Hello people! It's my first fic, so don't hold back on the criticism! I know most authors tell you to go easy and stuff like that, but don't. The more you critique, the faster I'll improve. :D

Enjoy!

Let me tell you one thing. When someone knocks on the door in the middle of the night, it's usually a bad thing. Like the time when that weird one eyed guy knocked on our door demanding for dad. Okay, he more of knocked down the door rather than knock on the door, but you get the whole idea, right?

So anyways, me and my best friend, Percy Jackson, who also happens to my neighbor, were playing twenty questions after doing our homework. We were kinda at home alone, because all of our parents miraculously won tickets to an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii. And no, I am not in love with Percy. He's, like, what? Two years older than me?

I was at the sixth question and as always, I asked the same old question.

"Percy, who's your girlfriend?"

"This is, like, the hundredth time you asked this question! Her name's Annabeth, okay?" Percy replied, rolling his eyes.

I actually knew who Percy's girlfriend was, but the only reason I asked him this question was because he would always tell me a fantastic story about her. My favourite story was the time when Annabeth was kidnapped by Kronos, an evil gang lord. He tied her up in chains, then made her hold up this 'Sky Rock' which supposedly felt like the sky was being dumped on you when you held it. Then, Percy rescued Annabeth and Annabeth helped kill kronos's second in command, Luke. Sometimes I think Percy's talking crap, but hey. It's entertaining. Can't turn down entertainment when you have it.

"This is her." Percy proudly pulled out a picture of Annabeth. I haven't met her in person yet, but I bet she's really nice. And she's really pretty too.

I sighed. That one eyed guy that I mentioned earlier? He left me something. Something that I hated. A huge scar. It ran down the side of my cheek to the back of my neck and totally marred my face. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a vain person. I just don't like it when people stare at me when I'm at the mall, or when the waitress asks if I'm sure I can pay for that expensive meal I just bought. Why are scars affiliated with gangsters again? Oh right, the media. I mean, come on. It's not my fault that the one eyed guy pulled out a giant sword and slashed it down my cheek.

Percy gazed at her like she was his world. Maybe she really was his world.

"Hey, Percy," I flipped over, lying on my stomach in my comfortable pyjamas, "tell me about that time Annabeth held up that 'sky rock' thingie! Please?"

"No, anther time, okay?" Percy ran his fingers through his jet black hair. He never really liked that story, for some reason. I mean, he was just blabbering nonsense to entertain me, right? There is positively no such thing as the 'Sky Rock'.

"Please Percy? Pretty pretty please with flowers and cherries on top?" Alright, I'll admit, I made my voice sound a little babyish and whiny, but it always works for kids, so why can't it work now? I'm a kid, right? Well, technically I'm not a kid anymore, but my mum says that I'm young at heart. Quote unquote.

"Fine," He conceded, shaking his head at my childish behavior. Told you I would get my way.

"Thank you!" I threw my arms around him, grinning widely.

"So, it was summer, and we were going to see these cousins of mine..."

Then, before he could continue, there was a knock on the door. That was when my life got screwed up major big time.

Percy POV

Someone knocked on the door. Who could it be? I mean, both of our parents are in Hawaii (Don't comment, Aphrodite just loves sending couples on random vacations when she's bored) Nobody would come knocking on the door in the middle of the night. I followed Elise down to the main door. When she opened the it, we were greeted by a policeman. I peered closely at him. Wait...have I seen him somewhere before? Maybe he's a demigod. He does look a tad bit like Hermes... But that's not important. Now I have to find out what a policeman was doing outside Elise's house.

"Er, you're Miss Elise, right? Well, I have some, er, bad news. Your father is, er, dead." That's weird. The demigod even inherited his father's tendency to say 'Er' when he was lying. Wait... If he's telling a lie... But that's not really solid proof. Let's see what else he has to say.

"Er, there was a freak accident at the empire state building and the lift that your father was in, er, it kinda crashed." That doen't add up. Our parents are in Hawaii, and now this policeman tells us that Elise's father was in a lift, at the empire state building, in new York city?!

