A/N: I know. You hate me. Whilst in the middle of writing UCL I have started TWO new fics. Not even just ONE, but two fics! But there is a valid reason for this. My friend (Oakleaf101) and I have decided to do a collaboration on this fic. We've promised ourselves that we will finish this story (because we write so many non fanfiction stories that never reach their ending point) and honestly I'm really proud of this story so far.

I have also promised myself that within the next two days I will post Chapter 9 of UCL.

Quick Note before you read: The pairings for all my stories are pretty much the same (Percabeth, Frazel, Jiper - or whatever their ship name is) so before you scream at me & Oakleaf101, DON'T WORRY. But technically that was a spoiler so I'm going to shut up now and go write Chapter 9 of UCL.

Happy Reading (and please review!)

Disclaimer: This whole story, while it was written by myself & Oakleaf101, does not actually belong to us. The characters and whatever else RR has copyrighted is his. The only thing that is ours is the plot. :D

Chapter 1: The Football Game

The players on the field took off their helmets for halftime. Cheerleaders from the visiting team led their audience in a loud cheer before performing a series of complicated flips and maneuvers.

Jason, a popular freshman in the stands, was impatiently waiting for Hilbury's cheer to begin. On his left was Annabeth, who had been his girlfriend going on two months now. They were both captain of their respective gender's soccer team, so the school wasn't very shocked by them dating.

"Give me a H!"

"H!" the audience yelled back—all but the visiting team, who booed. Jason yelled along with the rest of the student body until they'd spelled out "HEDGEHOGS".

Jason heard the other team laughing about their mascot, which admittedly wasn't the most intimidating animal they could have chosen. But hey, Jason hadn't been there when they opened the school and to be fair Mrs. Fletcher, the science teacher, kept a pretty mean hedgehog in her classroom. Last year Jason had taken Fluffy, a name which made no sense whatsoever, home, only to be bit and stuck with a quill every morning when trying to give the evil creature a piece of lettuce.

"Woo!" the cheerleaders all gave flashy, white smiles and a few did one-handed cartwheels. Jason ended his hedgehog reverie back at the cheerleaders. With their short skirts and tight tops, Jason found that the majority of the student body's male population was practically drooling over them, but not Jason. Before he and Annabeth had gotten together, he had pretended to like them to fit in with his cheerleader-obsessed friends. But he just wasn't really into it. The whole cheerleader attitude just didn't fit Jason's description of a perfect girlfriend.

And so, despite the fact that Jason had many opportunities to "get in good" with the cheerleaders, (they cheered during his games), Jason had really never taken that particular opportunity.

"Hey," Annabeth tapped him on the shoulder. Jason turned to look at her and blushed as he realized that he had been studying other girls. However, Annabeth didn't appear to be bothered. She knew her boyfriend wasn't the kind to cheat. With soft golden curls surrounding her face and sharp grey eyes that seemed to see everything, Annabeth was one of the prettiest girls at Hilbury. She was also one of the smartest, always getting A's in every class, as well as athletic, being the captain of the girls' Varsity soccer team. As a result of this, she attracted lots of boys.

But Jason trusted her. That was another trait about Annabeth- she was completely trustworthy. Plus, she was a feminist with self-respect so Jason knew that she wouldn't do anything with another boy that she would be ashamed to tell him about.

Not for the first time, Jason wondered when she was going to run for Student Body president. Or get accepted into Yale or something.

"I'm getting a Sprite. Want anything?" she asked. She dug through her purse for a few dollars.

Jason shook his head and thanked her, not really in the mood for anything fizzy. She smiled and got up, attracting the attention of a couple guys behind her who looked at her in a fashion Jason didn't particularly appreciate. He was her boyfriend after all. But Jason had never really been an overprotective sort of boyfriend, especially over Annabeth, so his gaze soon returned to the field where the cheerleaders could be found returning to their seats on the sidelines. The football players marched out and got into their positions on the field.

"Down…set…HUT!" the quarterback yelled. He eyed the sea of gold and maroon football jerseys, assessing the situation. He hesitated only for a moment before throwing the ball to one of his team members. Whoever caught it (Jason thought it might be number 72, but he couldn't really be sure) ran like the wind; some of his own teammates holding the opposing team back. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he reached the end zone. Hilbury jumped and screamed as one big wave. Jason felt proud to be part of such a spirited team.

