CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
aphrodite's web
——— VERONA!
( CAMP HALF BLOOD, EARLY APRIL )
EITHER VERONA BLAZE would die at the hands of a monster hunting demigods in broad daylight, or Clarisse La Rue would find the first New York cliff she could and catapulte Verona right off it (lately, it seemed the latter was the more likely option, considering the former had basically happened once already). She seemed sufficiently extra angry lately, although the only time Verona would truly see her is when she'd come out of the Infirmary, where Chris was staying until further notice. He'd often sneak off to the basement of the Big House however, too scared of the light and the sun, and they'd find him there curled in a ball hours later, with Clarisse watching over him to make sure nothing happened. She was completely miserable and lonely, and it was completely obvious she had cared for Chris long before he had ever turned to Luke's side — it was clear that Mr D had to get back soon and use his control over madness to take away Chris' pain, or Clarisse might pummel someone (probably Verona, the only person she saw most of the time) to death.
Even now, the only sound in the dull Infirmary was the ringing of the electrical fan set up in the corner because the heat was absolutely sweltering. Chris was lying there, half asleep for once, though he tossed and turned, the demons in his mind haunting him even when he closed his eyes, and when he kept them open. Clarisse was beside him, as close as he would let her get right now — her spear had been deposited as far away as they could, and Verona had left her knife in her cabin, both not wanting to bring a weapon close to Chris for his own sake. There was sweat glistening on her face from the heat, and her hair was pushed back with a band, her eyes remaining on Chris the entire time. She hadn't looked like she'd slept at all.
"You realize you have to sleep eventually?" Verona whispered quietly, her voice furrowing against the sound of the fan as she tried not to awaken Chris. He had been completely restless and the smallest noise out of his place would wake him. It had been a task like no other getting him across the country in one night before the sun awoke again mere weeks ago, and taking the Greys sisters cab to get to New York quickly had set him off, Clarisse and Verona almost losing him on the trek up the last of Half Blood Hill if they hadn't had Argus, the hundred eyed security guard, with them.
"Will you just leave me alone, punk," Clarisse glared at her, albeit it wasn't as scary as normal considering the way she looked and the fact that Verona was pretty sure her voice cracked a little bit. Verona wanted to be here even less than Clarisse wanted her here, probably, but Chiron had tasked her with the issue of making sure Clarisse went and ate and slept, trying to get back to a semi normal routine, and the daughter of Aphrodite would be damned if she didn't at least try to help the girl — after all, Clarisse was sitting around at Chris' bedside because she was worried about a guy she was probably in love with, and if anything had to be Verona's forte, it was that.
"No, I'm not going to leave you alone," She whispered as harshly yet softly as she could without awaking Chris — he moved slightly in his sleep, but she concluded from the way his hand twitched that it was because of a nightmare and not her voice. "I get that you're worried, we all are, but sitting around and rotting away isn't going to make it any better, Clarisse."
"Are you telling me I smell, kid?" Clarisse glowered, not moving from Chris' bedside.
"Yes, I am," Verona stared at her unbothered. "You need to shower, change, eat, maybe spend some time in the arena, because you're leg's been bouncing up and down like that for the last half hour."
She glanced down at where her leg was indeed bouncing up and down, her foot hitting against the floor in a mind of it's own. "I understand that you care for Chris, Clarisse, but you cannot help him if you can't help yourself first."
"You have no idea what you're talkin' about, Blaze," Clarisse glared at her. She looked as though she couldn't breathe when Chris whimpered in his sleep, a look of sorrow washing over her face — Verona recognized that look, Clarisse wasn't the first person she had seen it on.
"Don't I?" Verona countered, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.
"You—"
"I'm the daughter of the goddess of love, La Rue," Clarisse pursed her lips, looking like she wanted to scream but not wanting to wake Chris. It was probably lucky Chris was acting as a shield to Verona, because had he not been around, a talk like this probably would have evoked Clarisse to throw her spear straight through the daughter of Aphrodite. "I'm shallow and self absorbed sometimes, but I recognize love when I see it."
Clarisse laughed coldly. "I don't think you do, kid."
She didn't comment for a moment, before leaning forward with her arms on her knees so she was a little closer to where Clarisse was, hoping the girl wouldn't punch her. "How about I make you a deal? You trust me, right?"
"Tentatively," Clarisse shrugged. "You didn't get us blown up in Phoenix, and you got us to Camp, so..."
"Alright," Verona nodded. "So how about this? I'll stay right here, in this chair, right in this spot until you get back."
Clarisse glanced up, a little more interested. "You go, check on your siblings, do all the things head counsellors. I beg of you to take a shower, eat something, spend some time training, and when you've done all that, you can come back here. And until you come back, I won't leave Chris' side."
Clarisse mulled over her choice, and Verona could hear her stomach grumbling hungrily. "You won't leave, even once?"
"Not once," She promised.
