"Eurgh..." Is all I manage to groan in response to Kuro. I know, I know, I'm a horrible brother, but seriously? At two in the morning? Not cool!
"VAL! Kaede's MISSING!" he shouts in my ear. I, of course, promptly fall right out of my bed. Awesome.
"Okay, okay, I'm awake! What's going on?" I ask, getting up. Kuro turns to me and whoa! Damn, he looks angry. What's going- Oh! Hot damn, Kaede's missing!
"Look, Kaede and I were with our parents yesterday and then we went to see a movie pretty late. Mom and Dad drove us back to camp, but neither of us was tired, so we decided to take a walk in the woods, since the Harpies don't patrol there. We got to Zeus' Fist, except, it wasn't really Zeus's Fist anymore! All it was was a big pile of rocks strewn around. I turned to Kaede, but then there was this bright flash and he was gone!"
Aw, come on. I so do not need this right now.
"Chiron's called a counselors meeting."
Quickly throwing on some clothes (yellowish-orangish top with a hood – not a hoodie – and lime green skinny jeans), I follow Kuro to the Big House.
We're not the last to get there, thank goodness. The only other people who are there are Jordan, Percy and Annabeth, Sawyer (grr…) and… Corleone! Whom I've actually taken to calling Anton since he called me a male Artemis. Sigh…. Okay, back on track. He looks hot as ever, in a plain black long sleeved shirt that's just a tick too big for him and worn out grey jeans. His Ray-Bans are nowhere to be seen, but, after all, it's the middle of the night.
After about another five minutes, the rest of the counselors have gotten there. When we've managed to quiet things down (well, Chiron manages that), Kuro tells his story, and an uneasy murmuring spreads through the counselors. Oh great. I am definitely not getting a good feeling about this. Lucky for me, Anton is right next to me, and his presence is oddly… calming.
"Counselors! I wish I didn't have to give a quest, especially not on Christmas Day and so soon after the Winter Solstice. But it seems it is in order for a team to go search for our missing camper. Kuro, since you are his family, I suggest you lead this quest. You may go consult Miss Dare, our oracle. The best of luck."
Kuro gulps and nods. He gets up and leaves the room, following Chiron to the Oracle. The rest of us sit in uneasy silence for the next ten minutes, until both come back. Kuro looks pale and shaken, and Chiron's face is… well, unreadable.
"Well?" I ask, breaking the awkward silence.
"He's in St. Louis. The monsters are planning on using him for some festival on New Year's Eve. I have to go. With a demigod who has wings and a child of Athena."
Immediately, I can see Percy and Annabeth open their mouths, probably volunteering Annabeth, but Kuro beats them to the bat.
"I'll ask Malcolm."
Silence.
Then the other words hit me. A child with wings. Oh god, please not.
"And Sawyer."
No, no, no!
.:.
"Seriously, Kuro? Seriously?" I rant at my brother when we're back in our cabin.
"I'm sorry, Val, but in Rachel's drawing there was definitely a person with wings! And as far as Chiron knows, Sawyer's the only one with wings at camp. Believe me, I didn't want this. I will be as mean and excluding as I possibly can to him, I promise!"
I nod slightly, but then shake my head.
"Don't do that. Treat him like a human – he's still a demigod and should feel welcome at camp. But other than that, I don't care what you do."
He nods and pats me on the back.
"Annabeth said she'd tell Malcolm. We're leaving at six in the morning, on the first train out to St. Louis. We should be back by next year," he grins, and I can't help but grin back.
"Okay, but I get to pack your suitcase."
"And I won't die. Deal."
.:.
It's been three hours since they left, and I seriously can't eat anything. A lot of kids are gone – spending Christmas Day with their parents, so really, it's only a few Demeter kids (whose parents live too far away), some Ares kids (who hate their parents), some Hermes kids (who are worrying about Kaede), some Apollo kids (I don't know their explanation), Anton, and me. Oh yeah, a few Athena kids, who are worrying about Malcolm getting back, but otherwise, none. I don't even see Anton.
I get up from my table and head to my cabin – maybe I can find a TV or so and watch a movie. Do they have cable here? I wonder….
"So I hear you like Starbucks…" I jump at the voice suddenly behind me.
"Anton," I hiss. "Don't do that!"
Yeah, he can shadow travel or whatever it's called.
"Too bad. You're alone, I'm alone, ergo ,we're going to Starbucks. Drinks are on me."
I really want to say no (hey, don't judge, I just want some peace and quiet!), but damn, that boy had me at Starbucks.
