Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

BONUS: THE DAY SHE REGRETS MOST

Five beads hung on my neck.

Five lovely, awesome years at Camp Half Blood, and I was the happiest blonde out there in the universe.

Tess was now sixteen, and he had learnt how to drive a car. I preferred sticking to my pegasi, but he'd grab me and push me into his car, which he had bought with all the money he could find from a second hand store, and take Adam and Lee on a long ride around the hill during the holidays, when no one else was around but a twenty more kids around.

Our cabin size expanded. Instead of fifteen, we were now seventeen. Adam's cabin overflowed. He came everyday, his eyes red and puffy, complaining about his night at the cabin telling everyone to shut up and stop asking for more space.

Before I knew it, I was teaching war strategy to the Ares and Athena kids. Take that, Ethan. He'd gotten into a large university, somewhere in 'Frisco. That was the last we heard from him, at least.

I was at peace with the fact that my mother couldn't come to meet me. She was there for me when I needed her most. She'd gotten a favor from Alexandra, and here I was, alive and well.

I spent half my time at the temple with Lee, Tess and the little girl who sat around the fire, poking it half the time. We found out she was Hestia only two years after we'd gotten used to being around her. Yeah, she liked playing Monopoly for some reason. I still remember the time Lee had hurriedly messed up the whole board and all the cards when he found out he was losing badly. Hestia had laughed so hard, clutching her stomach as Lee blushed furiously red.

And we still won the Capture the Flags. Sure, we lost a few times, but Athena was almost always in the lead. We were champions, each of us, and we were leading our happiest lives ever.

Until one day, Grover Underwood, a camp satyr pounded on our Cabin door at six in the morning, when we were still fast asleep. Athena Cabin required at least nine hours of sleep everyday.

I really wish I hadn't opened the door. Really.

"Hey," Grover said, shivering.

Thunder was rumbling outside threateningly.

"Hey man," I answered back. "Whatcha doing up?"

"Who is it, Ari?" Tess' voice came.

"Grover Underwood!" I yelled back.

Grover trotted inside. "Mr. D wanted to see Theseus."

Theseus yawned loudly, getting up from his bed. As usual, he and I were the only ones at camp that night.

"Why?" I asked.

"He.. well.. I think he should let you know," Grover said.

Tess' usually smug face became serious. "I'm coming."

He nervously put on a sweater and stepped out.

"I'm coming too," I said, throwing on a jacket.

"Ari-"

"I don't like being alone," I said, "you know that."

Tess sighed. "Fine." He slumped in defeat.

I couldn't help but smile.

Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. Tess asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.

"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to. You know that this is normal."

I pointed at the storm. "That doesn't seem normal. It looks way worse than ever other storm we've seen."