Another chapter (!) I hope you're all enjoying it, please please please review!

Oh, just a quickie: I'm really bad at thinking of titles and I honestly cannot think of one for this story, so if you come up with any ideas, please message me. I don't bite!

Chapter Three: Jack

It was Drew and her stupid Aphrodite cronies who started it. I was preparing to have a peaceful Saturday – I had excused myself from activities today, so I was planning on a lie-in, late breakfast, walk by the woods…

Instead, I was woken by Liv, my half sister.

'Jack,' she shook my shoulder. 'Jaaack.'

'Whayouwant?' I mumbled sleepily.

'It's Ryan,' she replied. 'He says Drew wants to talk to you.'

'What?' I sat up, quickly, knocking back Liv, rubbed my eyes. 'Did he say why?'

'No,' she said. 'He just said she wanted to speak -'

'Okay, okay. I'm up.'

I jumped out of bed and grabbed a clean pair of shorts and a T-shirt from my drawers.

'If you see him again, tell him I'm gonna kill him,' I said to Liv as I headed to the shower room. 'Slowly.'

Liv raised her eyebrows, and I shut the door.

Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to face the world. Not that I really wanted to.

I thanked the gods that Drew couldn't enter my cabin unless I invited her in, because otherwise she would have broken my door down.

Drew, the head counsellor for Aphrodite cabin, had made it known across camp that she had eyes for me at the Valentine's dance back in the spring. It was now mid-July, and I avoided her as best I could.

It wasn't that Drew wasn't pretty – the opposite. Drew was stunning. She had smooth, tanned skin and dark, glossy hair that curled down her back. She wore; well, as little as possible, especially in the summer.

I liked the way she carefully applied pink eyeliner around her brown, almond-shaped eyes and the way she walked, confident, like a queen.

But I didn't like the way she acted.

Picture one of those popular girls in high schools, who cackle when you trip over your shoes and are always surrounded by little cliques of evil girls.

Then, times all that nastiness by ten.

Then, imagine her with a dagger in her belt and five years of training how to kill people with that dagger.

Drew was pretty scary. She kept chasing me, trying to catch me alone, inviting me to beach picnics with Ryan and the others, batting her unnaturally long eyelashes at me…

And now she had asked to speak with me. Of course, it could just have been Ryan's joke, he's always messing around at Camp and getting into trouble, but I didn't want to make Drew angry. She could ask her mom, Aphrodite, to curse my love life forever. Not that it's up to much at the moment.

Outside, the sun was shining and the birds were tweeting, just like a scene from a romantic movie. It made my mood even worse.

I headed for the dining pavilion, figuring if I was going to face Drew, it would be better on a full stomach.

Because I was so late, nearer midday to breakfast time, I was the only one there, even though the breakfast buffet was still out, lined up on long stone tables on one side of the pavilion. I grabbed a blueberry muffin and some orange juice, and sat down at the Zeus table.

Me and Liv are the only campers in Cabin 1, except Thalia, our half-sister, but she decided to join the Hunters of Artemis and isn't here very often. In fact, as little as possible.

I'm usually used to being at a nearly empty table, but with the rest of the tables empty, the dining pavilion felt cold and unfriendly. A chill breeze blew its way under the table, swirling around my legs and I shivered, and got up. Maybe I should go for a walk before I saw Drew.

Swallowing the last bite of my muffin and chasing it down with a gulp of orange juice, I stood up. I was about to walk off, when I heard a voice behind me.

'Jack.'

I spun around.

Drew was standing behind me, hands on hips.

'Uh, hey, Drew,' I stammered. 'Nice day, huh?'

'Enough small talk, Jack,' Drew came closer. 'Let's walk.'

She hooked an arm through mine and led me off, like a dog owner would do to a dog. I gulped. She walked out of the dining pavilion and down the track that went to the lake.

'So, Jack,' she smiled at me. 'It's been a while, hasn't it?'

I avoided her gaze, staring at the ground, and wondered how she managed to walk in the strappy shoes she was wearing.

'Really? I hadn't noticed,' I replied.

