Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians or Vampire Diaries.

English is not my native language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes I might have.

Summary: Slightly AU, Fem!Percy. The war against Gaea is over. Everything is slowly going back to normal—everything but Persephone Jackson. Going through a war is hard, but going through two wars is harder. She leaves Camp to spend her senior year in a little town in Virginia in hopes for a normal year for once. Little does she know—Mystic Falls is a monster infected town. Will the saviour of Olympus be saved before it's too late, or will the darkness whitin her consume her? Will she fall in love again?

...

Chapter 5

Sometimes Percy Jackson wondered if her fatal flaw was recklessness. Maybe, if one could have more than one, it would then be loyalty and recklessness. Her "official" fatal flaw, the one that she was completely sure, and the one everyone kept on mentioning, was loyalty.

But boy, did she made a lot of reckless decisions.

Sure, the forest surrounding her house seemed like an excellent place to train without being seen; it was vast and thick. Absolutely perfect to train. But maybe not in the middle of the night, after a nightmare, when her parents were sleeping.

It seemed like a good decision at first. She needed fresh air, and training always came in handy. But as she ventured the woods alone, she started to regret her decision. It was extremely late, and if something happened (for instance: monsters attacking), her parents would never know how she actually died.

After a moment of hesitation, Percy came to the startling realisation that she didn't really cared about that, not about dying and not about what her family would think.

Her mother would be heartbroken. Paul too. Poseidon? He would probably mourn her for some time and destroy cities in his anger, but with time, he would soon forget it. He was a god after all.

Gods excelled at forgetting mortals.

It scared Percy how sometimes she just felt like nothing really mattered anymore. Like nothing was worth her worry. But she forced herself to push those thoughts down—nothing was going to happen, she was simply going to train.

Train and nothing more.

When she left her house, she didn't bothered to change her pyjamas into formal clothes. She simply put her breastplate over her pyjamas, and left the house. The second she felt the cold breeze hit her skin, she shivered with delight.

Inside the house she had felt claustrophobic.

Her nightmares had come back after her demigod dream, and she feared that if she stayed more time inside those four walls, she might start seeing Kronos again. She thought a bit of fresh air would ease her nerves, and some good training always worked when she wanted to feel distracted for a while.

So she ventured the woods.

After a while she stopped venturing and decided to actually train.

She swirled the ballpoint pen she had been holding around her fingers before uncapping it. Immediately, the pen transformed into a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs.

Percy swung Riptide around for a while, practicing the usual movements. When finished with them, she moved towards the trees.

Her friend, Grover, who was the Lord of the wilderness, would probably kill her if he knew she was going to practice with trees, but as long as she didn't managed to buy dummies or mannequins, the trees would have to do.

Besides, she wasn't going to hurt the trees to much—just a few scratches here and there.

"What did the poor trees do to you?" A slightly sarcastic voice called behind the demigoddess.

Percy turned around, almost beheading one of the only gods she could consider a friend. In front of her, a young man—physically in his twenties—with dark curly hair and sparkling blue eyes grinned down at her with his impish smile. He had a lithe body and was slightly taller than Percy.

For a second, she was stunned to see him there. A million thoughts ran through her head, questions about what was he doing there, the ever wonder if his visit was because he needed a favour, and then her joy after seeing him.

Had he been another god, Percy would've probably snapped. She had enough of gods and their problems, all she wanted was to be left alone, to be in peace and not to be dragged into any more godly messes.

But she couldn't find it in herself to be angry at the god in front of her. He'd done many things for her in the past, and she actually liked him.

They had history, alright.

"Hermes?" Percy grinned. "Hey, sorry for, uh, almost beheading you." She made Riptide turn back into a pen, and she shoved it down on her pockets. "At what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

She wasn't even being sarcastic.

Hermes chuckled. "Hey, buddy." He moved forwards, and wrapped the girl in a tight hug. The demigoddess was surprised, because it didn't mattered how close they were, or how friendly a god was with a mortal, they rarely hugged them.

They were more of a "if I find you hot I'll fuck you senseless", "If I tolerate you I might be nice to you", and "if I dislike like you I will blast you to pieces". They rarely ever hugged.

Percy wasn't going to complain. Hermes hugged her tightly, and it was, surprisingly, one of the best hugs she'd ever received; it felt sincere and comforting.

She pulled away, having a slightly suspicion as to why he was suddenly being all touchy with her. She swallowed, suddenly feeling very embarrassed. "You know?"

Hermes rose one eyebrow. "My dear young cousin, I know many, many things. But I don't have the slightest idea as to what you're talking about."

He obviously knew.

Probably all of Olympus knew by now that Percy wasn't fine after Tartarus. At least the only one to acknowledge it had been Hermes. It embarrassed her enough that some of her friends knew, it was enough with Apollo and Hermes knowing.

She didn't wanted anyone else to know.

Percy sighed. "How?"

Hermes gave her a gentle look. "Percy, do you remember the first time we met?"

The girl nodded. "In Camp Half-Blood. I broke curfew and was gazing the stars by the beach, you sat with me and we talked." She managed a smile. "You told me you invented the Internet. And George and Martha told me they liked rats."

Hermes felt his caduceus, which was disguised as a phone, vibrate almost happily. George and Martha seemed to be happy to be acknowledged. He chuckled softly. "Well, yes, I did say that. But what I meant to ask is if you remember what I told you. About family."

Of course she remembered. Hera erased her memory, but she remembered everything—ever since drinking that gorgon's blood. Besides, it had been years since that night, but his words left an impact on her.

Percy pursed her lips. "You told me to never give up on my family, no matter how tempting they make it. But what does it have to do with anything?"

"We are family, Percy. I care a great deal about you." It always amazed Percy the knowledge that such a powerful being as Hermes, a god, could actually be so friendly and could actually and sincerely care about her. "If I dare to say it, you're my friend. And I worry about you."

