Chapter One
AN: Hey guys! It's Mack! I'm back with another story! Just to say right off the bat, I haven't quite figured out an update schedule, so it'll likely be pretty spastic for the most part. Unlike my first story for Once Upon A Time, this one is in the Percy Jackson fandom. For any Once readers of Reclaimed Love, I hope some of you guys from the PJO fandom like this one, too, and same goes for any new readers as well! Without further ado, here is the first chapter of When Green Meets Gray.
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rick Riordan.
Quote: "The best way to predict the future is to invent it." - Alan Kay
Annabeth awoke to the blaring sound of her alarm, as she did each morning. After letting her eyes rest for a few more moments, she shut off the sound and drug herself out of bed, stretching as she did so.
Not buying into the whole first-day-look, she pulled on a pair of black jeans and a simple white shirt. She tied a blue and purple flannel around her waist and slipped her feet into her usual comfy white high-top sneakers.
Making her way into the bathroom, she simply ran a brush through her honey-colored blonde curls and let them hang loose. The only makeup she bothered to apply was a little foundation and powder along with mascara. She didn't wear any jewelry except for a collection of bracelets and bands on her wrist.
Taking a deep breath and looking into the mirror, she gazed into her own stormy gray eyes.
The first day of junior year, she thought, shouldn't be different than any other.
Making her way downstairs, Annabeth was greeted by her stepmom Brenda's typical bitterness.
"Finally, you're awake. Time to make breakfast, your brothers need to eat," she said with her usual sneer.
"With pleasure," Annabeth replied sarcastically. She had long since given up on defying Brenda.
After whipping up some scrambled eggs and bacon, she yelled, "Boys! Time for breakfast! Don't wanna be late!"
Her twelve-year-old brothers, Bobby and Matthew, came hurtling down the stairs and each grabbed a plate she made.
"Thanks, Annie!" they said in unison.
"I said don't call me that."
"We know."
While she hadn't always, Annabeth really loved her half-brothers. They were completely oblivious to Brenda's torment of her, for she only showed her true colors when they were alone. They were good kids, though, and she had had no one else to spend time with when she was younger because her dad was working all day. It had been either playing with them or Brenda forcing her to do all the household jobs she didn't want to do.
Quickly scarfing down her own breakfast, she ran back upstairs just to brush her teeth before coming back down, grabbing her bag, and heading straight out the door with a shouted goodbye that received no response.
Homeroom: Room 1466
1st Period - Architecture: Room 1272
2nd Period - English - Room 1364
3rd Period - U. S. History - Room 1874
Lunch
4th Period - PreCal - Room 1773
5th Period - Physics - Room 1749
6th Period - P. E. - Gym 1
7th Period - Health - Room 1232
This was her schedule for the year. It didn't look so bad. Having PreCal and Physics back-to-back would be annoying, but she could handle it. P. E. at the end of the day does suck, though.
Finding her locker (conveniently close to her homeroom) she deposited a few books into it and was about to shut it when she heard a voice drawl from behind her.
"Aw, well if it isn't Annabeth all alone. Gee, you only had one friend and you drove her so crazy she had to leave the country. That's rough."
Drew.
Drew Tanaka was your classic shallow teenage girl. She was wearing a short mahogany-colored skirt with gold buttons up the front paired with a tight black shirt and a leather jacket. Her designer black ankle boots matched her designer black handbag and she had a very expensive-looking gold bracelet peeking out of one of her sleeves. Her dark hair was curled eighties-style and her layers of makeup complimented her tan Asian skin.
To say it short, she looked flawless and she knew it.
"You know why Piper moved," was all Annabeth said back.
"I know what she said, hon, but you and I both know the real reason. She couldn't stand being associated with a loser like you."
"Just leave me alone, Drew," she said flatly.
"I will for now, but I hope you have a good year being friendless." At that she walked away, deliberately swinging her hips with every step, maliciously grinning at all the boys ogling her.
Annabeth allowed her mind to think back to Piper for a few moments.
