This is my first time actually publishing something I've written for the Percy Jackson fandom. I've always been worried about going out of character so mainly kept it for myself and my friends. Publishing this is because my friend told me I had to. So, sorry if this is as horrible as my brain tells me.

This was rated M for self harm.

The sound of rubber slapping against concrete was loud as Percy ran down the sidewalk as fast as he could, sneakers pushing him further with each step. If he could get home first, then nothing else would matter. He could lock himself in his room until his mom got home. He could turn the stereo he'd gotten for Christmas up loud with headphones on so he wouldn't have to hear all the yelling. He could feel safe and sleep without a nightmare for once.

But all this depended on if he could get home before Smelly Gabe.

The preteen had ditched Grover at the bus station. It's not as if he didn't like Grover, no, it was quite the contrary. The brunette was his best friend, his only friend, and his first friend. Percy wanted anything but to lose him. It was just, Grover wanted to come home and meet his parents, so they could talk about him visiting over the summer. That wasn't an option. Grover couldn't see their cheap, tiny apartment. He couldn't see all the beer cans thrown throughout it. He especially couldn't see Smelly Gabe. Percy really didn't want his best friend seeing Smelly Gabe or the way he treated Percy and his mom.

Not as if it would matter. The preteen had gotten himself expelled from Yancy Academy and would never see Grover again. It's not as if a rich kid like Grover would want to keep in touch with a street rat like Percy, after all. At least, that's what he wanted to think.

The green eyed boy pushed open the front doors to their apartment building and ran to the elevator, slamming the "up" button. At seeing the dull circle stay unlit he muttered elementary cuss words under his breath before running for the stairs, taking them two at a time. Yet again, something else was broken in this stupid place.

Percy had to jump to reach the key hidden on the top of the door frame. Once he'd replaced the key, the boy ran to his room, slamming the door and locking it. He didn't take the chance though, Percy leaned against the door, sliding down it to the floor. The boy buried his face in his hands and for the first time that day, allowed his heartbeat to slow down and his thoughts of escape to stop. He didn't allow the worry or fear to reach his brain. Slowly, he relaxed enough to sleep.

Green eyes fluttered open. Thick eyelashes flapping away the crust of sleep on his lids. His brain was slow, not picking up on the lack of light in his room. Percy groaned, stretching out his arms and cracking his back. No, he did not want to fall asleep there again.

The preteen hesitated to open the door. His mouth was dry, but he didn't dare let his guard down. Instead, he closed his eyes and listened for the tell tale signs of Smelly Gabe's poker parties.

Drunken laughter and passing gas.

They were in the living room.

Hurriedly, he scurried to the bathroom and locked the door, leaning against the sink. Percy glanced up, meeting his sea green eyes in the mirror. He glared at them, opening the medicine cabinet so he wouldn't have to see the color anymore. Those eyes, they reminded him of his father. The father who had left Percy and his mother. The father whose fault it was that the mom he loved so much had married a horrible person like Gabe. Percy really, really hated his father.

He turned the sink on, filling a cup with water and wetting his throat. He set the cup back on the top shelf of the cabinet, knocking down a red case. Percy picked it up and unzipped it, looking inside. He found a razor in there, one that they use in barber shops, along with a pair of scissors, and small comb. This was his mother's hair cutting supply.

The razor was what fascinated him. He had seen it before, when his mother had cut their next door neighbor's hair for extra money, but never had gotten to touch it. "Too dangerous" his mother would say then hid the bag away. Percy had always wondered what it would feel like.

A shinning silver, clear enough to see his reflection. The edges looked sharp, but Percy wanted to know for sure. He ran his fingertip across the edge, pushing down. When he pulled back, little beads of red dripped out, sliding down his hand. The sting hurt for a moment but was quick to disappear. "Wow."

A loud laugh echoed off the walls. Percy flinched. Smelly Gabe was talking about him. He could hear his name in the conversation with his poker buddies, and he didn't like it one bit. The preteen knew what would happen when they left. It was a Friday night, a night mommy worked late. The night Smelly Gabe would visit him in his room after his poker games, dead drunk.

"Ow." Percy looked down. He had clenched his hand around the blade. Two new cuts were on the palm of his hand, beads of red dripping from them. The pain stung, but gave him enough distraction to forget about what Smelly Gabe would do later that night.

He brought the blade to his forearm and pressed. Percy slowly pulled it across his flesh, watching as the red blood spilled out. It stung, stung like no pain before, probably because it was self-inflicted. But, it was enough to forget that Percy didn't mind. He leaned back against the wall, letting his head fall back and eyes close.

"No more pain," he whispered. "No more Smelly Gabe causing me pain."

Darkness Consumes Me

"So, this is the kid you told us about?" A blonde girl asked.

