Bet you're surprised to see this up so soon, huh? Well, I really fell back into my PJO boots again, as posting recently for all three of my PJO stories did just happen. So, read, enjoy, review.
Chapter 8
Back in their bedroom at the Bed and Breakfast, Travis was on his stomach, recovering still from the large grooves on his back. The ambrosia he had taken had helped considerably, but Katie had still had to bandage them and he still couldn't move much. His injuries had pretty much ruined the day before, and now it seemed it would be another day of staying in.
Katie, however wasn't feeling so good herself. Just a little nausea. It wasn't from seeing and bandaging Travis's wounds- she had bandaged up more than she could remember from her days at camp- but it wasn't unfamiliar. She knew she had felt this exact symptom before, but it had been some time.
"Travis, don't move," she said.
"Not a problem," he said. "I'm not all that inclined to move, anyway."
"I'm going to the store for just a bit," she said. "I'll get some more bandages and such. Need anything?"
Travis shook his head. "Just a good-bye kiss," he said, smiling. When he smiled like that, Katie saw the teenaged boy in him that she had fallen for so many years before. She bent down and kissed him for a few moments. She almost decided to give up her trip and slip into bed, when another small bout of nausea hit. Walking out, she slipped into the bathroom for a moment, heaving, but not throwing anything up after a few minutes.
"Hey, don't we have some archery lessons?" Addy looked at the girl. The one that had beaten out both boys the day before stood before her, holding a bow nearly as tall as she was.
"You know," Addy said. "I'm not all that bad at archery." She motioned toward her sword. "I'm kind of concentrating on using this lately."
"Well, if you want to shoot that with your bow, that's all nice and dandy," the girl said. "Now, I was told that teaching you archery was the prize for winning, and I want to know why."
Addy sighed. "How old are you?" she asked. She was not about to explain to anyone younger than twelve how it was about whether or not she'd end up hooking up with Sonny.
"Three-hundred fifteen," the girl said. "Give or take a few years."
Addy blinked a few times. "Wha... oh, right, Hunter... immortal." She sighed. "You know your oath to never get with a guy?"
The girl nodded.
"I don't have one," Addy said. "The blonde guy wanted to take advantage of that. Sloan wanted to protect me."
"Because he's falling for you," the girl said.
At that, Addy laughed... hard. It took her nearly a minute to stop. "Look..."
"My name's Jemma," the girl filled in.
"Look, Jemma," Addy tried again. "There is no way in Hades that Sloan sees me in that light. I'm merely his student, and the last thing he wanted was for his pupil to hook up with Sonny. Do you follow?"
"Yeah," Jemma said. "But he still has his eye on you." She shrugged. "The reason he didn't want you with Sonny was because he wanted you for himself." She smiled. "Now, follow me to the archery range so I can teach you properly."
Addy sighed. She had no idea how she was going to get rid of this girl.
Izzy knew she should have been with the rest of her cabin, grooming and riding the pegusi, but instead she was with Sonny, Char, Eri, and Leiko, in the strawberry fields. Sonny was having a good time, murmuring a few words from "Strawberry Fields Forever," even though he hardly knew any of the words. The girls were taking turns picking strawberries and feeding them to Sonny.
"Hey, Sonny," Eri said, and took a bite from a strawberry, before leaning over his face. They kissed, and when they pulled apart, Sonny was chewing. Izzy just nibbled on her own strawberry.
"You know," Leiko said, stroking one of the plants, causing it to move and grow a little. "We're not supposed to be in here unless we're picking for the camp or to sell."
"Leiko," Sonny said, sitting up and stroking her face. "It's alright. We're not going to get in trouble."
"We never have," Char agreed. "Plus, I'm rarely ever in here, but when I am, the plants produce strawberries like crazy."
It did seem to be true. Some strawberries that had been small and green when they sat down were now plump and red and ready to be eaten. The strawberries were all super sweet and juicy.
