Sorry y'all for this first author's note. I know how annoying it can be to have an AN at the start of the story, so just move along if you don't want to hear it. Anyway, I thought you might just want to hear the inspiration for this story.
Recently, a friend of mine got a head injury. They were in an accident, and lost some of their memory. Specifically, five years. Considering I met them in the last five years, they don't remember me at all. We're repairing our friendship, but it's been hard, especially during these weird times(Does anybody else think zoom socials are overrated? No, just me? Okay) Anyway, the incident kind of reminded me of Percy and Jason losing their memory in Heroes of Olympus. And I wondered what would have happened if their girlfriends (Annabeth and Piper) had lost their memory too. And then I made this high school AU connection, and boom!
I don't really care who reads this book, anyone and everyone is welcome regardless of who you are. This is mostly just for self-therapy, so I don't really mind who reads it. I welcome all readers though! This is also my first story I'm posting here, so please don't have too high expectations of me!
Sorry for this boring note, but on with the story!
Disclaimer: I don't own the PJO universe. Rick Riordan does. The only thing I own is the plot and any OCs should they come into play.
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Jason's POV:
Jason was having the most beautiful dream.
He stared into eyes that seemed to shift color, turning from a muddy brown to bottle green, from sea green to sky blue, dancing in the most beautiful patterns, like a kaleidoscope. Yet something seemed wrong. As he watched, the eyes turned fearful, as if looking up at a horrible danger. Though he could hear nothing, he knew that the person with the eyes was telling him something. To run, to get the hell out of wherever he was.
Noise came back with renewed vigor, destroying the peace he'd had. Voices overlapped. Some high, some low in pitch, some loud, some quiet. Each voice was telling him different things. No matter how hard he concentrated, he couldn't discern a single voice from another. The eyes disappeared, leaving him in deafening darkness.
Jason gasped, surging upwards. His senses came back to him. He was staring into sea green eyes, full of concern, set into the face of a teenager.
"Whoah, whoah. Easy, buddy," the guy said, easing him back into the bed he was lying in.
"Where...what...where am I?" Jason said, taking in his surroundings.
He appeared to be in some sort of sterile white room, reclining in some weird bed, with metal bars on the sides. White room, a woman wearing blue scrubs, an older woman wearing a white lab coat–he was in a hospital.
"You're in the Manhattan hospital," the older woman said. (AN: I don't think this is a real hospital, I just made it up)
That didn't really make sense to Jason. He lived with his mom and sister in New Jersey, right? He must have had an accident or something that made him end up in a hospital. Maybe his injuries were so severe that he needed to be transferred for better care? Wait, did he live in New Jersey? Jason remembered their apartment there, his mom's lemon shampoo, the arguments Thalia and his mom had...and also his mom bringing them to New York to meet his stepmother and real father...and then he'd gotten lost, hadn't' he? Jason remembered wandering the streets lost, and then, there was a big blank space of memory. What had he done when he was on the streets? Jason remembered somehow finding his dad and his stepmom, finding Thalia, learning of his mother's death, and beyond that, he couldn't really remember. He'd been thirteen by the time he found his father, so what had he done in that year? And was he even thirteen anymore?
Jason looked at his big arm, covered in a blue cast. No way was he thirteen. Maybe he was sixteen or seventeen? But how did he not remember any of those years? How did he not remember his age?
"How old am I?" he asked.
The green-eyed guy looked worried. "You mean, you don't remember how old you are?"
Jason slowly shook his head.
The older woman sighed. "That's weird. Your head injuries shouldn't have brought this upon your memory. Anyway, Jason, it seems that you have a broken arm, a several bruises, and... you've lost your memory. When we asked you your questions before, you remembered being thirteen. You seem to have lost three years of your memory."
The GEG (green-eyed guy) looked shocked. "Three years? You mean, you don't remember me?"
"No. Sorry, I wish I did," Jason said. "Who are you to me?"
"I'm Percy. Your best friend," Percy said, almost in disbelief Jason could ever forget him.
"Sorry, I don't think that's ringing a bell." Jason tried to smile though, to bring back Percy's smile from before. "Maybe you can remind me of the last three years, then?"
