welp, looks like this has been on hiatus for a litttle under a year. i apologize greatly to anyone still following the story... and also thank you like holy shit it's been almost a year you're great man you should go have a party in honor of yourself and your general wonderfulness.

anyway, there were a number of reasons why it took so long but the biggest one was that i didn't realize when i did it, but i completely stranded octavian by making him cut ties with everyone. like yo. so please excuse me if this chapter feels subpar; i would've preferred to write this from judy's perspective, but i really really like consistency. it's my favorite thing. or one of them. it's up there is what i'm saying. but, on topic, the next chapter will probably be better and definitely come sooner since it's from judy's pespective.

anyway, since it's been so long, a recap: judy and octavian had a bonding moment in a tree during one of the war games after she saved his life, octavian ditched jose, his bestie, during an elaborate attempt to get rid of judy, and judy overheard taylor and susan talking about how she has a crush on octavian (which she very strongly insists she doesn't, excuse you) and tried to throw them off track by claiming a crush on jason, which taylor disproved, to judy's dismay. currently, octavian is friendless and alone.

My hands move automatically; there is no passion or motivation in what I'm doing anymore. After the third hour, I had already given up on finding out anything useful.

There's just a bit too much on my mind for me to really care. It's an odd feeling, missing the person who doubled the stress on your back, but the room feels empty. Of course, Jose never used to spend time with me in the temple anyway - it is a holy place - but the lack of him feels exaggerated, somehow.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, however. I do have a lot of free time now… but I'm exceptionally bored. "Bored" is a feeling I'd have put myself above, in the past, (In truth, I put myself above most feelings.) but there's no denying what you feel, I suppose.

There's no denying what you feel… Hm, sounds like something Jose would tell me. Of course, then it would be about Judy… but, in all honesty, what isn't anymore? Somehow, everything leads back to Judy.

Though I must say Judy is currently irrelevant, which I suppose also factors into my boredom. I suppose it's less that I miss Judy and Jose, but that I'm bored.

Hm, what was it Jose would say in this situation? Ah, yes… blergh.

"I was looking for you," I hear a voice say. Female… but it's too sultry to be Judy. Not that I can't tell who it was just by sound, of course. With all certainty, I can tell you that that is most definitely Brynne Ramsey.

Here's what I know about Brynne Ramsey: Like me, she has a famous lineage, and I'm not talking about the Roman goddess part of it; I believe her mother - not Venus, for Brynne's a second-generation legacy - co-owns a famous lingerie company and her father is a basketball player. Or perhaps football? I don't care much for sports, the war game aside.

I can't say I know much about Brynne's personality, however.

"Octavian?" I hear the voice say once again, and I remember where I am: sitting under a tree, Brynne next to me.

I look up from the tattered book in my hand and look Brynne in the eyes. "Ah, yes. What would you need me for, Brynne?"

"You wouldn't think it from the resident politician, but you're spacey, Octavian," Brynne states, rolling her eyes. I'm no poet, but her eyes seemed to be deep black holes; a vortex one could find themselves lost in... Vortexes that rolled around white pools of... milk, perhaps? Was I speaking about something? "I've been here... five minutes, maybe? Longer than I should be kept waiting. Anyway, I need you to do me a favor."

Enchanting as she may be, I'm still Octavian, scion of the Powers family, and I know better than to blindly agree to a favor. "And this favor would be?"

"Eating with me tomorrow at mealtime."

I'm a bit shocked, to say the least. What would Brynne have to gain from me eating with her? It's not as if I'm a spectacular cook or anything like that... If anything, her social status is higher than mine. There's not much she could get from eating with me.

Is she proposing this... as a date? "I'm sorry, why would you need this? This isn't a... date, is it? Brynne, I'm afraid I have no interest in romance. It-"

Before I know it, I'm being flicked in the head. I realize it's Brynne flicking me... and while that flick is shattering my pride, it also shatters whatever image I held of Brynne. "'No interest in romance'? That is wholeheartedly ridiculous. Perhaps people like that exist in the world. Maybe. But the gods know - Venus, especially - that they are not you. Venus is probably somewhere cackling. You're lonely and sad; I should know. Venus blood comes with a good understanding of people's emotions, and my understanding of your emotions is pretty much one hundred percent."

