~12 Years Old~

Annabeth sat in the corner of her room as she struggled to calm down. What did the others know? Their abilities weren't as frightening as hers; their abilities didn't hurt others if they lost control. It had only been two years since she learned what she could do. It had been an accident and she had learned quickly that fire needed to be controlled.

They had been playing. Jason had been practicing controlling the air beneath his feet so he could fly and demanded that the rest of them tried to catch him in a game of tag. Thalia and Percy had been so excited and eagerly began using their elements to propel them upwards to try and catch him. Annabeth wanted to play too but didn't know how she could catch him. She wanted to win; it was only in her nature.

She ran across the training field and grinned when she saw Thalia begin to create floating steps. She jumped and propelled herself off the wall, used one of Thalia's rocks as a boost and flew towards Jason. Not realizing she was letting embers float off her skin and into the hot air around her, Annabeth gleefully tackled the unsuspecting Jason from the sky and towards the ground below.

He cried out in a panic when she crashed into him. Annabeth didn't realize she had created a fire circle around them as they fell until she saw Jason's clothes begin to smoke. Panicking and feeling her hands begin to shake, Annabeth shoved Jason out of her arms as they hit the ground. Thalia cried out in distress as she rushed over to her brother as Annabeth scrambled to stand up. Percy was running towards her as she began to shake uncontrollably, the scars on her hands felt like they were pulsing.

"I-I'm sorry. I d-didn't—I just wanted—I'm sorry!"

Principle Alvis and one of the teachers from the upper classrooms raced towards them. As the teacher—who Annabeth later remembered was named Chiron—checked over Jason, Principle Alvis grabbed her and began to tug her towards the doors leading back into the school. Percy was still running towards them but Principle Alvis held his hand up to prevent him from coming any further.

"She'll be fine Percy. She just lost control; it happens often with fire." Principle Alvis shot her a piercing glare. "Fire is dangerous. It needs to be contained and controlled or it spreads and hurts everyone around it."

"She didn't mean to!" Percy cried out worriedly. Annabeth dropped her gaze to the ground when Percy tried to meet her eye. "We were just messing around."

Principle Alvis simply repeated that everything was going to be okay and escorted her to her room. Annabeth tried to ignore Percy's disheartened gaze. As Annabeth stood in the doorway, her arms crossed defensively, Principle Alvis stared down at her.

"The others are progressing well with their abilities. You seem to be the only one who isn't able to fully control your element. Why is that Miss. Chase?"

Annabeth glared up at him.

"You said so yourself, right? Fire is dangerous."

0~0~0~0~0

Everyone knew she would be in a bad mood the morning after the welcome ceremony. It was common knowledge to anyone who even dared to come near her door. All of the new abnormals were exploring the school and campus below her window as she gazed out.

Her room was on the far right of the building, higher above the rest of the dorms. Thalia had a ground floor dorm hidden away while Percy and Jason were in dorms on the left side of the school. Jason had a higher dorm so he could be closer to the sky while Percy's dorm was large enough to offer a small pool as a bathtub. Her room felt like a prison.

There was no flowers or pictures on the wall. The bed was covered with a basic comforter, the same comforter offered to the new abnormals before they decorated their rooms as they saw fit. She had no personal attachment to anything in her room, making it that much easier to leave. The option was never open to her but she liked knowing the second she could leave, she wouldn't have to waste time gathering things from her room. The only thing she was attached to was hanging from her neck on a daily basis.

Annabeth's fingers slowly reached up to grasp the small owl pendant her mother had worn every day of her life. When she had passed away, Annabeth's father had given her the necklace and never spoke of it again. It was all she had left. Annabeth didn't have pictures and her mother's face was slowly disappearing from her memories everyday she continued to live without her. Gripping the pendant a little harder, Annabeth shut her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. It wouldn't help to further upset herself.

Sighing, Annabeth released the necklace and continued to watch the new abnormals explore the training grounds. Eager and unknowing smiles bloomed on their faces, making Annabeth's heart twist with guilt. They would never know the true nature of this school, offering protection as a ruse to lure and capture so many abnormals. Locking them away and pretending it was for their own good.

No one would listen to her if she tried to tell the truth though, so she never did. She simply watched those bright smiles fade year after year as realization became too clear to ignore. She too had once been in that position and found it painful to watch.

Hearing the usual morning knock on the door, Annabeth turned away from the window with another sigh and opened the door to find Percy smiling at her.

