Full Summary: During the Second Titan War, between the Battle of the Labyrinth and the Battle of Manhattan, there's a whole year we don't know about...this is that year.
When he's not going to Camp Half Blood and helping prepare for the fight against Kronos, Percy is going to school, and spending time with family and the (very) few friends he has, all the while trying to come to terms with the fact he is most likely gonna die before he starts his sophomore year. He's decided the best thing to do is live as much as he can before it's too late.
AKA Percy starts high school for the first time and meets someone who helps change his life in a way he wasn't expecting.
This isn't a p*rcabeth story, even though I'll always love them. Annabeth is in it but not a lot.
***And just so you know I headcanon Percy, Sally, and Paul as Black so don't be surprised and be like "ummm they're white tho..." or get angry, you can't change my mind. Just give this a chance and read the first chapter***
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Fortunately, that night, Percy didn't have any prophetic demigod dreams.
Unfortunately, he still had normal (ish) mortal nightmares.
As soon as he fell asleep he dreamt he was sitting in the Goode High School band room from before the explosion, surrounded by other random students and a teacher at the front of the room, all of whom were staring at him with glowing, gold eyes. He tried standing up but found himself glued to the seat. Panicked, he looked back up at the teacher only to see Luke-no, Kronos-standing in their place.
"Where's your instrument, Mr. Jackson?" Kronos asked.
"It's in my locker," Percy said, immediately feeling his heart race even faster than it already was. He didn't even know where his locker was, he got attacked by monster cheerleaders before he could find it during orientation. And he wasn't even supposed to be here! He doesn't take band!
Kronos glared at him but didn't reply. The students sneered at Percy and slowly they all transformed into monsters. A hellhound growled next to him. Percy didn't get a chance to pull out riptide before the monster pounced on him.
He woke up gasping.
His mom was knocking on his door. "Percy, if you want Paul to give you a ride you better get up now!" She said, voice muffled through the wood.
Right. School was starting today. His freshman year at Goode High School, where Paul Blofis taught as an English teacher, the guy who was planning to ask Sally to marry him. A month ago, he asked Percy for his approval on his fifteenth birthday. And just a few weeks ago, Paul moved in with them.
Percy sat up and rubbed his face. "Yeah, okay! Just-just give me a few minutes," he answered. A moment later he heard Sally walking away and he sighed. For a second he just sat there, mentally preparing himself for the day before finally throwing off the covers and walking to the bathroom.
When he went into the kitchen there was a plate of blue pancakes waiting for him. Sally probably thought the blue would be good luck for the start of a new school year. She was standing at the kitchen sink doing the dishes, dressed in her work clothes and dark curls pulled back in a loose ponytail. Percy smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
"Where's Paul?" He asked, sitting down at the table.
"Trying to find his lucky pen," she waved her hands when she said lucky pen, laughing slightly. Sally looked at him from the corner of her eye. "So. How you feeling?" She tentatively asked.
Percy paused, glancing up at her. "'Bout what?"
"It's the first day of school, high school. You must be nervous,"
"Oh," He looked back down, twisting the fork around in his hand. "I guess, I mean-it's just like all the other first days. I'm used to it," he shrugged, cutting up the pancakes.
"Well…maybe everything will work out and you'll get to stay at Goode for all four years, who knows?"
Percy didn't reply, slowing chewing his food. Even if he finished the year without any trouble, there wasn't any likelihood that he would survive the summer. Just a few months ago, Luke Castellan became the host for the Titan lord Kronos and sent a force of monsters through the labyrinth to attack Camp Half Blood. Then, there was the prophecy that apparently said Percy was either going to destroy the world or save it. He doubted it was the latter, but he didn't doubt that there would be another battle soon, one in which he'll probably die in. A sick feeling started to form in his stomach and suddenly he didn't feel like finishing breakfast.
Percy swallowed the lump in his throat just as Paul strolled in, waving a pen in his hand victoriously, dressed in dark slacks and a grey button up, looking like a TV actor. He gave Sally a quick kiss and then he smiled at Percy. "Morning,"
"Hey Paul," Percy greeted. He stood up and scraped the food he decided to stop eating into the trash, handing the plate to Sally.
