Celestial Flames (Percy Jackson Universe)

The Start

Things went immediately downhill after my fourteenth birthday.

I was planning how to escape from my fourth period teacher when she tried to kill me (Ms S hated me for some reason). I walked out of the high school and there was Jordan and Erik, waiting at the edge of the school property.

"What's that about?" Forest asked.

Forest Makris was my closest (and only) friend. Jordan and Erik didn't trust him really since he was in grade twelve and I was in ninth. But Forest had been nothing but protective and kind to me since we met after the Christmas break. He had dark brow hair that was often shoved under a beanie with a gautee that had the same colour. He also had a limp since he had a musclulatory condition, it pretty much excused him from all gym activities. But he could really move on enchilada day in the cafeteria.

"No idea," I admitted. "Could be because of my birthday but I honestly doubt it."

It wasn't like I had a birthday in the middle of summer or anything. No, I had mine smack dab in the middle of April. And it always seemed to fall on a weekday too, so it wasn't like we could go out for a fancy dinner or spend a day celebrating.

I looked at Forest to see he was scanning the courtyard of the school. This was nothing new. He often did this when school let out. I asked why once and he said that bad things had happened when he wasn't looking.

"I'll see you later, okay?" I said.

Forest looked around again, his one hand going to his back pocket of his jeans. "Yeah, see you later."

I walked away from Forest and over to Erik and Jordan.

Erik saw me first and he smiled. Erik was the literal definition of a teddy bear. He was big, strong, with muscles from working at the docks, a buzzcut head and hard brown eyes. But if you talked to the guy for literally five minutes, you would learn he was a big softie. He loved uncooked marshmallows and cried when he watched Toy Story 3 with me.

Erik nudged Jordan and pointed. I saw him relax and stiffen at the exact same time. Like he was relieved that I was okay, but also was sad because it meant giving me bad news.

Jordan was the opposite of Erik. He was kind and fair, but he always seemed sad and was really a bit harsh to those who deserved it. He had bright blue eyes, brown hair he often styled in a quiff. But I could also see the sadness and burden always placed on his shoulders. He was my brother, I knew him like I knew myself.

"Hey," I greeted. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're not allowed to see you on your birthday?" Erik teased. He had on his black windbreaker and work boots, despite it being his day off.

"You can, you just don't normally pick me up after school," I pointed out. "What's going on?"

"Just thought we'd take you to the cafe," Jordan said. "As a birthday celebration."

I didn't believe them for one second. But at the same time I didn't wanna have this conversation here. So I let them take me to the bus stop and a block away.

Benton Park Cafe and Coffee Bar was one of my favourite places in the neighbourhood. It always had good food and a homey feel to it which I always loved since I barely got that in our tiny house. Mom was almost always working, so Jordan was kind of forced to raise me along with his best friend, Erik. Jordan's dad had died in the army when he was six. My dad was never in the picture. Jordan didn't remember much of my dad. A pair of grey eyes like mine, dark hair (even though we both got that from our mom) and a kind of harsh but protective feeling.

I had never met him.

We arrived and took our usual place, a booth in the middle of the wall. We all got our usual smoothies. Banana strawberry for me, mango for Jordan and 4 berry for Erik.