A/N: Wow, I actually feel like writing a lot. That's a change.
The font seems small to me, eh I'll get over it.
Anyways, it's 9:54 and it's Saturday July 7, which means I started working on this right after I uploaded the first chapter.
You're welcome.
Anyways I'm listening to Pierce the Veil right now, not that you care. I just thought I'd mention it.
Huh, writing what I'm thinking is actually pretty nice. I thought it would be boring and I would give up on it soon.
Someone asked if I could bring in people like Piper or Leo, but may I remind you the title? If any characters are coming in, they'll be Roman. I'm even considering bringing Lupa, maybe even some Roman gods.
If Greeks are coming in the story, it won't be until the Demi-God Files or The Last Olympian.
That was my attempt on forcing you guys to stop asking that. Is it going to work?
I don't think so. A lot of you guys are going to beg and beg, I'll cave in and bring in some Greeks, and then I'll fell like a failure because I'm too nice.
I know the drill people.
For now though, I'm going to be tough and mean.
So no, sorry! In fact I'm not even sorry. Deal with it.
Gods, I feel awful after writing that.
Curse my niceness.
I'm starting to ramble, even though I actually do wanna ramble, I'm going to stop here.
I have to come up with some clever idea on what Gaia did to our poor Nico-kins. He's one of my favorite characters! Do you know how hard that is? Well I did write Percy going throw child abuse, but that was different.
No it wasn't.
Yes it was! Stupid other personality.
I honestly do feel like I have multi-personalities.
Now before you go saying, 'It's not funny that you're pretending.' I'm not pretending. I honestly hear voices in my head.
Is it the gods? Is it my paranoia? Is it someone who was placed in my head?
We all know the logical answer is the last one…
Actually the logical one would be the second one.
Let's go with the first.
Now, characters will/might be OOC, but they'll have their in-character moments… It's just way more fun making them OOC. You can't blame me! :3
Crap it's freaking 3:20 A.M. and I'm still not asleep. I've been writing this chapter for hours, and now I'm listening to depressing music.
Awesome right?
This chapter upsets me because it's not long… :l
Now it's July 8th 5:34.
Hehe now it's 8:16 P.M. and I'm listening to Skrillex.
Not so depressing anymore!
Oh, warning.
OOC characters VERY possible, drama filled chapter and a weird Jason coming your way!
Now without further Ado, I present you:
Romans Read The Lightning Thief!
Previously On: Romans Read The Lightning Thief
"That took forever!" Percy groaned. He stood up and pushed his bean bag.
"I have to talk to Nico, so will one of you gods you know?" Percy asked the air.
Percy and Nico flashed out of the room only to end up in one that looked suspiciously like a kitchen.
"Hey look a note." Nico said nervously. He picked it up and began to read it.
"When you finish your talk the others will come here for a little break. There's food in the fridge. Sighed Nobody." Nico read.
Percy stared at Nico who laughed nervously.
"What did Gaia do to you?"
"What do you think they're talking about?" Hazel asked as she got comfortable on her bean bag. She scooted closer to Frank who put an arm around her. She smiled.
"It could be anything really," Reyna shrugged, "I think they're talking about either camp, or what happened with Gaia. It's surprising to see Nico alive actually." She admitted. Hazel flinched.
"I have a feeling that when we finish these books, he'll be her prisoner again." Hazel whispered.
"You know what's weird, we didn't really freak out when we found out Nico was a Greek demi-god." Frank pointed out. Hazel glared at him.
"He's still family, Greek or Roman." She said firmly. Octavian laughed.
"He's probably been selling our secrets to the Greek camp." Jason glared at him.
"None of the Greeks knew about the Romans until I had the suspicion that Percy ended up here." Jason said. Octavian rolled his eyes.
"You told the Greeks about us, that is the ultimate betrayal. Are you even Roman anymore Grace?" He sneered. Jason looked like he was ready to punch Octavian's face in.
"The Greeks gave me a home, the least I could do was help them find their leader." Jason replied. Octavian got a glint in his eye.
"You ignored the question. Are you a Roman or Greek? Make your choice." Octavian said. The room went quiet as the Romans waited for his answer. Reyna watched quietly.
She hadn't seen Jason in months, a person could change greatly. What if Jason decided to stay at the Greek camp? Jason was the one who comforted her when she almost went insane from all the pressure on her shoulders, he lessened her pain. He was her rock, the person who she lived for.
She didn't have a relationship, her only sister was with the Amazons, and her mother couldn't visit because she was a goddess. Her father… she would rather not talk about it. She could feel her eyes darken at the thought of her father.
"Well Jason?" Octavian asked smugly. Jason looked torn.
He had a girlfriend at the Greek camp, he probably made new friends too. Why would he need a daughter of Bellona? There were plenty of war children he could have by his side. If he wanted to, he could probably have every girl as his best friend. Or as a lover.
But she didn't have that relationship with him, the two were special. They didn't like each other, they cared for each other. Like the big brother little sister situation. He watched her back, and she hurt everyone who disrespected Jason. She couldn't imagine camp without him.
He was Roman, he would always be Roman. He promised he wouldn't leave her alone, he swore on his life.
Promises are meant to be broken.
He lost his memories, he doesn't remember. She reminded herself.
But he'll remember eventually. She tried to cheer herself up.
But what if he didn't? He wouldn't remember all the times he held her while she cried, he wouldn't remember the times they dissed each other, he wouldn't remember the times they beat monsters asses. He wouldn't remember anything.
None of the good times.
Reyna could feel tears threatening to fall and she blinked rapidly. She turned her gaze to Jason who was staring at the floor. Hazel and Frank sat quietly and still waited for an answer.
Octavian had a smirk on his face. Reyna could practically tell that he had planned this all. If Jason went with the Greeks… they would need a new Praetor. Would Percy stay? That was highly unlikely, his family was the Greek camp.
