UPD: Feedback is very much appreciated. I hate hearing critique of my work but I really have to learn to accept it. There might be some things I've messed up on but missed.

Chapter 2: A Little Break before the Storm

The amount of people involved in the reading was growing rapidly. How does Percy know? Oh, he had caught a look or two on his way to his next class and overheard several things no one should know if they hadn't read at least an excerpt of that damned book.

Percy was angry. Not only this reading was mortifying and humiliating, but it also put him and his friends in danger. He couldn't possibly let a bunch of mortals learn the truth about them. Who knows what kind of disaster it would evoke?

Annabeth agreed whole-heartedly after she'd rubbed her shoulder. They had met a few moments prior, but she controlled herself just fine. They had collided––quite literally––outside the classroom when Percy stormed off without looking around, too into his own feelings to care. Annabeth was no better but not because of the book; she'd spent the whole first period in the Principles office and refused to elaborate on the meeting. 'He had a couple of questions to discuss', was all she said. Apparently, he had driven her to the verge madness there, so Percy preferred to keep silent. Unlike Leo who spilled E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G before Annabeth could have recollected herself then set off toward his next class––something to do with Arts and Craft––leaving them and Jason who happened to stand nearby to deal with the mess he'd left.

There was plenty of it. Firstly, their classmates, all of whom halted to eavesdrop. Secondly, other people listening in. Thirdly, Annabeth. Percy saw the precise moment when the truth dawned on her, when it horrified her and made her agitated.

Percy's nervous tic he never knew he had, was so prominent by the end of the day that he tried to blink as little as possible. (Perhaps, consulting Will Solace would be a great idea.) Annabeth's persistence was only making it worse, for she basically forced Percy to relieve the terrifying hour. Second by second. That made him even more jittery than he'd been before; he barely sat through his classes, thanks to Annabeth, who, despite being alarmed, tried to remain calm. But she had it easier. She had not been in that classroom; there was not enough information to work with. All she knew was that those mortals believed the book instantly. It was hard not to when Percy had spent the whole hour looking like he was going to murder someone and sending the signal, you're right; it's true, but I hate it that you know. Who was not going to believe the book?

It was Annabeth's decision.

It was Annabeth who had literally pressed him against the wall and in the most eloquent way imaginable explained what she would do to him if he left now. Percy really had no choice.

"There's gotta be something," Annabeth muttered, her eyes traveling from one student to another. Her main goal was to send a simple message of do-not-come-up-to-me that students seemed to receive without a problem; though, she did not help in the let's-pretend-it's-all-bull-crap quest that Percy had started and failed at. "I just need to figure out what."

Her mind was filled with plethora of ideas––some of which were too outlandish even for her. Nothing seemed to fit in, though. Not enough information; not enough details of the book's origins. Nothing to allow her to hold onto. Plenty of ideas had come and gone, but none she could actually work with. One was particularly tempting, but Annabeth had to dismiss it as she knew for a fact Percy had not been abducted by aliens as Leo had generously offered. He seemed to be unaffected by the whole book-reading session which might have thrown Annabeth off if she didn't know it was Leo; he was an epitome of 'hide your real emotions by putting on a mask'! How she knew this was a whole another story.

Jason, on his part, had gone to contact Chiron and forewarn him about potential complications that might ensue. Jason's natural sense of responsibility and seriousness would make him the best person to break the news and not have an emotional breakdown.

He was yet to return.

"Another prueba?" Leo suggested, his hands flying around a piece of metal; this time not a single razor blade in sight.

"I doubt it," Annabeth pursed her lips. "If there were a problem, we would be already running for our lives."

"We as well may," Percy grumbled. "With the whole school giving us funny looks…"

Annabeth froze; her eyes widened for a moment. Her mind helpfully provided a series of images from her conversation with Percy. What had he told her? Paul had found the book? Yeah, something like that. Then why..?

She whirled on the spot and gave Percy a bone-crushing hug and a kiss before leaping to her feet and rushing out of the cafeteria. "YOU'RE A GENIUS!"

All the students that were in the cafeteria stared at her as one, but Annabeth didn't care. She had other, more pressing matters to deal with.

"Wh-what was it?" Percy stuttered, watching Annabeth darting to the exit; his mouth hanging open; his anger long forgotten.

"Dunno, man, she's your girlfriend," Leo, too, had forgotten all about his project, too busy gaping at Annabeth. "She'll tell us anyways."

