AN: hi, this is an F story (not an A story, because this is a shared account). I don't own PJO or HoO, and all the ships are the ones from the books. Please leave a review/follow/favorite this story or me. Later, tater!
Diary pages-
Hi. I guess. I'm going to say, first off, that this whole "diary" thing wasn't my idea. Chiron asked me to write down everything from the beginning, and thought that a diary would be a good way to do it. Thank you, Chiron, for my new chore. I don't like writing, but you can't really argue with that guy.
So anyway. I think it all started in October, a week before I started at the new school. The school was new because I had gotten kicked out of my old school, but that was the usual thing for me. I'm what teachers call a, "problem student", which means that I'm not really a fan of following rules. And I'm ADHD and mildly dyslexic, and that doesn't exactly make things easier.
Dad and Padre were having over all their friends, which would've been fine, but I'm always expected to hang out with their weirdo kids. Mira Grace, Tay Valdez, Frederick Chase-Jackson, Charles Chase-Jackson, and my cousin Theo Zhang. They were all nice-but babysitting them wasn't what I wanted to do that night.
But Dad and Padre were having a party, and I didn't want to get grounded if I made myself scarce that night. I knew if I disappointed Padre, he would fix me with that look, and say, "Jamie di Angelo-Solace, what do you have to say for yourself?". Dad would probably stick up for me if it was anything but their friends' kids'.
You might be a little confused about the Dad and Padre thing. They aren't my birth parents-my mom died when I was three and I never met my birth dad, so they adopted me when I was five. Dad is Will Solace, and Padre (Italian for father) is Nico di Angelo.
I wasn't about to dress up for a party I didn't want to go to, so I wore my favorite outfit: torn acid-washed skinny jeans, a baggy black Edgar Allen Poe t-shirt with a red silhouette of a raven on the front, Padre's silver skull ring on a chain around my neck (it had been a present when I had first been adopted, and I never went anywhere without it), and my red-and-white converse. Then I tied my long blond hair in a braid over one shoulder, and put on my black fedora. Another thing I don't go anywhere without. I have a heart-shaped face, freckles, and dark brown eyes.
Then I trooped down the stairs to help prepare for the party. Dad was in the kitchen, unsurprisingly, blond hair flopping into his eyes and wearing a tie and button-up shirt with the sleeves pushed up. He was leaning against the counter on the phone, ordering the pizza, and grinned and winked when he saw me. Sometimes I wonder how Dad and Padre ever got together-they're polar opposites.
I found Padre on the back porch, hanging paper lanterns with candles in them to light up the deck. He hadn't dressed up either, in his black jeans and dark blue t-shirt. His dark hair was uncombed and stuck up at the back, and a black blazer and tie were sitting unwanted on the table.
"I think Dad wants you to wear these," I said, holding up the blazer and tie.
"He doesn't make you dress up." Padre complained, hopping down off the chair he was standing on and glaring bitterly at the blazer and tie. "It's not fair."
"That's because your his husband and I'm his daughter. C'mon, it'll make his day if you just put them on." Padre's determination melted when I flashed him a grin. He snatched them away from me, grumbling, and put them on. But he refused to tighten the tie properly. I let it go-I hadn't expected to be able to actually get him to do it.
"Happy now?" He demanded, and I nodded.
Then the doorbell rang. "Come on, your friends and their kooky kids are here."
He paused on his way back inside. I could hear the sounds of laughing and talking in the front hall, but I wasn't in any hurry to go in. "Sorry about making you hang out tonight. I know I would've hated it when I was fourteen."
"It's fine." I shrugged. "They could be worse. They could be vampires."
He broke into a rare grin. "There's always that."
We went back inside. It was Leo, Calypso, and Tay. I think Tay is short for Taygene, apparently one of Calypso's sisters. Leo was cackling at something Tay had just said, and I was surprised to see he was in a tux. But I was willing to bet that Calypso had had to chain him to the floor to get it on him. Calypso herself had her long shining hair in a beautiful plait, and wore a white blouse dress with a golden chain belt.
Tay grinned when she saw me. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with Tay, but we didn't have a lot in common. I paint and write poetry, she sings and builds things. I'm not seeing the connection.
Tay is fifteen, a year older then me, and her curly brown hair was in a ponytail. She wore a red party dress and black leggings and boots, and pearl earrings.