'I thought perhaps you were…avoiding me.'

'Me? Avoid you? No way! It's just…I've been…busy…' I trailed off lamely.

'Busy, huh?' Drew stopped at the edge of the lake and flipped her hair. 'Well, you're free now, sweetie, right?'

I didn't mention I was planning a lazy day in my cabin, instead I muttered, 'Listen, Drew, I don't think me and you…I don't think it's a good idea.'

Drew raised her eyebrows. 'Oh, come on, Jack! I'm the prettiest, most popular girl at Camp!'

'But you're nasty!' I protested. 'I've seen the way you treat other campers, even your own half-sibling! It's horrible.'

Drew pouted and placed a hand on my arm. 'Jack,' her voice was persuasive and it made me want to close my eyes. 'You know you don't want to say that. I'm a lovely girl, I really am. Do you want to reconsider your decision?'

I managed to blink. I had heard about Drew's ability to charmspeak. My voice was far-away, but I heard myself say, 'I meant what I said, Drew. Come back when you know how to treat people.'

Then Drew's voice, sharp and full of anger. 'You'll regret that, Jack Greye!' she waved her hand through the air and I blacked out.

As I lost consciousness, I floated. I heard voices around me – maybe I was in the infirmary? I tried to open my eyes.

It was dark, everything around me. Funny, it had been the daytime when I had walked by the lake with Drew.

Drew. What had she done to me? I couldn't remember any pain, but there were some deaths worse than bloody ones with a sword.

Was I dead, then? No. I couldn't be. How could I still…feel? And where was the boatman, the River Styx?

I opened my eyes wider, but it stung and it was hard to see. My vision was blurry, it waved, rippled…with horrible realisation, I knew I was sinking, down, in the lake.

I couldn't swim.

Panicking, I lashed out with my arms and legs, flailing around, trying to get to the surface – only which way was up? Everything had a blueish tint to it; I couldn't even make out seaweed, or rays of sunlight…

Suddenly, two glowing lights popped up in front of me. No, not lights – eyes. Two eyes, round and amber, that were obviously built for seeing underwater. A naiad?

I blinked and opened my mouth, but the water just rushed in and my brain felt like it was going to explode. I didn't know how long I'd spent so far in the lake, but I knew that even demigods couldn't go more than a few minutes underwater, except Children of Poseidon.

Then another face appeared in my vision. This was a human face, with almond-shaped green-brown eyes and tanned skin.

The two girls caught hold of my arms and heaved me up through the water. They swam like fishes, with no effort at all. The naiad girl's silvery-blue clothes shimmered under the water, making reflections all around.

Or was it just the sun? We were rushing towards to surface of the lake rapidly, the water got warmer and warmer, and –

My head broke the surface with a splash. It was possibly the sweetest breath of air I had taken in my life. The warmth of it blew against my face, and I inhaled and exhaled slowly, my eyes closed. When I opened them, I was sitting on the wooden jetty, shivering.

One of the girls, the human, pulled herself up next to me, but the naiad stayed in the water.

'You should go, Rosa,' she said. 'Dry the boy, and make sure he's all right, then take him back up.'

'Okay,' the girl Rosa took my arm and helped me up, for which I was glad, because my legs were shaking. I felt like an idiot, having just been saved from drowning by two girls, but I was too shaken up to care.

'Th-thanks,' I managed.

'No problem,' she replied. 'We're used to it.'

'How come you could breathe underwater?' I asked.

She turned to me. 'Sorry, I should have introduced myself. Rosalie Harp, Daughter of Poseidon. Who are you?'

'I'm Jack, Son of Zeus.'

She took me over to something that looked like a huge bronze fan, and stood me in front of it.

'This may tickle,' she warned me, before switching on the machine. It blasted me with warm air and in about five seconds, I was completely dry.

I let out a laugh. 'Wow. Neat.'

Rosalie returned the smile. 'See, that sort of thing happens all the time.'

'But…I was over at the other side of the lake, right?' I frowned.

'Ah, yes, I saw what happened with you and that Aphrodite girl,' Rosalie gave me a sympathetic look.

