I am officially an idiot. Chester is the son of PLUTO, not Jupiter. I don't even know how I made that mistake.
Charlie,
"You're sure we're going right?" Kate asked, and Chester nodded, leading us through the confusing caves.
I was thankful for Chester right now. Being a son of Pluto gave him special advantages underground, and he knew exactly where to lead us. Where I would have sent us in circles, he knew the right turn, and he didn't even have to stop and think about it. He just walked on like this was his usual route home from school.
I knew I couldn't continue on as the leader when I was drained and didn't know where to go, and Noah, without meaning to or anything, usually used his natural leading abilities and ended up being the grand leader. In the end, we remembered him being the leader of our big expedition. And this was kind of my moment.
I outsmarted the Rock Men. I saved my friends. And I picked up the guy who was leading us back to safety. This was my victory.
My brother would still protect me as long as he could, and it wasn't the biggest thing in the world to give me awesome street cred. But my brother at least knew I could handle myself when he couldn't protect me, and it gave me some credit.
And, even more, I felt like I had at least proved it to myself. This entire time, I had been saying that I could do it, but I didn't really know. I silently worried that I couldn't do it, too. That, no matter my training from Chiron, I might not just be cut out for it.
Now, though I needed more training and more experiences, I knew that I could do it.
"How much farther do you think we have?" I asked Chester, and he turned back to smile.
Chester was the guy you think of when you picture a Prince of the Underworld. His almond eyes were a deep obsidian black, and his hair was pitch black. His skin was olive like ours, and he had a face that looked like a statue of one of the minor gods.
It completely opposite of Aiden, the angelic soldier.
Chester was the dark angel, the taste of bad you know to avoid.
Despite how I knew better, his smile still made me grin.
"Not long. Trying to get back to someone in particular?" he smirked.
Kate raised her eyebrows, a silent tease about Aiden, and I let out a slight blush as I narrowed my eyes at her. Deciding to get even, I raised my eyebrows in the direction of Noah, sand she turned bright red and hid her face.
For the first time, I kind of felt sorry for them.
They thought the other didn't know, that the other didn't love them. That, even if they did love each other, they could never be together. They saw the things that were wrong in the relationship, never wondering if the way they felt could be worth it.
Usually, I was jealous. I mean, they knew who they were. They were grown up and respected members of camp. Kate was top of her class at college, and Noah was a professional athlete doing what he had always dreamed of. They were adored by someone they also loved, even if they didn't see it.
"So I wonder what Sam is doing," Kate smiled, trying to make conversation.
"Probably pissed that we're screwing up his time schedule," Noah smirked, being the only one who was really in the talking mood.
He hadn't left Kate's side yet, and I was beginning to doubt he would.
"How can you handle being his roommate?" Kate asked, "And working with him."
"You grew up with him!" Noah laughed.
"But we didn't have to get along, I'm his little sister. You're his best friend. That has to be tiring."
"And Adriane isn't?"
"You have a point," Kate and Noah continued on, and I decided not to join in on their conversation.
Instead, I found myself walking faster to catch up with the Dark Angel.
Chester looked over at me and let out a small smile.
"So you like Nemo?"
"What?"
He nodded towards my shirt, and I suddenly noticed I was still wearing my favorite Finding Nemo tee shirt and black pajama bottoms. I mentally grimaced, and I smiled weakly.
It wasn't that bad, I guess, but it felt kind of childish when I was standing next to a guy in all black and a leather jacket.
And I'm officially a five year old in his eyes…
I hated that, though I wasn't even sure why I wanted him to like me. He was the opposite of my type. He was smooth-talking, bad for you, and was honestly too good to be true. There was something wrong, and it was most likely a big deal-breaker.
But I did want him to like me, and so far I was the girl who showed up looking like a mess in a pair of Nemo pajamas and destroyed a prison cell. I was Noah's little sister, the girl they had been most likely crying about if I knew Kate and Noah.
"Yeah, I do," I crossed my arms.
"I was always a Stich guy," Chester smirked, putting me to ease.
I smiled.
"So, your name is Charlie, right?" Chester kept trying to make conversation.
"Yeah, and you're Chester, right?" I continued it, though I wasn't as good as it as him.
I wasn't antisocial. I knew how to get along with people, and I was pretty good at it, I guess. My mother, being a business woman who had to deal with all sorts of people, taught me that. But I wasn't exactly the most talkative person either.
"Chester Raven," he bowed, "Prince of the Underworld."
"I have never heard anyone say that."
