Charlie,
"Charlie, knock, knock," Kate knocked on the door, and I couldn't even answer.
I was too busy staring at my reflection.
I had it all planned before. I bought this perfect outfit. There was a red dress that went down to my knees, and it fit me perfectly. It was beautiful and mature, and it reminded me of Audrey Hepburn. I was going to wear these perfect high heels, and I was going to form this perfect wavy-up do that you saw in all of the magazines.
It was going to be perfect.
I particularly loved this because of how angry Angelique was making me.
Everything was going as planned. When I went shopping with Kate, I found everything I wanted. The shoes, the dress, everything. I had everything in the room I needed, and it was going well.
Until Angelique announced that she bought me a gift, and she spun it to where I had to wear the dress. My dress, the one I had searched for, was now stuck in the bag in the corner of my room.
At first, I gave Angelique the benefit of the doubt. I had to think positively. After all, she was doing this to get at Aiden, and I was his best friend. Why would she be cruel to me in such an obvious way?
But I expected too much from Angelique.
No, I didn't expect enough. She was much more conniving, much crazier, and much smarter than I had expected.
And she most definitely knew how to get at me without being obvious about it.
Example, the bag left on my bed by Angelique.
At first, I found nice things. A new diamond bracelet. A green scarf. A pair of wedge black heels. An then I found it…
Even just looking at it, it was bad. It was a green and white dress. The bottom was green and had a layer of chiffon over it, and there was a band of the same color with a bow in the back. The top was simple and white, but the sleeves commanded attention. The chiffon sleeves had two green bows, and it looked like something I wore when I was nine and my parents forced me into a dress.
I cringed just at the sight.
"Charlotte?" Kate knocked on my door again, and I moaned.
"Come in," I couldn't take off my eyes off the reflection, not sure if I was willing to let people see me in this so that I could march up to Angelique and kill her, even if she was a goddess.
This was everything I didn't want.
And I knew why she bought it. It was to remind everyone that I was so much younger, that I was only thirteen. That I was still in middle school, that this was my first real quest.
It was something I didn't want everyone reminded of…
"Hey, Charlie, I think my dress might be to tight-"
Kate stopped when she saw me, and her face filled with the desperate attempts against laughter and shock.
"That's Angelique's gift?" she finally managed.
I nodded.
She tried not to snicker.
"It isn't bad, really. You look great, you can look great in just about anything," Kate tried, but I wasn't buying it.
"I look like a Girl Scout, Kate."
"You do not look like a Girl Scout, Charlie."
I crossed my arms and gave her the look to tell her to tell the truth.
"Okay, yes, you look like a Girl Scout, but a hot Girl Scout," Kate tried again.
I still wasn't buying it.
"My dress was perfect, I was going to look perfect. Now look at what I'm wearing. I'm a freaking Girl Scout!"
"Why so obsessed with being perfect?" Kate grinned, and I knew what she was thinking.
Kate had assumed that I liked Aiden and Chester, but she thought it was an "or" situation instead of an "and" situation. She thought that, because they were such polar opposites, I must have picked one and just not told her yet.
But I hadn't…
And, today, I decided to get it all off my chest. I thought it would make me feel better, and it had. It felt good to get it off my chest, especially to Kate. I had already felt weird about keeping it from her after so many years of telling her everything, and Kate absolutely adored that it old her.
Now that the sweet moment had passed, Kate really took on her role as the older sister I always wanted and turned to teasing.
"I found the perfect dress, you know how hard that is," I glared at her for the insinuation.
"You sure it wasn't to be perfect for a special someone?"
"I'm sure."
No, I wasn't.
I knew I was, but I didn't know which one it was for.
"You can tell me if it is."
"And you can tell me why you're doing it," I smiled, turning it back on her.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh sure, there's no reason why you're wearing the tight dress. And took so long with your make-up, and spent so much time on your hair. And wore heels that make you closer to a certain someone's height. Or why you're wearing Ocean Breeze, Noah's favorite scent," I smiled, wondering if Kate would deny it or take my lead of honesty.
She didn't.
If denial was an Olympic sport, Kate and Noah would have beaten the record for gold medals.
"Coincidence," Kate shrugged, adjusting her trench coat and fixing her hair in the mirror.
Kate was completely ready to go. Her hair was in perfect curls that cascaded down her back. Her make-up was perfect and not too overdone, even though she was going clubbing later tonight. Her heels enhanced her height, but she could still dance in them. And she kept her dress for tonight hidden underneath a red trench coat.
"You just so happen to have a bottle of the perfume only sold in Bermuda that my brother is known for loving?" I smirked, turning away from my own dress to tease her.
