A/N: So this is my first story here, and I'm kind of just testing this out. This is kind of super cliché, but it's really fun to write. I thought that this plot would be good for a simple first story. Please feel free to point out any mistakes (nicely). And now, onto my beautiful OTP! :) (I hope I'm not too bad at this, and if I am, sorry in advance!)

Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians belongs to Rick Riordan, and sadly, I am not him. Then maybe I would know the end of The Blood of Olympus by now.

The sun was shining as I stepped into Goode High for the first day of the school year. I was a junior this year, and I was both nervous and excited. I knew that this year would be important for my future, but I was also excited to have a great year with all my friends. I took the sunshine as a good omen, and felt confident as I crossed the threshold into Goode.

I felt like a sardine as I made my way through the crowded halls to my locker in the juniors' section. As I walked, I looked around at my surroundings. I was in the freshmen's locker area, and most of the little ninth graders looked like they wanted to throw up at the prospect of high school. They reminded me of myself when I was their age, and I could barely suppress an amused smile. The walls of the school were adorned with motivational posters that were meant to boost school spirits, but with cheesy sayings printed all over them like Goode is good, all they did was make you want to laugh at how pathetic they were.

When I saw adults in the crowd as well, I knew I had arrived at the juniors' locker area. The juniors' lockers were notoriously close to the main office of the school, and parents and faculty always passed by. It kind of sucked, because if you were too loud around your locker, you would be put in detention for "disturbing the main office". Which was complete bullshit, because everybody knew that the faculty never actually got any work done there. Once, a group of students walked in on a Ping-Pong competition in there, and another time, they were throwing a huge party with a ton of baked goods.

I reached my locker and opened it, eager to get rid of the hundreds of pounds of textbooks and freshly bought school supplies I had been lumbering around with all morning. I looked into a mirror I had placed there in orientation, and made sure I looked good, because honestly, I felt like a zombie. My wavy, light brown hair was pulled into a stylish ponytail, and my makeup was perfectly done and made my clear blue eyes pop. Yep, still looked good. I was wearing a nice t-shirt, some skinny jeans, and black converse. Technically, I was the most popular girl in school, but that didn't mean I should just forsake all sense of decency. I always tried to be nice to others and get good grades. I liked to think that everybody was my friend, and that's what made me so popular.

My train of thought was ruined by a loud voice, "Hey, Sanders!"

I turned around to see one of my best friends, Jake Reid, walking over to me with his dark brown eyes twinkling, along with another one of my best friends, his girlfriend, Em Banks, who promptly ran up to me and tackled me in a hug, screaming, "Lynn! Oh my God, how was your summer?"

"Can't – breathe," I choked out under her mess of red hair, and Em looked sheepish as she let go and muttered, "Sorry."

The commotion attracted the rest of our group of friends, and we all grinned as we exchanged greetings and caught up. All of us made up the popular group, but we all tried to be really nice. We all did swimming, and we were the best in the school at it.

Our group of friends was made up of five people: Jake Reid, Em Banks, Isabelle Penn, Tyler Blair, and me, Lynn Sanders.

Out of all of them, my best friend is probably Tyler, the most popular guy in school. I'd known him since I was six, and he was like a brother to me. He was cute, with his short blond hair, light brown eyes, and toned muscles for swimming, but he'd never gone out with anybody before. He and I told each other everything, and we were practically inseparable. I didn't ask him what he did over the summer, because we had spent almost all of it together.

Isabelle soon switched to her favorite topic, gossip. She's really kind, but she just loves knowing everything about everyone's personal life. It's funny to watch, actually, because whenever she gossips, her hazel eyes light up in this unique way that lets us know what's on her mind.

"Hey, guys," she said with a slightly lowered voice and a particularly bright twinkle in her eye that let me know she thought something was especially interesting. "There's a new junior who just walked into the main office, and everybody's talking about him."

"Really? A new guy? Goode almost never lets anybody in after ninth," Jake said.

"Yeah, I know, but I caught a tiny glimpse at him, and he's definitely new, because a guy like him would be impossible to forget," Isabelle said.

"A guy like him?" Em asked, with eyebrows twitched up in amusement.

"If you saw him, you would be talking about him, too. This guy was hot. Like, he made all the other boys in our grade look ugly, no offense to you two," she responded, gesturing to Jake and Tyler.

Before either could come up with some witty retort, I piped up, "Well, if this guy is the hot god you make him out to be, what does he look like? Spill."

Isabelle just pushed a caramel colored strand of hair back and stared at us with a smirk, "Oh, you'll see. I bet we'll have some classes with him. Then we'll talk."

Tyler opened up his mouth, no doubt to say some sarcastic remark in response, but the bell cut him off. I finished changing my books, and we all scrambled away from our lockers and to homeroom. As I walked, I looked over at Isabelle and noticed a mischievous look in her eye, like she was a scientist eagerly awaiting our reaction. I started feeling curious. Who was this new kid?

I had homeroom with Em, and there was no sign of any new junior, attractive or not. Our homeroom teacher started talking about school rules and expectations in the upcoming year, and everyone quickly zoned out. I was sitting in the back of the class, doodling, when Em silently called my name from next to me, "Lynn!"

I really shouldn't have expected anything less. Em got bored easily, and she loved to talk in class. She got called out on it at least ten times a quarter, but the teachers never actually gave her a detention. Em was the sweetest person on Earth, and whenever she got in trouble she always looked like a puppy that had just been scolded. Just about everybody crumpled under her gaze, and teachers would just sigh and turn around to begin teaching again, mumbling about how that'd better be the last time. I don't know how Jake stood a chance against his girlfriend, but somehow, he occasionally won arguments.

I tried to ignore Em as she repeatedly whispered my name, but I broke as I looked at her to tell her off and was stopped by her pleading, dark blue eyes.

"Ugh, Em. What do you want? Can't you tell that I have more important things to do like trying to doodle this masterpiece of a flower?" I whispered back as I held up the half-drawn tulip doodle that was badly scrawled onto my assignment notebook. Hey, not everybody could be good at art. Some of us just got stuck in the stick figures stage all our lives.

Em giggled and replied, "Oh yes, I'd hate to disturb the glorious Picasso in the midst of his burst of inspiration."

I glared at Em's sarcasm, but she just smirked back at me. The teacher told us to write our goals for Junior Year, and after quickly jotting some crap about "becoming my true self" and "achieving self-actualization," I turned the paper in and headed back to my desk, where Em was tapping her fingers impatiently against the desk, having already finished a while ago.

I tugged on one of Em's red curls, and she turned to face me. "So, what did you want to tell me earlier?" I quietly asked her.

"Oh, yeah," Em started. "It's about the new guy. Isabelle totally wasn't making it up. My locker is right next to the main office, and according to like, ten sources, this guy is a total god."

"Em, you do realize that you have a boyfriend, right? And you guys are the cutest couple in school, and if you break up, the school will go into a complete state of chaos."

"Oh, Lynn. Just because I have a boyfriend doesn't mean I can't appreciate hotness."

I rolled my eyes and turned back in my seat, eagerly waiting for the bell to ring. When it did, Em and I rushed out and headed to our next class, AP Latin, which we were happy to find out we had together. Entering the classroom, we saw Jake, Isabelle, and Tyler seated at the back, and our faces broke out into grins as we went to join them. I sat next to Tyler, and Em sat down between Jake and Isabelle.

