So this is dedicated to @Im_a_shipper_gez for this awesome OC Kennedy Walters. I'm so sorry I've taken so long to write this, you've probably forgotten you even requested it. Anyways, to any Caleo shippers reading this...be warned, it doesn't exist. Leo is unattached. a single Pringle.
I knock on the door before peering into the Mayor's office. He'd slept here overnight and I'd needed a paper signed for school as he's technically my legal guardian. I'd headed over here early this morning and now I'm going to be late.
I pick up the signed paper. "Hey, Andy, just wondering if I could get a ride to school?" I ask, eyeing the stacks of paperwork spread all over the desk in front of him.
My adoptive father mumbles something about "Sheryl" and waves me away, taking up yet another sheet of paper and eyeing it suspiciously, before signing the bottom.
I smile sarcastically, "Great, thank you, Mayor Mathews." Then I hop out of the room.
It was common knowledge around town that the Mayor only adopted me as part of his public image. He'd been low in the polls at the beginning of his election and what better way was there to gain supporters than to give a headstrong fourteen year old orphan a home? Now, a whole year later, I know he regrets it. I can't hate him for it though, as much as I want to, because even I'll admit that our dinners are much tastier than anything I've had before.
I sidle up next to his secretary's desk. I pause there and ask, "So, Sheryl, how about a ride?"
She smiles a little and picks up her keys. "Course, Keni," she replies, walking across the room in just a few strides of her long, high heeled legs. I smile, while Andy never seems to have the time of day for me, Sheryl has always been there. Maybe not as a mother figure, but as an elder sister she's wonderful. Quickly, I follow her into the elevator and all the way down to the underground parking lot.
Sheryl swiftly climbs into her Honda Civic and puts the keys into the ignition. I jump into the seat beside her and she pulls out of her parking spot much too slow for my liking. "Faster," I whine. "Sheryl, I'm going to be late!"
I know she rolls her eyes at me, but the car jumps a bit as she pushes down the peddle. "Thank you, Sheryl," I say in a sing-song voice.
She huffs a bit. "You're welcome, Kennedy," Sheryl says my name in a disgraceful tone, which makes me stick my tongue out childishly.
"You know how much I hate that name," I inform her.
"Nah, secretly, you love it," she tells me.
"I do not," I protest.
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not," I repeat again, wanting the last word.
Sheryl's silent for a while and I think I've won when I hear her whisper under her breath, "Do too."
"D-"
"Ahh, look, we're here. Get out so I can get back to the cranky old man," she cuts me off, pulling in front of my high school.
I roll my eyes at the twenty something woman in heels and a pencil skirt participating with me in the stupid game.
I climb out of the car and as I slam the door, call, "Do not!"
I can hear her "Do too!" floating back to me as I sprint over the quad.
~o0o~
I fling myself into a seat of my first period class as the tardy bell chimes. One of my best friends leans over from behind me and whispers, "Cutting it a bit close, Melody?"
"Yeah, yeah, spare me the lecture, Piper." I wave her off.
The brunette leans back in her seat, "Okay, okay. Whatever you say, girl."
A few seconds later another friend of mine swings into the seat beside me. Alice nudges my side, asking, "Hey did you see the news this morning?"
I feel my eyebrows crinkle, since when do teenagers watch the news in the morning? "No, what about it?"
Alice looks at me like I'm insane. "Girl, it's all over school. A group of people hijacked the television connection or something. I don't really know. All I do know is that they stood up on international television and claimed that all the Greek myths are true."
I give a look to tell her what she's saying is total BS, but Piper shifts uncomfortably in her seat. I round on her. "You believe this crap?"
She nods awkwardly, biting her lower lip. "Look I know it sounds crazy..."
I stop her though. "Wait, is this some joke to get back at me for the itching powder thing?"
They both shake their heads. "No, no, no," Alice assures me. "We're being utterly serious at the moment."
I blink slowly. "Okay, you're seriously not pulling my leg? You're being honest?"
They both nod. "Yeah," Piper confirms.
I bite my lip and turn around to face the front of the class as the teacher begins talking. "Just, let me process it," I tell them. In truth, right after class I'm going to go hunt down one of my other best friends, Annabeth and see what she says.
Class runs fairly smoothly and afterwards I slip out quickly. Piper and Alice let me go and I find Annabeth at her locker almost immediately. She's standing on her tiptoes and sliding her books out from above.
"Do you believe the news this morning?" I confront her.
Annabeth slips and one of her books tumble from her arms. She recovers nicely though, balancing her pencil case expertly on the large stack. "Yeah," she says, nonchalantly.
My eyes widen. Annabeth is the most rational and logical person I know. "You too? You are the last person I expected to say that," I declare.
She sighs and brings out her phone. She turns on her wifi and scrolls through the daily news. "Here." She thrusts her phone at me and I take it, rapidly flicking through all the articles. ARE THEY REAL? hoax or reality? and THE GODS HAVE COME next to this article is a link. I press on it and a video pops up.
A man, taller than any human I've met, stands with what seems to be lightning bolt in his hand. "Hello mortals," his voice booms through the phone's speaker and I hurriedly turn the volume down.
