Sorry for the late update. Life sucks. So does midterms. At least I have Solangelo.
Also, today is not only the two-month anniversary of this fic, but my brother's birthday! And it is also the birthday of the lovely Evarria! Everyone, please send her a "Happy birthday!"
And since you guys love the first chapter so much, I wrote an official parody and sung it. The link to my horrible singing voice is in my profile, if any of you are interested in hearing it. But please, DO NOT POST IT ELSEWHERE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. I DO NOT WANT IT SPREAD ALL OVER THE INTERNET.
I also started responding to user reviews through PM's, because a guest pointed out that I have long author notes because of me responding, which makes my chapters a bit of a drag. So I'll only be responding to guest reviews in author's notes from now on. I hope this make it easier for all of you!
Also why do you people want Capture the Flag? I'll just write that separately actually, since I have a set plan for this fic in mind, and unfortunately Capture the Flag isn't gonna fit. Sorry!
Plus, before anyone gets on my case, I spelled Delun's name as Delun on purpose, I'm not misspelling Dylan. Delun is a Chinese name. Delun, Jovver, and Adilah are actually three of my more personal OC's. I have like, what-28? And no, none of them are in this fic, save for the three mentioned just now. This is because I have separate universes surrounding them.
And warning: THERE ARE KANE CHRONICLES SPOILERS IN THIS CHAPTER. I TRIED TO KEEP AS MANY MAJOR SPOILERS AS I COULD OUT OF THIS CHAPTER, BUT PLEASE BE CAREFUL. AND READ KANE CHRONICLES IF YOU HAVEN'T IT'S AWESOME.
GUEST REVIEWS
Great T'Phon: Singlehandedly one of the greatest chapters I have ever written.
Random Fandom: (Because I like to think I'm a genius. Random Blogger next, perhaps?) YEAH TAWAINESE PRIDE wait I'm white BUT STILL SUPPORT ALL THE PRIDE. I have always seen Thalia as a bamf (yes eyebrows) and the Hunters are sworn to their lieutenant and to each other always. I could not resist the pull was too strong. I feel so dam sorry for your classmate. I have one named Hans and the Frozen jokes are endless (It's funny because when the middle schoolers were shown around our school he got someone named Anna and I nearly cried). CALYPSO AND LEO ARE MY PRECIOUS CHILDREN OKAY (yes Leo we all know the truth). NICO WILL ALWAYS LOVE WILL DON'T ARGUE WITH ME also they're like fifteen that's a bit young. Haha toothbrush BUT SRSLY YOU GUYS WANT CAPTURE THE FLAG WHAT. I think Conacy lol. Yes let us burn America.
Creepy Girl: The Hunters always use force in regard to boys. So don't put the Hunters in charge of Solangelo lol. I'm so sorry you had to deal with that. As a white person, I apologize on behalf of the assholes of my race (I live with some). *Ron Weasley voice* The Hunters need to get their priorities straight. Nico is a little sassmaster and nobody can say otherwise okay.
Guest: Yes the sequel will be a reality.
Lazy: I wrote an official parody since you all love it so much. See my profile for the link.
ToneishaShipper: Well, they're Hunters. And the OTP consists of two boys. So…
A reviewer: Ah yes all hail my linebreaks.
Guest: HERE IT IS!
Chapter idea belongs to Maya-chan2007!
Disclaimer: I'm not saying I'm Rick Riordan, I'm just saying that me and Rick Riordan have never been seen in the same room together (because he lives five thousand states away that's why).
Chapter 18: Visit from the Other Godly Side-dedicated to LOSTcharlie-claireLOST
"And, um, this is my cabin!"
Adilah looked up from her magazine at the sound of her half-sibling Lacy' voice, self-consciously pushing the top of her hijab back.
The blonde daughter of Aphrodite gestured around the mostly empty cabin, which contained Lexi flipping another page of her book, Paul bobbing his head to some music as he texted, Mitchell rummaging through a closet for something, and Delun fixing up a pillow on his bed. Lexi raised an eyebrow at Lacy and the two people behind her. Mitchell didn't even look, while Delun waved a little. Paul jerked his head up and pulled out an earbud.
Adilah didn't recognize the two people behind Lacy. One was a teenage boy, who seemed to be of mixed race, most likely African and white. His hair was grown out in a small afro, and he wore a strange Egyptian symbol around his neck that looked like an eye. The other was a girl, with shoulder-length caramel hair that had purple streaks and tips. She also wore a strange symbol around her neck that resembled a robot angel. She had a similar face structure to the boy's, and Adilah guessed that they must've been siblings, despite her skin being much lighter than the boy's.
