Cryptogen (a Trilogy)

Chapter 1

Percy

Percy groaned as he rubbed his eyes open. A few months ago he had developed an allergy of water. Rare, but not impossible. For a human. 

He pealed his eyes open, fighting against their constant closing-up, and walked to a mirror. Ugly. That's the only thing he saw.

"Hey, you ok?" his girlfriend, Annabeth, asked. Annabeth Chase. Daughter of Athena, Greek goddess of Wisdom and battle strategy.

"Allergies acting up again." he sighed in defeat. He could never lie to her, not even about the worst of things. "Dad won't talk to me."

Annabeth knew he talked about Poseidon, not Paul. Paul loved him and accepted him as a son, even if it took a while to call him that. After all, Percy wasn't his actual son. 

"Hey, my mother's been distant as well. Well, at least once allergies of my own acted up. The seven as well." Annabeth said, letting out a bitter, carefree laugh. "I mean, we're demigods, not humans. Trouble follows us everywhere."

"Yeah. It'll be a nightmare at school." Percy sighed, applying cream to his rashes on his face. His once flawless, olive colored skin was now usually covered by rashes. Or at least every time he touched water. Annabeth smiled slightly, helping him out. Percy knew she would never fully understand how hard it was to be allergic of his own element. But she was allergic to pollen, so it wasn't hard. She had acne constantly, and sneezed a lot. Once, a popular, beautiful girl at school - now, the outsider.

"Come on. The seven will want to meet us early." Annabeth let out the millionth sigh. She was tiered of constantly going to the doctor for blood-tests. They never tested DNA, though. That was a good thing. But even then she feared to disappoint her mother. 'Hero', 'Wise', 'break-up', 'emotionless'. These were all things her mother always expected her to be. She always lived by them, but now when she has a clear weakness, her allergy, her mother doesn't want anything to do with her. She was like an embarrassment.

"Yoo hoo! Wise girl?" Percy waved his hands in front of her face. "School, remember?" Annabeth blushed deeply and nodded quickly, stuttering a 'yeah'. Percy grabbed an already prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwich from his mother and walked out with Annabeth, after shouting out a 'goodbye' and 'love you' to his mother. 

"So, you think Hazel'll be happy if I fail my first exam?" Percy asked sheepishly. Hazel was like a little sister, though she acted like a bigger sister - always telling him to pass, make her proud and all.

"Hazel's the last of your worries." Annabeth said with a small mischievous smirk. Percy felt blood drain from his face. She would murder him. 

"Percy! Annabeth!" Piper's cheery voice cut through the air. Percy looked up and grinned, before doing his signature handshake with her. "Percy - I got drenched with water!" she then screeched. Percy looked at her sympathetically, now noticing her hands that were littered with rashes and burnt looked spots. Like himself, she also shared that allergy, though her's was slightly lighter. 

"Maybe we should go to the nurse." Percy suggested, thinking of the nightmare he'd go through. He wasn't the bullied high-schooler, but he wasn't the popular one either. Piper was about to answer, but Annabeth shook her head.

"Bad idea. Our constant visits will make them to a DNA test eventually. I mean, they might need it to get some sort of test to see why we react like this. I mean, two people in the same country? This is supposed to be rare." Annabeth answered in a matter-of-a-fact voice. "We can't afford that." 

Everyone knew what she meant. No matter how bad it got, DNA tests should be avoided as best as possible. They couldn't find out about the gods. Or demigods, in that matter. Piper nodded begrudgingly, before looking away tiredly.