A/N: Some notes on etymology: Cynthia Selasphoros is this universe's version of Artemis: Cynthia was a surname for her, derived from the place she and Apollo were born, and Selasphoros was one of her titles, meaning light-bringer. Hephaestus is known as Clyde Valdez here, but his real name is Clytus, which was used as a surname for him, meaning famed and renowned. The backstory behind Zeus' name, Dion Ólimbos, is in retrospect a little boring: both are simply the Italian versions of Zeus and Olympus respectively.

Supposed to be a longer fic until I realized that there was no possible way I could actually finish this within the next two years, with the rate I usually went. And to think, I actually wrote out some lore for this! To be fair, only 5% managed to be relevant enough to make it into this particular story, so who knows? Maybe I'll deem this world interesting enough that I might write more of it.

Also, yes, the title comes from a pun on that one Steven Universe episode, "Rising Tides, Crashing Skies", mainly because it seemed appropriate.

"You missed a lot," were the first words out of Leo's mouth when they finally saw each other. Jason just groaned, held on to his backpack, and grabbed a cup of cheap coffee from Leo's arms.

"I know," he said, and rolled his eyes. He took a sip from his cup and grumbled thanks, pipes in appreciation.

"The darned flu really got you, huh?" The aforementioned girl said, fixing up her waterproof bag. "We thought you died."

He smiled at her, "I'm not that lucky, Piper."

Piper's grin was blinding, though he guessed it came with having an actor for a dad and and a model for a mom. Sometimes Jason couldn't believe that a stunning girl like her would hang out with a bunch of weirdoes like him and Leo, but he can't really complain all that much when she brought her own share of weirdness to their friendship.

Leo snorted. "He missed the first three days of school," he said. "I'm surprised he isn't hyperventilating out of anxiety."

Piper whistled lowly, and she smirked. "Big words, Valdez. Annabeth must be rubbing off on you."

"He wishes," Jason said, and he couldn't help but smirk at Leo as well.

Annabeth was smart and incredibly able to kick Leo's sorry butt, which meant he was exactly Leo's type. She shot him down almost hilariously quickly. Not to say that they weren't still friends, what with their engineering and architectural interests going hand in hand, but Leo did have to walk around with a throbbing black eye for the entirety of an afternoon.

Besides, since she's the top honors student, it wouldn't exactly go well for the rest of their little group if she just up and left them without a study group leader.

They rushed along the campus to the place where they usually hung out, occasionally cracking jokes at Leo's expense and talking about how the past few days were at Helles High. Him and Piper and Leo used to unofficially own the unnoticed makeshift park at the back, but now they share with the rest of the gang. Leo still liked to remind everyone else that they were the original members and thus they should be considered superior. Annabeth usually just rolled her eyes and grumbled under her breath. Hazel would normally calmly and politely request Leo to shove it up his piehole, because Frank was getting uncomfortable.

"Good morning!" Jason called out, once they reached the hangout. It was just like how he remembered it — which wasn't surprising, considering how it never changed. A small pond to the left and marble columns to the right, a temple in the middle with a quaint hearth inside. From an architectural standpoint, the school was more of a haven for your average Greco-Roman historian, really. He would know. He had the mission-slash-vision of Helles High memorized by heart, and the classic look that they totally rocked was part of it in every single way.

Of course, his familiarity with the place only meant he spotted the stranger right away.

Said stranger was sitting down by the lake, apparently just staring at the fishes before they had arrived. He flinched at the sound of Jason's voice though he managed to pull himself together for a snarky remark. "What's so good about it?" He said, stood up, and stretched enough to show a sliver of lightly tanned skin under his shirt.

Once he faced them, it felt like lightning had struck Jason's very being.

Whoever this guy was, his rugged handsomeness seemed like he was one of several marble statues that littered the school; only much more alive and much more pretty to look at. He had a strong jaw and stronger biceps, with legs long enough to get attention but not enough to be taller than Jason. The shirt he was wearing was bright enough to highlight how even and bronze and just all around good his tan was.

And his eyes? God, they looked like they could pierce through a weaker man's soul. They were green enough that Jason felt like he was some sailor hopelessly captivated by siren song, green enough that he felt like he had just witnessed a tsunami crash straight into his heart, green enough that he felt like he could see the turbulent seas within them if he stared just a little longer.

In conclusion, a very hot stranger, but a stranger nonetheless.

