*i don't own percy jackson and the olympians* *i don't own the heros of olympus* {this story takes place after the giant war}

1

ariadne was swimming in the pool. she went under. her hair floated to the top of the pool. aridene's green eyes pierced the water, she looked around and didn't see much. just her hips squeezed in to her bikini. she desperately needed a new one, she has had her green striped one since she was thirteen. she came up to the surface, took a breath and went back down. her hair floated around her head like a brown golden halo. she relaxed, and stared up. she saw a pretty mural of the sky above her. the mural reminded her of the mom. they was she used to be. when her mom would make her pancakes and put peanut butter on them. when she use to tuck her in a night. when her mom was...not the same. ever since she started gambling her life had turned upside down. her mom had been staying up late, drinking and going to partys. shes just going lower.

she returned to life and realized that she had been down here a while. a little too long, people would start to get suspicious of her. she went up. she pretended to gasp really loudly. stupid public pools she thought. she hated pretending to have to gasp for air after she had been down for a measly one minute. once, she snuck in to this place and she held her breath. she had been down there for thirty minutes. she found it kinda scary but she found it more exciting, like a super power. she hated her life and this was something that was her own, this was her gift. she looked around the pool, and then went back down. she tried to remember what she still needed. she had pajamas, a few clean shirts, jeans, toothbrush and toothpaste, all she needed was food and water. then she was out. she could finally be free from her partying, drunk abusive mother. she smiled. she was running away. luckily she was seventeen and she could get a job, and she had stolen some of her moms gambling money and bought an apartment. she cringed, remembering what it was like when her mother had accused her of stealing the money. she managed to get the suspicion on her neighbor's kid. her mom left her and went to the people next door. she stopped stealing the money in such large amounts. instead she stole it in fives, ones and quarters. her mom was always too drunk to notice. she closed her eyes. everything was ready, she had a waitressing job and her apartment was ready for her. she hadn't told her mom any of this, of course. by tonight she would be sleeping on the new floors of her drafty cheap apartment. she had to use a blanket until she could save for mattress and some sheets. she closed her eyes and imagined the freedom. being able to walk around and not be afraid of your mother. she was beyond came early! she thought.

suddenly she heard a splash in the water. shoot she saw a boy swimming down to meet her. how long was she down here? 10 min? 15? she swam to the surface and pretended to gasp for air and to make it more convincing she coughed a bit. the boy had dark hair with the littlest bit of silver in it. he probably put it there because he thought it would look cool. he had a pretty face... or would it be handsome? whocares? god, sometimes she got so off track. when she left she would miss doing track. there is a boy who thinks you were dead! bigger problems here Ar! (yes she had a nickname for herself, don't judge) she heaved herself on land and made a show of it. the boy looked at her funny. probably because you were just under water for ten minutes! she laid down on the cement and pretended to suck in a bunch of air. "i don't think shes the one. maybe the rachel made a mistake..." she heard someone say. it was a boy voice. she sat up and looked behind her. there was a mexican boy staring at her like she was a dirty diaper. the boy in the water looked at her with wonder and confusion. weird... "no. i know its her. and besides that rachel doesn't make mistakes. shes the oracle." he said. "did you see the way she was gasping?" he sounded annoyed with her. " there is no way." he said. the boy with the black hair looked at him with eyes that said 'if you say another word i will run you through' the mexican backed down. "um.." she didn't mean to say it out loud but she did. both boys looked at her. she got up quickly, completely forgetting that she was suppose to be out of breath. "i'm just going to go...okay bye." she practically ran away. "hey! wait!" one of the boys said. he was faster than she anticipated. the black haired boy grabbed her elbow. she whipped around and then... he was in the kitty pool fifteen feet away while his friend just stared at her. she grabbed her towel and ran, nearly falling on a puddle. but the mexican guy was faster. he ran up to her and grabbed her to. she fought against his grip, but the boy was strong and he crossed her arms over her chest and pushed her against him. she could hear him breathing in her ear. his chest moved up and down. she stopped struggling. she focused on his breathing. she could feel his heart beating, loud and fast. "i'm leo" he whispered. she laughed. the guy laughed. suddenly the guy with black hair was over here. he looked mad. " get away from her." he said. leo backed away "woah hey. ok im not bella lets not do this." she started to walk away hoping she could trick them. "were not playing twilight okay?" leo laughed. "we just need you to help us" she looked at him. was he for real? "serious?" she asked. the boy with black hair was staring at leo like he was the enemy. "hey." she said "stop that." the boys eyes turned on her. "come on lets go sit" he grumbled.

they went and sat and one of the tables between two pools. on the left was the play pool, the one where families swam in and where the occasional kid took a poo. then on the right was the swimming lanes where she was. where leo found her. they sat at the table in awkward silence for a minute. leo sat across from her. she was still in her way to small bikini and she could see leos eyes look over her. his eyes slowly traveled down her body. and then up to her face where she was pretending not to notice. she didn't cover herself up at all. the boy with dark hair definitely noticed and was very angry looking. "so whats your name?" she asked him. he took his angry stare off of leo and looked at her with a certain affection in his eyes. "i'm percy. your brother."