Heroes of our time: part 2

by AngelusColt

When Angel returns to camp to mourn a friends death Colt returns and after he almost kills a girl in the woods Angel tries to erase Colt again, any means necessary.

15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Family, girls and karaoke

I didn't sleep any more as I expected. I heard camp wake up around me. It started with a few demigods going to the beach or something and eventually you heard all the demigods awaken. I just lay in my bed until it was time for breakfast, I was starving. Usually I didn't go to the group breakfast. Sitting around a black table on my own munching on whatever was being served wasn't my kind of fun. Sometimes I wanted to go sit at the Hermes table but given the rules told me I couldn't I chose not to. I wasn't afraid to break the rules this just wasn't worth it. So I ate alone, I tried not to let it bother me too much. It was about the food for once. After I finished I just walked out as if I had never been there.

"You're quick." I heard a girls voice call from behind. I could hear her footsteps near me so I didn't bother to turn around. I knew who it was, how could I ever forget that voice?

"Hey Sophie." I said. I looked at her and saw her smile. Obviously the little clash we had about Nox had been forgotten. I was happy about that, I didn't want to have a fight with Sophie about something that meaningless. Nox didn't mean much to me although I was curious about what happened between her and Luke. Jaeden was one to keep an eye on though. I can't say I trusted him, but the offer he made...it was tempting. "I didn't take much." I said. Truth was I just ate a whole bunch of things in about ten minutes.

"I'm surprised to see you here at all. You rarely eat breakfast." She could know, hell we shared an apartment for a year and it was true breakfast wasn't really my thing but that was because I was always late in the morning. Getting up was always the hardest part of my day so I was quite regularly late.

"True, I guess I was hungry." I said. I didn't really know what she wanted me to say. Maybe she was just rambling or something. I knew she could do that pretty well when she chose to. That was something that was funny about Sophie. She could be very loud one time and the next she would be the quietest person in the room. She could change from one moment to the next. I wondered why. Sometimes I thought her tongue just got tired but it wasn't like that. It seemed like she just turned inside her own thoughts and didn't bother coming out for ages.

"I thought you didn't get hungry until midnight. Seriously the amount of times you emptied the fridge at night is unreal." She said. That was true. I tended to sneak out of my room and into the kitchen to get myself a midnight snack. Usually though that 'snack' turned into three full fledged meals. I learned how to cook at three am.

"I miss my midnight snacks." I said more to myself than to her. It got her to laugh though, that was good wasn't it? I always thought it was, of course me and knowledge of girls didn't really match. We walked away from the mess hall in slightly awkward silence. I thought I had said something wrong but I couldn't figure out what. Maybe she just had one of her silent moments. I figured I'd break the silence with a question. It was something that I had on my mind for a while but didn't really ask about it. "I'm going back to L.A for a day or two. Wanna come with?" I asked her. She looked at me slightly confused.

"I've got nothing there that's important to go back to. I thought I did but after being here for a while I think that leaving for so long was a bad idea." That kind of hurt. After all a lot of that time was spent with me even though it wasn't like we really did anything together. Still it felt as if she hated sharing a place with me. Still I wasn't giving up easy.

"Oh come on. It'll be fun, you can meet the Colt's." I said. She raised one eye brow and looked at me strangely. It was a expression she had when I said something stupid. Given the amount of time I saw it I must have been a real idiot.

"If they're anything like the Colt I know I'll pass." She said. For a second I wondered if she was joking or if she was being serious. Both options could be a possibility. Although I hoped she was joking about the family being like Colt. Generally I believed that the less they were like me the better. Of course I figured Gabriel and Sarah were better off then me. At least they had been raised in a nice home with their mum around. I hadn't had that since I was six years old. Although I did wonder about their father. Where was he? I figured it was a question I would have to ask my aunt when I saw her again.

"They're not that bad. They show less signs of being sociopaths than I do." I joked. I didn't know if that sounded very convincing but I figured she had already decided whether or not she was coming. Sophie was rarely indecisive. She pretty much always knew what she wanted.

"That really doesn't help your case." She said with a smile. If I knew her as well as I believed I did the answer would be good for me. If she was serious she would have already made clear that it was going to be a no. "But I'll come with." A big smile appeared on my face. "Although next time ask me these sort of things sometime before you actually want to go."

"I did, I'm only leaving in an hour or two." I said joking a bit. I actually wanted to go right there and then.

"Point, missed." She said as we walked ahead. Truth was I didn't see a reason to wait. I was thinking we'd be back that night and if not we still had all our stuff at the apartment so there was nothing we'd need to take but some cash maybe. I wondered if I still had money on my account or not. The rent for June must have been taken from my bank account. I really had to give up the apartment or get a job so I could pay the rent. I didn't really know whether or not I wanted to give the place up though. I mean I was at camp now but did I want to stay? It was a question I asked myself and even though I was happy enough at camp I didn't know the answer for sure.

"If I did plan ahead my life would have turned out very differently." I said. Probably true. I had about as much foresight as a blind man. My experience with plans, they fail, no exceptions. So I tended to just improvise.

"I'll meet you at the hill in an hour kay?" She said to me. I really didn't know what she wanted to do but I didn't mind. In Los Angeles it was still early anyway. I shrug-nodded and she walked off towards the Aphrodite cabin.

"Where did she run off to? I thought you finally had the guts to say something to her about the butterflies." Luke said joking. I turned towards him with a wondering look on my face. He had a cheeky grin on his face, the guy was a joker I gave him that.

"You're up early." It was eleven or so but I thought I wouldn't see Luke before leaving. Although maybe that wasn't a smart thing given he seemed to have abandonment issues or something like that.

"Yeah, nature called so I had to get out of bed, now that I'm out I'm staying out." He said. I raised my eyebrows. I knew him well enough to know that was a lie.

"You're going right back to your bed aren't you?"

"Oh hell yeah!" He said as he yawned. I had only met one person that like his beauty sleep more than Luke and that was Max. He went without sleep for days but once he got some shut eye he slept an entire day if he wanted to. For those that want to try please note, waking him in his sleep results in your slow and painful death. "So what were you two chatting about?" He asked. He the male gossip girl of camp in my opinion. He always wanted to know what was going on around camp. It was one of the handy things about him though, if something was going on he knew what it was, hence male gossip girl.

"I'm heading to L.A for the day and I asked if she wanted to come with and see her friends or something." I said. I didn't say I asked her to spend the day with me and my recently discovered family as I knew there would be jokes incoming.

