Hello! Thanks for the review! Got my butt into gear and finishing this chapter! Hope you guys like it!

~secrethalfblood

Apov

Considering it had been months since I'd been here, I'd forgotten how easy it was to fall back into my usual camp routine. Between school, sports, and friends in the mortal world, it wasn't hard to forget about the mythological one, well, until monsters attacked.

Despite the fact my best friend and his sister were demigods, most of the time Camp Halfblood and the world it belonged to felt pretty much just like a normal camp. A place you went between breaks to have fun and meet with friends. The only difference was, this one had magic and swords.

But it all came back to me like it always did the minute I stepped into the arena, and when I faced the targets, I didn't miss a single shot.

"How do you and Ashton make this look so easy?" A familiar voice asked in frustration.

I looked away from the younger campers I was instructing to see Charlie and his girlfriend Annie. They were, well, for lack of a better word, struggling.

She was shaking her arm, the bright red mark running down it obviously string slap from the bow in her hand.

"You alright Annie?" I asked as she rubbed the burn, trying not to wince.

"Yeah." She said her voice tight. "Just stings."

She was a pretty girl with light brown eyes, freckles, and dark hair that was pulled back into the sort of braid that only a daughter of Aphrodite could pull off, which she was.

"I don't get it." Charlie said sounding a little frustrated himself. "I told her to do exactly what you tell people to do and showed her my stance." He made a hopeless gesture. "I keep watching her shoot and can't figure out what she's doing wrong."

"Probably because you're a crappy teacher dude." I said amused and he shrugged.

I could tell he was a bit annoyed at this, but didn't respond because part of him knew I was right. Charlie was my best friend and while I would trust him with my life, the guy absolutely could not teach. I wasn't exactly sure why either.

He was smart as hell and could more than hold his own in the arena, but there seemed to be a disconnect in his brain when it came to explaining things. Whether it was archery or algebra, he just did not have the ability to help people understand something that just came naturally to him. He could accomplish just about anything he set his mind to, he just couldn't teach anyone else when he figured out how.

I'd found this out the hard way whenever he'd tried to help me in our first semester going to the same school. I was having trouble with geometry and while he could have slept through that class and ace the tests, he couldn't even explain a warm up problem without confusing me even worse than if he hadn't said anything at all.

"I wish Harper was here." Annie said a little dejected bringing me back to the present. "She gets how my brain works. Things make much more sense when she explains them."

"Even if Bambi was here, you'd still be out of luck." I said trying not to grin as Charlie laughed.

"Why?" Annie asked sounding a little surprised, and I'd realized how much time she must have been spending with us lately if she'd gotten used to my nickname for Charlie's sister. "Harper's a great teacher."

That was actually true. Harper was just as smart as her brother, and as good of a fighter, but she somehow had a much more intuitive grasp of getting people to understand things. But while Harper was a much better teacher than her brother, there was one thing her brother was a lot better at than she was.

"Harps is a terrible shot babe." Charlie said still chuckling. "She couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with an arrow. She's even worse than you."

"Hey." She said giving him a sharp look, but I saw her cheeks go a little pink and she sounded defensive. "I'm trying, ok?"

"You're right. You're right." He said quickly, putting his hands up in the universal 'You win' gesture, then kissing her on the cheek. "I'm sorry."

"That's what I thought." She said her eyes warning before glancing back at the target. Her features gave way to disappointment. "Well, I think I'm going to give up for the day. Maybe it just isn't meant to be."

"Slow down Annie. Let me see your stance."

She gave me a dubious look.

"I dunno Ash." She looked a little self conscious. "I think my arm's taken enough abuse."

She held it up revealing that the skin was still red.

"You don't have to shoot anything. I just want to look at your basic form. Charlie might have missed something."

"Probably pretty likely." He agreed in a self-deprecating tone and she grinned slightly.

"He might have missed something." I continued. "And the dumbass should have given you an arm guard."

I tapped the leather strapped to my forearm.

"Even experienced archers can mess up and hit themselves by accident." I continued, smirking at Charlie. "Just because he's stupid and thinks he doesn't need one doesn't mean you should suffer for it."

"I don't need one." He muttered stubbornly, but then looked a little guilty as he glanced at her arm. "But you're right. I should have given her one."