Percy's soft smile dropped slowly. The reason why none of her friends apart from Annabeth and Nico knew about her feelings was because she didn't wanted to bother them with her thoughts and her demons.

The only one apart from Nico and Annabeth who knew was Grover. Percy didn't had to tell him, he already knew. They had an empathy link, ever since she was twelve years old, and they still had it.

She had been so worried in Tartarus, because if she died...he would die too. The worst thing was that the moment they saw each other again, Percy saw in Grover's eyes all the pain and hurt she had been feeling.

All she felt, Grover also did.

And as horrible as it was, all the loneliness and brokenness Percy was feeling, Grover Underwood was feeling too.

It was kind of refreshing the thought of someone else, besides her closest friends, knowing that she was troubled. Hermes had actually took a moment of his very busy life to visit her and express his concern over her.

That meant a lot to Percy.

"No mortal has ever been in Tartarus and escaped before. Annabeth Chase, Nico di Angelo and you were the first. Tartarus is a place that is not meant for mortals—for Hades sake, it's not even meant for us gods." He winced. "I can't even begin to imagine how you're feeling."

Percy swallowed. "I think you just did."

There was a small pause. Percy wouldn't meet his eyes, she was slightly uncomfortable; the memory of Tartarus always made her uncomfortable.

"My brother told me about the darkness," Hermes paused, giving the demigoddess in front of him a gentle look. "He is worried about you, and he begged me to check on you. That is another reason as to why I am here."

There it was, the revelation as to why he was actually there.

For a second, Percy didn't knew what to make of his confession. For all she knew, Apollo stopped caring for her, it made no sense as to why he would suddenly care and send Hermes to check on her.

And the fear of going dark. It was one thing that the gods knew she was slightly damaged after Tartarus, but Percy was more worried about them knowing she was having dark strikes. If they knew, they surely would put a stop to it in the only way they knew; killing her.

And while Percy was starting to get tired of her life, she certainly did not wanted to die by the hands of any god.

It was one thing to know that her death could be caused by a monster at any moment, but to be killed by gods was almost a pet peeve of hers. After all she's done to and for the gods, it seemed rather unfair that she died by their hands.

"Don't worry, no one else knows." Hermes assured her.

But for how long? For how long could they keep it a secret when the gods we aware of everything that happened?

She could've voiced all her doubts and all her worries, instead, what came out of her mouth was very different. "If Apollo cares so much, why isn't he here?"

She despised how bitter and cold her voice sounded. It was the voice of someone who just had her heart broken and was still bitter about it.

And that was so not her.

Meanwhile, Hermes' eyes grew wide.

After the war, Zeus had taken all his anger out on Apollo, all because he was the owner of the Oracle of Delphi. Apollo was still waiting his punishment, but they all knew it would end up being something extremely painful, for Zeus was still thinking about what to do to him.

Percy's question startled him. For all he knew, Percy was supposed to know the reason behind their breakup. Apparently, she did not.

"I'm not a good parent, buddy. I don't know how to deal with this...But I just want you to know that I'm here for you anytime you need me, and that I sincerely care."

Percy rose an eyebrow. She noticed how he changed the topic, but said nothing. It was better that way, anyway, the less she knew about Apollo, the less it would hurt her.

"You do?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"It's not the first time a god says he cares about me and it ended up being a lie."

Hermes frowned. "Apollo..." he stopped, it wasn't his job to try and defend his brother. Percy might not know the truth yet, but Apollo had really cared about her. He'd been sincere about his feelings all alone, but that wasn't Hermes bussiness, so he said nothing more.

Messing in another god's love affairs never ended well.

He could literaly feel Apollo's glare on him from Olympus, and he was surprised the god hadn't appeared and demanded to know what he was doing with Percy. Oh, his brother could be so possessive and jealous when he wanted to. Even more when it came to his girl.

Hermes sensed he had messed up, even though he didn't really said anything controversial. He cleared his throat, and decided to cut the crap and go directly to the point. He could feel his cellphone vibrating ever five seconds. He needed to go back to his work.

"Listen, I don't have much time now; I'm not supposed to be here, I'm supposed to be fetching Aphrodite's new wardrobe from Hephaestus' clothing department—"

"Hephaestus has a clothing department?"

Hermes grimaced. "Not important right now. Listen my dear girl, I have some advice I think you might need. I sense some dangers lie ahead of your journey."

"Wow, I would've never guessed that. What made you think that? The fact that I'm a demigoddess? Or the fact that all my life has been a dangerous journey?"

More than a dangerous journey, her life often felt like a big practical joke.

Hermes was unfazed. "The fact that you're living in Mystic Falls is, of course, what gave it away. I'm afraid your dear mother and her husband choose very wrongly where to move. Mystic Falls is, probably, the worst choice they could've made, without counting New Orleans and Alaska."

As of Alaska, Percy knew why; It was a land beyond the gods' reach. As for New Orleans, she didn't knew anything, but didn't questioned the god.

"I've been sensing some things lately," Percy admitted, a frown marking her young face. "I've only been here for mere days and I already feel like this was a bad choice. All I can feel is monsters, everywhere, there's just this horrible...—" she struggled to find the correct words.

"Stench," Hermes provided, distaste on his voice. "That, my dear, is the stench of human monsters."

Human monsters. Percy felt very uneasy. There was one thing to battle Roman and Greek monsters, but she hardly knew about human monsters. For all she knew, they could be more dangerous than the ones she've faced before.

And something told her she was going to face human monsters soon. With her demigod dream about Damon Salvatore, and the uneasy feeling she felt when she entered town, it was obvious.

"Artemis' book was right," Percy muttered, almost bitterly. It sparked Hermes curiosity. "There are monsters for humans."

"There are monsters for almost everything." Hermes sighed. "Oh, the problems...You see, the Mist doesn't really work for humans when it's about human monsters. They can see, and understand, the creatures that present themselves to them. We are very lucky, at least with our monsters we can apply the Mist and ease the minds of the poor mortals."