She stared at it in surprise before knitting her eyebrows in worry and peering over at him. "Are you sure you're okay, sweetheart?" She asked.
Percy sighed. "Yes, Mom, I'm fine. Just not that hungry. I'm gonna go get my stuff," He said, making his way down the hall.
"Alright," she said. "Did you take your Adderall?"
"I am now!" He called back, going into the bathroom and taking out the medicine, popping the pills in his mouth. He went back to his room and grabbed his school bag, looking through it and trying to figure out if he had everything. He tripled checked and made sure he had Riptide just as Paul walked in.
"Hey," he said. "You're still fine with going to school early, right?"
Percy looked back at him, fiddling with the zipper on his backpack. "Right,"
"Right. I'll uh-I'll be in the car then, if you're ready to go," Paul replied.
Once he left, Percy sat down on his bed and put his head in his hands, breathing in and out slowly. He hated school, he had enough anxiety about being a demigod but a student with ADHD and dyslexia? Paul told him there were a lot of kids with learning disabilities at Goode but still. It was going to be a shitty year and he was not looking forward to it. Nevertheless, he got up and slipped on his bag, walking back to the kitchen to say goodbye to his mom.
Five minutes later and Paul was driving them both to the school in his Prius, fingers tapping on the steering wheel in time with the music playing over the radio.
Percy was trying to steel his nerves, wringing his hands and watching the buildings pass by. His heart was beating fast as they got closer and closer to the school. He could feel himself sweating and he felt nauseous. First days sucked, especially when you're the new kid. While technically, every freshman was new to high school, all of them had went to middle school with each other. They would be starting with friends and people they knew. Sure, Percy knew Rachel-the frizzy redhaired mortal who could see through the mist-but things became awkward after what happened in the summer, when he told Rachel about the Greek gods and asked her for help for the quest in Daedalus' labyrinth, which helped spark a rift between him and Annabeth, a daughter of Athena.
Oh gods-Annabeth. He didn't even want to think about her right now. They had left things on a bad note when they both left Camp Half Blood. She had been upset with him ever since he told Rachel about who they were, even more so when he invited Rachel on Annabeth'squest. It was stupid-he had to ask Rachel for help, he didn't do anything wrong! Yet he felt guilty and sad whenever he thought of Annabeth, and then he got mad at himself for feeling that way. Percy bit the inside of his cheek and tried to stop thinking about her, instead turning to Paul.
"Have you found a ring, yet?" Percy asked.
"I have, yes."
"And…when are you planning on asking?"
Paul didn't respond, opening and closing his mouth. "I-um. I don't know," He said, finally. "I think I might just…carry the ring around until it feels like the right time,"
Percy nodded, thinking for a moment. His mom wouldn't care how big or small the proposal was, she'll just be happy Paul loved her enough to make the gesture. "Alright," he said. "I trust you, Paul."
Paul grinned. "Make sure to call me Mr. Blofis during class, yeah?"
Percy gave a small smile, looking back out the window and staying silent for the rest of the ride.
Goode High School was this big brownstone overlooking the East River, with a fancy archway at the main entrance with Greek-styled columns. They were an hour early-Paul always went into his office this time get work done-but there were a couple students hanging out front anyway, waiting for the main doors to open. Percy remembered Paul once saying because they were short on buses, one bus had to make three runs back and forth between the school. These kids must've been the unlucky ones who were picked up first.
Paul parked by the side entrance and unbuckled his seatbelt, looking over at Percy with-was that excitement? "You ready?" He asked.
Percy stared at him in disbelief. Seriously? "Uh, no."
"Ah, it'll be fine! Like I said, all the teachers know how to work with kids with ADHD and dyslexia, and if you're worried other students will find out your mom and I are dating-"
"No, Paul-I'm not worried about that, I've been bullied for worse-" Percy cut himself off, noticing the look on the older man's face. "-I mean-that's…it's fine. I don't like school, most students don't,"
"True," Paul made to get out of the car but stopped, glancing at Percy. "Tell me if there's any trouble, okay?"
