7. Girls Trip

November 2009

Olympus

We stared at each other in silence. I honestly didn't know where to start; Gaea, Jason, or Camp Jupiter. My emotions were running high and were all over the place. I felt like crying and yelling at the same time. Dad looked as if was he struggling to find the proper words, a million thoughts must be going through his head right now. He probably saw how fragile I was. So close to breaking down, one wrong word is all it would take.

I wanted to be strong, look strong to my father. Not be a puddle of tears and snot in front of him. However, there more I stood before him, with concern displayed on his face, the harder it was to control myself. Maybe it was because there was never a time I was able to vulnerable to him. Speak to him on personal matters, there was always something that stopped us. I had felt robbed of the opportunity to bond with him and form a father and daughter connection. At that moment I couldn't hold back the tears.

Dad hugged me, and I sobbed harder when I realized that this was only the second time he has hugged me. He held me to his chest and rubbed the back of my head as I cling onto him tightly. He placed gentle kisses on my forehead and rocked us side to side. It was sad to admit that at this moment, I have never before felt closer to him.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered to me, he sounded broken. "I wish you didn't have to deal with so much responsibility and burden at such a young age. This is no life for a teenager."

I inhaled deeply and took in his words. Tears fell onto his shirt harder and faster. "This isn't fair."

His arms tightened around me. "I know it's not and I'm so sorry. It pains me every day of how unfair your lives have been. Parents only want their children live to be easy, an impossible thing for any of my children."

I remembered all those years ago when we first met in the throne room to return Zeus' master bolt. How he had told Percy and me that he regretted having us, at first I had felt so much hurt. But right now, I had finally understood him. And that hurt on a different level.

My tears had slow down then, only sniffles were heard as I tried to compose myself. He rubbed my arms when I began to pull away from him.

"Is this the only way?" I asked hoarsely, wiped away tears furiously.

"It's not, but we think this may the best option." He told me softly.

Taking a couple of steps back, I scoffed, "Marrying me off to some guy like in the 15th century? Do I have a dowry?"

"I'm not marrying you off," he said with a frown. "I want you to meet him, talk to him. Try to be his friend first. And if you feel as if nothing more can come from it. Then we'll see what our next step is, but at least then some form of friendship could be formed."

I thought it over for a few minutes in silence. Could I be friends with him? Could there something more between us? I could try to be friends with him, at least. Meeting him must be done; there was no point in denying it. We'll be stronger united than apart. And if us being friends or more, can help lessen the tension between our camps, so be it.

"Fine, I'll meet him," I said firmly with newfound confidence and looked Dad straight into his eyes. "But I can't promise you anything."

"I wouldn't ask you to."


Friday came and went without any of Cullens in school, just as Edward stated. Jessica told me that they often missed school on sunny days and took advantage to go off hunting. They gave the excuse to the school that they were going camping with their parents.

On Saturday, I passed by Jessica's and Angela's houses to pick them to go to Port Angeles, I wasn't going to drive at first. But then Jessica's car had a problem so she had to drop it off at the only mechanic in town and Angela doesn't have a car yet. It took us a little less than an hour to get to Port Angeles, parking on a shopping strip filled with boutiques and other stores.

"I bet this is nothing compare to New York, huh?" Angela said after we entered the second dress boutique. They were small and simple, nothing like the stores I've seen in Manhattan. But there was a certain charm to them, a personal touch that made them all unique and personal.

"It's different, that's for sure. But I like this better, some of those stores can intimating. I'm not really into shopping as it is," I said as I looked into a little table filled with jewelry, there was a cover on the table to prevent someone from stealing. And a certain little ring caught my attention, it was a thin ring that looked like two strings of gold twisted together. One string was encrusted with crystals. "What do you think about that ring?"

"Which one?" Angela asked as she looked closer into the table. I pointed to the one I liked. "Oh, that's pretty."

I went to the woman that stood behind the register and asked her if I could try on the ring. The ring slid in effortlessly on my middle finger.

"How much?" I asked her.

"That one is $248," she stated, and my eyes widen in shock. That's a lot of money for this little ring.

"What?" I breathlessly gasped.

"Yup, 14k rose gold with real diamonds." She responded plainly.

