Chapter 1: My Hearthrob is a Heartbreaker (or so they say)

"Will you cut it out?" I demanded, stiffening as she kept poking, shocking me with every touch. I knew it wasn't intentional; Theresa had always had trouble containing the electricity that came with being a daughter of Zeus, especially when she saw Jack.

I guess I should probably explain myself a little bit. See, Theresa and I are daughters of the Greek gods; the big guys that live up on Mount Olympus. Most people don't believe me when I say that, so I don't say it much unless I'm at Camp, which I am most of the time anymore. Monsters started coming after both of us around the same time, but a satyr named Braiden had found us just before things got really ugly and had lead us past the magical boundary of Camp Half-Blood.

That was about six years ago, going on seven in a few days. We've been year round campers most of that time, until very recently; I'd made a trip back home to visit my family, but it had been hard, and I'd come back after a little while. Monsters weren't the only problem. See, I was the product of an affair, and my brothers – half brothers, I have to keep reminding myself – haven't quite gotten over that. Combine that with the disappointed looks I now receive from my father – my adoptive father, I suppose – and I got really tired of home really fast. So I apologized to my mother and fled.

Theresa doesn't really have the option of going home; monsters are drawn to her like flies to sugar water, but she's generally alright with that. We are occasionally allowed to make small trips for her to visit, so they get to see each other some of the time.

I grabbed my right wrist, attempting to massage some of the feeling into it. She just grinned at me, and I scowled back.

"This is serious. I'm trying to practice." I shook my numb hand one more time and tried to pick up the bow, but my hand was just not willing to cooperate with me. I slung the bow over my shoulder and just gave up. I was mad, inside, but it wasn't that big of a deal, and I knew she hadn't meant to.

"He's right there though!" She grabbed my arm again as Jack, the Apollo counselor, shot another bulls eye a few targets away. "Look at him! And look what he just did-"

"I just did the same thing, you loser." I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. "Can you let me go, please? I really can't feel my arm. So much for practice."

"Why do you need to practice? You're Apollo's kid, doesn't it just come naturally?" I rolled my eyes again as she let my arm go and completely ignored the rest of my statement.

"I suppose a little, but I still like to practice. Obviously being Zeus's kid comes easily to you." I nudged her, and she nudged me back. I laughed and couldn't be mad anymore.

"I'm sorry."

"I guess I forgive you." I chuckled. Shaking my arm again, I trotted toward the Apollo cabin, where I kept a salve that helped the numbness. Chiron had suggested I just take it, since I insisted on spending so much time with a friend as 'shocking' as Theresa. It took me just a few minutes to start regaining feeling once I rubbed the salve on, and then I went back out to where Theresa leaned against the gold cabin.

"Would you like to go back to archery?" Theresa asked, although she made a face. She wasn't a big fan of archery; she preferred just to zap people if they annoyed her.

"Not if you're going to be so bored you have to shock me."

"Then what shall we do?"

"I don't know." We were both much too noncommittal to make decisions. On occasion, that was a problem. Most of the time, we couldn't find it in us to care.

We walked slowly through the camp, leaving the cabins behind and ending up close to the amphitheater, where the Apollo kids planned on showing off their theatrical talent in the next few weeks. Anyone had been welcome to join, of course, but Apollo's kids were usually the only ones that took part in the end of summer show.

I ran into the middle of the stage and yelled my lines at the imagined audience, belting out the words with much more drama than necessary.

"Why, then, when my strength fails, I shall have done." As a senior camper, I'd gotten the part of Antigone in the play of the same name, written by Sophocles. Usually we tended to stay away from the classic greek shows, if only because we wanted something different, something current. This year, though, since one of the Dionysus campers was going to attempt to leave and go to college, we'd let her have her choice.

She'd chosen my crush, Kyler, to play the part of Haemon, Antigone's betrothed. I couldn't decide if she hated me or thought this was a good opportunity. Kyler was a son of Aphrodite, but he wasn't the same as the rest; he was smart and kind and he didn't spend all of his time at camp making sure his hair was right. Of course, that might have been because he didn't need to; he looked good no matter what he wore or did with his hair.