"So, did you succeed in your search to find the hot new guy?" Tyler asked me in a mocking tone.

"Nope," I responded. "Did you find him?"

"Alas, the epic quest for the new kid has yet to yield results."

"Somebody's feeling poetic today," I grumbled. "Did Isabelle or Jake see anybody new?"

"We all have homeroom together, so I'm sure that they haven't seen him around."

"I'm starting to doubt the existence of this guy."

"Minute thirty-two, the mysterious new kid continues to elude the students in the dangerous and violent environment of high school. Rumors have it that it is a particularly attractive specimen, but there is no solid evidence to back up the statement as of yet. We must not abandon all hope, for it is all we have," Tyler responded in a voice that sounded like it could've belonged in a British documentary on the savannah. We burst out laughing, and then the teacher walked in.

Everybody took out their new books and supplies, prepared to start their first class of the year. The teacher, a middle-aged woman, wrote her name, Mrs. Adams, on the board and turned to face us.

"Hello, class," she began. "My name is Mrs. Adams, and this year I will be teaching you AP Latin. Today, I will tell you about the course and what is expected from you, the student. Primarily, this class will be about the Latin language, but we will also cover Ancient Greek during the first semester. We will study the ancient cultures of Rome and Greece, and hopefully, by the end of the course, you will come to fully appreciate what I have taught you. Now, I will pass out a detailed outline of the course as well as student guidelines and expectations. We will read –"

All of a sudden, Mrs. Adams was broken off by a knock on the door. The half of the class that wasn't half asleep looked up in curiosity, and a flustered Mrs. Adams went to open the door. Mrs. Adams opened it, and after chatting to someone who looked like they worked in the main office for a bit, she returned with a teenage boy in tow.

All the class looked up to see who had entered, and you could practically feel everybody's jaw drop. This was the new kid who Isabelle had been talking about. Isabelle had not exaggerated. This boy was definitely the hottest guy I'd ever seen.

The boy standing in front of us was tall, and he had a perfect tan and windswept messy black hair that made him look like he had spent his entire life next to a beach. His raven hair looked soft and instantly made me want to run my hands through it. It was messy and long enough to hang over his forehead, but it just made him look even more attractive. He was muscular yet lean, like a swimmer, and the worn t-shirt he was wearing let me know that he had perfect body, complete with abs that could make any guy in this school jealous. His facial features were defined, and his eyes topped it all off. Oh my god. His eyes. They were the most unique color I had ever seen, a sea-green color that seemed to glow. I didn't even know that eyes could be that bright. It felt like I was staring at the sea, powerful and unpredictable, yet tempting.

Even the way the boy carried himself was pleasantly different. He walked with an aura of confidence and leadership, like he could lead any army in a losing battle into victory. He looked at the class with kind and amused eyes; like he was thinking of a joke we had reminded him of. There was some sort of power that surrounded him that made him seem almost godly, and a bit of sadness, too, like he had walked through hell and seen his fate, and he had accepted it. He stood in front of the class like he already knew his place in the world, which I'd never seen in a high school student before. If the world was a book, I was pretty sure he would be the main character, and the rest of us would just fade into the background with our mundane lives. I instantly wanted to be friends with him, and maybe even more, because I felt like he could change my entire life into something better.

Mrs. Adams' voice broke me out of my reverie, "Well, class, it seems we have a not-so-new new student starting class today. He was a little late because he had some business to attend to in the main office, but I think he'd be happy to reintroduce himself."

"Um, yeah," the guy started in a deep voice, with a crooked, troublemaker smile that made half of the girls in class swoon. "I was already a student here, but I had to leave about a year ago. So for those of you who don't remember, I'm Percy Jackson."

Everybody in the class let out a shocked gasp at that. And all of a sudden, the memories started flooding back, and I felt stupid. How had I not seen it before? Percy Jackson was that hot skater guy with the really unique eyes that just left one day and never returned. Obviously, the teenager in front of me had grown out of his skater phase, and now, you could see just how hot he really was. This was the guy who had been at that band room explosion in freshman orientation, the guy who had always stood up for others, the guy who had been best friends with that girl, Rachel.

And now, he was back.

It turned out that I had every single class except homeroom with Percy. Everywhere I went, the entire school seemed to be buzzing about him. There were so many questions everybody wanted to ask him. Where had he been? Why did he seem so mature? Most importantly, according to the female population of Goode, when did he get so hot? Wherever he went, girls stared at him with slightly flushed expressions. He didn't really talk to anybody, because he had to go talk to the teachers most of the day.

At lunch, all of our friends met up around my locker while I changed my books. Fortunately, we all had the same lunch period, and the student population parted around us as we talked.

"So, did I tell you guys or what?" Isabelle asked us with a triumphant smirk plastered across her dainty features.

"Oh my God, I hate to admit it, but you were totally right. That guy was like some sort of hot god," I giggled.

"Totally," Em chimed in.

"Um, actually, Isabelle wasn't completely right," Tyler said, with a slightly angry look in my direction that he covered up before I could fully process. "You said a guy like him would be impossible to forget, and that he was new."

"Is somebody jealous?" Isabelle countered, a single eyebrow raised.

Tyler scowled. "Of course not. I don't care about that, I'm just pointing out the fact that you were wrong."

"Who put your panties in a twist?" Isabelle asked.

Tyler's scowl just deepened, and I wondered what was wrong with him. Tyler wasn't usually like this, most days he was had a laidback attitude and cracked jokes left and right.

Isabelle just sighed. "All right, fine. So maybe I forgot that that was Percy Jackson, but honestly, can you blame me? That guy used to like hiding in the back of class, never drawing any attention to himself. He only had, like, one good friend, Rachel, and she left after freshman year to go to some finishing academy. The only time he even brought a little attention to himself was when he stood up for others, or when he would run out of classes randomly, screaming, 'Family crisis!' I guess nobody ever took the time to realize how hot he was."

Jake, the most mature one in our group, just sighed. "I feel bad for the guy. I mean, he obviously didn't like attention, and now everybody's trying to be his friend. Nobody even cared when he stopped showing up all those months ago."

"Yeah. I guess," I said quietly, and everyone just murmured in assent.

A new voice piped in, "Excuse me."

Everybody turned around to see the amused expression of none other than Percy Jackson himself.

He continued, "So, I take it that this is a regular thing? That's cool. I just need to get to my locker."

We all parted wordlessly as he opened up the locker to the right of my open one and dumped some books inside.

"So, are you guys just going to stand there staring at me creepily as I change my books for the rest of the year, or are you going to introduce yourselves?" he asked us with a smirk that made my heart flutter.

We gave him our names after a few more seconds recovering from our shock. "Jake Reid."

"Isabelle Penn."

"Em Banks."

Tyler looked at my flushed face for a moment before tersely replying. "Tyler Blair."

I still had one hand wrapped around a book I had been taking out of my locker when I answered, blushing slightly because his sea-green gaze was only a foot away from me as he changed his books. "Lynn Sanders."

"Well, Lynn. It appears we're locker neighbors for the rest of the year, huh?" he said.

I stammered out something really smart, like, "Uh… Yeah. Totally"

Percy just laughed, and the sound made my heart race. "Well, neighbor, I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun this year," he said with a wink.

"Uh huh," I said, proving my infallible intelligence yet again.