"Here." I said unstrapping the guard and handing it to Annie.

She put it on and took a basic square stance, where I immediately spotted the problem.

"Your anchors are off." I explained gesturing towards the weapon. "And you're gripping the bow way too hard."

"I don't want to drop it." she said nervously. "What happens if I let go of it and it goes flying?"

I saw Charlie was trying valiantly not to laugh at this and I shot him a look.

"Trust me." I said. "Relax your grip. It'll help."

After a few minor adjustments, and assurances that the guard would protect her arm, Annie agreed to try another shot.

"I hit it!" she said delightedly, jumping up and down when the arrow buried itself into the target.

"Nice work." I said with a grin. While she'd only hit the outer ring, the arrow had gone in pretty far. "That's a solid shot."

"I can't believe I hit it!" She said beaming and giggling as Charlie tackled her in a bear hug.

"Nicely done." He said kissing her on the cheek then giving me a grateful expression and mouthing.

'Thanks man.'

I nodded, gave him a quick thumbs up so Annie wouldn't see, then went back to observing the younger campers.

I spent the rest of the time allotted to the activity going back and forth between helping Annie and the new demigods, teaching both the basics with a bow.

"What I don't get," Annie said as we walked out of the arena. "Is if Harper is as terrible a shot as you say, why don't you help her Ash?"

"Because he values his life." Charlie said with a chuckle.

"What does that mean?" She asked suspiciously.

I frowned for a second, trying to find the best way to phrase what I wanted to say.

"I've tried to help her before." I said eventually as we continued to walk. "It didn't go so well."

That was an understatement. If I was completely honest, it had been a nightmare.

Harper had been the worst student I'd ever worked with. She was smarter than most people and she knew it, and if I had to guess, she didn't like feeling stupid if she didn't take to something right away. Constructive or not, she didn't take to criticism all that well. Especially from me.

Of course I knew I couldn't say any of this. Charlie, who whole heartedly admitted that teasing his sister was one of his favorite pastimes, was also one of her biggest defenders. He was quick to mess with her, but he was also the first to try and deck someone if they crossed what he considered to be the line. It was the reason why a good seventy percent of the opinions I had about her, positive or negative, were left unsaid. It was hard to tell sometimes what would upset him when it came to her, or what would make him laugh.

"You know how she is." Charlie continued putting an arm around Annie who rolled her eyes. "Harper's just a little high strung. Who knows why she gets so uptight."

"Probably because she has a brother who goes around calling her high strung." Annie said pointedly, but it seemed lost on Charlie so she continued. "You should be nicer to your sister." She chided. "She's really nice."

"Yeah, when she wants to talk to people." Charlie said and I could tell Annie wanted to argue, but decided against it.

Probably because she knew he was right.

Harper was a good person, and at her core she was very kind, but she was an academic at heart. If she wasn't reading, she was often ruminating over something she'd read, or trying to solve whatever thought experiment she'd devoted herself to that moment. She liked thinking. She wanted to learn. And she just wasn't interested in small talk that distracted her from it. It made her seem stand offish a lot and it often rubbed people the wrong way, but I knew she wasn't trying to be rude. Most of the time, when it seemed like she was ignoring someone, she just was lost in thought.

"Well, you should still be nicer to her." Annie said eventually, stopping and looking up at Charlie. "She's your sister, and you guys tease her a lot."

At this she shot me the same look she'd given him.

"Give her a break alright?"

"Alright." Charlie said in an appeasing tone and she smiled before standing on her toes and kissing him on the cheek.

"Good." She said with a bright smile. "I've got to go though. I'm supposed to meet Jas at the lake. New campers aren't going to teach themselves how to canoe."

I felt a slight pang of something go through me at Jasmine's nick name, but I wasn't sure what it was. Charlie seemed to have noticed though, because he glanced at me, before turning back to his Annie.

"Alright." He said grinning down at her. "Have fun."

"I'll try." She said with a sigh. "Hopefully no one will splash me today. I don't want to get my hair wet."

She gave him one last smile before walking in the direction of the lake, joining some siblings headed that way.

He watched her go for a second, still grinning kind of like an idiot the way most people did when they were dating one of the Aphrodite siblings, before glancing at me.

