Daddy Issues

Happy Birthday!

Percy's POV) 

Well, this week went better than expected. He didn't say anything about my assignment on Monday, just handed it back. And with a 100, even in spite of all the cursing! I'm pretty sure he gave everyone a 100, excluding Clarisse, who didn't do it. But still, it felt nice to get a perfect score. I'm pretty sure the last time I got one of those was... I wanna say second grade? So I felt pretty accomplished. As for the rest of my classes, most of them I did pretty average in, but I did get a B on a pop quiz in biology earlier today. And that's pretty good for me! Maybe it's good luck from my birthday... Oh yeah, by the way, as of today, August 18, 2022, I am 18 years old! Go me! 

And right now, I'm making a batch of cupcakes with my mom. Well, waiting for them to ding in the oven. I didn't really do much except handle the mixer and get a bunch of flour in my face, which I did my best to wash off in the kitchen sink. Though, some of it made its way into my hair, so I kinda looked like an old man. 

"So..." Mom started. "... Have you thought about a party?" 

I shrugged. "I guess like, a movie night or something, maybe order a pizza. Nothing too elaborate. Just my friends, my girlfriend, maybe your boyfriend." 

She smiled. "I'm glad to know you've... Y'know, warmed up to him." 

"Yeah, me too." 

"... So, should we go out to the theatre, or just use the DVD player here?" 

I shrugged. "I think we should just have it here, like we do every year." 

Her hand laid on top of mine. "Yeah, that'll be nice. What movie were you thinking? Disney, superheroes, maybe one of those cheesy 90's rom-coms?" 

"Well, actually... Um, there's this one movie..." I shook my head. "Nevermind, it's probably too scary for you." 

"Oh, c'mon, don't be like that! It's your party, after all." 

I smiled. "Well... Ok." I stood up and reached down to the entertainment console, pulling out Annabeth's 5th anniversary gift. "Ta-da!" 

Her eyes went wide, and she stood up, calmly approaching me. "Honey... You know I love you. And if this is really what you want, then I'll let you have it. But..." She leaned in to get a better look. "... Isn't this R rated?" She asked. "Where did you even get this?" 

"Oh, Annabeth got it for me, as a gift." I explained. "Y'know how her birthday's in July, so there's this little window of opportunity where she's a year older than me? That's basically what happened here." It's not, she's just got a fake ID. But I couldn't tell her that, it would scare her too much. 

She sighed in relief. "Ok, good to know there's nothing shady going on. So... Why this movie?" 

I shrugged. "She said it's like an adult version of The Little Mermaid, basically." 

"Oh, how cute! You did use to love that movie as a little kid." 

"I still do." I laughed a bit. "So... Tomorrow?" 

She smiled. "Yeah. That sounds good... But if this thing gives you nightmares, you can't say I didn't warn you." Just then, the oven ding'd. "Ooh! They're ready!" She took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. 

Once they were out, we gave them a little time to cool down before frosting them. We both ended up getting quite a bit on ourselves, but they were still good, and between the two of us, we both ate half of them. 

-

I brought the other half to lunch the next day, one for each of my friends, including myself. "So... My mom's hosting a birthday party tonight. We're gonna order pizza and-"