"Hi, Jamie!" Tay said, holding her hand up for a high-five. I high-fived her. It's hard to be grumpy around Tay-she almost radiates positivity.
"Hey, Tay." I said, trying to smile. "Hi Leo, hi Calypso."
"Wassup, Jabberwock?" Leo grinned, and Calypso hugged me. Jabberwock has been my nickname ever since I was nine, when I told the kids of Dad and Padre's friends a ghost story about the Jabberwocky and made them all run screaming to their parents. And also, according to Padre, gave them nightmares.
I didn't get the chance to answer before the doorbell rang again and the Chase-Jackson family was crowding into the front hall. Percy hugged Padre and Dad and me, even though Padre and are the opposite of huggy. Annabeth greeted Leo and Calypso, and Tay immediately began chattering away to Fred and Charles. Fred is her age, and Charles is seven. Frederick ("Fred") has blond hair and sea-green eyes, and his brother has black hair and gray eyes. Annabeth had on a gray party dress, and Percy and his sons wore button-up shirts and ties.
"Hi, Jamie." Annabeth smiled at me. Annabeth is probably my favorite out of my parents' friends'. She's freaky smart, and she's the CEO of an architecture company. "Good to see you."
"Good to see you, too," I said politely.
"How's your writing going?" She asked, and unlike 80% of the people I meet she actually seemed to be interested.
"Good," I said truthfully. "One of my poems was just published in an anthology."
"That's great! Percy, did you hear that?"
"You got published? That's so cool!" Percy is pretty much just a big kid. There's almost zero difference between him and his fifteen-year-old son.
Soon the Grace's were arriving. Jason, Piper, and their daughter Miracle (we call her Mira). Mira's brown hair was curled for the occasion, and her vivid blue eyes were almost startling. Thankfully, she wasn't in a dress either, but she did have on a pink button-up shirt, a black skirt, and pink flats. Mira is actually the nicest person I know, but she's also uber shy, and two years younger then me, eleven.
I knew Mira wouldn't talk to any of us, and I didn't want her to be lonely. "Hi, Mira." I said. I'm not the friendliest person myself, but Mira looked happy to see me. "What's up?"
"Nothing much." She said, and her voice was quiet. Actually, her voice is always quiet. "Do you know when the Zhang's are getting here?"
"Nope." I said. "They have to fly in from California, so they'll probably be a little late. Why do they even live in California?"
"Dunno." Mira shrugged. "Blue skies?"
"Hollywood?"
"The walk of fame?"
"The great weather? Maybe they haven't heard about the whole earthquake thing." I wiggled my eyebrows, and Mira giggled.
"I think Frank's job is there."
"Pfft, that's just their excuse for being scared of me, their terrible horrible niece. Maybe they're scared I'll eat Theo!" I made a monster face and wiggled my fingers, and Mira cracked up again. I smiled. Mira is probably the only person in the world that thinks I'm funny.
Just then, the Zhangs arrived. Aunt Hazel and Uncle Frank came in first, with Theo trailing along behind them. He wore a bear-shaped backpack, and his dark hair hung almost to his shoulders. He wants to be a doctor, and I could see the shape of books through the cloth of his backpack. Out of all the guests, I knew the least about Theo. He lived in California, after all, and I only see the Zhangs once a year-the two weeks of the summer they spend in New York, and the week of Christmas when they come to celebrate with us. He might be my cousin, but that's not enough time to know each other.
Uncle Frank swept me up in a bearhug before I could protest. I didn't know what he did…. I had once heard something about running a camp? But he was a big guy. Then Aunt Hazel, Padre's sister, hugged me. She's a horse trainer, and always smelled like fresh earth and hay.
Theo and I high-fived awkwardly, and then Tay reappeared at my shoulder as if by magic.
"Come on! Fred, Charles, and I are going out back. Are you three coming or what?" Theo followed her without argument, and Mira and I shrugged at eachother.
"Might as well."
It was nice to be out on the back porch, away from the adults. Mira sat down on a lawn chair, but Fred balanced to sit on the railing. Charles sat down on the porch by his older brother's feet, big gray eyes staring around at us like two full-moons. Theo leaned against the railing, and Tay plopped down next to Mira, making her jump. I just leaned against the house, wishing I was with my friends right now instead of here.