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, this is Percy," Rachel explained. She patted the boy's shoulder, watching him flinch at the touch. Rachel had to hold back her frown. She had tried asking him about why he would flinch, but Percy always shot her down.

"How did you meet him?" Another blonde asked. He was leaning against the hood of the blue car, staring at the green eyed boy intensely.

"Percy and I met over summer vacation a few years ago, at the Hover Dam," Rachel rolled her eyes, shoving the blonde. "And, do not even think about it Octavian!"

Octavian simply smirked. "I have no idea what you could be talking about Rachel."

"You've been to the Hover Dam!" The excitement in the voice forced Percy to look up at who was speaking. It was the girl with curly blonde hair and sterling gray eyes. She smiled at him, a friendly smile. "I've always wanted to go. The architecture for that, it must be amazing."

"It isn't that great," Percy said. He tried to bring a smile to his face, but it felt strained. "You weren't missing out on anything."

Rachel snorted. "Please, Annabeth is obsessed with architecture. Any building is interesting to her."

"Don't be so mean. Annabeth can like whatever she wants."

Percy froze. A shiver went though his body. That voice. He knew that voice.

The black haired boy turned around. Walking toward them was another boy, but this one with curly brown hair and the start of a goatee. He had a friendly smile on his face and was looking straight at Percy. "Grover," the green eyed boy grinned, smiling for the first time that day. "I didn't think we would get to see each other again."

Grover rolled his eyes and came to stand next to Annabeth. "Well, if you hadn't ditched me at the bus station that day, maybe it wouldn't be like this," he tired to keep the smile off his face but found he couldn't. That was something Grover had figured out a long time ago. Around Percy, even when he wasn't his normally cheery self, it seemed impossible to stop smiling.

For a second, the shorter boy bite his lip. Then, Percy let out a sigh and hugged his best friend. "I'm sorry G-Man," he exhaled.

Grover laughed. "It's fine Perce," he patted his friend's back.

"You know Percy?" Annabeth asked, then, she shook her head. "No, it doesn't matter. The point is we all know him now." She glanced at Percy, starting to realize she couldn't stop smiling. "We all have a new friend now and that's all that matters. Isn't that what you wanted Rachel?"

"A good magician never reveals her tricks," the redhead smirked, holding a finger to her lips and winking.

"You are not a magician as much as a fortune teller," Octavian snorted, only to have the redhead punch him in the arm.

A shrieking sound of a bell came from the distance, signaling class would start in a few minutes.

The blonde sighed. "I guess we will learn more about Percy during lunch, let's not be late for class now." Annabeth looked torn between wanting to wait for her friends and wanting to get to her class on time.

"I'll walk him to class," Grover assured his friend. The blonde bite her lip but nodded and took off.

Percy glanced around. He saw the other students clearing out of the parking lot, Octavian was arguing with Rachel in hushed tones, Annabeth was rushing toward the school entrance with another blonde, gray eyed boy that could have easily passed as her brother. He also noticed some other people staring at him, making his body heat up, becoming self conscious with every move.

His hand snaked into Grover's. "Let's go," he pulled his old friend towards the school, but quickly turned, instead heading for a door he'd seen on the side of the school. It may take time away from reach their classes, but it was better than being surrounded by people and feeling as if about to suffocate.

"Okay," Grover said, hurrying to catch up with his friend. "Percy, wait, slow down." Before he'd had the chance to warm him, the green eyed teen had run straight into the back of another, falling to the ground.

"Are you okay?"

Percy glanced up to see an olive toned hand being held out to him. His eyes traveled up the arm and to the face that belonged to it. Curly black hair surrounded dark brown eyes. Brown eyes that seemed to see passed his outer appearance and into his soul. That seemed to see his scars. A smile was in place on his face. Never in his life had Percy seen so many people smiling at him in one place.

That smile made his heart jump and vision spin.

"Are you alright?" The Italian man asked again, reach down when Percy didn't take his hand. He grabbed Percy by the waist and brought the boy to his feet.

The smaller teen jumped when he felt the arm around his waist. He bite back the urge to yelp out in surprise and pain. "Yeah, I am fine," he smiled nervously, backing away. "Sorry for running into you. Come on Grover." Percy latched back onto his curly haired friend's hand and took off for the front door of the school. He just needed to get to get away from those dark brown eyes that seemed to stare into his soul. Seemed to know all his secrets.

"I need to stay away from him," Percy whispered. "He can't know about what happened."

"Percy?" Grover asked as he watched his friend run into the first bathroom they passed.

Percy slammed the bathroom door and sank down it. Percy slammed his head against the door, hoping the physical pain would block out the memories as they flooded back into his head. "No, no no!" Tears fell down his face as a stabbing pain came from the back of his head. "I can't let him in. I can't let anyone in. It doesn't matter how he makes me feel, I can't let him in."