Sorry about the wait, I know it's kind of a filler chapter but it is essential for where I plan to go with the rest of the story. Chapter title courtesy of 50 Cent, Patiently Waiting, this part of the song always cracks me up. You shoudln't throw stones if you live in a glass house, and if you got a glass jaw, you should watch your mouth, cuz I'll break your face.
Side note somebody asked about the italics in the middle of the story that is the persons thoughts, I guess I didn't make that very clear.
Anyway thanks for all the reviews, even if I don't respond individually to them, I do read them all and consider your input and ideas. However I have a general plan on where this story is going to lead and I may or may not throw some of your ideas in with my plan. Hope you enjoy the chapter, I know I enjoyed writing this one. I own nothing.
Nico's POV (Yeah you read that right NICO)
High School, I've been to the fields of punishment, and I can honestly say that I would rather be there then in this depressing place. Its Monday, and by the time I showed up for first period the whole school was buzzing with the news that, in the words of the girl behind me, "Percy Jackson, swim captain, junior hottie with the smoking body and deep mesmerizing eyes, got engaged."
I'm a son of Hades, so I prefer to spend my time in the shadows. Lurking in the shadows is the perfect way to pick up great pieces of information without being noticed, usually. But in high school you just hear mostly useless drabbles, and the latest gossip. Today was no different, and as I scanned around listening to all the various conversations, almost all of them were discussing Percy and Annabeth with their own twists on it.
"Yeah, I heard he got her pregnant." One of the football players said.
"I don't blame him she is smoking hot." I heard one of the nerds saying.
"It's just not fair, what does she have that I don't have?" one of the cheerleader complained to her friend.
"They're so young why get engaged?" "She is so lucky." "He is so lucky."
It was all just a big swirl of useless gossip, and I being put in the freshmen class can't even go have classes with them. Which sucks because I really need to talk to Percy about what he thinks I should do with the whole Thalia situation. I haven't talked to her since the movie on Olympus, and we both did a little awkward wave in passing when we saw each other this morning, but I was running late and couldn't talk.
It's a sticky situation and I don't know how to approach it so I'm kind of avoiding seeing her alone until I can get some advice from Percy on how I should move forward. Shocking as it may be to hear, I, the boy who runs around alone in the underworld, have less than zero experience with relationships and girls.
I'm on my way to third period, and I've been trying to find Percy all day but he is a ghost for some reason, so I resign myself to talk to him after this class at lunch. I'm just about to walk into my next class, when I hear these football players at their lockers talking. "Yeah her name is Thalia, smoking hot." Alright you have my attention I think as I bend over and fake tying my shoe. "She's got this fierceness about her that is pretty sexy." True but you better watch yourself. He then continues, "I hear she lives with that hot blonde Annabeth, maybe I'll go over there and the three of us will have a good time, I mean have you seen how that Thalia dresses it just screams she's a freak and down for anything." I can hear all of his friends start to laugh. Well time to kill some mortals I think as I reach the threshold of my tolerance of what I'm willing to let go. I stand up and walk straight up to the one talking, Marcus James the star senior running back, and they all stop laughing.
Now to the outside observer you would think, Holy Shit that little 5'1" kid just walked into the middle of a group of 6 guys all over 6'2" he is a dead man. Thankfully I'm a demigod and am confident in my ability to beat the hell out of every single one of these guys; I mean I've fought Lastrygorians that are 10 feet tall.
"What do you want freshman?" he asked me.
"I want you to shut the fuck up and listen to me." I answered with my best death glare. I don't know whether it was the shock of me saying that to him, or if he was a little scared from the glare but he just stared at me with his mouth hanging open. "Yeah that's much better. First off you're going to apologize for talking about my friends like that. Secondly you are not going to be disrespectful to women in the future, you got that." I guess Mrs. Jackson's lectures to Percy and me are starting to sink in.
"Oh yeah, and what if I don't?" he laughs, back to his confident air.
"I'm gonna make sure that the football team is one asshole short for the game on Friday." I say without blinking.
His friends laugh, clearly thinking of the foot and a half and the 100 pounds he has on me. "What, are you going to tell on me and get me suspended?"
"No, I'm going to break your arm, nose, and jaw, and depending on how I'm feeling I might get you in a chicken wing and pop your shoulder from its socket. And if any of your friends step in I'll beat there asses too." I answered while cracking my knuckles and tilting my head to the side to pop it as well, without breaking eye contact.
We were gathering a bit of a crowd now and I could hear the excited whispers of those surrounding us in anticipation of a fight.
