The Legend of Elodie Grant (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter Six

I never realized how obnoxious camp songs -- even weird, Greek parodies -- could be until I was faced directly with it.

Laughter and out-of-tune voices filled the air, the flames of the fire blazing higher and higher. It was a bright golden color, and I could feel the heat from my seat away from the crowd.

I reached down and ran my fingers through the loose dirt. I almost immediately relaxed, calm rushing through me. I hurried to take off my socks and shoes before burying my toes in the dirt. I instantly felt better, my muscles relaxing.

With my feet in the dirt, everything felt way more manageable.

Someone cleared their throat behind me. I dropped my head back and arched my back to look up at the person. It was the boy from before who had flipped me off.

I grunted, looking away from him. He didn't seem to like my attitude and moved so that he was in my line of sight.

"What do you want?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He seemed taken aback at my boldness, his eyes widening marginally. He asked, "Aren't children of Demeter supposed to be timid like the flowers?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Probably."

"Are you this feisty in bed?" He asked, his voice lowering.

I lowered my eyes to look at him through my lashes. I arched my back in order to make my chest more prominent and leaned into him. I lowered my voice into a purr and said, "I don't know, want to find out?"

His eyebrows shot up, his eyes wide. He was clearly shocked and hadn't the slightest clue about how to respond to me. I chuckled, pulling away and dropping the facade.

"You were being sarcastic." He said, squinting at me.

I gave him a dry look. He was clearly a little slow if he had believed that I wanted to sleep with him. His lips lifted in a sneer and I could tell he was starting to get angry.

"Awe, can't handle my feisty-ness?" I asked, coining the word he had used earlier to try and make me uncomfortable.

He let out an aggravated noise and stood up, preparing to storm away. I tilted my head and flicked out my fingers. I felt that same pull in my gut and suddenly vines were shooting out of the ground to grow up his legs, keeping him in place.

He cursed at me, twisting slightly to look over his shoulder at me. He raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms over his broad chest. He was shocked I had the audacity to make such an offensive move.

"What?" He snarled, his voice a low growl.

"What did you want?" I asked, leaning back on my elbows.

"What the fu--"

"It's not nice to swear." I told him, interrupting.

"Fu--"

I cut him off again by tightening the vines around his legs. He grunted, but stayed quiet.

"What do you mean?" He finally asked through gritted teeth.

"Why did you come over here?" I clarified, "You obviously wanted something otherwise you wouldn't have come over here."

He paused in his struggles to give me a complex look. I waited for an answer, but it was soon obvious that he wasn't going to answer the question.

"What's your name?" He finally asked.

I, somehow, became defensive, my eyes narrowing.

"What's yours?" I shot back.

"Arsen." He responded, not even flinching at my tone.

"Your parents must have loved you." I scoffed, laughing at the name.

He fell silent, the air filling with tension. I felt awkward and uncomfortable, so I backed off, sensing a sensitive topic. He looked away. I flicked my fingers again, releasing him from the hold of my vines. He paused, but started walking away.

"Elodie." I said, my voice bringing him to a halt.

He half turned back in my direction. He didn't say anything, but I could sense the question in his body language.

"My name is Elodie." I clarified, "I guess my parents didn't like me either."

That shocked a chuckle out of him. He turned back towards me and sat down, making sure none of his body touched mine.

"What...side Greek are you?" I asked, stuttering slightly over the awkward question.

"My father is the Greek god Ares if that is what you mean." He said, smirking.

I blushed, looking down at my hands. My thumb was smudged with dirt and I was quick to brush it off on my old, ratty jeans. I was slightly embarrassed, looking down at myself.

Arsen was handsome, that much was obvious. He had a strong jaw and his eyes were striking. I, on the other hand, was wearing the same clothes I had gone to work in, gotten attacked in, passed out in, and slept in. I felt frumpy and gross compared to him.

"I'm the daughter of Demeter, if you somehow managed to miss the whole dramatic scene I put on this morning." I said, flashing him a crooked smile.

"That was you?" He asked, his voice laced with sarcasm, "I hadn't realized."

"Arsen!"

We both looked over towards the campfire. His cabin members were standing up, curious and frustrated looks on their faces as they waved him over. They clearly wanted to know why he was bothering to talk to me, the weird new girl.

"You should go." I said, nodding my head, "They look like they're going to shit themselves if you don't get over there right now."

He snorted, turning to look at me, and said, "I thought it wasn't nice to swear."

I rolled my eyes and didn't respond. He stood up and started to leave, but suddenly whirled around. The fire seemed to flare with his movements and I was slightly in awe of his intimidating form.

"Do you want to be on my team for capture the flag?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

I turned to face him fully, my eyebrows rising.

"What the hell is capture the flag?"