Note: This chapter will have a combination of four stories. The first deals with Gerald and Maria, the second one Seth and June, the third one our favorite couple Danny and Katie, and the last one Danny and Alicia. As the title says, random things will happen.
Rating: T, but we all know that will change in later chapters.
(Gerald and Maria)
"Gerald, no."
"Why not?"
"You still haven't done it yet?"
"Done what? You're not making any sense!"
"You didn't listen to anything I was saying last weekend did you?"
"Which was?" Maria rolled her eyes as she leaned back onto a locker in the hallway a few minutes before school started.
"Gerald, you like me right?"
"Yes, hasn't that been for the past month?" he said.
"I don't see if you want me that badly."
"What do you mean, of course I do."
"Have you done anything that has shown someone that you do?" she asked. Gerald tried to say something, but he couldn't. She had him beaten, the first time a girl had ever done that to him, especially him.
"I thought so," she said, walking away. Gerald wanted to stop her, but he just didn't have the courage nor willpower to do it. Once she was out of sight he banged his head on the locker in deep thought. June came up to him from behind.
"Hey big brother, what's wrong?" she asked.
"I. Don't. Know. How. I'm. Going. To. Get. Her," he said, banging his head on the locker for every word he said.
"Well if you keep doing that you'll never know," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"What am I goin' to do June?" said Gerald.
"How much do you like her?" said June.
"I like her so much I would take a thousand arrows to the face for her," he said.
"Not the analogy I wanted, but good enough," said June.
"What should I do?" said Gerald.
"Excuse me? Is my oldest brother asking for MY help?" said June.
"Yes!" said Gerald.
"Wow, this is unexpected?" she said.
"What can you do?" said Gerald.
"It's not what I can do, it's what you can do," said June.
"And that would be?" he said.
"I have an idea, but I don't know if you'll like it," she said.
"I'll do anything June."
"Hell nah! I can't do this," he said.
"Do you want her to notice that you'll humble yourself, even for her?" said June.
"Yes," said Gerald.
"Then do it. This is best time," she said. Gerald took in a deep, shaky breath and went into the cafeteria. The cafeteria was nothing but a buzz of activity. All over people were talking, gossiping, eating, etc. He wasn't paying any mind to them, he was focused on trying to find Maria.
He found her near the back talking to some of her friends. Summoning up enough courage he went over to her, knowing what he would have to do if she said no again. Coming up to her, and getting on one knee, he spilled it out.
"Maria, will you go out with me?" he asked.
"I'm flattered by the one knee Gerald, really, but I don't know if you're serious," she said.
"Okay, but remember you made me do this," he said. He got onto the table and whistled to get everyone's attention in the entire lunch room. Everyone in the lunch room, including the lunch ladies and a few of the administrators.
"Everyone I have an announcement to make," he yelled so everyone could hear him. Everyone leaned in to listen.
"I know you all know me and what I do around in here, especially my womanizing skills, but I want you all to know one thing. I'm going head over heals for Maria Hernandez just so she can go out with me," he he said. A lot of people were shocked to the core, even the principal.
"And now I wanna say, in front of all these people, Maria will you go out with me?" said Danny, getting on one knee on the table. Maria blushed red and all the students made cat calls, a lot saying "Say yes." Finally, after giving it a moment Maria nodded.
"Yes I will," she said. All the students cheered.
"Gerald Stone," said the principal.
"Yes sir?" said Gerald.
"Get off the school's tables at once."
(Seth and June)
Seth and June were on a park bench in Central Park, June leaning on his shoulder as they watched people pass by or little animals scurry past.
"Seth, why did you want to date me?" she asked.
"Is that a rhetorical question?" he said. She smiled and shook her head.
"No, I mean what made you want to date me?" she asked. He ruffled his hair in deep thought.
"I guess it was about two years ago. Back then me, you, Danny, and Gerald were always such good friends. You and me were always close. Then one day, when me and you were at camp, I was looking at you in a different way. I didn't know what it was. It might have been your hair, or the way you move through anything gracefully, your looks? At first I was scared because I had never saw you as something more than a friend until then. The first thing I did was try dating other girls, but everytime I was with them, I was always thinking of you. It got so bad that all I thought about was you," he said. She smiled at his whole story, but laughed at the last part.