I looked at Angela with a grimace; she bit her lip and shrugged her shoulder. I looked back at the ring, it was beautiful, and I liked how it looked on. I knew I had the funds to purchase it, Dad made sure I had for than enough to live off. But I could already feel my conscious yelling at me that it was unreasonable to buy something so expensive. With a small sigh, I gave the ring back to the woman.

"Thank you," I told her in a small voice.

She wordless took the ring back, placed it back where it belongs, and locked the glass case. As she walked away, Angela whispered, "It's a really pretty ring."

"I know, but I can't justify it. It's so expensive," I muttered back with a shrug.

"It was," she agreed with a sad smile.

"So...," Jessica stepped out of the dressing room. "What do guys think?"

She turned around fully to show us different angles, she smiled brightly as gave us a display of her dress. The soft pink satin dress fell slightly below her knees with a v-neckline.

"Oh, I love it!" Angela gushed enthusiastically over Jessica's choice.

"It looks nice," I commented way less excitedly, hoping nobody would notice is it. But Jessica noticed it; she always seemed to notice.

"You're not having fun are you?" Jessica probed gently as she adjusted the dress. I initially think about lying, but she would see right through me. She always knew when I lied. So I sighed softly, "You know shopping is not my thing."

"I saw some bookstores on our way here. I know that you much rather be there that dress shopping," Jessica stated with a grin.

"No, it's fine. I'm having fun, I like hanging out with you guys," I tried to convince her. I felt bad to ditch them in the dress store while I went off to explore after we've driven for an hour.

"Bella, it's okay. I know how much you hate shopping and I know that we'll probably be here for a while. So go, it's okay." Jessica told me.

"Fine, if you insist." I expressed with a smile.

"Okay, be safe. We'll meet you at the restaurant for dinner." Jessica gave me a stern look, hinting not to be late.

"Gotcha, I'll see you guys there. Have fun." I grabbed my coat and headed out.

The cold breeze blew on my face when I stepped outside, doing a glance around I decided to turn right. I found the bookstore rather easily, it was hard not to miss it with the dark emerald green bricks and red-brown wood framing. Buts it was the name that caught my attention, Odyssey Books & Gifts.

I stepped inside and I was immediately surrounded by books, stack vertically and horizontally on almost every flat surface; table, counter, shelf, or chair. Little nick-knacks scatter all of the places, some hanging from the ceiling, a small children area with toys and little tables. I loved everything about this little book store. I browsed for a while, read summaries of books, went up and down the aisle. At one point, I found myself sitting crisscross on the floor, completely immersed in one of the books I liked.

This was way better than shopping for dresses and shoes.


I left the book store with three books, and begin to walk, aimlessly in and out of other stores until I found myself on the boardwalk. The water was peaceful, gentle waves crash against the wooden pillars underneath, and there was no hint of rain in sight. I walked back and forth, just listening to the water and the feel of the wind as it blew around me. Eventually, I found an empty bench to sit down, just to stare out onto the water. I was so lost in my thoughts and how it has been such a long time since I felt this at ease that I lost track of time. It wasn't until I saw the sky painted orange, pink, yellow, that I noticed how long I've been sitting here.

I gathered my things and headed to the restaurant. As I began to walk to the restaurant for dinner, I heard multiple footsteps behind me. Whispers and mutters reached my ears; I shivered as a strong gust of wind blew over. The hairs in the back of my neck rose, goosebumps crawled all over my body. They continued to talk between themselves, eventually, they began to yell to get my attention. Cat-calling and whistling, but I just kept looking ahead. I did a swift look around, and I saw an opening between two buildings coming up. So I took a sharp turn into the alley and as soon as I was out of sight, I quickly ducked behind a dumpster. It was a dead end.

Soon enough, I heard their voices and sloppy footsteps, their drunken laugher echoed in the alleyway. I lowered my head so they couldn't see me as they passed by, I could see them looking for me. While their back faced me I stood up from my hideout and stepped out.

"You know shouldn't be so loud when trying to sneak up on someone," I said out loud, once I stood behind them. They whipped around so quickly, that one even fell. The rest of the group laughed at him.

"Hey. Aren't you cute? Trying to be all brave. I like them feisty, makes things so much more interesting and fun." One of them slurred and he came forward. I scowled in disgust, so this wasn't his first time.