His expression had changed and I cut him off, forestalling the question I knew he'd wanted to ask.

"I don't want to talk about Jas." I said shaking my head and starting to walk.

I didn't even really know where I was going, but I felt a little restless.

"Alright." He said carefully, in a 'message received,' sort of tone. "So I guess nothing's changed on that front?"

"Yes she made that very clear." I said a little annoyed we were still on the topic.

Jasmine had made it more than understood over the last few times we'd talked that she was not interested in a relationship with me or ever going back to being anything more than friends. But what wasn't clear was why she still spent so much time talking to me, and if I was honest, flirting with me, ever since I got back to camp.

"I mean, what's the point?" I burst out a little unexpectedly and he glanced at me, clearly startled. "Why does she say she doesn't want to go out, then act like were still dating half the time?"

It was clear she still liked me. What was the problem?

"Dunno man," he said sympathetically clapping a hand on my shoulder in obvious consolidation. "Sometimes things just don't work out."

It was clear that this was supposed to be comforting, but I doubted he would have wanted to hear that if Annie had been acting this way.

"Yeah, maybe." I muttered.

It didn't make me feel any better though.

"It'll all get sorted out." He said comfortably. "She clearly still has a thing for you. And who knows. Maybe you'll find someone better."

"Yeah." I agreed, but it was mostly to kill the topic.

"Well. I got to go." He said glancing at his watch. "I'm supposed to be at the climbing wall in a few minutes. I'll see you on the court later."

"Alright."

He nodded clearly thinking the matter was done, and I watched him make his way towards the climbing wall not really feeling all that certain that it was.

I really liked Jasmine, and it was obvious she still liked me, but I didn't understand what she was doing. I didn't want to think she was just playing games with me, she'd always seemed like a nice person, but she was a daughter of Aphrodite. Sometimes it was what they did. Did she just want me to try harder to win her over? Or was it something else?

I shook my head deciding not to think about it for now. I'd made how I felt clear, at this point, the ball was totally in her court and I shouldn't be wasting my time trying to read into the behavior of someone who'd clearly said what they wanted.

I was in danger of starting down a line of serious overthinking when I spotted a familiar figure sitting on the steps of the Big House, as always, her nose buried in a book.

I changed directions.

"What are you reading now, Bambi?" I asked grinning slightly, noticing that the Russian book had gone and she was absorbed in something new.

Harper looked up, clearly annoyed but her expression changed when she caught mine.

"What did your girlfriend do this time?" She asked.

"What?"

"Your face." She said gesturing towards it, squinting behind her glasses as she looked up at me, the sun clearly in her eyes. "You only ever look that way when you and Jasmine are on the outs."

She looked, well, concerned wasn't the right word, but sympathetic. She was clearly ready to let me talk if I needed to, but suddenly, I didn't feel nearly as frustrated as I did just a few minutes ago.

"Who knows with her." I said extending a hand.

The gesture was automatic and she took it, letting me pull her to her feet.

"Jeez you're light." I muttered and she rolled her eyes, letting go of my hand.

"Don't try to distract me with short jokes," she said throwing me the sort of look I often saw Annie give Charlie when she meant business. "It's not going to work."

She hesitated and though we gave each other endless crap, I could tell she was serious when she asked.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing I need to worry about right now." I said honestly, and it was true. I felt better.

By her expression I could tell she didn't believe me.

"Seriously." I continued allowing myself to relax a little. "What are you reading?"

She gave me a suspicious look, obviously trying to gauge whether I really cared or not, then relented.

"The Iliad." She said holding up the book and I was surprised.

"Didn't we read this last semester?" I asked a little amused taking the book. "And haven't you read it like five hundred times by now?"

"I read the book last semester." She said taking the book back her tone pointed. "While you and Charlie cheated and used my notes."

"We had a huge tournament the week of the test." I started automatically and she raised an eyebrow.

"And all the other weeks?"

That I didn't have an answer for.

"Speaking of tests, how'd you do on finals?" she asked and I felt my stomach sink a little.

Back home Charlie, Harper, and I all attended the same school. It was private and pretty competitive academic wise, and part of me felt like the only reason I was still able to attend was because of the recommendation their father had given me as well as the fact that Charlie and I kept their basketball team on the map for college scouts.

