Half-Blood High

Hello amazing people of fan fiction! Hope you're all having a great day!

So grade eleven starts this Monday and I'm sooo nervous. Those texts are thick. Really thick.

But any way, moving onto the story. It deals with High school and a murder mystery. I haven't finished typing it out yet but I do have the second chapter complete (Updates solely relies on your Reviews , people. So go to that big box at the end of the page and start filling in your thoughts! )

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson or the characters in the series. Obviously. (In my best Snape impression.)

They are, sadly, the property of Rick Riordan.

And of course please don't forget to Review and Follow/Favorite. Even a single review goes a long mile.

~0o0~

"Have a nice term Miss. Chase!"

"Thanks, Argus. Take care." chirped the blonde haired seventeen year old, lugging her suitcase from the back of car and adjusting the strap of her worn out pink backpack. She gave a quick wave as her trusted chauffeur drove away down the dirt road, his bespectacled face grinning at her in the rearview mirror.

She felt free. A sudden warmth spread across her chest as she watched the car steadily pull away from her; a visual metaphor of the memory of the life she had led this past summer, the days filled with boredom and the constant reminder of her uselessness. The inevitable reminder of her being a mistake…

School again. Annabeth thought, a melancholy smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she turned on her heels. She stood still for a moment, staring at the words carved on the grey, ancient slab of stone which stood erect on the grassy ground, the letters peeking out from behind a thin foliage of mild dew and vines.

Half-Blood Academy

For the young and gifted.

She turned to face the looming castle behind her, something right out of a 1960's horror movie. It stood ominously in the darkening sky behind, its four towers jutting out like blown out candles on a birthday cake, still as dark and damp as it had been a hundred and fifty years ago when it was built by the last lord of the land.

A cold breeze rustled the leaves in the nearby trees, the promise of a rainy night strong in the looming dark clouds that was softly rumbling overhead in the sky. Annabeth shivered and pulled her jacket tighter and so did most others around her; all of them back for a new term.

"Annie!" a voice cut through the chill air. A few people turned around to look at her best friend, Piper Mclean, her brown choppy hair flying behind her, as she raced down the dirt track towards the blonde. Annabeth let go of her suitcase as Piper flew into her arms and knocked the wind out of her.

"Missed you too, Pipes." she chuckled warmly and readily returned the hug; the knot of nerves in her stomach slowly uncoiling. Piper had been on vacation with her dad in Spain this summer and therefore communication between the two had been sparse, especially since Annabeth herself had been busy designing and fixing blue prints. It was a simple idea of a house, 'A rather poor attempt for an amateur.' her mother had sneered while stacking piles of paper and answering her cell every five minutes, the everyday lifestyle of the CEO of the most successful architect company in the country oozing out of her demeanor.

They walked back to the castle together, Piper chattering the whole way about her days in Spain, studiously avoiding any questions of her friend's summer; they both knew it was nothing good. Annabeth listened in silence, a small smile growing on her face as she drank in the sight around. The lake was spread out on her right, its water dark and swirling as the wind picked up and the sky grew cloudier. To her left was a clump of evergreens and oak which continued for about a hundred feet before it was swallowed up by the forest. They played capture the flag there; teaming up to kick the opposite team's butts and stealing their flag. More often than not it was just a perfect excuse to extract revenge for any slights that had occurred. Sorry I hit you with my spear, Brittany. I swear this has nothing to do with you making out with my boyfriend last week!

She could hear the neighing of horses in the distances and fought the urge to run to the back of the castle where the stables were located. Her buddy Porkpie would be there, eating clumps of carrots and flirting with that mare called Buttercup on which she was positive he had a crush. Yes, she knew she was weird, thank you very much.

"Annie? Are you listening to me?" Piper's voice shook her out of her musing. "Annabeth!"

