Caleo - This new guy at camp...

Ch 11 / Conseince and Capture the Flag

I can't look Leo in the face. He's so happy. Bouncing round camp like an over ecxited puppy. They're still not ofically together as couple, no-one else knows about Bunker 9.

I even tried to make excuses for him. Prehaps she bewitched him using some Daughter-of-a-Titan powers? Maybe it wasn't even Leo? Dose he have a twin or something? Maybe she misses her old home and he was comforting her?

Who am I trying to kid. He held her like he loved her. Kissed her like he loved her. And she returned it all, heart, body and soul.

I feel betrayed.

------

My sister, Sarah, came into our cabin and found me staring blankly at the wall. She came over and hugged me.

"What's up honey?" she asked in a concerned mother kind of way.

"Nothing's wrong." I snapped, pulling away. "I'm tired, that's all." 

I jumped up and marched out of the cabin.  I can't tell her, I can't tell anyone. 

I stopped dead in my tracks, maybe, just maybe, there's someone who I can talk to.

--------

"Hello?"

I peered in through the doors of the Hades cabin and felt a shiver go down myback. This place gives me the creeps!

"I-i-is there anyone oneh-h-here?" I stamared.

"Depends who's asking."

I jumped, like, a meter ito the air and spun aroud to come face to face with Nico di Angelo who'd been lurking in the shadows by the door.

"Nico! Oh my gods! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Do I know you?" he asked suspiciously. Every nerve in my body was screaming RUN! but I managed to ask:

"I-i-is Hazel around?"

Nico shrugged.

"Dunno. Try the stables."

He evapourated into pure darkness.

------

I love the stables. Something here smells so warm and comforting. Hazel was in one of the stable boxes, brushing one of the pegasi, a beatiful cream animal who's name, I remembered, was Topaz. She was silently crying.

"Hazel?" she jumped like she'd just had an electric shock and quickly wipped her face on her sleave to try and hide the fact that she'd been crying before turning round and trying to smile.

"Oh gods," I said slipping into the stable and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Is it Frank? Have you two been fighting again?"

"I, I - " she burst into tears and leant on me to stop herself falling over.

I slowly lowered her to the ground and sat down beside her and offered her a tissue. After a few minutes she stopped sobbing.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "We were so happy! We came back from the war and, he never liked Leo, and he thought, he thought-" 

She broke down into tears. I already knew the story. Nico had been M.I.A. (Missing In Action) when they'd returned on the huge ship. I hadn't payed much attention, I had my own problems (Like, let me think for a second, CALYPSO). Reyna and Gleeson Hegde got back OK from the ancient lands but they managed to loose the son of Hades along the way, how? I don't know (the little creep turned up again later of course), but Nico was Hazel's only family and she was devistated that  he was missing. Frank, being a praetor of Camp Jupiter, had to help sort out how  the two camps were going to merge and didn't have time for  his girlfriend who was falling apart because of the loss of her brother.