Chapter V

John's POV

Ok, my day had just begun for, like 15 minutes, and I had already had troubles. First, I was waken up from a good night sleep because one goddess of ours (Minerva, of course) wanted to know whether we were ready for unexpected attacks. Then, I was slammed to the earth by a powerful demigod, who was afraid of by both of my praetors. Not to mention that I was warned seriously about his conversation.

I had no choice but to run to New Rome to get information. I hate reading, but I know a guy who enjoys it. But I didn't expect for his help, I hit him hard the night before (even though it didn't help my Cohort to win the battle). He is the Commander of the Third Cohort – Timothy Hank

It was 9.30am of Sunday morning, which meant he was found in a few places: if it wasn't his barracks, it'd be the library or the D café in New Rome. I think he had a crush on Sam, one of waitresses there. And I was right about the part that he was in the café. I saw him reading a book with a cup of coffee on the table. And that book was freaking thick, it must be 600 pages thick. Due to my dyslexia, the thickest book I can read is 10 pages only, and it took me half an hour to decipher it. I'm a demigod, remember?

But before I met him, I had to have breakfast first. It is no use preaching to a hungry man. And after being wakened up by an unpleasant goddess, what I needed was a big bowl of noodles. Cooks in New Rome went crazy about noodles after seeing 3 Vietnamese won Master Chef 3 years in a row (A/N: Please refer to my first chapter, I mentioned it in Percy's POV) I think they want to beat Vietnamese chefs with Vietnamese food (Good luck about that. I've been to Vietnam a few times and the foods were delicious. You can't beat them). The bad part was that we had to stand against their disgusting meals (at first), the good part was that they became nicer, more… globalization? (They served more kinds of food, just think about globalization in Camp Jupiter like that)

I found a restaurant called "Pho 24" (A/N: This is a string of restaurant, quite well-known in Vietnam. Just imagine that some guys from Camp Jupiter actually work for the string. OK?) I knew the chef well, it's Tom. After all, he used to be a member of Archer team in Second Cohort. As soon as I opened the door, a pleasant smell came to my nose. It's a mixture of cooked beef and chicken, fennel… and I don't know why, but this smell seemed to ease me down. Tom looked up from the counter and said:

- Wow, John. What are you doing here? Looking for Tina or having breakfast?

- Breakfast, of course. I'm still tired from last night game and Minerva woke the entire camp today because she would like to know whether we are ready or not. Oh, Lord Jove (A/N: Is it true that 'Jove' is the short of 'Jupiter'?), I hate her. But, did you say something about Tina? There's nothing between she and me.

Tom shrugged, mumbled something like 'Really? I don't think so' then spoke out loud and clear – just like his style:

- So, breakfast. What'd you like? Pho with beef or chicken? Any onion? Garlic or…

- C'mon Tom. You know my taste. Medium-rare beef with enough onion and a lot of garlic. I've been eating like that for 2 years. Don't tell me that you don't remember that

Tom giggled. One thing for sure, he enjoys teasing people, especially ones who are still in the army. And top of that, I'm his frequent victim. Mostly due to the fact that I'm present Second-in-command of the Second Cohort, which he used to serve in. Now, he had been retired for 5 years and he was still dreaming of being enlisted one more time. What a guy!

Tom was preparing my 'Pho'. His hands were like magic, sweeping through different dishes which had different types of spice, meat, vegetable… After a few minute, my food was ready and I couldn't wait to try that. Before I noticed, I had already finished it. I blenched with a not-so-pleasant sound, and I think Tom sensed some smell too because he was scowling then. He said:

- John, if you want to impress Tina, don't behave like a barbarian, act like a gentleman. Look at me. I behaved very nice and I got married with Sam, my dear love. And I mean it, try to behave a little better. OK?

- Oh, c'mon. I told you earlier. There is nothing between me and her. We were comrades in arms, that's all. OK?

- Oh, look. She is walking with Tim over there. You can see them through the glass door

He said, which made me turned my head back instantly. And, well, did I say he like teasing me? There was no Tina there. Dam, I had a small crush on her. After the training, every one began to speak about it. Tom continued:

– My friend, I'm much older than you. Let me see. You are 15, have served 2 years in the army. I'm 23 and I've been retired for 5 years, which means, I'm 8 years older than you. I can sense your feeling by looking at you. You can't deny that fact. And it's truth for eternity, my friend.

Crap. Tom is much older than me, which means he can get the gist of my feeling by looking at my face. When I first met Tina, I think I had an immediate crush on her. She is a tomboy with shoulder-long-dark hair, not to mention her skill. She had slay at least a dozen of monsters on her way to the Camp Jupiter and at least 3 more serpents on the opening of Tunnel Caldecott (I was in charged of guarding the Camp that day) and I was totally impressed with her. It took a little while before I think I was in love with her. Normally, if someone spoke about this right in front of me, I'd slap him in his face. But I had a job to do, which mean my only choice is to force myself to smile.

