THALIA

Thalia Grace was having a pretty shitty day. It wasn't because she was threatened with suspension, again, for punching out some punk in class. It wasn't even because those idiot gangbangers tried to jump her on the way home but she sent them home packing for causing trouble in her turf. No, she was annoyed because as it turns out she has a cousin!

Whoopee, so cool to have yet another relative she doesn't care about. Thalia reacted to that piece of information with the same enthusiasm a tax accountant would to his unappetizing wife. But what really put the cherry on top was when her mom told her that he would be living with them for the unforeseeable future.

"What?!" Thalia yelled, spitting out her milkshake (she really liked that milkshake!) and standing up to glare at her mom. "Mom, you can't be serious."

Penelope Grace regarded Thalia with mild indifference. With her big curly blonde hair, fashionable make-up, and red glittery dress she looked like a Hollywood celebrity, but Thalia glared at her like she was some B-list actress.

"Perfectly so," she answered succinctly. "He will be here soon and you are expected to treat him well."

Thalia crossed her arms. "There's barely any room for the three of us here, mom. This new guy will just be a waste of space!"

Penelope raised an eyebrow. "You have the biggest room…"

"Oh no," Thalia said, holding her hands up. "He's not sleeping in my room with me."

"Of course not."

"Okay, good…"

"You'll be in Jason's room while the boys occupy yours."

"Mom!"

"End of discussion."

"Discussion?" Thalia snapped, slamming her hand on the table. "That didn't sound like a discussion to me. It sounded more like you not giving me a choice in the matter entirely!"

Penelope faced Thalia with a frosty glare, startling her and making her recoil slightly from her cold gaze. "Do not speak to your mother that way," she told her quietly yet firmly.

Thalia regained her composure, clenching her fist like ready to defend herself. "Maybe if you started acting like my mom…"

Thalia expected her mom to explode or get angry or something but Penelope just turned back around, huffing silently under her breath like she was disappointed in Thalia's behavior. That just made Thalia even angrier but the anger subsided as her fist relaxed and a frown tugged at her lips.

"Whatever you think of me…" Penelope said suddenly. Thalia's eyes widened and she wiped at them suddenly, waiting for her to finish that thought but Penelope shook her head and said, "Your cousin will be here soon. You will be expected to pick him up."

Thalia scoffed this time out of confusion rather than anger. "In what? My 5-speed bike?"

"The driver will be here shortly," she answered, looking over her shoulder with a coy smile. "I expect you to greet him warmly."

"Driver?" Thalia echoed but Penelope ignored her. "If he's so rich then why is he staying here?"

"Apparently he is a lot like you," she answered, finishing up her make-up and turning around. Thalia hated to admit it but she looked stunning, she glanced at the mirror behind her and frowned even more. Her mom was all pretty while she just looked like some punk kid with her choppy black hair and gothic-inspired make-up.

"He is quite the troublemaker," she finished, patting Thalia's shoulder. Thalia tried to imagine that but she couldn't get the image of some rich, snobby kid threatening the poorer kids financially speaking, or whatever. "His father sent him here in order to fix his behavior issues and because no school where he lived before would accept him."

"Can you at least tell me his name?"

"You met him before when you were young. You two were practically inseparable." But Thalia just gave her a confused expression. "His name is Percy Jackson."

Thalia was a bit skeptical when her mom mentioned a driver but there it was. A black stretch limousine pulled up in front of Thalia's apartment complex and a bald driver with a neat black suit and a five-o'-clock shadow stepped out. He looked kinda like Jason Statham, so, Thalia called out, "Wow. Sweet ride, Jason."

The driver frowned. "My name is—"

"Seriously, how much is this?" Thalia asked, stepping forward and touching the car, memorized by how shiny it was like she was a child. But Jason was at her side and slapped her hand, Thalia didn't even realized when he got there.

"Rule 1: Don't touch the car," he told her in a gravely voice.

Thalia stared at him incredulously but he just sighed. "It was a joke, you called me—never mind. Ms Grace, I presume?"

"Thalia," she corrected, holding out her hand. "I don't use my last name."

He took her hand and shook firmly. "Okay, Thalia. I'm—"

"I think I'll call you Jason. It might get confusing since that's my brother's name but I'm committed now," Thalia interrupted with a grin, unslinging her backpack and stepping in the back seat of the car. Jason sighed irritatingly but quietly went to the driver's seat. Thalia tried to contain her excitement about this car but was unable to.

