𝑨𝑪𝑻 𝑻𝑾𝑶 ━ 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑭𝑰𝑽𝑬

𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐍𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃, 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐖𝐀𝐘𝐒 𝐃𝐈𝐃, but this time was different. She loathed the snow, she hated that she could only see Annabeth and her playing around, running around on campgrounds. She loathed the snow for taking her back to a time she couldn't cherish anymore.

But how could anyone hate the snow? She swallowed the thought and tried to ignore the hollow ache in her chest.

Percy had never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and it surprised him. The camp had its magic climate control, keeping everything inside the borders as Mr. D desired. He'd expected warmth and sunshine, but the light dusting of snow gave the camp an otherworldly glow. 

   "Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. His breath puffed in the cold air. "Is that a climbing wall?"

   "Yeah," Percy said, shoving his hands in his pockets.

   "Why is there lava pouring down it?" Nico asked, wide-eyed.

   "Little extra challenge. Come on, I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—"

   "I know Chiron," Zoe interrupted stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me." Iris wanted to desperately roll her eyes at the girl's antiques, but restrained herself, all she wanted to do right now was talk to Chiron. 

   "I'll show you the way," Grover offered, trying to keep up.

   "We know the way," Zoe said, exasperated.

   "Really, it's no trouble! It's easy to get lost here if you don't—" Grover's words cut off as he tripped over a canoe. He popped up, brushing himself off. "Like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

Zoe rolled her eyes but didn't seem to want to argue. The Hunters, with their packs and bows, moved as a single, disciplined unit toward the cabins. Percy noticed Bianca pause to lean toward Nico. She whispered something in his ear, waiting for his response. Nico only scowled and turned away.

   "Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters, his voice teasing. His golden grin gleamed as he turned back to Percy. "And you, Percy—watch out for those prophecies. I'll see you soon."

   "What do you mean?" Percy asked.

Apollo didn't answer. Instead, he hopped back into the bus, revving the engine. "Later, Thalia," he called, then turned his attention to Iris, who had been unusually quiet since their arrival.

   "Bye, Iris, always a pleasure to see you!" His smile softened, playful but sincere. He winked, his words laced with a hint of promise. "I'll see you soon, yeah?"

Iris blinked, startled by the direct attention. She gave a small smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "See you, Apollo," she said softly, her voice steady but lacking its usual warmth.

Percy watched her closely. Iris had been quiet for most of the ride, which wasn't like her. But he couldn't blame her, how could he? She'd just lost her best friend. 

Apollo flashed one last dazzling grin. With a fiery roar, the sun bus transformed back into the Maserati, revving and skidding into the sky. The lake steamed, the air warmed briefly, and then the chariot was gone, disappearing in a ray of sunlight.

Nico still looked grumpy, glaring at the frost-covered ground. Percy glanced at him, then back at Iris. She was walking ahead, her steps slow and unhurried, her gaze fixed on the snowy ground as if deep in thought.

   "Who's Chiron?" Nico asked suddenly. "I don't have his figurine."

   "Our activities director," Percy explained, adjusting the strap of his bag. "He's... well, you'll see."

   "If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico muttered, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

Percy hesitated for a moment, glancing at Iris again, but her expression remained unreadable. As they walked, Percy couldn't help but notice that Camp Half-Blood was empty. He knew most demigods only trained during the summer. 

Percy spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, were up to their usual antics, picking the lock on the camp store. 

A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs near the edge of the forest. Clarisse, wasn't anywhere to be seen which frankly worried Iris but she stayed silent. 

Mr. D and Chiron were sitting in the parlor, playing a quiet game of cards. Chiron wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint pattern and had a blanket over his lap, almost entirely hiding his wheelchair.

Chiron smiled warmly when the group entered. "Percy! Iris! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—"

   "Nico di Angelo," Percy introduced, gesturing to the boy. "He and his sister are half-bloods."

Chiron let out a small sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."

   "Well..." Percy hesitated.

