The rain was loud, it poured onto the streets and splattered onto the windows of the building. He had just arrived there, his step-father dropped him off with only one suitcase of belongings. He decided that it would be fine, everything would be fine. It couldn't be that bad, millions of people went and they all turned out fine.

  "Have you ever been to one?"

  "What?" Percy asked, breaking away from his thoughts. He had forgotten he wasn't alone in the grungy room, he turned and looked at the girl who sat across from him. She was a student, much like himself.

"Boarding School."

  "Oh," He sighed, "No, my parents never wanted to spend the money." It was true, no matter how many schools kicked him out, his mother refused to send him away. Maybe she was just being selfish and didn't want to be so far from her son, but maybe it was because she knew that it would hurt him to stay in their small apartment. Maybe she was trying to hurt him, but he doubted that. His mother loved him, and he loved her as well.

  "My dad has all the money in the world, it didn't take him much time to finally decide I should be sent off." She chuckled sadly, eyes gazing at the strings of Percy's hoodie. Her hair was long and brown, it was braided back with a feather attached to it. Her eyes were a blue-green color that stood out against her tanned skin. He assumed she was of the native descent, though he didn't really feel it necessary to confirm that theory.

  "How long until they let me leave this room?" He finally asked, frowning as he gazed at the room. The lights were dim and needed to be changed, the wallpaper was faded and ripping at the edges, and the floorboards creaked with each step. The place looked like it hadn't been renovated since it was first built, which he wanted to guess was over fifty years ago.

  "Until they have all the paperwork situated." She replied, "We don't get any new people, like ever. People are gonna wanna talk to you, so prepare yourself."

  He nodded, "Yeah I know, this isn't my first rodeo." He chuckled at the last part, and she did as well, but he quickly stopped and sighed. He didn't know if he'd rather be at home or here, but part of him wanted to believe that there was something for him at home. "I'm ready to go by the name 'New Kid' until I graduate."

   The girl giggled, picking at the chipped polish on her nails, "I'm pretty sure you're rooming with my boyfriend. Have fun, he's a handful."

  "Oh great, I better not wake up one day to you both-"

  "-Alright don't finish that sentence, no one is having sex in the dorms. Girls aren't allowed in boys dorms after dinner and vice-versa." She looked at the clock and back at Percy, who still had a small smirk on his face, "By the way, my name is Piper."

  "Percy." He held out a hand and she shook it.

  The office door opened and a well-kempt man walked out, he held a Manila folder that held Percy's records and paperwork. "Alright, everything is settled. Piper, you can take him to his dorm and give him a tour, maybe introduce him to some friends."

  "Sure thing, Chiron." She giggled as she made a salute gesture.

  The man raised an eyebrow.

  "Sorry, Mr. Chiron." Piper stood up and took a paper from  Mr. Chiron's hands. "Well, you ready to meet the best people ever?" She didn't wait for a reaction, she started heading towards the big double doors that led to the outside world. He picked up his suitcase and followed closely behind her, deciding he did not want to get lost after only being there for maybe half an hour.

  "Isn't the whole outdoor part dangerous? Like I could literally grab a stick, sharpen the tip of it, stab you, and then drown you in the river if I wanted to."

  Piper looked at him with an expression that matched his step-fathers when he saw that their pancakes were blue. "That was way too specific, you got anything to tell me? Hiding a pocket knife in your shoe or something?" She chuckled, "There haven't been any incidents so far, so no one's too worried. The outdoor part is actually my favorite part, it's calming."

  Percy shrugged, "I come from New York, nothing about me is calm."

  She smiled, stopping in front of a small cabin and knocking on the door in a strange pattern. She noticed his confused gaze and sighed, "When Mr. D is in town, he's pretty strict. He knocks three times on the door, so we all have an unspoken rule: make sure your knock stands out."

  "Isn't that a spoken rule now?"

  "Oh fuck you!" She grinned, and that's when the door opened to reveal a tall blond guy with bright blue eyes. "Jace! This is your new roommate, Percy!"

  'Jace' looked at him and held a hand out, "I'm Jason. Nice to meet you, Percy." Percy decided 'Jace' was just a nickname that Piper gave him, seeing as the two were dating.

  Percy shook his hand and nodded, "You too."

  "So what brings you to Goode?" Jason asked, gesturing for the two to go in the dorm.

  "Is that the name of this hellhole?" Percy chuckled, following Jason and Piper inside. "I got expelled from my last school so my parents decided to ship me away."

