This chapter was about to get really long. So, I think that the next chapter will come pretty quickly. I really am posting this as I write it. But, that's what makes it fun, right?

Chapter 4

"You want us to what?" one of the Aphrodite girls asked when Addy came to them with a request.

"Help Alex appear a little more... feminine," Addy said. Alex, of course, wasn't there. She was working on fixing up the sword that Addy had finally settled on.

"The boy from the forge," another asked.

"Alex is a girl," Addy said. The sets of beautiful eyes staring at her showed that none of them had taken the time to learn this. "No, really, she is."

"Someone should tell her that," the first girl said, turning back to her nails which she was painting pink.

"Hey, with all her brothers and her natural skills in forging, it's not easy to remember to be girly," Addy said. "And I'm not asking to make her into a clone of you all."

"Us all?" a third girl asked. She frowned. "So, to you we're all just Barbies?"

Addy lowered her head. "No, not at all," she said. "I know that DOAs aren't-"

"DOAs?" yet another asked.

"Daughters of Aphrodite," Addy said. She had to remember not to refer to them as that. It was to be reserved for Linda only. "But, as I was saying, I spent several weeks with Linda last summer."

"Oh, yes, we know," the oldest said standing up. "Linda told us what horrible girls you and your sister are... especially you."

"Well, I'm not asking you for me," Addy said.

"No," the girl said. "I'm counselor of this cabin, and I say that anyone who has hurt one... DOA..." she narrowed her eyes knowing that Addy meant that in a sort of derogatory way, "has hurt all of us. So my answer is no. We will not help her."

"What?" Addy widened her eyes in surprise. "But, this isn't for me. It's for Alex."

"Like we care," the first one said again.

"But, your mother is the goddess of love and beauty," Addy said. "And there is a guy that Alex likes. And, it's not a total make-over. Maybe just a suggestion of what to wear or tiny make-up tips to keep a natural but feminine look."

"Then, maybe she should come and make a plea with us," the oldest said. "Because, there is no way we're going to help you."

With that, and a wiggle of one of the girl's nose, Addy suddenly felt a breeze and looked down to see her ripped jeans had become a skirt. The girls were giggling about how 'stick-like' Addy's legs were as the she walked away, trying her best not to stomp as she went.

Her face felt heavy and she had a strong suspicion that she probably had some sort of magical make-up on. By the time she made it back to the Demeter cabin and got a look at herself in the mirror, she had discovered that the Aphrodite girls had really remade her whole look.

Rather than her shorter, choppy hair, she now had long flowing locks, high-lighted throughout. There was a light dusting of shimmer on her lids, her eyes were outlined in black, and her lashes longer than she had ever seen them. There was a soft, rosy color to her cheeks, and her lips were glossed over. Addy's shirt was no longer the shapeless, generic orange Camp Half-Blood shirt, but rather was now form-fitting, and she indeed was in a skirt and heeled sandals.

The over-all effect was nothing like Addy, and she hated it.

Seven scrubs of her face, and the only thing that had changed was that her face had a sunny glow. No type of hair piece would contain the beautiful locks of hair, and every time she changed her shirt or bottoms, they would change, so that her bed ended up with a pile of skirts and baby tees. Even Addy's nails, which had previously been painted green, had been turned to a light pink color.

She finally left her cabin, angrily, wondering how long she'd be stuck looking like this.

"Hey, um, Izzy, right?" Addy heard Sloan's voice a few feet behind her as she was on her way to find Izzy. She turned to him, frowning. For a moment, Sloan's eyes widened, and Addy noticed the brown orbs look her up and down. He then looked at her face, squinted, and said, "Wow, those Aphrodite girls got to you."

"They butchered me," she said. "I look..." she threw her hands up in frustration.

"You know, Addison."

"It's Addy!"

"Most girls would appreciate a make-over of any kind from those girls," Sloan said. "They are incapable of making anyone look worse."

"I look like a Barbie Doll," Addy yelled.

Sloan smirked, staring at Addy. "Did you find a sword?"

"Yes," Addy said. "Alex is in the forge sharpening it."

Sloan nodded, his eyes traveling over Addy again.

"And stop that!" Addy yelled. She felt so exposed and weak and just wanted the spell to wear off."

Sloan just chuckled. "After dinner, meet in the arena. Tomorrow is capture the flag and you are wholly unprepared. Ares has already been partnered up with Demeter, and we don't need you screwing the whole thing up for us."

"What makes you so certain that I'll-" before she could finish, Sloan had hooked a foot behind Addy's ankle, and pulled her foot out from under her, causing her to fall onto her back with a loud 'Oomf.'

"That's why," Sloan said.

"You know," Addy said, still on her back, hoping Sloan might offer a helping hand this time. She was disappointed as usual. "I am really starting to hate you." She pushed herself up a bit. "I think I'll beg Linda to lift this curse."

"What makes you think she will?" Sloan asked with a chuckle.

