A Demigod in Wonderland? (TWST x PJO)

Chapter 2

 The hearts were everywhere. 

Heart-shaped entrance, heart-shaped trees with red roses placed in an outline of a heart. Even under the fountain, tiles had been arranged to look like a red heart. I was surprised there weren't heart-shaped windows or flags in the Heartslabyul dorm. But then again, the architects could have gotten sick of all the hearts (I definitely would). 

Looking at the dorm, I suddenly felt homesick. 

Alice in Wonderland was Mom's favorite book. She used to read it to Will and me when we were kids. She sang those silly rhymes every night, never sticking to a particular tune. I never got my head around that book's plot, but the songs were my favorite part. Anything that can be a song is a song. That's what Mom said to us. 

 "Dang, this place is swank!", Grimm said. "This is nothing like our dumpster of a dorm."

"It wouldn't be called Ramshackle if it was swank", I said. "The dorm's based on the Queen of Hearts, right?"

"Yep. Each of the seven dorms is based on the Great Seven.", Deuce said. He had come to our dorm early in the morning, and when Ace told him about an apology, he decided to tag along, much to Ace's chagrin.

"Can you guys stop admiring a building and move on?", Ace grumbled. "Where is that guy? How come he disappears right before our classes start?"

"Is that why you want to do it early in the morning?", I asked.

"Obviously! What's the point in attending a mage school if I can't do any?"

"You're speaking about this to the wrong person", I stifled a yawn. "How about we ask someone where your prefect is? He might be around."

A few minutes and a lot of dead ends later, we stumbled upon someone in a clearing. And he was painting the garden roses red.

"They all gotta be red, or it's 'off with my head'!", he said in a sing-song voice. He moved around the trees, twirling his brush. Something about the scene felt familiar.  Wait a minute...

"Hmm?", he grinned at us and gave a finger wiggle wave. "Hello there, sweetie. Is your head still hurting?"

"Oh", Grimm recognized him too. "It's you."

"And my head is not hurting anymore", I huffed.

"Uh...", Deuce blinked. "Do you guys know him?"

"We met him yesterday", Grimm replied. "After Willow fell head-first on the street."

"What are you doing there?", Ace asked the ginger guy. "Uh.. Painting the roses red duh?"

"Why?", Deuce asked. The ginger guy simply laughed. "Hahaha. So naive, you put the 'n' in newb. Hmm... Aren't you two the ones who broke a billion Thaumark chandelier and nearly got expelled for it, yeah?"

"That chandelier is gonna haunt us till the day we graduate, isn't it?", Ace said under his breath. The guy pointed at Ace. "And you! You're the one who ate the housewarden's tart that same night!"

 Ace's little stunt got more attention than it was supposed to, that's for sure. But this guy didn't look like he was annoyed or angry- he looked... happy?

"You guys are, like, the hot topic around campus! I've gotta get in on this fleeting fame. I'm just gonna grab a selfie real quick..." 

Ka-chik! He snapped a photo before I could even blink. "It's cool if I post this on Magicam, right? Gimme your names so I can tag you."

We gave our names. He fiddled with his phone a bit then kept it back into his pocket. "Uploaded! Sweet. By the way, I'm Cater Diamond. I'm a junior here at Heartslabyul. Nice to meet ya!"