Just then, Marissa Lewis and her cronies came down the hall, stalking toward Percy with lust in her eyes. Marissa was the head cheerleader of the JV cheerleading squad, and she was the resident heartbreaker in our grade. She saw dating as a game, and almost every guy in the school wanted to be with her even if she just broke up with them after she hooked up with them. However, she was looking at Percy as if he were some grand prize.

I wrinkled my nose in disgust, and I could feel all of my friends do the same thing. Marissa would have been beautiful with her straight blonde hair and sky blue eyes, but she wore way too much makeup now and too little clothing, so in my eyes, she looked ridiculous. Marissa was a complete bitch to anyone who wasn't in her little group of mindless zombie followers, and half of the things they did were for attention. They acted like best friends, but whenever they separated, they would talk bad about each other. It was horrible. She was less popular than us, and so she hated us for it. But whenever she tried to do something to us, all our other friends in school would defend us. Being nice to others paid off.

Marissa stopped right in front of Percy, appraising him like a new outfit she wanted to buy at the store. Percy was so oblivious that he just stood there, writing something down in his assignment notebook. A crowd formed around us, and it finally got so big that he was forced to look up in adorable confusion.

He saw Marissa, and all of a sudden, his entire demeanor changed. Gone was the laid back, joking boy we had just seen, replaced by an aura that gave off danger.

Everybody looked at him in shock, not expecting there to be such a dark side to Percy. Percy began in a terse tone that hinted at a threat, "May I help you?"

If Marissa got the hint, she didn't show it. She giggled flirtatiously and said in a seductive voice that I had seen make teenage boys buckle in the knees, "Oh, such a gentleman."

Percy clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes at Marissa, sea-green eyes resembling a storm by now. I wondered what had made him hate Marissa so much. "Yeah, well, at least my mom cared enough to teach me how to be nice."

Marissa momentarily widened her eyes at his direct display of hostility, but she covered it up and leaned into him, putting a hand on his bicep. "Now, now, hon. No need to be feisty."

At this, Percy stepped away and slammed his locker shut, startling us with the noise. He shot Marissa a glare so scathing that it looked like he had learned it from a pack of wolves. Everybody, including Marissa, shrunk away from it, flinching. One of Percy's hands was still resting on his locker door, and was it my imagination, or was that a tattoo on his forearm? Before I could get a better view, he crossed his arms over his chest, and continued to glare at Marissa.

"Well, Marissa," Percy began, spitting out Marissa's name with venom that seemed completely out of character. "The thing is, if there's one thing I absolutely hate in the world, it's bullies. I've had more than my fair share. I'm not sure if you actually remember, but I've gone to school here before. I've seen you in action. How you gang up on some innocent kid and harass them. I don't know why. Maybe you feel insecure; maybe you just enjoy making others suffer. I don't really care. All I know is that it's disgusting, and you need to stop.

"I remember how you used to pick on one of my best friends, Rachel. She's one of the bravest people I've ever known, and she's gone through things you wouldn't believe. She practically laughs in the face of danger. But whenever you and your minions got to her, she would try so hard to not cry, but you guys wouldn't stop until she did. You made fun of her worst insecurities. And you did it to so may people. So please, try to be a better person, and then maybe I can consider becoming friends with you."

Everybody stared at Percy in shock. He had just told off Marissa like everyone had wanted to for years. Marissa just looked at the floor in shame, and then she walked away, her eyes red, minions gaping. Everybody in the crowd dispersed, and only Percy, my friends, and I remained.

Jake broke the silence by letting out a low, appreciative whistle. "Dude, that was heroic."

Everybody chimed in about how that was amazing, and Percy just looked at us with a small smile on his face. "I've been wanting to do that for years, ever since she first hurt Rachel. Speaking of which, I remember you guys now. You're the swimming team members, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Isabelle responds.

"Oh, I've actually been thinking about joining. I think I'm pretty good, and my mom keeps on telling me I should sign up."

"You should totally join. I bet you're amazing," I said.

Percy let out a small laugh that warmed me up inside. "Thanks, but you've never seen me swim. You know, I like you guys. You're pretty awesome. Mind if I sit at lunch with you?"

We all excitedly said that we wouldn't mind, and he just laughed. "Whoa, guys. Don't want to sound too eager, do we? We've got to have some sort of reputation that goes against it."

Everybody laughed, and just like that, Percy Jackson joined our group of friends.

The rest of the school day passed by quickly, and by the end of it, we accepted Percy like he had always been part of our group, even Tyler, who had been in such a bad mood earlier. The fact that he had a lot of classes with everyone, and all of them with me helped him become even better friends with all of us, especially me. He was just such an easy guy to like, with his sarcastic sense of humor and unfailing kindness. He was the kind of guy that could lead anybody anywhere, and everyone would follow.

The final bell rang, signaling the end of the first day of school. I had this class, English, with Percy, Jake, and Em. Jake and Em had been sitting at one pair of desks, and I had been sitting with Percy at another pair of desks. I had been laughing at some joke Percy had made.

As soon as class was dismissed, Percy gestured to the teacher, a funny, handsome middle-aged man, Mr. Blofis. He was easily everyone's favorite teacher. "Go on to the lockers. I'll meet you guys there. I just need to talk to Paul for a bit about swimming try-outs."

I remembered what Percy had told us earlier, about Mr. Blofis being his stepdad, nodded, and left with Jake and Em, who were holding hands and acting like the adorable couple they were.

We arrived at my locker, where Isabelle and Tyler were waiting.

"Where's Percy?" Tyler asked.

"He went to go talk to his stepdad," Jake replied.

That would've been the end of the conversation, but then Isabelle joined in with a grin, "Lynn totally has a crush on him. By the way, I approve. That guy is hot. He's been here one day, and he's already the most popular guy. You guys would be so cute together."

I could feel my face getting uncomfortably red as my friends turned to stare at me with expectant looks on their faces, except Tyler, from some strange reason. He got this look on his face like he had smelled something funny, but he quickly covered it up with a weak smile. "Does the great Lynn Sanders have a crush?" he teased.

If possible, I blushed even more. I stammered, "Shut up, Tyler. So maybe I have a bit of a crush. Just don't tell him. Please. I really want to be friends with him; he seems like a really cool guy. And I don't want him to leave because I might have feelings for him and he doesn't return them."

"Don't worry, Lynn. We won't tell," Em said, and everybody else nodded in agreement.

"So, what'd I miss? You guys look like you just swore to never speak of some murder one of you committed," Percy said, walking to us with a mischievous smile. Damn, did this guy just magically appear whenever we were talking about him?

"Oh, nothing. So, you ready for swim try-outs?" Isabelle lied.

"I'm always ready," he replied with a cheeky smile.

With that, we walked over to Goode's pool, one of the best pools in the state, since we had one of the best teams. When we got there, all of us took a deep breath and stared in awe at the pool. It was Olympic-size and cleaned regularly. It was located right next to the gym, inside a separate building. Seeing it always took my breath away, because I loved the water. It occurred to me then that maybe that's part of the reason why I was crushing on Percy. His whole presence seemed to radiate the ocean. In fact, he even smelled like the ocean. I caught a glimpse at him, and he had this faint smile on his lips, as if like he had just come home after a long time.

"I should've signed up for this a long time ago. This pool is awesome. I'm going to go change," Percy said, rushing to the locker rooms. The rest of us followed, and soon I was standing in front of the pool with Isabelle and Em, all of us fully changed.