"You're the only one whose gutsy enough to see me after the welcome ceremony." Annabeth informed him, grabbing the muffin from his hands. "Thalia and Jason tend to stay away the morning after. Ever think I want the space?"

"You like my muffins too much." Percy teased with an easy grin. "I could never disappoint you."

Annabeth lifted an eyebrow and simply hummed under her breath. Percy shot her a look before rolling his eyes and leaning against her doorway. She took a small piece of the muffin and popped it into her mouth as Percy pointed behind him.

"Well I'm not the only guy with balls around here. I come with friends."

Annabeth wasn't surprised to see Nico step out from behind Percy and smirk at her. His dark eyes sparkled with mischief and she easily let a small flame lick her finger as she pointed at him. Nico's eyes darted to her finger before glancing at her muffin.

This was fairly common too. Nico had been one of the few abnormals around the school who hadn't been afraid of her when they first met. He had simply given her a once over in class before asking where she had gotten her muffin. He seemed to understand her in a way the other elementals couldn't and while they didn't see each other that often, whenever they did, Annabeth always left in a bit of a better mood.

"Watch it Shadow Boy." Annabeth warned with a small grin. "You know these muffins are mine."

"You heard the lady." Percy agreed, glancing behind him. "You can keep trying but you know she's never going to give you one."

"Too bad I don't have my own water Adonis to do it for me." Nico sighed. Annabeth rolled her eyes and took another bite of her muffin.

"You can take mine." She informed him, her mouth full of muffin. Nico grinned and shook his head before the bell rang throughout the building. Annabeth's mouth fell into a frown when they all glanced up and found it time for their classes. Nico would be in a different building from them for the rest of the day but she knew she would see him again when the sun went down. That's when he was most powerful.

"Well that's my cue. See you later." Nico saluted them both before disappearing into a black mist and seemingly through the floor. When Annabeth was sure he was gone, she sighed. Percy tilted her chin up and smiled at her gently.

"No matter what happens this year, we're together yeah?" Percy encouraged. "You can't let it bother you, Firecracker. We'll get through it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes at the nickname and handed Percy her unfinished muffin. Another one of their little games. Every once in a while, he would call her some annoying fire-related name and she would reject it. He would always insist he'd find the right name someday. She always called him crazy.

Brushing past him, she shut her door behind her and continued down the hall, knowing full well Percy was already following her.

"Rule." Annabeth sing songed behind her, grinning when she heard his frustrated groan.

0~0~0~0~0

Thalia could literally feel the desk melting under Annabeth's fingertips. Pushing her chair as far away as possible, she grimaced. She always hated having class with Annabeth. Taken out of context that would sound cruel but it was true. Thalia thought Annabeth was one of the bravest and toughest fighters they had and without a doubt the smartest student but her element made it hard to be around her when she was fired up. Being anywhere near Principle Alvis always made Annabeth fired up and in turn put anyone around her in the blast zone.

Thalia wished Percy was around so he could do that weird hand thing they do. He'd cover his hands in water and cover hers, causing smoke to fill the room. It was a little messy but Annabeth would be okay for a while afterwards and therefore safe.

Noticing the stares her blonde friend was getting from the other students, Thalia took a risk and nudged Annabeth's shoulder with her own. Annabeth gasped lightly and quickly lifted her hands off the desk in mild horror. They both grimaced at the deeply imbedded hand-shaped burn marks left on the wood of the desk. Annabeth sighed and used a fire finger to sign her initials at the bottom of it.

"He won't be so mad knowing he can make a few bucks off of it." Thalia reminded her, glancing at Alvis for only a moment.

"I hate signing these." Annabeth grumbled. "They're mistakes, not autographs to prove to the world I'm tamed under his care."

Unsure what Annabeth wanted her to say, Thalia settled for comfortingly placing her hand on Annabeth's shoulder. Annabeth glanced over at her with grateful eyes, causing Thalia to smile. Principle Alvis seemingly appeared out of nowhere next to them.

"Something you want to share with the class ladies?" He goaded with raised eyebrows. "Just because you two are Elementals doesn't mean you can get away with disrupting class."

"Well if I said what I was thinking right now, I'd be an awful role model for all the younger students." Annabeth told him with a smug smile. Thalia resisted the urge to face palm. "We wouldn't want that now would we Alvis?"

"No, we wouldn't." Alvis's tone grew darker as his eyes narrowed. "Don't push my buttons Annabeth. The year has only just begun, I would hate to start off on another bad note with you."