"Well, it's not quite as pink as I expected it to be," the girl commented, idly twirling a purple streak with her finger.
Oh. Adilah realized that they must have been the two friends Lacy had said wanted to visit Camp Half-Blood. This wasn't uncommon, mortal friends usually popped in from time to time. The only catch was making sure you knew when they would visit ahead of time, so everything relating to demigods and Greek gods could be hidden away in time. Fortunately, this wasn't too hard to do. You just had to lock all the sheds and only put the practice swords out. Also, declaring the woods completely off-limits. And then it was simple enough.
"Wow, Sadie, I'm hurt to know that that's what you think of me," Lacy replied, putting a hand over her heart in mock hurt.
The girl-Sadie, wasn't it?-snorted. "Always glad to let you know."
The boy cleared his throat. "So, uh, who are your cabin mates?"
"Oh, right! Well, this isn't all of them, but that's Lexi, the girl with the book-"
Lexi raised her hand and waved it in their general direction, not bothering to look up from her book. Lacy pursed her lips together, visibly annoyed by her half-sister.
"-And the boy at his bed is Delun-"
Delun grinned and waved again. The boy with Lacy waved back, and Sadie gave him an once-over.
"-Then that's Mitchell in the closet-"
"Don't talk to me, I'm busy!" Mitchell shouted back. "I knew that shirt was somewhere…"
"Try the other one! Or are you sure you didn't leave it in Jake's cabin?" Paul raised an eyebrow, obviously teasing Mitchell.
"Shut up, I already looked in the other closet!" Mitchell sighed as he walked out of the closet, slamming the door shut, before marching straight up to the door. "Hi, Lacy. And hi to your friends." He nodded at them before walking out the door.
"Jake?" The boy with Lacy had knit his eyebrows together, most likely in confusion.
"Um, yeah. Jake's his boyfriend…" Lacy twisted a strand of hair around her finger.
The boy shrugged. "Fine by me. I don't care."
"Could've fooled me, Carter," Sadie said. Oh, so his name is Carter, Adilah thought.
"Anyways!" Lacy clapped her hands together. "Where was I? Oh, yes. The boy with the earbuds is Paul-"
"Sup." Paul nodded before sticking his earbud back in and resuming his texting.
"-And, finally, the girl with the magazine is Adilah!"
Adilah smiled shyly as Sadie and Carter turned to look at her. "Hi," she half-whispered, hoping that she wasn't blushing. She wasn't very good with new people.
"Hi, yourself," Sadie said.
Adilah merely smiled and turned back to her magazine, trailing her finger down the page as she searched for her spot in the article about the latest trending togas designed by the Muses. She shifted the magazine away from the eyes of Lacy's friends, so that they wouldn't see the cover and question it.
"Well, I think this camp is pretty cool so far," Carter commented, crossing his arms. "Pretty nice program that they have going on here for…you know…"
Adilah knew what he was talking about. The cover story for the camp was usually that it was a place for children with one or both parents missing, abusive homes, or who were taken out of the foster care system. Nobody seemed to question this much, save for those involved in the foster care system, or who knew someone with a bad home or at least one parent missing.
"Yeah, it is." Lacy twisted her strand of blonde hair even tighter, and Adilah frowned. Lacy never talked much about her father. All Adilah knew was that there was supposedly an icy road and a drunk driver. It made her feel bad, honestly. Adilah wasn't a year-round camper herself. In fact, she was only in camp for a few weeks because the photoshoot her father was organizing in Brooklyn was taking up a lot of his time, and he wanted her to be safe those few weeks that they were staying in New York.
"So!" Sadie interjected, obviously trying to clear the awkward air that had settled. "Are you gonna show us the other cabins?
Lacy stiffened. "Oh, no! I mean, I'm not sure. Some of the cabins are off-limits. The summer program I mentioned? Those are the cabins that I mentioned are reserved for them."
"Like that big, blue, ocean-themed cabin?"
"Yeah, that one."
"Seems to be a lot of Greek mythology around here…" Carter muttered, glancing around the cabin.
"Yeah, the owners of the camp are a bit obsessed with Greek myths and stuff. I mean, the name of the sponsorship company is Delphi Strawberries, like the…um…"
"The Oracle?" Lexi called out, flipping to a new page.
"Yeah, that Oracle from that myth! She slew a giant snake…"
Paul snorted, and Adilah saw Delun bite his lips to keep from laughing. Lacy knew the myths as well as anyone else in the cabin, but she was playing dumb to throw off Carter's suspicions, as well as possibly Sadie's.
