Age: 12
They are demigods.
The news hits them like a ton of bricks when they arrive at camp Half-Blood after their first Minotaur attack at school. Their friend, Tyler the Satyr, helps bring them to Camp and introduces them to Chiron the centaur. Meeting him causes a quick, intense memory to pass through both Blake and Taylor's minds. They feel like they should know him, like they've seen him before. Even Chiron's eyebrows go up in surprise, but he quickly regains his composure and welcomes them in. Blake is suddenly 'claimed' (as Tyler calls it), an eagle appearing above his head. He freaks out for a couple of seconds, enough to cause Taylor to burst out laughing. They then learn the eagle is the symbol of Zeus, the king of gods, father of almost all the greatest heroes in the ancient Greek myths.
Taylor stops laughing and stares at Blake. They have tours of the camp, Grace from the Hecate cabin taking Taylor and Jaden from Hermes taking Blake. They both agree the camp is amazing. At dinner, they ate in the dining pavilion, a big open area with about twenty tables. Blake sits with six other kids, talking and laughing. When he catches Taylor's eye, he grins and flashes a thumbs up. Suddenly, people gasp and stop their work. Everyone looks at Taylor, and then kneels down.
"Hail, Taylor Swift," Chiron announces gravely. "Daughter of Apollo, lord of the sun and, god of healing."
Taylor looks up just in time to see the golden light of harp vanish from the top of her hair.
They spend the rest of the summer training and making new friends. Taylor learns a few valuable things:
One: Blake excelled in sword fighting and
Two: Never trust Blake with a bow and arrow. You'll get more than a few holes in your clothes.
One time, they're sitting next to the canoe lake, when Blake suddenly says: "Hey, T-bone?"
Taylor looks up. "Yeah?"
"Something funny happened today… You know what? I'll tell you later."
"Blake, when in your world something 'funny' happens. You usually resign to never telling me. Come on, what is it?"
Blake sighs. "You know how Chiron and Mr.D and practically everyone in camp look at us weirdly?"
"Mm-hm?"
"And how Chiron almost called me 'Percy' the other day?"
"Like Percy Jackson, that hero?"
"Yeah. So, today I heard him talking to Mr.D. He was saying something like: "Second life… Zeus's son…not good.
"Second life?"
"Yeah, and I kinda-sorta-accidently saw this picture-"
"Meaning you snuck into the Big House?"
"No! Not deliberately…"
Taylor laughs. "Okay, so your curiosity won you out. What'd you see?"
"Okay, so in the picture, there was me…"
"Ok?"
"And this really hot blonde girl that looked exactly like you…"
Taylor's mouth drops. She isn't sure what surprises her more: Blake calling her 'hot', or the fact that Chiron already had a picture of them.
Blake rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "So…anyway, we looked older, like 15 or 16. And the caption…"
Taylor waits.
"It said 'Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, 2009."
Taylor's too stunned to say anything. How in Hades could Blake and her look like the mighty Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase? They weren't that old…
Suddenly , a thought comes to Taylor, a horrible thought that had to do with 'second life'…
"Blake…" Taylor began uneasily. "You were probably just mistaken…"
Blake grins and shakes his head. "Nope. Trust me, I've seen your face enough times to know that ho- I mean, that girl was totally you."
A teeny-tiny part of Taylor feels pleased.
That night at the campfire, while roasting marshmallows and singing songs, Taylor couldn't help but think about that afternoon's conversation. She knows Percy and Annabeth reached Elysium. So if they tried for the Isles of the Blest…
She shakes that thought out of her head. Blake is only her friend. And they would always remain friends.
Always.