The older woman cut in, "Maybe later, but not now. If we overwhelm your brain with memory overflow, then the results could be damaging." (AN: I'm not making up this part, I was actually told to do this by the doctor)
"I'm Doctor Smith by the way. I oversaw your recovery. Anyway, your parents should be here soon. I'll be outside if you need me. You two can use the time to catch up. Make sure he doesn't get up," Doctor Smith said, directing that last part at Percy.
She and the nurse went outside, shutting the door behind them.
Percy mustered a smile, though Jason could tell it was forced. "So, well, I think you probably need to know about your parents anyway."
"Yeah. I definitely need to know that. I remember, um, my dad's name is Zeus, and my stepmom's name is Hera. I don't think we had a very good relationship."
"Well, I wouldn't say it's improved. Your dad is the CEO of Olympus Enterprises, and he's away on business trips a lot. Um, he has, a lot of, um, lady friends out there."
Jason raised his eyebrows. "Ah. I see."
So, his dad was a cheater. It wasn't that surprising.
"Your stepmom is a bit intense at times, but she's nice, I guess. She's a world-famous wedding planner," Percy said.
"Okay," Jason said. "Um, what about you and I? How did we become friends?"
Percy laughed. "You know, it was an interesting event."
Jason chuckled. "How so?"
Percy got control of his laughter. "Well, um, you and I are cousins, but our dads were kind of estranged, until about two years ago. My dad is the CTO of Olympus Enterprises now."
"So, we're related on the paternal side?" Jason said.
Percy scrunched up his face. "I don't really know what paternal means, but sure."
They shared a smile. Jason could easily see how they could be friends. Percy seemed like an engaging, funny guy.
"We also have some other cousins. Well, we had cousins. Nico di Angelo is the son of the third Olympian brother, and he had a sister that died."
Sadness filled Percy's eyes. Jason sympathized. He knew that somehow; he had witnessed a lot of death in his life. "What was her name?"
"Bianca. Their mom died too, and Hades di Angelo (that's the name of our uncle), remarried, and is kind of absentee. He's the CFO of Olympus Enterprises. Um, Nico's kind of alone, so you and I kind of look after him."
Jason nodded, taking the information in. He suddenly felt very protective of Nico, even though he didn't remember him. He knew that it must be horrible to be so alone.
"Anyway, Thalia, is my cousin, and well your sister, and she's a junior in college now. Part of some sort of sorority, like called, the Hunters, I think? Um, that's the same sorority that Bianca was a part of when she died. She was poisoned by some assassin guy, who targeted her because of her relation to Hades."
"Is Olympus Enterprises big?" Jason said.
Percy laughed again, bringing back the happy look in his eyes. "Yeah, you could say that. It's one of the biggest companies out there. Um, we're both decently rich and well known. We also are followed by bodyguards almost everywhere we go, because after what happened to Bianca, all of our parents kind of went berserk."
"How did we become friends? I don't think you mentioned that yet," Jason pointed out.
"Oh right. I'm ADHD, so I tend to get off topic. So, we both attend Goode High School, which is kind of this fancy boarding school. That's where we met. I'm the captain of the swim team, and you're the prized quarterback of the football team. We had gym and lunch at the same period, and a couple of shared friends in freshmen year, so we kind of would have inevitably met. But we actually met through my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. We met up the first time at a café, and this annoying kid Octavian was kind of complaining about whatever, and we both told him to shut up at the same time. That made us friends."
"I don't think I really remember any Annabeth Chase either, but does she go to our school?"
"No. She lives in San Francisco now, but I'm telling you, long distance works for some people."
Jason smiled, a bit baffled by that statement, but decided to ignore it. "Do I have a girlfriend?"
"No. I mean, you totally could, and I'm sure all the girls at school would take you up on that offer, but you don't. You seemed to be getting kind of close to Reyna over the summer, but you guys had a fight or something. You've been secretive throughout the last month though, so you might have one."
"I was secretive?" Jason said. From everything else, he didn't seem to be the secretive type.
"Yeah. I mean, you're not the most open person, but you normally share everything with me."
"Oh," was all Jason could think to say. Maybe there really were secrets in his memory gaps.
Percy rummaged through his pockets. "Speaking of that, you kind of woke up early this morning, and shoved this in my hand. I don't suppose you remember that either?"
Jason shook his head, mystified. "What is that?"
Percy shrugged. The object Jason had apparently given Percy was a small cloth bag that was light grey.
