A/N: Phew! Typed up a lot, trying to finish it up before school starts... In three days. NOOOOOOOOOOOO...

Thanks to Shhhhh-IDontExist For reviewing! :D

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything, only Faith and Ericka and the plot. Oh yeah, Thierry and Drake too.

Chapter 19-Faith

"Looking at your boyfriend?" One of the party ponies is behind me, and I almost cut off his head. "WOAH, WOAH, watch it!" he says as he barely dodges my knife. He holds his hand in front of his face.

"Sorry!" I put back my dagger in its sheath in my belt. I put my hand on my forehead. "I'm just so tired…" I walk away to go find Ericka, who is, if my ears are telling me correctly, is in her room. After dodging a couple hundred laser beams, some of them aimed for a special place in case of boys, I jump up onto her bunk, making no noise, of course. Ericka's looking at someone in a picture frame. I can feel the corner of my mouth quirk up. It's Connor Stoll, from the Hermes cabin. I've got to admit, he is pretty cute, but I've got Leo, and he's way better than Connor. I can see why Ericka likes him, with his floppy brown hair that's always getting into his chocolate-brown eyes.

"Heeeey, you like Connor?" I say, my feet dangling from the bunk.

Ericka jumps a mile and flames out. Her face is red, from rage, embarrassment, or the fire, I can't tell, and hits her head on the ceiling. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she yells. I flinch, my ears being super-sensitive. She grabs an electric guitar, (she probably made it herself) and almost hits me with it. The Power flows from me immediately, stopping it before it hits me. But the force of it is too great, (she must really want to kill me!) and she hits me pretty hard in the neck with it, breaking the guitar and bruising me.

"Ow?" I say, rubbing my neck.

Ericka's looking at the two pieces that was her guitar. "What are you doing here?"

"Umm… I wanted to find you?" I shrug noncommittally. "What else? And what are you doing with a picture of Connor Stoll in your bunk? I mean, he's pretty cute, but Travis is a little better. That's just coming from me, just an FYI."

Now Ericka's looking exhausted. Probably because I found out her crush and partly destroyed her guitar. "Yeah, yeah. Now you know. Don't tell anyone, or I will make another guitar and give your pretty face a good smashing."

"That's… nice. I'll keep it a secret. I swear on my face's behalf." I nodded, and started to fan myself with my hands. "Can you tone down the heat? It's a little hot in here…"

"Sure… Wait a second." The flames died down and the temperature dropped considerably.

"Thanks."

"No problem. By the way, are you and Leo dating?"

That brought out a blush. "NO!"

"Hey, whatcha two talking about? I heard my name," Leo and Connor came into the room.

"NOTHING!" we both shouted at the same time. We looked at each other and started laughing.

"What are you two laughing about?" Ericka was rolling on the floor laughing. I was laughing behind my hand, pretending that I was coughing. It sounded like I was having a coughing fit/laugh attack. I think we were laughing about how coincidental that we were talking about them and they come in.

Leo comes to the bunk and sits on it. I notice a hole in his pants, and a nasty burn on his leg. "Is that from the lasers?"

Leo nodded, one curl getting into his eyes. He brushed it back, saying, "Ericka, you might want to aim laser number fifty-two a touch higher up for maximum damage." I put my hand on his thigh and healed the burn, looking at Ericka, who was in turn, stealing glances at Connor in the doorway, while he was looking at Leo, who was staring at my hand. Eventually everyone was staring at my hand on Leo's thigh, so I took it off. An awkward silence filled the room, filling the small space, suffocating us all with awkwardness.

"Pineapples," I said, and started to laugh. It was an inside joke with one of my friends in my neighborhood, and it never got old. It always helped whenever there was an awkward pause or silence.

"Oh! The other day, one of the nymphs, I think it was Juniper, threw a pineapple at me! I don't know why, maybe because Travis and I were trolled her with some soda, but still! A pineapple! Really?" Connor was faking indignity, which made it funnier. He flipped his hair, some getting in his eyes, acting out the scene. Apparently I was Juniper, and he poured a liter of coke on me. After I beat him thoroughly, Leo handed me a pineapple (Where do they get all of this? I mean, coke and a pineapple?) And I stuffed Connor's hands inside it. "Aww, come on. She didn't do that."

