Hey, people out there!

Here is an angst-y/feels-y story for ya'll. This is only the second fanfiction I have written so far and I'm crossing my fingers to see what you guys think of it. Personally, I'm super excited to share this one because this is one of my all-time favorite story ideas I've had for this series. Now I'm putting it down on paper (actually, on screen, but you get the picture)! I don't really know how long this story will be, but it should be decently sized. Later in the story, I might - might - ask you guys to throw some ideas in to (in a way) create the story with me. Depends on how it goes, so don't get too excited about this. I think it would be cool though if I got some suggestions in the future. If I don't actually ask for your help in the story, it's not because I don't want your input, it's just because I have other ideas that might interfere or won't work with certain suggestions. We'll see how it goes though.

Sorry for any ill-used grammar, misspelled words, and/or other

WARNINGS: SWEARING

SHOUT OUT!
I don't own the Seven. :'(

~Jason's POV~

It was a late Saturday afternoon and Jason and the remaining group of the Seven from Camp Half-Blood were enjoying themselves at McDonalds before they parted ways for the school year. It was always hard to leave one another—especially for the ones who had to leave Manhattan—but Chiron was gracious enough to let them have a full day off to do regular teen activities together. Naturally, the only way to do this was by roaming the streets of this large city like any mortal would do on a regular basis (which was a treat for any demigod). This involved window shopping, a lot of goofing off, and eating at fast-food restaurants.

The latter was because of Percy and Leo. Both of them had insisted on stopping for a bite after spending a few hours at the zoo and there was nothing anyone could do to convince them of eating anywhere other than McDonalds, especially when they were together to back each other up. The two of them could actually come across as more convincing than Piper's charmspeak, and that was strong. After agreeing on something, they continued to nag like little children until the rest of them lost their minds and caved in. In a nutshell, yes, that's exactly how they ended up here and Calypso didn't look pleased about it.

"So," Jason interrupted Percy and Annabeth's conversation about whether adding blue food to the menu was a good idea. "What are we doing after this? We've done enough shopping to last us a lifetime and the zoo was great, but unless you guys want to go back to camp and train, you have any other suggestions?"

"We could check out the museum," Annabeth said. "I heard they built this new wing to the place and there's a ton more artifacts to learn about."

"Yawn," Percy mocked before Annabeth punched him on the shoulder. He rubbed it and glared at her for a second or two before throwing his own suggestion out there. "I vote the aquarium." This only received bored glances from the others at the table; even Leo, and you know it's bad when he, the joker, found it unamusing.

"Percy," his girlfriend started in a calm and soothing voice, almost as if she was trying not to upset an already sobbing child. "We just came back from the zoo. There were lots of marine animals there, along with tropical fish, remember? It was in the aquatic section. I know how much you love fish, but the rest of us are not interested in spending any more time with creatures one can only describe as scaly and wholly unattractive. They stink."

"That," he gasped with a hand on his chest, "was highly offensive. Some fish are actually quite beautiful! The Siamese Fighting fish is stunning!"

Calypso glanced over at Annabeth with astonishment. "Did you know he knew a type of fish's name?"

"Someone circle the calendar! Percy almost sounded smart!" Leo exclaimed while jabbing a French fry dipped in ketchup into the air. They all laughed.

"What I want to point out," Piper cut in, "is that Percy Jackson, the tough and powerful demigod, just called a fish 'beautiful' and 'stunning'."

Jason almost spewed his iced tea at him. "Ha! You're a softy at heart, aren't you?"

Percy pouted in his seat. "You guys make it incredibly hard to defend myself."

"Ah, lighten up," Jason told him while chewing his chicken nuggets. "Someone has to find fish beautiful and stunning."

Shaking her head like she didn't believe she was actually stuck in the middle of this conversation, Annabeth decided to change topics. "Seriously guys. What are we going to do next?"

"Dunno," Piper shrugged.

"Hey!" Leo suddenly beamed. "They have that fair on right now! Tomorrow's the last day! Who's up for rollercoasters and Brain Scramblers?"

