I'll Always Remember (Percy Jackson)

Chapter Four

Charles Beckendorf

I met Percy at 3:30, as was planned. And he seemed really anxious to get out of the house.

Like, more than he should be.

"Hey, you doing alright?" I asked Percy as we left the apartment building, walking towards the subway. "you seem a little uh, tense. Anxious?"

"Paul's just driving me crazy with the season and all." He told me, shrugging. "which is whatever, but now Annabeth just like decided that she wanted to be clingy last night and this morning and I asked her if everything was okay because she's never like that and she said something or another about that we go to different schools. Which, no shit, she lives in California. But then she went on about how she missed me and can't wait for this summer, which was fine until she asked me out on a date for next weekend because she'll be here for a thing on Olympus."

"So you said yes or...?"

"What? No," Percy was pretty quick to deny that. "I didn't... No. I told her that I missed her and hopefully this summer would be more relaxed, but I declined the date and told her that sorry, but I thought I had made it pretty clear just over time that I wasn't interested in being her boyfriend. She's my best friend, my sister. Not my girlfriend. And she just... Got pissy. Which rejection sucks but like... It can't be that shocking. I just don't want her to be here next week and telling the others something that didn't happen."

I sighed.

"Yeah, it's a bit late there." I remarked as we made our way down to stairs to the subway. And that remark caught his attention as we made our way through to catch a train.

"What do you mean?"

"Well she talked to Piper about it," I told Percy that much about it. "And Piper told everyone else, so..."

I paused for a second. It's worth a try.

"Of course she did," Percy commented before falling silent as we stepped on a train heading towards a mall we could peruse.

The ride was only a few minutes long, five or so, and we didn't say much until we got to the mall, being it was right outside the subway stop.

"What... I shouldn't ask, but what did Piper tell you guys?" Percy asked me after we finished talking about a mural we saw.

I sighed.

"I didn't pay a ton of attention, because that's when I was texting you," I was honest about what I knew. "But the part that I heard was that you turned down Annabeth."

"That's it?"

"Because you're gay."

There was a pause, and I felt the need to add it on.

"And I mean, not everyone believed what she said, and I believe you over her any day, but there were a few people that I'm sure—"

"I never said that." Percy told me.

"And I believe you, but—"

"No, Beckendorf," Percy cut me off once again, which is when I noticed that this wasn't just him defending a rumor. This was him panicking. "I never said that, so I don't know where Annabeth would've heard it to tell Piper because I carefully worded what I told her so it wouldn't sound like that."

"I'm sure she made it up and Piper misinterpreted it, Percy, she's a daughter of Aphrodite."

His eyes just about bulged out of his head.

"I don't care how she took the message, Charles," Percy clarified for me. "if word spreads, it spreads. My parents can't hear that. Especially this time of year. We're in church at least twice a week right now and I'm just trying to wait until I'm 18 so I can finally defect from the church and get the fuck out. If somebody even suggested it around them, rumor or not, I'm in a shit load of trouble with not just my parents, but my bishop and like, they're Mormon."

By the looks of it, if one more bad thing happened Percy would either scream or cry and I'm not sure if it mattered which one it was.

It broke my heart to see him like that, too, because I've never heard much about this. I know his parents to to church, but I figured it was more of a Catholic thing, not the whole Mormonism thing.

"I know my mom seems super chill, but she has hard opinions." Percy told me. "One of them being that homosexuality is like, one of the grossest, nastiest things that can happen to a person. She's a 'its a disease' sort of person. And while she wouldn't mention anything to like, Leo, because it's not her son, I am and like... That makes it not okay. She's been trying to find a girl for me to marry next summer now that I passed being 16 and it.."

His voice faltered, and I pulled the son of Poseidon into a hug as we stood in the middle of a JCPenney.

"I'm supposed to go to Argentina when I turn 19, once I'm married and settled down, for like a year, to spread the word of God or something and I don't know... I mean, I'll defect before then, but..."

He pulled away from the hug as we wandered into the men's section.

"You can always say no at the wedding," I insisted. "Not show up to it. And if guilt pushed you through, then maybe she'll be really nice and fun."

"That doesn't matter, though."

"I mean, if she was boring—"

"Then I'd probably shoot myself," the son of Poseidon remarked, which was very concerning to hear. "Either way it doesn't matter, though, because I'm gay and if Annabeth and Piper are both telling people, my mom will hear, and I'll either be sent to a religious school or conversion therapy or just kicked out and I can't... My mom is all I have outside of camp, Beckendorf. I don't want her to hate me over something I can't help."

Well shit, I thought, that's a lot worse that I figured it would be.

Eventually, Percy did calm down. He also sent Annabeth and Piper both strongly worded texts because his parents are Mormon and will kick him out if people start asking if he's gay. Anything of the spectrum that isn't straight and cis.

And Piper did apologize for misinterpreting it and whatnot, so did Annabeth. Annabeth knew about how Sally and Paul could get and insisted that it was a hypothetical.

So after that, the rest of the afternoon went pretty well. We made our way around the mall and at some point he had grabbed my hand to drag me to show me something and after that we just sort of held hands. Casually.

We had dinner together after a while, a little place a block or so from the mall, a cute Italian place.

It was definitely a date, which we established like half way through as we were waiting for our food because I asked who he liked, if not Annabeth and he said that that was a stupid question and then I really... Smart response.

"If you tell me who it is I'll tell you that I like you."

It was supposed to come out as who I like, but I just said that I like you.

So that was that and got a little shy for a second before suggesting that he just pay for dinner and call it a date.

Which meant that I stole the bill and paid for it when he went to use the bathroom and let him leave a tip.

The subway ride back to camp was mainly just us holding hands and talking about how long it took us to realize that maybe this crush was longer than a two day situation and we're fucked.

It was a really nice ride. He offered to walk me to the top of the hill, which he did, and checked his phone for the time.

In which he saw a message.

Mom: why is your father asking me if you have a boyfriend?