"Um, I think that might've been Apollo."
"Geez, Carter, since when did you know so much Greek mythology?" Sadie snorted.
Carter gave her a look, and she stared right back. Adilah had the uncanny feeling that they were communicating without speaking, and it put all of her demigodly instincts on edge. Glancing around the cabin, she knew she wasn't the only one. Paul and Delun were shooting each other worried looks, and Lacy was nibbling a fingernail-something she always did when nervous. Even Lexi had looked up from her book to stare at them.
Something was definitely up with Lacy's two friends, but Adilah wasn't sure what.
"Fine."
Sadie's hardened voice jolted Adilah out of her thoughts. She turned back to her magazine. Lexi flipped another page. Paul put his earbud back in, and Delun crouched down to look under his bed. They continued as if nothing had happened.
"So, if the blue cabin is off-limits," Sadie asked again, "Are there any other-"
WHAM!
The door flew open, and everyone winced. Lacy, Carter, and Sadie, who had had their backs turned to the door, jumped.
Drew Tanaka stormed in the room, breathing heavily. She turned to yell out the door, "WELL, SEE HOW MUCH I CARE!" A garbled voice yelled back, and Adilah faintly recognized it as that of an Ares camper. Drew slammed the door shut. Fuming, she turned around and marched over to her bed, ignoring Lacy and her friends completely. She yanked a bag off of her nightstand and rummaged around in it before pulling out an inhaler, putting it in her mouth and breathing steadily in and out.
"Drew?" Sadie asked, sounding shocked, and Adilah felt her mouth go slack. She looked up to see Lexi staring back at her, mouthing what looked like several curse words in Spanish. Delun had gotten out from under his bed to stare as well.
Drew froze, slowly lowering the inhaler. She turned to face Sadie. "What. Are you. Doing here?!" she snapped.
"Well, Lacy here said that Carter and I could visit," Sadie retorted, stepping forward so hard Adilah thought her combat boots would crack the polished floor. "What, you're not in charge of this camp, are you?"
Carter gulped, pulling awkwardly at the sleeve of his shirt. Lacy looked ready to bolt, as did Delun. Lexi looked like Christmas had come early. Adilah just wanted to hide from Drew's wrath.
"Unfortunately, I am not. But if I was, it would probably prevent soggy pieces of trash like you from coming in."
"Aw, Drew, that's so sweet! I didn't know you cared!"
As the two girls exchanged insults, they walked closer and closer to each other, as though circling for a showdown. Lexi had lifted up a small camera from somewhere, obviously excited to see Drew get taken down. Delun sank down slowly besides his bed, and Paul yanked both of his earbuds out. Carter shuffled nervously, and Lacy's eyes darted from Sadie to Drew. Adilah did the same.
"Um, I think I'll just step out now," Carter muttered, his hand fumbling for the knob behind him.
Sadie ignored her brother. "Really, I didn't know you had it in you to be so benign!"
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Sadie. Such as the fact that I can beat you fair and square."
She laughed. "In a Who's-The-Bitchiest contest, maybe. Otherwise, we all know that the person walking home with the prize is me."
"Yes, especially in the Ugliest Face Tournament."
Lexi covered her mouth with her free hand, her eyes widening in a mix of shock and glee. Paul grimaced, covering his ears as if bracing himself for what was coming next. Lacy looked shocked.
"Okay. Let me know when they're done," Carter decided, and opened the door, stepping out onto the porch of the cabin. He quickly shut the door behind him.
Adilah covered her face up with her magazine, wishing to be outside as well. Maybe she could find Jovver and hang out with him for a bit. But Drew and Sadie were between her and the door, and she was certain that getting near them right now would not be very good for her health.
*I'M ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HEAVEN, AND THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE, THE RIGHTEOUS SIDE, OF HELL*
Carter shuddered violently as he closed the door. Whenever Sadie had a go at someone, it never ended well. And he knew how much hatred his sister had for Drew. If he had a penny for every time she had trash-talked her after returning from school, Carter would quite possibly be the richest teenager in America.
"Are you a new camper?" a sudden voice behind him asked.
"Agh!" Carter jumped, and whipped around to see who was talking to him.
A boy stood there, maybe a little younger than Carter. His hair was short, yet messy, and his skin had the faintest olive tint to it, along with a freckle here or there. He wore a dark blue denim jacket over a Fall Out Boy shirt, with black skinny jeans completing his "goth boy" ensemble. He even had black Converse to complete the outfit. He tilted his head and peered at Carter, almost frowning.