  "What'd you do to get yourself expelled?" Piper asked, a curious light in her eyes.

  "That's for you to wonder and me to know." He grinned, setting his suitcase onto the empty bed and staring at all the space he wouldn't be filling. It seemed like a waste to him, but he supposed it didn't matter.

  "You look like you probably got in a fight or some shit." Jason chuckled, and Percy shrugged, holding up his arm and flexing his muscles.

  "Oh yeah, I look like hot shit, don't I?" Percy put his arm down and shook his head, "Not a fight though, but stop asking. I might tell ya one day if I feel like it."

  Jason nodded, "Fair enough. Now we have no choice but to befriend you."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "Because we always have to know shit, we can't help our curiosity." Piper replied, "Our friends can't either, but I think you'll fit right in."

  "We just need you to open up a bit more," Jason said, he ran a hand through his hair. "Be less you."

  Percy frowned, "What?"

  "I'm joking, you don't need to change at all." Jason chuckled to himself, "I'm bad at sarcasm."

  "Or maybe Percy's just bad at detecting it," Piper suggested, causing Jason to shrug.

  "I'll have you know I invented sarcasm." Percy crossed his arms, facing the couple with a frown.

  "Prove it."

  "When the opportunity arises, Piper. I can't just force it out of my ass." Percy stood up and opened his suitcase, beginning to unpack its contents into his dresser. He mostly had clothes, and then a few other items that he stored away in an empty drawer in his dresser. Just sketchbooks, notebooks, pencils and other necessities. He liked the arts, they were his solace in times of despair. He liked music, he liked drawing, and sometimes he was a sucker for some acting.

  Piper stood up and Jason followed her actions, "so, how about that tour?"

  Percy stood up and nodded, "Might as well know my way around this shithole."

  —-

   The tour went by fine, Piper and Jason would tell little stories about each place they showed him, and he pretended to be interested. He didn't hate their stories, but he wasn't there to experience those memories. He didn't connect the same happiness that the other two teens held when remembering everything.

  Eventually, they stopped by a gathering area in the woods, or what Piper liked to call 'The 420 hideout.' She said that none of the supervisors ever actually looked there for any suspicious behavior, and so everyone took that spot to do things that were definitely against the rules. She had said that's where she and her friends all hang out to 'escape the cruel hierarchy of the school.' He didn't fully understand everything, but he decided he would soon enough.

  The area looked nice enough, which surprised Percy. It was a small circular area where the trees were surrounding, a few benches circled it. There were bean bags and fairy lights set up around it, which made the place feel homier. A stereo sat on one of the benches, a stack of CD's right next to it.

  Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit' was playing while a group of teenagers sat around the area playing a card game.

  "Pipes! Just in time for a new game! I'm about to beat their sorry asses!" A tall girl with very short black hair spoke as she caught sight of the approaching teens. She had a very punk style, studded bracelets, black ripped jeans, and a Green Day shirt with a leather jacket over it. She seemed like the kind of girl Percy would have admired in middle school, he probably would've tried to be friends with her.

  "That's what they all say, but this is Uno we're talking about, you never know if someone's been hiding a take four card." Jason chuckled, he walked up to the group and joined their circle. "Guys, this is the new guy. His name's Percy."

  They all waved at him and said their own greetings, but Percy just nodded.

  "Alright, how about proper introductions?" Piper grinned, pointing at a short boy with curly brown hair and a green army jacket. "This is Leo Valdez, our favorite Hispanic elf. Also resident jokester, he'll be introducing the others."

  Leo stood up, winking at Percy before turning to face the others. He pointed at the girl next to him, she had darker skin and curly cinnamon hair, "Hazel Levesque, she's our resident badass. She may not look it but she can throw a mean punch. She's a hell of a good painter, but no, she won't draw you if you ask, so don't. She may only be a freshman but she's the nicest person in this whole damn school."

  Hazel giggled, slapping him with an Uno reverse card, "I am not!"

  "She likes to deny it. Best friend right here, don't mess with her."

  "Wow, glad to see you have favorites, Leo." A blonde girl rolled her eyes and smirked at him, but he only grinned.

  "That's Annabeth Chase, resident nerd. She's the only one who actually does the schoolwork, besides Frank and Jason anyway. We have a whole group chat for homework answers, so if you wanna join just ask."  Percy looked at the blonde, she was pretty. Her eyes were a strangely beautiful grey color that stood out against the rest of her colorful complexion. "Don't Go drooling over her though, she's got a boyfriend. She's also quite a badass, so don't agitate her or she'll probably punch ya."

