At Towering Heights

Author's Note: The Percy Jackson part will come soon! It's actually more of a Heroes of Olympus, but I figured that they were spin offs so…it still works? I think you'll like my perspective! It's a bit different…but please rate and review! I'll put up the next chapter, after I see if I'm getting read or not. :D enjoy! :D

Chapter 1

Lylea blinked opened her eyes, staring at her plain white ceiling, and yawned. She enjoyed the peaceful moments of just waking up. She savored the grogginess, yet crispness of it. She rolled onto her side and stared at another plain wall—this one vertical rather than horizontal. Today was a special day. She felt her heart thud more clearly—she was slowly (but surely) escaping the just-woken-up-stage. She almost felt sad. She loved that early-morning feel, the crispness, the quietness, the—

Lylea yanked at the bed sheets in surprise—her alarm had gone off. She slammed her hand down on it—like she'd always seen in movies. It had stopped beeping—but she wondered for how long. She got up, stretched, and looked down at her alarm clock. The snooze appeared to be off, so she was safe. She went outside her bedroom and into the bathroom she and her mom shared. As she brushed her teeth, she reflected. The school year had gone well—considering that she was ADHD and dyslexic. She hadn't made many friends….Well…she guessed that she had… they were the kind hearted ones…the ones to make friends with an outsider…they were by no means the "popular kids" but Lylea had never been in that crowd. Her mom worked at Boeing, so they moved practically every year. They'd gone to some pretty interesting places—New York City, London, Sydney, Moscow. Along the way, Lylea had picked up the native languages—German, Russian, Spanish. It kind of got jumbled in her mind. She wasn't sure if she could still speak any of them, but it didn't matter. Usually, after her mother had lived in one place for at least a year, she was never sent back. Where was she living now? She was on the West Coast, in Sacramento. She was enjoying it…but she didn't really compare any of the places she'd been. After she left a place, she really left it forever—she never revisited it, in person, or in spirit.

Lylea's mom's job was pretty good, but rent was high in Cali, and they could only afford a small apartment. They didn't need anything else anyway. Moving around so much caused them to travel light and live light. Lylea didn't feel any anger towards her mom. Sometimes she wished they could just settle down in one place, but she knew that moving around was all that her mom had ever known! Even as a child, Lylea's mom had to move around a lot because of her father's job!

Lylea changed into fresh jeans and a cute flowery blouse. Lylea was known to never be girly or guy-crazy (on the outside.) Lylea did like to look nice sometimes, but she knew she could never have a closet full of pink and pastels, or have posters of the hottest actor-hunk covering her walls. She had nothing against flowers though. And guys? She supposed she was guy-crazy on the inside. Well, she wasn't sure exactly the definition of the word…But she knew that as soon as she saw a cute guy, she could consider herself in like with him…sometimes for several months…Then she would find some fault in him (maybe he had insulted one of her friends, or just acted like a jerk once) or she would move away before she could tell him. Then she would put away her feelings in a mental trashcan ("thrown away guys") and let their memories fade away slowly. Sometimes, she still had traces of memories…but they didn't bother her. It was kind of like, well, Lylea guessed that if you were fighting with your best friend, but got over it, then you could look back at the fight, and either laugh, or decide never to think about it again.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," a voice greeted her warmly. Lylea looked at her mother in surprise. Lylea hadn't even realized she had walked to the kitchen and sat down.

"Sleepwalking, are we?" her mother joked. Polly Moreson, Lylea's mother, was of average height, but was drop-dead gorgeous! Polly had lush, dark brown hair, and large hazel eyes, framed by long lashes. Lylea had seen Polly bringing many dates home (none of them stayed the night though) but always had to leave before the proposal. Lylea wondered if Polly was happy about that, or whether she wished there was a guy that didn't mind moving around so much, and that they could settle down…without settling down in one place.