Addy smirked, but then turned the smirk into a smile, took a step closer to him, and squinted her eyes just a bit. "Oh," she said, reaching up and twirling a bit of her hair. Sloan's brown eyes widened immediately. "I think that she figures I could still use this to my advantage."

Sloan placed his strong hands on Addy's shoulders, and held them there for a moment. Addy wasn't sure if he was about to push her back, or pull her closer. Finally, he slowly extended his arms, forcing Addy to take a few steps back.

"Never, do that again," Sloan said.

Trixie was using the mirror in the Hermes Cabin, which now, thanks to Izzy, actually showed an accurate reflection. She was curling each of her natural curls to perfection with a curling iron just after dinner while most of the cabin was off doing who knew what... pranking, horse-play, stealing...

Izzy sat on the counter, watching as Trixie fixed her hair. She wasn't sure why Trixie was perfecting her hair; it looked fine in Izzy's opinion.

"Is there something that I should know about that's happening tonight?" Izzy asked.

"Start of the year beach bonfire," Trixie said. She grabbed another curl and wrapped it around the hot iron. "It's loosely chaperoned... as in the real camp heads, Chiron and Mr. D, are nowhere to be seen. I doubt Miss Linda will be there either. Anyway, it's when most of the summer romances start. Last year, Agape, one of Aphrodite's daughters, tripped into Lux's arm... uh, Lux is a son of Apollo... he's more talented with light than any of his siblings. Anyway, Agape and Lux were considered last year's cutest couple. Everyone's just waiting for them to turn eighteen, because we all think that Lux is going to propose next summer, assuming they're still together, which they probably will be. And, of course there was Euclid and Helen the year before. They were only a summer fling, a son of Nike and a daughter of Eros, but you could not go anywhere without finding them in a major mack session."

"Wait, is Agape the brunette or the blonde with the super green eyes?" Izzy asked.

"Brunette," Trixie replied. "Hazel eyes, I think. Anyway, not the brightest star in the sky, but still, you've got to give her props for her boy."

"Does Euclid have two different color eyes?" Izzy asked. "One blue one brown. With sandy blonde hair and tanned skin?"

"Yep, that's him," Trixie said. "He's a bit old for you." Trixie smiled at Izzy. "Not that you'd be interested, as you've got your eye on Sonny."

"What!" Izzy squeaked, her cheeks turning the color of cherries.

"Oh, it's so obvious," Trixie said. "After Angelia began messing up, you purposely started to as well, to get him to help you." She finally finished her hair and moved onto her make-up. "Anyway, you're going to have a lot of competition there. I mean, Angelia never really managed to get him to even look at her outside of archery class, but there's still Leiko and Char, who are his..."

"Friends with benefits," Izzy said. "Yeah, I met Char."

"Anyway, he's a nice guy," Trixie said. "But, if you want him..." she rifled through her things and grabbed some blush. "You'll need to shine a bit. So, shimmer is the way to go tonight."

Izzy looked at the shimmer powder and blush and eye shadow that Trixie placed next to her. She had never really ever worn much make up, just a little lip gloss or tinted lip balm. At a dance during the year, Katie had helped her apply some make-up, but even that was just blush and mascara. And, of course, Linda had insisted that all her bridesmaids... even the ones she didn't like... wore make-up, but that had been professionally applied.

Finally, Izzy nodded and grabbed the blush, lightly putting a bit on. Trixie sighed. "Come here," she said. She ran the brush over the stiff powder a few times, and then slid it over one of Izzy's cheeks. She repeated the process with the other cheek. She then grabbed the body shimmer and spread it over all of Izzy's exposed skin, keeping it very light on the face except for the cheeks. And then she used a light shimmer eye-shadow on Izzy's lids, and then then put on a few coats of mascara.

"Isn't it a little pointless?" Izzy asked. "Won't it be difficult to notice all this at a bonfire at night?"

Trixie sighed. "Not if we get there just before the sun sets, or if we're near enough to the fires that the light reflects." She looked herself over one last time, and then nodded. "It'll have to do. Let's go."

She packed up all her make-up and put the box back into the cabinet she stored it in. "And, remind me to do something about your nails tomorrow."

"What's wrong with my nails?" Izzy asked.

"They look like you've been taking up the Cabin four way of natural looks... which, then again, you have." She grabbed Izzy's wrist and dragged her out, heading toward the beach before the sun was gone.

"Have a drink, Izzy!"

Izzy was startled when Char appeared next to her, a few cups in her hand. She had lost Trixie in the crowd within moments, and had been mostly ignored by the rest of the occupants for the most part. A lot of them whispered about how she didn't belong, and a few Aphrodite girls glared daggers at her.

She had spotted Agape and Lux, slow dancing in the dim light of the fire despite a lack of music. And even Euclid, who was successfully wooing a few Apollo girls. But, for the most part, she didn't really know people. She couldn't spot Addy anywhere.