Hermes always cared about humanity, probably more than his whole family together. He was the god of many, many things, but what he liked most was travel and his work as messenger of the gods. He was usually always very involved in matters with mortals.

It gave him a headache the thought of not being able to help the mortals that encountered that specific kind of monsters.

"Are these monsters attracted to us? Can they sense demigods?"

"I wouldn't know," Hermes admitted, suddenly bashful. "I've never been too interested in them, my expertise are Greek monsters. Well, at least in this version of me it is."

Percy would've been confused, but she thought it had to do with the fact that as a god, he could change from Greek to Roman, he could choose who he wanted to be—Hermes or Mercury.

"I'm starting to believe they don't," Percy told him about her encounter with Damon Salvatore, and how he seemed to be oblivious to her state as a demigoddess. In the process, she told him about her demigod dream too.

Hermes was silent for a while.

"Does that mean I gotta get involved with it? Protect the mortals from him?"

Hermes looked down at her. "Demigods dreams can mean many things, Percy. It can simply be nature's way of giving you a little info as to what is happening here. Just as it could mean what you said, and that you have to protect the mortals. In all honestly, it all depends on how you interpret it."

"Just like prophecies." Percy shuddered.

"Exactly."

Percy frowned. Her demigod dream could mean anything then, she just had to discover what exactly it was trying to tell her.

They were in silence for a second, and she half feared that Hermes might disappear before all her doubts were answered, but he remained by her side, his eyes lost in the sky, gazing the constellations as if he were remembering who they were before being constellations.

Percy knew he probably was. Andromeda, Hercules, Zoe Nightshade...all those constellations were people before Artemis honoured them and made them constellations.

Another thought clouded her mind, making her frown.

"What's the deal with human monsters, anyway? How did they came to exist?"

Greek (and Roman) monsters had an explanation as to how they were "born" monsters, or cursed into becoming monsters. For example, the Minotaur, which had been born from a mortal queen and a bull; and Medusa, who was cursed by Athena and became a monster.

But Percy had no clue as to what or how were human monsters created.

She must've gotten distracted, because when she blinked back at Hermes, she found he was already talking.

"—that's the most horrible thing about these monsters. They used to be human once. It's pitiful, actually, how there are times when humans get so low and so filled with darkness that they stop being who they are, and become this...monsters."

Percy tensed slightly. "These monsters were humans once?"

"Most of them still are," Hermes sighed deeply, as if perturbed by that thought. "Their biggest weakness is, and shall ever be, their humanity. Most human monsters desire to be human again, to go back to who they once were. But once the darkness touches you, there's no going back."

His words, unknowingly, only made Persephone Jackson more tense than before. She was part human, and she had tasted the darkness—and as much as she feared it, she had liked it—, her mind clouded for a second, her fears overcoming her.

She had seen and heard of demigods all over the ages snapping and killing everything in sight. Part of her craved the feeling of power that she felt in Tartarus when she was fighting Misery, but she didn't wanted to become a monster.

What irony would that be...the heroine of Olympus turned into a monster.

He continued. "To answer your question more specifically, most humans become monsters via some spell or curse, others simply step into the darkness and become their own monsters."

Percy only swallowed once, her face once more an emotionless mask. Only her eyes betrayed her; bright sea green eyes that showed fear and worry.

There was a small pause where Percy forced herself to hide her worries, and Hermes simply stared at her, part of him worrying over her future in Mystic Falls.

"My advice for you is the following," Hermes spoke. "Don't get too involved with these monsters. They might seem like humans sometimes, but never forget that they are, in fact, monsters."

...

Sally Jackson was making breakfast when she heard Percy yawning loudly in the living room.

"I told you not to stay awake too long," Sally called over her shoulder. "Couldn't you sleep?"

Percy mumbled something intelligibly from her spot on the couch. She had her eyes closed, but truth was, she couldn't sleep. She was simply resting, waiting until she would feel good enough to carry on her with her daily procrastinating.

The house was all set up now, and Percy found she had nothing to do. Her room was still under reparations, but Paul had promised that he would finish it all that day, thus leaving Percy without anything to do until the next day, when school started.

"What was that?" Paul chuckled, appearing besides Sally, wearing only pyjama pants and looking more asleep than awake. He quickly took the cup of coffee that his wife offered him. He looked back at his step-daughter, almost amused. "What's up with her?"

"Didn't sleep last night even thought I told her to sleep because today we go to the carnival," Sally's voice was almost exasperated. "I can bet my life on it."

Paul rose an eyebrow. "Mmm. Wouldn't be the first time she disobeys you, to be honest. Percy has never been good with authority, has she?"

"You guys know I can hear you perfectly, right?" Percy sounded exasperated, appearing in the kitchen behind them, the smell of freshly backed pancakes sparkling her interest. "And no, Paul, I don't dwell very well with authority, you can ask Zeus."

It was a perfect day outside, the sun shinned brightly and the sky was cloudless, but the second the demigoddess spoke the god's name with distaste, lightning crashed outside for a moment.

Her parents shared a concerned look, but Percy was unbothered by it. Zeus was a drama queen, or drama king, whatever, and she had learned to simply ignore his displays of anger or indignation, such as the lightning that shook the sky at her words.

"Love you too, uncle Z." Percy's voice was full of sarcasm, and she bit hard into her fork, shoving pancakes into her mouth almost angrily, and drowning the rest of her pancakes with lots of syrup.

Noticing that, Sally went back into the kitchen.

"Why did the poor pancakes did to you?" Paul mused, bemused.

"I'm not a morning person," Percy grumbled, shoving more food in her mouth. "And last night I couldn't sleep—at all."

Sally reappeared besides them, a new plate of pancakes on her hands, and sat in the table with her husband and daughter. Immediately, her daughter took more.