That last part clearly confused Calypso. The face she made was priceless. "Brain Scramblers? What in the world is that?"

"A ride. It's one of those that spin around in circles really fast while the cars spin and…" He made a face. "You know what? Maybe I should just show you when we get there."

Piper stabbed a mouthful of lettuce on her plastic fork and took a bite of her salad. "Are we actually going to the fair?"

"Why not?" Leo asked. "Yo, Percy? You in?"

"You bet!" and they high-fived, reminding Jason strongly of the Stoll brothers.

"I'm up for the fair," Piper grinned with a one of Jason's French fries sticking half out of her mouth. "I haven't been to one in ages."

"Then it's settled!" the fire user declared. "We're going!"

They continued discussing their plans for the rest of their meal and their excitement levels went up. Even Calypso didn't seem to hate the food so much for a little while.

During their conversation, Jason managed to glimpse the door open to see two police officers walk in, one rather tall with strawberry-blonde hair while the other was shorter and well built. He didn't really pay them much attention, but after the officers stood in line for about ten minutes or so, he noticed both of them glancing their way with suspicious expressions. They would sneak a peek at their table discretely and then talk to one another in hushed tones so no one around them could hear. Then, the shorter officer with grey/brown hair took a folded paper out from his pocket and nudged his redheaded partner to look at it too. Exchanging a few words between the two of them, they continued to glance their way, making Jason hesitant. Did they do something wrong? What were they looking at? Whatever it was, he didn't like it.

Jason nudged Annabeth with his elbow and said in a low voice, "Those two officers are checking us out."

Her brows furrowed and she searched the lineup to find the officers he was talking about. "Monsters?"

Shrugging, he kept his eye on them in the most discrete way possible. "I don't know, but keep your guard up."

"You guys hear that?" Annabeth told the group in the same tone she used with Jason. "There are two officers over there who seem interesting in us. Go on like you are, but don't bring any attention to yourselves. Be ready for the worst."

At that, Leo fidgeted in his seat a bit and dared to look the officers' way. It was noticeable how uncomfortable he was. Jason knew from his past that he was constantly on the run from the law, even as a small child, but he never really understood why. Sure, he ran away from his foster homes, but it wasn't clear to Jason why he would repetitively run from them. If he was offered a home and family, why hadn't he just stayed where he was safe? From what Jason knew, living on the streets was always extremely dangerous, especially for a small kid. Leo was what? Eight years old when he first started running? Man, the guy must've been brave—or just stupid.

Their table continued in the same manner as before, hoping to lose the attention from the officers, but it never worked. Eventually, both of the police officers made their way up to the table and nodded politely at the group of teens.

"Afternoon," the grey-haired man offered with a friendly smile. His brown eyes looked human enough to convince Jason that the two officers were regular mortals after all, but it still didn't hurt to be cautious. With slight difficulty because of his dyslexia, Jason read his badge. Officer Burk was what it said.

Everyone stared up at both officers with mixed emotions: unease, curiosity, and confusion. Leo was the most anxious out of all of them, that much was obvious. His fingers began tapping against the table at a quicker pace than usual and he bit his lip.

"Afternoon," Annabeth replied back to them, mirroring the officer's smile. "Can we help you with something?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Officer Burk said. "Both my partner and I are in the middle of a search to find a missing teen."

"Oh?"

Leo's posture straightened a bit at that. He must've been so used to hearing those words. However, instead of showing any more discomfort, he continued to eat his meal and took a bite of his burger.

"You see, he's been reported missing just over a year now," Officer Burk went on. "Apparently, during the beginning of the school year, he and his school went on a field trip to the Grand Canyon, but there was a large unexpected storm that took place there. Many of the students managed to get in to safety, however, he, along with his friend and gym coach, couldn't make it in with them."

Piper, Jason, and Leo all looked at each other with sudden panic. There was no way these officers weren't talking about them. Jason could feel his heart pounding slightly faster than normal at the description these strangers offered them. It matched up to the real happenings. What he wanted to know now, was how in the world these people knew about that? Like they said, it was over a year ago now and that episode had happened on the other side of the country. How could they possibly know?

