𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒, p. jackson¹

one.

chapter one !

SANJU VERMA liked to think that she was a hopeless romantic. her friends agreed. perhaps all of the sappy bollywood movies had gone to her head, or simply the fact that very, very few demigods had gotten their happy endings ( usually because they died before they reached the age of sixteen ).

however, she had always hoped for her prince charming to be percy jackson, her best friend since she was three. even though the hope had mellowed down to a sort of dull ache, her stomach still fluttered when they touched, and he always managed to make her smile.

and things were okay in the outside world, too. yeah, luke was on kronos' side, and yeah, percy had had a few near-death experiences with him, but life was good.

so how did everything go wrong?

our story begins on a cold friday in maine. what the fuck was she doing in maine, you may ask. sanju wasn't exactly sure, except for one thing ─ whoever had had the bright idea to send her here on this extraction was an idiot. oh, right. she had volunteered. never mind.

she was standing on a patch of grass alone, leaning against an oak tree as she cursed out the director of camp half-blood, dionysus, chiron, and just about every other adult she could think of.

the reason being, she wore a green knitted sweater and jeans. her outfit was fashionable and very much her style, but the it was freezing outside, and she was feeling the full force of the cold. she couldn't even enter the building without the rest of her teammates.

she sighed and muttered a finally as sally jackson's car pulled up to the spot where she was standing. she pushed back her hair and walked over as the other three stepped out of the car.

"you came. i thought you had ditched me."

thalia fixed her with a really look before breaking into a grin and giving her a hug. "hi, sanju." 

annabeth followed by doing the same. "you look pretty," she said as she stepped back.

sanju gave percy a hug too, ignoring the way her heart just stuttered. "hey, you." he gave her his classic troublemaker grin. he smelled like the ocean. he always did, even if he hadn't just gone swimming recently. maybe it was a son of poseidon thing, but she loved it.

"let's go, you guys." thalia ushered, and the four of them started walking on the cobbled path to the school.

"how'd you get here?" annabeth asked, looking back at sally aunty's car, which was driving away. sanju huffed. setting her tinted sunglasses on her head

"argus drove me. i should have just gone with you guys, honestly, but i didn't want to embarrass water boy too much. but now that you mention it, did sally aunty tell you about the time he ─" percy slapped a hand over her mouth. sanju gently pried it off, holding his hand for just a second longer than necessary, but remained silent.

he laughed nervously. "i think that's enough. and look, we've reached."

westover hall was a military style school, and the outside was dark and tall, looming over them like an evil fortress.

"what are you doing here?" a woman asked, and the four of them jumped, taken aback. the woman seemed exhausted, but still somehow managed to fix them with a haughty glare.

"um. . ." percy glanced at the three girls desperately for help. "we actu ─" they jumped again as a man slunk out from the shadows.

"ha!" he snapped. "visitors are not allowed at the dance! you shall be eee-jected!"