After a little chit chat, mostly about his wife and his son, which would be given birth in a few months, I said good-bye to him and back to D café to find my nature opponent: Tim. We were enemy since we joined the army of New Rome. And it's truth regardless of subjects you are talking about.

I'm a Virgo (birth day: 1st September) which mean I'm patient and careful (but sometimes, the second is not truth), polite (unless some one had just teased me or/and I was mad) and I prefer old-school style (A/N: Well, I let John looked like me a lot, including his characteristic and his birthday). Also, I think that I'm faithful toward my friends, no matter what; I'll do what I had promised them. Normally, a Virgo enjoys reading books, but I don't, due to my dyslexia and I'm a good driver (as long as I drive, no chariots will be stuck in a traffic accident) (A/N: Many Virgo is regarded as careless drivers, guys. I always wondering why Death hasn't spoken their names, which have my name in that)

In contrast, Tim is a Sagittarius, he is like a playboy. As far as I concern, he had flirted all girls in the 6 Cohorts and he made himself an enemy with all boys in the army (I think there were at least 5 attempts in taking him down in the last month). He loves anything, as long as it is new. In fact, he was the one who propose us to use guns in training and combat; I think this is the only reason why boys forgive him (for a while). While many Sagittarius in mortal world are like players (always show up at clubs and bars, not classes), he is one of the most intelligent man in the army, which mean I had to try my best to extract information from him without any violent activities.

The first good news in the day: Tim was still in the café, and by looking at the coffee cup, I could be sure that he wouldn't leave in at least 20 minutes, enough for me to get what I want. The bad news (Another bad news to be exactly), he was glancing at Tina, who was sitting a few tables away. Damm, I must ask him before he had time to make an opening to Tina. With that thought, I opened the door and walked to his place. It was a good trick, as long as you don't remember he is a Captain – the Commander of the Third Cohort

- John, my friend, what wind brought you here?

- The wind of knowledge my comrade. And the one of sorrow too. You have my apology of hitting your head last night.

He scowled a bit. Probably because I hit him so hard that he fainted and had to be transported to medic by giant eagles. And did I day he had allergy to feather? He must had been sneezing all night, poor guy. I think that paid off for the fact that his Third Cohort crushed my team last night.

- Ouch. You hurt me seriously last night

- But I didn't kill you. And I can't kill you. Our weapons were modified so that we can get hurt only, not be killed. Even we could be hurt, it wouldn't be serious injures. We have bumps, scratches and some bruises only. And do you accept my apology? I'll pay for your coffee.

- Alright. I accept. But I can sure about one thing. You are not here, apologizing me, just to borrow this book – He was pointing at his 'Sherlock Holmes' book (A/N: I'm also a fan of Sherlock Holmes) and tasted his Cappuccino with the tip of his tongue – you must be here for something else, don't you?

Lord Jove, this guy is freaking smart. Nothing can pass his eyes unnoticed, almost nothing. I was able to hide things away from his eyes a few times only and I was exhausted then. In this case, the best way is to speak the truth. Well, the truth after omitting some information

- Do you remember the pale guy popping out of nowhere this morning? The guy who said the horns were blown by Minerva

- Oh, yes. I know him. His name is Nico di Angelo, a Greek demigod, son of Hades, who we are used to calling call Pluto. He is the first Greek demigod in 21st century to find out about Camp Jupiter. He was one of the most powerful demigods 18 years ago and he still is. That's why Alex and Jim were smart enough to not to mess with him. But what about him? He has a beautiful wife at home so he won't show up here to find a chick. Oh, and his wife is Apollo's daughter, so he won't try to do anything cocky here

- I heard him speaking with 2 praetors. They talked about something big, terrible. I believe it has something related to the mortal world. Any ideas?

Tim seemed to lose his focus on me. It was normal, he is like 21st-cenutry Sherlock Holmes (apart from the fact that Sherlock Holmes isn't real, it's a fantasy of Arthur Conan Doyle – a son of Apollo and he was given a gift by Minerva). I bet my wallet, which is full of denarius that Tim was lost in his own thoughts. And if he was, he'd stay like that for at least 5 minutes. It is no use waking him up so I moved to Tina's table.

She looked cute that day – even in armor suit. Oh, and in case I haven't told you, she is a daughter of Vulcan and she was born just 3 months after me. She made herself an armor which can turn into normal clothes whenever she wants. It's cool. Roman armors are quite heavy, and hot, wearing it in a battle is Ok. But in marching? It's like torture. Walking in a 5-kilogram armor (A/N: equal 11 pounds) in the weather of 30 Celsius degree (A/N: equal 86 Fahrenheit degree) is a real test, a real art of torture. And walking with a T-shirt which can turn into the armor when you want only? Paradise!