Officer Burk then pulled out the folded paper he had been looking at earlier, and handed it to them before he continued. "We were able to get some information from a few eyewitnesses who had been there that day. Apparently, the majority said they saw the missing teen, their gym coach, and his friend fighting against the storm. For whatever reason, the teen was tossed over the side of the canyon and so everyone had just assumed he was dead. Strange enough, a minuscule few of these witnesses also said they saw him escape with a small group of strangers and never came back. We don't really know what that's all about but police departments from the area managed to hand down the report to different states across the country just in case. He's been known to run away before and at rather large distances."

Jason froze as he saw the picture printed out in the center of the paper, just above the written information. Sure enough, it was a teen boy with tanned Latino skin, dark curly hair, brown eyes, an upturned nose, and pointed ears. He looked maybe fifteen and wore a smirk on his face as if warning whoever was looking at him to watch their back. Jason didn't know where this picture was taken but he knew the boy in it.

Leo Valdez.

Piper grabbed the paper from him and reacted the same way Jason had.

By this time, Leo was visibly starting to freak out. He knew it was him they were looking for. The look on their faces was enough information to give him that much. Jason noticed Leo's breathing was becoming faster and he refused to look the officers in the eyes. Mumbling to himself to calm down, he balled his fists tightly to avoid summoning unwanted flames.

"What happened to his friend and gym coach?" Piper asked quietly. Jason wanted to know their side as well. He understood the reason the officer had only mentioned one of Leo's friends with him because of Jason being hidden by the mist, but Coach Hedge was perfectly visible to them.

"Apparently, the few witnesses said they were tossed over the side of the canyon as well, but no one had seen them come back up."

Jason wasn't stupid enough to point out that Coach Hedge hadn't been thrown over the edge, but it was still enough to chill his very bones. That (aside from the coach thing) was all pretty much 100% accurate. How did the eyewitnesses actually see all of that through the storm?

At this point, everyone at the table had seen the picture, alarm written on their faces—except Leo. He didn't take the paper. He didn't look at it. He didn't look surprised. He just sat there, knowing and muttering to himself about literally keeping cool. Calypso clung to him with sudden protectiveness of her boyfriend and looked back at the police officers standing at their table.

It was then the younger cop with the red hair cut to the chase and stood confidently and with command. "Mr. Valdez, we're going to have to ask you to step out from your seat please."

Still, Leo didn't look nor show any sign of listening. Jason had started to wonder if he even heard the guy, but before he was certain, the officer repeated himself. "Mr. Valdez, step out from your seat please."

Leo looked up the second time and pointed at his chest like he didn't know who or what they were talking about. "Who? Me?" he asked innocently.

"Yes, you," the officer grumbled with annoyance. "Now come on."

Leo's shock turned into a nervous smile. "Oh, shucks! You found me! Good job, guys! Now you can go back and tell them I'm alright and still in once piece! Sorry 'bout the wild goose chase, but you know, it wouldn't be much of a chase if I stayed in one state, right? Why not try them all?"

"Now!" the young officer nearly yelled at him. "Don't make me repeat it again, Mr. Valdez."

His smile faded and Jason saw him swallow with anxiety. It was a face none of them had ever really seen before. Still, Leo nodded and slowly stood from his chair. Calypso let go of his hand which she had apparently been holding onto under the table, and let him take a step towards the strangers.

The older officer grabbed onto his arm and began leading him away. "This way, Mr. Valdez."

"Wait!" Calypso suddenly said. "What's going to happen to him? What are you doing to him?"

The officer smiled kindly at her. "Don't worry, Miss. We're just going to take him down to the station to ask him a few questions, that's all. He'll be fine."

"And then what?"

"Miss," he repeated. "There isn't anything you need to concern yourself about. Everything's fine."

Jason wasn't fully sure about that.

