I am a despicable human being! I completely forgot about this story for TEN MONTHS! I'm so sorry. That is inexcusable. So, it's not long, but it's something. And, yes, I am aware that the Jackson family does not live in a house, but for the purpose of this story, they do.

Music for this is 'Mess Is Mine' by Vance Joy.

I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Brian Confare

Brian Confare sipped his beer, desperately wishing that he had worn something cooler to this backyard barbecue in the middle of the hot month of June than his woolen sweater vest and a long-sleeve dress shirt. It really was poor planning on his part.

The teachers of the New York Public School System (specifically English teachers from the Lower Manhattan area) had gathered together at his colleague, Paul Blofis', house for an end of year party for those who were retiring after the end of this school year.

Lucky bastards.

Brian took another swig of beer.

"Brian!" called a voice from across the lawn. He looked up from his boat shoes and the sparse green grass and waved at the caller, who turned out to be the man of the hour himself, Paul Blofis.

On his arm was a beautiful woman; long brown hair twisted into a braid, though now greying, and kind blue eyes. She looked like she was his age, if not younger, and aging gracefully. This must have been his wife that he had heard about before, Sally.

"Hello, Paul," the English teacher replied, shaking his hand. "Quite a turn out this year, eh?"

Paul laughed amiably. "No kidding. It's nice to see some of these guys. I haven't seen some for, well, years. A good time to catch up…" Paul trailed off, his hand resting on his wife's hip. "How've you been, Brian?" he asked.

"Well, Lucy finalized the divorce about six months ago, but I've been doing okay," he said finally, after some debate as to whether or not he should tell them about his rocky relationship with his wife. Well, ex-wife, now, he guessed.

He found out exactly one year ago that his wife had been cheating on him for two years, with his best friend, no less. Granted, they never really had a great relationship during their marriage; they never seemed to agree on anything. But still, it was twelve years of his life, all gone and worthless now.

"Well, I'm glad you've been doing okay," Paul smiled, though it seemed forceful.

"You must be Sally," Brian addressed the brunette.

"I am," Sally said kindly. She really was just as kind and warm as Paul had described her. She held out her hand and shook his. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You too," he said. "You really are as beautiful as Paul described you. We've all heard an earful about how wonderful you are."

"Paul," she admonished, whacking his chest lightly, playfully.

The sheepish man merely shrugged, and pecked his wife on the cheek.

"You're too kind," Sally insisted.

There was an awkward pause. People around them were laughing and talking like old friends. The group of teachers and occasionally their partners were all around his age, give or take a decade.

However, there was one couple that didn't fit this description.

They were young, at the most their late teens. There was blonde-haired girl, tanned and tall, leaning against the white fence with her hands locked behind the neck of a raven-haired boy. They were obviously not just friends, given their proximity. The boy had his hands on the girl's hips, rubbing circles on them with his thumbs.

It was clear the boy was an athlete, due to his muscled frame, though densly so, making it also lean. The girl was clearly an athlete as well, what with her muscled arms and legs and 'in-shape' physique.

The boy leaned down to the blonde's ear and whispered something. It was obviously something the girl liked because she pulled him down for a kiss, chaste and slow.

They reminded him of him and his ex-wife. Back before they had begun fighting and she was unfaithful. Back when they were young and drunk on love.

"Have you met my son?" Sally asked, snapping the old teacher out of his reverie.

"No. No, I haven't," Brian managed to choke out and took another gulp of his beer, now lukewarm. Great.

"Oh," Sally said and called out, "PERCY!" to the boy he had just been observing.

He perked up and turned towards the three adults. Brian jumped. His eyes… They were a familiar shade of green.

"Yeah, mom?" the boy, Percy, called, pulling away from the flustered-looking girl.

"Come over here. There's someone you should meet," Sally called.

Percy sighed and grabbed the girl, who was presumably his girlfriend, and trudged over to the three.

"Hi," the teen said holding out his hand to shake his.

The English teacher took his hand warily. The boy looked like a troublemaker, what with his wild hair and tanned, but scarred arms with little white scratches and one long, pink one, reaching from the middle of his forearm and wrapping around to his elbow.

"Hello," Brian Confare said. "I'm Brian."

The teen smirked his troublemaker smirk, and crossed his arms. "I'm Percy Jackson, and this," he gestured to the blonde (who, as Brian could now see, was equally as scarred, but beautiful in an intimidating, celestial way), "is my girlfriend, Annabeth."

"Percy Jackson…" Brian mused, scratching his stubbly chin. "That name sounds familiar…"

Percy Jackson scratched the back of his neck. "Err… Yeah, I've been on the news a couple times."

Brian furrowed his brow. He studied the boy, particularly his eyes. The sea green eyes, so incredibly unique… The troublemaker smirk… The messy mop of black hair…!

"Percy Jackson!" he shrieked. It couldn't be him! This couldn't be Percy Jackson from Yancy Academy! This couldn't be the boy he had sent to the hallway numerous times! This couldn't be the ignorant boy who could never sit still and just learn who called him an old sot!

This well-mannered, not bad-looking, tall, girlfriend-having boy couldn't be the same twelve-year-old he had resented for years.

"Err…" Percy stuttered. "Yeah, that's me… Do I know you?"

"Um," stuttered Brian. How was he supposed to approach this? "You didn't happen to go to… Yancy Academy, did you?"

Percy's eyes shot open. "Oh Hades," he cursed under his breath. He knew who this man was. Under the new layer of beer-belly, thinning hair and the grey stubble, he could clearly recognize him. "Mr. Confare?" he asked, trying to sound at least a little happy to see him, even though he wished nothing more than to get himself out of the situation.

"Oh!" Sally jumped. She recognized him as well. She remembered getting a phone call a week from the principal of Yancy Academy about Percy reported by this man. She pursed her lips and fidgeted with her hands. "Of course! You were Percy's sixth grade English teacher, right?"

"Um, yes," Brian Confare said, rubbing the back of his neck.

Annabeth suddenly began coughing wildly. She was smiling behind her hand and trying desperately to hide it. "Sorry," she croaked. "I've got a bit of a cold… Er, allergies. Yup." She leaned into Percy and whispered, "That's the 'old sot', right?"

"Yep," Percy murmured back, popping the 'P'. They had to smother their giggles again, faking coughing fits.

"Oh wow, we'd better, um, get going-" Annabeth began, trying not to laugh. She'd heard enough about this ridiculous man from Percy to take him seriously.

"Yeah, don't want to, you know, get you sick-" Percy continued, hiding his giggles with another violent cough. There were too many ludicrous memories with this man and his foolish teaching methods.

"So, we're gonna go and, um, talk to more people," Annabeth finished. "Bye!" she called over her shoulder as the pair weaved through the crowd of people.

It was silent between the trio of adults.

"So," Paul said suddenly, clapping his hands together. "Who wants another beer?"

Did Brian ever.

So, did you love it? Like it? Want to run it over with a tractor? Tell me in a review.

If you didn't catch it, this was about the dickhead teacher who Percy called an old sot. I thought it would be ironic to have him drink a bunch, because Percy called him an 'old sot', which is an old drunk, in a broad sense of the term.

I'm so clever. (No I'm not.)

Again, I'm so sorry for leaving this story for so long. I would like to thank you for 143 reviews (!). You guys, that's nearly 50 reviews a chapter! That's… Insane. I have no words for how grateful I am.

DFTBA!

-Lou