Hi I'm Paul Blofis, you may know me as Percy Jackson's stepfather? Yes, well, my views on Percy have changed a lot in the past few years that I've known him. When I first saw him, he looked like he was an outcast, a rebel, someone who wasn't really friendly. Now, I know better. Percy has-grown and developed in a way that only a child in special circumstances would.

I still remember the first time I met him. I was at Sally's house, helping her out with homework. She'd been developing this idea to write a Stephen King style book. About Greek Gods. I looked around the apartment as she went to go get the blue cookies in the oven. There were the pictures of the sea, and her kid, Percy. He was all she ever talked about. I didn't know why, the way it sounded, he was an ADHD, dyslexic, kicked out of every school kid. As a teacher, I'm against that. However, Sally made him sound so wonderful. She talked about him like he was the perfect straight-a, piano competition winning, sports playing kid that every parent dreams of having. The doorbell rang just then. "Paul could you get that?" Sally shouted from the kitchen. "I'll be there in a second."

"Kay," I replied, going to yank the door open. On the footstep of the door stood a 13, maybe fourteen year old boy, looking like he'd just gone through hell and back. His black hair was mussed, and he had a giant scratch on his cheek, like someone had sliced it through. He had a gray streak in his hair, and he looked exhausted.

I'd have thought he'd just come out of a trash can if his clothes weren't so neat. At least, they didn't look as disheveled as the rest of him. "Hi," he said tiredly, his sea green eyes not even looking surprised to see me.

"Hello, and who are you?" I asked, ready to close the door, but not wanting to be rude.

"I'm Percy Jackson, now can I enter my house? I didn't know my mom got a security system," he said, amused.

Percy Jackson. This was Sally's son? I hadn't expected him to be so, friendly. In his situation, I'd have expected him to be those sort of kids that wrote graffiti on the walls and smoked cigarettes.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't recognize you. I'm Paul, Sally's friend," I introduced myself, allowing him inside. As we walked into the hall, Sally came through from the kitchen.

"Percy!" she smiled, verifying who this boy was. "You look better!" Better?

"Yeah, most of the bruises are gone," Percy shrugged. "Is this your friend I heard about?" he asked, indicating towards me.

Sally shot him a look. "Yes, this is Paul Blofis Percy. Since your back from camp, I take it everything is okay?"

He nodded. "-ish." He looked as if he wanted to say more, but didn't want to be rude in front of me.

Percy didn't accuse me of taking his mother's affections, nor did he punch me in the face. He was certainly the weirdest juvenile 'delinquent' kid, (as they called him at the high school I worked at), I'd ever met.

That was the first time I met Percy.

He always seemed to be busy, and on top of that, a little queer.

Once, I asked him for a pen, and he gave me one from his pocket without looking up from his computer, before yanking it back from me before I could even open the cap. "Here, take this one," he said, giving me a random pen that had been sitting on the counter.

Another time, I'd walked in on him talking to a girl, that was practically in the room, except for the fact that only her upper body was in the room. I didn't get a good look at it before Percy hastily swiped his hand through it, and it disappeared.

And another time, when I was visiting Sally, Percy came running home, shutting the door firmly, panting, looking through both curtains, before finally greeting me with a, "hi Paul."

And of all queer things, the most queer, must have been when Percy came home from the pool as dry as he had been before. His hair was still dry, his swimsuit was completely dry as well, although he swore up and down that he had gone swimming.

Queer indeed.

It wasn't really things that would usually get kids kicked out of schools, the way I looked at it. Of course, the dyslexia and ADHD really didn't help. He wouldn't be able to sit still. As he mumbled, he crumpled a plastic water bottle, or fumbled with his ballpoint pen, his dark green eyes not meeting mine.

He didn't seem very enthusiastic about talking to me, although whenever Sally asked him about his friends at camp, he seemed to completely perk up.

Percy's eyes would lighten altogether, and he'd talk about Grover, his vegetarian friend who had trouble walking, Thalia, a girl who he didn't see very often, but enjoyed hunting with bow and arrows, and Tyson, his clumsy friend, who really liked peanut butter.

