, Beckendorf is a super nice guy.

Whatever you do, DON'T play Mythomagic with Nico.

Don't ask anyone about their pasts. If they want, they will open up to you. Don't press them. Likewise, they won't ask about your past, but feel free to talk to any of us.

I have no idea who Clarisse, Thalia, Ethan, Silena, Beckendorf, or Nico are. The only thing I know about Annabeth is that according to Luke, she's a nerd but will beat you up if you say that to her face. Nevertheless, I nod like I get it. At least I understand the last part, though it isn't as if I'm going to open up any time soon.

Any time ever.

A/N: Hi guys! So this is an adopted fic from "Story Ideas" by DDaughter of Athena. You'll see more PJO characters in later chapters, but no HOO.

What did you think of the chapter? Constructive criticism is always welcome, and please review!

~The88Constellations