Rays of light from the rising sun creeped through the windowsill and into the darkness that was my dorm room at Westover Hall. It was winter now, snow covered the roof and the grounds outside. Christmas wreaths were placed at every entrance of the school and a giant Christmas tree was in the main lobby, decorated with ornaments and colorful lights. Since Maine was so far north, the sun would rise by five in the morning and set by four in the afternoon, which made the winter nights longer and the days shorter.

I was motionless in bed as I slumbered, not even stirring as the faint light of the sun reflected on my face through the window. It wasn't even six o'clock yet, therefore, there was no need for me to be awake. In a military academy such as Westover Hall, students are expected to be awake by 6:30 and in the mess hall for breakfast by 7:30, giving me more than thirty minutes before I would have to be awake and ready for the upcoming school day.

All of a sudden, my peaceful demeanor is disturbed as I instantly sit upright in bed, eyes wide open, before banging my head against the ceiling and falling five feet from the top bunk to the hard wood floor of my room. The fall was painful and I groaned loudly as I rolled onto my stomach to avoid the sprouting pang in my shoulder blades and lower back. All the ruckus I made accidentally woke my roommates up which only made the situation worse.

My roommates, Drake and Josh, are step brothers and the tension between them is palpable at all times. They constantly bicker to the point their peers can barely stand them and Drake is constantly kicking us out so he can bring girls into our room. The only thing the brothers can bond over is bullying me to my dismay. As I lay on the ground trying to regain my bearings, Drake, the boy who slept in a single twin bed across from me, took his pillow and smacked it across the side of my head and told me to "shut the fuck up" before trying to go back to sleep while Josh, the boy who slept in the bunk below me, intentionally kicked me as he rustled out of bed to go take a shit. They were total dicks to me but there was nothing I could really do about it, I didn't want to get expelled. Besides I kind of understood why they were pissed about all the commotion I made. It wasn't the first time I woke them up early, it's been happening ever since the start of the school year in September. All thanks to this strange dream I keep having.

In this strange recurring dream I have, I stand in a clearing of a dark forest with billowing trees and dim constellations. There is no light besides the crash site of a damaged plane almost 200 yards away form were I lay. The frame of the plan is lit up in flames and it's the only thing I can remember from my dream besides the light of a torch and the feeling of a warm motherly embrace as I watch the crash sight over her shoulder. Sometimes I remember seeing more details in my dreams like black angelic wings or running towards the flames of the crash only to see the plan collapse into itself. However, those details aren't always there and it makes me second guess myself and what I'm seeing. Overall, the whole thing is really frustrating. Ever since the school year started four months ago, I have been having this dream of laying in that dark clearing only to suddenly wake up once it's over. Sometimes I'll be in a full body sweat or sometimes I'll hit my head on the ceiling like I did earlier. I don't think I would mind the nightmare as much or I wouldn't be having the same annoying reaction every morning if I had something else I could hold on to from my past. Sadly, I don't.

A week into my junior year I woke up in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room with no recollection of anything. My age, my heritage, and the awareness of my location or purpose was all unknown to me. All except a vague memory of that damn clearing and the plane crash. My confusion caused me to panic and my roommates, peers, and teachers have not been able to look at me normally since.

That day, I had scrambled out of my bed and had frantically looked around our small room, unable to recognize Drake, Josh or any of the material objects strewn across the floor. According to the calendar with a topless girl on the cover that Drake hung up, it was the month of September and according to my appearance in the bathroom mirror, I looked like I was almost seventeen. In my dream, I could tell that I was young - younger than ten -and wore matching plaid pajamas. However, as I looked into the mirror that day, I looked like a teenager. My hair was short, messy, and dark as night, while my skin was ghostly pale with dark purple crescents prominent under my emerald green eyes. It made me wonder.

Why did I look so sickly? How did I end up in a dorm room and with two roommates?

If I had to guess, I looked about sixteen, which meant that my junior year just started about a week ago. I didn't remember any of my classes or who my teachers were. I had spent thirty minutes looking for my first period class that morning which earned a serious scolding by various teachers and administration. All I had with me when I woke up was a leather jacket and a torn ACDC shirt that I apparently wore to bed. Not only that, but I had found a golden colored lighter in my jacket pocket with a folded piece of lined paper with the capitalized words "I'LL BE BACK" scribbled in black ink. The tokens of my previous life confused me even more.