"With a daughter of Demeter and a daughter of Dionysus," Eri said. Her eyes traveled to Izzy. "And, well, I wonder if Izzy's presence helps at all...?"
"I doubt it," Izzy said, trying to hide within herself. "I get all my powers from Hermes."
Sonny smiled. "That's alright," he said. "I bet there are a few tricks you could pick up, if you know what I mean."
Izzy's cheeks flamed, as she did. "Um, you know, I actually think that I should get with my cabin. They'll notice I'm missing."
"That's the great thing about being in a cabin all to yourself," Eri said, laughing.
"Or Cabin head, with the freedom to disappear," Leiko said.
Izzy nodded and started to head toward the exit. "I'll see you at archery, Sonny," she said.
"See you then," he replied and winked.
Once Izzy was out of the strawberries and back on camp grounds, she began hurrying toward the stables, using her super speed. However, she was distracted, her mind definitely somewhere else, and tripped over a tree branch. Because of her speed, she ended up tumbling and sliding across the grass for about ten feet, only to stop rolling when she hit the legs of someone else. She looked up to see a boy about her own age, olive tanned skin and black hair, along with dark eyes.
"Are you okay there?" he asked, reaching a hand down to help her stand. "You had quite the fall there."
"I'm okay," Izzy said, though she could feel her whole face and neck blushing from the fall. She stood up, finding herself just an inch or so shorter than the boy.
"Hey, you're Addy's sister, right?" he said.
"Yeah," Izzy nodded. "You know her?"
"Well, not really," he said. "Alex and I were talking, and I guess Alex is friends with her."
"Oh, well, I'm Izzy," Izzy said. She was still holding his hand from when he helped her to stand.
"Sirius," he replied. He looked down at her after releasing her hand. "Did you get into a fight with a pair of scissors or...?"
Huh?" Izzy asked, before remembering her shirts were now all cropped with no sleeves and with various neck shapes. "Oh, no, I mean... well..."
Sirius laughed. "I was joking," he said. He nodded as he backed away. "Well, see you around. And be careful of those tree roots."
Izzy waved and watched him leave. She had a funny feeling as he walked away, one she couldn't put her finger on or describe. What she did know, however, was that there were grass stains on her legs that she had to wash off.
"Orion, right?" Addy marched up to the son of Zeus as the Big Three children were wrapping up their time in the arena.
The boy looked at her. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"No, well, not yet," Addy said. She smiled. "After dinner tonight, you should come to the beach."
Orion looked at her with his green eyes. Personally, Addy had no idea what Alex saw in the guy. In fact, due to his white blonde hair and green eyes, Addy thought he looked kind of weird. And the tight red pants...
"Why?" he finally asked.
"I am having a picnic," Addy said. "A few friends... thought you might want to come."
"We'll be there," the boy Orion had been sparring with said. Addy hadn't remembered the invitation being for more than one person, but if he would bring Orion. "Sirius. I just met your sister earlier."
"Oh," Addy said with a smile. "Then, yes, you should definitely come."
"Wasn't your hair longer the other day?" Orion asked, still looking at her.
"No," Addy said. "Why would you think that?"
Orion shrugged.
"So, be there around seven thirty," Addy said.
"Addison!" Addy sighed and turned around, spotting Sloan, holding his sword. She waved to the two guys and headed to begin her lesson with Sloan.
"Addy," she corrected him. "And, be at the beach at seven thirty."
"Why?" Sloan asked.
"Because, we're going to get Alex and Orion talking," Addy said. "And... bring just one or two others around our age."
"Why, I ask again?"
"So it's not suspicious," Addy said. She glanced back at the two boys as they were packing their things again. "What is the deal with Sirius?"
Sloan shrugged. "Decent with a sword, smiles more than his brother, likes to prank the Aphrodite girls, son of Hades."
"Wait, what?" Addy stopped him. "Son of Hades?"
"Yeah, why?" Sloan questioned.
