Chapter nine, guys! Well, it's pretty long, for me, so I hope you all like it. I certainly enjoyed writing this and hope you won't be mad at me for my wicked humor (I hope you see it) or for the Leo thingy... ❤️ Thanks for still reading even though I disappeared for two months. It really makes me happy.

Wel, enjoy!

Chapter 9

Mageía

7 teenagers, aged probably from 13 to 17, were sitting in a haphazard ring, slumped on huge cushions and draped across sofas. They seemed to be having an enormous amount of fun.

As she watched, she saw them all go quiet, except for one choppy haired girl who seemed to be instructing them to do something.

Mageía crept closer, sliding along the wall, trying to hear them better. At last she found a spot where she could hear and watch them quite well.

Just as she got into place, a curly haired, mischievous eyed boy stood up.

"Do I really have to, Pipes?" he asked the choppy haired girl pleadingly.

"Go kiss the wall, Leo," the girl said. She had a strangely enchanting voice, and Mageía felt almost compelled to kiss the wall directly beside her. She saw the others in the circle start to get up, but the girl spoke again, "No, not you guys, only Leo!" They all sat down immediately, and looked to her for further instructions. She shook her head at them.

The boy they called Leo started walking towards her, slowly, deliberately.

She wondered if he could see her. No. He couldn't possibly. It was just a dream.

But as he walked closer and closer she could actually feel his presence, so she started to wonder...

Before she could wonder any further, he quiet suddenly kissed her, full on the lips. She tried to pull away, but he did first. He stared at the spot where she was staring, blinking hard.

"Come on, Leo, that was barely a peck!" called a guy with mesmerizing sea green eyes.

"Yeah, Leo, you gotta hold it, savour it..." whispered the choppy haired girl. She had little braids framing her face, each with eagle feathers stuck onto them at the ends.

Leo stuttered. "I- uh- but... There's- uhhhh- something..."

"Oh, Leo, if you're going to say something, speak now or forever hold your peace!" said a curly haired blonde, who was lying in the lap of the guy with green eyes.

Leo managed to speak, but barely, "there's... There's something there."

The youngest of the seven, a curly haired, cocoa skinned girl, then spoke. "What do you mean, 'there's something there'? She looked at Leo worriedly.

Leo turned and looked at the others. "Hazel," he directed this at the girl that had spoken to him last, "there's something there. As in, something solid and very much alive. It..."

"It what?" asked a blonde guy with short, close cropped hair and faraway blue eyes.

Leo then directed his statement at him. "It felt like a girl."

The others gasped collectively.

"Isn't that technically impossible?" asked a shy looking Asian boy, and although he looked shy, he was definitely buff and built up enough to be a pretty confident guy.

"Oh, dear Frank," Leo said mockingly, "you forget that common technicalities don't always apply to us demigods."

It was Mageía's turn to gasp now, and it was not the right thing to do.

Every head turned in utter astonishment toward the place where she was standing, quite a few jaws dropping.

"Tell me you didn't hear that," said Leo softly.

There was a silence that seems to last forever, and during that period of silence, Mageía inspected each of the teenagers quite carefully.

She started with Leo. He had flawless, tanned skin, and the most sweet eyes that reminded Mageía of the melted chocolate in the processing machines in patisseries and sweet shops she had passed once or twice. He had a slightly pointed, small nose, and elfish ears. His thin lipped mouth was hanging slightly open, revealing teeth of a dazzling white. His curly brown hair was messed up in quite a cute way. He was admittedly short and scrawny, with a bit of muscle definition, but Mageía fell in love with him almost immediately. She couldn't take her eyes off him, but eventually, and reluctantly, turned to look at the others.

The girl who had first spoken had medium length, unevenly layered, Nutella coloured hair. Her eyes were fascinating, as they were a mixture of all different colours, ranging from bright blue to gold. Her head was tilted to one side, resting on a slim shoulder. She was beautiful in a ragged sort of a way, with a lean body and an intense expression.

The boy who sat next to her looked about 16, maybe 17 and had silvery blonde hair, with a jagged graze through it on one side of his head. His sky blue eyes had an inquisitive look in them, and his eyebrows were furrowed as if he was deep in thought. He had a square jawline and a fit, defined body.