She froze.
Family. The Roman camp was Jason's family, they knew him longer than anyone else. Family was the most important thing. Jason had told her that. He would always come home, and Camp Jupiter was home.
He was Roman, not Greek. And he knew it too. He couldn't bear to say it though.
But why?
Did the Greeks really care for him? The Romans weren't that nice to Percy, but Percy was a laid-back carefree guy. Which meant the Greek camp was like that. They accepted Jason immediately, and they befriended him. Jason was Greek.
But he was Roman too.
Like Percy.
Percy was a true warrior of Rome, he was their savior during the battle a few days ago. He proved himself on the battle field, and on his quest. He was Roman.
He was Roman because the campers followed his orders without question. He was Roman because he radiated discipline and order during Senate meetings. He was Roman because he was Roman.
That didn't make any sense. She told herself.
It wasn't supposed to, but it's the truth. Percy is Roman, because he's like any other Roman! But he's also Greek, because he's Greek! It makes perfect sense.
But if they ask Percy if he was Greek of Roman, what would he say? His flaw was loyalty, he would never be able to betray his family and friends.
His family was the Greeks, his friends were the Romans.
Jason never told her his flaw, but she was determined to find out. Reyna looked at Jason who was staring at the floor in concentration.
It didn't matter what he chose, because she was his family. Family stuck together, even if they were on different coasts. Thousands of miles away.
Family is forever. Which was why…
Which was why Jason had to choose the Romans.
It did matter what he chose, no matter how much she tries to convince herself. Jason belonged in Camp Jupiter, and if he didn't realize that… If he doesn't realize it…
Then he was never Roman.
Her mouth forms a line and she sits straight. She clears her throat and looks at Jason.
"Are you going to answer or not?" She asked coldly. She hadn't meant to, but her emotions were showing.
She was ice.
Her insides were slowly freezing with each passing second he didn't answer. Fear was eating her inside out, and soon she would lose it. She would become unstable, and it was all because of him.
It was like the death of your friend, except the friend is alive. It was horrible, and she was doing all she could to keep her from bursting into tears.
Was the Jason she knew alive or dead?
She stared at Jason.
The Jason I knew never showed emotion. The Jason I knew is dead.
The Jason I know is a good talker. The Jason I know is alive.
The Jason I knew would never hesitate to answer a question involving his loyalties. The Jason I knew is dead.
The Jason I know would never let Octavian have the final word.
Is my Jason still alive?
"Are you the Jason I know, or are you a shell of him?" Reyna whispered. Jason looked up and met her eyes. Tears were know running freely down her cheeks, and she didn't bother to wipe them away.
She stood up and so did Jason. She watched him closely with her eyes.
Jason opened his mouth but then closed it. Reyna watched him before shaking her head. She let out a laugh.
"You know Jason, I honestly thought that we were your family. Were you lying when you said you would never leave me alone? Remember when you said that nothing separates family? What are we to you Jason? If we aren't family, are we enemies? Are we the ones who are always there for you, but you toss them away like dirty laundry? You can't just throw me away Jason, I was there for you since the beginning!" Reyna was screaming at the end.
Jason flinched. He tried speaking but Reyna caught him off.
"I was always there for you. I saved your lousy ass over a hundred times! How do you repay me Jason? You replace me. You replace all of us." Hazel was crying into Frank's shoulder when Reyna finished.
"Hazel isn't crying because it's a lie Jason," Reyna stated coldly, "She's crying because it's the truth. The cold hard truth." She finished.
"Then why can't you just forget about me and move on?" Jason asked.
Reyna started laughing again.
"I will never forget you, no matter how much I want to. Whenever someone will bring up your name, I'll think of all the great times we had, none of the bad. I'll be forced to think positively about you, when honestly? I want to rip your heart out and feed it to wolves." Reyna growled.
"But at the same time, I'm clinging to the small hope that you will come to your senses, and that you will remember. Then you'll realize how foolish you've been and run back. But I know that won't happen. But it's the only thing keeping me sane Jason." Reyna took a deep breath.
"Our relationship is broken, it's scattered all throughout the floor. The thing is Jason, I can pick up all those pieces, and I can fix it. I know I can, we can forget all about this." Reyna said.
"Then why don't you?" Jason asked quietly.
"Because… What's so good about picking them up anyway? You're practically begging for me to do it, but what if I don't even want to?" Reyna asked.
She hoped each word she said was like a knife in the back.
"The worse thing about this, is that this whole time, you've never spoken up and said that you were Roman. We created something beautiful in our relationship, but you destroyed it. There's nothing else to do now but except the facts. The truth." Reyna said.
"But I want to listen to those beautiful lies so bad." Reyna turned around and faced the wall, breathing heavily.
"I need to be alone." She whispered. She hoped the gods could hear her and they were sympathetic enough. She felt a warm feeling go through her and know she was being flashed out. When she opened her eyes she was standing in a field of flowers, varying of colors from pink to dark blue.
It was beautiful.
And that's why she hated it.
She sighed in frustration.
"Please Reyna, you do have to know I did it for the best." A melodic voice spoke from behind her. She whipped her head around and came face to face with the most beautiful woman in the world.
She had curly blonde hair that went to her shoulders and beautiful baby blue eyes. She wore a long light pink dress that flowed in the light breeze.
The woman was not wearing any make-up, she was all natural. Reyna felt herself smile and cut it out.
"Lady Venus?" Reyna asked uncertainly. Venus smiled at her before offering a hug. Reyna looked at her in shock. Venus turned her smile into a sad one.
"I've faced heartbreak before as well Reyna, though you wouldn't think I would've." Venus assured her.
Reyna accepted the hug. Venus rubbed her back and Reyna laughed into her shoulder.
"I wouldn't think the goddess of love would help me. Why are you anyway? I don't love Jason that way." Reyna asked confused.
