A/N- School starts tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't have written today, but I'm celebrating the last day of freedom…so here you go.

Disclaimer- If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: I DON'T OWN PJO! GOT IT?

Chapter 3: Explanations

The day after I came was pretty normal. Well, if you can count a pink Ares cabin as normal. It seems Naomi and the Stolls were at it again, even though they'd gotten a week of helping with dishes for the little trick with the fire. They didn't get punished for this one though…although I thought I knew why.

"You punks are DEAD!" That was Clarisse. Naomi and the Stolls paled and took off running. They were chased around camp for the better part of an hour. Michael and I? We sat on a bench watching and laughing our heads off. I finally broached a question I had been pondering for a while.

"Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that necklace?"

"What necklace?"

"The one with the bow and arrows."

"Oh, that necklace. Well, um, you remember Ami, right?"

"Yeah," I said, somewhat bitterly, "And I have the scar to prove it."

"Well, you know how she had really wanted to join the Hunters, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, when she was 9, the Hunters were at camp for a while. She asked if she could join. Artemis said she was too young, but she could join in a couple years. She gave Ami the necklace. Ami got kind of mad that she couldn't join. She kept the necklace, but never used it. Before she, um, turned evil, she gave the necklace to me. She said that she 'didn't want it and wouldn't need it.' I kept it for a while, but I already had a bow of my own and didn't need hers, so…"

"You gave it to me, huh?"

"Yeah. If you don't want it now that you know whose it was, you-"

"Michael, it doesn't matter whose it was. The past is important, but it isn't everything. Yes, this was Ami's, but then it was yours. She didn't want it, and you didn't need it, so you found someone who did. And in all, I'm still grateful for the necklace."

"Okay. I didn't tell you earlier because I thought-"

"That I'd still be angry about Ami?" Michael nodded. "You were right. I was pretty angry about Ami last year. But right now, she's gone, and there's really nothing we can do about it."

"You're right, as usual," Michael said with a smile, "but then, what did I expect from an Athena kid?"

"Michael Yew, are you using stereotypes?" I asked, faking anger, "Shame on you! I expected better from you!"

"You know, I can tell when you're faking something."

"Right."

"Well, if we're talking secrets here, then I guess I have one to spill," Naomi said, popping up from behind the bench. Connor and Travis emerged next.

"What were you doing back there?" Michael scowled.

"Um, hiding from Clarisse," Naomi said.

"She said that if she caught us-" Travis started.

"-she'd pulverize us." Connor finished.

"So you were hiding to escape pulverization, huh?" I asked. They nodded. "Okay, Naomi. You said you had a secret. So, spill it."

"Spill what?" Naomi asked.

"Tell this secret."

"Naomi?" Travis asked.

"What?"

"Does this have anything to do with us?"

"Nope."

"Does this have anything to do with dinner last night?" Connor asked. Naomi looked slightly panicked.

"What did you hear?"

"So it does have something to do with dinner last night."

"What did you hear?"

"Nothing. I just guessed," Connor said. Naomi looked relieved.

"But I think I heard something," Michael said.

"What?"

"When Mr.D called you Ami Reese, you stood up and said, 'With all due respect, sir, it's Naomi Na-Ross.' It has something to do with the Na- doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Naomi said. She looked really nervous.

"Should we go in your cabin?" I asked.

"No. Not there."

"Just tell us, Naomi." Michael said impatiently. I whacked his arm lightly.

"Don't rush her."

"It's- it's about my last name. It's not Ross."

"Then what is it?" Connor asked.

"It's- it's Nakamura," Naomi murmured. Then the questions started.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Like Ethan Nakamura?"

"Why did you lie about it?"

"I- I was worried. I saw the orientation video. They had made a new one and put some stuff in about the second Titan War. There was a little bit about Ethan. I didn't want you guys to think I was a traitor or anything…" She trailed off. I saw a couple tears track down her face.

"You owe us an explanation," Connor said. His face showed no trace of the affection it normally held. He looked cold and dangerous.

"Not here." I said. "Michael, is there anybody in the Apollo cabin around this time of day?"

"Nope." We walked over to the Apollo cabin and sat down on the beds.

"So, start talking," Connor said harshly.

