ੈ｡ﾟ ･ׂׂ ✩ RED ⌇˚ɞ act i . . .
     change in perspective

· 。ﾟ *.  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 ONE ,
───── ❛ the losers club ❜

PERCY JACKSON WAS a total loser. He never payed attention in class, always got in trouble over his skateboard, and couldn't even keep his hair neat for longer than ten minutes. But it was okay, because his friends were losers too.

Grover Underwood was his best pal, even if he wasn't anybody else's. You could never catch him without a beanie or hoodie on his head, his clothes always layered with jackets on top of aforementioned hoodies. And oh yeah, there were the crutches that hateful preteens and teenagers would pick as their favorite thing to bully a crippled boy over.

And finally, there was always Laurie. A sweet and rather quiet girl with probably the worst case of dyslexia you've ever seen. Her face was littered with discoloration and blemishes that she utterly despised, and she never went outside without wearing her worn out converse. Her hair was dark brown with hazel highlights that she swore up and down weren't blonde and never would be. She also had this one hair clip that you'd never see her without. If it wasn't in her hair, it was pinned on the side of her bag, and Percy was pretty sure if it ever broke she'd hold it a funeral.

Speaking of the trio, they stood in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with their classmates, Percy's eyes wandering around aimlessly as his two friends listened attentively to what their teacher explained. Laurie loved Greek mythology while Grover simply had nothing else to preoccupy himself with and therefore was left with nothing to do but listen.

Percy felt a hand lightly slap against his shoulder as he was gazing at the ceiling, pulling his attention away and towards the brunette who had delivered it. Laurie pointed at Mr. Brunner, who'd called the boy's name without him hearing thanks to his lack of attention.

He quickly snapped his eyes over and sputtered a quick apology, finally listening when the man asked him a question. A question that he definitely didn't know the answer to.

His green eyes flickered down to his brunette friend, who looked away from him as if to say 'don't look at me.'

"I'll give you a hint, you both have something in common." Brunner told him, seeing Percy's struggle as he mindlessly stared at the picture on the wall. It took lots of hard thinking and awkward silence but finally, the answer came to him.

"Um . . . Perceus." He answered finally, rubbing the back of his neck. Brunner flashed him a smile, stating, "Correct."

The class moved along to the next piece, Laurie, Grover, and Percy sticking close to the back of the group as they usually did. The Jackson boy felt a tap to his shoulder, turning his head to find what he'd expected to be Grover, as his algebra teacher.

"Yes, Ms. Dodds?" He inquired, fiddling with his fingers as he avoided the woman's heinous glare. "We need to have a talk, Mr. Jackson." She told him, gesturing for him to follow her as she began to depart from the group and walk into an empty room.

"Okay?" The boy muttered to himself, making an unsure face as he followed his teacher. If she wanted to scold him for not paying attention, couldn't she just do it in front of everyone else like normal?

"Hey, what time's it?" Laurie quietly asked Grover, nudging his shoulder before she pointed down at his watch. The boy looked down at his wrist, reading out the depicted time on it.

"That means it's almost time to get out of here. Right, Percy?" He said, not looking back to the boy he expected to be there when he asked his question. After a beat of unanswered silence, Laurie and Grover both turned to look at Percy, assuming he'd not been listening again as his mind wondered. To their surprise, he was actually no where to be seen.

Hazel colored eyes darted around the area as Laurie looked for the boy, never finding where he was until a faint yell came from behind. That was all the coordinates she needed.

"Oh we've gotta go!" She hurriedly exclaimed, smacking Grover's shoulder as she began running back towards where their class was walking away from. She threw open door after door in search of the undoubtedly forsaken boy, finding herself either in an empty room or worse— one that wasn't empty and required a profuse apology as to why a thirteen year old was tearing open doors.

On her third try, Laurie threw open the door to a room labeled as off-limits, and not a moment too late.

