Chapter Text
✦
Annabeth was curled up on the couch, her knees tucked underneath her, a thick paperback balanced easily in her hands. The Architecture of Happiness by Alain de Botton had her full attention. The steady silence of the living room was the kind of peace Annabeth lived for.
That peace lasted all of ten seconds.
"Hello, Annabeth," her father's voice drifted from the doorway as he sorted through the pile of freshly delivered mail. "Make anyone cry today?" His said distracted, like he was only half-joking while still scanning the envelopes.
Annabeth didn't even look up, just smirked at her book. "Sadly, no. But it's only 4:30." She finally glanced up, brown eyes glinting. "I'll probably make Thalia cry by the end of the day if no one else steps up."
From the hallway, a sharp voice snapped, "Hey!" Thalia appeared, crossing her arms. "Dad! She's bullying me again, and you're just gonna let her?"
Frederick Chase sighed the kind of sigh that belonged to a man who had long since given up trying to referee his daughters.
"You two bully each other constantly. I stopped keeping score years ago." He tossed a bill onto the counter.
Annabeth pressed her lips together, hiding a smile behind her book as if she couldn't be bothered with her sister's outrage.
But then her dad froze mid-sort, frowning at a large, heavy envelope. He turned it over in his hands, squinting. "What's this? It says... Olympus Academy?"
Annabeth's head snapped up, her book sliding off her lap. "Oh my god!" She shot up from the couch and practically snatched the envelope from his hands before he could blink.
"Annabeth-" Frederick started, but she was already tearing it open, eyes darting across the page.
Her face lit up instantly. "I got in!" Her voice broke into a laugh as she jumped up and down in place, waving the letter over her head. "I got in!"
Her father raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by her theatrics. "That's wonderful, sweetheart, but isn't Olympus Academy in... literal Greece?"
Annabeth stopped bouncing, fixing him with a look that suggested the answer was obvious. "Thus the basis of its appeal." She shrugged, holding the letter against her chest like it was holy scripture.
Frederick adjusted his glasses, settling into his usual professor voice. "I thought we agreed you were staying here for school. There are plenty of top architecture programs in New York."
"No," Annabeth corrected, eyes narrowing. "You decided that."
Frederick folded his arms, staring at her evenly. "Oh, so what? You just pick up and leave? That's your plan?"
Thalia, who had been lounging against the wall enjoying the spectacle, smirked and piped up, "Let's hope so!"
Annabeth's head snapped toward her sister, smirking just enough to make her sister bristle. "Thalia, how did you get home so fast today? I don't remember taking you with me." She tilted her head, feigning innocence, though she already knew the answer.
Thalia froze for a second, then shot her a glare. "Shut up, Annabeth."
Their dad looked up sharply from the stack of mail still in his hands. "Someone drove you home, Thalia?" His voice was calm, but Annabeth could tell from his eyes that he was anything but. "Without telling me first?"
Thalia groaned, dragging a hand through her dark hair. "Don't get upset, Dad, but there's this boy-"
"Who's a fucking dumbass," Annabeth interrupted smoothly, snapping her book closed for emphasis.
"Language!" Frederick cut in, pointing at her with one hand while still zeroed in on Thalia. "No cursing in this house." He turned back to his other daughter, waiting for her to continue.
Thalia shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. "And I think he might ask me-"
"Please," Frederick held up a hand. "I think I already know what he's going to ask you. And the answer is no. It's always no." He guided Thalia firmly by the shoulders until she dropped down onto the couch beside Annabeth, who smirked at her victory.
"What are the two house rules?" he asked, not even giving them time to respond. "Number one: no dating until you graduate. Number two-"
"No dating until we graduate," both girls finished flatly, like it was a script they'd had memorized for years.
Annabeth nodded once, composed. She knew the rules, she respected the rules, and honestly, she didn't care much either way. But Thalia...
"But Dad, it's so unfair!" Thalia protested, throwing her hands up.
"You want to know what's unfair?" Frederick countered, arms crossing. "One of my students in history class just gave birth to twins. Twins. She's fifteen. Now she's at home raising babies instead of being in school."
Thalia scoffed. "Let's focus on me for a second, please? Because going out with a boy does not mean I'm going to end up pregnant with twins two seconds later!"
"Be careful," Annabeth cut in smoothly, pointing between herself and Thalia. "Twins run in our family."
Thalia shot her a withering look, eyebrows furrowing. "Seriously?"
Annabeth only smirked and flipped her book open again.