Lylea thought about her own looks. She had boring brown eyes, not very noticeable features, but her hair—oh, no, her hair. Lylea hated it. It wasn't dark blonde. It wasn't light brown. It was somewhere in between and it was gross. Lylea wondered why she hadn't inherited her mother's looks. She wondered whether her father had her hair color and brown eyes. Whenever she asked about her father, her mother always smiled as if in loving memory. Her mother always described Lylea's father as the best thing that ever happened to her. Lylea didn't really understand that…I mean he left her, right? With a baby? That maybe Polly wasn't ready for? But Polly always said that she had wanted Lylea and loved her fiercely, enough for Lylea's father AND herself—but Polly assured Lylea that her father loved her too, which meant that Lylea was triply loved. Lylea wasn't sure about her father…I mean how could he love her if he left his daughter and his…well not really wife?

"Lylea," Polly sang. Lylea looked up at her mother. Polly was smiling and presented her with a plate of a huge pancake—shaped like a slice of birthday cake. There was strawberry jam to symbolize the icing, as well as maple syrup that was on the table. Lylea smiled back at her mom, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Polly returned it with a hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart!" Polly said.

"Thanks, mom," Lylea replied.

"So," Polly asked, "how old are you?"

"Mom," Lylea laughed. "You know how old I am."

"Just say it out loud!" Polly exclaimed, a dreamy look in her eyes. "Make it really real!"

"I'm sixteen," Lylea said, sighing. Finally. Sixteen. One more year till she was the ideal age—seventeen. She loved seventeen, because it was still young enough to be a kid, but definitely old enough to make your own decisions, have responsibility, be a young adult. But she would enjoy being sixteen. Sixteen was a sweet age. That's why it was called sweet sixteen, right?

"I have a surprise for you," Polly sighed.

Lylea looked at her, a little astonish. "I thought the pancakes were the surprise," Lylea said, quite seriously.

"No, don't be silly," Polly said just as seriously, her hazel eyes shocked, as if the thought of her daughter only expected pancakes for her birthday was unacceptable.

"Mom, I don't need any gifts," Lylea said strongly, looking her mother in the eyes.

Polly looked at her, love overwhelming her gaze. Lylea almost choked on her pancakes. They were having a I totally love you and can't imagine what I'd do without you moment.

"Well, we'll see about it…" Polly said slowly. "We'd better start driving though…It's…well…"

Polly got up and tidied up the…already clean kitchen. Lylea wasn't sure what her mom was thinking. Well, Lylea knew her mom was a little worried or upset about something…but what?

Lylea finished her pancake. It was absolutely amazing. She thanked her mom with a hug, and threw away the paper plate. "Should I pack anything?" Lylea asked, getting straight to the point.

Polly looked at her with pride, and also a little regret. "Yes…" she said slowly. "Would you mind if I helped you?"

Lylea was a little surprised, but hid it from her mother. Usually her mother was great about her independence—in fact she expected Lylea to know things like how to cook, how to do laundry, how to run the dishwasher, simple living things like that. Lylea suspected her mom wanted to spend some time with her, but she couldn't think of why. Unless she was being sent somewhere…but they would have talked about it before…Lylea decided not to think about it until they got there. She and her mother went into her room. Polly brought in a huge red suitcase, opened it up, and started raiding Lylea's closet.

Lylea looked at her mom with shock. "Mom…why are you emptying my closet?"

"Just extra clothes, honey, just in case," Polly replied automatically. Lylea sighed. Oh well. Her mom could be crazy sometimes. Although this wasn't the most crazy thing. Her mom was perfectly sane of course. But her personality was bubbly and fun. That's what was meant by crazy.

They packed the car (with only a suitcase for Lylea) and drove. It was a pretty short drive…only two hours. They started veering off the highway, and taking some weird route that Lylea hadn't noticed before. The view was gorgeous outside. Lylea and her mom didn't really talk but she hoped it was a comfortable silence. It was for her if it was for her mom. They stopped in front of an arch. Lylea looked up. The writing looked like English…but Lylea had no trouble reading it. Lylea deciphered it and was even more confused by it…and a little disturbed. The sign said Camp Half-Blood.