"Now that is a load of bollocks." How he knew I have no idea, maybe he knew me better than I thought. I figured I should just tell him, he would keep asking till I did anyway.

"I'm going to see my family and she's coming with." Luke laughed. I knew it would be his reaction.

"Aren't you taking this a bit too fast? I mean you're taking her to meet the family before you're official."

"We also lived together for a year when we barely knew each other. I think that earns me the title of king of moving fast."

"Well anyway I got something for you." He pointed me towards the Hephaestus cabin. I followed him thinking what he meant. He walked inside the cabin and got something out of a drawer. It was a pack of green paper which in the mortal world was more important than lives, money. It was a pack of at least a hundred fifty dollar notes. He took out four and passed them to me. "Don't spend it all in one place."

"Since when are you rich?" I said as I looked at the two hundred dollars Luke had just given me without second thought. I had no idea how he got five grand and was giving it away like nothing.

"I'm a forger. It's all fake but trust me, no one sees the difference." He said. I inspected the paper carefully, there was nothing to distinct it from real money. Even the watermark was the same, I had no idea how he could forge money so well.

"You're a criminal you know that?" Luke did have his criminal tendencies. A year ago he stole quite a nice ride in Pittsburgh and now he was forging money. Maybe it was because he used to be in a gang. Back in England he joined one and used to burn abandoned buildings as decoys. He didn't mind doing that (given he was a slight pyromaniac) as long as they were abandoned but when they send him after a house with people still in there he left them behind, a choice that got him shot and cost him his left hand. Although even because of those things he still thought leaving was the right decision. I don't think he doubted that a single second.

"Meh." He said as he shrugged. "I get bored." I laughed. Forging money was a federal crime and he did it because he was bored, that was Luke all right.

"So what am I supposed to do with two hundred dollars?" Truth was I always got by with little money. Two hundred bucks was a huge amount of cash for me.

"I don't know get yourself some Reeses." Luke's Reeses addiction. I remembered that train ride well. It was a good day overall although I didn't really think that at the time. It was before everything went crazy though. After Oklahoma it all went bad. It still seemed so simple when I was on that train.

"Two hundred dollars worth of Reeses?" I asked. Luke nodded, of course he did. He loved those things. I really wondered what he would do if he would suddenly develop an allergy of peanuts. He would probably go mad.

"Save some for me yeah?" Luke said. He kept such a straight face that it got me wondering whether he was joking or not. Given how much he liked Reeses he could very well be dead serious.

"Sure mate." I said. I knew that now that I said that I'd have to take him some Reeses. "You just go ahead and continue your beauty sleep." I said as I started making my way to the door of the cabin.

"Gladly." He dropped himself on one of the beds and seemed to be asleep already. As I made my way to the hill I realized how happy I was about the fact that Luke and I had put our differences aside. Luke and I were good friends and life was a lot more fun when we weren't fighting.

Ahhh Los Angeles. Sun, surf and ten muggings every ten seconds. Of course neither of these statistics were specifically for Los Angeles but that didn't matter. It was the city I had spent most of my life in. Sophie and I appeared not far from the Colt residence. I was getting more accurate but I was still slightly off. On long distances I was never that accurate. When I tried to get to camp I usually appeared outside of the woods even though I wanted to be near the cabins. Although I always thought that it could have something to do with the barrier but I didn't know for sure.

"So what are they like, really?" Sophie asked me as we walked towards the house.

"I can't say I know them too well. Susan is all right, very mother like in my idea of a mother." Truth was I could barely remember what my mom was like so saying what a mother was like was hard for me. "Gabriel doesn't seem to like me that much and Sarah is a bit hyperactive. But they seem like all right people to me." I said. I still found it weird that both my mom and her sister named their children after Angels, especially as I was a demigod. Still given it was a promise they made to each other and kept it even though they weren't on good terms, I guess that had something to it.

"Do you have anything planned for today?" She asked.

"Didn't I just say I never plan ahead? They don't even know I'm coming round." I said without worry. Sophie on the other hand thought that was something to worry about.

"How will you know they're in?" She asked. She was more of the call before you go round person while I tended to just pop up.

"It's Sunday what else would they be doing?" I said. Of course if they were Christian they would be in church now but I doubted Susan was someone that went to church every Sunday. I knew Will knew about the gods so I figured he didn't believe or at least didn't worship the Christian God. I figured Susan was the same, although I was pretty sure she didn't worship any god, she didn't seem too fond of them. Sophie wanted to say something but didn't in the end. I think she must have come to the same conclusion as I had.

The doorbell rang through the entire house, it was an annoying sound to be honest. It was about nine am, still quite early but given the lights were on I figured there was someone up. I felt weird waiting there, it was the second time I was there but I didn't really feel comfortable. I figured I was just nervous. Susan opened the door and let us in as if we had been coming round her place for years. When we sat inside though we were silent. I had no idea what to say and I think Sophie and Susan had the same problem. Susan had a cup of coffee and Sophie and I both had a glass of coke.

"So where are Sarah and Gabriel?" I asked as I put down my glass. We had said our hello's and how are you's but now what? I had no idea what I was supposed to say or ask. I wasn't really used to this or at least I figured that was the problem. Either that or the fact that whether she was family or not Susan was a stranger to me.

"Sarah is still asleep and Gabriel hasn't come home yet." She said as if it was normal. I can't say I knew much about parenting, I didn't really have an example but usually a mom freaked out when her son stayed out all night.

"Are you all right with that?" I asked. Maybe it wasn't my place but I was just curious about it. For a second I wondered what my mom would have thought if I stayed out all night. I did it all the time now, hell I was an insomniac son of Erebus, the night was simply when I needed to be out. Just because night wasn't when the mortals lived didn't mean I couldn't live at night. But I didn't know if she would have liked it.

"I don't know. I used to hate it but he does it all the time now." Susan said. I could see that she didn't really like it but didn't know how to stop it. "He's hard to control I guess. He's in his 'I do what I want' phase." She laughed a bit.

"That sounds like someone I know." Sophie said looking at me. I had no idea what she was talking about. I wasn't like that at all.

"If he's anything like his parents he'll probably remain stuck in that." Susan joined in. They were teaming up against me now.

"Pfff I'm like a boy scout I do what I'm told." I said Of course Sophie and Susan laughed what I said was completely ridiculous. I couldn't remember the last time I actually listened to anyone who told me not to do something. If it ever did happen it was a long time ago.

"Mom when's breakfast going to be ready." I heard Sarah say. She came down the stairs rubbing her eyes. Obviously she had just woken up.

