A/N: Hello, everybody! I'm back with another chapter!

So, a little while back I introduced my friend to HoO. She had read PJO a while ago, but never got around to the second series, somehow. I've been nagging her about it for a while, and she finally took my advice. When she told me today that she had finished The Lost Hero, I couldn't help myself. I went full-out fangirl on her.

Needless to say, it was absolutely hilarious. Anyways, enough of me rambling. On to the story!

Disclaimer: Last time I checked, Rick Riordan isn't fourteen. Just saying.

Helena POV

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

I groaned and rolled over, putting my pillow over my head. I did not - and I repeat did not - want to deal with Collin today.

"Go away, Ethan," I mumbled, my voice muffled from the pillow.

"It's not Ethan," sang the person. "It's Emily Marie! Now wake up up up!"

That child was clearly way too peppy in the morning.

I heard the eight year old girl running down the hall in bare feet. Soon she was in front of Jessica's door and, although it was faint, I could hear her yelling, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

When I stumbled into the kitchen twenty minutes later, Hazel was making breakfast and Emily was running around her, chanting, "Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!"

Did she ever shut up?

Collin and Sammy were sitting at the table, chatting in a hushed tone. Their faces were deadly serious, and that's what scared me.

When they saw me standing in the doorway, Collin scowled and Sammy said cheerfully, "What took you so long?"

I checked the clock over the stove. "It's eight thirty! What do you mean, what took me so long?"

He just grinned, his dark eyes glistening with humor. "I was kidding. We're usually up at seven seven no matter what, but it seems everybody else prefers to sleep in on the weekends."

I slid into the seat next to Collin. He looked away from me, which stung.

"Hey," I told him. He stared straight ahead and did not speak.

"Um, I'm sorry about last night," I continued. "It was late and I was overwhelmed and I was tired and scared. It's just that things like this never happen where I come from, and I didn't know what to do. You attacked my brother, and I snapped. So . . . yeah. I'm sorry."

He sighed and said, still without making eye contact, "I'm sorry too. I was screwed up, and you were right. My pride got in the way."

Sammy laughed. "Man, if only you and Emily Marie would make up all nice and movie-like just like this every time you fought. This house would never be a war zone again."

Collin simply rolled his eyes, and I grinned. Then he finally turned to look at me with his brilliant gold eyes. He smiled, and I grinned harder.

"Helena and Collin, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Behold, my nusicance of a little brother.

"Shut up, Ethan!" I called and jumped up to teach him a lesson. Then I realized my parents were right behind him, and my face reddened even more.

"Good morning," said Dad. I smiled feebly.

Ethan gave me a triumphant grin, until Mom shoved him forwards and said, "And that's enough from you, young man."

Ethan's grin vanished, and everybody laughed.

After breakfast, we had a whole Saturday to ourselves with nothing to do. I retreated to my room with my guitar and sang all the songs I had written that year. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine that I was back on the stage at Camp Treble, singing my heart out. In my mind I could hear the crowd cheering for me. I finished the last one, my personal favorite, with my eyes still shut tight. I sighed longingly and lay back on my bed.

"You have an incredible voice."

I sat bolt upright and looked towards the source of the voice. Collin was standing in my doorway, leaning against the wall.

"How long have you been standing there?" I asked, embarrassed.

He shrugged. "Not very long. Just for that last song, I guess."

I set the guitar down and looked at the sheets of notebook paper scattered over my bed. A year's worth of songs, wasted.

"I want to show you something," said Collin.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I hope you're not busy."

I crossed my room to where he was standing. "Okay, then. Lead the way."

He started off through the house and out the door. I struggled to keep up with his quick pace as he walked through New Rome, up streets and down sidewalks. We crossed through lawns multiple times and ran across roads, nearly getting run over by traffic.

Finally we came to a huge and abandoned-looking house. Several of the windows were shattered and the door had a huge crack down the middle. It looked like a creepy place, and I couldn't believe why Collin had brought me here.

"Um . . . what am I looking at again?"

He laughed. "This isn't it. Come here." He grabbed my arm and pulled me to behind the house, where a huge wooden gate stood. It creaked noisily as Collin pushed it open.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. Inside this broken down, rotting gate was a miniature wonderland. Overgrown plants covered every patch of grass, and the stone path that wound through the garden was the only thing that wasn't completely green. Beautiful flowers sprung every which way and a small ivy-covered fountain bubbled in the middle of it all.

"What is this place?" I asked in awe.

"It's my secret hideout. It's been abandoned for years, but somehow the plants just kept growing. I discovered it when I was about ten. I've been coming bloggers to kind of escape the madness of camp ever since then, but you're the first person besides me to see it."

Why me? I couldn't help wondering. I barely knew the guy . . . I decided to take it as a compliment.

"It's beautiful," I said.

He nodded, and for a moment neither of us spoke. Then I asked, "So do you think we'll get another monster attack?"

He just laughed. "Are you kidding me? I hope not. Monster attacks don't happen very often."

"So . . . it's not normal for the camp to burn down like that?"

He shook his head. "Nah. I've been going to camp for four years, and I've never seen anything like that. I'm just curious why it happened."

"Piper said the monster was in passing," I said.

"I don't believe that for a second," Collin scoffed. "Someone's trying to take us down, and I know it."

"What makes you say that?"

He lowered his voice. "I heard Jessica screaming in her sleep last night."

"What?"

"Something like, 'Don't take my parents! Take me instead!' She sounded like she was being tortured."

"We should say something to her," I told him.

"Yeah," he agreed. "But let's just forget about that right now. I just want to enjoy the peace and solitude of this place."

I nodded and stopped talking.

Collin was right. Sometimes, it was nice to just stop worrying about everything and enjoy life.