The couple next to them were siting cross legged and holding each other's hands. They were looking intently at the spot where Mageía stood and their heads op and shoulders were touching. The girl, Hazel, was maybe around 13 or 14 while the guy -was his name Frank?-was at least 15. They were a strange combination of a petite, dark skinned, frizzy cocoa haired girl and a large, buff, creamy skinned, straight black haired guy, but they were obviously in love. It was a cute, innocent love, and Mageía admired it very much.

She turned her attention to the last couple, who were lying in such a way that they were entwined and looked inseparable, although their eyes spoke volumes. They were haunted eyes, filled with unimaginable horrors and deep with emotion. They were also filled with love and compassion, hatred and weariness beyond their years. The girl's long, curly blonde hair lay in a pool of tresses around the guy's legs. They were both quite slender, but they were lean. Their cheeks were almost sunken and they had bags around their eyes. Mageía could have stared at them forever, drowning in their misery and hardships, but she yanked her attention away and turned back to Leo.

It hadn't exactly been that long. A few seconds maybe, a minute at most.

Then the one called Hazel gasped. "It is a girl..." She then smiled and asked, "What's your name?"

"Mageía... And you're Hazel, right?"

"Yes. How long have you been here?" she asked, frowning.

"Only since, uhm, you," she said, pointing to the girl Leo had called Pipes, "dared Leo," she looked at Leo," to kiss the wall." She continued, "Can you see me?"

"Yes," was the reply from Hazel, Frank, Annabeth and Jason.

"How come you guys can see her?" the boy with the haunted eyes complained.

Hazel held out her hand to him and gently said, "here, Percy, if you really want to see her, take my hand."

Percy grinned foolishly and reached out his hand in a soft gesture, only to yank Hazel's hand towards him and send her toppling forward. He then excitedly turned to the spot his -Mageía took it that the blonde girl was his girlfriend- girlfriend was looking.

"Hi," he said naughtily, flashing her an evil grin.

"Percy," the blonde girl said warningly.

"I was just playing Annabeth," he said, looking at her with his irresistible eyes wide open and his mouth in a pout.

"Oh, Seaweed Brain, you know that'll never work."

"It's worked before, Wise Girl."

The girl with the beautiful eyes suddenly shrieked in delight. "Oh, she's a pretty one, isn't she?" Then her cheeks reddened and her eyes squeezed shut.

Leo glanced at her and burst into fits of laughter.

The blonde guy whispered, "Piper, your Aphrodite is beginning to show..."

Piper punched him, albeit lightly, on the arm. "That's not fair, Jason."

"What's not fair?"

"Well," she floundered for words. "My mother is Aphrodite and your father is Zeus you don't even have to do any comparing and statistics and what not it is just not fair and this might be a weakness and a fatal one at that and now here I am blundering around showing off my Aphrodite skills and being an absolute dumb blonde!" Her voice rose steadily, and she said all this without pausing or taking a breath, and Jason's pupils slowly constricted to pin points as he listened intently to her. But her voice dropped as she looked at Annabeth. "No offense, but it's just that most blondes are stupid. Most glide girls, that is," she added hurriedly, glancing at Jason. But Jason was far from reasoning with and so he simply nodded his head and started to drool. "Oh, I've made a mess of things, now," Piper groaned.

When a Leo next turned around to face Mageía, he first stared, then quickly pulled his eyes away, before succumbing to curiosity and peering once again into Mageía's face.

Mageía found him so adorable. It was a shame this was only a dream.

"You kissed me," she whispered, blushing furiously.

Leo smiled, then frowned, then a sudden realization hit him and he looked down with a troubled expression on his face.

Mageía sighed a long, melancholy sigh. And her dream dissolved.

Mageía woke up drenched and shivering.

"It's about time you woke up," Willow scolded her playfully. "Even I know that you overslept. And overslept doesn't even cover it. You should have been out of here a few hours ago."

Mageía heard Aeschylus' laugh in her mind.

Willow smiled.

