★ kee speaks HA I BET YOU THOUGHT YOU'D SEEN THE LAST OF ME anyway i made a lil something because this book is officially 1 year old now :DD hope u guys liked it n i hope i improved lmao <33 and SHHHH castor did not die he is alive and very much well ok

I inhaled sharply, holding onto a random stranger's sleeve for support. Where was I? On a cruise ship we may have snuck onto, salty sea air surrounding me, socks wet, shirt uncomfortably untucked, ready to go home from a quest. Not too far was the dock. After arriving there, we would get off, grab a taxi and go back home to Camp Half-Blood. 

Oh, but that shouldn't be a problem, shouldn't it? I was with the twins and only two occupants of the camp director's cabin, Castor and Pollux, and we were both tired from our quest. What could go wrong?

A lot, apparently. One moment I was tying my shoelaces while Pollux looked for the bottle of orange juice he packed, the next moment the ship lurched to the side and I did two whole flips, rolling across the deck before regaining my composure. That was embarrassing. 

"Y/N, you might wanna take your sword out," Pollux called, zipping up his bag.

"I can see that!"

I let go of the stranger's sleeve and we rushed to the part of the ship with the least amount of people, weapons out. Leaning over the railing, I spotted a serpent-like figure in the water, just below the surface. Green and scaly. Something didn't add up; it had the head of a boar. But oh well, that's mythology for you. Don't even get me started on Percy Jackson's dad getting with the crazy earth lady.

"Is it us? Is that why it's here?" Castor asked.

I observed the serpent as best as I could. It seemed to make loops around the ship, and twirl in the water.

I squinted. "It looks...playful." 

"That's Cetus, isn't it? The one who almost ate Andromeda?" 

I nodded at Pollux. "I'm pretty sure it is. Now, does anyone know how to deal with this? Any ideas?"

And then Cetus leapt out of the water, hissing.

Very bad turn of events. Well, we were okay for a several minutes, weaving through the crowds and seeing if Cetus saw us as a threat. There was no easy way to defeat it. Then it rose up from the water, and slammed its head into the part of the ship me and the twins stood by.

My vision blurred. A lot of people screamed and I heard things tumbling around. I didn't feel it at first, but it was like my pulse was strongest in my shoulder. Something warm and wet was running down my arm. 

"Ow." I used my free hand to push myself upright. Then I gasped and gnawed on my bottom lip to stifle my noises, realizing what had just happened. A metal ladder was cut like butter from the impact, and I fell right onto the bent pipe, injuring my right shoulder. I was too stunned to try lifting my arm.

Pollux cursed loudly, then announced Cetus was gone and we were already close to shore. Or, dock, whatever. 

"Uh, guys..." I said, turning to them. 

"Oh no," Castor said. Then he raised his sword and brought it down on me. I'm pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes. "Sorry, Y/N."

You know when you slip in the shower and time seems to stop? The sound of your eyelids when then shut and your heart skipping a beat? Yeah, that's what I felt.

"Castor! At least give her a warning next time!"

I opened my eyes. "I don't think she'll want a next time." Castor began to tie a piece of my cardigan he tore off around my wound. I tried my best not to panic because if I did, I would not have been able to follow the two into a random room and I would have blown our cover.

"Is that okay?" Castor asked, tightening the cloth and making me wince.

"E-excuse me," I said. "My cardigan—no, wait, sorry." Priorities first, Y/N. You're a daughter of Hebe, focus on healing yourself first. I stabilized my breathing and prayed to my mom to help me heal faster. The cloth around my shoulder was getting wetter by the second. 

Hi, mom. Look, I survived a quest, isn't that great? I hope you're proud of me. But now I got a scratch and it would really help if you could use your magic or something. Please?

The ship swayed and I was pulled away from my thoughts. "Okay, let's go."

"Go where? Did you do your child of Hebe thing?" Pollux asked. "Because you look a little less pale now."

I cleared my throat. "Yeah, kinda. Are we close to arriving now, I mean?"

Castor poked his head out of the room. "Yeah. Let's go home."

Will Solace looked me up and down. Everyone was busy by the time we arrived back at camp, so we slipped in without much attention payed to us. I went straight to the Apollo cabin, unable to take the ache in my shoulder any longer. Kayla Knowles high fived me while running out of the cabin.

Will followed after her but stopped for me. He took one look at my wound as he lifted my sleeve and said, "Y/N, you look horrible—!"

"Shh, shh!!" I held up my good arm. "Be quiet. No welcome back, hi, hello? Don't say anything too loudly, I want to surprise him." We both knew exactly who I was talking about as I pulled him behind the cabin.

"Surprise who?"

I stared at him. Then Will slowly peeked around the corner. "Ah."

"Oh, shit, is he there?" I didn't expect Connor to be so close. Will pulled me back by the collar of my shirt.

"No, Y/N. Infirmary, now."

Right before dinner, I asked Travis to tell Connor to go to the edge of the forest. Him doing a double take and then almost tackling me did not really help my shoulder, but at least he kept my arrival a secret.

I stood there, waiting for him in the fading sunlight. When he finally showed up at the edge of the woods, his head was tilted up, looking at the sky. His hands were in the pockets of his baggy shorts and he was smiling like he was having fun.

I waved. "Hi, Con."

His hands came out of his pockets and his eyes widened. 

"Oh my gods," he said quietly, walking up to me. "Oh my gods, it's my beautiful girlfriend who I love more than that cool rock she found on the highway!"

"It's me," I replied, smiling. Then I let out a squeak of surprise as I was swept off my feet—literally—by him picking me up in a hug. "Connor!"

He set me down. "You called?"