"What? Of course I was listening!" she adds offended as Piper's multi colored eyes narrowed. "You were talking about the…the…"

"Yes?" Piper crossed her arms, pausing on the tall stone steps that led to the castle entrance, her choppy hair wiping around her face and her eyebrows nonexistent as it shot up to her hair line and was covered by her fringe. It wasn't a good look on her friend's face, Annabeth wanted to say. Piper really did have nice eyebrows.

"…..about the….Basilica!"

Piper rolled her eyes and huffed "We were on the beach! I didn't even mention any Basilicas, not that there is anything to mention. They were big. They were crowded. I spent about two whole hours in front of one before taking the next taxi to the Barceloneta beach. And no, Annabeth" Piper added as she spotted the indignant look on her friend's face. "I did not give a shit about the architecture or the size of the bloody… dome. I'm not the one nut on buildings. That's you."

Annabeth scowled a little and Piper, rolling her eyes, grabbed the handle of the suitcase from the blonde's hand and dragged it behind her as she marched into the castle. Annabeth childishly stuck her tongue out and after dithering for a moment, followed her friend up the steps into the warm forum, as did the rest of the population wandering outside at some point in the night.

~0o0~

"And done!"Annabeth whooped, spreading her arms around as the last of her shirts were tucked neatly into the cupboard and fell onto her bed, her fingers curling around the soft material of the grey sheets. Piper was lounging on her own bed, staring absently at the blue ceiling, her packing already finished in the afternoon.

"Great! Now let's head down to dinner." The brunette leaped from the hot pink sheets that she had haphazardly tucked in under her mattress and made to the door.

"Where's Hazel?" Annabeth asked following Piper, glancing at the third and final bed in their dorm. The sheets were made and she spotted the said girl's watch lying on the bedside table, the diamonds sparkling softly in the soft light of the room. The lights flickered suddenly as thunder rumbled and rain fell outside in a heavy blanket, causing water to spray in through the open window by Annabeth's bed. The blonde quickly closed it and through the glass spied the drenched students below on the grounds, all shrieking and running inside.

Piper shrugged. "No idea. She was headed to the lake to sketch when I spotted you through the dorm window. You know how she is with that sketch book of hers. Probably at dinner by now."

"Let's hope." Annabeth said, glancing nervously at the window, as the wind picked up and a howled throughout the castle, the trees shaking furiously. "She does not want to be out there right now."

They made their way down the spiral staircase with the other students, all of them chatting and thinking of a hundred different things but all united in the same short term goal: dinner.

Annabeth's dormitory was situated at the top of the west tower. There were four towers in the castle, each named after the direction they represented. On your first day at Half-Blood High you were assigned your dorms. It was a random decision and probably had no other reason than to use up the sleeping spaces but over the years there developed an unspoken competition between the residents of the four towers. The East had the best swordsman, the south the best artist. Annabeth was pleased that she had put her own tower on the map by scoring the highest in her batch since her arrival. Earlier it was some guy named Felix from the north tower who had held that spot.

The cafeteria was noisy and smelled absolutely delicious. Annabeth crossed her fingers in the hope of finding her favorite dessert on the menu tonight: Chocolate Éclair.

They found their table and a couple of others from her dorm settled down with them. It was again an unconscious move where different towers had their own spots. Of course there were plenty of tables where people from different towers mingled, usually in the middle of the cafeteria and usually couples. But the rest just tended to sit in their corner of the room, finding comfort in the company of their dorm mates.

"What's up girlitas?" Annabeth face broke into a grin as she turned to face her slightly crazy friend, Leo Valdez, who had plopped down next to her, his plate piled high with sausages. Leo was insane and proud of it. She respected him for that. Plus he was a bloody good mechanic and absolutely fantastic with his hands.

"Same ol'. Same ol'." Piper replied before taking a bite of her tofu sandwich. "Where's Jason?"

"I'm hurt!" Leo whimpered, placing his hand above his chest in passion, his face filled with mock hurt. "You see me after two months and the first thing you ask me is where your dumb boyfriend is? I have no idea where that tosser is and I don't care! So there!"

"Leo."Piper said patiently, halfway down her meal "Jason is your best friend. And he isn't dumb. And we talked for about three hours during lunch today before you ditched me for some girl."

