Percy Tells Paul

Chapter 1

Hey-o! Welcome to the first installment of Percy tells Paul!! (I know, it's such a clever title)  Sally and Paul have been together for long enough that Sally wants Percy to tell him about the Greek world. Coolio? Okay! Let's get this party started!!!

Percy's POV-

"Percy! Breakfast!" my mom called from the kitchen. I groaned and rolled over, hating to leave the toasty warmth that was my bed. "I'm making blue pancakes." That got me up. I scrambled out of bed, untangled my covers, and sprinted for the kitchen, skidding around corners and tripping over my own feet. Breathless and bleary-eyed, I plopped myself down on a stool by the counter, watching my awesome mother flip her famous pancakes.

" 'Morning, Mom," I croaked.

"Good morning, sweetheart," she laughed, turning to kiss my forehead. "How did you sleep?"
Memories of my demigod nightmares resurfaced, most involving Luke, Kronos, and bronze statues of dead presidents (Hey, don't ask me why. I'm as confused as you are.).

"Aw, I'm fine," I finally answered, attempting a grin. My mom frowned, clearly concerned.

"Well, it's Saturday, so you can take a nap later if you like. Oh, and Paul is coming over at noon for lunch, so I need you to clean your room and pick up around the couch. Pancakes." She gestured to my steaming plate before facing the stove once again.

Thoughtfully, I chewed (*cough* wolfed down *cough*) my pancakes. Ah, Paul. Mom's boyfriend and hopefully soon-to-be fiancé. I liked Paul just fine; he beat Smelly Gabe by a mile, and he made my mom happy. So, yeah. Paul was cool. There was, however, one tiny problem: Paul was blissfully innocent to the wide and nasty world of Greek mythology. Lucky guy, right?

"Percy?"

"Yah-hmmm?"

" I think you should tell Paul about the gods today."

I choked on a mouthful of pancake. "Whaaaa!?!?!" I sputtered. Recovering, I stared at my mother, not believing my ears.

"I know you're still probably wary of Paul, but he's a good man, Percy. We've been dating for long enough, and I think this would be a good time to tell him the truth. He's been helping us both so much over the past couple of years; your grades are so much better now, and I don't have to work that third job. Honey, I know he's planning to propose. The ring fell out of his coat pocket last weekend when I hung it up. I can't marry someone if they don't know the full extent of how crazy our lives will be." I hate it when my mom makes sense.

"But-"

"No buts. You're telling him today. Now, we only have a couple hours until he arrives, so please wash your dishes and start cleaning."

Gaping like a fish, I shakily rose from my seat, a million thoughts running through my head as I scrubbed my plate. How was I going to tell him? When? What if he asked for proof? He probably wouldn't even believe me. Even worse, what if he left us? Paul, the poor mortal, was going to have his world turned upside down in... two hours. Hades save my soul.

------LINE BREAK SAYS HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERCY!!-----------------

The next two hours were a hurricane of bleach, scrubbing, and the hand-held vacuum. Mom was cooking up a storm in the kitchen as I "cleaned" my room. Mostly, I was just playing with the stuff I found. Crazy what you find under those piles of dirty t-shirts, right?

While I cleaned, a gazillion thoughts flew through my brain. Telling Paul about the gods was not going to be easy. As I cooked up ideas, the looming Titan War made a reappearance in my attention span. Memories of Beckendorf flashed through my head. Barely a week ago, the strong demigod gave his life to save me, leaving Silena and the Hephaestus Cabin emotionally destroyed. Tears warmed my eyes at the thought of my brave friend, and I angrily sniffled. Crying won't bring him back, Perce, I mentally scolded myself. Focus on winning the war. With a deep breath, I returned to my daunting (Annabeth's Word of the Day!) task.

That is, until the doorbell rang. Oh, Hera, I cursed mentally. The door creaked open, and in walked my doom.