The back seat looked big enough for six people, it was rounded out with a little table thing in the middle with a bunch of drawers in it that probably contained a bunch of rich people stuff like stocks, portfolios or whatever. There was a fridge-type thing embedded in the seats behind her but when Thalia went to reach for it, Jason rolled down the separator window and said, "Sorry, Thalia. I don't have any non-alcoholic drinks for you."

Thalia grinned and shrugged lightly. "That's fine, I wasn't looking for any…"

"Thalia…"

"Fine, fine!" Thalia raised her hands. "Just kidding."

Jason stared at her for a few seconds but closed the window. The car started silently and they drove off. Thalia smiled as she sat conservatively in the middle of the seats like a child visiting a friend's house for the first time. After a few minutes of driving, Thalia relaxed and stretched herself out, legs splaying over the table and her arms outstretched like she was lying in bed.

"So, Jason. Why are you in the driving business?" Thalia asked, looking at the windows and watching the buildings melt together in seamless transition. "Can't be very fun picking up rich kids and driving them around."

Another block had passed before he said anything. "It isn't all bad," he answered. "It isn't just the boss's kid I chauffer, after all."

Thalia glanced at the separator window, trying to imagine what it'd be like to have tons of money at hand and have someone driving her around like this. It was a lot easier imagining her as a knight. "And how is he? The boss's son. Apparently, he's my cousin but I don't remember ever meeting him."

Jason didn't say anything again and when Thalia looked up she noticed he was looking at her on the rearview mirror with a quizzical expression. Thalia felt a bit self-conscious and sat up straight under his scrutiny. "He's like every other kid," he finally answered.

Thalia scoffed almost bitterly. "Except the whole one-percenter deal he's got going on."

The rest of the trip was done in silence. Thalia normally hated awkward silences like that but this time around she welcomed it. There was a type of anxiety that bubbled in her stomach about meeting Percy. If they were so close when they were young would Percy remember her? Probably not.

Finally, Jason rolled up to the airport and got out. Thalia would've been fine waiting in the car but Jason walked over her door and opened it up for her. With a scoff, she reluctantly hopped out and followed Jason into the airport. Thalia hadn't noticed it before but Jason was holding up a white sign that said PERCY JACKSON on it in fancy cursive. She cursed under her breath as it took her a few seconds to decipher that spaghetti mess.

"When's his flight getting here?" Thalia asked, looking around for… no one because she didn't know what he looked like.

"He should be arriving now," Jason answered placidly.

"Is that him?" Thalia asked pointing at a rather heavy-set gentlemen eating a large bacon burger with ketchup and BBQ sauce dripping on his shirt.

Jason shook his head.

"Oh, what about him?" She pointed at a really tall dude with long black hair and piercings all over his face that somehow matched his black and red t-shirt and pants.

"What about—"

"There he is," he said, holding up his sign higher.

Thalia looked to where he was looking but a large crowd of people was now approaching. She couldn't tell which one was Percy but then she finally noticed. A relatively tall guy with messy black hair stood out from the crowd. He had headphones in his ears and was fumbling with his iPod but Thalia could see his sea-green eyes. He didn't dress like a rich kid. Percy wore a simple orange t-shirt with jeans and sneakers. Even his backpack and iPod looked cheap and worn out.

Percy glanced up and stared straight at Thalia. His green eyes were so bright it practically popped as he met her own blue eyes. He smiled and for a second Thalia's stupid heart skipped a beat, it was then she noticed he was smiling, and looking, at Jason.

Waving at Jason, Percy grabbed his bags and headed on over. Thalia looked away, embarrassingly, and sub-consciously began brushing at her hair with her hands. Percy approached Jason and gave him a high-five. "Hey, Argus," Percy greeted with a grin. "I didn't know you were in New York."

Jason-Argus smiled and took Percy's bags. "Good to see you too," he said politely, careful to disregard Percy's inquiry. "This is Thalia Grace, your cousin."

He gestured at Thalia and the young girl stiffened and bowed her head nervously. Percy looked at Thalia as if he was seeing her for the first time. His sea-green eyes were unsettling, she couldn't tell what he was thinking from his eyes. Thalia frowned and kept looking at her feet.

"Nice to meet you," Thalia said, raising her hand to shake his. But Percy just stared at her with a curious expression, leaving her with her arm outstretched for a good 3 seconds until he finally shook her hand firmly.

"Yeah, nice to meet you, Thal," Percy greeted with a small smile.