1. Eyes

Percy Jackson looked out at the sun setting horizon from his New York apartment. It was the night he had been waiting for and dreading for the past year. It was the night of his high school graduation dinner party. Yep. That's right Percy Jackson actually graduated high school.

After being kicked out of nine different schools, most adults thought the day would never come when they would see the troubled kid with the sea green eyes hold a diploma. His mother, Sally Jackson, always had some faith in him that he would graduate. Most parents would be discouraged after getting nine different letters saying that their child would no longer have the privilege of attending that school. Most parents would be discouraged after attending countless teacher conferences and hearing the same thing: "He's a nice kid, Mrs. Jackson. But he's just not getting any better." And most parents would be discouraged when their kid came home many times with a black eye saying, "He started it."

Sally was never discouraged, though. And Percy really admired her for that. He was proud of himself for getting that diploma. But he was also scared. What was he going to do once high school was over? College was a scary thought. He didn't even bother applying for any Universities given the fact that he was just trying to make it through his last year of high school without any distractions. As his gaze wandered to the towering sky scrapers, he wondered. What would come next?

Thirty minutes. Percy had thirty minutes until the dinner started. The dinner almost his entire graduating class would be attending. He already knew how it would go down. There would be tables of brainiacs talking about the schools they got into and debating on whose GPAs were better. Then there would be all the jocks talking about the sports scholarships they got. Then there would be the parents conversing with one another about how proud they were of their kids. And then there would be him. A dyslexic and ADHD trouble maker who barely graduated with a C average.

People talked to him at school though. He wasn't a total loner. His good looks saved him. With black, slightly messy hair and those piercing green eyes, he wasn't hard to look at. He never had a girlfriend though. Part of the reason was the fact that he usually didn't stay long enough at one school to get close with any girls. Another reason was that he had trust issues when it came to having a girl in his life. He had never met his real father.

His mom told him he was lost at sea when Percy was a baby. Sally was never truly the same after that. She remarried, but that didn't work out. Percy's stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, was an A-class jerk. Gabe was horrible to Sally, always taking her for granted and treating Percy like week old garbage sitting out in the sun. Percy hated him. Luckily, Sally divorced Gabe a few years ago and he has been out of their lives for good.

After Gabe, Sally started dating a teacher at Goode High School (another school Percy got the pleasure of getting kicked out of) named Paul Blofis. Paul treated Sally well, and Percy was glad for that. But he noticed the looks Sally would get in her eyes whenever something reminded her of the ocean. Percy's real father loved the ocean. And ironically, he was lost at sea. Percy knew Sally would never get over the fact his dad was gone. And that's what terrified Percy of getting too attached with a girl. He couldn't imagine loving someone who could just leave him in a second.

10 minutes before the dinner party. Percy decided to actually get inside the apartment and make him self look somewhat presentable. After deciding on a nice shirt with some black pants and a leather jacket, he rushed to the living room to meet his mom. Sally smiled when she saw him. "I'm so proud of you, Percy." She said warmly.

Proud. Percy rarely ever heard that word. It sounded foreign to him. The car ride over to the venue was somewhat awkward for Percy. His mom kept ranting about how she knew he would graduate, despite getting kicked out of nine schools. She just knew it. Percy felt a little embarrassed. His mother had so much more hope in him than he did.

When they finally arrived, Percy felt even more awkward. He knew he would, though. He didn't spend over half an hour on his balcony thinking about how easy this night would be. All of his classmates were talking about the next steps in their lives. Percy frantically searched for his best friend Grover while Sally made small talk with some of the parents. "Grover!" he called as he spotted him by the buffet. "Hey man!" Grover greeted, scooping up an enchilada. "We made it, Perce."

Percy laughed. "We did man. Hey, they have enchiladas?"

"Duh, I wouldn't come to this stupid thing if they didn't."

Percy laughed. Leave it to Grover to only think about food during their graduation party. Grover had been Percy's best friend since elementary school. He was shorter than Percy with a mop of reddish brown curly hair and a straggly goat-tee. Percy was really glad to have him. If it wasn't for Grover, Percy would've had some really lonely years.

"So Percy, what are you going to do now, since high school is over?" Grover asked. Percy shrugged. He really hated this question. "I don't know, man. Maybe do something that involves the ocean. Get into a school with marine biology or something." But Percy knew that was a far fetched dream. He could barely stay in high school. How would he make it in college without managing to get kicked out? And marine biology? Please. Percy had a hard time staying awake in any science class. But he loved the ocean. And he hated the fact that he did. The ocean took away his father. But still, ever since he was a little kid, he would beg Sally to take him to the beach whenever she could.

"What about you, Grover? Any big plans?" Percy questioned. Grover's eyes lit up. "Well it's not a job, but I've been researching this nature group that has campaigns to save our forests, and-." Percy started to tune him out. So even Grover knew what he wanted to do with his life. It was then someone caught his eye.

It was a girl he didn't recognize. He knew she didn't go to his school. Even though Percy wasn't the most popular guy, he was still observant. And he definitely knew she wasn't in his graduating class. Percy watched as she walked over to a table, her blond curls bouncing with each step. Sure she was noticeably pretty, but usually girls didn't make a huge impression on him. He then knew why he was so intent on staring at her. When she turned around, he got a good look at her eyes. They were a startling gray. A steely gray that seemed like clouds were brewing a storm in her eyes. Her gaze seemed strategic, as if she was planning on taking down every person in the room. Grover stopped talking as soon as he noticed Percy's distant look.

"Dude! You're not even listening to a word I'm saying!" Grover complained. Percy shushed him and adverted his gaze back to the girl. He pointed at her and spoke. "Grover, who is she?"

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