Fatal Flaw (a Percy Jackson AU)

Faked Humor

Leo
I woke up feeling desolate and empty, like an empty glass of milk. I would never even be half full. Most days, I didn't feel like getting out of bed let alone plastering a fake smile on my face and pretending thins were okay when they couldn't get much worse.
   Humor was my weapon. People only kept me around for my jokes. They cared more about their laughter than my happiness. They never noticed how broken I was inside. I stared up at the ceiling and sighed. Then, I glanced down at my stuffed animal, Festus.
   My mother had given me Festus right before she died-two days before. I had been a happy eight-year old-a care-free young child. I had wrapped my mom with a huge hug and kept rambling about how thankful I was in a jumble of Spanish and English.
   All of that happiness evaporated when my mom died. She was a self-employed mechanic. She worked hard to support us and we barely afforded meals and rent, but I loved her more than anything. I was playing with matches in the workshop while my mom was outside. She ran in and grabbed me when she see the flames. Then, she realized she had left her blue-print for an important project. She kissed me on the forehead and said she loved me. She told me that she's see me again. The last glimpse of her that I saw was her running into the burning building.
It was my fault she died. After her death, my Aunt Rosa left me at the mercy of the foster care system. I bounced from house to house. Jokes help hide the pain, but the only way I had been able to keep the pain away was by running away.
   I sighed and got out of bed. I went to the bathroom and changed. I felt so scrawny and tiny even though I was wearing a small t-short and jeans. The jeans would have fallen down my waist if I didn't wear some suspenders. I stared at my reflection and saw a sad boy waiting for some change in his life. Jokes only masked so much pain.

Connor
    I woke up ready to prank someone. My father was always too busy to pay my brother and me much attention so we constantly pranked him and others. Pranks were the best revenge. You could humiliate someone, but make them laugh so much that your punishment was small or even non-existent.
   I went into the bathroom and took out my vast collection of stage makeup. I started putting on a darker foundation and then overdid the blush so I looked like I had drunk too much wine. I drew some under-eye circles and a few pimples with some eyeliners. I looked at myself in the mirror. Close enough. I was happy that I woke up early.
   I grabbed a couple pots and pans that I had snagged from the kitchen. They didn't even notice. I went into the hallways and started banging the pots and pans together into an ear-splitting beat. "Wake up you brats!" I yelled in my best Dionysus imitation.
    I heard several groans of the other teenagers complaining. "I don't want to wake up!" Percy grumbled.
  "With great annoyance comes a great need to sleep," Nico retorted.
  "Sleep helps protect you from dementia," Annabeth informed.
   "Wake up!" I said louder. "Stop complaining Peter Johnson! Nigel Dimwit, you need to wake up. Anniebelle Chen, stop being a dumb blonde!"
Annabeth came out of the room in her pajamas. They were covered in books. She punched me in the nose. "Never call me a dumb blonde again," she hissed.
I put up my hands in surrender and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry you guys," I said. "I'm Connor, not Dionysus. It was all a joke."
The rest of the kids were up now. I grinned sheepishly at them. They looked at me with horrified expressions. I turned around and saw Dionysus. "Well, well," he said. "Looks like someone is in trouble."