Disclaiming all information... other than the plot.

Heads up to everyone reading, but, rated T for a reason. Sexual content, language, etc., etc., etc. You know the drill, so—shoot! Just enjoy yourself.

PROLOGUE.

I've been stalked before, I admit it.

I mean, I'm rather pretty, according to some people, and I'm pretty smart for a messed up kid living a messed up life. I usually like being alone, working on my own, and just having time to think in silence. I'm not lonely, I'm not depressed, and I'm definitely not disconnected from society. In fact, I loved life. I loved my crappy, crapped up life. Yeah, that's right, I'm not regretful at all.

So, when this dude starts to follow me home, I get the odd suspicion that my life is about to get a whole lot more interesting.

What was his name? Something along the lines of liar? Lion? Wait, I remember now, Leo. Leo Valdez.

He's one of those nerd-ish kids that go to the same school as me, and live right around the block. He's pretty smart, especially in mechanics and carpentry, and he never burns himself in the smiths (don't ask why our school has a black smith, even I don't know). But let's get this straight. Me. No. Likey. Valdez.

Valdez. Is. Creeper.

Creeper. Provokes. Thalia.

Thalia. Breaks. Creeper's. Nose.

See? I even wrote a math equation in my free time (meaning math class). Angry Thalia plus Creeper Valdez equals dead, run-over, road-kill lion corpse. I mean Leo's corpse.

Because I'm the type of girl who doesn't like being followed around, and certainly doesn't like the attention (like a particular cheerleading squad led by Selena), I told him off. Unlike most of the times I was being stalked, which consisted of me threatening them that I would bring out my dad's Harley and run them over with it, he didn't flinch a millimeter.

It's not like I really want to murder the guy, but he had been tailing me for a week before I decided to tell someone about it.

Being the type of girl who doesn't like attention from boys, it also makes me not very popular among my own kin; girls. My definition of HB High girls? Juvenile delinquents who wear make-up and nail polish, high heels, and skimpy clothes. The world could be a whole lot better off without them, and I wouldn't miss them a bit. Especially their rumors and personalities. I mean, they switched, matched and blinged every part of their bodies, so they just had to do the same for their insides too. Imagine being in a sea of gold, silver and sparkles. Now imagine them as people, times one thousand of how awkward you'd feel, and you would get a somewhat reaction of irritation inside of me. It was all so fake, just like their dyed hair, full-red lips, and perfect, zit-free skin.

I'm not too far off from them, not that I would admit it. Selena once told me I could be way prettier than I let on, and for a moment, like a millisecond, I was tempted. Then she said she had an outfit that matched my electric-blue eyes, and that turned me off.

Though most of the girls were either like Selena, or just drab, boring girls, there were a few nice ones.

Once, during eighth grade, we had this traditional camping trip where they took the entire grade for a five-day survival training course. I forgot my badminton racket (an essential for my personal survival) and ran back to the bus to get it. I was paired up with this blonde girl who insisted we stay together, so we both ran back to retrieve my racket. By the time we made our way down the hiking path, our grade was gone. She figured we must have taken the wrong turn, so we went back, only to get more and more lost than the first time.

If it hadn't been for our supplies, my out-door experience, and her map skills, we would have been dead as squirrels cooked on bon-fires. We were found two days later, and the traditional camping trip course had been bumped up to higher grades with more responsibility to take it.

Annabeth Chase, the blonde's name I learned later on, proved to be a good friend, and we shared a lot in common. She was a smart kid, but like all the kids in HB High, had an ugly life.

All the kids at HB High were kids whose parents were having troubles. From divorce problems, to money problems, to drug addict problems, if your life was horrible enough, you ended up at HB High.

My problem? No, I'm just a normal high school kid trying to live life normally. Unless you call a mother who drinks and physically abuses you, and a dad who never comes home from work and avoids any contact with you as if someone will notice the two are related, my life is pretty ordinary.

Annabeth's mother left a while ago because—she quotes—"It is logical to move on when a relationship fails." I could see why Annabeth was bitter with her mother. The way she said it, it made her mother sound like a robot and her dad's marriage with her mother like a laboratory experiment between two lab rats.

The only family that I had left that wasn't exactly anything to jump for joy, but not a total disappointment, was my cousin. His name, Percy Jackson, was pretty much all over the school. He was one of the dumbest, but hottest guys around, or so I'm told. He was pretty modest about it, never showing off, or trying to make girls swoon. Percy was Percy, just himself, and I think that's what made me admire him. He didn't have to be all fake like Selena and her troop of preppy girls. He was himself, just a nice, sincere guy trying to be friendly with everyone.

Of course, the girls still went all over him, batting their eyelashes and shrilling his name in their high-pitched girly voices. It made me want to run for the restrooms and vomit.

