When Artemis told Annabeth that she was going to high school, she was very displeased.
When she learned that the rest of her band was going with her, she sighed in relief.
When she figured out that her rival artist, Percy Jackson, and the rest of his band were going to the exact same high school, she considered dropping out against Artemis' will.
And her Mother's will.
And her Father's.
And her band's.
(You get the idea.)
But she didn't care. She didn't think her education was worth her sanity, as Percy Jackson would drive her insane.
But she endured the entire hour and a half of school supplies shopping, because it excited her mother, as it had been three years since she had been able to do this with her daughter.
And she endured her friends talking excitedly about finally mingling with people (specifically guys) their age without having to sign an autograph or take a picture.
And it wasn't like Annabeth hated school. Sure, English was hard because of her dyslexia, but she valued her education almost as much as her mother did. She enjoyed gaining new knowledge, learning about things that had previously confused her.
But, she had gotten used to the private tutor she had. She liked things that were consistent. Things that were permanent.
Plus, she didn't have to deal with annoying pricks when working with a tutor.
But there she was, in the backseat of Artemis' car, struggling not to make a negative comment about the whole ordeal.
Annabeth sighed, shifting her backpack in her lap. She gazed out the window as Piper sang along with the song playing in the radio. Reyna reached back from the front seat and shoved her jokingly, even though it still was a strong push.
"Ow." Piper glared at her. Reyna shrugged, smiling slightly.
"Girls, play nice." Artemis hummed as she pulled into the parking lot. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. The architecture alone would make her stay in school, she decided.
"That is one big high school." Hazel whistled, hopping out of the car.
"Yeah, that I can agree on." Calypso walked behind her, gazing at the four story school. Annabeth moved to follow them, but Artemis was quick. She grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the seat as her friends walked off, watching everything and anything.
"Annabeth. I know you're not excited to go here," She started.
"Was it that obvious?" Annabeth sighed, shifting her bag again.
"Yeah, a little bit. Now, you just need to have a positive attitude." This is good for the band. Good for publicity. Make some new fans, make some new friends. It's good for you. Plus, you can live with your mother now." She suggested. Annabeth shrugged.
"I guess there's that." She said.
"Alright. I won't keep you waiting any longer. Go, make sure they don't get mobbed. We put you girls in those defense classes for a reason." Artemis smiled slightly as Annabeth nodded, hopping out of the SUV.
"Annabeth, c'mon!" Piper called. People stared as she hurried to her friends, walking fast as she hoped to escape the stares.
"Two bands at one school." Someone whispered excitedly.
"Do you think I can get an autograph?"
"She's mine. I had dibs." Annabeth frowned at the ground as she heard that. She hated when people treated others like an object.
She caught up to the rest of the band, who were signing autographs and taking pictures. Piper's smile seemed forced as she waved to a fan.
"It's no different from normal." She muttered.
"Did you expect it to be?" Annabeth asked quietly, avoiding the gazes of desperate fans trying to catch her attention.
"I guess I hoped it would be. God, I'm turning into exactly what I wished I wouldn't."
"Famous?"
"Yeah, pretty much." She sighed, thanking a purple-haired girl who held the door open for them. She nodded in response, bopping her head to her headphones. She didn't seem to recognize them
"Vanessa! Where we're you? I waited at your house for twenty minutes!" A furious brunette raced up the the girl with the headphones. Vanessa snorted at the girl.
"What? Milo dropped me off again. I didn't tell you?"
"No, you jerk. Taylor's sick, so it's just us tonight. I still can't believe you." The girl fumed as the band rounded a corner. Annabeth checked the sticky note.
"Alright. Our lockers will be picked out for us in homeroom."
"Okay… Where's homeroom?" Piper asked.
"Reyna and I are together. Piper and Hazel, you're in room 582. You have your schedules for the rest of the classes. Calypso, room 618. Reyna, c'mon. Room 573." She ordered, walking down the hall and waving to her friends. They waved back and split up in search of the classrooms.
"I guess we're lucky we haven't seen them yet." Annabeth muttered.
"Don't say that. You'll jinx us." Reyna said as they climbed a flight of stairs. People gawked as they parted through the crowd. Soon people parted for them before the girls reached them, which made it awkward.
"There." Reyna pointed. Annabeth followed her into the noisy room. There was a crowded circle of people in the back of the room, and Annabeth groaned. Only a few people sat at their seats. A pale, pixie haired girl with two pink highlights in her dark hair was whispering to a brown haired girl, their heads close together.
"Is that one of them?" Annabeth huffed.
"Who else would it be?" Reyna muttered. She took a seat, Annabeth next to her, in the farthest seat possible from the creature in the back corner. Sadly, it saw them.