Of course having a mother as one of the world's top surgeons didn't hurt either, but there was only so much other people's accomplishments could cover for. Being totally honest, when it came to the classes, I struggled to keep up.

"I'm not sure." I admitted.

I hadn't felt that great during my exams, but at the very least the classes I'd had with her I'd felt I'd managed to get a passing grade.

"Dad sent Charlie and my scores in the last letters he sent." She said brining me back to the present and I looked at her. "You should call your mom."

"Yeah," I said a little bitterly. "I'm pretty sure I don't want to see those grades. And I'm absolutely certain I don't want her to, let alone draw her attention to the fact that they're out."

"Don't say that." She said shaking hear head. "You said that about the chem midterm and that turned out fine."

"Well yeah you're right." I said and she smiled.

One thing that was nice about Harper, was that even though I knew she did much better than me at school, she never made me feel stupid. Even when it came to something like this.

"Stop beating yourself up." She said resolutely. "You're too hard on yourself."

"About school?"

"About everything." She corrected but her tone was sincere. "School, whatever the hell Jasmine is going through, what your mom thinks. About what everyone thinks really."

"Harper, aren't you the one always calling me a moron?" I asked a little indignantly and I could tell she almost laughed.

"You are a moron." She said shaking her head in exasperation, clearly trying to cover it. "But that doesn't mean you're not smart."

She grinned a little.

"Just look at Charlie." She continued brightly, as if this should have explained everything. "He's a moron, but he's a moron that's been doing calculus test prep since he was eleven."

It was only when we stopped that I realized we'd been walking. I looked up to find myself outside the Athena cabin, I hadn't even noticed I'd walked her all the way back.

"Still." I said pretending to think it over, but I was grinning. "Don't you think it's a little mean, calling me names?"

"Ash, I don't know if you've noticed, but that's kind of what we do." She said amused as she started walking up the steps that led to the cabin. "I call you a moron. You annoy me with a patronizing nickname. And the world keeps spinning."

"I do not patronize you." I said a little indignantly and she turned.

She was about halfway up the steps and for once, her face was almost level to mine.

"Oh please." She said with an expression that clearly said. 'Give me a break.' "Bambi? How is comparing me to an baby woodland creature not patronizing?"

"Do you even know why I started calling you that?" I asked knowing I should probably let this go but I couldn't. I didn't like the idea of her thinking I looked down on her.

"Yeah." She said and this time she looked genuinely annoyed. "Charlie told me."

"What did he say?" I asked frowning.

"He said you told him I looked like a deer in headlights when you first started talking to me." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Like I was so surprised someone like you was talking to me."

Her tone was terse, clearly trying to sound impassive but not quite pulling it off. I could tell this bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

No matter how much it bothered her though, I was sure it upset me more because I had never said that. But explaining would only complicate things, and I didn't want things to complicate things between her or my best friend.

Instead, I ignored it.

"Harper," I said a little incredulous. "You don't honestly think I think that what? I'm too cool for you or something like that?"

"No." She muttered looking a little embarrassed.

"Good." I said and she glanced at me. "Because Charlie might be my best friend, but that doesn't stop you from being my friend too."

"I know."

"So we're good?"

She sighed and looked as if she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it.

"Yeah." She said eventually. "We're good."

"Excellent." I said with a smirk. "We can go back to name calling in good faith."

"Uhg, go away Ash." She said turning and continuing up the steps to her cabin, but I could tell she was grinning.

"I'll see you later Bambi." I called after her, feeling a smirk make its way across my features.

She didn't turn around, but she did acknowledge my statement. Even if it was only with one finger that was held up in a very impolite gesture.

My smirk grew.

"See ya Harper." I said quietly, and while the door had already been shut, and there was no one but me to hear it, despite how much I tried to annoy her, I liked saying her name.

I turned, trying to figure out how I should spend my time before I had to get back to the arena, but nearly jumped when I saw Charlie not ten feet away, heading towards the Athena cabin.

"I thought you were at the climbing wall?" I asked willing my pulse to slow to a more reasonable level.

"I was," he said with a shrug. "But one of the younger campers was injured so the councilors were dealing with that."

He stopped in front of me then nodded at the door.

