A/N: Okay ya'll, I am a horrible person. I am so, so sorry I haven't updated in so long. Between school, Exams, other stories, and a lack of inspiration, I just let this fall to the wayside. I am going to do my best to get this back on a weekly update schedule. Top make up for my terrible lack of updating, this one is a little longer than normal and has some Ortemis for all my wonderful readers.

I apologize for any typos/errors. I've been up close to 24 hours now, and I am just drained. :P

Enjoy!

-Artemis-

Artemis ran to her locker, glad the school day was actually over. She had ditched her gym class to go hang out with Orion earlier that day. The more she hung out with the boy, the more she realized that she liked him. Things about him were so familiar to her. His locker was spotless, every book and notebook meticulously aligned. He seemed to be very health conscious. He didn't eat the greasy fast food most teenagers ate, and he always kept a bottle of germ-x on him. She noticed he would brush away the dirt on her bag, just like he use to do all those years ago. She had watched him in the batting cages one day, and he swung the bat the same way he did when he was killing monsters. His mannerisms, like the way his brow furrowed when he was trying to solve a problem, were the same of the boy she use to know.

But he didn't remember anything about her. He didn't remember anything about them.

"You really need to clean your locker out," a familiar voice muttered from behind.

Artemis turned after shoving the papers and books back up so she could shut the door. She leaned back, her arms free of school work. She was already tired of school, and she had decided that she wasn't going to do her homework this weekend. She could just use the mist to manipulate the teacher.

"Well, I think it's just fine," she admitted. "If you want to clean it out, by all means, go ahead."

She could see the thoughts warring in his head, the need to have things tidy and the fallout from messing with her stuff. He seemed to know that she didn't like to be challenged, a thing she like about him.

"Only if you want me to," he offered indifferently.

She shook her head, giving him a resigned smirk. Orion rolled his eyes, straightening his backpack on his shoulders.

"What are you doing today?"

"Nothing," she ventured.

"Would you like to come to my place? I have a range set up on our property, so we could shoot for a little while. Cas said something about coming as well."

Artemis raised her eyebrows. She wondered why in the world he would mention that Cas was coming. For some reason, it bothered her. She wasn't jealous of the mortal girl. From her limited observation, she could see that Orion and she were simply friends. Cas seemed too…wild…for the Orion she had known. Was he saying it to make things clear, that they were nothing more than friends? Or was he saying it because he knew she wouldn't come otherwise? Artemis had tried and failed miserably to put some distance between them, to show that she was just intrigued by the boy, nothing more. She didn't want to give the others any indication of what she occasionally thought about Orion. If they knew the dangerous place her mind had gone, it would just cause trouble. Being around Orion again was like being around wine and an alcoholic. She hadn't had that kind of connection with a male in so long, and feeling that ease around him again was…intoxicating. Artemis kept telling herself that she was just fond on him, that's all.

"You do realize that you are just asking for trouble, right? I'm far better," she replied smugly.

"I'm sure you will try," he simpered. "Do you have a bow with you?"

Artemis paused. She always had it with her. All she had to do was snap her fingers, and it would willingly appear in her hands. However, she couldn't do it in front of him. Gods, that was the most infuriating thing of all, having to act mortal around him. She wanted to punch that smug grin right off of his face. It was like he knew how much he was aggravating her, and he was just trying to hide how much he enjoyed it.

"No, genius, I don't. I don't think bows blink into existence, and my locker isn't exactly big enough to hold one," she pointed out. Despite her tone, his face remained impassive. One thing that hadn't changed was that damned ego that she remembered. He thought he was so good-looking, that he was so good at everything. For a mortal, he was alright. She would never admit he was better than all right, even if she occasionally thought it. It would just blow up his big head even more. He wasn't the best looking boy she had ever seen, but she had to grudgingly admit that he was right near the top. There was something about him that called to her, something more than his looks. There was something in the way he would look at her, like he knew things about her that she had never shared with anyone. It was unsettling.

"Well, it's a good thing I have a left-handed compound bow at my house. You can ride with me."

They started walking out towards the parking lot, to the measly number of cars there. Being at the edge of the main city, most students took the subway or bus. Artemis had found out that Orion had lived in the suburbs during the past few days. It was a good drive from the city. It would be nothing for her to vanish and reappear back at her apartment, but she had to keep up the pretense of being a mortal.