And normally Jason would be a little protective over his turf; all sharp eyes and teeth gnashing and growling. His Wolf Look, as they called it. Leo and Piper usually joined in with a wrench and a killer smile.

But they just brushed past him to give the guy a brofist and a cup of coffee, Percy scrawled in the middle and more than a few doodles of a dolphin in a gold glitterpen that was undoubtedly Leo's.

What the hell—? Jason thought, and he vocalized this.

"Hey," the outsider said, all tousled hair and bright eyes. "You're the blonde guy! I'm Percy."

"I'm assuming you're named after your cup," he said, raising an eyebrow and and mouth turned downwards distastefully. He refused to be bought by pretty eyes, no matter how much they made his mouth run dry.

And maybe other people would've thought Jason was being rude. Maybe they'd be right. He's been told to come off as the typical privileged white dude, with a holier-than-thou attitude that's completely untrue once you get to know him. Of course, the truth was that Jason was just more of a territorial dog with fangs that were more than willing to bite anyone that dared hurt his friends.

But all the (still hot) stranger — Percy, who apparently wasn't intimidated at all — did was light up and say, "I like you," which was both flattering and unusual and Jason didn't really know what to do about that.

So he let his Wolf Look give way to a wolfish grin.

"Everybody likes Jason," Leo snarked, when Percy returned the grin with a wink. "You're not that special."

"Ah," Percy said, wagging his finger. "The special thing about me is that Jason likes me back."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Ladies, please, you're both pretty and Jason likes the both of you, don't be so possessive."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself," Jason said, looking at Percy, whose eyes twinkled at the challenge.

Nobody's actually tried to challenge Jason before. Argue, maybe; pick a fight, definitely. But to dare him for no reason was considered a bit suicidal to the average citizen, since he was stubborn and determined and headstrong to the point of being compared to a thunderstorm. Nobody challenged Jason Grace.

Then Percy came into his life and suddenly there was someone who did.

He raised an eyebrow. All the other teen did was wink.

Jason grinned and Percy grinned back. Finally, he thought, and promptly felt his heart skip a beat.

Leo whistled. "That has to be fastest pick-me-up I've seen in my entire life. With Jason, no less. Dude, you have got some mad skills and you need to teach me your ways."

Percy simply shrugged off the hand that Leo put on his shoulder and, laughing, he said, "You couldn't be as smooth as me even in your dreams, Valdez."

To which Leo immediately went into a tirade about his ability to attract the female species and the totally sexy engine oil on his clothes and have you seen me? i am muy caliente, amigo which Percy rolled his eyes at, though he was smiling nonetheless. They went down to the pond, and while Leo was still on his rant, Percy just sat down on the grass and looked up bemusedly at him.

Which, of course, left Piper and Jason to lean on the columns. And now that he wasn't part of the conversation, he could size Percy up and maybe glean some more of his personality from his appearance.

The first thing he could get was the guy must like blue, a lot. His sneakers were blue, his backpack was blue (and there was a little dolphin keychain hanging there, incredibly similar to Leo's doodle), and his shirt was blue. He was a little surprised that Percy didn't have blue hair or something like that, though there was a grey streak in that windswept black mess which he couldn't help but be curious of.

Probably the only things that Percy was wearing that weren't blue was a trident necklace hanging on his neck, and his black jeans which were...incredibly tight. Coupled with the (also rather fitting) v-neck, Jason could tell that the guy must be getting a whole lot of exercise to be looking like that.

Now Jason could admit that Percy was attractive; it was the first thing he noticed about him after all. Objectively, Percy was very attractive. He had piercing sea-green eyes, a breezy smile, and a tan that anybody would die for. He had pretty much all the qualities you want in the ideal guy; a little funny, a little confident, a lot cute.

Helles High students tended to fall in love with the same guy over and over again. Jason was, for some god unknown reason, that guy — or at least, this batch's guy. From what he could see, Percy was just a guy built out of the same mold.

That's it.

Or, well, that's what he told himself. If only to distract himself from the fact that Percy's lips looked deliciously pink, even from their (admittedly rather short) distance.

Piper sipped her coffee and Jason did the same with his, if only to hide his face. So while Leo and Percy were busy being bros, he pretended Piper wasn't sending him knowing looks over her cup. If there was anybody who could sense attraction, it was her. If there was anybody who could set people up like nobody's business, it was her. And if there was anybody who could see that Jason's rather quick acceptance for the new guy went far beyond i think this guy might be cool, it was the Cherokee girl with choppy hair sitting right beside him.

