Last chapter…

"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.

Chapter 4- I Stop A Robber

I woke up the next day and the first thought that came into my mind made me smile, making Jazz, who happened to be looking at me, make a weird face.

"What are you smiling about?", she asked, suspiciously.

"Annabeth's coming today", I replied simply, the smile still on my face.

I was so happy my half sister was returning to camp. She was still teaching me Greek, and probably Percy was with her so I could ask him to teach me new moves with the sword. And, of course, there was the slight chance she knew something about my challenge. And it couldn't do any harm to ask, right?

"Come on", Jasmin tossed me a jacket, "We'll be late for breakfast."

I brushed my teeth as quickly as I could, got a pair of shoes on, and ran to the pavilion. When I got to my table, everybody else had already started eating. I took a plate Jazz had saved for me and offered my part to the gods. As I headed back to the table, I caught Drew's eye. He grinned, and I smiled back. I sat next to Finn, who looked so tired I could have sworn was a minion from the Underworld.

"Rough night?", I asked in a whisper.

"Stupid… demigod… dreams…don't… ask…", he mumbled, annoyed. I fought back a smile. I looked at the Hermes Cabin, which was extra loud today. The only time I'd seen them like that was when Cody, the little troublemaker, had arrived at camp. New camper, maybe?

Mr. D. got up and raised his goblet.

"Morning brats", he started in a bored tone, "Camp activities will continue as usual, but please avoid the climbing wall, 'kay? We're getting it fixed, and it would be a real pity if one of you little worms died." Thunder rumbled in the distance. He rolled his eyes. "Oh, right, and we have a new cam…"

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

A high-pitched scream interrupted him, and making us all turn to see what was happening. A blond, tall girl with grey, clever eyes was jumping up and down holding hands with a certain daughter of Ares. I couldn't believe it. It was like seeing two Aphrodite girls! A tall, dark haired boy, rolled his sea green eyes, obviously annoyed.

"Come on, Annabeth! Everybody's watching!", he complained.

"Oh shut up, Jackson. Give us a break."

"Yeah, Seaweed Brain. It's the first time in 6 months Clarisse and I have met."

Percy rolled his eyes again, and he went to Chiron's table to shake his hand. Annabeth and Clarisse joined him. The daughter of Ares gave us all a glare.

"Well, continue eating people! This isn't a show!", she said, exasperated.

We finished breakfast and I walked to Chiron's table to give my half sister a hug. Percy gave me a high five, and he kissed my forehead, which made me smile. He made me feel like a child sometimes.

"What's up Dan?", Annabeth asked brightly. "Haven't seen you in ages!"

"I know!", I laughed, "Those Greek lessons still on?"

"Of course, silly", she replied. "We can start right away if you want. That way we'll be able to do some catching up, too." She looked at Percy. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all", he said, pulling her into a hug. "I wanted to check the arena out anyways. See you guys."

"Hey Percy, mind to train a bit with me later?", I asked.

He grinned. "You're on.", he said, and he waved once more before walking away.

"Let me get my notes and I'll meet you at the beach, 'kay?", I told Annabeth, while I started heading to our Cabin.

"Okay!", she answered.

I jogged till I reached the door, which happened to be… open. That was weird. I peeked inside. The lights were out. I looked around and I found a pair of legs crawling under my bed. That almost made me jump. I got inside as silently as I could, and I stood just behind the legs.

"Where. Is. It?!", said a frustrated, male voice under the bed.

I took off my silver ring, and it transformed into my beautiful sword made by the best blacksmith after Hephaestus himself. The owner of the voice started crawling back. Clearly he hadn't found what he was looking for. I looked at his clothes. I noticed he was wearing a camp t-shirt, but I didn't lower my sword.

"What in Hades are you doing under my bed?", I asked making him jump. He hit his head and he let out a small "Ow!".

The robber managed to stand up. He was very tall, and he had light brown, curly hair and bright green eyes filled with thrill and life. He was smiling nervously at the sight of my sword.

"Are you by any chance Annabeth?", he asked. Now, that caught me off guard.

"No, but if you're looking for her, I don't think she's under my bed", I replied, teasingly.

He smiled. "I didn't know that was your bed. I'm sorry. Can you please tell me which one is her bed?"

I narrowed my eyes. "What for?"

He thought it over. "Let's say I have some business to do, and I need to know which one her bed is."

Understanding filled me. "You're the new camper. Let me guess: Hermes."

"You're good", I lowered my sword and sudden relieve filled his eyes. "Let me guess: Athena."

"You're not bad yourself." I replied, and I put on my ring again.

"Nice… deadly weapon", he said, pointing at my hand.