But what really got Carter was the sword hanging from his belt. It was unsurprisingly black, although it somehow looked colder. It hung casually, as if the guy put it there all the time. It was also a scary-looking sword, with wicked edges and points. It was almost like just looking at it could cut you.
In short: The boy looked pretty scary, and Carter was glad that he hadn't laid him six feet under yet.
But there was something familiar about the boy. Carter thought it was silly to think so, but he somehow reminded him of Anubis. Obviously, the guy looked a bit like him, which was more than creepy. But there was something in the air around him, something that nearly whispered of death and betrayal. It was also the aura that had surrounded Walt after he started hosting Anubis. There was no way that this guy could be hosting the jackal-headed god, of course, or be him himself. But there was something…
The boy blinked. "Are you done staring?"
Carter jumped again, and shook his head rapidly. "Um, sorry! It's just that…you reminded me of someone."
The other boy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "That's not something I hear every day."
Carter relaxed. Maybe he was slightly unsettling, but the familiar aura around the boy was just that: familiar. He felt as though he could just slip into it and not be bothered at all. Now here was someone he could talk to, without feeling too bothered. "Heh, yeah. I guess not."
"So. Are you a new camper?"
Carter shook his head again. "Me? Oh, no. I'm just visiting. You see, my sister wanted her friend Lacy to show her around here, and I just got dragged along for the ride, I guess."
"I see." Something changed in the boy then. He stood up straighter, looking more defensive. His eyes narrowed oh-so-slightly as well. "And where is your sister?"
"She's having a go with someone in there." Carter pointed back at the cabin. "Drew Something-or-other. Sadie knows her from school as well." He sighed. "You won't believe what I've heard about her."
"I stay here with her. Not a lot of people like her."
"Yeah, I guessed." Carter walked down the porch to the boy, who glanced at him as though nervous. Carter ignored that and stuck out his hand. "My name's Carter. What's yours?"
The black-haired boy stared down at Carter's outstretched hand, like he wasn't used to strangers being nice to him. Or anyone, for that matter. Finally, he took his hand and gave it a firm shake. "Nico."
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Nico! From what've I seen of the camp so far, it's pretty neat!"
Nico shuffled his feet awkwardly, and Carter realized that he was still holding his hand. He dropped it. "It is pretty cool," Nico agreed.
Carter smiled again. "Yeah. Wish I could go here. But, well…I don't exactly qualify."
"I guessed."
"So, what exactly do you guys do here? I heard that the camp isn't like your average camp."
Nico muttered what sounded like "You have no idea" under his breath, before speaking up. "Yeah, it's a bit different than the usual camp program. We have a few, uh, self-defense classes, along with some extreme obstacle course stuff."
"Oh, so that explains that." Carter nodded at his sword.
"Excuse me?"
"Your sword. The long, black, scary-looking one?"
Nico looked a bit panicked. "You see it?"
"Yeah, I do." Carter knit his eyebrows together in confusion. "Why?"
"No reason." Nico coughed awkwardly and gave him a weird look. "Sure you don't qualify? You don't have a missing or dead parent?"
Well, my mom died releasing the goddess of cats and sealing the serpent of Chaos into a famous London landmark, meanwhile my dad died when he took the spirit of the god of the dead into his body and is now-technically-a recycled god. Other than that, my parents are alright. I talk with them at least every other week. Sometimes we have tea and cookies and watch Ammit devour people's hearts and souls. Just your typical evening of quality family time. Of course, Carter didn't say that out loud. In fact, he felt like he shouldn't say anything about his parents being dead. He didn't know why. It was just a gut instinct. "No, they're perfectly alive and well."
"You sure?"
"Yes."
"Haven't seen anything…weird?"
"Like what?"
"Things that people say aren't there. Like…creepy things."
Do cheese demons count? But again, Carter didn't say anything. "Um, no. Unless if you count my sister's Ribena drinks."
Nico seemed to relax, but he still eyed Carter suspiciously. "Just as well."
"What was all that about?"
"Nothing. It's just, um, a thing that we campers like to do to mo-to outsiders."
"Come again?"
"A game we play to see how fast we can weird them out. I don't really do it much."
Carter knew that Nico was lying, and that he had been about to say something other than "outsiders." But he didn't push it. He had a feeling that Nico was one of those people who got scary real quick when pushed. "I get it. My sister and I do that occasionally."
"Really?"
"Yeah. When my parents-When my parents are off on trips-they do some work with archaeology-Sadie and I stay with our uncle. He runs an orphanage down in Brooklyn, and we know some of the kids there. We like to do this thing where we creep people out that come in sometimes."
"Isn't that driving customers away?"
