When I made it to the car Apollo and Jason were standing out side of it just talking. They were so cute and they looked so much alike. The only difference was that Jason was platinum blonde and Apollo's hair was golden blonde. Jason was adorable in his yellow polo, kakis, and dress shoes. Apollo must have changed when I went to talk to Chiron. He had on kakis, a blue button down shirt, and Wallabees. I'm not going to lie, he looked drop dead gorgeous but he is a god . "Hey, boys." They both turned their heads in my direction and they both had identical smiles on their faces. Jason ran into me and gave me a hug. Well, he gave my legs a hug because he's tiny. "Thank you." He pulled away to look at me. I bit my lip, "Why are you thanking me?" His little face went red, "Because you brought me my daddy." Jason turned and ran to the car. Apollo helped him buckle his seat belt and gave him a kiss on the forehead. I slowly made my way to the car, blinking back tears.
"Deadly, are you okay?" I turned to face Apollo, "I'm fine." He opened the passenger side door, "You sure?" I got in the car and slammed the door shut. In mere seconds Apollo was in the driver's seat and steering us towards the road. We were all quiet, even Jason, for most of the ride. Once we close to the city Jason started babbling from the backseat. "So, where are we gonna eat? I'm really hungry. Can I get dessert, daddy?" Apollo and I had amused smiles etched on our faces, "It's a surprise, Jason. You can have dessert as long as you eat your meal." I was taken aback by Apollo. He is surprisingly a responsible parent and a good one at that. Jason pouted at his father, "Do I have to eat all of it?" I could tell Apollo was stifling a laugh, "Just most of it, okay." Jason let out a big dramatic breath, "Okay." I shook my head at the two of them.
The rest of the ride was in a comfortable silence. I bet you're thinking Apollo and I are dating but we're not. We just happen to be really close friends. I met Apollo when I was eleven and we kind of hit it off due to my sarcasm. A big shocker was when I met Artemis. She and I are also really close which many gods and goddesses found unusual. Artemis and Apollo are twins but have very different personalities. Considering I befriended Apollo first the immortals thought Artemis and I wouldn't get along. The were extremely wrong. In Artemis's words I'm "an independent girl with a surplus of sarcasm and sass" which is why she likes me.
When Apollo pulled into the parking lot for Direttamente da Italia I thought I was going to have a heart attack . I mean it was the most expensive Italian restaurant in New York. "Apollo, don't you think-" "Shut up and enjoy yourself for once or I'll start talking in haiku." I pretended to zip my lips as Apollo parked the car. Trust me, Apollo talking in haiku is not a good thing. It has to be the most annoying thing on the planet, including Olympus.
I remember while I was walking inside the restaurant Jason grabbed my hand. He was so sweet and adorable. He was also very young, which had me wondering why he was attending camp. The only reason I could come up with is that monsters were after him but that's ridiculous. Monsters don't start attacking until the preteen years, Jason is practically a toddler. "What did I tell you?" Apollo whispered in my ear. My heart was going a mile a minute. He pretty much scared my soul out of me. "What do you mean?" Apollo opened the door for me and Jason. He ushered us to a couch in the waiting area and walked up to a very snooty looking Italian dude, leaving my question without an answer.
Jason climbed into my lap and played with the ends of my hair. Apollo joined us a couple of minutes later and informed us that our table would be ready in fifteen. I internally groaned, fifteen minutes might as well be an hour. I guess you can say waiting isn't my thing. "Apollo, can't you use your godly powers to get us at a table and eating faster?" Mr. Sunshine was probably going to reply but I think the sound of screaming New Yorkers stopped him. It's just a guess, though.
I handed Jason to Apollo and sprinted out the door. My adrenaline was pumping as I ran towards the sound of a roaring lion and screaming pedestrians. I cursed under my breath when I saw the Nemean lion's bloodlust eyes aimed at me. I didn't know what people were seeing through the mist but considering they were screaming it wasn't anything ordinary. I wracked my brain for a way to do destroy the monster. I knew that Heracles strangled it to death but I'm not strong enough for that. It's fur was stronger than anything, making it even harder to kill and it's claws were sharper than any sword I could produce. The golden beast got closer and closer and I was running out of options. Focus on it's weak points, my father's voice instructed. Does it even have weak points? I thought to myself.