Mike entered the library barely a minute after the bell and caught her almost immediately. He traversed the reading room, heading toward one of the stands. They were not tall enough to cover her. Mike almost stopped to admire her beauty from afar but overcame the urge, sensibly figuring he would have time for that later.

"I knew I'd find you here," Mike whispered, startling the girl.

Neither had time to talk right after class, so, of course, they had to wait for the break. Mike also had to get Riley, who couldn't shut up about how annoyingly irritating Percy Jackson was, off his back, which had devoured a great chunk of his time. Seriously, his friend had to sort his priorities out.

She, not quite expecting anyone to disturb her, started and almost jumped. A stack of books fell on the ground with a loud thud causing both to freeze, terrified of what was to come. Neither moved, waiting for the tempest to pass. Perhaps, she hadn't heard anything; perhaps, she was too busy to…

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING HERE?" came in a shriek that caused both to jump several feet up and start to move frantically like panicked chickens. Halfway through the process Mike managed to hit something soft, which only led to a muffled 'oopmh' from the girl who began to rub a sore spot.

Just right in front of them was standing a grand figure of a very small woman. She had her arms crossed; her expression did not propose anything good. It only meant one thing: both would be miserable for the rest of the year.

She didn't disappoint.

"I HAVE NOT HEADED THIS LIBRARY FOR TWENTY YEARS TO WITNESS SUCH A SACRILEGE!"

They stared at each other in horror, trying to make sense of her words, for it was quite a bold presumption she had made. The woman sized them up and smirked as though she had found something she had been looking for in their behavior to draw such a conclusion.

"Ma'am," the girl stepped in to confront the woman but Mike placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent further damage to their, arguably fair, reputation.

"Lyssa," he said. "Don't."

Whatever. He needn't have worried, because the woman snarled at them, her upper lip got up, exposing a row of sharp teeth. She could have passed for a monster if they ever believed in them.

"I've overlooked your ventures," she began in a somber tone, "hoping you'd bring respect this place truly deserves but, alas, I was wrong. Never have I ever in my career seen such disrespect," her eyes landed on the pile of books Lyssa was yet to pick up. Mike and Lyssa looked down. It was just a pile of books. Books that were lying there, not damaged in the slightest. That meant nothing in the eyes of the woman. "Now, please, leave," she finished. Lyssa and Mike goggled at her, completely lost. "YOU TWO ARE OUT! NOW!"

"But––" Lyssa unfroze instantly at the prospect of being kicked out of the only helpful place in this school. This couldn't be happening, could it?

"NO BUTS, MS. MCKEENLEY!" the librarian interrupted loudly and pointed to the exit. "And return the books on their respective shelves while you're at it. Thank you."

Still dazed by the absurdity of the situation, they cleaned up and rushed to the exit, still feeling the librarian's stern look drilling holes in their backs.

Once outside, both stopped and glanced at each other. A moment later, they burst out laughing, not able to contain themselves anymore. For all the weirdness of the day, this was by far the worst.

"W-what got over her?" Mike wondered.

Lyssa shook her head, quite perplexed.

Mrs. Fierst was that kind of person who you should never cross. She was barely five feet tall but held herself with such confidence that everyone would instantly forget just how small she actually was. Always dressed in a suit and a pencil skirt, Mrs. Friest emanated professionalism. How exactly she managed to turn simple attire in a weapon no one ever figured out. It was a fact, an axiom. She treated her realm with great responsibility; she could babysit books if they ever required that. She was strict and abode rules she had placed herself and always expected it from others.

In short, Mrs. Friest was terrifying.

"All right, let's return to the problem at hand," Mike muttered after several minutes. "Any ideas?"

Lyssa was about to open her mouth when her eyes widened. Mike whirled on the spot, intrigued. What he saw would forever be a source of dreams—bad or good, he wasn't sure yet. A blond girl––Annabeth as he recalled from previous days of school––wearing a determined expression, was heading their way. Fast. If she were a train, she would already have caused several casualties, so unresponsive she seemed to the outside world. Perhaps, those few who were wandering round the halls thought the same as they were scattering away from her, trying to avoid severe pain that would inevitably come once she'd collided with them.

Annabeth stormed past them, clearly heading toward Mr. Blofis' class, leaving a blow of wind behind her. A moment later, she disappeared behind the corner.

She was truly scary.

She was furious.

