He wasn't himself. He hadn't for a while.

  Sure, he felt like himself, but he hadn't acted like it in a long time. He wasn't even sure who he was anymore, or who he was supposed to be. He remembered the sarcastic and witty things he'd say, remember how he'd make people laugh or smile. He hadn't done that in a while. He was living, but that was it. Breathing and listening, speaking and doing, but he wasn't really processing any of it.

  He had no idea of how to break the loop, how to feel normal again. He wanted to be more than a blank canvas, he wanted to fix himself.

  But that was difficult, he'd never had time, and now he was suspended. He had all the time in the world, his only goal was to try and prove the knife wasn't his. Easy, sure. Though he wasn't entirely convinced it would be all that simple.

  He also wasn't sure what he'd tell his mother, who already had enough to deal with. Gabe was still dealing with his messed up liver, he was definitely making Sally Jackson treat him like a kid that scraped their knee and wouldn't stop crying.

He was in his dorm packing a small bag of belongings, he'd be going home for a few weeks. He wasn't sure if he needed to bring everything, but he was sure he didn't need the suitcase of clothes and uniforms. He also didn't need the binders of homework that he knew he wouldn't do anyway. Everyone else was in class, probably talking about how Percy might be a murderer.

He wasn't, he really wasn't. He wouldn't stoop so low, but apparently Luke would.

Two knocks echoed on the wooden door, Percy turned around to see Mr. Chiron opening the door with a frown.

"Clear my name yet?" He asked with an almost desperate chuckle, he picked up his bag and threw it over his shoulder.

Mr. Chiron sighed, "There's no conclusive evidence, but we do know that the knife wasn't used to kill anyone. That's good news, I suppose." He looked over at the blank wall on Percy's side. He hadn't gotten the chance to decorate, never feeling inspired enough to. "Mr. D and I have decided on a two week suspension for now. We believe your only penalty is having a weapon on campus. Usually suspensions would be shorter for that, but given the situation... we feel it best for you to stay home for a bit."

Percy scoffed and looked away, "Wasn't my knife to begin with, maybe you should ask Luke about it."

"Luke is an honors student with a scholarship to a top college, his record is clean. I'm not saying it is impossible that it was him, but it's very hard to believe." Mr. Chiron tried putting a hand on Percy's shoulder, but he flinched away from the touch. Mr. Chiron raised a brow at that, though he knew better than to mention it. "The police have seen your record, I think the only way to clear your name from the suspect list is to keep you away for a bit."

Percy sighed and walked past the older man, who watched him walk away. Mr. Chiron quickly walked towards him and closed the door behind him. Percy followed along the trail that led to the front office, the place his mother would arrive at soon. The brush of the wind crept upon Percy's neck, an eerie feeling that told him that luck was certainly not on his side. Percy stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Mr. Chiron, who stopped as well.

"Why is it that when I show up, things go to shit? Was it always like This?"

Chiron looked down for a moment before shaking his head, "I like to think this school is a good place, but it hasn't always been so. Sometimes bad things happen, but what I believe is that you have nothing to do with this."

The corners of Percy's lips lowered to a small frown, he sighed and turned back around. He noticed his mother's beat up car and noticed the new dents and scrapes that Gabe had definitely caused. Sally was always a careful driver, but Gabe often drove drunk. It was a wonder why he only had one DUI.

He entered the main office, his mother sat in one of the seats as she tapped her fingers against her knee. It was a nervous habit she'd seemed to do often, something he found himself doing in times of anxiety.

"Gabe still in the hospital?" Percy didn't give a shit about Gabe, he really hoped the bastard remained in that hospital bed.

Sally shook her head, "He got sent home a few weeks ago, I thought I'd let you know when you came home for thanksgiving break. Seems it's a bit early, huh?" She laughed a bit, trying to lighten the mood. That's when Mr. Chiron entered the room and Sally turned her attention to him, "Hi, I'm Sally Jackson."

She held her hand out and he shook it. Mr. Chiron cleared his voice before speaking, "This isn't quite the best situation, but I hope we can get his name off of the suspect list."

