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~secrethalfblood

Dpov

I was standing on the boardwalk next to Lorelei, both of us laughing at Jake. He was being attacked by a flock of seagulls for his cup of fries, and swearing up a storm in an impressive mix of languages as he tried to fight them off.

He continued to swat at the birds as on lookers watched him with a mixture of amusement and concern.

The weather was cloudy today and the wind was picking up, but I couldn't have cared less. Lorelei's laugh was adorable and every time she smiled, I swore it could have lit up the sky.

She didn't look like herself at the moment, not the air brushed, supermodel looking version of her I was used to anyways.

She'd ditched the heels for canvas sneakers, and designer for shorts, and a graphic t shirt with the logo of a popular indie game, and when a chilly breeze rolled off the water, I saw that her long hair faded to a spectrum of colors under it's dark layers.

Why this felt normal to me I wasn't sure, but I was too busy staring at her to notice when Jake, looking pissed and brushing feathers off his tank top, had rejoined us.

He muttered something grouchily, probably about the birds, but I was already starting to ask Lorelei where she wanted to head next when suddenly, the world started to tremble.

I glanced at Lorelei whose eyes had gone wide, then to Jake and turned to see water being sucked back from the shore, retreating into the ocean.

I felt a pang of shock go through me as people started running, several of them colliding with us as they scrambled, screaming about a Tsunami and trying to reach highground.

I reached for Lorelei's hand intending to start running myself when suddenly, there was a thunderous crash as lightning split the sky. It struck the boards in front of us, shattering them to splinters and blinding me as I was thrown off my feet.

I hit the ground hard, pain radiating through me, the force of the impact vibrating within my skull like some twisted version of a gong.

Ears ringing, I blinked rapidly trying to regain my vision calling for Lorelei, hardly able to hear my own thoughts let alone voices over the noise. I pushed myself off the ground, body screaming in protest, but ignored it only to realize I was shouting.

I felt someone grab and pull me roughly to my feet. I tried to fight it at first until my eyes focused until I saw Jake. He was in mission gear his axe over his shoulder, scowling out at the water which had yet to return after it's sudden withdrawal.

We were no longer on the board walk but a rocky outcropping along an unfamiliar shoreline, and for some reason, he didn't look all that surprised to be here.

"What just happened?" I asked confused looking around. "Where are we?"

But my blood went cold as I realized Jake and I were alone.

Where was Lorelei?

I turned to Jake who wore a grim expression. Unlike the many times I'd seen him in the arena, he seemed focused but not all that excited for a fight. When his gaze met mine however, I didn't even have to ask.

I could see it in his expression.

Lorelei was gone.

He pulled a broad sword from it's sheath at his side and handed it to me, hilt first.

"Well Hammerhead," he said quietly, his gaze steady. "You ready to get her back?"

I looked out at the sand, where hundreds of monsters were crawling over rocks and piles of sea weed that probably hadn't seen the sun in centuries. I found myself wondering when, and just how quickly, the water would be rushing back.

I took the sword without a word and he reached over his shoulder, readying his axe.

"Then let's go." He muttered darkly, then charged towards the chaos.

….

I woke from the dream and sat bolt upright, heart hammering in my chest as I reached for a weapon that wasn't there.

Gasping, I looked around the room only to find it's familiarity momentarily disorienting.

"What?" I asked in a haze, looking around desperately for Jake or Lorelei, half expecting to see monsters when my reason finally wrangled my panic.

I was alone.

Forcing myself to slow my breathing, I looked around the room to realize it was my own and everything was where it was supposed to be.

'Nothing is wrong.' I thought sliding towards the edge of the bed until my feet hit the floor and running my hands through my hair. I was covered in sweat.

"You are fine." I muttered to myself, willing my heart rate to slow. "Everything's fine."

I rubbed my face, still trying to get a hold of myself.

"It was just a dream."

I took several deep breaths before I looked up and realized by the quality of the light that was coming through the windows it must have been pretty early in the morning. I didn't know what time I'd gone to bed, but I knew I couldn't have gotten more than a few hours of sleep.

Shaking my head and attempting to throw off the after effects of the nightmare, I looked at my desk, spotting the diagram I'd been working on long after I'd gone home last night, feeling my stomach sink a little.