I fixed him with one green eye and one blue eye. "I did, though!" and changed my eye color back to a silver. "Can I talk to you for a second, Connor?" he escaped from the pineapple's evil clutches and nodded.

"Umm, sure! Anything for you!" I noticed him slip something into his hand. I rose what I knew was a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and questioned, "What is that?"

"Oh! N-nothing…" he drew it out long enough that I had to laugh. "Come on! I almost got you!"

When we were outside, I asked him some questions, opening his mind and allowing me to slip through his barriers. Digging through his brain, I found out that he likes Ericka. I smile a bit exactly when he finished his story about how he almost got busted when he was stealing Percy's shirt. "Thanks!"

"Wait… why do you want to know this stuff, huh?" He was at lease 6''3', making me at least eight inches shorter than him. He didn't have that much upper body strength; although I could safely bet that he had a lot of endurance. From running away from angry people, I thought.

"Oh, it's for Drake. He's actually really shy and he wants to know about you so he can decide if he wants to be your friend."

"Okay." We shook hands and walked back into Ericka's room. I shot Ericka a wink to show her that I knew something and that she should come to me later.

"Well, I think we have to go to the arena to practice sparring now. Anyone want to partner with me?" I grinned. Sparring? This was going to be a breeze.

Chapter 20-Ericka

"Definitely not me," I say, backing away a little for effect, making everyone laugh. "I like my face the way it is."

"Besides, we find out when we get there," Leo says, pushing back yet another curl. "It's supposed to help expect the unexpected or something."

"Yea, and it's always hilarious when we do find out our partners." Connor grins mischievously.

We all head over there and see Chiron, as usual, standing next to Mr. D who was not excepted to be there. I guess he wants to see how we react when we find out our partners because he is flashing a sadistic smile. I don't blame him, that's the only reason I'm here and not in the forges working on a new electric guitar.

"Attention!" Chiron announces, ignoring the kid shouting in the background that the 76th annual hunger games will now begin "We will now announce partners."

I kind of zone out while he lists names. I kind of have no idea what was happening until I hear, "Faith and Drew, Will and Jake, Annabeth and Nyssa, Bolton and Leo, Leslie and Milo, Ericka and Roxanne, Henry and Drake, Connor and Travis, and finally, Jason and Blake. You may now begin."

Roxanne? I think as I walk towards her, As in tough Roxanne from the Ares cabin that everyone, even Clarisse respects? Still better than Faith but COME ON. When I approach her I reach out to shake hands but she just snorts, cracks her knuckles, and says "You're going down grease monkey."

When Chiron blows his whistle she lunges at me and the game of Cat and Mouse begins. I hit her with my hand and dodge while she goes berserk and tries to kill me. Maybe I can tire her out. She throws punches left and right while I dodge some of them, occasionally sneaking in a punch of my own, not always succeeding. This goes on for about two minutes and then she really gets pissed. She catches me off guard and knocks the wind out of me, sending me back half a dozen feet. I, short tempered as ever, unwillingly catch on fire and charge straight at her. I guess she wasn't expecting judging by the look she gave me, but still stood her ground, baring her teeth at me. And well, you can see how well that went.

Chiron runs over to us and sends both to "Cool down" (Ha-ha how original) so I sit down far away from Roxanne. As she glares at me I try to spot Faith. When I see Drew I can't help but laugh. She looks mortified at the fact that half her hair has been chopped off and is cursing at Faith. She wails for Chiron to come over and I see that he is suppressing a smile. She points at Faith and fake cries, saying that her life is over and that she needs to be excused. Chiron sighs, letting her go; as she walks by me she shots me a look of pure hatred. Faith on the other hand, looks untouched and kind of bored. That girl could take out this entire camp! I notice that there are some black hairs stuck to her hands and she brushes them off. She then looks over at Leo.

I glace over at Leo, curious, and see that his end isn't going that good either. Bolton is throwing punches at Leo's face, which has a brand-new bruise, while Leo is dodging him and trying to stay calm. I guess he saw what happened with Roxanne and me. He lunges onto Bolton and takes him down, throwing a few punches of his own.