"Alright," Percy replied. "I will." He opened the door, grabbing his bag and stepping out of the car. Paul followed suit, the two of them walking to the doors. Paul was in the process of getting out his keys to open the lock when Percy looked to his left and took notice of the dark-skinned boy leaning against the wall a few feet away from them. Percy's breath caught in his throat.
The guy looked like a freshman too, dressed in the standard Goode uniform: black jeans and a white button up, the sleeves rolled up and showing off his toned arms. His black-and-purple striped tie was hanging loosely around his neck with a brown cord resting over it and his bag was sitting at his feet. He was the definition of tall, dark, and handsome, and Percy could feel his heart rate picking up without his consent as he watched the boy put a cigarette between his lips and light it, breathing in deeply and then blowing smoke out. Before Percy could look away however, the boy locked eyes with him. His eyes were a nice, deep brown. Percy felt his face grow hot as the boy raised his eyebrows, slowly smiling and lifting a hand in greeting. Paul took notice of the boy then, too, having smelled the cigarette smoke wafting over to them.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Paul exclaimed.
The boy's smile grew. "Smoking. What're you doing?" He asked, making Percy blink in surprise.
Paul looked at the smoker with exasperation. "Put it out,"
The boy shifted his footing and subtly rolled his eyes, taking another drag.
"Come on," Paul called again. "Put it out. And fix your tie and take that necklace off. Or hide it under your shirt before you come in later, you'll get in trouble with dress code."
"Yes, sir." Mr. Dress-Code-Breaker sighed, dropping the cigarette and stomping it out with his shoe. He picked up his bag and started striding towards them. "Sorry, teach.'" He said, but he didn't sound sorry. He flashed a grin at Paul and briefly meet Percy's eyes, walking past them and around the corner to the front of the school. Percy watched him go, his stomach feeling…weird.
"That happens more than you would think, actually," Paul commented as he pulled open the door, snapping Percy out of what he was doing.
"He hung out here last year?" Percy asked, following Paul into the hallway.
"No no, other students have been caught smoking on campus. He's new, I think. I remember him in my tour group at orientation."
Percy rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Somehow, he forgot what happened just a few months before. "About that…you think anyone will remember me from that day?"
"Probably, but I wouldn't worry. You didn't do anything wrong, it was that cheerleader-what was her name again?"
"Uh," Percy looked behind him, as if saying her name would make her appear suddenly. "Kelli."
"Oh, that's right. Anyway, you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Although," Paul fiddled with his keys, they were at his classroom now. "I would still be careful, most of the teachers know your past rep, and. You know how white people can jump to conclusions when it comes to us."
Percy nodded, following Paul into the room and sitting at a random desk. He thought back to his first quest, when the Mist manipulated the mortals view to what they wanted to believe: a Black boy with violent tendencies played a part in his mother's disappearance, abducted two other kids (Annabeth and Grover), ran across the country, bombed the St. Louis Arch, and conspired with an older, scary looking biker dude (Ares). Thankfully, after his fight with Ares on the beach, him, Annabeth, and Grover were able to change the mortals' minds (there was probably help from the gods at that point). There was no doubt in Percy's mind that if he were white, he would have never even been a suspect; he would've automatically been the victim, no matter what.
At his desk, Paul was taking things out of his bag, getting ready for when his students came in in less than an hour.
Percy looked around the room, bouncing his leg. It was spacious enough to fit at least twenty students. There was a bulletin board on the right wall next to the door. Posters were hanging in the empty spaces around the room. On the far-left side was a window taking up the entire wall, overlooking the courtyard that was in the middle of the school. In the back of the room was a large bookshelf lining the wall, filled to the brim with textbooks and fictional and non-fictional texts. Paul's desk was in the front corner on the other side of the door. A cart was in the other corner, a projector resting on top of it. There was a whiteboard with markers underneath it at the front of the room, Mr. Blofis written neatly at the top. Percy realized with a jolt that Paul had written it with spacing between the letters, something that helped make reading with dyslexia easier, but not enough that it looked weird. Blue tape made columns on each far sides of the board, the one on the left said English 1 and the right said English 2, again: neat with letters spaced. He looked at the posters again and saw they were printed with fonts that helped dyslexia, too. In that moment, Percy was never more happy or thankful to have Paul in his life. He never had a teacher so considerate, he felt like crying. He's not going to mess this up. He won't.