"Oh." Leo said as he started to cram the first sausage into his mouth with absolutely no regard of the people sitting around him. Some of the students eyed him wearily and discreetly scooted away from the curly haired boy. "Well in that case, Jason is still unpacking; he got here like just ten minutes before, something about delayed flights from Dubai. No, he isn't dumb. And Pipes, you were telling me something about Spain before I rushed off with Andy?"

Piper rolled her eyes and Leo just grinned at her, his teeth mercifully clean off any chunks of meat. He snagged one of Annabeth's grilled tomatoes but the blonde didn't comment, having already moved onto her favorite part of the meal; dessert.

"Hey, look what the cat dragged in." Piper whispered, nudging her head in the direction of the east tower's spot. "Or more like the sluts."

Annabeth looked around and spotted the spectacle of her friend's amusement. Sitting there, surrounded by a gaggle of girls was her nemesis, the best swordfighter in the school, the precious jewel of the east. Percy Jackson. Or, as she like to call him, Mr. Jackass. That should have seriously been his name. It completely fitted his personality.

He was currently being fed dinner by the biggest slut in school. Rachel Elizabeth Dare. Or as she was popularly known as: RED; homage to her name and her crimson locks that was now being played with by the green eyed monster himself. RED looked over at Annabeth and sneered, placed a scarily manicured hand on the dark haired boy's shoulder and bended low to whisper something in his ear, her cleavage in full display. They both looked up and met her eyes. RED sneered at her again, there really seemed to be no other expression capable on her botox'ed up face but Jackson caught her eyes and quickly sent her a wink. It was a an empty trick, intending nothing but her irritation as they both knew over the years, but the red haired hag seemed to find this a serious threat to her feminine powers and had quickly captured her lover's lip's in a heated kiss while the rest of the easties cat called and whooped.

They had the biggest jerk and the biggest slut in the school. Annabeth thought amusedly. That had to amount up to something.

"They're all idiots." Piper said shaking her head at the noise produced. "Though I still don't understand what the deal with you and Jackson is. He's like obsessed with torturing you. Ever since first year."

"I already told you Pipes. Its family issues. His dad and my mom literally hate each other and stuff."

"I think he has a crush on you." Leo said sagely and at her incredulous scoff, plowed on in a wise tone "You know the whole little boys pulling the pigtails of little girls who they like or something like that."

"He's got a point, you know." Piper said and at her disgusted expression continued. "I mean the boy is bloody hot. Those sea green eyes and dark tousled hair. He's a good swordfighter so he most probably has a killer body….."

"You have a boyfriend." Leo reminded her tersely just as the blond in question entered the room, spotted them and made a bee line for their table.

"Whatever the case, you know I'm not attracted to the creep." Annabeth whispered to Piper as soon as Leo was distracted waving at his best friend to come take the empty spot beside him. "You know I have a crush on….You know who."

Piper rolled her eyes and made some comments about how the guy wasn't a dark wizard and Annabeth was being foolish referring to the poor bloke as some nose less freak, but her attention was mostly focused on the arrival of her boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen in two months.

Jason had only a few seconds to say hello to the other two occupants of the table before his girlfriend gave a squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck. The westies around them started to catcall and howl as their own golden couple started making out, a showoff to the other towers, especially the east. Who was Piper kidding? They were all idiots.

"They're going to continue on like this till midnight. Believe me," Leo shuddered "Jason sounded completely horny throughout this summer. 'Did you see Piper's photo at the beach?' and 'Do you think Piper looks better in red than in blue?'"

"They are definitely going to make up for lost time." Annabeth agreed, repulsed at the sight of her best friend curled around her boyfriend. She looked around and spotted Percy and Rachel still going strong. It had somehow turned into a snog match. The east vs the west. She shuddered to think of the results as the cafeteria was filled with cheers and encourages to the two rival couples.