But most of all, he liked talking about Annabeth. Although he didn't show much facial expression, like he was trying to hide how he felt about her, his eyes would tell the tale. He'd complain about her architectural knowledge, but his eyes would be sparkling, like they were laughing about it. He'd talk about her like a brother would talk about a sister, like a boyfriend would talk about a girlfriend, not like a friend.

Through time, he began warming up to me, even if I barely saw him. Within six months, I knew him well enough to be able to talk to him freely.

"I didn't mean to get kicked out of all those schools," he defended, when I asked him. "it just, sort of happened I guess."

"Do you wanna try out Goode High School? It's where I teach," I suggested lightly.

He shrugged. "Alright."

And that's how he ended up blowtorching the high school a month later. It was orientation, and he seemed a little antsy. He literally ran away from the cheerleaders like they were carrying a bomb on them. I saw him talking to a red headed girl, later on. Glad he was making friends, I took my eyes away from the students long enough to hear a scream and a smoke alarm.

I saw Percy holding a weapon, that seemed to be flickering so that I couldn't see what was going on. "Percy," I managed to mutter, before seeing Percy slicing the girl, and she burst into flames.

He cursed in some foreign language, before running out the hole that had been made in the music room.

Maybe this is how he got kicked out of the schools. Later, I visited Sally. "Your son, blew a hole in the music room of the school," I managed to say, still shellshocked by what had happened.

"Really? Only one room? The way he put it made it sound worse," Sally commented, putting the sweet potatoes in the oven.

Only one room?

"You mean he's contacted you?" I asked.

"Uhuh," she said.

"Really?"

"Yup."

"But you said he hadn't come home yet."

"Yeah I did."

"And he doesn't have a cellphone."

"He borrowed someone else's."

"Did he steal it?"

"NO!" Sally shot me a dark look, slamming the oven shut. I began backing away immediately, regretting what I'd said. I suppose I'd just been thinking of what happened this morning. Percy didn't seem like the type to be a rebel. "I hate it, hate it, when people assume that sort of stuff. Did you ever think it might have been an accident on his part?" she said quietly.

"I-, it just, why did he slice the girl through?"

"I-," she began, before shaking her head, murmuring, "Not my job." She looked at the floor, sighing sadly. "Look Paul," she said gently. "I know what's going on. Percy's having a tough time. It-It's not my job to tell you what's going on. He's gotta tell you that."

I can tell you for sure, I had no idea what that meant.

But I figured it out, when Percy came back from summer camp. He looked a lot older, like he'd seen too much. The gray streak was still there, and his eyes looked wiser. "Hi Paul," he said. The first thing that struck me was that, this wasn't the fourteen year old that had appeared on the doorstep when we'd first met. This was, a grown up.

He was my height already, and I'm tall. And he looked extremely tired. "Hi Percy, come on in," I said, letting him into the house.

"How was summer camp?" I asked. I had no idea what his summer camp was about. All I knew was, he always came back with scratches all over his face and legs.

"The usual," he said.

"Really? What'd you guys do?"

He shrugged. "Visited California, Alcatraz, Empire State, stuff."

"Cool, any games?"

"Capture the Flag, Kill-the-giant-three-spiders-that-are-about-to-eat-you, and a giant maze."

"Pardon?" I asked about the second one.

"Nothing," he said, his green eyes blinking innocently at me. "Where's Mom?"

"She's making cake," I said.

"Alright cool," he said. Just then, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Percy said, going to the door.

Almost immediately a huge dude clutched Percy. At first, I thought it was an ambush of some sort. .Then, I realized it was a hug. A hug from a dude who looked twice the size of Percy.

"Hi Tyson," I heard Percy's muffled voice.

"Percy!" Tyson smiled happily.

Percy disengaged himself from Tyson's grasp, and said, "This is Tyson, my friend from camp. He really likes building stuff, and he likes peanut butter."

"Hi Tyson, I'm Paul, Percy's friend," I said, holding out my hand to shake. Tyson was tall, and large, dressed in XXXL jeans, and a large t-shirt.

Tyson smiled, and shook, nearly crushing the bones of my fingers. "Happy Birthday Percy!" he said, as Sally walked into the room.

