Smithereens

Chapter 1

I was at the gate, speaking with the security guard, when a red Lamborghini pulled up. A girl about fifteen got out, followed by a man in mid twenties. They looked kind of similar, but I couldn't nail what it was. The girl had tan skin, multicolored eyes and caramel hair in a braid. Native ethnicity. The boy had brown hair and tan skin, but blue eyes and none of the same features.

"Thanks, Mitchell. I'll see you at camp," the girl said to the boy. "You're sure you don't need a ride to the airport?"

"No, I'm good Pipes. See ya!" He gave the girl, Pipes, a hug before getting in his car parked in the grass and backing up down the driveway.

The girl walked towards us.

"What's going on, Richard?" She asked the security guard I was talking to.

"This is Tony Stark," he began. "He says he needs to speak with either you or your father, but he doesn't have an appointment. Says it's urgent."

"Oh really?" She turned to me. "I have time now, if you wanna,"

She looked back at Richard. "I'll be in my second office, if anyone asks."

We got back in our cars. I begrudgingly admitted to Happy that her car was nicer than ours.

She parked in the far corner of the driveway, by the garden.

"Follow me." She entered the house.

"Oh! Ms. McLean! Your father called! He says he wants to have dinner out tonight for your birthday, so you should freshen up." A plump, middle-aged woman called to Piper McLean.

She glanced down at her clothes - an orange tank that read Camp Half-Blood, and a pair of ripped jeans. Though the rips were natural, she didn't buy them like that. Believe me: I know fashion. And a pair of boots.

"My birthday was two weeks ago." She said uncertainly.

"Yes, but he wants to celebrate today, since you both have tonight off."

"Okay. And when you see him, ask him if he knows when my car will be back from the shop."

The woman nodded earnestly. Piper lead me towards the left wing, where her rooms were.

"What do you need two offices for?" I asked her as she lead me into the second office.

"This one's actually just my conference room, but Dad insists it's an office, so I call it an office." She unlocked the door and we entered. She face palmed.

"I'm sorry. I had a friend staying in here for a few weeks. I forgot to clean up his stuff. He has bad nightmares, so I wanted him in my wing so I could wake him up." She quickly ripped off the sheets and blankets from the couch and motioned me to sit. She glanced at the cushion next to me and picked up a blue t-shirt that read GHS SWIM TEAM in bold letters.

"Ugh. Really, Percy? Is this even clean?" She muttered. She folded the shirt and set it on the table, the. She sat next to me on the couch.

"Sorry again."

"It's fine. So... you're a pop star now?"

"Yeah."

"I would've thought, growing up with a famous dad, you would avoid it at all costs."

"You're one to talk." She fired back it was obviously a sore point for her.

"Touché,"

"Is this important or..."

"Right! Sorry." I pulled my phone out of my pocket. "This is an Instagram post by @piperrosemclean, dating back to August 18th. It's captioned: 'Miss these weirdos. Happy Sassy Sixteen, Percy! (because he ain't very sweet) #sweetsixteen #hero #aquaman' That's you?"