"What's so funny?" he asked.
"You're so corny," she said, lightly punching him. He blushed a little before he looked at her again.
"What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
"What made you like me?" he clarified.
"I guess it was your eyes," she said.
"Wow, that makes me feel a lot better," he said.
"You didn't let me finish. It was when I was fourteen. I had a crush on you back then," she said.
"You did?" he said.
"Yes, but at the time it was just puppy love. It went away after a few months, but then it came back when I was seventeen. Why do you think I got kind of angry whenever you told me you were dating someone else?" she said.
"Oh yeah, now I remember. You looked like you were about to cut my head off," he said.
"But at least it finally got to both of us at the end of camp," she finished.
"Yeah, I can still remember it," he said.
Camp was ending. All the campers were having fun at the campfire, either singing or just talking with some of their friends. June was by a tree away from everything, gazing up at the stars. She had made a chart of all the constellations, from Orion the Hunter and the twins Castor and Pollux to Zoe Nightshade, maiden lieutenant of Artemis. She loved looking up at them because to her they were so beautiful, so mysterious, so puzzling. As she gazed at them from the tree, someone else joined her.
"You are always fond of star gazing," said Seth, coming next to her and gazing at the sky as well.
"Only cause you know me so well Seth," she said, never taking her eyes off the sky for even a second.
"June?"
"Yes?"
"There's been something I wanted to tell you for awhile," said Seth.
"And that would be?"
"Gosh, I don't know how to say this," he said.
"If you didn't know how to say it, then why were you bringing it up?" she said. Seth blushed and put his head down. She looked at him and brushed his hair back.
"It's okay Kelp Head, just relax and let it out," said June. Seth took in a deep breath and looked at her dead in the eye.
"You know we've been friends for a long time right?" he says, getting closer to her.
"Yes," she says, matching his slow pace.
"I want you to know that...well..it's really hard for me to make this clear," he said, coming closer.
"It's okay," she said, still coming closer.
"I think that I..no I know that I," he said, but he couldn't get the words to his mouth, Instead he placed his hands to her sides as she wrapped hers around his neck. Their hearts were pounding now, and their eyes looked intensely at each other. Slowly, Seth leaned down towards her. She saw what he was doing and her head leaned up to him too. Their eyes closed as their lips met, kissing each other softly. His hands found the small of her back, pressing her body into him as her hands pressed his head to hers. Light smacking sounds were heard everytime they pressed their lips together and let go, only to repeat.
When they were done Seth stared at her.
"I like you, a lot," said Seth.
"I do too," she said. They resumed their kissing, glad to finally have that off their chests.
"That's probably my best memory of you," she said.
"It could be one of many," he said.
"What do you mean?" she said. He whispered in her ear and she blushed, really red.
"I don't think I'm ready for that yet," she said.
"I know you're not, you're not like other girls. I just want you to know that's how much I like you," he said. She smiled up at him.
"You don't need to do that to get me to like you better," she said.
"I know, but to be honest I think I might love you," he said. June was really shocked now.
"We've only been dating for two months," she said.
"But we've known each other since, what, three?" he said. She thought about it for a moment.
"You do have a point," she said. "I guess we know so much about each other that we don't have to worry about the little things couples do."
"Exactly," said Seth. Spying a fountain twenty feet away, he willed some water to come over to them. It swirled in front of June before it solidified into an ice crystal. It fell into her hand, and didn't melt. She was speechless as she held it in her hand.
"How did you do this?" she said.
"A little trick my Dad showed me," he said.
"You know we're not suppose to be using our powers unless in an emergency," she said.
"True, but I think the gods can slide on this small little gift of appreciation," he said. She smiled and him and kissed him softly.
"You're so caring, and so adorable," she said.
"I wouldn't be Seaweed Brain's son if I wasn't," he said.
(Danny and Katie)
Danny had called in a R & R day from work today. He was in the backyard working on the family's garden. He was busily collecting all the produce he had worked on since Spring. He'd planted a lot of things: tomatoes, carrots, turnips, a little orange tree, a plum tree,grapes, and broccoli. He had changed the composition of the soil around the produce to what each plant's greatest quality would give. Now he was putting the years yield into bags to put in either the refrigerator or the freezer.