"I'm the only girl in the entire school who's not dating anyone," Thalia complained, slumping dramatically against the couch cushions.
"No, you're not," Frederick said, nodding toward Annabeth. "Your sister doesn't date."
"And I don't intend to," Annabeth added without missing a beat.
"Why is that?" her dad asked, curious in spite of himself.
Annabeth finally looked up, brown eyes sharp with disdain. "Have you seen the unwashed miscreants that go to that school? Please."
Thalia let out a laugh that was half disbelief, half judgment. "Where did you come from, Planet Loser?"
"As opposed to Planet 'I'm better than everyone else!'" Annabeth shot back, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Girls," Frederick snapped his hands together once, pulling both of their attentions back. "Old rule out, new rule in."
Both Annabeth and Thalia froze, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"From now on," Frederick continued, "Thalia can date-"
Thalia's eyes widened, her mouth falling open in shocked delight. Annabeth's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"When Annabeth does." Frederick smiled, smug like a man who thought he had solved the world's biggest problem.
"What?!" both sisters said at once, Annabeth's tone incredulous while Thalia's was practically a scream.
"What if she never dates?" Thalia demanded, staring at her sister like she'd just been sentenced to death.
"Then you'll never date." Their dad actually smiled at this, pleased with himself. "Yeah, I like that. And I'll finally get to sleep at night. The deep, peaceful slumber of a father whose daughters aren't out being impregnated."
"Oh my gods," Thalia groaned, dragging her hands over her face. "You're so lame."
Annabeth didn't seem bothered in the slightest. She slid her book under her arm, rising from the couch with a calm shrug. "Not my problem." She walked toward the stairs, leaving Thalia fuming on the couch.
Frederick followed her out, muttering something about reheating leftovers in the kitchen.
"Dad!" Thalia called after him, her voice breaking into frustration. "This is so unfair!"
No one answered. Annabeth smirked faintly to herself as she climbed the stairs. For once, her dad's rules worked out perfectly in her favor.
Thalia trailed behind her, not ready to let it drop.
"Can't you just find some loser to take you to the movies so I can have one date?" Thalia groaned, her voice caught between annoyance and pleading.
Annabeth didn't even look back. "I'm sorry," she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Looks like you'll just have to miss out on the witty repartee of Chris 'Eat me' Rodriguez."
Thalia huffed, shaking her head, "You suck."
Annabeth turned just enough to mimic her sister's tone, her expression cool as ever. "You suck."
She tossed the words over her shoulder like they were beneath her, disappearing into the hallway without giving Thalia the satisfaction of a real response.
Defeated, Thalia stomped back to the living room, throwing herself down on the couch. Annabeth slipped into her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. The moment it was closed, the tension drained out of her shoulders.
She crossed to her bed and flopped onto it, lying back against the pillows with her book resting on her lap. Their father's rules were nothing new. Frederick Chase was unshakably strict about one thing: dating. He had made it clear, since before either of his daughters had turned thirteen, that he had no interest in watching them waste their lives on boys who, in his opinion, couldn't possibly be worth it. He spoke like a man with evidence on his side, pointing to stories from his high school classes or the cautionary tales of other families. Pregnancy. Dropped grades. Broken hearts. He wanted none of it for his girls.
For Annabeth, the rule barely mattered. Boys didn't interest her. They didn't challenge her, they didn't inspire her, and they certainly didn't measure up. In her eyes, high school boys were loud and painfully arrogant.
Thalia, on the other hand, wasn't built that way. She wanted it all, the thrill of a hallway crush, the dizzying possibility of being wanted. She liked the attention, the way a simple smile from the right boy could make her heart race. To Thalia, dating wasn't just about rebellion, it was about being normal and fitting into the teenage rhythm that everyone else seemed to live by.
But their father's rules crushed that rhythm flat.
And now, with the new "Annabeth-first" stipulation, the situation had only grown worse. If Annabeth didn't date, Thalia wouldn't date. And Annabeth had no intention of budging. Not this year, not next year, not ever.
So unless something extraordinary happened, Thalia's love life was already dead in the water.
Annabeth leaned back against her pillows, her eyes tracing the words on the page but her mind drifting. Thalia would call it unfair, but to Annabeth, it was practical. Logical. Boys were distractions, and Annabeth Chase didn't do distractions.
✦
Chiron was waiting for Percy. Again.
It was starting to feel like part of Percy's morning routine. Wake up late, grab a half-burnt piece of toast, and report to Chiron's office for yet another "chat" about his behavior. At this point, you could say it was tradition.