"You're thirteen you can make breakfast yourself can't you?" It wasn't a scold or something, more like a push to be more independent. I figured that making your own breakfast wasn't normal for kids who grew up normally.

"No!" She said sounding a bit spoiled. "Hey Michael." She said in a rush. She was the second one that acted like I had been coming round for ages, it felt very strange.

"Hey." I said simply. I didn't really know what I was supposed to say. I figured if she thought it was normal that I was there I didn't have to act like it was very special. I figured it would really be normal eventually.

"Mom please!" Sarah sounded like a whiny girl and Susan had given in apparently as she got up. Sophie was first though.

"I'll help her out, you two should talk." Sophie and Sarah left the living room and went to the kitchen. Truth was I didn't know whether I should thank Sophie or not. Of course Susan and I had things to talk about but I didn't know what to say and now I was sitting here alone. After a few minutes of silence I started moving around. Tapping my nails on the table and moving my tongue around my mouth. I was getting restless.

"You quit smoking?" She asked. I looked at her with a surprised look on my face, I had no idea how she knew that. "You're keeping your fingers and mouth busy, obvious quitting signs. I quit when Gabriel was born, I remember what it's like." She said. She got up and removed a coffee cup from the cupboard and filled it up. "Black coffee helps a lot." She said with a smile. I wasn't a fan of coffee so I didn't really know whether or not I had to drink it but I could hardly refuse as she had already given me some. I took a big sip from the cup and cringed when the taste hit me. I really didn't like coffee.

"Thanks." I said hoping that the strong taste of coffee would leave me soon.

"It takes some time getting used to." Susan said laughing a bit. I guess she knew what it was like better than I did. I had quit before but I didn't smoke on a regular basis like I had the last year. "So, you and Sophie?" She asked as she sat back down. "Are you two together?"

"No, we're just friends." Everyone seemed to ask me that lately. Of course the just friends answer had been overused and to most people it meant the exact opposite, it seemed to have exactly that effect on my aunt.

"Of course." She said chuckling. "You're mom would have been proud to see her son come home with her though. She is a beauty." Susan said. She was probably just teasing me now. I figured she would have done the same thing to her son if he was sitting there with a girl.

That's when Gabriel entered screaming for Susan. He entered the living room with scratches all over and holding a celestial bronze sword. He didn't seem very happy to see me and after a nasty look or two he completely ignored me. "Dracanae, a lot of them nearing here." He said. I got up immediately and got my black zippo lighter out of my pocket. I didn't turn it into a weapon yet but I wanted to hold it in my hand for when I needed it.

"Angel, you and Sophie go ahead we'll be right there." Susan said. I wondered what she meant. They were mortal, sight or not, it was better if Sophie and I dealt with this. Even if they could fight they didn't have the reflexes demigods had. We had to train but most of us were naturals when it came to fighting.

"We'll deal with this." I said hoping that they would listen. If Susan was as stubborn as I thought she was she wouldn't. She walked to the cupboard and got out two swords. She kept one herself and passed the other one to her son. They were really going to do this.

"We're not letting you have all the fun. We've done this before." Susan said. I really wondered if she wasn't taking this too lightly. Mostly I hoped that Sarah wasn't coming too. I could hardly tell Susan or Gabriel not to go but I hoped Susan wouldn't let her thirteen year old daughter go out there to fight.

"Are you coming or what Angel?" Sophie asked as everyone was heading out of the house. There were Dracanae. About half a dozen of them. Personally I didn't think that were that many but that was because of the giant groups that attacked camp. Still they were a threat that had to be dealt with. Personally all my fear of Dracanae had been aborted unless they came in huge numbers. I felt like I was experienced in killing snake women so why should I be worried? All I was worried about now was the fact that there were two mortals fighting with me. I knew I had to make sure Susan and Gabriel were okay. I couldn't just rush off into the fight like I did when I was fighting with anyone from camp. I knew Sophie would be fine but I had to keep my eye on my aunt and cousin. I was happy to see that two were approaching me and two were attacking Sophie, it meant that the others wouldn't be outnumbered. I could handle two. Sophie could two. She thought it was as easy as I did. She parried the first attack one of the Dracanae threw at her and fluently brought the blade across the monsters torso which killed it. It disintegrated into dust with a scream and Sophie attacked the next Dracanae which was more like a victim than a opponent. With ease she destroyed the second monster that threatened her. Sophie was quick and deadly, you definitely didn't want her agianst you in a fight. Susan had a little more trouble and was far more defensive than Sophie and I. Maybe that was because we were more experienced, confident or simply more aggressive. Susan dodged the attacks until she saw an opening. She stabbed the monster with all her might and killed it. It seemed like she knew what she was doing but she was a little off. She seemed tired and a lot more worried than any of us. Maybe she was out of practice or maybe she had less endurance because she was middle-aged and mortal.

Everyone seemed in the clear. I had made quick work of the two that attacked me but Gabriel was struggling. As soon as I killed the Dracanae that attacked me I focused on him. He wasn't doing too well. The Dracanae seemed to overpower him and it would kill him if it got the chance. It's bronze weapons wouldn't do much but she would kill him with or without the spear she was holding. I knew I had to interfere. Susan was also making her way over to protect her son but I was faster which was a good thing. I was nearly close enough to kill this thing when it brought Gabriel down to the ground and was ready to deliver the final blow. It was set and ready to kill Gabriel when Shadow-edge impaled her. She screamed, dropped the spear and disintegrated. I was just in time.

"What the hell!" Gabriel yelled out. I had no idea what his problem was. I figured he'd be thankful as I just saved his life. "I had that thing! You shouldn't have interfered." I had no idea why he was getting so fed up about it. He needed help and I gave it, what was the problem?

"You had that thing? It would have killed you if I was a second slower." I said. I knew he didn't really like me but now he was just being unreasonable. He got up from the ground looking pissed as if I was the guy that was trying to kill him instead of save him.

"I had it, don't you say otherwise. Just because you're a demigod doesn't mean you're better than me!" He said and he pushed me. If Susan wasn't standing not far from us I would have punched him in the face right there but I controlled myself.

"I don't know what kind of alpha male run you are but know that you're looking in the wrong place for an enemy." It may have sounded like a threat but it wasn't. I wasn't his enemy and he had to realize that. If he did want me as an enemy though, it was his loss not mine.

"As soon as you walked through the door of my family's house you turned yourself into my enemy. You're a demigod and you bring trouble. The only reason these things attacked is because of you!" Obviously Gabriel disliked demigods a lot. I had to control the urge to punch him even more. Sophie seemed to have the same problem, I could see that she was starting to get annoyed by Gabriel.

