Chapter 1: The Jacksons

"Uh... What are you staring at?"
"Raven haired girl by the boy's bathroom, six o' clock."
Phoebe sighed at her brother and shouldered her backpack. She looked in the direction Max was looking in and raised a brow at the girl. Sea green eyes. Choppy and uneven black hair that had a little sea green streak. Tanned skin with a few scars. Some looked old and some looked new. She was quite attractive. Actually, she was beautiful. And her face was void of any make-up. Her lips looked naturally red, a chap stick only preventing them from being dry. Its like she didn't even try, with her perfectly shaped body and the perfectly straight and white teeth. She was easily 5'8. Max's height. She looked punk. Like, seriously. She wore black combat boots, black shorts, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket with the sleeves cut off. The only colour she had were those six beads on her neck. Each represented a different thing. The first one had a star drawn on. The third one had a maze. The last one had the sun drawn on. Then the fourth one had the picture of the Empire State Building with some writing written in an ancient language. The necklace also had the charm of a scythe on that was gold and a small tag written 'Luke'. She looked like a normal teenage girl with the categories of a typical teenage boy. Carefree looking. Always smiling like an idiot. But her eyes said otherwise. They were calculating and tense, yet unpredictable and calm at the same time. Like the sea. They were alert and they flickered on everything, everywhere as if she expected something to pop out somewhere. And they were battle hardened. The eyes of someone who has seen war and who has lost many. Phoebe was curious to why she was standing by the boys bathroom when the girls bathroom was just across.
But she got her answer when the girls smile widened when a guy walked out. He had the same tan skin as her. Same green eyes. Same black hair. Same beauty. He had the same white smile and the same beautiful ...well...everything. He looked about 6'2, was lean and had on some muscle. He had a swimmers body and also looked like a guy who belonged on the football team. Except, he didn't wear expensive clothing. He actually looked punk too. His hair was shaved on the sides and some on the back and his hair was gelled up in a quiff with two strands hanging at the side, right behind his ears. He had one golden stud on his left ear and two small golden hoop earrings on the corner of his right ear. He wore black jeans that were ripped at the knees, a teal blue shirt, a black leather jacket and some combat boots. He also wore fingerless leather gloves. There was something peculiar also. He wore the same necklace as the girl, except the first bead had a trident. And instead of a scythe charm, it had a college ring and instead of a tag written 'Luke', it was written 'Clarisse'. That is surely weird... He took the girl's hand in his and his smile widened, revealing crinckles at the corner of his eyes showing that he smiled a lot. And that made him even hotter. Phoebe snapped out of her thoughts when Max groaned.
"Argh! It looks like she's taken already!" He complained
"Are you sure? Just look at those two. Its like a gender swap mirror." Phoebe said. Max took a longer look, then smiled.
"Hey! You're right!" He said. "Imma go over there and woo her right into my arms."
"Well, tell me when you get punched. That guy seems like and older brother. And he is easily scarier and taller than you are. And that's saying a lot." Phoebe said and Max glared. He let out a breath before putting on his signature smirk and walked over. Phoebe chuckled. "Oh this is gonna be good." The guy with the piercings raised a brow at Max, before giving a carefree smile that had a small hint of sarcasm.
"Hey!" The guy chirped and Max let out a breath.
"Uh, hi. You guys seem new." Max said
"Oh, we are. I'm Percy, and this is my old-" the girl elbowed him hard in the elbows, causing him to bend over in pain. "Give me a minute..." The girl smiled.
"I'm Percy's younger sister, Amethyst." She said and held out her free hand. Max shook it and the smirk came back onto his face. He looked back at Percy, who was giving him the scariest glare in mankind. It made him feel like crawling in a hole, drinking acid, putting poison in his veins and die because that seemed less painful and less scary than this. His smirk faltered when Percy's eyes flashed.
"Amethyst, we're leaving." Percy said.
"Whoa, Perce. We need someone to show us around. It is our first day." Amethyst said. Percy made the mistake of looking at her because she was making the puppy dog eyes.