"What, or who, put you in such a bad mood?" Sally rose an eyebrow. "You seemed pretty happy yesterday."

Percy winced discretely. She couldn't remember the last time she had been actually happy. But it was better that her mother thought she was.

"I just...I couldn't sleep last night," the demigoddess decided to say the truth for once. "And then Hermes came to visit me, and we talked for a while, but I guess it must've been pretty late because I'm very tired."

"Hermes?" Paul widened his eyes. "The god Hermes? What was he doing here?"

"Technically he wasn't here..." Percy changed her mind, it wouldn't ease them the knowledge that she had been in the woods late at night. "Never-mind. He just...came to say hi."

Sally's eyes suddenly sank, and she lowered her glass very slowly towards the table. She had been extremely worried for her daughter ever since she discovered she had been dating a Greek god. Percy was currently trying to get over him, but it wasn't easy.

Sally knew it better than anyone.

She had fallen hard for Poseidon, and forgetting him had been pure hell for her. Percy had fallen even harder for Apollo, and they had been together more time than Sally and Poseidon had.

She knew it would be very hard for Percy to get over Apollo.

"That's very nice of him," Paul stressed, looking interested. He thought gods were cruel and didn't really cared much about mortals. He wasn't completely wrong. "Is he a friend of yours?"

Percy grinned. "Yeah, he is. He's always been very nice with me, and he's helped me multiple times over the course of the years. He's great actually."

The thought of another Greek god interested in Percy made Sally squeamish. She didn't wanted her daughter having another affair with a god; it was a surprise that she hadn't gotten herself pregnant while dating Apollo. Sally didn't wanted Percy to tempt the fates with another god.

"Is he..." Sally stopped herself. "Percy, dear, are you dating Hermes now?"

Paul winced.

Percy froze, her fork halfway in the air, close to her mouth. She put the fork down, and stared at her mother. Her sea green eyes raged with the force of the sea itself, making Paul look away uncomfortably, and Sally realise her mistake.

Percy had never looked at Sally like that. She loved her more than anyone else in the world, but at her bold question she couldn't help it.

"No, mother." her voice was hard as steel and colder than the Antarctic ocean. "I wouldn't date brothers. I'm not going to pull a Cyrene on them." At the end she managed to make her voice sound light and unbothered, and she even managed to force a smile at them. "I'm not that kind of girl."

Paul winced again. How could she change her moods so drastically quick?

"Cyrene?" he mouthed to Sally, who waved him off.

"I'm sorry dear, but you have to realise I'm just worried for you," Sally admitted gently, making Percy's anger dissipate completely. "I didn't meant to offend you."

"It's okay, mom. I apologise too, I shouldn't have, you know, glared at you and all. It's just that it's...a touchy subject."

It really was.

"I get it, sweetheart, I really do." Sally confessed, making Paul look away. "Anyhow, it's completely alright," She moved towards Percy and kissed her forehead, taking the plate of pancakes away from her. "Do it again and I'll ground you."

Paul smirked behind his coffee.

Percy gaped at her mother, but eventually a sly grin made its way on her face at her mother's attitude.

"My, my, Sally...You make me all tingly when you take control like that," Paul teased Sally, smirking at her as Sally winked at him almost seductively, walking towards him and kissing him on the mouth.

Percy did the most mature thing ever; she gagged at them, shuddering violently. She was nowhere near innocent, but she never wanted to see her parents like that.

"And that's my cue to leave."

Sally and Paul smiled against each others lips, giggling like honeymooners, and as Percy left the room, they kissed again.

...

The hours went by agonisingly slow. Paul had almost finished with Percy's room, and she was silently helping him in all she could, while Sally was in the bathroom getting ready for the carnival.

Percy knew she should get ready too, but she really wanted her room to be finished before school started, as much as she couldn't really sleep, it was hurting her back to rest on the couch at nights. So she stayed helping Paul.

Her stepfather was telling her about one of his adventures at his college form when he was younger, and Percy found herself more amused than she'd been in long time. Paul wasn't only handsome and smart, but he had had a rebel side when in college.

They were interrupted by a knock on the front door. Percy frowned, listening to see if her mother was still in the shower. She was.

Paul moved to get it, but Percy beat him to it. "I'll go get it, you keep working."

Percy descended the stairs with curiosity. Maybe it was another neighbour wanting to introduce themselves to her, but to be honest, the closest house seemed to be Damon's, and he'd already introduced himself to her.

Maybe it was Damon's brother.

Just in case, she reached for Riptide, cursing herself when she remembered she was still wearing her pyjamas, and her pyjama pants didn't had pockets.

Riptide was still in the couch.

She sighed irritably, but decided against the thought of getting it. She moved towards the door, and swung it open.

Outside, Damon stood, dressed in heavy amounts of black and leather. Just as before, a very forced smile appeared on his face when he saw her.

"Hey..." his eyes trailed down her body, amusement on his features.

Percy rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. So it was nearly sundown already and she was still on her pyjamas. So what?

"What do you want?" she demanded.

Guilt overcome her once she remembered the dream she had about him and that brunette. Suddenly, she couldn't see the overconfident monster in front of her, but a man with a broken heart, just like her.

She scoffed at herself, trying to forget the vision she had of his broken-hearted expression and how his eyes had taken a vulnerable look, tears on them...Oh, fuck. Now she was feeling bad for a monster. Great.

"Feisty," Damon rose his eyebrows, amused. "I'm gonna be an optimist and think that that's your way of being friendly."

Percy pursed her lips. Without meaning it, she spoke softly to him. "What do you want?"

"Oh I want many things," he waved a hand around distractedly. He then gave her another of his forced smiles. "But right now what I mostly want is to take a hot girl for a ride at the local carnival. I assume you know about the carnival?"

Percy rose an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to go with you?"

"Depends. Is your answer yes?" Damon challenged, a troublesome smirk on his lips. His whole body screaming seduction. Usually to get what he wanted, his charm worked miracles, even more than his compulsion sometimes. But with that girl he was starting to notice that it had no effect.

