First Day Blues
Percy was having an ok-ish day. Multiple monster attacks? Annoying, but used to it. Estelle taking the last blue cookie before he even woke up? Horrible, but she’s his sister, it’s not like he was looking forward to it or anything.
But the thing that turned an ok-ish day into a ‘What the fuck?’ day, was getting expelled from Goode. The incident wasn't even demigod-related, it wasn't completely Percy’s fault. I mean, putting the black-haired demigod into a room full of technology was always going to end horribly. Who could’ve known that the entire right wing of the school was going to blow up? Apparently, the entire school board thought he knew.
Typically, he wouldn’t have minded getting expelled if it wasn’t for Annabeth. They were planning on going to Rome University together but had to get their high school diplomas first. Percy had a game plan: get a degree in oceanography, become a marine biologist, move in with Annabeth, and hopefully not die. The last one, he wasn't so sure about. While the monster attacks had died down after the war with Gaea, it was only temporary. Percy now found that the number of attacks had gone up drastically. He wasn't the only one, the Athena cabin was attempting to determine the cause of the uprise and then potentially find a solution. If the issue wasn't resolved, then campers who had already missed a butt load of school from the previous conflicts might have to seek shelter at Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter.
"Seriously, how in the world," the blonde exclaimed as soon as she found out. "How on earth did you pull that off, Seaweed Brain?"
Those words have been bouncing around in his head because frankly, he doesn’t know how he managed that either.
"It's not like I had some grand plan to get expelled, you know? Technology just has this weird thing against me. It's like it's on a mission to ruin my life," Percy said, taking a moment to reflect. "Oh my Gods— it totally hates me." Even without the whole technology attracting monsters thing, it still managed to cause him problems.
He huffed before collapsing on his couch. His mom, Paul, and Estelle were currently out at the park, there was a fall festival. The park they were at was fairly close to their apartment. As it was Autumn, the leaves on the trees were beginning to turn into beautiful shades of reds and oranges. Percy had been to the festival once when he was small. He remembered the giant pile of leaves a couple of people had volunteered to gather up, it was taller than him. It was explicitly told to the kids not to jump into the pile or else they'd make them rake the leaves back up. Percy never claimed to be good at following rules. He had a running head start before diving into the leaves and then flailing out to the other side. Before he could get scolded by a festival volunteer, Sally grabbed his arm and ran, not turning back as people yelped at the destruction. They were both laughing so hard, it was difficult to make it back to their small apartment. Money wasn't good, but they were happy. A week later, his mom brought Gabe home.
Annabeth sighed. “I have an idea,” She pulled out her ‘Valdez 2000’, a phone that Leo made that monsters wouldn't be able to detect them, and set it on the table in front of her. It threw off demigod scent enough for people to use it without getting attacked. Demigods using a normal phone would be the same as them waving a red flag at a bull, that is, stupid. The phone wasn't revolutionary by any means, monsters could still find them, but it was functional for the time being. Leo was currently working on a newer model which he was going to call the ‘Valdez 3000’. Real Creative. “I know this is probably really stupid and really dangerous-“
“Stupid and dangerous? Sounds right up my alley.”
The blonde demigod shot him a glare before continuing. "But what if I got you into Midtown?" Both of them paused for a second, Percy's eyes wandering her face as Annabeth absentmindedly picked up and shuffled through a deck of cards that was lying about on the coffee table.
Percy was sprawled out on his couch, the blankets and pillows that were supposed to be there were flung off onto the loveseat to the right. Annabeth was leaning forward from her seat on a chair that was meant to be at the dining table. Recently, Paul and Percy decided to buy dark blue couch covers for his mom since it was her birthday. They didn't necessarily match the other paintings and various plants displayed on the coffee table but Sally still wanted to keep the covers.
"Midtown? That would be one Hades of a trek to and from school every day, wise girl," he remarked with a smirk, watching her hands as she pulled a king of hearts from her deck and set it on the table. He bit back a comment about how he was the true "king of her heart". She'd probably beat him with a pillow.
“I’m aware,” Annabeth replaced the deck in her hands with her phone and began to type. “But it's one of the only shots you're going to get. I already have done extensive research on the school and while the curriculum may have some challenges for you, monsters seem to try and avoid it.”
“Well then maybe if the monsters are avoiding it, then I should too.” He stared into her eyes as if trying to get a point across. “I also don't think it's very likely that I'll pass an entry exam-“
“I’m having Leo help us out with that. You don’t have to completely understand everything, I’ll help you. All you have to do is get through the school year without blowing anything up,” The gray-eyed girl blinked before continuing. “Or anyone.”
“And how would Leo manage that?”
Percy should’ve known not to question him because the next day, he was enrolled in Midtown High.
—
Being the new kid isn’t easy. Percy would know after what, 6 or 7 schools? Being the new kid when people knew your bad track record, (including your criminal one) was new to him. Nobody in his other schools knew, but maybe they just didn’t want to bother to find out. In Percy's opinion, blowing up his school bus with a war cannon wasn't entirely his fault. If they didn't want fifth-grade him to do something dumb, then they wouldn't have left the cannon unattended while an elementary school was on a field trip. That whole fiasco was 100% unavoidable if an adult had common sense for once. They never do.
