lacuna [connor stoll]

XIII. Lava Sink Talks

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: LAVA SINKS

She found out through Travis.

She found it wildly suspicious that the Stoll brother was being so nice to her all the sudden, but since she was currently lacking in the 'friends' category, she didn't give herself a choice.

He came found her the day after the campfire, when Richard had been claimed. He was out of breath from running, but Ellie just wrapped him in a tight hug before he could even utter a word.

The Stoll brothers were a huge puzzle piece in her messed up life, and she had finally gained one piece back that had been discarded for months.

Travis told her that Connor had broken up with Drew. Word spread fast, but that was just because Drew burst into tears whenever she saw Ellie, Travis, Connor, or Richard around camp. So, basically like half of the full-time campers. Ellie kept her mouth shut and minded her own business, not wanting to start a fight with the Aphrodite girl. The last thing she needed was for her mom to hate Ellie even more.

The Hephaestus cabin began building a Erebus cabin, but Ellie gave Nyssa twenty bucks to slow down the process. She didn't want to be with him when he had an empty cabin all to himself.

And even if things couldn't get better, Travis let her pull a prank with him, just for old times sake. It was a simple one, a simple mind-tricking potion from Lou Ellen, and slipped it in Clarisse's glass at dinner that night. It switched her brain to think purple was yellow, and paid a bunch of campers to mess with her, asking what color they were wearing.

It was really funny until Clarisse found out what was happening, and tattled to Mr. D. Both of them were sent to dish-washing duty for a week. But it had been worth it, it was the first time she smiled in a long time.

They talked during dish-washing, and she told Travis a lot that she had been holding in. Not the Aphrodite stuff, but the fact that she had no intention of being with Richard much longer.

She just had to figure out how to overpower an Olympian.

Simple, right?

But she wasn't completely dumb. She knew it had to be a trick, she was still an all-powerful goddess. So, she slowly reached limits. Sure, she had some new scars, and Will glared at her every time she came in the infirmary, clutching a new wound guiltily, but she tested the unknown waters. If she didn't, nothing would change.

"What's rattling in that big ass head of yours, Dalton?"

"Yeah, I'm good." Ellie muttered, scrubbing a rusted spoon.

"I didn't even ask if you're okay?" Travis said, confused. His eyebrows were furrowed, glancing to her skeptically. "What's up, Dalton?"

Ellie shrugged.

She wasn't used to people noticing when she wasn't okay, and this was no exception. Will had been the only person to as about her dark under eye circles and various cuts that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.