A/N

As I explained earlier, please no kill me, thank you.

Exams, co-authoring and such.

shamelss plug: "When the Sky Falls" by Const3llations, it's got Preyna! and I'm co-authoring, check it out because my good friend here has planned this out meticulously and deserves recognition.

Mortal au. Part one. Part two out next week.

Enjoy!

To Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson was an enigma.

He was one of those "floaters", you'd call them. He'd hung out with everyone in school.

Weird emo kid and his Shining boyfriend? Nico di Angelo and Will Solace – check.

The one couple where the girl was out of the guy's league? Calypso and Leo! Check.

The nerds. Malcolm Pace and friends. Check.

The big guns. Clarrise La Rue. Check.

The geeks. Castor and Pollux. Big check.

The class clowns? The Stolls. Actually, he was probably one as well.

The group of feminists who beat up misogynistic guys? Surprisingly, big check. Artemis had approved, so had Zoe, Phoebe, Kinzie (who'd, strangely, been very flirtatious with the boy), Hylla, name it. Hell, Thalia was pretty sure he'd went out for ice cream once with them.

And the popular kids. Which Thalia herself was in – not to mention a whole other assortment of names that were mixed in.

Big check.

It was curious; their school had never had much of a hierarchy, only minor 'cliques'. As such, Percy Jackson was free to do whatever the fuck he wanted and not get alienated.

It had started with him tagging around Annabeth; they'd been friends since elementary school, after all. Thalia remembered seeing them kissing one day during summer break, years ago, and their sole reason for doing it was, quote, "they wanted to have their first kiss with someone they trusted".

Cute, sure, and pretty sensible, now Thalia thought about it, but it was pretty un-romantic, seeing that they didn't actually get together like everyone expected them to.

It was disappointing at one point, but now, Thalia saw it as an... opportunity.

Who was her competition? No one.

Oh right, she hadn't explained.

Thalia was irredeemably infatuated with Percy Jackson.

It had started, like all crushes, as a minor attraction. At one of their weekly truth or dare games, of course, and Percy had taken on a seemingly mild dare.

Ooh, mamacita.

Wearing all those baggy, layered clothes of his really prevented anyone from appreciating how ripped he was. God, he was absolutely brilliant.

His hair, normally all held down within a beanie, sprang out in an adorably tousled way, but Percy just stared obliviously as all the girls drooled at him (some physically doing so, in fact).

The girl was broken out of her daydream and she blushed as she caught herself doing it again. Fantasies weren't going to help her real world plans.

Her phone vibrated constantly as she was sent an influx of texts, and she grabbed it off the nightstand, trying to get her eyeliner just right. She struggled to read the texts with one eye while the other tried to look into the vanity as Thalia did her makeup with precision she usually lacked.

Percy!

Where r u? 6.32p.m.

Thalia.

I'm coming! 6.33p.m.

The girl fumbled with her eyeliner a little and cursed, before looking back up and realising that in some stroke of luck, it had accidentally come out perfect.

She smiled widely at the seemingly miniscule detail. It made her, however irrationally, happier.

Maybe tonight wouldn't go so bad, after all.

...

Thalia took back what she said.

She hadn't been expecting almost everyone she knew to show up – just those in her clique, like Luke and Annabeth and Reyna and Jason and Piper and Rachel and such. Instead, almost everyone she knows is here.

Thalia had been hoping for some privacy in the small flat of Percy's –

Oh! Percy's!

The girl nearly slapped herself for her stupidity. It was Percy's night to host! And he always brought extra friends. Though this many, she'd never seen before.

"Alright, people!" Thalia smiled involuntarily at Percy's voice, the calm, clear sound ringing through the living-room, "I could only get everyone here because Mom is out, but you know not to trash the house."

Everyone – everyone – in the room nodded, respecting Sally too much to even consider the idea of wrecking this flat.

"Hey! This is the first T or D night we've been to! I feel like Travis and I have been excluded because we're twins!"

Thalia rolled her eyes. Not this shit again.

She made her way to her friends as Percy rebuked Connor Stoll for bringing up that shit yet again – and smiled widely as she locked eyes with her longtime best friend, Annabeth Chase.

"Annie!"

"Thalia! You took longer than usual."

Thalia shrugged, but Annabeth looked sceptical. Luke just looked mildly amused.

"Percy?"

The first girl choked and coughed, caught off guard by Luke's comment.

"What?"

"It's obvious."

"No!"

Annabeth cut in. "Relax, Luke. Surely she's not interested in someone like Percy Jackson."

"What is that supposed to mean."

The younger girl smirked devilishly. Oh, no.

"Y'know, just-"

"No! Just – shut up. You do not let a single word get out. Clear?"

Annabeth and Luke nodded, but smiles were hidden badly on their faces, and Thalia groaned.

That was a shitty start.

...

"Percy!"

"Truth."

Thalia turned her head to look at the object of her infatuation, who leaned backwards, resting his weight on his palms, legs outstretched. The bottom of his shirt rode up a little, giving Thalia an undeniably great view of them abs.

Silena, the darer, pouted in disapproval before she hummed in thought and an idea apparently struck her.

"I know!" Beckendorf, her boyfriend, grumbled at the chirpiness in her voice, and all the contestants got wary. It was never a good sign when Silena got too excited.

"Who did you lose your virginity to?"

It was a seemingly normal question, but Thalia couldn't help but be utterly mystified, trying to work out the answer. He'd never seemed to show the remotest interest in anyone. Who –

"Reyna," he answered in a heartbeat. Instead of bashing him, though, the girl simply raised her solo cup and so did he, the two bringing them together, imitating a 'clink' of sorts.

"I pegged him to shit." She said casually, taking another sip from her flimsy red cup. Thalia burned with jealousy – why didn't she get to peg him?

"Yeah," Percy replied, dreamily? Hold on, what? What had she said?

"Kinky," Will Solace teased, an arm around Nico di Angelo, who leaned into the taller boy's frame.

"Shut up, Will," Percy replied, "not like you and Nico didn't double team me."

Bianca, Nico's older sister, interjected. "What!?"

"Sorello-"

Amidst all the confusion, Thalia stayed silent, inwardly burning with jealousy and anger. Now Nico and Solace had gotten to Percy? Sure, he was bisexual, but Thalia had at least hoped he'd get to her before a guy, if he'd lost his virginity –

Percy was laughing, but then he stopped, though no one noticed – except Thalia. She stared into his eyes and he did the same, before he pointed straight at her and hooked his thumb over his shoulder.

Thalia frowned. What?

Percy just jerked his head off to the side and got up. His eyes were glinting with something – Thalia couldn't tell what.

Finally understanding his meaning, Thalia walked away from the devolving mess, a jumble of people laughing and fiighting and arm-wrestling and kissing, thankful for the opportunity to get some peace and quiet – with Percy, no less.

Feeling her heart speed up like never before, the girl took a deep breath. It was going to be okay. Relax, she told herself.

With clammy hands and a racing heart, Thalia followed Percy into the balcony outside.

Fin.

Ha! Clffhanger!