The building was filled with a bunch of people. Swimming was one of the most important sports at Goode, and it actually lasted the whole year. Most of the really intense meets were in spring, and we trained every day after school and even on the weekends sometime. The varsity swimming team had gone to nationals every year, and usually there were only seniors. We were going to change that.

The swimming coach, Coach Robin, had asked Jake, Em, Isabelle, Tyler, and me to try out for varsity this year, because we were some of the fastest swimmers the school had ever seen, especially Tyler. Tyler could beat almost everybody. The only people he hadn't been able to beat as a sophomore were a few seniors in varsity. This year, he was sure to be the fastest swimmer. He probably wouldn't be a captain, because that was always reserved for the best senior, but he would be our team's best shot at winning nationals. I knew that this year was important for him, since there would be a lot of college scouts at all of our games.

"Where are the guys?" Em whined. "They're taking forever."

Em was right, all the girls were out and ready to start, but there were only a handful of guys out. All of a sudden, there was a crash, and all of the guys ran out of the locking room, smelling suspiciously like deodorant. Last to come out were Jake, Tyler, and Percy, laughing.

At the sight of Percy shirtless, every single girl's jaw dropped. Sure, we were the swimming team, we saw shirtless guys all the time, but this was different. Shirtless Percy looked like some sort of god. His perfect tan accentuated a perfectly muscled body. Every girl blushed and stood there as he laughed with Jake and Tyler, stopping right in front of us.

Jake was the first to recover. "That – that was hilarious."

"What did you guys do?" Isabelle asked, still looking at Percy's body.

"Have you guys ever heard of Axe wars?" Tyler asked.

"No," Em said, eyebrows furrowed.

"Good, it's safer if you stay that way. I have walked through countless battles, and I still shiver at the thought of one," Percy said, amusement clear in his eyes. Now that I could see him closer, he seemed to have a few scars littered around his body. It gave him an air of mystery, and I wanted to ask him about them.

"Dude, you've got to be kidding. You were like an assassin in there," Tyler said.

Percy laughed, and when he noticed me staring at his body, he winked at me. "Like what you see, Lynn?"

I turned as red as a tomato, but I was saved by Isabelle gesturing to his forearm. "Is that a tattoo?"

We all went to look at it, and I found that it was the same one that I had seen before. It seemed to have a trident, some letters that spelled out SPQR, and a stripe.

Percy shrugged. "Yeah."

"Where'd you get it? What does it mean?" Isabelle pressed on.

"I got at camp, they're pretty hardcore in terms of making their members get these. The trident has to do with my heritage, and the letters SPQR stand for senatus populusque romanus, 'The Senate and People of Rome,' which was like the motto of ancient Rome."

I noticed how he had spoken Latin easily. "Are you Roman or something? You sound like you speak it fluently."

Percy laughed. "Greek, actually. And I speak Greek way better than Latin, but I'm not in AP Latin for no reason."

Before we could ask anything else, Coach Robin blew his whistle and told us to separate into those trying out for varsity and those trying out for JV. Surprisingly, Percy joined us in the varsity group.

"Well, somebody's confident. First year swimming, and you're already trying out for varsity?" Tyler asked.

"Yep," Percy said, and then Coach Robin began to speak.

"Welcome to the varsity swim team tryouts. My name's Coach Robin. Today we will be testing you for endurance and speed. Don't be so disappointed if you don't make it, because everybody here is amazing. Here are some forms, and after everybody's filled those out, I'll explain what we'll be doing today in more depth."

After everybody had filled out their forms and warmed up, we started doing one on one races to test everybody out. Girls went first, and the way the races went, if you won, you competed against the next girl. In the end, I surprisingly won.

The guys began, and it was basically everybody trying to beat Tyler. Except nobody could, and Tyler was barely breathing hard. Jake came close to beating him, but he failed. There was only one guy left to race Tyler.

"Percy Jackson!" Coach Robin called, and he studied Percy as he stepped up to the diving board.

"This is your first year coming out for swimming, right? Takes some guts to try out for varsity, or maybe it just takes stupidity," the coach told Percy.

"I'm pretty sure it's a little bit of both," Percy replied.

The coach blew his whistle, and they were off. Everybody expected Tyler to win, but Percy swam with unbelievable grace and speed, like a dolphin. Everybody was shocked when Percy beat Tyler with a whole pool length between the two. Percy just stepped out of the water easily, looking more energized then when he had entered, and Tyler stepped out utterly drained and breathing hard, as if he had poured all his energy into beating Percy, but Percy was almost inhumanly fast.

The coach seemed completely stunned, as did everybody else, myself included. "How…" the coach began. "How did you do that? That was record breaking! You moved so fast I couldn't even see you breathing! We need to time that. I think we have a good chance of winning nationals this year."

Everybody grinned and praised Percy, and he seemed embarrassed about it. For the rest of practice, he didn't swim as fast as he had that first race, but he still beat everybody easily, not even looking a bit tired.

Needless to say, nobody was surprised the next day when we all made varsity and Percy was made captain.

The first week of school passed by quickly, and it was honestly the best week of school any of us had ever experienced. Percy was an awesome guy, and he made everybody's lives better. He soon became one of my closest friends. Whenever people had a problem, he would make them feel better.

Friday afternoon had come, and it felt like no time had passed. We were walking out of school after swim practice to wait for our parents, laughing at some joke Percy made.

"So, Perce, we were actually planning on going out to the movies as a group tonight. Want to come?" Jake asked him.

Everybody in the group nodded in agreement, but Percy just sheepishly looked at the ground. He ran a hand through his already messy raven hair, not caring that he had just messed it up even more. Even though we had just left swimming, Percy was completely dry. He seemed to dry inhumanly fast, but nobody bothered to ask him about it. "Sorry guys, but I already have plans."

"Plans?" Em asked, a sad look on her face that broke my heart.

"Yeah. I kind of promised my camp friends that we would have a reunion this weekend," he replied.

"The same camp that makes its members get tattoos?" Isabelle questioned dryly.

"Actually, that one and another one I've been going to for a really long time, the one that gives its campers necklaces with clay beads," he responded, gesturing to the one around his neck. "But maybe next week?"

"Sure. Next week it is," Jake responded with a sigh.

"Cool. You guys are the best," Percy said, and then he rushed off to meet his mom, who was waiting for him in a car.

Next week came, and that Friday night, we all had a great time, nobody asking Percy about his "camp friends."

Elections for the student government were in October, and soon, it was all everybody could talk about. My friends and I were spending Saturday hanging out in Central Park, enjoying the breathtaking view of the red and gold autumnal trees. Leaves littered the ground, crunching beneath my feet wherever I walked. The wind bit at my nose, and all of us had sweaters and jeans on. We had bought some coffee, and now we were sitting around talking.

"Hey, Percy. Why didn't you get coffee like everybody else? Too afraid to be mainstream? Is that tea?" I teased, and he laughed, a sound that had only made my heart race more every time I heard it.

"Oh, Lynn. You know me too well. Obviously, my worst fear is being mainstream. As I lie on my deathbed, my last words will be used to warn others on the dangers of mainstream," he said, with a completely serious face, and after a moment, we all burst out laughing.