"I don't believe I've ever heard that about Venus descendants before," I reply, slightly peeved and rubbing my forehead. "And what was that for?"

"For one thing, you told me you didn't care about love, and, this fact is true as the sky is blue: everyone cares about love, be it platonic, romantic-"

"I said I have no interest in romance, not-"

Brynne flicks me again. "Quiet. And I'm pretty sure - no, I know - that you have no - or rather, think you have no interest in platonic love, anyway; I can read people."

"I can't say I agree with that," I retort, trying to get a word in edgewise. "After all-"

"I, however, can say you're a liar," Brynne interrupts again. This is perhaps the most one-sided conversation I've ever participated in. "A good one, sure, but everyone's got a tell."

"And what would that be?"

"I don't know, but you're definitely lying."

"All this about love aside, you never answered my question," I say, changing the subject purposefully. I can't say I particularly expected anything when Brynne sat next to me, but I can most definitely say that I didn't expect to have my perspective on love examined in detail. Venus descendants...

"And what was it again?"

I sigh. "Is this proposal you have a date or not?"

"Ha, like I'd want to date a guy who 'has no interest in romance'," Brynne responds.

"Meaning you're taking it back or it's not a date?"

"It's not a date, but I still need you to eat with me tomorrow. And... you need to act like it's a date as well."

I furrow my eyebrows. "But how would you gain from this, exactly?"

"There's someone I need to make jealous," she says cryptically. Did someone break up with her? I can imagine why... someone dates her for her looks, and then she begins attacking their forehead and lecturing them on love.

I roll my eyes. "I'm afraid that's too petty for my time. Maybe when that lunkhead Jason gets back from whatever 'save-the-world' quest he's on now, you can try him."

"Except he wouldn't say yes because he's in love with Reyna. Not that you'd understand, anyway, Mr. I Have No Interest in Romance." Brynne rolls her eyes. "Anyway, it has to be you."

I raise an eyebrow. "...Because?"

"Because I said so?"

"Well, then, I'm afraid I'll have to decline." I begin to stand up, Brynne's hand clasps my wrist and pulls me back to the ground with ease.

"Wait, Octavian, you need to do this! It's for, uh, true love." I roll my eyes. She's a descendant of Venus; everything is for true love when you've got the goddess of love's blood in you. "Yeah, that wouldn't help with you, huh? Well... I probably shouldn't tell you this, but... it's not a guy I need to make jealous."

"As if I care about that. Do whatever you wish; it doesn't matter to me what you do so long as you don't drag me into it," I reply, exasperated.

"Look, I promised someone I'd do it, okay? I'll..." She frowns and sighs, clearly not wanting to finish the thought. "...owe you a favor."

Wait, Brynne Ramsey, possibly the most beautiful girl at camp, will owe me a favor? That's an opportunity one wouldn't want to pass up. And all I need to do is eat with her? It seems a bit too good to be true... and I don't wish to get tangled into whatever complicated love affairs Brynne Ramsey would be involved in. Yet... "Any favor?" I ask her.

Brynne makes a face - a beautiful face, but also a clearly disgruntled one. "Well, nothing weird. If you need me to dig up dirt on anyone, or endorse you... anything like that."

That had been along the lines of what I was thinking. Well, there's not much to lose from this... although... "Will this come back to bite me in the future in any way?"

"I explained to everyone who would get angry why I was doing this; you don't need to worry about evil exes or my stalkers or anything," she answered. "There're no downsides, Octavian. Just do it, okay?"

"...Fine. But I'm holding you accountable if anything happens."

Brynne smiles - it's that godly, shining, angel's smile - and she stands up. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Mealtime!"

As she walks away, I wonder what I've gotten myself into.

Well, the time has come… meal hour.

Wasn't that such an ugly word, "meal"? Something about it is just so inherently displeasing… Though I suppose it's not the time to be mulling over such trivial things.

Brynne had visited me in the temple earlier and told me she'd pick me up there and not to go leaving; apparently, it was incredibly important that we enter the mess hall together… She'd tried to explain to me as to why, but I never completely understood. People can be too high-maintenance, and I suppose it shouldn't have come as a surprise that the arguably prettiest girl at Camp Jupiter was one of those people. Though I'm the one doing her a favor...