O.o

"It's already past halftime, we really shouldn't go," Nico complained, pushing a lock of dark hair out of his eyes. He pouted.

"It'll be fine. I asked my friends to save us a seat," Hazel said, smiling, "C'mon…it'll be fun!" Nico made a face; large, crowded places weren't really his thing. And he didn't really know much about football.

"Mom's already in the car," Hazel said. She opened the door to the garage and gestured towards it. She pleaded with her eyes and Nico felt he had to give in.

"You know what? Fine. But as soon as the game's over we are leaving." Nico stomped towards the garage, pushing the same lock of dark hair out of his eyes as he slammed the car door.

He sat sullenly in the back seat with his arms crossed the entire way there. Why was Hazel making him go? Didn't she understand this wouldn't take the State Prison rejection letter off his mind?

Anger flared very suddenly inside of him. He didn't want to go to this game. All he really wanted was to see his real sister, only the stupid, stupid government wouldn't allow it.

Just as suddenly as the anger had come, it died down, replaced with another emotion that was slightly unfamiliar- guilt. It wasn't like Hazel could hear his thoughts but he still felt bad. She tried so hard and been so nice to him...he couldn't really not consider her a sister. It was just that sometimes she tried too hard, in a way that made it all seem fake. Sometimes it was like he was a guest in her house rather than a family member. Like when she was overly polite, or bought him two scoops instead of getting one scoop for herself. Stuff a real sister usually wouldn't do, like ending an argument suddenly by saying he was right and she was sorry, as if she didn't want to break him.

Like dragging him to this stupid football game.

O.o

Leo laughed along with the others when Tyler, one of his closest friends, opened his Coke and an angry stream of dark liquid shot him in the face. But, not for the first time, his laugh felt kind of…empty. Tyler threw the (now empty) Coke can at a fellow team member who caught it in the air and laughed.

As Tyler drawled on in his distinct southern accent (pretending to scold the boys for shaking his Coke when he hadn't been paying attention), Leo found himself watching the group from the outside, instead of being in the centre of it like usual. He wasn't feeling very rowdy today, for some reason. He looked over at Jason, who apparently felt the same way. He was sitting quietly with Annabeth, intent on watching the game.

Leo looked at his watch. It was almost the end of the third quarter. He might as well just make an excuse and leave. But that wasn't what Leo Valdez, or at least Leo Valdez while attending Hilbury High, did. Leo Valdez from Hilbury was the life of the party, who found humour in every situation (no matter how awkward or disgusting) and brought a sort of fun energy to the group. With this thought, he smiled tiredly. The constant party lifestyle was wearing him a bit thin, but that didn't necessarily mean this lifestyle should stop.

So with a grin, this time full of Hilbury Leo's energy, he joined the group and was soon laughing and shoving along with his friends.

O.o

Nico sat on the bleachers, having maybe the worst time of his life. It wasn't just the crowd that was making him uncomfortable (although it did add to his discomfort). It was this girl sitting next to him, making vain attempts at flirting. Maybe five minutes ago she had approached him, with a large smile on her face. The pretty brunette had plopped down next to him and hadn't shut up since. Nico had the uneasy feeling that he was supposed to say something, maybe ask if she wanted to go grab a cheeseburger with him.

But Nico only liked guys, so this girl was really getting on his nerves. He didn't want to down her self-esteem by telling her he just 'wasn't interested' so he remained quiet.

But after she commented on his silence, playfully punched his shoulder, and winked, Nico had had enough.

"Look, I'm gay, okay?" he burst out. She didn't reply. Her mouth just closed of its own accord, as if it was taking the girl a few minutes to process this information. When she finally replied, there was a rather suspicious tone to her voice.

"Really? Like, you're actually gay and not just saying that to get rid of me?"

Nico felt a tinge of annoyance and nodded stiffly. Why did no one ever believe him when he declared it openly? It was almost like they expected him to be embarrassed about it. Then he tried to arrange his features into the most sympathetic look he could imagine (it was rather dramatic, he thought), but it did the trick. Looking very red and embarrassed, the girl ran off. Nico wondered if the teasing would start again. The finger pointing and whispering and the bullying.

But at the moment, he really didn't care.

A/N: Do you like it? Please say you do in a review! Oakelaf101 should be posting this exact same story on her account so you don't need to check it out on her account, but you should check out her other Percy Jackson stories!

Thanks for reading!

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StrawberryofLife xx