Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of the Riordanverse. Rick does, and the plot is the only thing copyrighted to me.
Warning: mentions of suicidal thoughts and violence. It's not too necessary. To skip, just go to Piper's POV and skip Leo's.
Leo's POV:
Sometimes, recess got lonely. Jason and Percy liked to throw a football around at recess, because they were the athletic types, Jason was a runner, Percy was a swimmer. Leo wasn't very athletic generally. Nico did who knows what at recess, and honestly Leo didn't really want to spend time with him that much, as Nico sometimes creeped him out.
And besides those people, he didn't have many friends. They were honestly the most important people to him, and he'd do anything for them. But.... sometimes they were just too occupied. Percy was almost always with Annabeth now, and Jason was obviously developing a crush on Piper. Leo had nobody like that. But he would, someday. Until then, he had to keep waiting and keep trying, flirting, teasing.
Take the morning for example. Friday was Hazel's first day of school, and they sat together during during the All School Meeting, watching Jason present. Of course, Hazel was a grade younger than him and Nico's sister, but she was really nice and funny.
"And in the fourth week of school, we will have our annual camping trip," Jason said. "Now let me turn it over to my co-prescription, Reyna."
Or something like that. Leo wasn't really listening. He was thinking about all of the trigonometry homework that was assigned. Math was annoying sometimes. It was whatever, but boring. He preferred building things with his hands, a trait he'd inherited from his father.
"Are these meetings always this long?" Hazel whispered.
Leo chuckled quietly. "Yeah. Next you have grade meeting."
"Oh, joy," Hazel said, giggling a bit.
A perfect example of how to make friends at least.
By lunch, he was feeling less happy. Percy and Jason were throwing a football again; Annabeth was who knows where; Piper, well Leo wasn't sure she was quite counted as a friend yet; Hazel and Nico were touring the campus; so Leo was alone once again.
He eventually ended up at the library to get started on his homework. That was a new level. He was part of the popular group, yet here he was, trying to find a book on trigonometry.
"Why did?"
Leo peered in between books and saw Annabeth and Rachel talking. Leo's eyebrows probably jumped a mile high. He immediately crouched down, hiding himself from view. Annabeth would kill him if he eavesdropped. He invested himself in the trigonometry book, trying to block out the conversation, but, well, if he heard a few words accidentally, then it wasn't exactly eavesdropping, right?
"I don't fit in with your group, Annabeth. They all see me as the girl with panic attacks."
Leo was confused. Their group had never seen Rachel as that.... right?
"You're so much more than that."
"I've changed over the last couple years, Annabeth. I can't paint anymore, I can't draw. It just triggers the shootout memories."
Leo almost gasped, but managed to hold it back. Shoot out memories? He knew Annabeth and Percy had busted some crime in their years....... had Rachel been involved?
"That was our fault."
"No, it wasn't. It was my fault. And I can barely look Percy in the eye, because that just triggers the plane crash."
"That was our fault too. The Titans went after you because of what you knew. If we hadn't befriended you-"
"Don't say that. Our friendship is the only thing keeping me from ending it."
Leo was so confused. Rachel had thought about... ending it? Leo had felt sad like that before, and would never wish that feeling on anyone. Was Rachel really that far gone? (Yes, this is a very sensitive topic. And as a friend of mine committed suicide, you should know, that you are NEVER that far gone. You can always come back. Even if you don't think anybody likes you or sees you, I see you and like you for who you are. You are NOT alone.)
And who were the Titans? Oh right, they were that gang Percy and Annabeth busted, right? Leo wasn't really sure.
"You've thought about ending it?"
"I'm not happy, Annabeth. You know that."
"Then why join Drew? Percy said that it was very-"
"Drew makes me forget that she's gone. My mom might have never been the best mom, but she was more than my dad. You and Percy want to fix me. But I'm not broken. At least... I don't think I am."
So Rachel's mom had died? Maybe in the plane crash?
Annabeth's voice became gentle. "I never said you were broken. You're still whole."
Rachel laughed bitterly. "Barely."
Leo started to feel more uncomfortable. This was starting to seem like a really personal conversation. He wasn't sure if he should be here, but he wasn't sure if he could sneak away.
"Drew's still not the best-"
"Influence? Person? I know, Annabeth. Believe me, Percy tells me that all the time. But Drew is fun. Popular."