Once Paul was done arranging things on his desk, he got Percy's attention, saying he could walk Percy around and show him where everything was, since he never got to at orientation.
Percy smiled slightly. "Please, that would be awesome," he said, standing back up. Percy pulled his schedule (which Paul had printed out with a special font to make it easier to read) and a map of the school out of his bag; he had circled where his classes were on the map and numbered which periods they were.
"Let me see that again," Paul said, holding his hand out.
"I remember you telling me I had pretty good teachers, but I don't know…" Percy trailed off, giving him the papers. "I looked into this one guy, Mr. Blofis? Got a bad feeling." He grinned.
The man in question let out a loud laugh before leading the way out the door.
For the next couple minutes, Paul gave Percy a tour around the school. They stopped at his locker first, then went to each of his seven classes in order. Percy knew he would forget where everything was soon enough, but it helped calm his nerves.
Halfway through the front doors opened, and students started coming in, more arriving from other buses and cars. Many went to the cafeteria for breakfast and the ones that didn't mingled at their lockers or went to the library. Soon, the corridors were filled with chattering voices. Percy heard screams of joy a couple times-friends seeing each other for the first time since school ended. People were comparing schedules, cursing when they didn't have classes together or smiling gratefully when they had at least one, and wincing when they heard their friend had a class with a bad teacher. A couple students greeted Paul excitedly, some even giving him hugs. The two of them kept having to stop in the middle of the hallway. By the time they got back to Paul's class Percy realized he had subconsciously been searching the sea of students for the unmistakable messy reddish-brown curls of Rachel Elizabeth Dare. He was tense again. Paul told him he'd better get going to his homeroom.
Homeroom was with a Ms. Jeffers, on the second floor. Ms. Jeffers was a short, white woman with brown hair in a ponytail, and she welcomed Percy at the door with a sincere smile. "There's a seating chart on the board," she told him.
He smiled back at her and said "Thanks,"
The class had maps on the walls and pictures of historical figures lining the whiteboard, which had squares representing desks and last names written inside them. There was only one other person in the class so far, sitting closer to the back. Percy stared at the board, trying to find his name, feeling embarrassed when it took him longer because of his dyslexia, especially since all the last names of course started with J. He sat down in the front after finding his name, tossing his folded schedule onto the desk and slouching in his seat. Tapping his foot, he abruptly got the uneasy feeling he was being watched and turned around, immediately regretting it.
Sitting towards the back was the boy who was smoking earlier, only this time his tie was fixed and the brown cord was gone. He was leaned back in his chair, staring at Percy intently, but when Percy caught him looking he didn't look away, instead smiling and lifting his fingers from where he was drumming them on his desk as a way of saying hello.
Percy turned back around. He swallowed nervously and tried to calm his breathing, feeling ashamed at how quickly his heart was beating. Stop it, he told himself.
After what felt like an hour, the late bell rang, and everyone had sat down. Ms. Jeffers closed the door and walked to the front of the room, clasping her hands together. "Okay. So," she started.
"I'm Ms. Jeffers, I teach history to juniors and seniors, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the rest of high school. Now, bear with me while I take attendance. And if I say your name wrong please don't be afraid to correct me. I don't want to be calling you the wrong name, it happened with a girl from my last homeroom and I didn't find out until I heard it at graduation and it's very embarrassing so," she spoke fast, pausing to breathe and pick up a clipboard from her desk, beginning the list.
Because Percy's last name was Jackson, he was first on roll.
And because his first name was Perseus, Ms. Jeffers butchered it. Horribly.
Percy stopped her before she could further embarrass him, raising his hand. "It's Perseus. But I go by Percy," he said. Ms. Jeffers apologized and marked the clipboard, crossing out his full name, writing Percy and then continuing. Percy was glad his dark skin prevented anyone from seeing his blush. He became hyperaware of everything, somehow knowing that guy was still watching him. He focused on Ms. Jeffers to stop thinking about it.
