A/N: Same drill (about not owning much of anything). I really have no excuse as to why this has taken so long to get up here, since I've had numerous chapters written on dA for the longest time now... Oh well, here's to you!

Chapter 10

Teresa's mind was racing with excuses they could use, namely because she wasn't sure what was the truth. Especially now that Harper's emotions fought to be seen on her typically composed face. Anger, distrust, horror, and panic were kinda meshed together until it resulted in a devastated scowl.

"We thought another box might be in it," Odie said, coming to the rescue with the most obvious answer.

Harper blinked at him, the building emotions ebbing slightly in her surprise at the suggestion. But the panicked look in her eyes came back as she looked down at the dusty old box.

"If it is, then we're not getting those pieces," she told them, coming far enough into the room to close a flap with her foot. Then she stopped and looked at them, her face faintly pink again. "Why are you trying to find the boxes anyway?"

"Just in case," Atlanta said.

Harper raised an eyebrow at her and stepped carefully around the box to close the other flap. "In case of what?"

"In case there are any other stones out there," Teresa elaborated only to find Harper looking affronted, and quickly added. "You know, ones that Dionysus didn't get rid of."

Again Harper blinked in surprise and a sheepish blush darkened her cheeks. "Oh."

For a moment the four of them were rooted in their spots, three hoping that the newcomer didn't spot the files strewn across the bed as she worked out her thoughts. Then noises of Archie, Herry, and Jay came floating up the stairs, sending Harper into motion.

She quickly picked up the box, holding it carefully and away from herself—reminding Atlanta of her mom when she'd bring home some prize game to be cooked. "Ok. I'll run this down to the basement for you," she said quickly as she turned for the door. "Then we can try to think where Pierce would have hidden things."

Before the others could say anything they already heard her going down the stairs, talking loudly with their other teammates as she went.

Odie, Atlanta, and Teresa exchanged glances.

"That was..."

"Strange," Teresa slowly finished for Odie, nodding in agreement.

"What's so important about a dusty old box?" Atlanta asked. "The way she was holding it, you'd think it was a bomb or something."

The trio exchanged glances again, though now their eyes were wide at the new possibility. Then Teresa forcefully shook her head. "No," she said. "Athena would know if there were something dangerous in the dorm."

"Yeah, but would she tell us about it?" Atlanta pointed out.

Again they exchanged wary glances. What exactly were they getting into?

...

Herry was just passing the stairs, heading for the kitchen, when the familiar purple fabric caught his eye. He stopped, watching as the dorm's newest member carried an old cardboard box down the stairs.

"Hey, Harper!" he greeted her.

The girl jerked slightly, then peeked around the box's side. "Oh, hey, Herry," she answered, flashing a smile. "Have a good afternoon?"

"Yeah, you?" Herry asked, waiting for her on the bottom step.

"Uh-huh," she said, her attention back on trying to watch her footing around the box.

"Do you need any help?"

"Huh? Oh. Uh..." She looked at the box in her hands then at the remaining steps. "I think I've got it."

Herry gave her a look of disbelief, but the girl missed it. She was almost to the bottom when Herry watched her take a wrong step.

"Woah!" he yelped, darting forward. He managed to catch her, but the box went through the air. It landed with an abnormally loud thud, followed by the sound of hundreds of contents falling over. And a screeching roar.

Both Harper and Herry stared at the box as it fell silent again, their eyes wide and mouths agape.

"What was that?" Jay's voice demanded seconds before he appeared from the living room. He looked at the pair whom sat entangled on the stairs, then at the box and back again with confusion clear on his face. "You two ok?"

"Uhhh." Herry glanced at Harper. "I think so?"

Harper blinked again, then her mind seemed to suddenly take hold of the situation and she leapt to her feet. "Umm. Yeah," she agreed. "We're good. Just—uh—slipped carrying that to... Athena's room—her storage room."

"Sounds heavy," Jay commented.

"Heh, yeah, well, it's Athena's stuff," Harper said with a shrug, then she turned and held out a hand to Herry. "Thanks for catching me."

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said, taking her hand. Then to his surprise she managed to help pull him up. "No problem. Want me to carry it the rest of the way?"

The girl hesitated, but smiled. "Sure," she said, her eyes flickering to Jay. "Might as well—I'd probably trip over something."

Herry laughed and quickly passed her to get the box, which he easily hoisted to his hip. She giggled and led the way past the stairs and down the hall.

Jay watched them head off toward Athena's section of the house, then went back to the living room where he'd been working on his pre-calculus homework. On one couch, Archie was glaring at a book of Grecian melodramas that had been assigned for World Literature. On the other, Neil was sprawled out, smirking as he lifted one of his earphones off his ear.

"Looks like someone's got a crush on the new girl," he proclaimed in a sing-songy voice.

Both of his teammates looked at him, one smirking and the other scowling. Neil grinned then caught Archie's expression. "What's the matter Archie?" he asked over dramatically. "You like her too?"

"No!" Archie snapped.

"Well you sure look sour about Herry liking her," Neil pointed out, smirking slyly.

Archie glared at him, but bit back all the comments he wanted to make, betting that his teammates would defend Harper instead of agree. Not that he had valid points to make, it was just his gut saying there was something wrong with being there, but none of his teammates would believe him without proof.

"Ok, guys," Jay said with a tired sigh. "We have three days before Spring Break's over, let's just enjoy it while it lasts."

"Who wasn't enjoying it?" Neil asked innocently, plugging his ears with the headphones again.

Jay rolled his eyes, but Archie eventually nodded. If nothing else, maybe he'd be able to get some proof once school started.