Such a long chapter! AH! And I know you'll love it! I had so much fun writing it!
I had a shit load of homework though! I'm like, 'damn, miss half a day...'
Whatever.
Dude, so, I literally suck at ALL strokes except free and my coach put me in fly in the medlay relay for our invitational meet on saturday! ARG! AND THE F***ING 500! AHHHHHHH! Good news, I'm in the 200 again. I've been in that consistently and I swim for points for JV. :) DOn't know what I'm swimming at meet tomorrow...BUT NO MORNING PRACTICE! WHOOPWHOOP!
AH!
You guys seriously don't know how much reviews MAKE MY LIFE!
So the other day, I was texting 'myheartsastereo' and I literally sent her this text: "So in an A/N of mine I blabbed about the awful PJ movie and invited others to rant in reviews. :) Every review is pretty much flooded with movie criticism. :) Each time I read one I'm like 'I AM AMONG MY PEOPLE!'
That was word for word guys. :) Haha! (Any House of Anubis fans check her story out!)
So...do any of you guys go to a school that while your in a school sanctioned sport your exempt from gym class? I really want to be a school like that. Today I worked like 3.5 hours! Morning practice+Gym+Afternoon practice. Actually, that's a lie. Halfway through practice I had to get out cuz I was coughing so bad from being sick. Still.
VIRTUAL HUGS TO: storm35-50, Pokemonchen, The Avian-Olympian, Meepmeep123, meforeverandalwa(ys? Is that supposed to be always?), and crazy-for-movies
REPLIES:
storm35-50: Haha. No judgements. And thanks for the help actually. It was killing me. And my book was so FAR AWAY! (I'm lazy). And haha, she is kinda katniss-like isn't she?
Pokemonchen: YES! EXACTLY! And yeah. So...it's gonna be weird with a new Chiron, but the acter's good. And yeah, at least they're gettin the hair right this time! Grover...I have nothing to say. Haha. yeah, Lena's life sucks BUT THEN THERES ZACK! XD HEEHEEHEEHEE! (Im like fangirling my own story...) ;)
The Avian-Olympian: You'll notice that for a couple of chapters I'll use one word or another repeatedly cuz I feel like it makes me sound shmancy. The past couple of days, the word has been 'pleasantries'. ;) Yeah. Movie was shit. The full list of inaccuracies is MUCH longer. And I'm glad I steal your words. MWUAHAHAHA! I AM ANOTHERFACELESSAUTHOR! STEALER OF REVIEWS! BOW BEFORE ME! ...Jk, just review. ;)
Meepmeep123: ;) I'm playing around with when and how I want the graves to come in. I got a few ideas. *evil grin*
meforeeverandalwa(ys?): NEW PERSON! FRESH BLOOD! Ha, JK. ;) And YAY! BONES FAN! WHOOPWHOOP! And thx! :)
crazy-for-movies: yes, Capture the flag,...LET CHAOS ENSUE! RIGHT? TAPERTAPERTAPER! And, no offense, I'd rather not say. I'm just saying I swim for a Wisconsin High School. Due to privacy issues, I'd rather not say. Even though I doubt a stalker would choose a FANFICTION website to go trolling. But just in case... And Lena is just Lena. If people find out who she is, she'll be treated differently. And...other reasons. ;) PLANS! HAhAHAHAHAHA!
I LOVE REVIEWS! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
Lyrics: Two is Better Than One by Boys Like Girls featuring T-Swizzle (Taylor Swift)
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought hey
You know, this could be something
'Cause everything you do and words you say
You know that it all takes my breath away
And now I'm left with nothing
So maybe it's true that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
I remember every look upon your face
The way you roll your eyes, the way you taste
You make it hard for breathing
'Cause when I close my eyes and drift away
I think of you and everything's okay
I'm finally now believing
Then maybe it's true that I can't live without you
And maybe two is better than one
But there's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking two is better than one
I remember what you wore on the first day
You came into my life and I thought, hey (hey, hey)
Maybe it's true that I can't live without you
Maybe two is better than one
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
And you've already got me coming undone
And I'm thinking, ooh, I can't live without you
'Cause, baby, two is better than one
There's so much time to figure out the rest of my life
But I figured out with all that's said and done
Two is better than one, two is better than one
This song is great cuz if you've heard it, it's a boy and girl singing together. Its just so great. If you're just reading the lyrics, never having heard it, it can be perfectly applied to either Zack or Lena.
