Aah sorry for not updating! More on that later. Just a little orientation: I'm skipping the chapter on Boxing Day (Dec. 26) and going on to Monday through Thursday (December 27-30). So… that means… including this chapter, there are four more to go! *Tear….
I roll around on my bed, slamming my forehead against the wall. Ugh… that's going to leave a bruise. I sit up and jump to the ground. Unfortunately, I wear loose sweatpants to sleep, and when the force of impact from me on the floor reaches them… well, they're pretty loose… you get the picture. I let out a manly 'eep' and pull them back up, before remembering that I'm alone in my cabin.
And thus, my Monday begins. I have on a totally cute outfit – pink jeans and a bright blue t-shirt with a penguin on it; the penguin has an overturned cup on its head that says PARTY. It's pretty fricking amazing. To it, I put on a pair of grey and pink Vans.
After breakfast (and a quick little make out session with Anton) Chiron summons me to his office. I wonder what's going on.
Chiron's office is… well, camp-office-y. It's sort of hard to explain, and by that I mean that I really can't be bothered to explain to you right now. Chiron's there, in wheelchair form, along with Percy and Annabeth and…
"Dad?" I ask in shock.
.:.
"What the…?"
"Hello, Valerian."
I gulp, the incident at the Armani Exchange store creeping rather prominently into my mind and sticking there.
"H-hey, dad, how- uh…" I falter, looking down. Luckily, Chiron is there to break the icy awkward silence.
"Valerian, as I understand it, your father is here to discuss a certain scene you caused in the city on Saturday." The way he talks about Saturday, with that twinkle in his eye as if it's something special, is oddly comforting.
"Uh, about that… I, uh, can give the jacket-"
"Say nothing about the jacket, Valerian. What the press knows is that a certain dark-haired teenager wearing sunglasses stole it, and they need not know more."
I nod.
"Uh… thanks?"
Dad sighs.
"Don't thank me, Valerian. Thank Al."
Al? As in our chauffeur, Al?
"Al?"
"Yes, Al. He had his car parked in such an angle that one of the cameras caught the dark haired young man. You have your Mist to thank for that it looks like he ran out of the store and climbed a ladder; and no one noticed the other boy who was there."
I nod again.
"So… is that everything?" I ask, sort of hopeful. I really want to get out of there and see Anton….
Dad clears his throat, and Chiron and Percy and Annabeth leave simultaneously, leaving behind just my dad, me, and a whole bucket of awkward.
.:.
"So, made any friends yet?"
"Yeah. Ralf, Elias, Anton."
"Any enemies?"
"Yeah. Marcel and Joel."
"Is it because-"
"Yup."
"Oh."
"Uh-huh."
"So, about the boy who was with you…"
"My boyfriend."
He nods.
"So when can I actually meet him?"
"Meet him? What about Jackie?"
"…Things aren't going great with Jackie. I'm beginning to think she isn't right for me."
I nod.
"How about I bring him over next Tuesday?"
"Sounds great."
"Cool."
"…I hope you're having fun, Val. I love you and want you to be safe."
"Thanks. …Love you too…"
.:.
Tuesday brings an oddly happy mood for me, even though I'm wearing darker colors; a red t-shirt with my black and white striped fingerless gloves (the type that go up to your elbow) and black jeans. I don't really care though; I'm fricking happy!
"Whoa, someone's overly cheerful today," Anton says softly as he hugs me from the back, in response to which I spin and kiss him. "Hmm… I think I like it."
I kiss him again and we fall onto the bunk below mine. For the first time, I notice, I'm on top and I must admit, I kind of like it. Wait, no, scratch that, I really like it. I'm straddling him now, and soon enough, his dark purple y-neck is off, which leaves him in a white wife beater. His arms are slightly toned; just enough; he looks so goddam sexy. The sight of him sends tingly feelings to down there, which are just enforced when Anton moans as I give him a hickey.
Things are just about to go a little further, when we're extremely rudely interrupted by a knocking on the door. I hear it open, then a gasp.