Once he was done collecting all of the produce he went into him and Katie's room. He was planning on doing something special for her today.
Immediately he set off to work. He had gotten rose petals from a florist the day before and had chilled them in the fridge. He placed them all over the floor of their room and changed into some clothes. He knew that when she came through she was going to get the surprise of her life.
Katie came back around 3:00. She seemed tired, but still full of life. When she got in she put her stuff on the couch and was about to it down when he saw a trail of rose petals heading up to their room. Knowing that Danny was up to something she smiled and followed the trail. As she got up the stairs she could hear some type of music playing. As she got to the room she saw the door was closed. Not knowing what he had in store for her she came in.
There he was on the bed, a rose in his mouth, wearing a white Renaissance style shirt (the kind that is puffy around the arms and has a V-neck with strings that open or close it), and brown kind of slacks with Renaissance style boots. Tango music was playing, rose petals all over the floor.
"Hola," he said, getting off the bed.
"What's this about?" she said.
"Just wanted to do something special for you, since we're going to be alone most of the day," he said. She smiled, thinking of the many things they could do.
"So what do we do now?" she said.
"Right now, I'm about to serenade, and teach you how to dance," he said.
"Danny, I don't know," she said. She could dance, but never like this.
"You can do it Kate, it's just you and me. I can show it to you nice and slow," he said, putting his left hand on her back and lacing his right hand with her left hand. She decided to follow his lead and do it. The tempo started out slow as he showed her the ropes. She fumbled once or twice, but got the hang of it, especially when he twirled her around. Her feet moved in sync with his as they danced the Tango around the room.
It felt so magical to her. They seemed to be floating on the clouds. She'd never felt so light on her feet before, and he was so gentle, she sometimes forgot he was actually holding her.
When it got to a fast paced tempo, Katie knew enough to keep up, but he still led it. She and Danny moved like they had been doing this for years. It was completely romantic. Once that song was ended, Danny held her in his arms. She looked at him, her eyes swimming with emotions.
"That was the one of the most romantic things you've ever done for me," she said.
"Thanks, and you know it's not over," he said.
"What else have you got in store for me?" she asked. She knew the answer all too well as he gave her the "look."
Danny kissed the back of her neck as they snuggled together in the bed.
"We should do this more often," she said to him.
"Most definitely," he said. His arms brushed up and down here bare back, feeling the heat that was there. She felt her sighing with pleasure when he did this.
"I love you so much," she said, turning around to face him.
"Me too, actually more than I can put in words," he said as they kissed and embraced each other. At that moment they heard the front door open.
"What with the trail of rose petals?" said Gerald. The two adults sighed.
"Only two more years till they're all out the house," said Danny, burying his head into her neck.
(Danny and Alicia)
The arcade was popular for any high school students fresh out of school, and with only token per game, it was also inexpensive since the tokes only cost one quarter, or twenty for $4. Danny and Alicia were playing air hockey. Right now him and her were neck-to-neck, with her getting a point, then him getting two points to pass her, than her getting two points, than him getting one, and it kept going on like that.
Finally, after ten minutes of furious play, Alicia claimed victory.
"Hah, I finally beat you," she said.
"Only because I slipped up in blocking my goal," he said.
"You still lost," she said.
"Whatever," he said, rolling his eyes. She smiled in triumph as he and her walked out of the arcade into the city.
"Danny, what girl are you interested in right now?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"Well, you've been single for a long time now," she said.
"What are you talking about, I had a girlfriend in ninth grade," he said.
"Which only lasted for three days?" she said. He blushed. There was a girl he had liked. Her name was Rachel Greene, and they both had went out, but because of Danny's inexperience and shy nature she had thought they should only be friends after he had never really shown any signs of affection, and who wouldn't if you so much have hadn't even pecked her on the cheek yet.
"Well, okay you win," he said.
"So answer the question," she said.
"I..really..don't..know," he said.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"There's this girl, but I don't know if I have feelings for her," he said.
"Oh, what's she like?" she asked.
"She's...friendly..and..," but he couldn't finish because he realized with a shock that he would be describing her. He had no idea where these feelings were coming from, he'd thought they'd went away, but now they were coming with a vengeance.