"What do you guys want to do?" Tay asked, taking charge.
"We could go swimming in the lake down the road," Fred said at once.
"It's October. You'd get hypothermia and die." I said.
"You're a ray of sunshine." Fred said, sticking his tongue out at me. "We could go swimming! I don't get cold. Con doesn't either, do you, Char?" Charles shook his head. "See?"
"The rest of us do, though," Theo said. "We could play a game."
"Like what?" Tay asked, excited.
"Truth or dare!" Fred cheered.
"I'm down with that." I nodded. Maybe a chance to find out more about the others. "Mira? You in?" She nodded.
"Sounds fun."
"I want to play!" Charles giggled.
"Awesome." Tay nodded.
"Cool!" Fred pointed to himself. "I'll go first." Nobody argued. "Tay, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
Fred's grin stretched wider, like that was the answer he was hoping for. "Okay. Do you know what our parents are hiding?" The mood dropped, just like that. The quiet excitement of a moment before was now tense, worried, even scared. Charles whimpered a little, so Fred jumped down from the railing and carried him to sit at the table with Tay and Mira. It didn't help that Padre's lanterns cast only a dim glow across the porch, making everything seem creepier and more dangerous.
Tay wasn't smiling now. "What do you mean?"
"Haven't you guys noticed?" Fred asked. "They're hiding something, all of them. I've seen it for years, but mom and dad won't answer questions. I thought maybe one of you would know what the big secret is. You guys have seen it, too, right?"
Mira nodded. "When I come in the room, they stop talking."
"Sometimes when they come home, they look like they've seen a ghost but they'll never tell me what it was." Tay said sadly.
"Mom and Dad won't tell me what they do for a living, or where they do it." Theo muttered.
"They give each other the most annoying secret looks when they think I'm not looking." I say. I've seen it, just the way the others have. I never realized it, but now that Fred has said it it couldn't be anything else. They're keeping something big from their kids.
"The secret box." Charles said. Everyone stares at him, even Fred.
"What secret box, Char?" Fred asked, and Charles gives him a surprised look.
"You haven't seen it? I found it months ago. Mommy and Dad keep a big oak box hidden in their closet and they lock it with a key. The key on Mommy's necklace. I flashed back to talking to Annabeth in my mind. Sure enough, she was wearing a silver key on a bronze chain around her neck. "I think there's something about the secret in the secret box."
Fred nods slowly. "I've seen that chest, but I didn't think much of it. You're right, Charlie, that probably has something to do with it."
"Then check in it when you get home!" I burst out. "Guys, we have to figure this out. That box could be our one big chance to find out more about our parents. They'll never just tell us. You two have to steal the key when you get home and search the chest while Percy and Annabeth are sleeping."
"But…" Suddenly Fred hesitates, and I realize for the first time that he's scared. "What if it's something awful? What if it's, like, a dead body or something?"
"Don't worry, it won't be." Tay reassured him, but I wasn't so sure. It could be something terrible.
"We'll do it together." Theo said suddenly. We all looked at him. "This has to do with all of us. We'll sneak out tonight and come to your house, and we can figure this out together."
"Is that a good idea?" Mira asked nervously.
"This is the best way," I said, agreeing with my cousin. "We have to do this together. It's about all of us. And if it is something terrible," I swallowed hard. "Then we'll be together when we run."
"You mean run away?" Tay looked shocked. "I could never do that!"
"We might have to." I challenged. "What if it is a dead body? Or something even worse? What if we're in danger by sticking around? We'll have better chances together then on our own.
"I don't wanna run away." Charles whined.
"We may not have to, Char." Fred said, holding his brother in his lap. There was a determined glint in his sea-green eyes that I had never seen before. "But we're going to do this. Together." He held out his hand over the middle of the round table.
"Together," Tay put her hand on top of his.
"Together." Theo joined them, looking grim.
"Together." I said, putting my own hand on top of my cousin's light brown one. "Mira, we would understand if you want to stay out. We could do this and then tell you-"
"No." She said, putting her hand on the pile. "Together. It's about all of us, so we have to do this with all of us. I'll bring my things, in a backpack. You guys should as well."
"Together." Charles just hugged Fred.
"Okay, pack your stuff after the party, and be at my house at 1:00 tonight." Fred said.
Then Dad came out to tell us it was time for pizza.
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