I made my way down the steps of the auditorium, ignoring the sideways glances of my peers. Many of them likely wondered why I was going further into the hall rather than out of it like everyone else. As I passed students from other homerooms they were given the opportunity to gawk at the new kid for the first time, though nothing was overtly unfriendly.

Only after approaching Parker with the clear intention of talking to him did I get looks that could be called anything less. Even then, it was more confusion than anything else - as though the denizens of Midtown High could not fathom why I would do anything so inane.

"Hey, Parker," I called out to the brown-haired boy as I neared his desk.

I could see now why the less academically inclined at Midtown would find it easy to bully the kid. Despite the class having ended, he was deeply engrossed in whatever it was he was working on - seemingly unrelated to the class itself, but undoubtedly complex. He may as well have been scribbling in Egyptian hieroglyphics because the meaning of his work was completely lost to me.

"Parker!" I called, louder than before. Only for the skinny boy to flinch in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"Yeah?" he replied warily. He gave me a once over and seemed to grow even more guarded than his regular disposition.

I smiled in an effort to alleviate his discomfort, "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a bit, maybe sit with you for lunch?"

"T-this isn't some stupid induction ritual, is it? Did Flash put you up to this? I'm sure they'd let you on whatever teams you want, they could use all the help they can get, honestly."

"Woah, take it easy. I don't even know who Flash is," I raised my arms in surrender.

"Then what do you want?" he demanded with narrowed eyes.

"I was wondering if you could help me with this class - Chemistry, I mean. Maybe others. Honestly, I don't think I'm cut out for this place," a little of my nervousness and worry leaked into my words.

A look of disdain flashed across his face, "Look, others have tried and I know I look like I need the money; But I'm not doing your homework for you."

"Sheesh, are you always this jaded? Besides, I couldn't pay you if I wanted to. I was just hoping for a study group or something - isn't that what they do in schools?"

He blinked in realisation, "You're that new homeschooling kid everyone's been talking about."

"Wait, people are talking about me already? I haven't even done anything this time!" I exclaimed incredulously.

"Yeah well, good luck putting a stop to Midtown's rumour mill. All the girls have been wailing about the new 'greek god' in 212 and the guys claim-" Shock colours my face before I realised their not talking about that kind of Greek God. Thankfully Parker noticed none of it as he carried on, "you run 20 miles every day before class as a warm-up. Mr. Jacoby's kinda resting his hopes for the track team on you already."

"Talk to a lot of girls do you?" I joked in an attempt to cover up my earlier surprise.

I regretted it almost immediately as Parker flinched at my smirk, "Sorry- hey that's not how I meant it - Look. I saw how those guys were treating you and you look like you work real hard and I really want to get into college-" I blinked at my motor mouth. "No- wait, What I'm trying to say is: Hi, my name is Percy Jackson and I'm really hoping you'll be my first friend at Midtown High." I finished with a nervous smile and put my hand out for a shake.

The boy searches my face with hazel eyes through his overly large spectacles and as my anxiety reaches boiling temperature, a small grin stretched his face.

"Hi Percy, my name is Peter Parker. Sure, I'll be your friend - but on a trial basis only."

Lunch with Peter was an interesting affair. The atmosphere in the school cafeteria was tense as everyone seemed to be trying simultaneously to stay as far from us as possible but at the same time, pay maximum attention so as to figure out what was going on. It reminded me a lot of my days at Camp Half-Blood actually. When I had first been claimed by my father, nobody knew what to do with me. On the one hand, I was the son of a major god. But on the other, my very existence was an affront to the pact they made. It was kind of nostalgic.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Of course, Peter did not find the attention as amusing as I did. He hunched over his already small frame, seemingly in an attempt to disappear from reality. Only after a conscious effort to engage him in conversation did he loosen up.

He spent most of the break period talking about his adoptive family, his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. Whilst I spent most of it dodging questions about my own - or lack thereof. At some point, he realised I was not entirely comfortable talking about my family and the conversation steered to our various interests. He told me of his interest in the natural sciences and I mentioned how I was far more inclined towards History and Archaeology myself.

Excited to have found seemingly common ground, "Did you know Captain America once captured and commandeered a Nazi U-boat with tonnes of historical artefacts? They say he single-handedly restored 200 years of historical records!"

"Sorry, Captain who?"

He gave me a look that he no doubt reserved moments of ignorance of magnanimous proportions.