"But seriously, I'm ADHD. Have you ever seen an ADHD kid on coffee? I'd probably destroy half of Manhattan if I were put on too much caffeine, and the tea is because my mom says it's 'healthy.' I love her, but she totally forgot to mention that it tastes like crap."

"Tea isn't that bad," Isabelle countered.

"It so is," Tyler responded.

Before they could go into full out war on the subject, Jake butted in. "Let's agree to disagree. Moving on, are any of you running for student government?"

We all turned to Percy, who looked like he was pondering the mysteries of life as he watched a leaf lazily make its way to the ground. He looked up at us, eyebrows furrowed in that adorable way he does when he's confused. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"Percy, you should totally run for student government. You could probably win the presidency," Em told him.

"I don't know. I haven't exactly been here for a long time, and don't you have to go against seniors?" Percy said, an unsure look on his face.

"Dude, we'll be your campaign team. And of course you'll win. It's hard to describe, but you, like, feel like a leader," Tyler said.

That rang extremely true. In swimming, Percy was a great captain. He made everybody work together efficiently and as a team. It felt like he had been raised to be a leader.

"Well," Percy began, hesitantly. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

Everybody cheered, and we all began discussing campaign plans. It felt like through Percy, we were running for all of us. We discussed slogans, stickers, and speeches. Nighttime fell, and we were still discussing strategies.

"We should call it a day, guys. My mom said I needed to be back by nine, and it's eight," Percy said. "We can work more on this later."

"No, wait!" Isabelle said in an urgent tone. "There's still one more thing we need to decide today!"

"I'm pretty sure we covered everything," Tyler said.

"No, we didn't," Isabelle replied, exasperated. "We didn't even come close, but that's not the point. Percy, you need a vice president!"

"Oh, yeah! We totally forgot about that. So, Percy, who do you choose?" Em asked him.

Percy looked at all of us, scratching his chin in mock deep thought, and then his sea-green eyes landed on me, lighting up even more. "Lynn Sanders, would you do me the honor of being my running mate?"

"Of course," I responded, and inside, I was actually really excited that he had chosen me.

"Great! You're the best, Lynn!" Percy said, happily. And then he hugged me. I was too surprised to respond at first at first, but I vaguely remembered hugging back. My heart was probably pounding right out of my chest, and my face was probably really red. Percy was surprisingly warm, and there was this sense of safety in his arms. He smelled like the ocean and chocolate chip cookies, and it smelled surprisingly good.

As soon as it started, it was over, and then Percy was walking away from us, yelling over his shoulder, "See you guys Monday!"

My face still felt furiously red, and all my friends noticed.

"Oh my God, Lynn! You so like him!" Em laughed.

"Why don't you just tell him? He probably likes you back. I mean, he did ask you to be his vice president," Isabelle said.

"Yeah, but what if he doesn't? What if I say something about my feelings, and he doesn't reciprocate them, and he leaves me forever, and I never date again – " I started.

"Lynn, you're rambling. Besides, I'm almost entirely sure he likes you back!" Isabelle squealed, excited at the prospect of being a matchmaker.

"I'm not taking the chance. I really don't want to ruin this friendship."

Isabelle and Em both looked dejected, and Jake and Tyler were discussing sports or something off to the side. Soon, we all went back home.

The next couple of weeks passed in a blur of campaign strategizing, campaign stickers, and campaign posters. We prepared Percy as best as we could, but the guy really didn't need us anyway. I'm pretty sure he could've convinced the entire school to vote for him on his own, he was that charismatic.

Election day soon came, and everybody in school was covered in stickers and crumbs from bribery cookies. There was sort of a ritual associated with Goode Election Day. The morning was spent taking briberies, and lunch was the last minute propaganda station for candidates, and after school, everybody in Goode High would file into the auditorium, chattering excitedly about whom they were planning to vote for. In the auditorium, each of the candidates would give a speech, and then the students would vote.

It was down to the last few minutes before Percy had to go onstage to give a speech, and we, the campaign team, were drilling him on his talking points.

"Okay, Perce, let's just go through the speech one more time, so that we're extra extra sure that you've got it down," Tyler said, looking at Percy expectantly with a copy of the speech in his hands.

"At this point, I'm seriously considering just winging the speech when I get up there, just to screw with you guys. Seriously, I think I might've 'got it down' like five run-throughs ago," Percy responded with a bored expression on his face.

"Ooh, if you do that, put in some attacks. The actual speech has, like, zero," Isabelle said.

"No! Why would you ever attack someone in a speech? That's so mean. That's stooping down to Octavian's level, and Octavian's level is probably equivalent to the lowest pit of the underworld," Percy replied indignantly.

"Who's Octavian?" we all asked in unison.

Percy got a sour expression on his face. "Octavian's an old camp, ah, acquaintance, I guess. He was a power hungry bastard, and he got everything through blackmail. Everybody pretty much hated his guts. Plus, he murdered my panda pillow pet in front of me, and for that, he will burn in Tarta – hell."

We ignored his little slip-up at the end, and we all burst out laughing.

"He murdered your pillow pet?" Tyler asked incredulously, still laughing.

"You guys think I'm kidding, but I'm seriously not. When we first met, he grabbed my pillow pet out of my backpack and proceeded to disembowel it with a legitimate knife right in front of me in order to 'read its entrails.'"

We all burst out laughing even harder, and after a minute, a knock was heard on the door.

A little freshman volunteer entered. She looked just about ready to die from embarrassment. "The candidates are getting ready," she squeaked out, running away before she had even finished the word ready.

Everybody got up, wished Percy good luck, and then both of us proceeded to the stage, where the rest of the candidates were waiting.

It was Percy against three of the seniors, but we were pretty sure that that was a good thing. The seniors would be divided amongst those three, except for the swimming team, which we had ensured the vote of earlier. Juniors would vote for their classmate, and underclassmen would vote for us because the seniors hadn't even bothered to campaign for them. Besides, a lot of them looked up to Percy, since he was so nice and popular.

The first three seniors went quickly, not really having put much thought into their speeches. Percy was about to go up, and his features were in an adorable look of nervousness. I don't know why, but I reached out and gave Percy's hand a squeeze. It was warm and I felt like it had fit perfectly with my hand. Percy looked at me with a grateful expression, and my heart fluttered a little in my chest.

Percy got up and walked up to the podium to be greeted by a big round of applause. Percy looked down sheepishly, and then he began. "Hi! My name is Percy Jackson…"

When Percy was done with his speech, he got a standing ovation. It seemed like our speech was a hit.

Percy and I won that election by a landslide.

Winter soon had New York City in its chilly grasp. The wind bit at everyone who went outside, bringing with it a dusting of snow that seemed to cover every surface in a crystalline powder. The days were shorter, and there was a hint of holiday festivity in the air.

Sadly, it was also midterms season. The students of Goode High could be seen rushing around, frantically making study guides. Everyone was finishing up assignments, and the truly desperate ran around frantically, pleading for extra credit from tired teachers. The stress was present in everyone, and the relief of winter break hung just out of reach, like a light on the horizon.

It was the weekend before midterms, and my friends and I were at Jake's house, having a last-minute study session. We were lying around his bedroom, surrounded by books. Everybody had brought a huge midterm folder and a sense of urgent nervousness. Well, almost everybody.

"Dude, aren't you going to study? Midterms are literally this week," Jake said to Percy.