She didn't do too bad after that, except when she mispronounced a name and no one spoke up.
Percy looked behind him-not remembering any empty seats when class started-and this time the boy looked away from him in embarrassment.
"Uh, sorry. It's Aedan," he corrected. The teacher nodded.
Aedan turned his gaze back to Percy, but then he turned his dark eyes to his desk. Percy shifted back around in his seat, hating how hard it was to look away.
After that, Ms. Jeffers went on to say they would be having homeroom first thing for the rest of the week, but after that they would only see her once a month. Percy tried listening as she started the mandatory (boring) speech about the rules and expectations of Goode High, but he ended up zoning out, only focusing back in when she passed papers to be filled by parents around. His kept thoughts drifting to Aedan without him meaning too. He hoped they didn't have any classes together.
Even though Percy only thought it in his head, he jinxed it.
Aedan followed a little ways behind him as he walked to his first period: English 1 with Paul. Percy reassured himself that Aedan was just happened to have a class in the same direction, but his hopes were crushed when Percy walked into class, Aedan shuffling behind him.
Paul, er-Mr. Blofis, smiled at Percy. "Don't get comfortable," he said to the students sitting down. "There's assigned seats."
They all groaned in response.
"I know, I know, it's the worst," Paul had to speak loudly to be heard over the noise. "Just come to the front of the room while we wait for everyone else to get here, please."
As soon as he said that, Percy saw Rachel Elizabeth Dare walk in, dressed in black shorts and a rumpled purple button up, dress tie loose and hair all frizzy. When she saw him, she rushed forward and gave him a big hug. "Percy!" She exclaimed, giving him a squeeze.
He may have felt anxious about seeing her again this morning, but now that she was here Percy was relieved. He gave her a small squeeze back, then he let her go and told her about the assigned seats before she could get too excited.
"Damn," she cursed. "Give me your schedule," she grabbed it and compared it to hers. "Well, thank god we have all the same classes together-same lunch too! Except for next period, I have art."
Percy smiled, thinking about how messy her uniform will be getting from all the paint this year. "How've you been, Rachel?"
"Still thinking about what happened over the summer-"
Percy winced.
"-but other than that, pretty good. Dad's still mad about me going here, though."
Percy hummed in response, hearing the bell ring and watching Paul as he moved to the first desk and started called out names. Rachel was third from the left, and she dramatically sighed when she realized they weren't seated next to each other. Percy shrugged, but then a shot of adrenaline rushed through his body when he figured out what was happening.
Paul was going by alphabet.
Aedan's last name started with J.
No, Percy thought, praying it wouldn't happen.
Paul tapped a desk in the third row and called out his name, forcing Percy to walk forward. Paul moved to the next one without faltering and then said,
"Aedan Jones,"
Percy screamed internally, wanting to bury himself as he watched from the corner of his eye as Aedan sat down next to him. Percy didn't move his head to look at him, even though he felt Aedan glance over. His heart was hammering in his ears.
Percy clenched his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palms and silently begged for the class to finish quickly. Instead, time seemed to move slower as Paul moved back to the front and welcomed everyone, starting off the class by telling some facts about himself and discussing how the class would work for the rest of the year. He passed some paperwork to be filled out at home, but Percy moved in a panicked daze, trying to calm himself. He didn't even realize he missed what was being said until he focused back in in time for Paul to tell the class they would start their first assignment today.
Everyone started to complain but Paul just continued. "You'll be working with your partners, asking each other questions and taking notes on stuff like what your hobbies are, favorite foods, likes, dislikes, etcetera, and then you'll be writing a small paragraph at home using this information-nothing long!" Paul said before people could protest. "Just half a page, you could write whatever you want, but you need to use your notes. You could write a creative story-I don't care, it's just a participation grade and a way for me to get to know you all. Write your name in the right corner and put your partner's as the title, you have the rest of the class period."
A kid raised their hand. "Can we pick our partners?"
Percy had a feeling he knew what the answer was, because yes, the Fates hated him that much.
"No," Paul answered. "You're already sitting next to them, you'll notice you have matching numbers taped onto the desks, you can move them closer if you want."
Percy looked at his number, and then at Aedan's.