"I am the mighty and all powerful Zeus, King of the Gods and Lord of the Skies. I have news that your puny mortal minds will not be able to comprehend, but for the sake of your safety, you must. The Greek Myths or whatever you call our lives, exist." He pauses to let the news sink in. "Monsters and demigods crawl the earth. Maybe you are wondering in your small minded way how these things exist if you've never seen them? Well grow up, because I don't have time to answer silly questions. For all of you who do not believe, say my name and I will have my brother, Poseidon drench you. Now you may return to your television or what not, you clueless morons."
I roll my eyes. Is this guy for real? I snort and open my mouth. Annabeth holds a hand out. "No, no, don't say it-"
"Zeus," I state. I wait for a second before turning to Annabeth again. "See, they're not re-" I'm cut off as an icy cold floods me. I stand there, shivering. My eyes widen as I feel the dampness of my clothes and attempt to peel my hair from my neck.
Annabeth winces and takes out her gym bag from her locker. She puts a hand on my back and steers me towards the washroom. "Let's get you dry."
I nod, shakily. It's actually true. The Greek Myths are real. Annabeth pushes me into a stall and I absentmindedly change into her gym clothes. There are monsters? Like cyclops and the Minotaur? I walk to the sink slowly. Would they kill me?
I tie my wet hair up in a messy bun and follow Annabeth as she leads me towards our second period class. I just stare at her, utterly confused.
"I know, Bubbles, I know," she comforts me, using an old nickname.
We sit down in class and by the looks on everyone face, I know they all know how I got drenched. I wonder how many of them had to blow dry their hair and change before coming to school this morning. I spend all of class thinking about the whole Gods thing.
When the lunch bell rings, Annabeth says, "Hey, I'll meet you in the cafe, okay?"
I nod. "Yeah, okay."
We part and I head to my locker and stuff my wet clothes inside. I shut it quickly and lean against it, letting out a long breath. Greek Myths. Monsters. Demigods. Gods. They are all real. Real. R-E-A-L. I spell it out for myself, trying to drill it in.
When I have sufficiently processed it, I stand up and head for the Cafe. When I get there I see that besides Piper and Annabeth, there's another boy leaning over our usual table, his back to me.
"Yeah, so, the rest are setting up in the gym. They'll probably make the announcement pretty soon. I don't really know. They sent me out here because all this McShizzle is just too distracting in one dose," he finishes up as I approach the table.
I stop in my tracks. His voice is so familiar and the McShizzle reference to himself... "Leo?" I ask, staring at the back of his head.
He turns around slowly, his arms spread wide for praise. "Who calls upon the King of-"
I cut him off by leaping into his arms. "Leo!" I exclaim.
He pulls away and holds me at arms length. "Who in Hades name are..." he trails off though as I smile at him. "Keni!" he shrieks and pulls me into his arms, hugging the crap out of me. I squeeze his ribs and smile into his shoulder.
"Gods I missed you, girl," he whispers.
"I missed you too, Valdez." He smiles into my hair before we both pull away.
"Um, something we missed?" a voice asks behind us and we both spin to see Annabeth and Piper looking at us weirdly.
"Oh!" I cry, facing them. "Um, well, you know I was adopted. Before that I was in foster care, you know bounced around a bit. Anyways, I eventually landed in the same house as Leo here and we became besties. We made plans to run away. Long story short, Leo got out, I got caught, you know the rest." I turn to Leo now and punch him in the shoulder. "But I don't. What happened? Did they find you? How do you know my best friends?"
Leo rubs the back of his neck. "Um, can we talk about this later, I have to go set up for an assembly in the auditorium now." He spins on his heel and sprints out of the Cafe.
"Seriously?" I ask myself. I look at my two friends who are just sort of awkwardly trying to eat their lunches. "How did you meet Leo?"
They share a look and Annabeth finally says, "Look, the three of us are demigods okay?"
I blink, taken aback. "Like from the myths?" I ask, more to myself than them.
They both nod.
"And the three of you? So like, you two and..." I trail off.
"Leo," Piper confirms. "We all go to a camp together. It's a safe heaven for, you know, half-bloods."
I nod, slowly.
"Look," Annabeht starts, "there's an assembly next period. A god will come and and a few demigods and we'll try to explain everything and what happens now. Okay?"
"Sure," I confirm, pursing my lips.
"And heads up," Piper warns, "I'm like 95% sure you're a half blood too, so hang in there." They both stand up and walk out, leaving me to stutter and shake my head in the middle of the Cafe.
~o0o~
"Will all students report to the auditorium. We have news concerning the recent exposure of the Greek Myths," a voice says over the PA system.
This starts a barrage of whispers around my third period class. I quietly pick up my stuff though and head out the door. I wonder if Annabeth and Piper are right. Can I really be...you know...a half-blood?
I sigh as I take a seat in the auditorium. On stage are Annabeth, Piper, Leo, a tall man in Bermuda shorts and flipflops with black hair and another boy who looks to be his carbon copy. As everyone settles down, the man in beach wear steps forward. "Hey," he calls out, his voice reverberating against the walls of the room.
I startle. This must be one of the gods, but which one?
