Author's not: Hello! I'm not dead! Sorry it was such a long wait between chapters. I just finished up getting my college degree and things were crazy busy and hectic. Motivation for writing had to go into all my papers for classes so I didn't have a lot of time to work on the story. Thank you for your patience! Hopefully I'll be posting more frequently once again!

Kelly had told her that after what had happened, Maddie wasn't allowed to talk to either Thomas or Marcus until they both individually apologized to her for the mess they caused and for making her uncomfortable.

So Maddie had gone around the entire day purposefully avoiding them for fear she would forget Kelly's declaration.

Every time she caught even a glance of one of them from far away, she immediately turned around and walked the opposite direction. It made it almost impossible to get to any destination and trying to get food had been a nightmare. However, she realized halfway through that this plan was not a very good one for how were they supposed to get the chance to apologize if she purposefully ran away everytime she saw them? It was annoying.

It was hard too, avoiding Marcus meant avoiding his friends as well which meant she had once more become a target and that was even worse then not talking to him. Every time she was alone there was always somebody calling out to her, trying to follow her and talk with her, or sitting down next to her at lunch and making some comment about how she looked like the tastiest thing there which didn't make any sense because she knew for a fact he wasn't a cannibalistic monster so why would he want to eat her like she was food?

It wasn't until dinner when Maddie had eaten as fast as possible and had tried to run back off to her cabin (one to avoid her friends and two to get away from the stares and awkward conversations like the one before) when Thomas had finally foiled her plan. Right as she left the pavilion, his hand wrapped around her wrist and forced her to stop moving. She turned to face him but bit harshly down on her lip to prevent a single word from escaping her.

"Are you seriously avoiding me because of what Kelly said?"

Maddie nodded her head and tried to walk away again but he held on.

"Maddie, you can't do this forever. Plus, I was just trying to help you. I didn't do anything wrong. I did what you had said you wanted to do and I obliged. How could you be mad at me for that? Why do I need to apologize for wanting to help you and making your wish come true?"

His words did make sense. Maddie had been the one to tell him about how badly she wanted to train and she had agreed to his suggestion. It had just gotten out of hand afterwards but that wasn't his fault. He was just being a good friend. "I...I don't know…" Maddie mumbled.

"I just want to support you and everything that you do. You deserve to be treated like an adult. Besides, if you avoid me how can you learn more about Apollo?" Thomas smiled at her, the smile that looked as bright at the sun to her.

She hadn't thought about that. There was no way she could become a better demigod without Thomas' help. Granted there were other Apollo kids but Thomas...Thomas was the best and she didn't want to lose him as a friend and a mentor because of this.

"Y-you're right. I'm sorry Thomas. Thank you for trying to help me. I shouldn't have ignored you."

Thomas' shoulders relaxed and his smile became brighter. "Thank you Maddie. I forgive you."

Maddie smiled back, feeling as though a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. She was grateful that Thomas wasn't going to leave her and that he wasn't mad at her. Plus, she didn't have to worry about not talking to him anymore.

He let go of her wrist and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "so um...would you want to come sit with my friends and I at the fire tonight? It would be fun to have you there, especially since we missed a day of hanging out because you were avoiding me."

Maddie glanced at the sky, where at a light dusk was already starting to fall. "Hm...I guess...But! You have to promise to walk me back to my cabin!" She exclaimed brightly. She didn't want to make Chameleon do it again because she deserved to stay with her own friends and have fun instead of babysitting Maddie and her fear of the dark.

Thomas looked surprised by the proposition and his face turned a bit pink. "Hu-? I-I mean of course! I would love to!" He broke out into a giddy, childlike grin, one which Maddie mirrored.

"Great! I'll meet you over there then, I gotta grab something from my cabin first."

The two waved goodbye and Maddie skipped back to her cabin, feeling lighter after their conversation. She hopped into the cabin and stopped abruptly when she saw Chameleon sitting on the floor surrounded by her clothes, blankets, and various other objects, staring at them with a strange look.

"Chameleon?"

The cabin leader looked up at Maddie and smiled brightly. "Hey Maddie! What's up?"

"Nothing really. I just needed to grab a flashlight. I'm gonna go to the campfire tonight!" Maddie exclaimed proudly.

Chameleon beamed back at her "that's great to hear Maddie! Do you want me to walk you back tonight afterwards?"

"Nope! I got it all taken care of! Thomas is gonna make sure nothing attacks me when I walk back in the dark."