Addy shrugged. "Because..." she said, and left it at that.
"Addy, I really don't want to come," Izzy said. Addy had enlisted Trixie to help, yet the girls were having a bit of trouble getting Izzy to come, even though her other plans were to do nothing.
"You're coming," Addy said. "Look, I went through work helping Trixie to steal food, the least you can do is come."
"Yeah, spend a little time with people our age," Trixie pleaded.
"Look, come for half an hour," Addy said. "And if you hate it, leave."
Izzy sighed. "Maybe I can invite Sonny," Izzy said.
"He doesn't want to hang with a bunch of kids," Addy said. "He's too old for this crowd." She wanted to mention how Izzy was too young for his crowd too, but figured that Izzy would have a better time hanging with others her own age and simply come to that conclusion on her own.
She had also managed to get Izzy into one of her own camp shirts, so that her belly wasn't obnoxiously showing.
Alex had a bonfire going by the time Addy, Izzy, and Trixie arrived. There were a few blankets laid out with snacks in the center, enough cups and sodas to go around for the crowd they were expecting.
As suggested, Alex was wearing a smaller, less baggy sweatshirt, showing her to be more slim than one would expect considering the sweatshirt she usually wore. As well, there were no goggles or heavy gloves in sight. Trixie had set up a radio earlier, and hooked an iPod to it. She figured that they could have Orion zap a little electricity into it when he arrived.
"Greetings, ladies," Sirius said, as he arrived with Orion in tow.
"Hey, Sirius," Alex said, though her cheeks turned a little red to see that Orion was with him, still wearing the tight red pants.
"Have you all met Orion?" Sirius asked, motioning to his friend. "Let's see, you met Addy earlier today, and that's her sister Izzy. Trixie-"
"I know Trixie," Orion said.
"Yeah, we go way back to you knocking me into a fire three years ago," Trixie said, rolling her eyes.
"And then Alex," Sirius said, pulling in the girl who he was actually friends with.
"Hi," Alex said, her cheeks definitely turning red.
"Have we met?" Orion asked.
"Once," Alex said. "Last year. I helped fix your sword when it got bent."
"Hey, Orion, mind powering up the stereo?" Trixie asked, pointing at the radio.
Orion rolled his green eyes, but pointed his finger at it and zapped it. Suddenly, it was on, so Trixie hit a button to make the music play.
"Oh, I love this song," Addy said when the music began. She grabbed Trixie's hand. "Let's dance, dahling," she said, imitating an air of aristocracy.
"Certainly," Trixie replied in the same tone. The two kicked off their sandals and began dancing in the sand, laughing as they did so.
"Care to dance?" Sirius asked, holding out a hand to Izzy, a cute smile lighting his face.
"Force her to," Addy called over, spinning with Trixie. "She loves dancing."
On Addy's instruction, Sirius took Izzy's hand and pulled the reluctant girl to the sand. However, once up, Izzy settled into the dancing.
Addy glanced where Orion and Alex were sitting next to one another, talking and smiled. Her second plan was working so much better than her first one.
"Seems you guys got started without us," Sloan said, arriving with a few others. Three guys and one girl. The girl was already holding hands with one of the guys, so Addy was pretty certain that she wouldn't try to insert herself next to Orion. Considering the blonde hair and blue eyes of another o the guys, Addy guessed he was a son of Apollo, though he didn't really look like Sonny. He did, however, jump into the dancing right away, sweeping away Trixie.
"Took you long enough," Addy said approaching Sloan.
"I wasn't aware this was a dance party," he said.
"Good songs need to be danced to," Addy said. But the song was over, so she returned to the blankets and sat down, across from Orion and Alex. She grabbed a couple of cups. "Want something to drink?" she asked Sloan as she poured herself a soda.
"I'm good for right now," Sloan said, sitting next to Addy, though he did grab a couple of carrot sticks. Addy looked at Alex intently for a moment, before the daughter of Hephaestus got the message.
