Ok well this is kind of a long chapter but only because there's a lot of dialogue in it so yeah, originally it was 8 pages long on the document but I cut and made another chapter with the ending so it wouldn't get boring. Well enjoy! -Aims

An uneventful week later the doorbell rang. I was sitting on the couch watching the news. The storms had died down, for now at least, I knew the gods were just taking a break, plotting what they were going to do next. With Athena on Poseidon's side there had to be something good, something tricky to come next. I got up from the couch and went to the door. When I saw who was standing there I thought to myself, Of course. Who else would it be? Seth and Jacob stood in front of me, Seth's head hung low and Jake looked annoyed with him.

"He's not drunk again is he?" I asked rolling my eyes.

"Fortunately no." Jacob replied. "But I believe lover boy has something to ask you."

I crossed by arms and gave Seth the same annoyed look that Jake had on his face. This was going to be interesting.

"I... um..." Seth stuttered.

"He's not good with words is he?" I asked.

"Nope."

"Layla Brice," Seth started, "I really want to start over with you for like the tenth time so, will you... go on, like a... date with me?"

Seth squeezed his eyes shut like he wasn't very excited for the answer. I would be nervous to ask out the person I jumped off a cliff for, got trapped in a bubble for, almost killed, possibly saved, got drunk in front of, drunkenly kissed, got rejected from. Well, who wouldn't? I guess I'm a hard person to like.

"Sure."

Seth's eye's grew wide, "Really?"

Poor guy looked like a little kid, "Yup."

"Okay!"

"I think what Seth means," Jacob said, "Is when and where."

"Well, I'm free any time really, I mean it's not like I really have a lot going on here..." I said.

"So how about Friday night? Movies?" Seth said.

Movie date on a Friday night, how stereotypical is that? "Sounds like a date."

"Cool beans." Jake said, I stared at him funny, did he really just say 'Cool beans'?

"Okay well...bye." Seth gently waved and I could tell that he was deciding whether to hug me or not.

"Bye Seth, I'll see you tomorrow night." I gave him a warm smile, surprised at how quickly my mood got better.

Seth walked down the porch steps and across to Nessa's house but Jake stayed.

"I gotta ask," He started, "What made you change your mind about him and say yes?"

"Why? Did you want me to say no?" I asked.

"No! Of course not, it's just..." He trailed off like he didn't know how to put what he wanted to say in words that wouldn't upset me.

"That he's kind of make a lot of stupid mistakes with me?"

"Well... yeah."

"I don't really know, I think it's because when someone jumps off a cliff for you and calls you beautiful, it's time to give them a chance." Everything in my body was telling me I was hypocrite because not to long ago I didn't want anything to do with Seth, but some force was told me to flip my reasoning's around and just... go with it.

"But last week..."

"I was a jerk, I know. It's just that I have a lot going on right now, plus that day wasn't my best, Seth just... set off a lot of emotions that I shouldn't have dumped on him." I paused. "Or you."

"I was waiting for that."

Why do I mess up so much? Jake was only trying to be my friend and I just bitched at him. I don't get how I can feel so angry the one day, then so normal the next. Rex always comments on this, whenever I'm ready to bite his head off, the next day I act like it never happens. I see how it could get annoying and everything but I don't know, I can't stop it. It's like I'm bipolar or something.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted like that, but say what you need to say to me right now."

I walked out the front door and closed it behind me, I went over and sat on one of the little chairs on the porch and motioned for Jake to sit on the one next to me. I listened to the rain drip off the sides of the house and it clanking down into the old gutters.

"Well first of all," Oh boy, why do I feel like this was going to be a long speech? "Seth is going to come off extremely strong, but he can't help it. So you just have to go with it, and don't be afraid to tell him if somethings wrong because the last thing he wants to do is hurt you Layla. As tempting as that may be..."

"Hey!" I lightly punched him in the arm, my knuckles came away screaming, I shook my hand out, "Gods, punching you is like punching my brother."

"I've got skin like steel girl."

"Oh shut up now you sound like Percy."

"Okay enough about your brother that's just making this awkward."

"Good point."

