a/n: I am SO sorry! Last month my journalism class had to work furiously to put the paper together, and then I had midterms. But I promise, my normal monthly updates will return.
Thank you so much for nominating Alice for best OC! It means a lot to me :)
To the anonymous reviewer of chapter 6, Nico and Alice will end up together. As I like to say, the path to romance isn't always a straight line. Have patience :)
And for those of you who feel the story is moving too slowly, I apologize. When I have a free moment I will make a timeline for this story so I can avoid any further slow chapters.
I turned my face toward the blessed spray and willed my legs not to collapse. A shower had never felt so wonderful.
A week had passed since I'd come to Camp Half-Blood. I'd made some new friends, knew almost everyone in my activities by name, and was now being run into the ground with exhaustion.
Arts and crafts was a blast. I'd befriended a set of twins named Ashley and Danielle who constantly bickered with each other in a way that was enjoyable to watch.
Canoeing was also fun, and I'd already beaten Nico in a race (he beat me the other nine races, but who's counting those?)
Gymnastics was easy since I'd been taking classes since preschool. There were only four other campers who'd signed up for the course, and two of them couldn't even do a cartwheel.
Sword-fighting was…hard, to say the least. We had one two-minute break in the middle, but worked the entire rest of the time. Within five minutes I'd be sweating madly. The instructor's name was Toby. He was a son of Hermes, probably around seventeen, whom every girl fawned over. I mean, I guess he was attractive, but I didn't get what the big deal was.
Monsters 101 was a joke. Like all the other students, I had to teach myself about all the mythological monsters on my own time. In class, the "instructor," an Aphrodite girl named Saige, sat and painted her nails or gabbed away on the phone with her boyfriend. I usually ended up playing hangman with my friend Steph or made fun of people with Mel.
I wasn't too bad at archery, but my consistency was terrible. One day I'd be hitting the target every time, and the next people would be ducking to dodge the free-flying arrows. My only friend in archery was Sarah, but she was quickly becoming one of my best friends, along with Jess and Nico.
And finally, after all this, I ate dinner. I had also picked up the habit of climbing this tree behind my cabin with a killer view of the stars. It was a fun pre-bedtime activity.
I sighed as I toweled off my wet hair. I was finally becoming accustomed to camp, but I missed my old friends and my parents terribly. I had managed to convince everyone that camp was fun and I was having the time of my life, but the comfort of home always seemed far away.
I forced my aching muscles back to my cabin and changed into sweatpants and a tee shirt. I still had an hour or so left until curfew (when the harpies would come and eat me, of course), so I decided to go look at the stars for a while.
I wound my hair into a loose bun and walked a straight line from the back of my cabin to the edge of the woods. A few campers were scattered around, playing games or swatting mosquitoes away.
It was difficult getting into the tree. Some of my limbs were choosing to shut down, and the ones that were still working felt like jello. But eventually, I managed to find a sturdy branch with a magnificent view of the dark sky.
I shivered at the slight chill. I hardly ever wore a sweatshirt anymore; the summer heat and the constant sweat made it unnecessary.
Just then, I heard a rustling sound. I shut my eyes and inhaled deeply. If this was some love struck couple coming to tell me that I was sitting in a popular make out spot, I was gonna pop one of them in the face.
"I hoped I'd find you here."
I turned, surprised. "Nico?"
"May I join you?"
"Uh…sure?"
He climbed up on one of the branches and gazed at the sky. "The stars remind me of my sister. Sometimes I come out here to talk to her."
"What was her name?"
"Bianca. You kind of remind me of her, actually."
"Is that good or bad?"
"Good. You don't care what anybody thinks of you."
I twirled a loose strand of hair. "I care what people think. I just don't show it."
"Oh."
Silence.
"Were you looking for me?"
"Oh, right. Are you still planning on staying another week?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Would you consider staying the whole summer?"
I looked at him sharply. "Why?"
"Well…" he shrugged embarrassedly. "It's fun having you here. There's nothing at all that could make you stay?"
I considered the possibility. As sore as I was, training was kind of fun. And I was making a lot of new friends.
And there were no strange subway monsters here.
"I'll think about it." I said, looking away.
"Cool. Also, how would you feel about going into the Underworld tomorrow?"
Well he was just the bearer of annoying choices today. What's next? Would you rather lose your right hand or your left? Cause I've got a sword!
"I've got six and a half months to go eleven more days." I stated.
He looked at me sideways. "Yeah, but if you wait until the end of December, you'll be decorating the palace for Christmas."
Good point. "Do they celebrate Christmas in the Underworld?"