"So you can hear him?" asked Mageía.

"Yes. His voice is kind of hard to miss."

Mageía grinned at her. "Oh really, now?"

Willow blushed a dark green.

As much as I am enjoying listening to your conversation, Aeschylus began saying, don't you think we should get out of the rain?

"Yes. Yes, I think we should. Is that why I'm wet?" said Mageía slowly.

"Yes," replied Willow. "We should probably get you some new clothes. You'll get a cold if you stay outside much longer with your clothes soaked that badly."

But, Willow, we don't have any money, Aeschylus started saying.

"You forget who you're with, Aeschylus," Mageía said sneakily.

And what's that supposed to mean?

"I'm just the person you need in this sort of situation. Willow, where's the nearest clothing store?"

"Just down the road," Willow replied innocently. "Why?"

"Well, I do need new clothes, don't I?"

This doesn't sound good at all... Aeschylus' voice trailed off.

"Well, come on, guys, let's go then," Mageía said, hopping to her feet. She was so thrilled to be able to do this again... It had been way too long. "Besides, I need a little practice once in a while, wouldn't you say?"

"For what, Mageía?" Willow asked sternly.

"Oh, you just wait, you'll see now now", Mageía said infuriatingly. "Are you coming?"

Willow said nothing, but got steadily to her feet and stood staring wide eyed at Mageía.

"Well, here goes," Mageía said, before taking off at full speed, running around trees and leaping over rocks, dodging park benches and ducking under low hanging branches.

When she came to the end of the park, she looked over her shoulder and pointed left and right, as if to ask which way to go. When Willow pointed right, she bolted down the road and her senses took over. Her eyes scanned the rows of buildings, searching, while her ears listened for any sound of approaching danger; even at this early hour of the morning, monsters were all around, and people were, too. She spotted the store, which, quite ironically, had large purple spots covering its sky blue exterior and interior.

Just like that monster from Monsters Inc., she thought, glancing up. Strangely, the shop's name was Monster Maniac. Strange name for a store...

She cautiously approached the door. She swirled around, checking if anyone was following her. She flinched as Willow and the orb came into view. Thank the gods, she mouthed to herself.

Mageía turned back to the door, inspecting it. It was locked, no doubt, but she could solve that problem. She checked it by slowly turning the handle. As anticipated, it was locked. Mageía reached into one of the pockets in her pants and pulled out a paper clip. She carefully unfolded it so that it wasn't curled up anymore, but artfully bent to her advantage. Inserting it's edge into the oblong hole of the lock, she wiggled it around a bit. Expecting it to unlock, she took the paper clip out and turned the handle. The door didn't budge.

Ugh, she thought, I really do need to do this more often. I'm getting a bit rusty.

Mageía sighed and shoved the paper clip back into the hole, deeper this time, shaking and wiggling it harder and more violently. It took a lot of jerking movements to finally hear the faint click, which was almost drowned out by Mageía's frantic rattling of the door - and her puffs of air that came as a result of irritation. Hearing that sound overjoyed Mageía, and she happily yanked the paper clip out of the keyhole and threw it over her shoulder, before grabbing the handle of the door and pulling it open.

"Finally," she whispered to herself.

She crept into the dark, shadowy building and her eyes did a quick sweep of the room. With nothing threatening in sight, she grinned and started picking her way through the racks of clothing.

The first thing she took, however, was a pair of matt black Doctor Marten's, patterned with stacks of skulls and roses. As soon as she saw them she rushed to them, picked them up and spun in a circle with them clutched in her crushing embrace. She sniffed deeply, taking in their smell, all the while staring adoringly at the pair of boots.

After this display of affection, Mageía proceeded to yank a black leather biker jacket - with the sleeves ripped off and the edges frayed, silver zips running all along the seams, and spiked adorning the back in the shape of a grinning skull - off its hanger, only to drape it unceremoniously over her arm. She then snatched a pair of white, fluffy ankle socks (one could not live without clean, dry socks) and a pair of scarlet jeans, splattered with bright green paint and with scattered holes and rips. She spotted a gorgeous black, long sleeved shirt, with the image of a wolf snarling on it and with the sleeves slightly extended and wider at the wrists, on a plastic model. It was the only one in sight, so Mageía settled for totally disassembling the model and pulling the shirt off.

