Ari's PoV

"Annie Cortez!" I screamed at her. She stopped laughing almost immediately. I couldn't believe it. I finally get some clean clothes on, and she decides to pour wet, blue paint all over my body. I can feel some of the paint trickle down my neck, and I cringed slightly.

The Stoll brothers were starting to back away from me and attempt to flee when a voice behind them yelled, "Are you kidding me?! What the Aphrodite is wrong with you?! Do you have to pull pranks like these every other day?!"

The voice sounded familiar, but I didn't see who it belonged to. Not that I really cared at the moment. I was wet and covered in paint for fucks sake. I walked over and slapped Annie on the cheek while the person who yelled at Conner and Travis slapped them too. Before anyone could do anything else, however, there was a glow above us, and the surrounding crowd gasped. I took a step back and looked up above Annie's head. A circle with a caduceus in the center was the source of the glow, and it faded into nothingness.

"Yeah, that's my girl! Welcome, sis, to the amazing cabin of Hermes!" Conner cheered.

Annie gave a small smile in return. I marched up to her and her brothers again and started yelling. "I don't like getting wet, nor do I like having paint dumped on me." I whirled around to face the Stolls. "You two, are being a bad influence on my friend here. I suggest you knock it off."

"Hey! I've been pulling pranks my whole life. They haven't done anything!" Annie shouted, crossing her arms.

"Shut it," I said turning to face her. I turned back around again. "You two better take care of her."

"Also, I swear on the River Styx I will get my revenge for this," the person who slapped the boys said. I finally looked up and gasped. It was Esra. She looked pissed, but oddly gorgeous with the blue paint dripping down from her red hair. What is wrong with me?

The boys looked terrified and started apologizing profusely, but to no avail. She already made the oath. They both walked back to their cabin sulkily, dreading whatever Esra was planning. I turned back to Annie and slapped her again. "That's the only revenge I'm giving you. Consider it a warning. Also, I seem to have developed a mutual bond with you, so I can't really do more."

"Just call it a friendship, And, Ari?" She grabbed my arm and twisted it, catching me by surprise. She didn't break it, but I couldn't move from her hold. "Don't. Slap me." She let go of my arm and stomped off.

Shit, I've done it again. I guess I'll wait until she cools off to try and apologize again.

"Well, this has been fun. I'm going to go hit the showers now." Esra pushed her way through the crowd and stalked off toward the bathrooms. People began leaving in small groups. Some went to the infirmary to get patched up while others went to bed.

Gab came up to me and patted me on the shoulder. "I'll try to talk to her," ze said. I nodded in thanks, and ze walked off toward the cabins. I looked down at my shoes. I felt bad for making her angry when she was just pulling a stupid prank to make everyone laugh, and I ruined another chance at a potential friendship. That's one of the reasons I hated using that word. Friendships meant attachments, and friends leave in the end, leaving you with a broken heart and the feeling that it was your fault. They were also a liability, because you had to look out for them when they won't look out for you in return. That's just been my experience anyway.

I was still standing there alone in the woods before I realized I was still dripping paint. Sighing, I walked to the bathrooms to get cleaned up.

As I was walking back to my cabin, I saw a figure running out of the corner of my eye. I turned around, and I saw the figure run toward the beach. I hesitated before following. Nico wouldn't freak out if I wasn't in the cabin by curfew. Hopefully.

I hid behind a small brush at the edge of the sand and watched the figure sit down at the edge of the water. They pulled a hood down off of their head and looked up at the moon. I looked up too. It was a full moon tonight. There were a million stars out, scattered across the midnight blue sky. I looked down at the figure again, debating on what to do next. Finally, I stood up and walked quietly up behind them. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" I asked softly.

They stood up and spun around so fast that I didn't register what was happening until I had a knife at my throat. "How did you know I was here? Why did you follow me?" The redhead hissed. It was Esra. How is it that I always run into her?

"I didn't know it was you specifically, and I was curious," I explained, putting my hands up in surrender.

She scowled at me before lowering her knife. "Leave, and don't tell anyone about this," she snarled.

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at her. "No," I said simply.

"I swear if you tell anyone-"

"I won't tell anyone, but I'm not leaving. Besides, you can't make me. It's a free country, and if I'm going back, then I'm dragging you with me." I said, cutting her off.

She looked furious, but then she turned around and flopped back on the sand. "Fine. What do you want?" She snapped.

"I want to know why you're out here by yourself," I said automatically. This is not normal. This isn't any of your business. Why are you suddenly interested in other people's affairs?

Esra laughed mirthlessly. "A little blunt are we?" I just continued to stare at her, waiting for an answer. She sighed and laid down on her back, looking at the stars. "I'm trying to enjoy the last few days of my life in peace, but you're making it difficult at the moment."

I thought I felt something weird around her. Can I feel her dying? I'll have to ask Nico about the feeling. I laid down on the sand next to her and turned to face her. "Why are you dying?" I asked gently.

She stared at the sky for a few minutes before responding. "I'm turning sixteen next week. That's the day I'm going to die. I was... I am different from the other Aphrodite kids. They were all born out of love whenever mom fell in love with a mortal. I, however, was made solely by Aphrodite. She is my only biological parent if you could call it that. She got in a fight with Ares almost sixteen years ago, and she had her heart broken. To try and heal her heart, she created me out of clay, but because all she felt was despair and heart break when she created me, she accidentally gave me a curse." She took a deep breath, and I waited patiently for her to continue if she wanted to. After a few moments, she spoke again. "I'm going to die on my sixteenth birthday if I don't find true love, and the cruel joke of all this is... I'm asexual." She laughed bitterly. "I feel no attraction to anyone. I can't really fall in love if I can't find anyone to fall for."

I mulled this information over for a bit. Finally I said, "That doesn't have to mean that you can't fall in love. You can fall in love with someone without ever having interest in doing those specific activities with them."

"I don't really know how I would do that though. I've never been great with building relationships. I don't even really understand what love is or what it feels like. Another ironic thing. Me being the child of a love goddess and all." Esra said, bitterness still evident in her voice.

"I don't really know the answers to those questions either. I guess we'll just have to hope an answer will come soon." I said.

She looked over at me, and for the first time, I saw the trace of a smile. "You know, Ari? You aren't that bad." She stood up, brushed herself off, and walked back in the direction of the cabins. After another minute or so, I stood up and went back to my own cabin.

I am so happy that finals are finally over! (No pun intended) I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hopefully, the plot will pick up again in the next chapter. I hope you all had a great day!