She must be one of them.

Mike looked around to see just how many people were in the same state of shock as he. In usual circumstance, he would never think much of it; with the book, however, it only added to the weirdness of the whole situation.

Lyssa placed fingers to her temples and sucked in a deep breath. "I'd suggest going after her, but we indeed have more pressing matters at hand. I betcha she's with them."

"Err, what?" Mike blinked, returning to reality. Lyssa waved him off. "Tell me what you've got."

"You'll be laughing," Lyssa retorted, knowing full well he wouldn't. She personally wanted because it all made so much sense that she couldn't help but hope it to be a ruse. Mike raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. "How do you feel about constant mention of Greeks?"

Jason's head hurt. Who would have thought that a simple IM to Chiron would bring so many problems? The old man wouldn't let go until he received a detailed report of the lesson to Jason's dismay. He wasn't a delivery boy!

Something soft and warm hit him hard on the shoulder, causing Jason to snap out of his pensiveness and swirl on the spot, all while struggling to keep his balance. Only a couple of seconds later, did he remember to pull out his weapon just to realize he didn't have any on him. That knife he had borrowed from the Armory right before being pushed toward the car by Argus could hardly be considered a weapon. Damn you, Hera!

"Jason, fast!" Annabeth shouted, making him squeeze his head tightly and wince. "C'mon!"

Annabeth grabbed him by the arm and towed him forward, hurrying to catch Paul before it was too late. In her haste, Annabeth had completely overlooked the fact that she could interrogate him any day she wanted; she as well as lived at their place.

"Where're you going?" Jason managed to utter, trying to extricate himself from her grip.

"Paul, of course!"

Of course. Where else would Annabeth go if not Paul?

They barged into the office right when Paul was about to go and get his deserved break. Upon seeing Annabeth's rather crazy look, he sucked in a heavy breath and collapsed back on his seat, mentally inviting her to speak up.

"Paul," she said in her best Chiron voice, "exactly where did you get this book from and why the whole school seems to know about it?"

Paul blinked. Then rubbed his eyes to make sure he did see Annabeth and not an illusion. Still Annabeth, impatient as ever, was waiting for his response. He knew the answer to the first part of the question, even if he had no urge to answer. The second… he preferred not to think too much about it.

Even Jason backed away from Annabeth upon hearing the venom in her voice. After having witnessed monsters, crazy goats, two apocalypses, and much more, Annabeth was still the scariest thing he had encountered. No matter how accustomed he was to her, sometimes she went too far with the scare, making it almost impossible for others not to get terrified. Jason could see why: She had survived a literal hell; she had jumped in the battle right after escaping the said hell; she had confronted not only gods and giants but also faced her biggest fear… and right now she was staring at their English teacher. Jason did not envy Paul.

"…sorry?" Paul squeaked.

Annabeth examined him, trying to understand whether he truly did not know or was just messing with her. She shouldn't have, of course, for Paul would not intentionally harm Percy. It was just not him. There must be something more to it. Something that corrupted even Paul. Something stronger.

"Where did you get the book?"

Paul was determined to render silence, for he did not want to disclose the truth: he didn't know.

Just a week prior, they had ordered new curriculum books that were supposed to arrive that morning. Paul, being the closest to the bookshop, had been instructed to bring them to school. He had done so. He had checked the books—all thirty of them. They remained the same up until he had put them on the desk in the teacher's room.

That was when Paul had first realized something had gone out of control.

"I don't know," he said at last.

Annabeth's eyebrows shot up high, as she took in his expression. He had to be joking!

"Paul?"

Paul twitched and pursed his lips. Determination that Annabeth had, would not allow her to leave without answers first. She would be staying here until she'd received all of them. And Paul had lessons to take care of.

His attention shifted to the cabinet; Annabeth followed him and blinked. Her confusion deepened when Paul opened the cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper.

"That's all I've got," he said, handing Annabeth the note. She took it reluctantly then unfolded; her eyes moved fast while she was silently reading it. A moment later, she gasped and gripped a note so hard Jason was afraid she would rip it in half.

Annabeth mentally counted to ten then glanced at Jason and gestured toward the exit. Just before they could leave, she handed him a piece of paper. Jason, still feeling lost, unfolded the note and read it through.

Here you may find the truth.

AN: I don't know neither Spanish nor Greek.

There'll be a few chapters fully focused on school, Percy, or Percy at school.