"I am Poseidon, god of the Sea and Earthshaker. As I'm sure you all are aware of by now, the stories are true. Before now something called the Mist separated our world from your own. The Mist concealed monsters to look like dogs and humans, for a dagger to appear like a toothpick, or a sword a broom handle. But after prolong agony, the goddess Hecate of Magic, has faded and the Mist with her. That is why you can only now see our world." He stops and takes a breath. Then he points to the smaller carbon copy of himself. "This is my son Percy Jackson. This is Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, goddess of Wisdom." He gestures to her and points at the other two. "And these are Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite, goddess of Beauty and Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, god of the Forge.
"Now before I answer any questions, I would like to call up my daughter, Kennedy Walters."
I peer around for a minute, waiting for the newly announced demigod to stand. When nobody does, Annabeth catches my eye and motions for me to get up. It's then I realize he just called my name. Bowing my head and slumping my shoulders, I climb over the legs of different people to reach the end of the row. With wide eyes and a very pink face, I make my way onstage.
Poseidon smiles sheepishly down at me, "Sorry it took so long for me to claim you. I apologize profusely."
I nod, saying it's okay when it's really not and shake his hand. He then guides me over to the demigods and the one called Percy walks over. I blink, remembering how Poseidon introduced him as his son. Does that make him my half-brother?
"Hey," he smiles widely. "I'm Percy. I've always wanted a little sister."
Annabeth smacks his upside his head. "Percy, she's your age," she tells him.
My brother turns to me. "When's your birthday?"
"September fourth," I reply, raising an eyebrow.
He grins widely. "See she is my little sister. I'm like..." he trails off, his eyes looking up as if he's trying to calculate something.
"19 days, Percy. 19 days," Annabeth interjects.
"...19 days older than her," Percy finishes, pecking Annabeth on the cheek.
I snort and go over and stand in between my new brother and Leo as Poseidon - Dad? - begins taking questions. Leo links his arm around my waist and I ask, "So what really did happen after they took me?"
He shrugs nonchalantly, but his grip tightens over my waist. "Got caught in the sewers of all things. Bounced around a bit more. Finally I ended up in a boarding school in the middle of Nevada where I met Piper and her boyfriend Jason, one of my best friends. Annabeth found us and took us to Camp Half Blood, you know, a safe heaven for us god kids. The three of us went on a quest, then there was this real heavy fire war. It was pretty intense."
I raise my eyebrows, concern flashing through my mind. "War?" I ask apprehensively.
Leo nods like it's an everyday occurrence. "Yeah, wait to you hear about the center role this McShizzle bad boy supreme played," he brags.
I snort and curl into his side. "Can't wait," I reply, relishing the feeling of his arms around my waist.
The auditorium is booming with Poseidon's loud voice and the millions of questions the mortals pose. Yet I can tell when Leo becomes serious. I can hear it in his voice when he leans down, blushing scarlet. He whispers, "Hey, would you like to go on a date with me?"
I smile up at him and throw my arms around his neck. "Yes," I whisper in his ear.
The rest of the people in the auditorium are still quite content screaming out questions, so Leo's able to drag us both offstage. We sprint outside before anyone notices and walk along the path leading to the park behind the school, hand in hand.
"So is this like a first date?" I ask Leo.
He squeezes my hand but shakes his head. "No, this is a half date."
I quirk an eyebrow at him. "A half date?" I inquire.
He nods. "Yeah. I mean how lame would it be if we had to tell people that on our first date I took you to a park? Admittedly a very, very nice park, but a park? No, a first date should be magical, you know, meaningful." He pauses. "Don't you agree?"
Instead of responding, I step in closer and tease, "You sound like a needy girl."
He clutches his heart with his free hand. "You wound me, Keni. Can't you feel my sheer masculine charm ooze from my being?"
I laugh and Leo slips an arm around my waist, pulling me closer. That's when I hear a small yap from behind us. We both spin around and I feel my heart melt when I see the little puppy behind us, wagging its tail. I crouch down and when I can't find a collar, I scoop the little guy up. "Oh, you're so cute!" I exclaim. I turn to Leo. "He doesn't have a home."
Leo scruffs the tiny dog's neck, before turning to me, shaking his head. "You know you can't keep it, Keni. What if it has rabies?"
I cling to the dog in my arms and stroke its long fur. "But he's so fluffy..." I trail off and raise the puppy close to my face, so Leo can see both of us and I make puppy eyes at my new boyfriend. "Please, Leo?"
He sighs. "How did I become the responsible one in the relationship?" he whispers privately to himself before adding, "I'll take you guys to the vet."
My face bursts into a smile as he leads us towards his car. I walk faster to catch up to him and peck on the cheek. "Thanks, Valdez."
He blushes. "Anytime, Walters."
So that's the end of that. Hoped you liked it @Im_a_shipper_gez, thanks for commenting. It was pretty long so I'm hoping that's a plus. If there's something I screwed up, just message me and I'll rewrite that part. Anyways, for anyone else who read this, thank you so much for putting up with my sporadic updates whenever I feel like writing.
Please, vote & comment & fan...hard
~omgitshappenning ;)