"Because you've never met a Prince of the Underworld. We all do this," he smirked.
"Nico di Angelo is one of my godfathers."
I had many godparents. My parents were very careful, especially when it came to their two children. Nico was far down the line, basically saying that twenty people would have to die for me to ever live with him. But he was on the list somewhere.
"But he comes and goes, a free spirit. I'm more grounded, so I'm Prince," Chester continued with a playful smile.
"So you live in the Underworld?"
"I live with my mother, but it's near my kingdom," he smiled with a proud but playful smile.
"Your kingdom?"
"My kingdom," he smiled, and I smiled, too, though I usually would have rolled my eyes at a remark like that.
But Chester had that air about him, a rare personality trait in children of Hades. You automatically wanted to like him. It wasn't like Aunt Hazel, who is so sweet that you love her. You knew he was probably evil, most likely the sweet-talking bad boy so many songs warn girls about, and you knew that he wasn't the guy who should be likeable. But you found yourself smiling at his jokes, wanting to be around him, and wanting to get to know him.
"So a granddaughter of Poseidon," he looked to me, "We should be enemies, right?"
"My grandfather is Poseidon, and my grandmother is Athena. My family doesn't listen to godly feuds much."
"Apparently not," he smirked, but I saw something as he recognized the linage. He knew who I was…
The Daughter of the Mind and Sea.
"So, I'm guessing you're on a quest, and, since you're Greek, you're going West. And, since there isn't much other than the Underworld in LA, I'm also guessing you're on your way there."
"Well, you're right. Where are you going?" I asked, looking from the open dark space of the caves back to Chester.
"LA. To bring something to my family down there," he shrugged, and I nodded as we kept walking.
I began to notice that the walk way got wider, able to hold three people walking side by side instead of two, and I noticed that we were beginning to go at even more of an incline. And then I noticed the human blood on the floor.
Instinctively, my body constricted, and I cursed myself for losing the stone spear along the way.
I was watching Chester carefully, waiting for him to attack, but, instead, I saw our holy grail. There was a staircase in the middle of the walkway leading up towards light, and the caves continued on in the other way, taking you as far as you wanted to go.
Chester's lips formed a big smile.
"And we're here."
Aiden,
I paced the floor of the hotel room, my head spinning, and I felt nauseous. My eyes flew over the room again, as if another look would suddenly show me a big clue that would put my mind to rest and let me calm down.
Nothing.
I continued to pace, and I worried that, if I stopped, I would start throwing up.
Where were they? Where was she?
Noah and Kate?
I honestly wanted them to disappear together, go off and have a little too much fun and stop this whole thing of being in love with each other and not wanting to admit it. It wouldn't have really shocked me if I came in the room and found Charlie but not Kate and Noah. Sam would have been pissed and freaked out, but I wouldn't have really worried.
I would be calming everyone else down, saying they were probably going off for a walk or breakfast or something like that.
But Charlie just didn't disappear.
She was impulsive, yes. She could make bad decisions but got lucky with them, yes. And she wasn't that experienced, yes.
But Charlotte Jackson wasn't that stupid. She was still somewhat careful, and she would never leave her family, especially not her big brother. Her loyalty was strong, maybe too strong. From the logical standpoint, it was dangerous for her and might cost Charlie her life, but even I had to admit it was somewhat sweet.
Then again, I seemed to be giving Charlie more than anyone I had ever really met. In New Rome, I wasn't cruel or anything, but I was known for being realistic. If I thought you couldn't handle yourself in the field, I immediately went harder on you in the arena to help you learn. Some people loved me for it, and some didn't.
But I didn't do that with Charlie, and I wasn't sure why. She was thirteen, two years younger than me. I was on my way to being Praetor of New Rome, and she was just starting out in Camp Half-Blood. It's not like I could…
"You're distracting me, Aiden," Sam continued to search for them using the Mist, and I balled my fist.
"Why are we here when they are out there?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Aiden, it's a pretty big world. We can't just go looking for them! They'll be dead by the time we even get close."
My stomach twisted, and I glared at him, hating him for bringing up that thought.
Dead?
Dead… she could die. She could already be dead...
I felt like, if I kept walking, I would throw up, so I sat on the edge of one of the beds.
"Why are you so scared anyway? This is my little sister, my cousin, and my best friend. And you just met them," Sam eyed me, his assumption reading loud and clear, and I tried to ignore it. I shrugged, taking on the Roman Future-Praetor in me.
"It's a quest," I tried, "And over half of our party is missing."
