𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 || 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘹 𝘰𝘤

xɪɪɪ - ᴡᴀᴛᴇʀʙᴇᴅꜱ ᴀʀᴇɴ'ᴛ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴏᴍꜰᴏʀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ

——WATERBEDS AREN'T EVEN THAT COMFORTABLE

"YOU REMIND ME OF somebody i saw on tv," the driver told percy as they were stepping off the bus, "you a child actor or something?"

after the whole almost turning into a teenage mutant ninja turtle accident with percy, the four used the spare change in ares' backpack to take the bus into west hollywood. earlier, percy had showed the bus driver the address to the underworld he had taken from aunty em's, but the driver had never heard of a doa recording studios.

"uhm....i'm a stunt double...for...a lot of child actors..?" percy replied dumbly.

"ohhh! that explains it!" the bus driver replied.

percy thanked him for the ride, stepped off, and joined the three other kids.

when the bus had driven off, lilith smirked and nudged percy's shoulder, "hey, movie star."

"oh, shut up." he laughed.

they all wandered around west hollywood for miles on foot, in a desperate search for a doa recording studios. whenever they asked someone for directions, they either had never heard of it or just flat out ignored the kids.

twice, they ducked into creepy alleyways to hide from the cops.

now, lilith kept walking, silently cursing her shoes for being so uncomfortable. she only stopped when she realized percy was a couple feet behind her, looking at something inside of a shop.

she walked up to him in curiosity.

he was looking at the inside window of an appliance store. there, a television was playing an interview of a ugly, old man who looked like he hadn't showered for a couple days. the interviewer was barbara walters–like–the barbara walters. the interview was held inside of a small apartment, it looked like new york. next to the ugly guy, there was a blonde lady stroking and patting his arm.

yuck, lilith thought.

the man sniffled, "honest, ms. walters, if it wasn't for sugar here, my grief counselor, i'd be a wreck. my stepson took everything i cared about. my wife...my camaro...i–i'm sorry. i have trouble talking about it."

lilith looked at percy in confusion, but by looking at the expression on the boys face, she immediately knew what was going on.

that was his fucking stepdad.

his stepdad was milking his mom's death and his disappearance.

"there you have it, america." barbara walters said, looking into the camera, "a man torn apart. an adolescent boy with serious issues. let me show you, again, the last known photo of this troubled young fugitive, taken a week ago in denver."

the screen cut to a grainy photo of lilith, percy, annabeth, and grover standing outside of the diner speaking to the god of war. it was a clear shot of lilith's face. oh, her dad was going to be sooo pleased!

"who are the other children in this photo?" barbara walters asked dramatically, "who is the man with them? is percy jackson a delinquent, a terrorist, or perhaps the brainwashed victim of a frightening new cult? when we come back, we chat with a leading child psychologist! stay tuned, america."