"Alright," She stood up, patting Chris on the leg hesitantly. "Just...please, don't leave him."
Verona made sure not to leave him at all, not even when Clarisse had returned.
( NEW YORK, MID JUNE )
"Will you stop shoving me. I'm injured!"
Connor glared at Verona, frowning towards her as they moved out of the elevator at the same time, their bodies colliding at the side with one another and Verona's elbow being sent straight into the side of Connor's torso.
"It wasn't on purpose," She hissed back quietly as they passed a few other apartments. It was night, nearing almost ten thirty now, and they had finally made it back after running into Crius in the New York alley. Connor's cheek was bleeding from slamming straight into the ground, and Verona's entire torso had been badly bruised from being thrown high up in the air — she was sure she wouldn't be able to move properly come tomorrow morning (at least it was Saturday, and she would not have to spend her time in school, watching over an semi-destructive demigod who had no idea of his powers or scent).
"You elbow is so fucking bony," Connor muttered angrily, pulling out his key to the apartment and sticking it in, twisting until it unlocked.
Verona glared at him, shoving him to the side slightly. She couldn't believe she had almost wanted to kiss him an hour ago — had she been in her right mind? She couldn't have been in her right mind. Right now, he was acting like a total ass. Connor had made the mistake of not acting like a total ass long enough for her to be convinced she wanted to kiss him, and then he had gone back to what he was — her worst tormentor. Not Crius, not Iapetus or Eris, not even her own mother, but Connor Stoll.
"I didn't fucking say anything when you accidentally," She put the words in air quotes, opening the door to the apartment. "Pushed me into the wall when we turned the corner, did I? And now you're complaining?"
"You know," He paused once he closed the door. "I'm not totally convinced you didn't throw me off that lava wall two years ago on purpose."
"What's the need convincing?" Verona threw her hands in the air. "You'll just think what you want anyways."
"You know, just when I thought you could be a little less bitchy—"
"My lord, what happened?" Aurora came rushing in before Connor could finish his sentence, grabbing onto Connor's chin and checking his face before noticing the way Verona was holding her side and getting her to sit down as she checked on her stomach.
"I'll go get the ambrosia," Connor muttered, walking away towards his room as fast as he could — Verona was sure he had bruised his leg and simply hadn't said anything.
"Grab the nectar too!" She added as she hissed in pain when Aurora pressed a hand to the bruise to check how bad it was — Verona shook her head when the mother started to apologize, telling her it wasn't her fault.
Connor came back into the room a moment later, handing her a small cup of the golden drink of the gods. He was chewing on a piece of ambrosia, the cut on his cheek slowly healing and his ability to walk getting better. Verona sifted a sigh, downing the cup, the flavour of chocolate something melting in her mouth. She could feel the wounds on her stomach get better — not fully, but enough so that breathing was possible again, and she could move without hissing in pain.
"Take any more of that and you'll incinerate," Connor murmured to her as Aurora looked for an ice pack in the freezer, putting away the nectar and ambrosia. "Sorry, Blaze, but looks like the rest off you is gonna have to heal the mortal way."
"Goodie," She muttered, taking the ice pack from Aurora and placing it on her stomach, hissing at the cold sensation against her previously warm skin. She paused just as about half of the pack had cooled her skin, a thought coming to her head as she started to get up — pain struck all over her body and she lowered herself back onto the couch with a thud, attracting Connor's attention onto her. "You don't think the other one — what was his name...Iapetus? You don't think he's right behind Crius, do you?"
"Shit..." Connor ran a hand through his hair, looking far more stressed out now. "I did not think of that."
"Well..." Verona paused, glancing around the small apartment. "A cyclops like Iapetus isn't smart enough to just walk through an apartment and find us, so we probably have until we leave this place again..."
Connor rubbed a hand over his eyes. "We should probably check on Brady in the morning."
"I'll take first shift," Verona muttered, recalling why they had ended up at the carnival in the first place with Felix. She hoped he had gotten home alright.
"No...no," Connor objected suddenly and without warning, his voice loud enough to attract the attention of Aurora, who was looking through the medicine cabinet for something now. She glanced at him before a look of recognition crossed her face and she turned back to the cabinet. "I'll take it."
Verona shook her head, moving the ice pack a little bit. "I promised you I'd take it though—"
"You can barely move, Verona," Connor muttered, placing a hand on her shoulder to push her back down on the couch when she tried to get up. He looked thoroughly more worried and much less ass like than he had five minutes ago even, and she remembered why she had wanted to kiss him in the first place. He glanced at the exposed skin around her stomach, eyes pulling across the bruising worriedly. "Just...rest, okay? Sleep or whatever tomorrow. You can watch after Brady when you're better."
"Are you sure?" She glanced at him with furrowed eyebrows, her hair falling over her shoulders. He seemed much, much more tired than he had been before and she didn't like the prospect of him having to get up early in the morning and spend half his day watching Brady from afar to make sure nothing attacked him, or gods forbid, ate him (now that would have been have to explain to Chiron, and to his mother).
