A/N: Hey guys! I'm excited to start this new story I've been keeping hidden away in sketches and notes. I hope you all enjoy! It's my first time writing Pernico so please give me some feedback that'd be rad.

Chapter One

Monday

Jason Grace didn't mind being the new kid. In fact, he preferred jumping to a new school and meeting all of the new people. He didn't mind that he had to leave his old school and his almost-girlfriend not-girlfriend for this new one because of some 'amazing scholarship opportunity'. Who would mind that? And really, it was his last year of high school so it really shouldn't matter that he had to go to a new school. It was just one more year to go. And this so called 'amazing scholarship opportunity' paid in big bucks, and even though Jason wasn't quite sure where he was going in life he knew that he needed this scholarship because believe it or not college isn't cheap.

What Jason Grace did mind was that he had to retake Chemistry. That really sucked because if Reyna, the smartest girl he knew, couldn't help him pass it, then who could? And did the school administration really have to give it to him for the first hour of the day? Did they really expect him to pass it or were they just taunting him with that hope of getting his diploma?

"Don't give up so easily, Jason, victory can still be yours," he thought as he knocked on the door leading to his first period class.

After a few silent moments, the door opened to a girl with long golden locks. She didn't seem too amused to find Jason standing there, thirty minutes after class had officially started.

"Are you Jason Grace?" She asked while glaring up at him with dark gray eyes. They had seemed to show a hint of disappointment after they had looked him up and down, but mainly it was a glare and Jason Grace was certainly an expert at spotting those.

"So much for a warm welcome," he thought to himself. "Yup," Jason said while popping his 'P' and striding into the class to face a near dead silence.

All eyes in the room were facing him. Jason Grace gave his audience a smile and introduced himself as one of the transfers from Jupiter Academy. The teacher, who was not the girl with golden locks but rather a short man with curly brown locks and a nearly business casual attire, sent him to the table in the far right after explaining that they were copying down the chapter's vocabulary terms. "I'm glad that we finally have a new classmate in which Nico can partner with," the teacher smiled gleefully while ushering Jason to his new seat.

"So," Jason started while setting his bag onto the table and taking a seat, "I'm Jason, nice to meet you Nico.

The boy next to him, he observed, had nearly shoulder length black hair that lightly framed his face. He was wearing almost black attire accompanied with a dark red jacket. His pale thin fingers were working furiously in a sketchbook.

His silence made Jason feel a bit uncomfortable, so he tried again. "That's a pretty cool name, where'd you get it?"

The boy looked over at him and frowned, "my mom?" he almost questioned as if the answer was quite obvious.

"Riiight," Jason said awkwardly while taking out some paper and a writing utensil.

Nico scrunched down, back to what he had been doing before he had been interrupted and began scribbling into his sketchbook.

"Oh you're an artist?" Jason asked, still trying to make some good conversation with his new partner because he knew that he would be stuck with him for the rest of the school year.

Nico didn't respond.

"Can I see?" Jason continued trying to find a ground in which he could at least somewhat get along with the boy.

Nico still wouldn't respond.

So instead of bugging the boy even further, Jason got out his notebook and opened his textbook so that he could start writing down vocabulary terms.

It was a boring class hour with Jason's new antisocial partner and a teacher who obviously didn't know what he was talking about. Seriously, the guy just kept reading random passages from the book and then ranting about how it was all wrong and starts the lecture all over again. So as the bell rang, the relief came quickly as he gathered his things and nearly bolted out the door.

"Hey," Jason turned to see an elf slapping a hand onto his shoulder. Well, not really an elf, but if Jason hadn't taken a good look at the guy, he would have sworn up and down that was an elf. But to be more accurate to this accusation, it was a guy who looked almost exactly like an elf. He has curly black hair that swirled over his almost pointed ears and sharp face. His brown eyes looked upon Jason with a mischievous smirk that told him that this guy was either going to blow something up or start some sort of crazy trouble.

"Uh, hey," Jason said cautiously, looking at the boy's hand on his shoulder.

"Where ya heading new guy? Jason, was it?" He asked as they left the through the classroom's threshold.

Jason shrugged the elf boy's hand off his shoulder. "Going to Weights and Training in the Blue Zone."