Percy's head whipped to the entrance as the Fury that had once been Ms. Dodds swooped down at him from the scaffolding at the room's corner, talons extended with the intentions to tear the boy apart. He saw Laurie run through the door, panic striking across her face as she reached a hand towards the barrette in her hair.

"Percy!" She screamed, running towards the boy and pushing him to the ground, just in time to avoid a fatal blow. "Leave him!" She yelled at the leather-winged beast, what was once a hairpin in her hands now somehow replaced with a double-edged silver sword.

A sword. Percy was halfway sure he'd lost his ever-loving mind.

"Where is the bolt?!" The monster screeched, hovering in the air above the pair, the boy still on the floor as the girl held her blade steady, ready to defend them both.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Percy squeaked from the ground, holding a hand out in the air as if to push himself away from the hideous creature. It was the honest truth, for not only did Percy not have the slightest clue what it even was he was denying, he didn't even know what the woman-turned-monster was talking about.

"The bolt! I know you have it!" The creature screeched once more, beginning to dart back towards the boy but stopping once it found itself on the receiving end of a warrior's blade.

"Leave now if you know what's good for you!" Laurie snapped, the hold on her sword firm and dangerous, ready to slice the monster to dust with one wrong move. The fury released an animalistic screech as she attempted to maneuver around the girl, squawking, "Stay out of this, damned child of—"

The door flew open once more, Grover and Mr. Brunner now tumbling in behind each other. "Leave them!" Brunner proclaimed, his voice full of rage and striking fear into the monster.

With a final ear-splitting screech, the fury made an attempt to escape into the sky, only for Laurie to swing her sword downwards and send the monster into a shimmering shower of dust.

Laurie lowered her weapon, exhaling a sigh of relief. Percy scrambled up to his feet, eyes glued cautiously to the girl's blade as he feared if he were an inch too close he'd lose a finger or two.

"Oh my God, I'm going crazy! I should be on medication or something." The boy mumbled to himself, his head spinning at the fresh memories of whatever it was he had just witnessed between his friend and teacher.

"Percy, calm down, okay?" Laurie shushed him, the boy looking up to find that the sword she'd once been holding was now replaced again by a hair clip in her hand. Had he imagined it? It wasn't everyday you saw a sword-wielding thirteen year old anyways.

"Everything's gonna be okay." Grover told him, patting his back as Brunner stayed silent, his face filled with contemplation. Grover was more so trying to convince himself, not it applied to the both of them.

"Oh, God, wait! Did that really just happen?" The Jackson boy asked, speaking rapidly. He looked towards Laurie for confirmation, finding her placing the beloved hairpin back into her hair. "She— she just turned into that . . thing?" He exclaimed.

Laurie and Grover just nodded, far too nonchalantly if you were to ask Percy.

"A fury in our own school . . . I should've known." Stated Brunner. He was deep in thought, wide eyes gazing at the spot where the creature had met its end.

"A— a fury? What's . . What's a fury?" Percy asked frantically, eyes darting between his two friends and teacher, the question going unanswered. "And what happened to it? And where did you get a sword from?"

Laurie ignored his question as she chewed on her lip, conversing with Brunner. "What did she want from him?" Brunner asked the teen girl.

The brunette ran a hand threw her hair, sighing, "She said something about him being the one to steal the bolt."

"They've found him." Muttered Brunner. "He's in danger." Grover added, bouncing his foot up and down against the floor.

"Who found me?"

"He's no longer secure here." Brunner told the two informed kids, his chin rested between his fingers as he thought over the best decision.  "Where should we move him?" Grover asked.

"Camp, obviously, there's no other option." Laurie insisted, shaking her head slightly.

"What camp? Look, I'm standing right here." Percy expressed loudly, throwing his hands up in frustration at not only being ignored, but being the topic of a conversation he understood about as good as he did algebra.

"If you're right and they think he's the thief, he's not safe here now." Brunner shook his head before looking at the exasperated and confused boy. If he was who they thought he was . . . nowhere was really safe.