The centaur's smile faltered. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"

Iris frowned, she could feel her eyes watering, but she turned away from Chiron and looked out. She couldn't look at him.

   "Oh, dear," Mr. D muttered in his usual bored tone. "Not another one lost."

   "What do you mean?" Thalia demanded, her voice sharp. "Who else is lost?"

Before Mr. D could answer, Grover trotted into the room, his face lit with a wide grin. He looked a little worse for wear, sporting a black eye and a red mark across his cheek that resembled a slap. "The Hunters are all moved in!" he announced proudly.

Chiron frowned slightly. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to discuss." His gaze shifted to Nico. "Grover, perhaps you could take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

   "But. . ." Grover started to protest, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. Yes, sir."

   "Orientation film?" Nico asked, his curiosity piqued. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca's kinda strict—"

   "It's PG-13," Grover assured him.

   "Cool!" Nico beamed, eagerly following the satyr out of the room.

As Nico disappeared, Percy noticed Iris lingering at the edge of the room. She seemed distant, her arms crossed tightly as if she were shielding herself from the warmth around her. Her gaze flitted toward the fireplace but didn't stay long.

   "Now," Chiron said, breaking the silence, "perhaps you three should sit down and tell us the whole story."

Percy, Thalia, and Iris exchanged glances. 

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐈𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘, Iris was almost in tears, she had stopped talking when they had gotten to the fight, she just couldn't. She sat still next Percy, looking down at the floor. She could hear Chiron speak to Mr. D, "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."

The moment Chiron had said that, Iris immediately popped up and said, "I'll go," which Thalia and Percy had said at the same time.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

Iris, Thalia, and Percy immediately started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand, his eyes glowing with that purplish, angry fire. It was the kind of look that meant something bad and godly was about to happen if they didn't shut up.

   "From what you have told me," Mr. D began, his voice dripping with boredom, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"

   "Annabeth," Percy snapped, Iris was thankful for that. Annabeth had been coming to camp since she was seven, and yet Mr. D still pretended not to know her name. Iris knew that Mr. D. could be an asshole sometimes but right now she truly couldn't deal with it.

   "Yes, yes," Mr. D said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "And you procured a small, annoying boy to replace her. So, I see no point in risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."

Iris stiffened at his words, her hands curling into fists. "You're just going to give up on her?" she said sharply. "Annabeth's smarter than half the people in this camp combined. She's not dead."

Before Mr. D. could tell her otherwise, Chiron said, "Annabeth may still be alive," though she could hear the strain in his voice.  "She's very bright. If... if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

   "She'd have a plan," Iris added firmly. "She always does. Annabeth knows how to think on her feet."

   "That's right," Thalia chimed in. "Luke would want her alive."

   "In which case," Mr. D said, his voice completely unsympathetic, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

Percy couldn't take it anymore. He got up from his chair, his hands clenched at his sides. "You don't even care, do you?" he said, his voice shaking with anger. "You'd be glad to lose another camper. You'd probably like it if we all disappeared!"

Mr. D raised an eyebrow, stifling a yawn. "You have a point?"

   "Yeah," Percy growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a fucking lazy jerk! Maybe you could try helping out a little!"

Iris stood up beside Percy, glaring at Mr. D. "Annabeth deserves better than this."

For a moment, the room was silent except for the crackle of the fire. Mr. D's eyes gleamed ominously as he stared at Percy and Iris. He opened his mouth, and Percy braced himself for some kind of curse—maybe a lightning bolt to the head—but Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.

   "SO COOL!" Nico yelled, his hands outstretched toward Chiron. "You're... you're a centaur!"

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."

   "And, whoa!" Nico turned to Mr. D, his eyes wide with amazement. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Mr. D tore his gaze away from Percy and Iris, looking at Nico with a mix of confusion and disdain. "The wine dude?"

   "Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."

   "My figurine?" said Mr. D. in confusion. 

