[2] 𝐈 𝐀𝐌 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐌 𝐀 𝐆𝐎𝐃 , 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖼𝗒 𝗃𝖺𝖼𝗄𝗌𝗈𝗇

𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗅𝗈𝗀𝗎𝖾 | 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿

          Her mother raised a blonde brow. "Oliver? Since when were you two back together?"

          Regina shrugged as she hauled her backpack over her shoulder, adjusting the belt that hung around her wide leg jeans. She was wearing her signature black combat boots and a very oversized ebony leather jacket that was decorated with silver spikes on the shoulders and a flaming skull on the back. She was an Ares kid. Go figure. "Well, we never really broke up."

          "Did you not tell him anything ... ?" Her mother asked with a small confused frown on her pink tinted lips.

          "No, and neither will you, Ma." Regina said with a glare. "I know you love to gossip."

          "It's not gossip if it's true," the blonde murmured as she bit into a digestive biscuit, but didn't say anything else as she waved her daughter a small goodbye before continuing her daily watch of the nature channel in the room next to them.

          A loud car horn beep was heard and Regina looked out of the window to see a familiar set of soft light brown hair and a cherry red car parked against the sidewalk. That was Regina's cue. She shouted goodbye to her mother, who just responded with "don't blow anything up this time!"

          Making her way down her porch steps she looked up and saw her boyfriend, Oliver Taylor, waving at her from the driver's seat. His hair was longer and his face was more structured since she last saw him at the start of summer. The last time they talked was over the phone a week ago where they discussed what had happened and Regina had explained that it was because Kelli went crazy and Regina was just an innocent bystander. She also selfishly put the blame on Percy and Rachel and told Oliver that they started it all, and he believed her. He asked her where she has been all summer, and she told him that her mother wanted her to go to camp with no service or wifi to get more 'in touch with reality'. Regina quickly learned that Oliver was very gullible.

          "Hey, babe." He smiled as he planted a kiss on Regina's lips, brushing her hair back behind her shoulders. She gave him a quick smile then joined him in the car, hauling herself into the passenger seat. He turned up the music and blues started to play, to which Regina tried not to physically grimace to. She remembered when her and Percy made fun of people who listened to blues music. She felt a small ache in her heart.

          "You alright?" He said as he began to drive down the street, joining the crowd of other cars. He placed his hand on her thigh and Regina refrained from moving her leg away. It was not the hand she wished was touching her leg. She replied to him with a small nod, enough to convince him, but it wasn't ever hard to convince him she was okay. Sometimes she reckoned her didn't even actually care.

OOO

      RETURNING TO GOODE HIGH SCHOOL was bittersweet. She was welcomed by her friends she didn't know she missed and was back in her rightful place as the head of sports and their basketball team's captain. It turned out someone had defended Regina to the head master mister Blofis, so she got let off with a warning. Besides, they couldn't lose her. She upholded their reputation in sports.

          After her first two lessons of maths, she had break where she quickly learned that her old best friend Mila had transferred to another school. She was down a mortal friend, which made her miss her demigod friend Annabeth. Regina missed Tyson too, the last she saw of him was when he showed up at her house with a carved bronze constellation necklace after she told him that she loved astrology. He told her he studied the stars and carved out the pattern of the Aries constellation. Regina almost cried when he gave it to her.