Disclaimer: If I owned PJO/HoO there would be Perlia. And there is no Perlia. See what I'm getting at?

Percy loved his mother, he really did. She made him blue cookies, helped him with his reading class- which was suffering badly due to his dyslexia- and even bought his pills- not that they helped much- to quell his ADHD, even though they by any means weren't rich, but this- this- was a whole different level, one that Percy didn't like much.

"What is this?" the sixteen year old spluttered as he waved the brochure in his mom's face. He'd come home from a long day of school and had found the damn thing lying innocently on his bed.

Sally pursed her lips. "That is where I'm sending you."

"Why?" Percy was completely bewildered, a feeling he was- unfortunately- used to. "What is this anyway?" he squinted down at the brochure trying to read the small print writing on the page. He recognized the words Camp Half- Blood instantly (whatever that meant), but unfortunately he also recognized the word rehabilitation.

"It's a youth rehab center that has been recently opened," Sally answered, eying her son wearily. She just wanted what was best for him, but she knew he wasn't going to take this well.

Just as Sally predicted, Percy's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Rehab?! But... why? I'm not a drug addict or something!"

Sally closed her eyes, counting silently in her mind. She loved her son but he got so excitable sometimes. "I got a call from your principle," she barely got the words out of her mouth before Percy started protesting. She held up her hand and he stopped talking. "He said you got detention again this week. What was it this time?"

"It was just an argument," Percy mumbled, kicking at the kitchen tile with the toe of his sneaker.

"He said that you punched someone," Sally said flatly. Percy winced. He hadn't meant to hit the kid; he just got up in his face. It was instinct!

"He probably made it sound worse than it was?" Percy tried. He hadn't meant his words to sound like a question but they did, most likely giving him away in an instant.

His mother just sighed. "You promised me that you'd try to behave."

Percy tried to ignore how his heart broke. He hated making his mom upset and he really hated breaking promises.

"I will, just give me one more chance," Percy pleaded. He gave his mother what she called his 'baby seal' face.

Sally shook her head and ran a hand through her greying hair. "I gave you chances, now we're trying something else," this time it was Sally who waved the brochure in Percy's face.

Percy grumbled and took the brochure from his mom, shoving it angrily in his back pocket. He turned around and began making his way to his room, only pausing when his mother called after him.

"Oh, and Percy?" she said. "You should start packing. I'm dropping you off next Friday."

Percy froze, his jaw dropping even though he knew she couldn't see. "What?!"

It was one week, then it became six days, then five, then four and now it was down to just two. Two days until Percy was being shipped off to Long Island, New York. A place where there wasn't his best friends Grover and Annabeth. A place where there wasn't his half- brother's Tyson and Triton. A place where there wasn't his favorite skateboard shop and pizza joint.

All in all, it was a place where there wasn't any of Percy's happiness.

"You're being ridiculous," Annabeth told him, shoving a book into her locker. Unlike Percy's own locker, Annabeth's was neat and orderly, with color coordinated sticky notes and everything. "Maybe this will actually do you some good."

"Like how?" Percy asked stubbornly. He refused to acknowledge that this might actually help him.

Annabeth shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. "I dunno. Maybe you'll get a girlfriend, girl's love bad boys."

"Is that why you have a crush on Luke Castellan?" Percy raised an eyebrow at the blonde. Luke Castellan was a well-known charmer with a police record. He, Percy and Annabeth had all been friends back before he turned into a first class jerk. It seemed Annabeth hadn't quite forgotten him.

Annabeth turned bright red. "This isn't about me," she spluttered indignantly. Percy barely hid his grin. "This is about you, Mr. Delinquent."

"I'm not sure," Grover spoke up, pretending to look thoughtful. "He's too much of a mama's boy to be a delinquent."

He kept a straight face for a moment before both he and Annabeth burst out laughing. Percy rolled his eyes, shoving Grover lightly on the shoulder. "Oh ha ha, very funny."

Annabeth met his eyes, her grey iris' shining with laughter. "Sorry, Perce," she grinned. "You know it's true."

Percy stuck his hands in his pockets. "Whatever."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows teasingly. She looped her arm through Grover's before tugging him over- which of course made him stumble; he had a weird leg disease thing- and threading her arm through Percy's.

