Chapter Two

Percy's POV

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of pancakes.

Blueberry pancakes.

Warm blueberry pancakes.

Annabeth's warm blueberry pancakes.

I shot out of bed and quickly got ready.

I went downstairs to find everyone except Nico devouring their breakfast. Clarisse was the first one to grace my presence (?).

"Well it's about time!" She called to me. I rolled my eyes. That had become her catch phrase ever since the night Annabeth and I got together.

"G'morning to you too, La Rue." I told her.

Said girl grunted in response. She was wearing black and red camouflage army cargo's tucked into black combat boots and a black tank top. Her trademark red bandana kept her suspiciously not-so-stringy brown hair out of her piercing brown eyes.

I'm thinking she actually used the beauty room…

"So kind of you to join us, Percy." Calypso greeted me.

"Why thank you, Calypso." I faked a British accent. It backfired, though, because my voice cracked at the end, which caused me to break into coughs.

Rachel, Annabeth, Katie, Calypso, and Hazel snorted simultaneously.

After breakfast (and dragging Nico out of bed) we walked the short distance to Goode Performing Arts Prep.

We collected our schedules and asked a girl with glossy black hair and sapphire blue eyes where Leah's locker was.

The girl, who introduced herself as April McEvans shrugged and walked away. We wandered the hall ways. A locker door slammed behind us. We turned.

The girls back was turned, but we could see the boy she was talking to. He had brown hair and green eyes.

We inched closer, trying to catch their conversation.

"Hey." The guy flirtatiously greeted.

"What do you want, Parker?" The girl asked.

"You, me, at 8, in a movie theater, tonight. It'll be dark, anything can happen. What do you say, babe?" he asked her.

"No." she answered.

"C'mon baby, you know you wanna." Parker insisted. He inched closer. I felt my blood boil.

"No." she pushed him away.

"Why? It's every girl's dream to get a date with me."

"Well it's my nightmare. And I'm pretty sure I said no."

"C'mon…"

"What part of no don't you understand?"

"Quit playing hard to get. We all know it's an act, baby."

"Quit annoying me."

Parker chuckled and rested a hand on her butt. My eyesight turned red. I was ready to slap his nose sideways, but Annabeth held me back.

"Wait a minute, Percy. Let's see how she plays it." She warned me.

I watched as the girl slapped Parker. He toppled backwards.

"Don't you dare touch me there ever again." She menacingly warned him.

Parker stood up. The guy was either very stupid or very desperate, because he reached for her cheek.

The girl grabbed his wrist and bent it backwards. I heard a sickening snap. Parker cried out in pain, his face contorted.

"You know, Parker. You'd think a guy would realize that she's not interested when she breaks his wrist a third time." Venom dripped from her voice.

The hallway was silent. Everyone watched in awe.

Except Annabeth, who had a smug smile on her face, for some reason.

Parker clutched his hand in agony. "It just h-healed! W-why d-did-"he got no further.

The girl grabbed his broken wrist and twisted so his arms were pinned behind his back. She flipped, no, threw him over her shoulder. Parker landed on his chest with a thud. She knelt on his back, his arms still pinned behind. The girl grabbed his hair and pulled it up, drawing his head closer to her.

"Listen to me, Parker, and listen to me good. You ask me out one more time and you'll have more to worry about than a broken wrist. You come near me again and I won't hesitate to turn your cheeks inside out. Now go away before I rearrange your face. Douchebag." She growled into his ear.

The girl pulled him up and Spartan kicked him in the back. Parker went flying, but all he had to break his fall was a broken wrist and a soon-to-be-broken hand. He landed with a shriek of pain and struggled to get up.

The girl huffed in annoyance as she blew a stray hair out of her eyes and slammed her locker closed.

Clarisse grinned. "I like her. She's awesome."

I finally could get a good look at her. She had pale curly blonde hair that tumbled to the small of her back.

Could it be?

She turned and my suspicions were confirmed.

The girl had dark blue eyes with gold flecks that were now blazing with fury. Her tanned skin brought out her hair even more.

But most importantly, she had an x shaped scar on her right cheek.

We found Leah Stone.

Leah's POV

I turned around after I heard a girl say, "I like her. She's awesome."

