Lives Collide

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

It's been a while since I've written Percy Jackson fics but I hope you like this one.

Everyone is human and living in New York. Concerning the children of Zeus, Poseidon and Hades; only one of the kids has the same father as in the books. I hope it's clear who that is in this chapter.

The sun slowly dragged itself across the blue sky, cutting through the clouds. The light filled the streets of New York and the citizens started their day. The sun shone through an apartment window and suddenly disrupted the sleep of Percy Jackson.

The eighteen year old grumbled as the light hit his eyes and he grabbed the pillow from under his head to cover his face. A moment later he tossed the pillow off him and glanced at the alarm clock on the bedside table. The sun had woken him a few minutes earlier than when he actually had to get up and he was not happy about it. He contemplated going back to sleep and risking being late for work, when the front door of his apartment opened.

His bedroom's double doors opened out into his living room and that was open plan with the kitchen. The door to the bathroom was off the living room and although the apartment was small, it worked well for him.

So when Percy turned his head to the open doors, he saw Jason Grace strolling into the room, chewing on a bagel.

"Morning!" the younger boy said, "Rise and shine!"

Percy narrowed his eyes and said, "Remind me again, why I let you have a key to the apartment?"

Jason jumped down onto the sofa and answered, "Because you are secretly in love with me."

Percy rolled his eyes and pulled the covers back before getting out of bed. He quickly looked through his wardrobe for some clothes and grabbed a pile of them. Jason turned on the TV just as Percy was making his way into the bathroom.

"I'm going for a shower-don't burn this place down while I'm gone."

"No promises," Jason replied, without tearing his eyes from the TV. As Percy turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water, he could just hear the news reports that Jason was watching.

Percy had met the seventeen year old when they both started working at The Jupiter Diner. They hadn't hit it off at first because they were so different. Jason could be as serious as Percy could be easy going; but after being paired together on numerous shifts at work, they had finally found common interests and had never looked back since. In fact, it was Percy who brought out the humour in Jason; the boy joking with him in the living room could be very different from the Jason everyone else saw.

Percy grabbed the shampoo and conditioner and he could hear Jason rummaging around in the kitchen. He knew where everything was since he spent so much time at the apartment. He and his sister Thalia had been left orphaned a few years back but had been living with their uncle. All three of them lived separate lives; their uncle was a busy lawyer, Thalia wanted to hang out with her friends and Jason had the diner and his friends. It wasn't unusual for Jason to crash on Percy's couch either.

Percy turned off the shower and stepped out. It was a few minutes later when he walked out of the bathroom, dressed and hungry. Jason was standing in the kitchen and had made them both hot cups of coffee.

Jason nodded to the white bag that Percy had missed earlier and said, "I picked you up a bagel too!"

Percy grinned as he opened it and replied, "I knew there was a reason why I kept you around."

He pulled out his breakfast and crumbled the bag up before tossing it in the rubbish bin beside the kitchen counter. "What are doing here so early?" he asked and Jason shrugged.

"Thalia had her friends over again last night. I couldn't sleep."

Percy snorted and asked, "Still think they are going to kill you in your sleep?"

"They look at me like I'm the scum of the earth!" Jason protested, "As if I chose to be a boy and I'm to blame for all of humanities' problems!"

Percy shook his head and ate his breakfast as he listened to the news. "I saw the headlines while you were in the shower," Jason said, "There's a story you'll think is good. I thought you would miss it if you didn't get out."

Percy ate the last piece of his bagel and said, "I don't spend that long in the shower!"

Jason just snorted but then straightened up when he caught sight of something on the screen. Percy turned to see a familiar street on the TV; a blonde reporter standing in front of an old building with large stone pillar outside it.

"This library behind me was once home to thousands of ancient articles about Ancient Greece and Rome and was visited by millions over the years. But last night it was horribly vandalised by a number of students from the prestigious Olympia Academy. Windows were broken, doors were smashed down and many of the books were damaged. Security cameras identified just a handful of students and they have all been detained at school this morning. Olympia Academy is renowned for its students and results, and the owners, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades Olympia have assured the library's employees that the students will pay for the damage they inflicted on this historic building and its contents."