Both were the same.
Fuck.
Everyone started pulling out notebook paper. When Percy reached into his bag he realized his hands were shaking and forced them to stop. He sat back up. Aedan had moved his desk closer, tapping his pen on top of his paper.
"So," he said. "Percy, right?"
Percy swallowed, forcing himself not to slur his words. "Yeah. Aedan?"
The other boy nodded, asking the first question.
It was simple enough at first: they asked each other their ages (Aedan was 15 too), their birthdays (his was August the 22nd), favorite color (green), favorite food ("Anything good,"), any pets (none), family (he didn't want to answer that), but then Aedan asked if the redhead was Percy's girlfriend.
"What? I-no, she's-we're only friends," Percy stuttered. "Why?"
"Because we're supposed to be asking each other questions," Aedan said slowly. "Would've been interesting to put down you had the same English class with your girlfriend,"
"She's not my girlfriend,"
He held his hands in surrender, looking down before glancing at Percy. "Any boyfriends, then?" His voice was lowered, but Percy's eyes still widened and darted around the classroom. It took him longer than he wanted to respond.
"No. I don't-I'm not-"
"Okay, okay. Just wondering," Aedan moved his gaze back to his paper, still talking lowly in a way that made Percy have a hard time thinking straight.
It was very…No. Percy shoved that thought far far down, shaking his head slightly. "Uh, you're a smoker?" He asked, mind foggy.
"Yeah, you're the guy everyone thought caused that fire?"
Percy flinched back in surprise, shifting slightly. "Oh…right, you were in Mr. Blofis's tour group. Uh, it wasn't me, though,"
"Yeah, I know, it was those cheerleaders or whatever. Is that why you were with Mr. Blofis this morning?"
"No, he-he's dating my mom,"
"Ah," Aedan opened his mouth to ask another question but stopped as the bell rang.
Relief washed over Percy, that had been the longest fifty minutes of his life. Rachel walked over to them as they were gathering their stuff, going to standing in front of Percy's desk. Aedan had moved his back. "Your next class is near Art, so we can walk together,"
Percy said, "Cool,"
"You have art with Mrs. Kerrie?"
Rachel glanced at Aedan.
Percy kept his eyes locked on his desk, standing up.
"Yeah," Rachel looked Aedan over, judging him slightly before she smiled. "You wanna walk with?"
Are you kidding me? Percy wanted to yell. Why?
Aedan, of fucking course, said yes. So, they ended up going back downstairs together, Percy silent the whole way, only talking to confirm having the same lunch as Aedan. He had the same lunch as them. Of course. By the time Percy reached his next class-Marine Biology because hey, it could be useful-Rachel had invited Aedan to sit with them at lunch, since he just moved to New York as it turned out and didn't know anyone. Why was Percy's luck so bad?
It got worse of course, because besides second period him and Aedan had all the same classes (with Rachel too). And for half of those classes they got assigned seats next to each other. Thankfully, there wasn't any more partner work, so Percy got to avoid talking with him. But no matter how many times he stopped himself, Percy's thoughts kept drifting to Aedan.
At lunch, the three of them sat outside in the courtyard. On one side there was a brick wall with the words "It's all Goode!" painted in purple, which annoyed Percy. It was not all good. He ate slowly, only joining in the conversation when prompted. He attempted to zone out, but his ADHD decided not to be helpful and Percy kept focusing on Aedan's voice.
During the car ride home, Percy asked Paul why they had to do the partner assignment.
"Well, like I said: it's so I can get to know all the students better. And for you to learn about your partner, since you'll be working together until I decide otherwise,"
"Wait, what?"
Paul glanced over at him. "Were you listening in class? I assign a lot of partner work, discussion stuff in class, projects…it's fine, I get it. First day jitters, huh?"
Percy nodded, slowly. He looked out the window and didn't say anything else.
Sally wasn't home yet when they got back. Percy went to his room and tossed his bag on the ground immediately, closing the door and collapsing on his bed. He pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, feeling tears forming.
Aedan drifted into his mind.
Next chapter is Aedan's point of view.
Tell me what you think! I stayed up all night I think I died