I saw a group of about 13 or 14 teenagers. They were all staring at me with awe, fear, or suspicion.

I walked toward them and gave them a warm smile. After what I just did to Parker, the last thing I wanted to come off as was a hostile female dog. They inched closer warily as one, which I found a bit odd. But then again, who am I to judge?

"Can I help you?" I asked the very familiar looking black haired, sea green eyed boy in front.

"As a matter of fact, yes you can. Do you know anyone named Leah Stone who goes here?" he asked.

I raised a "perfectly shaped" (Ava's words, not mine) eye brow. "In fact, I do. Leah Stone, at your service. What do you folks need?"

The guy grinned, which earned me quite the glare from the girl beside me. Her blonde hair and stormy grey eyes gave me déjà vu. I knew I'd seen them somewhere before.

"We wanted to know if you could sit with us at lunch." A red haired girl told me.

I smiled and nodded. "Sure. But…what are your names?"

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

"Nico di Angelo."

"Will Solace."

"Katie Gardener."

"Travis Stoll."

"Connor Stoll."

"Clarisse La Rue. Nice moves back there by the way."

"Chris Rodriguez."

"Frank Zhang."

"Hazel Levesque."

"Leo Flaming-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Leo."

"Whatever…kill joy. I'm Leo Valdez. Ugh, that sounds so boring! C'mon! I have the originalest name here."

"Originalest isn't even a word, Seaweed Brain Jr."

"I resent that!"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain Sr."

"I believe that the "originalest" name here award goes to me, Repair Boy."

"Shut up, Chris."

"Can we just continue our introductions?" Rachel groaned.

I grinned and shook my head. "You guys are ridiculous."

"Anyways, I'm Calypso… Atlas." A caramel brown haired girl told me.

I arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure? You don't seem sure."

She nodded. "I'm sure."

"Okay…"

"I'm Piper. I don't really like to state my last name, if you're wondering."

I nodded in sympathy. "I understand." And I did. I knew what it was like to have to hide your last name. But let's not get into that right now.

"Jason Grace."

"Percy Jackson."

"Annabeth Chase."

I felt my blood turn to ice. Annabeth Chase. Percy Jackson. Jason Grace. It's been so long… Was it really him?… No wonder she looked so familiar…. She looked just like… I took a step back.

"Annab-beth Ch-ch-chase?" I stuttered. I paled. No. No, no, no, no, no. I cannot have anyone from my past in my present. It just brings back the memories… The memories…

NO. I told myself. Try not to remember. That'll just bring pain and sorrow….

I fought to keep my breath even. I zoned out and massaged my temples. The memories were fighting to be known. But I can't let them… I won't let them…

"-eah? Leah? Leah! Are you okay?" Annabeth asked. She placed a warm hand on my arm. I shook it off.

My breath stopped shaking. "I'm fine." I nodded.

"But you-"

"I'm fine, Annabeth."

"No, you're-"

"I said, I'm FINE!" I told her. I guess I put more force into it than I thought, because they all took a step back, even Clarisse.

I sighed. "Ugh, sorry about that. Okay? But I'm fine. I really am. See you guys at lunch." I walked away.

There was no way in hell that they'll know about my past. That's something I intend to take to my grave.

Annabeth's POV

I watched as Leah stalked away. I hadn't noticed earlier, but she was dressed in light blue distressed skinny jeans, black Converse hi-tops, a plain white tank top, and a black and white plaid flannel over it.

"Well we can scratch Apollo. She's definitely a daughter of Ares." Chris muttered.

Clarisse glared at her boyfriend. "That means she's a warrior."

Did Clarisse just give a stranger a compliment?

No… that's impossible.

I turned to Chris. "Maybe…" I told him, "Maybe,"

Leah's POV

I barely escaped French class without committing murder. Madame Noelle was really getting on my nerves. I headed towards the cafeteria. That is, until I heard Ava whine from behind me.

"Leah! Wait up! Not everyone can be as fast as you!" She complained.

I ignored the last part, as Ava was the fastest on the track team, but stopped nonetheless.