"You're a pig," I glared at him, my fist tightened at my side.

"And you're adorable when you're mad." Another one spoke out as he came closer to me until he was only a foot away. He lifts on hand to touch my hair.

"Don't touch me," I snarled and I took a step back.

"But you have such pretty hair," he said with a condescending tone. He was about to brush his filthy hand through my hair when I grasp onto his wrist.

"I said...don't touch me." I practically growled at this point; I gave a sharp turn on his wrist which caused a loud snap making him scream like a baby. I gave a hard shoved and it caused him to fall on flat on his butt. He cried out in pain and clasped his injured hand. The others took a step back in shock as they stared at their friend withered in pain on the ground.

"Anyone else wants to touch my hair?" I said deadly, they all stayed silent with their eyes wide open and jaws dropped.

"Get in the car." A familiar voice spoke behind me.

What is he doing here?

I turned my head, as he stepped up next to me. His face looked deadly; eyes pitch black with his whole face was tense. He stared at the group viciously; I swear I could almost hear a roar in his voice. Looking over to me, he gestured to his parked car at the entrance of the alley, and I gave him a nod. I walked over to the one moaning on the ground, I grabbed the collar of his jack to hoist him up until his feet dangled inches from the floor.

I glared into his eyes that were filled with fear, as I said, "Let this be a lesson. Never…touch a girl without her consent again."

I dropped him to the ground causing him to groan as his head slammed against the cement floor. I gave the rest group one last look before I turned around, Edward followed behind me. I opened the door, slid right in, and slammed the door a little too loudly. Edward made his way around and threw himself inside closed the door harder than I did. He quickly steered the car into a U-turn, sped away from the group. I held onto the ceiling handle tightly as I'm thrown against the door.

"Woah, calm down!" I yelled as some car honk at us.

"Sorry," he muttered as he slowed down, his arms grasped the steering wheel so tightly that I thought he might break it. He mumbles something so low that I couldn't understand him. But I heard a growl and creak from the steering wheel.

"Um...um…" I stuttered. "I'm engaged!"

"What? You're engaged?" He asked as he turned his head sharply to me and the car served a bit.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" I held onto the handle harder.

"Sorry," he turned his vision back on the road and I relaxed onto my seat. "Why did you tell me that?"

I huffed, "I thought you would have like a distraction. At the rate you were holding that steering wheel, it would have broken."

He looked down at his hands and moved to a different position. And when he did, there was very defined hand indent on the wheel.

"Thank you." He said quietly. "Rosalie would have very angry with me if I broke another one."

I chuckled as I let go of the handle. "Do you go through them often?"

"Often enough that we always have at least three in the garage." He told me with a smirk.

"What?" I laughed in complete disbelief. He nodded embarrassedly and kept his eyes completely on the road. "Wow. You need to work on your anger issue."

When we stopped at a red light, he looked over to me and said, "I know. But when you have a brother like Emmett, it's easy for me to lose my temper at times."

"Ahh, Emmett again. He must really know how to push your buttons," I replied as I turned to face him.

"Extremely well," he said mockingly. But I could see in his eyes how much he truly cared about Emmett.

A loud honk rang from behind that startled both of us. Edward looked completely caught off guard by the honk but he quickly snapped out of it and proceed to drive.


I directed Edward to the restaurant where we found Jessica and Angela on the steps waiting for me. Jessica held a to-go container in her hand, she signed in relief once she saw me coming out of Edward's car

"Bella, thank gods," she exclaimed as she ran up to me and threw her arms around me. "Where were you? We waited for you to eat but we were starving, I hope you don't mind. I got you something though."

"It's fine, I just got little lost. I'm sorry I kept you guys waiting and worrying. Thank you for the food," I told her once separate and I saw the to-go container in her hands.

"It wasn't a problem, but we should be heading back now. It's kind of getting late, and I have a curfew," Angela commented as she stood behind Jessica, her eyes widen as looked at something behind me.

I followed her gaze to see Edward coming up to us. It must have been strange to see him outside of school and to see him with me.

"I could stay with Bella, that way she can eat something warm. If's that's okay with you, Bella, of course," Edward said politely.

