Perianca Stories

Angel of Mercy, Angel of Death

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/13161930/1/

"Hey Bianca!"

Percy Jackson waved over the sea of pupils at his black-haired, freckled friend. They elbowed their way toward each other as they were carried down the hall and through the doors by the human tide. It was the last day of the semester, and nobody wanted to infringe on their Christmas vacation any longer than absolutely necessary.

"Percy!" laughed Bianca DiAngelo when she'd gotten close enough to reach for him. He pulled her over to the side of the current, and they leapt over the rail rather than try to navigate the stairs in the confusion.

When they'd landed, still laughing, Bianca peered back into the school, looking for her little brother.

"I hope Nico isn't still mad at me," she said.

"Why's Nico mad?" Percy asked, patting around in the dirt in search of his pen. He'd already lost five that day, and he hated losing more than that in a day, because they came in packs of five.

"'Cause I'm going to the beach with the girl scouts tomorrow night."

"You are?" Percy found the cap without the pen, and stood in resignation. "That's quite a coincidence, because I'm going to the beach tomorrow night, too."

Bianca looked over at Percy, trying to be stern, but her eyes danced. "Percy, I'm going with the girl scouts."

Percy smirked, the infuriating smirk he knew Bianca loved. "Well, I'm going alone," he said. "But that doesn't mean we won't run into each other. Coincidentally, that is."

"Of course." The last of Bianca's sternness dissolved into smiles.

"Bianca!" Nico's voice piped over the general hubbub, making both older children turn. Nico couldn't be seen over the crowd, being too short, but he jumped up and down, waving, and his hand appeared and disappeared. Bianca waved back, and Percy jumped up on the railing and hauled the little boy over the edge. It wasn't hard; Nico was too small and thin for his age. He was getting stronger under Mr. Brunner's care, but too many years of bad foster homes were hard to erase.

"Bianca, I got an A on my report card!" The boy giggled. "Can we go to Bibi's Bagels? Like, tomorrow?"

"Nico," Bianca sighed. "You're just trying to stop me from going out with the girl scouts tomorrow. Jealousy isn't becoming."

Nico pouted. "I don't want you to go," he whined.

Bianca pursed her lips. "We can go to Bibi's Bagels right now, though. And next week while we're out of school, we'll go to the shelter and get a kitten just like I promised. Want to come, Percy?"

Percy did, but he saw that Nico needed time with his sister. Besides, it was his mom's early afternoon off, and he wanted to be home for her. So he shook his head.

"You guys go ahead," he said. "I'll see you in the morning."

Bianca shot him a worried look, but Nico was tugging excitedly on her sleeve, so she allowed herself to be pulled off, leaving Percy by the school, working up his nerve to go home.

"Hey, kid."

The harsh voice of Percy's stepfather, Gabe, cut the boy's ears as soon as he opened the door. Percy controlled the violent flinch the words elicited- just.

The smell of liquor and vomit, stale chips and sweat and blood, flooded the apartment. Percy made sure he'd beaten his mom home, then forced himself to walk into the living room.

"About time you showed up," Gabe drawled. He was already drunk, and in the middle of a poker game. "Cash. Now."

Percy bit his lip in frustration. He'd told Gabe he made less than he really did at his after school job, but he couldn't hide the whole job. He pulled a handful of bills from his pocket.