"You also said a name. Um, it started with P, I think? Um, Poppy, Pablo, Paddington, Penelope, Pippa... oh right! It was Piper."
"Piper," Jason repeated. The name seemed familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Well, there was the girl that came in with you. I think her name might have been Piper."
"Really?" Jason said.
"Yeah. I think she was in the other car. Do you remember her?"
"No. It seems familiar, but I don't remember it. We should probably return it."
"Wait, the doctor said you shouldn't get up," Percy said.
"Oh, right. Just you then."
"Okay. How do you think I can find her?"
"Um, I don't know hospitals very well. If we were brought in though at the same time, she might be around here somewhere."
Percy shook his head. "Um, your parents kind of payed for a better room. We're kind of on the higher floors, in a private room."
"Oh."
Jason must have looked more somber than he though he did, for Percy clapped his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'll find her. I can go check with the doctor."
"Thanks." Jason wasn't sure why he cared so much about returning a bag, but his memory was tingling for the first time since he woke up.
Percy got out of the chair, and walked towards the door.
"Get some rest!" he said, before slipping out of the room.
Jason smiled at Percy, but he wasn't really tired. He'd been asleep for a long time anyway. Instead, he closed his eyes, and concentrated, trying to remember.
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Piper's POV:
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Piper was asleep. Well, not really asleep. Just in that warm space between getting out of bed and falling back asleep. She knew that she should probably get up, but she was just too tired too. The silken sheets kept her warm, the pillow was just too soft, and the strangely cold headboard felt perfectly smooth.
Piper's thoughts came to a stop. Wait, what? Her headboard was made of wood last time she checked. Not metal, which was what it felt like. Also, her alarm was not as nice sounding as the sounds she heard now. Her alarm blared a song every morning. It was annoying, but one of the last things she had of her mother. The alarm she heard at the moment sounded like text messages. Why would her alarm sound like that?
Piper figured it was time to wake up. She yawned and opened her eyes. To her surprise, she was not in her bedroom. Her bedroom was covered up in photos of her family. Here, the walls were white, and had a couple plastic chairs. A teenage guy on his phone sat there.
"Hello?" she said.
She didn't really care that she likely had a horrible case of bed hair. At ten years old, Piper didn't really care about those things. She ran a hand through her messy hair. Wait, her hands had not been that big last time she checked. She was ten, right? At least, the last thing she remembered was the first week of summer after 4th grade, and celebrating her 10th birthday on June 3rd. But that didn't make sense. No ten-year old hands would be that big.
The teenage guy looked up. He had startlingly green eyes. "Hi, Piper, right?"
Piper nodded. "Yeah. Um, do I know you?"
"Well, I think you and I were in the same English class together in sophomore year," he said. "At
least according to some friends."
Piper shook her head. What was he talking about? Last time she checked, sophomore year meant 10th grade. That was six grades away!
"Um, are you sure?" Piper said.
The guy nodded. "Yeah. We had Mrs. Dodds, remember? She was a horrible teacher, I have to say."
Piper raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? I don't think I remember Mrs. Dodds at all! The last English teacher I had was, um, Mr. O'Connor. He was a horrible 4th grade teacher."
The guy looked confused. "Well, um, I would say you look a lot older than a 4th grader. Have you looked in a mirror recently?"
He held up his phone and turned the camera on. Piper's jaw dropped open. She looked way older than she remembered. A stranger with long hair, tanned skin, and bright eyes, looked back at her. She looked about sixteen or seventeen.
Wait...... sixteen. A flash of memory appeared in her mind.
"Annie! Don't steal my breakfast again!" Piper could see a girl that looked like her, in hot pursuit of a bagel.
A blond girl, with grey eyes that sparkled with laughter, held the bagel over her head, just out of her reach. "You're sixteen now! I won't be sixteen for another month. I think you can handle one missed breakfast."
Piper saw herself collapse against the blond girl in fits of giggles.
Piper gasped. The memory disappeared in her mind. "I, I remember my sixteenth birthday. Why don't I remember anything else between that and my 10th birthday?"
"Sorry, I don't really know much about medical stuff. You were in the other car in the accident with my best friend, Jason Grace, and he wanted to give this to you or something? He doesn't remember you, but he kind of shoved this to me, and said your name. He also lost his memory. I didn't really recognize you, but some of my friends said you were in the same English class two years ago. I'm Percy, by the way," Percy said, holding out his hand to shake.