"Um, you don't mind staying?" I asked in shock. I was starving and my stomach was practically eating itself. It was probably around seven, it would take over an hour to get home, then to drop them off will probably take another thirty minutes. And I just wanted to eat.

"No, I don't mind." He told me and there was a hint of a grin.

"Are you okay with driving back?" I turned to Jessica and held out my keys. Angela stood there, her mouth wide opened the entire time.

"I'll be fine, I'll drop it off tomorrow morning," she grabbed my keys with a smile. "Have fun. I'll see you in school on Monday, Edward."

He gave a brief and small nod to Jessica and Angela.

"Jessica, be careful." I raised my eyebrows and hoped she got the message. She frowned but nodded. She linked her arm with Angela and walked off in the direction where I parked my car. I stood there on the sidewalk and looked at their figures until they turned and disappear into the night. Edward stood silently next to me, and when I turned to face him he was starring in the same direction.

"You broke his wrist," Edward commented quietly.

"He deserves more that's for sure," I replied darkly. "And his friends too."

"It's not too late to go look for them," he said with a small growl, his hands fisted at his side.

The idea was tempting; I couldn't deny that. They couldn't have gone that far; it would only take a couple of minutes to find them. Break some more bones, teach them a lesson. But the look he has on his face now told me that he has something much worse planned for them. His glare has return with full force, a look so murderous that I had never seen before.

"No, I think I got my message across. I won't stoop to their level," I muttered to him. "And neither will you. We should go inside."

And with that, we head inside the restaurant without another word. Edward held the door for me, and I'm so thrown off by the gesture that I stood frozen for a moment before I slowly entered the building. Edward went straight ahead to the hostess booth and he spoke directly into the ear. I sniffled in a chuckle when I saw bite her lip, she gave Edward a wink. She grabbed two menus and led us into a private area in a far corner of the restaurant.

"Can I get you anything to drink?" She asked us once we were seated.

"Coke, please," I told her as I adjusted my jacket over the back of the chair.

"And for you?" She turned to Edward; her cheeks began to get a pink hue. She has puffed out her chest.

"Just water, thank you." He smiled politely at her, she gave him an even bigger smile and floated away as if he had just declared his love for her.

"Wow… do you do that all time? To get what you want," I probed with a smirk. I'm sure that if he asked to kneel, she would do it in a heartbeat. She was completely infatuated by him and he knew it.

"Do what?" His voice conveyed innocence.

I huffed, "Please, don't deny it. You practically swept that waitress off her feet, and all you did was smile at her."

"I'm simply being polite, it's called good manners," he told me and I rolled my eyes at him. I look down at the menu, but it was hard to concentrate when I could feel his eyes burning a hole in my skull. I could feel his question hanging in the air between us.

"What is it?" I sighed in defeat, still not looking up from the menu.

"What do say to resume our little game from Thursday?"

"Okay…," I put down my menu with a puff, I already knew what he was going to ask. "I believe I ask last time so it's your turn."

"You said in-" he began but was stopped by the waitress as came back with our drinks.

"Alright… one coke," she placed my drink in front of me. "And one water." Her hand was shaking lightly as he put Edward's cup in front of him. "Are you guys ready to order?"

"Yeah, I'll have the chicken tetrazzini," I told her after I did a quick scan of the menu. I just picked the first option I saw under chicken; I hope it's good.

"Great choice. And you?" She asked Edward, fluttering her eyes. Did she undo the top two buttons of her blouse?

"No, I'm okay. Thank you." He wasn't not even looking at her, which caused her face to fall and shoulders to sag.

"Coming right up," she muttered before she turned around a bit grumpy after she grabbed the menus.

"Now I feel sad for her. You were probably the only good thing that has happened to her this week." I said with a small chuckle. She had such high hopes to get inside his pants.

"She'll live," he chuckled with me. "So back to my question, what did you meant when you said you're engaged?"

His dark eyes stared into mine intently. That was when I decided that I liked it better when his eyes were black. The accent lighting created a soft glow around us that accentuated his jaw so nicely. I swiftly turned my focus to something else.

"I mean I'm engaged, betroth, promise, to be married-" I vented jokingly as I had hoped ease some of the tension from his face. But based on the expression he had, he may not have found it as funny as I did.