"If you want popularity, all you have to do is be friends with Percy Jackson, according to Piper. And are we not fun?"
"I'm not saying you're not fun or popular, it's just different."
Leo began to slowly inch away. This was heading into more girl drama now, so maybe he didn't really want to listen.
"Why is it different?"
"You guys are nice popular. Yes, Jason and Percy might have to reject a lot of girls, but you never are mean."
"And that's a bad thing?" Annabeth's voice was now incredulous.
"No. It's not bad, it's just.... being with Drew gives me an intoxicating sense of power. More power than I've ever had in my life."
Leo was almost out the door by now, but he heard one last thing before he left.
"I'm not like you, Annabeth. I have the connections, but none of the power."
Leo was puzzled. So Rachel was somehow involved in Percy and Annabeth's past? And power? What did she mean by that? He was so lost in his thoughts that he bumped into the Popularity Queen herself, Drew, followed by her newest lackey, Khione. They both stared at him frostily, but they both were attractive, he could give them that.
Drew rolled her eyes. "Watch it, los-"
Her drowning in makeup face immediately changed. "Oh, it's you."
Leo smiled sardonically. "Yes, it's me."
Drew put a hand on Leo's arm. "Listen, can you tell Jason-"
Leo immediately shrugged her off. "Yeah, no. He's not interested, honey."
Leo felt better as he strutted down the hallways. Sarcasm and humor, his old friends, always cheered him up.
And then, being clumsy, he collided with Calypso, another one of Drew's lackeys. Calypso had dated Percy in middle school, and her dad worked for Olympus Enterprises, so an awkward silence hung over them as they both got up.
"Um, sorry?" Leo ended up saying.
Leo tended to feel sick in cars, and talking to pretty girls, and Calypso was definitely pretty, from her caramel colored hair, to her almond shaped eyes. She wore a light blue shirt, and a black skirt.
Calypso looked confused. "Um, yeah, okay."
She hurried after Drew. Leo watched her go off, then wondered why he even was looking after her. Their respective groups were kind of enemies in a sense, so what was he even thinking? He shook his head. His fall must of messed with his brain more than he thought.
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Piper's POV:
Piper was amazed. Olympus was a big, gated community, in Manhattan. Of course, Piper had grown up in an LA mansion and was currently living in a Manhattan luxury apartment, so she wasn't sure why she was so amazed. But Olympus had twelve houses, a fighting center known as the Arena, a burly guard waiting at the entrance to ask you if you were supposed to be there, three indoor pools and hot tubs, a whole rec center, and a probably a bunch of other cool things. And this was where Percy, Leo, Jason, their cousin, (and Annabeth on the weekends) lived?
Wow. They were surprising down to earth for such rich backgrounds. According to Lacy, since Piper was too scared to ask Annabeth, they hadn't known their Olympian background until they were at least 12, so maybe that contributed to their down-to-earth-ness.
Piper was unsure how she'd gotten in here. According to the guard, only delivery people and the Olympians themself were normally allowed in. Piper figured it had something to do with her mom. Her mom was high profile and wealthy, and now she was suddenly able to go the Olympus. It wasn't that hard to put together. Her mom must be one of the Olympians, who must have had a short romance with her dad, gotten pregnant, and dumped the child on him. That didn't make her that much happier.
Piper took a deep breath, and found her way to the Arena. However, the Arena was more than just one room. It was a whole maze of hallways and rooms full of various gym equipment. And then, clumsiness struck again. It happened a lot to Piper. You'd think, after her years of dance training, she'd be graceful, but she tended to be the one clumsy dancer.
In this case, Piper tripped over air and would have fallen on her butt had it not been for the hand that grabbed hers just before she fell, and pulled her back up. Piper found herself staring into the hypnotizing electric blue eyes of Jason Grace. For a moment, they just stood there before Piper figured she'd better speak up.
"Thanks," Piper said, reluctantly letting go of his hand.
Jason smiled. "No problem. I'm normally pretty clumsy myself. I mean, not to say you were clumsy, I just meant-"
Piper couldn't help her smile. Jason looked so cute when he was worried. "No problem. I get what you mean. And yes, I am pretty clumsy. We can be clumsy chums together."
They fell into an awkward silence. Piper tugged on the hem of her white shirt.
"Um, what are you doing here?" Jason said, hesitantly meeting her eyes.
