~ ☼ ~

Those weapons must've been pretty important, at least in the grand scheme of things, because that really was it; we all got back in the van and drove home after that. The hours long drive was stiffer than the drive there, because Argus made everyone stay silent. The chariot was in the trunk; Clarisse and her siblings whispered to each other the whole time, shooting rueful looks towards Michael. Suddenly the tension had become much more palpable.

When we got back to camp, battle-weary and tired, everyone was super relieved. Nobody had died, after all, and we'd retrieved a bunch of stuff. Just the first part was impressive enough. But Alec and I were not doing very well; every time I looked at him, I was upset, and it was clear, he was too. I couldn't explain why. I just felt hurt.

That night, we were all tossing and turning fitfully. Then, suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Being near the window, I immediately sat up and tried to look through the curtains to see who it was, but I had no luck. I could tell it was a few kids, and they were whispering. I was immediately nervous that it was Cabin 5 kids come to haze Michael in the middle of the night.

They knocked again, and this time, more kids in Cabin 7 had woken up. No one was talking, but I could see Michael, finally, getting up and going to see who it was.

He opened the door only a crack, and there was a whispered exchange of words. Tensely, but also, now, a little excited, I looked around the cabin at all my siblings' wide open eyes. Then I landed on Alec, on the other side of the cabin; he was looking at me. He gave me a very, very small smile, but I might've just been imagining that in the dark.

Finally, Michael closed the door. Then he sighed.

Then he turned on the light, and there was a chorus of groans.

"Sorry," he said. He grinned. "We've been invited to a party in the woods."

It was the last thing I was expecting to hear, but it sounded freaking awesome.

~ ☼ ~

Of course, after the day we'd had, we were super ready for a party. Was it technically not allowed? Definitely. But that made it more fun; it was hosted by the Hermes Cabin, in the woods, and everyone above age 14 was invited. Luckily, most of the kids remaining in the Apollo Cabin at this point in the war were all pretty old.

Or maybe that wasn't lucky at all.

Riley was excited the most; when the curtain that separated the male and female side was closed, she cheerfully got dressed like we were going to prom. It made me feel remarkably normal.

"I hope there's a bonfire," she said to me. "Is that what you're wearing?"

I had on my camp shirt and a lace black skirt. I raised an eyebrow. "What else am I supposed to wear?"

"This is an illegal party," she whispered. "I mean, this might be our only time to dress up!"

"I didn't exactly bring a dress, Ri. At least I have a skirt."

But Riley had brought two, and we were close enough in size for her to force me to wear one. A few moments later, we were both in sundresses, and Misha, one of the girls next to us - not the one who had been scared when Riley had a prophecy, that was a preteen who was watching us all jealously - complimented us.

"You both look great," she said, sighing. "I wish I'd brought something fancy."

"You look good!" Lucky said, her dyed blonde hair bouncing as she came over to us because Misha had a mirror attached to her bed frame. She attached earrings to her ears, then added, "I wonder if there'll be music."

"No," Misha said dryly. "It's going to be completely silent."

"I like that idea," Brynn, an introvert, shot in from the other side of the cabin, and we all chuckled.

For a moment, I felt like I was part of it. I'd felt part of it before, but there was something extra special about it that summer. Back in Highland Falls, my school was small, and the closest thing I had to emo kids were the scene kids, which is a WHOLE different subculture (do not get them confused). Other than that, I had people I talked to, but not really a friend group. I loved that I had a built-in one here. It made me feel... loved.

"Everyone done over there?" this kid Matt called from the guys' side.

"No," Lucky called back, still fixing her hair, as everyone else called back, "Yes!"

So Matt opened the curtain again, and immediately, he squealed at the sight of Lucky's look. "Girl you look so good!"

I felt anxiety hit me like a brick as we all reconvened, most of the guys still wearing their normal clothes - though Matt and Aaron had both put on button-ups. I didn't usually wear dresses, and I felt like an imposter in the one Riley had given me. With no make up or jewelry to match beside my camp necklace, it felt even worse.

Then, as we were all setting out - surreptitiously, of course, shushing each other so the secret didn't get out - Alec caught up with us. With Riley just ahead, for a moment, it was just the two of us. He was one of the kids that had put on a button-up.