"Ugh! Fine!" Percy said and sighed. "You owe me big time."
"No I don't."
"No you don't."
"Exactly." Percy sighed again, then gave Max a look. A look Max understood perfectly.
Touch my sister or even think of doing so or talk to her in any way or doing anything, I will turn you inside-out with my mind, no problem.
Max actually felt scared. He gulped and let go of Amethyst's hand. Amethyst went back to holding Percy's hand. They seemed close. Very close. But they are siblings, right? But these two. They seemed quite peculiar. They clung together like they've lost each other before and they don't want that to happen. Like something tragic happened that tore them apart from the inside and they stuck together so that whatever got broken and bruised inside won't break and shatter completely. They looked like they were the only things keeping each other levelled and sane. Like each others' anchors. This confused Max. What could've happened that caused this? But he didn't wanna pry. That might hurt them further. Like re-living the memory that will haunt them for life. Max pushed the thought to the back of his mind and smiled.
"Shall we?"

"Did you get on Percy's good side?"
"Not a bit."
After Max gave Percy and Amethyst a tour, he learned that they moved here from New York. And he wondered why they left NYC in the first place. But he didn't ask. He also learned that they have different fathers and the same mother. He didn't ask how. He just nodded and smiled weirder. And then, Percy became Max's ultimate hero when he learned that Percy blew up a bus, part of the St. Louis Arch, got kicked out of ten schools in twelve years and has been included in a man hunt because, apparently, people believed that he kidnapped his own mother. What sick would do that? Also, when the entire NYC apparently 'fell asleep', Percy and Amethyst were one of the few awake and witnessed the reason why New York was trashed two years ago. Yet they didn't reveal why. It seemed to hurt Amethyst more than it hurt Percy, actually. During lunch, Percy and Amethyst sat by Max's table with Phoebe and Cherry, which consisted of Cherry flirting with an uncomfortable looking Percy and Amethyst fiddling with the scythe charm on her necklace. Max asked why it was a scythe and why the tag on her necklace read 'Luke', but that caused Amethyst to zone out and look like she was about to cry. So he just guessed that the scythe was 'Luke's' favorite weapon and the 'Luke' guy was her boyfriend who probably died. Then when they had English class together, Max learned that the two had ADHD and Dyslexia. Maybe from the constant tapping of feet, pens and fingers, the constant movement in chairs and the frustration of spelling words wrong and/or not being able to see or read anything on the board or in the textbooks. But when it came to the World Economics class, they split them up into countries. And Amethyst and Percy were quick to pick Greece. And instead of speaking normal Greek, they spoke the Ancient kind. And they even spoke some Latin. No one understood a thing. And that made Max like Amethyst more. Then after class, Max began a conversation with them about heroes and villains. Max asked their favorite hero or villain and Percy went with Aquaman - which caused Amethyst to laugh and mutter 'Seaweed Brain' - Max told them it was Dark Mayhem and Amethyst just got a far away look in her eyes while a lovey dovey look came onto her face. And she said, and Max quotes, "He began a villain, died a hero.", and she began playing with the scythe charm again. He just shut up about that. He doesn't remember a villain doing that. So he doesn't ask what she means. Right now, Max and Phoebe were sitting on the bleachers at the track field where Percy was trying out. Amethyst was with him, talking to him. Well, it seemed more like joking.
"You know, brothers are supposed to be protective." Phoebe said.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I still have to figure out why Percy doesn't like me much." Max said and his sister rolled her eyes. He looked back at Amethyst and Percy, who were busy shoving each other and laughing. Max just noticed that Percy looked happier and nicer when he was alone with Amethyst. When there were people around, he was scary. He acted like the typical scary, bad boy from the books and movies. One time when Gavin from the football team flirted with Amethyst and pushed Percy away, Percy got detention for every afternoon of the week from tomorrow for breaking Gavin's...everything. Tomorrow, he said he's bringing his mom because the principal wanted a talk with him. Max wonders how she's like. Considering the way Percy looks, she might not be that good. But considering his personality, she must be a wonderful woman. The coach - Coach Fly or something - walked out to the field, a clipboard in hand. He had sandy blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin. He was tall, easily 6'3, and he was quite lanky but he had some muscle. And he was Percy hot. The only unsettling thing is the scar from his right eye to his chin.