Before Piper could say anything on the subject, Annabeth burst through the bushes with a radiant smile. The books in her arms and the laptop bag slung over her shoulder was normal. But she wasn't usually so chipper in the mornings; what with her multitude of classes and accompanying responsibilities as the school's vice president.

Percy lit up when he saw her. "Wise Girl!"

"Seaweed Brain," she said affectionately, as he pulled her into a hug.

Now that they were close together, Jason couldn't help but notice that Annabeth's random grey streak of hair (which he assumed was just because of stress) completely matched Percy's.

They pulled away from each other, and that's when Annabeth noticed him. "Hey Jason," she said, breathlessly. She nodded to Piper and Leo, both of whom raised their cups in greeting. Jason just kind of waved at her from the side.

Percy chuckled while she cleared her throat. "Well. I think that we should introduce the both of you to each other."

"Done," Leo chirped.

Annabeth raised her eyebrow.

"Right," she said.

"Oh," Piper said, "it went swimmingly."

Percy started cackling.

Jason was incredibly confused.

Annabeth turned to him and said, "Jason, meet Percy Jackson. He just transferred from Goode."

That struck a chord. "You mean that school downtown with the horrible smell and swimming team we can never beat?" he asked. Then he turned to Percy, who was still laughing, "No offense."

He paused enough to give a blinding grin. "I totally agree about the smell."

"They won't be known for their swimming abilities any longer," Annabeth said, looking smug, "I mean, since we have their star player."

Percy waved, and Leo did jazz hands.

Piper handed Annabeth her cup.

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Huh," he said, and took a sip. "So what brings you to Helles?" Because, well, not a lot of people knew about it anymore, and even the people who did tended to sneer at the name. They didn't exactly have a good reputation.

Leo downed the rest of his coffee in one gulp and said, "He was smitten by my extraordinary good lucks and charming sense of humor."

Piper choked on her drink.

Annabeth just smiled. "I told him to," she said, and Percy rolled his eyes.

"We met at a summer camp when we were kids," he explained. "I hated her and she hated me and all that. Then our counselor got mad at us and forced us to bond by making us help a kid find his jacket. We ended up friends and exchanged emails and then our numbers, when we finally had cellphones."

"Okay," Jason said, "so?"

Annabeth drank from her cup before she answered. "Practically every time we talked, he complained about Goode. But his mom and stepdad didn't want him to transfer since he was doing good there. For the first time ever, basically."

Stepdad. Alright, why not?

"Really cool teacher there," Percy said. "He challenged us at swordpoint every time we had to write on the board. Why wouldn't I do good, right?"

"Getting off topic," Jason murmured. "But that is wicked."

Percy looked at him directly with a charming, happy smile and all the air said sayonara to Jason's lungs. "See," he said, "he agrees!"

"Anyway," Annabeth said, with a wave of her hand. "He didn't want to disappoint his parents, but he didn't want to stay at Goode either. There were lots of bullies there—"

"I hate bullies," Percy said. "No matter where they're from."

"—right, so he got a lot of detentions." Jason couldn't help a chuckle at that, and Annabeth just smiled at him. Percy shared a brofist with Leo. "The system was itching to expel him, but he always acted in self-defense and was bringing a good name to the school."

"Mr. D hated me the most," Percy pouted.

Jason's heart skipped about half a beat. "Who the hell could hate you?" he blurted out.

Piper suddenly started laughing. "Oh man," she said, "do we have a shock for you."

"It's not my fault that a lot of people hate me," Percy defended.

Annabeth snorted and downed the rest of her coffee in one go. "We can talk about this later guys, we have about ten minutes left until class."

Leo crushed his cup in his hands. He always finished first because he liked anything hot. "Don't really care."

Percy nodded, while Jason sighed. "I do," he said.

"Sparky says we go," Piper shrugged. "So let's go."

Percy stopped in the middle of looking for his ballpen to raise an eyebrow at Jason. "Sparky?"

He grinned. "You're not the only one with stories to tell."

They met Hazel and Frank by the school entrance, shyly holding hands with each other. Jason smiled instantly when he saw them. The couple had only met last year, when Frank somehow managed to talk his family into getting him transferred from the extremely militant Ultor Young Men's Academy to comparatively rather lax Helles, but the two had been pen pals the summer prior and were both pleasantly surprised to find out that the other was there too. One of the greatest escapades Jason had ever participated in was the plan to get them together, which included rubber skeletons, a stuffed elephant, and a beach ball.

