Hey guys! I know it's been forever and if you stuck around, you're amazing and I hope you like the first five revamped chapters. If you're new, I just hope you like these chapters! I'll be posting ever Tuesday and Thursday after this.
Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters or places. My friends on Gaia and I own those you don't recognize though.
Chapter Four: When the Past Comes Back to Haunt You
"I still can't believe you brought this thing back to life." Amazement could clearly be heard in my voice as I took my helmet off, getting off the motorcycle as I did so. We'd found this old motorcycle, completely wrecked and abandoned on the side of the road when we were thirteen years old and decided we'd try to fix it. We had no clue what we were doing and we barely ever made any progress but it was something we had fun doing together, something we shared and he'd finished it while I was away. He turned the rusted pile of metal into a beautiful piece of work. The whole thing was pitch black, nearly invisible in the surrounding night, except for the silver mufflers on either side, rims on the tires, lightning bolts going down both sides of the tanks, and owl with tiny lightning bolts engraved in its eyes on the front that shined slightly when one of the street lamp's light hit them.
"Well, I've had a lot of free time on my hands the past three years," Elliot laughed, taking the helmet from me and placing it in the well hidden and magically enhanced compartment as he pulled out the food we'd gotten from our the Thai restaurant we used to come on our yearly trip to the Empire State building and handing me a blanket before entering Central Park where we'd heard there would be a movie marathon.
"Well you've done a hell of a good job, it doesn't look like the same machine," I replied, laughing lightly along with him. "Keep your eyes open for a good spot."
We wandered in silence for a few minutes until we found an isolated spot that still gave us a good view of the screen and I set down our blanket before taking a seat beside Elliot. A comfortable silence enveloped us and it remain that way as the movie started. It was some cheesy black and white film from the '50's and, to be honest, I couldn't tell you what it was even about. My mind just kept going over everything that had happened. Not just the past few weeks or months but the past three years.
"What're you thinking about?" Elliot's voice caught my attention and my eyes met his.
"Nothing important," I replied automatically, plastering a fake smile on my face.
His eyes hardened and his voice came out barely above a whisper, "I wish you wouldn't do that."
"Do what?" I replied coldly, keeping my stoic mask intact.
"That!" he exclaimed, his voice rising as he continued. "Putting on that stupid mask and pretending like everything's fine! You don't let anyone close enough to actually tell them how you feel and anyone who gets close you push away! What happened to the girl who pinned me to the floor of the arena the first day of camp, the one who wasn't afraid to love and be loved, who would talk to me for hours on end until one of us finally fell asleep?!"
"She died the day Melanie did," I replied coldly, standing up to walk away.
"She's still there Ariadne, I see her in the little things you do. The way you interact with Krystal and Jaydon when you think no one's looking, the way you can't break the habit of calling Lycan Wolf, the way lose yourself in a book or run your fingers through the sand. I even see her when you talk to me but then it's like you catch yourself and lock yourself back in this little box where you don't have to care about anyone... Why do you do that?" He told me as he rose to his feet.
My mind was telling me to walk away, to not give him the pride of having a response, but my mouth had other ideas. "Because I don't want to get hurt again! I've been hurt so many times by so many people! By my father, my brother, Melanie, Virgil, Andy, you! How am I supposed to open up if I can't trust people I considered family for the longest time, that I still do no matter how much I wish I didn't?!" My voice rose as I spun around to face him again.
"That's what I don't get, what did I ever do to make you hate me? You started shutting me out before you ever went on that quest and, when you came back, it was even worst!" His eyes glowed with both frustration and confusion.
"You used me! You got me to fall for you so other girls would know you were willing to fight for their hearts and, once you got what you wanted from me, you were going to leave me behind to clean up the mess!" A tear streaked down my face and I forcefully brushed it away.
"Is that what you think?" he asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
"That's what I know," I replied, turning to make my way out of Central Park.
Grabbing my arm, he spun me around to face him. "You're wrong," he whispered before his lips crashed onto mine.
My heart skipped a beat for the first time in three years as electricity, safeness, and love flowed through my body before I pushed him away, "You're lying, Andy told me himself. He overheard you talking to one of your stupid ass friends and when I thought about how many girls you'd dated, it wasn't hard to put two and two together."