Venus laughed and showed her white pearly teeth. She clapped her hands together and summoned hot chocolate.
"All girls need hot chocolate when they're going through a heartbreak or a funk." Venus said. Reyna sipped her cup and felt a little better.
"Jewelry is most definitely not a girl's best friend, it's chocolate." Venus smiled.
Reyna nodded in agreement.
"For your question, I am the goddess of love, which means all type of love, the brotherly love or the sisterly love. The love love, the like like, all of that sweet stuff." Venus said.
Reyna smiled bitterly.
"Yeah, it's sweet." Venus looked at her sadly.
"I had nothing to do with yours and Jason's relationship though, that was Ianvs. I apologize for that, he always loved when people made the wrong decisions." Reyna frowned and surprised seeped into her eyes.
"Wrong decisions?" Reyna asked interested. Venus blinked.
"I wasn't supposed to say that. Anyways, you shouldn't worry you'll find 'the one' and a new friend in time. Just know that love has not abandoned you." Venus said. Reyna scowled.
"I was naïve, I was young. I won't make the same mistake." She said. Venus looked her in the eyes.
"What mistake? Trusting someone? Trust is everything Reyna, you can't give up on that or love. And a little advice, there's no such thing as too young." Venus winked.
Reyna heard something behind her and turned around, only to find nothing. She turned back to find Venus gone.
"Did I imagine that?" Reyna whispered to herself. She sighed and walked over to a patch of white lilies. She sat down ripped one from its roots. She put it in her hair and smiled.
I remember Hylla used to pick every flower she could find and put it in my hair. She would always say I looked like a princess. Reyna thought happily.
"Never thought I'd see you wearing a flower." A teasing voice came from behind her. She stood up and reached for her dagger, before slowly putting it down as she looked at the person in front of her.
"J-Jason? What are you doing here?" She asked coldly. Jason looked at her curiously.
"What do you mean? You ran away from the celebration party and I followed you here. Where is here actually?" Jason asked looking around.
"Celebration party?" Reyna asked. Jason nodded.
"We just defeated Krios? You can't forget that easily can you Rey?" Jason asked. Reyna looked at him in disbelief.
"N-n-no. The Greeks, the ship, the book! Your girlfriend… and…" Reyna trailed off.
What was going on?
"This isn't funny Jason, you better stop pretending." Reyna said calmly.
"I'm not pretending Rey, what are you talking about anyway? Greeks? Aren't they dead?" Jason asked confused.
Reyna gasped. A million thoughts running through her head. The gods can zap them into a random place with a bunch of books from the past, right?
Can they bring her Jason back?
Is her Jason back?
"I," Reyna smiled. "I've got some explaining to do. I'm ready to go back." Reyna spoke to the air. She held onto Jason's hand and was flashed back to the room.
"Reyna!" Hazel shouted as soon as she saw her. She hugged her, completely oblivious to the fact that Jason was there.
"There was this bright flash and then Jason was gone, so we started freaking out, then Octavian started screaming things about the Greeks deceiving us, then Nico and Percy didn't come back, and I'm talking way too much right now!" Hazel said. She still had dry tears on her face and Reyna smiled sadly.
"Calm down, Jason's gone but Jason is here." Reyna explained. Hazel looked confused then she saw Jason.
"You bastard!" Hazel yelled before punching him square in the nose.
"Hazel! It's not Jason Jason, it's Jason!" Reyna exclaimed.
"What?" Hazel asked.
"I mean, this is Jason before his disappearance." Reyna said. Hazel was shocked.
"You mean? But how?" She asked. Reyna shrugged.
"If the gods can send us books from the past, why can't they send us people?" Hazel nodded thoughtfully. She turned to Jason and smiled sheepishly.
"Sorry about that, I meant to punch the other you." She said. Jason looked confused.
"I'll explain everything, maybe the two boys will get back soon." Reyna muttered. She looked at Jason.
"Um, you went missing in October. It turns out there's a Greek camp in New York, that's why we're forbidden from going there. Greeks and Romans don't tend to get along. But Juno decided to switch you and a son of Poseidon, Percy Jackson, the leaders of both of the camps to the opposite camp. You got sent to theirs, Percy got sent to ours. You've been at the Greek camp for months, Percy has been in the Roman for a week. Apparently you've got a girlfriend and you're travelling on a huge war ship to Camp Jupiter for a prophecy that has to be done." Reyna finished. Jason gaped at her.
"I have a girlfriend?" Reyna huffed.
"That's what you got out of that sentence?" She asked irritated.
"Hey guys, I think Nico and Percy are coming back." Frank said.
A bright flash covered all of them and suddenly they were in a kitchen. Percy was watching Nico worriedly as he ate cereal. Reyna shrugged and went up to Percy.
"What are we doing here?" She asked. Percy smiled.
"Mini-break. We'll get back to the book after this. Why does Jason look so confused?" Percy asked. Reyna grimaced.
"Uh, the Jason that was with us went back and the gods gave us the Jason before the disappearance." Reyna said.
"Oh." Percy said. Jason was eyeing Percy, obviously annoyed.
"You're wearing my toga." Percy laughed.
"The bed sheet? You can have it." He said teasingly. Jason turned red.
"Whoa there, I'm just pulling your leg. Well not really since your leg is over there and I'm over here… and I'm using both of my hands to talk. Unless I'm pulling your leg with my leg, which I guess it's long but not that long to reach your leg. What were we talking about again?" Percy asked confused.
"Just eat while you can, I can't believe you guys aren't attacking your food yet." Nico said with a mouthful of cereal.
"Has Demeter gotten to you Nico? I can't remember you eating this much cereal!" Percy exclaimed.
"Wait, the Ambassador of Pluto?" Jason asked. Percy nodded.
"He's Greek, so am I. Hi, I'm Percy Jackson son of Poseidon. Nice to meet you again." He asked cheerfully. Jason looked at Reyna.