  Percy nodded, though he kept his gaze on her. She was really pretty.

  "Next is Franklin Zhang, resident Canadian." Leo pointed to an Asian boy with dark hair and a body that made it obvious he liked working out.

  "It's Frank, it's not even a nickname, my name is only Frank." Frank rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks slightly blushed from embarrassment.

  "Yeah whatever, Anyways he's the nicest dude you'll ever meet. He doesn't hate anyone, expect maybe Octavian, and he'll literally buy you food if you ask. No payback. Don't abuse that, or him. Don't hurt anyone in general."

  Percy held his arms up defensively, "Understood."

  "Good, very good. Now that right there is Thalia, resident punk. She's got the best taste in music, as you can hear, she's the hot lesbian friend everyone wishes they had. She's Jason's sister, by the way."

  Percy's eyes widened as he looked at the two 'siblings.' Jason was pale with blond hair and more pointed features, Thalia had olive skin with black glossy hair, freckles, and more rounded features. The only similarity was their bright lightning blue eyes that stared at him with amusement. They both burst into laughter as they watched Percy's expression.

  "Like, full siblings?"

  Thalia nodded, "Oh yeah, full siblings."

  "What the actual fuck." Percy brushed a hand through his hair and chuckled.

  "Moving on, next to her is our favorite little emo, Nico Di Angelo. Resident Italian. He was born in Italy and won't be shy to curse you out in Italian. He's pretty shy until you get to know him, he's an absolute nightmare when he's comfortable with yo-shit don't hit me!" Leo playfully elbowed him after Nico slapped his arm. "He's a freshman too."

  "You're only a sophomore, Leo, so don't go acting like grade matters." Piper snickered.

  Leo rolled his eyes, "Moving on! Last, but certainly not least, we have the power couple! Jason and Piper! Resident lovebirds, they come straight from those cheesy romance movies. You already met them, so I don't think I need to explain."

  "No, not at all."

  "So Percy, Tell us about yourself. Where ya from?"

  "Manhattan," Percy responded.

  "Woah, Crazy shit goes down there, right? I wouldn't know, I'm from Texas." Leo chuckled.

  "Yeah, weird shit. So you guys are from all around the country?" Percy asked, realizing that the boarding school housed more than just New Yorkers.

  "Yup, Frank is from Canada, Annabeth is from Virginia, Nico is from Italy but his family moved to New York, Thalia and Jason are from California, Piper is from California too, Hazel is from Louisiana, and yeah. That's everyone." Leo grinned, "You're the only native New Yorker out of all of us."

  "Why'd your parents send you all so far away?" Percy decided to ask, he was hoping it wouldn't be too personal for them.

  "This place is crazy famous for getting 'troubled kids' to behave, our parents all decided it'd be worth a shot." Jason explained, "But we quickly found out that it's all a load of bullshit to get people to send their kids here."

"Well, doubt my mom knew that when she sent me out here." Percy chuckled to himself, deciding to pretend that his mother had a role in him being sent there. His stepfather had been the one to keep bringing up the idea of a boarding school, so of course, the guy had one picked out. "Do you guys just hang here all day when there are no classes?"

  "We just do whatever we want." Annabeth shrugged, she began cleaning up the cards, "Some days we decide that it's a great idea to go swimming, or even to just chill in our dorms."

  "Basically, it all depends on the day," Thalia added.

  —-

  The rest of the day went fine, the group moved on to play other games. They involved Percy as much as they could, which he was grateful for. Before he knew it, he and Jason were back at their dorm (which was really a cabin, but who was he to correct what they called it?) Percy sat down in his bed and stared at his bare wall. 

   Jason had some posters up, mostly of some bands that Percy remembered hearing from the stereo. At home, Percy didn't have posters on his walls, he felt like he was missing out on some parts of being a teenager.

  "So, any friends back home?" Jason asked, breaking the silence. "I remember how hard it was to leave my friends."

  "I actually didn't have any friends." Percy sighed, "I kept to myself mostly, and no one wanted to bother me I guess."

  Jason frowned, "You've had friends before, right?"

  Percy's eyes widened, "Of course I've had friends before! We just- I changed schools in the sixth grade, I never spoke to my friends again after that."

  "You didn't get expelled from that school, did you?"