Suddenly the door opened and Rachel walked out pulling a pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket. Her eyes went wide when she saw me and Jake sitting there.

"No way," I said looking at the pack in her hands, "You do not smoke."

"Layla-"

"I knew you smelled weird."

"I am still protected, so they won't do any harm to body at all! So shut up and don't say anything to Percy and Annabeth."

I looked back at Jake who was staring at us weirdly, probably wondering why we were freaking out about how she was smoking when like, every other person in the world already does it. Probably because at camp if you get caught smoking, you can say good bye to your summer haven! Especially for Rachel because she used to be oh so important and everything.

"Whatever, I won't say anything." I said.

"Good," Rachel went to the other side of the porch and lit up.

Jake stood up, "I should probably go," He said.

"Yeah, I'll see you...?"

"Tomorrow night."

"We're doubling?" I said, trying to hide the disappointment in my voice, double dates were so stupid.

"No, but trust me, I'll see you tomorrow." He said.

"Okay then."

I stood up with him and gave him an awkward hug, he smelled smoky and a bit like dog but he was extremely warm too. When we pulled apart I tried not to meet his eyes but waved him goodbye even though he was only going next door.

I entered the house again to see that Percy and Annabeth had taken over the couch.

"What was that all about?" Percy asked.

"Oh you know," I said, "Just got asked out, the usual."

"By who?" He asked.

"Seth."

"I thought you didn't like him." Annabeth cut in.

"Well, I think I should just give him a chance," I said, "So tomorrow night I won't be around."

"Okay, just don't do anything stupid..." Percy said.

"But I'm so good at it!" I said in a whiny voice.

School ticked on and on the next day, classes went by slower than usual and the lunch was bad again so I skipped it. The rain continued to fall but I came to realize that this wasn't very uncommon here in Forks. It was normal. I don't know how they could do this all year long with all the rain and stuff, it would make me paranoid like it is now. I thought that maybe the storms were just natural right now and not just Zeus and Poseidon fighting.

When Percy picked me up from school I went straight up to my room and laid on my bed. I looked up at the popcorn textured ceiling with wonder. What was going to happen tonight? Was it going to be awkward? I'm guessing it is because this is Seth we are talking about here, I've only met him a few times and I can already tell he is the epitome of awkwardness with girls. Which means I have my work cut out for me. I couldn't tell if I wanted a relationship or not because at any time we could pack up and move back to New York, Percy and Annabeth to their apartment, me to Camp Half-Blood. Do I want to get tied down and miss someone dearly from across the country? Nope.

But, hang on Layla, this is the first date, you're not deciding your entire future. I'm a teenage girl though, I over think everything without even noticing it. That's not exactly the best thing either, because then I'm just paranoid about where this might lead too and if I want to go there.

Downstairs I could hear the movement of chairs around the kitchen table and the heavy footsteps of my brother, I heard voices but couldn't make out the words. I wondered how Annabeth was holding up without being able to draw a building every day or make a zillion calls to a zillion different people about budgets and supply orders that hadn't come in yet. She was probably going ballistic and trying to find different ways to rearrange the furniture in the house or get new decorations. Maybe she was trying to get a hold of Athena so she could pry some information out of her.

I wondered how many golden drachmas Percy had wasted trying to get a hold of Chiron to get information out of him too, or Tyson even. I knew he wouldn't try dad, that's insane, the probably unsuccessful conversation would last for two seconds, or simply, Poseidon would be just too pissed off the answer.

My mind drifted to if Seven was being taken care of well enough, she's such a priss and throws a fit if she doesn't get what she wants, she's nothing like Blackjack. Seven is such a high maintenance Pegasus if crazy. If she doesn't get fed at the right time she'll buck and rear all over the stables, if no one picks up the poop out of her stall when she's taking someone a ride, she won't go back in until it's clean. She's seriously OCD and a brat. That's why she's perfect for me, that's why she's mine. Because she's interesting to talk to and to learn her quirky ways. I'm also the only one who wants to put up with her.

I have a high tolerance for things on some days, but others I just want to smash a big pie in the worlds face.

