Percy Jackson One-shots

The Voice

Percy wondered why he let his mother and father talk him into this. He loved his mom, and he loved Paul, but this was maybe too much. Therapy sort of worked, but he was still struggling. He scraped through his classes to graduate high school, and had decided to take a sabbatical to sort out what he wanted to do before applying to college. The mortal friends he'd made thought it was a great idea and some of them had gotten an apartment together. The normalcy of it all helped Percy to relax and realize that it was ok to just be for a while. Not to be the hero, the savior of Olympus, Prince of the Sea, anything. Just be Percy. Some of his friends had started a band and Percy played drums with them occasionally. He was really good at it and it was cathartic. It calmed his ADHD like nothing else had in a long while. But when he sang, everyone always stopped to listen. He didn't get it, but they had pestered his parents, who pestered him, and now here he was in Hollywood, about to go on a stage and audition to be on The Voice. He wasn't nervous, exactly. He just didn't understand what all the fuss was about. His parents insisted he use just his initials instead of his full name in order to avoid drawing too much attention from monsters or gods.

"Why did I agree to this, again?" He asked, to which his mother chuckled.

"Because you promised. And Estelle insisted." Sally smirked at him, then tried calming some of his unruly curls back in place. Though she knew it wouldn't work since he would just get all sweaty while he performed.

"Hmm. Well, don't be too upset, then, when this doesn't go anywhere, mom. I know you and Paul and everyone else seem to think I'm good, but I'm not like the others who perform here, ya know?" Percy grumbled, rolling his shoulders as the host walked over to him.

"You ready, kid?" He asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I suppose." Percy answered, smiling softly at his mom before kissing her cheek. "I'll be right back, I guess." The host made his announcement to the camera as Percy made his way onto the stage. He thought it was weird still, being here, but oh well. Best not to dwell on that too much. He was glad that the wardrobe department let him dress himself, though they added some jewelry pieces to complete his skater-punk image. He normally just stuck with jeans and a t-shirt, but he did like how he looked currently. A green and blue plaid shirt hanging open over top of a green t-shirt that, he was told, made his eyes stand out, black jeans that hugged him a little tighter than he normally liked, with a studded belt that had a chain attached to his wallet. He wore a few earrings he didn't usually wear, but the others insisted they were perfect.

He'd chosen a song that he sang constantly, whether it was in the car or the kitchen. It had resonated with him and he knew that his passion came through when he belted out to the apartment the group shared. It was a song by All Time Low. Called Outlines. He knew it wasn't mainstream but it should be. Or rather it would be after he sang it, so his entourage claimed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as the music started and the lights blinded him momentarily.

I'm half remembered, halfway across the world

Twice removed from a second home

The shadow of a ghost in an old haunt

With a lease on life, 'cause I can't afford to own

When being young starts getting old

A new place saves face or so I'm told

Be the new kid, on an old block

A chalk outline on a playground blacktop

Percy didn't even react when the first two chairs turned around halfway through the pre-chorus, he was caught up in the energy of the song now and people were cheering. He smiled as much as he could around the words that made him feel stronger and ready to take on anything.

I'm just a moment, so don't let me pass you by

We could be a story in the morning, but we'll be a legend tonight

I'm just a moment, so don't let me pass you by

And they can speak our names in a dead language

'Cause you and I, we're alive

But just for a moment

After he'd gotten through the first line of the chorus the other chairs turned around, but he was facing the audience and raising his free hand as if letting them know the truth of the words. The rest of the song went by in a blur and he'd faced the judges and sang to them as their mouths dropped open and a few were fanning themselves or blushing. When he finished, he was heaving for breath, but smiling brightly as the people around cheered. He looked back to his family who were smiling so big their faces must have hurt. His mom had tears in her eyes and Paul looked like he was struggling to hold some in himself. The host just stood there with his jaw on the ground. Percy watched the judges who were still in a sort of disarray.

Well, crap, he thought. Guess he was now a viable contestant on The Voice since everyone turned around. He chuckled a little as his adrenaline started to come back down. If, or rather when, his Greek family found out about this he was never going to hear the end of it. Oh, well. At least now his plans for the next few months, weeks at the least, were sorted. He'd compete and each week see if he was good enough to keep on. Who knows, he thought skeptically, maybe winning was a possibility.