“Y/N!” Nur yelled, running to meet you as you hike down Half-Blood Hill. “They told me you’re dead!”
You grinned. “Surprise?”
Your cabin counselor, Piper, stepped next to Y/N. “What’s the thing with people bursting to flames and returning after being confirmed dead?” she said. “Looking at you, Leo!” she yelled at her friend, Leo Valdez, from across the camp. You caught a faint blob of brown that looks like Leo’s middle finger.
“I’m alright,” you said, chuckling.
“Come on, let’s go to Chiron,” said Nur, pushing you gently on your back.
As the three of you walked to the Big House, you passed the volleyball court, occupied by more or less than a dozen athletic looking kids with blond hair and suntan. You stared longer than you intended, and you felt a pang of jealousy on your chest. You see the Apollo cabin everyday since you arrived at camp, some of then are your friends, but it was the first time you felt this way.
You shook your head. Of course, he’s a god, he has children. The closeness of their ages made you think of their parents. It must be short-term. They just dated for a short time, then Apollo moved on and saw another girl. Maybe he just wanted a new addition to his cabin of children, that’s why he asked you out.
“Y/N?” Piper asked.
“Yes?” you asked, startled.
“You okay? You zoned out.”
“I’m fine,” you answered, continuing your walk to the Big House.
“You’re staring at the Apollo kids,” Nur noticed. “Have a crush?”
You blushed. “What? No!”
“Oh come on! I’m a child of Aphrodite, I know that stare too well!”
“It’s alright, Y/N, we won’t tell,” Piper said, winking.
You shook your head. “It’s nothing!” you said before dashing to the Big House.
You found Chiron on the porch, sipping tea on his wheelchair while looking out the meadow. He saw you arriving and so he turned his wheelchair to your direction.
“Chiron!” you screeched.
He smiled. “Y/N. I knew you’re alive,” he said.
“Really? How?” you asked.
“Lord Apollo told me,” he said.
“Apollo?” Nur asked behind you.
You felt yourself flush. “Uh, yeah. He found me half-dead and he saved me.”
“A god helping? That’s unusual,” Piper mused.
Piper’s comment made you blush even more. “So, uh—how’s the rescued demigods?” you said to Chiron, changing the subject.
Chiron gave you a look that suggests that he know things. It made you nervous, but luckily he let the subject go. “They’re alright, settled in their cabins. The two were claimed by Hermes. One was a son of Apollo.”
It was the heavy feeling again. That must be the reason Apollo was watching over you—no, not you. He’s watching over his son.
You gave a bitter smile. “Maybe that’s why he saved me, because I saved his son. If that kid wasn’t an Apollo, I would’ve been dead.”
“I’m sure it’s not like that,” Nur said.
“Oh come on,” you forced a laugh, “we know that gods don’t help unless they want something. Maybe he’s got another son that needs rescue.”