Now that her clothing was gathered, she sneaked into the accessories and makeup department and grabbed a kajal pencil and miss manga mascara along with a blood red lipstick, a pair of heart shaped earrings and a snake shaped ring that curled in such a way it looked like the snake would be wrapped around one's finger. Mageía looked around and dove into a shelf full of scarves, earmuffs, beanies and gloves. She slipped her hand into the pile of wool and brought out a grey and black beanie and a pair of fingerless gloves.

Her outfit was complete! Giggling with excitement she sprinted into a changing room and speed dressed into her new clothes. She carefully -albeit hurriedly- applied a touch of kajal and mascara and touched her lips with red.

Mageía said sighed as she finished her makeup. Why do I do this? she asked herself. Why do I change myself like this?

Unbidden, another voice spoke, seeming to come out of her very being. You're terribly ugly, that's why, it said, almost in a bored, 'I've-been-over-this-a-million-times' tone.

Mageía sighed again, as she knew this was the truth. She knew she was ugly and fat and stupid and good for nothing. At least she felt that way. She'd always felt like that. Her self-consciousness had been there, in the blackest parts of her mind, festering and waiting to strike her down whenever she needed to be focused. And now it was distracting her again.

She put on her earrings and ring, glanced at her reflection in the mirror and stepped out of the room, leaving her old clothes in a wet pile on the floor.

Looking once more around the store, she spotted a travel section. She hurried to it and started shuffling through the racks and shelves of merchandise.

"That's a pretty outfit you found, Mageía," she heard Willow's voice coming from the doorway.

"Thanks, sweetie," she replied, snatching a small army print backpack from its hook on the wall.

"Oh, it's no big deal. Say, how'd you get in here?"

"I picked the lock. I told you I was just the person you needed for this type of thing." Mageía shifted through a pile of fold up accessories and pulled out a folding plastic hairbrush. She shoved it into the backpack and continued looking. "Willow, why don't you come here and help me with this? There's a ton of stuff here that we could use, but I'll never get it all without a little help."

"Oh, no, I don't think so. That's stealing, and I'd rather not do anything unethical. But you could make up for it, maybe by leaving some money on the counter," came Willow's voice.

Mageía couldn't quite place her finger on it, but something was definitely wrong. It wasn't that she was stealing; she'd had to steal many times in the past and had been doing so ever since she could remember. Maybe it was the tone of Willow's voice. It seemed slightly hostile, which was a tone of voice Mageía could never picture Willow ever using. "I suppose," was her reply.

Mageía finished fishing items out of the piles and rows in the corner of the shop and closed the backpack. "I think I've gotten enough supplies for about two weeks. We're going to have to stop somewhere to get food, though, and if it means that much to you, I'll pay for it, too."

Suddenly, as if a barrier bad been broken, Aeschylus spoke in her head, urgently and worriedly. Listen to me, Maggie, don't turn around just yet. Get your sword out, slowly, so she won't see it coming. Then turn quickly and slash upwards. You have to do this Mageía, your life - and Willow's - depends on this. Trust me. Then his voice was gone, and an invisible wall stood once again, blocking her thoughts from him, and vice versa. He'd spoken so fast (and taken about 3 seconds in all) Mageía didn't know what to make of the situation.

She didn't want to listen to him. She was still angry with him, and really didn't want to be humiliated in front of him and Willow. She took her sword out -just as a precaution- but didn't bother to hide it.

Mageía turned around and stiffened.

"It's alright. I don't think you'll be stealing again quite so soon, my dear," Willow's voice emerged from the great figure. Then another voice, deeper, more gravelly - but still feminine - spoke, "Or ever again."

That was the last thing Mageía heard before she blacked out.

Did you see the humor? Or am I the only one who thinks that's funny? Oh, my dirty, dirty mind. Well, thanks for reading, I'll uplate in two or three days, depending on what exams I'm writing.

Hope you enjoyed it!