SEVEN.
JOSETTE

"Excuse me, Miss!"

Josette dug her hands further in her jacket pockets, her left hand clinging to a scythe bracelet Luke slipped her as they said their goodbyes. To keep in touch with each other, he had said. She couldn't help but feel as though there was something more about the bracelet. Whether or not it even held the ability to converse with someone. It did not look like a phone.

She imagined when she saw Luke again, she'd be able to plunge her dagger into him and call it a day. She'd been so mad for years that he'd betrayed everyone. Now, he was still alive and though he looked on the verge of death, she couldn't bear to hurt him. Even when she really wanted to.

Someone placed a hand on her shoulder. "Excuse me. I wanted to ask you something."

The voice sounded smooth, polite. Josette's instinct to fight subsided as she turned around to come face to face with a stranger. He looked like he couldn't be much older than her, though his height made it seem as though he was. He had electric blue eyes which reminded her of a friend. The only thing that did not make sense about this guy was the sweater he was wearing in this heat. A purple sweater.

Josette snuck a glance at the sleeves. Odysseus had mentioned his camp had sweaters and T-shirts, on the sweaters it would say SPQR on the sleeves. She didn't want to raise much suspicion with this stranger.

Golden embroidered letters on the sleeves. Josette turned her full attention back to the stranger, who spoke about looking for a friend with a few friends of his own. A friend who was supposed to be back at their boarding school already. That rose suspicion with Josette. He was most likely searching for Odysseus, who was sitting comfortably in some shop owner's apartment with a goddess. While she was out here. How had this stranger even known to approach her?

"I was wondering if you'd seen him?" She looked at the picture the stranger held. Yeah, that was Odysseus. So she had to make it seem like it wasn't Odysseus. "We're just worried about him."

Josette tilted her head, squinting. "I'm sorry. I don't think I know this person."

She hoped her illusion would withstand distance for quite some time, because now she needed to get the hell out of there. Before this Roman found out she did know Odysseus. If she was too far away, the illusion would fail, and if she wasn't far enough... Josette smiled, excusing herself.

Before the stranger could even figure out that she was lying through her teeth, Josette made sure to vanish in the crowd. If her illusion did fail, she'd at least be in a crowd. That meant less chance of the stranger attacking. Though she hoped to avoid a scenario where she'd get attacked by someone looking for Odysseus.

After meeting with Luke, she didn't think she'd get stuck in some shit this quickly. She looked over her shoulder, and cursed. Apparently she wasn't brushed up enough on her power.

She shot into an alley, and cursed herself some more for possibly choosing the one alley that came to a dead end. But she could climb over it. This was what she'd trained for, wasn't it? Climbing walls? Except not the life-threatening lava with it, so she wouldn't fall to her death if she did end up falling. Not that she would. She could do it, easy peasy.

As she swung her legs over to the other side, the stranger entered the alley. He appeared quite impressed that she'd gotten to the top of the wall. Not that it mattered, because now she'd ditch his ass in that alley. Or so she thought, because the moment she dropped down, she was face to face with him again.

"You know something. Talk." He ordered. Josette pursed her lips, shaking her head. "I know you're one of us. The trick with the photo? Nice touch, but joke's over."

"Mhm. Are you a monster? One that can teleport, perhaps? Posing as a demigod, to get your early meal in? Though... no, I suppose you would've eaten me already. Unless you have something against the photo boy."

"I can just as easily accuse you of being a monster." The stranger said.

Josette smiled. "You could."

"What does it take for you to tell me the truth?"

"Considering I don't know anything about you, and someone who does know everything about everyone is not here... I should invite someone over here. They can tell if I can give you even the slightest of truths." Josette began, trailing off when she took notice of a boy with a bow and arrow on a balcony. That did not look like Odysseus. "Or I can simply refuse to tell you anything because you're threatening me."

"What are you – I had no part in that! You're just..."

"I'm what?"

She had to get out of this situation as fast as she could. With the archer on the balcony over there, she had no chance of climbing back over the wall, but she also couldn't fight her way out of this. Or maybe she could.

Luckily, it seemed the stranger in front of her also did not know what to do. Her eyes flickered between the archer and the stranger. He had a few friends of his own. That meant not only that archer was out here. Someone else was here too, and perhaps even more.

"How many?" She asked.

"What?"

"You. Trigger-happy over there. How many are left?"

The stranger frowned. "Two more."

"Thank you for your cooperation." Josette ducked, narrowly avoiding the arrow shot in her direction. She swiftly pulled out her dagger and stabbed it in the stranger's ankle. "This has been such a fun conversation, but I have to go now."

She'd deal with the consequences of her actions later. Right now, she had to get out of there. Her eyes flashed to the balcony, where the archer was preparing another arrow to shoot at her.