She was enjoying an espresso then. The coffee is as sweet as her. I wish can know how sweet her lips are. I wish I can kiss her. Looking in her warm brown eyes and then say: 'I love you'. Her dark hair was comb carefully, making her gorgeous…

Damm, I was almost lost in thoughts. Focus. I have to impress her. Suddenly, Tim spoke up:

- Man, feel free to impress Tina. She is not my type and I won't try to impress her anymore. I swear on the River Styx. Now, can you go there and sit with her? I need time alone to think about this

With that, I felt a thunder clapping outside – even though it was morning with no cloud on the sky. The Oath was confirmed and he was still alive, which mean he was telling the truth. With the confident I gained from his oath, I walked to Tina's.

Tina, who must had heard something in my conversation with Tim, said:

- Junior Chief. Good morning. Are you here to impress me? Again?

Oh, c'mon. I hadn't said anything and she had already hit me with a bucket of cold water, figurative sense, of course. There was no 'real' bucket there. And did I mention she was a Capricorn. As cold as ice, harder than Virgo (by the way, sorry for Horoscope, I like that). But why Virgo and Capricorn can make a perfect couple while the Virgo guy can't impress the Capricorn girl? Even when the Virgo guy is the girl's commander?

- Hey, we have known each other for 6 months and you can't stop calling me Junior Chief? Can't you call me John?

- Well, I'll start calling you John when you stop trying to impress me. I told you. I won't looking forward to having a boyfriend before I finish my duty here and get a job in the mortal world

- Oh, my dear Tina. Why are you that hard? You must let yourself loose sometime! It's much funnier than keeping yourself being as cold as ice

Tina's face, which still completely unchanged for the last 2 minute, seemed to be darker. It was fast, only for 2 seconds only. I noticed that there was something in her eyes too. Something likes sadness and sorrow. But it quickly faded away too. She continued:

- No. We are Romans. We have to complete our duty before thinking about having fun. Isn't it true?

- Erg… it's true

- And shouldn't we have sex until we are 18 or over?

- You are correct. Again

- So, if I accepted your offer of being your girlfriend, it'd be a matter of time before we do that stupid thing, which can lead us to many problems. And don't say that we can control hormones, aphrodisiac can change everything. And if aphrodisiac wasn't responsible, our bodies would be. Our ancestors had to do anything to have as many children as possible, and they passed that characteristic down to us. It is too risky. I'm sorry. I can't be your girlfriend. Not now, and may be never.

- Oh, c'mon. Assume that you can let me be your boyfriend, what do I have to do?

Tina fell silent. It strange, she hadn't been this silent for quite a long time. It led me to one conclusion: either she was to piss off that she didn't want to talk, or she was thinking about an answer. Either way, it wasn't a good sign, not a good sign at all. You can say it is a bad omen

Finally, after the whole minute of silence, she spoke up:

- Let me think about it a little more. OK? Give me one week and I'll tell you. Don't push me or I won't tell you a thing. Clear?

- I think it's crystal clear, Tina – Tim spoke up when he was standing right behind me. Jove knows how much he had heard – And do you mind if I borrowed your guy?

Seriously? This meant he still teased me. I hated this guy, he always got on my nerve. And this time, he made me blush. Tina scowled:

- One, he is not my guy. He hasn't met my standard so he isn't even close to my hope. He still has to try really hard to get my attention. Two, you are free to take him away. I have already finished with him

Tim tapped my shoulders when Tina stood up and walked away. Oh, man. I think she was trying to piss me off. Her ass was awesome! Was she trying to make me jealous? All the guys in the café were watching her then. I heard them mumble: 'Check that chick! She is hot!', 'No shit bro. She is a goddess'… If I had been allowed to carry weapons into New Rome, I'd have killed them then.

Tim said:

- Now, do you understand why I said she is not my type? And don't try that innocent face. I know you know what I mean. She is just too arrogant and too cold. Not to mention her mystery background. No one has heard about who she was apart the detail that she is a daughter of Vulcan. Regard to your question earlier, I have some theory. Want to hear?

A/N: Gosh, it was over 3000 words. It is the first time I've written this long (Over 5 A4 pages in Microsoft Word, nearly 6 if you plus my Author Note). My hands are trembling now. I had to type like crazy in the last few hours.

Thank you, Call of the Ghost for your 2 reviews. Thanks all of you about over 900 views. I love you guys so much.

This chapter is completed sooner than I expected (on Tuesday night, 9:40pm, GMT+7 – I'm staying at Vietnam, remember?) But my family is having problems so I'll try to post it on Fan Fiction on tommorrow morning (no later than 10am Wednesday 20th November I hope)

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As I mentioned before, if I can get at least 2 more reviews (intially 4 but Call of the Ghost had submitted 2 reviews) I'll try to update once a week. If not, one every 10 days or so (or I'll delete this story because it isn't good enough). I don't hate you guys. I just want to know the best way to improve my writing. Thanks a lot

***Discalmer: I don't own PJO and HoO. Rick does. I only own my Ocs (the ones who didn't appear in Rick's books)