Percy

Oh shit. Percy thought.

"Almost finished sir." Zoe said, not looking up. "I'll be ready in a few minutes."

"Take your time. Mr. Jackson will wait for you. After all, you are his responsibility. Mr. D, said, sending a pointed glare in Percy's direction, before turning and leaving, abandoning Percy to his fate. After a moment of silence, he slowly walked over to an empty chair at the table, and sat down to wait.

And wait he did. Seconds became minutes, and minutes became hours. He tried to count the holes in the ceiling, but kept getting distracted by things going on in the hallway, or out the window, and losing count, while Zoe kept on writing and shuffling through her papers. Percy sat, waiting, with his feet up on the table. Stupid hair. he thought, flipping it out of his eyes, before returning to his counting. A few seconds later, it feel back into his eyes. Goddamn it. Stay the fuck over there. he said to himself, before flipping it again. Seconds later, it fell back neatly into place over his eyes.

Suddenly, she slammed her stack of papers onto the table, shocking Percy out of his reverie, causing him to jump a foot into the air, and slam his elbow down onto the table. "Fuck!" he cried.

She snickered.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Percy said. "You almost done?"

"I will be in a minute" She said, still having not properly looked up at him. "I'm Zoe Nightshade, by the way, in case you didn't hear Mr. D. say it a hundred times. And you are?" She asked, and Percy smiled. He was going to have fun with this.

"I know. We've met." He said with a smile, while Zoe's head shot up like a bullet. "Although I'm surprised you forgot about me so soon. I didn't think you were such a light weight." He teased.

Her eyes narrowed, and she glared at him suspiciously for a moment. Percy met her unflinching glare with his own steady gaze, staring into her volcanic eyes. He'd never seen eyes that dark before. "Percy. Nice to see you again." She said at last, her glare softening into a smile.

"Nice to see you too" He smiled, before sitting up straight in his chair. "Well, shall we get this tour started? Unless you're not opposed to ditching?" Percy asked with a slight smile.

"On my first day? Not a chance Perseus." Zoe teased as she stood up to leave.

"Gah. Never should have told you that." Percy muttered to himself as he left, for the third time since he met her.

Unfortunately, she heard him. "Too late for that" She laughed melodiously. "Now are we starting the tour or not?" She looked at him teasingly, smiling and leaving an unspoken challenge for him.

"Whatever her majesty commands." Percy responded sarcastically, rolling his eyes. But he was smiling too.

Jason

Jason was practically shaking with nervousness. After Reyna cornered him, it hadn't been very difficult to figure out what she wanted to talk to him about. So here he was, standing outside on the soccer field, waiting for her. What's taking her so long? He wondered to himself, surveying the empty fields of grass surrounding him, while the sun beat down on him from the cloudless blue sky.

She's probably trying to blackmail us with this. Part of his brain thought.

Shut up. He thought back. Reyna's not like that.

She's one of THEM. The other part argued

But she's not Annabeth, Jason countered. The nagging doubt in his mind offered no reply, leaving Jason to simmer in his own thoughts. Eventually, Jason found his way over to the trees lining the edge of the soccer field, and sat down to wait for Reyna under the shade of a one, out of the California sun.

Several minutes later, Jason saw someone walk out of the school and towards the field. Jason waved, correctly assuming that it was Reyna, to catch her attention. She turned to face him, waved back, and then started to walk over.

"Join me?" Jason asked when she arrived, looking up at her and shading his eyes from the sun.

"Sure." She said, sitting down next to him. After that, the pair slipped into an awkward silence. He had a feeling that he knew what she was going to ask him. Jason kept stealing glances at Reyna, but she was lost in her own world, her mind racing a million miles an hour.

Finally Jason spoke. "So...What did you need to talk to me about?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh right sorry." Reyna said, shaking herself out of her musings. She whirled to face him, her features hardening. "What the hell is up with you? You were so out of it all day, and you were acting like you were friends with Jackson? Jason, what is going on?"

"Don't worry Reyna. Nothing's wrong." Jason said calming. In his mind, however, Jason was panicking. Fuck. He thought. I knew she was going to ask me about that! Shit! What the hell do I do?

"Are you sure? I'm just trying to watch out for you." She replied, still not convinced. "You know how Luke would take this."

"I know how he would take it." Jason replied defensively. Reyna looked at him, unfazed. "Seriously, Reyna. There's nothing to worry about." Jason insisted

"Bullshit Jason. I've know you since we were 8, for god's sake. I can tell when something's up." Reyna said, and Jason hesitated. He could see the determination in her eyes. She knew he was hiding something. And part of Jason wanted to tell her. He had known her longer than anyone else he knew.

"Alright." He said with a sigh. Jason couldn't help but smile as Reyna's eyes light up for a moment at her victory, before darkening again as she saw Jason's somber expression. "You don't tell anyone though. Understand?" He finished, and Reyna nodded.

"Well, first of al, I kind of lied to you. A couple of times." He said sheepishly, looking away from her.

