ATLANTIS | j. grace

seven

"HEY."

Elle turned her head. Her mood only sank lower when she saw Aris walking toward her.

She turned back around, staring out at the dark water.

"Hi."

She felt him sit beside her, but she didn't move to look at him. She wasn't sure if she could.

As soon as campers began to leave, Elle slipped away on her own. The last thing she wanted was to have to answer Annabeth or Rachel's questions, or to continue to feel the stares of her fellow campers. So, she retreated to the only place she felt comfortable: the beach.

While the thought of being submerged in the water terrified her, something about the salty air and gentle breeze soothed her nerves.

Finally, she gathered the courage to look at Aris. He sat as she did, with his knees pulled to his chest, his arms resting on top. Instead of watching the waves, he watched her.

"I'd figured I'd find you here."

Elle was silent, but not for long.

"I'm sorry," she blurted.

He looked confused. "You're sorry?"

She swallowed. "I don't know why I'm here. I don't know how I'm here. Everyone is so shocked when they see me. This — there's this fear that just fills their eyes and I see the color drain from their faces... everyone is terrified of me, and I have no idea why."

Aris opened his mouth, but Elle spoke on.

"And — get this — no one is allowed to tell me. Chiron swore some dumbass oath and Annabeth thinks it's for a good reason." The moment the words left her mouth, Elle cursed herself. "You know, I probably shouldn't have said that in hopes of you spilling something to me." She sighed, hands coming up to rub her eyes. "Ugh, I'm such a mess. I'm sorry. What I wanted to say is that I'm sorry that I'm here for some terrible reason that is unknown to me. I keep getting these weird hallucinative flashbacks, so I know we were friends. I'm sorry that you have to see me again after whatever unknown thing happened to me, and I'm especially sorry you're seeing me like this."

"Hey." Aris cut in before Elle could continue with her rambling apology. "You don't have to apologize for something bad happening to you. I mean, yeah, it was a big shock to see you here, but it's clearly not your fault."

He offered the girl a half smile.

Elle felt something inside her break. Elle didn't remember much about him, but she felt so comfortable in his presence. His smile wasn't filled with anxiety or pity. It was understanding. It was comforting. Later, Elle would kick herself. But now, she couldn't stop the onslaught of tears that overcame her. One second she was staring at Aris' perfect smile, and the next she was sobbing into his shirt.

Elle lost track of how long she cried, and although she was slightly embarrassed, it felt so relieving to cry. All day, she'd been so tense and on edge. She'd gotten a moment of happiness with Jason during dinner, but the bonfire burned away every ounce of joy inside her, along with any hope of rejoining her old, normal life (if she ever had one).

A quest. They expected her to go on a quest. Logically, it made sense. As the prophecy said, she knew what was at stake. They needed to save Hera, or else everything would go to shit. They needed to save Hera, or else she and Jason would remain memory-less forever (well, maybe not her, seeing as her memories were already coming back, but Jason needed Hera).

Elle felt Aris rub her shoulder gently. "Elle... I know you're trying to, you know, let it all out, but I can see the cleaning harpies coming our way. It's dark, so they probably can't see us, but I don't think I want either of us getting eaten on your first day back."