Seth picked me up at 7:30 to go to the movie. When he rang the doorbell Percy made sure he was the one who answered the door so he could give the protective big brother speech, but I slipped through him before he could say much. I had on a pretty chill out fit, jeans that had fifteen dollars crammed into the right front pocket, just in case I needed it, a light green v-neck t-shirt with my blue raincoat over it. My hair was in a braid down the left side. I even put the effort to dab on a little bit of mascara, Jewels would be proud even though it was a miniscule amount of make up I had put on by myself. Make up was never really a big deal with me since I wasn't really out to impress anybody at camp.

Seth was in casual clothes too, jeans and a tee. But I mean, how dressed up can you really get just to go the movies.

"So what movie are we going to see?" I asked him as we got into his truck, he opened and closed the door for me and everything. Cute.

It was weird being in the his truck again considering last time we were both in it he was drunk, I was pissed, and he also kissed me. So yeah, just a bit weird.

"I thought that maybe we could see the new remake of Batman." He said. "You game?"

"Totally." I replied with a smile.

Honestly I had seen the previews for a lot of movies back at camp but never got the chance to see any of the actual movies unless Percy temporarily kidnapped me for a day and took me into the city. I had seen the preview for Batman and it was one of those movies I thought would be good but never got my hopes on seeing the product, so I was happy to hear that we were going to see it. Even though, according to the ancients at camp, it was like the seventh remake of the movie.

"You're in luck," Seth said as we backed out of the driveway, "A new theater just opened up here in Forks a couple of months ago so we don't have to drive forever just to see a movie."

"Sweet, sounds like I made it here to Forks just in time." I said with a smile.

The car ride there was silent, the rain lightly tapped on the windshield as we wove through the roads and stop lights, Seth turned on the radio to an alternative music station where the music sounded almost as unusual as the lyrics to the songs. There was something about the alternative genre that I couldn't put my finger on, it was like country music, you like it or you hate it but never in between. I liked some songs but couldn't stand others.

The car stayed silent and when we pulled up to the theater and parked, surprisingly close to the entrance, Seth hurried out of the truck so he could open the door for me and help me out, closing it behind me. We walked in silence to the ticket booth, the puddles from the parking lot soaked through my Nike's a little bit and were a bit damp inside.

Seth ordered two adult tickets to Batman and paid in cash the $15.00 it cost to get in. When we reached the concession stands he asked, "Do you want anything besides popcorn?"

"Uh, yeah, I think I'll have a medium Diet Coke, please." I said to him.

Seth ordered a large popcorn, on large Mountain Dew, and a medium Diet Coke for us from a girl about our age wearing an AMC visor and red polo that had a blue collar on. I'm not to into fashion or anything, but I think movie theater uniforms are the worse. Someone ripped off the end of our two tickets and told us we were suppose to go to Theater 8, right down the hall.

Theater 8 was humongous, the screen was the biggest screen in the whole place, it was one of those screens that they only showed the new and highly anticipated movies on, had midnight premieres on with teenagers lined up all the way outside the theater. Of course this wasn't the premiere, but it was obvious that this movies was still getting a lot of attention for being in the box office for only a couple weeks. A lot of the seats in the super theater were already filled but we managed find two smack dab in the middle, halfway up the stairs.

The movie started twenty minutes late and the previews took another twenty minutes, by the time the movies actually started half the popcorn was gone and so was half my Coke. It was obvious that tonight was date night, well it's been date night for ages now so I don't know why I was expecting it to be less crowded, but you knew there were a lot of teenagers in the place when you were surrounded by people making out throughout the explosions and action scenes. I don't get why people pay so much money just to play tonsil hockey the whole time while a room full of people are trying to enjoy the film in peace. Or maybe it was just because I hadn't had that experience before.

The movie was three hours long. I was exhausted by the time it was over and I was busting to pee. When we emerged from the theater in a pack of people Seth commented on how if he had known it was going to take that long, he would have picked another movie. I told him that next time I'd pick, that gave him a little smile since I said 'next time' meaning there would be a second date.

After we both went to the bathroom and got back into the car Seth said that he was going to take me somewhere else. It was already midnight and I was dead tired.