Percy had been just sitting there, looking bored out of his mind and on the verge of taking a nap. He had brought his backpack, but there was no visible midterms folder or any sort of study guide. In fact, I couldn't remember seeing him studying, organizing, or otherwise preparing for anything academic. In his hands, he was playing with some sort of ballpoint pen.

"I already studied with my tutor, and she's the smartest person I know. I'm pretty sure I'm prepared. Besides, school doesn't really scare me. I don't think anything in this world can scare me anymore," Percy replied with a brooding look on his face. The last part had been muttered under his breath as a sort of afterthought, and from the looks of everybody's faces, I had been the only one who heard it.

Before I could question him on what he meant by "this world," Tyler gasped. "A tutor that can teach Percy Jackson, I must meet this miracle worker!"

"You sound just like her," Percy said, a small smile playing on his features, like he only had fond memories of this tutor. I felt a bit of jealousy stir up inside me; he seemed so happy talking about her. I squelched it down, telling myself that whoever this tutor was, she was probably an old family friend that was like an aunt to Percy.

"Hey, Percy, I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. But have you just been carrying that pen around for the whole year? I've never actually seen you write with it, but you always carry it around. And it's always that one, which is so weird, because I doubt it's even possible to have a pen without losing it for that long," Em said, preventing further discussion on the tutor. Now that I had thought about it, I realized that the pen he was playing with was the same one he'd had all year, and, just like Em said, I had never actually seen him write with it.

"Yeah. Jealous?" he responded, a smirk on his face as he waved his pen up and down in front of our faces.

Isabelle made a move to grab the pen out of his hand. Before she could succeed, Percy moved out of the way in a blur of speed, stunning us all with his display of cat-like reflexes. "No touching Riptide," he said, his smirk growing even wider.

We all burst out laughing. Clutching my sides from laughter, I said, "Riptide? Oh, Percy. Only an idiot like you would name a pen. Seriously, who names a pen Riptide?"

Percy's face suddenly took on a dark look, and his eyes seemed to look a thousand years older. He looked like had already seen far too much death in his lifetime, like an old battle-hardened warrior. The look was far too old for a teenager his age, but he wore it like he had worn it many times before. Our laughter quickly died down, replaced by concern for our friend.

"It was a gift from my father," Percy began, the dark look still on his face, his voice low. We were all surprised; he never really talked about his father or his family apart from his mom and Mr. Blofis. "The pen actually came with the name, Anaklusmos. Which means 'riptide' in Ancient Greek. The original owner was an old friend. I tried to save her, but, um, she- she's in a better place now."

His voice broke in the end, and he turned away from us to look at the window, eyes slightly red, pen in his pocket, and one hand over his necklace with the beads. We lapsed into silence, and lost ourselves in algebraic formulas and English literature. We were all shocked that Percy had lost a friend, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he had lost far more than just one friend. I could see that it was almost killing him, and that he felt like their lives had been his responsibilities, and he had failed them.

Our group couldn't really handle silence for a long while, and soon we were joking and messing around. At some point, we pretty much unanimously thought screw this and stopped studying. We started talking about our plans for winter break. I was staying in New York, and so was Tyler, but it was fun to listen to where everybody else was going.

After Isabelle had finished telling us about the wonders of the Caribbean, where she was headed, we all turned to Percy, who was acting like the little scene with Riptide had never happened. He must've known what we were about to ask him, and he said, excitedly, "Camp."

"Camp? But isn't it a summer camp?" Em asked.

"It's actually year-round. It's for, um, I guess you could say 'special' kids," Percy said, the excitement still clear in his eyes.

"It should be perfect for you, then, Percy," I said with a giggle.

"Hey!" Percy replied indignantly, although he had a smile on his face. Everybody laughed, except Jake.

Jake frowned. "Hey, Perce, I know you don't like to talk about it, but didn't you disappear around this time last year at camp?"

Realization and concern dawned on all of our faces at the same time. I reached out to touch his shoulder, ignoring the pleasant jolt of electricity that seemed to come up through my fingers. "Will you be alright, Percy?"

Percy laughed, "Of course, guys. Trust me, I can handle dangerous."

Em still looked concerned. She asked, "Hey, Percy, if you don't mind me asking, why did you even disappear in the first place?"

Percy's sea-green eyes took on a stormy expression that was impossible to read. "Let's just say that trouble has a way of following me."

"Well, duh. You blew up that band room once. Practically everyone knows that. But disappearing off the face of the Earth for more than half a year is more than just 'trouble.' So, what really happened?" Isabelle said, exasperated.

Percy just sighed. He ran a hand through his black hair. "Well, I was kind of kidnapped."

"What?" we all said in unison.

Percy continued, "Yeah, by my aunt. She's kind of crazy. Anyway, she put me in an unconscious state for a few months, took my memories, and then sent me to some of her friends in California."

Everybody just stared at him incredulously, probably expecting him to yell, "Psych!" But he just met our stares with a completely serious expression.

Deciding that he was being honest, Tyler let out a low whistle. "Holy shit, man."

Percy just shrugged. "I doubt she'll do that to me again, but if something like that does happen, don't worry about me."

We continued to stare at him, wondering about the enigma that was Percy Jackson.

Winter and the holiday season soon passed, replaced by the warm breezes and showers of spring. As the days passed, people shed the layers of clothing they had needed for a weather.

Spring was also swimming competition season. Sure, we had gone to meets, but the spring meets were the ones that really mattered. There were a lot of college scouts in spring meets, too, and they only served to add to the tension. Swimming practices were now held before school and in the weekends, as well as after school.

We were confident that our team would win nationals this year. We had broken school records, and we worked extremely well together. Everybody except Percy knew that it was due to him. Percy was just such a great leader; he motivated us and kept us together. Everybody was performing faster than ever, but none of us came close to beating Percy. The water seemed to energize him, and he didn't even seem tired whenever he walked out of the pool. We were all pretty sure he would go to the Olympics one day.

Slowly, the Goode High varsity swimming team made its way to nationals, undefeated. When April came around, the month of nationals, we had developed quite a reputation among the swimming world, especially Percy. He would act embarrassed whenever we would point it out, but I knew that he actually proud of his accomplishments.

The national swimming competition was in Washington, D.C. that year, during the last weekend of April. We took a bus over there, at Percy's insistence. Percy absolutely refused to take an airplane, claiming that he'd probably be blasted out of the sky. We all laughed and told him that we wouldn't take an airplane, but it was kind of weird how he'd been so sure about the fact he'd die if he went on an airplane.

The trip lasted about four hours on the Thursday night before the competition. We laughed and joked the entire way there. When we got the hotel, we promptly passed out in our rooms, too tired to eat. We were all excited because we would have Friday off to explore Washington, D.C.

The next morning, after a big breakfast, we left the hotel.

"So, where do you guys want to go?" Jake asked, holding a map in his hands.

"Ooh, let's go to the Smithsonian!" Em said, excitement evident in her eyes.

"Really? Museums? I thought we came here to leave school behind," Percy said, nose scrunched up in an adorable gesture.

"Of course you would be the one objecting to that idea," I said, rolling my eyes.

Percy gave me a lopsided grin, and my heart fluttered. "Oh, Lynn. Did you expect anything less?"

I sighed. "Not really. But it doesn't matter because we outnumber you. So ha."