:)
Song: Remembering Sunday by All Time Low (The REAL version. Not the live version where the chick singer doesn't know the f***ing WORDS! UGG! Don't get me started.)
Disclaimer: ...
READ ON!
I stuffed my hands in my pocket and grit my teeth. I was following Chiron and Zack to the Dining Pavilion. Every time a passerby demigod would bump into me, or even look at me, I felt the intense desire to snarl like a rabid dog, but I needed their trust. Openly displaying distrust did not seem a good way to go about gaining said trust.
At least, I'm pretty sure. I'm new to this. The whole 'Caring About What Others Think And Feel' concept is completely foreign to me. I haven't considered it in the slightest since I was nine.
We reached the wide-open pavilion and Zack turned to me. "You okay?"
I shrugged it off. "Yeah. Of course. Just about to be introduced to a Camp full of demigods who many of them have parents who want me dead. No big deal or anything. Another day in the life of Lena." I sighed.
He frowned. "You'll do fine."
If it came to a fight, maybe, but when it came to asking them to follow me to their possible death? Not so much. I just muttered, "Yeah, whatever."
He gave me a small smile and squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "I have to go over to my table. Wait until Chiron announces you."
With that he walked over to a table. My eyes followed him. At the table he went to sit at there was three other people. One about thirteen. One...maybe fifteen? The other a year or two older than myself. They began talking to Zack and I saw him tense. Suddenly all three of them glanced at myself and they began to guffaw. Zack began arguing with them. I was about to go demand what was going on, before I was attacked.
I already had my hand in my pocket before I heard the familiar high-pitched, "Lena!"
I turned around. "Lexi?"
The blonde girl from an eternity ago smiled. "You are a demigod! That's great!"
"Are Alex and Kara here too?"
She nodded ecstatically. "Yeah! Kara is head of Ares cabin and Alex is in the Apollo cabin. Not head though. Me, I'm head counselor of Aphrodite."
"Aphrodite?" My disgust was not well hidden.
Her eyes narrowed. "Got a problem?"
I considered. "Can you handle a weapon?"
"I'm freaking amazing with a knife."
I shrugged. "Don't attack me with it and we don't have a problem." A pack of girls, immediately identified as Aphrodite girls, walked past. My nose scrunched at the smell. "But, please, keep your pack away from me. I get testy around...well, anyone. Particularly narcissistic, vain, self-centered girls who poke their nose into everyone's business."
At first, I wondered if Lexi would be mad. Instead she shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, they get on a lot of people's nerves. I gotta go, breakfast be a calling! Talk to you later!" She waved and jogged off to her cabin mates.
I oddly felt even more out of place.
Chiron pounded his hoof. "Heroes! Give me your attention, for we have a new camper!" I flinched, knowing I was anything but a 'camper'. Chiron beckoned me forward and I reluctantly walked up, my shoulders as rigid as humanly possible. Once I stood by Chiron I turned and faced the hundreds of eyes on me. I forced my chin up in pride. I would not shrink away in fright. I was proud, I was strong.
"Everyone," Chiron spoke, "this is Lena. Daughter of Poseidon!"
I saw a table of about four whoop and holler. I glanced over, guessing they were my half-aunts and half-uncles. Woah. Weird. I shoved that thought away.
Chiron gestured to said table and I walked over there. As soon as I sat down, I was pounced upon.
"Aren't you, like, seventeen?" A short girl, of an age I guessed to be around fourteen, asked. She had long straight black hair, with brown eyes. "Why are you just getting here?"
I shrugged, trying to seem casual. "I was claimed a while ago, but I didn't understand it. Someone finally found me and brought me to camp."
"Where have you lived?" A boy about my age asked. He, too, had black hair, but had blue eyes. Kind of like Zack, but this boy was shorter and lacked Zack's muscles.
"All over. Lost track to be honest."
What was this? Twenty freaking questions? Let's drive Lena to the point of insanity?
"What's your mom like?" A boy of about twelve asked. He had blonde hair, but the green eyes.
"Dead." I said, making the word sound far more casual than the meaning. "ANy more questions?" I asked with a fierce calm.
