Searching: Book 3 (PJO/HoO FanFic)

14. Why Don't You Act More Like A Twin?

"Shouldn't you go and talk to him? Ask him what's wrong like a normal sibling would do?" I asked her.

Her eyes flashed angrily,"Of course not! As I said, he will be fine by tomorrow. I don't need to do anything!"

"Are you serious?" I asked her,"You're just going to let him deal with it on his own? You're not going to ask if he really felt that way all these years? You're not going to make him feel better?" She remained silent, glaring at me,"Must I remind you that you're his twin? His sister? You're suppose to be there for him! Sure, I get that your a maiden goddess, but that doesn't mean you have to cut him out of your life!"

"I don't want him in it!" She argued,"He's annoying, calls me stupid names, and flirts with my hunters! Besides, he made it very clear that he doesn't want me in his life either, seeing as he's too jealous of me."

"That's a lie! You do want him in your life, but you act like you don't! I saw the hurt look on your face during the council!" She glared and tried to argue, but I didn't let her,"It's not fair to him. He cares for you deeply. Sure he may not have shown it today, but that's because he's upset. He didn't mean anything."

"And how would you know, huh?" She snapped.

I shook my head,"I know why he was upset today, Artemis. I made him upset." She narrowed her eyes at me,"You want to know how? I asked him about you." She was hard to read, so I couldn't tell if she cared much,"He has a memory-painting-whatever it is. It's in a case, as if precious to him. It's a constant video of you, him, and your mom laughing. As a family. I asked him how long ago that was, and he couldn't remember. He said the memory was fading, so he had it painted. So that he would remember it was always there." I tried desperately to read her, but it was impossible,"If you just talk to him..."

Her face remained expressionless. It unnerved me, but I held her gaze. Finally, she spoke,"Do you think that after eons of hating my brother, you will change my actions in one day?" My heart deflated,"Well, you're wrong. Apollo is very different then me. If he chooses to keep an ancient memory, then so be it, but it won't change me or my actions at all. If he apologizes, we can put this behind us, but I know my brother. He wouldn't have said that out of anger. It was the truth. Do I care much? No. If he's upset and feels left out, then he should start acting like a proper God. Maybe then Zeus will start treating him like one."

My eyes widened,"But-"

Artemis sighed,"Jason, stop. I get that you're trying to 'help', but it's useless. Apollo is acting like a child right now. I don't know why he suddenly cares about being 'the better twin', but it doesn't matter. Let him feel upset about it because he isn't doing anything on his end to change that." She took a deep breathe and stood up,"I believe your 5 minutes are up."

I bit my lip and nodded,"Well, uh, thank you for your time, my lady." She nodded stiffly, and soon, I was teleported back to camp. I walked down the hill, heart aching, but head held up high. At least I tried.

...

L U K E

I walked back into camp as soon as the sky turned gray. Lightning flashed above and clouds covered the sun. I sighed, walking down Half-Blood Hill only to see the campers fighting. The team and Chiron was trying to calm everyone down, but things were being thrown at them. I groaned, running down the hill to stop the commotion, but as soon as I got close, a dagger was thrown my way. I just barely missed it, and I stared at the campers, wide eyed. They didn't seem to notice though.