Our dads were brothers, and ran a famous travel agency that was passed down the family for a few ages. My dad ran the airlines agency while Percy's ran the sea lines and cruise ships. Percy and I were quite alike, though we fought vicious battles, there was one thing we both agreed on; our fathers were bastards. Both of them.

His father, Uncle Polson, spent a lot more time at sea than with his son. Percy's mom, Aunt Sally, had to rely on her boss, Gabe Ugly or something or other (I don't give a shit about his name). He was one of those stereo-type couch potatoes that sat watching the basketball game and munching Cheetos on his fat, lazy ass all night. He was the cruelest supervisor anyone could imagine. He had a moldy black beard, like he never shaved and let food get caught in it, not even slightly bothered by the awful smell of rotten breakfast living in his jungle of hair. He wore glasses much too small for his wide, pudgy face, and a belly that could make even Santa jealous—and that was saying something. He had stubby legs like he didn't use them a lot, and thick body hair all over his arms and neck.

Percy's mom had to put up with his sexual harassment, smile and laugh at his jokes, and flatter him just so she wouldn't get fired.

I remember once, when we were both about nine, Mr. Ugly walked into the apartment with Percy's mom, touching her hair and laughing while belching. Because we weren't raised to know this was a routine or anything, Percy's first thought was to rush over there and kick the dude in the nuts. I had to hold him back so he wouldn't pound his body into a bowl of mashed potatoes.

My mom brought back men home every so often. After a while, I grew angry that my mom would be going behind my dad's back and doing stuff she should have been doing with him, not random strangers. I was aware of the strange thumping noises and moaning, shrieking, and slamming against wall sounds. At first, I thought they were playing tag or something equally stupid, but as I got older and decided to expand my knowledge about the adult world, I became less naive. I learned a lot of useful tips, such as the sounds that I heard from my mother's bedroom were not games of hide and seek.

After that, when my mother thought I hadn't arrived from school yet, she led another stranger into the house, and I had a sudden inspiration to embarrass her. About half way through the loud sounds, I had pulled a broom from the closet, stood up on a chair just above her room, and banged the butt of the broom against the ceiling really hard. There was total silence and I yelled up, "Keep it down, Mom! I'm trying to do my homework! I'm having a little trouble, do you know anything about Sex Ed.?"

I had to say, my plan worked like a charm, because the random dude was out the door so fast, I didn't even have enough time to blink. My mom slapped me and called me repulsive names, but, like I said, it was totally worth it.

I told Percy about what I had done when my mother brought home strangers, and we decided to give it a try.

"Hey, mom!"

"Hello, Aunt Sally."

Percy's mom stared at us, her smiling delicate face, but her eyes were wild with fear. One message written across them; Help.

"Whose are they?" Boss Fat Ass grunted. The way he said, it, it sounded like he was saying what are they and where did they come from?

"Oh," Aunt Sally said. "This is my son, Percy, and my niece, Thalia."

We beamed ridiculously wide smiles that should have freaked out any sane human; I guess Gabe wasn't one of them. He snarled and shoved us aside. He walked right through the apartment with his dirty, smelly shoes, not bothering to take them off or the decency to wipe the mud. They squeaked under the just-cleaned floor and he thrust open the refrigerator. He pulled out a Mango Madness and popped the lid.

"Hey!" Potato Face looked down at Percy, his hands on his hips. "That drink is mine!"

Boss Fat Ass smirked. "Yeah, kid? What about it?"

"You can't have it, it's my favorite." Percy loved anything blue, and strange as it was, this Mango Madness was blue. One rule you had to live by if you knew Percy; mess with his mom or any of his blue stuff, and you're good as slaughter.

"Just watch me, punk." Potato Face poured the drink down his chubby throat until not a drop was left. He wiped his mouth against a hairy arm and patted his obese tumor; his stomach. "See kid? Can't do anything 'bout it now, huh? Not so tough are you?"

Percy watched the idiot as he laughed his face off, Percy's jaw trembling. At first, I was almost convinced he would start to cry, but I caught his hands curling into fists, and only one thing occurred in my head at that precise moment; Uh oh.

Percy lunged at the six foot drink-gobbling monster and punched his face repeatedly.

"Percy," I yelled. "Stop, Percy!"

"Give me back my drink," Percy insisted. "Throw it up!"

"Get off'a me, runt!" Monster roared.

"No, die!" Percy persisted. "Die, or give it back! Die, die, die!"

He punched over and over, I dragged him out, but not until the bastard's face was covered with bruises. Mr. Ugly gasped and sputtered his stout lips, trying to regenerate his lungs and breathe properly.

As much as I felt like laughing at his defeat, I knew this was going to end up even worse than we planned.

In the end, Percy's mom had to promise she would work double shift for a week, pay for Boss Ugly Face's hospital fees, and go out to dinner with him on Friday. It wasn't that bad, after all, Aunt Sally could have been fired, or worse, raped, but from her relieved eyes, we knew she was still in trouble.