Piper McLean was the only friend she'd ever had. She'd been here ever since fifth grade, and the two of them never left each other's side. Piper was a real charmer. Her Native American skin tone and choppy brown hair left most people speechless, and she could usually get whatever she wanted if she tried hard enough.
But Piper had never been one of those girls. She had always been nice and kind to everyone, especially to her. Popular kids had tried to drag her away to their cliques, but she had always stayed with Annabeth.
The only thing, though, was that Piper's dad, Tristan McLean, was a mega-movie star, and he started filming in Paris, and she had to go with him.
Leaving Annabeth all by herself.
With those thoughts fresh in mind, Annabeth started towards her homeroom class, beginning the school year with outstandingly low expectations.
"Percy! Wake up! You have to go to school!"
"Ughhhhh," he groaned as his mom pulled him out of bed. "Do I have to?" he said lazily, making his way over to his dresser drawers and pulling out random clothes.
"Yes, now hurry up," his mom said, walking out the door to start on breakfast.
Five minutes later, he found himself in a blue t-shirt and jeans along with black converse, staring in the mirror at his own sea-green eyes.
Junior year, he thought. Fantastic.
Heading into the kitchen of their small apartment, his amazing mom had his usual plate of toast ready for him as he sat down to eat.
"Ready for your first day, Percy?"
"I guess," he replied glumly. "I just don't understand why we had to move."
"Honey, you know it was too hard to stay in that area, after Gabe."
He inwardly cringed at the name. Gabe Ugliano, whom he had nicknamed 'Smelly Gabe' as a kid, had been married to his mom for eight years. He was awful, always demanding food and beer, but they had needed the income he made.
A few months ago, though, his mom had finally earned enough money from working at the candy store in Grand Central Station to file a divorce and get away from him. Now she was working on pursuing her dream of being an author.
He understood why it was hard for her to stay in their city. He found out only after he was gone that Gabe had been hitting his mom, and it just made his blood boil. She was the best person in the whole world, and she didn't deserve any of that.
"I know, Mom, it's just, New York to San Francisco? It's just a huge change, that's all."
"I get it," she said, grabbing his hand, "but you'll do great at this school. You'd do great at any school. Now on that note, don't be late."
One look at the clock told him he needed to haul it to Goode High (funny name, right?). He shoved down the last bite of his breakfast and booked it out the door.
"Bye, Mom, I love you!" he said over his shoulder.
"I love you, too, Percy, have a great day!"
The school wasn't very big, much smaller than that fortress of a high school in New York, but it was a school, so it could never be exactly welcoming. After a quick stop to the counselor's office for some basic directions, he picked up his schedule and examined it.
Homeroom: Room 1466
1st Period - PreCal: Room 1773
2nd Period - English: Room 1364
3rd Period - U. S. History: Room 1874
Lunch
4th Period - Marine Biology: Room 1627
5th Period - Physics: Room 1749
6th Period - P. E. - Gym 1
7th Period - Speech - Room 1733
His schedule actually didn't look that bad. The only real academic classes he had back-to-back were English and U. S. History. But he knew that having P. E. at the end of the day was gonna suck.
The thing is, Percy had always hated school. Mostly because of his dyslexia and his ADHD.
Yep, he had both of those, and it made sitting in a classroom for seven hours a day looking at words and numbers incredibly fun. His grades had never been good, the only thing motivating him enough to pass was the fact that he didn't want to let down his mom. Besides, they would never be able to afford summer school anyway.
The only class he was really looking forward to was Marine Biology. There had always been a part of him that wanted to be near the ocean. His mom said he got that from his dad, who left before he was ever born.
Back in New York, he and his mom would take trips to Montauk Beach and stay in their own cabin. Just the two of them, without Gabe. They would stay up late laughing and telling stories, and going home was always dreaded. He would miss that beach.