"Alright! Gather around!" He said. Percy and Amethyst looked at Coach Fly and Amethyst's eyes widened. She smiled and walked over.
"Hermes!" She said and Coach Fly looked at her before giving a kind smile.
"Amethyst. How are ya?" He asked and gave her a hug. They pulled away and Amethyst smiled.
"Goodness, you even smell like him."
"Were you smelling me?"
"Maybe..." Coach just chuckled.
"Now if you'll excuse me..." He began, ",I have to get a new member on the track team. Amethyst nodded before going to the bleachers. She sat next to Max.
"How do you know Coach Fly?" Phoebe asked
"I used to go out with his son. Besides, he's Percy's cousin from his dad's side." Amethyst said with a sad smile.
"Used to?" Max asked
"Car accident." Amethyst muttered. She leaned back.
"Is your brother dating anyone?" Phoebe asked. Max and Amethyst looked at her and she shrugged. "What? Its a question."
"No. Though he had one. Her name was Clarisse. My best friend. Quite violent." Amethyst said
"So... Coach Fly lost his kid?" Max asked
"Yeah. But he has many more. Like plenty." Amethyst said and smirked. "They're awesome. All of them play pranks, they know how to run from trouble, they can steal and they're masterminds when it comes to trouble."
"Really?" Max asked with a raised brow and she nodded.
"Yeah." She said and looked at the field. "Okay! Percy's about to run!" The twins looked at Percy where he was in starting position. Coach blew his whistle and Percy took off. Phoebe narrowed her eyes. He was fast. Too fast. He ran fast, his figure was almost blurred. Yet it seemed like he was still holding back. Maybe he was a supe as well. It was a huge possibility. Because when Phoebe got a whiff of him, she smelt the ocean. As if he took the ocean with him. And his aura? That was unbelievable. It was powerful. Like a wave of metal hitting a tiny speck of a person. But Amethyst's was worse. You felt inferior to her when you felt her aura. Phoebe thinks that she zoned out because the scent of the sea hit her nose. She looked up to see Percy standing in front of her, blocking the sun. He actually looked godly. The sun reflected off his back, giving him a glow around his body. His shirt was off and he had sweat on his chest and abs, which was a bonus. He had scars all over his chest and arms and Phoebe just noticed a tattoo of a trident on his forearm with one bar below it and 'SQOR' above the trident. Phoebe snapped out of her thoughts when Percy gave a chuckle. She blushed when she realized she was staring. She looked over to Max to see him staring at the ground, biting his lip while Amethyst was long gone.
"So, Phoebe," Percy began and Phoebe looked back up at him, ", I was wondering if you could help me with my English?"
"You speak it perfectly." Phoebe said stupidly. She swore to herself and mentally slapped herself. Percy just let out a laugh.
"No, I mean you know... Schoolwork." He said and shot her a charming white smile. She had to admit, that smile suited him. And it made him younger.
"Uh, sure. You can come over to my house this afternoon." She said and Percy nodded, his smile widening.
"Can you wait up for me? I need to go take a shower." He said and Phoebe nodded.
"S-sure." She stuttered. Percy winked at her before descending back inside the school. She looked at Max, who had a raised eyebrow.
"I can't flirt with his sister but he can flirt with mine. Yeah, I see how that's fair." He grumbled and Phoebe rolled her eyes at him.
"Well, he is nicer and more supportive of his sister." She said and Max flipped her off. "Anyways, did you see that?"
"See what?"
"Percy. When he was running, it seemed unnatural. Almost like he was a supe. And it seemed like he was holding back." Phoebe said
"You noticed? Have you also felt the powerful aura's around them?" Max asked. "Maybe they are."
"But we can't be sure. We should find out what they are." Phoebe said.
"But you should probably get ready for your date."
"Its not a date!"
"Mmhmm."