So how is everyone? I hope you're enjoying the story so far!

Quote of the Chapter:
"Can we just call them storm spirits? Venti makes them sound like evil espresso drinks."
~Leo Valdez

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Chapter 11: Derek is Spiderman

Silena

Silena woke up sometime in the middle of the night to the sound of a door opening. Curious to know who the hell was up at three in the morning, she groggily stumbled out of bed and opened the door. The footsteps were to her left and quickly she followed them. Hopefully it wasn't some monster that had snuck onto the ship. When she rounded the corner, the elevator had just closed and it went up to the tenth floor; someone must've had a late night snack craving Silena mused.

She hesitated, wondering if she should follow the person or not. Curiosity got the better of her and Silena pushed the up button. An elevator came immediately and she went to the tenth floor. When she got off, she immediately went to the cafeteria. Sure enough, the mysterious person was there, sitting and eating a slice of pizza. Of course, Silena wondered if she should've taken back her thought on wishing it wasn't a monster because right then and there, she wished it would've been. Instead Derek sat there, his black hair messy and his white t-shirt and gray sweat pants wrinkled. As silently as she could, she started to walk away.

"Who's there?" Derek's voice commanded.

Silena cringed as she cursed herself for following him so closely. Peering back around the wall she had used to hide, she said, "It's just me… Silena."

He smiled. "What are you doing up?"

"I heard your door open… not your door specifically though," Silena added hastily. "I didn't know who it was and I just wanted to check to make sure it wasn't some monster."

Derek scratched his head in obvious embarrassment. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly. "I didn't mean to wake you. I had a sudden urge to eat and well, I thought I was being quieter than I was."

"Don't worry; I'm a light sleeper anyways. Luke on the other hand sleeps like a baby. I swear to god a tornado could be right next to the house and he wouldn't even stir," Silena joked.

"That sounds like Bryn," Derek acknowledged with a grin.

"I can't help but realize how similar they are," Silena said thoughtfully.

"It's because they're children of the Big Three. But you're like Bryn, too."

Silena chuckled at the absurdity of the statement. She was in no way like Bryn, or at least she didn't think so. "I don't see the similarities."

"You're both tall, you both could pass as Apollo kids at archery, you're both determined as hell," Derek said. "And, although this might not necessarily go with fighting and skills and whatnot, you're both really pretty."

She looked at him curiously. "Did you just say I'm pretty?"

"Well it's certainly no secret at camp that you're pretty. And saying you're pretty is an understatement," Derek replied. Not knowing what to say, Silena just smiled bashfully. "Surely you've been told you're beautiful?"

"Uh, just by my friends and family, and they don't really count. They're supposed to say those things," Silena answered.

"I bet they mean it," Derek assured.

"Thanks," Silena said with a smile.

"Um, would you like to join me?" Derek offered, motioning at the chair opposite him. Silena shrugged and walked over to it. He got up and pulled the chair out for her. The gentlemanly gesture was somewhat touching… and surprising. The only people that ever pulled out her chair for her were waiters at really fancy restaurants or her friends making sure that when she sat down, there would be no chair there and she would fall down smack dab on her butt.

"Thank you," Silena said sweetly.

"You're welcome," Derek replied, taking his chair. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Is Luke always that protective of you around guys?"

Silena blushed. "Um, only when he thinks they're interested or they're complete strangers. Sometimes I don't mind it because I've had some creepy men hit on me."

"What's an example?"

"One time this fifty year old guy came up to me in Wal-Mart and asked my where the trash bags were, and the whole time, he never once looked at my face… oh my gods, I can't believe I just said that," Silena said in horror. Derek started laughing which didn't help with her embarrassment.

"I know what you mean; I bet Luke wanted to knock the guy out," Derek waged.

"I was pretty sure he was going to knock him out in front of everybody. I think I grabbed his wrist to stop him." Silena plucked a napkin out of the holder and started fiddling with it, trying anything to avoid looking directly into Derek's eyes because she was afraid he would see how much she liked him and was enjoying talking to him.

"What did you say to the guy?"

"I said I didn't know and that was actually the truth, I didn't. The guy walked away and Luke ranted about him the whole car ride home." Silena rolled her eyes. "I love my brother but he has anger issues sometimes."

"Which one am I then? Interested or complete stranger?" Derek prodded with a smirk.

Silena looked up with surprise. "What are you implying? I think with Luke, it could be either way. He thinks you're interested in me and I have no clue where he got that idea from."

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," Derek said.

"I'm not."

"So you don't know?"

"Know what?"

Derek chuckled slightly but didn't say anything. "Are you tired?"

