WARNING: This story contains violence, self-harm, and abuse. Also, I have a potty-mouth, so be warned. More warnings may be added as I they become necessary.
Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I'm just screwing around.
Also, I'm very sorry about the problems updating. I realized while reading through this that it seemed a bit forced in my writing style, so I'm going through and editing the chapters to the best of my ability. Thank you so much to everyone who stuck it out this long! New notes will appear at the beginning or end of each chapter as it is updated, so please recognize that I wont be able to update them all at once. Also, since this story doesn't have a beta, I sincerely apologize for any remaining mistakes.
"Perseus! Get your ass down here and fix my breakfast!" Gabe shouted from his armchair in the living room. "And clean up your fucking mess!"
Percy picked himself up off the floor where he had spent the night as quickly as he could, ignoring the searing pain in his muscles and limping his way downstairs. Not even bothering to glance at his step-father, he put breakfast on, then began cleaning the up the glass from the broken window he had been pushed through the night before and moving the broken beer bottles off the floor.
Perfectly timed, Gabe walked through the door just as the oven timer went off for the eggs and potatoes Percy had begun making. Gabe growled at Percy as he returned from taking out the trash. "You better not've burned my breakfast, punk," he slurred. "You know what'd have to happen then, don't you?" Seeing Percy tremble with fear, he laughed. "Thought so. Get to work, and stay the fuck out of my sight. Maybe you should clean yourself up, while you're at it. Wouldn't want to make it look like I don't take care of you." Seeing that Percy wasn't moving yet, Gabe picked him up by the collar of his shirt and shoved him towards the door. "Are you deaf? I said move!"
Percy scampered back to his room to do as he was told. He hastily pulled out the large pieces of glass embedded in his body but decided that the smaller ones were better left for when he had more time. He turned the water on and jumped in, not bothering with hot water because he knew it would make Gabe mad. His wrists itched badly and he did his best to ignore it, but he had to give in. He pulled out his razor from its hiding place in the cap of his body wash and dug it into his left wrist, hands shaking in anticipation. He slid it quickly across, parallel to the lines of his other unhealed cuts, letting a few tears fall as he did. He hadn't intended for this to become so frequent, but he figured that so long as it helped him, it couldn't really be all that bad. Besides, it's not like anyone would care, and as long as he wasn't hurting anyone, it wasn't any of their business anyways. He had tried cutting his other arm once, but his hand was too shaky to make a decent mark. He sliced across his arm again, watching his blood turn the water an odd shade of orange as it swirled down the drain and contemplating the damage he had just done. He quickly finished scrubbing himself down as well as his injuries would allow, and shut the water off. While toweling himself off, he noticed that some of his cuts were still bleeding fairly freely, and he frowned to himself. He couldn't remember that having ever been a problem before.
After realizing his cuts weren't going to stop bleeding in time for him to get all of his chores done, he bound his wrists with gauze, then threw on a long-sleeve shirt, a pair of dark jeans- just in case his wounds reopened - and a navy blue hoodie. Percy quickly ran outside, somehow managed to avoid Gabe, and pulled out his list of work to do. Mowing the yard, trimming the shrubs that lined the yard, doing the dishes, and cleaning the laundry by hand were only a few of his chores for the day, but those were weekend specific. His chores varied from day to day, depending on either the weather or his step-father's whims.
Sighing, Percy pulled out the lawn mower and was about to start it up when he realized that there was a truck unloading furniture into the house next door, which had been vacant ever since he could remember. Occasionally, someone would check out the house, and every time, they had loved it and went to buy it, then mysteriously disappeared. He wondered how long this family would stay. One thing was for sure, though - it was going to be a hell of a lot harder to hide his abuse with a family living next door, especially considering how thin the walls were. But then, who knows? They might not care one way or another. He wasn't sure which outcome would be more devastating.
He shook himself out of his thoughts and started the lawn mower. Today was going to be hell - then again, what else was new?
Percy ran back into the kitchen just as the sun was disappearing over the horizon and, having already set the table, braced himself before pulling Gabe's dinner from the oven with his bare hands, setting it perfectly in it's place. "Dinner's ready!" he called up, then scurried away to his room before Gabe had time to catch sight of him.
Phew... Percy thought. He didn't see me. Just then, there was a knock on the front door. Must be the new neighbors... Wonder what they want... There was another knock, louder this time.
"PERSEUS! GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND ANSWER THE DOOR!"
Percy cringed automatically, but fixed his shaggy hair to hide his bruises and did as he was told. He ran down the stairs, took a deep breath and neutralized his face, then opened the door just as whoever it was tried to knock again. Percy was standing at just the right angle that when he opened the door the boy's fist hit him in the face, knocking him to the ground.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I? I really didn't mean to. I just wanted to know if you went to the school around here. Goode or something, right? I just really want to know at least one person there on my first day. Why are you still on the ground? Can you not get up on your own or something? What's your name anyway?"