A word about Ava, before you meet her. She has black hair and crystal blue eyes, and she's by far the nicest and the most hilarious girl you'll ever meet, despite being a die hard trouble maker. Her full name is Ava Lynn Hailey McEvans. She's the identical and polar opposite twin of April McEvans. You can't tell them apart, except for the faint spray of freckles on Ava's face.

Ava loves sports, skate boarding, meat, and pizza. April, on the other hand, loves shopping, dancing, fat free popcorn, and would rather die than taste chicken.

Harmony at it's finest.

"Finally! I caught up to you!" Ava fake wheezed.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey dare, McEvans."

"Heller, Stoner."

"Don't. Call. Me. That." I fake growled.

Ava yawned. "Yeah, whatever. Anyways, I can't sit with you at lunch today."

I tilted my head slightly and raised an eyebrow. "Because…?"

She sighed. "Lunch detention."

"What did you- you know what? I don't even want to know." I told her, holding up a hand.

Ava rolled her eyes. "Whatevs. See you at basketball tryouts! Latah, gatah!"

I grinned as she took off. Then I started back for the cafeteria.

I sat down in between Calypso and Rachel. We were all still waiting for Percy and Leo, who had gym on the other side of the school. Rachel poked her (oily) roasted pork sirloin suspiciously with her fork.

"You sure this thing is fully cooked? Doesn't look like it to me." She cast me a glance.

I shrugged. "It hasn't sent anyone to the Emergency Room yet. So I guess its fine. Just never try the mashed potatoes."

Calypso eyed her potatoes warily. "Why?"

I gave her a snarky grin. "Unless you want rabies. That stuff had a… er… dog foaming at the mouth a few weeks after a student fed it to him."

Calypso shoved her tray away. "You're lying."

I laughed. "Just kidding. But seriously, I wouldn't trust that stuff."

Rachel and Calypso nodded.

Rachel played with my hair. "You know, if we combined our hair styles and colors, and our personalities and stuff, we could be Princess Merida from Brave."

I thought about it as the rest of the table erupted into laughter. I grinned. "Yeah, you have the hair color, I have the hair length. We both have the wild curls. I love archery. I think you like horseback riding…right," Rachel nodded, "I have the blue eyes, even though it's not the same shade. And I love pastries… and apples… and meat."

We smiled warmly at each other.

"And we're both brave." I told her.

Her smile faded. "What do you mean?"

I pointed to the food. "Do you not see what's on your plate, Miss Dare?"

Rachel chuckled. I swear I heard a sigh of relief coming from Annabeth. As if I didn't know everything already.

She leaned forward. "I saw Percy and Leo on the lunch line. They'll be here in about 5 minutes."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay…"

Percy and Leo appeared a few minutes later.

"Let's get this party started!" Leo grinned.

Calypso rolled her eyes and gave her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

I felt a slight tug in my pocket. I could barely feel it, but I know a pick pocketing in action when I feel one. I held my hand out without looking back to see who it was. I already knew. "Give it back, Travis. Now."

Travis gasped. "H-how did y-you… What?"

I chuckled. "I know more about pick pocketing than you think, you kleptomaniac. Now give my necklace back, before I make you."

Everyone stared at me in shock. Travis grumbled indignantly and handed me my necklace.

My necklace was really a chain with a ring on it. The band on the ring was silver. The gem was like a diamond, but it changed colors. Sometimes it looked like a ruby, or a sapphire, and other times it seemed like an emerald. The colors shifted in the light. That necklace was my most prized possession.

"That's really pretty, Leah." Piper told me.

I gave her a sad smile. "Thanks."

"Where did you get it?" Annabeth asked.

"My mom… gave it to me… a long time ago… before she…" I trailed off and thumbed the ring. I looked down. My eyes welled up with tears.

"Leah? You okay?" Calypso grasped her hands in mine.

I nodded and wiped my tears away. "I'm okay. I just don't like to talk about it…"

Annabeth leaned forward again. "What happened to your mom? Did she disappear?"

I shook my head. I bit my lip and struggled to keep the tears out of my eyes. "She was murdered when I was young," I explained. "I was… sleeping over at a friend's house that night. And in the morning, when I came home… I found her… on my bedroom floor." I whimpered. My voice cracked.