"I'm here for self defense classes," Piper said.
Jason looked surprised. "Oh, that's actually where I'm headed now. I didn't know it was open to other people."
Piper shrugged. "I don't know. I think my mom might be an Olympian?"
She immediately chided herself. Why did she tell him that?
Jason's eyebrows shot up. "Oh, wow. Well, I wouldn't be surprised. I have a lot of cousins."
Since she'd already told him, she figured she might as well ask the question that had been on her mind. "Who do you think it could be?"
Jason looked thoughtful. "If it's your mom, then well.. not Athena. You don't have the grey eyes or look remotely like Annabeth."
"Gee thanks," Piper said, feeling a bit stung. Athena was a highly successful businesswoman, and being Annabeth's sister would be great.
Jason blushed. "No offense. You look beautiful the way you are."
Piper felt little butterflies take flight in her stomach. "Thanks."
"Um, probably not Aphrodite or Demeter, they both don't look that much like you either. Artemis is ace, I think, and I doubt Hera would cheat.... um, actually I don't know anymore. It could be any one of those. Sorry, I don't think that was very helpful," Jason said, ducking his head.
Piper hadn't really been expecting much, so at least it was some info. "No, you're fine. Oh, um, should we get going to the class?"
She hadn't realized how long they'd been standing there.
"Yeah, they're probably wondering where we are," Jason said, and off they went.
"So, who's the instructor?" Piper said.
"Someone named Clarisse. Apparently not very good friends with Percy, and someone who really hates the movie Mamma Mia."
Piper gasped. "I love that movie! How can anybody hate it?"
Jason laughed. "That's actually one of my favorite movies too."
"Really?" Piper said. She would not have pegged him as a musical type.
"Yeah. I love musicals," Jason said.
Piper smiled. "I know, right? What's your favorite musical?"
"I love Le Mis, Rent, Wicked, and well, pretty much every musical," Jason said.
"Those are some of my favorites too! I think Le Mis is like my all time favorite," Piper gushed. She had fond memories of the one time her dad had taken her to a Broadway production of Le Mis for her ninth birthday, one of the few birthdays she remembered at the moment.
"I wish they'd chosen Le Mis instead of Guys and Dolls," Jason said.
"Agreed," Piper said.
Before long, they arrived at the room. Piper turned to Jason. "Um, can we keep the Olympian possibility to ourselves? I don't want anybody to know until I'm sure."
Jason nodded. "Of course."
Piper took a deep breath and opened the door.
"I'm back," Jason said.
Annabeth looked surprised to see her. "Piper? What are you doing here? Did we have something I forgot?"
Piper shook her head. "Um, no. I'm here for the self defense class."
Annabeth still looked surprised. "Wow, has Zeus loosened up?"
"My dad and her dad are old business partners," Jason said quickly.
Piper sent him a quick smile in thanks. "Um, yeah."
"I didn't know that," Annabeth said, still looking a bit suspicious.
Luckily, a beefy girl with her hair wrapped back into a bandana came in, and said, "Punks!"
Percy and Annabeth rolled their eyes. "Hi Clarisse."
Clarisse put a hand on her hip. "You punks are lucky I'm going to NYU, otherwise I'd not be here to teach you."
"Lucky us," Percy muttered.
"Who's the new girls?" Clarisse said, gesturing to Piper and a girl with dark skin and curly hair.
"I'm Piper," Piper said.
"I'm Hazel," Hazel said.
"Who's your parent? Dad or Mom?" Clarisse said.
"Dad. Um, Hades," Hazel said.
They turned expectantly towards Piper.
"Oh, um, no parent. I was let in because of.. stuff," Piper ended up saying.
Clarisse shrugged. "Okay." She pulled out a clipboard of names. "Malcolm?"
Annabeth shook her head. "Still at Columbia."
"He's in New York, but not going to even help me? Rude. Will?"
"Probably at a hospital somewhere," Percy said.
"Leo?"
"Trigonometry homework," a boy with pale skin said. His name was Nico, right?
"The Stolls?"
"Probably pranking someone," Percy said.
"Katie?"
"Gardening, I think," Annabeth said.
"Thalia?"
"Still at Harvard," Jason interjected.
"Pollux?"
"Probably at Castor's grave."
"Sil-"Clarisse choked on the name, but continued on. Piper didn't know any of the names or who the heck they were talking about, so she felt rather awkward.