I can't help but look over to Connor. Travis and he are on the ground, and I can't tell who is who from the back of their heads. It looks pretty chaotic when I look over at Mr. D. He's obviously enjoying himself because his sadistic smirk has evolved to a full scale grin and he is shouting encouraging words like "Rip his head off! And "Learn how to throw a punch, will ya?"

I walk over to Faith, hoping that Roxanne is over hating me and can't help but ask, "What happened to Drew? It was an improvement."

"Oh, nothing much, I just flipped her a couple times, showed her some of my jujitsu moves, and ended up chopping off some of her hair." she says nonchalantly pointing at a small heap of hair on the grass then giving me a thumbs up. "I did see you charge at Roxanne on fire though."

"Yea, well I would have loved to trade with you." I say, remembering earlier that she signaled for me to talk to her later about something. "What did you want to tell me in the cabin after you talked to Connor?"

Chapter 21-Faith

"Oh yeah, about that. I went into Connor's mind and I found out that he likes you." I pick out some dirt that had gotten underneath my fingernails.

Ericka looks at me, dumbfounded and happy. "Really? Thank you so much! Now I don't have to worry anymore!"

"No problem. That's what friends are for."I hold out a fist, and she bumps it. When we withdrew our hands, we were interrupted by no other than Drew.

"FAITH!" Drew's angry, high-pitched voice comes from behind me.

I turn around lazily, letting one strand of hair fall in front of my eye. Her new haircut is hilarious, and it's making it hard not to laugh. It's all uneven, some parts are so short that it sticks up, and the rest are matted clumps of glue, sawdust, and hair, the glue courtesy of the Stoll brothers. "What?"

"You are, like, SO going to pay for THIS!" she points at her new 'do, her voice shrill with rage.

"Pfft. Whatever you say." I turn back around to see Roxanne. Perfect.

"You are going down, pipsqueak." Roxanne's popping the joints in her neck, growling. "You're not going to get out of this alive."

Ericka has flamed up in defense, surprise, and fear. She looks over at me with a look that says, "Help me!" I step forward. "I'll fight for her."

The gorilla grunts. "Whatever."

"Bring it on." I flick one ear back at Drew, who has tried to sneak up behind me(For real?) and rub dirt all over my clothes and hair(Pathetic!). Drew freezes in place, her hand inches from my hair. Roxanne takes this distraction and charges at me.

"FAITH!" Leo comes out of nowhere and tackles Roxanne. How stupid, I think. Now I need to save his sorry butt. Currently, Leo has three bruises, two in is rib area and one in a place I'd rather not mention. When Leo's about to get pounded, I enter the fight.

I jump in and pound Roxanne, darting out of the way of danger at the last second. I push Leo out of the war zone with my foot. Roxanne's blows are getting weaker and weaker, and she's a lot slower and less spirited. I have the upper hand now. I sprint behind her and shove her, using my foot to make sure that she does a face plant. I twist both of her arms behind her back and put pressure on them until she whimpers and says, "You win."

"Of course I do. Now leave me and my friends alone." Roxanne scrambles to her feet and dashes away, tripping over her own feet in her haste to put distance between us. I turn back and see Clarisse gaping open jawed at me. "What do you want Clarisse? I have enough energy for another fight if you want one." I crack my knuckles. "Like you could pose a threat." I'll give it to her; she's not stupid and she doesn't rise to the bait. I turn back to look at how well Leo's faring. I wince and rush to his side once I see his condition. One rib is broken; he has a dinner plate sized bruise on his stomach, and let's just say he's moaning on the ground holding his crotch. Ouch. I let out a low whistle. "Roxanne fights dirty, doesn't she?" is the only thing I can comment.

"Yes, very dirty… Can you help me?" I sit next to him and heal his rip and bruise. I put my hand on his the side of his perfectly sculpted face and heal it. When it's gone, he takes my hand and brushes his lips over my knuckles. "Thanks for saving my sorry fiery butt out there and healing me almost entirely."

"Umm… I'm going to save the other one for later…" I wave at his area.

"Are you sure? It's really painful…" I almost put my hand there to heal it but I draw back.