"Are you ready yet?" Theresa asked , leaning against a pillar.

"Of course. I'd be a poor excuse for a daughter of Apollo if I wasn't."

"Nervous? Kyler's going to be right there, all the time." She grinned wickedly.

I shrugged even as I blushed. "He has been already."

"So you aren't at all nervous?"

"I didn't say that." I muttered, looking away from her. "He just has been, already." I repeated lamely.

"Mmhmm."

"Shut up." I knew my face had to be cherry red, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. I was fine when I didn't think about it, but when it was brought up… well, I had a hard time controlling my blood, alright? It's not easy to stop it from rising to your face.

"Alright, alright." Theresa pushed away from the wall and went to sit on a bench, waiting.

"I'm not going to perform for you now." I muttered petulantly. I crossed my arms and turned my back to her, willing my blush to fade.

"Will you perform for me?"

Oh shit. Kyler. I took a deep breath, forced a smile on my lips, and turned to look at him.

"What are you doing here?"

I could see Theresa just barely holding back a laugh as Kylar answered, "Probably the same as you. I'm terrified of performing…" He shrugged, his smile dazzling me.

"I'd never guess." I wished I didn't sound quite so breathless. The effect this man had on me, I could have sworn it was magic. Or maybe just the Aphrodite coming out in him, I couldn't be sure. Either way, I was completely helpless when it came to him.

"I'm lucky then, if you can't tell."

The compliment just sucked all the rest of the air out of my lungs, what little there was left. "Not so lucky." I managed to get out.

His grin widened. "As a daughter of Apollo and a veteran of the theatre, I should say it's lucky. Would you like to practice with me sometime? I'm not really sure I like how I'm reading some of the lines, and I thought you'd be able to help me with that."

"You're perfect." I cursed myself, wishing I could come up with something witty when I was around him. Everything I said always sounded dumb and super obvious.

"I'm sure I'm not-"

"I'd love to, though, sometime. If you want."

"Thanks. I've got to head out, I was just hoping I could come up with a time… does after dinner work for you? We can meet here?"

"Perfect." I managed. He waved as he left, and I could hear Theresa chuckling.

"Perfect. You're perfect." She mimicked in a falsetto.

"Shut up. Maybe I should just go find Jack. I'm sure he's still at the Archery range, practicing."

"Don't you-"

"I'm sure he'd be more than willing to teach you, if you promised to refrain from killing him. After all, your inability to control yourself can have fatal-"

"I got it, shut up." The blush rose to her cheeks now, and I felt a little bit better.

"Alright, now that we have an understanding, I'd like to go die in a hole." I walked out of the amphitheater, letting Theresa catch up with me.

"I'm not sure your mother would approve."

"Yeah, well, she's married, she doesn't understand the trials of a single woman with a crush on an Aphrodite boy. Besides, she'd probably warn me he was from the wrong side of the tracks, and that I should be careful."

"You do know the initiation, and he's a first year-"

"He's not like that." I immediately jumped to his defense. "He's a good person."

"So you think. That's what they want you to think."

"He wouldn't do this-"

"How do you know?"

I stopped answering, frustrated. Somewhere deep inside I knew she was only worried about me, but I couldn't stand her insistence that he was a bad person. He wasn't. I couldn't explain why I knew it, but I did. There was no point in arguing with her, though, and I'd just get madder the more we argued. Better to stop now and calm down a bit.

Just because he liked leather jackets and name brand clothes didn't mean he was a bad guy. He just… he knew fashion. And I couldn't hold that against him, because that was like holding his parentage against him. And he was better than the rest of Aphrodite cabin. I knew it.