There was a beach nearby, though (they are on the East Coast, after all), only a few hours away by car. He would have to go there sometime.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Percy realized he didn't have time to go to his locker yet, but he knew it was somewhere near his homeroom, which was exactly where he headed with about thirty seconds until the bell.
Giving a sigh, he walked into his first class, his expectations for this year dropping rapidly.
"Take your seats, please," the teacher said at the beginning of class. He was an older guy with brown hair in a wheelchair. "Your seats today become your seats for the year."
There was a scramble as kids hurriedly tried to grab a seat by their friends. Annabeth didn't have to worry about that, though. She knew where she sat: in the front by herself.
Looking behind her and surveying the room, she saw all kinds of different people in the class. There was a boy next to her with blonde hair, glasses, and icy blue eyes, the same eyes as the girl in all black sitting at the very back of the class with her feet up on the desk. A big Asian guy and a small African American girl were sitting next to each other with timid expressions. A boy with black hair and startling sea-green eyes was sitting a few rows behind her, looking like he'd rather be anywhere else. A small Latino kid with an elfish face was sitting on her other side, literally bouncing out of his seat with all his hyperactiveness. Reaching the far left side of the room, Annabeth's eyes landed on her, and she grimaced.
Drew gave Annabeth a sickly sweet smile with an underlying message of I'm gonna make this year really fun for you, and then returned to a flirty animated conversation with Luke Castellan.
Ugh, she hated him, too. With his rugged blonde hair and his cold blue eyes, he was easily the most popular boy in their grade. His build was tall and strong, and he was the captain of the football team, basketball team, and swim team. He was so full of himself, but I guess that's what made him and Drew such a good match.
"Alright, class, I hope your day is starting off nice. I'm Mr. Brunner, and I will be your homeroom advisor this year. I'll start class by calling the roll. Listen for your name, please."
She only picked out a few names other than her own.
Jason Grace, the blonde guy on her left (she remembered that Piper used to have a crush on him, but she was more familiar with the name than the face)
Thalia Grace, the black-haired girl in the back
Percy Jackson, the boy with the sea-green eyes
Leo Valdez, the fidgety kid on her right
After all the names had been called, Mr. Brunner continued with his introduction.
"Now, this class will be quite different from your others. You won't have tests or quizzes or lectures-" most of the class grinned, "-and most of your time in here will be spent participating in group or individual study. Today, however, since you haven't been to any classes, you can just talk quietly."
Great, Annabeth thought. She pulled out her book (a biography detailing the lives of refugees in Saudi Arabia) and was just getting into it when a voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Hey," he said.
She looked up and saw it was the blonde guy, Jason. Examining him closer she saw there was was a small white scar on his upper lip. Maybe she would ask how he got it.
"Hey," she said back. The silence grew a tad uncomfortable before he broke it again.
"Is that book any good?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's, really good." Annabeth wasn't used to anyone taking that much of an interest in her. It felt nice.
"Weren't you friends with Piper McLean?"
"Oh, yeah, we were best friends, but she's in Paris now, so," she left her statement open before coming back and adding to it. "Actually, I spent a good chunk of last year trying to persuade her to ask you out."
"Wait seriously?" Jason's mouth was hanging open like a fish. She nodded with a grin. "Why didn't she?"
Laughing she responded, "She was nervous that if you said yes, it would just be because of her dad."
Jason groaned, obviously frustrated with himself.
"What?" she asked, "Did you like her?"
"Yes! And not because of her dad. Ugh, I should have asked her!"
"Why didn't you?"
"Because she's Piper McLean. I didn't think she'd say yes!"
Annabeth couldn't stifle a giggle as he groaned again.
"Stop laughing!" Jason said, but he himself began to smile.
Annabeth stopped her chuckling as she realized something. "We haven't actually introduced ourselves. I'm Annabeth Chase." She stuck out her hand. He shook it.
"I'm Jason Grace."
Annabeth felt a little bit better knowing that she had at least one friend now.
AN: Hope you guys liked that, I'll be back soon with Chapter 2, let me know your thoughts!