"Thomas huh? Interesting...alrighty then…" Chameleon had a slight smirk on her face but it faded as she went back to staring at the clutter around her.

"What are you up to?" Maddie asked as she walked over to her own bunk.

"Oh! Well, you'll never believe it but….guess who is going on their very own quest!"

"What!?" Maddie spun around so fast her knees buckled and she stumbled trying to catch herself. A quest!? Maddie had heard talk about those. They didn't happen often and when they did only a few chosen heroes could go. It was the only chance halfbloods had to show off their abilities, win respect, and most importantly, leave camp. As much as Maddie loved camp, now that she was free from her mother she desperately wanted to explore the outside world. But the chances of that happening without a quest were slim. Plus...succeeding on a quest meant the ability to please the gods…and potentially get them to notice you…

"Take me with you!" Maddie pleaded, draping herself over Chameleon dramatically.

Chameleon laughed and gently pushed her off. "Sorry sweetheart but only a few of us were chosen to go and only us may go. Plus, you're a little too young and inexperienced. I'd hate for you to get hurt out there."

Maddie let out a whimper and pouted at Chameleon. This was exactly why she was mad at Marcus. If he had just trained her during the year she was positive she could've stood side by side with Chameleon on her once in a lifetime trip.

"Sorry kid, but your puppy dog eyes won't work on me. Besides, you'll get your chance eventually. Someone as strong and determined as you definitely will. Just wait, your time will come." Chameleon ruffled Maddie's hair, a motion that had started becoming familiar and comfortable to Maddie. However, when Marcus did so it had a different affect and felt more comforting. But she didn't mind Chameleon doing so either.

"Fiiiine...if you say so. But when you come back you better tell me all about it! I want to hear every detail! Oh! Oh! And if you see any roadkill please take a picture of it for me! I'd love to see how it compares to the stuff I've found already!" Maddie hopped up and down on her toes, full of excitement for her friend. Chameleon laughed and hugged the girl.

"I'll do my best for you! And don't worry! I'll be back before you know it!"

Maddie stuck around for a bit while Chameleon packed, trying to soak in every second she could with her friend before she would leave camp.

The sun had started to sink over the hills and Maddie said her last goodbyes to her friend, giving lots of hugs and even giving Chameleon one of the photos she had taken as a good luck charm and as a remembrance of Maddie. Maddie then walked outside of the cabin only to freeze at the sight of Marcus, standing there on the path, the fading light obscuring some of his features.

"Jeez that took awhile. Do you know how long I've been standing out here for?" Marcus said annoyed, crossing his arms on his chest.

Maddie once more bit her lip to prevent herself from talking and looked away from him. She had made a promise to Kelly. She had done well with Thomas, now she needed to get past this next hurdle.

Marcus watched her movement and gave a small sigh, lowering his arms back down to his sides. "I...I'm sorry Maddie. For a lot of things. I didn't mean to sound so annoyed just then I just-and I didn't mean to get mad at training today and I-...look I just wanted to protect you. We still don't know a lot about this battle mind stuff or whatever the hell it is and I don't want you to accidentally get hurt or hurt someone without meaning to. I thought it would be better to protect you and prevent you from doing so but I didn't realize how much I had been hurting you because of it. I...I'm really sorry okay. Can you stop being mad at me?"

Maddie's jaw fell open and she stared openly at Marcus. That was probably the most he had talked in the entire time she'd known him. She couldn't believe it. Marcus awkwardly shifted from foot to foot as her eyes scanned him for some sort of prank or joke.

"Maddie cut it out, you're freaking me out."

Maddie immediately snapped back into place like a soldier and then she smiled, and then she laughed.

"Wh-what?"

"Sorry! I just...I thought you were possessed or something! I wasn't expecting that at all." She managed to spit out in between fits of laughter.

Marcus's eyes turned cold again and he smirked at her. "Yeah? Well don't get used to it. I was just getting tired of your sad eyes glancing at me all throughout dinner."

"What?! Not true!"

"Oh really? Wanna bet? I have three first hand accounts all saying that it's true"

"No way!"

"I bet that if Aaron agrees with me that you kept glancing over at us at dinner that you take my cleaning duty for the pegasus stalls this week"

"What!? Uh...um...I-I bet! A-and if he doesn't agree with you t-then...you have to give me all your dessert tomorrow at dinner!"

"You do realize you can just make whatever desert you want to appear at any time right? You don't need mine?"