"It's getting close to dinner." Theresa said quietly after a while. I nodded and we turned toward the mess hall. We didn't speak as we made our way over, splitting to go to our separate tables. Sometimes Chiron let her sit with the Apollo cabin, because he felt bad that she had to eat alone. On days like today, though, when we were on edge, we chose to sit separately. We would be fine after we were full and had some time apart.

Jack sat next to me, as he usually did; he had come a couple of years after me, but I had turned down cabin counselor in favor of him. He was a natural leader, and like a brother to me. He was nineteen to my eighteen and Theresa's seventeen. For me, he was just an older brother, but I could understand being attracted to him. He had a goofy smile and his sandy hair never quite stayed down. His cheekbones were high and pronounced, making a small valley between his jaw. He was tall and lean, his body falling into a V with broader shoulders and a slim waist. And there was something about his blue eyes that looked almost sad, something that made you want to give him a hug. Yes, he was attractive, but I could never see him like that.

Kyler, on the other hand, had dark brown hair, shorter and neater, pushed back off his forehead in the front. A strong jaw made the stubble more attractive, and his straight eyebrows were low over his intense hazel green eyes, framed with dark lashes. He had a lot of muscle for an Aphrodite kid, shorter than Jack but built similarly.

I shook my head to clear thoughts of the man just as he walked into the mess hall with his siblings. I forced myself to look at Jack as we discussed the semantics of running the Apollo cabin, something I was well acquainted with and simply had no desire to actually do.

That was why Jack was the counselor; he, for whatever reason, found this stuff interesting. I wasn't sure why. I certainly didn't want to have to worry about what we needed for the cabin or what we should do about the more troubled campers.

"Megan, are you listening?"

"Yeah, of course." I made a face and repeated, "'The campers have been complaining about the mattresses, I suggest we ask Chiron for permission to get new ones.' Problem is, then all the cabins will demand the same, and I'm not sure Chiron wants to spend that kind of money right now. Not with the number of minor quests he's been allowing lately. We – and by we, I mean you – will probably have to tell them to suck it up. We can probably afford it come winter, when quests are few and far between, but not right now."

"You are in a fantastic mood, have you been taking happy pills?"

I elbowed my friend, gently. "I'm just a little frustrated right now, is all. Don't take it personally."

"Yes ma'am." He gave me his goofy grin before a thought seemed to cross his mind and he frowned. "It's not Kyler, is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know Aphrodite kids. You can't really trust them."

I rolled my eyes. "You can't just tell me he's off limits because of his parents. He didn't choose her, you know."

"It's not that, and you know it." Jack's smile faded as he reminded me of his last relationship. He'd fallen head over heels for an Aphrodite girl and she'd completely torn him down in order to finish initiation. Then the other Aphrodite kids had bothered him and made fun of him for the entire summer, and the next summer they hadn't dropped it until about midway through camp.

"I'm sorry. But Kyler's different. I know he is." I wouldn't give up on this. Not that I had the courage to talk to the Aphrodite boy about possibly maybe sort of trying to date, but I was more than willing to stick up for him and entertain fantasies of one day being more than friends.

"Alright." Jack knew he wasn't going to get anywhere when I took that tone with him, so he put his hands up and surrendered. "I just worry about you."

"I really wish people would stop worrying about me. I can handle myself." I muttered.

Risking a glance at the Zeus table, I was surprised to note that Theresa wasn't there… until I saw her laying on the bench, her arms crossed. I wondered if she was mad that I was talking to Jack while she sat alone. So be it. I couldn't find it in me to care about her feelings, not when she'd been stomping all over mine.

Once the food was served, I followed my cabinmates to the brazier and scooped off a portion of my meal, muttering my dad's name while silently asking him for guidance. Kyler couldn't be bad, could he? Send me a sign.

I didn't expect an answer; Apollo generally kept his thoughts on personal lives to himself. He did have a habit of leaving random haikus around the cabin once in a while when he felt like being 'helpful,' but usually it was just something unrelated to remind us that he wasn't actually allowed to interfere.

