Author's Note: Okay… I feel so bad. I haven't updated in MONTHS! But I was super busy with school work and I had a very un-creative phase and just couldn't really write but now I'm back! If you've stuck with the story, then you are seriously awesome and I love you. You are loved. You also don't care, so I'll just write now.

Evelyn opened her eyes and her stomach immediately flooded with guilt and sadness. She wondered if it would ever go away. She slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes, wondering when it was. She stretched and changed into a fresh camp shirt and headed outside, squinting at the bright sunlight. She looked around and saw Elizabeth walking hand in hand with Sam. She smiled. Elizabeth caught her eye and grinned. Evelyn gave her a thumbs up and walked into the main part of camp. She then changed her mind and walked right back out of it and into the woods. She sat a few yards in with her back against a tree, listening to the wind. Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind her.

"Hey."

She started and turned, then smiled for the first time in days when she saw who it was.

"Nico." She said, standing up. He smiled.

"Sup." He said.

"Too much." She said, because she couldn't make herself say much else.

He simply held up two bottles of root beer and she smiled, then followed him deeper into the woods. They sat down on a large, flat rock near the river and opened the root beer.

"Cheers." He said, holding his up.

"Cheers." She said, mimicking him and bringing the bottle to her lips. They sat there like that for a while, not saying anything and sipping the soda when suddenly Nico broke the silence.

"He really liked you, you know."

Evelyn didn't have to ask who he was talking about, or how he knew Ben was dead. She looked down.

"How do you know?" she asked, because she'd never really seen Nico and Ben say more than two words to each other other than a 'hello' once in a while. And she had certainly never seen them alone together.

"Let's just say we had a nice long chat about it… which ended with someone getting punched in the face and him storming out of camp." He said, with a tinge of guilt, looking straight ahead.

"Well that's… wait who got punched in the face?"

"Well it wasn't him…" he said with a shrug.

Evelyn snorted quietly to herself, then turned back to Nico.

"Why would he punch you in the face? I mean, you punching him makes sense: you're my best friend and he liked me. Protective stuff. But why the other way around?" she asked.

He looked at her and sighed.

"I guess it's time for a story."

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Louise and Sicomba were sitting on a bench talking when Louise finally said:

"Is something bothering you?"

Sicomba shook his head and frowned.

"It's nothing… just… my father keeps trying to contact me in my dreams."

"That's good, isn't it?" Louise asked, "most of the kids here would kill for their parents to try and talk to them."

"Well the rest would hate it, me being one of them. Besides, I have a feeling I know why, and neither of us would like it."

She frowned, opening her mouth to ask what he thought his father wanted when Evelyn came out of the woods looking very confused and conflicted and angry. Louise shut her mouth, than opened it again and said:

"Alright Ev?"

Evelyn's head shot up, a look of shock on her face. She'd obviously been quite buried in her own thoughts. She saw Louise and nodded.

"Yeah.. fine." She said before continuing to walk on.

"She doesn't look fine… but at least she doesn't look as sad as usual. I'm glad she could get her mind off… well you know." Louise said.

"I think we should all get our minds off him. I mean, he was a traitor. And do any traitors deserve to be forgiven?" Sicomba asked grudgingly. (We all know he was having a go at Evelyn, but Louise was completely ignorant to this)

"Are you crazy?! Ben was our friend!" she said with a look of outrage.

Sicomba just shrugged and glared at Evelyn walking away. Louise looked at him.

"Seriously, what is up between you two? You've been completely stony to each other since we were in Kansas. What did I miss?"

"Nothing. We're fine." He said.

"No you're not, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped lying and changed your tune!" she said before stalking off. Sicomba looked after her, his mouth open, but no words coming to his lips. Suddenly Nico came out of the woods quietly.

"Oh you're back… were you in there with Evelyn?" Sicomba asked him.

"Yeah."

"She looks sort of pissed."

"She usually does after talking to me."

Sicomba cracked a smile and Nico walked away. Sicomba sat there for a moment when suddenly Evelyn came running up to him. Unfortunately, she was already next to him before he could avoid her.

"Edmund!" she exclaimed.

"Er- what?"

"Edmund! Edmund Pevensie! I'm Edmund Pevensie! From Narnia!" she said very quickly.

"Er- what?" Sicomba repeated.

She sighed.

"I was thinking about… stuff and it suddenly popped into my head. You know he was tempted by the White Witch and he betrayed his family but then he went back to them and they forgave him. And in Horse and His Boy he says 'even a traitor can mend, I knew one who did once'. Don't you see!"

Sicomba looked at her excited face rather blankly.

"So… you're just trying to make me forgive you again?"

Her face fell.