"Alright, guys," she said in a loud, leader like voice. Grover winced when some of the kids passing by in the hallway gave them strange looks. He didn't like attention much. "We only have two days before we lose Mr. Perseus Jackson for a while. I say we make the most of it!"

Percy couldn't help but smile. "Hear, hear," he said just loud enough for his two best friends to hear him.

Percy hummed along to the song blasting through his speakers as he half walked/half danced around his room, throwing clothes and other random trinkets into his duffel bag. His mom had ordered him to pack (he usually left that sort of thing to the last minute) so he would be ready to leave first thing in the morning. He didn't even get to have one last Friday at school. It was just good riddance Goode.

Ha, Percy cracked a smile. Good, Goode. Funny.

In all honesty, he was feeling a lot better about the whole situation but that was probably just because he'd just gotten back from getting ice cream with Grover and Annabeth. It was impossible to feel sad if you've just eaten cookie dough ice cream.

But still. He wasn't excited.

Annabeth had done some research for him on the center. It was called Camp Half-Blood Juvenile Rehabilitation Center and it was located in a secluded area in Long Island, right by a big lake, which was good. Maybe we could go swimming. It had been opened earlier that year and was run by a middle- aged man named Chiron.

He guessed it seemed like an ok place and there were plenty of kids that went there. "It'll be just like school!" his mom had said. Percy highly doubted that.

He glanced around his room before decidedly throwing in a couple of picture frames that he usually kept on his dresser. He had no clue how long he needed to pack for since his mom wouldn't tell him how long he was going to be there. He'd asked and she'd just said "until you're ready to come back."

That's the parent way of saying "who the hell knows?"

Percy was still confused as to his mother's reasoning for sending him to this place. He didn't think he was a delinquent and he really didn't feel like one. Was there a certain emotion you got if you were a troubled kid? He had no clue. She said it was because of 'excessive violence' at school but he didn't think that was quite accurate. All those kids were begging for it!

Percy sighed. This was pretty much a prison sentence.

"Rise and shine, Thals!" there was the soft sound of feet padding across the carpet before she heard her curtains being ripped apart. The nice blackness behind her eyelids turned to a blinding red and she shoved her face into her pillow.

"Leave me alone, Valdez," she groaned.

"Oh, please," she could practically hear Leo's grin. "You don't want to be late for breakfast do you?"

Thalia grumbled something unintelligible but she slowly sat up. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and ran a hand through her short hair, all whilst glaring at the boy who decided to invade her room almost every morning at 7 am.

Leo was wearing a rumpled white button up with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a pair of stained jeans, his favorite sneakers and his tool belt strapped to his waist. Nobody knew why, but he never went anywhere without it. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was smirking at her.

"Nice hair," he commented.

Thalia scowled and reached over to her nightstand, grabbing the brush she kept there. "Like yours is any better," she retorted.

Leo, all in all, looked like a Mexican elf. That was the best way Thalia could describe it. He had curly, unruly black hair, shining eyes and just the normal trouble maker look about him. Although, that last part wasn't abnormal. All of them at CHB rehab had that trouble aura about them.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll be in the dining hall with the others. See you when you're presentable."

He gave a lazy salute before slipping through her door. She shook her head and smiled slightly. She still couldn't believe such a nice kid was in a place like this. They weren't supposed to discuss the reasons they were where they are but they all knew anyway: Leo had run away, like, half a dozen times after his mom died. He kind of also had this obsession with fire. She figured that the lawyer that planted him here thought he would set fire to the world or something.

Thalia stretched her limbs before climbing out of bed. She really hated how early you had to get up around this place.

Stumbling slightly with fatigue, Thalia wrenched open her closet door. She blindly grabbed a t-shirt and jeans before she threw herself in the bathroom. It was like walking into sterilized heaven.

No, not the good kind of heaven. Like heaven, meaning white tiles, white counter, white towels, white everything. It was rather blinding.

Thalia threw on her clothes, brushed her teeth and did her hair in record timing, stopping only to survey her reflection in the mirror. A pale girl with blue eyes and black hair stared back at her. She had rings under her eyes because she was too lazy to put on makeup and her hair hung limp around her face. But anyhow, she looked better than when she first got here.