"Oh hello Tyson," Sally smiled. "Do you want a peanut butter sandwich? I made some when I heard you were coming over."

She's never surprised is she?

Tyson helped blow up party balloons, and I led Percy into the kitchen. Percy began pouring punch. "I hear your mom signed you up for driver's ed this fall," I began.

"Yeah. It's cool. I can't wait." He didn't seem very excited, and I could tell. He could tell that I could tell.

"You've had a rough summer," I guessed. "I'm guessing you lost someone important. And...girl trouble?" That would explain the sudden sadness and maturity. It appears in every teenage boys eyes. Just usually, not this early. Usually seventeen or eighteen.

Percy just stared at me. "How do you know that? Did my mom-"

I held up my hands. "Your mom hasn't said a thing. And I won't pry. I just know there's something about you, Percy. You've got a lot going on that I can't figure. But I was also fifteen once, and I'm just guessing from your expression...Well, you've had a rough time."

I just wish I knew what, so that I could help out.

Percy nodded, looking thoughtful, like he was thinking of something else. "I lost a couple of friends at camp. I mean, not close friends, but still-"

"I'm sorry," I said, wondering if they'd gotten into an argument or something.

"Yeah. And uh, I guess the girl stuff..." he said hesitantly.

"Here," I said, mainly to save him the awkward details. "To your fifteenth birthday. And to a better year to come."

His eyes gave me a yeah right look, but he smiled.

I decided to ask him about me proposing to his mom. After a little bit of hesitation, he said, "I think that's a great idea Paul. Go for it."

I smiled widely. "Cheers Percy. Let's go join the party."

We reentered the room, and found Tyson swallowing cake, while Percy's cake was lit with candles. "Come blow out the candles," Sally coaxed.

Percy obliged, and just as he did, the doorbell rang.

"Who could that be?" Sally asked, heading to open the door. She opened it, and almost immediately, gasped.

Backing up slowly, she backed into Percy, who looked just as stunned.

I took a quick peek, and saw someone who resembled Percy. Someone who looked like he belonged at the seas, with a fishing cap, a neat black beard, and sea-green eyes that looked much too much like Percy's.

"Pos-" Sally said, looking completely surprised. "Um, hello."

"Hello, Sally. You look as beautiful as ever. May I come in?"

I looked between Percy, Sally, and the man, trying to figure out if they were all related. Finally, when no one moved, I stepped forward. "Hi, I'm Paul Blofis," I introduced.

"Blowfish did you say?" he asked, shaking hands. He didn't seem like he was trying to make fun of me, but rather, he was confused.

"Ah, no Blofis, actually."

"Oh, I see. A shame. I quite like blowfish." I swear I saw Percy stifle a laugh right then. "I am Poseidon."
"Poseidon? That's an interesting name," I noted that he didn't give me his last name.

"Yes, I like it. I've gone by other names, but I do prefer Poseidon."

"Like the god of the sea."
"Very much like that, yes."

"Well," Sally said, coming out of her shock. "Um, we're so glad you could drop by. Paul, this is Percy's father."

Well that explained a lot. "Ah, I see," I said, noting Poseidon's unreadable expression.

Poseidon turned to Percy. "There you are, my boy. And Tyson, hello, son!"

"Daddy!" Tyson ran into Poseidon's arms.

Son? "Tyson is..."

"Not mine," Sally said honestly. "It's a long story."

"I couldn't miss Percy's fifteenth birthday. Why if this were Sparta, Percy would be a man today!"

"That's true," I admitted. "I used to teach ancient history."

Poseidon smiled. "That's me, ancient history." After excusing Percy, he put his arm around him, and steered him away into the kitchen.

Percy came in, and said that his dad had left through the fire escape. I didn't believe it, but he wasn't here anymore, and there was no way that people could really vanish into thin air.

Percy looked worried, like what his dad had told him in the kitchen bothered him. Still, he ate the cake and ice cream, playing games, until he excused himself to go to his room.

Five minutes later, he came out with a dark haired boy dressed in dark clothes, and a mature look far to old for his size.

"He came in through the fire escape too," Percy said, before introducing the boy as his friend, Nico.

"Hi Nico," I welcomed him in, along with Sally.