   "In my game, Mythomagic! And a holofoil card, too! Even though you've only got, like, five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

Iris covered her mouth, trying not to laugh, while Percy and Thalia exchanged looks of disbelief. Mr. D looked genuinely perplexed for the first time, which probably saved Percy and Iris from whatever divine punishment he'd been planning.

   "Ah," Mr. D said slowly, "well, that's... gratifying."

Chiron, clearly eager to change the subject, spoke up. "Percy, Thalia, Iris—why don't you go down to the cabins and inform the campers that we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening?"

   "Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "But we don't have enough—"

   "What?" whispered Iris in utter disbelief. 

   "It is tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match whenever the Hunters visit."

   "Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it'll be real friendly."

Chiron gave her a pointed look, then glanced back at Mr. D, who was now frowning deeply as Nico excitedly listed the defense points of various gods in Mythomagic. "Run along now," Chiron said firmly.

   "Oh, right," Thalia said, grabbing Percy's arm. "Come on, Iris, let's go before he changes his mind."

Iris hesitated, shooting one last glare at Mr. D, before following them out. She muttered under her breath as they left, "Five hundred attack points. Figures."

𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐀𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐃 towards the cabins. She felt numb, she didn't really know what else to feel and to be honest, she felt guilty that she wasn't being as brave as Thalia, Percy and Grover. She felt as if she'd fail Annabeth. 

Thalia's voice brought her back to the conversation. 

   "You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia was saying as they trudged through the snow. "You need another immortal enemy?"

   "And you, Iris, you know that he wouldn't help." added Thalia looking back towards her.

Iris just shrugged. 

Percy sighed. "You're right. But I couldn't help it—it's just so unfair."

Thalia stopped by the armory, her gaze fixed on Half-Blood Hill in the distance. The pine tree still stood proudly at the top, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. Its magic protected the camp, but it no longer relied on Thalia's spirit for power. She folded her arms, her expression distant and sad.

   "Percy, everything is unfair," Thalia said quietly. "Sometimes I wish..."

She trailed off, and Iris watched as Thalia's shoulders slumped. Iris felt an ache of sympathy for her.

   "We'll get Annabeth back," Percy said firmly. "I just don't know how yet."

Thalia glanced down. "First, I found out Luke is lost," she muttered. "Now Annabeth—"

   "Don't think like that," Percy interrupted.

   "You're right," she said, straightening up. "We'll find a way."

Iris cleared her throat, trying to summon the courage to speak. "Thalia, Annabeth wouldn't want you blaming yourself. She'd want us to stay focused. Together."

Thalia glanced over her shoulder at Iris, her blue eyes softening slightly. "Yeah," she said. "You're right. Thanks, Iris."

Iris gave her a small nod, though her chest still felt tight.

At the basketball court, a group of Hunters was playing a tense game with some of the campers from the Ares cabin. One of the Ares kids had his hand on his sword, and a Hunter looked like she was ready to swap her basketball for a bow.

   "I'll break that up," Thalia said with a sigh. "Percy, you and Iris handle the cabins. Let everyone know about capture the flag tomorrow."

Iris didn't really want to be alone with Percy right now. Though she knew it didn't matter. She still just wanted to be alone. 

   "Got it," Percy said. Then he added, "You should be team captain."

   "No way," Thalia said. "You've been here longer. You do it."

   "We could... co-captain or something," Percy suggested awkwardly.

Thalia looked unsure but eventually nodded. As she started toward the court, Percy called after her. "Hey, Thalia."

   "Yeah?" she asked, turning back.

   "I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys."

   "It's okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing." She hesitated, shifting on her feet. "You know, about my mom... I shouldn't have snapped at you earlier. It's just—I went back to find her after seven years, and... she died. Two years ago, in L.A. She was a heavy drinker. Went driving late one night, and..."

Her voice cracked, and she blinked hard, looking anywhere but at Percy or Iris.

"I'm sorry," Percy said softly.

"Yeah, well," Thalia muttered, her voice brittle. "It's not like we were close. I ran away when I was ten. The best two years of my life were running with Luke and Annabeth. But still..."

