"You're Pearl!" Parker exclaimed. "Of course it's you, how could it not be!"
"You were right in front of us the whole time and we didn't know." Jaden chuckled.
"It's really you, isn't it." Jared said in disbelief.
"Yeah, it's me." I said.
"Ha, I was right!" Zoë exclaimed. "You owe me ten bucks Valdez!"
"It's not my fault I refused to agree with you!" Carter whined.
"Children." Zeus declared, commanding the rooms attention. "I understand that this is exciting for you, but we have important business to get back to."
"We understand. Thank you for your time." I said, leading them out of the Great Hall. The elevator down to the first floor was long, and loud, although it was endearing to see them so excited to be with me. Jared, however, was quiet the whole way down. While everyone was getting into the van, I was able to get him alone.
"Are you disappointed that it's me?" I asked him.
"No," he chuckled, "I'm overjoyed that it's you. I'm disappointed in myself. I should have known it was you the moment I saw you."
"You had no way of knowing. You can't blame yourself." I said.
"The thing is, I did know. The moment I saw you I knew that it was you. I denied it in my mind, but my heart knew. The heart always knows." he said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"You know what I mean." he said.
"The visions. The confession. You still feel that way?" I asked looking at the ground. He gently lifted my chin till our eyes met.
"PJ, I never stopped." he whispered, leaning in.
"Okay, we're ready to—" Jaden declared loudly, cutting off abruptly. Jared and I jumped apart guiltily.
"Time to go?" I asked. Jaden nodded.