"No, he's lying, Ariadne! I would have never done that to you, I've loved you since the day I met you and he knew that! He told me you didn't like me that way at all so I dated other girls, trying to forget about you, but it never worked!" he yelled, fury making his eyes glow brighter than they had before.
"He wouldn't do that, he knew I loved you. He wouldn't hurt me like that," I tried to deny it but it sounded exactly like something Andy would do. He probably thought he was protecting me.
"You and I both know he would if he thought he was protecting you," Elliot spoke my thoughts out loud.
"How did things get so screwed up?" I sighed, plopping back down on the blanket.
"I don't know," he replied, resituating himself next to me. Silence surrounded us once again, both of us lost in our own thoughts, and Elliot was again the one to break it.
"I've been trying to figure out how to give this to you since you left it on my pillow three years ago and I guess now is as good a time as any," he said, holding out a small square wrapped perfectly in silver wrapping paper with a black bow around it.
He didn't meet my eyes as I took the box from his hand and slowly opening it to reveal a small black velvet box. I already knew what was in the box but my stomach still clenched with nerves as I opened the box only to see the familiar silver band staring up at me from where it sat with seven small stones nearly covering the delicate silver band's circumference, only three of which I remembered. A tiny peridot stone from the first year I'd gotten it from him, my favorite stone because it symbolizes strength. Ruby for the second year because it's my birthstone and he wanted to protect me from evil. After that, he had a pearl shard placed in my ring. He told me, he wanted me to remember that, no matter what I had been through, I was still the most pure person he knew. An amethyst gem was my thirteenth birthday present because our relationship was starting to change, I had finally figured out my feelings for him and had tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me... This gem was also his birthstone.
"That year when I came back to my cabin a few days before you got your quest and saw the ring on my pillow, it felt like my whole world had turned upside down. All I knew was that you had been avoiding me and that you giving me the ring back meant you were taking away our friendship completely. Then you got your quest and my first instinct was to protect you so I did what I have done every year on your birthday since I met you. I got a shard of garnet embedded in your ring to keep yourself safe during your travels, planning to give it to you before your birthday. I didn't have weeks though like I usually do and by the time the ring was charmed and ready, it was too late. I reached Thalia's Tree just in time to see the van driving down the road and when I tried to talk to you when you came back, you'd just shut me out. For your fifteenth birthday, I had turquoise embedded into it to keep your mind relaxed because I could see how much everything that had happened was taking its toll on you. Last year, my choice of stone was opal to show that I would always be faithful to you and repel the evil that seems to gravitate to us. Both years I carried it around in my pocket for weeks, hoping to finally be able talk to you again but I never got the chance. This year, though, I got topaz embedded into the ring to give you strength and intellect when you needed them most… and to represent our love in the hope I could finally tell you how I felt since we were on better terms but then Andy and I got into that fight and I lost all hope of ever telling you. I thought I'd lost my only chance of you ever speaking to me again, let alone being anything more than acquaintances, but then I saw your expression as you walked to the woods and followed you to the cove without thinking. From there everything went as far from my plan as it could possibly get but part of me is glad it wasn't cut and dry, that just wouldn't be us." His eyes still never met mine but I saw the corner of his mouth pull up in a smile.
My mind was racing and I didn't know what I should say...what I wanted to say but it sure as hell wasn't what popped out of my mouth, "So every time you would tell me what the new stone you gave me represented, it wasn't just some sentimental representation... you had it charmed every time?"
A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he finally turned to face me, "Of everything I just told you that was the first thing that popped into your mind." He shook his head as I shrugged my shoulders, a smile tugging at my own lips. "I had to have a backup plan. No matter how much I wish I could be around you all day every day, I can't. I like knowing you have magic on your side alongside your other traits, helping keep you alive."
Softly cupping his cheek, I leaned forward and brushed my lips gently against his. "Thank you. For never giving up on me, for being there even if I didn't always know you were there, for everything."
"I'd give my life for you," he whispered, lifting his hand to brush my hair behind my ear.
"Let's hope it never comes to that," I replied, setting the box in my lap and placing my hand over his.