Piper shook his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Piper, though you probably already know that. Um, how old am I?"
"I'd guess seventeen or eighteen?" Percy said, shrugging. "You should probably ask your family."
He opened his mouth to say more, but a doctor burst into the room. This woman wore a white lab coat and her red glasses twinkled in the light, perched atop her nose.
"Ah, Miss Piper, I believe? I saw it on your student ID," the woman said, giving her a card. (AN: To any new Yorkers, I don't really know if you have student IDs there, but I do, and it works in this scene)
Piper looked at the card. Good. Her last name was still Piper Mclean. Her dad was still Tristan Mclean, the famous actor that was also an absentee dad. Her mom was still unknown. She went to some place called 'Goode High School?' Piper figured it was some fancy boarding school.
Piper realized she hadn't responded to the question. "Yeah. I'm Piper. Um, where am I?"
"You're in the Manhattan hospital," the doctor said. "You were brought in last night. You were in a car accident, and seem to be experiencing symptoms of amnesia. Along with that, you have a few bruised ribs."
Piper nodded slowly. That explained the gaps in her memory. "Um, have you let my dad know yet?" Piper asked a little cautiously. Several people would kill to have her dad's private phone number. She didn't want just anybody to know. Wait. Did she even remember her dad's phone number? Had it changed?
"No. I was actually going to ask you that. I have a lot to discuss with your parents. Do you have a phone number that you remember?" the doctor asked.
Piper said, "Um, I think so."
Piper ended up giving the doctor her dad's office number. She hoped that Jane didn't pick up. Jane was her father's assistant. Or at least, she had been seven or eight years ago. Piper hoped that she had been fired in those last couple years.
"Tell whoever's there, that it involved his daughter, Piper," Piper said.
The doctor looked at her with a little bit of confusion, but she got on the call anyway, and out of the room.
Piper turned to Percy. "So, um, is there anything you needed to give me?"
Percy's eyes lit up. "Right. Um, my friend gave me this last night and said your name along with it. He doesn't remember it now, but I figured it's yours."
He handed her a grey bag. It was one of those round bags that fancy department stores put jewelry in. Piper had often used them to conceal her.... adventures. The outside of the bag was a soft leather with ribbons as drawstrings. Piper pulled it open. Nestled in the gray satin were two things. A bracelet of bright blue stones, and one of those old-fashioned silver lockets, with an actual lock that likely needed a key. Piper ran a finger over the flowers engraved on the heart shaped locket. Something about it seemed familiar. Something......
Piper saw herself again. She looked young-ish, about thirteen or fourteen. She wore a fancy dress, and held hands with her dad on a red carpet.
A blond reporter in a blue dress ran towards them, shoving a microphone at her dad.
"So," the reporter said, baring her teeth in a blinding smile, "I see that your daughter is here. Is this her first premiere?"
Her dad laughed, a hearty chuckle that was infectious. "Indeed, it is. Piper normally doesn't join me on the red carpet, but today she made an exception."
The reporter smiled again, but now younger Piper could see behind her mask. She could tell the reporter was just trying to make it in the unforgiving world of Hollywood.
"What a beautiful gown, I must say," she said.
Piper saw her younger self beam at the praise.
The reporter thrust the microphone in her face. "You have a beautiful necklace too. Where is that from?"
Piper saw the same locket, a silver heart against the white lace of the dress.
Younger Piper said, "It's the last thing I have of my–"
"Piper!"
Piper blinked, and the flashback dissipated. Percy stood next to her, looking worried.
"Are you all right?" he asked. "You zoned out for a bit there. I called your name like five times."
"Oh, sorry. I had a flashback there for a sec. I guess, the necklace is mine. I don't know about the bracelet though," Piper said, fastening the locket around her neck.
Piper stroked the square shaped blue. There was some sort of engraving on them. "I guess I'll keep it too. Maybe my dad can help me remember what this is."
Percy nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Can you tell me if you remember anything? Um, here's my phone number."
Percy rattled off the digits. Piper tried to commit it to memory. "Sure. I'll call you if I figure out anything."
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Somebody's POV:
"Did it work out?"
"Yes. Mission confirmed to have worked."
"You know what to do next."
"I'm on it."
Ooh. Spooky!