'I should go back to sleep.' I thought glancing at my blankets, but the idea didn't have much appeal.

A part of me was afraid I'd fall right back into the dream.

Instead, I glanced at my phone which was charging on my nightstand to see that, as I predicted, there were no messages.

It was my heart that sank this time.

I knew there wouldn't be, but despite this the disappointment increased when I saw the time.

Just after six thirty.

Lorelei was usually up at this time, or at least texting, and while I hadn't expected to hear from her the lack of notifications on the screen was still a bit of a blow.

I pulled up my text messages and selected our conversation to see my last few responses remained unanswered.

'Hey, you make it home ok?'

'Lore?'

Nothing.

I sighed and put my phone down, trying not to feel bitter about the lack of response.

'You knew this would happen.' I reminded myself. 'You knew this was coming.'

I figured there was a chance Lorelei might disappear for a while after we'd talked about on the beach. Knowing her, it was less of a chance and something closer to inevitable and I'd been prepared for it. Being that open for her was almost certainly going to have something of a rebound effect. But that didn't make it suck any less.

I got to my feet and made my way towards the bathroom, turning on the tap and splashing water onto my face.

I'd expected Lorelei to go missing for a bit, then come back acting as unaffected as usual, maybe might not even want to talk about it at all, but after talking to her so much recently I found the silence a little unnerving.

I pressed a towel to my face and ran it through my hair before making my way back to my room and grabbing my phone, unable to help but glance at the time again. There was still nothing.

"This is stupid." I muttered angrily, tossing it onto my blankets and starting to change.

A part of me wanted to call her, ask her if she was ok or if something was wrong, but the other part of me, the angry part, thought that was pathetic.

No part of me saw much point in it.

'What did it matter?' I thought darkly.

If Lorelei wanted to talk to me she would. That much was obvious about her. And if she hadn't responded to my texts by now, I had to assume at this point it was because she didn't want to.

I grabbed my phone and pocketed it, not bothering to check this time it as I made my way towards the stairs.

I knew this early in the morning I didn't really have anywhere to go. We had the day off from school and my friends had posited the idea meeting up for the day to continue club activities, but I hadn't committed to anything solid and figured I should probably just avoid people at the moment. I was in too poor a mood to want to be around friends, so with that in mind, I grabbed my keys off the stand by the door and walked to my car, figuring the act of driving might, for once, take my mind off of Lorelei.

It didn't.

That damn daughter of Aphrodite was stuck in my head in a worse way than a build that I knew would work, but just couldn't quite visualize. It was maddening. Probably the most frustrating thing I'd ever experienced. And I drove along the coast for almost two hours before I gave up and found myself sitting in my usual spot at the diner near the teach shop for breakfast, trying to think of anything but her.

"Hey Dex." Said a familiar voice and I looked up in surprise to see Jenny waving her notepad in front of me, clearly trying to get my attention.

"Hey," I said a little caught off guard. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She pointed out. "My manager knew we have the day off today, she asked if I could cover a shift so the usual girl could take her kid to the beach today."

"That's nice of you."

"It's money." She said with a shrug, blushing at the statement, clearly taking it as a compliment. "College won't pay for itself."

It was only after Lorelei had pointed out Jenny's interest in me, that I was starting to wonder how I hadn't noticed it before. Her smile was bright but a little nervous, and she was always doing things like setting aside the hot sauce I liked. Or finding me at school to let me know if the diner was doing promotions to get me a deal.

Looking back, it was so obvious. How could I have been so blind?

"Speaking of money." She said sounding a little sheepish. "Where's your girlfriend?"

"What?"

It was clear she meant Lorelei, but the fact she associated her with money made me a little concerned. It had me worried that Jenny might have figured out who she was.

"Yeah, uh, last time you guys were here, she sort of left me an insane tip..."

"She did?" I asked in surprise and she nodded.

"Yeah I mean, like, I know you shouldn't talk about other people's finances but, it was a little nuts. My manager actually called me over after my shift and asked me if the total was supposed to have a one in front of it. I was sort of hoping to run into her again." She explained. "To say thanks."