"Wait, hold on a second. Our parents are in Hawaii right now. What sort of sick joke is this?" I demanded. If this guy thinks he can fool me, he's wrong. Just because I'm ADHD and dyslexic doesn't mean I'm stupid! Anyway, he has no proof to back up what he said.

The 'policeman' flashed a photo of what look like the remains of a city hit by an earthquake. Not a pretty sight. I squinted at it, not sure why this picture made Elise take in a sharp intake of breath. I stole a glance at her face. Her features were twisted in shock and horror. Something in this picture had made the blood drain out of her face. Something that I had somehow missed. I took a closer look at the photo and realized the background looked familiar. Then, it struck me like one of Zeus's thunder bolts. That was the empire state building, and the twisted mess that was in front of me? I think most of you have already guessed the answer. The remains of the lift that went all the way to the top floor - and crashed.

This was wrong. Very wrong. But if this guy had told the truth about the freak accident, I don't even want to know if he was telling the truth about Elise's father being in it. I tried convincing myself with rational logic. Parents on vacation could not possibly appear dead in a lift right in NYC...or could they?

Elise POV

Today is so not my day. First, this policeman tells me a very very unconvincing lie. Then he shows me a photo that took my breath away, which is not a very good sign. Only two things take my breath away. That cute boy living down the street and things that horrify me. I'll let you guess which category the picture falls under. Suddenly, as surreal as the policeman sounds, he might just be telling the truth. Painc seized me. I had to go there. I had to. Just to confirm dad isn't dead. He's safe in Hawaii. Not dead.

I didn't know why, but something told me that the policeman wasn't lying. Something told me that my dad had moved on to the afterlife. As unlikely as it sounds, I just knew it was true.

"Take me there. NOW!" I yelled, trying to be intimidating. I guess I succeeded, because the next thing I knew, I was being driven to the accident site with Percy by my side.

The site was crowded. There were cordons everywhere. But the most striking thing was the atmosphere. It crackled with some sort of energy. It felt like there was some sort of electric death trap hanging in the air, waiting for the tension that held it together to snap, frying us all. That was the least of my worries, though. Because what I saw next made me freeze on the spot. It made the blood drain from my face. It made goosebumps start to grow all over my arms and legs.

A coin.

Now you're probably wondering why a coin would tick me off like that. Simple. That was my father's. He always took it every where he went. He never, ever parted with it. Never. How do I know it was his? It was made of bronze. It had unique greek designs all over it. It could pass off as an artifact that belonged in a museum. It was worth more than tens of thousands.

"No no no no! NO!" I screamed. I was on a full scale panic now. Why in the world would my father's coin be here, at the empire state building? I felt like someone was squeezing my chest, like someone was crushing me. This could only mean one thing. Somehow Dad had transported from Hawaii to here. Somehow, by some twisted fate, dad was in the freak accident. Somehow, he had died.

I ran forward, not caring that some burly policeman was yelling something about danger. The world faded. There was only one thing in my mind. Get the coin. I grabbed it, and made sure no one took it away from me. It was mine now. Mine. Somehow, the gears in my brain just stopped turning. They just stopped. I could practically feel myself going crazy. It was like the wires in my brain all fused at once, like my brain was a bulb and it blew.

I stared into blank space. All the loud noises, they were just a distant yammering. I couldn't hear anything, whatever I saw, I didn't process.

I felt someone put a hand on my shoulder. Percy. I didn't care about anything else. My father is dead and nothing will change that. I felt someone gently pull me away. Percy. I felt someone put me in a car. Percy. I felt someone unlock the door. Percy. I felt someone tuck me in bed. Percy. But the fact that my Percy was here didn't change the fact my father was gone. Nothing can be worse than this.

Nothing.

What do you guys think? CRITICISE! Was it rushed? Was it too 'mood-swingy', or maybe I should cut down on the flowery description... Flame if you want, just make sure it's not about something stupid. I don't mind flames, but if you want to leave one, at least make it a LEGITIMATE flame.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing all the CC!

Thanks for reading! :D