He rolled his eyes. "I was being sarcastic."
I grinned cheekily. "I'm rubbing off on you!"
"Yeah yeah. Anyway, it's Sunday tomorrow, so there are no organized activities. I thought it would be a good time to go."
"Ughhhhhhh…"
"Complaining will get you nowhere, sugar."
I snorted. "Cute."
"I thought so." He hopped off the tree. "See you tomorrow then?"
I sighed. "When should I get up?"
"Be ready by dawn."
I groaned loudly. He laughed and walked away. I stared at the sky, enjoying it while I still could.
Ha. Sugar. What an idiot.
A-B-C-D
My alarm buzzed annoyingly in my ear. The cabin was still dark, due to the fact that it was 5 AM. I sleepily got dressed and grabbed my bag of toiletries. It was creepy seeing the camp so deserted. The witching hour was over and the harpies had gone to sleep. It was a few short hours of peace before campers started to get up. The horn didn't ring on Sundays, since there were no activities.
The shower woke me up a little. I combed my hair and left it to dry however it pleased, then changed into jeans and a sweatshirt.
I yawned as I walked outside. Maybe I could just sleep the whole day in the Underworld. I packed my bag full of necessities (ipod, cards, ...etc.) and walked to the beach. Sarah told me that she watched the sunrise with her boyfriend once, and it had been incredible.
I lay down on the sand and used my bag as a pillow. I'll just shut my eyes for a minute and wait...
"Alice." I felt a slight jab on my arm. I mumbled something incoherent and tried to get comfortable again.
"Alice!" the voice said, louder this time. I cracked an eye open. "I'm not Alice. I'm her evil twin...Alex."
Nico rolled his eyes. "I told you to be ready by dawn."
I yawned. "I am ready. I guess I got up too early."
Nico shifted feet. "Well, c'mon then."
I sat up and looked at him. "Carry me?"
"No!"
"Pleaseeeeeeeeee?"
"No."
"I'll be your best friend!"
"Use the legs the gods gave you."
"I'm tiredddd." I whined.
He sighed exasperatedly. "Fine. Get your ring."
"Yay!" I happily tossed him my ring. He held it out in the palm of his hand and said something in Ancient Greek. He threw it on the sand and it turned into a door identical to the one I had left in a few weeks ago.
He tossed in the bags and crouched down in front of me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and jumped on his back, feeling like a small child.
He grunted. "Jeez, eat much?"
"Shut up." I mumbled, resting my head on his back. I recognized his scent from his sweatshirt.
"Don't fall asleep on me." He warned, and stepped through the door.
It wasn't too bad, just a couple seconds of compressed breathing and lack of sight. Then I opened my eyes and discovered we were back in his old bedroom. He dropped me on the bed. I curled up in a ball and shut my eyes.
Stupid exhaustion. I'll get you back one day.
Wait…what?
E-F-G-H
I rubbed my eyes and sat up. The first thing I noticed was the blankets tucked in around me. The second thing I noticed was Nico sitting in his chair in the corner reading a comic book.
"Well someone was tired." He glanced up from the pages.
I ran a hand through my hair. "How long was I out?"
"About two hours. You look like a little angel when you sleep."
I swung my legs out of bed. "My, aren't we flirtatious today?"
"My, aren't we narcoleptic today?" he stuck his tongue out.
"I'm just tired." I said. "I've never done so much work in my life. Now it's like my whole life is planned out."
"You get used to it." He said, putting his comic down.
We stared at each other awkwardly.
"So," he said, clearing his throat. "Want to play cards?"
J-K-L-M
"Uno."
"DAMMIT!" I threw down my remaining card. "I'm done with this game! What time is it?"
Nico glanced at his watch. "About five."
"When can we go?"
"After it gets dark. Nine fifteen should be good."
I groaned. "I'm so bored. Let's play a game."
He rolled his eyes. "We were playing a game."
"Well, let's play a game you can't rig."
"I wasn't rigging it! You just suck!" he exclaimed, apparently tired of my accusations.
He was totally cheating. "Would you rather be a doctor or a nurse?"
He stared at me. "What?"
"Would you rather. It's a game."
He thought for a moment, resting his head against the back board. "Well, being a male nurse would make me look like a sissy, and I really don't mind people dying, so I guess a doctor."
"Okay, there are two things wrong with that. First of all, there is nothing wrong with being a guy and being a nurse. That's so sexist. Secondly, you do care when people die, you just pretend you don't. I'm not so blind I can't see that."
He was quiet for a minute. "You really don't think male nurses are sissy?"