"Drew?" Clarisse made a face, as if she could hardly stand the name.
"Drew?" Piper said.
"Drew?" Annabeth said at the same time.
They shared a quick fist bump.
"Why on earth would you want her to be here?" Annabeth said.
Clarisse shrugged. "I hate her too, but she's Aphrodite's niece so she's still in danger. And she's come once or twice. She's horrible with weapons too."
Piper seriously hoped Drew didn't come.
"Lacy?"
"Lacy comes too?" Piper said.
"Again, niece to Aphrodite. She's nicer than Drew, but tends to not like weapons very much."
Piper hoped Lacy might come.
"Grover?"
"Environmental something meeting in New Jersey," Percy said.
"Tyson?"
"Still at MIT."
"Coach Hedge?"
Percy shook his head. "On a new assignment."
"Who's Coach Hedge?" Piper whispered to Annabeth.
"He's a bodyguard, something we call a satyr. They look for Olympian children and bring them here," Annabeth explained.
"So, it's just me teaching y'all and the newbies?" Clarisse rolled her eyes when everyone nodded. "Alright, alright. Let's start with the weapon picking."
She pulled out a closet on wheels. "So, you three. I think you had a gun, Jason, but it got crushed in the accident. Hera left one for you."
Jason's eyebrows were telling a strange story, but Jason walked forward never less, and took the very fancy gold gun. "Wow. Um, okay."
"You two, knives or guns?"
"What's the difference?" Hazel said.
Piper had been wondering the exact same thing. Of course, she knew what they both were, but she had no idea which ones would help or not.
"Knives are more bloody," Percy said.
"Not necessarily," Annabeth said. She yanked out a knife so quickly she might as well have pulled it out of thin air.
"Guns are more messy. They make way more noise, while knives are quick and quiet," Annabeth said.
Percy shrugged. "I might be biased, as I carry a gun myself, but I prefer guns."
He pulled out what at first looked like a pen, but then he did some cool move with his wrist that turned it into a gun.
"Um, a gun," Hazel said.
Clarisse opened the closet and gestured to the array of guns. Piper felt a bit sick. She was a vegetarian for a reason after all. Killing and injuring, even if it was for self defense sounded scary. But what choice did she have?
Hazel eventually selected a heavy looking gun that matched her golden eyes. "This one."
"Are you sure, Hazel?" Percy said. "That one might be a bit heavy and more suited to cars..."
Hazel nodded. "I'm sure."
Percy exchanged a look with Annabeth, who shrugged. "Okay, if it really does feel right."
"You?"
Piper looked at Annabeth's knife and Percy's gun. She wanted something small, something easy to disguise. But not a gun. It would probably be too much work to load and fire an actual gun.
"Is there anything else besides knives and guns?" Piper asked.
Jason spoke up, saying, "Thalia uses a bow and arrows. I don't know why."
"So did Bianca. It's part of the Hunters' thing," Nico said so softly Piper could barely hear him.
"Um, maybe a sword?" Percy said. "It's way harder to use."
"Okay, um, a knife then," Piper decided.
Clarisse showed her the options. Piper wasn't really sure. She didn't want something flashy that would draw attention, she wanted something elegant, but not noticeable. Eventually, she settled on a silver knife that had a heart on it. Cute, but simple.
"This one," Piper said.
"That one had multiple handles. It's easy to disguise," Annabeth said.
Clarisse gave Piper a box of multiple handles. Annabeth was right. If she routinely switched the handle, no one would realize it was the same one!
"It's perfect," Piper said, beaming. She immediately stopped smiling when she thought about what she might have to use it for.
Clarisse continued on with the class, and Annabeth started to instruct Piper on how to use the knife and that it was apparently called Katropis. Piper wasn't really listening though, as something about Katropis was familiar. Something felt like she had used it before, using it in combat, learning these exact moves. But that was impossible... right?
Wow! Over 100 reads!! That's amazing! I never thought that someone would actually read my story! Thanks sooooo much!!!
Yes, more hints of what the flashbacks mean are in this 3000 word chapter. Also, I posted the schedule of some of the characters in Memory Extras, so if you are confused, they're there.
The next chapter will be about the beach! You'll see if you read it. As always, vote, comment, and review to your heart's delight! Especially if you think this story is bad. That's all! See you next time!