Apollo took to leaving me notes after that day. Every night I would get back to the cabin and on my bed would be a little folded square of paper with his old fashioned handwriting. Sp,etimes there would be a small present with them, like a flower or a set of new headphones (the note accompanying those said they were so I wouldn't ruin his children's taste in music.) The notes were usually short but at the end he would always say the same thing.
Until the sun shines only on you.
That simple statement never failed in making me smile. With each passing day I became more anxious for the end of summer. The notes were put in my trunk in the small pocket that was slowly filling with bits of paper and trinkets.
The end of summer was fast approaching and I was anxious for it. This year I would be given the choice of leaving camp for good or staying on as a councilor for another year. Lynn had already decided to try her hand at the real world with her brother Will. Travis and Conner were ready to leave as well.
I felt like I was ready to move on as well, but I didn't want to leave my family behind. I loved them all as though we had all grown up in the same house and spent our early years on the playground together. I wasn't sure I wanted to leave that close knit bind behind.
On the morning of my eighteenth birthday, I woke early. The sun shone directly across my pillow, which was strange because I had chosen my bed to be as far from the windows as possible. Groaning I rolled over and covered my face with my pillow.
"Ten more minutes," I mumbled. A deep laugh rumbled above me.
"Are you always this cheery in the morning?" I jumped and pulled the pillow off my head. Apollo stood in front of me, glowing slightly. I groaned.
"You meant it literally?" I rubbed my eyes sleepily and sat up. Apollo laughed again.
"You know it, Queen Bird-nest." My hands shot to my hair and I sighed. He was right, it was a mess.
"Why are you here?" I asked crawling across my bed to reach my trunk and hairbrush. "I thought Olympus was closed..."
Apollo snorted. "It's actually quite easy to sneak out if you know the right people."
"You still haven't answered my question," I grumbled, yanking the brush through my hair.
"It's your birthday! What kind of-" Apollo trailed off looking uncertain. I smiled encouragingly. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I missed your birthday?"
"Honestly, I don't really celebrate my birthday," I shrugged. Apollo opened and closed his mouth a few times. He kind of looked like a startled fish. Or at least how I imagined one would look.
"No birthday party?" I shook my head.
"No cake?"
"No cake," I said. Apollo grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed.
"We must fix this, after all, you only get to celebrate yourself once a year, unless you're awesome like me." He added the last part almost to himself. Something told me he liked to celebrate himself quite a lOt. I groaned and flopped back onto my bed. I pulled the blanket over my head and pressed the pillow over it.
"What are you doing?" Apollo's voice came muffled.
"Sleeping," I groaned. "You know what normal people do until the last possible second." Apollo tried to pry the pillow and blanket away from my face. I gripped it tighter and tried to roll away. This resulted in me falling ungracefully to the floor. I stayed huddled on the floor.
"Are you alive?" Apollo asked kicking my side lightly.
"If I say no will you leave?"
"Nope, you get me all day," he laughed. Finally managing to pull the blanket from my face. I giggled and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"What's the plan then?" I mumbled. I was hoping that snuggling would give me a few more minutes of sleep but apparently Apollo had other plans.
"You're getting dressed, in nice clothes and we're going out, Ive already cleared it with Chiron," I frowned.
"what about dad?" Apollo laughed.
"He's busy all day, sweetheart." I smiled and stood up from the floor. I quickly found myself a pair of denim shorts and a purple tank top.
"So where are you taking me?" Apollo shook his head, a sly smile crossing his face.
"You'll find out soon."
"Can I at least have a hint?"
"Your brothers, Will and Lynn are meeting us the for the first part," he said after a pause. "But that's all you're getting out of me, until you're dressed and in the car."
A/N IM SO SORRY! Ive been really busy woth school, but I only have another six days and then I'm off and you'll get regular updates again, I promise. This chapter is really really shor. Because I wrote it during a study break but I promise that the next one will be out soon
Love always 3