"Oh." I said a little shocked to hear this. I didn't know if I thought this was out of character for Lorelei or not. Maybe it wasn't. Maybe money meant practically nothing to her, but whether she recognized that might not be the case for someone like Jenny or not... That I didn't know. "Yeah, if I see her I'll let her know."

"If?" she asked picking up on the uncertainty and frowning a little. "What are you guys arguing right now or something?"

"No." I said automatically wondering if it was true. "I just haven't heard from her today."

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

"I guess it is sort of early."

But something about her expression had me feeling a bit defensive.

"We're not dating Jen. We're just friends."

She shot me a skeptical look.

"Dex. I dunno if you know a lot about girls, but girls like her." She started, clearly referencing Lorelei. "They don't spend time with people unless they don't want to. Last time she was here it was pretty obvious she's into you. It kind of sucked honestly." She scratched the back of her head with her pen uncomfortably. "Seeing you here with someone so… perfect."

"Lore isn't perfect." I said with a hollow laugh. If only she knew.

"Maybe not," Jenny conceded quietly. "But it still sucked. I kind of had an enourmouse crush on you."

"Had?" I asked surprised she was admitting this and she nodded.

"Yeah. Not anymore though, not seriously anyways."

"Why?" I asked more curious than anything.

I wouldn't have known Jenny had any sort of feelings for me other than a casual acquaintance she sometimes ran into enough that some might have considered us friends. At least not until Lorelei had pointed it out. So her feelings changing didn't really seem all that different for me. I didn't know how long I would have gone on obliviously, but I probably never would have asked her out. Not that there was anything wrong with Jenny. She was cute, friendly, smart…

It just wouldn't have occurred to me and I really had no idea as to why.

"I saw how you were looking at her last time you were here." She said with a sigh. "No matter how much I tried to get your attention, you never looked at me like that." she smiled timidly, looking a little embarrassed as she continued. "Now I know what you look like when you really like someone, it seemed kind of hopeless to keep trying."

"I-" I said a little surprised at her response, not knowing what on earth I was supposed to say while also feeling like for some reason I needed to apologize. "I'm sor-"

"Don't." she said shaking her head. "It's not that big of a deal. It was just a crush, we're both going to different schools next year anyways and in the end, it's not worth getting upset getting worked up over a guy that didn't even like me."

"I like you." I said automatically and she shot me a look.

"You know what I mean."

This I didn't have a response for and her expression was significant.

"I'll put in your usual order."

"Thanks."

"You should reach out to her though." She advised. "It's obvious you're really into her. I'm not quite sure what's going on between you two, but if she likes you as much as I think, she might want you to."

It was this advice that had me parked at the curb outside Jake's house, wondering if being here was a stupid idea and if I'd officially crossed into stalker territory. May there really was something about the children of Aphrodite that drove people insane...

'Screw it.' I thought pushing open the door and stepping out of the driver seat.

I hadn't heard from Lorelei at all today, which at this point was absolutely unusual. If something had happened to her, Jake would probably be the most likely person to know. And if she was avoiding me… well, he'd probably know that too.

'At least, I'll have an answer.' I thought vaguely taking off my sunglasses and sticking them along the collar of a shirt.

If she was avoiding me, well, it was better knowing than not. At least the waiting would be over.

I'd made it about half way to the front door when it opened, and I was surprised to see a tall, athletic looking guy with what looked like an expensive haircut stepping out of the house.

He didn't look much older than me, maybe nineteen or twenty, and I wasn't too proud to admit I knew he was attractive. However, the over all 'pretty boy' look was somewhat marred by his upset expression.

He hesitated for a moment, seeming just as surprised to see me as I was him, and I realized something about him looked oddly familiar. Not like I knew him, but as if he was someone I'd seen before. Maybe more than once.

He nodded a little awkwardly as Jake stepped into view and let out a humorless laugh.

"Is there no end to the suitors at my door?" he asked sarcastically.

He seemed to be in an uncharacteristically bad mood, and judging by the fact his narrowed eyes had narrowed after the guy who stepped into an expensive looking sports car and left.

He shot me an ugly look.

"Lore's not here by the way, since I know you're about to ask."

Despite his expression, he sounded distracted, his attention following the car as it drove down the street away from the house.