Percy interrupted him before he could get much further. "Whoa, dude. One question at a time. First, tell me your name so I don't have to call you 'kid' the whole time we're talking."
The boy blushed. Apparently he hadn't thought of that. "My name's Nico. Nico di Angelo."
"I'm Percy. I see no reason to give you my last name, but that's nothing personal. And to answer a few of your questions, I'm fine, I'm not hurt, and I'm still on the ground because you didn't give me a chance to get up, not because I can't get up on my own."
"You missed one. Do you go to Goode?"
Percy internally groaned. He had been hoping to avoid that one. "I do go to Goode, and if you want to have any friends, or fit in at all for that matter, you'll act like you despise me with every fiber of your being, or at least pretend you have no clue who I am. Will that be all?"
"No. Why does everyone hate you?"
"I'll take that as a yes then. Have a nice life." With that, he swiftly closed the door in Nico's face, the boy's dark eyes haunting him, but not for long.
CRACK! Gabe hit him over the head from behind. "Who the fuck was that and WHY THE FUCK WERE YOU TALKING TO HIM!?"
Percy glanced up, avoiding Gabe's eyes. "That was our new neighbor, and I was talking to him to make it seem less suspicious. If I'd just looked at him and slammed the door, he would have kept knocking and he probably would have thought something was up! Oh, and because talking is what normal people do. You wouldn't want anyone to suspect anything, so I have to try and act normal! Or is that too complicated for your little pea-brain to understand?"
The moment the words left his mouth, he knew it was a bad decision.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? HUH, PUNK? YOU'RE A WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! JUST LIKE THAT GOD-DAMNED MOTHER OF YOURS!" For every word, he hit Percy harder, so that by this point Percy had already curled up on the floor in pain.
"My mom was worth more than you'll ever be!" he yelled back, and suddenly the yelling stopped. Percy swallowed once and braced himself for the impact of Gabe's unconscious body, but that wasn't what happened.
Before he could realize what was happening, however, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and the world spun white before going dark altogether.
Percy woke up to his alarm clock blaring in his ear. His head throbbed, and there was dried blood all over his back, but he couldn't remember what from. As the blaring of his alarm seemed to grow more persistent, he threw it across the room in an attempt to get it to shut up, but it just got louder. Groaning, he rolled out of bed and pressed the button on the side, shutting it off. He was about to go back to sleep when he realized what time it was. "Shit!" he thought out loud. "I'm gonna be late!" He slapped his face, instantly regretted it, and ran into the bathroom to get ready.
Twenty minutes and a few bandages later, he tripped his way out the door and ran to school.
Percy slowly worked his way to his first period class, ignoring the disdainful glares and disgusted stares aimed at him. He had just sat down when he heard a familiar voice coming from out in the hallway.
"Why do you have to introduce me? I'd rather just sit by myself than have a bunch of people attempt to fake being my friends. Besides, I already know one person here."
Another voice answered the remark in a surprised tone. "Really? And who would that be?"
"Percy something-or-another. He wouldn't tell me his last name, but I live right next to him."
The other person was silent for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Oh, him. None of the staff know his last name. He won't tell, and neither will the principal. It's rather frustrating, to be honest."
Percy groaned internally. Really, Nico? You just had to show up and do exactly what I told you not to.
They were both silent as they entered the classroom. The teacher gave some boring speech about how it was a new year and they could be whatever they wanted to be if only they put their minds to it, while Nico stood awkwardly behind him. "Now, you're all going to introduce yourselves, first and last names, tell us your age, and share a few of your hobbies with the class. Nico will go first since this is his first year at this school, so please make him feel welcome."
She gestured for Nico to go ahead. Nico cleared his throat nervously before speaking. "Um... Hi, my name is Nico di Angelo, I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are listening to music and skateboarding."
There was a somewhat awkward silence before the next kid spoke up. She was popular, if Percy's memory served, and she looked the part with her blonde princess curls and designer clothes. Her eyes screamed Bitch, please- you aren't worth my time! "My name is Annabeth Chase, I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are architecture and dancing. Next!" She sounded arrogant, and so did the next girl that spoke, obviously Annabeth's friend.
"My name is Silena Beauregard, I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are make-up and nail art." She painted her nails as the spoke, popping her gum as a punctuation of sorts.
"Jason Grace. Sixteen. Sports and weapons." The kid's hair was golden blonde, his face perfectly chiseled. The only flaw was a small scar on his upper lip, but it didn't do anything to detract from his appearance. Wonder how he got that... Maybe he tried to eat a stapler.
The girl after him was dressed in black skinny jeans and a Green Day t-shirt, with thick eyeliner to perfectly accentuate her electric blue eyes. Her short cropped hair looking like she had just rolled out of bed. It was messy, but if anyone could pull it off, she could. "Thalia Grace- Jason's sister. Seventeen. Music and weapons."