"Honestly, not one bit," she confessed.

"Me neither. Come on; let's go practice… something," Derek suggested. He offered his hand to help her out of her seat. She gratefully took it, especially because the seas were starting to get rough. Derek noticed the increasing rocking of the boat and grimaced.

"What's the matter?" Silena inquired.

"I'm worried about Bryn… I hope she's asleep because she won't be enjoying this if she isn't," Derek explained seriously.

"How did you and Bryn become friends?"

"I was eight or nine years old when I found her unconscious in the woods. She had been practicing magic in the forest and I had gotten up early because I hadn't been able to sleep. Bryn was passed out cold and so I carried her to the infirmary and got Chiron. She woke up a few hours later. Apparently, she had been trying to turn herself invisible. It had worked but when she broke off the spell, she said she had passed out. The spell had been too strong, but hey, when you're that young, you think you're invincible. She came to talk to me later and she said thank you for bringing her to the infirmary. After that we just sort of became friends; I stayed up with her at night and made sure she didn't pass out or hurt herself with a spell. Once she knocked me out with one and she had flipped out. I was only unconscious for a few minutes but she refused to practice any more magic that night, even though I insisted I was fine. When Bryn orders you to do something, she has a good reason and rarely can you dissuade her out of it. And when she wants something…" Derek trailed off.

"Can't she Charmspeak?" Silena questioned curiously.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Derek looked at her, a mix of curiosity, shock, and approval on his face.

"I was talking to some Aphrodite girls and they were saying how they wished they could Charmspeak like Bryn," she explained. "After that, I didn't hang out with them much. They're conversations were kind of disgusting…"

At that, Derek laughed. "Yeah, some of the Aphrodite girls are… characters to put it mildly."

"Very mild."

"Who were they?"

"Um, I think their names were Iris and Bailey. I don't know their last names."

Derek whistled. "That explains a lot. They think they're the hottest girls at camp and at the school they go to. They have tried to go out with every guy at camp-"

"Including you?"

"Including me," Derek agreed with a look of distaste. "They brag about everything they've done and I mean everything. Even the guys get sick of listening to them. They're trashy, just to sum it up. I hate to be so mean, but it's the truth. I'm nice to them but I try to avoid them as much as possible."

"Does Bryn get along with them?"

"Gods, no!" Derek exclaimed as they got on the elevator. "She gets along everyone Aphrodite kid but them! And the feeling is mutual. They are completely rude to her but Bryn lets it slide. One day, though, she was in a really bad mood and Iris and Bailey chose that day to try and make fun of her. Bryn lost control and fried their hair right off. The two of them cried for days and begged Chiron to punish Bryn. Well, Chiron had seen and heard everything go down and was lenient on Bryn. She had to file things in the attic which she didn't mind because when it comes to filing and organizing things, Bryn can become very OCD. The thing was done in two days which is pretty impressive considering how cluttered the place was. I don't know why it took thirty something years to clean it out though…"

"She and Luke sound more alike by the minute," Silena acknowledged. "Luke is so OCD when it comes to his room. He inherited that from our mom because she likes things to be orderly. Me? I'm like my father and I make my room an obstacle course."

"Looks like you and I have more and more in common as well." Derek winked at her and she blushed. They walked out of the elevator and to the rock climbing wall. "I'm not in the mood for getting all hot and sweaty so do you mind rock-climbing?"

"Not at all. I need to work on this skill anyway." She kind of wish they had done something that made Derek get all hot and sweaty because he looked really good when he was in that state but she wasn't going to say that!

They geared up and started climbing. From the bottom, the rock wall didn't look that tall, but once Silena was about midway up, she started to get dizzy from the height. She and heights didn't mix well. It was the same for Luke but it was much worse for Silena.

"You okay?" Derek asked. He had been climbing alongside her, pointing out to which rocks would be best for her to climb with.

"Yeah… just got a little dizzy. Heights don't mix well with me," Silena explained.

"Do you want to go down?"

"No, I'm fine. Come on," she urged, starting climb up. Derek started to climb again and he said, "I won't let you fall, you know."

She looked at him. "What? Are you going to go all Superman on me and fly down and catch me?"

"No, that would be Bryn. She's the one that can fly."

"Bryn can fly?"

"We actually don't know. There are rumors that children of Zeus can fly but Bryn never tried; she says she never felt like she had that power."

"With all the mojo she has going on, it wouldn't surprise me if she could," Silena said.

"Agreed. If I went Superman on you, I'd catch you, but then we'd just be falling together. If it makes you feel better, I would make sure I landed first so that you would land on top of me."