"You're one messed up boy, Leo Valdez. Look at what you almost did!" Leo laughed making me smile. "You silly-" my words are cut off as he covers my mouth with his. My eyes flutter open, shocked. When he pulls away, I'm gasping for breath.

"What was that?"

"Umm… DARN IT! Why did I do that?!" he hits himself on the head using his hand. "Why did I DO that?" his frustration is clear in his voice.

"No, no, don't do that…" I put my hand on his, making him stop his rant immediately. I put my head on his shoulder. "It's fine. It was actually really good. It's just that I wasn't expecting it."

"Oh. Ok. As long as you don't hate me."

"Why would I hate you?"

Leo shrugged and left it at that. Oh well. I got up and held my hand down to help him up, but he weighs so much I end up being pulled down. I'm laughing my wild laugh, the one that reflects my true personality. I get up (Levitating Leo up with my Power) and walk over to Connor while he's looking at a picture of Ericka, practically drooling over it. I use the same words I used with Ericka.

"Heeeey, you like Ericka?" he jumps a mile and almost kicks me in the face. "Geez! Take a chill pill!"

"Shhh…. Swear you won't tell anyone? Even Travis doesn't know."

"Well, it's your lucky day! Ericka knows-" and them he lunges at me and pins me to the ground, snarling.

"Who told you? Who told her? Tell me." He's gripping my shoulders really tight; I can tell I'm going to be bruised.

"Hey, Connor? Can you get off my girlfriend?" Connor releases me and step away.

I step forward and whisper in his ear, "Ericka like you too. Don't worry." And he visibly relaxes.

"Thanks Faith. You have no idea how long I've waited and wished to hear those words." I shake his hand.

"Well, looks like we've got archery next." Leo's playing with some bits of metal scraps, making a small model of me, the details exact down to the fingernails.

"Leo…"
"Yeah?"

"Can you make a mini Festus?"

"Sure. Anything for you."I smile, and walk off to the archery station with Leo and Connor.

Chapter 22-Ericka

I feel like I'm floating, I mean he likes me. I have never, ever, felt this way before and I can't believe what I've been missing. It's like all these years I've been blind and now I can finally see. Although my floating-feeling doesn't last because my stomach drops, acting like an anvil dropping me back to reality when I see Connor walking with Leo and Faith. All my happiness has been turned to worry. About a million questions pop up in my head as they walk closer. How do I approach him? What do I say? Does he know? Did Faith tell him? What do I do?

I stay calm enough to not catch on fire and just try to work this out without throwing up. THAT would definitely not be good. Okay breath I think He likes you too, right? I mean Faith said so and she wouldn't lie like that straight to your face. She's nothing like Drew.

"Oh, hi guys!" I greet, smiling a little too much shaking a little. "Ready for archery?"

"Totally!" Connor says, unusually excited. "I want to get a Centaur's eye this time!"

We all laugh at his joke and relax a little. I walk a little closer to him and ask, "Hey can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure!" he says, motioning to behind the benches where you wait for your turn at shooting. "What do you want to talk about?"

I find that it's actually A LOT harder to say what I want to say. Only like 30 seconds have passed but they feel like hours. My face burns a little, actually a lot, and I don't feel like my usual confident self. I calm down a little, breathing in and out and now a minute and a half has passed.

"I know you like me and I like you too." I say, looking him straight in the eyes, which were covered with his floppy brown hair that always seemed to end up there.

He pushes back his hair and smiles, "That's great, and I've liked you for a while, like when we did all those pranks together! I just..."

"You just what?" I ask, well, more like whisper leaning in.

"I just kept thinking about you," he says softly leaning in too, wrapping his arms around me.

The next thing I know, our lips lock and I'm engulfed into this perfect, magical kiss. Time freezes and I can't even think straight. I hope that this moment will never end and that I could just stay there all day, with him, in his warm arms. We pull away and look at each other gasping for breath and at a loss for words.

I blush a little, but then slowly start to smile the biggest grin I ever have and notice he has a matching one on his face. He laughs, grabbing my hand and says, "You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that."

We walk back, hands locked, and I mentally thank Faith. If you're listening right now then thank you so much. We sit back down and are separated when we take our turns shooting. I fail horribly as usual, missing the target mostly while he manages to get a bulls-eye, or a Centaur's eye, as he put it. I look over at Faith and she completely nails every single shot. (How is that possible?!)