"Octavian, you're seriously spacing out again? How have you even become known as the Camp Jupiter Politician? You'd end up doing this during a debate, and you'd probably say some dumb line about binders and women," Brynne says, rather encouragingly. "You've been staring at that plush corpse for a full minute."

"While this is all very helpful, important talk, let's just get this over with," I reply peevishly. Silently, I pray to the Roman god of sociability that this dumb fake date holds no future repercussions.

"Wow, don't get too excited on me," Brynne deadpans. "Well?" She sticks her hand out. Reluctantly, and confusedly, I shake it. Brynne sighs deeply. "Octavian, you may be the biggest virgin I've ever met."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused. Anyway, I meant for you to hold my hand, Jupiter almighty. Give me a minute; I have very important matters to attend to." Before I say anything, Brynne turns to me, and... kneels at a pew? Is she praying? ...I feel as if I should be insulted.

"This isn't a temple to Venus," I try to tell her.

"Honestly, Octavian, we need all the divine intervention we can get," Brynne says to me, standing from the pew and walking to me. "Anyway, we should go. Hold my hand."

"I don't think that's completely necessary," I say, not wishing to hold her hand.

"Trust me, we need to make the fact that this is supposed to be a date as clear as possible," Brynne says, and I swear I hear her mutter afterwards, "because no one in their right mind would go on a date with you."

Well.

Same to you.

Somehow, I find myself at the table without murdering Brynne. It was hard, I admit, but I did survive both Judy and Jose. I am simply the type of person made to survive.

"Look, I got cherries," Brynne says, carrying a bowl filled with the red fruit, and then mouths, "Feed one to me."

I give her the hardest death glare I can through my plastic smile. "I wasn't aware I was your personal slave," I whisper.

"No, you moron. It's romantic," Brynne quietly retorts.

"Are you sure we aren't playing this up just a bit too much?" I ask skeptically.

"One of us is a descendant of the god of love, and the other spends all their time killing stuffed animals. Feed me the fruit," Brynne whispers furiously.

I stop glaring and try to soften my gaze. Grudgingly, I reach towards the bowl and pluck a cherry by the stem. I point it, fruit front, at Brynne's pink lips. She bites the fruit, and as I watch her chew and eventually spit out the pit, I think to myself that this is perhaps the least romantic thing I have ever done, the slaughtering of stuffed animals carrying "I love you" hearts included.

"Thanks, Octavian," Brynne says in the most sickly sweet voice I've ever heard, not meeting my eyes. "But these cherries are terrible; I'm going to go see if I can get pudding from someone." With that, she stands from the table and ends up harassing the other tables, albeit her beauty makes the harassment more of a once-in-a-lifetime chance rather than, well, harassment. I watch her carefully, bored, and see her... hit someone with pudding? ...Is the pudding... falling on her face?

...The pudding fell on her face.

To be truly honest, I've lost all idea of what is going on.

"Oh dear, you've hit me! Oops! Hey, Octavian, I have to go wash up! I'll talk to you again later! ...Maybe."

And with that, Brynne disappears.

Bored and confused, I reach for Brynne's untouched sandwich and begin to consume it.

Whatever reputation I gain from this, the gods know that, if anything, I deserve this sandwich.

As I polish it off, I get up to discard the wrapper in the intended trash can. While doing so, I notice two familiar braids... and one extremely familiar terrible hairstyle.

It's Judy and Jose. Of course. For some reason, Susan and Taylor are missing, but I can't bring myself to care. I begin to turn away, but then I see perhaps the most bizarre thing in the world: Jose kisses Judy's cheek.

The most accurate description of what goes through my mind is a rapid series of question marks and vague disgruntlement.

Are they... on a date? I'm fairly sure they hate each other... but...

How do I feel about this?

Silently, and most definitely confused, I leave the mess hall.

I'm not jealous. The very thought is completely ridiculous; I don't waste time with silly things like "relationships" or "people"... Brynne knows as much. I know as much. I am Octavian Powers. My father didn't raise me - well, he didn't raise me, but that's beside the point. He didn't raise me to be a person who would get jealous over such petty things. So what if Judy's on a date with what used to be my best friend? It's not as if I hadn't tried to rid myself of them several times. And now that they're annoying each other, they can't annoy me. It's a win-win situation.

Yet...

I shouldn't feel so heavy in my chest. The familiar cold burn of disappointment is welling up in me, as it did when I was able to become praetor, when I consistently failed my ambitions. But this isn't about power... it's about Judy; it shouldn't matter as much.