My jaw tightened, and I painted my Roman war face, the face I had seen perfected by many a great leader and war hero. It was the look of logic. It showed only thoughts, no emotion and no personal investment. It was a look I had spent years working on, but it felt almost impossible to pull off right now.
But Sam went for it, though he kept looking at me suspiciously.
"I'm going to the vending machine. Want anything?" I stood, and he shook his head.
"Nope."
I walked out of the hotel room, and I let the door slam behind me.
Instead of waiting for the elevator, I took the stairs, and my walking quickly turned to running. The exercise sped up my heart and made my breathing heavier. It made my brain think better, and my body began to switch to warrior mode, the only mode where I really felt like I could think.
I ditched the idea of going to the vending machine, and I set off for a jog, wanting to clear my mind and knowing that Sam would be happier if I disappeared for a little while.
I smiled to the woman at the desk, who I had just had to see after asking for another day and claiming that my friends were so tired and they needed to sleep. She let out a smile, and I forced myself to walk through the sidewalk to a nearby park instead of how I wanted to break into a full out sprint.
Texas was different from New Rome in so many ways I felt foreign. The sky felt so much… bigger. The land felt flatter. There was a calmer feel, though that was natural in any place not full of Romans poised to kill. Even the air tasted different.
I had been to different places, my job required it. But Texas was a first.
I hurried into the park, and I noticed that even the ground felt different under my sneakers.
As soon as I could, my feet began into sprint straight off, and, the faster my body moved, the faster my thoughts drifted off. I ran, my heart beating faster, my breathing louder and louder, and I kept going. The adrenaline took over, and it blocked out everything else.
Eventually, I ran out of park and ran out of energy, and I had to stop at a tree and take in a deep breath. But I wasn't ready to go back yet.
I took out my work cell phone, running my hand over the heavy-duty purple phone and the imprint of an eagle on the back. The edges were gold, and it was set to my DNA to be the phone it really was. Otherwise, it was a tricked out smartphone who likes Rome.
In my division, these were standard-issue.
In my division…
My division didn't exist unless they wanted it to.
And right now I was on vacation, whether they wanted me to or not.
I had the urge to check it , but I forced myself to put it in my pocket. And I began back to the hotel, walking this time so I wouldn't be drenched in sweat when I got back to Sam in the hotel room.
My mind wandered back to Charlie, and the fear seized me again.
"Gods, we look like Hades," I heard someone mutter, and my spine straightened.
I knew that voice…
"Well, we look better than being with Hades, Kate," someone moaned, and my head whipped back to the direction I heard it from.
"Where are we?"
Now I was moving faster, heading towards a clump of bushes.
And then I saw someone come out.
I stopped, my eyes narrowing in to see if I could recognize the figure.
I didn't…
But I felt like I should.
And then I felt my heart stop.
"Gods, it's bright."
Oh. My. Gods.
Charlie…
Before I could even get passed being paralyzed, I heard another familiar voice as the two other missing quest members came through the bushes.
"Where the Hades have you been?"
"Nice to see you, too, Sam," Noah smiled, and Charlie started off to me.
But, when she got to me, she wasn't sure what to say, and I couldn't stop looking at the way the guy in black kept looking at her. I got the picture pretty fast, and I suddenly found that I still felt sick. I still needed a long run, I still felt like I was going to throw up, and I wanted to go back to yesterday.
"Stone men kidnapped us," Charlie looked up to Sam, "We just had to search through tunnels to get back here, you know. Don't complain so much."
"Fine, who's the kid in leather over here?"
"This is Chester, son of Pluto. He helped us find our way out, and he is coming with us," Kate told us.
"We're picking up another one?" Sam complained, and he turned to me with an apologetic smile, "No offense, Aiden."
"None taken," I told him, hoping that we wouldn't have to bring Chester along either. It wasn't just about Charlie, there was something off about the guys…
"I mean, this kid can fly. I can handle him. But I don't know about another one. And where are we going to put him?" Sam kept going.
"This is Charlie's quest. She gets to decide, not you, Sam."
"Alright then, Charlie, you decide."
My eyes moved straight to Charlie's, and she quickly looked away, telling my answer before I even really wanted to know it.
He's coming…
"We owe him. Besides, there's room if we pull up the seats in the back. I've seen you fit half your team in there before," Charlie announced.
Noah,
The seating arrangements worked out to be a little bit awkward for all of us.
In the front of the car, Sam was driving and still upset about our new passenger. Aiden was with him, headphones in and trying his hardest not to seem awkward and slightly mad at Charlie.