"Look, my fellow classmates." An obnoxious voice called out. Reyna and Annabeth groaned simultaneously. It was (possibly) the worst of them all.
"Why him?"
"The gods hate us, that's why. Be happy it's not Jackson, though." Annabeth shrugged. An elvish boy wandered over to them, tossing an arm around both of the girl's shoulders.
"It's my two best friends!" Leo Valdez cried out, hugging the girls tightly. They both glowered at him as people took pictures of them.
"Get off me, Valdez." Reyna growled. He retracted his arm quickly.
"Do I need to say it too?" Annabeth frowned. He pulled his other arm back and stepped away.
"Well, these two woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I'm gonna leave them to… whatever they're moping about." He told the crowd as they laughed, crowding around him again.
"Sit down. Quickly now, come on." A brisk teacher strode into the classroom and everyone rushed to take their seats.
"Hello class, can you please take out the work I handed out yesterday. We will be finishing it today. If the new students would please come to my desk, I will explain what we are doing." He sat down as the students rummaged for their work. Reyna and Annabeth shared a glance and stood up simultaneously. People stared as they walked towards the teacher. He continued writing for a few seconds before looking up with a stern expression. Reyna and Annabeth both turned to see Leo trying to see over their tall shoulders. They parted so he could see.
"Hey teach!" Leo grinned mischievously.
"Hello, Leo. I am Mr. Inman, you're new Global Studies teacher. Here is the work that your classmates are currently butchering, so I will ask you three to please try on this worksheet. I would like it if you worked together."
"Yes sir." Annabeth nodded. He gazed at her.
"Sir. Hmm, yes. I quite like that. Off you go." He said, smiling slightly.
"Great! Let's get to work, girls!" Leo grinned wider as Annabeth and Reyna glowered at each other.
"Great." Annabeth muttered.
"Harrison, Gregory. Nice work, as always." Mr. Inman told the two girls as they nodded. He moved around checking the classes work. A blonde girl glared at the two in the corner, who promptly ignored her.
"Hmm. I'm liking what I'm seeing, you three." He told the three superstars. They nodded silently. This teacher didn't seem to be someone that you would mess with.
The bell rang, and the two girls raced out of the room. Annabeth found that odd, but she didn't go find them. She had other things to worry about.
"Hey, can I have an autograph?"
"Take a picture with me!"
"Let's hang out sometime!"
"I've been a huge fan ever since I can remember!"
"This again." Reyna muttered as they finally left the room, the group of fans chatting excitedly in front of them.
"You and Piper both. I knew this would happen." Annabeth huffed, checking her schedule for her next class' location. "I'll see you later." She said, heading in the opposite direction of her dark haired friend. She nodded and left, parting crowds without physical force. Annabeth hid a smile. Reyna had that effect on people. A true daughter of her Roman mother.
Annabeth walked with her head down, hoping to hide her face. She passed a large crowd of people surrounding someone, and she easily could guess who it was. She went by unnoticed, but she knew she had only delayed her meeting. It would happen. And she would regret it.
The next class she was alone. And the next. Alone. Without friends. Having to deal with starstruck students alone. That sucked, Annabeth decided. She didn't like that. One bit.
"Can I have an autograph?"
"Yeah, me too!"
She made her way around the classrooms, signing papers and notebooks.
"Hey, you forgot me!"
"Yeah, can I have one too?"
"You gave one to her, give me one!"
The students became more and more pushy the more she refused. It became sort of scary at certain points, and she wondered if she would have to use that defense training to escape the classrooms. She forced her way out of the door, hoping that she didn't just make new haters.
The next class, an old friend of her's (from before she became 'famous') Thalia, had waited for her. As soon as Annabeth figured out where the school was, she had contacted Thalia. She had been ecstatic, immediately comparing their schedules. Three classes together, Annabeth had found another reason to stay at the school.
"I hate people." Piper stormed into the mostly empty lunch room, slamming her lunch tray to the table viciously. Annabeth looked up at her, taken aback.
"What?"
"I. Hate. People." She repeated with the same amount of viciousness. Annabeth raised an eyebrow, snorting slightly.
"Why? What happened now?"
"They wouldn't let me leave! I was literally stuck in the classroom for thirty minutes, and missed Science. I mean, I'm grateful, and all, but can I get to class? It's my first day, for gods sakes." She huffed, crossing her arms and eating her pizza violently.
"Look who's here, boys!" A deep voice said 'happily' from behind her. Annabeth groaned and moved tables. Piper glared at the famous, draw-dropping, extremely 'hot' boy band in front of her, not moving.