A short redhead was next. "Rachel Dare, sixteen, painting and horseback riding." She his behind Thalia as she spoke, and the rest of the class had to strain their ears to hear her. When everyone just stared at Rachel, Thalia barked, "Next!" Rachel shot her a thankful look.
The next two boys looked exactly alike, with sandy blonde hair and mischievous smiles. They spoke in unison. "Connor and Travis Stoll. Sixteen. Skateboarding and practical jokes. BAZINGA!" They are sooo stoned. How are they even paying attention right now?
The next boy resembled them for the most part, and anyone would be able to tell that he meant business by the scar that took up most of one side of his face. Cousins, maybe? "My name is Luke Castellan, I'm 17, and my hobbies are sword fighting and archery."
The next girl was pretty, but she wore second-hand clothes, no make-up, and kept her hair tied in a messy bun on top of her head. "Piper McLean. Sixteen. Horseback riding and theatre."
No one said anything after that, and the teacher shouted, "Next! Leo! Earth to Valdez! Please land your helicopter and return to the realm of the living. Thank you."
The boy looked up from the remote control he was playing with, and no one but Nico seemed surprised when a seemingly homemade helicopter landed on his desk. "Oh, sorry..." he said, not at all sounding like it. "As you now know, my name is Leo Valdez. I'm sixteen, single, which I know must be a terrible shock to all you lovely ladies, and my hobbies are metalworking and mechanics. And just so you know, I wouldn't use your megaphone until we get that glitch fixed."
"What glitch?" The teacher walked over and tried to talk into the megaphone, but instead of magnifying what she said, it belted out, "THE COW SAYS MOO!"
Everyone busted out laughing and Leo just shrugged. "I did warn you..." He let it trail off. "So, who's next?"
"Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano. I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are jousting and debates."
"Octavian Augustus. Seventeen. Weapons and politics."
"Frank Zhang. Sixteen. Archery and military training."
"Katie Gardner. Sixteen. Gardening- yes, very funny Travis- and volunteer work." Travis looked stunned. How could she tell him and Connor apart? They were literally identical, and yet she had gotten it right. How was that possible?
"I'm Charles Beckendorf, but I prefer to just be called by my last name. I'm seventeen, and my hobbies are metalworking and mechanics." Leo grinned from across the room, and Percy bit back a smile. Leo was going to get them into all kinds of trouble.
"Clarisse La Rue. Seventeen. Weapons and martial arts."
The next girl was so quiet that everyone had to strain their ears to be able to hear her. "My name is Juniper Nymph, I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are gardening and volunteer work."
Another girl from the bitch-squad spoke up. "Drew Tanaka. Sixteen. Make-up and hairstyles."
"Nancy Bobofit. Sixteen. Track and cross-country." No wonder she's so good at running away...
"Will Solace. Sixteen. Archery and musical theatre."
"Zoe Nightshade. Seventeen. Archery and animal obedience training."
"Grover Underwood. Sixteen. Music and Environmentalism."
"Ethan Nakamura. Sixteen. Sword fighting and sparring." Percy did a double-take when he noticed the kid was wearing an eyepatch. He didn't have one the year before, and Ethan wasn't the type to accessorize unnecessarily. He shrugged to himself and turned his partial attention to the next speaker.
"Lee Fletcher, Will's older brother. Seventeen. Archery and music."
Everyone turned to stare at Percy, since he was the last to go. "My name is Percy. I'm sixteen, and my hobbies are none of your business. Will that be all?" he asked sarcastically.
"Exactly the same answer as every other year..." the teacher mumbled under her breath. "Well, that's your decision I guess... Anyhow, my name is Alecto Dodds, and you will call me Mrs. Dodds and nothing else." She then turned to Nico. "Go sit next to Percy so I can begin the lesson." Then quietly, so only Nico could hear, she whispered, "Good luck with that." Then she launched into a lecture about some sort of math.
Nico smiled triumphantly as he sat to Percy's right. Percy ignored him, pretending not to notice Nico. So far, so good...
He made it through the class without speaking to Nico once, and the very moment the bell rang he bolted out of the classroom without giving Nico a chance to catch up.
The rest of his classes were the same, and he found an empty table for himself at lunch. By the end of the day he had his schedule memorized. Dodds for Math, Kerr for English, Chase for History, then Lunch. After that he had his last class of the day- Latin with Brunner. He had all his classes with Nico, and every class, Nico would take the seat next to him. Not necessarily by choice, but because it was the last available seat... Or so Percy was trying to convince himself.
When the bell rang after fifth block, he bolted out the door as fast as he could and took off down the road. Nico ran after him, but he didn't have a chance of catching up. Whoa! He runs really fast! Wonder why he's in such a hurry to get home?