"It was in the room."
"Really? Hermes keeps that in his guest room. I just got some shampoo and Chanel #5."
Kate turned back at me, running out of excuses, and she stuck her tongue out.
I chuckled and pulled myself to sit on top of the dresser.
"So, what are your plans for tonight?" I raised my eyebrows and winked.
Kate blushed.
"Nothing, Charlie. I am just going to the club, dancing off some stress, getting a few drinks, and coming back up to get some sleep," Kate shrugged, but she didn't meet my eyes. Instead, her grey eyes stayed glued to the mirror as she adjusted her earrings.
"Really, you're going to be sleeping? All alone?" I raised my eyebrows.
Kate went from a small blush to the shade of a strawberry.
"Yes, Charlie, all alone."
"I'm sure."
"Listen, nothing has happened in the last thirteen years. Nothing will happen now."
"But alcohol and Ocean Breeze weren't involved in the last thirteen years" I smirked, and I went back to the bathroom, leaving Kate to turn the shade of a tomato.
I pouted at the sight of me, and I looked back at the rest of the gifts from Hermes, Angelique (cringe), and leftover gifts from Apollo. I worked on my make-up while Kate kept talking to me, and I tried to distract from how I looked like a Girl Scout. But nothing seemed to do the trick.
"Need some help, Charlie?" Kate smiled at the door, and I hesitated.
But I laid down my pride and nodded.
Kate smiled wide, having always wanted to do this, and she quickly began.
I could feel her apply foundation and powder. Then she gave instructions for me to make a kissy face to show my cheekbones better. I had to close my eyes to put on the eye make-up. Pucker my lips for lipstick and lip gloss. Stand still for her to do my hair. Hold the ponytail holder. And listen to her tell her that I'll love the results.
It felt like it would never end.
"Alright, keep your eyes closed, but not too tight. Don't smudge," Kate warned me, and I did what she said as she tied something around my hair.
"Are you almost done yet?"
"And that's it," Kate stepped away from me, "You can look."
I gasped.
I look so- It turned out so- I feel so-
I couldn't even finish the thought. It was… amazing.
My blonde curls had the green silk scarf pulling it out of my eyes. My eyes looked like something you saw in a magazine but thought, "I could never do that," as you looked at it. My high cheekbones were highlighted, and my lips were plump and bright red.
"How did you do that?" I looked back to her, smiling wide, and she smiled even wider.
I remembered her face, it was what I called the Big Sister smile.
"You'll laugh."
"I always laugh at you Kate," I smirked.
She stuck her tongue out.
"I have wanted to give you a make-over for forever. I always wanted to be the big sister giving her sister who gave her little sister make-over and talked about boys. Not sure why."
"Well you got it today," I smiled to myself. That was the plus side of today. Sure, Angelique stuck me looking like a Girl Scout and I had to admit my feelings for Aiden and Chester, but Kate got to live out the fantasy of being my big sister.
And I liked having her as a big sister…
Maybe I should try a little meddling to get her as my sister-in-law….
Or, if I'm lucky, they'll just get it over with, drink a little too much, and spill their guts.
"Come on, let's go see what Angelique has to say about the dress."
"Thanks for the reminder," I moaned as I looked back to the dress. I was still a Girl Scout, but I was a hot Girl Scout.
Noah,
"Gods, this is going to be awesome, I've needed this. And you're finally going. You should have gone with Apollo and me…" Sam kept talking about how much fun he and Apollo had in Charleston, but I zoned out.
I was staring at the ceiling, lying on the bed in Sam's room. I didn't need the whole hour to get ready for dinner, I just took a quick shower and got dressed. Sam, on the other hand, needed a lot apparently. And I didn't want to go out there yet.
So I just came over to Sam's room.
Now he was working on his hair, and I knew this could take forever.
I wasn't sure how he could be the same guy I knew at practice, who wore the same tee shirt for three days straight at home. Sam who threw on whatever was there in the mornings, left his hair wet, and complained that I took forever just because I stopped to shave.
He first started to change when we were sixteen, when he figured out girls didn't really like sweaty tee shirts and mismatched sneakers. That morphed into this obsessive deal with the hair and picking out outfits, though he still wore his old raggedy tee shirts whenever we were at home and no one was really looking.
For the first time since then, I wished I was like that. That I took a while to get ready, that I had something to think of. Work to do.
Now, I was finished and stuck staring at the ceiling and listening to Sam talk about how much fun he had with Apollo.
My mind just kept drifting off.
Everything just swirled around in my wind.