My brothers and sisters were busy discussing… something. I admit, I didn't hear most of it, if any of it. I was too busy staring at the Aphrodite table, desperately wishing Kyler would look back and also terribly afraid that he would catch me.

When the meal was over, we left the mess hall and I headed immediately to the amphitheatre, sneaking away so I would have to explain to anyone that I was meeting Kyler. Hopefully Theresa wouldn't spill the beans or show up and ruin everything because she didn't like the boy.

I sat down once I'd arrived, running through my lines over and over in my head. I didn't want to be caught off guard if he wanted to hear mine.

"Thanks for coming." His voice was quiet, but it still startled me out of my concentration. I jumped up and then sat back down quickly, scolding myself for both actions.

"No problem." I answered, attempting to smile and wondering how hideous my face looked. I knew I got awkward when I was around him, Theresa had told me enough, just like I'd told her how awkward she was around Jack. It was friendly rivalry, but I was a little self-conscious right now.

"Listen, I…" He smiled, and I could just see the embarrassment in the curve of his lips. "For being a child of Aphrodite, I'm not the smoothest speaker."

"Smooth speaker would be Apollo, probably. Or maybe one of the big three. Aphrodite is just-"

"Well, you know, love speeches and all that. We're supposed to be decent." He gave me a crooked grin, and my heart stopped. Or maybe that was just my breath, I couldn't really tell.

"You are more than decent." My voice was maybe a little breathy, and I prayed to my father that he didn't notice. Or really, just to the gods, I wasn't really sure what was going through my head.

"I know I don't have many lines, but I just want them to be good, you know?" He took a deep breath, and I shoved all the disappointment to the back of my mind. So close… but I couldn't worry about that now. He still wanted to work on his lines, and that's what I'd promised him.

Theresa opened the door to her cabin on the second knock, and once she saw it was me she backed away and let me in. It was really close to the time when we had to be in our cabins, and from the tear stains on my face and the blotchy red marks, she could tell I would be there for a while.

I went to her bed and sat down hard, hiding my face in my hands and attempting to control the heaving of my back.

"What did he do to you?" She demanded, and I could hear the telltale crackle of electricity as her anger sparked.

I couldn't answer, so she simmered down and after a few minutes came to sit next to me. "What did he do?"

I took a deep, shaky breath. "He didn't do anything." I said quietly.

"Like hell he didn't." She put a hand on my shoulder and said with forced calm, "Tell me."

"He didn't. We just went over lines, but I thought… you know… he started talking about being Aphrodite and he was supposed to be good at love speeches and all. It was my fault."

"He led you on." I jumped as a shock jumped from her fingers into my shoulder. She quickly pulled her hand away and apologized a few times before standing up to pace. "That Aphrodite boy… I'll shock him to Olympus, let his mother deal with him…"

"Just don't say anything, okay? I don't want him to know." The last thing I needed was everyone from Aphrodite cabin gloating and laughing at me. "I'll know by tomorrow if he's worth anything."

"He's not going to tell anyone." The words sounded wrong coming from Theresa's mouth, because they were full of faith as opposed to hatred.

"Why the change of heart?"

"I figure if he's dumb enough to screw it up like that, he can't very well be trying for initiation. They go all out for that."

My thoughts went to Jack, and I was sure hers did as well. That girl had strung him along for a solid month before breaking his heart, and then she immediately went to her cabin for approval and the necessary period of taunting. If he went to the cabin with this tonight, it'd be all over in the morning, and they'd know for sure.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's nothing." Theresa sounded as if the words caused her discomfort, but I didn't press her. I knew she was trying to understand what he stood to gain from this, if anything, and decide if she'd misjudged him.

We pulled the mattresses off of both of the bunks in the cabin (because Theresa liked the top bunk, she got two) and laid them on the floor, pulling an abundance of blankets and pillows down as well. After a few hours of talking, I dozed off, feeling a lot better because of the words of wisdom and encouragement she gave me.

I dreamed of taunts and broken hearts that night, but that wasn't the worst thing I'd have to face in the morning.