"Fine," I groan. "Just let me – whoa!" He's already pulled me into the shadows. The feeling is… intense, horrifying, but completely awesome at the whole time. Sadly, it's over all too soon, and I… yup, I run right into an alley wall. Great. "I was going to say to let me get a coat," I mutter, but Anton shrugs, smiling.
"No need. We're here," he points to a sign sticking out onto the main street. 'SRATUBCKS'. Uh… that's probably 'STARBUCKS.' "Let's go!"
.:.
A Frappuccino or three later, we decide to leave Starbucks and walk around Central Park. Only problem: jackets. Unfortunately, Anton gets this evil grin on his face and I just know he's up to something I probably won't agree to.
"Oh yes, Mr. Madden, we are going shoplifting, demigod style," he grins, taking my hand (which sends little quivers of energy through me, just by the way) and dragging me into the nearest… Armani store? Oh no, no, no! Please not! Please, an H&M or even a Ralph Lauren store, but Armani? I think Jackie works at one of these!
Turns out we're at the Armani Exchange on Columbus Circle. Let me tell you, Anton sure is lucky, because if this were the one on the other side of Central Park, I'm pretty sure Jackie would be working there. Although… I really have lost all sense of direction ever since I've started with my snake/human transformations….
And that's when I see it. A jacket. The jacket. It says it's called a 'Trucker Jacket' for… wow, only 150$. That's quite the deal…. Now just how to steal it.
"Didn't peg you to be cheap, an Upper West Sider like you," Anton's voice says from behind me. I spin to see him standing there empty handed. In defense, he raises those empty hands jokingly. "Just joking. I think it'll look absolutely gorgeous on you. Just give it to me and I shall meet you outside the store in just a few seconds."
Not really waiting for me to give him the jacket, he takes it and… yup, he just steps right into the rack, which has a shadow in it, and disappears. Great. I make my way back to the door, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Thankfully, no one notices me – all the employees are flocked around someone. A part of me is thankful, but the other is wondering – who is this? I guess a little glance wouldn't hurt….
As I step closer and lock eyes with the person in the middle, I know it was a bad idea. Why? It's my dad. Oh shit….
"… Valerian?"
Oh no. He slipped up. You see, Dad never ever slips up. Ever. Better run for my life.
"Uh guys? We're missing a Trucker Jacket…" a tall blonde trails off, and her eyes set on me. "Hey, weren't you looking at those last?" Oh no. Trouble. Big trouble – where the hell is Anton when you need him?
I stumble backwards, towards where I know a few shadows are, but still remaining so that Anton could see me if he were looking in through the window. I'm praying this works.
"Uh… no? No, I was – I was just looking, I mean, I put it back and everything… uh…" Oh damn. They've got me. They're closing in on me. There's that coldness in my spine. Aw, come on! Seriously, a transformation now? I wasn't even thinking of snakes!
"Val!" there's a loud shout from behind me (really, really loud). Someone grabs the back of my shirt. I'm pulled into the shadows.
And promptly run into a tree when I emerge.
.:.
So we got rid of all the evidence by running and hiding in Central Park. And, of course, taking off all tags and security things. Now I wonder how I'll explain all this to my father when I go home after this….
Well, the good news is that I have a jacket now, as does Anton (well, he doesn't really have a jacket – he just stole a thick sweater on our way through Central Park), and the better news is that he hasn't let go of my hand the whole time. I swear, my heart's beating at five hundred times a minute.
Then we walk. We just walk the rest of the day, occasionally talking, sometimes sitting on giant rocks, and sometimes just being quiet. It's actually a relief after the insanity at camp – it's so nice to see the families all happy. I'm really glad I'm there with Anton.
"A rose for the beautiful young gentlemen," an old lady hands us each a rose. "You two are such a lovely couple," she smiles.
Now I'm blushing. I turn to Anton. He's looking at me with that same look I've caught several times already. It's like a look of wanting and longing, almost like… he's so close to me… almost like he wants to… he's right there… like he wants to kiss me… I'm leaning in… he wants to kiss me… he does.
Fucking fireworks.
Dawww… cute. Sorry for not updating in a while – I have so much friggin stuff to do! If you want to know, just Google deutsch MSA or so, and you'll see. Of course, you'd have to read German for that… ah well. Here's the link to Val's jacket:
http:/ / www .armaniexchange. com /product/trucker+?sortby=&page=2
Love you guys, keep the reviews comin' ;)