"Maybe, maybe not. But trust me Gabriel without demigods there would be far worse things happening than a few Dracanae running around." What I said was true. Demigods caused a lot of things but I tried to believe that they fixed much more. Even if they didn't, at least they tried, it was something not many mortals did these days.

"You demigods just get everyone killed! Hell you got your mom and Will killed didn't you." Luke would have been pissed at this guy, even Max would have been. And it was personal for me. I didn't care that his mom was right there. This guy needed to learn his place. I punched him right in the face launching him right back to the ground. But it wasn't enough for him.

"Angel!" I heard Sophie scream. I knew she understood why I punched him but we both knew I shouldn't have. She knew I would do it again if I had to. She wanted to get me to calm down but Susan stopped her.

"Let them get this out of their system. It's the only way they know how." He got right back up, checked if he was bleeding and made it just a little worse. "I heard your mom killed herself though. It doesn't surprise me much to be honest. Who would want to live life for a demigod?" I hit him again which got him down to the ground, this time he was bleeding.

"You have no right to talk about things you don't understand! You have no idea what it's like Gabriel. You've lived here with a family and a normal life I never had any of that. I had to find my mom with her wrists cut open because she didn't want to live in this shitty world any more. The repercussions of that put me through more shit than you can ever imagine. I get you want to protect your family and all that but I'm not here to destroy what you have. I'm here because I have a chance to get something I never had. Don't you think even a demigod has the right to have a family?" I didn't know if any of my words would come through to Gabriel but that didn't matter. If he wanted to hate me fine but I had the right to get to know my aunt and cousins.

"Angel I think we should go." Sophie said. I nodded. For a second I considered helping Gabriel up from the ground but I didn't in the end. I was still too mad at him.

"I'm sorry Susan." I punched her son right in front of her and I felt bad about it. Not about the punching but because I figured it would ruin the possibility of a relationship with Susan and Sarah. She didn't react to me. I figured I wasn't welcome there any more. I didn't know what else to say to her so I just left. Sophie and I walked back to where we first appeared. It was just a theory of mine but it always seemed like places where I already travelled through ones were easier to travel through again. It would be something to ask Erebus if I ever saw him again.

I transported us through the darkness back home. Or at least what we called home for a long time. I didn't know if it was still 'home'. I didn't know if I had a home at all. Could I call camp home or would I want to leave again after spending too much time there? Could I still be away from camp now that Colt was back? They were questions that went through me and that I couldn't answer. Sophie and I went into our separate rooms. I put on a CD and just sat on my bed listening to it. I didn't really know what to do so I just sat there. I heard Sophie leave after my CD was on its second loop. I came back to Los Angeles to see my family but obviously that hadn't turned out too well. So I had lost my purpose, I had no idea why I was still there. All I could do was sit there and listen to music. It was peace I couldn't easily find at camp so maybe that was a reason to stick around for a little while. That and the fact that Sophie was somewhere in the city made me stay. After I god bored of the music I was playing I put in a different album and walked towards the living room still hearing the music. Usually I didn't put on music loudly but I was alone now so whatever. I made myself a snack and sat down on the couch listening to the music play. I listened to this CD twice which killed the time. I think most of that time I was lost in my own thoughts though. I hadn't been sleeping nor had I been very active. I couldn't remember where my thoughts had led me but I knew I wasn't just sitting there without a thought. After the CD started again I decided to put off the music and make my way upstairs to the roof of the building. Rooftops seemed to appeal to me this one included. It wasn't half as high as the one I knew in New York City but it was fine. I couldn't look very far but it was still quite a comforting place to be. So I just sat there in the afternoon sun. Instead of the music I heard downstairs I heard the city live, a sound made up of so many noises that you could hardly tell one from the other. As a city person it was something I was used to and even enjoyed. It was something you learned to love.

"You have more patience than one would expect from a young demigod." A woman's voice said. I turned around as fast as I could reaching into my pocket. I had no idea who this woman was and had no idea of her intentions so it was better to keep my weapon closed. "No need for weapons my dear, I'm only here to talk." The woman said. I let go of the black lighter and relaxed. Something about her made me want to trust her, listen to her no matter what she commanded. It reminded me of Nox even though this felt ten times stronger. The blonde woman walked past me and looked over the edge of the roof. She reminded me of someone I knew well although this woman was even more beautiful even though that was hard to imagine.

"You're Sophie's mother aren't you?" I asked. I figured that wasn't very respectful but truth was I was kind of shocked by a visit from Aphrodite. Truth was she was a goddess I genuinely feared. After all she had plenty of reasons to hate me and love was something that could hurt one more than any blade. I didn't think my fear was a wrong thing.

"Can't say I'm recognized as just that but yes I am her mother. I assume I look like her to you." She said. It was true, she did look like her daughter. I wondered if Aphrodite appeared differently to everyone, after all she was supposed to be the most beautiful woman there was but beauty was preference and nothing more. What one thinks of as beautiful is ugly to another. Knowing that and what she just said made me think she didn't appear like this to anyone.

"Why are you here?" I could think of two reasons. A: The fact that I had feelings for her daughter was a high possibility. I figured no mortal nor goddess would want me as a son in law so I wouldn't be surprised if she came to talk to me to tell me to stay away or something like that. Secondly there was the fact that I had tried to kill two of her daughters, or at least Colt had. Aphrodite had plenty of kids to go around but I figured that she would be quite angry about that. I wondered why she would make time to visit me personally though.

"So rude." She said arrogantly. "I am here because I choose to be Angelus. You should be delighted to be blessed with meeting me." She obviously didn't lack self confidence. Of course there was little reason to when you were the most beautiful creature alive. Of course I figured she only had physical beauty. I doubted she had a very nice and sweet personality. "I am here to talk to you about my daughter. I would like you to realize how self-destructive the relationship you are pursuing is."

"What do you mean by that?" I always heard that Aphrodite was a great believer in love yet she seemed to disapprove of this. I realized she was here to keep me away from her daughter, something I couldn't blame her for.

"I mean that this love will kill you both. Given you are currently the most entertaining thing going around I would hate for that to happen." She said. I didn't really like the idea of being some sort of reality show for the gods but I figured that's what it was like to them. The struggle of mortals was unimportant to them as they would live on long after the mortals who suffered had died. Apparently my personal suffering was something the gods enjoyed like it was some kind of afternoon soap-opera.

"I thought love was the cure for everything." I said sarcastically. It wasn't smart to get sarcastic with a god but I had a history of stupid decisions like that. I didn't want to treat the gods like they should be worshipped so I didn't unless I felt they deserved it.