He sighed as he walked down the long hallway toward the office. The walls of Half Blood High were plastered with posters for debate and archery club, as well as some kind of Chariot Race that Percy had zero interest in. His sneakers squeaked faintly against the polished floor.
By now, he didn't even need to knock. He pushed open the door with one hand, just in time for someone else to walk out.
"Thanks, Chiron," the guy was saying, a few sheets of paper clutched in his hand. He turned too quickly and nearly collided with Percy, stopping short when they were only a few inches apart.
"Whoa," Percy muttered, stepping back.
The guy was about his age, maybe a little taller, dark hair falling into his face and a faint scar running right under his left eye. He didn't look familiar, but then again, Percy didn't make a habit of remembering faces around here. Still, that scar... yeah, he probably would've remembered that.
"Cool scar," Percy said casually, nodding toward it.
The guy blinked, caught off guard for a second, before a small, lopsided smile tugged at his mouth. "Thanks, man."
And then he was gone, heading down the hall with his papers in hand, disappearing around the corner before Percy could ask who he was.
"Percy Jackson," came Chiron's voice from inside. "Come in. I see we're making our morning meetings into a ritual."
Percy stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Yeah, I'm getting kind of fond of the place," he said with a grin, dropping into the chair across from the desk like he owned it.
Chiron's office looked more like an old library than a teacher's workspace. Bookshelves lined every wall, stacked with literature and mythology books that were older than the school itself. A framed diploma hung slightly crooked behind his desk.
Chiron raised an eyebrow as he flipped open a thin folder. "It says here you threw a classmate into the school fountain yesterday."
Percy blinked. "That's... not exactly what happened."
"Really."
"I was joking with her. She slipped. Totally an accident." He leaned forward, all innocent charm. "I didn't push her."
Chiron's expression didn't change. He just gave Percy the long, quiet stare that teachers perfect after years and years in the business.
Finally, he said, "Next time, Mr. Jackson, perhaps refrain from fooling around near the fountain. Just so we can prevent any future 'accidents.'"
Percy nodded like he was agreeing to a peace treaty. "Got it. No more fountains."
Chiron shut the folder and gave him a patient smile. "Go to class, Percy."
"Yes, sir."
Percy stood, giving the office one last look. The faint smell of old books lingered in the air, and the early morning sunlight caught the dust floating between them.
✦
Annabeth sat in the middle row of her English class, notebook open but her attention sharper than anyone else's. At the front, Dionysus leaned against his desk with a book in hand.
"Alright then," Dionysus said, glancing around the room. "What did everyone think of The Iliad?"
A girl in the front raised her hand, her eyes dreamy. "I loved it," she said with a sigh. "Achilles is just... so romantic."
Annabeth nearly choked. "Romantic?" she blurted before she could stop herself. "Achilles? He's a selfish asshole. He won't do shit unless there's glory or honor in it. He threw a tantrum in the middle of a war, abandoned his men because his feelings were hurt, and then went on a murder spree. But sure, let's just say he's driven by love."
A few kids snickered, but from behind her, a mocking laugh rang out.
"As opposed to a bitter, self-righteous know-it-all who doesn't have any friends?" Chris Rodriguez leaned back in his chair, smirking at her.
Annabeth swiveled around, her brown eyes narrowing into a lethal glare.
"Pipe down, Chris," Dionysus said, not even looking up from his notes.
Annabeth folded her arms. "I guess in this society, being a guy with anger issues automatically makes you a legend. Meanwhile, Helen of Troy or Medea gets written off as hysterical. How is that fair?"
Before she could launch into another point, the classroom door swung open.
"What'd I miss?" drawled a tall boy with curly blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes. Percy Jackson, of course, strolling in like he had all the time in the world.
Annabeth didn't even look up from her notebook. "Just the oppressive patriarchal values that dictate our education," she said flatly.
Percy blinked at her, eyebrows lifting. "...Alright," he muttered. Without another word, he pivoted right back out the door, clearly deciding he wanted no part of this discussion.
"Hey! Hey, Johnson!" Dionysus barked after him, but Percy was already gone.
A laugh cut through the room. "Hey, Professor Dionysus," Chris said, leaning forward on his desk. "Any chance we could get Annabeth to take her meds before she comes to class?"
A few kids chuckled under their breath. Annabeth just rolled her eyes, pressing her pencil so hard against the paper she nearly snapped the lead.
This was how it always went. Every class, every week. And gods, it was exhausting.