"What no hello?" I asked raising an eyebrow but he didn't smile.

"Don't start getting cute with me bolts for brains, I'm not in the mood."

"What? Are you planning on chasing me off too?"

"Lorelei. Isn't. here." He repeated clearly.

"I heard you for the first time."

"Well, that's why you're here right? If that's all you wanted, you can go."

He started to shut the door but I held it open.

"Where is she?" I asked and he made an irritated noise. "We were out pretty late last night, and I haven't heard from her. I wanted to make sure she was alright."

"She's fine, she's at home." He said and when I looked confused, explained. "At her Dad's place."

"Oh." I said realizing that yes, she probably spent at least some of her time with her father. I'd seen her here so much, the idea felt strangely out of place. In fact it fell so out of place, that something about it didn't sit right with me.

Unable to help myself, I started.

"Wha-"

"She wasn't feeling well this morning. Her dad picked her up." He frowned, cutting across the question before it could fully form. "Personally, I think that might make the situation worse but he was convinced he she needed some sort of specialist that he knows…"

Jake sounded as if he really doubted this, but I felt a flash of concern go through me.

"Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine." He said. "Her dad just likes to throw doctors and money at any and all problems. He thinks it will get him out of having to do any actual parenting."

"You really don't like her dad do you?" I asked feeling my eyebrows jump up and he let out a noise that seemed to be a mix of a scoff and sound of self-recrimination.

"The dude's a phenomenal soccer player." He said begrudgingly. "He loves Lore a lot, but he has no idea what to do with her, and she doesn't make it easy on him."

"Lorelei doesn't make anything easy for anyone." I pointed out and it seem to strike some sort of cord with him, because his expression changed.

"Exactly." His tone was thoughtful and he seemed to consider me for a moment. "You already understand her better than he does."

He debated something to himself for a minute, before surprising me and asking.

"I take it you still want to see her?"

"Well if she's sick-" I started figuring it might be better for her to rest, but he shook his head.

"Nope, you drove all the way here. If you're that concerned." He started making his way towards his truck and I stared at him, a little taken back before starting to follow. "I'll take you to her dad's house."

Something about him seemed off. As if he was trying to get back to his usual carefree attitude, but he seemed a little rattled, jittery even.

"Who was that guy earlier?" I asked figuring it had something to do with the dude Jake seemed to all but kick off the property.

"A teammate of Lore's dad." He said.

His tone was hostile, leading me to think there was more to this story, and I remembered the term he'd used when I'd arrived. He'd said the word, 'suitors.'

"I'm going to need some more context than that." I said frowning, figuring Lorelei was more than capable of dating someone for a brief period just to piss off her father, but a bit creeped out by the thought.

"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to Dex." Jake said impatiently but when he caught my expression, he seemed to relent. "We went to school together, he was on our school's soccer team and graduated last year. He only recently went pro."

This made things a little better, but I figured I'd take Jake's advice and not pursue the subject, though why it irritated him so much I had no idea.

Hating Caleb I understood. From all I could tell Caleb had really hurt his best friend. This recent guy however, whoever he was, appeared to be little more than a footnote that Lorelei hadn't even felt the need to mention when we were talking last night. If I was even right that they might have been involved at all, which I wasn't totally sure I was.

Jake didn't seem like the sort of friend to be all that protective when it came to who his friend was dating, not unless it got them into some sort of trouble.

This impression couldn't be entirely correct however, because he suddenly froze while reaching for the door of his truck, his arm hanging for a second before he shook his head and dropped it.

"You know what. I've changed my mind."

"What?"

"Go home Dex."

"What?" I repeated feeling as if I was about to get whiplash from this abrupt one eighty.

"Go home and leave Lore alone." He said stubbornly. "For both of your sakes."

"Do you have a reason for this sudden change of mind?" I asked incredulously.

He didn't answer, only started walking back towards his house.

Indignant, I walked after him determined to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Did I do something to offend you in the last thirty seconds?" I asked and he shooked his head again, seeming harassed. "What do you not like me or something?"

I'd thought Jake and I were on pretty good terms, especially recently. Apart from video games and sports, we didn't have a ton in common, but things had never really been hostile.

"Why do men think everything is about them?" he muttered darkly.

