Author's Note: Wow I just realized this is drifting away from what I originally wrote. Oh well. I want a beta, but I don't know how to get one...

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, That Green Gentleman by Panic! At The Disco.

The answer was sugar, loud music, and a room to myself.

When Thalia asked me what I had planned for my birthday I told her just that. Maybe, my plan should have been 'stay alive'. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I was the last one out of History class. At his desk, Mr. Kinner was sorting through our oral report scores. I saw an 'A-' next to my name and breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Kinner looked up and smiled. Yeah I'll admit it, my heart gave a little jump. Mr. Kinner was this Korean-British guy with long black hair and heavy lidded eyes. For a teacher so strict, he was really young, maybe twenty-five. Every so often a student would work up the nerve to ask how he end up in a wheelchair. He'd get this look on his face like he was trying to remember and say, "It was four years ago in the late summer. I remember being in on the Williamsburg Bridge then waking up in the hospital. Nothing in between." Then he'd shake his head and kindly change the subject. I'd always had a tiny-little-microscopic-ginormous crush on him.

"You did exceptionally well on this Miss Lucis. Correct pronunciation and kudos for the cute accent. Why is it you choose to pay attention to this, dusty myths, and not the square root of 324 and how much hydrogen is found in oil?" he joked.

"I'm not sure," I humored back. "Maybe its actually important to life."

Mr. Kinner suddenly got serious. "You know, you're absolutely right."

I looked at him, surprise written across my face. He blinked like he was clearing his head. "Ah, nevermind. Hurry along to dinner." I reluctantly turned toward the door.

"By the way," Mr. Kinner called. "it's 18, 0.25 H per 600 ml, and happy birthday."

In my dorm I found Thalia conveniently on my bed, with my music player. But the telltale white box in her hands made up for that. I sat Indian style across from her.

"So sunshine, how was your day?" she asked, handing me a sprinkled doughnut.

"Killer complimented me on my report! He called my fake accent 'cute'!"

"Ooo!" Thalia trilled. "A little teacher-slash-student thing, eh?"

I rolled my eyes and hoped I wasn't nearly as red as I felt. "Shut up Thalia. That would never happen. The point is my day was good and I didn't trip over my tongue talking in front of the class. I don't feel any different but as Panic! At The Disco would say 'Things have changed for me, and that's okay, I feel the same'."

Thalia nibbled on a chocolate thoughtfully. "Everything's the same. That's good. Okay, as long as she stays ignorant...I need you to do me a favor."

"But it's my birthday! Shouldn't you be doing stuff for me?" I said reaching for my fifth doughnut. She swatted my hand away.

"I'm not joking. I have to go out tonight but you can have the room to yourself if you stay here. No sneaking out, lock the door, shut the windows, only open the door for me."

"Thanks Mom. I'll remember to heat the casserole too. Nah, I'll stay in." Thalia relaxed just a bit. We polished off the box. Thalia left around eight.

Now, the thing is I'm ADHD and not a great listener. So even though Thalia told me to stay inside, I was bored by eight thirteen. I pulled on a pair of ankle boots and a coat, grabbed my purse, fifty bucks and my iPod. Thank goodness my dorm was on the first floor, so I could jump out the window. Darkwoud was a cheapskate school, without much security. I made a mad dash across the campus, dodging lamps and skirting around guards who hadn't had enough coffee. Honestly, it was a little fun; I felt like a secret agent in a B-rate movie. I pulled open the wrought iron gate, wincing at the screech it made. I slipped out. I was free!

The noise of New York was a breath of fresh air. Actually the air was kind of heavy but it was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. Darkwoud was so secluded I'd forgotten what New York City was like. A little romp down the street and I was back in the rivers of people and bright lights. Even at night it was loud and busy. I'd been in the city exactly twice in the four months since I moved here so everything still amazed me. Especially the people. The town I was from was awesome, but not that diverse. Here I passed all kinds of people: goths, skaters, circus freaks, power-suit wearing Blackberry holders, stoners, socialites, Paris Hilton wannabes, and regular people. Nobody looked at me weird, a lone girl in a trench coat. Not even the six young kids in windbreakers or three teens dressed entirely in black holding what looked suspiciously like daggers and whips got weird looks. I bought pretzels from vendors, laughed at the giant Jonas Brothers ad, flirted with the group of boys who whistled at me, and watched the street performers, dropping them quarters. I found the nicest red dress and bought it.

Near West 57th I hailed a cab with a sharp whistle. The driver definitely didn't look old enough to have a license, much less be a taxi driver. He had a red rasta cap and from the look of it really furry pants. He looked at me funny, like I was a blurred image, then a look of recognition passed over him like he knew me. I certainly didn't know him.

"Where to, Miss?"

"North 49th please."

"Got pay?"

I nodded and looked in my purse. Uh oh. I'd used up all my money. At the bottom of my bag was a large, gold coin I found under Thalia's bed. I held it up to the driver. His eyes widened, "Where'd you get that?"

"Does it really matter?"

"I guess not," he sounded different, "Get in."

I climbed into the cracked leather seat. I got a better look at the driver and noticed how the cap on his head stuck up funny, like there was something under them. His pants were strange as well, besides the fact they were fuzzy. He caught we staring in the rearview mirror and pulled up the screen. Hmm. I glanced at my watch. It was almost eleven thirty and Thalia would no doubt be back and be mad. She was like a really controlling sibling sometimes.

"I have twenty-six sisters, what do you expect?" she'd smirk.

I watched the people and the buildings whiz by. These streets didn't look familiar. I was sure this wasn't the road to Darkwoud Institute. It was less lit and more run down.

"Excuse me?" I said. Something was fluttering in the bottom of my stomach a notion that something could go wrong. Heck I was driving through the slums with a guy who wouldn't listen to me; everything could go wrong.

"Cabbie, could you pull over?"

He didn't answer.

"Hello!"

"Um, this is going to sound really strange but could you come with me somewhere?"

"What place?

"I can't say."

"Uh huh. Do I look like a hoochie? Pull over!"

The boy looked timid and I probably looked angry. He pulled over and let me out. I tossed him the gold coin and said, "Keep the change."

He stared at me again and took off. I then realized I'd made one of those split second decisions that I regret much later. Or really soon, because I was lost, and out of cash at midnight in New York. I didn't mean to but I laughed out loud thinking how much worse this could be if I was in LA or Vegas. The sound was loud and out of place in the silence. I hadn't noticed them before and they probably hadn't noticed me, but I saw sparse outlines of 'shady' characters, and they were getting closer. Great.

There was an alley to my left, long and narrow. I backed into it until I could no longer see the silhouettes. The alley was small enough that if I spread my arms I touched both walls. There was nothing but me and the moonless night. My breathing quickened, I felt like the dark was suffocating me. The corners of my vision were tinged with red. Crap, crap, I didn't need this now- I took a breath and heard my mom, "Calm down, honey, it'll be alright. Just breathe." I listened to her, and sucked in the cold night air. For a moment, I felt everything would be okay.

That's when I heard the scream.

Thank you so much for the reviews of the first chapter. They were mostly positive and I don't think Aline will be a Mary Sue. She's got a flaw, pretty big but not psychological. Sorry if you thought Mr. Kinner was Chiron. I was actually thinking of Daniel Henney when I wrote about him (google him he's cute!)

Another chapter tonight if I have time.

~Lunar