Percy scoffed loudly this time. "Why would you want to take me to the carnival? We've hardly know each other. I might be a crazy bitch for all you know." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you?" Damon rose an eyebrow.

Percy found herself amused despite herself. "No."

"Perfect!" Damon spread his arms, another forced grin on his face. "With that settled, I'll come pick you up in an hour." He moved to leave, but Percy emerged, stepping out of the house and into the porch, making him stop and look back at her, a gleam on his eyes.

"I never said yes," Percy pointed out.

"You never said no," Damon shrugged. Percy frowned at that logic. He turned completely towards her, and gave her a look that was almost sheepish, one hand going to the bridge of his nose. "Bad choice of words. Sorry. Please?" His voice was almost soft at the end.

Percy was surprised at that. Did he just...did he just really said please?

She had never encountered a monster like that. All the monsters she encountered we're direct to the point, none of them ever were mildly polite, or even talkative.

And Damon Salvatore was.

Why?

Why was a monster so keen on taking her out if he didn't knew what she was?

It made no sense.

Damon saw the concussion on her eyes, and he sighed exasperatedly. "Look, don't read too much into this. You're a pretty girl, I like pretty girls. And I could use a distraction," he admitted at last, not seeing a reason to lie. "You're new in town, and in this moment you are the most interesting thing in town."

More like the only thing that he thought could be normal.

It was excruciatingly refreshing the thought of someone normal in town.

A good distraction. Percy remembered her vision again, and softened a little bit despite herself. Of course he wanted a distraction, the girl he loved just told him she loved her brother and not him. Anyone would want a distraction—monster or not.

She was filled with something deeper than pity—sympathy—she could relate to how he was feeling.

"I'm not ready to date," Percy warned him. "It's not going to be a date, and I'm not going to hook up with you. If you take me out it's going to be completely platonic, understand?"

She had a powerful glare, Damon had to admit. "Percy, we've just met. Do you believe so low of me already?" there was a teasing edge on his voice.

"Lets just say I know your type." Percy muttered dryly, her eyes still hard. Damon resembled the smug bastards from cabin 5 in Camp Half-Blood. "Come pick me up in an hour. I have to get ready."

With that she turned around, and entered the house, slamming the door behind her back.

Damon stared at the place where she had just been, something dark on his eyes as he then turned and blurred back to his house. Unknown to him, Percy had been watching from the window, and saw his incredibly fast movement.

She sucked in a gasp despite herself.

"Percy? What on Earth are you doing?" Sally questioned, hands on her hips. Her daughter jumped, her head colliding with the window. Sally winced, and Percy rubbed her head with a grimace.

"Nothing," she turned towards her mother, and smiled. Her mother had dressed up nicely, with a yellow summer dress, her brown hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Her blue eyes were shining, and she looked younger than ever. "Aw, you look very pretty, mom!"

Sally grinned widely, pleased with herself. "Thank you, dear. Now, why aren't you ready yet? And who was at the door?"

"Damon Salvatore," Percy pursed her lips. "He came to invite me to the carnival. Of course, at first I said no because it was supposed to be our family day together, but he was insisting and insisting, so I ended up saying yes."

Her sympathy would be the end of her, Sally thought with a sigh.

"You know you don't have to accept to something if you don't want to, right?" Sally crossed her arms, an annoyed look on her eyes. "Never."

"I know. No one forces me to do anything," Percy told her seriously. "No one. However, I figured he would leave me alone after today, so...I'm going with Damon to the carnival." She made a very fake sound of enthusiasm, making her mother frown.

"Well then, I guess we'll see each other there. I'll be heading out with Paul soon, he's getting ready now. You're room's all set now."

...

Percy was ready rather quickly. She decided to dress simply, for it was only a carnival and nothing important. She wore jeans, a blue blouse accompanied by a black jacket and ankle high boots. She wore no makeup, and she let her hair down.

When she thought she was ready she left the house, being careful to lock the door as she sat in the porch, waiting for Damon. No longer than a minute passed when a blue 1969 Chevy Camaro came to a stop in front of her house, it's roof down.

Damon threw her a smirk. She walked towards the car, an amused grin appearing on her face.

"I dig your style, Salvatore. I really do..." Percy admitted. She quickly entered the car, as Damon's smirk turned almost proud.

They drove away, Percy ignoring her beating heart and the impulses she was feeling; she just wanted to jump him and stick Riptide on his chest until he was ashes.

It was getting harder and harder to control her emotions lately.

"You like cars?" Damon rose an eyebrow. "Never would've pegged a girl like you to like things like that."

"A girl like me?" Percy repeated, snorting. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Well..." Damon waved a hand distractedly. "You know, pretty and shallow. Like a blonde girl but with black hair, all about looks and popularity and all that teen drama." He looked at her momentarily, already forming an opinion on her based on her looks. "You."

Percy couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed. "You don't know me. For starters, I don't do teen drama. I don't have time for that. I can care less about popularity, and blonde girls aren't dumb." She thought back to Annabeth, who would've kicked his ass after that comment.

"True, I don't know you," Damon forced another smile. "I aim to change that before tonight ends."

Percy rose an eyebrow, but decided against saying anything else about the matter. For a moment, they were in silence. Before it could get awkward, Percy spoke again. "Tell me about yourself."

"I'm a sweet, sweet guy searching for love in this cruel, cruel world. I'm a Cancer, I love puppies and kittens and I have a brother who is a complete pain in the ass." He gave her a sarcastic grin. "What about you?"

"All that came out of your mouth are lies," Percy snorted, deeply amused.

"Ah, ah, ah," Damon gave her a mock reprimanding look, the corner of his lips curling up. "Not all of it, I'm a Cancer, and I have a brother. Besides, who doesn't find kittens adorable?" he smirked at her. "Now your turn, go."