Percy gave me a gentle shove, but otherwise, he didn't object further. Soon, we had arrived at our first stop, the National Air and Space Museum. As we passed through the exhibits of spaceships, Percy got this weird, wistful look on his face, like he was thinking of his past.

I was walking right next to him, and I turned my head to talk to him. "You look like you've been here before."

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I have. Twice, actually."

"Percy Jackson has stepped into a museum before?" I teased.

He gave me a small smirk, but there was some sort of pain on his face, like the memories saddened him. "Don't act so surprised. I practically am ancient history."

I raised an eyebrow at him. " 'Ancient History?'"

"Yeah. Anyway, I came here once with my mom once. I don't remember that much about that trip, except for the fact that she gave me some freeze-dried ice cream. I swear, that stuff literally kills. The other time, I was here with some friends." Percy's voice got a little sad at the end. I didn't question him about it, because by then we had learned not to press Percy about his past.

Just then, the rest of the group dropped back to join us.

"So, Percy, enjoying the museum?" Tyler asked him with a wicked grin on his face.

"Percy's actually been here twice before," I told them.

They all mock gasped. Tyler, looking scandalized, turned to Percy. "Who would've thought that Percy Jackson had been to a museum before? Oh my God, I bet you go to museums all the time. I bet you have a secret double life, 'Percy Jackson: Museum Enthusiast.'"

Percy scoffed, "Are you kidding? This is torture! I'm in a boring museum filled with written exhibits. It's every ADHD and dyslexic kid's nightmare."

Before anybody could say anything else, Percy stopped and stood there, completely still and alert. After a moment, he turned his head toward the entrance. His hand drifted to his pocket and he took out his pen, Riptide, like one might hold a weapon. When he spoke, he spoke softly and in a calm, measured voice. "I need to use the restroom. Don't wait up. I'll catch up with you guys."

And then he turned and ran. We were all shocked at his change. He looked like a soldier. He had looked alert and as sharp as a hawk, as if he knew somebody was stalking him. Heeding his words, we walked onward.

Percy returned a few minutes later, covered in a weird gold dust. We chose to file it under 'Things Percy Jackson won't answer questions about,' and continued to be tourists in the city of Washington D.C.

Before we knew it, the time for nationals had come. We were at the competition, hanging out in the waiting area for Goode High. Percy had given the whole team a pep talk, and we were about to start. Everybody was sweating from nerves, except Percy, who looked completely in his element.

"So, Perce, ready to win?" Jake asked, a smile on his face.

Percy was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Hell yeah. Oh, before I forget, right before we start, can somebody remind me to breath above water? Thanks."

We all looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Remind you to breath? Are you going to forget or something?" Isabelle asked.

"No, it's just that I get a little lost in the moment, and then I forget to do certain things…"

We continued to stare at him, incredulous, until the coach walked in, telling the girls that it was their turn to compete.

I was more than a little nervous, and I could tell that so were Em and Isabelle. I reached out and gave their shoulders a squeeze.

The competition was fierce, and there were a lot of girls there. We were competing in several races, and it would last till about two. The there would be a lunch break and then the guys would race.

Before I knew it, the races had started, and then they were over. I couldn't believe it. Goode High had won every single race, and I had won about half. I won the girls' MVP, and we all returned to the waiting area, where the boys were waiting for us.

They congratulated us, and Percy even gave me a hug. I just about melted into my flip-flops. After lunch, the boys got ready for their competitions, which would last until eight-thirty.

They were starting to file out of the room when I went up to Percy. I reached out and took his hand. "Don't be an idiot and remember to breathe, Jackson."

Percy gave my hand a squeeze, and a pleasant jolt ran up my arm. He flashed me his famous lopsided smirk, and my breath hitched. "Wouldn't dream of it, Sanders."

And then they were off, eager to start the competition, my hand still tingling from Percy's touch.

"You guys need to get together. Like, now," Isabelle said from behind me. I turned around to face her and Em.

Em smiled at me. "Yeah, you guys are so cute! He just needs to work up the guts to tell you."

"Who knows, he might just be waiting for prom. That's coming up soon," Isabelle said. Em squealed, and I turned away because I could feel my face burning up.

I turned around to the screens that were set up to watch the guy's competition. Soon, all the girls had quieted down in order to watch the guys' races.

Goode High won every race again, but Percy Jackson had won all the races. Not a single guy came close to him. Every race he seemed more and more energized, and he broke records in every competition. He obviously won MVP, and when the guys came back, everybody congratulated them. At the awards ceremony, Goode won best overall.

We all headed out to dinner with smiles on our faces, even though we were a bit sad that the swimming season was over. As I walked with Percy, laughing, in that warm spring night, I couldn't help but feel hope swell in my chest.

Goode High was soon wrapped in prom fever. Percy and I were really busy nowadays, being the president and vice-president of the student government. We had to approve anything decided by the party planning committee. We worked together a lot, and I enjoyed every second of it. I felt myself getting even closer to him, and it was amazing.

It was also finals season, but people were too engrossed in their personal lives up to care. Prom was two weekends before finals, in the last weekend of May. All around campus, people could be seen asking others to prom. I had gotten my fair share of askers, but with one glance at Percy, I would kindly turn them down. Girls were throwing themselves at Percy, and truthfully, it was kind of funny to watch. But Percy was always a gentleman, and he turned them down, pointing to the guy he knew the girl would make the best couple with.

It was the weekend before prom, and I was starting to get a little nervous. Percy had yet to ask me to be his date to prom. Em and Isabelle repeatedly assured me that he was planning on asking me soon, but with his ADHD he probably didn't realize the date was coming up so soon.

We were all in Central Park, talking about the school couples and prom. Em and Jake were obviously going together, and everybody was happy to see them together. Isabelle was going with a senior from the swimming team that she had been dating for the last few months. Tyler claimed that he was just going to have a good time with his friends, and he didn't ask anybody to go to prom with him.

We were joking around and having a good time. Then, Isabelle asked Percy the question. "So, Percy, who are you planning to go to prom with?"

Percy moaned. "Ugh, school dances. I hate those. I'm more of a stand-in-the-corner-and-play-basketball kind of guy."

Isabelle snorted. "You do realize that prom is at a hotel ball room, right? There won't be basketball. In fact, you and Lynn approved the venue in the first place."

"Ugh. I know."

"Seriously, who are you planning on taking? The whole school is buzzing with speculation on the great Percy Jackson's date."

Percy got a really big crooked smile on his face, and I could feel my heartbeat quicken. "You guys will find out prom day."

"Oh, so you want it to be a surprise?" Isabelle said with a smile toward my direction, and inside, I was giddy. He hadn't forgotten! He was just planning on asking me at prom.

"You could say that," Percy said, a smirk playing across his features.

The conversation shifted to who would end up being prom king and queen, which we all knew would turn out to be Jake and Em. They didn't know, but Isabelle, Percy, and I were secretly going around school telling everybody to vote for them but to keep it a secret. I was in a great mood, already fantasizing about the night that was to come.

The week before prom passed by quickly, and that Friday, I went dress shopping with Em and Isabelle. We were all excited, and soon we had all picked the perfect dresses for each of us.

The next day, I was buzzing with excitement. Percy Jackson was going to ask me out! I spent the day getting ready, thinking about how the night would go. At prom, he would take my hand and ask me to dance with him. Then, after a fun night, I would finally kiss the lips I had often dreamed about. It would probably be a short kiss, because Percy was a gentleman. He had never looked at other girls, and he never talked about feeling girls up like some of the other guys at school did. Even though the kiss would be chaste, it would be full of love and the hope of an amazing future together.

