Falling In Love With A Thief (Percy Jackson)

Chapter 1: Dodging The Truth

The writer's work in this book (not including any of the plot, characters, or information owned by Rick Riordan) is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved and if any copying/stealing/plagiarizing/etc occurs with my work, those people will be punished by law.

Copyright ©2014 Alicia Gilstorf

Chapter 1

  Just because I'm a girl, that doesn't mean I'm weak. A thought that crosses my mind as I stare into the eyes of the biggest opponent I've had face yet. He laughs mockingly as I stand in a fighting stance, ready for anything he has to throw at me. He turns clearly distracted by something his bulky friends say but unfortunately there's nothing I have to attack him with, I'm defenceless and without a weapon. I wait impatiently as he enjoys his victory before he's even won it, shouting and cheering as his lackeys pat him on the back. "Can we get this over with already?" I yell at him even though I know I'm in no position to be taunting my enemy. "Sure if your so eager to loose like the rest of your team." He mocks tossing the hard paying ball back and forth in between his hands. Yes, it was true my team had abandoned me, but they had no choice it was the rules of the game. When you were hit you had to go sit down on the bench or suffer the wrath of our gym teacher. It wasn't so much the game I hate as much as the rules of how it was played. No matter how many times we played dodge ball in gym class, my team was always unfairly out numbered by skill and size. Usually I had no interest for the petty game and purposely got hit so I could join the rest of my friends but something about the cocky smile Brett, our undefeated champion gave me before the game sent a new sense of determination through me. He looked at me almost as if he was expecting me to suck and the win once again would practically be handed to him, but I wasn't going to let that happen this time. I'm my teams only hope and I know it pains them to stand back and watch as I face the deadly firing squad. They try to give me encouraging shouts but I know their really only half hearted attempts to make me feel better for what pain I'm about to endure. I have the whole side of the gym to myself now but I'm not going to run, I'm going to stand and take whatever Brett and the other five people on his team are going to throw at me. Gym wasn't my best subject and I only ever liked it when we were outside rather than cooped up in this box. I had a harder time in my other classes though due to my dyslexia, it had gotten so bad over the years I was barely able to read anything without the words mixing up like a bowl of alphabet soup. The only class I was remotely good at was English but that was only when we were studying Mythology.

    I try to concentrated back on the game but it looks like Brett has no intentions of even attempting to hit me yet, and I know what he's trying to do. He wants me to be scared and frightened, maybe even paranoid. He keeps waiting for me to squirm under his gaze but I stay with my feet planted firmly on the ground and my head held high. Its difficult for him to stare me down with my piercing glare though and he has to keep looking away. This is the same reason why no guy would ever talk to me, even some of the girls wouldn't dare make eye contact with me let alone try to have a conversation. People found my eyes unnatural, some would even say inhuman. They were a bright gold but when hit with direct light, they took on a hint of silver that was unusual and being different scared people in this world. My Dad use to say I had my mothers eyes and that she could stare a whole room of people to the ground with just one glance but I would never know for certain since I had never met her, she had left right after I was born. It was another reason I hated the way I looked because every time my dad saw me, his eyes filled with hurt. He use to tell me it wasn't my fault I looked so much like her with my soft features, auburn hair and eyes as silvery yellow as the moon. I knew he was right, it wasn't my fault it was hers. She saw how much my dad had loved her yet she still left him, but even now when I insult her he always comes to her defense saying she had no choice, she was forced to abandon us.

"Anna." I hear a familiar voice whisper from the bench and breaking out of my trance, I look over to find Paige trying to catch my attention. "What?' I ask focusing my attention on her. Paige was one of my only friends and clearly had no problem with the way I looked. I had asked her one day if she was intimidated by my glowing eyes and she nearly responded with a laugh, telling me she thought it was awesome how I could send guys away screaming in fear without even trying. Of course that was back when she thought guys had cooties, we were in our third year of high school now and things had changed. "Make him cry." she says with a smile. Ok, so not everything. I'm just about to respond when I hear the sound. I can hear the ball leave his hand even from across the gym as it comes whizzing straight towards my head. He waited until I was distracted and had let my guard down before firing, which in my books was dirty playing. I don't know how its possible but I know exactly where its going and without even wavering my gaze away from Paige, I put my hand up and grab it. Gasps come from everyone in the room as they try and process what just happened. I'm in shock myself as I turn towards Brett. "You were aiming for my head?" I ask but it comes out as more of a warning then a question, either way he doesn't take me seriously. Since there's a clear rule that you can't intentionally hit someone in the head, I turn to our gym teacher for support but as always he pretends he didn't see it for Brett's sake. Once again I was all alone but this time there was hope. "Did you try to hit me in the head?" I ask one more time and Brett laughs. "So what if I did, are you going to do anything about it?" his taunt causes everyone on his team to join in with the laughter. I don't let it get to me, instead I give him the cockiest smile I can pull off before lifting my arm back and throwing the ball as hard as I can at his head. Turns out I have surprisingly good aim, actually a little to good. It hits it's intended target going a hundred miles per hour, not even giving Brett enough time to blink before he's sent flying across the room. My team starts to congratulate me but their triumph is cut short but the shrieking sound of a whistle. "Anna what was that?" the gym teacher Mr. Morgan yells at me and the class grows silent, except for the occasional cry coming from Brett. Looking over Mr. Morgan's shoulder I realize this is because I most defiantly broke his nose but it's hard to say with the all blood he's trying to cover up. "I was just playing the game." I say and he seems to grows angrier at my response. "The rules clearly state that you cant intensely hit someone in the face." He says. "So its ok if your star athlete tries to hit me but when I do it, you finally decide to play by the rules." I point out resulting in a couple of whispers from the students around me. They had barely ever heard me speak let alone talk back to someone before. "Go to the principles office right now, and don't come back." he yells, face beat red with embarrassment.

     The rest of the day didn't go as bad as I would have thought. I went to the principles office like I was told and explained to him it wasn't my fault Brett had a big head and a even bigger ego. Unfortunately he didn't find that as a justifiable answer for my act of violence and after asking me again only to be met with the same explanation, he called my dad to come pick me up. My dad had no more of a idea for what he could do with me then the school. I had never been bad or rebellious before so it was new territory for me to but I could tell when I told my dad what happened he couldn't help but be a little proud of my performance. After a brief lecture on how it's wrong to act out at school we arrive at the small, two bedroom town house, I had lived in practically my whole live. I decide to clear my head and go for a walk but not before promising my dad I'll be back before dinner. I loved living in New York and even after years of living here I had never grown tired of the tall skyscrapers that made the city what it was. Walking through the streets I always looked for short cuts and passageways I could take around the city. So today I thought nothing of turning down a familiar alleyway that led to the nearby park. Unfortunately Im not alone and I'm already to far in to turn back. I recognize the sneers and snickers that mix in with the sound of boots clomping against the pavement. I turn to come face to face with a very crooked nosed Brett.