"No, we only do it to the mean-looking people. There was this one guy that looked meaner than a crocodile, so Sadie put on her best British accent and stuck her hand in a glass of water, pretending to talk to her imaginary missing sister that was secretly a goddess. The guy left shortly after that."
Nico left out a short little laugh, and Carter nearly jumped in surprise again. There was a smile on the other boy's face, and it almost looked like as though it didn't belong. He looked like a different person entirely when happy. "Your sister sounds like a riot," he commented.
"You have no idea. There was this other time, when she and her boyfriend, Walt, acted like they were being chased by bees and arrows that weren't there to drive this crazy lady away. Then Walt acted like he died and they had a very dramatic Romeo and Juliet moment. I'm honestly surprised her school still accepts her."
"Yeah, sounds like it."
"Anyone here do anything like that?"
"This one guy. He acted like his girlfriend just fell off a cliff fighting some monster, to drive some military-like guy away. His girlfriend went along with it, surprisingly. She usually doesn't do things like that."
"That's very creative of him."
"We all think he's a bit off in the head."
"Who isn't?"
Nico half-smirked. "Not a lot of people."
"Yeah." Carter decided to change the subject. "So, what cabin are you staying in?"
"My-Oh, yeah."
Nico turned around and pointed at a dark cabin a few yards off. Honestly, Carter wasn't surprised. The cabin almost seemed to have been built for Nico. The logs were a pure, rich black, the porch built with almost the same material. The door was a shiny black, with a bright green doorknob. There were also, surprisingly, torch-holders on the outside of the cabin, although they didn't appear to be lit. The roof was a dark gray, and slanted off at sharp edges. In short, it looked like the creepy cabin you would expect to find in horror movies that were set in the mountains.
Carter stepped up behind Nico so he could see the cabin better, and was surprised to find Nico shuffling a little bit away from him. What was so wrong with Carter?
"That's my cabin," the black-haired boy stated.
"Oh, I see." Carter nodded. "Sadie commented on that cabin looking badass and demanded to move in. Lacy had to say no."
"Smart move. I didn't design it myself, so it came out sorta weird. There were actually coffins in there at some point."
"Are you serious?"
Nico shook his head. "Nope."
"Did you have to, what, sleep in them?"
"Yes."
Carter laughed. "Wow. Whoever designed that cabin has got a wicked sense of humor."
"I still don't know who did it. My sister almost refused to step foot in it once she saw it."
"Your sister? Is she here?"
"Um, no. Hazel's in California, with her boyfriend."
"Ah. Older sibling?"
"Younger, actually."
Carter knit his brow together in confusion. "Shouldn't you be in the same camp, then?"
"No, uh, there's a sister camp to this. Our father…arranged for us to be in different camps."
"That's odd."
Nico shrugged. "We still get to talk a lot. Our father is just kinda…estranged."
"I understand. My uncle was sorta weird when Sadie and I first stayed with him, but now he's practically our second father."
"Lucky," Nico muttered.
Carter chose to ignore that. "Did you redesign the beds?"
"Yeah, we got regular bunks now. Just as well, I was starting to feel like Dracula."
"I bet. Dark cabin, coffin beds, it's like something out of the Addams Family."
Nico turned around to give him a confused look. "The what?"
Carter raised an eyebrow. "The Addams Family? You know, that old TV show, with the movie? And the creepy family?"
Nico scrunched his face up in confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Dude. You have to see it. I can show you sometime!"
"I'm not sure if I can-"
"Oh, c'mon! You could just come over to my place sometime. I have all the episodes on DVD."
Nico gave him another look.
Carter sighed. "Look, Nico, if it's just an issue with the camp, I'm sure we could work it out! I mean, people have to leave for school and stuff, right? Hey, what school do you go to?"
"Do you usually come on to people so fast?" Nico asked.
Carter blinked. "Sorry?"
"You're just being really friendly and stuff, and you want me to come over to your place…"
Carter had a sudden image of a flaming Zia in his mind, and he panicked, waving his hands and arms about in a flurry. "What-No! No, no, no! Sorry! I'm not coming on to you! I have a girlfriend already, and-"
"Hey, Nico!"
Two other guys jogged up to them. One was short, with messy dark brown hair and creamy brown skin. He looked like the kid the teacher would take one look at and immediately plop into the front row seat, so they could keep an eye on him. His eyes even sparkled with mischief.
The other guy was a lot taller, with dark brown skin and surprisingly curly blonde hair. He had a bandage across his nose, and there were faint bruises at the edges of the bandage, as though he had been punched there. His sky blue eyes looked Carter up and down, although he didn't make eye contact with him. Carter didn't like that feeling he got when the blue-eyed boy did that. It was almost like he was being scanned-scanned for approval?