Thalia watched Annabeth scowl but bit her lip from saying anything further. She sighed and glanced up at the principle. She wasn't surprised to find him scowling right back. Thalia and Jason came to the school after Annabeth did and Percy came a few years later. By the time Thalia had gotten there and found out their situation, Annabeth and Principle Alvis already had a small feud. Thalia always thought of them as two lions, growling and circling each other, waiting for the other to attack though they never did.

It wasn't something she understood completely but she knew enough to know whenever they got like this, it was best to either diffuse the situation or simply take Annabeth away from it. Since they were currently in class and unable to really leave, Thalia laughed awkwardly causing Principle Alvis to glance down at her.

"Sorry for the disturbance Mr. Alvis." Thalia apologized awkwardly. "We'll try to keep it down."

"Good." Alvis said through tight lips. The irritation on his face slowly faded as he turned away from them. "I'll get you another desk tomorrow Annabeth."

Annabeth growled lowly next to her and Thalia rolled her lips when she noticed the embers licking off Annabeth's skin. She smacked a few of them away before sending a quick message to Percy. He was always better at handling Annabeth and Alvis then she was.

Thalia let her toes wiggle on the floor and sighed. The concrete beneath her feet was cold and unfeeling. The Earth called out to her pitifully and Thalia found herself longing to call back.

0~0~0~0~0

Jason silently walked down the hallway, his footsteps almost as light as air. Pausing to smile at a few of the new abnormals, he began to open his locker. He was given a bigger one when he first arrived at the school but as the years went on, Jason found he liked having a normal locker in the middle of the hall where anyone could see him. The other abnormals could see he was just like them, just with different abilities and hopefully they could become friends.

When Jason heard laughter, he quickly remembered the other reason he wanted a more common locker.

She walked down the hall with the rest of her friends grouped around her, smiling bashfully as she tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear, Piper McLean came into full view. Jason gulped as he watched her. A draft beyond his control seemed to blow through the hall and around her. She laughed when her hair began to dance in the wind around her head. When their eyes met, Jason felt like he was about to faint.

When she waved goodbye to her friends and began to walk towards her locker, the one right next to his, Jason turned and tried to cool his red cheeks. The door beside him opened and when he dared to take a glance next to him, Piper was already smiling at him.

"Morning Jason!" She greeted sweetly, her smile widening when he awkwardly returned one.

"G-Good morning Piper."

"You did really well at yesterday's welcome ceremony! Even from the far end of the gym, my hair was blowing everywhere."

"Oh." Jason struggled to think of something to say. She was still watching him. "Well um, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jason wanted her to say more. He just wanted to hear her voice. Piper smiled at him once more before turning to her locker to grab her books. He simply watched her like an idiot, struggling to think of something else to say that would keep the conversation going.

He had all the symptoms. His hands were clammy, his chest tight while his heart beat uncontrollably in his chest. His tongue was tied by the mere sight of her so he was left standing there, mute and wanting more.

"I'll see you a bit later right?" Piper asked shyly. Jason nodded, his entire head bobbing dramatically. Piper laughed and tucked another hair behind her ear. "Well I'm excited to see you go all out in the field today then."

"Y-Yeah." Jason stuttered nervously. "Um I'm going to be sparring with Percy today and maybe Annabeth in the next few days."

"Sounds awesome!" Piper cheered. She waved as she turned away. "I'll see you later then Jason!"

He watched her leave in a daze, his neck craning to follow her as she turned a corner. When she was completely out of sight, Jason let out a loud cheer and floated into the air like a balloon. The other abnormals watched him in bewilderment but he didn't care! She had talked to him! Piper McLean had talked to him! This wasn't the first time it had happened, but anytime he got to Piper felt like he won the lottery.

She was by far one of the most popular abnormals, maybe even competing with the Elementals. Her ability wasn't necessarily used for combat so she wasn't feared and she often put it to good use throughout the world.

She had arrived at the school about a year before Percy did and at the time, Jason was busy struggling with his element so he never truly noticed her. Piper and Percy became friends when Percy joined and when he came to introduce her to the other Elementals, Jason practically crashed to the ground.

He's been infatuated ever since and clearly, he was doomed to be stuck like this for a while. She was just so wonderful and nice. As his feet slowly came to hit the ground again, Percy snuck up behind him and gently water whipped the back of his head. Yelping, Jason reached up to grab his damp hair as Percy through an arm around his shoulder.