N-O-P-Q
I hung my head off the side of the bed. "Okay, would you rather be the most popular kid in camp or the smartest?"
"Neither. But if I had to choose, I'd say smart."
"Why?"
"Because popularity is stupid. Would you rather date Orlando Bloom or Zac Efron?"
"Blech." I made a face. "Neither!"
"If you had to choose." He goaded.
"Probably Orlando then. He wasn't associated with Disney."
"Actually, Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney film." He pointed out.
I threw up my hands. "Then I don't care! Would you rather date Megan Fox or Angelina Jolie?" Megan Fox. Every guy picked Megan Fox.
"Angelina Jolie."
I seriously think he has mind-reading abilities. I need some tinfoil! "Why?"
He shrugged. "She's prettier."
I stared at him.
"Well, the way I see it, there are two different scales. On the first scale, you have cute, pretty, adorable, beautiful, etc., and on the second scale, you have hot, gorgeous, sexy, and all that stuff. Angelina is a first scale kind of gal, and Megan is on the second."
"So you're pretty much the only male on the planet that would choose a pretty girl over a sexy one?"
"Nah, there are more out there. We're very rare though."
"Well, I'm all for ending the exploitation of women. Maybe we need more guys like you."
He shrugged again.
"Have you told Jess she's pretty?"
"I thought you said you were going to leave this alone."
I tapped him with my foot. "Relax. I'm not meddling. This is just comfortable friend-on-friend talk."
He rubbed his nose. "No, I haven't told her."
I pictured Jess in my mind. "Actually, telling her she's pretty probably isn't a good idea. She doesn't seem too happy with her roots."
He looked at me, confused. "She dyes her hair?"
"No, stupid. I mean she's not happy about who her mom is. She wants to be recognized for her brain and talents, not just her looks. Compliment those." I suddenly felt a bitter jealousy towards my friend. She had it all-looks, smarts, good guys liking her…I thought about how my hair was probably a rat's nest right now, how my eyes had dark circles under them, how my clothes were a little baggy.
Nico interrupted my thoughts. "Yeah, maybe you're right. I'll try it. So, who do you like?"
I scoffed. "No one. Crushes are stupid and a waste of time."
"You're afraid of getting your heart broken."
Was he writing movie scripts now? "I'm not afraid. I just think it's stupid to go flinging your heart around to every cute guy you see."
"What if he's worth it?
"You know, there's a saying. 'Nobody is worth your tears, and the one who is won't make you cry.'"
"Well you won't know who the right person is the second you see him. You gotta put yourself out there!"
Ugh. He was beginning to sound like a teenage girl. "Whatever. Got any good books?"
R-S-T-U
"Yo! It's 9:15. We can go now."
"YES!" I snapped the book shut and gathered my bag.
"Ring me." Nico said, and I slipped the ring off my finger and placed it in his open palm.
He did the same thing as he had on the beach, and the door once again appeared out of thin air.
"Carry me again?" I asked hopefully.
"Sorry. One ride per customer. Why don't you carry me?"
Okay, so this probably wasn't the best idea. "Dude, you weigh a ton." I groaned as I attempted to give him a piggy-back ride to the Big House.
I focused on the not-so-distant lights and willed my legs to get there.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Okay, I can't do this anymore. I collapsed onto the grass. Here's a new training idea for you, Toby: get everyone to carry their partner around. You might not build trust, but you'll certainly build muscles.
Nico propelled himself off my back and I rolled over.
"Wimp." He said, his hands on either side of my face.
"Well, sorry. I don't work out at the arena nine times a day." I snapped, suddenly on edge.
"I just figured something out about you." He said casually, making no move to get up and make me less uncomfortable.
"Oh, really. Do tell."
"You revert to sarcasm when you get nervous."
"I use sarcasm all the time. And I'm not nervous."
He leaned closer. "Oh, really?"
Hello, you've reached personal space. Sorry we're not here to take your call. Please check the number and try again.
"Alice! What are you doing?"
Nico quickly rolled off me and stood up. I stood up next to him, feeling winded.
A woman in a white toga ran up to me. She had dirty blonde hair pulled into a familiar-looking messy bun. Her feet were slightly dirt-stained. Chiron rode up behind her, in full-centaur mode.
"Do I know you?" I asked uncertainly.
"Of course, dear! I am Demeter, goddess of the harvest and all things related to. And you are my daughter."
I guess some of you are wondering why I skipped the letter I .
No, wait…why would you possibly be wondering that? How closely do you read? Sheesh!
Just kidding :) Here's a cookie if you realized the I was missing!