"What's up with Harper?"

"What do you mean?" I asked uncertainly, a little unsure as to why I suddenly felt a little nervous, but then he grinned.

"I saw her flipping you off." He laughed. "What did you annoy her or something?"

Relief flooded through me, but I couldn't exactly explain why.

"Probably." I said grinning, trying not to think about it. "I'm pretty good at it."

"What are you up to now?"

I shrugged.

"Nothing."

I had some time between archery lessons, which left me with about an hour to kill.

"A couple of guys were talking about the basketball tournament earlier. Wanna go shoot some hoops?" he asked. "Get some practice in before the tournament starts?"

There was usually at least a couple of sports tournaments each summer run by the councilors and anyone who wanted to make a team. Charlie and I always created a team for the basketball brackets, and we almost always won.

"Sure." I nodded, then gestured towards my cabin. "Just let me grab my shoes."

"Cool. I'll meet you on the court."

He grinned then, like Harper, walked up the steps into his cabin.

I watched him go wondering why I'd felt so jumpy earlier when I'd seen him. I was only talking to Harper. There was nothing wrong with that. Charlie was my best friend, and Harper was his sister. It was normal that we talked, in fact, it would have been weird if we didn't. Right?

I let out a sigh and shook my head, walking back to my cabin, not really sure why I felt the need to keep justifying things to myself, or what I was even justifying really.

Harper was my friend. Just because she was related to Charlie didn't mean it had to be weird. I'd known her just as long as I'd known him, and sometimes, in some ways, I felt she knew me better than he did.

I put my hands in my pockets and frowned at that thought, not really sure as to why it felt strange to me.

It wasn't like if felt like I couldn't talk to Charlie about stuff. He was my best friend and I knew could tell him anything. Still, sometimes, between the two of them, I felt like when it came to talking about the things that bothered me, Harper was the one who actually listened. Especially when it came to things like school.

'But that's not so weird.' I thought. 'People get different things out of different friendships.'

Despite the fact that they were both insanely smart and that they were twins, I couldn't help but think that Harper and Charlie were very different people. Maybe that's why they got on each other's nerves so much.

'It's not a crime to have different types of friends.' I assured myself. 'Lots of people had different friend groups that they got along with just fine. And different people within their groups.'

In my case, those two just happened to be related…

I was pulled from this circular train of thought when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey! Ash!"

I turned and saw Jasmine and a couple of campers carrying a canoe in the direction of the lake. She was waving and sending a bright smile in my direction.

"Need help?" I asked jogging over to the group.

Most of the campers with her were on the younger side, and it was clear they were struggling with the weight of the boat.

"Do you mind?" she asked sheepishly.

She was still smiling at me, the sort of smile that clearly meant she was interested in me, and I couldn't help myself.

"Yeah, sure." I said stepping over the canoe that they'd rested on the ground as they'd stopped, and grabbing the side opposite hers.

"You're between lessons right now, right?" she asked tucking her hair behind her ear and giving me a half hopeful look as we continued to walk.

"Yeah."

"You want to come out on the water with us?" she asked.

I hesitated.

"I'm supposed to meet Charlie at the basketball court soon." I said honestly and she looked a little disappointed.

"Oh."

"But waiting a few minutes won't kill him."

"Alright."

"Besides, if he gets bored he can talk to Harper."

"Who?" she asked sounding a little confused.

"His twin."

"The one who's always reading? Like, more than normal for an Athena camper?"

"That's her." I confirmed as the lake came into view. "She usually watches him practice. Or at least attempts to. She usually brings a book."

"Alright then." She agreed, but I noticed she didn't look as eager now. As if she'd suddenly regretted asking me to come. "Well, if he doesn't mind…"

Maybe she felt bad about making me late for Charlie...

"He doesn't." I said matter of factly, trying to ease her conscious. "He won't care."

She gave me another smile but looked away quickly and again, I couldn't help but feel like something was off with her. Like there was something she wasn't saying.

"I'd rather be with you Jas." I said trying to reassure her which felt a little ridiculous.

She was a daughter of Aphrodite. I figured she of all people would have known I liked her, but when she smiled at me again, it seemed a little halfhearted. As if her smile told me she knew, but her eyes were saying she wasn't so sure.