Hello! Enjoy this New Year's one-shot. I hope you like it. R&R. No flames, but constructive criticism accepted.
11:31PM
Chiron stood high above the others. He had called in all the demigods from their partying at the beach. They all groaned. All of the god's children crowded around him at the campfire, which was at the center of all the scattered cabins. The fire behind him roared, lighting the chilly night.
As he waited for everyone to settle in, the half-bloods whispered and giggled among themselves, excited about the approaching New Year.
"Now, now, everyone settle down." He called out. Dionysus stood beside him.
The noise hushed to a level zero. All eyes were on him. Chiron felt his tail twitch, and he squeezed harder on the piece of paper that was tucked in his hands.
"First of all, I want to thank all of you who decided to come out here, especially the ones who aren't year-round campers. I apologize for keeping you from your partying and whatnot, but I ask a favor of all of you."
Chiron continued.
"All of you know about the war that happened this past summer. Some of you were there. Others weren't. Well, I ask that each of you write at least one New Year's resolution. Make good decisions. Become heroes in your own way. This will help clear the path you wish to take. Remember: the half-bloods who were on Kronos's side were not bad people. They just made bad choices. Your resolution can be personal or very open."
"But it's almost thirty minutes 'til the New Year!" A demigod complained. The half-bloods muttered in agreement.
"Then I suggest that all you brats start writing, Conner!" Dionysus snapped.
"I'm not Conner. I'm Travis!"
"Whatever."The wine-god grumbled.
Everyone scrambled off to write a resolution and the centaur was left alone.
Chiron thought of the Titan War and all the names of the deceased loved ones inscribed on the clay beads most of the half-bloods wear. The wise centaur unfolded the pale piece of paper that was in his hands. In the familiar sloppy writing, were just a few words—a single phrase—that stated his resolution:
A safe camp.
11:36PM
After Chiron's mini meeting, Clarisse stomped off to her cabin. Talk about the war sort of ticks her off…because it reminds her of Silena Beauregard—the pretty Aphrodite girl who had helped her with her relationship with Chris, and then got killed in the war.
Now she has to make some stupid resolution for the New Year. Not going to happen, she thought. What could she possibly want to accomplish this year? There was nothing that she thought that she needed to fulfill. Everything was… okay.
Clarisse had her hand on the Ares cabin doorknob when she heard heavy footsteps coming behind her.
"Hey, Clarisse, where are you going?" A disembodied voice said.
She turned around to find that the voice was Chris Rodriguez. He smiled widely, and his dark eyes shined with joy. He wore a black fleece sweater and blue earmuffs.
"I finished my resolution. Did you? I thought we could go out to the beach for the countdown." He said.
"I'm not in the mood." Clarisse mumbled. "I'll meet you out there…later."
"What's wrong? Is this—is this about…?" She knew that he was talking about Silena.
"Mhm," She replied. "Every time they talk about the war, I just get so upset. Silena helped me, and now… she's gone."
"I know. This is why we're making resolutions: to make the choices clear, and to avoid tragedy. What's your resolution?"
"I didn't make one."
"Well, you've got to make one!"
"I don't need one. Resolutions are for wimps who can't keep promises."
Chris started to take something out of the pocket of his sweater. Apparently, it was a piece of paper. He unraveled it, carefully. "No they're not. This is my resolution, 'I will do whatever it takes to make Clarisse happy.' I know it's cheesy, but it's true. I will fulfill it. You have to have some sort of goal in mind."
Clarisse thought it was really sweet of him to make his resolution about her. "I don't know." She shrugged. "Well… I do have something in mind. I think I'll try to be nicer—like Silena—but I won't be too nice or else I won't be as intimidating."
Chris gave her a warm smile. "That's sweet, Clarisse."
"You better not tell anyone about this! I swear—"
Chris silenced her by giving the fierce daughter of Ares a peck on the cheek. Suddenly, Clarisse's cheeks got hot.