Iris stayed quiet, sensing this wasn't the moment to speak. She looked down, her hands clenched tightly in her coat pockets.

"That's why you hesitated with the van," Percy said after a pause. "You were thinking about your mom—about driving."

Thalia stiffened, and her sharp gaze snapped back to him. For a moment, she looked so much like Zeus that Iris took a small step back knowing how the girl could be.

   "Yeah," Thalia muttered, her voice low and dangerous. "That must've been it."

She turned abruptly and stormed toward the court, where the Ares camper and the Hunter looked seconds away from a brawl.

Iris exchanged a glance with Percy. "That... could've gone worse," Iris murmured, though she wasn't sure she believed it.

Percy was about to say something but sighed when Iris turned around and started walking away from him, "Are you not—."

   "No." said Iris, "I have something to do."

Percy sighed. He knew she wanted to be alone. And so, he let her walk away. 

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐄𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐋, the light snow falling softly onto the frozen surface. Iris pulled her jacket tighter around her as she trudged through the snow. She stopped at the edge of the lake, staring at her reflection in the cracked ice below. 

Her chest felt heavy, as if the cold had seeped inside her, freezing her thoughts, her emotions—everything.

   She's gone. Annie's gone.

The guilt had been gnawing at her since they left Westover. She should've been quicker, smarter. She should've fought harder. But she hadn't. And now one of her closest friends was in danger, and there was nothing she could do.

Her vision blurred, and before she realized it, tears had started spilling down her cheeks. She wiped at them angrily with her sleeve, frustrated at herself for breaking down when she should've been strong.

   "Iris?"

She stiffened and turned quickly to see Theodore Baker, a boy from the Athena cabin, standing a few feet away. His blonde hair was tousled from the wind, and his gray eyes, sharp and calculating as they always were, softened when they met hers.

   "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to sound composed, but her voice cracked slightly.

Theodore raised an eyebrow, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. "I could ask you the same thing. You looked like you've been through Hell."

   "I'm fine," Iris said quickly, turning back to the lake. She hoped he'd leave, but she should've known better. Theodore wasn't the kind of person to walk away when he knew something was wrong.

She couldn't tell him. This was his half-sister after all. She couldn't. She wouldn't.

   "I don't believe that," Theodore said, his voice calm and even. He took a small step closer, careful not to crowd her. "But I'm not going to pry. Just. . . let me sit with you for a bit."

Iris hesitated, her throat tightening as she tried to swallow back the tears that threatened to spill again. She didn't respond, but she didn't tell him to leave, either. He stepped closer, his boots crunching in the snow, until he was standing beside her.

Taking her silence as permission, Theodore sat down on a fallen log nearby. He didn't say anything, didn't push for answers. Instead, he simply sat there, his quiet presence grounding her in a way she hadn't expected.

He glanced at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "You don't have to say anything, but you shouldn't have to sit out here alone, either."

For a moment, Iris just stared at him, her emotions swirling too wildly for her to make sense of them. She looked away quickly, her cheeks burning—not from the cold, but from the realization that his kindness was starting to chip away at her walls.

Neither of them noticed Percy standing a short distance away. He'd been walking toward his cabin when he spotted them and stopped. His eyebrows furrowed as he watched Theodore offer Iris a hug. 

Percy didn't know what had happened between the two but something about the quiet scene made him feel like he was intruding.

Percy lingered for a second longer before turning and walking away, his mind swirling with questions and a faint twinge of something he couldn't quite place.

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❪ ៸ 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄 ━━━━━ ! ﹆◞ ❫
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━━━━━ . . .
❪ . . . the 5th chapter for act 2 of LOVE STORY everyone, hi loves. ❫
❪ . . . This is about 3.3k words ❫
❪ . . . PLEASE tell me how you guys feel about it ??❫
❪ . . .PLEASE don't be a ghost reader, comment and vote, I love to reply to everyone and interact with my readers, love all of you darlings <33 ❫