"Jason!" Hazel beamed, rushing over to hug him. "I can't believe you're back."

"Yeah, well," he ruffled her hair once she pulled away. "Couldn't stay sick forever, now can I?"

Frank awkwardly raised a hand in greeting. "Hey."

"Hey yourself," Jason smiled. Frank's awkwardness was always a little adorable, but it was also a little jarring to see a huge guy like him try and make himself look smaller. "My girl Hazel treating you right?"

Leo suddenly made a strangled noise, and laughed, pointing at Frank's collar. "Frank Zhang, is that a hickey?"

"No," Frank automatically said, while Hazel's eyes lit up and she started nodding enthusiastically in the background. Piper stifled her giggles behind her knuckles, Annabeth raised an eyebrow, and Leo fistbumped Hazel.

Percy took a few seconds to look Frank over. "Sloppy technique," he casually said, and took a sip from his cup. "But that's none of my business."

Has he given a hickey before? Jason thought, and suddenly his mind was teeming with images of Percy sucking on some lucky girl's neck, pulling away with a devil-may-care smirk and hooded eyes. Or maybe Percy writhing in pleasure as a lucky boy bites down on his collarbone, cheeks red and moaning.

This whole attraction thing really wasn't good for Jason's blood pressure.

"It felt good enough," Frank murmured, a pink tinge on his cheeks.

"I know," Hazel chirped, and to everyone's laughter, Frank somehow managed to go even redder.

"Alright, that's enough about that," Jason loudly declared. "I don't think we need to know any more about Hazel and Frank's evolving relationship. What we need to do is get to class."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "Actually, that's what we need to do. What you need to do is go straight to the headmaster's office."

Jason couldn't stop his groan if he tried. He tried to ignore Percy's twinkling laugh as he walked away and trudged to what he considered the most overrated and needlessly dramatic building he's ever seen in his entire life — administration.

Great, he thought darkly. What does dad want now?

Now, being the headmaster's son usually came with a lot of perks. For a white, handsome, relatively smart and athletic guy like Jason, that meant that he would be ruling the school in a typical teen movie.

Nobody in the school actually knows that he's the headmaster's son though.

So real life was in no way like a teen movie, and Jason's just one of the guys that got lucky and ended up being semi-popular anyway. He thinks about whether his life would be easier if people knew he was the illegitimate son of the Dion Ólimbos, but he quickly put the idea out of his mind.

That wasn't the life he had. He had no use in wasting his time thinking about it.

He knocked three times and slowly opened the door. "Good morning, sir," he politely greeted.

The leather chair turned around to reveal a black-haired man with a graying beard, the sunlight accentuating the harsh lines set upon his olive skin. He slowly unclasped his hands and beckoned Jason closer with a slight nod of the head.

His sneakers felt out of place in the ornately decorated office, squeaking on the hard wood floors that he could tell were polished every morning. He was wearing just a nice shirt and what he considered his best set of jeans, but that didn't compare to the headmaster's clean-pressed suit. Even the way they held themselves was different; they had the same rigid posture, sure, but while Jason had the air of quiet confidence down, the other man had an added weight of wanting to be the most imposing and powerful in any room he was in.

The lightning-blue eyes of his father, the exact same color as his, weighed heavily on his shoulders.

"Jason Grace," he said, and he always forgot how deep his father's voice was; like rolling thunder. "It has come to my attention that this is your first day of entering school. It has been three days since the official start of classes. Do you mind giving me an explanation?"

You rat bastard, Lupa told you I had the damn flu, Jason resisted to say; mainly because it was rude, but also because it wasn't strictly the truth either.

His father didn't need to know that Thalia had shown up at his doorstep in the dead of night and whisked him off in a ridiculous silver motorbike. He barely got to see his sister enough as it was, after she ran away four years ago to join Cynthia Selasphoros and her growing gang of biker girls, and he treasured the few moments he got to see her dearly. Three days of undivided Thalia time was a miracle in itself, and he wasn't about to pass up the opportunity, despite having a coughing fit every ten or so minutes.

It didn't hurt that Thalia had chosen to shed some light on the family situation, and why, exactly, a man like Dion Ólimbos couldn't just pay some lawyers and newspaper rags to somehow twist Jason and Thalia's illegitimacy into a tearjerking sob story.

TV STARLET DEAD IN A CAR CRASH, was what the headline read. Through shaky hands and the tears the blurred his sight, Jason managed to catch an alleged affair and said to be driving away from Ólimbos mansion. And to think Thalia had kept this torn article with her for twelve years, just waiting for the right time to tell her little brother the kind of dark past the two shared.