"Well," he said, slightly awkwardly, to me. "This is exciting."

"I know, right?" I whispered back. My neck was warm, even as the door closed behind us. From here, I could see some kids leaving the Demeter cabin to head towards the woods, and a few more pouring from Aphrodite. I could smell the bonfire smoke from here.

It was almost too much. I was so unused to it that I wanted to cry.

Then Alec said, "Hey. I'm. Um, I'm sorry about leaving the other day. I didn't mean to let Michael get the chariot."

I looked at him, surprised that he had actually apologized. Not because I didn't think he had a good heart, but because even the 15 year olds with the best hearts usually didn't communicate so well. It made me feel even more anxious.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm sorry for getting so upset. It was... intense."

His face went grave. "Yes. Yes, it was."

"Shh!" Michael hissed at us. I wanted to tell him he wasn't the right person to tell us to follow rules, but I didn't; I just felt half anxious, half excited, as I closed my mouth, smiling.

"You think they'll have extra food at this thing?" Alec whispered to me.

"Alec!" Michael whisper-shouted, and my - not my brother - put his hands up, apologetic.

"Sorry," he said.

Michael just shook his head disapprovingly; I had to try not to laugh.

Alec looked at me, finally examining what I was wearing. Then he pointed to my dress with a question in his eyes before pointing at Riley. I nodded.

He shook his head disapprovingly. Then, something beyond us caught his attention, and before I knew it, he was dragging me away from the Cabin 7 kids.

"Alec!" I hissed, just like Michael.

But then I realized what he was doing. There were some daughters of Aphrodite a few steps behind us, also on their way to the party, and he stopped us right in front of them. Immediately, embarrassment flooded through me. These girls, in their Uggs, lip gloss, and fancy perfume, were definitely not the type of girls I hung out with at school; I'd rather have hung out with the scene kids.

Which was saying something.

"Hey Nina, Ashley," Alec said, smiling at them.

"Oh my Gods," said one of them-

"Alec!" said the other.

I didn't know whether to focus on my surprise that he was friends with them, or on my terror at how they would respond. Even now, Nina, who had the sort of straightened hair that actually laid flat and looked glossy - I could never - was looking me up and down.

These were the kind of girls that whispered about me behind my back at school. Not that I was bullied, but... you know. Gossip happens about everyone.

As they made small talk with him, I felt jealousy shoot through me. Of course he would be friends with them. He was Mr. Sunshine, and I was just his emo bestie that he kept around out of shared trauma.

Then Alec said, "Do you think you could help?"

"Oh my gods, yes!" squealed Nina.

"What do you like?" asked Ashley.

It took me a minute to realize she was asking me.

"Um-" I said, my mouth going dry. Great, AJ. Really living up to Apollo's reputation as the god of poetry.

Alec pointed at my dress like he had earlier, then pointed at me, and that was enough to make me realize what she was asking. I chuckled, my cheeks going warm. "Um- I don't know. This just isn't my style."

"Yeah, you're more emo, right?" Ashley asked.

I was taken aback by the fact that she actually knew that.

"Yeah," I said.

"Emo-emo or, like, scene kid emo?" Nina asked. "Or more warped tour Pop Punk stuff?"

I stared at her, and she added, "What? I know every subculture of fashion ever. Trust me, just tell me, and we'll get you a better dress."

"Um..." I said. "I- um, maybe a sweetheart neckline? Or like -"

I immediately cut myself off, because there was no way I could pull off a sweetheart neckline. But it was too late; Nina's eyes had already lit up.

"I got it!"

Then, to my chagrin, honor, and disgust simultaneously, she grabbed my dress.

Before my eyes, it turned black, poofing out around me to have a giant skirt of tulle and a sweetheart neckline and lace details. Then she kicked my converse, gently, and they grew to be knee-high. I'd always wanted knee-high converse, but my mom refused to buy them for me, saying getting me Heelies was crime enough.

"Perfect!" said Nina, finally, clapping.

"No!" said Ashley. She reached forward and touched my hair, and I felt it curl instantly. And I think there might have been a barrette in it too. "Now it's perfect. This is so you."