"I've had a miserable day, you aren't moving me." She growled at them. Leo laughed loudly, attracting plenty of attention. People started to wander near them, pulling out their phones and pens. Annabeth sighed, standing back up and sitting next to her friend, not feeling mean enough to leave her with the boys.
"Get lost." Reyna said, sitting next to them. The boys laughed harder.
"Nah. It's fun to annoy you."
"If you want to continue breathing, leave before I snap your neck." Piper snarled. Annabeth saw Frank Zhang's eyes widened nervously. Jason Grace put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something encouraging. He nodded and smiled gratefully. A sigh came from behind the taller boys, and Nico Di Angelo pushed his way through his partners. He grabbed Percy and Leo's ears and dragged them away, Jason and Frank following behind, laughing at their friends yells of pain. Hazel and Calypso sat down with the girls, chuckling at their rival's antics. People filmed as Nico sat his captives down, with Jason and Frank as their guards, and wandered back over to the girls. Hazel smiled as he sat next to her. She hugged him, and he hugged her back. The entire cafeteria gasped when they saw Nico make physical contact.
"I'd like to apologize for their terrible behavior. That is all. Bye, Hazel. See you at home." Nico stood and sulked back to his table, shooting dirty looks at anyone who stared too long.
"The only nice one." Annabeth shook her head and bit her sandwich.
"Jason's not so bad." Piper and Reyna said at the same time. They shared a look.
"Neither is Zhang." Reyna added quickly. "Sensitive, and too cuddly to hold his own, but a decent man baby… thing." She frowned at her terrible choice of words.
"Anyways… Moving on from the topic of man-baby hybrids, I met Thalia." Piper said as Reyna face-palmed. Annabeth's face brightened.
"Really? What'd you think?"
"Well, I was reading the part about where Professor Lupin is revealed as a werewolf, thanks for spoiling that, Reyna." She glared at the dark haired warrior. "So it was a little odd when she tapped my shoulder and I jumped about fifty feet." The table laughed. "Even worse was when she said I was pretty tough, and I couldn't stop thinking about how high I'd just jumped." She blushed.
"Are you sure that's all you were thinking?" Calypso asked slyly.
"Well, that and how blue her eyes were. They were… well, they were Jason's. I don't know."
"Odd, isn't it? They're related but they look so much different." Annabeth mused.
"Yeah. She seemed really cool, completely different that Jason, and well, you, Annabeth. But yeah, she complimented my jacket, and I told her I liked her circlet. That's how that went." She shrugged.
"She see's Jason even in his sister who looks nothing like him. She's deep into it already." Reyna chuckled. Annabeth frowned.
"Are we fraternizing with the enemy, girls?" She asked, disappointedly.
"Maybe." The girls giggled.
"We agreed. They're annoying and disgusting and should go to another school."
"Yeah, yeah. But can't we look a little bit?" Piper asked slyly. Hazel gasped, fanning herself slightly.
"No." Annabeth said firmly. "Looking leads to staring and staring leads to murder by those idiots. If they could figure out how to use the trigger. You get my point. They'll crush your heart, just like they did every other girl ever."
"She has a point." Calypso shrugged.
"Great. See you in class." Annabeth grabbed her bag and tray, walking into the hall after tossing her tray. She heard walking, but assumed it was other students walking to class.
Suddenly, she was turned around and pressed up against a wall. A hand held her wrist against the cool surface, as a dark haired figure leaned their face close to hers.
"Hey 'Beth." Percy Jackson grinned wickedly as she growled.
"Get off me." She said, tugging on her wrists. He didn't budge. "I mean it, Jackson. I'll report you. Do you want to be in the principal's office on the first day?" She huffed as his grin widened.
"I've done it before. Why would it be any different now?"
"Because of this." She twisted her wrist around, loosening his grip on her. She shoved him back, watching him stumble. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her, dodging his unsteady body as it passed by. He crashed into the wall as she pinned his wrists against it.
"Now who can't get away?" She asked smugly.
"Nice one, Chase. I didn't expect the princess to have some fight in her."
"Don't call me that. And you don't know me, Jackson. Not at all."
"I think I do."
"Oh yeah?"
"Mmhmm. I bet I know more about you that you know about me."
"I'll take that bet."
"Not a smart idea, Wise Girl."
"That's a really bad insult."
"Luckily, I didn't come up with it. That tough girl in English, Clarisse, did."
"How'd you know that?
"I'm in your English class?" He told her, eyebrows drawing together as she released his wrists.
"You are?"
"Yeah. Didn't see me?"
"Actually, no. Which is odd, because your ego's so big, it's almost impossible to miss."