This seemed a strange response to the question and blatant sexism aside, I decided to point out the obvious.

"You're a man."

"Have you considered that maybe this has nothing to do with you Dex?" he asked turning around and giving me a meaningful look.

I frowned, trying to figure out how on earth any of this could be unrelated to me peronsally, and when it was clear I wasn't buying the accusation he let out an aggravated sound.

"Believe it or not dude, but I'm trying to do you a favor here."

"By confusing the hell out of me?"

"By keeping you away from Lorelei." He snapped but then seemed to hear his own words and sighed. "At least for the time being."

"Why?"

"Because she's going to destroy you dude." He said and while he'd laughed, the words were bitter. He looked sad. "Lorelei is absolutely going to tear you apart, and you are just so gods damn eager to let her."

I'd expected him to grin a little, or make some sort of indication that he was beign sarcastic, but an unpleasant shock went through me at the realization that he was serious.

It wasn't the first time Jake had warned me about Lorelei, but it had never been as open as this. He looked genuinely disturbed, even worse, he looked completely convinced. It was obvious that he truly believed what he was saying.

"It's messed up." He said shaking his head. "I don't expect you to understand, hell, I don't even expect you to listen to me. I know you won't. But I don't dislike you Dex. In fact I think you're a great dude. You're perfect for Lore, everything I'd want for my best friend. But she's not ready for it"

He hesitated.

"You don't know what you're getting into. She's going to mess it up, she won't be able to help it. She doesn't know how to take care of the things she cares about. She's never had to. Just breaks them and tries to deal with the aftermath."

He seemed to want to avoid my gaze at this point because he looked out over the road as he continued.

"She's my best friend Dex." he said quietly. "I know her better than she knows herself, and she'll never forgive herself if one of the things she breaks is you." He sounded miserable. "Don't do this to yourself dude, and don't put her through this. Leave her alone."

"She doesn't break everything." I said frowning and he shot me a mutinous look. "You seem to be doing ok."

"I am not interested in her." he pointed out. "We've known each other forever, I'm practically her brother and I love her more than anyone. But I know what she is. I've accepted it. And I know the person she was before she started constantly trying to self sabotage."

"Do you think it's because she thinks something is wrong with her?" I asked and he frowned.

"What?"

"She told me, last night. She said she thinks something's wrong with her. Because-"

He cut me off.

"I know why she think's something's wrong with her." He said narrowing his eyes at me. "Though I'm surprised you got her to tell you."

He hesitated again, before asking.

"Do you think something's wrong with her?"

"This isn't really my area." I said uncertainly and he made an impatient sound. "I really don't know-"

"Answer the question, Dex." he said flatly and I shrugged.

"No." I said and it was true. It was hard to explain the look he was giving me, as if he both wanted and didn't want to believe me. "The world is full of people. Some are bound to be a bit different, even demigods. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with them."

He seemed to think on this response for a moment, before he said.

"Personality."

"What?"

"Lorelei." he said deliberately. "Nothing is wrong with her. She just has to like you as a person before she likes any other part of you." he continued. "It's the first step with her, and hardly anyone ever clears it. If she doesn't like your personality, what you look like doesn't matter to her. But if she does like you." he shrugged. "Then she'll start to notice and I think it confuses her when she does. Like it's hitting her out of nowhere. She likes people so infrequently I don't think she ever actually made the connection as to why getting to know someone might make her see them differently, even if they continue to look the same. I know her siblings haven't and at this point, I'm not sure they ever will."

"It didn't occur to you to mention this to her?" I asked him skeptically and something like irritation crossed his features.

"I invite you to educate Lorelei about her emotions." he said with obvious sarcasm. "Let me know how that works out for you. I bet it will go down really well."

There was moment of prickly silence between us during which Jake seemed to debate with himself, eventually however, he looked at me.

"Look. If you're really that determined to screw up your life, I'm not gonna stop you." he put up his hands in a gesture of surrender and said. "I'll take you to Lorelei's house if you want, but before I do you've got to promise me something first."

"What?" I asked uncertainly.

"When she screws everything up, which she will. You have to agree to let her try and make it up to you." He said softly. "Give her a bit to get her head on straight, and give her a second chance. She won't do it twice."