"May I?" he asked, pulling away slightly to pick up the small box from my lap.
"Of course," I replied, smiling at him.
He smiled back before pulling my ring from the box and returning it to its place on my ring finger before closing the box and replacing it in the pocket he'd pulled it from.
"We should probably get going," I told him, seeing the movie had ended and most of the people had left. Standing, I held my hand out to him and he took it, allowing me to help him to his feet before gathering the blanket in his arms and lacing his fingers through mine.
Silence surrounded us like it so often does as we made our way out of the park and down the street toward our bike. I hadn't realized how far away we had been forced to park until we were alone on the streets in shady part of town. My stomach twisted the further away from the park and my steps slowed, instincts taking over. Elliot opened his mouth to say something by whatever he was going to say was cut off by a familiar scream. My feet moved of their own accord as memories of that fateful day flashed through my mind, Elliot's yells barely registering in my head as I ran toward the sound…
It was our third day on the quest and none of us had slept more than three or four hours since we'd left camp, we'd even had to ditch our train because the monsters had tried to corner us on it. Normally a daughters of Athena, Eros, and Nyx wouldn't have this many monsters after them-unless one of them had upset a god or goddess, of course- but my scent was stronger than other demigods'… even children of the Big Three…
"Why don't we see if we can hitch a ride in the next town over, it's getting a little late and we only have two more days to get from the West Coast to the East," Melanie suggested, eyes twinkling lightly as she absentmindedly brushed her hair behind her right ear. Like most children of Eros, she was unbelievably beautiful-she was short but had the kind of curves most girls would sell their souls for while her bright hazel eyes that played out her emotions like scenes in a movie and curly mahogany hair that fell elegantly around her heart shaped face and down her back(even after hiking for hours on end in the blistering heat), both complimenting her perfectly tanned skin and delicate but defined facial features, while her smile could convince you to do almost anything- but her personality was completely different from that of most of her siblings. She couldn't stand vanity and was one of the most humble people I've ever known but she was always willing to stand up for what she believed in and would always help someone up when they fell-both metaphorically and literally.
"I don't know if that's a good idea, maybe we should just try the train again or hijack a car from somewhere. What'd you think Ariadne?" Virgil replied, looking over at me as we continued picking our way through the forest. She may have looked like an ordinary child of Nyx with her naturally layered straight black hair(with nearly invisible dyed purple streaks placed randomly throughout it), dark-almost black- navy eyes, ivory skin, sharp facial features, softly curved body, and dark style but her personality pointed otherwise. At first, she was just as mysterious as any one of her siblings but-once you got to know her-she was one of those people who could look you straight in the eye and tell if you were lying, one of those people who was always noticed but thought she was invisible, who had a lot of friends but only a few that she considered true, and who daydreamed almost every moment of the day but could kick butt on the battlefield.
I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by a growl before we were surrounded by Hell Hounds.
We stood back to back as they came at us like we had every other time something like this happened, only this time something went wrong. I saw Virgil fall out of the corner of my eye and the one of the Hellhounds pounce. Virgil screamed but the Hellhound never landed… Melanie had jumped in front of Virgil's body at the last second and taken the blow, driving her sword into its back as they fell back.
The life faded out of Melanie's eyes as the monster turned to dust and the power I fought on a daily basis flared inside of me as I saw her lifeless body fall to the ground. The Hellhounds didn't know what hit them after that…
The sounds of combat could be heard as I neared another alleyway. I may not have been able to save Melanie but me sure as Hades would save Virgil. Rounding the mouth of the alleyway, I wrapped my hand around my necklace and muttered, "Νίκη."
Virgil was already on the ground, unconscious but her boyfriend, Nick-son of Apollo, was still standing his ground. He was standing a little ways away from Virgil's body-not close enough to protect her but close enough for the two Laistrygonian Giants he was fighting to get to her- and not paying any attention to his surroundings as the giants backed him into a wall. One of the giants walked away from the battle and over to Virgil. Unsheathing my dagger from its hiding place under my shorts, I hurled it directly at the Laistrygonians throat when I saw Nick wasn't making any move to help her. Nick's sword went flying as my dagger turned the monster to dust and the giant he was fighting punched him perfectly in the jaw. It wasn't that hard of a punch but Nick still fell unconscious as my sword buried itself in the other giant's back.