"Spoilt rich brats," Jason mumbled as the news ended, "Paying for the damage will probably be no big deal for them. That library is a huge part of the community here!"

He looked over at a silent Percy who was gripping his coffee mug a bit too tightly. "Are you ok Percy?" he asked and his friends jumped slightly.

"Ah yes, I'm fine. We better get to work though."

Jason shrugged and soon the two boys headed down the stairs to The Jupiter Diner below. Percy knew how lucky he was to have been offered the apartment over the diner. It hadn't even been an apartment when he had moved in; it had been one big junk room. But the owner, Mr. D as his employees called him, told Percy that if he cleared everything out, then he would bring down the rent.

Mr. D wasn't around much. He owned a bunch of restaurants around the city and spent half the year in France where he practically lived in vineyards. As long as the rent was paid and the diner made money, Mr. D was happy. This meant that Percy, Jason and the rest of the staff to practically run the place.

The stairs ended beside the kitchen and while Percy started to get things ready in there, Jason headed out to the front to open up. Booths lined the walls and tables were scattered around the middle of the room. There was a long counter made of dark wood and the kitchen lay behind it.

A few minutes later, the morning staff came in and soon, the first few customers arrived. They were usually business men and women who were starting early or night workers who had just finished.

Jason was busy taking orders while Percy was in the kitchen with the chef, Hestia or as she liked to be called, Hettie. She was a twenty five year old who looked about twelve but she knew everything there was to know about food. She was paying her way through cooking school and was always there for the younger staff members. Percy loved working with her and she constantly tried to get him to teach her his recipe for all the blue food he made. It was this blue food that had made The Jupiter Diner quite famous in the area. Children loved to have their birthday parties there and it was a novelty that Percy had learned from his mother.

"I really should go and see her; find out how the vacation with Paul went," Percy thought as he cooked. Percy liked his mother's boyfriend; he certainly treated her better than his own father did.

Percy stopped that train of thought right away and returned to making food. Anything to keep his mind off his father because those thoughts usually lead to memories that he really didn't want to revisit. Seeing the news report that morning really hadn't helped. If Percy looked out the front windows of the diner, he could see that same library just down the street. The Olympia students had been that close to him. Which ones were they? Did he know them?

"Percy! Order for one of your famous blueberry shakes!" Jason called and snapped Percy out of his wayward thoughts.

Percy quickly made the shake and poured it into the tall glass. After seeing that Jason was swamped with work, and the other waiter Frank busy at the counter, Percy quickly headed to table number seven with the drink. He smiled when he saw the customer and placed her order down in front of her.

"Morning Mrs. O'Leary," Percy greeted.

The older woman looked up at Percy and smiled warmly at him. Her black hair was grey in part was pulled back in a loose bun while her blue eyes were as sharp as knives. "Hello Percy; how are you?"

Percy slid into the chair opposite her and replied, "I'm great. I heard about the library."

Mrs O'Leary had been the librarian for years and she treasured the old building. Percy could clearly see from the bags under eyes and the worried look on her face, that the vandalism had caused her great stress. "Those children ruined so many books," she said, "and the walls are covered in graffiti. Imagine! Some of parts of that building are nearly a century old."

She sipped her blueberry shake before continuing. "And the Olympia Academy assured me that it would all be paid for but what can I do in the mean time?!"

Percy shook his head, trying not to let Mr O'Leary see that anger bubbling inside of him. Some things never change; Olympia Academy kids were still taught that they could behave however they wanted, without care for others. And he could understand Jason's smugness from this morning; Olympia Academy kids were notorious for entering normal neighbourhoods and causing trouble for people who couldn't afford to have it fixed. Not that it was ever proven that it was them.

"Mrs O'Leary," Percy said confidently, "I promise you that tomorrow morning I will be at the library to help you in any way I can. And I'm sure that so many other people in the neighbourhood will as well. Be warned though; by trying to help we may leave it in a worse state. Jason and Leo can't clean to save their lives."

Mrs O'Leary smiled at him and replied, "Thank you Percy, but I know that the Diner is only closed on Sundays and I wouldn't want you to spend your day off helping clean up."