"They are all animals." Annabeth continued resignedly, as Travis Stoll caught his brother in a headlock and smashed his head into a plate of mashed potatoes, Connor shrieking all the way while his brother laughed maniacally. "Just…animals."

"Let's get out of here." Leo whispered and she quietly agreed.

~0o0~

"Would you rather…..touch a tarantula or bite a lizard?"

They were in bed, the blankets pulled up to their chin, the room filled with the noise of the rain splashing against the windows, the storm showing no signs of ending.

"Eeewww! That's gross, Piper!" Annabeth complained, sitting up and hugging her pillow, but didn't pause a moment longer before answering "Bite a lizard."

"Eeewwe! You're gross. All you had to do was touch the-"

"I'm arachnophobic." The blonde cut off her roommate. The door suddenly opened with a loud bang just as another lightening flashed and lit the room blinding white and brightened the outline of someone-no-something standing at the door. Piper, startled more than anything, gave out half a scream and chucked her pillow at the figure. It was a poor move, Annabeth thought dryly, in defending against a robber or something more sinister but luckily it was just Hazel, obviously coming from the bathroom after a shower, her small body clad in a white sleeping gown, her hair a damp mess.

"Oh my gods, Hazel. You scared the shit-" Piper was caught off guard as the pillow came flying back to her and hit her square in the face. Hazel shook her finger sternly, closing the door behind her. "I've told you. No swearing!"

"Where were you, Haze?" Annabeth asked, watching the curly haired girl climb into bed, ignoring Piper's lamenting of how she was sure the other girl had broken her neck. "I didn't see you at dinner."

"Oh, I ate early." The girl replied, her tone a bit too nonchalant. Annabeth squinted. Was it her imagination or was Hazel Lévesque blushing? Piper narrowed her eyes, having noticed the strange demeanor of the small girl too and quirked an eyebrow at Annabeth. They both nodded.

"So tell me, Hazel. How did the sketching go today?" Piper asked casually, inspecting her nails as her blonde partner in crime leaned back against the bed frame, her pillow on her lap.

"It went…well."

"So did you find any interesting stuff to draw? Like, you know, the lake, the ducks…..maybe boys."

"Wha-what?" the younger girl's stammering was a solid proof of her guiltiness. "There was no guy-"

"Come on, Hazel. We know. You obviously look like you did it." Annabeth teased and shared a quick grin with Piper as Hazel spluttered, her face doing an excellent impression of a scarlet steam engine.

"The first time can be hard." Piper continues. "You just need to find the rhythm-"

"We just held hands! I swear!" Hazel burst out and after spotting the twin look of triumph on her roommate's faces, muttered sullenly "Damn."

It was a rare moment to hear their goody two shoed friend dish out profanities and Annabeth felt the need to observe a second of silence to cherish it but Piper had already proceeded to make Hazel spill the beans.

"So Zhang, huh?" Piper teased as she settled back on her pillow five minutes later. "Best archer in the school. East tower. Sweet guy. Friends with Jackson, though. Eh, no one can be perfect, I guess."

"I met him down at the lake." Hazel repeated, as if trying to make the encounter more innocent than it already was. "We talked and he offered to show me his bow. I forgot to take my watch so I lost track of time."

"Seriously, Hazel. You could do a lot worse." Annabeth said through a yawn and the curly haired girl shot her a grateful smile and lay down to sleep.

There was silence for a few beats as the rain still rushed down outside, the room lighting up bright at intervals and then going pitch dark again thanks to the lightning. The trees swayed dangerously in the frigid, dark storm outside and the water rose and fell threateningly in the lake.

"But seriously though. Bite the lizard. Isn't touching-"

~0O0~

So just to clear things up: Annabeth attends a boarding school in…the middle of nowhere (I honestly don't know a place where you can find an ancient castle turned into a school. So let's all just use some imagination.) Her home life isn't that great and Piper is her best friend.

They have four different towers; just like the Hogwarts houses. Annabeth belongs to the West.

And…Percy is a complete douche bag!

***PS***: I'm looking for a better title to this story. If you have any suggestions please review them.