"Oh, Orion, how about a drink?" Alex asked, her cheeks flaming.
Sloan looked at Addy, and she just smiled at him. "You're a tricky one, you know that?"
"I simply do good deeds," she said, stealing one of his carrot sticks without even looking at his plate. She smiled and took a bite.
"So, you're not wearing your self-designed camp shirt anymore," Sirius said to Izzy as the two were sitting on the corner of the blanket, a plate of grapes sitting between them. A few more demigods had trickled in, but all their age.
"Um, well, actually, Char was the one who redesigned my shirts," Izzy said. "This is actually Addy's."
"Okay, why is Mr. D's daughter cutting up your shirts?" Sirius asked, popping a grape into his mouth.
Izzy looked down as she picked a grape. "It's silly," she said. "But, she and Eri gave me a make-over to help me attract a guy."
"And did it work?" Sirius asked, a small smile coming to his face.
Izzy shrugged. "I don't think so... at least not yet."
Sirius opened his mouth as if to say something, but then picked up a grape and popped it into his mouth instead. She didn't notice how his eyes looked down for a moment before he turned away. "Who's the guy?"
Izzy blushed a bit more. "Sonny," she said. "Son of Apollo."
"Ah..." Sirius said slowly. "You don't think he already has enough girlfriends? I'm personally starting to think he's Mormon. Or at the very least into polygamy."
"Char, Eri, and Leiko aren't his girlfriends," Izzy said lowly.
"No, he just gets all the benefits with none of the commitment," Sirius said. "Doesn't need to take them on dates, be romantic, get them gifts..."
Izzy looked away. "He just hasn't found the one yet," she said.
Sirius turned to her. "So he's just having fun with every girl he can get his hands on until then." He shrugged. "But, hey, who am I to talk? Not head of my cabin. Haven't successfully returned from any quests. I guess I'm just not on par with him."
"I, uh, I didn't mean to say that," Izzy said. "Or imply that at all. You and Sonny just have different ways to go about things."
Sirius shrugged. "So you think that you're the one for him?" he asked.
Izzy looked down and the grape she was still holding. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe."
"You shouldn't have to change yourself to be the one he wants," Sirius said.
"Changing how I look isn't changing me," Izzy said. "But maybe it'll get him to notice me."
"Come on," Addy said, pulling on Sloan's arm as the end of a song drew near. "You need to dance at least one song."
"Since when has that been a rule?" Sloan asked. "Anyways, what makes you think I'm any good at dancing?"
"Well, if you're not," Addy said. "At least it'll be entertainment for the rest of us." She smiled at him as she pulled him to his feet. The song came to an end and the next song started, making Addy freeze. "Well, waiting one more song won't hurt."
Sloan, however, smirked. He pulled Addy close. "Don't like slow songs?" he asked, one arm slipping around her back and taking one of her hands with his other hand.
"I... it's kind of awkward," Addy said, her cheeks flaming. Sloan pulled her close and began swaying to the slow beat, not really moving much. Addy, who had never participated in a slow dance, even at school dances, was nervous, but a little comfortable. After all, a cool wind was blowing off the water, and Sloan was warm, with his arm wrapped around her. She knew that he was strong, and apparently had a protective instinct when it came to her. And then the words that the little Hunter girl had said earlier that morning before dragging Addy to the archery range. She knew her face had to be turning bright red, so she did the only thing she could think to hide it, and buried her face against Sloan's shoulder
Katie paced the bathroom, worried about the test she had just taken. She knew she should tell Travis her suspicions, but she didn't want him pull on the wounds if he reacted in shock too much. Plus, she wasn't sure if it was true, and if it turned out to be false, she didn't see any need to worry him.
Finally, the waiting period was over. She went to the counter, where the test was resting, but hesitated, her green eyes closed. Finally, she looked down. And she gasped, though she wasn't surprised.
She was pregnant.