(A/N) Thanks so much for leaving me so many kind reviews, I appreciate every single one of them!

Alright guys. I SAW THE MOVIE! Forgive my caps lock, but I really want to post a mini rant here in this Author's Note.

The movie was good, but it didn't follow the book at all. It was so inaccurate, I made a list of all the things they did wrong, and I got 32, but then my Beta and good friend Daughters of Night pointed out some that I missed. If you think I'm exaggerating about my list, PM me and I will show you.

But overall, I thought the movie was pretty decent. It wasn't absolutely terrible, but it wasn't quite as good as the book and they did leave a lot out and added stuff that was totally unnecessary. But their take on the Lotus Casino will have you dying of laughter XD

If you've seen the movie, PM me anyway and let me know what you thought, I'm curious guys!

Percy POV

Thinking is something kind of dangerous for me. See, when I think, I come up with great ideas like: Let's try and figure out how long it takes to make a wasp nest mad! (It only takes about thirty seconds, just in case you're curious.) And: Gee, I wonder if I can make some pancakes by myself since mom isn't home (I promise you, burning the house down wasn't my intention.) So naturally, when I started thinking about Annabeth, well, that didn't go so well.

She was so strange, sort of quirky. She never really talked to people, she always sat in the front of the room with her book and read the entire class period (somehow she never got caught.) She was tough, but you can see that it'd just a show she puts on.

"Percy?" My mom asked, knocking on the door. She walked in the room and studied me quietly. "I called you down for breakfast half an hour ago, and you didn't even answer. Is something wrong?" Of course, my mom didn't mention that I was going to be super late to school. She's just awesome like that; she cares so much more about how I'm feeling than school.

Quickly, hopefully not too quickly, I responded, "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine."

She tilted her head at me and examined me some more. She walked over to where I was sitting by the window and placed my dinner on the table next to us. "Did you meet a girl?"

"Sure, I met lots." I told her, smiling in an almost teasing way.

She didn't seem to want to accept my breezy answer. Mom frowned a bit as she told me, "She must be something special."

I couldn't help but protest, "It's not like that, Mom! I just didn't have a great day, that's all. It's just boring, and different."

"I thought things would be better after moving away. You're surrounded by your cousins and your best friend," She said, her scowl deepening.

I tried to think of a good way to explain to her that moving away doesn't help erase what's already happened. It doesn't change the fact that stupid Gabe used to beat us and it doesn't change the fact that people were still watching me because they thought I was some crazy delinquent. "It'll just take some time adjusting."

She sighed and got this faraway look as she said softly, "It's hard, moving away from – from some of the only good stuff that's happened to us."

I couldn't help the familiar bitterness that washed over me as I muttered angrily, "Why did Dad have to leave us? Doesn't he get what that's put us through?"

"Oh, honey, don't blame your father. He was a good man, very wealthy, but it was dangerous for him to stay. Dangerous for us and him." She told me the same old story thousands of times before, but this extra time didn't make it any better.

I didn't say anything and she patted my arm and said, "Some day it'll make more sense, I hope. I really do think someday you'll understand. I have to head over to the candy shop, but I'll see you later, okay, Percy?"

"Bye, Mom." I told her, standing up and hugging her. I felt bad for making her feel guilty right before she left. I loved my mom more than anything in this world, she was one in a million and she didn't deserve half the drama me and my mood swings put her through.

I sat back down and started to eat my breakfast while getting ready for school. Once I finished, I rode my bike down to the bus stop. I got on and sat down in my own seat. It was weird riding a bus so empty, not to mention going to such a tiny school.

When we got to school, it was a mad dash for the exit of the bus. I chuckled to myself. Private school kids… always so eager to start learning. "What are you laughing at, Seaweed Brain?" I heard my cousin ask as she ran up to me, a half smile half scowl on her face. I don't know how that's possible, but somehow Thalia could pull it off.

"You private school kids just love knowledge, don't you, Pinecone Face?" I told her.

She did something that surprised me: she hugged me. "I was really worried when I saw your face all over the news. Tell me, Perce, how'd you manage to burn down a school that does a security check before they let you inside?"

"Don't ask." I told her, and she smirked at me. "I think we have the same lunch, right?"

She rolled her bright blue eyes and taunted, "If you weren't such a dork and came in the morning yesterday and not in the middle of the afternoon, you would've already known that." She looked at the big clock on the arch of the school and said, "Eh, we're late. Guess we shouldn't cut class today… Anyway, see you later."

We both ran off to get to our first class. The school day was every bit as dreadful as I imagined. I had ADHD and dyslexia which made everything marginally worse, it was something that ran in the family, both Thalia and Nico had the same learning disabilities.

Finally came lunch. I grinned as I slid into a seat next to Grover before slapping him on the back. "Hey, G-Man. What's up?"

"Percy!" He exclaimed. "This is so exciting!"

Nico sat down next to Grover and said, "Try to calm yourself, Grover. We already get enough weird stares."

Thalia walked up, laughing with some girl. One thing to know about Thalia: She almost never really laughs unless it's meanly. But there she was, acting like a normal girl. Well, apart from all her skull jewelry, that is.

My eyes widened as I realized the person she was with. It was Annabeth. And Annabeth was smiling too. She was talking rather animatedly, too. So she wasn't as antisocial as I thought. Her gaze met mine and she frowned.

Both of the girls sat down, carefully collecting their skirts. "Why are you sitting here?" Annabeth demanded.

Grover looked at her, confused. "He's my best friend."

"He's my cousin." Nico offered, also looking sort of confused.

Then Thalia decided to pipe up. "Hope you don't mind, but he's my cousin too."

Annabeth held up a hand to her head as though she suddenly had a terrible headache. "Wait a second. Am I the only one who didn't know him before now?" She turned to Thalia who regarded her with a steely calm. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it really mattered." Thalia told her, and you could hear the truth in her words. She really didn't think it would make a difference.

Of course, since Annabeth really hated me, this didn't go over well. "But-" She broke off and sighed, glaring at me before throwing herself into her conversation.

"What'd you do to her?" Nico asked, nudging me when Thalia, Annabeth, and Grover launched into a conversation about the time when Grover tried to eat a Barbie's hair.

I groaned. I really didn't need to talk about this right now. First my mom, and now Nico. "Well, I don't really know. She just really doesn't like me."

"Hm." He said, before smiling slightly. "I used to like her."

I glanced at him in surprise before lifting my eyebrows. "Oh?"

He nodded, amused. "Not anymore, I already told you that. Why, do you like her or something?"

"Or something. I don't like her." It was pretty much true. She fascinated me, and I liked her as a person, but I didn't like her. I wasn't exactly searching for a relationship right now.

"Yeah, okay. Trust me; it won't be long before you do." He said, sort of knowingly. He leaned over and tugged one of her curls. She looked up, annoyed. She saw it was Nico and smiled a bit before turning back to her conversation. "Now she's like my little sister and my big sister all mixed into one. When Bianca died…" He turned his head slightly, a sad look in his black eyes.

"Anyway, good luck, man. You'll need it."

(A/N) I have the next chapter typed up, so if I get enough reviews, that should be up tomorrow. By the way, those private school kid jokes... seriously, don't take offense, I go to private school. Happy Valentine's Day!

EDIT: They are NOT demigods in this. They are juniors in school, just normal kids. :)