"You know…Captain America. The first Superhero ever? Defeater of the Red Skull? The poster boy of the U.S. Military throughout World War T- You're not actually Greek are you?" he asked incredulously.

"No! Of course not! Um, I know who that is…kinda like Batman right?" I hedged weakly.

Peter only blinked at me, dumbfounded. Thankfully, the bell decides to ring right at that moment, saving me from explaining my lack of knowledge of this particular world's history. Clearly, the lack of the Divine world was not the only difference between this Universe and mine.

"So, what class have you got next?" I asked making the best of the opportunity given to me.

"Chem Lab with Mrs. Smith," he replied, distractedly. He looked like he was trying very hard to not pinch me to see if I was real. "You're not an alien, are you?"

Choking on my apple drink, I hacked out an amused laugh, "Of course not," I said as I got up from the lunch table, tray in hand. "Though, I suppose that's what any alien would say," I winked then made my way to return the meal tray with a laugh. "You coming? I've got Chem Lab too," I added with a backwards glance.

Peter scrambled out of his seat to walk alongside me and as he reached me I noticed something rushing towards the back of his head. Reflexively, I used my right arm to whack it back in the direction it came from. Only after it collided with the source of its trajectory did I register my actions.

It seemed not everyone was content to stare or talk outside of hearing range. I looked back at a blonde-haired jock in a white and maroon Letterman Varsity jacket. Said jacket was soaked in milk with a burst carton in the wearer's lap; the boy stared back, absolutely enraged.

Turning to Peter in shock, I noticed my expression mirrored on his face.

"Run!" I laughed, eliciting one from my new friend as we made a mad dash out of the cafeteria and towards what I hoped was our next class.

We arrive outside the Chemistry Lab, having climbed three flights of stairs to get from the ground floor to the fourth. With Peter huffing and puffing and myself no worse for wear.

"Wow," Peter gasped, "Do you really run 20 miles to school?" He asked noticing I was not winded at all.

"Haha no, but I did run a few blocks this morning since I missed the bus. It's only a couple miles to the or- to my place."

If Peter noticed my tongue slip - he didn't give it away. "It's times like these I wish the lab was closer to the ground," he sighed.

"Yeah, isn't this a safety hazard?" I wondered aloud, glad for the topic change.

"I don't know. Maybe? They have some state-of-the-art smelter and vacuum chamber that needs direct upward ventilation. I guess it's easier to install on the top of the building than cut holes through every floor," Peter explained as we enter the class.

"You sound like a proud mother hen, you know?" I smirked.

He gave me a self-conscious smile, "What can I say, this is my favourite place in the whole school."

"That's cool," I muttered as I'm reminded of another passionate friend I had been trying not to think about since my arrival in this new world.

"Besides, Dr. Smith is totally awesome," he finished with a grin.

I took his word for it as I joined him in the front row. It filled by with no small amount of trepidation as I'd never done it before - ever. But I have always been glad to have new experiences with a friend, And that's exactly what I had decided Peter was - regardless of his claims at a trial period. My best friend Grover once claimed that I would befriend a cactus given half the chance, and I wouldn't change that for anything.

"Good morning class," said the excitable Dr. Smith - the same lithe figure from my homeroom.

Despite half the class not having made it back from lunch, she was quite happy to carry on with her agenda. "While the rest of your colleagues find their way to the top floor, I want to know if anyone has any questions about what we'll be doing today," she smiled. "I trust Mr. Roberts has given you plenty of instruction but I thought I would go over it anyway," she added with an expression that she believed anything but that had happened.

The few students that had made it to the lab already chuckled, clearly this was a fairly common occurrence.

"So, who can tell me what happens when and Alkali Metal reacts with water?" she asked as she cut a large chunk out of a pasty white rock. As she waited, she continued to cut the separated chunk into smaller pieces and poured them into a test tube.

"Nobody?" she prompted.

I looked over to Peter who had been scribbling in his notebook. He wrote, 'highly exothermic reaction'. I tried to nudge him into answering but he simply shook his head.

Wonder what that means.

"That's disappointing," she said but still sported a wide grin - clearly self-amused.

She poured the test tube into a glass tub of water and it exploded into flames. She laughed maniacally, "That's right! An explosion!"

I looked at Peter in shock and he grinned.

I smacked my head on the desk. Great, I have a pyromaniac for a chemistry teacher and I decided to take a front-row seat.

This was going to be a long year.