"Oh my gods," I murmured, looking down at my dress in appreciation. I looked like the girl from the Helena music video, with a little Avril Lavigne added. It was, somehow, so me.

I stood there, flabbergasted, as I realized they'd completely transformed me. I was exactly how I wanted to be dressed, and I felt more embarrassed than ever. But I also thought I might cry.

"Thank you," I said breathlessly. "I - wow. Can all children of Aphrodite do that?"

Nina grinned as Ashley flipped her hair. "Only the best of us."

She winked, and Nina added, "Come back to the A&N House of Couture anytime you'd like!"

Then they both sashayed off, I'm sure at least a little aware of the affect they'd had on me. But I didn't care. I was surprised by their powers, but also... they'd been nice to me.

Finally, I turned to Alec. He was staring at me, but when we locked eyes, he blinked. My cheeks went warm.

"That is so you," he said, earnestly. "But, um... now that I think of it, I've seen them transform clothes before, and they don't... transform back. So Riley might be a little mad at you."

I gasped. "Alec!"

I punched him in the arm, but he only chuckled.

"I'm sorry!" he said. "I thought it'd be worth it. We'll take her on a shopping spree to Free People to make up for it." Then he added, "Um... should we go to the party now?"

Right. The party. The party where everybody would see me looking like a wannabe Avril Lavigne. Great. I somehow was not as excited as I had been before.

"Yeah," I said. "Let's... um, let's go."

-

The party indeed had music and food both; the forest clearing where the Hermes kids had decided to host it was thrumming with the sound of Ne-yo. I know you're probably thinking, if you only listen to emo music, how do you know it was him? My answer is that my magic power, like Nina with her fashion subcultures, is knowing every piece of content ever, because all I do in my free time is consuming it. I am truly a fountain of intellect.

When we entered, a few Apollo kids that were still at the edges hollered at us. They'd all found their friends from other cabins already - Malcolm from the Athena cabin was talking to Michael, and Lucky had run off with the same Aphrodite girls that had helped us. Everyone was hanging out around a bonfire being worked by a couple Hephaestus kids; I figured they probably appreciated this distraction from their dead sister. Then again, I could use it too. Not just from Lucas and Kiera, but from Lee Fletcher. Hanging out with the cabin without him still felt weird.

"AJ!" A voice exclaimed. "What the Hades is that?"

It was Riley. She was coming back from the snack table, a cup in hand, and her jaw was dropped.

"A little enchantment from the Aphrodite Cabin," Alec said, grinning. "If it doesn't change back, blame me. It was my idea."

"I am so so sorry-" I started, but Riley waved it off.

"Honestly, if you had lended me a dress and I'd done that, would you have cared?" Before I could answer, she added, "Of course not. You'd be happy I had on something from my style. So I don't care."

I didn't know if that were true. I think if Riley had done that I'd probably be a little mad and feel like she must not care about me at all. Thank the Gods she was not so insecure.

"What's that?" Alec asked, pointing at the cup.

"Lemonade."

"Wha-" Alec shook his head. "They have lemonade and you didn't get me any?"

"Get some yourself!" Riley cried. She waved towards the table. "It's free."

So we all went over to the table and got lemonade. They also had some snacks - chips, dip, fruit and cookies, which I eagerly got a plate of. As I finished, I was going to make a joke about Alec's long-lasting love for lemons - seeing as how I could trace it back to, at least, the Starbucks in Princeton - but then he was called away by the Stolls.

"Thompson!" one of them called out. "Come here, help us settle a debate!"

Alec nodded at them, then glanced at Riley. "You two okay?"

Riley answered for us. "Yep. You go ahead."

Alec gave us both a smile and ran away to his friends, and I guess Riley really was okay with it, but, once again, I felt jealous. Then I felt idiotic for feeling jealous. I really had thought, for some reason, last summer, that... that Alec and I were like, BFFs. BFF-BFFs, the kind that never left each other's side in social situations. But then, Aria and Kiera had been BFF-BFFs, and Aria had still wanted to join the hunters. Maybe Ki and I were just stupid for expecting more.

Maybe it should've been us. We would've made one heck of a toxic, angsty duo.

"What's going on with you?" I asked Riley, anxiously.