"Well, I'm a Leo, I don't care about love at all, I have a little brother whom I love, I have a pet hellhound and I love secrets."

"Ding, ding, ding, ding! And we have another liar."

"You started it," she shrugged. "Besides, not all of those were lies."

Damon waited for a moment, and when she didn't elaborated, he turned to look at her, the question written on his icy eyes.

"You'll have to discover them on your own," Percy winked at him. Only two of those things were lies, but it was up to Damon to discover them.

"Oh, I will," Damon promised, a grin on his face. Percy grinned back, liking his attitude, forgetting for a second that he was a monster. Something crossed Damon's eyes, and he remembered something. "I saw you last night, dressed all geeky-like and hitting trees with a sword."

Percy tensed slightly. "You did?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, geeky girls are adorable," Damon gave her a teasing look. "Which character were you playing as?"

"No one, I'm not geeky, not completely," Percy half shrugged. "I actually know how to manage a sword, I learned in my old camp, and last night I was just practicing. The breastplate was for safety."

"What kind of Camp teaches teenagers to handle swords?"

Amusement crossed Percy's eyes. "You'd be surprised if you knew how many camps do that."

Damon hummed. "What made you move from New York to Mystic Falls? Surely New York is way better than this place."

"I don't really get to decide if we move or not. I'm only seventeen, and my stepfather was offered a job here, so he was moving here with my mother. I guess I could've stayed with a friend, or in Camp, but..." Percy shrugged, only half conscious that she was sharing something personal with a monster. "...I missed my family."

"I know the feeling." Damon nodded briefly. "I left this place a long time ago, but when I heard my brother was back here, I came back. Someone has to take care of him."

"How old are you?" Percy interrupted him, a frown on her face.

"I'm twenty five. My little brother is seventeen, so I had to look out for him. I'm his legal guardian since our parents are long gone." Damon explained distractedly. "What about you? You said you have a little brother, but no one else lives in your house but your parents and you."

"Half-brother," she explained. "He lives with our father. And I see you guessed which of the things I said are real and which are the lies."

"I have the slightest idea," Damon confessed. "Let's see...the brother one I already guessed right. The pet hellhound is obviously a lie," he missed Percy's smirk. "Which leaves me the secrets and the love one." He eyed her up and down. "Are you asexual, or aromatic?"

"I had a boyfriend until a month ago, and I was in love. That answers you question?" Percy was visibly uncomfortable.

"I've been in love. It's painful, pointless and overrated."

"It's not if it's with the right person," Percy corrected him.

Damon looked at her briefly, a curious look on his eyes. Percy seemed interested as they reached Mystic Falls High School, where the carnival was taking place at. "We're here."

Percy stared around as they exited the car. Damon was at her side in a second, offering her his arm. She hesitated, something he noticed, but ended up accepting his arm.

"My parents are here," Percy motioned around, grimacing at how full it was. "Um, somewhere, I guess."

"Aren't you a bit too old for the school carnival, Damon?" a voice called behind them. As they turned, Percy saw a cute boy her age with brown hair and forest green eyes. He was slightly taller than Damon, being about Percy's heigh.

She stiffened as he came closer to them.

Another monster.

"Aren't you too young to be alone without supervision?" Damon shoot back, crossing his arms over his chest. He saw Stefan looking at the girl at his side, almost worriedly, and he rolled his eyes. "Stefan, this is Percy Jackson, our new neighbour. Percy, this is my little brother Stefan."

"The pain in the ass," Percy quoted Damon, eyebrows rising. Stefan looked at his brother, who mouthed a "guilty" without looking ashamed.

"Not exactly how I like to be introduced as," Stefan pursed his lips at his brother, but smiled politely at the girl. "Pleasure to meet you, Percy. Welcome to Mystic Falls."

"Thanks," Percy shook his hand, forcing herself not to overreact at the sudden rush of adrenaline she felt having two monsters around her. All she wanted to do was take out Riptide and slash their throats.

Stefan looked back at his brother, then at Percy, seemingly concerned and worried about something. His eyes were reprimanding his big brother, something that Percy noticed and stored into her memory. It continued for a moment before Damon rolled his eyes.

"You see, Percy, my dear brother here is worried I'm going to explode because someone that we both hate is back in town. He told me to get a distraction and obsess over something else than her," Damon rolled his eyes, a very forced smile on his lips as he explained. "Now he's worried I'm obsessing over you."

Percy tensed inmediately, one hand twitching against her pocket.

"Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private," Stefan gave his brother a pointed look.

Percy pursed her lips. "I'll leave you two alone." She moved to go, not wanting to be envolved in any family drama between both brothers. She had enough family drama in her godly family, she did not wanted to be involved in monster-family drama too.

"There's no need," Damon stopped her. "There's nothing to discuss. I have other things to do like, explode."

He dragged her away, occasionally pointing to random tents and games and showing them to her. Percy stored away what she knew of the monster brothers in her memory, thinking of what she could do with what she knows.

She was nowhere near close to knowing what they were.

"So who are you obsessing over now, if not that girl that you both hate," Percy kept her voice neutral. She waited for his reaction, wondering if he would get angry and show a glimpse of his true self.

He did not. "You see those two over there?" He pointed towards a bunch of people, a young boy her age was in a wrestling competition as an older man watched them and cheered for the boy. "Tyler and Mason Lockwood."

"Okay. I see them, what about them?"

Stefan joined them, crossing his arm over his chest as Percy looked at him briefly before looking back at the Lockwood boys. "You're lurking," Stefan told his brother.

Damon gave his brother a look that said he disagreed with him. "Observing."

"More like obsessing." Stefan scoffed. However, he too watched Tyler and Mason. Percy rose her eyebrows, wondering what could be so important about the Lockwood's that two monsters were lurking at them.

The kid Tyler won against the guy he was wrestling.

"He's got strength," Damon pointed out.