The girl next to me put her hand on my shoulder. I stiffened. She had frizzy red hair and freckles spotting her face. She had the green eyes, like the boy. She was about my age as well. "I'm so sorry, Lena."
"Yeah, well, life's a bitch."
She smiled kindly. "You're here now. It'll get better." Her voice was soft, filled with loyalty and kindness. Genuine loyalty and kindness. "I remember when I first came to camp. I was scared silly. And being claimed by a crazy powerful god? Insanity! But you learn to fit in and you become part of a family."
At that, food was served. Then, everyone started standing and walking to a fire pit. I frowned, confused.
"We give offerings to our parents. I'll be sure to thank father for bringing you here," the girl asked.
"What's your name?" I asked abruptly.
"Mara." She said with a smile. "It's nice to meet you Lena."
"Don't count on it," I muttered, but with the noise in the pavilion, I don't think she heard me. When I reached the fire I dumped some food in and mentally sent it to Zeus.
'I hope you choke on it,' I thought.
I then put some more in and sent it to Athena and Poseidon. 'Guide and protect me,' I pleaded. 'I'm so confused. I'm so lost.'
Then, to prevent tears, I walked back to the table. When I got there, all my 'siblings' were eating. They smiled when I sat down and I was honestly creeped out. I kept waiting for someone to dive at me, hold a sword to my throat, and demand that I tell them the truth.
"D'you know how to play capture the flag?" The older boy asked.
The black-haired girl smacked him. "She just got here. I doubt she knows how to hold a sword!"
"I don't know." I told them. "I think I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
The older boy gestured to me. "See? Never count some one out. That's what they always did to PJ right?"
My head shot up from my food. "PJ?" I asked, my voice a bit too high.
The black-haired girl scoffed. "Yeah. Percy Jackson. Trust me, you'll learn all about him soon enough. Especially being a Poseidon kid. Everyone expects us to be able to summon these hurricanes like he could! None of us can even control water all that well! We will forever live in his shadow," she sighed. Girl, whoever you are, don't EVEN get me started. "But he did a lot of great things too. Too many to name in one breakfast."
And the ever present shadow returns. If they were hidden in the shade, I was lost in the darkness.
Instead of getting on the dangerous 'shadow' topic, I settled for a different one. "You guys can't control water?"
The older boy responded. "Not well. I mean, I can breathe underwater. Mara, there, can talk to fish and horses." Mara blushed. "Henry," he gestured to the smaller boy, "can stay dry in water. Alli," he gestured to the girl with black hair, "can heal her own wounds, and sometimes someone else's, with water. Salt water works best though. What about you?"
I had to keep myself from frowning. Besides the breathing underwater, I could do all of those with intense concentration. I could also control water a bit, not nearly as well as my father though.
But what I said was, "Talk to fish and horses." I turned to Mara and plastered on a fake smile. "Just like you."
She smiled back, not noticing my falsity. "That's cool."
I turned to the older boy. "So I got their names," I gestured to the other three, "sort of. I have a gods awful memory when it comes to names, but who are you?" Perhaps I could have said it kinder, but eloquence was not my strength in the slightest.
"Max." He told me.
I nodded and then ate in silence. Silence had been a friend of mine much longer than commotion and constant noise.
After breakfast I stood and turned my head from side to side, frantically searching for Zack. I saw a different familiar face instead.
"Hey!" Alex called as he walked over. "Poseidon, huh? Wicked." His smile was wide.
"Thanks. Where's Zack?" I asked, cursing myself for how that sounded.
Alex was unfazed. He pointed north. "Over by the entrance of the pavilion. I think he's waiting for you."
I nodded in thanks and politely waved to my table, presuming that that was what was expected, and shoved my way through the crowd to find Zack. Eager to get away from the crowd.
I found Zack by the entrance. He had a scowl on his face and campers steered clear of them. I didn't think he looked scary, but I figured maybe after a life on the run from monsters, my definition of 'scary' was skewed. I could sit calmly during a roller coaster or a horror film. I fell asleep during a horror movie once.
"What's up frowny-face?" I asked.
His head whipped to face me, probably not having noticed me. Instantly his features relaxed. "Hey, Len's. How's the family?" He was referring to the Poseidon table.