"It is a thing so strong that it can bring down nations. You and my daughter will make sacrifices for each other until one of you dies. And given your fate I doubt it will be you who will draw the final breathe." She took longer to say it but to mean what she meant was that Sophie would die if I pursued a relationship with her. I knew that was true whether the goddess of love told me that or not. There was Colt, there were monsters and gods know what else I was supposed to face (thanks to Jake) so anyone around me was in danger. If those things weren't there I would have pursued what my heart desired but I couldn't because of these things.

"Why do you care? What made you decide to tell me this?" I didn't know if she had better things to do but I doubted that this was the most important thing she could be doing right now. So it was a question I needed answered.

"Like I said you entertain me. You're struggle is quite interesting to keep an eye on." She came closer to me looking me in the eyes. It made me burn up, she was truly stunning. Beauty was a thing that affected anyone and beauty as pure as this was something I would never see again. It was something I couldn't resist or try to fight. "And truly, I wonder what you'll do with this information." What she said confused me even more. What was this? Is a test of sorts or was it her interfering to make it even more 'interesting' for her to watch. I didn't know. I knew Aphrodite was known to be quite manipulative so was that what this was? Was she even speaking the truth.

"With all due respect, I'm not a show on the telly." I knew that what I said or thought didn't really make a difference to this god or another but I wanted her to know that I didn't like being entertainment. I didn't want to live to entertain gods who didn't understand why I did what I did anyway. They didn't understand why life was sacred because they would never die. Not knowing what was so important about life was probably the worst part of immortality.

"Of course you're not. But that doesn't mean you can't be entertaining." What was it with her and entertainment. To me it appeared that Aphrodite was very bored. Maybe she hadn't found any suitors lately or there weren't enough chick flicks in the cinema but if she was looking at me for entertainment she must be really bored. If you wanted to be entertained follow a comedian around, not a demigod.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" I asked. I didn't think there would be. I hoped there wouldn't be more than anything. I wished Aphrodite had had her fun and would leave me alone. Truth was I didn't really like the goddess of love. She gave me a strange feeling which I was rather without.

"Not really. Although I would watch that granddaughter of mine, she can be quite the pistol. Ugh, granddaughter, it makes me feel so old." Aphrodite said. She disappeared as quickly as she appeared. Of course now that I had something to say to the goddess she left. What the hell did she mean by granddaughter?

"Angel? You up here?" Another voice from behind me. It seemed that I wasn't getting much peace up on the roof. This voice I recognized though, Sophie. "So this is where you disappear off to when you can't sleep." I had no idea how she knew about that. I used to go up to the roof whenever I couldn't sleep. It seemed to make it easier to get some shut eye. I wondered how she knew that though. Maybe she wasn't as deep a sleeper I thought she was.

"I guess so." I said simply. I wondered if what Aphrodite said was really true or if she was just trying to mess with me. I knew that I was dangerous to her and anyone else but that was something I would learn how to control. Or at least I still believed that I would eventually be able to control Colt easily. I beat him once and I figured I would do it again.

"I can't believe I never came up here. It's got quite a nice view." She was there at the perfect time. The sun was starting to go down and the orange glow of the sun reflected nicely on the buildings. Through the giant buildings you could just see the sun slowly going down. It was quite a nice sight.

"I spent a lot of time around. I like it." I said. "I guess it calms me down or something like that." I didn't really know why I liked being up there but I did. Things like that were hard to explain. Everyone had their little things, places they loved to go, obsessions that they had, addictions that they indulged in. It was something no one could explain but it was what people were like.

"You know, this place reminds me of somewhere I used to go when I went to a private school. There used to be this cliff looking over the river. It wasn't far from the school grounds and it was nice and quiet. I used to spend a lot of time there." She said. I couldn't imagine Sophie choosing to be alone when she could be with others but I could understand that even she needed some time alone every once in a while.

"I guess you needed time off from being the popular girl huh?" I joked. I always imagined that Sophie was really popular everywhere. Hell she was beautiful, nice and funny. I figured that in a normal school those were things you needed in order to be popular. I could hardly imagine that she wasn't popular.

"Something like that." She said not really sounding happy. I wondered if I was wrong. I couldn't imagine it but it started to look like it sometimes. It were those times that she seemed more damaged than she appeared to be when I wondered about her. I knew I didn't know her very well but it took me a while before I started to realize that she had been through more than she let on. "I don't know about you Angel but I think we should let this place go." She said. I had been thinking about the same thing but still it shocked me. It had been like a home for a year. I knew that given we weren't hair and probably weren't going back permanently it was the best thing to do but still, it was a tough decision. "It served it's purpose I think."

"I agree." It was true. We needed a place because we couldn't just stay wondering but we were both back at camp now and I doubted we were leaving soon. I also doubted that we would be there for the rest of our lives but it was time to go back to the world where we belonged.

"It's settled then." She said. After that we were quiet. I just looked over the rooftops looking at the sun slowly going down. It was something I had seen many times. I felt my heart pound as the world turned dark. My time was nearing. I always felt like this at dusk. As the last bit of light left I got excited. I started to feel more alive as my senses seemed to heighten. I knew I was stronger in the dark, it was like a child of Poseidon in the water.

"You know what's weird?" I decided to break the silence. I figured one of us had to. "We lived in the same apartment for almost a year but I feel like I barely know you. We never really talked a lot." I said. I knew it was weird to say but given that time was going to end soon I figured this was the time to bring it up. I knew I wanted that to be closer to her, I could only hope that she felt the same way.

"Well you never asked." She said. It was true, I tried to stay out of her business. I always thought that she thought living in the same apartment as me was a drag so I figured I would make myself scarce.

"What is your dad like?" I figured better late then never. Sophie rarely talked to or about her dad and it was always something I was curious about. Sophie raised an eyebrow. "I'm asking aren't I?" I joked. She bit her lip probably wondering what to say. As far as I knew the last time she spoke to her dad was Christmas so there must be something there that I missed.

"We're not really close. He was usually busy with other stuff. He knows what I do and where I am but he keeps busy so I guess he has little time for a quick chat." She said it as if she didn't care but I doubted that. I grew up without my mom but I could imagine that a parent neglecting you was about as bad, maybe worse. My mom was dead, her dad was alive but didn't seem to care.

"Must be hard." Sophie just shrugged. I figured it was easier to not care than to feel the pain. I knew about that. I had more questions to ask but I figured it was better to stop asking given the way this question turned out but Sophie apparently wanted to keep it going.