Her eyes were glazing over, her head cocked. She snapped out of it, then said, "Uh, nothing much. Nothing you wouldn't know. What about you?"

"Nothing much," I answered back. I didn't want to tell her everything else.

Then, rapidly, out of anxiety, I said, "Do you think I look okay in this dress?"

Riley gave me a look. "Definitely. It's super your style!"

That felt like a nice way to say, I personally think it's hideous, but to each her own.

Hers, meanwhile, was cream colored and looser, with a belt built into the waist. She hadn't washed her hair tonight - she and some of the other Black girls at camp had long ago decided to designate a certain wash day they would all share, like Michael and the themed dinner nights - but it looked perfect anyway. I swear. Mostly because it wasn't mine.

"AJ," Riley said, grabbing me by the shoulders. She turned me to face her, straightening my shoulders out - I hadn't even realized I was hunching over, but then, I always had had bad posture - and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You look wonderful. The key to looking good is confidence, anyway."

"Oh," I said. "Not, you know, being pretty?"

"No. Confidence makes you pretty."

"So that means it's all a scam."

"Yeah," Riley said, grinning. "Yes, definitely. Beauty standards are a scam!"

"So then, what's even the point?"

"Making yourself feel good."

"I don't feel good right now, Riley."

She groaned, dropping her hands at last. "AJ. You gotta work with me."

Now I felt embarrassed and dramatic, so I quickly said, "Okay. I look good. You know what? Yeah. I do."

Riley gave me a look.

Before she could admonish me for lying, suddenly, someone called for her, too. Great. Frick me.

"Hey!" said a Hephaestus kid. "We should talk about the kiln."

Riley's face went serious. "Oh, gods. Not the kiln."

Luckily, she had told me about this - something was wrong with the kiln in the Arts and Craft pavilion, and Riley had taken it on herself to get someone to fix it, because nobody else was. She glanced at me in concern, but I waved her off.

"Go fix your kiln, girl," I said. "We need those beads baked for the end of the summer."

If we survive that long.

She gave me a grateful smile, then skipped off to go resolve conflicts. And I was left alone.

Completely alone.

Everyone else had at least one person to talk to, and I saw people I was definitely friendly with, but they all had their own cliques. I couldn't exactly just go intrude on them. It made me feel both embarrassed and very, very lonely.

If Lucas was here, I wanted to imagine he would've stuck with me. But I didn't even know that, and I never would.

Now, wanting to cry, I turned away, ready to just go back to the cabin on my own rather than put up with this. But then, the song ended, and another one came on. Not just any song, but...

Hum, Hallelujah, by Fall Out Boy.

It wasn't a popular song, though I did see a few people react. It was an album track from Infinity on High, so I had to wonder who was DJing. Then, looking across the crowd, I locked eyes with Alec. He was still standing with the Stolls, but he was waiting for me to see him. He smiled once he did, and winked.

I realized, then, that the Stolls were the DJs; Travis had a laptop and a speaker beside him while Conner was standing with Alec.

Immediately, everything in me went warm.

Fall Out Boy was my favorite artist, and Infinity on High was my favorite album. Alec knew this, not because I'd necessarily told him directly, but because I guess he paid attention. Like I'd hoped he and Riley both did. I felt honored.

While Conner tipped back a sip of lemonade, Alec gestured to me, then began to sway, subtly, along to the song. When I didn't follow, he put up his hands, as if to say, why aren't you dancing?

I chuckled, my cheeks still hot. As I shook my head, looking away, I didn't realize he was leaving the Stolls and coming back to me.

He linked our arms, like an old timey person might, and I looked up in surprise.

"If you're uncomfortable," he said, not unkindly, "Then we're leaving."

"Wha-" I spluttered, but he was already dragging me away.

As we left the party, Fall Out Boy following us with both their beautiful dulcet tones and the hazy sweat-stained scent of fedoras, I tried again. "Alec! You were having fun! You don't have to leave for me-"

He smiled at me. "Come on. You think I'd rather hang with the Stolls than you? I was going to give them just 5 minutes, but they would not shut up."

"I don't shut up, either, once you get me talking."

He gave me a look, now. "I like hearing you talk, though."