In the middle, Kate and I were sitting in the backseat. She was fine now, I knew she was. But I still felt like I did underground, wanting to hold her close. I had to fight it off, playing angry birds on my cell phone instead.
And, in the very back, the youngest of our group sat together. Charlie was getting some sleep after a lot of effort exerted, and the new quest member was with her. Chester looked out the window, though he only saw everything with a dark tint thanks to his dark aviators.
I wasn't sure how I liked Chester. I doubted we would end this journey as friends, but I didn't think we'd end it as enemies either. I didn't know Chester at all other than knowing he was charismatic and was the son of Pluto.
But I did know that I didn't like him around my baby sister.
Maybe it was just all that leather and black he wore warning me to keep him away from my little sister, or maybe it was just that I didn't know him. But I wanted him far away from her.
Despite how I felt the same way about Aiden earlier, I began to wish I could trade the dark charismatic prince for the great angel. But from how pissed Aiden looked, I wasn't so sure I would get my wish, no matter how much I wanted it.
I began to wonder if Charlie could see it or if Aiden even really knew why he was mad.
I remembered when that happened with me and Kate. Our friend, Austin, got a quest and chose the two of us. I remembered how horrible I felt as I watched the two of them, as I watched as they fell for each other. It made me sick, and it almost ruined my relationship with Kate and it did ruin my relationship with Austin. But I didn't know why. I didn't know why it hurt me so much.
When they started dating, I could barely even look at Austin, and I forced myself to be around Kate. Even after they called it quits five months into their relationship, I kept thinking about it. I told myself that I was jealous that she wouldn't have time for me anymore, but I knew that really wasn't it. It wasn't until I was about nineteen that I figured out how much I loved her.
And now I was watching it again, just with different people.
But, if she chose Chester, Aiden would be one end of a quest and an awkward goodbye away from leaving from LA to New Rome, probably to never see her again. And, if she chose Aiden, Chester was gone again.
I got a second chance, Charlie didn't.
But was I even using my second chance?
I looked back over to Kate, who was on her cell phone, and I thought about how much it hurt when I saw her with Austin.
And I realized that I would have to see it again, just someone else. I would have to watch her fall in love, watch her heart break, and watch as she found the right one. I would have to watch as she could only see him, watch him be the guy I wanted to be, and watch as she would one day come to me with a big smile and an engagement ring.
I felt dizzy as I thought about her marrying someone else, and I suddenly felt nauseous.
I had to look away and stare at my cell phone's screen not to throw up in Sam's precious car.
And then an icon for a new IM popped up on my screen.
PixarRules4: Today has been a long, long day. Please suddenly inspire me with a great story of your day that will cheer me up.
I smiled to myself.
SoccerGuy18: I would if I had a good day. The closest thing to "Good" of this day is that Dianna was there, though she had to suffer this long day with me. Not even my little sister's presence could have made this a great day.
PixarRules4: I knew it would be awkward to have a big road trip with Green, but he isn't what is making this hard. Actually he's making it easy, maybe even enjoyable. And that is making it so hard…
SoccerGuy18: I never thought I would say this, but it was easier when she was avoiding me…
PixarRules4: She avoided you?
SoccerGuy18: For about two years, I guess. It wasn't like she made a big show of it. It happened over time. You know, we didn't talk one day, that isn't much. Busy the next day, and tired the next. And suddenly it's been a month, and you haven't spoken to her at all and she hasn't tried to call either. And then it reaches the worst part of all, when the rift seems too big and you don't even know what you would say if you did call.
PixarRules4: Yeah, I know that…
SoccerGuy18: If you could tell Green anything right now without fear, what would it be?
PixarRules4: That I love him… What about you? If Dianna wouldn't freak out or get scared or whatever, what would you want to tell her?
I glanced at Kate, and I looked back to my cell phone.
There was so much I would tell her. About how much I loved her, how much I had really always loved it, and how I had only seen it when I had lost her. About how it killed me that we could never be together, that Aphrodite could be so cruel to me. And that, above all else, I did need her in my life, that I needed my best friend back.
SoccerGuy18: Honestly? I would tell her how much I missed her. I mean, I love her, but she was my best friend for my entire life and she just left my life…
Nothing for a while, then my phone vibrated again.
PixarRules4: And SG officially takes the prize and has gone the deepest.
SoccerGuy18: :-P
PixarRules4: You are so five years old
Soccerguy18: And you're four ;-D
PixarRules4: Nice, very funny.