I sighed. "Very curious and overly friendly."
He chuckled softly. "Wish that was my cabin's problem."
"What's up with your cabin?" I asked, curiosity gripping me.
He looked around. "Come on."
He grabbed my hand and I followed him, not having a clue where we were going. He stopped when we reached an arena of sorts. "It's usually empty at this time of day." He told me as we took a seat in the stands.
"So, Zeus cabin. What's the big deal?" I asked finally.
He sighed again. "They're just...You know those really bad movies with the jock who's a total jerk to everyone? Think's he's better than everyone else."
I nodded.
"Yeah, well, that's pretty much my cabin. When I came to camp when I was nine there was two people in Zeus's cabin. The first one was older and now visits camp every now and then. The second was Zeke."
"The older one?" I asked.
He nodded. "The one who doesn't live here anymore was okay, I guess. But Zeke...he's a total tyrant. That summer I arrived, before I was claimed, Peter was claimed as well. At the age of eight." I recalled the boy of about fifteen. "Quickly he turned into Zeke's right hand jerk. I spent several months with Hermes, with all the other unclaimed, until Zeus claimed me." His face darkened. "It was not a happy day. All summer I had dreamt of being claimed, not once had it crossed my mind that I might be a child of Zeus."
Though all this, I could only marvel at how different our ninth years were. While I was dealing with my parents death, Zack was dealing with his father's claiming.
"Anyway, now Carter's here and he's as bad as the rest of them. The entire camp hates and fears them and they don't care. Actually, they ENJOY it." He practically spits that last part out. "They revel in their power and control. As egotistical as their father. Children of Zeus kinda went downhill after Thalia."
"Not you," I found the courage to say.
A small smile formed on his face. "That's what I keep hoping for. Maybe...I don't know."
"Yes you do." I challenged.
He paused. "I guess, I guess I'm hoping that maybe I can restore cabin one's honor."
"Honor?" I asked.
Zack nodded, looking embarrassed.
Pride I was familiar with. But pride was self-centered, a sin I constantly struggled with. Honor was...different. Honor was respectful. Honor was heroic, in my opinion.
I looked out at the arena. "I think that's a good goal." I said.
"I hope so."
I felt a breeze and closed my eyes, trying to relax for the first time since we had arrived at camp.
"You know," I said. "If I wasn't terrified of your father killing me, or other demigods killing me, or a Memory Monster killing me with my own past, this might actually be okay. Except, you know, I hate people and they're just all over the place!"
Zack chuckled again. "Yeah. People tend to be where people gather. Crazy concept."
"Completely irrational." I agreed.
Since my eyes were still closed, I was unprepared for the sudden warmth on my lips, the sudden pressure.
Zack was kissing me.
Again.
Pure terror was my first reaction. Then pure pleasure took over.
My hands, unsure what to do, found themselves resting on his shoulders. Zack slipped his hands around my waist, gently pulling me closer. I obliged, wanting exactly what he did.
For a moment, I was not Lena. My parents weren't dead, and my parents weren't the famous Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. I was not on the threat of death. I was not on the threat of not caring about death. I was not broken. I was not frail.
For a fraction of a wonderful second, I was me, and I was whole.
It had been so long since I felt that, I had nearly forgotten the feeling.
I hadn't felt this way since my name was Silena. I felt like I was meeting an old friend again. She was kind, and gentle. She cared and she was loyal. It was she who was the epitome of heroism, not Lena.
As soon as that thought registered, Lena took over and I shoved Zack away.
The broken, scared, fragile, angry, depressed, and ultimately alone Lena returned, and Silena was once again lost.
I looked up at Zack's eyes, fearful I would see anger. Instead, there was just a sort of sad calm. He brushed a piece of hair out of my eyes. He then leaned down and kissed my forehead.
"Whenever you're ready, Lena. You take your time."
I just leaned in, inhaling his fragrance of lemons.
I was broken, pretending to be whole.
I was frail, pretending to be strong.
I was scared, pretending to be brave.
I was a lie that Zack-with all his purity, good intentions, and kind heart-saw right through. How did he do that? Or, better yet...
Why would he care for me? When compared to him, I was nothing. I wasn't kind or pretty or cool or even friendly. Why did he choose to place his interests in me?
Why did I think I was good enough to place my interests in him?