The next week and a half passed relatively uneventfully. Well, as uneventful as possible anyway. Alec started to meet up with me after meals and the two of us would just sit and talk. I found myself looking forward to seeing him. Travis and Conner tried to scare the poor guy off by threatening to set the little guys on him. Poor Alec almost ran away when he saw Kyle's purple foaming mouth.

The fourth of July came more quickly then I would have liked. The gods all started to arrive around lunchtime. After about ten minutes of meaningless talk with my father, I ducked away from my siblings. I went into the common area, in the hope that everyone else was too busy with their families. Alec was sitting next to the hearth as I approached.

"Hey," I said sitting down next to him. He smiled and draped his arm around my shoulders.

"Hi. What are you doing out here?"

"Needed some air, how about you? Isn't your mom here?"Alec sighed.

"Yeah, but I needed some air." I laughed.

"It's alright," I said, snuggling into his side. "Tell you the truth, I'm hiding too." The two of us fell into a comfortable silence until the conch blew. I stood up and stretched.

"Come on, lazy bones, fireworks." Alec groaned and struggled to his feet.

"Can't we skip them?"

"I wish, but even I wouldn't risk it," Alec snorted.

"Well, then, we should probably get going then." Laughing the two of us started toward the beach. We were about halfway there when Alec threaded his fingers through mine. We continued on holding hands to the blanket Lynn and her date Milo were already seated on. Lynn wolf whistled as I pulled Alec down next to her.

"What's up?" Lynn shrugged.

"Nothing really, saw dad earlier, but he disappeared with Trav and Con." I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You mean my brothers?" Lynn nodded. I nervously looked over my shoulder.

"I get the strange feeling they're planning something." I whispered as a group of Aphrodite girls walked past. Lynn nodded.

"Oh, without a doubt," Before I could respond the first fireworks started. Alec pulled me to his side and I rested my head on his shoulder. Above us the fireworks showed images of the greatest Greek heros. I smiled a little toward the end when Luke's face appeared in the sky. It made me happy to see he would not be forgotten.

As the last of the fireworks were fading into the now dark night sky, Alec leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. His kiss was comfortable and sweet. I smiled into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. Just as I was about to close my eyes, I saw a flash of brown and blond.

I ignored it and let myself get lost in the kiss. A second later I regretted it as something sticky poured down on top of me. Alec and I jumped apart. Three boys stood laughing on our right.

"Travis, Conner," I snapped. "You two are so dead." The two boys held up their hands in mock surrender still laughing. The third boy grew still when I spoke. As soon as I looked closer at him I stormed off. Honey dripped into my eyes. I blamed my tears on that.

How could he do this to me? I thought we were friends! He's a greek god, shouldn't he have better things to do than to ruin my social life?

A hand closed around my wrist as I approached my cabin. I was turned around quickly. Apollo stood there holding my wrist between us.

"Let go," I snarled. Apollo shook his head.

"Hey, I just did you a favor," he said with a smirk. "That kid isn't good for you." I rolled my eyes.

"What in the name of Zeus, are you talking about? Alec is exactly what I need! Besides who are you to decide who I can and cannot date?" Apollo snorted.

"Well, I'm Apollo, you know a god, and I know you. Trust me you don't want a guy like that."

"Then what kind of guy do I want?" I snapped. Apollo looked down at his toes and mumbled something.

"What?" I raised my eyebrows at him. "If you have nothing to say, let go of me, I have more important things to do than fight with you."

"Someone like me!" Apollo yelled. "You need someone like me, not some know it all kid, who you have nothing in common with." My jaw dropped.

"That isn't funny," I yelled back. "Not funny at all!"

"It wasn't meant to be," Apollo said softly. He released my wrist and I pulled back. "Laura, I'm not kidding." I started to back away and he took a small step towards me, holding out his hands.

"Just listen to me for a minute. And then if you still want me to leave I will."

"Not here," I said, shaking my head quickly. Apollo nodded and started toward his cabin. He lead me around back. As soon as he stopped he turned around and faced me.

"Listen, I'm really sorry about throwing the honey over you. I really am but trust me I did you a favor. That Alec boy is not the person you think he is. I would know," Apollo said it all quickly, like I was going to stop him. "I think I'm falling for you, Laura Collins, like in love with you." I rolled my eyes.

"First off, you 'fall in love' quite often if the sheer number of children you have is anything to go by? Secondly, even if you did actually like me, it's illegal. You know the laws." Apollo threw up his arms in frustration.

"Just because I love you doesn't mean we need to have a kid! It's only illegal if I get you pregnant. " I crossed my arms over my chest, more to do with how cold and sticky I was than with my anger. Apollo looked into my eyes as he said the next Part.

"Besides, I might have loved those women but I was never in love with any of them." I shook my head.

"You can't be serious," I pressed my palms to my eyes like a child. Apollo carefully pulled my hands away.

"I am completely serious," he said still holding my hands. His touch was hot and gave me a warm feeling inside. His eyes bored into mine. "Laura, I'm falling in love with you. Would you, please, give me a chance?" Not trusting myself to speak I nodded.

Apollo smiled and hugged me. Pulling back he held his arms out, his face contorted in disgust. I started to laugh.

"Hey, you can't blame me, you're the one who dumped honey on me." Apollo shrugged.

"Totally worth it."

A/N I really like how this chapter turned out, it took ten tries and a bag of chips but I think it was worth it :)

Also, my family and I are going on vacation so I won't be updating for two weeks.

Please tell me what you thought

XOXOXO