I smiled at the memory of last summer. "Thanks", I said. "Listen, whatever you were planning to do, I'm warning you: Annabeth doesn't take pranks lightly. Ask the Stoll brothers."

He snorted and then he laughed. "I know, I know. But that's the whole point of taking her laptop! Not knowing what she'll do… how she'll react…"

"Did you just say 'laptop'?", I asked him.

He stopped laughing. "Yeah, why?"

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Believe me when I say, don't. Please. I think you're really funny, and you seem to be a good guy. Well, at least when you're not looking for other people's laptops under my bed. So, if you value your life, don't."

"But I have to do this! My half brothers said that I had to steal her laptop to prove myself!", he explained.

I rolled my eyes. "That has to be the most stupid thing I've ever heard. Want to steal something?", I sighed, and I gave him my locket. "Here", I said handing it to him. "Now, don't lose it, or otherwise I will get Annabeth to torture you for eternity. Got it?", he nodded, and it looked like he was having a hard time swallowing.

"Good", I said. "I will have to chase you eventually for taking it, so it looks like I'm angry… how about, after lunch, in the woods?", I asked.

"Sounds like a plan. But I must warn you, I'm really fast.", he said, winking. "Thank you, by the way", he added.

I grinned. "No problem." I looked at my watch. I had been nearly half an hour here. Annabeth was going to murder me. I ran to my desk, grabbed my notes and a pen, and pulled the Hermes guy out of the Cabin with me.

"Now, go, and make them believe you took it from my night table, okay? See you after lunch!", I said while I started running to the beach.

"Hey! I didn't catch your name!", he yelled.

"It's Danielle!", I replied.

"I'm Paul!", he yelled back.

"Okay!", I laughed. We probably looked like two people trying to talk on a football stadium in the middle of a game. I prayed to my mother he didn't lose my locket, and I dashed to the beach.

"Sorry!", I started apologizing as soon as I caught a glimpse of her blond hair. She was leaning on a tree, just in front of the beach. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm…"

She happened to be kissing Percy. They separated, blushing, and I looked away.

"I think… I'm gonna go now. Don't worry sis, we'll have those lessons some other time…", I said, and I hurried back. That was embarrassing… I figured the arena wasn't an option anymore, so I decided to stop by my Cabin to grab my bow, and then go to the archery fields, where my siblings were.

I found Jasmin aiming at a target, really focused. I waited until she shot to stand beside her. Her arrow missed the bull's eye by inches. She groaned in frustration.

"You're too hard on yourself", I told her, while I aimed my own arrow to the same bull's eye.

"I thought you were having Greek lessons with Annabeth", she said, while she stepped back so I could shoot.

I held my breath, and released the arrow. It went clean through Jasmin's arrow. I looked at it, frustrated too.

"She was too busy kissing Percy", I explained, still looking at my target. Jasmin laughed, and sighed.

"Distracted, you guys?", Finn asked. His arrow reached the bull's eye perfectly. "You usually are the best ones around here."

"Max and I had a fight…", Jazz mumbled. I was as surprised as Finn. I turned to look at her.

"Why didn't you tell me?", I asked her.

"You arrived late last night. It didn't seem important…", she mumbled.

"Want me to punch him or something?", Finn asked, his face serious.

Jazz smiled. "Thanks Finn, but no. We'll work it out."

"If you say so…", he said, and he shot another arrow.

"What happened?", I asked her quietly, while I worked on my aim. She sat on the grass, and sighed.

"After dinner, we went for a walk. And…"

"And?"

"He told me he was sort of mad because I didn't IM him during the holidays…"

I turned to look at her. "What? That's all?"

"It's stupid, right? I told him we had been very busy, but he didn't believe me… and he also said that if I was going to be like that, that I might as well join the Hunt."

I gaped at her. "You're kidding right? Hey Finn?", he turned. "Jazz here might not want you to punch him, but I do, so would you please do it after lunch?", I asked.

"No, Finn, please. I was actually going to ask you if you could talk to him", she said, looking at me.

"Me?", I asked. I thought it over. "Can I bring any weapons?"

She glared.

"Fine, fine… I won't…"

"Please. I just want to know what's happening to him. He seemed mad about something else…", she said, lowering her gaze.

I shot my last arrow. This time, it landed perfectly on target. "Okay, but if he gets annoying, I will punch him.", I spat, and she rolled her eyes.

During lunch, I shared the quickest gaze with Paul, because his Cabin was looking anxiously at my table. And, as if on cue…

"Dan, where's your locket?", Annabeth asked. The whole pavilion went silent. I put a hand on my neck. Even though I knew Paul had it, not wearing it sent me chills down my back.

