There's this girl, see, always this one girl that you know has a secret that you'll never find out. She's sitting here at a shiny wood table at a Borders Café, a book in her hand even though she isn't reading. This girl can't concentrate because of everything going on around her.

"Oh my gawds, I am soo excited for that movie to come out, I heard the books were like, really good, right?"

As much as this girl wouldn't like to admit it, there's a small smile on her lips as she listens close. Ever since the mist had been lifted, at least partially, that is, and the movie had been put into progress, mortals were talking. It was the kind of thing she would've killed to hear two years ago as an ignorant sixth grader, a pure fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian's series and, at that time, an outcast for being different.

This girl is me: Amanda Jade. A year and a half ago, we won the war, and I was there, just another camper in the background.

As yet another girl runs by in my peripheral vision wearing a bright orange Camp shirt from Hot Topic, I have to sigh and shut the book closed, feeling my heart swell up. Finally, finally, our stories are public. Sure, the books still may fall under the fiction section, but now it's becoming popular; what with the movie coming out, the Hot Topic promotions (although there isn't a single one of use back at Camp who doesn't want to throttle Alexandra Daddario just for being brunette).

Across the tiled floor and past the high pitched shrieks of teen girls that are engaging in some brawl over Edward and Jacob (oh, if only you knew, mortals), I can sort of feel a presence slipping it's way towards me, feet as silent as shadows in the moonlight. I can't help but smile as I continue to stare at the cover of my book (The Huger Games. Read it…), and whisper a greeting that only he can hear.

"Hello, Nico."

"Amanda," he says, sitting down at my table although I didn't invite him. "Funny I should find you here."

"I could say the same to you." My gray eyes inch up to look at him, my face now straight as he sets down a mug of hot chocolate in front of me and nods in my direction.

"Cold day out, eh?"

"Yep," I respond nodding, looking into the swirling drink. It was a kind gesture from him, but as of late I've become more of a coffee person… Well, okay, mocha, but still…

Nico takes a long drink of his coffee (he drinks it black, the weirdo) before he finally says anything else. "Doesn't it bother you at all?"

For this, I have no response and the only thing I can say is, "What?"

He breathes calmly through his nose, running a hand through his dark brown hair before going on. "You know, the whole going public thing. Camp used to be more like a reward or a privilege, knowing the truth and all. Now it's changed. Now mortals know the entire run down of camp. Sometimes it makes me cringe to be walking around and all'a the sudden hear, like…"

A fat little boy perched on his rump in the magazine section suddenly cuts him off, crying out "I want some DAM FRENCHFRIES, mummy!" before collapsing in a fit of obnoxious giggles.

Nico frowns, obviously perturbed. "Well… that."

I nod, understanding how he feels. "I guess I get it, Nico. These people have no right to play around with the idea of things that are nearly life or death for us." I'm frowing now, too, stirring the much-too-small straw round in my hot chocolate and thinking.

"Well, yeah," he says, seeming a little surprised that I didn't have to ask for further explanation.

"So, you're saying that, in the end, we shouldn't never gone public and sold the film rights?"

Before he can answer, there's a girl tapping on his shoulder with a smitten smile as she says "Hi" so softly, she might've just been thinking it.

Nico looks at her a moment (eew, is he checking her out?) before nodding back to her and returning the greeting.

"So, umm…" she twirls her hair round a finger as her eyes wander to the ceiling, an embarrassed smile finding it's way to her face. "Did anyone ever, like, tell you that you kinda look like Nico from the Percy Jackson books?" She giggled and looked to a friend standing beside her for support.

Nico chuckles under his breath before standing up to be eye level with her. "Well, maybe sometime we could hang out, and I could show you some of my Underworld magic."

The girl is now covering her mouth and looking to her best friend as she laughs, saying something in Polish before looking back. "That sounds great."

I make a kind of "ughk" sound in my throat and sit back, disgusted that Nico could use to his advantage something he had just been preaching his hate for two minutes ago.

The girl's friend turns to look at me, and suddenly the marble-colored eyes in her head go wide as she says, "Oh! My God, did you know that you look like—"

"Yeah, yeah, I know," I mutter grudgingly, my eyes looking back to Nico, who's doing his best not to laugh. "Annabeth, right?"

"No!" the girl squeals, jumping up and down and smiling stupidly. "Rosalie from Twilight! Omigod, that's soo cool!"

For a moment, I stare at her, a bit off guard. I turn slightly to see Nico, who looks as if he just found out he'd gotten AIDS. Slowly and nonchalantly, he takes his arm back from around the first girl, who's just as excited by her friend's discovery, and backs away.

"So, umm, Amanda. How bout I give you a ride back to camp?"

"You can't drive," I respond accusingly.

"Chariot. Come on, let's leave. Now." His eyes dart back to the girls now, and he grits his teeth. It's common for a half-blood to be intolerant of Twilight. Seriously... don't ask.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go."

I stand up hastily and grab my coat off the back of my chair, turning to walk alongside Nico back out the front door, two empty coffee mugs still on that table.

Although, before I reach the exit, I have to stop myself at a badly decorated table with Percy Jackson items on it, and, in one quick motion, I switch the copy of the book sitting up front (with Logan Lerman holding up a lightning bolt) to a new position.

I smile to myself, and then to Nico, as we finally leave, with that copy of the book hidden behind the original, green-cover copy.

XXX

Thanks for reading. I wrote this about a month or so back before the movie had come out. Pretty much, it's just a small nod towards how we, the fans of Percy Jackson back before it became some faceless franchise, feel now that our dear friend Percy has become a passing trend and his story hardly has the magic that it used to. It's also a story for anyone who's missing our story the way that we know it. Hope you enjoyed it.