Amber walked towards her cabin, although she knew she wouldn't be able to go to sleep so soon after waking up. Oh, and there was the fact that she was about to go on another dangerous quest, which probably wouldn't help her relax enough to go to sleep. Connor, who was walking beside her, had nothing to say, for once.

"So..." Amber started, "where's Travis?"

"He's sick with the flu. Had to stay home," Connor replied. "He said he'll come as soon as he's better, though."

"Good. I miss him. I missed all of you."

I did not miss all of you, Emerald chimed in. Charlie is meh, Julia I actually did miss, and I could go years without seeing you or your brother, Stoll, and be completely fine.

"Ouch," Connor said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then Amber felt a tap on her back. She turned around to see Nico.

"I need to talk to you," he said. Amber nodded, sending Connor an apologetic look. He just shrugged and walked away. Nico led Amber to a secluded area by the archery area. They both sat down on the grass.

"So...how've you been?" Amber asked.

"The usual. You?"

"Same." Amber looked at her friend. No one except them knew why they were friends, or how they became friends. Some suspected Amber felt bad for the child of Hades. That speculation was far from true, though. In reality, Nico had found her in the middle of the woods, having a panic attack. She couldn't breathe. Emerald was trying her best to help, but even she couldn't bring the Castellan girl out of her thoughts that day. Nico managed to calm her down, and they sat there, in the middle of the woods, talking for the rest of the day. They did that multiple other times, eventually opening up about their pasts and bonding over trauma.

Amber knew Nico was gay. He didn't need to tell her. She just knew (aka her glasses pointed out a few things he did until it was obvious). He knew she knew. They never really talked about it, though. Amber wanted to tell him it was okay, that she herself was bisexual, but she could never find the right words for it.

"I know Jason. I know about his past." Whatever Amber thought Nico was going to say, that was not it. "I can't tell you, though. I really wish I could, but I can't. But I can tell you this; he's trustworthy. He's an amazing hero and a natural leader. He'd do anything to keep his friends and family safe."

"Okay." Amber wasn't really sure what to say, but that seemed safe enough. "Thank you for telling me, Angel. I really appreciate it." Angel was her nickname for him, since his last name was di Angelo.

"No problem, Stella," he replied. Stella as in Castellan. "I--I should probably start looking for Percy, though."

"Alright. Promise me you'll do your best to stay safe, though."

"I don't like making promises I won't be able to keep." And with that, he melted into the shadows and disappeared. Amber sighed. Emerald, who'd stayed uncharacteristically silent the entire time, finally broke Amber out of her thoughts.

If you just stand there, you're gonna get caught by the harpies. I'd rather not have to listen to you try to explain why you killed another chicken lady.

You're right. Amber frowned.

To the usual spot?

Sure. Their usual spot was a secluded area by the beach. The saltwater drowned out Amber's demigod scen, making it the perfect place to go to and think about...things after curfew. It was also a great place to have breakdowns, since no one else knew about it. Amber got up.

"Maia!" Amber's shoes sprouted wings, and she flew over the trees.

----

Amber and Emerald were very close to their spot when they saw something.

Jason is here? Huh, thought he'd be in bed by now, Emerald commented. Amber considered turning around and finding a different way to her spot, but she found herself walking towards Jason instead.

"Hey," she murmured. He turned around and gave her a half-smile.

"Hey."

"Whatcha doing here?" Amber sat down beside him and fixed her eyes on the waves in front of them.

"Just...thinking, I suppose." Amber turned to face him.

"About?" She didn't expect him to answer, but she couldn't help but be curious.

"Everything," he replied. Amber nodded.

"I know a great place to think. It usually helps me." She stood up. "Want me to show you?"

Someone's in loooove. Showing him your secret hideouts and everything, Emerald teased.

Friendly reminder that I can murder you.

Friendly reminder that I don't care.

"I--sure," Jason said, standing up as well. Amber led him to the point of the island, then, without warning, dove onto the ground and seemed to just...disappear. Jason, having nothing better to do, mimicked her actions, not bothering to worry about how dangerous this could be. He wasn't expecting much, but when he got up and looked around the area that he had just fallen into, his first thought was Awesome. 

It was some sort of cave, but it looked very comfortable and not at all like one. It had a few different chairs, couches, tables, LED lights, and the like scattered around. The waves were at the very front of the cave, looking almost like a huge puddle. Amber was in the middle, with Emerald on the ground beside her, a slight smile on her face.

"Not much, but it's something," she said.

"It's sick," Jason replied. Amber's mouth twitched in a half-smile. 

"Now..." Amber started, sitting down on a couch and gesturing for him to sit on the one in front of it. "Tell me about yourself."

"I don't know anything about myself," Jason said honestly.

"Hm. What's your favourite food?"

"Apple pie," Jason said automatically. Then he frowned. He knew it was true, but he wasn't sure how he knew it.

"Now, what were you saying about not knowing things?" Amber smirked.

"I--I think someone has to ask a question for it to work, though," Jason told her.

"Then I guess I'll just have to ask a lot of questions." Amber shrugged.

"What's your favourite colour?"

This went on for a while, with Jason not being able to answer the most personal questions and Emerald occasionally making snide comments before she fell asleep. Jason usually asked Amber the same question she asked him after he answered. Sometimes she told him, sometimes she didn't. At some point, Jason moved to the couch Amber was on to be able to see the things she was pulling out of her bag and showing him better.

"Favourite--yawn--movie?" Amber was extremely tired. She could barely stay awake, and wasn't 100% sure of what she was saying half the time. Jason was also tired.

"--yawn--Shrek II, for sure. You? Amber?" Amber's head sunk into Jason's lap, her eyes closed and her legs curled into the fetal position. Jason blushed, looking away. Then he gently took her glasses off for her, put them on a table nearby, brushed the hair that escaped out of her braid away from her eyes, leaned back, and fell asleep.

Tbh I kinda hate this chapter, but I managed to actually write something, so hooray for that.

Also, once again, this isn't edited. (: Sorry.