Break went well, considering the whole school now knew I had a violent past. I mean, I got a few more odd looks than had been the norm, and people whispered as I walked passed, but it was nothing to worry about. I went looking for Leila on my own, as she'd said she wanted to talk to me, but I couldn't find her anywhere. Eventually, Austin came up to me.

"So," she began casually. "Do you often get into fights with gods, or was Phoebus a special case?"

I laughed at her bluntness. "I only argue with the annoying ones, and very rarely do I get into fist fights. So, yeah, I guess Phoebus was a special case."

She rolled her eyes. "The annoying ones?" she scoffed. "Like who?"

I looked nervously at the sky. "I'd rather not answer that, if I'm honest."

She tagged on quickly. "Right, gotcha." She leaned in closer. "By the way, if you're wondering where Leila is, she's waiting for you by the maple tree."

I felt relief rush over me. "Thanks, Austin. I'll go to her now."

A few minutes later, I found Leila on the bench under the tree, sitting alone and staring intently at the floor. I took a seat next to her.

"Hey," I said quietly. "You wanted a word?"
She looked up at me, and for the first time I noticed her red puffy eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she croaked.

"Tell you what?" I asked gently, not wanting to jump to conclusions and tell her something else to get her upset.

"My brother, Eden," she said.

Ah.

I sighed. "I couldn't, Leila," I said, trying to make her understand. "Plus, it's your brother's responsibility to tell you of his heritage, not mine. It's not my place."

Her shoulders slumped, defeated.

"I-I suppose," she said, so quietly I had to strain to hear her. "But, why would he keep that from me? He's my brother; I wouldn't have treated him any different!"

I smiled slightly. "I know that, Leila, but he probably didn't tell you for the same reason I didn't: we simply aren't allowed. On top of that, do you realise how scary the idea of telling loved ones that you're the child of something that according to modern society doesn't exist is? It's bloody terrifying!"

She laughed along with me. Good; laughing meant not crying.

"I'm sure he wanted to tell you, but he just couldn't," I concluded.

She nodded, seeming to brighten up a little.

"How did you know?" she asked, looking up at me. "Did he tell you?"

I shook my head.

"Demigods give off a certain… vibe, if you will. As well as monsters, gods or satyrs picking up on it, other demigods can too. I couldn't tell whose kid he was, but I knew he was a demigod. I didn't mention anything to him at first, because I didn't know if he knew he was a demigod or not. Can you imagine your sister's crazy friend telling you you weren't human?" She smirked a little. "Eventually, though, he plucked up the courage to mention something. He already knew he was a demigod because his dad had told him – you know who his father is, right?"

She nodded. "Apollo, god of music."

I nodded, "Yeah, exactly. So, I told him who I was, what I was, and we got along fine. Apparently he'd known for ages, and I wondered why I hadn't seen him at Camp: turns out he's from Camp Jupiter – did he explain the difference to you?" She nodded again. I really must tell Laura and Austin that difference. "He'd just come back from Camp at the time, so he'd probably become more aware of the demigod vibe."

She burst out laughing then.

"You make it sound like some corny 80's TV show or something!" she spluttered.

I smiled, glad she wasn't on the verge of tears any more.

"C'mon," I said, standing and pulling her with me. "We've got places to be." We went a few steps before I stopped her. "You sure you're okay?"

Leila nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I'm totally fine," she said. "I just needed to find out what you knew, that's all."

I threw my arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards class.

Lunch was when it really went downhill.

After we'd finished eating, the girls and I were sat on the school wall by the front gates, talking about which gods they thought it'd be cool to meet.

"I'd love to meet Aphrodite," Leila said, hand clasped together and eyes wide. "I mean, how amazing would it be to have the Queen of Love giving, say, style advice or match-making stuff? It'd be so cool!"

It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. Leila always had been a hopeless romantic. I didn't want to ruin her little fantasy and tell her what I really thought of Aphrodite. Personally, I thought she was a selfish, scheming, self-centred, manipulative little wench who needed to learn when to keep her nose out of other people's business, but that's just me. Out loud, I didn't voice my own views because I didn't want to get attacked by anything – or anyone.

"Really?" Laura said. "I think Athena would be much better company. Aphrodite'd be all: 'Ooh, don't I look good in this' or 'Ooh, doesn't this shade of lip-stick make my eyes sparkle'. With Athena, you'd get a coherent conversation on a variety of different topics; history, theology, anything under the sun!" She smirked smugly. "Athena is the goddess of wisdom, don't you know?"

I laughed at her. Now, there was a more sensible choice.

"How about you, Austin?" I asked.

She sat and thought about it for a moment.

"Hades, I think," she said, seemingly happy with her decision.

Leila exploded. "What?" she screeched. "The dead guy?" I cringed at her choice of words. Thank the gods Hades didn't have a tendency of listening to mortal conversations…

Austin just shrugged. "I think Hades is just misunderstood," she said thoughtfully. "I mean, if you re-read the myth – or is that history? – Hades was forced into his position in the Underworld, so he might not be all that bad. Plus, can you imagine all the famous people he's met? People from all walks of life through out history. It must be amazing to have a real conversation with him."

We all sat in silence for a time. She had a point, actually. Frances had said that Hades wasn't as bad as everyone said, but I hadn't put much thought into it. But, now that Austin mentioned it, how many people had Hades met? Surely, since he was in charge of the afterlife, he should know every soul that went over the River? The next time I found Frances, I'd ask her.

"Personally," someone said behind me. "I think this is a pointless conversation that needs to be ended immediately."

I whirled around to face Sandra, leaning against the wall and looking bored at us. For once, she was on her own, not surrounded by her flock of 'loyal sheep'. (For those not familiar with the phrase, it refers to the way sheep follow the shepherd around unconditionally, like Sandra's minions do to her.)

"Can we help you?" Laura snapped.

Sandra's cold gaze raked up and down Laura disapprovingly.

"No," she said, turning to face me. "But you can. A word? In private?"

I glanced at the girls and nodded, saying it was okay for them to go.

Leila brushed against my arm, the signal for we'll be around the corner if you need us. I smiled gratefully at them as they left.

"Yes?" I asked, wanting to get this over with.

"You roughed up Sebastian something terrible," she said, coming into my personal space. Did these people never learn? "I want to know why."

Seriously?

"He attacked me Sandra, apparently on your orders."

Her eyes widened as she stepped back. "What?" she asked, shocked.

I frowned. "You didn't know?" I asked, thoroughly confused.

Her expression softened. "No, I had no idea."

"Oh," I said, not seeing any clearer.

"Well," as long as your stories match, I suppose that's all that matters, and I don't have to call the police." Right, call the police for her boyfriend's actions. Classy. "It still doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" I asked, trying to get to the bottom of this.

"Why he went after you," she explained. "I haven't seen him in days, before I learnt that you were a demigod, so I couldn't have told him."

Well, that's strange. She shrugged and walked off around the corner the girls had gone. A second later they rushed around the corner and swarmed me.

"What did she want?" Laura snapped.

"Just to see why Sebastian came home with a broken nose yesterday," I said, shrugging.

"Sebastian as in her boyfriend?" Austin asked, confused. Oops, they didn't know. I quickly retold the story, leaving Austin and Leila open mouthed and gaping. I then went on to tell mine and Sandra's conversation.

Laura looked as confused as I felt.

"Hang on," she said. "If Sandra didn't send Sebastian after you, who did?"

My thoughts exactly.

A/N: Hahahahahaha I know I shouldn't leave you on a cliffhanger so, but I can't help it! Reviews please! Fronk x