"What's chilling?" The first boy offered his fist out for a fist bump.
Nico obliged. "Not much. Where's Lou?"
"Hanging out near the forest with Miranda, Alex, and Laura. Alex was on the verge of just shoving their heads together and making them kiss, and Laura was prepared to hold zher back, last I checked," the blonde boy answered.
Nico scoffed, rolling his eyes. "No offense, but I'm glad Alex isn't in my cabin."
"Yeah, zhe can get pretty intense."
Carter watched the exchange, thoroughly confused. Who were these people? And, was it just him, or did Nico look shy when he glanced at the blonde boy?
The blonde boy then turned back to Carter. "Hey, are you a new camper?"
What was it with these people and assuming that he was a new camper? "Um, no. My sister Sadie is friends with Lacy-if you know her, I'm just assuming that you do-and wanted Lacy to show her around camp. Then she decided to bring me along."
The boys reacted in the same way that Nico had: standing up straighter, shifting their positions, and narrowing their eyes. "Where are they?" the blonde boy asked.
Carter pointed to the cabin behind him. "In Lacy's cabin. Sadie's having a smackdown with Drew What's-Her-Face, and I decided to stay out of it."
"Drew's getting her ass whipped? This I gotta see." The brunette boy stepped towards the cabin, but the blonde boy pulled him back.
"You've seen Drew. I'm sure it's not very pretty in there right now. Besides, Lexi's probably filming it as we speak."
"Yeah, she probably is."
Carter cleared his throat. "Anyways, I decided to leave before I got dragged into that as well, and that was when I walked into Nico here." Carter then gestured to the aforementioned teenager, who hunched his shoulders up in embarrassment. "He was just telling me more about the camp."
"Wow, Nico, you're making friends by yourself! Great job!" The brunette boy held his hand out for a high five. Nico just glared at him.
"Don't push it," he replied.
The brunette pouted, muttering "You're no fun," before turning to face Carter. "Great to meet you! I'm Cecil, one of the coolest kids in the entire camp." He offered his hand out for a high five.
Carter hesitantly smacked his palm with his own. "Carter."
"Ha! See, Nico? That's how you do it."
"No, Cecil."
"Hi. I apologize for my weird friends. I'm Will, by the way." The blonde boy stuck his hand out, and Carter shook it.
"Well, you heard me say that my name is Carter already, so I'm not gonna repeat that. It'll just be redundant."
Will nodded, before pulling his hand away. Carter let his swing down to his side. "So, what were you and Nico talking about?" he asked.
Is he jealous or something? "Not much. He did explain a lot of the camp to me, and even pointed out his cabin to me. In fact, I was just telling him to watch the Addams Family sometime, since I referenced it and he didn't get it."
"He offered for me to come over and watch it, actually," Nico spoke up.
Will's eyes narrowed as he looked at Carter, "Like a date?" he asked.
Carter groaned. "No! Just like a hangout."
"Ooh, Nico's got a daaate~" Cecil teased.
"Shut up, Cecil!"
"Besides," Carter added, "I have a girlfriend already. Her name is Zia, and I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate me dating other people."
"Riiiiiiight."
"Is he always like this?"
"Yeah." Nico nodded. "He is."
"Hey!" Cecil protested.
Will sighed.
"Do I need to bring her over to prove it to you?"
"Yes!" Cecil exclaimed at the same time Nico and Will said, "No." The two boys then looked at each other incredulously as they realized that they had said the exact same thing at the exact same time.
Cecil laughed at them. "Jinx!" he shouted.
"Shut up, Cecil," Will muttered, glancing away from Nico. Nico glanced away from Will as well. Was it Carter's imagination, or were the two boys blushing?
And then it clicked. "Hey, are you two dating or something?"
Nico and Will turned to stare at him. "What?" Will asked, while Nico's face scrunched back into confusion.
"Well, based on how you guys are acting, plus the whole 'coming on to me' thing and how you look sorta mad at me. I'm just guessing though. But if you are, I'm not judging."
"Who looks mad at you?"
"Um, Will."
Nico looked from Will to Carter. Will looked flustered. "Mad?" Nico asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, mad. Like, sorta jealous. Now, I'm not trying to come in between you guys, sorry if it seemed like I was."
Nico waved him off. "No, no. It's alright. I just…" He turned to face Will. "Why are you mad?"
"Did it seem like I was? Sorry. I'm still a bit ticked off after the…" Will tapped the bandage on his nose. "…incident from last week."