Amongst all the chaos with my amnesia, shit roommates, and school, there was a silver-lining. A freshmen named Bianca, who I apparently befriended in the first week of school, was nice enough to stick with me the entire day as I tried to get my bearings straight. For some reason, I felt distrustful of practically everyone at this school but her. Bianca was distrustful too so together, we decided to keep my anxieties about my amnesia to myself until I could find a trusted adult. But until then, all I had that tied me to my past was my dream and the belongings I woke up with.

Speaking of Bianca, I was supposed to meat her and her little brother Nico at the mess hall for breakfast 7:30 sharp today. Tonight is the night of Westover Hall's Winter Ball. Classes were cancelled so there was time for all the high school girls to go into town to get their hair and makeup done, also so ASB could set everything up for the big event. Nico was twelve and in seventh grade so obviously he wasn't allowed to go but the school proved a middle school dance a few hours earlier in the school gym and Nico was excited about that. It was why Bianca wanted the three of us to meet so early, she wanted to make sure Nico ate and I was able to help him get ready for his own social event tonight so she could have time to get her hair and make up done. Since Bianca isn't allowed to go into any of the boys dormitories or vice versa - somehow Drake always got away with it - Bianca had me go and wake up Nico a lot of the time or help him out with other things. Today was no different.

Nico's residence hall was down the hill, located on lower campus. After I recovered from my fall and Josh left the bathroom, I got up and searched for my uniform in my closet along with my snow parka, and dark blue trapper hat. Our uniform consisted of off-blue button down shirts and dark blue slacks that students had to wear at all classes or meals. I didn't mind the uniform and structure of military school unlike the Di Angelos or my other peers. However, it did suck that even though we didn't have classes today I still had to wear my dress blues to breakfast. Any way, I quickly dressed myself and made my way to Nico's dormitory in lower campus to make sure he was ready to meet his sister at the mess hall.

"Nico," I call out, knocking on his wooden door repeatedly.

It's almost seven o'clock now.

"Nico! C'mon little dude, we gotta go meet your sister in like half an hour."

There's rustling and murmured complaints on the other side of the door but a few moments later, a small unruly haired boy faces me, a hand rubbing sleep out of his left eye.

"Mmmmm," Nico whines, "It's too early for this bullshit Percy."

Percy. When I woke up with no recollection of my name or anything else so many months ago, it was Bianca and Nico who had given me knowledge of my own name. Nico had ran towards me shouting out "Percy, Percy, Percy," as I followed the rest of the high school boys to the mess hall. Bianca had followed him, calmly, and it gave me hope. Bianca later told me my last name was Jackson. Percy Jackson - it had a nice ring to it if I do say so myself.

"Bullshit?" I exclaim, "Who taught you that word?"

"You did, dip shit," I raise my eyebrows and squat down to wrap my arms around Nico's skinny legs and heave him over my shoulder. Nico was still pretty small for his age, I was almost a foot taller than him and a lot more built. But I'm sure by the start of eighth grade he'll have grown a couple inches.

"What'd you call me you little punk?" I teasingly taunt.

"Put me down Percy, god dammit" I laughed and as I walked towards his twin bed and dropped him. Nico only shares his dorm with one roommate - which I envied. After laughing at Nico for a few moments I turned to face the other twin bed behind me.

"Hey Grover."

"Hey… Hey Percy."

Grover is a little odd to say the least. He has to use crutches because he has some disability with his legs and no one seems to question the oddness of that at a place like Westover: a military academy that emphasizes full physical strength as a necessity. But whatever, Grover is a nice enough kid and is friends with Nico so I tolerate him.

"Excited for the dance tonight?" I ask.

"Ye… Yeah I'm excited. I think some old friends of mine might even sneak in too."

"For the middle school dance?" That's so stupid, I think, but Grover nods so I say, "Well, that's very rebellious of you," before returning my attention to Nico.

"Alright dude, your sister is waiting for us down in the mess hall so get dressed and let's go find her."

"Ugh, fine!" Nico groans but gets out of bed and starts riffling through his closet for his uniform.

"Can I come with you guys?" Grover hesitantly asks.

"I don't see why not," I shrug, "I'll let you guys get dressed in peace, meet me in common room downstairs in ten. If not, there'll be consequences," I jokingly threaten before closing their dormitory door.

Ten minutes later and we're making our way back to the main campus. The mess hall is practically the hearth of the school and located above the auditorium where we have school assemblies. Every student meets there for three meals of the day no matter the age or grade. That's where Nico, Grover, and I found fourteen year old Bianca Di Angelo waiting for us.

"You're late," She said.

"It's literally 7:32, Bianca" Nico complains.

"Hey," I nudge him, "Be nice to your sister."