"I'm trying to take that in the most mature way I possibly can," she said with a grin. Realizing how rude his sentence could be taken, Derek looked sheepish.

"Thank Apollo Luke wasn't here to hear that. I do believe I would be tied to the anchor at the bottom of the sea right now." She laughed and looked down. They were much higher up than they had been before. In fact, they were at the very top of the wall. "It's funny what can happen when you're preoccupied with something else."

She looked up at Derek who had a soft smile on his face; her face must have looked astonished because Derek said, "Did you surprise yourself?"

"Just a bit," Silena admitted. Derek started go back down and she followed gratefully. When her feet hit the ground, she sighed.

"So, you want to have a race to the top?" He questioned. She heard the challenge in his voice and whether she won or not, she wasn't going to back down.

"You're on," she replied.

There was really no competition whatsoever. Derek got way ahead of her. By the time she was midway, he was practically at the top. "Who are you? Spiderman?" Silena shouted up at him. She heard him laugh and that made her want to reach the top faster. Once up there, he helped her sit on the ledge. They peered down at the floor seven stories below them.

"So, I never did ask you, although you pretty much asked me, do you have a girlfriend?" Silena queried, looking distastefully at the floor far below them so she wouldn't have to look at Derek.

"Nah," he admitted. "All the girls I've liked don't like Bryn and then I stop liking them."

"Don't take this the wrong way when I ask this but doesn't it get kind of lonely?"

"Not at all. Bryn is my best friend; if my girlfriend doesn't like her, then it's a no go. You have to like my best friend if you want to date me."

"Does Bryn know that?"

"No; I've never told her. See, if you have Bryn as your best friend, she'll do whatever she thinks is best for you or what will make you happy; sometimes she's not always right but most of the time she is. What I'm getting at here is that if Bryn found out she was the reason I don't have a girlfriend, she would avoid me so my girlfriend wouldn't have to worry about having to like her or not," Derek explained.

Silena started to take on a new perspective of Bryn. She guessed that while Bryn appeared tough and strong on the outside, she was probably very sweet once you really got to know her and maybe more personable the better of friends you were with her. "I find that to be kind of noble. So even if it hurt her to do something, she would do it if she thought it was best for you?"

Derek nodded. "I'm afraid one day it'll kill her. You've probably noticed that she's not the most open person in the world. Whatever happened to her before she came to camp I think is the reason she is the way she is."

"What happened?"

"I don't know. She never really went into detail and I'm not one to share her secrets. You would have to ask her," Derek said.

Silena chuckled softly. "I don't think she likes me much."

"Why not?"

"I just get a feeling." She shrugged.

"She's probably just not used to being around another girl. The ones at camp are too dramatic for her and she hates drama with a passion."

"Well I can relate to her in that way. I hate drama too. I stopped hanging out as much with a group of friends because they kept creating drama and it dragged me down so finally, I had enough and started hanging out with another group of friends that I had always been friends with. I've been so much happier ever since," she admitted.

"Good for you; that takes guts and courage to do that," Derek praised.

"I still talk to most of them, but not as much as before. I'm realizing I have less and less in common with them. But enough about me. What about you?"

"What about me?" he questioned. "Trust me, my life isn't that exciting. I get kicked out of almost every school I go to. I've never lasted more than two years at a school because I cause freak accidents to happen. At one school, I accidentally made the statue of an important guy in the school's history fall over. It was two hundred years old the statue. Of course, it wasn't my fault the school bully picked a fight with me. I just pushed him and he stumbled into the thing so naturally the blame was on me."

"That's something about you, isn't it?" Silena pointed out softly.

"Yeah… I guess it is," he said with a smile. They fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. When Silena yawned, Derek suggested they go to bed. She didn't argue even though she wanted to stay up and talk to him. However, her exhaustion was too much and so she and Derek climbed down. The rocking of the boat had gotten worse and multiple times, the two had to grab onto each other to steady themselves or the other one. They carefully made their way to their rooms.

"I think we should make a habit of this," Derek commented, leaning against the wall on his shoulder, his arms crossed. He was looking down at Silena and making her feel incredibly short.

"Oh you do? I have to say, I might have to agree with you," Silena said with a smirk.

"We'll probably have to keep this a secret from Luke, or else he'll think we're doing things we shouldn't."

"Oh gods…" she muttered. "Don't even mention him. I can't imagine his reaction. Anyways, I'm going to bed. Good night, Derek."

"Good night, Silena," he said. With her heart fluttering, she entered her room and collapsed onto her bed. She fell asleep with a smile on her face.

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Hope you liked the Silena and Derek chapter. It was about time they got some alone time together.