  "I've only ever gotten expelled, never moved houses or anything. Maybe four schools total, but sixth grade was the first time." Percy sighed, looking at the door in silence.

  "What happened to get you ex-"

  "Shh!" Percy stopped himself from breathing and listened closely, "Shit someone's here."

  "Okay? It's probably just Mr. Chiron, why are you so worried?"

  Percy blinked and allowed himself to breathe again, "I don-"

Three gentle knocks were heard from the door, within moments it opened to reveal the familiar man. "Hello boys, I just wanted to give Mr. Jackson his schedule for his classes." Mr. Chiron walked over to Percy and handed him a piece of paper, barely noticing the way the teen cautiously eyed him. "Your classes should be fairly easy to find, but Jason over here can assist you if needed."

  Jason nodded, giving him a warm smile. Percy nodded, still not bringing himself to speak. He bit his bottom lip and waited for the man to leave.

  "Well, I'll let you boys get back to what you were doing. Curfew is ten and you'll be woken up at six-thirty in the morning to start preparing for classes. Good night." Mr. Chiron smiled before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

  Percy leaned back and stretched his arms, ignoring the concerned gaze the other boy gave him.

  "What was that?"

  "Huh?"

  "You know what I mean." Jason frowned, studying Percy's expression for any sign of what happened.

  "As I said, New York is Crazy." Percy shrugged, hoping Jason would accept that answer and move on.

  ——

  The next day came and he had to attend school. He was used to waking up early in the morning, he had to if he wanted to get to school on time, but it didn't mean that he liked waking up before the sun was even out. He stood up and grabbed his uniform, which he despised with all his soul, and he headed to the bathroom. He took off his hoodie and sweatpants and set them in the hamper. He turned the shower on and watched as the water fell to the ground. Some days showering felt like the hardest task, but not that day. He felt gross, he knew he needed a shower, so he stepped in and immediately pumped shampoo into his hair. He assumed the hair products were all Jason's, but he didn't think the guy would mind if Percy used some for one day. The water was hot against his skin, which would've been great if it were winter, but unfortunately, it was October and the temperatures were a mix between summer and fall. Some days it was cold, others it'd be hot. That day seemed to be decently warm, so the hot water didn't feel refreshing.

  After he was finished in the shower, he turned the water off and grabbed a towel, drying off his hair and then tying it around his waist. He avoided the mirror, his eyes looking at his uniform as he dreaded to put it on.

  Eventually, he was done getting ready and could leave the bathroom, seeing Jason all ready to go. He assumed Jason must've gotten up before him because there was no way he showered after Percy woke up.

  "I shower at night, if that's what you're trying to figure out," Jason said, definitely noticing the bewildered gaze on Percy's face. "I don't know how people can shower in the morning."

  "I like the routine." Percy shrugged, grabbing the piece of paper from his desk and looking at all his classes. "So we have classes until 2:15?"

  "Yup, gotta love it. It's not so bad though, after a few months it really flies by." Jason stood up and grabbed a bag that was leaning against his bed, throwing it over his shoulder. "You got a backpack?"

  Percy nodded, grabbing the bag from against his dresser. It was empty, all his stuff from his old school was probably tossed into the trash without a second thought, but it wasn't like there was anything he cared about in it, so he supposed it didn't matter.

  "Perfect, Let's Go." Jason led him out the door, and that was when everything began to feel real.

Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay for once.

  —-   —-    —-    —-    —-    —-    —-    —-    —-    —-    —

Hi

So basically I thought I was no longer into this fandom but then I felt nostalgic and reread some of my favorite Percy Jackson fanfics and decided just to write a bit. I love writing and I never stopped, so I thought it'd be could practice. I decided to publish it because I felt really proud, so I hope you all enjoy. I don't know if many people will read it, but I honestly don't care. As long as someone out there sees it, I think that'll be enough.

Anyways, if you ignored my warning on the book summary, please read it. Mental health is extremely important, like I can go on a whole rant about it, but take care of yourselves and don't trigger yourselves. This chapter didn't contain anything triggering yet, but it will soon dive deep into everything. I will include Trigger Warnings at the start of each chapter, so I encourage you to pay attention to those. I write things regarding mental illness as a coping mechanism for my own struggles, so a lot of this will be coming from experience. I'll try my best to represent everything as respectively as possible, but I really encourage you all to be truthful with yourselves if you think this'll negatively affect you.

Anyway, thank you all for giving my story a chance, see you next chapter.