'What did she do? I mean, she didn't push me in or anything, so, what?' I asked.

'All we saw was her shouting something at you, then she waved her hand a load of pink sparks picked you up and tossed you into the water.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'Seriously?'

'Seriously.'

Remembering Drew made my stomach twist up. If she now had it in for me…

'I should go,' I said hurriedly. 'I've got to…do something.' Yeah, go and hide in Cabin 1 for the rest of my life.

Rosalie tipped her head on one side and looked at me. 'Are you sure? You still look a bit shivery, do you want some nectar, or…'

'I'm fine,' I snapped, not thinking.

Rosalie's face took on a hurt look, and I felt bad. She was only trying to help.

'Sorry, Rosalie,' I put a hand on her shoulder and tried to catch her eye, but she looked down. 'Just got a lot on my mind. Uh, thanks a lot. For rescuing, me, saving my life…' I trailed off.

'My pleasure,' Rosalie said, and she walked off, up the path that led to the cabins.

I took another path, one further up, which went to my favourite place at Camp – the woods. Hardly any campers went there on normal days, and it was one place I could think clearly.

As I walked, I thought.

I had always hated water. When I was four, my grandfather had pushed me into the local swimming pool, yelling, 'Come on, boy! Show me what you're made of!'

If I had been a little older, I would have yelled back, 'It's not the First World War, Grandpa! You can't do that to kids anymore!'

But I had never learnt to swim. The episode at the lake had scared me, and as I walked off up the forest path, I tried to shake the memory of my lungs filling slowly with water, my vision fuzzy and thinking I'd never see the sun again.

I was surprised when I suddenly bumped into someone. It was a girl, with long blonde hair, and she was knocked over into a bush.

I bent over her, and realised it was her: Belle Edwards.

I almost wanted to run away while she had her eyes closed – she was so intimidating for a girl, more than Drew, even – but I reached out my hand to check her pulse.

Then, her eyes flashed open. They were beautiful eyes, grey like the night, and they were angry eyes. Especially when she saw who I was.

'I'm so sorry,' I held out my hand to help her. 'Are you okay?'

She snapped, 'Save it, Jack,' back at me. My entire fault, I knew.

'No, honestly,' I protested. 'I wasn't concentrating – do you want a hand out of there?'

'I'm fine,' she replied sharply. 'I don't need your help!'

She stood and brushed leaves off her clothes. She had missed one, in her hair, but I figured if I took it off for her, she'd hit me. Like I said, intimidating.

I needed to talk to her. 'Listen, Belle,' I began. But she cut me off.

'Jack, if it's to apologise about what happened last week, I don't want to hear it,' snapped, glaring.

'Belle -' I wanted her to wait, to tell her I was sorry, but she raced off into the woods.

I sighed.

What had happened between me and her was my fault.

Last week, the Hermes Cabin had hosted a party. I wasn't planning on going, since Drew would most probably be there, and the Hermes Cabin had a reputation for throwing…interesting parties. But Ryan was going, and he had pestered and pestered me until I had agreed to go.

And of course, someone had put alcohol in the punch.

I hadn't noticed at first, but then my head had started spinning, and by then, it was too late. People had handed me drink after drink…

And then I was making out with her, Belle Edwards. I didn't know what she was doing there, because she was a total loner and nobody ever invited her anywhere, but we were in one of the Hermes bunks, and by the sounds of it, we weren't the only ones there.

I had run a hand through her long hair, and looked into her eyes. She wasn't drunk, her grey gaze was too sharp for that – so why was she here with me? Because she'd wanted to?

'Jack,' she whispered, tugging at my shirt.

I was pulled from my thoughts by the dinner gong – I hadn't realised it was so late. I had walked all the way up to the cabins.

'Jack!' It was Ryan, waving at me from in front of the Poseidon cabin. 'How'd it go?'

Well, Drew used pink magic to throw me into the lake and I almost drowned. I'd say…pretty bad, as days go?

Another chapter finished! :) I hope you're liking it so far, please review, it means a lot!

Essie xoxo