"You really think that you can talk to us like that I will Fucking crush you, you little piece of shit." He said clearly starting to lose his cool.
I just shrugged my shoulders and answered him unflinchingly, "This is your last chance, we can go and you can apologize on your own, or I'm going to make you. Before you called me a piece of shit I was willing to let you apologize to me for what you said about them, but now you are going to do it to them directly."
"This kid is going to die." Came from some guy in the surrounding students followed by a girl, "I don't know he's kind of a badass, or at least he thinks he is." I turned my head and gave her a wink, knowing it would set off the football players.
Just like I thought he charged right at me, I grabbed his arm as he swung at me and used his momentum to flip him over in a hip toss so he was lying on his back. In one swift motion I crouch on my knee and deliver a swift right jab to his nose, and I can feel it break under my fist. I stand up and take two steps back from him. "Broken nose, as promised, are you ready to apologize yet?" The whole crowd just stares in shock.
He stands up and wipes some of the blood off of his nose, but it is still streaming out at a steady flow. He growls and charges again, some people never learn. I dodge right, dodge left, duck under a right hook he throws, and catch his arm with my left hand. Using my demigod strength I bring my right hand up full force into his now trapped arm and shatter his wrist. He screams in pain holding his now broken arm as I dance backwards away from him. "Broken arm, you can still save your jaw, just say the word."
I guess his friends had seen enough, because two of them that looked like lineman charged at me. I punched one in the gut and as he bent over brought my knee up to connect with his face and he went down like a sack of potatoes. The other one managed to get behind me while I was distracted and punched me in the back of the head. I see stars as I stumble forward. Damn it Nico, constant vigilance, if that was a monster you'd be dead. I shake my head and turn to him with a cocky smile. I feint at his head and he leans back, so I stomp on his knee hyperextending it and he goes down too.
A linebacker, Kevin McClain, grabs me from behind and bear-hugs me pinning my arms down. Another linebacker, Brian Regan, steps in front of me and punches me in the stomach. I lean forward and let out a groan as my breath leaves me. Alright, bad move assholes. I stomp on the foot of the guy holding me and he loosens his grip enough for me to free my arm and deliver a devastating elbow to his face. Seeing his friend crumble the guy who hit me tried to back away, but I grabbed him and slammed his face into the locker.
For the third time, I get grabbed from behind and spun around. The last football player has his fist cocked ready to punch me, when a fist connects with his jaw and drops him straight to the ground. I look to where the fist came from and see a smiling Percy. "Sorry I'm late. As your mentor I figured I'd teach you how to throw a punch."
The crowd around us is in shock and is muttering to each other. "Did you see that, that was insane?" "That was the craziest thing I've ever seen." "Those two guys are awesome." "I guess I know not to mess with them."
"Ah Perce, I had it all under control man."
"Sure you did Death Breath." Thalia jokes from the edge of the ring of people surrounding us. She and Annabeth are standing there, just watching Percy and me. I wink at her and walk over to Marcus. He is doubled over on his knees holding his arm, looking like he's about to pass out. I grab his good arm and pick put him in a chicken wing, and force him to stand up. I twist a little to add pressure and he cries out. I lead him over so he is standing in front of Thalia and Annabeth. "Now Marcus I believe you owe these two ladies an apology." I say adding a little pressure.
"I'm sorry" he grunts out tersely.
"Nope that's not gonna cut it," I tell him, "You better say it like you mean it."
"I'm sorry that I disrespected you two and said that you were a pair of easy sluts." Oh you're so dead you idiot why would you say that? I grin a little knowing what's coming.
Annabeth is the first to recover and yells, "You called me a what?" she then proceeded to knee him right in the goods. Thalia didn't say anything, which is probably worse. She just growled and then gave him a spin kick right in the mouth, I could hear the pop.
"And there is the broken jaw I promised," I taunt him and let go of him and he falls to the ground.
Just then the football coach came out of his classroom and saw his players all lying on the ground. He pointed to Percy and me who were still in the center of the circle and ordered, "You two with me, NOW!"
I don't know whether it was the adrenaline or the looks the girls in the surrounding students were giving me but I was overtaken with a new confidence. I turned to Thalia, "Well I'm clearly not gonna have school for the next day slash week or two, so whenever you want to have that first official date just let me know." Then I shocked her by kissing her in front of everyone and before she could react or say anything I turned and Percy and I followed Coach Miles down the hallway with all of the students staring after us.
Alright, do I sense the start of a new rivalry against the football team. I'll try and get y'all another update before the weekend, but no promises.