"I know what it means," he shook his head in frustration, "How can you be engaged? You're only 17 and you don't wear a ring."

I took in a deep breath before I said, "It's a long story and I can't tell you every detail. Only a few people know, my parents, of course, Percy, Mike, and Jessica to name a few. It's not exactly an arranged marriage, I mean it kind of was. Well it started like that but it's not like that anymore-"

"Bella, you not making any sense," Edward's voice stopped me.

"Okay…" I inhaled deeply again, "So at first, it started as a way for us to get to know each other, to see if we got along. And as we got to know each we realize how much us getting along actually meant, so we decided that it would be best if we got married. We got engaged last summer, as for the ring; I have one. I just don't wear much at school; it could lead to questions."

"It's your turn." He said somberly after a quiet pause.

"Ooh it is my turn," I said a bit too cheerfully, it sounded forced. "Your eyes. I mean, I know why they are the color gold but they're black now. Why is that?"

"They are gold when we've just fed, they go darker as we get hungrier," He stated quietly. But his words send shivers in my body. "Or get angry."

"So in biology…" I trailed off but he knew what I meant. No words were needed, we were both thinking the same thing. He only nodded gravely.

"And your scent was already masked by then. It was still unbearable, I almost lost control," he commented, his tone had gone darker, the tension was clear throughout his body.

"You were not the only one if that makes you feel better." Though I'm even sure how that's possible. "I nearly lost it sitting next to you. It was impossible to sit still."

"What do you mean?" He asked curiously.

"I have ADHD, all demigods do. It's our natural battle reflexes, instilled in us from birth." I answered seriously.

He looked down and said, "So during class…on your first day…"

"Yup." I noted with a grimace, "I guess we got off on the wrong foot. I wanted to kill you."

"And I wanted to kill you." He said grimly.

There this moment of clarity between us, acknowledging that for a moment how close we were to fighting. Killing each other during class, one wrong move and things would have completely different. Would I be here with Edward at this restaurant? Would I even still be in Forks?

"Crazy, right," I mumbled and he nodded in agreement. I shook off thoughts and cleared my throat. "Mm… Why are you here anyway? I thought you were going hunting."

"There have been cases of drunk men attacking women recently, I got worried,' he said effortlessly but something doesn't add up. "I can go hunting tomorrow."

"You said once that Alice's vision is based on people's decisions," I paused to see his reaction, he nodded slowly. "So Alice could have seen what happen with those guys in the alley when we decided to come here. And then you would have seen through Alice that I am more than capable of defending myself against a group of drunk dudes."

He stayed silent and stared down at the table cloth which further proved my point.

"Unless Alice couldn't see what would happen to me, because she can't see my future. You told me once before that you couldn't read mine, Mike's, and Jessica's mind, so I want to take a guess. Alice can't see our futures either. So that's why you came here because Alice couldn't see us."

It was silent between us, and I know I'm right even before he answered. At last, he looked up and said, "You're right. I got worried when Alice kept saying she couldn't see you. She tried to look through Angela's future but she also disappeared the moment she stepped inside your car. We don't know why."

As I took in the information, the waitress came back with my plate. The stream raised from the plate and into my nose which caused my stomach to grumble That smelled amazing, my mouth was already salivating. As soon as she set the plate, I dug in without a second thought. I was practically inhaling my food, burning my tongue but I didn't care at that point. It wasn't until I reach out to take a sip of my drink, that I saw Edward staring at me. I blushed uncontrollably and slightly choked on my food as I grabbed the napkin to wipe my mouth.

"Sorry, I'm just really hungry," I said embarrassed as I looked down at the plate, half the food was gone.

"Don't apologize," He waved it off with his hand. "I'm just glad you have an appetite."

I snorted; I always have an appetite.

"So…" I muttered after I chugged a large amount of soda. "It's your turn to ask the question."

I took another bite of the chicken tetrazzini a little more calmly this time.

"What's your fiancé's name?" He said in a very low voice, barely above a whisper.

I stopped mid-chew and, only raised my eyes to look at him. Curiosity painted his face, so I rest my fork the plate as I leaned back on the chair. I slowly finished chewing my food, and even after I swallowed I still took moment to answer.

"His name is Jason."