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Antigone woke from her three day, coma-like sleep to a tingling sensation on the top of her hand, almost the feeling of a spider tip-toeing across her skin. Her eyes looked down. Much to her pleasure, it was not, in fact, a spider. However, much to her displeasure, a hand belonging to Luke Castellan held fast to hers, his thumb tracing small, lazy circles on the top of her appendage. A sound erupted from Antigone's throat as she noticed the son of Hermes was fast asleep, peaceful as ever; it sounded something between a growl and a yelp, pathetic and powerful, but she felt it adequately displayed her frustration. With a sigh, she kicked herself from under the covers. Mustering all the energy she held inside her, Antigone reared back, and threw her energy into kicking Luke's kneecap.
"Oh, Gods," Luke spluttered, waking.
Moments of cursing in Ancient Greek passed, with Antigone just watching on, vague amusement on her face.
"That hurt," he said, chuckling as he moved down to rub his shin.
She smiled and nodded.
"Good," she said, satisfied with herself.
He rolled his eyes at her.
"Well, it's good to see you're feeling better," he muttered under his breath.
A small 'hmph' came from Antigone as she sat cross-legged in her bed.
"Yes, no thanks to you."
He reeled back, as though he was shocked she could ever place the blame on him.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
She laughed, the first full laugh he heard her laugh since her arrival at Camp Half-Blood. Antigone fell backward on the cot and grabbed her stomach for support.
"Oh, don't be like that, Sunshine," he implored.
Antigone ceased her laughter and rolled her eyes at the boy.
"You dropped me in the middle of the ocean, Luke!"
Hermes' son scoffed.
"Don't be dramatic. It was a lake," he said, smiling sardonically down at her.
The boy looked at her with his deep eyes; she turned away from their intensity. On the table beside her sat food and several generic get-well cards from the Apollo cabin.
"They brought me stuff?" she asked, tired of the subject and the constant tug-of-war.
A tinge of bitterness struck Luke's tone.
"Yeah. They brought you stuff," he said.
His tone did not go unnoticed by the girl in the bed.
"Well, you did try to drown me, " she snapped, "No wonder they didn't bring you things."
Luke shook his head, his blonde hair shaking emphatically.
"I did not try to drown you," he retorted with a smirk, matching her, "You need to learn to swim."
Antigone rolled her eyes for what seemed like the millionth time since she met him.
"And you thought that letting Poseidon have me was the best way to do that?"
Luke bit his tongue, stopping short of an answer. No reply or excuse would satisfy her, that much he understood. Before another syllable could pass between the pair, Chiron moved into the room, saving them both. Instantly, Luke stood and nodded somewhat ruefully to the trainer.
"Chiron," he said simply.
He moved toward the door before turning back around. With a smile and salute to Antigone, he said, "If you need anything..."
The girl waved him away, taking note of the unfinished statement mentally. The centaur stepped closer once the door slammed to mark Luke's exit from the room.
"Good afternoon, Antigone," Chiron said, in greeting.
Antigone dipped her head in shame.
"Hello, Chiron," she responded.
Chiron smiled and shook his head.
"There's no need to be ashamed. I know what really happened. You were not at fault."
Antigone's head shot up, vindication glowing on her face.
"Really?"
He nodded down at her.
"Yes. But, in light of it-"
Of course. The catch. Here we go... Antigone thought to herself.
"I think it's time you branched out and explored more people around camp."
Then, Chiron caught a look in the girl's eyes. Chiron was positive she hadn't even registered the fleeting emotion that passed over her, but Chiron did: Disappointment. He then continued.
"Luke will still supervise your training, but you should meet more campers."
Antigone nodded.
"Yes, Chiron.
Then, the moment was broken.
"Oh, you're up!" A cheery voice nearly sang.
The girl turned her face to look at a particularly handsome son of Apollo.
"Yeah, I am," she said, smiling at him.
Chiron smiled, pleased at the blessing.
"Wonderful! Antigone Harper, this is Andrew Clay, son of Apollo."
Andrew nodded to her with a blinding smile before checking the papers in his hand.
"These say that-" he flipped through stack, "Oh, you're free to go when you like."
The centaur smiled.
"Wonderful. Good day, Andrew."
For a moment, Andrew and Antigone shared a long smile; then, Chiron placed his hand on the girl's back and led her out.
"It's almost dinner. Perhaps you can start your friend hunt while everyone is out of activity."
Antigone nodded, nervous. Her fear was unwarranted and unneeded, because a voice piped up in front of her the moment she left the Big House.
"Oh, my gods. Antigone Harper?"
The girl looked up to see Luke's dinner partner, Collyer standing before her.
"Yes?" Antigone responded.
Collyer broke into a face-breaking smile.
"Well, I'm Collyer, daughter of Hermes. This," she said, pointing to a boy standing beside her, "Is Quincy."
In a low voice, the loud girl added, "He's my boyfriend. He's a son of Hephaestus."
Quincy nodded to Antigone with a small, almost timid smile.
"Hey, Quincy," she said in response.
His smile widened. That seemed to be one of Antigone's qualities: she was a magnet and a wall all at the same time.
"So, Antigone, I want to know all about you," Collyer gushed.
Antigone smirked to herself and looked back at Chiron.
Mission Accomplished.
Look, readers, here's what is up. I got six people adding this story to alert last chapter. And I got one review. I love this story and want your input. I am really tempted to just discontinue it because I am honestly afraid that people aren't liking it. Please review. Please.