I looked back to Virgil but she was already sitting up slightly and staring at me with wide eyes. "Are you alright?" I asked, walking over to her as I pulled my bag from my back and grabbed a piece of ambrosia from its baggy before squatting down beside her and offering it to her.
"I'm fine," she replied coldly, refusing the ambrosia I held out to her. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your ass that's what she's doing," Elliot spoke up for the first time before I could reply.
Looking up as I carelessly shoved the ambrosia back in its baggy before slinging my bag over one shoulder, I saw Elliot standing there with both of our swords in his hand. I grabbed my dagger from where it was laying, not far from Virgil, and sheathed it as I stood up before offering Virgil my hand.
"Well, we didn't need her help, Nick and I could have handled it on our own," she told him, not giving my hand a second glance as she stood on her own.
"Really? And where's this fantastic boyfriend of yours right now? Oh, that's right. He's lying on the ground over there, unconscious from a single punch to the face, in the corner he'd been cowering in with a sword in his hand while he watch as one of the two Laistrygonians tried to eat his girlfriend," Elliot said, venom lacing his words as his brown eyes glowed with fury.
Ignoring him, she hurried over to where Nick was laying on the ground and squatted down beside him.
"Let's just go," I sighed, taking my sword from Elliot as I walked past him and out of the alley-murmuring "Νίκη."
"Anyone else would have been on the ground with your sword at their neck if they'd treated you even half as bad as she did so why do you let her treat you like that?" Elliot queried, falling into step with me as I continued walking toward our bike.
"She's the only one that deserves to treat me like that," I replied, not meeting his gaze when he looked over in astonishment.
"Why, in Hades' name, would anyone have the right to treat you like that?" he asked, completely confused.
"Because it's my fault Melanie died and she knows that," I told him, still refusing to meet his gaze.
He pulled me to a stop and forced me to look him in the eye. "It was not your fault." His voice was firm but convincing and, more than anything, I wanted to believe him but I just couldn't…
"It was my scent that drew all those monsters in. If it had been anyone else, even you or Andy, there wouldn't have been as many," I replied.
"If it had been anyone else we would have lost three campers that day instead of one," he said softly.
"It should have been me." My voice was barely a whisper but when he heard it, his eyes sharpened.
"If it had been you, all three of you would be dead, Ariadne. You may not have been able to save Melanie but you did save yourself and Virgil. You can't always save everyone," he told me, crushing my body to his chest.
"Let's just go home." I didn't want to argue with him anymore.
"That's probably a good idea, it's getting pretty late anyways," he agreed, keeping one arm around me as he led me in the direction of our bike.
Our usual, comfortable silence fell over us until we were standing outside my cabin-parting ways.
"Meet me in the cove tomorrow after breakfast?" Elliot questioned, his arms wrapped lightly around my waist.
"It's a date," I replied, brushing my lips lightly against his. "Goodnight, Elliot."
"Goodnight, Ari," he replied, smiling at me. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Pulling away from him, I entered my cabin, waving to him before closing the door softly. Opening the chest at the end of my bed, I placed my sheathed dagger and bag inside before pulling out a fitted black tank-top and baggy sweats. I changed from my normal clothes into my night ones before closing my chest again, the locks clicking softly as the lid settled down. As I took Victory from my neck and placed it gently onto my nightstand, I couldn't help the soft chuckled that escaped my lips when I saw the two half-siblings asleep on my bed. Krystal was laying on the far side of my bed, her face smashed against the wall, with a sketchpad and pencil in her hands while little Jay was completely sprawled out across the bed on his stomach with his bear squashed between him and the bed. Plucking the sketch pad and pencil carefully from Krystal's grasped, I placed them next to Victory on my nightstand before gathering Jey and his bear into my arms and sliding beneath the covers. The last thing I felt before sleep overtook me was Jay fisting one of his tiny hands into the fabric of my tank-top and burying his face in my neck as Krystal rolled, curling like a cat into my side.
