Stand Chapter 2, a class of the titans fanfic

Atlanta was sick and tired of being trod-upon by her mom. Every time she called home, it was a big explanation about why she didn't want to come home to visit. Each and every time it ended with an argument, and someone's feelings being hurt. Usually hers.

"Mom, for the last time, I can't make it!" she lied, biting her lip at her mother's disbelieving response.

"Yes, dear, like every other time. I'm beginning to think you're trying to avoid me!"

Atlanta's temper flared, and her resolve to keep it under control snapped. "Well, maybe if you'd stop trying to change me, I wouldn't try!" she yelled, slamming the phone down and collapsing on her bed. She tried not to cry as she stared out her window at the rain trickling down the pane. The feeling of being unwanted tore her open inside, and for once she questioned why she was so unruly and wild. The answer didn't come, and she wondered if she could ever face her mother again. Not that she regretted what she had said; it only made her angrier. Every time she had tried to have a decent conversation with her mom, she had made it hard by complaining that Atlanta should be more like other girls, more prissy and happy all the time.

You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless
Like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright
You'll be alright

But her mother didn't know that it's hard to be happy when you're in a decreasingly-depressing situation. It wasn't her mother who was putting her life on the line fighting the god of time. Add to that that Atlanta wasn't that type of girl naturally anyway, and her mother was in a living nightmare.

Atlanta grabbed all the old yearbooks that she had kept for the sake of entertainment and flipped through them, searching for the one with her eighth grade year. She found it. Back then she had had long black hair, just like her mom, and freckles the size of ink blots. Her mother had urged her to try out for the cheer-leading squad. Atlanta smirked at the memory…

Thirteen year old Lannie sat at the kitchen table, gulping down her milk as her mother ate her porridge at the place across from her.

"I hear from Abigail that…"

"Abigail? That snooty, prissy…"

"Atlanta!" Her mother rebuked sharply. "She's a nice girl."

Yeah, if you're the mean, snobby type, she said inwardly, but she stayed quiet.

"I hear from her that cheer-leading tryouts start next week. You should try out."

"Nah, I'm trying out for track and field instead."

"That wasn't an option."

"Mom! I don't want to join a bunch of girls who freeze their buts off wearing mini-skirts while trying to hop around for warmth. I want to be part of the action. It's the Northwest Territories, Mom. If you're a cheerleader, you're destined to freeze!"

"That's why we're called 'cool'," a high-pitched, melodious voice rang out. Lannie turned, and tried not to groan. Abigail appeared in the doorway with her red and gold mini-skirt around her narrow waist and short bra-type shirt supporting her chest. Her long black hair was tied back in one long pony tail, and her freckles had long since faded away.

For a twin sister, there was no way Lannie was ANYTHING like Abbi. Mom jumped up and hurried to embrace her daughter. Lannie found this the perfect time to rush out the door before anyone could say a word.

Atlanta had not spoken to her sister since she had been recruited to fight against Cronus. She had tried to avoid speaking to her mother as well, but her mother was a determined woman, tracking Atlanta's moves and always keeping in touch, as great a huntress as Atalanta herself.

"I wonder why Mom even bothers with me," Atlanta asked her bedroom ceiling as she lay across her bed. "She's got her perfect daughter already, and two cute, silly sons. She doesn't need me, and I don't need her." She sighed. But she did need family, and she wanted a sister. Just one that understood.

"But we need you," A voice from outside of her door proclaimed, and she rushed to swing it open. "You dork!" she exclaimed as it revealed her purple-haired friend. She was so happy to see him that she gave him a huge hug, which he eagerly returned. She didn't even complain about him eavesdropping on her private conversations.

"What's up?" he asked. She sighed and gestured to the phone. "I just got off the phone with my mom. As usual, she's trying to change me into what she thinks is the perfect little girl. She just doesn't understand!"

"Atlanta, maybe she doesn't understand because you don't let her."

She stared at him, aghast. "WHAT? Whose side are you on?"

"The right one," he answered, and held up his hand for her to keep quiet when she opened her mouth to protest. "Did you ever include your mom in what you did, or did you just take her for granted?"

