lacuna [connor stoll]

XI. Poop Pile

"Yeah, of course." She choked out, resulting in the cocky smirk to drawl out again. His pale skin glowed in the fiery light, produced from the torches surrounding the pavilion.

"Well, why don't we go now, then?"He asked, his deep voice purred out.

"Now?" She asked, as if she didn't hear him right. Her cold soup sounded far more better of a plan then that.

"Yes, now." Richard said, rolling his eyes. "You deaf or something, El?"

She tried to hide her cringe when he called her that. Besides, if she was supposed to date the jerk, she assumed she should get used to it.

"Sure." She found the words falling from her lips.

He grinned in such a way that Ellie thought maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all. He seemed truly happy to spend time with her, and she suddenly felt guilty for being so judgmental to begin with. Connor was with Drew, and there was no obligation to wait for him.

He offered a hand, and she ditched her cold dinner and took off behind him. She didn't miss the two stares from Hermes' table, but she didn't even have time to process them as he pulled her away from reality.

Zeus' fist wasn't really Zeus' fist. It was more just a pile rocks on the outskirts of the camps forest. If looked at from a certain angle, it looked like a large fist. If looked at from any other angle, it looks like a pile of deer droppings. The campers are prohibited from calling it "Poop Pile", as Zeus tends to be picky about things that bear his name. Chiron believes it's disrespectful to call something a "pile of deer poop" after it was initially named after the king of the gods. Ellie wasn't too careful with her words she probably should have been after the amount of time she had stayed in the camp.

"How'd you know where this was?" She sat breathlessly as the boulder came into view. "I thought you were new."

Richard shrugged. "I had time to explore."

Ellie nodded slowly, climbing up to the top of the boulder. Richard stayed at the bottom, leaning against it lazily, as he had done with the tree.

She couldn't lie to herself. The guy was attractive, no matter how arrogant he was. As the sun fell behind the trees behind them, the moon cast a glow around his face, illuminating his brown eyes and sharp jawline.

"What would you like to do now?" His voice was softer then normal, and it brought a small smile to her face.

"What would you like to do?"

"Oh, I have a few ideas."

From the bottom of the boulder, Richard was still taller then her sitting on it. He brought her face closer with his thumb under her chin, and before she knew it, he had sealed the distance between them. His lips connected with hers.

She pulled away after the first few seconds of shock were gone.

"What is wrong with you?" She spat, hopping off the boulder.

His face screwed up in confusion, and he moved to get closer to her. "What are you talking about?"

"You-you had no right to do that!" She wiped her lips, as if she could erase what he had just done.

"Are you kidding?" He spat. "You were practically begging for it! What would you like to do?" He mocked in a high pitched voice. "Gods, are you one of those girls who lead guys on and then say they assaulted you?"

Ellie blinked back tears, stumbling backwards until her back connected with a tree. She quickly turned, facing him one last time. "Don't ever talk to me again." She whispered, her eyes burning.