"Danny, are you okay, you're blushing really furiously," she said, putting her hand to his cheek. That did nothing but make it worse. Her face was also close, a little too close as she studied his features.
"Umm, Ali?" he said, regaining his voice.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Do you wanna...go somewhere else?" he said finally.
"Okay, if you want to," she said. "Where?"
"I guess, my house?" he said. At that moment her cell phone buzzed, meaning it was a text message. She opened it and it was her dad.
"Can't, gotta get back home," she said.
"Ok, just wondering," he said.
"Hey, it's those two kids from Harlem!" yelled someone behind them. It was the three same goons from before.
"Damnit," said Danny and Alicia as they ran off, followed by the same three guys. They ran down the block, being pursued. Danny wished he could pull out his sword, but he knew the celestial bronze would have no effect on them, and he wanted to use his powers, but anything out of the ordinary would blow his cover with Alicia.
As he ran he prayed to any god who would listen to him, a massive rock appeared behind him. He didn't do it, but thankfully Alicia wasn't looking behind her. The three crooks saw the rock and stopped, not knowing how in the world it got there. When they wen around it, they had lost Danny and Alicia.
"Shit!" yelled the leader, banging his fist on a building wall. The goons went away.
Meanwhile, hiding in an alley again, Danny and Alicia were on the wall. Hearing that the guys had left they sighed in relief.
"That was close, a little too close," she said. Danny looked around the corner and sighed.
"They're gone," he said. As he looked back at her he realized his hands were wrapped around her waist, holding her tight. Her arms were hugging his waist to. The two looked down at their arms, then back at each other. The sun spilled out for a moment over Alicia, making her look beautiful. Danny couldn't help himself, and frankly neither could she. They both leaned in slowly to each other, their eyes slowly closing. When they're lips met, it felt like a million tiny fireworks going off in their bodies. She leaned in closer to him, her hands wrapping around his neck. He responded by pressing lips harder into her.
They slowly let go. their eyes clouded with lust. Immediately after they let go they regained their senses and hastily moved away from each other. They couldn't even speak in sentences.
"Umm..I'll just..."
"Yeah...I'll..be."
"Yeah..see you.."
"Lat..er." They both went their separate ways, blushing madly. Danny couldn't even remember how he managed to get back to his house.
When he got in, he collapsed on the couch next to his Dad.
"Hey champ, where were you at?" said Danny Sr.
"Uhhhhhhh," said Danny Jr.
"Okay, just wanted to start a conversation," said Danny Sr. Danny regained his senses, mostly.
"Dad, how did you an Mom meet?" said Danny Jr.
"Well, it's like this. She was being attacked by some gryphons, so I came and helped her. Because of our two godly parents we kind of hated each other. We spent weeks trying to kill each other before we went to Paris. There we cooled things down and became friends, and then slowly realized we liked each other, a lot," said Danny Sr.
"Okay, stop there, was it possible to like someone more than a friend, who's already your friend?" said Danny Jr.
"Yes, but it could be complicated if you don't like her or she doesn't like you," said Danny Sr. Danny Jr. groaned and fell back on the couch.
"You need someone to talk to?" said Danny Sr.
"No Dad, I'm fine," said Danny as he went to his room. Danny Sr.'s eyes followed his son.
"Wonder what happened to him?" he thought.
Danny slumped into his room, his mind and heart racing. He didn't know what to think. It got so bad he forgot how to breath. When he fell asleep that night, he dreamed about nothing but her.
(Back at school)
"Danny, what's wrong with you?" said Gerald. Danny seemed to be a zombie today, not saying anything, or even acting like he could think. Gerald snapped in front of his brother's eye, but Danny's eyes stood unblinking.
"What is wrong with him?" he asked. As they walked, or more like Gerald walking somewhere and Danny unknowingly followed him, Gerald ran into Alicia.
"Oh, hi Gerald, and D..." but she stopped for a minute. Danny and her stood blushing at each other before they walked in the opposite direction. Gerald was having a WTF moment before he walked back to his locker to see Maria.
"Hi, something wrong?" she asked.
"Nah, nothing," he said, kissing her.