Nico rolls his eyes and sits down across from his sister along with Grover while I move to sit next to Bianca.

"Sorry, B. Let's go get breakfast and then you can tell us the plan for the day."

Bianca nods begrudgingly and the group of us get up to serve themselves. Grover practicality drools over the stack of waffles he piled on his plate and Nico smiles happily as he piles bacon on his plate.

"So," Bianca starts, "I have a hair appointment at 10:30, but I have to be on the bus to town at 9 o'clock and won't be back until I take the bus at four," she explains.

"So… Grover, Percy, and I can chill until you get back?" Nico questions in excitement.

"No," Bianca retorts, "Your dance starts at 4:30, so around 3:30, you're going to need to shower and everything. Percy and I signed up to chaperone before we head out to Winter Ball around eight tonight."

I wasn't necessarily thrilled to chaperone middle schoolers but it wasn't like I had any other friends I could get ready with or whatever. It was too humiliating if I thought about it too much. On the bright side though, maybe I could coax Nico into dancing with some girl this afternoon!

"It's gonna be fun, Nicky" I sing, "maybe you'll get to dance with that girl. What's her name again?"

"Ew, Percy," Nico grimaces, "I have no interest dancing with some girl."

I laugh and shrug, "If you say so."

We laugh and joke around while we eat and eventually Bianca leaves to get ready. I decided to walk her back to her dorm while Nico and Grover continue to talk down at the mess hall. By now it was almost eight and as Bianca and I strolled together to the girls dormitories on the other side of campus, others at Westover milled about preparing for the rest of their day. It was nice.

"Are you excited?" Bianca asks.

"For what?"

"Y'know…. Winter Ball?"

"Oh," I laugh at my own obliviousness, "Yeah, I guess so. I don't know."

I didn't want to tell Bianca that I was nervous and honestly: that I'm upset that I don't have guys or girls my age that I can hang out with at the dance. I didn't want to make her feel bad, especially since she's been a practical angel since I met her back in September. Only a minute later and we were outside her residence hall.

"I'll come pick you up here at 7:45, okay?"

"Okay," Bianca smiles, a tinge of pink dusting her face.

I smile back and with my hands firmly dug into my parka pockets I trudge my way back to my own residence hall on the opposite side of campus.

The day goes by pretty quickly after that. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon, or 15:00 military time, which is what Westover Hall prefers, I was making my way to Nico and Grover's dorm. About a month into the school year, I discovered that Nico and Bianca lost their parents a few months back and they were left a large sum of inheritance. Apparently, their family lawyer will visit them on occasion and as a gift for starting the seventh grade, she gave Nico the PlayStation 2 and a small TV to go along with it. Every time I come in I can usually always find him and Grover playing some random game when they have free time or Nico convincing Grover to play Mythomagic with him. How they haven't had it confiscated yet is beyond me. Any way, today was no different.

"Alright runt, get in the shower!" I order as I barge into their room.

The new NBA 2k8 game is on the screen; Kobe Bryant driving into the paint against LeBron James. I quickly walk over to Nico and snatch the controller from his little hands.

"Hey!" Nico exclaims.

"Get in the shower!" I tell him, taking his controller and continuing the game for him.

"You're such a fucking asshole, Percy," Nico huffs.

"I'm helping you, Nicky!" I holler, "If it wasn't for me, your sister would be hovering over you all day."

"I like it when she hovers!" Nico calls out from the bathroom, water already running.

"Besides, what's up with you and my sister anyway? Is she your date to the dance tonight?" I roll my eyes, typical Nico to ask dumb and intrusive questions.

"I'm almost two years older than your sister, dude." Is my only response.

"So? It's not like your Mr. Popular. You're literally hanging out with two twelve year olds right now." I scowl but don't divert my attention from the television screen.

If only I had water powers, then I could piss of Nico by turning the water freezing cold or something.

For the next several minutes there's complete science besides the sound of running water from the shower, the clicking of the controllers, and the crowd cheering in the game. The silence wasn't necessarily awkward but I decided to break it and converse with Grover.

"So, some of your friends are sneaking into the dance tonight?"

"Yeah…" Grover sighs, "But they're older so I think they're probably going to crash the Ball, man."

"Really? Any girls my age?"

Grover glares at me but continues playing the game. It's tied, 50-50. I press a button and Kobe sinks a three.

"Yeah, but I don't think she's your type Perce. She's like super punk and stuff - really into Greenday."

"I'm into Greenday," I slyly reply.

Grover doesn't respond. I guess he was to too busy having LeBron drive into the key to dunk.

