A/N: Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since my last update. It's the last quarter of senior year and then I'm FREE! (until August.) So here is a little filler, but I do have the next chapter done and it does involve an interaction between Tabitha and Annabeth. I'm not entirely sure if I'll post that one yet just in case it's gonna be a while until chapter 40... Holy shit this is gonna be a long story. Thank you guys so much for being here for so long and dealing with my nonsense! And fyi about this chapter, yes, Delilah's life does parallel mine a bit because I do live in Idaho and it's what I know. Anyway, I think I'm done. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Only the OCs are mine.

Creep

Chapter 38

It had been a couple of days since the meeting and Tabitha had decided to take the night shift with Valentine and Delilah. Most of her day had consisted of sleeping so she would be awake and alert throughout the night, or at least until Clarisse came around four in the morning. She woke up about half an hour before dinner and got ready, disregarding fashion and dressing in durable, athletic sweats and a Fall Out Boy t-shirt.

She managed to catch up to the boys as they made their way to their table. However, running downhill, she had underestimated her speed and the amount of time it would take to slow down. With an indignant squeak, she ran smack into Castor's back, knocking them both down.

"What the f-" Pollux all but screeched as he made way for the tumbling duo. "Holy-… Are… Are you guys okay?"

His only reply was some strained groans. In the evening light, it was hard to decipher who was who in the tangle of limbs. Tabitha had her face pressed against Castor's back while said twin had a mouth full of grass. She was the first to come to and pulled herself away only to flop flat on her back and catch her breath. Pollux kneeled down next his brother and flipped him over. His blue-gray eyes were clouded over and he had a few loose blades of grass sticking through his hair, but looked otherwise alright.

"...Sorry…" Tabitha murmured as she pulled herself up by Pollux's shirt.

Castor managed to bring his hands up to his face with a groan and shake the grass out of his hair. With one hand still rubbing his eyes, he reached out blindly for something to grasp. Pollux tightly gripped his hand and helped him up. Castor's knees were a little weak as his head seemed to lull a bit. They both clung to Pollux as they regained their footing.

Pollux looked on with a flat expression, his lips pressed into a thin line. "We're going to be late again."

"Sorry…" Tabitha murmured once more as she was dragged towards the pavilion.

Pollux was right; everyone was already seated at their appropriate tables. Usually, it would have been fine for the three of them to wander in, but Chiron was standing at his full height giving what seemed like an important announcement. They stood awkwardly behind him, unsure of what to do. Tabitha pulled her braid forward over her shoulder and tugged on it as she felt some gazes shift to them. Chiron suddenly stopped midsentence when he caught most of the campers' eyes looking past him and glanced back. He merely cleared his throat and gestured nonchalantly towards the table with a slight incline of the head. The three slid into the seats as casually as they could with all eyes on them, but Chiron quickly started talking again and they were forgotten.

"-and lastly, we will be postponing Capture the Flag until further notice." This was followed by a soft murmur of discontent rumbling through the crowd. Chiron shrunk back and kneeled to eye level with them with a sigh. "I really am getting too old for this."

Tabitha and Castor chuckled, but Pollux's face fell a little. "Do you know when our father is coming back?"

The centaur's lips pressed tightly together as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I do not. Last I heard from him, he was wandering the outskirts of the Underworld in the Land of Dreams."

The answer didn't seem to please Pollux, but he took it well enough.

Chiron opened his mouth to speak, but caught Annabeth's eyes from across the pavilion. "If you'll excuse me."

Tabitha brought her hands up and set them on the table, wringing her hands awkwardly. "What's it like having your dad around?"

Castor and Pollux glanced at each other uneasily with quirked brows. Castor sort of shrugged and made an airy, almost whimsical gesture with his hand. They spoke in unison, "Interesting."

She noted how they picked at their food, the beginnings of dark circles under their eyes as they looked around idly. Over the course of the past couple days, they started becoming more distant, often slipping out of their own heads. Tabitha suddenly remembered watching their faces fall after hearing about the Mount St. Helens incident.

She cautiously sat forward, addressing Castor who was usually more willing to talk. "What's wrong?"

He jumped a little and rubbed his arm self-consciously. "Well...it`s just… We're from Oregon-I mean-our mom…"

His cheeks flushed as he stammered and she motioned for him to stop and breath. "Where in Oregon are you guys from?"

"Portland." Pollux spoke this time, fork midair. "There's good wine country around and our family owns a vineyard."

Tabitha quirked a brow. "A vineyard?"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, we know."

"But after the meeting, we tried calling home to make sure everyone was safe and no one answered…"

"I keep trying to tell him she's probably in Colorado visiting our uncle. Unfortunately, the man goes through phone numbers like Castor goes through bags of Cheeto Puffs."

She snickered at the boy's cry of indignation. "And I'm guessing IMing her is out of the question because…"

"Oh, she knows. It's just that we have terrible timing when it comes to IMing…" Castor cringed as if remembering one of the unsavorable instances.

"Plus," Pollux continued, "it's not like we can just make a rainbow appear out of nowhere…"

She thought about responding when she felt the weight of a hand on her shoulder. Delilah and Valentine were waiting for her with their breastplates tucked under their arms. Glancing back at the twins, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her mirror.

Sliding it across the table, she said, "No rainbows necessary."

She jogged to catch up to the others before either one could respond; however, she managed to catch a curious Castor's, "A mirror…?"

The trio fixed their armor as they walked in relative silence. For being scrawny and looking like he'd never held a sword a day in his life, Valentine was swiftly skilled in securing his breastplate without a second thought. Delilah, on the other hand, was locked in deep thought, her usually soft features hardened in concern. She vaguely reminded Tabitha of Pollux and Castor.

She clasped her hands, unsure of how to word her questio. "Uh… I'm guessing you're from the Pacific Northwest, too?"

The ginger blinked, eyes slowly gaining their light again as she considered the question. "Mhmm… Yeah, I'm from Boise-" She paused at the slightly confused quirk of Tabitha's brow and she chuckled. "-Idaho, the one that looks like a pan."

Instead of saying anything, she waited for Delilah to continue. "I live with my dad in an apartment between Boise and Meridian… He works as a nurse at St. Alphonsus across the freeway, so of course he's not going anywhere…"

There was a hint of bittersweetness in her tone and Tabitha bit her lip. She glanced ahead at Valentine; the son of Iris shuffled along as if he weren't paying attention to their conversation. She knew better.

She turned back to Delilah. "What's Idaho like?"

Her face twisted in thought. "Well… It's not very green… It's mostly a semi-arid desert until you get up into the mountains. There really isn't much to do if you don't live around the Boise area. Plus, I'm a little too liberal for it-" She shrugged, "-but it's home."

"What about school?"

She smiled fondly. "I go to an arts school. It's a twenty to thirty minute drive, but it's worth it."

That peaked Valentine`s interest. "Art? What do you do?"

"I'm a band geek. I play clarinet and alto sax."

"I used to play guitar," Tabitha grumbled. "I wasn't very good at it."

"Had to let the dreams of getting all the chicks die?"

Her face fell in confusion. "What in the hel-"

"Oh yeah, you've already got one!"

"What the fuck," she deadpanned over their obnoxious laughter.