"Well yeah, but it's a reference argument, so I felt I should make my point."

"Okay."

"Okay?" she said.

"Yeah, I forgive you." He said. (Though he was only doing it for Louise)

"Sweet! See ya later! We can watch Avengers or something." She said, walking away and waving. Sicomba watched her go and then shrugged before getting up to go and find Louise.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Sierra was sitting on Jade's bunk in the Hermes cabin, drawing a flower with Jade laying on the bed above her. Jade looked down and made a disgusted noise in her throat.

"I don't ever want to see another flower again." She said, laying back down.

Sierra shrugged and the paper disappeared in a ball of flame.

"What do you want me to draw then?"

"Nico!"

"Why would I draw Nico?"

"No, look!" Sierra said, sitting up and pointing. And sure enough Nico was walking in the door, looking slightly disheveled with a root beer bottle in his hand. He looked quite shocked to see Sierra there but shrugged.

"Hi." He said, setting the bottle on the dresser.

"Hey." Sierra said smiling (and blushing a bit).

"Sup little bro!" said Jade, hopping down to hug her brother. (Which he did not enjoy very much, to be honest)

"Where were you?" Sierra asked, still smiling.

"Here and there."

"So the Underworld." Jade said.

"Yep."

"Cool." Sierra said.

Nico looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah I guess… well I'm gonna take a walk."

"But you just got here." Sierra said, frowning a bit.

"Well… not much to do in here." He said, turning and walking out before Sierra could say another word. Jade gave her a strange look, then jumped back onto the top bunk and they continued what they had been doing before.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Dalia was sitting on a hill (very near where Rachel Dare's oracle cave would be one day) alone, her hair blowing around in the wind. Everyone had tried to talk to her, but she didn't really want to talk to anyone. She had changed since she came back. Something new was coursing through her veins, and she knew what it was. It was the Celestial Seed she'd swallowed. It had changed her. Whether for good or bad she did not know.

She stared down at the camp that had once been the one place she called home. She had been happy there. She joked around, made pancakes. Not anymore. Now she felt the need to wander; to travel. She stared off toward New York, straining to see the skyline. Perhaps it was time to go. Find something to help her figure out this new feeling. This new her.

OoOoOoOoOoO

When Evelyn fell asleep, she had a dream that she didn't really want to have, considering Nico had told her its contents just a few hours ago and she didn't really care to relive them. Unfortunately, Evelyn had no control over her dreams, so she was forced to watch it.

Ben stood in a clearing in the woods, his face full of thought and worry. Suddenly Nico walked in and stopped when he saw Ben. He nodded a greeting.

"Hey." Ben said back.

"Whatcha worried about?" Nico asked him.

"Ev."

"I'm worried about her too."

Ben looked at him.

"What's up with you two anyway?"

"Why do you care?"

"She's my best friend."

"Well, she's also my best friend."

"And that's it?"

"And what if it wasn't?"

"Oh shut up, Mr. Mysterious. You know what I'm asking and why I care."

"Well stop caring."

"So you do have a little crush."

"And what if I do? We both know she's liked me for years."

"Then why aren't you guys dating, huh?"

"Oh you know me, Mr. Mysterious. I'm more of a spontaneous kind of guy. Just asking her out wouldn't be nearly good enough for her."

"You're not good enough for her!"

"Excuse me?"

"And if you didn't notice, she's too old for you."

"That doesn't seem to matter to her, does it?"

Nico and Ben's faces were inches apart now, both of them glaring at the other.

"Just back off, kid." Ben said.

"Kid?! Well, last I checked, she may kiss you, but in the end, she'll still want to marry me. You may think she likes you but you're nothing. A bump in the road."

Ben's fist suddenly collided with Nico's jaw. He stepped back once, and glared worse than ever. Ben stormed away, steaming, leaving Nico to puzzle over everything he'd just said.

Evelyn opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling above her. She still didn't know what to think about it all. Had she liked Nico for years? If someone had asked her yesterday she would've said no, but now… she didn't know. Was Nico too young for her? Well that didn't matter since she didn't know if she liked him yet. And if she did, why couldn't he have told her he liked her sooner and saved her all this trouble! She buried her face in her pillow and had thoughts running through her head until morning when Amy woke her.

"Ev… Ev wake up."

"What?" she moaned, half asleep, half awake.

"It's Dalia… she's gone… again."

Evelyn opened her eyes and sighed.

"Well damn."

Author's Note: That's all I got. I'm sorry. SO SO SO SORRY! I know I haven't written in forever but I've been feeling very un-creative and I've been super busy. I know most of this was boy drama (which I hate) but it's all I could come up with. Please review and I hope some of you are still following this story. I promise I will try not to disappoint you again.