"Wow," Cecil muttered. "That was so terrible, it deserves less Oscars then all of the Oscars Leonardo DiCaprio has."
"Shut it, Cecil!" Will snapped.
Cecil held his hands up in surrender. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger, bro!"
Nico kept on staring at Will, frowning.
Carter crossed his arms, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Should I just go, or…"
"Hell-o!"
Another boy appeared next to Carter, and he had to stifle a yelp. The boy chuckled, and Carter was suddenly struck by how much he seemed like Cecil. Sure, his hair and skin were lighter, and his eyes were dark blue instead of brown, but he still looked like a troublemaker, and the face shape was eerily similar.
"What's going on? A lover's row?"
"Hey, Connor!" Cecil greeted. "Not sure, it's just them being awkward mostly. Where's Travis?"
"Out with Katie." The newcomer groaned. "He forbade me from crashing his date. How could he?!"
"You nearly painted her hair green last time."
"Oh, yeah." Connor then turned to face Carter, He frowned, his brow furrowing in deep thought. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Oh, that's Carter. You know, one of Lacy's friends. Maybe she showed you a picture~" Cecil answered in a sing-song voice.
Connor scowled down at him. "Thank you for that." Then he stuck out his hand towards Carter. "Nice to meet another one of Lacy's friends! I'm Connor."
"Carter," Carter muttered, shaking his hand. Connor grinned back wildly.
"Oh, Connor!"
Footsteps ran down wooden steps behind Carter, and he turned to see Lacy and Sadie approaching. Thank the gods. He wanted out of this crazy camp.
"Hey, Lacy! I was just talking to Carter here, he seems pretty cool."
"I know!" she giggled.
"Hey. I whipped Drew's ass. She's licking her wounds in the background as we speak. Lexi-or whatever her name was-is replaying the video and laughing," Sadie said as she hooked her arm through Carter's. She then frowned at the scene in front of her. Will and Nico were deep in conversation, Connor was chatting with Lacy, and Cecil was jokingly making a heart between the two conversing pairs. "What happened?"
"I don't think you would believe me if I told you," Carter answered.
"Try me. We can talk about it on the way back. I'm ready to blow this popsicle stand, honestly."
"Great!" Carter tapped Lacy on her shoulder, and she turned to face him. "Hey, uh, Lacy? We sorta have to be going."
"Oh! Of course! Hey, Connor, I gotta take them back to camp, I'm sure that their aunt is waiting-"
"I'll come with you!" Connor smiled down at Lacy, who smiled, pleased. Her cheeks had the lightest dusting of pink on them.
"Um, okay then." Carter waved awkwardly at Cecil. "Bye, I guess?"
Cecil waved back. "Bye! I'll tell Will and Nico bye for you." They were still deep in conversation.
"Okay…"
"Come on! The hill should be this way…"
Sadie and Carter followed Lacy and Connor to the hill that was the entrance to camp, where the Kanes' ride home would be waiting. Along the way, Sadie started recounting word-for-word each insult that she and Drew had exchanged. Lacy and Carter cringed, while Connor laughed and said that he would have to use them sometime.
When they got to the car, Carter and Sadie said bye once again, and Sadie opened the door to the passenger seat. Carter grumbled, but slid into the backseat.
Once they were buckled safely in, Bast, their driver, practically floored the gas pedal. Sadie and Carter were thrown back against their seats. "What the hell?!" Sadie yelped.
"I don't want to have to spend more time there than I have to," Bast growled, yanking the wheel abruptly to the right. "They ruined us."
"What do you mean?" Carter asked, desperately leaning to the left so he could stay upright.
Bast snorted. "Carter, please. That boy you met out here? Didn't you recognize the campers' shirts?! They're bad news. Stay. Away. From them."
*Well, that was dramatic. And now, a short linebreak and a short POV.*
"Well, they left fast. Are we really that bad?" Connor commented, as he and Lacy watched the car speed away.
Lacy looked up at Connor, barely suppressing a small grin. "No, it's just you."
"Aren't you nice?" Connor joked, as he turned and started to jog down the hill, Lacy laughed and followed him.
"You know how sweet I can be," she teased him, as they started to weave through the supply sheds.
"Yes, very." Then he stopped walking in front of a shed. "Um, Lacy?"
Lacy felt her heart pound as she stared up at Connor. "Yeah?" she asked.
Connor tapped two of his fingers together nervously. "Um, I just wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"Well, um, I was just wondering if…"
"If what?"
"If, sometime maybe, you wanted to…"
"Wanted to what?"