"Ah, love." Percy sighed dramatically with a teasing grin. "Wonderful feeling is it not?"

"You're no better with Annabeth." Jason grumbled. Percy squeezed his shoulder.

"Well at least my lady knows how I feel. You gotta lay all the cards out on the table my friend. Once you do that? You have your chance to make em fall at your feet, like Annabeth and I."

"In your dreams." Annabeth muttered as she passed them, Nico silently walking by her side. She barely glanced up from the book she was reading as she continued down the hall. Jason laughed at the usual dismissive response as Percy's arm slipped from his shoulders. Turning to his friend, Jason wasn't surprised to find Percy smiling at Annabeth's retreating figure.

"Man, I'm so in love with that girl."

Jason shook his head with a small laugh. Love. It really was interesting.

0~0~0~0~0

Percy cracked his knuckles before jumping up and down a few times to loosen himself up. Everyone was crowding in the stands around the training grounds and the large monitor above them was ready to broadcast their progress to the outside world.

Growing up, he had hated this part. Alvis was constantly throwing them into this field and having them put out for show for the public eye. He had told them it was because they were a sign of hope. As the days went on and they got stronger, they were only showing the humans that they were getting ready to put a stop to all the suffering their ancestors had caused in the past.

Annabeth hated it the most. Everyone treated her like an untamed beast. They would put her in a situation that makes her display her power then push away from her like she was something to fear. Percy knew better; he was one of the few.

Glancing next to him, Percy found Jason and Thalia waiting for Alvis to officially begin the training. Annabeth was nowhere to be found. When Jason caught his eye, he simply shrugged and offered a sad smile. So, he didn't know where Annabeth was either. Sighing, Percy focused on Alvis out on the field.

"We welcome all of you in the stands and all of you watching out in the world!" Alvis smiled proudly. "We here at Goode, have spent years training this generation's Elementals and honing their skills to help stop all the terror and threat the new world now offers. We hold these trainings so we can show everyone their progress. Today is sparring. The air Elemental, Jason Grace will be sparring against the water Elemental Percy Jackson first. Please enjoy watching our future heroes in action."

There was a polite cheer from the crowd as Percy and Jason walked across the field to stand across from each other. A barrier was lifted, letting water flow into the dried river around the training arena. They all had their elements readily available to them whenever they did these trainings.

Percy took a breath and adjusted his feet, the dirt and rocks scuffing his shoes. The air around them was so silent that Percy could hear his heart thumping in his ears. When he noticed Annabeth had appeared beside Thalia a few feet away, his heart beat a little faster. Momentarily distracted, Percy jumped when Alvis let out a whistle to signal them to begin. No time to think about her now.

Waving his arms in front of him in a whirl wind pattern, Percy smirked when a large bubble of water spread from the river and into the air around Jason. It thinned out and began to rapidly circle around his friend as Jason shot up into the air. Grinning, Percy laughed as Jason shot a few gusts of powerful air at him, the blasts strong enough to make him stagger.

"Knock me off my feet!" Percy shouted loud enough for Jason to hear. "Making me stagger won't do as much as making me fall on my ass!"

"Disrupt the flow of air beneath my feet!" Jason shouted back. He smiled. "You won't land too many attacks if I'm flying around up here!"

Percy let out a loud laugh before jumping forward and smacking his hands together to attempt just what Jason suggested. He circled his hands as he flew and grinned to himself when his water began to slice right under Jason's feet. He would drop a few inches each time the water flew underneath him. Just as Percy jumped again to try another attack, a strong gust of air pushed against his chest and had him flying back and landing a few feet away. The last attack Percy managed to hit caused Jason to crash the final few feet back to the ground.

Percy coughed a few times as he sat up. When he hit the ground, he had the wind knocked out of him. Suddenly there was a hand reaching out for him. Percy glanced up to see Jason smiling down at him. Taking his hand, Jason was easily able to help Percy stand on his feet. They shook hands quickly before slapping each other on the back.

When Percy glanced back over at Annabeth and Thalia he found them both rolling their eyes and attempting to cover their laughter. Annabeth met his eyes and he smiled. Just the sight of her had his heart skipping a beat in his chest. His smile widened when he winked at her and she softly smiled back.

0~0~0~0~0

Annabeth took a deep breath and carefully rubbed her hands together. Her skin was hot to the touch and only grew warmer by the second. She paced her bedroom floor and tried to calm down. This always happened and she found herself growing more and more annoyed each time it did.