I heard some giggles by the Hermes table. I turned slowly, and I narrowed my eyes. I glared at each of the Cabin members, and then stopped at Paul, who was smiling intently. His siblings looked at him, then at me. Little Cody cocked his head to where Paul was, and pointed at him with his thumb. I got up, took off my ring, and seconds later, I had my sword on my right hand. Paul got up as well, slowly.

"Consider yourself dead", I whispered loud enough for everyone to hear.

People started laughing, and the robber and I started running at the same time. He'd been right: he was fast. But this had to be believable, so I ran behind him till we reach the woods. When we were sure we were out of sight, we stopped, gasping for air.

"You're right", I breathed. "You're fast."

"Thanks", he laid on the ground, closing his eyes. "You're faster than most girls I know, by the way. And that's saying something."

"I'll take that as a compliment", I said, sitting next to him.

He nodded. "You should."

"Can I have my locket now?"

He handed it to me. It felt nice to have it back on.

"It must be really important to you", he said. "The guys said it had been bold to steal it."

I simply nodded.

We stayed there for a few minutes. Then I remembered I had to talk to Max.

"Listen, I need to… well, give you some kind of punishment for 'stealing' my locket", I said. "Any suggestions?"

"As long as it doesn't hurt…", he said, his eyes still closed. I thought it over.

"Okay. Get up."

He did. I'd brought some rope from my Cabin, so I took it out of my pocket.

"You're going to be here for a while, okay? I'll tell your brothers you're in the woods."

"How come you get to win?", he asked, while I tied his hand behind his back.

"Because I saved your life by not letting you steal Annabeth's laptop", I replied matter-factly. "That's why."

"So we're even now?", he wondered.

"We'll see", I said, smiling.

I walked back to the pavilion, where everybody was waiting to see what had happened. My Cabin started cheering when they saw me.

"Tell you brother he'll be sorry if he tries to steal something else from me, and that I was easy on him this time", I told the Hermes Cabin, which looked both terrified and amused. They nodded and went to get him.

"Hey Max. Mind if I sit here?", I asked the boy, which was sharpening his knife. I'd found him on the arena, looking grim.

He looked up, and nodded hesitantly.

I sat next to him.

"Something wrong?", he asked me after a few seconds of silence, his voice hoarse.

"Well, it's just… Jasmin has been looking pretty down lately. I was wondering if you knew what was wrong with her", I asked him innocently.

He buried his face in his hands. "It's all my fault."

"What? Why?", I asked.

"See, I've been down too. I miss… I miss…", my eyes got wide. He missed Patrick, of course. Max's mother had died recently. He used to stay with Patrick all the time.

"Oh", was the only thing I could say.

"And I'm taking it all on her… tell her I'm sorry will ya?", he said.

"Don't worry, I'll tell her. So you're not mad at her or anything?", I asked.

"Of course not, I'm just… I'm just being a jerk", he said.

"I miss him too", I whispered after a few seconds. And we sat there for a while, remembering our lost friend.

That night I decided I would IM Persephone. Maybe I had to be focused because of the challenge, but Max didn't.

The goddess was at her garden, with her mother. Apparently they hadn't finished fixing it.

"Persephone, My Lady", I greeted.

"Oh, Danielle. Something wrong?", Persephone asked.

"Not quite. But I need your help. I have this friend who was a half brother of Patrick. Would you let Patrick visit him in a dream or two so he can stop mourning him this bad?", I asked. "I know it's not that easy, but this guy's really messed up. He must know he's fine, and he's resting in the Elysian Fields…"

Both goddesses smiled.

"I'll see what I can do", Persephone said.

"Thank you", I said, and I waved through the message.

I went inside my Cabin, where Annabeth was waiting for me. She looked at the floor.

"I'm sorry about today…", she said.

"Don't worry about it", I mumbled.

…

"Good night", I said after some awkward silence, and I sat on my bed and took off my shoes.

"Dan?", Annabeth called.

I turned to see her sitting on her bed.

"I forgot to tell you. Mother says you'll know what your challenge's about tomorrow", she said quietly.

It was like someone had sent a jolt of energy through me.

"Really?", I asked eagerly.

She nodded. "After lunch,"

I let out a breath I didn't remember taking.

"Okay… thanks", I told her. And the lights went out.

My challenge. I had a hard time falling asleep after those news. But eventually I did.

Max and Patrick were talking on the arena of Camp Half-Blood. Max looked as happy as ever. They both turned when they noticed I was there. Patrick winked.

"Thank you", said Max, smiling.

I shrugged, smiling too. Thanks, Persephone, I thought.

That's all I could remember next morning.

I'm sorry I haven't updated! But some problems with the telephone company kept me from doing it :[ I owe you guys a huge apology, and I hope this chapter was enough to make it up to you!!

Review! :]

And happy holidays to you all!