I smile happily at her and lean against Connor's shoulders, and she gives me a thumbs up. She walks back over to Leo, not that great at archery either, I might add, and strikes up a conversation with him while he works furiously on what looks like a mini Festus.

Archery is our last event for the evening and we head back our cabins. Apparently Chiron has had enough of campers sneaking out and breaking curfew because he announces that he will be patrolling the ALL cabins tonight to make sure no one sneaks out tonight. I admit, I have been caught more than once, but I have snuck numerous times without being caught. Besides, I haven't been caught in at least a month, which counts as something, right? When it's lights out anyone not in their bunk is toast.

As we head back and enter our cabins, I'm so lost in my own world that I don't even notice that...

Chapter 23-Faith

Leo and I are sitting underneath a giant oak; the dappled shadows falling across our faces and legs. The sun is setting in the back, and I'm leaning on the knotted wood. He was complimenting on my perfect score at the archery range (I got a perfect hundred out of ten shots, every one of them hitting the bull's eye.) when he got a thirty-seven. I smile, cupping the model of the bronze dragon that Leo had once fixed. I'm sitting on Leo's lap, and he wraps his arms around me to press a button that I didn't notice before. Festus number two starts to flap its wings, lifting it about half a foot above my palm. I squeal and watch the small wings beat slowly, rising above my head. I let a grin spread across my face and I turn around and hug him.

"It's great! I love it!" he kisses me on my lips and pulls me closer, if that's possible. Mini-Festus flies around and lands on an overhead branch. The small head clicks and whirrs, the body strong for such a tiny thing. If it could smile, I would bet it did. I whistled and it flew down, its gears churn and stabilize it, maneuvering it onto my outstretched hands. Is curls up and begins to sleep, puffs of smoke coming out of its nose. I set it down gently on the grass next to me and watch it drool small drops of oil. I grin, and stand up, holding my hand down to Leo to help him up. He grasps my hand, and then pulls me down for another kiss, and when I pull away he laughs, making me smile. I stand and pull him up firmly, and drag/ get pulled to the Hephaestus Cabin, laughing all the way. Leo teaches me how to send messages and commands with the dragon, and I send the dragon on a mission to bother the heck out of Ericka.

When we get in, I get a brain-message from Drake saying that Hayden, (from the Nemesis Cabin), is hosting a party at his cabin, and I was invited, along with Drake. It went like this:

Hey, Faith, are you coming to Hayden's party tonight?

What party? And besides, I'm planning on spending the rest of the day with Leo.

Well, you've been invited, and I'm taking you there whether you like it or not.

Oh well, I'm coming. Be at his cabin…I tell Leo that I'm going to a party, and he tells me to be back before five in the morning. I'm there now. I see Drake and his posse of friends, and I walk over there. "Hey guys." I wave at them, and most of them drop their jaws and gape at me, and one says, "That's your sister? She looks nothing like you! Nothing like ugly!" and we all laugh. Hayden strides over to where we are and slings his left arm over my shoulder. I feel disgusted, feeling like that Leo's arm should be there, but I leave it there.

"You guys all came! And this must be Faith…" he raises his eyebrows. "Faith Harrowson, the pearl of the camp." I shrug it off, removing his arm at the same time. Once it's gone, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders, literally. "Well then! The party's already started, and the drinks," he whispers, "some beer," and returns back to the original volume, "like soda and whatnot, are already flowing." Some of the boys chuckle at the whispered part, but I'm scared. Drunken enemies are dangerous enemies. They have no idea what they can do, and when you're drunk you can go thrugh a war zone and not feel anything. Dangerous. He gestures at the cabin, seemingly hostile and aloof, but warm on the inside. "Go on in, they're waiting for you!" he winks at me, and adds, "Especially you."

Once I'm inside, all of my fear disappears, even the one with Chiron coming in and busting everyone. Everyone is amiable and friendly, and I laugh and dance as much as the next demigod. Soon the lights have dimmed so much that I can't see the person next to me, and I don't want to use my cat vision to make it easier for me. I'm laughing uncontrollably now, switching from partner to partner. Soon I'm dancing with a pretty cute guy, but his breath smells like drink. He soon corners me, and I start to panic.

