It's done! Happy dance!

I'd like to introduce to you the prologue of Fireflies! And yes, I did get that title off of an Owl city song. Meh. :p Listen to it. It's not too bad.

So like I said before, I changed things around. And this will be a much more in-depth story, because—with a few tiny tweaks—this is MY story. Every character is based off of a real-life person.

May I introduce: FIREFLIES!

Diclaimer: Wow… I haven't said this in a while… I DON'T OWN PJO OR OWL CITY!

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Fireflies:

Prologue—

Annabeth Chase

I sighed, watching Mrs. Dodds yet again stray off topic to mock Percy Jackson, simply to watch his reaction. The sigh grew larger as the rest of the class joined in, and I stared absently at the red skin and knitted brow that told me that Percy was quickly losing his temper.

I kind of felt sorry for the kid. Kids and adults tortured him simply for the entertainment of a snarky reaction. But then again, he brought it on himself with his short temper. The guy could not control it.

But children are cruel, and I witnessed as Percy finally lost it and attacked Stevie Jones for the third time that week.

And it was only Tuesday.

After school, I picked up my black-and-red rock-and-roll style backpack and left the classroom, heading for the parking lot.

"Mr. Jackson?" I heard Mrs. Dodds call as I left, her older, makeup-coated face peeking around the doorjamb. "You may come in and get your things now. I called your father."

"He's my step-father," Percy mumbled under his breath, "not my real dad."

Blinking at what I probably wasn't supposed to hear, I shifted the weight of my bag on my right shoulder and headed out, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose.

The halls were surprisingly empty by the time I got there. Perhaps it was because I'd stayed behind to push in the chairs for Mrs. Dodds. She had such a rough time, teaching every grade from us fifth graders all the way up to those seniors at the local high school. I figured I should at least give her a hand.

"Hi, Jesse!" I waved to the boy as he passed by. I may have been young, but I wasn't so young as to miss the sour glare given to me by Jesse and his friends.

I was out casted wherever I went. I had a couple friends, but they went to different schools than me. Piper went to Meadow View, and Kelli went to Clear Lake. Meanwhile, I was stuck at Prairie Mountain, and I didn't get to see them very often. I probably could have called them, but I didn't know their phone numbers.

Stepping out to the bike walk behind the school, I headed for home, smiling at the nice weather. It had been a long winter, and now the seventy degree weather and late April sunshine gave me a good mood.

"Look out!" a familiar voice yelled behind me.

I turned around just in time to see a red bike headed towards me, and dove out of the way, crashing into the gravel path. A shot of pain raced up my arm, and I bit my lip.

The bike fell to the ground next to me, and that same voice rose up again, this time worried and frantic. "Oh, my goodness! Are you okay?! Annabeth?!"

I sat up and blinked, only to come face-to-face with Percy Jackson himself. His black hair was mussed from the wind, and his sea green eyes flashed with worry.

"Annabeth?" he pressed. "Are you okay?"

My face heated as I realized I'd been staring into the space behind him like an idiot.

"You're lucky you stopped. Or I'd sue you for hit-and-run," I finally said.

He blinked, surprised, and was silent for a moment. Then, he burst out laughing, and held out a hand to help me up.

I smiled and took the hand, getting to my feet. Then, to my surprise, he held out my arm where he could see it, and ran his finger along a scratch a sharp rock had made.

"Sorry," he mumbled, wiping the blood he'd gotten on his finger onto his jeans.

I shrugged. "It's fine. It doesn't hurt. Besides, my house is just across the ditch."

He smiled and nodded. "Okay. So then you can fix that pretty quickly. Are your parents home?"

I shook my head. "No. They don't get home till four, and it's only two-fifteen."

"Oh. Okay then."

I nodded, and was about to leave, when I noticed a dark spot in the shadow of his arm.

"Are you bleeding?" I asked.

He immediately covered his arm with his hand. "No."

"Liar. Let me see."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I uncharacteristically grabbed his arm and yanked it to where I could see it, ignoring his grunt of pain to stare at a long, thick patch of road rash, bleeding and coated with rocks and dirt.

"It's fine," he said, though his face was a little pale at the sight. "I need to go."

"Do you know your house phone number?" I asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You live a half-hour's bike ride away. You're not going to be able to use a bike with that arm. You're coming to my house to fix that."

Percy protested, but I picked up his bike and began to walk it towards the bridge over the ditch, so he really had no choice but to follow me.

That was the first time I met my best friend. I would have never guessed that the outcast and the short-tempered kid would be so close.

Of course, that was eight years ago.

Things can change in that long of time.