SORRY BROS DONT HAVE TIME FOR AN HAVE TO GO TO BED K THX BYE

Percy Jackson walks back into school, head down. The normal for an un-normal kid.

Call him weird, but he gets slightly twitchy without Annabeth around. He's still doesn't like when anyone simply brushes against him, much less gives him a high-five. People stare at him, but not for the reason that he's gorgeous or anything. It's probably that fact that the school knew he was missing, presumed him dead, and held a memorial.

Or it could be the fact that there is a freakishly long scar going from his temple to his chin.

The kids at school think he was in a gang. Percy could just tell.

Something jumps on his back, and Percy's green eyes widen in fear. They're back.

His hand jerks it's way into his hoodie pocket, and his fingers are about to clench the ballpoint pen when-

"Yo, Perce! You're back! We thought you were long gone, bro. Like dea-" Noah Linkin, one of Percy's few friends at Goode, falters for a moment after noticing the scar. "Yeah, uh, so where you been?"

The son of Poseidon grins weakly for a second, and then says, "Family emergency."

"Oh my god, that's awful! What happened?" Beatrix Bennington asks, her hazel eyes crinkling in sympathy, no, that's pity.

Percy internally winces, remembering that his friends never really got to that part. "Well, um, my- alienated grandma went a bit nuts, and my family and I, well, we had to go… Help the rest of my family, because, uh, Grandma thought that my family were the enemy, and was thinking murder and stuff, and… Yeah. That's what happened." Percy mutters, turning red.

Noah and Beatrix don't look convinced whatsoever, but they nod.

Coralie Shinoda, queen of the school, calls over from her end of the lockers, "Hey, Jackson. Nice face. Didn't think you could get any uglier, but I guess I was wrong."

Percy just laughs and shakes his head. "Hey, Shinoda. Didn't think makeup could make someone look uglier than their actual face, but I guess I was wrong too."

Noah lifts up his hand for a fist bump, and Percy struggling, returns it.

Dorrit, another one of his friends, runs up to him. "Percy! Hey! We've missed ya here! Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened," Dorrit motions to her face.

"Uh, crazy dude had something against the fam. Nothing much, you know?" Percy says, fake-nonchalantly.

"Yeah, sure." Dorrit slowly walks to homeroom.

Noah must have seen something on Percy's face because he says, "Hey, bro. No worries, she just had a bad summer, that's all."

"Yeah, okay." Percy mumbles, and lets Beatrix and Noah each wrap an arm around his waist and drag him to homeroom.

Sometimes mortal are okay in the end.

But they can get annoying, especially if they are sneaking his pictures of Annabeth and his other friends between their desks, as if their godly.

Which they are, but that is not the point.

But Percy couldn't help but hear Annabeth's voice in his head, murmuring encouragements and the occasional slap upside the head when he needed it.