"How am I going to get home?"

"I'll take you back later on, if that's okay?"

Artemis nodded her head. Orion had a nice car. She didn't know the name or anything like that. It was new, but not nearly as fast as Apollo liked them. He often gave rides to Cassia, as they lived right beside each other. Orion had told her that's how they had met. She had moved here when she was eight, from California. She was leaning against the passenger door, talking on her cell phone.

"Dad, I swear to you, I'm not lying!"

She had closed her eyes, looking far older than what she was. Artemis was the patron goddess of maidens, and she was pretty good at reading their emotions. Something heavy weighed on the mortal girl's soul, like a black cloud constantly looming over her.

"Believe me or not, but I have a thing from four until ten."

She spotted us, and moved to the back door gesturing for Artemis to grab the front seat. Orion shot Cas a questioning look, but she just rolled her eyes. They all got in the car, and Orion pulled out. Once he got on the interstate, it would take about twenty minutes, from what he had told her before.

"Fine, I will be home by eleven….I'll do my best…Dad, I can't do that."

Artemis could hear the defeat, the sadness in her voice.

"Don't make me swear something you know I can't keep," she said firmly. Cas ended the call, groaning as she lay back on the seat.

"Your Dad giving you trouble again?"

"Yeah," she replied. Artemis could tell by her tone that there was a lot more going on that a petty fight. She sounded resentful, but didn't say anything more.

"Well, at least you get to come shoot it out with us. I think I still have the target that we painted."

Cas snorted in laughter. "That sounds wonderful, but I have to work remember? You two will just have to shoot it for me. Hit him in the eyeball."

A thought occurred to Artemis, and she turned towards Cas. She was splayed out in the back of the car, fiddling with her necklace.

"Are you left-handed?"

Cas froze, her hand gripping around her necklace. She stared into the top of the car, but her eyes looked glazed, like she was close to falling asleep. A flash of annoyance passed through Artemis. She wasn't use to getting ignored. She had never told Orion that she was left-handed. She watched as Cas slowly blinked her eyes, shaking her head as if to clear her thoughts.

"Cas!"

The girl jumped up, looking around extremely startled. Her eyes locked with Artemis's, and there was something in Cas's gaze that bothered her. For some reason, she looked scared.

"Falling asleep again? I swear, you are borderline narcoleptic," Orion chortled. Cas relaxed, leaning back against the back of the seat. The look on her face had vanished. "Artemis asked you something."

"I'm sorry," she said, running her fingers through her hair. "I didn't get much sleep last night. What did you ask?"

Artemis repeated her question, and Cas shook her head.

"No, I'm right-handed."

"You're right-handed, too, correct?" Artemis asserted as she turned towards Orion. She noticed his shoulders tense just a little. Why would he have a left-handed bow?

"Yes, I'm right-handed."

"So the left-handed bow came from where exactly?" she asked suspiciously. She watched Orion, looking for any trace that he might have been lying. He took a deep breath, a knowing look on his face. He reminded her of a parent trying to explain something simple to a child. Gods, how it annoyed her.

"My parents accidentally ordered it for Christmas last year. I meant to send it back, but I never did. It's good to practice with your weak arm every once in a while," he said off-handedly. "A good archer knows that."

She had to bite back a growl. Of course, Artemis knew that, but she wasn't going to say anything to him. The rest of the car ride was in silence. As soon as they pulled into the driveway, Cas jumped out, muttering something about needing to hurry. Artemis looked back at Orion questioningly, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"She's weird," was the only explanation he gave.

Instead of walking to the front door, he walked around the side of the house to a gate. There was a keypad lock on it, and he quickly punched in the number. It led to a large fenced in yard, with a pool and a pool house out beside it. The yard was beautifully landscaped, every shrub and tree trimmed to perfection.

"I don't see an archery range," she accused as they walked towards the pool house.

"That is because it is outside the fence, and I wanted to drop my stuff off first."

He pulled out a key, unlocking the door to the pool house.

"Your room is in there?"

"Yeah, I'm the oldest, so I get this out here. That was their reasoning, anyways. I couldn't stand the mess the younger ones left," he muttered. They walked inside, and Artemis dropped her bag. The walls were painted a deep blue, the same color of the sea just as it starts to get deep. Everything was neat and orderly, from the tiny kitchenette in the corner, to the perfectly made bed under the window. Artemis was fairly certain she had left her own unmade, the sheets and pillows thrown everywhere. She never slept well, and even when she did, it was only for a few hours at a time.