Sally nodded, there were bags under her eyes. She was overworking herself again, just as she always had. If she hadn't sent him to boarding school, he could've gotten a job to help ease her stress. He would've dropped out just to help, but she knew he'd do that. She'd done the same when her uncle was dying, she dropped out and got jobs to help pay. He knew she chose boarding school so he'd have no choice but to stay in school. It was a smart move, something he never really thought about.

  "You ready?" Sally now looked at Percy, a gentle smile on her face and loving eyes. She could make any disaster okay, she could soothe even the worst situations with only her smile.

  He nodded, readjusting his bag as not to make his shoulder ache. He gave Chiron a half-hearted wave goodbye, gazed at the blonde girl walking past the window of the office, and then left the small building and headed towards his mother's car.

——

  The drive had been long and dreary, it had rained for half of the time and traffic was worse than usual. When his mother parked the car in front of their dingy apartment, reality had finally hit him. The scent of smoke and alcohol filled his lungs, a scent he hadn't been exposed to for some time. He'd felt like he'd forgotten to breathe.

  But that would be nothing compared to the monetär behind the door, the anger-filled beast with a hatred for Percy. He found his hands shaking as he followed behind his mother, who grabbed her keys out gently. The door was worn down, drilled holes, chipped paint, even some dents covered the door.

  Sally gazed at him for a moment, her hand holding the keys up but not placing the key in the lock. "I really wish my relatives were still alive, maybe then you'd have somewhere else to stay..."

  Percy shrugged and grabbed the keys from his mother, placing the correct key into the lock, he looked back at her as he turned the knob, "I'm not leaving him with you."

  He opened the door, the stench only growing worse. The house was more clean than it had been when he'd left, which surprised him. Gabe himself was sitting on the couch, a bag of chips on his lap and the TV on. Percy didn't look at him when he passed by, staring at his own feet instead. His step-father didn't acknowledge him, didn't even scoff or mutter an insult.

When he arrived at his room, he noticed the door had been removed from its hinges, it was gone completely. He sighed and entered, the room a mess. He had a feeling Gabe searched it for anything, any drugs or personal belongings from Percy's father.

  He sat on his bed, the covers cold and worn out. The fire escape was outside his window, it had been his way to sneak out throughout his childhood. He sighed and threw his bag on the floor and pushed open his window, checking behind him to see if anyone was in the hallway. He hopped out and onto the stairway, then heading down the rusty metal steps. They hadn't always been rusty, but years of rain and spills took its toll.

  "I haven't seen your face here for some time," his neighbor chuckled. He was a strange man, tall and pale. Black hair and black eyes, always wearing fancy clothes as if he were rich. He lived in an apartment, he was far from rich.

  Percy shrugged and hopped down into the grass, his neighbor standing on the concrete sidewalk beside him. "Parents sent me to boarding school."

  The man was named after a Greek god, Hades. Percy never asked why, he was sure the man had no control over what his parents named him. Even so, Hades seemed to enjoy the dark aesthetic that followed that of the Greek god.

  "Then what're you doing back?" Hades chuckled. He was a kind man, always helping Percy out of bad situations. When Gabe would go too far, Hades would be there to fix him up without involving hospitals. Though Percy never told the man how he'd always acquire injuries, it wasn't hard to figure out after meeting Gabe.

  "I got framed by this kid, he put a knife in my bag. I got suspended for a few weeks."

  Hades frowned and looked over at the apartment building, "You know, I have kids that go to boarding school."

  "You have kids?!" Percy smirked, "Let me guess, dark and brooding, tall and pale..."

  "My son is, though he isn't quite as tall. My daughter is more of an optimist," he sighed, "They have different mothers, both of which have passed. They lived with me for some time but, my sister took them in when my work became too time consuming."

  Percy nodded and sighed, "Are you at least there for them?"

  "I try to be, though they don't talk to me much."

  Percy looked over at him and nodded, "Better than my dad ever did."

  Hades looked at him with a solemn gaze, one Percy couldn't quite understand.

  ——————

  Uncle Hades in da house

  I wrote this during my science zoom lmao, sorry mr teacher man I don't wanna learn today.