Before exiting her room, she slid on her favorite combat boots and leather jacket. Like Leo and his tool belt, Thalia rarely went anywhere without her jacket and boots.

When she got the dining room- also known as 'the dining pavilion,' it was basically a cafeteria- she instantly spotted her friends all sitting at one of the dozen or so tables in the corner. She slid into her normal seat next to her brother, Jason.

Jason really didn't belong in there. He fit in well enough, but he didn't belong in a rehab center. The only reason he'd gotten dumped there was because he'd come to drop Thalia off and tell her goodbye but he'd forgotten everything about his life. They discovered he had a weird mental condition that made him forget that huge chunk of his life, but otherwise he was completely ordinary. They weren't sure what happened or what caused it but the lawyer didn't want to deal with him so he left him there with Thalia.

But not all things turned out bad; he was best friends with Leo and even had a girlfriend: Piper, a pretty, kleptomaniac girl with a movie star dad.

"What's for breakfast?" Thalia asked, feeling too lazy to turn around and look at the sign where the menu was always posted.

"French toast," Frank replied from the opposite end of the table. The people who worked in the kitchen delivered each meal to each individual by hand so they could make sure they got their meds and Frank had already gotten his.

Thalia grimaced. "Ew."

"How are we related?" Jason teased her, grinning. She couldn't help but smile in return. Though she was only two years older than her brother, she'd always been very protective over him.

"Beats me," Thalia ruffled his blonde hair teasingly just as a blue plastic tray was set in front of her. A woman in an apron and hairnet glared down at her, thrusting her hand out at Thalia. She spilled the pill she was holding into Thalia's hand.

"No funny business, Ms. Grace," the woman said. "I want to see you swallow the pill this time."

Thalia rolled her eyes but swallowed the pill, opening her mouth to show the woman that it wasn't still in her mouth. The woman rolled her eyes and walked away while Thalia spit the pill out into her hand. She'd been hiding it under her tongue.

"They're going to catch you," Hazel was the cautious one of the group, probably because she'd gone slightly crazy- not that she acted like it- after her mother was murdered in front of her.

"Nah," Thalia shrugged. "Not unless you guys snitch on me," she gave them a pointed look. No one said a word. "Besides, it's not like I need anti-depressants anyway. Do I look depressed?"

"Well… maybe if you wore less black…" Piper said. Thalia scowled and Piper held up her hands in surrender. "Jeez, Thalia. I was joking."

"I agree with Thalia," Leo said. "We don't need to take pills."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You're just saying that because you're not on any."

"And because you have a crush on my sister, thus agreeing with everything she says," Jason chimed in helpfully.

Leo rolled his eyes. "Maybe at first but she's got too much baggage," Thalia rolled her eyes. "Plus, Leo Valdez flies solo. I'm like the lone wolf."

"Whatever you say," said Frank snorting.

Just then, there was the familiar loud banging sound of Chiron- the manager/instructor/owner of CHB- pounding his walking stick against the ground. The dining hall fell silent in seconds.

"Good morning children!" Chiron said good naturedly. There was a murmuring of 'good mornings' that passed through the crowd. "I hope you all slept well. Anyway, Mr. D and I-" Mr. D grunted in acknowledgment to his name. He was a dumpy middle- aged man who hated children in general. "- are excited to inform you that we are going to be getting a new patient later this morning so you know what that means: no picking fights, no stealing his things, no poking fun and no pulling pranks. Am I clear?"

"Crystal," we all responded dully, just as we were supposed to.

"Wonderful," Chiron smiled and sat down next to Mr. D. "Have a nice day."

"So," Leo rubbed his hands together. "We're getting some new meat."
Piper punched Leo's arm and he winced. "Can you try not to scare any more people away? I actually like making friends."

Leo stuck out his tongue at her. "All those kids were jerks; you wouldn't want to be friends with them anyway."

Piper responded by shoving him sideways, nearly sending him face first into Hazel's breakfast.

"Calm down you two," Hazel warned, glancing at one of the 'chaperones' who were there 'for our own good.' "That lady is giving us the stink eye."

