The Secret [Camp Halfblood Fanfiction]

Chapter 5

S H E Y

Normally on a Friday night, I find myself in my room, listening to some cliche boy band with Jordan and her sister. But never in the history of Shey did I believe that I'd spend it with some guy I can't stand, sneaking through some trees that look the same yet different, with a paintball gun, trying my hardest not to fall on my face. The stuff Jor gave me last night worked, but I could still feel a dull throb every time I accidentally hit my foot on something.

Lucian told me to stay by him while we walk through the woods and look for their flag. Though I think he underestimates the strategies of Ethan . If there’s one thing I’ve learned about my 'brothers,' it's that they're competitive--well, Ethan is at least. It’s obvious that they wouldn’t just plop down the flag and say it’s hidden.

“Shey,” he says after a few more minutes of silence.

“Lucian,” I reply, smiling up at him.

“Do you even know how any of this works?” He sounds annoyed. Nothing new here. “And don’t call me that…”

“No, Lucian. I do not know how any of this works, because no one took the time to explain any of this to me, thank you.”

I hear him mumble something about someone doing something very unpleasant in my cheerios this morning, but I choose to ignore it.

I sigh loudly, stopping and leaning against a tree. "What's your deal?" I ask, watching as he stops walking.

"What do you mean?" He snaps.

I roll my eyes. I still can't believe I thought he was cute. Cute! Looks can be deceiving I guess.

"Ever since I've gotten here, you've been a complete smartass. I barely even know you, yet you're treating me like I'm some annoying child. Why is that?"

He finally turns towards me, and he, surprisingly, doesn't seem annoyed or mad. "Why do you care?" He says quietly.

"Because I don't like being treated like scum off the bottom of a shoe by someone that I could possibly be friends with! Tell me why you're treating me like this. Because I know you don't treat the others the way you do me."

"Maybe it's because not once, in the eleven years I've been here, have I ever felt any sort of attraction to any of the girls here. And suddenly, you pop in, and everything changes. Everything I was used to switched around. Ethan, my best friend, decided to get all cozy with your friend, and he stops hanging out with me as much. Sure, sure, we're still friends, but now he thinks I'm some massive dick to everyone." When he stops talking, he looks at me with wide eyes, like he hadn't meant to say all that. Meanwhile, my mind is spinning.

The thing that keeps popping to the front of the line is that he said I changed everything. Does that mean he likes me? I feel my face heat up slightly at the thought. "What do you mean I changed everything?"

"What the hell do you think it means?" I scowl at him for questioning my question.

"That you're 'attracted' to me?" I say, making air quotations around the important word.

"Yes," he whispers, stepping closer to me so that his lips are next to my ear, "I'm attracted to you."

I don't move, and neither does he, until a loud bell rings. Then we both look around, seeing that it had gotten significantly darker than when we had begun; and that we were supposed to be finding the flag; and that the bell probably meant the other team got our flag. I swear silently in my head at the thought.

"C'mon," Luke suddenly whispers, taking hold of my hand. At first, I let him, but when I start to see another big group of campers, I pull my hand from his and focus intently on Ethan. He's standing next to Nico with his arms crossed over his chest. But the strange thing: Jordan isn't with him.

Luke parts away to go off and do whatever it is complicated people do, and I rush to my brothers, having to look up to them both.

"Where's Jor?" I ask, almost taken aback when Nico answers.

"She should be here any second. No one got the flag, but Dionysus told us to head back to our cabins when our siblings got to us." Ethan acts like he hadn't noticed I'd walked up to them, so I shove his arm.

He looks down at me finally and mumbles, "oh you're here. C'mon we have to get to our cabin before he gets all grumpy." Then he jabs his thumb in Dionysus' direction.

"Not until I know where Jordan is. Ethan please." I beg, tugging at his shirt sleeve.

A girl with blonde hair and dark grey eyes walks up to me and lays a hand on my shoulder. "You should go, Shey. A search party is being sent out to find the missing campers. She'll be back by morning, I'm sure." She smiles sympathetically, and I almost scowl, but instead I nod and follow Nico and Ethan back to our cabin.

But I can't sleep for at least an hour after we get inside. Nico sits in the room up the ladder with me for a while, before saying that I should sleep and went back down to his bed.

No matter how hard I try and believe it, I can't help but think that the blonde girl was wrong. Jordan won't be back by morning.