"Fire! There's a fire!" She screamed as loud as she could.

Panic amassed through the street, giving her the perfect opportunity to slip away.

✾

"Where's your coffee? Do you even know how long you were gone?" Odysseus checked whether or not Josette was injured, and she felt like punching him in the face. "Why it there blood on your jeans?"

Mnemosyne, who had been sitting patiently on the couch staring at something on the television, stood up at those words. Josette grimaced, recalling what had happened before she came to the apartment. At least she hadn't told that demanding Roman anything about Odysseus. She did stab him, which she took great relief in. And well, it was either him or her.

Odysseus paled. "You stabbed Jason?"

"Who?" Josette frowned. She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not the one who had an archer sitting prepared like some sniper to take me out if the answers weren't of satisfaction. I did what I had to do."

"Jason Grace. Son of Jupiter, on his way to become praetor of Rome. I've told you about him!"

Josette pondered for a moment. "No, that doesn't ring any bells. Whatever, there's four of them looking for Flighty, and I think we need to get out of here before they find him. Unless you want to be found by some Romans that think they're all that."

"It is concerning that the Romans have felt the need to go out looking." Mnemosyne agreed. "I suggest we move forward with getting to New Rome. Apologies, Josette, but reuniting with your father will have to wait now that the Romans have come looking."

"What reunion with my father? Were you two secretly traveling with me to get me to my father?"

Josette looked accusingly between Mnemosyne and Odysseus. At least Odysseus had the sense to look guilty, but Mnemosyne nodded proudly. She glowered at the goddess. What was the point in becoming a hero the world would remember for millennia if she went on a road trip to her father first? Someone she ran from?

She didn't think reuniting with her father would make her want to become a hero. In fact, she figured it would make her murderous. First, meeting Shelley and her apparent half-sister, then... Oh, really! The entire trip to New Rome was a ploy to get her to reunite with her family. What the fuck was a family for?

"I'm going back. I'm going home, I don't need this. PJ is the hero, isn't he? It'll never be me. Even though you falsely promised –" She opened the door again to leave. "Why the fuck is there a lightning boy in this tiny hallway?"

"You stabbed me!"

Josette yelped when the stranger grabbed her by the shoulders to slam her into the wall. She wrestled to get loose, as the stranger held a sword to her throat. Her eyes narrowed. Was he really going to slit her throat and make a mess of the shop owner's apartment? She wriggled her dagger out her pocket, and slammed it in his arm.

"Leave them be. I believe this is exactly what Josette needs right now." She could vaguely hear Mnemosyne tell Odysseus.

"You had your minion shoot an arrow at my head!" Josette yelled. She stomped on the boy's foot. "You're a fucking asshole!"

She cursed as the boy's sword cut her arm, harshly digging the dagger back into his own arm. Blood poured out of their wounds uncontrollably. She wrestled to get a good grip on his arm, and she decided to full-on bite him.

"What is your problem with me?!" The boy cried out as Josette bit him again. "I didn't attack you first!"

"Your minion did! That means you attacked first!"

Josette gasped as her newfound enemy got a good grip again, and pushed her against the stairway railing. She panted as she nearly hung upside down. If that boy let go, she'd fall with no way of getting up.

He pushed a little harder. "Surrender."

"Josie..." Odysseus sounded terrified.

"Drop the weapon. You have no leverage anymore." Josette made a show of dropping her dagger down the stairway. The boy pulled her up again, and immediately she punched him as hard as she could in the face. "I thought you surrendered! What did you hit me with?"

Josette opened her mouth, but glanced at her fist. It sparkled like jewels would. "I hit you with my fist. And I can do it again."

"That is enough!" Mnemosyne's voice boomed.

Gone was the friendly composure the goddess had presented herself with all the time Josette had known her. She guiltily glanced at the boy she had just fought with, though she quickly decided she hated his guts and moved to stand with Odysseus. The goddess glared at the two bleeding demigods.

"You will have to forgive Josette. She is temperamental." Mnemosyne politely held out her hand for the stranger to take. "I am Moneta. Titan goddess of memory. Please, enter, Jason Grace. I believe you were looking for Odysseus."

"I'll show you temperamental." Josette grumbled, as Odysseus motioned for her to get back inside so he could take care of her wounds.

"Do not even think of bowing, Jason Grace. I am merely a guide for Josette and Odysseus as they ambitiously follow in a hero's footsteps. We are on our way to a farm in Oregon, where Josette's father has settled. Please join us for a moment. Perhaps you would like to join our journey."

Josette decided that if this asshole wanted to be part of the journey, she'd really go back to Camp Half-Blood. She already didn't want to see her father, which would most likely become a pretty emotional affair, and if that asshole got to see that... No. She simply refused to be vulnerable in front of an asshole like that.