"Now now, that's not nice. We should try to be friends." Percy frowned.
"No we shouldn't."
"Why not?"
"Because I said so." Annabeth turned and marched off, her jaw set. Percy followed her..
"You don't seem to be in a good mood."
"That's because I'm not in a good mood." She growled.
"Shame. I almost hoped you would be. That means I could ruin it."
"I hate you."
"The feelings are mutual, trust me."
"Go away!" She snapped.
"Ha! Nah, this is amusing me. Why would I pass up the opportunity to-Mmph!" Annabeth slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Now. You are going to walk away from me, or I'm going to tell Thalia that you're being an infuriating child. Alright?" She said sternly. He rolled his eyes and nodded. She peeled her hand off his mouth and walked away to her next class, listening to his footsteps get quieter and quieter.
The bell rang as she walked, and she groaned. Students swarmed out of the nearest classrooms and most froze when they saw her. She pushed through the crowd, trying to look as angry as possible. A few brave students snuck up to her and tried to make conversation, but to no avail. She nodded and shook her head, but didn't actually say anything. The students wandered off eventually, bored at her lack of enthusiasm when talking to them.
She slumped down in her seat, and no one bothered to talk to her. The seat next to her was filled, but she didn't look up until a finger tapped her desk. She looked up with a murderous look, only to freeze when she saw blue eyes.
"Hi." Jason said, raising an eyebrow at her frozen stature.
"Um...hi?" She asked cautiously. Jason never struck her as 'rude' or 'mean', but she still didn't trust him. He was, after all, part of her rival band, The Heroes of Olympus.
"I didn't think you'd be taking Physics." Annabeth said, watching him closely.
"I didn't want to, but my dad said it would be better than taking Chemistry. I don't know if I'm even smart enough for this class. I just turned 16, I should be taking Chemistry." Jason glanced around nervously.
"Why'd you take it then?"
"My, uh, Dad. He's rather… pushy when it comes to my education. And career. And everything else."
"That sucks. Do you live with Thalia?"
"Hmm?" Jason's head shot up and he looked at her, confused.
"Thalia. Does she live with you?"
"Thalia? I… I don't know who she is." Jason frowned. Annabeth's blood ran cold.
"So, you're telling me, you don't recognize her?" Annabeth pulled up a picture of Thalia and her. Jason stared at it, looking closer until he froze.
"What? What is it?" Annabeth asked.
"What's her last name?" Jason asked, pale faced and wide eyed.
"She doesn't use her last name really, from an old problem with her m-."
"Just answer the question, Annabeth. What's her last name?"
Annabeth took in a deep breath. "Grace. Why?" She realized her mistake as soon as she said it. Her hand flew to her mouth and he paled even more visibly than before.
"That means…"
"She's my sister. My fully biological sister." Jason stared at the picture.
"How's this possible? Your dad left your mom after Thalia was born." Annabeth muttered.
"Maybe he came back?" Jason asked nervously.
"Maybe." Annabeth said as the teacher walked into the classroom.
"Hello class. Welcome to Physics."
"So, let me get this straight." Piper munched on a chip as she walked out of the school, Thalia by her side. "You knew you had a brother, but never bothered to tell him?"
"Pretty much, yeah." Thalia rolled her eyes. "No, Mclean. I knew I had a brother, but I always thought he was dead. My mom dropped him off at a destroyed house, and we left without him. She told me that my stepmother had taken him. I didn't even know I had a stepmother. I guess...
I guess she dropped him off and left before my dad showed up. She probably didn't want to face the man who left her twice."
"That's messed up. I thought Annabeth's life was weird."
"Hey."
"But he remembered you." Annabeth frowned. "He said that he knew you were his sister, and that he knew you were biologically full siblings. How?"
"I don't know. He was so young… Wait." She froze, staring ahead. A group of five boys was walking through a crowd. Annabeth's heart twanged when she saw Thalia and Jason's eyes meet. Jason froze, and blue met blue. Jason took a tentative step forward, and Thalia broke into a sprint. He met her halfway and they embraced, Thalia gripping her brother tightly. A wail sounded, and a girl fell to her knees, sobbing loudly as she watched her crush embrace another.
Annabeth took a few steps forwards, to get in hearing range.
"Thalia?" Jason's voice was muffled.
"Jason. It's me. I'm here." She said, sniffling. "I can't believe it's you."
Annabeth smiled softly, happy that they were finally reunited. She looked past the siblings and a pair of intense eyes met hers. She didn't look away, and neither did he.
Annabeth knew, right then, that she would never escape Percy Jackson. No matter how hard she tried.