About an hour later, Grover, Nico, and I are making our way to the gymnasium at the main entrance of Westover Hall. The main entrance is on the side of a cliff - which is a safety hazard if you ask me - and where both dances would be held tonight. The three of us meet Bianca at the entrance of the gym. Her long, dark brown hair is shinier than usual and styled so that the usual short locks of her hair that frame her face are clipped back. Her makeup covered her freckles but was still light and her mascara plus her eyeshadow made her dark brown, almost black, eyes stand out even more. She looked older, more mature, and totally drop-dead gorgeous. She wasn't even wearing her gown yet!

The dance goes off without a hitch. Nico and Grover mingle for a little bit with their other classmates before they come over to join us on the bleachers, Nico immediately taking a stack of Mythomagic cards out of his suit jacket and forcing the rest of us to play. By the end of the dance at 5:45, the four of us went our separate ways so Bianca and I could get ready for our own dance.

By the time I get back to my own dorm, Drake and Josh are fighting with each other over who gets to use the mirror. Their suits were nice, not a formal as they should be but the step-brothers cleaned up well. As they continued to bicker without sparing me a second thought, I searched for my own suit: an all black ensemble I received from a mysterious sender. I don't know who it could have been that sent me this package. After my anxiety attack on the first day here, Dr. Thorne, one of the co-headmasters, had sat me down and told me that my parents were dead. It was news that was hard to process and it makes me wonder if my parents died in the plane crash I always dream about. However, I try not to dwell on it too much because it only makes me depressed, instead, I try to focus on how grateful I am for whoever sent the beautiful and expensive suit I have for the dance.

After showering, shaving my stubble, and stealing a slim amount of Josh's hair gel so he wouldn't notice, I was almost ready to go. All that I was missing was my golden lighter. You may think its weird that I was going to carry a lighter into a school event but for some reason I always had this instinctual pull to have it with me. Maybe before my amnesia I was a smoker or something. Anyway, after grabbing my lighter and my parka so I wouldn't freeze in the cold weather, I made my way over to Bianca's residence hall. She looked even more beautiful in her dress.

It was a backless black dress that flowed out and ended at her knees. It had a somewhat deep neckline and I could feel my cheeks heat up. The color went well with her long dark, straight hair that cascaded down her back. She truly was stunning.

"You ready to go, Percy?" Bianca smiles sweetly.

"Uh… uh…" I splutter, "Yeah! Yeah, let's go."

I hold out my arm as an invitation to fully escort her to the gymnasium and she happily accepted, wrapping her own arm around mine as we walked in tandem.

The gymnasium was nicely decorated with blue and white balloons everywhere and streamers too. For about half of the dance, Bianca and I sat together at a table talking to each other until this one particular song came on. It was a slow song: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. The only reason I know it is because Josh would sometimes sing it when he showered at night.

When I heard the beginning chords, I felt a surge of confidence rush through me and turned to Bianca.

"Wanna dance?" I ask.

Bianca looks down while blushing profusely.

"Sure," she says, and I take her hand and drag her to the dance floor.

At first it was awkward, with the hand placement and everything, plus, Bianca wouldn't stop staring at her heels in an attempt to hid her blush. But when I purposefully stepped on her toes to get her attention she smiled and everything was okay after that. We continued to sway as the song played and I would occasionally twirl her. It was fun and we sang along to the song. There even was a tinge of romance as we danced but it wasn't something Bianca or I were willing to act upon. By the end of "Chasing Cars" Bianca and I were both slightly flushed andI guess Bianca thought it would have been awkward so she immediately excused herself to the bathroom.

In order to avoid my own embarrassment and Bianca's absence, I made my way over to the punch. I was only there for about three minutes while I waited in line. By the time I turned around I was face-to-face with Grover Underwood. However, instead of his usual crutches and baggy pants, Grover's lower half was a pair of brown shaggy goat legs. On top of head was two goat ears.

"What the fu…." I started.

"Quick Percy!" Grover interrupts me, "We don't have time. Bianca and Nico are in trouble!"

Grover quickly drags me out of the gymnasium, my freshly filled cup of punch slips out of my hands and to the floor. Bianca and Nico are in trouble. And Grover has hooves for legs.

Hey Guys! So I started this story years ago and lost inspiration. But now I'm back and I changed some things. Comment below anything that you liked or I should improve. Also the title of this chapter is a song by Matchbox Twenty. It's from the same band that Viria13 used for one of her Heroes of Olympus videos back in the day which gave me some nostalgia. Anyway, I should be posting the third chapter in the upcoming couple weeks, I already started it, so stay tuned!