"Jason!" Reyna said angrily.

"Hey hey hey. Here me out" Jason pleaded, and Reyna relented. "So, that microphone I borrowed from you...it was for a concert. The same concert I told you to go to. And I lied about not being there. I was the drummer."

"Well. That's just great." Reyna said, irritated. "Ms. Young's been asking about that. I'm gonna need that microphone back. And, not only that, the one time I had her beat, you actually took her side and let freaking Annabeth win."

"Sorry. I had to save my own ass." Jason said, with a hint of a smirk on his face. "And about that mike, you're probably not getting it back. It would be easier to just pay you for it."

"Oh believe me, you will." Reyna threatened. "Now what in the hell does any of this have to do with Jackson?"

"Reyna, I refuse to believe that you are that stupid." Jason sighed. "Connect the dots. Microphone. I play drums."

"Oh. Oh."

Percy

"Please take out a pencil and a sheet of paper. We will be having a quiz on the symbolism of The Great Gatsby." Mr. Blofis said, turning on the overhead projector to reveal a dozen quiz questions. Percy sighed, and began to draw on his paper. It wasn't like his dyslexia would let him read the questions anyways.

He began to tune out the class, ignoring the frustrated groans and mutterings of the class, and focusing on the drawing at hand. It started simple, a smiley face with x's for eyes, and had evolved from that into almost a dozen other scenes. A gun drifting through water, a cheerleader with an Anarchist uniform, a burning bridge, an empty throne, a car seconds away from impact, tearing down the street, about to collide with... No. Percy thought, Not now, come on. I'm okay. I'm okay. Percy repeated, until his mind abandoned that dangerous train of thought.

At the bottom of the page, poorly scrawled in dyslexic handwriting, was a single word: Elysium. Elysium, huh? Not a bad idea at all. Percy thought, a small smile forming across his lips. Better keep this. He thought before folding up the paper and putting it in his pocket.

"Percy!" a voiced hissed. He looked up, only to see a pair of volcanic eyes staring back at him with concern.

"What's up Zoe?" Percy said, doing his best to sound nonchalant.

"Why didn't you take the quiz?" She asked, her black eyes still locker with his sea-green ones.

"Dunno. Didn't feel like." Percy said, His gaze not flinching, despite the fact that he was lying through his teeth. Lying was one of Percy's strong suits. He'd only had 7 years of practice at it.

"You sure?" Zoe countered, not willing to drop the subject.

"I'm sure." Percy said. It's not like I could even read it anyways. He thought to himself, but he smiled at Zoe, and put as much effort as he could into it to make her believe it was real and everything was okay.

She believed him. Percy could see it in her eyes. "Alright." She said warily, before looking down.

"Hey, look on the bright side. In twenty minutes," Percy said, quickly glancing at the clock. "We've got like 2 hours of free time."

"Good. Are you finally going to finish my tour?" Zoe asked, her voice still a whisper.

"You already got your tour!" Percy insisted.

"No you walked around the school with me, and half the things I asked you about, you said were 'Not important'. All you pointed out was the cafeteria and the library."

"Well, it's not like you're ever going to need to know where a computer lab is"

"I might"

"Zoe, in all four years I've been here, I have never once been in a computer lab."

"I might"

"Zoe, in all four years I've been here, I have never once been in a computer lab."

"Is that because you actually haven't or, just because you've ditched every time?" Zoe countered, half teasing him.

"Fair point." Percy said with a laugh. No. He thought to himself suddenly. What the fuck are you doing? You can't be friends with this girl! You remember what happened last time!

This time could be different Percy thought back.

It could be, but it won't. The other one countered.

"No. This time will be different. I won't let it happen again." Percy muttered to himself, determinedly. His voice was low enough that no one else could understand what he said.

"Did you say something, Percy?" Zoe asked, looking up from her notebook.

"Nope." Percy said, a small, yet genuine smile spreading across his face.

Jason

Friday, Four Days Later

Since Jason and Reyna had their "discussion", the two had grown much closer. They had been spending more and more time together, lunch breaks, passing periods, and before and after school. They didn't have any off periods together, but already, one of them, usually Jason, would sneak out of class happen to run into the other.

Today was one of those days. Jason had conveniently left his bag in the library, went to the bathroom, and left, meeting with Reyna out on the soccer field. So now they sat, under the shade of one of the large trees, idly watching life go on around the school, and making small talk.

"You're still coming to my show tonight, right?" Jason asked, turning his head to look at Reyna, the sun framing her silhouette against the clear blue sky.

"Of course." Reyna sad, in a voice that screamed Uh, Duh. "I had so much fun the last time. And plus, actually know who's in the band now. I should get the V.I.P. treatment."

"Ha." Jason laughed. "Yeah we can't even charge admission. So no V.I.P. treatment. You could probably come by the house a little earlier though. You might even get to meet Percy." Jason teased. When he saw Reyna's face burning red, he knew he hit a sore spot.