No. Not that it shouldn't matter as much - It doesn't matter as much. Judy can do whatever she wants; it's her life, and, most importantly, it's completely disconnected from mine, her recent and consistent appearances aside.

I don't mind this development.

I don't mind it at all.

Yes, I don't mind it at all, and there isn't some trite thing like denial. I am the Super Camp Jupiter Level Politician, and I own up to things when I need to; however, this is not a time in which I need to own up to anything.

Judy and Jose can do whatever they'd like.

...But still... Jose?

I shake all thoughts of Judy and Jose from my mind (but, by the gods, their names are alliterative) and decide it'd be best to track down Brynne and ask her what that pathetic excuse for a fake date was supposed to be.

However, the thoughts in my head as I walk towards Brynne's barrack consume my mind, and I end up walking into someone. Hopefully it isn't a faun... I don't wish to deal with a faun at the moment. Of course, no one ever wishes to deal with a faun, but that's beside the point.

I look to the person I've hit and realize that who I've walked into was much worse than a faun. Much, much worse.

It's just my luck, honestly. Of course I'd run into the person at camp that I least wanted to see: Susan Pearson.

I console myself with the fact that it isn't Judy.

I walk away as fast as possible, not looking back and hoping to avoid her.

"Is that Octavian? Leave it to him to bump into someone and not say sorry..." Susan says in a volume that sounds almost purposefully loudly.

Yes, Susan, I am completely aware that you hate me for some unfounded reason, but thank you greatly for the reminder. It's just what I need at the moment, that boost that pushes me to keep going every morning.

Yet... she could probably tell me what was happening at that cafeteria scene. Clarification would help, but still... it was Susan.

I sigh to myself, but I decide it's worth it as I turn around and call, "Susan!"

She stops in her tracks and turns around. "What would the almighty Octavian want, huh?" she yells to me.

Well, for one thing, I'd like it if you could walk towards me so we can avoid yelling at each other from ten feet away, but it seems I'll be doing all the work in this conversation. I stride towards her and ask, "Can we talk?"

"I don't know, can we?" she retorts in what she probably thinks to be clever and I pray silently to any gods that are listening.

"You see, I'm not quite sure; that might have been why I asked."

"Oh, yeah, Octavian, fucking sass me, that will get you places," Susan says and I begin to regret the decision. Still, I've already started...

"Look, I'm not sure what you want to hear... May we talk?" I attempt.

Susan seems to think it over awhile. Finally, she says, "Fine, but only because I've got nothing to do. Make it quick."

I think over how to word my question; how can I ask if they're dating without seeming creepy? I wouldn't want to make Susan to think even less of me. "Is Judy... seeing anyone?"

"Excuse me?" Susan asks, and I realize I've worded my question in possibly the worst way possible. It sounds as if I intend to ask her on a date, or some other frivolous thing, and... Susan is angry once more. She pokes me hard in the chest. "Octavian, you are not allowed to ask Judy out. No. If you do it, I will flip you all the way to Wednesday."

"Today is Wednesday. But-"

"Next Wednesday!" she snarls.

"Susan, I'm not going to ask Judy out on anything, I was just-"

"You better not ask Judy out," Susan interrupts me.

"I'm sorry, in the most polite way possible, could we stop the comments from the peanut gallery? Give me a moment to speak, please," I say. Susan rolls her eyes, but grudgingly nods. "Thank you. Now, what I was going to say, was that I recently saw Jose kissing Judy's cheek and I was curious as to, ah, what that meant. Are they seeing each other?"

"What are you talking about? That's ridiculous, I told Jose that he couldn't- No. No way. I am whipping that guy's ass ten ways to Sunday."

"Jose?"

"No, not- Well, it doesn't matter to you anyway. Look, I have to go, and remember, you're not allowed to ask Judy out. Or talk to her. Stay away from Judy! I'll see you... never, hopefully. Bye!" With that, Susan darts away.

And, just like that, I'm left abandoned and confused by one of Judy's friends for the second time this summer.

I try not to think to hard about it and go back to searching for Brynne. Perhaps I'll get answers there.

Then again, perhaps not.

"How does it feel to realize you're all alone behind your eyes?"
- "Trusted", Ben Folds