Odysseus forcefully got her to look away from glaring at the newcomer. "You stabbed Jason. Not just that. Multiple times. You stabbed him multiple times." He handed her a piece of ambrosia. "I think you're lucky to still be alive."

"I'm gonna stab him again." Josette muttered angrily, watching from the corner of her eyes as Mnemosyne fussed over Jason.

"No, you're not. You know deep down that you can't beat him. You won't always have the element of surprise, you know." Odysseus looked at Jason, who was looking at Josette and Odysseus with a frown on his face. "Hello Jason. You were looking for me, I heard."

"Octavian, Reyna, and Dakota too. I told them to go back before they had a face to face run-in with your girlfriend over there."

Josette gagged. "I think I just threw up a little."

Jason bristled, attempting to get up only to get shoved back by Mnemosyne. "You make an awful first impression."

"Who said I wanted to make an impression in the first place? I didn't know who you were, you could have been a monster! And no, I'm not Flighty's girlfriend, no offense or anything. You're just really not my type."

Josette studied her hands, wondering if she could make the shine appear again. Perhaps it happened in the heat of the moment. Jason bore a cut on his cheek because of her punch. That could not be a coincidence. It looked as though she'd hit him with actual jewels. She curled her hands into fists, but the jewel shine did not reappear.

She flinched when Odysseus dabbed some mysterious liquid on the cut on her arm. "Dude! It's bad enough he ruined my favorite jacket, now you're pouring that all over me?"

"I retaliated after you decided stabbing me was the best way to go!"

"Children, please. Josette, please kindly introduce yourself to our guest."

Josette shrugged her jacket off, and stood up. She ignored Odysseus telling her to please behave. Mnemosyne granted her space to shake Jason's hand. She decided at the last moment to take her hand back after all, scoffing.

"I don't think so. Blondie."

Jason stood up, towering over her. "I can't stand you."

"You're the one who stood up. You're very welcome to sit."

Odysseus sighed loudly. "I don't think they're going to get along, at all. Jason, that gremlin looking like she's going to murder you is Josie Torres, a daughter of Dione." Josette glared at him. "I still don't believe Moneta didn't pluck her off the side of a road."

"Well, I can see why one might think so." Jason agreed.

Josette lunged, Mnemosyne quickly holding her back. She already knew it. She would never ever get along with Jason Grace. She'd rather drink poison and fall into Tartarus and get killed by Kronos and fight with PJ again than even trying to get along with him. It wouldn't happen. She would not get along with Jason. Everything about him made him easy to hate. No, loathe. She loathed Jason Grace.

"I apologize for the intrusion in your newfound quest, Odysseus, but we feared something had happened to you after Octavian said you never showed up to the airport. He worried for you. Reyna checked every surveillance camera throughout the States, so you really have her to thank for us finding you. And you were in the company of someone who is listed as missing." Jason motioned to Josette, who'd perched herself on top of the dinner table. She narrowed her eyes at him. "We were suspicious."

"Even though you knew I was most likely fine and not with a missing person against my will?" Odysseus retorted.

"No. Because not only were you with a missing person, you were with someone we couldn't find anywhere. As far as archives go, at least. So we followed you around. And for some reason it was much easier to approach someone that likes biting, as she was all by herself. We didn't think she'd be much of a threat on her own."

"And you expect me to get along with this guy?" Josette frustratedly motioned to Jason, as if his entire existence was bothering her.

Mnemosyne held her hand up, as though Josette would somehow manage to strangle Jason from her spot on the dining table. "You mentioned a missing person. Josette?"

"Indeed, ma'am. Apparently she's been missing for almost a decade, and cops believe she is dead or prisoner somewhere. The guess of how she would look now is almost entirely accurate. I'm actually surprised no one has stopped you. Cops and the like are all curious about what happened to the child that ran away, only to never be seen again."

"Eat shit. I'm not missing. That would mean someone cared enough to list me as missing. Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense."

Josette slid off the table, punching the wood as hard as she could. The other three looked at her, mixed emotions visible on their face. She took a deep breath.

"You're not welcome here." She pointed at Jason. "I want you gone, I want you gone!"

Josette hurried out of sight, before slamming the door to what appeared to be the bathroom shut. Someone cared enough to put her up as a missing person. Someone cared enough. There was someone who cared.

Her father must've cared after all.

avery speaks!
hello jason grace who gets stabbed almost immediately after meeting the love of his life, we welcome you

jason and josette: loathing unadulterated loathing for your face your voice your clothing let's just say i loathe it all every little trait however small

peep them almost killing each other thats how much they hate each other already & its barely been an hour of those two knowing each other. theyre both such drama queens omfg, but jason is the one who allowed josie to figure out that her dad did care abt her what a king