Orion walked to a closet, pulling out two long cases. Artemis didn't say a word. He could carry them, and she wasn't about to offer to help. She was a goddess for crying out loud. He turned at the door, giving her a curious look.

"You coming?"

She nodded her head, and they walked back outside to another gate that led to the woods out back. She saw the trail, and she knew there was a clearing up ahead through the tree line. Being a goddess of the wild had its perks sometimes. Orion had gone strangely quiet. She felt a little weird, like Orion was waiting on her to say something. The problem was she didn't quite know what to say. It wasn't like he made her nervous; she just wasn't sure how to act around a male who wasn't in her immediate family. She had spent so much time with girls, she had kind of forgotten what it was like to talk to a boy she wasn't related to.

"What's the target you and Cas were talking about?"

"Oh that?" Orion chuckled. "It's just a dummy she made a few years back. I asked her what she was doing, and she said it was better to kill the dummy than the real thing. You won't believe the stress it relieves."

"She has trouble with her parents?"

"Always has," he confessed to her as they entered the clearing. "They don't get along very well. I tried asking once, and she told me some story. I knew it was a lie, so I never mentioned it again. Cas is not exactly the sharing kind."

Artemis nodded her head, looking around the clearing. Targets were painted and hung everywhere. A straw dummy, which looked more like a cross between a rag doll and a scarecrow, sat limply against a tree. Orion sat down both cases, pulling a bow and some arrows out of one.

"It's a pretty strong test on this one," he said as he handed the bow and arrow sheath to Artemis with a smirk. "I don't know if you will be able to pull it back."

Artemis rolled her eyes, raising her eyebrows disdainfully at him.

"Just because your left arm is as limp as a noodle doesn't mean that mine is," she said quipped. He looked outraged for just a second. He had that look on his face, the one that use to say Uh, look at me. There's nothing I can't do, and you are insolent for suggesting otherwise.

"Of course," he replied in a formal tone. He removed his own bow from its case, and Artemis began testing this one. She could have pulled it back with her pinky if she really wanted to, but she would have to remember to be gentle. She could just as easily break the damned thing.

She tested the bow, trying to decide just how much strength she should use. It was maddening sometimes, having to watch her every move around the mortals. They were just so breakable, so fragile, but then again, that's what made them so beautiful. She aimed, feeling the roughness of the cord under her fingers. She barely had to pull on it. She eased the string back into place, careful to not let it slip back in tension.

"Beautiful."

Artemis turned to Orion. He quickly bent down to grab an arrow from his case, but she could have sworn there was a blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat, standing up once again.

"Your form, I mean. It's absolutely perfect."

Artemis felt heat rise into her cheeks, but she quickly willed it away. It wasn't the first time someone told her that, so why was it affecting her so much?

"Well, I did tell you I was skilled."

"Let's test it out then," he challenged. Orion notched the arrow, aiming at the dummy. Artemis's breath caught in her chest. He looked exactly like he use to. His eyebrows met in concentration. He let out a breath, releasing the arrow at just the right moment. It hit in the black circle that was meant to be an eye, right in the middle, where he should be.

He looked back at her, bowing smugly. Artemis didn't even have to bat an eye. She picked up an arrow, drawing the string back with a smooth ease. She could feel Orion's eyes on her, but it didn't bother her. She considered splitting his arrow, but she had teased him enough for one day. She picked her target with a smirk, letting out a breath as she released the arrow. The arrow imbedded itself in the tree, just above the dummy's head.

She turned to look at him, and for a second, he looked as if he were about to reach for her. His eyes looked desperate for something, like he wanted nothing more than to remember the life he never knew he had. He tore his gaze away, focusing on the tree instead. The moment was gone, over with, and the smug expression was back on his face.

"I think you missed," he taunted her.

"No, I hit my target," she replied smoothly. He walked over to the tree to check her arrow.

"There's nothing here but the tree."

"Pull out the arrow then," she suggested. She knew what he would find. Her target had been a spider, just big enough that it would still be on the tip. He examined the point, his eyes wide. He threw the arrow to the ground, aggravation clear in the way he held his shoulders.

"You are such a show off. Best two out of three."

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