Tempest

Dreams Aren't Real

Chapter One
Dreams Aren't Real

Dreams had always been a weird point in Percy's life, especially early on, back when Gabe had first become a part of his family. The dreams, or rather nightmares, had come in a flurry; each showing horrendous acts committed by shadowed people, their faces, and bodies a blur. Then, like déjà vu itself had come to fuck with him, each and every dream started to play out.

He had quickly come to rely on his own little motion pictures, learning quickly that they could save him from unnecessary pain if he managed to play his cards right. But sometimes, the dreams showed him stuff that couldn't possibly ever come true. People he'd never met before, monsters, human-like beings that stood at least triple his short height, and even a full-on battle that looked to take place right in the center of Manhatten.

Luckily those particular dreams either hadn't come to fruition yet or were just his imagination running wild. Either way, Percy hoped the rest of them never came true. Too many of them could easily be considered nightmares, and he already had an overflowing plate.

So when his dream showed him pictures of what had to be some sort of mix of man and bull, with lightning striking the ground, Gabe's flipped Camero behind it, Percy didn't know what to think. As the Man-Bull started to step towards him, the vibrations from his stomps traveled all the way up to Percy's skull, like someone was smacking his head against a wall. Then, as fast as it had appeared, the dream faded away. A loud roar in the distance jolted him awake just as his face smashed into the bus window.

Percy groaned, cursing the fact that he'd fallen asleep on the field trip. Sparing a glance to look over at his best friend, the boy could already see the class bully's handy work. Littered throughout the kid's hair were pieces of a PB&J sandwich, the peanut butter most likely already tying itself to his scalp. The teen felt his nerves bristling as his anger built, before finally turning to look back as another chunk landed.

"Nancy, if you don't fucking stop, I'm going to kick you out of the back of this bus." Percy threatened, glaring at the snobby redhead. With a huff, Percy turned back around before facing his friend, "Dude, you need to stick up for yourself! You can't let everyone just pick on you. Like seriously Grover, I won't always be here to protect you."

Grover has been Percy's closet friend since his first day at Yancy Academy, a school for the rebellious and unintelligent. The boy was crippled and timid, but he still managed to be one of the most patient and tolerant people Percy had ever met.

"It's fine Percy. Plus I really won't have to deal with it for that much longer." His friend replied, giving off a small laugh at the end. Percy would never say it to his face, but Grover's laugh always reminded him of sheep and goats.

"I guess that's true. So does that mean you're coming to this supposed camp with me? The one Mr. Brunner kept mentioning?" Originally Percy had no idea about the camp, but after listening in on a hushed conversation between his Latin teacher, and his best friend, he had demanded answers.

"Yep! I've actually already been to the camp before," Grover said, his eyes seeming to gain a slight gloss, "But I wanted to try normal school again, or at least, normal-ish school." Percy could understand the reasoning behind that. After all, the only thing he craved was a normal life, where the idea of 'home' lost its tinge of black and blue. The teen started to get lost in his thoughts again, watching as the bus pulled into the museum parking lot. Maybe this camp could give him what he truly wanted.