Evidently in this household, plenty of people came in and left through the fire escape.

Of course, the stories that Sally and Percy gave me about the strange events that were occurring were not linking up. So after Percy came home from school one day, I finally questioned him.

"Listen, Percy," I began. "You, you've gotten kicked out of schools, and you have dyslexia and ADHD, but you seem like a nice kid. I've met kids with dyslexia and ADHD who haven't gotten kicked out so much. You seem to be a magnet for trouble. Is there, something, something you aren't telling me?" I asked hesitantly.

Percy's eyes darkened, before looking up and sighing. Sally had looked up from washing the dishes, and she walked over as well. "Should we tell him?" he asked Sally.

"I think so," she said. "If you want to."

"Tell me what?"

"That I'm a demigod," he stated plainly.

What? "What?" I asked.

"I'm half god."

This kid, is nuts.

"Half god?" I asked.

"Half Greek God, yeah."

I looked around, waiting for Sally and Percy to burst out laughing, or for Ashton Kutcher to pop out, and for me to be on the Punk'd TV show.

"You guys are serious?"

They nodded.

"So, Greek Gods are, real?" I asked. "Living?"

"Yeah, remember my dad, he visited on my birthday? You said, 'like the god of the sea.'" Percy said, and he paused, waiting for me to get it.

Then it clicked. "He is the god of the sea," I whispered.

Percy nodded.

Well that explains so much. It took the rest of the afternoon for them to explain it all to me. I had so many questions. There were so many explanations.

"So how'd you get the gray streak?" I asked.

"I got it holding up the sky," Percy said casually, tapping his pen against his leg.

I unconsciously began looking up at the ceiling. "Like, that one?" I asked, pointing up.

"Yeah," he said. "Blue sky thing. It's actually kinda heavy."

"Was that-when Annabeth went missing?" I asked, remembering what Percy and Sally had told me earlier.

Percy's sea green eyes darkened with anger. "She was tricked. She'd be dead if Artemis didn't help. Tricked by Luke."

Luke. I couldn't help but wonder, with this connection between Percy, Annabeth, and Luke, if Luke had once been an ally. If there had been a betrayal.

I didn't really get a chance to speak with Percy until the wedding, since he was so busy with school work, and fighting. He said that there was a war coming. A real godly war, and that he was preparing. I might die, he added, eyes troubled. He was supposed to save Olympus. Just like in those ancient Greek myths.

They never teach about that sort of stuff in parenting books now do they?

On top of that, I finally met Percy's friend Rachel. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. They way they talked to each other, made me wonder if Percy and Annabeth had gotten in a fight.

But it wasn't my position to judge.

So much happened in the next month, that I can't even begin to describe it to you. It started with Rachel bringing back my car, with horse hooves marked on it.

And then, Percy appeared, with Nico and a huge apartment sized black dog, asking for Sally's blessing, and then he disappeared again, before chunks of memory began disappearing from my brain.

I remembered fighting something, and then, finding out that Percy had saved Olympus. He could have been a god, but instead, he turned down the offer and decided to try being a human for life. I finally got a chance to meet Annabeth as well. When I first properly got to meet her, they were already going out, and the first thing I thought was, this girl is nothing like Percy.

She had stormy gray eyes, while Percy had calm green ones. She was organized and tough, while Percy was more relaxed and easy going.

"You're Paul right?" was the first thing she said to me. She looked like she was analyzing me, figuring out all my weaknesses, scanning everything around me, looking for exits.

"Yes, you're Annabeth aren't you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Yeah," she said.

She was certainly interesting. Percy told me that Annabeth was daughter of Athena, which I found ironic, since the whole Poseidon vs. Athena thing is eons old. But I don't have anything against it.

His eyes-the green eyes, they're happy. I've seen them together, they battle together, they really have each other's backs.

Percy finally got everything sorted out for once. I can't describe all his adventures to you though, it would take at least five books or more. Maybe someone else will write about it. I suppose being a step-mom to a demi-god isn't so hard after all.

After thinking this, I heard Sally hang up the phone. I thought, Maybe life will be peaceful after this. Sally turned towards me, her expression worried. "Paul, Percy's missing." Or not.