"Percy, take this to defend yourself. It's a powerful weapon, guard it well." The man told him, handing Percy a fountain pen. The boy stared at it dumbfounded, blinking repeatedly as if it might change into an actual weapon of some sort at any second.

" . . . This is a pen." Percy said, fumbling with it between his fingers. "Yes, Percy, we are aware." Laurie commented, her arms crossed nonchalantly.

He held it out in front of his teacher's and friend's faces, waving it under the girl's nose specifically, saying louder this time, "This is a pen!"

"Take him to his mother, and don't let him out of your sight." Brunner instructed Grover, pointing a finger at the boy's chest and receiving an immediate nod of compliance.

"You get back to camp, notify Mr. D as well as anyone you think must know. But not a word about the bolt." He then told Laurie, who gave him a firm nod before heading out the door. Percy watched with furrowed brows as she pulled the hair clip from her hair, the last thing in his sight being her brunette curls slip through the doorway.

"Okay, Percy, come on. Come on." Grover instructed his friend, ushering him towards the door, pushing him with an arm behind his back. "Come on!"

"Are you guys crazy?" Percy exclaimed as he was shoved out the door and down the museum's hall, still out of his mind confused.

"Let's go!" Was all his friend told him, pushing him out of the museum's front doors.

"This is a pen, dude!"

ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-

"LUKE!"

Laurie called after an older blonde demigod, the boy spinning around at the sound of her voice. He instructed a member of his cabin to get the rest of the campers to the Hermes cabin, before spreading his arms out wide and welcoming the girl into them.

A smile spread across Laurie's face as her stepbrother squished her in a hug, the smile quickly turning into a frown when he let go and ruffled her hair around. She swatted his hand away and attempted to fix her hair while he laughed at her, saying, "Welcome back to camp, stranger. I was starting to think you weren't coming back this time."

"Wouldn't that be convenient for you?" She said mockingly, bobbing her head back and forth. "But the new kid should be on his way now. Just got back from informing Mr. D."

"You left him?" Luke asked, brow quirked. "With Grover? You sure about that one ...?"

Laurie shook her head with a shrug, telling him, "It's what Chiron told us to do. He also said to tell anyone I 'see fit to know.' Besides, Grover's retrieved plenty of demigods . . ." She trained off before she said "safely", knowing that definitely wouldn't go over well.

"If you say so." The blonde shrugged, restraining himself from rolling his eyes. "So, why am I seen as fit to know?"

Laurie noticed the arrogant smile on her brother's lips, knowing exactly what to say to wipe it out of existence. "Because. You're gonna need time to clear out a new space in the Hermes cabin." She told him, patting his shoulder unapologetically with a sarcastic smile.

His face dropped to an unappreciative expression of solitude, shoulders slumping. "You're a horrible little girl." He stated blandly.

"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off, pushing the older boy towards the direction of his camper-filled cabin. He huffily began his trek towards the cabins, shouting back at her as he plodded along.

"Annabeth's at the west border, by the way. Alec's at the north. There's been a few too many monsters in the past week so they've got a patrol out. Pick your poison." He called back, throwing his hand up in the air and blindly pointing in the general directions he was giving her.

The mention of a camper-formed "patrol" admittedly made the girl a little nervous, but she brushed past and chose to ignore it.

Without a moment to think to through, Laurie made her way across camp and over to the north boarder, drawing her sword in case she stumbled upon the middle of a monster battle. In hindsight, going to the daughter of Athena to discuss the events of the day instead of the son of Hephaestus might've been the wiser decision, but the amount of excitement Annabeth gained when a new camper arrived was unbelievable, and letting her know about it in advance? She'd be drowning poor Percy with questions the minute he stepped onto Half-Blood Hill.

Besides, Annabeth was really Luke's friend, not Laurie's. Laurie was halfway sure the daughter of Athena wasn't too fond of her, despite how long they'd known each other and the closeness of age.