11:42PM
Once Chiron finished speaking, Nico had locked himself in his obsidian, dark cabin. As usual, he was alone. He'd been thinking about his resolution. Nico didn't know why he was doing this. He had always thought that resolutions were pointless. They were just a bunch of promises that were always broken. Or they were a bunch of goals that would never be reached.
However, he had somehow convinced himself to write one. The only problem was: what did he want to achieve this year? He had already been thinking about it for about five minutes. Then he remembered something that Bianca told him. Holding grudges is a fatal flaw, especially for a child of Hades. Of course! He was always the odd one out. Holding grudges always singled out Hades from all the gods. Therefore, it singles him out too.
Truth be told, Nico was getting tired of being detached from everyone. So, instead of being an outcast, he should—
Nico took the piece of paper and a black ink pen he had borrowed from the Athena cabin, and he scribbled down a single word.
Forgive.
The young child of Hades beamed. He shoved the piece of paper into his pants' pocket and marched off to the beach.
11:44PM
A young satyr was sitting at the roots of a pine tree. The forest was clear of all creatures, except for the one sitting against the trunk of the tree. The only sound heard was the distant celebrating of demigods at the beach.
Grover heard what Chiron said to the demigods. He thought it'd be a good idea if he, too, made a resolution. He held a small green notepad in his hands, but he didn't know what his resolution was going to be about. There was something bothering him in the back of his mind. As if a child was poking his brain with a wooden stick.
Then the satyr remembered something: a talk he had with Juniper after he'd been made Lord of the Wild…
"This is great! I'm so proud of you, Grover." Juniper exclaimed. "You're now Lord of the Wild."
"I'm not so sure about this." Grover confessed.
"What do you mean?" Juniper's forest-green eyes gleamed with curiosity. They were talking in the forest of Camp Half-Blood. It was a foggy, yet sunny, morning. Juniper fit in perfectly with her surroundings, wearing laced sandals, a green tunic, and her hair decorated with flower petals.
"Well," He replied. "I don't think that I'm leadership material. I've always thought of myself as the wimpy satyr who was Percy Jackson's sidekick."
"You are not wimpy or a sidekick!" Juniper scolded "Don't you remember how you lead all of those dryads into battle? Now, that is what I call leadership."
"Almost all of them died… I lead them into a death trap."
"They knew what they were fighting for." Her soft hands cupped Grover's face. They smelled like grass in the morning after a long and cold night. She smiled at him, and he smiled back.
Despite the fact that he's been Lord of the Wild for about four months, he still didn't think that he was that great of a leader. Perfect! Grover thought. Now he knew what he wanted this year. He wanted to be a great leader— a good Lord of the Wild. And that is what he wrote into his notepad.
11:49PM
Travis didn't know what to make his resolution about. He doesn't really need one. His life is great! However, he did want to do something before the year ended, to make the year memorable. In fact, Travis did have a resolution in mind, but he decided to forget about it. It's quite a silly one. He'd never be able to carry out a resolution that hard. The resolution he thought of was to ask out Katie Gardner.
The Stoll brother had always had a slight attraction towards her. She was so beautiful with her golden-blond locks, and her big jade eyes took his breath away. She was so sweet, nice and caring. Travis would sort of choke up whenever he talked to her.
The demigods had known each other for quite a while. Travis had always, secretly tried to impress her or get her attention. However, the chocolate bunnies' prank didn't turn out so great…
Suddenly, the Hermes boy decided to be a man and make it his resolution. Then he thought, why wait 'til next year to do it? I should do it now! I should do it right now, in these last few minutes of the year.
Travis stared at her from the porch of Cabin 11 to the Demeter cabin. Katie was laughing and talking with her siblings, just mingling.
"What are you staring' at?" Conner asked.
"Shut up."
The children of the agriculture goddess started to walk off in the beach's direction. Travis walked after her. Finally, when they arrived at the beach he caught up to her.
"Hey, Katie," He greeted her with a toothy grin.
Katie and her siblings turned around. "Oh, hi, Travis," She replied.