"T-that's my bet!"

Marcus chuckled to himself. "Fine, it's a bet. Let's go find Aaron then."

Before Marcus could get too far away from her, Maddie ran up and hugged him around his torso. His body tensed at the sudden movement but he didn't push her away.

"Thank you Marcus." She whispered.

The boy sighed and patted her on her head. "It's what friends do, right? Now c'mon. I wanna get out of pegasus duty."

The two walked side by side towards the fire. Maddie told Marcus about Chameleon and her quest and Marcus gave a quiet nod and little affirmations to show he was listening but nothing beyond that. When they arrived at the amphitheater they found the fire had already started and Maddie instantly felt her stomach drop as she realized she had promised Thomas to sit with him. She told Marcus to go on without her and quickly ran off to find Thomas in the crowd. It wasn't that hard, he was sitting near the edge of one of the aisles with his fellow Apollo siblings and was glancing over his shoulder every few moments. When he saw Maddie he perked right up and moved over to make space for her.

"I was worried you forgot about me" he whispered to her as she sat down.

"Sorry! Chameleon is going on a quest so I wanted to spend some time with her and then Marcus apologized to me and we got to talking and then when we arrived we realized that everyone was already here!"

"Marcus?"

"Mm-hm. He said he didn't want to see me upset anymore...we didn't talk much about everything that happened but I'm hopeful that he may change his mind now and let me train!"

"Oh...I see. Well, if he steals you away for training all the time now, I get to steal you away for meals and the bonfire! And you can't be late!" Thomas declared, his eyes reflecting the flames of the fire.

"Um...yeah sure. I guess that will be alright. I'm not used to having so many friends. It's strange thinking about how I only get to see them every so often and I have to choose who to spend time with…"

"Don't worry you'll get used to it. And friends always understand if you need to hang out with the ones you care the most about. If they have a problem with you spending time with me instead of them, that's their problem."

"Okay...you're probably right. I'm still new to this so it's hard…"

"Don't worry Maddie, I always got your back. Through thick and thin!" He wrapped his arm around her and gave her a friendly squeeze. The two dissolved into laughter before being shushed by one of Thomas's friends.

As the night went on Maddie's fear of the dark seemed almost nonexistent. Sitting next to Thomas and with his friends was wonderful. They were all full of light and laughter, which made sense because of the whole "child of Apollo" thing. The night was even better knowing that everything was once again okay between her and all her friends. For this first time, Maddie didn't want to leave the bonfire despite the darkness enveloping them all. But eventually Thomas deemed it time to go and the two said their goodbyes.

As they left Marcus waved her over with a large grin on his face.

"What's up?" she asked, reaching him and his group while Thomas waited behind her.

"Looks like I don't have stable duty this week." He said proudly.

"What!? Aaron!" Maddie's eyes snapped to her friend who gave a shrug.

"Sorry Maddie. To be fair! I answered before he told me there was a bet hanging on the line. If I had known I would've bailed you out."

Maddie pouted. "That's not fair though! I still think you're lying!"

"C'mon Maddie, we have to get going." Thomas urged, sensing this may conversation may last too long if the two were left to their own devices.

"Fine...b-but! I-I'll win the next bet! You'll see!" Maddie allowed Thomas to steer her away and she grumpily crossed her arms, pouting all the way back to their cabins.

"Thank you for walking me back Thomas, I really appreciate it." She smiled brightly at him as they reached her cabin.

"Oh! It was no trouble at all Maddie. I'm happy to do so."

He took a small step towards her and she wrapped him in a hug. "See you tomorrow!" She exclaimed before bouncing into her cabin.

"Hu-? Oh...uh yeah! See you tomorrow!"

Maddie carefully shut the door behind her and when she looked inside she felt a small pit form in her stomach. All of Chameleon's items were gone. There was nothing on the floor from when she had been packing and even her bunk was nicely arranged unlike the war zone it always looked like. Unlike last year when Chameleon left, Maddie had been full of tears and feared Chameleon may not return like she had promised, but even though she was going on a dangerous quest to who knows where, Maddie was confident her friend would return. There was no need for tears. Still, it hurt to know she would have one less person to talk to. Maddie loved all her friends equally and having one of them leave for an unknown amount of time made Maddie a bit sad. But there was no time to dwell on it. Maddie was one step closer to becoming the greatest halfblood to ever exist. She couldn't wait for Chameleon's return so she could show off all her new skills.