"What about your mom? Do you remember much of her?" She asked. Sophie knew more about my past than I knew about hers but she didn't know everything and what she did know was told to her by Jake who didn't know everything about me. There weren't many people who knew about everything I had been through, it was better that they didn't.

"Can't say that I do. I was quite young when she died. I remember good things though." I regretted the answer I gave but I wanted to give an honest answer. I figured it didn't make it much better that I spoke better of my dead mother than she did of her father. But that might be because everything I did remember of my mom was a blessing. They were memories to cherish.

"So what was it like? Growing up as an orphan?" She asked me. It was something no one had ever asked me directly. I didn't really know how to answer it. I looked down to the street while thinking of what to tell her. I figured all I could do was use the words that came into my head.

"Lonely I guess. I was around orphans so I guess it becomes normal but to know that people who are supposed to take care of you abandoned you, it's something you don't shake easily." Both of us had a sad look on our face. I guess she felt the way I always had. Sophie said she met her mother twice in her entire life and obviously her dad wasn't much of one. She still had a dad but even so we shared the same feeling of being abandoned.

"Was it really as horrible as you described it? The orphanage I mean?" She asked me. I told her how much I hated that place and that it was a horrible place but I never told her details. I figured that was for the best which was the reason why I still didn't share how that place really was but I was planning on answering her question.

"To me it was. Maybe not when I was there. When I found my place I didn't think it was all that bad but looking back on it I know that it was hell. I thought it was normal but it was far from there." I didn't know what else to tell her without telling her what happened inside that place. But the look in her eyes told me that she wanted to hear more. "It was a violent place. Strength was the only thing that mattered really. It was the only reason why I kind of fit in. Not at first but eventually I started to go with it as you know. It was simply a day in the life." I wasn't going to say anything else about it. I didn't want her to know the things that I did there or what I had seen so it was better to change the subject to her again. She had enough questions. "So in what kind of place did you grow up?"

"I used to live in Ohio, small town big house. It was quite nice." She said. I figured she didn't really want to talk about it as it was something I would wish for. Any sort of home would have been something I would have been happy with. We both had very different histories, thinks one had that the other wished for. It made it hard to talk about things without hurting one another. "I guess if we want to do this properly I shouldn't lie. I hated it there. I hated the school I went to, I hated the people that took care of the house while my dad was gone. It wasn't my thing." Truth was I thought she would love that. I figure she'd hate the small apartment and would rather have a giant mansion, she never ceased to amaze. Also, she had never told me so much about herself. Hell I didn't know she was from Ohio.

"Is that why you ran away?" I knew she did at some point. That's when she ran into Jake and they went to camp together. It was something Jake told me. Hell most of the things that I knew about her were things Jake told me when we were just chatting on the rooftops. Of course after I met her and had to manually close my jaw after I first saw her I got a lot more curious.

"I never ran away from home. I went to a private middle school and that's where I ran away-ish." I wondered what that meant. She was much more mysterious than I thought she was. I wanted to ask more, about what she meant with her answers but I decided against it. If she didn't tell me it was either because it wasn't important or because it was something she didn't want to talk about. In this case I guessed it was the second option so I left it alone. "What was it like living with Jake?"

"Honestly, it was great." I felt bad saying it as she just said she hated the place where she was raised but I think both of us were happy in the time we spent with Jake so I could speak freely about this. "It felt like living with an older brother, or at least what I imagine that would be like." I said. I didn't really know what else to say about it. I never really talked about it with anyone. Truth was I never really talked to about about what something was like. I knew what it was like to be shot, to lose a friend, to feel guilt that tore you apart. No one wanted to know what these kind of things were like but I knew them all. I didn't know what to do with all that knowledge. No one cared to know and I couldn't simply forget it. So I just had to live with the memory. It was hard sometimes.

"I wonder sometimes if you two are just alike or if you stole his personality when you lived at his." She said. It was something I heard before. She wasn't the only one that constantly told me I was like him. I didn't know how I had to take it. I thought Jake was a great person so in that way it was a compliment but constantly being told you're like someone. I didn't really know if that was a good thing.

"How am I so like him?" I asked. Usually I just accepted it but we were asking each other things now anyway so I figured this wasn't off limits either. I just hoped she'd be honest about this answer. I really wanted to know just to make up my mind of how to take it when people told me I was like Jake.

"I don't know, I can never put my finger on it." She said as she leaned her forearms on the building. "It's the simple stuff. Your sense of humour, the way you talk. But it's not just that stuff. You two always blame yourselves whether it was your fault or not. You're perfectionists and always try to fix everything. You are both tough with a history of violence but you're both big softies. There are just so many similarities that I can't explain." She said. I still didn't know what to think but I started to wonder about the question she asked before. The way she said it we sounded like practically the same person. Though for some reason my mind quickly asked myself if I really was such a 'big softy'.

"I'm not such a big softy." Without saying a word Sophie moved her arms towards my and pinched it. It was a stingy pain that was really annoying. Given she had pretty sharp nails it hurt even more. "Auw..." First I wanted to ask but her look stopped me. She had that 'don't question me look and given I just got hurt by a pinch more than a punch would hurt me I guess I shouldn't question her. "Point taken."

"Do you miss him?" She asked me still looking over the rooftops at the last glow of the sun. We couldn't see it any more, it had already left our horizon and was heading for another place. The question itself wasn't sudden but still unexpected. I stood next to her also leaning on my forearms.

"Sometimes. I guess I try to spend time with the living rather than mourn for the dead." It was something I had learned to do a very long time ago. I had lost a lot of people that were important to me. Jake wasn't the first nor was he the last. Loss was something I had to learn how to deal with. Seniors rather spent much time crying for each other as they were old and realized it was their time. I was almost like that. So accustomed to people disappearing over night that I had few tears left to shed.

"I miss him everyday. Like you said he was like a older brother. Whenever I had a problem I could go to him. I could talk to him about anything and he would listen and give me his opinion. It helped a lot. I miss that. Just having someone who I can really talk to." That's when I realized that she had lost about as much as I had. Maybe not all the people she missed were dead but they weren't with her. Jake was dead, Dean was dead, her boyfriend Alex had left her. Ashlyn had gone so far into depression that it was hardly the way it used to be when they talked, and now she lost Grace too. She had lost everyone like I had.

"Dealing with loss...it's hard." I said. I knew what it was like to lose but I never knew how to tell people how to deal with it. Everyone dealt with it their own way and I could honestly say that my way wasn't the healthiest one. "But eventually you'll have to find people that can fill that empty space in your heart. You don't have to forget or replace Jake but...it would be a shame if you never talked to anyone about whatever you want to." I didn't know if they were wise words or a fools ramblings but if it helped then I didn't care what it was.