Charlie and the quest. Olympia and why she would want to kill Charlie. How little distance we had left. How this quest was stirring up things that were perfectly fine where they were. Like Kate at college and me working all the time. And my thoughts usually staying on PixarRules4…
Everything was fine where they were.
I loved my job, I was working hard. I wanted to go to Manchester more than anything in the world. I loved my little sister, and she was still my little sister, just a baby to me. She and Emily-Rose still had sleepovers, and she didn't date yet. My parents were always there for every big game. My mom was still far away in LA and not always getting angry at Annabeth. Quests were a thing of the past, I was a grown-up now. I lived on my own, I paid bills, I went out and bought milk. And Kate was out of my life.
But now everything was different. The season is over, and we haven't started practice again yet. I find myself hesitating at the dream of another continent away from Kate, Charlie, and everything. My little sister isn't a baby anymore, and I am forced to see it. Charlie isn't sleeping over with Emily-Rose, she's on a quest with two boys, and they both seem to like her. Quests aren't a thing of the past, they are a thing of a past. And I'm still not a grown-up. I'm just that same little scared thirteen year old afraid of losing Charlie when my parents let me watch her at the park.
"Maybe we'll get lucky," Sam smirked, throwing his towel he used to dry his hair at me, and I rolled my eyes.
"It isn't the best time. We're on a quest that could kill us."
"It is the perfect time. We're on a quest that could kill us! This could be our last chance!"
I rolled my eyes again and threw the towel back at him.
"It might help with how grumpy you are."
"I'm not grumpy."
"And I'm not blonde."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes once again.
"Dude, what's your problem? We're in Vegas!"
I still stared at the ceiling.
"Oh my gods, this is about a girl!" he laughed, and I tried not to blush.
Please don't mention Kate, please don't mention Kate, I prayed.
"It's Breanna Blue, isn't it?"
I took a sigh of relief.
"Dude, get over it. She's an actress in LA, you're in New York. And she's dating Zeus. It could never really work out."
I wished I could tell him.
I knew it wasn't manly or anything and that he would tease me if I decided to share my feelings, but I wanted to.
Sam and I knew everything about each other. I knew the girls he had dated, he knew the girls I dated. I knew the girls he really cared about, he knew the ones I really cared about. I knew his dreams, and he knew mine. We had known each other since we were five, it was impossible to keep secrets.
Except for this one.
I had kept it so well for so long.
And I wanted off my chest.
But Kate was his little sister…
"Yeah."
"You'll be fine, Buddy. A few drinks, and you'll be back to normal."
I doubt that, I thought.
"You're probably right."
"Of course I'm right, now let's go out there. The sooner we get dinner over with, the sooner we go out!"
I already needed a drink, how was I supposed to wait?
I followed Sam out of his room and down the stairs to the living room, where I found Chester and Aiden, and they didn't look so happy to be sitting next to each other.
They hadn't liked each other before, but it had been just rivalry.
Now it was full-blown hatred.
All day, they had been trying to beat each other.
Aiden beat Chester in golf. Chester beat Aiden in Jeopardy playing on the TV in the limo. Aiden beat Chester in Hermes's favor, and Chester beat Aiden in Ping-Pong. Aiden beat Chester with chin-ups and push-ups, but Chester beat Aiden on the treadmill. Aiden beat Chester at kickboxing, and it just kept going on and on.
And, on the way, they got a few bruises. Aiden got hurt on the treadmill. Chester's wrist hurt from holding up too much on the weights. Aiden had a bruise from the ping pong ball hitting him really hard on his neck. And Chester had a big red spot from kick-boxing on his chest, which you could see from his shirt.
They were both exhausted. Both mad. And both desperate to "one-up" the other.
Looking at them, you could see no reason why they should be friends. They made it clear they didn't like each other's company, had bruises and bumps from the other, and obviously had nothing in common except for this quest.
They didn't even look similar.
Aiden was taller, older, and looked like an angel. In fact, he looked more like a teen heart throb my high school girlfriend would have been drooling over. He had sandy blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. His face was just as perfect as the Apollo children are all gifted with, and he was wearing the suit Hermes had laid out for him.
Chester did not look like an angel. His black hair was gelled up, and his eyes were obsidian black, impossible to read. His skin was olive, and his lips were usually formed in a smirk, though he had a deep frown now. And he was wearing the suit Hermes gave him, though it looked completely different on him.
I didn't like either for my sister.
Chester for obvious reasons and Aiden for the age difference and the location difference.
But mainly the fact he could drive.
I didn't like that.
"Hey guys," Sam eased the tension by sitting in the ample space between Aiden and Chester, and I sat down beside Aiden.