"Lightfoot!" The girl called as she approached the camper patrolling the border, her ears being met with the dull sound of a sword thumping against the toe of a boot. Alec turned to face her, his expression lifting when he found that someone had come to aid him in curing his boredom. "Border patrol" really had its downsides when the sun is setting and you're the only one within a hundred meter radius, the most threatening thing around being a long-legged spider.

"Laurie! When'd you get back?" The older boy asked, driving his sword into its sheath, for he was no longer tapping it against the tip of his shoe.

"Not that long ago." She answered him with a shrug. "I'm supposed to be telling you to tell all three of the other kids on your little border patrol to keep an eye out for Kindly Ones."

"Kindly Ones? Why would they be at Camp?" He asked, a dark brow quirked. A face of realization then set in and with both brows rose, he asked her accusatorially, "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything!" She protested, lifting her hands up in a gesture of defense. "We were attacked by one today at a school trip. She was after a new camper coming today."

"A new camper, eh?" Questioned Alec, a knife the girl never even saw him unveil now being haphazardly flipped in the air before returning to his palm. "The kid you've been looking after for like two months?"

"That's the one." Laurie responded, her eyes set on the sloping ground outside of Half-Blood Hill, a good vantage point if there was a monster or any other threat making its way towards her. Alec nodded and after a few beats of silence, Laurie decided that was her cue to go and that they could catch up more at dinner, aka where they would annoy the rest of camp by shouting across tables to each other.

"Alright, well, don't die please." She told Alec, who looked at her with a cocked brow as he asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the precious cabin I haven't stepped foot in in two months." She smiled apologetically unapologetic, beginning to tread backwards and away from him.

Alec watched her jam a thumb over her shoulder as she began heading back towards the camp, a falsetto pout appearing on his lips.

"Y'know, next time you get back from a quest and talk to me for ten seconds after, I'm gonna stab you." He told her, humorously of course, as he pointed a limp finger in her general direction.

"Love you too, Lightfoot!" She called back to him as she twirled around and began making her way around the borders.

Laurie took a deep inhale as she allowed herself to trample through the leaves and underbrush of the outskirts of camp, breathing in the fresh smell of nature and that odd sense of home she'd missed in the past few months.

She found herself thinking about how this whole homemade patrol thing stupid. If a Fury was trying to get into the camp, they wouldn't make it past the borders even if they tried. The campers must've been really bored was all she could think.

A small smile graced her lips as she found that camp was serene and peaceful for once as she trudged through leaves, a moment she was cherishing, for she knew that by tomorrow news would have broken about Percy and the accusations at him from the underworld.

She finally made it to the cabin areas as fellow campers milled around, going on with their daily activities. The girl stopped in front of the small cabin that stuck off at the end of the u-shaped lineup's right, unbalancing the symmetry.

Gods, was she thankful for the shit shack in front of her. Sure, if wasn't anywhere near as big as the other cabins and it only had room for one person, two of you were lucky, but it was home.

Laurie was thankful for whoever it was that was the only other child of Persephone at Camp before her that this was made for. Yeah, they'd been there long before she ever had, but the cabin still stood all thanks to whoever that was, meaning that Laurie didn't have to reside in the same room as her brother for another who-knows-how-many years like she did before Camp.

The girl twisted the doorknob open, stepping inside of the cabin as the door squeaked open, unaware of the chaos that she would be entangled in beginning the following morning.

That chaos was named Percy Jackson, who was on the opposite end of the camp as her, battling his own monster with nothing but a satyr, a backpack, and a pen.

𝐤𝐣'𝐬 𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬! ⋆·˚ ༘ *
okay yes, yes, this is like the movie BUT I PROMISE THE REST OF THE BOOK IS BASED ON THE BOOKS LMAO. the "this is a pen!" scene was just so fun to write, i had to

hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, i can't wait for y'all to fall in love with laurie & percy like i have, ily! <3