"This is the leader?" He asked. Percy gasped and put his hand to his heart.
"He might not look like much, but he can be pretty smart when he wants to, and he's a demon when he's fighting." Reyna said grudgingly.
"Hmm, how good?" Jason asked, his eyes glinting. Percy laughed.
"Your other self said the other thing!" Jason looked confused.
"My other self?" He asked. Reyna grimaced.
"The Jason from my time, the one from spending time with the Greeks." She said. Percy looked at her in worry.
"You okay?" He mouthed. Reyna nodded and turned away.
"Well I guess we should eat, Octavian would you please stop trying to kill Nico? I'm pretty sure he can tell you're right behind him and he's waiting for the perfect time to strike." Reyna told Octavian, who had his dagger raised over Nico's head. He brought it down and Nico rolled out of the way, controlling the shadows to wrap around Octavian.
"I'll let you out after we all eat." Nico said. Octavian squirmed from the shadows.
"The dark scares me."
Once everyone finished eating they were all flashed back to the room. Reyna gave the book to Jason so he could read the first chapter. He read surprisingly fast and they began.
"I'll read." Jason volunteered.
"Three Old Ladies Knit The Socks of Death
"Are all chapter names going to be like this?" Jason asked. Percy smiled and nodded.
I was used to the occasional weird experience, but usually they were over quickly.
This twenty-four/seven hallucination was more than I could handle. For the rest of the school year, the entirecampusseemed to be playing some kind of trick on me.
"That would be a pretty big prank." Nico said. Jason nodded in agreement.
The students acted as if they were completely and totally convinced that Mrs. Kerr—a perky blond woman whom I'd never seen in my life until she got on our bus at the end of the field trip—had been our pre-algebrateachersince Christmas.
"The Mist is a good and bad thing." Percy mumbled.
"You just said that because all of Yancy thought you were going crazy." Reyna teased.
Every so often I would spring a Mrs. Dodds reference on somebody, just to see if I could trip them up, but they would stare at me like I was psycho.
"Because you are, you haven't just realized it yet." Nico said.
Percy looked at him seriously.
"Oh know, I have realized it."
It got so I almost believed them—Mrs. Dodds had never existed.
"Almost? I bet it was Grover." Frank said.
"We've all seen how bad of a liar he is." Reyna nodded in agreement.
Almost.
But Grover couldn't fool me.
"He really should take lying classes, or at least acting! He could ask the Stolls to help him, I'm sure they'd be glad." Jason said. Percy nodded in agreement.
"But you do know they'd want something in return." Percy pointed out.
"One time I really wanted to prank Annabeth, but those Stolls wouldn't help me unless I got them a date with nymphs. Let's just say it back-fired and the Stolls were in the infirmary for the next few days." Percy snickered.
"I remember that." Nico said with a smile on his face.
When I mentioned the name Dodds to him, he would hesitate, and thenclaimshe didn't exist. But I knew he was lying.
"Anyone would know he was lying."
Something was going on. Somethinghadhappened at the museum.
"Well at least you didn't let the Mist completely fool you. But then again, you're starting to realize you're not normal. Monsters will be out to get you even more now, especially since you have such a powerful scent." Reyna said.
"See, I'm not stupid!" Percy told Nico.
Nico snorted.
"Not believing it."
I didn't have much time to think about it during the days, but at night, visions of Mrs. Dodds with talons and leathery wings would wake me up in a cold sweat.
"I really do hate dreams and visions, they all suck." Jason mumbled. Percy nodded in agreement.
"Especially when those dreams give you glimpses of the future."
The freak weather continued, which didn't help my mood.
"Obviously, if the ocean was mad and restless, you would be mad and restless. It's kind of cool how the whole thing works out." Frank said.
"Yeah, I mean children of the sky could reflect… um storms? Or is the still Poseidon since he's the Storm bringer?" Nico asked.
Jason thought for a second.
"I think Poseidon creates the storms, but then Zeus creates the lightning and the tornados. It's sort of like a tag team." He said.
"Do children of the dead reflect… the dead?" Percy asked, barely realizing how stupid it sounded. Nico raised an eyebrow.
"Yes Percy, we reflect the dead." Nico said dryly.
One night, a thunderstorm blew out the windows in my dorm room.
"My dad must want to kill you badly, what did you do to anger him?" Jason asked.
"My existence is enough." Percy muttered, so only Nico could hear.
A few days later, the biggest tornado ever spotted in the Hudson Valley touched down only fifty miles from Yancy Academy. One of the current events we studied in social studies class was the unusual number of small planes that had gone down in sudden squalls in the Atlantic that year.
"My dad should really stop killing innocent people."
I started feeling cranky and irritable most of the time. My grades slipped from Ds to Fs.
"Why am I now surprised?" Reyna sighed.
Percy smiled and punched the air.
"I'm just awesome like that."
I got into more fights with Nancy Bobofit and her friends.
"I can't blame you for that, I would've too." Frank admitted.
I was sent out into the hallway in almost every class.
"Greeks are trouble." Octavian muttered.
Finally, when our English teacher, Mr. Nicoll, asked me for the millionth time why I was too lazy to study for spelling tests, I snapped.
Nico's eyes shone.
"Ohh, what'd you say?" He asked.
I called him an old sot. I wasn't even sure what it meant, but it sounded good.
Reyna laughed and Octavian blinked. Everyone else looked confused.
"It means an old drunk, or drunkard." He explained.
Everyone burst out laughing.
The headmaster sent my mom a letter the following week, making it official: I would not be invited back next year to Yancy Academy.
"And that's your sixth or fifth school you've been kicked out of?" Octavian asked innocently.
Percy growled at him.
Fine, I told myself. Just fine.
I was homesick.
"I would be homesick too if Sally was my mom." Nico sighed.