"Oh, for Kellogg's cereal's sake!" a muffled voice shouted, causing both demigods to jump into the air and whip their heads around as they looked for the source.
"Who said that?" Lacy yelped.
The door to the shed behind Connor flew open. Travis, Katie, Alex, Laura, Miranda, and Lou Ellen stepped out, all looking rather disgruntled.
"Bro!" Connor whined. "What are you doing?"
"Look, bro. I'm sick of hearing you complaining about being 'too shy' to ask Lacy out all the time!" Travis complained.
"And I'm sick of hearing Travis complain about it!" Katie added.
"And we're sick of hearing Katie complain about it," Laura said, and Miranda nodded.
"And, Lacy, Lexi's complained to us in the infirmary about you not trying to go out with Connor. Your entire cabin secretly thinks you're crazy for not going for it!" Alex exclaimed.
Lou Ellen nodded. "Yeah, Will's complained about Lexi complaining, And Miranda's complaining too."
Lacy looked from Lou Ellen to Miranda to Laura to Alex to Katie to Travis, and then all over again. "Wait, what?"
"For the love of Shakespeare." Alex cursed in Spanish. "Drag them in."
"With pleasure!" Travis grinned. He yanked a very confused Connor into the supply shed. Connor lost his balance and tripped, yelping.
"What's going on?" Lacy cried, as Lou Ellen wrapped her fingers around Lacy's wrist and dragged her into the supply shed.
"Well, we aren't getting anywhere with Nico and Will, so we decided to focus on other couples," Lou Ellen replied as she shoved Lacy into the shed, where Connor was.
"Hopefully, this will work. After all, it failed with Solangelo," Katie commented, as Travis slammed the door shut on Lacy and Connor. The lock clicked, and the two demigods were left in the dark.
"…Connor?"
"Yeah?"
"What do we do? I don't think they're gonna let us out for a while."
"Hang on, I can try to pick the lock."
A sound that sounded like shuffling moved past Lacy to the door, and a small scratching noise was heard.
"Hey, um…"
"What is it?"
"What were you gonna ask me?"
The scratching stopped. "Um, if you wanted to go out to the movies sometime?"
Lacy was glad the dark was covering up her red cheeks. "Oh."
"I mean, you don't have to, if you don't want to."
"No, no! I mean…" Lacy took a shaky breath. "I would love to, Connor!"
There was a heavy pause. When Connor replied, Lacy could practically hear the grin in his voice. "It's a date then?"
Lacy nodded, smiling back, even if he couldn't see it. "Yes. Yes, it is."
Back when I was writing "APOLLO!" the co-writer, MrsEDarcy, gave both Octavian and Drew asthma, so I decided to touch back on that as a tribute to her. (Also celebration of Octavian's death woo). And Conacy is canon! Conacy is real! Hallelujah! I reused the closet idea because I am so creative, and my brain cells are frying because finals.
Okay, so rereading the Son of Sobek, I realized that it was after the giant quest to defeat Gaea, since Percy was judged to be around 17. Carter also said that he was a high school freshman (We're like the same age what), so I'm going off that. And Sadie should be starting eighth grade? I think. I don't know.
This was actually the first time I've written anything directly involving Kane Chronicles, I think. Well, except for that one story back in seventh grade that I don't talk about. Did it even involve the Kane Chronicles? All I remember is someone getting chased by a dragon, and me getting shot through the heart by an arrow. Basically a huge crossover mess. Also this crossover I once had planned with PJO and KC, about everyone's kids…
It's also been awhile since I read the books, I had to go read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia, read the graphic novel for the Red Pyramid, and then flip through the Son of Sobek. I still need to read the staff of Serapis though. Sorry if I got anything wrong!
Speaking of the wiki, there was a poll for the favorite ship (Sadie/Anubis won), and one of the choices was Walt's boat amulet. I nearly choked laughing.
Anyways, if you spoiled, I warned you, but I'm sorry anyways.
And I'm still waiting for someone to call me an old-timer. I mean, I've had this account since 2012, and I'm pretty sure at least five of you guys have made your account in the past six months. I mean, I remember that thing going on where everyone wrote stories about the gods being kids and the demigods had to take care of them. Hell, I helped write one myself! Those good old days, back when we all thought Nico was straight…
Okay, ready for more favorite lines! I don't know why, but they just make me ridiculously happy, like "omg I said a thing and someone liked the thing." Really boosts my self-esteem. And probably my ego too but eh whatever.
Also, shout-out to my friend. She started reading my fics. If you're reading this right now, Shi, I'm dreadfully sorry. Also don't damage my copy of the Mark of Athena.
Deranged Shadow Fangirl