"Uh… ever heard of putting a sock on the door?" Jordan asks. I roll my eyes and turn my head to her, making sure I look as annoyed as humanly, scratch that, as godly possible, and make no efforts to get off Anton.
"What?"
"Look, I really don't like to interrupt, but I have a message for Anton. It's about someone named Conrad?"
I turn to Anton, whose eyes widen.
Jordan continues with "and Elise."
At this, I've gotten off Anton and he has jumped up, racing over to Jordan.
"He said Conrad and Elise, you're positive?" there's a certain panic in his voice and I can't help but wondering who Conrad and Elise are. Anton turns to me, grinning like I've never seen him grin before. "Come on!"
Then he darts out the door.
I follow him, straightening my shirt and pulling my gloves back up to my elbows. Jordan gives me this weird smirk and I glare at her.
"Must you always interrupt just as I'm about to get laid?" I hiss, and she chuckles.
"That's why you're friends with me, Val-val. I must keep you sweet and innocent!"
"Yeah right, like you're so sweet and innocent yourself," I joke, but when she doesn't really respond, I stop in my tracks, looking at her wide eyed. Seriously, I think my eyebrows are threatening to fly off my forehead right now. "Oh my god, Jordan!" I squeal, and she blushes really darkly. "With Parker?" She nods and then suddenly keeps walking, extremely quickly. "What? When? How?"
"Well, the what is pretty obvious, when, well, Christmas eve, and I don't really think you want me to get into the how part. Great, now you really have something to hold over me. So I'll allow you to keep wearing that smirk until you too have had your first, which, by the rate you two are going, seems to be approaching pretty quickly. After that, you may neither gloat over this, nor may you hold this over me, got it?"
I smirk.
"Sure thing."
.:.
So it turns out Conrad is a ten year old boy and Elise is his eight year old sister. And they're both the younger siblings of Anton, and incredibly adorable.
Anton is talking to them and I stay at the door, listening. I think he's explaining to Elise why he can't be home; a story I haven't heard myself.
"You know Elise, mommy doesn't want me there, okay?"
"But why, Anton?"
"Well… well… you know how you were talking to Cord (some weird nickname for Conrad, apparently) about that boy in your class, Aaron? How you described that fluttering feeling in you?"
Elise blushes but nods. So cute! I really wish I could be as young as Anton's siblings, where liking someone is wildly funny and you're immature about everything.
"And then Cord talked about the girl in his class?"
Elise nods again.
"Well, you see, my inside flutters when I think of boys, not girls."
Elise's eyes widen.
"What's wrong with Cord?" she exclaims. I crack up a little, but no one notices.
Anton chuckles softly. Conrad also cracks a smile.
"It's not Cord, and really, it's also not me. But mommy says it's wrong with me, and that's why I can't be home anymore, okay sweetheart?"
"I don't understand, Anton."
Anton closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose, as if he's trying really hard to explain that some people think it's not okay to be gay. I know I really should be taking him seriously and all right now, but damn, he looks so cute!
"Sweety, you remember my friend Aurel? You remember how he said he loved me? I loved him back, in the same way."
Okay… that stings a little. But I think I'm mature enough to know Aurel's in the past.
"So you like boys like I like boys?"
Anton nods. I also nod appreciatively. Looks like Elise's smart for her age.
"And sweety, actually, both of you guys," he fixates both Conrad and Elise, "if something, anything is wrong, you come here, looking for me, okay?"
Whereas Conrad just nods and moves closer to Anton's arm, Elise's eyes widen.
"Mommy said never to come here, she said all the bad people are here! You're not a bad person, Anton!"
It looks like Anton's biting back tears as he kisses first Elise's forehead, then Conrad's, and finally pulls them both in for fierce hugs.
"Know that mommy is sometimes wrong, okay? Okay?"
Elise nods, and then seems to notice me for the first time.
"Who's he?" Her huge light blue eyes bore into mine, and I see where Anton got his eyes from.
Anton turns his head and smiles, beckoning me forward.
"Guys, this is Valerian." He takes my hand reassuringly as I crouch down next to him.
"Is he like Aurel?" Elise asks. Hmm… wonder what Anton's going to say to that. Anton puts his head back and laughs openly, like he usually never does around anyone else.