Stefan shrugged. "He's a triple letter varsity athlete, of course he has strength. You're reaching."

Percy ignored them for a second, watching as Mason Lockwood moved and challenged his nephew. She caught a glimpse of his face, he was handsome in a way, she thought. But she stiffened the second she caught a glimpse of his scent as he walked.

He was a monster too.

His stench, as Hermes had so kindly worded, was way more different than the stench of the Salvatore brothers, but still very monster like.

...Oh great, she thought sarcastically. Now I'm like a human detector of monsters.

She never could identify someone so easily, never. Now she smelled them. Holy crap she was a whole new lever of fucked up.

"—This is ridiculous." Stefan sighed.

Percy recovered herself. "Yet you're watching."

Mason won easily. Tyler looked constipated, but looked around. "All right, he's the champ. Who wants to go next?"

"Stefan wants to go next," Damon called from his place.

Percy looked at Stefan, only to find him unfazed by his brother's words. "Thanks." He told his brother sarcastically. "Yeah, sure, I'll...give it a shot." He joined Mason at the table. "My brother over there thinks I can beat you."

"Your brother's wrong."

"Kind of arrogant," Percy rose an eyebrow. She watched as Mason quickly won against Stefan. "But he's right."

So whatever kind of monster Mason Lockwood was, it was one that was slightly stronger than the kind of monsters Stefan and Damon were.

"You didn't put in any effort at all." Damon glared at his brother, clearly annoyed.

Stefan grimaced. "Yeah, actually I did."

Surprise flashed on Damon's face. "Come with me..." He stopped, looking at Percy, who rose an eyebrow at them. "I'll be right back."

Percy nodded distractedly. As they left, she turned back to watch the Lockwood's for a moment. She watched intently as the oldest Lockwood beat every guy who tried to wrestle him. He might've senses her eyes on him, because he looked up and locked eyes with her.

He smiled politely.

Percy didn't.

...

As the Salvatore brothers disappeared, Percy made her way around, observing the school grounds and playing some games alone before finding her parents. Paul was showing Sally around distractedly, telling her about the classes and his job.

"Hey," Percy appeared at their side, making them jump.

"Percy, now that you're here, would you like to have a tour of the school?" Paul asked gently. "That way you won't be so lost tomorrow."

At the reminder of school starting the next day, she grimaced. Her stepfather showed her and Sally around school, showing her where the classrooms were, and where the central office was.

"It's a little school," Percy noticed.

"You've been all your life in private schools," Sally reminded her. "Those were bigger." She saw the rusty locks of the classrooms, and grimaced. "And safer, but this one will do."

Percy sighed.

She had really liked Goode School, where she studied before and where Paul used to work at. She had been suspended from school for missing nine months, and Paul had been transferred, so either way she was bound to change schools.

"If you ever need anything you know you can always come to me, even if I'm in class." Paul told her as they walked away from the halls and into the yard.

Percy nodded, distractedly.

They walked towards the water games, a big wide grin appearing on Percy's face as she understood her parents intentions. Paul grabbed one water gun and Sally did too, both of them grinning at Percy, who joined them immediately.

She grinned too. "Ready to lose magnificently?"

Paul smirked. "You wish."

But one should never bet against a Poseidon's daughter when water was involved.

...

For the rest of the night, Percy had fun with her family. For a couple of hours, nothing else mattered. No monsters, no demons, nothing. She was able to ignore everything bothering her and enjoy a night together with her family.

"Ah, it's late..." Paul sighed. "We have school tomorrow. We should leave."

Sally seemed to remember then that her daughter had gotten herself there with their neighbour and not with them. "Dear, where's Damon? Don't tell me you managed to scare him so quickly."

Percy pursed her lips, looking around.

Her responsibilities came back, and she remembered the three monsters lurking around. "I don't know where he is, to be honest. But I should probably look for him, can't ditch him any longer. See you in the house?"

"Actually, we thought about heading to the Grill for dinner." Paul wrapped an arm around Sally's shoulder. "If that boy you came with is not taking you anywhere else, you know where to find us."

She nodded, and they parted ways.

Percy searched for a while, frowning when she realised she had no idea where he might be.

"Oh, come on..." she sighed exasperatedly. "I'm supposed to be a human detector of monsters, why can't I find just one stupid monster."

As always, that was probably the worst thing to say.

A scream cut the air, making the hair on Percy's neck stand. She quickly run towards the scream, pushing roughly the mortals who were unbothered by the scream. She quickly came to a stop behind a dumpster, stopping at the scene in front of her.

Stefan was half dragging a beautiful blonde girl with blood all over her mouth, who was hysterically pointing at a skinny girl with olive skin and brown hair—the girl from the vision—, Damon was there too, holding something that seemed to be a wooden stake.

At their feet, Percy saw a corpse. She stiffened immediately. The blonde girl couldn't look at the corpse for longer than a second, and judging by the blood across her face, she had been the one to kill her.

Percy didn't need her powers to know she was a monster too. She forced herself to hide a little more behind the dumpster, not wanting them to see her yet.

"It's okay Caroline, come with me." Stefan spoke gently and calm to the blonde girl, a voice no monster ever took after one of their own killed someone else.

"She will die, it's only a matter of time." Damon snapped at him.

"Yeah, maybe so, but it's not gonna happen tonight."

"Oh yeah it is." He rushed towards them with inhuman speed, stake ready to stab the blonde girl, but the brunette stepped in front of the blonde one. Damon's stake almost touching her heart.

He stopped.

"Damon, she's my friend."

Percy rose an eyebrow. He cared about her even after she broke his heart, he was stopping himself from ripping her apart and killing Caroline, just because she was in the middle. That could be used against him.

Damon hesitated, staring at the brunette, his face unreadable form Percy's spot behind the dumpster. "Whatever happens, it's on you." he warned her darkly, moving away and disappearing.