"Homesick? What a momma's boy." Octavian snorted.
Frank and Percy spoke at the same time.
"There's nothing wrong with that!" They smiled and hi-fived each other.
I wanted to be with my mom in our little apartment on the Upper East Side, even if I had to go to public school and put up with my obnoxious stepfather and his stupid poker parties.
"Paul? I didn't know he played poker." Nico frowned.
Percy's eyes turned dark and everyone looked at him afraid.
"My step-father before Paul, I don't really want to talk about it." Percy said stiffly.
And yet... there were things I'd miss at Yancy. The view of the woods outside my dorm window, the Hudson River in the distance, the smell of pine trees.
"I'm sure Thalia would love to know you like how she smells." Nico smirked.
Percy turned red.
I'd miss Grover, who'd been a good friend, even if he was a little strange.
"Oh, Grover would definitely love how you've described him so far!"
I worried how he'd survive next year without me.
"The question is will you survive next year without him." Jason said darkly.
I'd miss Latin class, too—Mr. Brunner's crazy tournament days and his faith that I could do well.
"Latin? You like Latin?" Nico asked.
"Hey, Latin's not bad." Hazel protested.
Percy scrunched his nose.
"I'd take Ancient Greek over Latin any day."
As exam week got closer, Latin was the only test I studied for.
"You actually study? Annabeth would be proud of you."
I hadn't forgotten what Mr. Brunner had told me about this subject being life-and-death for me. I wasn't sure why, but I'd started to believe him.
"Good, now you might have a chance of survival." Reyna muttered.
The evening before my final, I got so frustrated I threw theCambridge Guide to Greek Mythologyacross my dorm room.
"I would've too." Reyna admitted. Percy looked at her in surprise.
"Why?" Reyna smirked.
"It's Greek, do I need another reason?" Percy huffed and looked away.
Words had started swimming off the page, circling my head, the letters doing one-eighties as if they were riding skateboards.
"Wow, you're dyslexia is worse than mine." Nico said.
There was no way I was going to remember the difference between Chiron and Charon,
"You do now." Hazel looked at Nico in surprise.
"How does he know?" She asked. Everyone else waited for the answer, they really wanted to know. Percy looked bored.
"You know, just a visit to the Underworld." He waved it off like it was nothing.
"You've been to the Underworld?" Reyna asked astonished.
"More than once." Percy added.
"Wow." Jason breathed.
or Polydictes and Polydeuces. And conjugating those Latin verbs? Forget it.
"They're not that hard." Frank protested. Percy rolled his eyes.
"You're a Roman, of course Latin is a piece of cake." Frank blushed.
I paced the room, feeling like ants were crawling around inside my shirt.
"That feeling sucks." Nico and Percy said at the same time.
"How do you know what it feels like?" Octavian asked intrigued.
"Prank." They said at the same time. Octavian looked pleased.
Reyna watched him carefully.
I remembered Mr. Brunner's serious expression, his thousand-year-old eyes.I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson.
"His eyes are kind of scary when they look at you like that." Nico agreed.
"Mr. Brunner sounds a lot like Lupa. Only less hostile." Reyna said.
The Romans nodded in agreement.
I took a deep breath. I picked up the mythology book.
"Good Percy, you might actually learn something now." Reyna said cheerfully.
I'd never asked a teacher for help before.
"Maybe that's why you have low grades?" Reyna said.
Percy rolled his eyes.
"Or maybe it's because I have a major case of ADHD and dyslexia?" He mocked her tone.
She glared at him and motioned for Jason to continue.
Maybe if I talked to Mr. Brunner, he could give me some pointers. At least I could apologize for the big fat F I was about to score on his exam.
"Aw, it won't be a F Percy." Hazel tried to reassure him.
"It'll be a F-." Frank added. Hazel punched Frank in the shoulder.
I didn't want to leave Yancy Academy with him thinking I hadn't tried.
"You must look up to him a lot." Jason said.
I walked downstairs to the faculty offices. Most of them were dark and empty, but Mr. Brunner's door was ajar, light from his window stretching across the hallway floor.
"This sounds like the part of the movie when something comes out and eats your face." Frank supplied. Octavian cackled.
"I might actually like you now Zhang."
I was three steps from the door handle when I heard voices inside the office. Mr. Brunner asked a question. A voice that was definitely Grover's said,
"... worried about Percy, sir."
"We all are." Reyna said, trying not to laugh.
Percy pouted and glared at everyone.
Everyone except Reyna flinched. She laughed.
"Sorry but you're glare shall never hurt me!" She proclaimed. Percy smiled evilly.
"That wasn't my best glare."
I froze.
I'm not usually an eavesdropper,
"I am now though." Percy admitted before anyone could speak up.
but I dare you to try not listening if you hear your best friend talking about you to an adult.
"I think we would all lose that dare." Octavian said.
I inched closer.
"... alone this summer," Grover was saying. "I mean, a Kindly One in theschool! Now that we know for sure, andtheyknow too—"
"Kindly One? Is that some sort of code?" Jason asked.
Percy nodded and Octavian turned red. Percy interrupted him.
"Before you go saying that we're deceiving you or whatever, but if we say the name monsters would come to the school and I would be dead. We use code names because we don't exactly want to be mauled to death." Percy said.
"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."
"It's too late for that." Reyna said. Percy stuck out his tongue.
Wow, Reyna has changed a lot. Jason thought to himself.
"But he may not have time. The summer solstice dead line—"
"What dead line?" Hazel asked.
"Later." Percy said.
"Will have to be resolved without him, Grover. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."
"Sir, hesawher..."
"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that."
"I'm pretty sure he isn't convinced yet." Frank pointed out.
"No duh." Octavian said.
"Sir, I ... I can't fail in my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."
"Duties? Again?" Reyna asked. Percy started cracking up.