"Shut up!" Reyna said, swatting Jason on the shoulder. "I don't like him!"

"Besides, I know he's still single."

"Really..." Reyna said, trailing off. Something caught her attention on the other side of the field. "Well, you may be right" she said, still staring out across the field. "But not for much longer." Jason pushed himself up off the ground, and looked out across the field, following Reyna's line of sight, to where a pair of people, a boy and a girl, walked. The boy was obviously Percy, because no one else would wear a flannel and a t-shirt in San Francisco in March. Jason didn't know who the girl was, but she looked familiar. Maybe he'd seen her somewhere in school. He watched the two of them walk along. Percy must have said something, because the girl gave him a playful shove, to which Percy responded with a motion Jason guessed was fake hurt. abruptly, they stopped walking. He guessed words were exchanged, the girl making animated motions, while Percy stood. Suddenly, the girl wrapped Percy in a hug, and after a moment, Percy returned it, somewhat awkwardly. Jason smiled. He was glad Percy had found somebody, even if he didn't know it yet.

"You better hurry and get out there, Rey." Jason said, continuing to tease her. "Gotta make a move quick."

"I'm good here." Reyna said back. She looked down at her watch, checking the time. "We should probably head back to class."

"Yeah, probably." Jason agreed. he stood, grabbing both of their backpacks, and extending a hand out to Reyna, who was still sitting on the ground.

"Such a gentleman." She said, graciously accepting his help. "What do you have next?"

"Math with Dodds." Jason replied, sarcasm filling his voice.

"Oh lucky you."

"Yeah." Jason said sarcastically. Suddenly, his voice was all seriousness. Here goes nothing. He thought to himself. "Hey Reyna, I know you're coming by early tonight, but uh...I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this weekend...go see a movie or something?"

"I'd like that." She said softly, with a smile.

Percy

"Hey Z." Percy said, sliding into a chair next to Zoe at a table in the cafeteria.

"Hi Perce." She replied, not looking up from her lunch. Percy, as usual, didn't have any food, a habit he didn't have to keep anymore, but he still did. After three years, Percy was used to not eating. So instead he sat, watching her eat. "Don't you have anything better to do?" Zoe asked when she finally noticed him.

"Nope." Percy replied, grinning. She hit him. God she's pretty. Percy thought.

"Smug bastard." She said coldly, but her eyes betrayed her playful demeanor. "Want to go outside?" She asked, gathering up the remains of her food.

"Sure." He said, jumping out of the chair. Like I could say no.

"Good." She said, giving Percy a knowing look, saying that she a had won.

"Yeah, yeah yeah." Percy said, joking. "You coming or not?"

"Of course." She said, leading the way out the now familiar double doors to the hot March sun. As they walked, Percy couldn't help but steal glances at Zoe.

"Hey you're gonna come to my show tonight, right?" Percy asked, while they walked out of the school.

"You mean I'd have to listen to that god-awful noise again?" She said lightly. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

"Great. Be there at like 6." Percy said, handing her a little scrap of paper with the address on it. She read it, nodded, then folded it up and put it into her pocket. Nothing more was said as the two made their way over to the sidewalks running around the sports fields.

"You know, I just realized something." She said, breaking the comfortable silence between the two.

"What?" Percy said, trying to act like he hadn't been staring at her.

"In two months, you're going to graduate. What am I going to do then? I still have another year of hell."

"Well, once my prison sentence is over." Percy joked, knowing that she knew he was kidding as well. As much as he hated to say it, he was becoming rather fond of her. The next part was going to hurt, Percy could tell. "I would suggest going and befriending Luke and Annabeth and the rest of them." He said after a long pause, grimacing like it physically hurt to say those words.

"Really?" She said, not believing him.

"Yeah. You're smart enough to give Annabeth a run for her money. Seriously, who else was in senior classes as a Junior? Besides, all you'd have to do is talk about how shitty of a person I am and they'll let you right into their little clique."

"Why would I do that Percy? Do you think that little of me?" She stopped walking, clearly upset.

"No, No, No. I didn't mean it like that! It's just they can make your life a living hell, and they will, just because you talk to me. That, and...everyone does." He said, his voice and gaze dropping.

"Oh Percy. You're head really is full of seaweed, isn't it?" She said, looking at Percy, who only looked confused. "When I first got to California, the first person I properly met, was you. And again, here at school. Both times, you were kind. You listened, you tried to help, even though the first time we were both drunk! And you still tried to be a decent human being? Why would I abandon you for them? Just because it'll make my life a little easier? I'm not going anywhere, Perce." She finished, her voice firm and unwavering. Then, to Percy's extreme surprise, she hugged him. For a moment, he stood, unmoving, unsure what to do. When she didn't let go, he eventually wrapped his arms around her, too.

"I thought you needed that." She said when she finally let go of him, leaving one of his arms around his shoulder.

"I did." Percy replied, smiling down at her.

"Good." She said, and the two started to walk again, Percy's arm still around her shoulders.