And then there was Sonny, who was on a log with Leiko, acting super flirty.

Char held out a cup to Izzy. It was empty.

"Is this a joke?" Izzy asked, worry creasing her brow.

"What's your poison?" Char asked, giggling, holding her hand over the cup.

"Um... water?"

Char hung her head for a moment. "Okay, what kind of alcohol do you want?"

Izzy's blue-green eyes shot wide open. "I... that's..."

"Strawberry wine it is," she said, and a moment later, the cup was filled with a red liquid. Izzy just stared at it. "Go on, try it."

"Won't I get in trouble?" Izzy asked.

"Only if Miss Linda catches you," Char said. "But she's not here. Plus," she nodded over her shoulder where there was a table with a bunch of punch bowls. "It just looks like punch." She touched the cup. "And, when you want a refill, just go for the fruit punch. It'll become more of the wine." Char then took a swig of her own cup, a darker red drink.

"And that is?"

"Too strong for you," Char said. "But, be careful with those. They'll sneak up on you."

Izzy brought the drink up to her lips and took a sip. it was strong, with a burn of alcohol, but sweet at the same time. She took a second drink, and this lasted a little longer than the first sip. The burn as it went down her throat was a distraction from Sonny and Leiko and the whispers.

"Don't worry about that," Char said, noticing Izzy's eyes travel back to Sonny. "There's nothing serious between those two."

Izzy turned to Char. "Don't you want anything between you and him to be serious?"

Char chuckled. "Who doesn't? But for Sonny, it's his way or nothing. Then again, for some he gets what he wants and they get nothing."

Izzy frowned and took another sip of her drink. She was slowly getting used to it. "What do you mean by that?" she asked once she had swallowed. "Surely he wouldn't use someone... he's not that type of guy."

"Have you ever heard of the word 'charisma'?" Char asked.

"An inspiring charm," Izzy said. "Attractive, alluring, magnetic."

"Okay, yeah, calm down there, Miss Thesaurus," Char said. She rolled her eyes. "When it comes to charisma, an image of Sonny would be shown as a photo of it." Char shrugged. "But, as long as there's no better options, why not have fun when you can, right?"

"Right..." Izzy said. She had another sip of her drink. She didn't particularly feel any different.

"I mean, I never know if I'll be back next year, after," she said. Char's green eyes moved down.

"Why wouldn't you come back next year?" Izzy asked, perplexed.

"Well, I guess the danger is less for you personally, but you must have seen a monster attack your parents at some point, right?" Char said.

"More than I like," Izzy said. "Last summer, an Empousa tried to kill both my parents, and would have been fine killing me as well."

"Well, as demigods, we're at risk of being killed by, well, a lot of things, actually," Char said. "Everyone here has seen a friend or sibling that has died... aside from the newest among us... like you and your sister. For you to have two demigod parents and an uncle all still alive is very rare."

"And I have an aunt," Izzy said. "She's not my mom's full sister, but a Demeter sister. She comes around once or twice a year."

"Well, a lot of Half-Bloods don't even make it here before they're found by nasty monsters," Char said. "Quests can get nasty... you never know. I don't plan to die without at least pretending, for short times, that I've found something special... someone special."

Izzy looked at Char, seeing the longing in her eyes as she looked at Sonny. "Maybe you should find something worth living for," she said. Char turned to Izzy again, a complete facial change. "If you're not going to fight to stay alive, then you will wind up as a monster's lunch. I've seen my mother fight to keep me alive. My dad too. They have love and Addy and me, and it's that drive that keeps them fighting, no matter the obstacle they face."

Char smiled a little. "That might be true, but they were lucky to have found one another."

"Well, if you only go for someone not willing to commit, you might miss the guy of your dreams," Izzy said. "I mean, look at Agape and Lux."

The two were still dancing, completely entranced with one another.

"You know," Char said, looking down at Izzy. "For a young one, you're very perceptive. You've got a lot of good advice to give out."

Izzy smiled. "I do what I can."

"You want in on some Sonny action?" Char asked. "Next time he comes to your archery lesson, make sure you just can't get your body position correct. He'll stand behind you and line his body up with yours to make sure you've got the right positioning. Make sure your hair is down, because he'll brush it off your shoulder, claiming it's tickling his face."

Izzy stared at Char. After basically telling Char that she should look for someone other than Sonny, the raven-haired daughter of Dionysus was basically telling Izzy how to get to be one of Sonny's regular girls.

Char smiled. "Anyway, gotta make sure that this party is a real party." She headed into the crowd, tapping cups that people were holding, probably making their drinks alcoholic.

Still, Izzy didn't see Addy anywhere. She figured she'd just drink a little more and hopefully find someone that would want to talk to her.

Once again, thanks for reading. And thanks for reviewing *hint, hint*

Also, check out my RP forum! Another Camp Half-Blood RP. It might be kind of down the list. But, searching for characters!