"What now?" She asked. Percy couldn't stop laughing but he managed to get words out.
"You said duties. Duty. He he." The way he said it made everyone start laughing, but the Romans soon realized that they were laughing at something pretty stupid so they stopped.
"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"
"That'll freak him out." Octavian said.
The mythology book dropped out of my hand and hit the floor with a thud.
"Get out of there!" Hazel urged.
Mr. Brunner went silent.
My heart hammering, I picked up the book and backed down the hall.
"Good, no evidence." Nico said.
"I think you've been spending too much time with the Stolls." Percy said.
Nico ignored him.
A shadow slid across the lighted glass of Brunner's office door, the shadow of something much taller than my wheelchair-bound teacher, holding something that looked suspiciously like an archer's bow.
"What is Mr. Brunner?" Reyna gasped. Percy smiled and put a finger to his lips.
"Not saying."
I opened the nearest door and slipped inside.
"Good, now he won't find you." Frank said.
"Sneaky deceptive Greeks." Octavian mumbled.
A few seconds later I heard a slowclop-clop-clop,like muffled wood blocks, then a sound like an animal snuffling right outside my door. A large, dark shape paused in front of the glass, and then moved on.
"Like an animal? Is Mr. Brunner a monster?" Jason asked.
Percy and Nico burst out laughing.
"Far from that."
A bead up sweat trickled down my neck.
"I hate when that happens. It makes me even more nervous." Frank said.
Somewhere in the hallway, Mr. Brunner spoke. "Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."
"The winter solstice?" Jason asked.
"The gods hold the meeting at Mt. Olympus and… a few campers from camp get to visit." Percy said, waiting for the cries of protest.
"What? Why would the gods let them there but not us?" Octavian screeched. Nico calmed them down.
"The Greeks gods are more laid-back so they let us visit them more." He explained.
"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn ..."
"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told him. "You've got a long day of exams tomorrow."
"Don't remind me."
The lights went out in Mr. Brunner's office.
I waited in the dark for what seemed like forever.
Octavian shivered.
Finally, I slipped out into the hallway and made my way back up to the dorm.
Grover was lying on his bed, studying his Latin exam notes like he'd been there all night.
"I wonder if Grover suspected you when you weren't inside your room." Reyna said. Percy shrugged.
"I don't think so, Grover isn't the sharpest blade of grass." Everyone looked at him weirdly.
"Hey," he said, bleary-eyed. "You going to be ready for this test?"
I didn't answer.
"You look awful." He frowned. "Is everything okay?"
"No."
"Just... tired." I turned so he couldn't read my expression, and started getting ready for bed.
"That won't work, fauns can sense emotions." Jason frowned.
I didn't understand what I'd heard downstairs. I wanted to believe I'd imagined the whole thing.
"But you didn't." Frank said.
But one thing was clear: Grover and Mr. Brunner were talking about me behind my back. They thought I was in some kind of danger.
"Because you are." Hazel pointed out.
The next afternoon, as I was leaving the three-hour Latin exam,
"That sounds horrible." Nico groaned.
Surprisingly all the Romans agreed, except for Reyna.
"I should add some Latin exams to Camp Jupiter." She mused.
"NO!" Everyone cried out in protest.
my eyes swimming with all the Greek and Roman names I'd misspelled, Mr. Brunner called me back inside.
For a moment, I was worried he'd found out about my eavesdropping the night before, but that didn't seem to be the problem.
"Percy," he said. "Don't be discouraged about leaving Yancy. It's ... it's for the best."
"Oh gods, Chiron is horrible at this." Nico groaned.
His tone was kind, but the words still embarrassed me. Even though he was speaking quietly, the other kids finishing the test could hear. Nancy Bobofit smirked at me and made sarcastic little kissing motions with her lips.
"I'm going to rip her limb by limb before tossing her remains to a person on bath salts." Reyna snarled.
Percy blinked at her.
"Okay."
I mumbled, "Okay, sir."
"I mean ..." Mr. Brunner wheeled his chair back and forth, like he wasn't sure what to say. "This isn't the right place for you. It was only a matter of time."
"Oh my gods, this would be hilarious if it wasn't so heart breaking." Hazel said. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Thanks Haze."
My eyes stung.
Here was my favorite teacher, in front of the class, telling me I couldn't handle it. After saying he believed in me all year, now he was telling me I was destined to get kicked out.
"It sounds bad when you put it like that." Reyna said.
"It sounds bad no matter how you put it." Octavian snorted.
"Right," I said, trembling.
"No, no," Mr. Brunner said. "Oh, confound it all. What I'm trying to say ... you're not normal, Percy. That's nothing to be—"
"Now I feel like beating him up." Reyna said. Percy laughed.
"You shouldn't."
"Thanks," I blurted. "Thanks a lot, sir, for reminding me."
"Percy—"
But I was already gone.
"That was sad." Hazel said.
"It must be awful having your favorite teacher say you're a failure." Octavian nodded.
That comment caused Reyna to whack him on his head.
On the last day of the term, I shoved my clothes into my suitcase.
"What did the poor clothes every do to you?"
The other guys were joking around, talking about their vacation plans. One of them was going on a hiking trip to Switzerland.
"Why did they name it Switzerland?" Nico asked.
Reyna shrugged.
"Why did they name it America?"
Another was cruising the Caribbean for a month. They were juvenile delinquents, like me, but they wererichjuvenile delinquents. Their daddies were executives, or ambassadors, or celebrities. I was a nobody, from a family of nobodies.
"I don't think your dad would like hearing that Perce." Jason snickered.
They asked me what I'd be doing this summer and I told them I was going back to the city.
What I didn't tell them was that I'd have to get a summer job walking dogs or selling magazine subscriptions, and spend my free time worrying about where I'd go to school in the fall.
"You didn't have to, I think they already knew." Octavian sneered.