"There you go all Jake again." She said. I laughed and once I started laughing so did she. It was good to hear her laugh especially after we just talked about our lost friend. I figured that now was the time to stop talking about this stuff.

"Come on let's go do something fun." I said as I put my arm around her and pulled her towards the stairs downstairs. I didn't know whether or not she minded me doing that but she didn't push me away so I didn't really think about it much.

"Like what?" Truth was I didn't really know what she did for fun as I doubted that she knew where I went in the evenings. I just hoped that she'd agree to come with to the place I wanted to go.

"The bar of course."

At first Sophie was reluctant. She doubted that we would get into a bar but I knew we would. Walter always let me in. It took a bit of convincing but in the end I convinced her. So there we went to In Dubio the best bar in Los Angeles, at least I thought it was. Maybe it was because they actually let me in and because I knew a lot of people there. I knew most of the regulars (if not by name I would always recognise them in a crowd) and I knew the people that worked behind the bar. Walter was working now, there were two other barman which I knew pretty well but I definitely liked Walter the best.

"Hey Mike, haven't seen you here for a while." Walter said as I came in. He put away the glass he was cleaning and continued washing a few others. There were only a few people but it was still early.

"Yeah I've been keeping busy. Could I have two cokes please by the way." I said to him. This was probably the first time I ordered two drinks. I hoped I still had enough unforged money to pay for the drinks as I would feel bad about giving Walter the fake money Luke had given me. I trusted Luke's forging skills but still I would hate it if Walter got in trouble because of fake money I gave him.

"Coming right up." He said. I gave him a quick nod and sat down at one of the tables. Walter grabbed two cokes and two glasses and brought him over. I said a quick thanks before turning my attention to Sophie. She took a sip from her coke and put the glass back down.

"So what does In Dubio mean?" Truth was I didn't know the first time I walked into that place. Which is why I asked at some point.

"It's apparently Dutch for having a dilemma. That's what Walter says anyway." I told her.

"Dutch? Why does this place have a Dutch name?" Again we wondered about the same thing. "Is Walter Dutch?" She asked me. She got further than I did. Walter didn't really have a foreign accent (Of course he had been living in America for twenty years now so he was used to it) so I had no clue until he told me. I guess Sophie was better at putting two and two together.

"Yeah, he's my jolly fat Dutchy." I said loud enough so that he would hear it. Walter and I could joke around with each other so we did all we could. Walter was a funny guy and had me in stitches half the time.

"I heard that kid. Just wait till I whoop your ass in pool again." Walter always had me there. I never beat him, not really. He let me win a few times but that wasn't really beating him was it?

"Anything happening tonight Walt?" I asked him. In Dubio participated in a lot of local pool leagues and dart leagues so it happened often that there was something going on in the evening.

"You don't know?" Walter said with a small smile on his face. A cheeky smile like that got me curious. "We're having our first karaoke night." Karaoke...what the hell? I had no idea how Walter came up with that.

"Karaoke? You're not singing any Dutch crap are you?" Walter laughed. He played me some Dutch music which was absolutely horrible. Walter hated his national music genre as well so whenever something was crap it was like Dutch music to us.

"Hell no, I'll find something later. You're singing too by the way." He said, I laughed right in his face. I used to sing when I played the guitar but that was years ago. I wasn't like that any more and I doubted I could still get a note out of my vocals.

"You'd have to get me really drunk first and you can't sell me alcohol." I said. If he really wanted me on top of that stage he would fill me up with beer until I did it willingly, law or no law.

"You should sing Angel, give me something to laugh about." Sophie said smiling. I shook my head and went to the pool table. I threw in a coin and set up the game.

"Feel like playing a game?" I asked Sophie. I didn't know if she liked playing pool or not. I didn't even know if she ever played but we were here now.

"Sure, if you sing karaoke later." I figured she would really love to see me make a fool out of myself, she had sadistic humour like that.

"How about this, if you beat me, I'll sing." I said with a smile on my face. I didn't know if she was any good but I knew that I was all right. I couldn't beat Walter that was true but he was really good. I had beaten most of the In Dubio team pool players and given they were third in the league right now I dared to say that they were quite good. Long story short, I had confidence that I would beat Sophie.

"All right, I'll break." She said with a cheeky smile. She had never seen me play so she had no idea what she was up against but she seemed confident. As if she had the same thought I had. Looking at her crooked smile I knew that we both believed that we were going to win this.

Sophie had a pretty good break. There were a few clusters left but nothing wrong with it and a spot went down so she had a head start. She potted another ball before missing her third shot. She had a good start but that didn't mean anything yet. I lined up for my shot, a straight shot in the middle pocket, I couldn't miss it. I shot right on target potting my first ball. She was still one up but that was a advantage she wouldn't have much longer. As I lined up for my second shot Walter came from behind the bar to see how I would do. I made my second shot easily, a straight shot again. Sophie and I had a draw now but I saw another shot I could take. The ball I wanted to take was against one of Sophie's balls though which made it a tough shot. I had to take it though as it would leave me well for a follow up.

"Are you sure about that shot mate?" Walter asked me. I just nodded as I continued aiming. I needed to hit the ball perfectly for this shot and Walter didn't make that easy. "You have to be careful with those shots though." Walter said. I knew what he was trying to do, he wanted me to lose this bet so he wanted to mess with me. That was Walter for you..

"Yeah I know." I hoped he would leave me alone so I tried to concentrate again. Walter had other plans though.

"Just reminding you, gotta be careful or you'll miss. Gotta be careful you know." I tried to line up my shot despite Walter's taunting. "Gotta be careful." He said one more time as I finally tried the shot. Of course I missed completely. The white ball went straight into Sophie's ball giving her a free shot. I looked at Walter with a angry look on my face. I wasn't really angry but annoyed, yeah.

"You're a cunt you know that?" I said. I missed because of him we both knew that. I just hoped he'd leave me alone for the rest of the game. As I was wondering whether I should push Walter back behind the bar Sophie was lining up her next shot. We still had the same score so this was her chance to get the advantage and thanks to my miss she could take a shot from any place on the table. She found the perfect spot to pot three balls easy. If I was in her position I would have take the exact same shot. She potted one easily and the second went down with a bit more trouble. Sadly the white bounced off too hard and sat between a ball and the cushion not leaving her with much. All she could do was play against the ball that was blocking the white and hoping that it would go down. There was little control in shots like that. She touched the ball she needed to obviously but it got her no where bringing the game back to me.