"How're you doing'?" Travis decided to break the ice first.
"I'm good." She smiled
"So… Uh—do you—um, maybe—I don't know—uh—" Poor Travis was stuttering his way into embarrassment.
"What?"
Travis inhaled deeply. He decided that it was now or never. For a second, never seemed like the better option, but he was not going to chicken out. "Okay, do you want to go out with me?"
Katie's eyes widened. "G—go out with you?"
"Uh… yeah, but if you don't want to—"
"Sure," She said eagerly.
"Really?"
"Really," She put her hand in his. "Let's go over there." She pointed at a large rock sitting on the beach.
Katie sat next to Travis. This was their first date. Travis was sure that it wouldn't be their last. Now he didn't need a resolution. His life was perfect.
11:55PM
Annabeth sat in the empty Athena cabin. She was alone at her desk with a pen in her hand and a blank piece of paper on the mahogany desk. After several minutes of thinking, she finally wrote a rather long resolution.
For my New Year's Resolution, I wish to reconstruct Olympus in a way none would ever imagine. The place will be filled with abstract statues of the Greek gods, goddesses, and heroes that capture their personality in the most honest ways. I also want to have a monument that marks the second Titan War, and have all modern heroes remembered.
Using some of the blueprints that Daedalus gave me, Olympus will truly be fresh and given a different perspective of where the gods live. I plan to use other architectural designs to give the gods' homes some taste and variety.
I hope that the gods' will like the new Olympus (well, once it's constructed). As Olympus's official architect, I hope that I will reconstruct Olympus so that it can stand for eons.
Once she finished writing her resolution, she frowned. Despite how eager she wanted to do this, it just didn't seem right. She tore the sheet apart and tossed it into the waste basket beside her. Annabeth sighed.
Suddenly, somebody walked into the cabin.
"Annabeth," Percy said." What are you doing here? It's almost 12 o'clock? You don't want to miss the countdown."
"I know," She sighed. "But I don't have a resolution."
Percy gave an overdramatic gasp. "Oh my gods! Annabeth does not have a resolution! How is this possible? You're the one who is always plans things. Even I already have a resolution."
"Shut up, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth joked. She paused for a second. "What's your resolution?"
"Oh, what's my resolution?"
"Yeah, I just said that."
His cheeks flushed pink.
"It's to make every moment count."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing happens twice, Annabeth. You have to make the moment count. For example, every time I'm with you it's like a comet soars past us."
"That's cheesy," She said smiling. "But sweet."
She got up from her seat. Annabeth stared at his sea-green eyes and planted a small kiss on his lips. They gave each other goofy grins.
'Let's uh… go to the countdown, Wise Girl." Percy said.
"Yeah, I already know what my New Year's resolution is."
They left the cabin, holding hands. And the couple walked towards the beach in the remaining minutes of the year.
11:59PM
All the demigods were gathered at the beach. They all wore heavy coats, mittens, and hats under the crescent moon. Most of the demigods were just mingling by the freezing shore. Others were lying on the frozen sand on top of blankets with friends, looking at the sparkling stars.
Despite the time of year, it was quite warm for New York. The night was exactly 45 degrees. Everyone was happy.
"Ten seconds to the New Year!" Conner cried, raising his watch to prove his point.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven," Everybody started to chant. "Six, five, four, three, two…HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Fireworks blasted from the opposite end of the beach. Everyone cheered and hugged each other. Joy filled the air as butterflies would in the summer. It was time to greet a new year filled with great hopes and promises. It was time to say goodbye to the previous year, but not forget the events, laughs, or tears.
La la la. Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this story. I apologize if there are any spelling, grammar, story errors or OOCness. No flames. Constructive criticism accepted. :) R&R. Happy New Year! Byee.
Note: The PJO series never mentioned the appearance of Katie so I made it up... :D Oh and this happens after the Last Olympian. So, lets just say that Percy didn't go missing and that the Heroes of Olympus characters haven't gotten there yet... Okay, so have a good 2012!