The second the black-haired boy walked in, all eyes were on him in a second. The only thoughts running through his mind were, ‘Do I have something on my face?’, ‘Am I that handsome?’, and ‘Where the Hades is the main office?’
Eventually, after wandering through 1st period, the main office was found. How was he supposed to know it was right in the main hallway where he walked in? Any normal person would’ve walked right by it. Well, not that Percy is normal.
“Oh! Hello sweetie, you must be the new boy,” The woman at the desk smiled at him almost unnaturally. “I have your schedule right here and a lovely tour guide for you!” She gestured to behind the door where a short-ish boy was standing, looking incredibly nervous. After Tartarus, he and Annabeth had been skittish, every little movement would make them jump. Fighting for your life does that to you. All it took was a slight noise or movement in the corner of his eye for him to know something- or rather someone- was there. Percy was surprised he happened to miss him.
He was built, not as built as Percy, but strong. The boy seemingly worked out quite a bit, although he doubted it was for any of the same reasons he did. The mop of brown hair on his head looked untamed- like he hadn’t had time to brush it that morning. The boy’s hoodie had some math pun on it, which in Percy’s opinion, was totally lame. Annabeth would’ve laughed at it.
He extended his hand. "Uh, I'm Peter. Peter Parker," he said, glancing down for a moment. "It's nice to meet you."
To save Peter from further embarrassment, the demigod shook his hand. “I’m Percy.”
Looking back at the front desk lady, he grabbed the schedule she was holding, glancing at it before crumpling it up and putting it in his pocket. She seemed a little disturbed at that but c’mon, what did she want him to do with it? Hold it?
As if.
The woman, whom Percy still didn’t know the name of as he couldn't read the nameplate on her desk, shooed them out of the main office. Probably to get well-needed “me time”. She looked cranky.
“So uh.. have any hobbies?”
The demigod completely forgot Peter was there until he spoke, his words spooking him out of his trance. With all due respect to the smaller boy, Percy wasn’t excited about this tour. This was going to suck. A lot.
"Yup, quite a few."
—
Percy was terrifying.
When Peter found out he was chosen to give a new kid a tour he thought, ‘Oh no big deal, this won’t suck one bit.’ But it does. It sucked a lot. The whole time the kid looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. I mean, he couldn’t blame him. Midtown sucked, and it’s not entirely because of Flash being a dick. The black-haired boy looked like he was about to shove Peter into a locker half of the time. It didn’t help that his phone kept going off with text messages from Mr. Stark.
The duo was planning to work on a project once he got home from school. It’s supposed to be something to go on his spidey suit, a mechanism that allows him to have better control when shooting webs. Peter’s precision is good but could be a lot better. He didn't quite know how this mechanism was going to function, or what it'd look like. Mr. Stark told him to, "Work on his school thang" which probably meant work on graduating while he worked on the blueprints. The older man has seemingly realized how out of touch he was with the younger generations as he'd been trying out new 'lingo'. It hasn't been working out well for him. Peter even saw his browser open a few days ago, the top search being, "how to get young and cool again". Sort of pathetic. There wasn't even any need for Mr. Stark to get all sad about getting old. He was Iron Man. The genius billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist himself. Christ.
*Buzz*
“Dude, are you going to pick up your phone or what?” Percy said, sounding quite annoyed. Well, at least he thinks he’s annoyed. He was frustratingly hard to read. Hell, Peter has had classes with the Black Widow on psychology and how to read people and he was having a hard time.
“Oh uh- yeah,” Peter stammered out. This was embarrassing. “Sorry, it’s just my boss.”
Percy raised an eyebrow.
“Should your boss be texting you that much? Especially when you’re a teenager at school? Creepy.” He paused for a second before glancing at him. “What does the guy want?”
Peter decided not to answer, which probably wasn’t the best idea but he couldn’t think of an excuse. They walked in silence until they reached the end of the hall, which was also the taller boy’s classroom.
“So- this is your class. I’ll uh,” He stopped for a second, trying to recall Percy’s schedule. The thing was so crumpled from what he did in the main office that Peter had trouble reading it when it was right in front of him. “-see you at lunch?”
Percy shoved his hands into his pockets before nodding stiffly. He seemed almost nervous, which Peter definitely understood. Being the new kid probably isn’t easy. Having to abandon your old peers and teachers sounded like a nightmare.
Turning around, the brunet began to walk to his second period. He was definitely going to talk to MJ and Ned about Percy. There was something that seemed so off about him. Something dangerous. It was probably nothing.
—
Percy couldn’t even count on one hand the amount of people who stopped what they were doing to stare at him. It’s almost like nobody knew how to mind their own business. He was a bit confused because there was no way people already figured out his track record, it’s only been two hours since school started. Maybe it was his looks? Percy knew he could be oblivious at times, but people were always telling him how scary he could look. No way could it have anything to do with his level of attractiveness. Sure, he has an incredibly gorgeous girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean he’s stunning too. The black-haired boy didn’t even know how he managed to get a girlfriend when he thought he looked like a sewer rat.