"This starts a ways back," Naomi said. "My dad had two children, both with Nemesis. Ethan was my older brother. He went to camp before I did. I didn't come until last year. Ethan came to camp for a while, but each time he came back home, he came back different. He was…colder, somehow. A couple years ago, he stopped coming home. The last time I saw him, he was missing an eye. He looked like a completely different person then the brother I'd grown up with. I didn't know what to think of him. Then, last summer, I came to camp. I saw the new orientation video, the one that talked about the second Titan war. They mentioned some of the people who had turned on the camp. One of them was Ethan. They also said that he had died. That- that is how I learned my brother was dead."

"This isn't about Ethan," Connor said. "This is about you. And why you lied to us." I hadn't seen Connor like this before. He was so…cold, distant, harsh. It was like he'd been replaced by a stranger.

"I didn't want everybody to think that I was a traitor like my brother, so I said my last name was Ross. That was the last name Nemesis used when she met my dad."

"Wait a minute," Michael said. "Wasn't Ethan's hair black? And his eyes, they were black, too."

"My hair has always been this way," Naomi said. "My eyes, though, are a different story." She reached up and took two small lenses out of her eyes.

"Colored contacts," I breathed. Naomi's eyes were now a deep brown, almost black.

"Black eyes and blond hair, they just clashed," Naomi said. "When I was twelve, I convinced my dad to let me get colored contacts. I experimented with green, but I liked blue best."

"You know," I said, trying to lighten the mood a little, "You look better without the contacts."

"Thanks."

"You know," Michael spoke up, "Ethan didn't die a traitor. In the end, he turned on Kronos and tried to kill him. It didn't work- Kronos had the curse of Achilles- and the sword ricocheted and hit Ethan. Kronos opened a hole in Olympus and Ethan fell to his death." Naomi was listening intently. "Ethan died a hero, Naomi. You don't need to be ashamed of him. You should be proud."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Maybe she should, but I think she shouldn't," Connor broke in. "Her brother was the reason Kronos rose. He almost killed Annabeth. He tried to kill Percy. He-" Naomi started crying.

"Connor, stop!" I said. "You're being cruel. Naomi hasn't done anything wrong. Her brother died a hero. Look at the bead on your necklace from that summer, and you'll find Ethan's name on there. Think how you'd feel if you were her."

"I'd be ashamed of my brother, but I wouldn't have lied about it," Connor hissed. "Naomi lied. She pretended she was someone she wasn't."

"What about Chris Rodriguez? He was a traitor, but he turned. Now he's treated just like anybody else!" Michael said. Travis had just sat there throughout the whole thing, but now he spoke.

"I don't know," he said slowly, "Naomi was wrong to try and hide who she was, but you're being to harsh on her, Connor. She thought her brother was a traitor and she wanted people to accept her for who she was, not who her brother was. There's nothing wrong with that." I found myself nodding in agreement. Connor's face was still cold and harsh.

"I don't know," he said. "She lied. For almost a whole year, she lied to us, Travis, and you're willing to forgive her for that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not!" Connor stormed out of the Apollo cabin, leaving Naomi in tears.

"What have I done?" she murmured.

I went over and hugged her tightly. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No. You did what you thought was best. And in the end, what matters is that you came clean about it. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. You know something?"

"What?"

"I'm not going to wear these contacts anymore. I'm proud to be a Nakamura." She threw down the contacts. The conch horn blew for lunch and we all streamed in. Once everybody was eating, Connor stood. I looked over at Naomi, sitting alone at the Nemesis table. She paled when she saw Connor stand.

"You all think you know Naomi Ross," Connor started. He spat out the name as if it were poison.

"Connor, is this really necessary?" Chiron asked.

"Yes. It is. Naomi is not who she says she is. She isn't Naomi Ross. She Naomi Nakamura. The sister of a traitor. She lied to us, all of us, about her past, her name, everything. She even changed her appearance. Look!" he pointed to Naomi, who was slouching down in her seat. "Look at her eyes. They aren't blue like they used to be. They're black. She's lied about everything. Everything," Connor sat back down, looking furious. There was a short silence, then the whispers started to fly.

"Is she a traitor, too?"

"Why was she lying to us?"

"Why did she admit it?"

The rest of the Athena cabin was staring at me. I've got a lot of explaining to do.

A/N- So, there you go. Naomi came clean about her past, but now Connor's rejected her. What's going to happen? The answer? You'll find out! *evil chuckle* I won't be able to update as frequently, so you might have to wait a while. : ( See y'all!

-smartone101