"Ah! Me too, I'll walk with you, show you the way." He said, giving Jason a wicked grin. "My name is Leo by the way." The boy traded gripping Jason's shoulder to gripping his hand in a firm shake, "welcome to Chiron Academy. You're going to just love it here, the bullies only take half of your lunch money and the babes greet you with cute smiles and punches to the face when looking a bit too far," Leo wiggled his eyebrows.

"Thanks," Jason frowned while escaping Leo's grip, "good to know."

"But uh, let's talk about that new lab partner you have for Chemistry," Leo looked around to make sure no one of importance was in hearing distance. "He's a bit… well… he's uh…" Leo paused and brought Jason to a halt. "Just be really super careful around him. He has this… well this… vibe that you do not want to mess with."

Jason Grace frowned at the elf boy for the second time since meeting him. "Nico seems like a nice guy," He didn't like one bit how Leo was talking about his new partner. He couldn't place a finger onto why exactly he felt that he should be protecting the pale boy. "I mean sure he doesn't seem to talk much and he'd rather stay with his nose in his notebook but really he just seems a bit anti-social."

Leo shrugged and they began walking towards the Gym again. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to help you out."

They walked to the rest of the way to the Gym in silence.

When they arrived Leo made a grand gesture to the entrance, "here we are. We've made it through the thick halls rolling with bodies of students and the dreadful glares from passer-by teachers! Past the dragon and through the fire flowers we have arrived to our destination. I shall bid Mr. Grace ado as I have other matters that call for my attention," Leo said with a wink and trotted off.

Jason looked around the Gym and noticed that the blond from earlier was there along with Nico. He decided to join the skinny kid in the corner with his hands shoved in his pockets.

"Hey," Jason smiled, "looks like we have another class together."

Nico gave him a nod as his eyes wondered around the room, restlessly rolling on the back of his feet.

Jason continued to stare at the boy and noticed the dark circles that plagued his eyes and the sickly pale that wrapped around his body. For minute Jason started to wonder if he was sick or if he always looked like that. When Nico decided to grace him with a glare, Jason decided that he probably always looked like that.

"See something you like?" Nico asked, still glaring.

Jason knitted his eyebrows as the corners of his mouth drew down and turned away, treating Nico to some silence that he seemed to normally served up to Jason.

After standing and looking around for a few minutes the bell finally rang and a sharp whistle vibrated throughout the gym.

"Alright cupcakes," the whistle blower called out, "it's time to start another day of learning, another day to push ourselves to the limits and beat the shit out of each other!" The man punched his fist into the air. "It's a new school year, so try not to disappoint me this time."

A few moments of silence dared to interrupt the stout man before he clanked his baseball bat on the floor like a gavel in a courtroom. "Let's start up with a hearty game of hockey. Jackson, Chase, you're the team captains so pick out your members."

"Who's that?" Jason asked, gesturing to the tall sea-greened eyed captain.

"Percy Jackson," Nico said without giving out another piece of information.

"Informative," Jason noticed as he watched Nico nervously look back and forth from Percy to the ground.

"Grover!" Percy Jackson called as he gestured to a boy with wild brown hair.

"Clarisse!" Annabeth Chase called as a burly girl took her place next to her.

Next Percy called our Nico's name. Jason noticed the boy scowl and curse as he made his way to stand behind Percy and Grover.

Soon the teams were decided and Jason was standing on Jackson's team with Hazel, a girl with cinnamon brown hair and striking gold eyes who had introduced herself to Jason as Nico's half-sister, along with a few others Jason didn't quite catch the names of.

After the games starts Jason observes how Nico kept a good range from the team's leader and snuck peaks at him when he thought no one was looking. Well, Jason was looking, but it was only because he was still trying to figure out the lonely boy. Jason wasn't happy with the way Leo had spoken about him, nor was he happy about how he could hear other kids whispering about him in class earlier. He wasn't quite sure why he even felt this protective sense over the boy but he was willing to find out.

When Jason got the chance he made his near Nico and asked, "Do you like Percy Jackson?"

"Wh-what?" Nico's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he stammered up a sting of 'no' and 'hell no's.

And before Jason could inquire any further, he was suddenly knocked back, his head crashing to the ground and knocking him unconcious.