Oh my gosh

OHMYGOSH

I'm so, so, SO SORRY GUYS! I honestly didn't not mean for another hiatus, but someone (who knows who they are) wouldn't send me the other chapter for the other collab I'm doing, and I didn't want this story to get ahead of them. But I've decided that you guys have waited long enough – the other story is being put on hiatus until she gets her act together *COUGH STORM COUGH*

Anyways, enough of my babbling and excuses. You've been waiting patiently, so here we go!

Disclaimer: We own nothing. Not PJO, and not the band references that my muse is forcing me to put in here. If you don't know this band, GO LISTEN TO THEM. TRUST ME, YOU WON'T REGRET IT

Note: Language warning in this chapter, just in case. Song lyrics tend to do that

Chelsea's POV:

We walked for a good mile or two, avoiding the main streets to keep attention away from ourselves. That meant that we ended up trudging through the forest. You'd think that with my mom being Iris, she would've been able to conjure us up some kind of sunshiny rainbow-sparkle magic to get us where we needed to go. Hell, I would've been fine with Rainbow Dash showing up for all I cared. My feet were killing me, and the cut on my leg from the hellhound attack wasn't helping, though it was slowly becoming less painful.

We decided to stop when we found a clearing in a secluded area, which had some nice cover in case it rained. Even though we all wanted to collapse we gathered firewood and built a fire, then rationed out food. I took a small piece of ambrosia that would hopefully fix up my leg, while Reece checked Roxy's hand.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked before taking a bite of the ambrosia. It tasted like freshly made sopapillas, smothered in honey and powdered sugar. It tasted just the way Dad used to make them back in Santa Fe, and I could almost see him bringing me batch upon batch for over a week when I'd gotten attacked by that stupid dog. I quickly wiped away a tear before either Reece or Roxy looked up.

"It hurts a bit, but I think it'll be fine," Roxy assured me. She held up her fist, which Reece had bandaged for her.

"Didn't know you were a doctor," I said. For once he didn't glare at me.

"I picked up the skill a while back," he replied. He seemed calm, almost too calm. He was probably acting that way just to annoy me. Jerk.

"I'll take first watch," I said before either of them could argue. They nodded in agreement and Roxy curled up near the fire while Reece walked back a bit before lying down at the base of a tree. I rolled my eyes. At camp he was right to be paranoid of me, but here? When our lives are at stake? Insults were one thing, but we were all on edge and I was still a bit freaked out by his outburst on the plane, even though it was hours ago, judging by the low position of the sun on the horizon. I would never try anything, not now.

How stupid did he think I was?

Pretty stupid, I realized, for being afraid of dogs. I sat on a rock and took out my headphones, along with my iPod. I knew Reece and Roxy would initially flip when they saw that I'd brought it, so that's why I'd kept it hidden. It was magic, given to me by the Hephaestus cabin, so it wouldn't attract monsters. And it got internet, like, everywhere. Which was nice.

I plugged in the ear buds and popped them in, making sure the volume was on low before I picked out a song. I did have to stay aware of our surroundings, but I needed this break. I scrolled through my playlists and picked my "Angry" one. I listen to that particular one a lot, now that I think about it.

The playlist had gotten through many, many songs before it finally got to I'd Rather Drown by Set It Off. The angry tones were really relaxing, believe me. I hummed along to the song.

No doors exist on my fortress

The only entrance is the one I bear

You're nothing more than a temptress

I fell victim to a heartless scare

Burn the bitch down

I never will cross that bridge again

I cannot trust you easily

Or think that I'm the only one

I never let people in and

I have you to remind me why

So baby, burn the bitch down

I never will cross that bridge again

I'd rather drown

Something touched my shoulder and I jumped, barely holding in a screen. I quickly paused the song and yanked out one ear bud to see Reece standing above me.

"What the hell was that for?!" I said.

"Quiet!" he said in a harsh whisper. "Don't wake up Roxy. She needs all the sleep she can get." I looked over to where Roxy was lying on the ground, clutching her hurt hand in her sleep. "I came to tell you that it's my turn to take watch."

"It is?" I looked at my iPod's clock, then realized that that wasn't helpful because I didn't know what time I'd started my watch at, so I looked at the sky. The sun had completely gone down and stars peeked out from above the tree line. "Oh…. Thanks." I noticed him staring at the device in my hand in a why-would-you-even-think-that-was-okay way. "Relax. It's magic. Nyssa gave it to me." He nodded and sat down next to me. Even though he'd slept for at least a few hours, he still looked exhausted. "Um…. Are you okay?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I didn't sleep well, if that's what you're asking."

"Why not?"

"Nightmares," he said, and I nodded in understanding.

"They happen."

I started to stand so I could go find a place to lie down and take a short nap, but Reece stopped me by saying my name: "Chelsea?"

I turned. For once, I wasn't annoyed by him. "Yeah?"

"Can we call a truce? I don't want to make things harder for Roxy than they already are."

"Sounds good to me," I said. "A truce, then. But that doesn't mean I'm not still gonna find out what you're afraid of."

"Fine," he replied with a hint of a smirk. "But if you do manage to find it out, and you use it against me, don't think that I'll hesitate to use yours."

"Was that a threat?" I asked with a slight chuckle.

He shook his head, the mischievous look from a few moments ago growing more serious, but still just as promising. "A promise."

Huh, who knew? At least now this thing we were playing would be interesting. This game would be a lot more fun.

I walked away and found a spot nearby where I curled up on the ground with my jacket on top of me, even though it was ripped, courtesy of the hellhounds. I put my headphones back in and fell asleep to the music.

I warned you guys about the music, didn't I? It's one of my favorite songs by them and it fits the situation quite well. I hope you enjoy the chapter! This is the longest one yet!