Last chapter…

"See Jazz?", Jake said. "You should learn from Dan. She's punctual."

Jasmin rolled her eyes, while she tied her scarf in a knot. "I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yes, but if you don't mind Danielle, would you give her some advise on getting ready more quickly?", James asked, making his parents laugh.

I laughed with them, while Jasmin muttered something about them liking me best. I sighed. If only she knew.

Chapter 3- We Return To Camp

"So you're getting a challenge or something like that?", Jazz asked me, while we left our bags on her bed. We'd arrived late, since we hadn't felt like having dinner at home.

"That's right", I said, taking off my shoes, "Or at least that's what Persephone and Athena said."

"Huh", Jasmin said, "I wonder what it is about."

"Me too", I looked around. "I should start packing, right?"

"No, you're staying here", Jasmin said stubbornly.

I rolled my eyes. She had been denying the fact that I was staying only for one more week. Then we'd both return to camp.

"Do I have to remind you that you're coming with me?", I asked for the tenth time.

"No, but…", she was cut off by a high pitched giggle downstairs.

"Oh, James, you're so funny!"

Jasmin and I exchanged a look, and ran to the door to see what was happening. We tip-toed our way down stairs, and peeked into the kitchen. I heard my half-sister behind me sigh.

James sure knew how to look great without much effort. He was wearing a simple navy blue t-shirt with grey shorts and his old black Converse. He was leaning back in his chair, with his feet on the table, like he usually did when his mother wasn't looking. Sitting across the table was a blond, tanned girl that looked like a movie star. She couldn't stop smiling. I narrowed my eyes at the sight of her super-short mini skirt. She had a white top, and her hair was falling past her shoulders. It almost reached her hips.

"That's Kelly. She's been hitting on my brother forever", Jazz whispered. I felt my face go warm. Envy?

"So, James, when are you going to ask me out? Or do I have to be the big girl here and ask you out myself?", Kelly asked. My eyes got wide in surprise. I've never heard of a girl who had the guts to ask a guy out like that.

James smiled. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"You know me better than that", the girl said, cocking her head to the side, smiling slyly. She got up, climbed on the table, and crawled till she reached him. She was inches away from his face. I couldn't take it anymore. I stepped inside the kitchen. Jasmin gasped, and muffled her laughter putting her fist in her mouth.

"Hi James!", I said loudly.

"AH!"

"Ow!"

Kelly fell off the table, and James fell on his back along with the chair. I tried my best not to laugh. I could hear Jasmin outside the kitchen laughing quietly. That didn't help.

"Dan!", James said, getting on his feet as quickly as he could. Kelly got up as well, though not as gracefully.

I smiled innocently. "I'm sorry", I said looking at them both, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Yes", said Kelly, while James said "No", at the same time. My smile got wider.

"No", James repeated sternly. Kelly looked insulted, her mouth slightly open. She looked at me from head to toe, and raised her eyebrows. She looked eagerly at James, like she expected him to explain what was going on.

"Don't worry, I'll just get some juice…", I went to the sink, grabbed a glass, "…And I'll leave you two alone…", I got some juice from the fridge, "…Right away." I turned to face them once more, and smiled. "Nice meeting you, um…"

"Kelly", she said, her voice at least five octaves higher.

"Kelly", I repeated, and I left the kitchen. I found Jasmin lying on the floor, laughing to the point of tears. While we went to Jazz's room, we heard Kelly asking James question so fast we could barely understand what she was saying.

"Who the heck is she? And why is she here? How come you know her…?"

We hurried then, and I almost spilled my juice. When we closed the door behind us, we burst into endless laughter.

I didn't know how, but the day of our departure finally came. It felt like somebody had pushed fast forward or something. Good things: I managed to survive New Year's Eve without kissing James. Bad things: the goodbyes turned out to be harder than I thought. Amelia spent five whole minutes just hugging me, and Jake excused his tears saying something had gotten into his eye. James didn't risk it: he gave me a soft kiss on the cheek and made me promise to visit him soon. In the end, Jasmin and I managed to get in her car, and we drove to Camp Half-Blood without any incidents. No monsters, no nothing.

When we arrived, the twilight was painting the sky pink and purple. We were just in time for dinner.

We walked past Peleus, and got to our cabin. Everybody was already at the dining pavilion. I left my stuff in my chest, Jasmin took her sweater, and we hurried so we wouldn't be late.

I ran into Lucy, the daughter of Apollo, and just waved at Maxwell when he and Jasmin met. She had missed him so much, I thought they needed some privacy. I sat on my table after saying hi to everybody, and we ate dinner talking about the holidays.

"Hey, Finn? When's Annabeth coming?", I asked my older half-brother, after taking a sip from my glass.

He swallowed before answering. "Tomorrow night", he said. "Did you have a nice holiday?"

"Yeah, you?", I asked

He smiled, and nodded. I smiled back. Finn was a nice guy. He was the typical know-it-all with glasses that's destined to change the world with new technology.

I looked at the Hephaestus table. Without Patrick, it looked even more empty, only Maxwell and a small kid I didn't recognize were there.. New camper, I thought. Nobody was sitting at Zeus' table.

Why wasn't Drew there?

After dinner I looked for Chiron, so I skipped the bonfire. I went straight to the Big House, hoping to find him there. He was reading a book in the room we used for meetings. I knocked.

He looked up. "Ah, Danielle! I saw you at the dining pavilion. Did you have a safe trip?"

I hugged him. "Yes Chiron, everything was fine. How are things over here?"

"Not much to tell, actually", he said, closing his book. "We've got a new camper at Hephaestus', and a couple of trouble makers of the Hermes cabin, but other than that we're fine."

So I had been right. Huh. And I was willing to bet a hand that this campers he was referring to where the Stoll brothers.

"Um, Chiron, maybe you know about…", I started, but once more, I was cut off by an immortal.

"Your challenge, yes", he said. "Right now child, I suggest you rest and participate in some camp activities. Your mother warned us you might be impatient. Please, I promise you you will find out…"

"Soon enough", I finished. I took a deep breath. My mother was right. I was impatient.

"So", Chiron interrupted my train of thought, "I'm glad you're here Dan, but it's almost time for the harpies to come, so I'd say we better talk about this some other time."

I nodded. "Good night Chiron."

"Sleep well, child", he said. I only wished I didn't get any clairvoyant dreams. At least there wouldn't be any about Patrick.

The way from the Big House to the cabin was quiet. I kept my eyes on my feet. I felt tired.I was about to get the door when I looked up and found someone leaning against it. I couldn't help but blush and smile.

"I was looking for you. How come you skipped dinner?"

"I was talking to my dad. He paid me a visit."

"Huh."

"I've missed you."

I blushed, if it was possible, with a darker shade of red.

He smiled, gave me the quickest kiss on the cheek, barely brushing his lips to my skin, and ran to his cabin. I stood there a few seconds, too happy to do anything else. When I finally came inside, I sighed, touching the place where he had kissed me with the tip of my fingers.

I've missed you too, Drew.

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