Reyna threw her dagger at Octavian who got stabbed in the shoulder. He cried out.
"Next time I'm aiming for the heart." She said coldly.
Octavian grumpily ate ambrosia.
"Oh," one of the guys said. "That's cool."
They went back to their conversation as if I'd never existed.
"Well look at Percy now!" Hazel exclaimed.
Everyone turned to Percy who sat there with a cheesy smile.
"I don't see much." Frank teased.
The only person I dreaded saying good-bye to was Grover, but as it turned out, I didn't have to. He'd booked a ticket to Manhattan on the same Greyhound as I had,
"Well of course, he can't have you running into Kindly Ones." Jason said.
So there we were, together again, heading into the city.
During the whole bus ride, Grover kept glancing nervously down the aisle, watching the other passengers.
"Paranoid much?" Octavian snorted.
"We aren't safe in this world, being careful will increase our survival rates." Frank said coolly.
It occurred to me that he'd always acted nervous and fidgety when we left Yancy, as if he expected something bad to happen.
"Because he is expecting something bad to happen." Nico said.
Before, I'd always assumed he was worried about getting teased. But there was nobody to tease him on the Greyhound.
"Or is there?"
Finally I couldn't stand it anymore.
I said, "Looking for Kindly Ones?"
"You're going to give him a migraine." Nico said.
"Fauns don't get migraines." Jason pointed out.
"Exactly."
Grover nearly jumped out of his seat. "Wha—what do you mean?"
I confessed about eavesdropping on him and Mr. Brunner the night before the exam.
"If the Stolls were here they would be shaking their heads sadly at you. Never confess Percy!" Nico said.
Grover's eye twitched. "How muchdidyou hear?"
"Not much."
"Oh ... not much. What's the summer solstice dead-line?"
"How about the whole thing?" Reyna said amused.
He winced. "Look, Percy ... I was just worried for you, see? I mean, hallucinating about demon math teachers …"
"Demon math teachers?" Frank laughed.
"Grover—"
"And I was telling Mr. Brunner that maybe you were overstressed or something, because there was no such person as Mrs. Dodds, and ..."
"Grover is a really, really bad liar." Jason said.
"Grover, you're a really, really bad liar."
"Jinx."
His ears turned pink.
From his shirt pocket, he fished out a grubby business card. "Just take this, okay? In case you need me this summer.
The card was in fancy script, which was murder on my dyslexic eyes, but I finally made out something like:
"Why is it fancy script?" Hazel asked Percy. He smiled.
"One of our, counselors you could say, likes to torture us. Not physically though, mentally."
Grover Underwood
Keeper
Half-Blood Hill
Long Island, New York
(800) 009-0009
"What's Half—"
"Don't say it aloud!" he yelped. "That's my, um ... summer address."
"Great, now you're going to make him feel bad." Jason said.
My heart sank. Grover had a summer home. I'd never considered that his family might be as rich as the others at Yancy.
"Okay," I said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion."
"I don't think it's a mansion." Nico smiled wryly.
He nodded. "Or...or if you need me."
"Why would I need you?"
"Percy!" Hazel scolded.
It came out harsher than I meant it to.
Grover blushed right down to his Adam's apple. "Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."
I stared at him.
All year long, I'd gotten in fights, keeping bullies away from him.
"That's sweet." Hazel said.
"I'm throwing up in my throat right now." Octavian said.
I'd lost sleep worrying that he'd get beaten up next year without me. And here he was acting like he was the one who defendedme.
"Like I said, sweet."
"Grover," I said, "What exactly are you protecting me from?"
"Monsters that wish you eat you?"
There was a huge grinding noise under our feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs.
"Do you always describe things like this?" Jason asked, his nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought. Percy smiled as everyone else was gagging.
"Can't help it."
The driver cursed and steered the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.
After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that we'd all have to get off. Grover and I filed outside with everybody else.
"I have a bad feeling about this." Nico muttered.
We were on a stretch of country road—no place you'd notice if you didn't break down there. On our side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars.
"That's horrible, they really should protect the Wild or else there will be no more left." Reyna said.
Nico and Percy smiled sadly.
On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.
The stuff on sale looked really good: heaping boxes of blood red cherries and apples, walnuts and apricots, jugs of cider in a claw-foot tub full of ice.
"Great now I want an apple." Percy groaned.
"I always knew you were part horse." Frank said.
There were no customers, just three old ladies sitting in rocking chairs in the shade of a maple tree, knitting the biggest pair of socks I'd ever seen.
Nico gasped.
Could it be?
I mean these socks were the size of sweaters, but they were clearly socks. The lady on the right knitted one of them. The lady on the left knitted the other. The lady in the middle held an enormous basket of electric-blue yarn.
"Is it?" Hazel whispered.
All three women looked ancient, with pale faces wrinkled like fruit leather, silver hair tied back in white bandannas, bony arms sticking out of bleached cotton dresses.
"Oh my gods." Reyna muttered.
The weirdest thing was, they seemed to be looking right at me.
"You never told me about this!" Nico yelled at Percy.
Percy flinched and looked down in his lap.
"I'll explain later."
I looked over at Grover to say something about this and saw that the blood had drained from his face. His nose was twitching.
"Grover?" I said. "Hey, man—"
"Tell me they're not looking at you. They are, aren't they?"
"Yeah. Weird, huh? You think those socks would fit me?"
"This is no time to be cracking jokes! The Parcae are staring at you!" Reyna exclaimed.
"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all."
The old lady in the middle took out a huge pair of scissors—gold and silver, long-bladed, like shears. I heard Grover catch his breath.
"Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods." Hazel and Frank kept mumbling.
"We're getting on the bus," he told me. "Come on."
"What?" I said. "It's a thousand degrees in there." "Come on!'" He pried open the door and climbed inside, but I stayed back.
"Of course you did." Jason groaned.