She should be able to control herself and her emotions by now. It's been years since she discovered she was an Elemental but anytime she got emotional, she would begin to lose control and have to retreat to her room. When Annabeth paced by her window, she paused to glance out.

There were several abnormals all gathered together in the training yard for the welcoming party. Every year when new abnormals would come, the school would let the students throw a party out in the yard to welcome. Every year, Annabeth would watch from her bedroom window.

It wasn't that she didn't want to go to the party, she was just never safe enough to. Alvis always told her she was dangerous and needed to be controlled. She always resisted the urge to light him on fire when he did. She wasn't some backyard fire he could put out and restart when he pleased. She couldn't be controlled by someone else; she was the heat her fire fed from. She was the one in control.

Or…well she used to be.

She hated being put on display. Alvis would demand that the Elementals battle and prove to the humans that they were safe and growing stronger to help them. Everyone was afraid of her. She was the one who had caused the most damage in the past; she had been the one to take the most lives. Fire can be beautiful and warm but it can also be destructive and deadly. She was a walking warning sign.

She had only finishing training with Thalia an hour before. After holding back the entire time to ensure she wouldn't hurt her friend, Alvis had shouted at her until she was literally seeing red. She exploded in a sea of flames and could have burnt the place down if sprinklers hadn't been showered over her. Thalia had built a wall of Earth to protect herself and easily avoided being burned but when Annabeth had cooled down, she had quickly ran back to her room.

Struggling to calm down, Annabeth desperately stuck her hands in her bathroom sink and let cold water rush over them. Steam erupted from her fingertips, making her sigh loudly. She didn't want this for herself. She wished she could control herself and be completely unfeeling. Annabeth didn't want to hurt anyone who didn't deserve it and she didn't want to put innocent people at risk.

"This shouldn't be this hard." Annabeth whispered to herself. "I don't want to be dangerous."

Pulling her hands from the sink, Annabeth studied them. Tears burned at her eyes. She never understood why she had to be chosen as the fire elemental. She didn't know why she had been given this burden; she would do anything to feel normal if only for a day. She wanted to see the world beyond the walls surrounding her. She wanted to feel the wind in her hair and the ground beneath her feet as she ran as fast as she could. She wanted to feel something other than fear and guilt and anger without having to worry about what she might do when she did.

Annabeth didn't know what kind of life she could have outside the academy walls, but she felt like she deserved the right to find out. She was still human, and she wanted to experience what humans did. Annabeth and the others weren't the ones to destroy the world; they shouldn't have to be locked away for crimes those in their pasts have done but the time for arguing was over. The world had already decided it didn't want them free. They were locked away for a reason.

Annabeth shut her palms and sighed. Something burned bitterly in her chest; a feeling of dread crept up her spine. As she turned to gaze out her window at all the abnormals below her, all she saw was fire.

Headcannons:

~When Jason saw Piper for the first time, he literally was so amazed he didn't realize he was floating until he floated straight into a door frame. Thalia doesn't let him live it down.

~ Percy has mixed feelings about sparing with Annabeth. He knows he's one of the only people who could really hurt her physically so he tries to go as easy as he can. On the other hand, he really enjoys flirting with her while she's trying to shoot him with a flame ball. She gets flustered sometimes and he can pin her easier. Everyone notices the days Percy wins their spars, Annabeth always looks pissed and Percy can't stop smiling.

~ Thalia is the only other person besides Annabeth to have "autographed" items. When she was younger she used to engrave her initials into rocks and use her abilities to launch them over the wall and into the city on the other side. She did it for months until she ended up hitting a guy on a bike in the head with one. Alvis made sure to watch her when she was outside after that.

If Saudade has taught me anything is that I really enjoy writing these serious stories with semi wacky characters sprinkled in.

Like you already know, your girl Katie is gonna make Nico someone hilarious and Percy obviously isn't going to stop trying to woo Annabeth

But on the flip side, they are all dealing with some serious stuff and shit is gonna hit the fan soon and we're all gonna be sucked into the drama of it all.

If you are new to my stories, HELLO and welcome.

I recommend reading Saudade or at least the author's notes to see who I am but it'll leak through here. I think I'll give you guys a few more chapters of normal before I hit you with heavy.

I hope you all enjoyed! You guys did give me twenty reviews so I'll be sure to make sure the next chapter is really good. I haven't typed it up yet but i promise to stick to the deal starting now.

20 reviews for a chapter sneak peek!

Thank you for reading! Be sure to review and check out my other stories!