As I sat there, I knew to make small talk, but nothing came to me.
I wasn't going to talk about his Roman military career (reminds me of how old he is). I wasn't going to talk about my sister. I wasn't going to talk about him growing up (same reason as first stated). I wasn't going to ask about how his driving lessons were going (I did not like that he could drive). And I wasn't going to talk about the wings (I just didn't want to go there).
I guess there were things he could ask about me, but they also seemed off limits.
Kate? The quest? Charlie?
Finally, he came up with something.
"So, how did you get into professional soccer?"
I thanked the gods that the awkward silence was over, and I began to explain my path to my career. It started with an obsession for soccer. Encouraged by my family, I became the team star. More time to play deepened my love for the game, and I just kept getting better. By the time I got to my senior year, I had teams wanting to sign me. I explained why I chose New York, how we had turned it around, and how I was hoping for Manchester United, my favorite time of all time.
The story lasted a while, long enough to fill the silence, and I wasn't sure where I wanted to lead the conversation off afterwards.
Luckily, I didn't have to.
Not so luckily, it was because Aiden was staring at my sister.
"Don't you dare laugh, any of you," Charlie glared at all of us, though none of us were about to laugh, as she came towards us.
I wasn't sure what I needed to stare at.
The fact she was wearing make-up (real make-up! Not just concealer and mascara!).
The heels (yes, actual heels).
Or the dress that I personally thought she was a little too tall for.
I might have had a heart attack if Kate wasn't right behind her.
She is so beautiful…
I did my best not to drool.
Charlie dramatically plopped down on a chair, and kept her pout.
I looked to Kate, and, instead of mouthing that she would tell me later like we usually did, she walked up to me and took the last bit of the couch.
"She isn't happy about the dress Angelique gave her," Kate whispered, and I smelled the sweet scent of Ocean Breeze and her favorite minty toothpaste.
It became my new favorite smell.
"She thinks she looks like a Girl Scout," Kate shrugged, and I couldn't even speak.
Kate's long brown hair fell on my shoulder as she was leaning closer to me to keep whispering.
"What happened with those two?" Kate's grey eyes moved to Aiden and Chester, and I searched myself for the courage to speak.
"They've been trying to outdo each other all day," I explained, keeping my voice in the same small whisper as her, "And it tired them both out so much that they can't do it anymore, so they're both sulking that they never got a winner."
"You had to put up with that all day?" she let out a small laugh and a pout.
"You had Angelique all day," I pointed out with a small smile, and she playfully shoved me, though not hard enough to make me run into Aiden.
"Actually, I had Charlie. Angelique ditched us immediately. Charlie and I went shopping. Spent all day looking at clothes, getting hot chocolate, having a girl's day," Kate smiled.
It was kind of adorable how much she loved Charlie.
If anything, it had always made me love Kate more…
"I was stuck between Aiden and Chester's bickering and Apollo and Hermes talking about golf and Vegas."
She patted my shoulder apologetically, and she sat back, showing that we were now done with whispering and needed to get back to the conversation.
I turned to where I could see everyone, and I found myself staring as I looked at Aiden's face as he spoke to my sister.
I realized I saw the same face in the mirror when Kate was around…
My stomach twisted, and I lost my appetite.
Praying for anything else to distract me, I looked around, and my eyes caught sight of Hermes, who had a big smile and happy eyes as he looked at all of us. He seemed friendly, fatherly even. I couldn't help but keep my guard up though, afraid for a prank or to find my wallet missing.
Behind him, Angelique didn't have as much of a friendly smile.
No, she wasn't friendly. She was proud and confident, sure that she was going to be the prettiest girl. And, even though I was still struck by Kate's beauty, I had to admit that Angelique was beautiful. Her long, dark brown hair was curled and fell around her, a diamond headband holding it out of her eyes. She had dangling diamond earrings that probably equals in worth to my yearly salary, and her dress was black and tight, long enough for dinner but short enough for the club afterwards.
And there was twinge of evil success, and I knew it was about Charlie's dress.
Her pride seemed to dampen, though not by very much, at the sight of Kate, but she stayed on her game.
"Charlie, oh, let me see you in your dress!"
She was sweet enough to fool her father but still had an evil glint in her eyes.
Charlie, her jaw tightening stood, and she turned back to Angelique.
Angelique couldn't hide her surprise, she just stared.
But she forced a straight face to not embarrass herself.
"I knew you would look great in it!"
"Thanks, Angie. Oh, you don't mind if I call you Angie, do you?" Charlie smiled, and Angelique's jaw tightened, showing she did mind. But she painted a smile.
"Of course not."