"She was so still… And the night before, you know, before I left, she gave me this," I held up the necklace. "She told me is represents the Colors of Life, forever changing, forever shifting, forever taking a new form. The irony nearly killed me. She told me that life would never really end… that-that even after death, she'd still be there. And then I left, and when I came back to next morning, she was dead." I shook my head. The tears spilled.

Travis gazed at me guiltily. "I'm sorry, Leah. I-I never would've tried t-to-" He apologized.

I forced a smile. "Its fine, you didn't know. No one does… except for my friend. The police never knew who killed her. I was put up for adoption. A few years later, the Stone family came and adopted me. So..."

"What about your dad?" Percy asked.

I flinched without meaning to. Scratching the back of my neck, I shrugged, like the dirty liar that I am. "I never knew him. My mom said that I have his hair, and his love for the sun. My guess is that he took off a few months after I was born. Mom never stopped talking about him. She said he used to call her Sunshine, she loved that nickname…" I smiled. I knew exactly who my father was, but I wasn't going to tell them, not when everything was going well.

"What did your mom look like?" Katie asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "What's up with all these questions? I feel like I'm being interrogated."

Everyone blushed in embarrassment. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "It's whatever. My mom was half Hawaiian. She had shining dark brown hair and gray eyes. I got the gold flecks from her."

"That's…cool…" Hazel answered. She stared at me. Well, at my face. At my scar.

I was waiting for it to happen. I knew it would, eventually.

Connor was the first one to blurt it out. "What happened to your face," he blushed when he realized his choice of wording, "I-I m-mean…"

I glowered at him. I wonder if it was harsher than I realized, because he shrunk back. "How did I get this scar?"

He nodded and gulped.

"Don't like to talk about it."

"You didn't like to talk about your mom, but you still did." Annabeth argued defensively.

I glared at her.

"Let's just say I ran into some violent people before I got adopted." I growled. Then I stood up and dumped my uneaten lunch in the trash. I stormed out of the cafeteria.

They don't need to know anything. I told myself. I owe them nothing.

I walked out of the school.

When had my life become so messed up?

When your innocence was ripped away from you 14 years ago. A voice in my mind spoke.

I ignored it. Go away. Go away. Leave me alone!

Remember the pain. Remember the sorrow. You're not a hero. You're a killer.

I sat down on the curb, hugged my knees, and laid my head on my kneecaps.

Charles's death was your fault, Avenger. The voice rasped.

No! He knew what he had to do. I thought to myself.

You are a killer. You are a murderer. You belong in Tartarus. In the Fields of Punishment. It chorused.

I cried. His death was my fault. Everything was my fault…

The voice in my head laughed. I felt its presence retreat. But then… I felt myself slipping away.

It was a flashback.

"No… not now! Not where anyone can see or hear me!" I pleaded.

But it was too late. My vision dimmed, my breathing slowed, and everything went black.

Percy's POV

We all watched Leah storm off in stunned silence. She dumped her food in the trash can and ran out of the cafeteria.

"Am I the only one who feels guilty?" Connor asked no one in particular.

"We pushed her too hard. We were so insensitive." Rachel groaned.

Annabeth shook her head. "She's hiding something. I can sense it. She doesn't want us to find out… whatever it is."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "How can you be so sure?"

She stared at me like I'd grown a two more heads. "It's obvious, Percy. No one would get that mad over a simple question."

I shook my head. "A simple personal question. I'm sure if you had a scar on your face for all to see, you wouldn't go around telling people how you got it. And you wouldn't answer right away when someone asked about it."

She thought about it for a moment. "I guess you're right."

"Aren't I always?"

"Shut up, Seaweed Brain."

"As if, Wise Girl."

"You're impossible."

"You're insufferable."

"Well you're-"

"Yo, Percabeth!" Jason called.

Annabeth and I bumped noses. I guess while we were "arguing", we had gotten closer to each other. I blushed. Usually that meant we were gonna (I'm sorry, going to) kiss or something. And the last thing I needed was for the whole table minus Piper, who was probably going to be squealing, to be shouting about PDA and then have the whole cafeteria stare at us for all eternity.

"What?"

"What are we going to do about Miss Drama Queen?" Leo asked.

