Chapter 1

~Percy's POV~

I guess I had always known. I mean, it hadn't really been that obvious, it was just...there. I suppose I realised it in sixth grade, when I went back for the rest of the year. When I spent time away from Camp Half-Blood, and I went to school...

Even then, I hadn't thought much of it, just that I seemed to hang around guys more than girls. To me, it wasn't a big deal, that I liked the company of guys more. After all, I was a guy.

But that kind of changed when I tried to kiss one of my friends. Contrary to popular belief, I did actually have mortal friends, and that particular summer I was hanging out with a few of them. I can't really remember their names now, it's...it's been a while. But I do know that I attempted to kiss one of them. Admittedly, I'd been crushing on him for a while now, and we were slightly intoxicated... Anyway, suffice to say, he looked at me in horror, and began yelling.

That's when it started. First came the murmurs, the odd looks, and then there was isolation, as if it were contagious. Then...then came the tormenting. The bullying. The taunting. It hurt more than the physical inflicting of pain, of which there was no shortage. "Faggot." "Gay". "Fag." And those were the only ones without swear words in them. Every word they said stung, reducing me to tears sometimes. Of course, that just gave them reason to bully me more. It was amazing how quickly they all turned on me, my so-called "friends".

I left all that behind, obviously. But you can't blame me for not telling my friends at camp. They were my real friends, my true friends, friends who were like me, and yet I knew they wouldn't accept me. And if they didn't, how was I supposed to 'lead' them? At least, that was my rationalisation. The truth... I wasn't even sure myself. So despite hating myself for it, I dated Annabeth. There was nothing else I felt for her, and that settled the question of whether it was possible I wasn't...gay. Annabeth was gorgeous and smart and funny and possibly the best friend anyone could have, and if I could make her happy, then I would, but other than that, I didn't feel anything for her.

But I knew I had to tell my mom. So one day after a particularly bad day of bullying, I sat in the kitchen waiting for her to bring her medkit. The moment she stepped through the door, I looked up at her. "I need to tell you something." One look at my bruised face and she knew I was serious, and that 'something', whatever it was, was of great importance. She nodded, setting down the medical kit and sitting across the kitchen table. "What's up?" I stared at my feet. "I-I'm..." "I'm gay." She stared, but only for a moment, before coming around to my side of the table and wrapping her arms around me. "I know. it's alright."

"You know?"

"I'm your mother, Percy. I know you. Not as well as I'd like to, I'm sure. But I do know that about you, and I also know that it is absolutely fine." Suddenly, I felt like everything really was okay. My mom didn't hate me, she didn't want to disown me or change me. She supported me, and that was what mattered. Carrying that thought in my heart got me through the rest of my year.

But that all changed when I went back to camp three years after the war.