"I'm just going to take you on the rez to meet some people." He said reassuringly, "It's about a 45 minute drive so you can get some shut eye on the way there if you want."

And that's what I did, I curled up into as much as a ball as I could in the upright seat and fell asleep. I felt like I had shut my eyes for five seconds until Seth was shaking me awake.

"Layla..." He said gently, "Layyyyla."

He softly poked my shoulder, "Hmmmm." I moaned.

"Come on, we're here, there's a comfy couch that we can sit on and warm blankets." Seth said trying to get me out of the truck. "Don't make me carry you in."

Suddenly I was a little more awake than I thought I could be, I wasn't used to late nights but I was not going to be embarrassed and have him carry me inside to meet who ever he wanted me to meet. Slowly I uncurled and hopped down to the ground. Seth put him arm around me and lead me into the house we were parked in front of.

The house smelled smokey but in a bonfire kind of way that was a little homey. There were pictures everywhere of various events and little carvings of wolves on the book selves. Seth lead me into a room that must have been the family/living room because there were about thirty people shoved into the tiny space. The couched were full so some leaned against the wall of sat on the floor. There was a wide range of age groups among them, there were people my age, some in their mid twenties, a few just over the hill, and a bunch of old people. Everyone was having a good time, laughing and telling stories, there was a card game in one corner and in another people were laughing at an old game show on the TV. Almost all of them seemed to be Native Americans except a couple.

Everything seemed to be going just perfectly until we walked into the room. Quickly they fell silent, studying us, me in my sleepy state and Seth in his... Sethness state. I didn't know a soul but my eye caught Jake and Nessa sitting on the floor with a few other guys.

"Glad to see you made it man," Jake said, breaking the silence, "He didn't mess up too much did he?" Jake asked me, I smiled and shook my head no.

"Everybody," Seth started, "This is Layla."

There were a few 'Hi Layla's but mostly everyone stayed quiet. This is were I run back to the truck, curl up in my little ball, and hide.

A girl stood up from on of the couches, her hair jet black hair was cut short, she navigated her way across the people on the floor and over to us, she stuck out her hand at me, "I'm Leah," She said unsmiling, "Seth's sister."

"Hi Leah," I said in a small voice, "It's nice to meet you."

Leah shot Seth a look but Seth looked away too quickly, Leah walked down the hallway away from the crowd.

"You two, come join us." Jake called.

We tip toed over people and over to Jake's little circle of five people including in and Nessa. I sat up against the wall with Seth sitting closely next to me. There was a guy with a big bandage around his left shoulder with his other arm held tightly around a really pretty girl who looked a ton older than the guy with the bandage. The girl smiled at me and I noticed the huge scar down her face, "I'm Emily," She said, "And this is Sam."

"Hi," I said still wanting to curl up in the truck.

The other guy was all by him self, kind of like the seventh wheel in the circle.

"This is Harry." Seth said.

"Hey Harry," I said.

"Sup?" He asked.

"Tired, you?"

"Same."

Man of few words I assume.

"So this is my family." Seth said with a smile.

"All of them?" I asked.

"Yup."

"Wow, that's pretty big."

"Do you have a big family?" Emily asked.

Jake shot her a look but she didn't seem to see it or understand. I thought about all the kids at camp and all the gods, plus the ones that have perished in the last two thousand years.

"Yeah," I said. "It's pretty large. I have a lot of aunts and uncles and cousins. I can barely keep track of them all."

"Don't you ever have family reunions?" Emily asked.

I had to think about that, did camp count? What about the solstice meetings of the gods? "Some of us get together with others but we're never all there at the same time."

If the gods and all their children all god together at some point I don't think I'd even want to be there in the first place. I'm guessing that in the first five minutes and fight would happen and all hell would break loose. It wouldn't be the place someone would want to be.

I looked at Sam's huge bandage and wondered how he got it. But suddenly as I looked more closely at it, all the puzzle pieces came together. My eyes widened and I moved backwards, bumping into someone behind me. It all made sense, the little wolf carvings everywhere, Jake and Seth's skin was so warm because it was like an animals. My mind flashed back to when I was thrusting my sword into the shoulder of a black wolf just as it was lunging at me.