Percy shrugged and said, "I really don't mind. The library is important to many people here." With one last smile, Percy stood up and walked away, so that she could not refuse his help again.

As he was walking back to the kitchen, he glanced up at the large clock on the wall. Percy turned and whistled sharply, getting Jason and Frank's attention. "It's time for you two to head off to school!" They nodded and only had to wait a few moments longer before their replacements came through the door.

The morning rush passed by in a few hours and soon the diner slowed to an easy pace. The schools had let out a while ago and the students that always came by afterwards, had cleared out back to their home a few moments ago.

Percy took the opportunity to take his own break before the dinner rush. He sat at the counter and dug into a sandwich as he looked around. This diner had been in his life for nearly two years now. The diner and his apartment were his home while Jason and his other friends lived either across the road or up the street. It amazed him that he had just stepped into the diner late at night, just to get out of this rain and looking for a hot meal and had practically never left. It was so different from his old life and he couldn't be happier about it. If only the Olympia Academy would stop butting into his new life.

He was half way through his lunch when a black haired boy sat down on a stool beside him. Percy turned to him and said, "You're early Nico."

Nico Di Angelo shrugged at his friends and replied, "I got bored at home so I thought I'd arrive early for work. Plus I wanted to talk to Hazel about this family dinner on Saturday."

He nodded towards his cousin, who was taking someone's order at the other end of the counter. Hazel Levesque spotted them and smiled at the customer before walking towards them. "Hey Nico," she said as she ripped the paper from her pad and placed it on the notice board in the kitchen.

"Hey! Can you get me out of this dinner on Saturday?" Nico asked quickly.

Hazel scoffed at him and replied, "No way. If I have to suffer through it then so do you."

Nico let his head fall to the counter and his lightly banged his forehead against it.

"Here's something that might cheer you up though," Hazel said, "Some Olympia kids got caught vandalizing the library down the street."

Percy kept quiet but Nico just looked up and frowned, "Who?"

Hazel tilted her head, saying, "You don't know the Olympia Academy? It's this private school that a bunch of rich kids go to. How much does it cost to go there, Percy?"

Percy swallowed his food, shrugging and said, "Couple of thousand a year, as well as a perfectly 'optional' donation to the school. You need to be rolling in cash to get in there."

Nico turned back to Hazel and asked, "So a bunch of students got in trouble?"

"Yup" Hazel replied, "The owners are really pissed; usually their student's wrong doings are kept on the down low. I mean, everyone knows that they usually come around here for raves and cause trouble."

Nico frowned and Percy ate at a faster pace, hoping to be done and able to leave the conversation. "Owners? Someone owns the school? So does that mean one person gets all the money?"

Hazel nodded and leaned against the counter. "Yup, three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades Olympia split the money between them AND they come from old money as well so they basically had millions to start with."

Nico wrinkled his nose and said, "Someone actually called their kids those names?"

Percy snorted but froze when Nico asked, "But who inherits all of that money? How many kids do they have?"

Hazel shrugged and replied, "They don't have any kids. The family line and the money ends with them."

"Percy!" Hettie called from the kitchen, "Your break is over and I need help back here!"

Percy jumped up, grabbing his plate and nodding goodbye to his friends.

-Olympia Academy; Principal's Office-

Annabeth Chase sat outside the Principal's Office and tapped her foot against the ground. She couldn't keep still and straightened out her grey skirt. She let out a quiet sigh and looked at the people sitting beside her.

Luke was, of course, sitting calmly with a smirk on his face like this was all some big joke. It had been his idea to vandalise the library when they were supposed to be all just going for dinner. He was the picture of comfort with his blue and yellow striped tie loose over his white shirt and he was wearing jeans instead of the usual grey trousers.

Grover looked nervous; he hadn't really done anything except be there but then so had she and they were both in trouble too. Clarisse looked angry but since when was that unusual. Beckendorf sat with his arm around Silena who was inspecting her nails. The Stoll twin, Connor and Travis, were chatting to each other, probably plotting their next prank.