I blinked. Other than Lucas' sad apology last year, no one had ever said something so nice to me. It made adrenaline race through me like a rocket.

We were in the woods, now, not so far that we were in danger but far enough that we could sit on a rock and talk and no one would hear us. I guess this was Alec's plan, because he sat down on a giant boulder, then patted the spot beside him.

"Sorry," he said. "About leaving."

"You don't have to be sorry," I said.

"Well, I keep doing it," he said. "I keep asking you not to leave Riley and I, then I leave you."

"Maybe we need to switch nicknames."

He smiled at me, genuinely amused, and I smiled back.

For a moment, we just sat there, watching the party through the trees. I wish I could tell you it was peaceful, but it wasn't. But it wasn't bad, either. The energy was thrumming, still, and I felt... a bit hyper.

"I don't go to a lot of parties," I said to him, as if this wasn't obvious.

"Me neither," He said.

I didn't know a lot about his life in Brooklyn, but this surprised me. After all, he was generally a pretty well-liked extrovert.

"Why not?" I asked.

"I don't really let anybody in Brooklyn get close to me," he said, "But especially not in crowd like this. Who knows what I'll attract."

He took a sip of his lemonade, and I frowned, feeling and for him.

"Because of monsters."

He nodded, looking both sad and guilty at the same time. I know when his mom had died, he'd seen her die, and he still felt bad about it. It was why he never left camp, and when he did, it was hard for him to stay chipper.

This was getting real dark real quick.

"What type of music do you listen to?" I asked. "I mean, obviously Johnny Cash."

He chuckled. "I'm still a big fan of that song."

We'd listened to - er, he'd made me sit there while he listened to - You Are My Sunshine while driving through the night on our first quest. Any time I heard it now, I thought of him, which was better than the alternative that might've come out of that summer. Thinking of Apollo.

"Other than that?" Alec asked. "Hm. I don't know. I guess just, like, rock?"

I gave him a look.

"Like, basic rock!" he said, quickly. "Not emo. I don't know. I don't know a lot about music, to be honest with you."

That made me sad. I frowned, and said, "Like, Nickelback?"

"No," he said. "Well, maybe a little? I just kinda listen to the radio and hope something sticks. I like, um - the All-American Rejects? Is that what they're called?"

My voice was grim when I said, "Yeah."

Sadder and sadder. Is he playing dumb on purpose?

No. He really just did not listen to a lot of music.

"What the heck do you do if you don't listen to music?" I asked.

"Um..." he trailed off. "Study. Skateboard. Well, I don't skateboard for fun. It's how I get to school. I mainly just study."

"To be a doctor."

"Yep."

"I thought you no longer wanted to be a medic."

I wished I hadn't said that, because it was obvious. Alec was already frowning when I said, To be a doctor. If he didn't want to be a medic, I doubted he'd be a doctor, and if he didn't, what was all that studying for? Other than just for passing the time until Camp came.

But one day camp would end.

"I wish we could all just live at camp forever," I said, after a moment.

"But you were just alone."

"Yeah," I said. "But I still feel more at home here than I do back at school."

"Me too," Alec said. "Obviously. You don't have to worry here. I mean, yeah, we're all worrying, but it feels different. Like we're not worrying alone."

I nodded. "And, like, when I'm rejected here, I can, like... give people the benefit of the doubt more. I feel linked to them in a way they can't change, no matter how much I might be rejected."

I could feel Alec's eyes on me, and it made me nervous. Finally, I turned to look at him, and found he looked grave.

"Nobody's rejecting you, AJ," he said. "People are just stuck in their own worlds."

Lacey was, but I hadn't told him about her yet besides that first meeting. And besides, that was just one girl. I wanted to believe he was telling the truth about everyone else.

"I guess," I said, looking away.

"Runaway," he said, and unable to not, I met his eye again.

Now, he was looking at me intensely, inspecting my eyes as if trying to figure out what to do next. Finally, he just shook his head, and-

And kissed me.

~ ☼ ~

A/N: THE WAY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS PLOT TWIST SINCE I WAS 11 FUCKING YEARS OLD. 10 YEARS. 10 YEARS!!!!!

I love you so so so so so so much Alec Thompson you will always be famous in my heart <3