Silence is Golden (Percy Jackson AU)

Chapter 3- Piper

There was only one person Piper McLean wanted attention from. She didn't want any boyfriends. She could care less if all the students in the school stopped taking to her. But Piper McLean would've given anything to have her father stop and say "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" or "you look nice" or "I love you".

Or just look at her. Just a glance. There were times when Piper would go up to her dad and start talking.

"Hey Dad, I drew you a picture!" She use to say. "I made it just for you." He'd nod and continue writing on his paper.

As she got older it was, "Hey Dad, I'm thinking about trying out for softball, what do you think?" He'd mutter something incoherent and sip his coffee.

Then it was, "I kissed a boy Dad!" Then she would frown, she'd wave a hand in front of him and when he didn't blink she'd say "I had sex with a boy, Dad."

After a while she just gave up taking. After a while she realized he just didn't care. So she tried a different approach. She got all A's in seventh grade. She wore beautiful outfits and make up in eighth. She invited people over for parties without permission in ninth. She started stealing things in tenth.

The worse she ever got was her dad's Secretary yelling at her.

He didn't even bother talking to her.

And she was 100% done with it.

She walked down the hall barely noticing the wave of people moving out of the way for her. The chattering and laughter of her fellow classmates fell on deaf ears. Piper didn't care about the latest fashions she was somehow setting, she didn't care about the newest sports team, unless her dad suddenly decided to become a player who adored his fans, she definitely didn't care about random frizzy haired, golden eyed, girl getting bullied.

Or at least not until Piper ran into her.

Piper tripped over her converse shoe laces, falling right into the girl. Hey books scattered across the floor. And a round of obnoxious laugh broke forth.

The girl, Piper noticed, looked incredibly uncomfortable. Her dress was golden but it also looked too tight. She tugged at the collar just to breathe. She wore too much make up, though it looked like she'd spent a long and delicate time working it. Her hair was agitated into a pony tail, that Piper thought would probably look gorgeous down. She was fighting to hold back tears and her face was a blotchy red with embarrassment.

Piper really didn't care what everyone thought of her. She didn't need their attention. She didn't even like the attention. Unless it was from her dad.

"See?" A tall girl towered over both of them, and the little girl next to Piper scooted back slightly, "You're so ugly it's laughable, Levesque."

The girl bit her lip looking away.

"Hey freak! I'm not done talking to you." The bully smirked, "You're a fat and stupid cow. You're not even pretty to have a nice name. Who names their kid Hazel?" The bully spit with an emphasize of Hazel. Personally, Piper loved the name Hazel.

The little girl next to her, who's name must have been Hazel, was crying now. Hatred boiled in Piper's stomach. Hazel was obviously trying. And she didn't look fat or stupid. She looked pretty, though Piper still thought she'd look even better natural.

"And your clothes!" The bully mocked, "Hun, you're doing something wrong. Where'd you get your clothes, Bitch? Forever 1894?"

"Shut up, Drew." Piper's voice cut like a knife through the air. She had that effect sometimes. It seemed everyone stopped to hear what she would say. It disgusted her that no one would stand up for this poor little girl.

Piper got off the ground so she was eye to eye with the most poplar girl in school, Drew Tanka. Drew looked shocked that anyone would talk back to her, then less shocked because she recognized Piper.

"Well if it isn't Piper McLoser." Drew stuttered. "Sticking up for this ugly piece of trash-?"

"I said shut up." Piper hissed. "I think she looks beautiful. I also think you look like a scamp. And I swear if I ever hear you telling anyone they are anything but amazing, I will have my dad buy out your dad's fashion corporation, and make sure the only job you will ever be able to get is the one as my personal maid."

Of course most of those were a bunch of lies. Her dad wouldn't give her a second, much less buy out a corporation just because she wanted him to. But the words had the desired effect. Drew looked somewhere between horrified and murderous, which resulted in a constipated face.

Piper would've laughed had her stomach not felt like puking. She turned away headed for the parking lot, the other kids left a whisper-filled aura behind her. Hazel had disappeared somehow between the other high schoolers, only a book left behind.

Piper sucked in the last of her calm demeanor and fixed a smile out. "Oh and Drew, Hun," she smirked at the poplar girl, "It takes a piece of trash to know one."

A series of "ooooohhhh!" and "burn!" hummed in the hallway and everything turned back to normal. Piper walked out the doors head towards her car.

And that was when the hot guy bumped into her. He was so good looking, with the aura of someone who didn't know they were good looking. He had short, blond hair and sky blue eyes. Even though he looked exhausted and miserable, Piper thought he looked amazing.

Did she look ok? What was her name again? Wait, Piper, McLean. Why did she fell hot? Was it hot? It's almost Christmas, like ten degrees out.

"Uhhhh..." She mumbled intelligently, "Sorry."

His eyes flashed and Piper decided blue whay her new favorite color.

"Jason, are you coming?" A girl peeked from around a car, "because I'm leaving." She looked at Piper, barely.

"Yeah," the boy finally tore his eyes away from Piper. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you. Bye."

Then he was gone. Piper sighed. Jason...what a nice name. But he probably had a girlfriend. Probably that girl who was driving him home.

She frowned and picked up a paper from the ground. It had been crumpled into a ball, with tough edges. It must have fallen from the boy's -Jason's- pocket.

It looked like a formal paper. Typed in the same font her dad's acting scripts were.

Dear Beryl Grace,

Piper cocked her head. Who was that? His mother maybe?

She skipped over the lines, searching for key words. Late, rent, overdue, two weeks. Piper frowned. Then she realized this paper was a late rent notification and therefore totally not her business. But she couldn't help it her eyes jumped to the numbers. She winced.

"It's none of my business." Piper reminded herself.

But she couldn't bring herself to throw the paper away. They were two weeks away from being thrown out in the street. And it wasn't like Piper was short on cash.

"Stop being stupid, Piper." She mumbled. But the paper was already placed in her purse. Then Piper actually walked to her car.

"-What the Hell!" A voice cried from a car over. Piper glanced to see a small Latino boy yelling into a phone. His back was to her as he leaned on the side door of a random car. The boy looked like one of Santa elves had got lost in the Caribbean. His skin was dark, with an impressive tan, and his curls thick and unruly as ocean waves, "Where else do I midnight train tickets to Canada, Stoll? I'm not coming back this time!"

Piper frowned. Was he running away? Once again, totally not her business.

"Put Travis on the phone Connor." The boy said, "I want business, not stupidity."

"Connor? Connor? Aw damnit Stoll!" The boy slammed his fist against the car angrily and started to turn. Piper quickly ducked into her car afraid of being caught eavesdropping. It turned out not to be a problem.

The boy stomped past her car without a glance.

Just like her dad did every day. Just like her dad did ten minuets later when she got home.

And would continue to do probably for the rest of her life.