In bright August, I was doing what any hot Daughter of Aphrodite would be doing; I strutted around camp in a sequin bikini. My platinum hair was up in a perfect curly ponytail and my toes matched the light yellow of my bikini. My white shorts with the sparkly jean pockets reflected sunlight as I walked around in the 90-degree sun. I was enjoying my summer, or trying to. It was my first summer without Luke there to sneak out of camp with. But to be honest, Luke was less and less on my mind lately. I had a camp to run, a reputation to uphold, and an immortal life to live.
I felt a quick pinch on my lower back to find Charlie behind me with a dangerous smirk. "What do you want?" I asked him, as if I was annoyed about the attention my almost naked body was getting. But lets be real here, I loved attention.
"For you to keep me company," he said back to me as he put his arms around my delicate side with a grin.
"I'm busy Charlie. You know being a sexy single girl is hard work and I don't need you here to bother me on my break," I said looking at him while I seductively bit my lip. Charlie was fun to toy with, give mixed messages.
"But I know just how to make your break worth while," he said back as he started to kiss my neck.
I giggled, "Charlie," I began to whine, "I need you to let me go!" I said in protest, moving my hands as if I was actually trying to pull him off of me. I wasn't.
Charlie shrugged, thought about it for a second, and then gave his answer. "Nope." He said with a smirk, before picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
"Charlie!" I said in protest, while in a fit of sexy giggles. Charlie chucked as he tickled my sides and walked me around camp. From the view I had it looked like we were heading towards his cabin, the Apollo Cabin. "Put me down! Charlie!" I complained while he jogged me around camp. He probably was getting looks of approval from his friends as we walked around. I didn't really mind though, I loved attention and this only drew more to me. Though I wasn't sure how I was feeling about Charlie's face so close to my butt.
The only thing that was weird for me about this, was the fact that I was flirting with Charlie. I loved him and all, but I had still been iffy about love lately. It was just that when it came to flirting with guys, I couldn't help myself. I just had to keep the line between flirting and relationships very clear. After Luke and Anti, I was going to be single for a little while.
"Char-lie! Charlie! Charlie Charlie Charlie!" I began in an attempt to annoy him as I giggled and went on repeating his name. Charlie decided a fair way to shut me up was to tickle me the more I yelled his name. So I yelled louder and was tickled harder until the tickling came to an abrupt stop. It was almost as if we hit something but I didn't feel anything. "Charlie?" I asked him in confusion, as he gently put me down. I came down looking at the worry in his face, before turning to match a face that held even more worry. It was my sister's.
"Aira? What's up?" I asked slowly. One thing about my older sister was that Aira was never worried. Aira didn't cry, she didn't get scared, she didn't worry. So her worried face alone probably scared Charlie into putting me down, and that scared me even more. Correction, if Aira was worried I was verge on terrified.
"It's Luke." She started cautiously. I froze. I wasn't sure how to take the mention of Luke. I tried to stop thinking about him all together, especially after what happened with Anti leaving me. I just stopped thinking about boys, and relationships. And therefore, Luke. I didn't know how to feel about him, and I didn't want my feelings to be wrong. So I just stopped feeling anything when Luke was mentioned, I was numb. But Aira bringing him up in this way told me for sure I wasn't aloud to just numb my feelings and ignore it.
"What about…Luke?" I managed, as my perfect skin paled. Even saying his name out loud was hard.
"Well, he never was the smartest guy" Aira mumbled, before refocusing on me. "Zander just called me from the Underworld. Luke's got himself in a bit of trouble."
I was about to say something, and then I didn't. Zander was our friend, another one of my half-brothers. He was a god in training, child of Hades and Aphrodite. I was actually disappointed we were related, because if not I would definitely, for sure date him. But the unrealistic relationship with my half-brother was not my main concern right now.
But Luke in trouble made me want to puke. Thinking about Luke as someone still alive made me want to puke. Being dead was bad enough, but I couldn't bare the thought of him getting sent to the Fields of Punishment for whatever stupid thing he did. I mean he tried to take over the world, the range of dumb things he could potentially do was wide open. And if it was enough to make Hades upset, then it had to be bad.
Aira took my silence as a probe to go on. "He tried to sleep with Persephone, and now Hades is more than pissed off. There's a fight going on, and Luke's not winning. He needs us...Well actually," Aira smirked, "he needs my help, but you should come for moral support"
The jab about me not being needed was cute. I was no Aira at sword fighting, but my spot had moved up from 3 to 2 since Luke was gone. Still, Aira would always be better then me and if it came to a fight I was better off not getting in her way. But I almost wanted to cry, just taking in what she was saying. But then I wasn't sure if I was aloud to cry over something like this. My feelings about Luke all together were just messed up and confused. Now I was scared. I would have to face Luke again. And help him. I really didn't know how I was supposed to feel. Mom also forgot to send the 'What To Do When Your About To Save Your Dead Boyfriend' were a lot of manuals I was apparently missing.
"So you and me are going to go to the Underworld. And we're going to see Luke. And then we are going to try to fight his way out of eternal punishment?" I tried to confirm that I was thinking the same insane thought she was. My words were slow and choppy, and so unlike me. And by we fighting it was going to be mostly Aira. Usually I would have something sarcastic to say about Luke, but I didn't.
Aira nodded, "Yeah and I would say we should go right about now. Before he gets killed... Again.." She said to me as Zander showed up from obviously shadow traveling. Zander had sexy black hair and big blue eyes. The eyes almost reminded me of Anti, but I snapped out of it. Zan was sexy in his own way. But he was my brother, and that stopped any relationship from ever happening. Ever. But even when he came up we both looked at each other, and held the glance for a split second. He looked like he wanted to wink, and I almost wanted to make a cute face. It was like our instinct to be attracted to anyone attractive.
"Yeah I guess your right. I'll just run and change," I said finally. I looked down at the sparkly number I was wearing and I was pretty sure this wasn't the outfit you wore when you were going to meet your dead boyfriend and help him fight a very angry god. Then again I wasn't sure if there was even an outfit for that.
"Nope, we gotta go right now" Zander said quickly grabbing Aira and I as he shadow traveled. His touch was cold, but to me it was normal.
And in a matter of seconds I was surrounded in complete darkness. I savored the seconds I had, when I couldn't hear or see anything. Where I wasn't alone but I wasn't with people. My seconds during shadow traveling were important, because I knew as soon as I saw the light again, I would have to face something. I would have to face the one who broke his promise. And I would really have to find out if our love died with him, or if he was still there for me. I wasn't sure, considering he tried to sleep with Persephone, but it was still a thought. I sent a quick prayer to my mom. Because if love was going to prove itself to me, it was now or never. I had to know if destiny and love could survive death.