A dark skinned girl appeared, making Percy shift uncomfortably at the feeling she emanated, a feeling she could finally recognise.

A witch.

"Caroline?" the witch seemed shocked. "No, you're not; you can't be." She quickly made her way towards Caroline, who stared at her unblinking. The witch touched the blonde girl, and horror crossed her eyes, as if she could sense what she was with just one touch.

"Bonnie?" the blonde monster seemed almost desperate for her friend to react differently.

The witch, Bonnie, grabbed a truck close to her for support as she looked overwhelmed and horrified. The blonde monster, Caroline, was quickly dragged away by Stefan.

Percy followed them with her eyes, her hand twitching more and more towards her pocket jean, Riptide almost screaming at her to get it over with and kill them. But she stopped herself. She could take them all, three monsters, a witch and a mortal...

She really could.

But something stopped her. Something nagged at her, almost annoyingly. She realised then that part of her didn't wanted to fight, and that part was almost as strong as the part that craved to kill them.

Damon reappeared, a shovel in his hands. "Oh, come on, don't pout about it. I got a body to bury." He looked at the brunette, who stared at him, almost glaring at him. "I thought you were calling the shots. No? Hm, it sucks to be you, buddy."

His words angered the witch. She stared at him, and he suddenly groaned, falling to the ground clutching his head in pain. She opened a faucet with her powers and water starts coming out.

Percy frowned. What the Hades was that witch doing now?

"I told you what would happen if anyone else got hurt." Her voice was scarily calm, but her eyes were on fire.

"I didn't do this." Damon rasped from his place, still hissing and gasping in pain at whatever she was doing.

The brunette girl was quick to try and defend him. "Bonnie, it wasn't his fault."

"Everything that happens is his fault, Elena." Bonnie snapped. The water dripping from the faucet started to become fire, making Percy stifle a gasp.

The fire approached Damon, and engulfed him in one quick gulp. He started screaming and trying to put the fire out, but the witch wouldn't let him, her eyes glazed over as she kept chanting and chanting under her breath.

"Bonnie, what are you doing? Stop it! Stop it! You're going to kill him!"

The brunette seemed rather desperate, but she wasn't doing anything to stop her witch friend.

Percy frowned darkly for a moment, and made her mind. She jumped out of her hiding place, one hand extended towards Damon as she willed the remaining water in the tunnels to envelop Damon and put the flames out.

"Because this isn't us. Bonnie, this can't be us."

Percy looked back, seeing how in that exact same moment, the brunette had jumped and grabbed the witch's shoulders. For them both, it was the brunette who caused the flames to go out when she grabbed the witch shoulders.

Percy remained hidden again until they both left.

Damon was groaning in pain, trying to stand but being too hurt to actually move. Percy walked towards him, slowly and deliberately making sound. She had her hands on her jacket pockets, giving an almost nonchalant look.

He groaned when he saw her, as if the last thing he wanted, or needed, was her there.

"She got you good," Percy noticed, looking how he still couldn't stand, or move at all. A little flame by his feet got her attention, and she rose an elegant eyebrow. "Oh, I hate witches." And she moved her hand out of her picket, lazily moving it over the fire, willing water to appear and overcome the flame.

Damon let out what could've been a gasp or a groan, she wasn't sure which it was.

"Now, as for you..." Percy turned towards him, her eyes stoic and cold. She looked like the sea before a storm, calm and collected, and about to explode. "I want answers, and you're gonna give them to me."

"What are you?" Damon snarled at her, suddenly regaining his force and jumping on her, throwing her against the dumpster and pinning her there. Black little veins appeared under his eyes, which were now a deep crimson colour. He barred his teeth at her, showing off his fangs.

Percy forced herself to hid her surprise. "I was going to ask you the same, but I already have my answer."

A vampire. Not an empousa, a real vampire.

Damon snarled.

He tightened his hold on her neck, cutting her air. She grabbed his hands, making him think she wanted to take them off. Instead, she used the impulse to throw herself to the floor, taking Damon with her, who grunted in pain as his already hurt bones hit the asphalt with such force that he stood frozen for a second.

She towered over him. He snarled again, but her feet collided with his side before he could move. He groaned in pain as she hit him again, this time harder.

Percy caressed her bruised neck, fire on her sea green eyes. "I saved your life, asshole. The least I deserve is a little respect, don't you think?" He moved to attack, but Percy blocked him easily, throwing him back into the ground.

"What are you?" Damon snapped again.

Percy was tired of his questions. She rolled her eyes and moved away. As she was leaving, she turned her head briefly to tell Damon. "I'll watch my back if I were you, Mr. Salvatore."

"Is that a threat?" Damon's face was back to normal, but his mouth was curled into a snarl, his eyes full of hate and coldness. He had liked that girl, she seemed funny and distracting, but now he wasn't in the mood for more threats. "Are you threatening me?"

Something dark gleamed in Percy's eyes, her mouth curling into a snarl too. She forced herself to gain control. She turned briefly towards him, forcing her voice to sound smooth and calm.

"Let me be clear about something, Damon. If you weren't a monster, I probably would've befriended you. In this moment, all I want to do is kill you. But, however, I don't want problems." Percy half shrugged. "I'm willing to ignore this," she gestured to her bruised neck. "And do as if I've never saw you shift into a monster."

"How generous of you," Damon said sarcastically. "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that my brother is also a vampire and he would kill you for killing me."

Percy chuckled. "Believe me, I can take you, your brother, and that blonde chick without blinking. I have my reasons, accept them without questions." She paused, and said honestly, "I really don't want problems."

"Move back to New York," Damon suggested. "Leave my town and never come back."

Percy smiled at him, but it didn't reached her eyes. "If you ever touch me, or any mortal for what matters," She looked at the corpse of the man the blonde vampire killed. "I will kill you."

She didn't knew if she was making an error letting him live, but she still had questions, and he was probably the only one that could answer them. It was a reckless decision, but he would live, for now.