I ran towards the monster with determination to kill it. The best let out another earsplitting roar that made my hair fly back and my eyes burn. I ducked behind a deserted taxi cab and rubbed my eyes. Wait, that's it! It's eyes are a weak spot. Now I just need a weapon….
"Deadly!" I looked up to see Mr. Sunshine towering over me. "Yes?" I asked slightly irritated. I mean wouldn't you be irritated if you were trying to figure out how to kill a monster than your friend decides to have a chat? That's what I thought. "Need any help?" If his face was close enough I would have smacked him. Instead my jaw dropped to the pavement. "What do you think? That thing is practically indestructible!" He crouched down next to me so we were eye level, "What's the plan?" All of a sudden a very nice Porsche was in midair then it was on the ground in a million pieces. I hope that person has insurance. "Well, it's eyes are pretty much it's only weak spot so if we aim for the eyes it should die." Apollo nodded his head, "So, where's your sword? Or weapon that your gonna use?" I dropped my gaze to my hands, "About that…" The lion roared once again and I thought my ears were going to bleed. Apollo rolled his eyes then made a bow and arrow with his godly powers. He handed them to me, "You better have good aim." Then he ran back to the restaurant. I jumped to my feet and hopped over the hood of the taxi. The lion was ready to pounce as I got closer. In mere seconds its claw was ready to strike but I ducked behind another deserted car. The monster let out a frustrated cry and smashed the car I was hiding behind. I got to my feet and jumped onto a taxi. I stood on its roof and set up the bow. I had a clear shot to the eyes but the lion was too fast and knocked me off the taxi with its claw. I landed on the asphalt with a loud smack. My blood was boiling as I approached the Nemean lion. I managed to lose the only weapon I had when I was rudely knocked off the taxi cab.
"Here kitty…come and get me!" It raised its claw to strike me once again but ran underneath its stomach so it couldn't touch me. It tried to swipe me with its front paws and tail but I was too quick. The lion put its tail in between its legs and I got an idea. I wrapped my arms and legs around the huge tail and the lion started to have a fit. It was swinging its tail everywhere. I jumped onto its back when I was within distance of it. I climbed near its face and grabbed onto its fur while it started throwing another tantrum. I held on until it calmed down. I tried to stand up but it was close to impossible with my heels. I slipped them off and got another idea. I'm going to have to thank my mother for giving me such pointy shoes. I threw one shoe to the side so it would be easier to move. I slid onto to the lion's nose and gripped its fur once again. It roared and tried to strike me but it ended up hitting itself. I moved closer towards its left eye. Without hesitation I jabbed my leather pump into its eyes. The Nemean lion roared one last time before turning to dust.
I was only happy for a brief moment, though. You see, since I was on the lion's nose when I killed it I kind of fell from however high up its nose was to the grimy streets of New York. "Ow." I sat on up on my butt and rubbed my extremely soar head. I grabbed my right shoe from the pile of monster dust and put it on. "Looking for this?" Apollo held up my other shoe with a stupid smirk plastered on his face. "Duh." I answered while rubbing my head. He gave me his hand that wasn't holding my shoe and pulled me to my feet. He kneeled down then put my shoe on. "Do I look like Cinderella?" I asked while Apollo was pretending to be Prince Charming. "I'm hurt, Deadly." He put his hand over his heart. "Thanks for the help by the way. I mean the way you just ran away, it took a real hero to do that." I said sarcastically. "Shut up, you know I'm not supposed to interfere with a demigod's fight." I rolled my eyes, "So now I'm a demigod?" He smiled his godly perfect smile, "Yup."
Police sirens started to wail and Apollo and I exchanged a look. We sprinted back to the restaurant and snatched Jason from the dessert cart. We hurried to the car and Apollo strapped Jason into his car seat. I jumped in the passenger seat and Apollo sped out of the parking lot and back towards camp.