Thalia had asked him, Do you get it now? And Jason thought about his father's position, the kind of image that surrounded a powerful man like him, and how all that could be taken away once the world discovered that his rumored romance with Beryl Grace was not only true, but went on for long enough that they produced two children together.

Jason, Thalia prompted.

I understand, Jason had replied back, the black and white image of his mother crumpling in his hands.

Despite what truths his sister managed to uncover for him in the last three days, he tried to look at his father with a confident smile. "My regrets, sir. I was sick in bed for the last few days. Though I made sure my guardian called the school in order to notify you of this. I thought my case was already settled."

His father's frown only deepened. "Be that as it may, the schoolwork you have missed is not something we can easily discuss over a phone call."

It's the first three days of school, Dad. I don't think I missed anything that I can't easily catch up on, Jason thought bitterly. The fact that you don't know when to leave things alone is going to expose the both of us one day.

Not that he wasn't glad to spend time with his dad. But it was annoying how much his father still didn't act like a father to him, not even when the both of them were alone.

Jason was handed over his schedule for the rest of the semester, along with a list of requirements due for the end of the week and a note about the lessons he's missed, if ever. And while he was thankful for all the trouble his father went through, not once in the entire meeting did Dion Ólimbos acknowledge him as his son.

Though he understood the necessity of it, it still stung.

Luckily enough, Jason had a good set of teachers and he was confident enough that he could scrape by the school year even if he did it with his eyes closed. A few of them even had a bias for him, so Jason considered that a bit of a plus. Though his pride wouldn't let him get away with anything less than a B, the fact that he wouldn't have to work that hard for it gave him a little more room for a little leeway. Since his dad's nonchalance and non-acknowledgment always felt like it was lightly strangling him, that space to breathe was welcome.

So it was in relatively high spirits that Jason entered the school canteen, only for that to crumble as soon as he walked up to their usual table.

There he was. Percy Jackson, eating a sandwich.

And because the rest of their merry band of friends always had something holding them up from actually arriving at their table on time, he was left alone with his half-crush (since Jason vehemently denies having an actual crush), who looked like he was going to come with every bite.

God help him.

"I haven't eaten a bacon sandwich like this before," Percy said. Or, at least, he tried to say it, his voice muffled. Once he finished his sandwich with a loud gulp (his third, judging by the wrappers on his tray), he aimed a toothy grin at Jason and patted the space beside him.

Needless to say, he took a seat.

"So," Percy drawled, dragging out the o. "How was your first day back in school, Jason Grace?"

My dad, he thought sullenly, has shown some hint of caring about me today, so I guess you could say I just witnessed a miracle. Although he couldn't say that out loud, so he settled on a far more impartial, "Uneventful so far, but the day isn't over yet. What about you, Percy Jackson?"

"Pretty great," Percy grinned at him. "I just met the ever-elusive blonde friend that all my other friends were all talking about, my other blonde friend has volunteered to tutor me in math, and the only blonde that works in the canteen has just given me three delicious sandwiches. I'm riding pretty high."

"You've got a thing for blondes," Jason noted. He sipped from a juice box and he tried not to get his hopes up.

"Well," Percy shrugged. "Yeah. I guess so."

His heart thumped furiously under his ribcage.

"Oh," Jason said, weakly.

Percy gave him a puzzled look, and it was adorable, in the way that baby seals might tip their head sideways if they were confused. His button nose seemed to scrunch, his mouth set in a petulant pout, and those green, green eyes were focused all on him.

I like you, Jason's heart seemed to say. And I can't believe that's possible, because we've only met today, and I don't know anything about you aside from your name and your weird kink for anything blue, but I kinda feel like lightning courses through my damned veins every time I see you.

Just like that, the new guy at Helles High had totally enraptured him.

Leo cleared his throat from behind them, which startled Jason so much he almost fell backwards from his chair. "Do you mind if I crash the party?" he asked, though he was already taking his usual spot beside him.

"I'd be okay with some crashing," Percy said, amused.

"A little warning might be appreciated next time," Jason groused, and righted himself. He finally took out the sandwich wrapper and took a bite. It was just as delicious as Percy made it seem, and he couldn't help but copy the sounds the other boy had made just a while ago.

Leo just ignored him and snorted, inelegantly, before downing a can of Coke in one go. "S'not like you actually fell. Besides, Sparky, you could totally win a match against the floor if you wanted to."