"God no, sweety, god no. Valerian loves me and I love him back, but he's not Aurel, okay?"
"So he's like Aurel," Elise states. "What's your name?" she asks me.
"Valerian. But you can call me Val."
She nods appreciatively.
"So you're the new Aurel?"
I can tell it's about to get a crapload more awkward, but then Conrad interferes.
"Elli, he's like Aurel, but not Aurel's replacement, okay?"
Elise pauses, then nods. I hope that means she understands.
"And if it counts for anything, I like him, so that should be good enough," Conrad adds. Damn, I'm liking the kid already. I send a smile his way and he sends one back, and I get the feeling he doesn't smile a lot.
.:.
Wednesday I don't see Anton at all, which makes me sad, but he's spending time with his siblings, so that's okay. Apparently, their mother is in the hospital, and the doctor, thankfully a son of Apollo, figured out that Anton was a half blood and he sent Conrad and Elise camp's way.
On Thursday, I suddenly realize that counting today, we only have three more days of camp, and one of them isn't even a full day! I wonder when Kuro's coming back… oh well. I jump out of bed and pull on some clothes (black ripped jeans and a neon pink shirt) and head out to breakfast, where I'm hoping to see Anton.
Unfortunately, instead of seeing Anton, I see… Sawyer.
He's standing at my table, his head bent, holding three roses in his hand.
"Saw-"
"Val!"
"Sawyer, why are you back? Aren't you supposed to be helping save Kaede?"
Sawyer frowns.
"I- I can't. They had to find someone else with wings."
"Huh?"
Sadly, Sawyer turns around to show me his back, and I can't help but gasp. One of his wings is bent at such a grotesquely unnatural angle; it makes me want to throw up.
"Sawyer…"
"Hey, Valerian," Anton greets me. I turn to give him a quick kiss. "…And Sawyer? What are you doing back from- holy shit!" It seems he's noticed Sawyer's broken wing. "Sawyer, did you have Chiron look at that?" he asks, his voice genuinely concerned. Oh Anton… he can be so sweet when he wants to be.
Sawyer shakes his head. Once meeting with Anton's eyes is enough; we each grab one of Sawyer's arms and start dragging him up to the big house, where I hope Chiron still is, seeing as I can't see him at breakfast anywhere.
.:.
"Great Scott, boy, what did you do?" Chiron asks, looking closely at Sawyer's wing (for which he had to take his shirt off, making things a little awkward).
"I- I don't know. One minute we're by the camp fire, the next we're being attacked by these- these things, which the others were somehow attracted to, even though they were dead ugly."
"Empousai," Chiron mutters darkly. Empousai? Sounds like some exotic food if you ask me….
"Well, I don't think she liked it that I didn't like her, and she just grabbed me by the shirt, saying 'you'll pay, honey'. The next thing I know, we're flying and she lets me go, except I can't move my wings. I think I crashed in some woods around here because I got here about two in the morning."
I'm going to take a wild guess and say that those are the woods that managed to transport me twenty miles in just an hour by foot.
"How did you know which way to go?" I ask curiously.
"Well, there were these tracks, as if someone had already walked there. I took a fifty-fifty guess and it turns out, I was right."
"Well, young man, looks like you've had quite enough excitement for one night. You're excused from all activities and are to go to the infirmary immediately, alright?" Chiron says to Sawyer, who nods.
"Alright, Chiron."
.:.
Back at my cabin, I plunk myself down on the bottom bunk, where Anton joins me a few moments later.
"Pretty rough, huh?" he mutters and I nod, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Hey," he murmurs softly, taking my chin and lifting it up so that we're on eye level. It's romantic, like he's about to tell me he loves me or so. But he doesn't need to; I know that anyways. He kisses me gently, then more roughly as we fall back onto the bed.
Needless to say, we didn't get interrupted that time, if you know what I mean.
Whoa! 2315 words! Okay, so I'm really sorry I haven't updated in a while. On a happier not though, I saw The Hunger Games and it was SO FRICKING AMAZING! Seriously, I loved it!
So review, and I'll update ASAP!