Just as the officer holding onto him began reporting his find into his walkie-talkie, Leo suddenly twisted his arm out of the officer's grip and pulled himself free before dodging Officer Burk's grasp, bolting out the door, and down the street, all in the matter of seconds. Man, he was fast! It was noticeable how much practice he had had in his past. They guy could move when he wanted to!

The police officers yelled at him and burst out the door in pursuit after the runaway and disappeared from view. Then, not even discussing a plan to stop them, Jason and the rest of his friends all pushed through the lengthening lineup to catch up to their friend and his pursuers but they were building distance between them. Leo was barely visible through the thick crowds of people on the streets but the officers were easy to find. With their dark police uniforms, they stuck out like sore thumbs, which was good news. Hopefully they would be able to catch up to them now.

Jason was running as fast as he could, but it was hard. There were so many people crowding the sidewalks and such little space to move around. People blocked almost every opening he had planned on running through, making him more than frustrated. It surprised him how Leo could move so fast in this situation. He didn't even have long legs.

Panting as he got near the end of the block, Jason finally saw some different movement happening up front from the officers. They had stopped and were now shouting over everyone and into their walkie-talkies. Joining into the mix was another voice, but this one sounded familiar and seriously pissed off.

Sure enough, when Jason and the rest of his friends caught up, in the middle of a ring of bystanders who watched curiously, they found Leo being pinned to the ground on his chest and the redheaded cop with his knee on his back. The officer reached back and grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his belt and yanked Leo's wrists behind him, Leo yelling and cursing the whole time.

"Leave me alone, you son of a bitch!" Leo screamed as his wrists were cuffed together. "Stop it! I did nothing wrong, asshole! Get your frickin' knee off my back! Let me go!"

"What are you doing?!" Calypso yelled at the police officers. "Let go of him! Stop it!"

"Miss, I'm going to have to ask you to back away please," Officer Burk urged her and the rest of them calmly while making a wall with his arms. "We're taking care of the situation, now go back to the restaurant. Everything is going to be fine." He then turned back to his handheld radio and uttered into the static, "We got him. Arlston Dr. across Starbucks. Over."

Jason and the rest watched helplessly as Leo was now squirming under the weight of Officer Redhead like a fish out of water, desperate to be free. It was obviously a struggle to keep him from that because Officer Burk eventually came to his partner's aid and held Leo's head and shoulders to the ground. Both were pretty much lying on top of him at this point.

Piper attempted to use her charmspeak on them to let him go, but over the noise from the observant crowds that had become numerous, the shouting from the police officers, and Leo's constant cussing, her persuasive voice was lost, offering little to no effects. All there was left for them to do was sit and watch in horror at the scene in front of them.

Eventually, after probably two to three minutes of keeping him down, Leo was suddenly pulled back onto his feet as a police cruiser pulled up with its sirens blaring. It parked as close as it could to the curb and the officer that was holding onto him waited for Officer Burk as he opened the back door for him.

"I did nothing wrong, you assholes!" Leo shouted and struggled against his grip. "I did nothing wrong! Let me go!"

They payed no mind to his relentless outbursts of anger and cussing. Instead, they acted like he was simply a mere child throwing a temper tantrum and dealt with him in the calmest way possible. Pushing his head down so he wouldn't hit it against the car, the redheaded officer forced Leo into the cruiser with a single word: "Enough".

The door was shut and before they knew it, Jason and his friends were standing in the middle of the sidewalk with other onlookers, in shock as they watched the police car drive off with one of their best friends.

"What the hell…" Percy muttered. "Did that just happen?"

"Yup," Annabeth answered with disbelief. "It did."

This was a shorter chapter than I usually write, but it takes the pressure off of me knowing it doesn't have to be an average of 4,000 words and over like I usually do. Sometimes shorter is better. Cut to the chase and still have the information you need.

How are you liking this story so far? I know it's only the first chapter, but I would still love to hear your thoughts. Reviews are my fuel to write! PMs work for me too, but reviews would be preferred (Please review!)

Until next time,

~supworld~