Finally, after what felt like centuries, fourth period was done and lunch was next. Percy was incredibly grateful, his stomach had been growling all last period, and people were starting to give him weird looks. Well, even weirder looks than before. When the boy got to the cafeteria, he came to a wonderful conclusion. He had no friends to sit with.
It was times like these that he wished Annabeth were there. She could save him from the embarrassment of having to depressingly eat by himself. Looking around, there weren’t any empty tables. It seemed like everyone had their tables sorted out already, probably having claimed them last year. He had two options. Either A, sit down at a random table with people and try to not draw attention, or B, hide in the bathroom. As pathetic as it might sound, he was leaning toward option B.
That’s until Percy saw the tour boy from earlier. Patrick? Pretzel? Gods, he was starting to sound like Mr. D.
The boy seemed nice enough. Sure, anxious out of his mind and seeming like he was going to piss himself the entire time, but nice. He didn’t make any comments about the scars that were littering Percy’s face, which he was entirely grateful for. It didn’t seem like a bad idea to go and just sit down with him. He probably wasn’t going to kick him out of the table. Percy wasn't exactly listening to what the boy was saying on the tour but he was pretty sure his closing statement was a sort of invitation to sit with him at lunch.
As Percy walked over, he noticed two more people sitting with him that he wasn’t able to see before. It was a girl and a boy, both seeming to be listening intently to something Patrick-Pretzel was saying. The green-eyed boy wished he had enhanced hearing right about now.
—
When Peter sat down at his and his friend’s unassigned-assigned lunch table, he was practically buzzing. His teachers were nice and nothing incredibly weird happened today. Usually, ever since he became Spider-Man, strange occurrences or incidents have happened while he was in school. So typically he had to ask to use the bathroom and slip out a window to take care of it. The only unusual thing that happened today was Percy, and he wasn’t even that strange. Sure, he seemed dangerous and off in a way, but he probably was just a troublemaker. Peter was sure his friends would like to hear about the new kid either way, typically kids didn't transfer to Midtown unless they moved to the area.
Peter didn't bother to get his lunch. While he did have an incredibly fast metabolism, he'd rather die than eat the school lunch. The pizza looked like it was bubbling and the milk cartons had mold on them for Christ's sake. None of it was appetizing at all and it amazed him how some people ate the food without a second thought as to what they were putting into their mouths. Instead, he pulled out some syllabuses he got and began to read through them. It was baffling how so many teachers had pages of rules that they never even bothered to follow throughout the school year.
Ned plopped down next to him. "Dude, how's your first day been so far?" he asked before diving into his fries. "I swear, I already hate my teachers so much—"
"I wish we had more classes together. I mean, I have more with MJ than you," Peter sighed. "But I do have some stuff to share with both of you once she gets here."
Ned suddenly looked incredibly excited. “Does it have something to do with-” He leaned in a bit and looked around before continuing. “-Your… internship?”
To talk about Spider-man business in school, they had to use a code name. Despite an internship being more believable than the truth, nobody believed he interned at Stark Industries. By nobody, he meant mainly Flash. SI only accepted intern applications from those who have at least graduated high school, Peter has not.
“Hey losers,” MJ said as she sat down across from the duo. “Whatcha talking about?”
“She’s here now man, spill,” Ned said impatiently, pushing his lunch away and instead resting his elbows on the table.
She looked over to the taller boy, “Tell us what?”
Peter sighed, “It’s not that interesting, it’s just some new kid,” He paused for a second before continuing. “His name's Percy- but there’s something off about him. He seems dangerous, and I don’t want to jump to conclusions since I only met him once but my senses usually aren’t wrong. It’s like all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I was walking him to his class. He was completely covered in scars too, not that I’m judging or anything.”
“Oooo- do you think he’s in some evil operation or something?” Ned inputted.
MJ shook her head disapprovingly before saying, “Ned, stop. He’s probably just been through some shit. We really shouldn’t be talking about him.”
“Okay but-“
Peter’s eyes widen before he starts to shush the other boy. “He’s literally walking right towards us right now-“
As Percy walked over, Peter was a bit scared shitless. What if he somehow had super hearing and heard them? What if he's planning on jumping him after school? What if he's planning on jumping him right now? The trio attempted to compose themselves, clearly on edge but it didn't help that the new kid looked pissed. Or maybe that was just his face. Peter didn't feel inclined to find out.
His train of thought was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Peter looked back up to see Percy now standing directly in front of their table looking almost.. nervous. No, that couldn't be right. This kid was terrifying, there would be no reason for him to look nervous in front of Peter and his friends.
“Can I uh- sit with you guys?”
Huh. Not what he was expecting.
Percy shifted from foot to foot, glancing around the room like something was going to jump out of nowhere and attack him. Peter studied his posture and face, trying to determine whether or not he was messing with them.
MJ was the first to break the silence, “Sure. Knock yourself out. Just be warned- these two can go on for hours about their nerd shit.”