Hayley's POV:

Voice stomped through the Strawberry Fields after the tussle with Ellie. It had hurt me so much to see my body trying to kill her. And when I had had the chance to tell her to run away and I had full control over my body, I felt so powerful, like I was greater than anything or anybody else. She spelled me before I took too much control, though, causing my body to have a momentary stall. I couldn't help my best friend, I couldn't protect my family. I was useless.

I wished I had figured that out sooner.

Eris, I thought sourly, why are you trying to take over Olympus?

"Because. The goddess of chaos, they said. Never to be allowed on Olympus they said. Too dangerous they said. Well I'll show them, I'll show them all! Us minor gods and goddesses haven't gotten our two-cents worth out of helping running the world. Olympus will be mine!"

But why? I screamed in outrage, gripping my spirit-like hair in an attempt to rip it out. You can't rip out fog though, so it didn't go over too well.

"Because." She hissed. "Not another word, Jackson, or I'll spell you again."

Wouldn't be the first time…

"Quiet!"

Eris, listen, you don't need to take over Olympus. You're just angry, and I know how anger makes you feel. But you shouldn't let it get to you. Stand up and fight for what you believe in.

Eris rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. Give me a break, Jackson. That crap won't work on me, I'm a goddess for Christ sake! And you are no daughter of Aphrodite."

I glared steely at her. I'm closer than you'll ever be.

"Enough!" she shouted.

Come on, Eris. Surely you've got better things to do than this. Why not just go talk to Uncle Zeus and work something out?

"Foolish human. First you insult my beauty, and now my intelligence?"

I never said anything about your intelligence. Of course, I'm sad to say Apollo is smarter than you are.

She growled at the back of my throat. "You're pushing your luck, Jackson."

Exactly what I was aiming for, and in that instant I shoved her thoughts aside and sent mine forward. Crawling back into my mind, my body, was sort of like sticking a round peg in a square hole; it was almost, nearly painful, and it made my entire being ache.

My vision cleared, though, and I realized that I was now seeing myself for real. I could feel my hands and my face, feel myself blinking. My thoughts and my body and my seeing were mine now.

"Yes! Ha ha!" I cheered in victory right as a huge form came crashing into me, knocking me down. Another came from my left said and grasped me by the shoulder, and a third jumped me from the back. "What are you DOING?" I screamed, threshing and kicking as they held me down. "Eris! You evil little – ow!"

I felt a spirit-like form grasp my neck, strangling me. You evil fool! How dare you take me down. Let me in, now, this instant!

"Never!" I screamed.

"Eris?" a voice questioned, the one holding me down by my shoulders. I glanced up and saw Ellis, her face tight and fierce. "Hayley?"

"Mom, Dad, Ellie?" I looked at all of them with wide, incredulous eyes, just as Eris pinned me down harder, pressing her thumbs and palms into my throat, cutting off air. Tears formed in my eyes and colors danced before them in twisting shapes. "Get…her…strangling…me…" I choked, sure I was meeting my end. My vision clouded, growing darker by the second.

Then my body felt empty. I was a hollow shell. And while I couldn't see, I could still hear. "Wonderful!" Eris finally said, using her own, true voice to be known to the world. I heard a gasp, then the whips of swords from sheathes and daggers from belts.

"Eris," Dad's voice was edged with fear and a demonic tone. I imagined him, standing in a battle stance, his almost salt-and-pepper hair flowing back in the wind. His shoulders squared, his feet in a horse-stance, ready to attack. And Mom by his side, her grey eyes calculating, her body tense, everything clicking together like one ginormous clock.

I managed to hear the single swish of a sword before I completely went blank.

Later in the Infirmary…

Someone squeezed my hand. I took it as a sign to open my eyes, so I did, even though they were heavier than the weight of the sky.

Mom grinned at me when I looked at her. "Mama?" I asked smally, my voice like a three year old's. She sighed with utter relief and kissed my forehead.

She didn't even speak to me, not at first. "Percy," she called. I'd never seen my dad so upset in all of my days. It was so unlike him to cry, yet there he was, his eyes puffy, and it hurt my ego just a bit.

"If you keep crying," I mumbled, "someone's going to think I got a sissy for a father."

It was a stupid joke, but it brought strangled laughs.

"Must have got some of Eris in my eye," he said, pulling a chair up and sitting next to Mom.

"You can't kill a…a goddess, though…"

"Then she'll stay in Tartarus for sometime, I guess."

"But she'll be back, won't she?" I asked softly. Mom nodded.

"More than likely. It could take years, though, Hayley."

"It could also be just another week," I pointed out, and she shook her head.

"I guess it's possible. Only if you see the glass as half-empty though. I prefer to see it as half-full."

"Always something good to do," I said. Then I smiled. "Where's Ellie?"

"Over here, dork." She said, and I turned my head. She sat on a cot, her arm in a sling and her leg in a cast. "It's going to be hard to explain this when we return to school. Thanks a lot, best friend."

"Don't mention it."

"Ha-ha."

"So," I said, addressing them all, "how exactly did you defeat a spirit?"

Mom rolled her eyes and glared slightly at Dad, who smiled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, I've been thinking that there was a chance celestial bronze wouldn't kill a quarter blood. I wasn't exactly sure, though, but anyway…"

"Long story short, great old Percy here thought it would be a good idea to get her back in your body, and then stab you in the gut with his sword." Ellie said, digging under her nails.

I stared at my father with some difficulty. "I'm taking away your father of the year award," I told him, trying to be serious but smiling instead. "You could've killed me!"

"But I didn't!" he shrugged and laughed. "I love you, Hayley. I need to go check on Audrick and Chelsea now – I don't even know where they've been all this time."

"I think I might have an idea," said someone from the corner, and we all looked at the woman with tight smiles. Her blonde hair was flawless and she wore no makeup that day. Aphrodite. "Have you ever heard of a great summer romance?" she asked wistfully.

"Yeah, it's a book by Nicholas Sparks and a movie called The Notebook." Ellie said sarcastically.

Aphrodite laughed, a sound like twinkling bells. "Ah, Nicholas, one of my best children. Allie and Noah were so perfect for each other. I knew they would end up together, even in death."

"So, who's having a summer romance?" Dad asked, though I knew he already had an idea.

Aphrodite grinned. I forced a smile to my face, fluffed my pillows, laid back and closed my eyes. Aphrodite was going to have a long story to tell.

Chelsea's POV:

"Okay…now straighten your back…aim a little lower with the bow…okay, now a little higher – perfect!" Tommy stood next to me and held my hand with his, guiding me along the edges of the bow. We gripped the arrow together, pulling back and firing. It hit a straight bullseye, and I jumped up and down, clapping my hands excitedly.

"Did you see that? I did it, I did it!" I threw my arms around his neck, and he held me there, smiling. Then I leaned back, still laughing, and an impulse came over me. Everything took on a slow motion like they did in the movies, and I leaned forward, and he leaned into me, and our lips collided. It was the best feeling in the world.

I guess I'm not as left out as I thought I was after all.

"Chelsea Athena Jackson!" My dad's voice yelled, but at that moment, I really didn't care. All that mattered to me was the boy I had in my arms.

NOT THE END. I needed to get that out. Hope you enjoyed, and especially with the Tomsea fluff. :)

...and yes, I just invented Tomsea. Like it? :D

~Future

God bless!