Calypso swatted his arm. "She wasn't being a drama queen. We were just being insensitive, ding bat."

I hid a smile. Calypso had caught on to modern age insults pretty quickly. But then again, when she first met Leo she called him a "charbroiled runt of a boy." So I guess she could verbally hold herself pretty well.

"Something tells me she won't be as warm and welcoming tomorrow as she was today." Chris said.

I nodded.

"I think she's a daughter of Apollo." Annabeth began. We all nodded in agreement.

"She likes archery, basketball, and singing. Her mom told her that she has her father's hair, which is blonde, and his love for the sun. It all adds up. We take her to Camp Half Blood ASAP." Piper finished for her.

"Well what are we going to do? Stuff her in a sack and haul her to Long Island?" Clarisse grunted.

Annabeth shook her head. "For once, I wish a monster would attack. But they won't, sadly."

I stared at her alongside the rest of the table. "You want a monster to attack? Why?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "If a monster attacks, then she'll probably follow us, see it, see us defeat it, and then wonder why in Tartarus she's seeing what she's seeing. Then we can explain that she's a demigod, and we can take her to camp without a problem."

"Ohhh…" Everyone chorused.

"It sounds simple enough, but we all know plans this good never work. Some sort of plot twist will happen and Bam! The monster gets away with Leah trapped in its gurgling maw." Nico snorted.

"So enthusiastic, di Angelo." Rachel muttered.

Nico shrugged.

The bell rang for the end of lunch. We collected our untouched food and went to our next class.

But all I could think about was what Leah said.

Let's just say I ran into some violent people before I got adopted.
The thought made me want to throw up.

Someone slashed her across the face when she was at least 4 years old, and at most 7.

I felt a snagging suspicion in my stomach.

Did Leah already know she was a demigod?

Leah's POV

I was back in Florida. My best friend, Kira Matthews, was pulling me along Miami Beach. Her curly golden brown hair was flying in the wind; her light brown skin was pink as her six year old laugh reached out into the warm breeze.

"C'mon Leah! We're going to miss the ice cream truck!" She tugged me, our feet digging into the white sand.

We were dressed in matching coral pink and baby blue one piece's.

I groaned. "But I wanna go into the water, Kira! Ice cream sucks butt!"

Kira smiled. "Mommy says that we can't say that, Leah."

I groaned again. "Well my mommy says that life is too short for stuff like that."

"Did she really say that, Leah?"

"Well…no…"

"Okay, then."

"Whatever, Kira."

Kira laughed. "Let's go! The ice cream man is almost ready to leave."

We arrived at the truck.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the daughters of two of today's most successful artists." The ice cream man grinned.

I saw myself frown. "My mom says that it isn't right for us to brag about her ac-ac-accompli-accomplichmens." I told him.

The ice cream man chuckled. "You mean accomplishments, honey."

I thought for a moment. "Yeah. That's right. Thank you, sir!" I smiled up at him.

"No problem. Now, what flavor?"

"Chocolate chip cookie dough!" Kira squealed.

"Cookies n' cream!" I grinned.

"Coming right up!" The ice cream man nodded. He scooped out the flavors and handed them to us.

"How much?" I asked. I heard Mommy say that a lot.

"It's free for you guys, just because you were so polite and respectful." He answered.

I smiled. "Thank you!" Then I grabbed Kira's hand and pulled her back to our towel.

Then the flashback ended.

I snapped my eyes open. My skin was cold and clammy. I was breathing hard. Then the tears spilled.

"Kira… I miss you." I whispered. I hugged my knees.

"Who's Kira?" A voice asked.

I looked over to see Hazel, she looked very concerned. I wiped my tears away and gave her a sad smile. "Just a friend from a long time ago."

"Was she the same friend that you had a sleep over with that… night?" she asked cautiously, as if waiting for me to blow up.

I nodded, "I haven't seen her in ages. I miss her so much. You guys have the same hair, you know."

Hazel smiled and squeezed my arm. "Well, I doubt I can replace a girl like Kira, but I'll be there for you, Leah."

I flinched at my name. "Yeah, thanks." I told her.

Then she gave my arm a squeeze and went back into the school.

I sighed. If only they knew, if only they all knew.