"Mhm." I gave him a quick kiss on the lips, making him turn red. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too, princess. So, how was it? Any permanent damage, memories, or like, unnecessary details? You and the twins still in three pieces?"

I chuckled. "Yes, we are. There was this huge rat in the subway, and I kinda...got stabbed. I-I'm okay now, though!" I added quickly, seeing the concern on his face. "Will fixed it up, and even though it stings a bit, I'll be alright."

"Promise?"

"I promise. What about you, did I miss anything here? What about Travis, how is he? Paolo already talked to me about Harley nearly blowing up one side of our cabin, so no need to linger on that. Any good pranks I'd like to hear about?"

"You didn't really miss much, every day goes by the same. I caught a cold, but only for a day or two so if my voice is a little weird, that's why." He glanced at my bandage. "Travis is okay; though him and Katie did make me feel a little single, haha—I still don't know what your definition of 'good' pranks is yet, so I can't really answer that."

I nodded. "Cool. Well, I'll listen to you talking about any of your pranks."

"Y/N, hi! Oh, sorry," Travis came speeding toward us then immediately turned back the other way. "I'll um...later. Thanks for this, by the way." He stretched out his arm to toss something to me; a pair of my socks balled up together. 

I looked at Connor in confusion as his brother disappeared. "Ah, we had to use those to make a copy of Harley lying in his bed, just to freak him out. The kid's been on some kind of streak the past few days."

"I can see that," I said, chuckling. Then I caught him staring. "What?"

"Can we go to the lake instead of the campfire tonight, please?"

"Sure," I replied. "See you there." He brought me to cabin 18, my cabin, and then we parted ways.

We ran off to the lake right after Castor, Pollux and I were welcomed back. Hell, I didn't really care much about staying for a long time, I just wanted to hold my boyfriend's hand and get away from all of the noise. 

And now I was doing that, giggling as I pulled Connor along. 

"Y/N—" he whimpered as he tripped on a random tree root, and then he disappeared from sight. It didn't make much of a difference; I wouldn't have seen it in the dark, either. 

I helped him up by his arms, earning a kiss on my forehead. Soon we reached the canoe lake, lit up by the moonlight with the distant sounds of the campfire behind us. I kicked off my shoes and plopped down beside Connor, putting my feet in the water. 

He adjusted himself. "So, how was it?"

"Everything I expected a quest to be." I turned to him and smiled. "Meaning, a lot of things went wrong. I don't think I'll ever feel safe on a ship ever again."

"No dates on a ship, then," Connor joked. "I bet you're tired. I'd ask if I can sneak into your cabin tonight, but, Paolo...he's not exactly a light sleeper, is he?"

I chuckled. "Not since the Car Alarm Incident. And, yeah, I'm tired, but I want to stay here with you first. For as long as possible."

His head was tilted down as he gazed at the water, hair falling in front of his eyes. The moonlight illuminated his elfish features and the more I stared, the more I smiled. Gods, he was so pretty. He treated me and other people well, too. What more could I ask for?

I rested my chin on his shoulder. "I missed you a lot. And my bunk."

"I hope you get a good night's rest on your bunk, then." He began tapping his finger on the canoe dock. 

I sat up straight again to peer at the water. "I don't want to talk about the quest, I want to talk about you. Every second I wasn't thinking of how I was going to survive the next hour with Castor and Pollux, I was thinking about you. It's like I'm back to having a grade school crush but this time the boy returns my feelings."

The tapping stopped and Connor was silent. I shifted my body so I faced him. "Are...is there anything wrong?" I asked, seeing how he wasn't beside me anymore, only leaning against the wooden pillar now.

"Ah, sorry for staring." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just can't get enough of you now that you're back," he said, voice near to a whisper. "You know how dangerous our lives can be, and you, Castor, and Pollux travelling so far...anything could have happened to you three."

"Aww." I took my feet out of the water and scooted closer to him. "I'm here now, okay?"

"Okay. Okay," he repeated, taking my hand. "Being around you makes me happy. And even though I can't say camp is boring, it was a little less exciting without you around. You're...wonderful and spending time with you is the best part of my day. Next to Travis, of course."

"Really?" I asked.

He planted a kiss on my temple. "Yes. How are you feeling now?"

I smiled and leaned closer to him. "Very intrigued. Are we going to confess our love to each other at the lake all the time from now on?" 

"Maybe," he replied, rubbing circles onto the back of my hand. Goosebumps appeared on my skin as a cold breeze passed by. 

I thought about how often he asked me how I was. Before camp, nobody really took consideration. I didn't have many friends because I moved around a lot, too. "No one's ever cared for me this much. Except for Paolo and my old stepdad. So, why do you act the way you do around me?" 

"That's because I am utterly and quite undeniably in love with you, princess."

"You have a way with words, don't you?"

He hummed. "Hmm. Hermes kid things, I guess. I have a way with my hands, too, so, when's the last time you wore a bracelet?"

I raised my eyebrows as he pulled a chain with a tiny silver charm out of his pocket. It took me a while to realize it was a pie. "You're spoiling me."

"I sure am," He said proudly. "Train rides with Travis can get painfully long and I couldn't help myself, you know? I liked your little appreciation speech, by the way."

"Oh, thank you," I said, laughing as he secured the bracelet around my wrist. "It's the least I could do after two weeks without talking to you."

Once he finished putting the bracelet on me, he raised my hand so we could both see the piece of jewelry. "I heard you liked apple pie." 

I lightly elbowed him. "You know I do. You threw one at me the day you asked me out."

"Did it help?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Help what?"

"Ask you out."

"Of course. I guess you could say you..."

"Don't do it, Y/N, it's an overused joke and I still don't get it—"

"Stoll my heart."

"Y/N!"