"Yeah Beauty Queen, wouldn't want to get in trouble," Leo bounced his eyebrows up and down a couple times.

Piper scowled but let the subject drop. Probably because she was too busy looking at Jason who'd just slid his arm around her shoulder and was saying something in her ear.

Thalia smirked to herself. Young love, she thought dully. The most useless thing in the world.

Percy arrive at Camp Half Blood Juvenile Rehabilitation Center at exactly 12: 01 pm. The place didn't look like anything special, kind of like a hotel but maybe a bit smaller. It definitely didn't look like the place you send kids when they've done terrible things.

Not that he's done terrible things, because he hasn't.

Percy climbed out of the passenger seat and waited patiently while his mom popped the trunk. He shouldered his duffel bag and waited for his mother to grab the paperwork they needed or whatever.

When they walked into the lobby the first thing Percy noticed was the sound. He heard everything you heard walking down a school hallway: laughing, talking, arguing, cussing and everything else you didn't expect to hear from a place like Camp Half-Blood. Maybe his mom was right and it would be like a new school.

He and his mother walked up to the front desk where a teenage girl sat with her feet up on the table. She had stringy auburn hair and was hardly paying them any attention, admiring her chipped nails with mild interest.

"Excuse me," Percy's mom cleared her throat. The girl looked up as though this was the first time she'd realized anyone else was there. "Do you work here?"

"Who, me?" she asked, looking amused. Who else? Percy wanted to ask. He bit his tongue. "Nah, I'm Clarisse," she swiveled around in the chair and stuck her head through the door behind her and shouted, "Chiron!"

A few moments later a middle aged man with an unruly brown beard appeared through the door. He looked weary for a minute before his landed on Percy and his mother, then he smiled.

"Ah! You must be Perseus Jackson, the new patient," Chiron held out his hand to shake. Percy took it.

"It's Percy," he corrected. He hated his full name, it was much too… proper for his taste.

"My apologies," Chiron then shook his mother's hand before walking back behind the desk- shooing away Clarisse who left grudgingly- and produced a pen. "I trust you brought the paperwork?"

Sally nodded and picked up the pen, signing in all the places Chiron told her too. "This might take a little bit," Chiron told Percy. He turned his head slightly and smiled. "Ah! I'll have Mr. D here show you to your room."

Percy nodded, readjusting the strap on his duffel bag. His mother turned to him, paperwork momentarily forgotten. She embraced him in a hug that he returned without a second thought.

"Be good, Percy," his mom murmured. "I just want what's best for you."

"I know."

"Good," he could practically hear her smile. She released him slowly. "I love you, Percy. I hope you like it here."

He gave her an encouraging smile before turning to the man Chiron called Mr. D. Percy practically did a double take. This man standing in front of him was wearing the loudest shirt Percy had ever seen, not to mention his matching potbelly.

"Um, hi," Percy greeted him carefully.

"Hello," Mr. D said flatly. "Allow me to show to your room."

Percy followed him down a long hallway and up a couple of flights of stairs. Another hallway and they finally stopped in front a door labeled 2B. "This is your room, where you'll be staying. Here's your room key," Mr. D dropped a plastic key card into Percy's hand. He told him everything in the same monotone. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, Percy thought dryly. "If you go back down to level we were just at, there is what we call a 'social room.' We have cable, free Wi-Fi and foosball. Some basic rules are that if you want to have a friend sleepover in your room you have to ask Chiron or myself first. Questions?"

Percy shook his head. "No."

Mr. D raised an eyebrow. "Sir."

"No, sir," Percy repeated feeling irritable. He had a feeling he wouldn't be getting along with this man. Not waiting for Mr. D to leave, Percy slid the keycard into the slot and stepped into his new room, closing the door behind him.

"Home sweet home," he murmured to himself.

So I know what you're thinking... well, that's not true but I know what I'm thinking: what are you doing starting a new story when you have two more in progress?! And I know, I know but this idea has been floating around in my brain for over a month now and I just needed to write it down. I'm really excited to see what you guys think of it as well :)

Oh, and BTW the story cover art picture thing says "If only you knew... how much I actually care" the words got cut off because it was too long. But I edited myself so I'm rather proud of it :D