If our fathers had been with us, none of these things would ever have happened. We liked to blame our dads for everything. From our moms' problems to school grades, we made up lies during our free time just so we wouldn't feel so ashamed of ourselves. Our dads didn't exactly play favorites, they just liked to do things their own way. My brother, Jason Grace, was taken from us when he was about four to learn about the airlines my dad owned and hoped he would take over some day. Because I was a girl, my dad explained, I wasn't allowed to take over the tradition. I nodded, but really thought all of his excuses were just bull-shit.

Uncle P. took Percy's half-brother, Tyson, because he knew more about the sea and had better experience. Tyson was a really kind guy, like the little brother you always wanted, and he would do anything for his family. He was really buff and tall for a kid younger than us by two years.

Other than Percy and Annabeth, I didn't really trust anyone.

So, back to my problem with Lion Baldy, er, Leo Valdez. I figured, hey Annabeth's smart. She'll help me figure this one out!

I walked into the math room, which her time was mostly spent drawing structures and such, and slid into the seat next to her. She told me about a million times how badly she wanted to be an architect when she grew up. I wished her luck, because if anyone found out she was from HB High, her opportunity would fly out the window.

"Hi, Annie."

"Hey, Liah." She mumbled, not looking up.

"How are you?"

She stopped. "Okay—who, or what did you kill?"

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"You only ask me how I am when you're in a crisis. So, who or what did you kill? I swear, if you killed a kid this time, I won't help you dig a grave—"

I laughed. "Chill, Annabeth. I mean, gods! You jump on me like I… yeeeah, I have a problem."

I asked her if she had ever been stalked before.

"Sure have," she said.

"What did you do about it?"

"Screamed, slapped, threatened, you know. The usual."

"Uh huh. Say, for an example, one guy follows you around and won't leave you alone. You yell at them and punch them, but they won't back off. Not that it's happening to me, no, not at all. I would do so much better than let a dude—"

"Thalia, what's his name?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do. You're being stalked by a guy who won't leave you alone and you're asking for my advice."

"What? No, my dear friend, you've got it all wrong. Psh. No! I'm not being stalked…" It was hard trying to lie to one of my best friends, so in the end, I spilled everything out.

"Well," Annabeth twirled a blonde curl around her fingers. "I think I have a solution… no, it's too dangerous."

"What?"

"I'm not sure you'll be able to do it, Thals. I know you won't survive…"

"What is it?" I demanded.

"Okay," Annabeth smiled. "Get a boyfriend."

I blinked. "W-wait. What?"

"You heard me. Or at least pretend. After the guy notices you hanging around another guy, he'll stop stalking you and give up hope."

Utter silence was slammed into my mouth. Date? Guys? Me? Those three words just didn't fit together right, let alone in a whole, complete sentence.

I started to laugh. "Oh, wow, Annabeth! You were so convincing, you had me there for a second…" From the expression on her face, she was dead-serious. "Wait, you're kidding right? It was a joke. Wasn't it? NO. WAY. Annabeth, you're crazy, I swear it. Sober up, Annabeth! I'm not—"

"Listen, Thals. Take my advice, since you came here for it. It doesn't have to be real, just ask someone to help you out."

I thought about that, but immediately realized I couldn't. "I don't know any guys. Well, not enough to do me a favor."

"What about those other weirdoes who used to stalk you?"

"Oh, Hades, no! They'll just start stalking me all over again and then I'll have another problem to deal with on my already-filled-up list."

"Percy?" I thought I saw her blush when she said his name, but she wasn't looking at me when she suggested it, so I wasn't too sure.

"No, everyone knows he's my cousin, whether they like it or not. And having rumors about me dating a family member isn't any Christmas wish on my list that I know of."

Annabeth shrugged. "Well, find somebody, and I would love to help, but my free period's about over, and I need to get down to the library. Some dim-wit needs tutoring in history."

I didn't even hear her get up when she left the room. Only two words were spinning around my head for the rest of the day.

Boyfriend? Shit.

WELCOME.

So, after noticing a few stories on Thalico, reading them, and liking them, I think I went out of my mind. I practically jumped into the Thalico bandwagon all together.

Yeah, that's how great Thalico is, and how addicting it got. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for love/hate relationships.

I apologize for the suck-ish name I created for Posideon. I couldn't think of anything else, I was so caught up with the story itself I didn't plan the names.

Athena would be beating me to pulp right now. You should always have a plan!

Also, I feel as though the characters are a little... OOC-ish, but since this is an AU (Alternate Universe), I guess you'll have to expect that. After all, they don't have weird monsters chasing them for their blood to shape their characteristics exactly to the point like in the real story.

ANYWAYS, I'm currently writing the second chapter, then I'll need to edit it a few times over, so the next update may be... next week some time?

Reviews would be liked, flames welcome, constructive critisizm adored.

-NW :3