"Hypothetical championships against marble tiling aside," Jason rolled his eyes, and boy, did he let a wave of pride wash over him as Percy sniggered quietly into his fist. "You're a little early today. What gives?"

"What gives," Leo grumbled, petulantly, eating half of his sandwich in one bite and not even giving so much as an appreciative sigh in delight, "is that my dad asked to see some of my patents and I can't even find the good ones anymore."

"Oh," both Jason and Percy said, not knowing what else to say.

Leo's dad, Clyde Valdez, was a popular mechanic for being both cheap and dependable. He was also widely identified as somewhat of an eccentric, because he spent a lot of his free time rummaging for scraps in the city dump — although he did, somehow, manage to convert those same scraps into elaborate metal sculptures that he put up on display and rarely sold. He was certainly a weird guy, but Jason didn't think he'd be all that upset about Leo.

Before he could open his mouth to reassure his friend, Percy sighed deeply.

"Man, that's rough, buddy," Percy offered. Leo nodded his head, despondent, while Percy continued. "I'd hate it if I disappointed my dad too, y'know? Not like he'd stop loving me and all, but it'd just suck to see his face."

"It's like a hammer falling on your foot," Leo muttered, letting his head bang on the table. "Except it falls on your heart."

Jason didn't feel like that made for a good metaphor, but Percy nodded like he understood.

Changing the subject, Jason asked, "So, dad, huh? Could've sworn you said something about a stepdad earlier."

Percy looked at him, confused, and those doe eyes were looking straight at Jason again. "Nothing wrong with that, right? It's not normal, but. Didn't figure this was that normal of a school either."

Well, Percy wasn't wrong. Helles High was built on the wealth brought by his first-generation immigrant great-grandparents, so the facilities the school bought coupled with the Greek-inspired curriculum they had made them a bit unorthodox. The students here were even weirder, mainly because the fairly good academic standing and top-notch equipment had fooled so many wealthy and prodigious people into filing enrollment forms for their children. Thus, there was a bit of an ideological rift between those of high-class and the kids of the locals, who know a bit more about the rather unsavory aspect of Helles' reputation.

If Thalia was to be believed, that reputation came all the way from the top of the ranks, so to speak. Jason immediately understood what she meant.

But this wasn't the time to mull about his father. Right now, his best friend beside him was mulling about his father, there was a cute boy on his other side who must have been the son of a god or something to look that good, and there was the mother of absolutely delicious bacon sandwiches right there in his hand.

Needless to say, Jason already had a family of problems right there in that table. And the rest of his friends hadn't even sat down yet, though judging by the loud bang of the canteen doors and Frank's signature laughter, he could tell that they had just arrived. Even though they were across the room, Jason could hear them with no problem.

"Can you believe that Helles has a perfectly respectable field right out there but they wouldn't let me hold an Equestrian Club?" Hazel complained.

"I'll be sure to take note of it," Annabeth said, amused. "But I guess the board would be concerned about having a club with only one member."

Hazel's shriek was indignant but ultimately in good nature, and Annabeth was trying to apologize through her giggles. For his part, Frank was doing his very best to not to laugh too, but Piper said something about horses and flyingand it was enough to make all four of them break out into loud laughter as their made their way to their table.

By this time, Leo had already propped himself back up and was drawing some designs on the little black notebook he always brought. Jason had just finished his second sandwich, and while waiting for the rest of the gang to take their seats, was watching Percy.

More than the other boy's attractiveness was the fascinating way his face was full of emotion. Right now, he looked more than a little serene; his chin resting on the palm of his hand and his mouth set in a tiny, lopsided smile. His eyes were alight in wonder as he stared longingly at the four, almost like he forgot that he was their friend too.

So Jason bumped his knee under the table and when Percy looked at him, he smiled.

"Hey," he said, "you know you're one of us now, right?"

For one frightening second, Percy looked like a deer in the headlights. Just when Jason was about to say sorry for the entirely unnecessary statement, i'll politely throw myself off a cliff now, Percy's face broke out in a dazzling smile that took his breath away.

So this was Jason Grace's life now: trying to survive Helles High as a semi-popular guy, while his controversial father-slash-headmaster tries to cover up his controversial birth, with his crazy friends and the unfairly cute boy they somehow managed to pick up in the three days that his runaway sister took him out for an unplanned road trip.

Not the best life, he mused. Though he supposed it certainly wasn't the worst either.