I was so wrapped up in my daydreams that soon, I was pressed for time. I hurried up, and when I was sure that everything was done perfectly, I went to prom. I was one of the first ones there; since I was vice president and I needed to be sure everything was perfect. Oddly enough, Percy wasn't there yet, but if he had been, he probably would've hovered over the food table, which he had insisted be filled with a buffet.

The ballroom was full, and the music was blasting by the time I found my way over to Em, Isabelle, Jake, and Tyler. Again, Percy was missing.

"Hey, Lynn!" Em said, a content smile on her face as she held hands with Jake.

"Oh, hey, Lynn! You remember Ben, right?" Isabelle asked, pointing to the teenage boy next to her. He had dark skin and was actually really handsome, and I felt good for Isabelle. I knew that he was really nice from swimming, and I nodded in his direction and exchanged greetings with him. I also said hello to Jake and Tyler, but inside, I was really worried that Percy was missing.

"Hey, guys have you seen Percy?" I asked them worriedly.

Em furrowed her eyebrows in concern. "No, we thought he was with you. Have you tried texting him?"

"Yeah, and I just can't seem to make contact with him. It's so weird and frustrating. Do you think he's alright?"

"Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine," Tyler said.

"We should go searching for him. He probably got lost in the halls. Ben, do you mind waiting here a few minutes?" Isabelle said, and soon, Isabelle, Em, Jake, Tyler, and I were heading out into the hotel's hallways, the music softly beating behind us.

We walked through a few hallways, looking around for Percy. We were walking back to the hall that led to the ballroom, resigned to the fact that we would never find Percy in the labyrinthine halls, when we rounded a corner to a new hallway that would take us back to the main one. All of a sudden, we saw a sight that made my heart stop. We all gasped.

We had found Percy Jackson, although he was far from alone. He was pressed up against the wall of the hallway, having a heated make-out session with a teenage girl. One of the girl's hands was tangled in his messy raven hair, the other one pressed against his back. Percy had one hand in the girl's perfect, golden princess curls, and another at her waist. You could vaguely hear what sounded to be moans of pleasure, and they were to enthralled in their passionate kiss to hear us.

We were all stunned. Percy had never talked about another girl, and while he was certainly a troublemaker, he didn't go around making out with random girls. In fact, we didn't even know he knew how to make out with someone; he was always so awkward in those conversations.

I could feel my eyes start to sting. Em was the first to break out of her stupor after about a minute, and she shot me a sympathetic look before turning to the couple, saying, uncertainly, "Percy?"

All of a sudden, the girl and Percy sprung apart, turning to face us with swollen lips, messed up hair in Percy's case, wrinkled formal wear, and extremely red faces. They both had small smirks on their faces, though.

When I saw the girl, though, I felt even more deflated. She was absolutely gorgeous. She had sun kissed skin and perfect, honey-blond curls that didn't seem even slightly messed up, even though she had just been in an intense make-out section. She was tall and had athletic figure. She was wearing little to no make-up, yet she still looked stunning. Her facial features were perfect, but what really made her stand out were her eyes. They were a stormy grey, almost silver. I didn't know eyes even came in that color. They were beautiful, but after a moment they were narrowed at us in a way that made us all flinch and take a step back. Her glare was piercing and calculating, like she could see through your soul and knew exactly how to take you down, both physically and mentally. Anybody who had ever said anything about blondes being dumb had obviously never met this girl, because she seemed like the smartest person I had ever seen.

Her aura was similar to Percy's, too. She seemed to radiate a cool intelligence, and she made her prom dress look like full battle armor. She radiated the same leadership and power that Percy did, and she looked like she could take anybody in the world down single-handedly. Much like Percy, her very presence seemed to radiate importance and the knowledge of her place in the world. Her eyes shone like she had seen enough for three lifetimes, and she seemed to make us fade into the background. She and Percy stood next to each other like they had walked through hell together, and they would do anything to protect each other. It took all of my willpower to hold back the tears.

"Hey, guys. So, um, shouldn't you guys be at prom? It's just started…" he said awkwardly, voice hoarse in a sexy way.

The girl took out her phone, and then she lightly punched Percy in the arm. "Seaweed Brain, it started almost half an hour ago. You should have kept track of time!"

Percy turned to face her. "Oh, yeah. Because you were paying so much attention to the time."

The girl blushed, and she rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Seaweed Brain. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Of course. Wise Girl, these are my friends Isabelle, Em, Lynn, Jake, and Tyler. Isabelle, Em, Lynn, Jake, Tyler, this is my amazing girlfriend Annabeth Chase."

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Percy."

Percy proceeded to lean in close to her and say something we couldn't hear in a low, seductive voice. We were all shocked. We didn't even know Percy even knew that seduction existed. The girl, Annabeth, turned as red as a tomato. As Percy leaned out, she grabbed his tie and said something we couldn't hear in a low, seductive voice to him. Percy blushed, too, but they were both left with stupid grins on their faces.

We continued to stare at them as Annabeth cleared her throat. "So, how do you guys know each other?"

"We go to the same school," Percy replied.

"Really? I hadn't guessed," Annabeth said, sarcasm dripping off her words.

"Well, we have a ton of classes together, and they're on the varsity swimming team with me. So they're like my best school friends. Plus, Lynn – " he pointed at me, " – is my vice president."

Jake was the next one to find his voice. "So, um, Annabeth, how do you know Percy?"

"Camp," they replied in unison.

"We've known each other since we were twelve, and we were best friends until we started dating the summer between ninth and tenth. So, almost two years ago," Annabeth explained, reaching to hold Percy's hand. They were even easier together than Jake and Em, and they were the cutest couple in school. It suddenly became really hard to breathe.

Annabeth turned to face Percy. "You know, Percy, this is the first time we've been to a school dance since Westover Hall."

Percy burst out laughing. "That was so embarrassing! We weren't even dating yet. It was so awkward."

Annabeth started laughing, too. "I know. And you were like a foot shorter than me."

"A foot? It was more like a centimeter difference."

They began walking away to the sound of the music, Annabeth leaning against Percy, wrapped in one of his arms. You could hear them laughing and joking around, and you could here the love they had for one another in every word. They were closer than any teenagers I'd ever seen before, and it didn't look like that would change anytime soon.

I could feel tears falling from my eyes as I stood there in numb shock, and my friends all turned to me with sorry looks on their faces, mixed with utter shock.

"It's okay," Isabelle said, gently, reaching out to touch my shoulder. But I turned around and ran away, feeling completely devastated. The tears fell faster from my eyes, and I was vaguely aware that Tyler was right behind me, calling my name. I stopped when I was outside, sobbing into the warm, late spring night. I felt Tyler come up to me, surrounding me with his arms, but I barely noticed. At the end of the night, when the tears had slowed down, I remembered leaning in to Tyler, thinking that maybe my heart could be put back together.

A/N: So, what did you think? Remember, this is my first story on this website, so if you do review (and it would be nice if you did), please don't be mean. Sorry about the length, I totally thought this would end up at around 5000 words, but here we are, 30 pages later. Oops. I hope this was more than just you average "meet Percabeth" story and that you enjoyed it! Have a lovely day!