"Hey there, beautiful." His words are sort of slurred, and I can tell by the way his eyes keep sliding off of mine that he's not that drunk, but drunk to the point that he won't be able to remember this by tomorrow. I'm starting to panic.

"H-Hi…" I'm backing away, but I hit a wall. I inch to the side and hit a corner. I'm trapped. I prepare my fist for impact.

"Well, well, you're here alone aren't you? You should be with someone… looking as good as you do." I'm blushing like crazy, but I think I recognize the voice. Is it Connor? No, he's too sensible to get this inebriated. I brush off the thought, telling myself I've been spinning around too much. Now what the mystery guy does next surprises me. He leans in to kiss me, but I've been in the fighting stance for a long time. I ram my fist into his left eye, him reeling back, me drawing back for another hit. He stumbles back into the mass of people, and I'm confident that my hit would leave a bruise, giving him a black eye. I check the moon outside the window, and when I make my calculations, it's about three in the morning. Hayden's passed out on the couch, and there are more on the yard. Someone's tossed some umbrellas into the lake, along with some pink plastic flamingoes (where did they get those?). There are numerous other things, but I have to get back to the cabin.

When I get back, Leo's already awake and pacing the floor, the sudden motion and jerking making me dizzy. "Where have you been?"

"Did you forget already? I was at Hayden's party." I jump to the top bunk, my feet dangling down.

His back stiffens, and his eyes go cold. "You were at someone's, a GUY'S party?!"

I don't like the change from friendly Leo to cold (ha-ha) Leo. "Yeah. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing." I can tell he's jealous, by the way he sticks his hands in his pockets and how his mouth clenches tightly.

"Leo." I say his name simply, trying to get him out of his haze of rage. "Listen to me. Please. Just don't be jealous… it was only one person that tried to hit on me. Please." I'm begging now, pleading with him to see the truth. And then Ericka and Connor decide to come in, right in time to see me, get up with a tear streaking down my right cheek.

"WHAT?! SOMEONE TRIED TO HIT ON YOU?! Tell me." His voice is deadly cold, and his stare is pinning me there.

"Hey, Leo calm down. Stop killing your girlfriend with your eyes." Ericka's looking at me funny, but when she sees Leo, who is looking anywhere but me, her expression turns into one that is worried. "Faith? Leo?" her voice is concerned, and Connor is wearing a matching expression. "Guys? Are you two arguing?"

"FAITH went to a party. With BOYS!" He's infuriated now, with me, or something else, I can't tell.

"Leo Valdez! Listen to me!" he turns to look at me, but once he makes eye contact, he breaks it. "Calm down!"

"Why? Is your boyfriend coming over?"

I sigh. He is really mad. "My boyfriend is already over." He looks around, clueless that he's the one I'm talking about.

"SHE'S TALKING ABOUT YOU, STUPID!" Ericka face palms, along with Connor.

"Uh huh." He nods, clearly unconvinced.

"Jeez, chill out bro. it's just a party. Hey… I went to a party too last night! Who was hosting?" Connor looks at me and waits for an answer, so I give it to him.

"Hayden Watterson." I can only speak those words, nothing else.

"I was there too!" Ericka laughs at the coincidence. "But I didn't see you. I guess I fell for that prank really hard."

"What prank?" Ericka's eyebrow is raised.

"Some of my 'friends' swapped my soda with beer." Ericka is now looking at him horrified.

She backs away, her eyes open. "You didn't hit on Faith, did you?"

Leo looks about ready to blow into flames, which he does when he hears that Connor was at the party too, and drunk. When he hears that Connor might have hit on me, the flames triple in size and intensity. "LEO! STOP IT!" he glares at me, then tackles Connor.

A/N: WOW... That took... Five hours... '-' Lol...

O.o Leo is J-E-A-L-O-U-S!

I wish I had a boyfriend like him. . Like all the other books I read... Iggy, Four/Tobias, ect... An endless list... . LOL...

See you guys next couple of chapters!

-xXXxSilverWolfxXXx