Chapter 17: Meeting a Friend

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Edited On: 5/15/2021

I do not own Young Justice, anything DC related, or Percy Jackson

School was...overwhelming to say the least and not just because I looked ten years old surrounded by kids that were 15-18. There was something about the large school that was Gotham High School that felt too big for me. I was used to small spaces, living with Deathstroke reminded me that you were small in this world, you didn't matter, and he could do whatever he wanted to you and no one would care.

That mindset I developed with Deathstroke was slowly going away under the care of my father and brother, but it was still something I held close to my chest. I didn't matter to really anyone but maybe four people if Red and Alfred were included in the list.

While I thought the manor was large, there was something about the place that felt like home. But the school? Even with the vast amount of posters and colorful lockers everywhere, it felt like there was a chill over everyone's head. A distance that spoke of friends not staying friends after they stop seeing each other for eight hours.

And that was terrifying, how anyone could put on a smile and talk to people throughout the day and then just not speak to them afterward, forgetting that they even exist in their bubble until the next day where they meet again.

"Are you okay?" A soft voice asked beside me from where I clutched my recently bought school books in my hands.

"Huh?" I replied smartly, turning to the silky long brown-haired, black-eyed girl next to me. Her olive skin that screamed Italian decedent stood out under the current lighting. She looked beautiful, in truth, and Percy felt like she should be nowhere near you.

"I asked if you were okay? You're kinda inching toward the exit," The girl said with a kind smile, tucking a strand of braided hair out of her face and behind her ear.

Stopping my shuffling feet that I hadn't even noticed were edging toward the exit of the school, I gave her an awkward shrug. "I'm new," I said and felt the need to explain more, "and I have no idea where my brother is. He accidentally lost me in the crowd looking for his friend, I think."

Bianca's smile turned into a small frown as she peered into the crowd, but given she wasn't much taller than Dick, she probably couldn't see over anyone's heads. "Well, I can lead you around," she said with a determined small smile, her back straightening as if she had suddenly been given a job by the highest of beings in the world.

"Uh, sure," I muttered, "I'm Percy. Just...Percy."

"Hi, I'm Bianca," The girl replied, taking my offered hand and shaking it. "Bianca Zagreus, it's nice to meet you Percy No-Name. What's your first class?"

Shuffling the papers I was given by the school counselor, I answered her, "History, with a Mr.Trimmer."

"Oh, he's cool. I had him last year. You should like him, if he goes into a spiral about World War II just let him, try not to challenge him though, he doesn't really like that," Bianca told me as she gently led me down the hallway, making sure we didn't lose track of one another.

"Personal experience?" I questioned.

"Personal experience," Bianca confirmed with a smirk, mischief dancing in her eyes. "He especially didn't like my answer for a narrative assignment he'll assign you guys. You create someone who lived in that time and basically talk about what life was like for them. Apparently, mine was pretty inaccurate to him, but when I tried to back it up he kinda just shut me down. In the end, I know I'm right and he's wrong so it doesn't matter," Bianca said dismissively.

There was something about Bianca that pulled me to her, and I had a feeling that the older girl was going to be my friend, even with the age difference.

I was suddenly quite okay with that as she kept rambling about the character Bianca Di-Angelo that she created for the assignment that lived with her little brother Nico in Italy and how they eventually moved to America with their mother before their mother's death.

Yeah, I definitely can get on board with having Bianca as a friend.

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