Annabeth folded her arm and turned to stare at the wall in front of her again. She felt Luke leaned toward her and he whispered, "Come on Annabeth. You can't stay mad forever."

"You underestimated me then," she replied. He chuckled slightly and she finally lost her cool.

"You told us that we were going to dinner! I didn't think that meant sneaking into a library and having a rave with half the school there!"

Luke just smiled again and said, "You need to relax. So we got caught, big deal. We'll get a stern talking to by Principal Chiron and our parents will write a check."

He frowned then and added, "It's annoying that nearly everyone else got away though."

Annabeth was rolling her eyes when Luke smirked again and said, "But it was still a great idea! That party will go down in Olympia Academy history!"

"It still doesn't compare to the time Percy turned the gym into a swimming pool!" Connor said from a few seats down.

His sentence caused a chill in the air and Annabeth tried not to shiver.

Percy Olympia. After two years, his name still caused tidal waves through the school. Where had he gone? Where was he now?

Annabeth stared at the wall again and clenched her fists. The last thing she needed right now was to think about Percy.

The door to the Principal's office opened and the secretary looked out to stare at the students. "The principal will see you now," she said and Annabeth stood up. The others followed her and as they all walked into the office, Grover sent her a comforting smile.

She returned it and straightened out her blue blazer.

-The evening; Percy' apartment-

"Percy! Where did you put the popcorn?!" Hazel called from the kitchen.

Percy turned his eyes away from his wardrobe to look out the doors and at Hazel. She was standing at the kitchen island, cupboards open around her. Frank was leaning against the island, while Nico sat on the couch in the living room beside Leo Valdez. Jason and Piper McLean sat on the smaller armchair, both trying to look unaffected by the lack of space.

"It's on top of the fridge," Percy said and Hazel whirled around to find the packets of popcorn to put in the microwave.

Before Percy went back to his bedroom, he caught Jason's eye. Percy smirked slightly and raised his eyebrows in Piper's direction. Jason scowled at him and blushed slightly, so Percy went back to his wardrobe.

He was searching through his clothes to grab some sold t-shirts and jeans for helping clean the library the next day. The second he had mentioned it to his friends at closing time, they immediately offered to help too. He could hear Nico flicking through the channels on the TV and the popcorn cooking away in the microwave.

"Hey, stop!" he heard Jason say and he looked out at the living room again.

For a second he was worried that the microwave was about to blow but he realised that Jason had been talking to Nico. The TV was now showing the local news and the library was once again featured on the screen.

"...and the owners of the Olympia Academy have decided that the students responsible for the damage will not only pay for cleaning and repairs but they will also be the ones actually doing the work. The eight students will start working at the library tomorrow morning and will be spending all of their free time fixing the damage."

Percy was now leaning against the door frame in slight shock.

"We are still helping tomorrow right?" Jason asked, "We can't let these guys damage the library anymore than it already is. And we promised Mrs O'Leary."

The others nodded but when Jason looked over at Percy, he frowned. "Percy?"

The older boy looked at him and just nodded before walking back into the bedroom. Percy tried to sort through the wardrobe but his mind was buzzing. They were coming to the library! Who were they? Luke? Grover?

Percy's eyes travelled to the blue jacket that was hanging in the wardrobe. He took a breath before reaching into the breast pocket, knowing what was inside. His fingers curled around a smooth photo and he pulled it out.

Staring back at him with those haunting grey eyes was Annabeth. She was smiling at him, her blonde hair tied back loosely. He had taken it on one of their happier days; before he had found out everything. Before his life, the illusion anyway, had shattered.

"Who is she?" Percy jumped slightly and turned around to see Piper standing near him.

Piper took a step back and almost looked sorry that she had seen it.

Percy put the photo back and closed the wardrobe doors. "Just somebody I used to be friends with," he said softly.

"Did something happen?" Piper asked cautiously, afraid to anger her friend.

Percy shrugged and replied, "It was in another lifetime; doesn't matter."

But as they walked back into the living room, to the smell of popcorn and a movie on TV, Percy knew that it did matter. His past, the people who had betrayed him and the girl who had broken him were all arriving the next morning. It mattered very much.