Dead Boy Walking (Puke)(PercyxLuke)

Heart Attacks - but not really

Luke

We met for lunch at a nice little cafe in the city. I met with my mom. I was early. I was nervous and worried that I'd say something and it'd come out the wrong way and hurt her feelings.

She showed up at 2, and considering her age she looked really nice. Wearing a sun dress that suited her. Her stomach seemed larger, though.

Finding where I sat, this time when she hugged me I didn't panic, and I let her do it because gods know she needs it.

We both sat down, and this is when I started to worry about what came out of my mouth.

"You've been here for twelve years?" Mom questioned.

"Mostly,"I explained. "Probably for seven of them. I left in '05 for a bit before returning this summer. Travelled around a little, made a couple choices that Dad didn't claim me as his anymore because of them. And yeah..."

I didn't mean to say it out loud.

"I feel fucking terrible about leaving."

And I thought she'd automatically connect that to Westport, but she didn't

"Where? Home? Or here?"

That was another thing I had to think about.

"Both,"I answered. "I never planned on running away. It wasn't my smartest choice, but I don't regret it. It sounds terrible, but if I could've stayed, if I knew what would happen if I left, I would've probably gone."

"That didn't make you bad, Luke."Mom told me something that I did need to hear. That she wasn't mad at me. "You freaked out and just didn't come back. If you don't regret it, that means you made friends and had a great time here. Is that true?"

Yeah but they're all dead.

I did nod my head, though. I was hesitsnt about it, but I answered with a nod. Insinuating that it meant yes. That was true.

She asked me a few other questions. Where I was staying, how I liked it, she asked about Dad (I wasn't able to answer that. I'm banned from Olympus. I think you know why.), And then... The question I should've expected that I didn't.

"Do you have a boyfriend up here?"

Mom, I just....

You need to stop.

It just sounded so absurd from her, because she never asked anything like that when I was younger. She might have asked about Ram like twice. Once when he was on vacation and we still talked every day, and she asked one time not long after we got together. Aside that, she stayed 103% out of it.

"I'm sorry," I stated, shocked. "Repeat that."

"Do you," she slowed it down a bit," have a boyfriend?"

"Oh," I stated in response to her question, and I'm not sure why I said that. "Uh, yeah, I do..."

Of course then she asked about him, although forgetting to ask his name, and she asked like how old he was, how we had met, where he's from, so on and so forth. She ended up saying that he sounded really nice.

She wanted to meet him.

Like... You will. Trust me. You already know his parents.

I left there around 3:30, and she said she'd be there for dinner. At the cabin, that is.

Thalia

Jason was being a major pain in my ass.

It was the fourth of July, and he because I was there, he expected us to spend it with Mom.