Life's like a novel
With the end ripped out
The edge of a canyon
With only one way down
Take what you're given before its gone
Start holding on, keep holding on

Atlanta thought for a moment. "I guess… I kinda took her for granted… But what's your point?" she rushed.

"My point is that maybe she's trying to change you so that she can feel as though she's done a good job raising you. She wants to know that's she's made an impression on you, to be the right person. But if you don't include her in your life, she has to force her way in."

"What have you been reading lately?"

He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. "Poetry. You know that."

"Hmm. Poetry, yeah right. Anyways, I guess what you say makes sense, but how am I going to tell her what I feel?"

Archie smiled and handed her the phone. "By standing up for yourself, and being brave enough to say you were wrong."

She smiled gently back and took it from him. He turned to leave. "Hey, Arch?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He closed the door softly behind him, and Atlanta dialled her home phone number, trying to calm her nerves and ignore her shaking hands. She could fight against monsters and an evil god; she could do this.

Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what you're made of
You might bend, till you break
Cause its all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad you get strong
Wipe your hands shake it off
Then you Stand,
Yeah then you stand.

Someone answered, and she was surprised to hear Abbi's voice on the other end of the line. "Umm, Abbi?" she asked tentatively. "Is Mom there?"

"Sure." Atlanta could hear Abbi rustling off somewhere in the background, but it wasn't Mom who came back to talk. It was her.

"Atlanta, we need to talk. I don't know what you're doing over there at your school, but I just wanted to say… I miss you."

"What? Abbi, is this some kind of joke?"

"No it isn't. I know I haven't always been the nicest person around, but it was because I was afraid of letting anyone get too close to me. Remember when I used to have braces when I was ten, before I got all 'mean'?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I was teased horribly."

"Why didn't you ever tell me? I would have stood up for you!"

"I was scared that the bullies would hurt you too. You were my sister; I needed to protect you."

Atlanta felt tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, and she tried desperately to swipe them away, but she felt too weak. All the strength she had been building up to speak to Mom was draining away as she heard her twin speak. Suddenly she realized just how much she had missed.

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too. But for letting me push you away. After that, I didn't let anyone get too close, for fear they would hurt me. Sadly, that included you. I tried out for the squad to be part of something that Mom always wanted for us. I made myself popular by getting in. I thought that would mean I would always have friends, so I forgot about you. I guess I became too over confident. I lost my best friend: my sister."

"Not anymore," Atlanta whispered. "I… love you Abbi."

"Love you too," her sister replied. "Now here's Mom."

Atlanta almost wanted to hang up; her heart was beating too much, and she felt nervous and fluttery, and all she wanted was to run away and process all the information she had been given. She wanted to decide whether or not she belonged to a sister as endearing as Abbi, or a mother who tried so hard to make sure Atlanta was raised right. But she had to stand up; she had to say what was on her mind.

"Mom…"

"Honey…"

"You can go first."

"All right. Mom, I'm sorry that I've shut you out of my life and taken you for granted. It's just that I'm not Abbi, and I never will be. I'm my own person, and if that means I'd rather hunt then be a cheerleader, that's the way it is. But I'll always be your daughter, whether or not you like it." She paused, and felt ashamed when she heard her mother sobbing.

"Mom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

"Oh, it's not you, dear," Mom sniffed. "It's just that I've realized that I haven't always been fair to you. I'm sorry I always tried to get you to do things like trying out for the cheerleading squad; I just thought that was what all the popular girls did, and I didn't want you to not have any friends."

"Mom, it's not just that. You always tried to make me my sister in everything. It's like you loved her so much you wanted clones of her. In trying to be a part of my life, you made it miserable. If you had come to my races and cheered me on, maybe we wouldn't be having this conversation, and we'd have a better relationship."

Everytime you get up
And get back in the race
One more small piece of you
Starts to fall into place
Ooohhh

"You know, I believe you're right. I'm sorry I didn't see that before. You would have made a wonderful track runner."

Atlanta smiled, giddy that she had finally gotten through. She heard Athena calling her; it was time for supper. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow, Mom," she chirped. "I love you."

She placed the phone down gently, and then slowly started down to the kitchen, whistling. Her heart was as light as a feather, and she had stood up for herself, and just maybe had saved her relationship with her sister and mother. She felt like a hero. And that was exactly who she wanted to be.