Breena's POV:

The sound of a trumpet woke me up, bringing me back to the reality of things. When I got dressed and got out, I was immediately greeted by Shadow.

"Let me guess." He said, "You want to take a few more z's, right?" I nodded and accepted the mug that he held out towards me. We stood in silence briefly, as I stared in curiosity at the drink. Sensing my confusion, Shadow answered my unasked question. "Warm water, with stirred in honey." I nodded, before finishing his sentence, "Warm and soothing." Another brief, comfortable silence settled over us before I asked, "Why are you being nice to me? Didn't we more or less hate each other?" He chuckled, "I have strong feelings for you. I'm just not sure if they're positive or negative."

I looked at him in question as he walked back to his tent, only to come out merely seconds later wearing a black t-shirt, dark ripped jeans, and black combat boots. His hair now had a red streak along with his sword hung at his side. Mist seemed to surround him, but I shook my head trying to convince myself it was just me, but realization struck me that the mist was coming from his weird blade.

He stared at me before laughing a little and asked, "Really? We're practicing for war, and you're wearing your PJs?" I looked down only to realize that I was, indeed, wearing my pajamas. "Don't laugh! It's comfortable." I crossed my arms as i replied, trying to hold on to any shred of ego i still had. Shadow just rolled his eyes and murmured, "Whatever." He yelled at a demigod recruit, "Hey! You and me, spar time.. Now! I'll teach you a few tricks while I'm at it."

Shadow's POV:

I faced the person I'm sparring, "What's your name?" I asked. He bowed and replied with a French accent, "I'm Dimentio. It's a pleasure to spar you." I nodded and we charged. Immediately, he was lifted into the air as beams shot at intense speeds towards me. They were somewhat yellow and purple spheres that had a bit of those two colors. I somehow managed to dodge them and hit one back with the ice side, transforming it into a frozen ball of magic as it crashed into him. He got back up on his feet and asked, "Ice based attacks?" I shrugged and answered, "Elemental, but I prefer it. Yours?" He just smirked and said dramatically, "Magic~" I puffed and said, mostly to hide my boredom, "Whatever." I looked over at Brenna, and had a sudden urge to impress her... Whatever that meant. I was never good with feelings. "Like what you see?" I asked. "Wow... is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" I continued, with what I assumed was a sly smile, pulling at my lips. Slowly, teasingly i raised my arms and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling it over my head. Her eyes widened as a steady blush crept up her neck. Flushed, she ran a hand through her hair, in which she somehow managed to make look incredibly sexy, as she stormed off to practice. Feeling more or less pleased with myself I turned to Dimentio only to see him smirking at me. "I don't get why you try so hard man... It's not like any of us could even compete." I rolled my eyes. "Alright asshole, are we gonna soar or not?" Dimentio only shrugged.

I flopped into my seat, tired from my long day of training. In the mirror my alter ego, Light, asked, "Let me guess: she's still a pain in the arse?" I nodded as my alter ego picked up a glass of wine in my reflection while stating, "You're good at hiding your feelings, if I were you, well, I would piss her off. Well, maybe fuck her first but that's beside the point." He took a sip, and his face relaxed a bit.

"You're sick." I sneered. "There you go again, letting it get the best of you." A few minutes past before he asked, "Do you think she would want to know?" I picked up a random book and answered, "About why I'm bipolar? Trust me, it's easier to act that way than it is for her to know about you." Training in Tartarus came with a price. I saw my alter ego in my reflection and vice versa. Light, however, is my dark side, the side that must not be unleashed. I killed a lot of people 204 years ago, and the fashion if which they died was not pleasant either. He did became more civil, but he also wanted blood to spill.

If Brenna found out about him, I'd become even more of a freak. That thought itself scared in depths of which I did not understand. I hide myself within layers of emotions that can build up just as quickly as them being knocked down. But when I sleep, Gods, when I sleep is when I relive the moment of Breena giving me her jacket. It sounds lame, but it's torture to me. I keep on running away from her. I even tried to change the past, but it turns out I'm merely a ghost when I do that. I can't change the past, no matter how hard I tried.

That's why I have my mood swings. It keeps her irritated and gives me space from her. I'm mostly just shy around her. She may whip out her hand mirror and end up seeing Light instead of my reflection. I shook my head, dispelling the thoughts as i looked at my wrist watch. Well, time to see what Brenna is up to.

As I covered one of my eyes, I saw her just writing in her diary. I stopped right there and shook the image away. That was some bad timing, and I'm the god of it! But, when I saw Brenna going to who-knows-where land, I knew that she was thinking of her dad. I can read people like a book. Shadow, god of the elements, time, and the shade. A.k.a., shadows. No pun intended. And even though I'm not an emotion reader, I only know what people think by their expressions. I'm just a guy who wears a mask and sees someone else in the mirror. What could I say, I hated hiding, but I hated showing the true me even more.

Besides, I now know Brenna's dad even more, due to my powers. I saw him win for Olympus, I witnessed him put his life on the line to save others. But in the end, his step brother took the fame for no reason at all. I didn't understand him, but I knew how it felt to be alone.

Just then, I heard someone say, 'Thank you for understanding my pain. And please, please be there for my daughter.' I quickly looked around, but realized i wasn't going to see the person who spoke. Softly, I replied "I'll try. But for me, making friends is as hard as a mortal smiling in the face of death."

And with that, I slept. I slept and dreamed of running away, and not changing anything about it. It mainly reflected of me being alone. Even with people beside me, I am alone. And no one would even understand how I feel.

No one, but my alter ego.

g83: There you have it!

Shadow: *prays* Please don't let there be fan girls, please don't let there be fan girls.

Breena: *Trying to not think of smexy Shadow* Why did Aunt Brooklyn include that description?

g83: Simple. She simply wants to give you two a, um, "push."

Shadow: More like a shove.

Thalia: How many fan girls do you think will go after Shadow?

g83: More or less, 20.

Shadow: Hey, reader. Just, just review already.

Breena: And also, me and Shadow are not a couple!

g83: Not yet, at least.

Both: WHAT?!