Don't Cry

Chapter 1: Caught In A Deer-In-Headlights Scenario

I loved him. Jet black hair, piercing blue eyes, a smile that makes you wish you could freeze time and hold it there forever. I would do anything for him, anything. We've been through a lot together, he had even carried me 7 miles to Camp after I was injured, not to mention that I bled all over him and he stayed with me until they released me from the infirmatory. He was 8 months older than me and was my best friend as of 15 years. His name? Elliot, or Leo, Wolfe

My name: Jamie Jackson. Age: 17. Hair color: Dirty blonde. Eye Color: An ugly sea green. Am I pissed? Hell. Yeah.

You'd be too if you've had your heart broken a million times and the one doing it didn't even realize it. That's good old Leo for you. Never realizing he's hurting you until the damage is done and when he tries making it up to you, it's for all the wrong reasons. He was clueless, and that's one of the reasons I loved him.

"Hey, J, wanna go to our pond?' Leo asked.

I looked up at him from my ipod touch, I was struck by the way he smiled, by the way that slight curve of his lips turned me on. I realized I hadn't answered him yet and I tilted my head slightly in agreement.

"Why are you being so quiet?" he inquired, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look into his eyes. He stroked my cheek with his thumb, it sent my heart racing.

"I, um, no reason. Ha. I guess I'm just a little lost in my songs." I mummbled.

"Well let's go!" he said. He jumped to his feet in one easy, lithe movement and pulled me up with him.

We walked in silence to our pond, we had stummbled upon it 4 years ago and that's the place where we always went to talk and just hang out, I guess. It was surprisingly hot and was similar in shape to a hot tub.

When we got there, Leo immediatly began stripping. We've been best friends nearly our whole lives, he was completely comfortable with me seeing him naked. I, on the other hand, was a little more self conscious, that didn't stop me from going skinny dipping with him though.

In no time, we were both in the water, swimming in circles. He smiled and disappeared below the surface for a minute, I searched suspicously but he was nowhere in sight.

"What are you up t-" I began but was quickly cut off.

Something grabbed my legs and pulled me under, and that something was a very mischevious son of Zeus. When he let me back up, I smacked him hard across the chest. "Owww." he said, holding a hand over the place I hit in mock pain. "Animal!"

"Rawrrrrrr."

He laughed, picked me up, and threw me back in the water. I came up choking, he started beating me on the back until he was certain I'd live. "Sorry." he apologized, scratching the back of his head.

"Why, again, do I hang out with you?" I asked.

"Because you love me." My heart stopped, how long had he known? Did he think I was crazy, what would happen between us? Why didn't he say something sooner? He turned to look at me and forwned. "What?"

"I-what?"

"I was messing around, what's the matter?"

I stared at him hard for a minute then smacked him as hard as I could across the face. I pulled myself out of the water and hastily put my clothes back on. He stared at me for awhile as I got dressed, then jumped out of the pond. I turned to walk out of the woods but he grabbed my arm, I pulled my arm free and kept walking.

"What did I do?" he yelled.

"You're unbelievable!" I called back to him.

I heard his footsteps behind me so I picked up the pace. "Jamie! Wait!"

I paused for a second, turned to him, he was naked and soaking. I shook my head, gave him the finger, and jogged out of the woods.

I shook my hair out and dried myself with my water powers. I saw my twin sister, Jessie, and Thalia, who was visiting from the hunters. I tried to avoid them but they waved me over and I had no choice but to join them.

Jessie was my exact opposite in every aspect, black hair, gray eyes, not too smart, a bit of a people pleaser, but also very stubborn. I wished we could switch looks, I always thought her image was better than mine, dark hair, dark eyes. And she was pretty.

She studied my expression for a minute. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Thalia took one look at me and she understood, she closed her eyes and shook her head in disappointment. I wasn't sure if she was upset at me for loving her brother or upset with her brother for not loving me back.

"Nothing. Just having a rough day." I sighed.

She put an arm around me and sqeezed me tight, again with the whole people pleaser thing. "Me and Thalia-" she began but I quickly cut her off.

"Thalia and I." I corrected.

She smiled. "Thalia and I were talking about Nico. What do you think? Is he cute enough for me to go out with?"

Nico di Angelo might be the biggest lunatic in the world. When he turned 18, he went to Vegas and got stuck, again, in the "amazing" Lotus Hotel. He just got out last week so he's still 18 and apparently my sister now wants to go out with him.

"And you are even considering this because..."

"Because," she said matter of factly. "He's pretty hot. Besides, he needs someone to soften him up."

"You?" I snorted. "I'm thinking right now would be a good time to walk away."

"JAMIE!!!" I heard someone scream.

"Oh, look, walking away just got better." I said, earning myself a confused look from Jessie and a knowing one from Thalia.

I risked a glance behind me and saw Elliot running full steam toward us, dressed in only his shorts with his shirt clutched tightly in his hand. I took a second to admire his perfection then turned around and bolted. I ran as fast as I could and was making good headway until I ran into my mother, Annabeth Jackson, hand-to-hand combat instructor here at camp. My dad, Percy Jackson, worked here also as our canoe/pegasus riding/sword instructor.

"What are you doing?" my mom asked me.

"I'm doing the cowardly thing and running from my problems." I explained breathlessly.

I looked left just in time to see Leo tackle me to the ground, it didn't necasarlly hurt but I wasn't too thrilled about getting muddy. "It's *gasp* time *gasp* to explain *gasp*." he said.

"Get the fuck off me." I spat.

"What's going on here?" my mother demanded though she made no move to help me. Wow, that decision right there has just earned her World's Greatest Mom Award, I thought sarcastically.

"I wish I knew." Leo mummbled.

"You're such a dick." I huffed.

"Jamie," mom warned.

"Sorry." I muttered, not feeling sorry in the slightest.

"Now tell me what happened." she ordered.

"Well, we went skinny dipping in our pond and we were just messing around and then she just goes and slaps me then runs off." Leo explained.

I was ready to kill him at that point. "Skinny dipping?" mom implored in her dangerously low voice with one eyebrow raised.

"Err, yeah. We kinda do that. You know, it's fun." I said as nonchalantly as I could. "And get off me!" I screamed at Leo.

He got off me and his face looked like that of a deer-in-headlights. I knew I wasn't better, probably worse, and in a way, we were just that. A deer-in-headlights.