I was looking over the playing field to see what shot to take when a small and well-built man walked in. He looked like a rough middle-aged man with short grey hair and a stubble. I knew the guy pretty well, he was known as the Scot. One of the many Europeans that were regulars at In Dubio.

"Hey Davey." I said to the man. He looked up and a big smile appeared on the guy's face. He looked like a tough guy but he was a nice bloke. That and he was the only one that could actually challenge Walter in a pool match.

"Hey Mikey what have you been up to?" Davey asked in his heavy scotish voice. I still had trouble understanding him sometimes but it started to get easier. I met Davey the first time I was at the bar and played a game of pool with him then. I had no chance of winning but we had a few good games.

"Been around." I said simply. I could hardly tell the guys here that I had been spending my days at a summer camp for demigods where we learned how to kill monsters so I had to say something like that. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine." He said as he sat down. "Can I have a beer please mate." Davey asked Walter. I myself went back to the pool table and chose my shot. I lined up happy with the fact that Walter was busy with tapping Davey's beer. From over the bar he still yelled out though.

"Gotta be careful Mikey." He said as he filled up Davey's glass.

"Fuck off." I said. He laughed and left me alone for that shot. With some peace I could finally have some good shots. I got into it pretty quickly. I potted two balls easily and potted a third bringing me ahead finally. Now Walter got back to the table probably with the intention to let me fail my next shot. He just couldn't let me win. I figured he'd say something again so I tried to block all sound but instead he and Sophie started whispering behind me. I wasn't really happy about it as I figured Walter would give Sophie some handy tricks and tell her what shots to take which would already make it a lot easier for her. It was certainly a way of making me lose. When I lined up for my shot it seemed like that wasn't the case. As soon as I bent over the table to shoot I felt someone pinch my ass. Out of surprise my cue shot forward and turned around. My shot missed of course and Sophie and Walter were both laughing their ass off.

"Who the hell did that?" I asked. I was happy I could hardly turn red because of my skin tone because I would have been a tomato if I could. Sophie and Walter both pointed at each other and for some reason I chose to believe Sophie on this one. "You made me miss my shot." I said to him. I was great at playing captain obvious. "Davey, I'll buy you a beer if you get this guy away from the pool table."

"Get over here you!" Davey yelled at Walter. It was fun that I knew these people so well. It made being at that bar a lot more fun because I knew everyone. After that Sophie and I finished our game without Walter interfering. Without him the game moved on a lot quicker and within a few minutes Sophie and I were both on the black, obviously this was the tough part of the game as we both had set pockets. I had bottom right and she had the middle pocket which gave me an advantage. The middle pocket was a real bitch at times. It was her shot and she could make it if she was careful. She took a minute to line up but at soon as her cue touched the white I knew she missed it. The white ball connected with the black which pushed it forwards. Instead of falling down the middle pocket it bounced of against the edge and rolled back and left me with a half decent shot. I didn't know why but luck seemed to be on my side. Maybe Nike was feeling generous today.

"Don't worry Sophie he'll miss this." Walter said from across the room. He was still watching but this was the first time he interfered since Davey got him away from the table. I didn't really mind this. I could ignore it so whatever. I lined up for my shot knowing that if I got this I was home free. No singing for me. The shot wasn't perfectly on, I had to cut the ball a bit but I knew I could do it. It wouldn't be the first time this game that I had this sort of shot. I took my shot and hoped for the best. The black and white connected and I saw the black ball roll right towards the pocket. It was a perfect shot.

"Haha no singing for me." I said happily. I didn't mind singing really but I didn't want to make a fool out of myself as I knew I would.

"You want to try that bet with me now?" Walter asked with a cheeky smile on his face. I knew I'd lose that one so that wasn't a bet I was going to take. A tip from Angel, don't take bets you know you'll lose.

"You good sir, can sod off." I said which made him laugh. Sophie and I went back to our table and we continued drinking our cokes. We sat there just talking about random things and cracking jokes until the bar started to fill up with people as karaoke night started. The first few people who sang a song were regulars, some were better than others and some were sent off the stage before the song ended. It was quite funny to see.

"Seriously why don't you just sing?" Sophie asked me after about ten people had sung their song. I really wondered why she had to ask. I didn't see her climbing up that stage to sing so she probably didn't want to just like me.

"I don't want to." I said simply. What else could I say about it? I took a sip from my third coke hoping Sophie would leave it alone. The guy singing now was doing a song by Bon Jovi, he had a bit too much obviously as he could barely pronounce the words.

"Why not? You used to play the guitar didn't you? Well you must have sung with it? So why don't you just sing now?" She was right that I used to play the guitar and used to sing but that didn't mean I still wanted to do that now.

"Because that was years ago, I haven't sung in years and I'm not doing it now." I hoped that sounded convincing enough but Sophie seemed dead set of seeing me on stage so she could laugh her ass off. But I really didn't want to sing karaoke on a stage in front of so many people I knew. The last time I actually sung for people was when I was homeless and needed the money. Maybe that was why I didn't want to sing maybe it was because I didn't have the guts, I still don't know the answer.

"You get on that stage or I'm kicking you out." Walter yelled from across the bar. I knew he wasn't being serious but like Sophie he just wanted me to embarrass myself on the stage or that's what I kept convincing myself of. I was rather paranoid like that.

"I spend way too much money here, you wouldn't dare." I said. It was true that I had spent a lot of money over the year but I was pretty sure Walter would kick me out if he really wanted to.

"Come on Mikey, get up there." Davey joined in now. The thing was I knew that he wouldn't get on that stage before he was nice and drunk like everyone else there. I on the other hand would be completely sober which wasn't a good thing when doing stuff like this.

"Hell no." I still said. I was going to defend my honour till the end. I was not getting on that stage, at least that's what I was thinking.

"You're going to sing Angel." Sophie said certain of her case. I still didn't want to and convinced myself that no matter what they said I wasn't going to do it.

"No I'm not." I said. "I'm not going to give in to you lot pressuring me and I'm not..." Five minutes later I was standing on the stage singing some random song from the play list. I had no idea how they got the entire pub to start calling me to the stage but here I stood. At the time I thought it was horrible. I hated them for making me get up there but thinking back on it I know I enjoyed it a lot which is why it wasn't the last time I did karaoke. That day, it was something I never forgot, something I never wanted to forget. It was simple, fun, normal. I guess that's why it was something I never forgot, because it was one of those days where I actually felt normal.