Across the road, the old ladies were still watching me. The middle one cut the yarn, and I swear I could hear thatsnipacross four lanes of traffic.
Everyone was quiet as they stared at Percy.
"How are you still alive?"
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Why aren't you dead yet?"
"Did you tell Annabeth?"
Percy didn't answer any of them, he just gestured for Jason to continue.
Her two friends balled up the electric-blue socks, leaving me wondering who they could possibly be for—Sasquatch or Godzilla.
"Still not time for jokes." Reyna whispered.
At the rear of the bus, the driver wrenched a big chunk of smoking metal out of the engine compartment. The bus shuddered, and the engine roared back to life.
"Of course it does now." Jason sighed.
The passengers cheered.
"Darn right!" yelled the driver. He slapped the bus with his hat. "Everybody back on board!"
Once we got going, I started feeling feverish, as if I'd caught the flu.
"I hate when that happens." Percy muttered.
Grover didn't look much better. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering.
"He must've been so scared." Hazel said sympathetically.
"Grover?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you not telling me?"
"He's not telling you a lot of things." Jason said.
He dabbed his forehead with his shirt sleeve.
"Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"
"Fruit?" Frank said trying to cheer everyone up.
"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like . . . Mrs. Dodds are they?"
"They're a whole bunch worse." Octavian muttered, feeling slightly sorry.
His expression was hard to read, but I got the feeling that the fruit-stand ladies were something much, much more than Mrs. Dodds.
"Yeah." Nico sighed.
He said, "Just tell me what you saw."
"Well someone's demanding." Reyna joked.
Nobody was in the mood.
"The middle one took our her scissors and she cut the yarn."
"It's hard to believe how one sentence can sound so horrifying." Hazel said.
Everyone agreed with her.
He closed his eyes and made a gesture with his fingers that might've been crossing himself, but it wasn't. It was something else, something almost-older.
Nico blinked.
"I didn't know you were so observant."
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Percy said smiling.
"That sounded so dirty." Octavian commented. Everyone looked at him.
"What?"
He said, "You saw her snip the cord."
"Yeah. So?" But even as I said it, I knew it was a big deal.
"A very big deal." Frank added.
"This is not happening," Grover mumbled. He started chewing on his thumb.
"Have you guys ever wondered why satyrs can chew on their thumbs and not chop them of but can chew through tin cans?" Nico asked suddenly.
Percy thought about it.
"That's a valid question actually." He said. Reyna nodded.
"I think they don't put as much force down on their thumb, or you would see a lot more thumb-less satyrs around." She said.
"I don't want this to be like the last time."
"Last time?" Jason asked.
"It'll be in the book."
"What last time?"
"Always sixth grade. They never get past sixth."
"Does he still blame himself for what happened?" Nico asked Percy. He nodded.
"It wasn't his fault, it was my dad's!" Nico exclaimed.
"He still blames himself." Percy shrugged.
"Grover," I said, because he was really starting to scare me. "What are you talking about?"
"I guess I would be scared too." Frank admitted.
"Let me walk you home from the bus station. Promise me."
"Percy can't keep promises very well." Nico snickered.
"I can keep most of them!" Percy protested.
"Really?" Nico turned serious and Percy realized what he was talking about. He stopped talking and looked at Jason.
"Read."
This seemed like a strange request to me, but I promised he could.
Is this like a superstition or something?" I asked.
"Nope." Octavian said.
No answer.
"Grover—that snipping of the yarn. Does that mean somebody is going to die?"
"How'd you know that?" Reyna asked. Percy shrugged.
"Just a feeling really." He said.
He looked at me mournfully, like he was already picking the kind of flowers I'd like best on my coffin.
"He probably was." Octavian snorted.
"Alright, are we still doing the fight?" Reyna asked as Jason closed the book.
"It's not a fight, just simply a display of power from the Big Three kids split into two teams to see who the better is." Frank corrected.
"That is a fight." Hazel told him.
"Oh." Frank blushed. Percy laughed and got up from his bean bag. He stretched.
"Gods my back hurts." He whined. Reyna laughed at him.
"Look who's getting old," She said as she got up.
"Okay I can see your point now." She grimaced as she put a hand on her back.
"Who's on the teams?" Jason asked. Octavian looked at everyone bored.
"Hazel and Percy against Nico and Jason." Jason nodded. Hazel and Frank stood up and held hands. Jason raised an eyebrow.
"You better not hurt her." He warned. Frank paled and Hazel laughed.
"He won't." Hazel reassured Jason.
"Anyways, the best place to do this would be in an arena. So you know, zap us out of here." Percy told the air. A bright flash covered all of them and when they opened their eyes they were inside a normal sized arena.
On one side there was a huge forest with very tall trees. Next to it was a huge mass of blackness that nobody really wanted to find out what it was, except for Nico of course.
On the other side there was a mini kingdom of jewels and gold, making everyone stare at it wide-eyed. Next to it was a lake full of different kinds of sea-life. Reyna, Frank, and Octavian backed up and went to sit in the stands.
Hazel ran over to the kingdom of jewels and gold, Jason went to the forest, Nico went to the mysterious patch of shadows, and Percy jumped into the lake.
"Okay, we are doing powers only in the beginning! Only when the final two are facing each other, may they use weapons. Prepare yourselves." Reyna commanded.
Percy took a deep breath and readied himself. He shot a look at Hazel who smiled and nodded at him. The two turned their stares to the enemy, glaring at them for better effect.
"Go!" Reyna shouted.
A/N: Here is this chapter, and I don't like it much. It's too short for my liking.
And yes I am so evil for leaving it at that. Who do you guys want to win?
Hazel and Percy?
Jason and Nico?
Tell me in the reviews people!
Oh, and you might go saying 'Omg Jason would never do that!', it's my fanfic right? And I don't really like Jason, so I want him to be a douche.
I know … So mature of me!