His hand moved over her own momentarily, thumb rubbing a comforting pattern over her knuckle. He retracted it just as quickly, and she almost swallowed her tongue, heart beating fast in her chest and her head feeling much, much lighter than it had before. The feeling a little bit common to when she had made out with Spencer...and Darren...and Julia...and yet completely unique to Connor.
"Yeah...just, get back into monster fighting shape first, or whatever..." His hand went back at his own side, leaning back into the arm chair he was sitting in and running a hand through his dark hair again.
"Alright!" Aurora finally closed the medicine cabinet after a moment, approaching the two from where she was in the kitchen with a little bottle in her hand. She unscrewed it's cap, taking out a pill and showing it to Verona. "Here we are!"
"Thank you," Verona muttered. She paused just as she was about to put it in her mouth, eyes meeting Connor's again. "You don't think nectar and ibuprofen have any bad interactions, do you?"
He made a face, having not thought of that and actually letting out what was akin to a tiny, genuine laugh. "I...have no idea whatsoever," He smiled. "Why don't you try it out and become the first lab rat?"
"Oh, goodie." She repeated her earlier sentiment, finally swallowing the pill and a gulp of water over it. "In case I incinerate to dust next, I'd like carnations at my funeral, please. Roses are so last season. And don't let my siblings where red to my funeral—"
"Why would they—"
"At least one of them will try to, trust me," She nodded as if she fully believed it to be not a hypothesis, but a fact. "Probably Drew, maybe Catarina."
Connor rolled his eyes. "Nothing's happened yet and it probably won't, princess. I think you'll be alright."
"How many siblings do you have, Verona?" Connor's mother questioned curiously, sitting down across from them.
"Oh," She paused, counting them in her head. "Eleven...that I know of."
"All at camp?" Aurora confirmed. Verona nodded enthusiastically, a feeling of solace coming over her a little — her siblings, though not related fully by blood, were easily her best friends. "Wow, that's almost as many as Connor has told me he has in his cabin."
"Aphrodite and Hermes cabins are usually the fullest at Camp," Connor explained, tilting his head as he thought slightly. "Even without all the undetermined campers."
"Are they a lot of undetermined campers?" Aurora questioned softly, suddenly looking a bit down. She was ultimately sunshine all the time, so looking like a cloud had just drizzled bad news upon her was off putting and a little bit upsetting for both the demigods in the room.
"Some mom, yeah..." Connor decided to answer his mother, having the most experience with them. They lived in his cabin, some for longer than he ever had, and had become honorary Hermes siblings whether they liked it or not. Verona knew that everybody had passed through the Hermes cabin at some point, whether it be a few hours, a few days, or the unlucky ones that got stuck there for years — herself, she had spent exactly seven hours in the cabin after waking into consciousness before she was claimed by Aphrodite, the giant bow appearing on her head and the permanent makeup and dress from the temporary makeover her mother had so gracefully indebted her with itching to leave her body days afterwards until it had faded eventually. Aphrodite was usually pretty good at claiming her children, it was probably one of the only qualities at best that Verona admired of her (but then she would never visit them and send them on ridiculous quests to retrieve even more ridiculous items from goddesses who were just going to destroy something that probably should have been destroyed, so how far could that admiration really go?).
"Alright, I think I'm gonna go to bed, the ladies from book club really tired me out with all their squealing," Aurora stood up a few moments later, clasping a hand on Connor's shoulder and ruffling his hair. She closed the cap on the bottle of ibuprofen, handing it to Verona. "Take it again in eight hours, honey. And make sure you eat something if you get hungry, it works better with food in your stomach."
Verona smiled and thanked her, wishing her a good night before she walked down the hallway towards her room at the end of it, and she heard the door shut a few moments later.
The two demigods sat in the living room for a few moments, the television off and the sound of the New York streets being the only thing interrupting the deafening silence. She noticed around the apartment there was everything from miniature plants to photos of Travis and Connor from their younger years, everywhere from the Grand Canyon to various museums and attractions — it seemed like they travelled a lot as kids. Verona remembered Aurora mentioning that before she had Travis, she used to travel around the world as a photographer for a magazine. In each photo, Travis and Connor huddled up together closely, some of them looking as though the two were talking mischievously, sharing some kind of secret. They looked almost like twins as children, save for the slight differences in height and age obviously, and she was almost a little surprised by how similar they really looked — they still looked similar, but as they had grown older they looked different all the same, to the point where even though they shared some of the same traits, nobody would call them particularly the same, and nobody would mix them up.
"How's that healing up?" Connor broke the silence after a moment, nodding towards the scar near the junction of her collar bone and sliding down slightly towards where the top of her heart would be, where her mother had landed the dove or whatever form she had come in to bring her back to life the previous winter.
Verona shrugged, shifting a little. The ice had calmed down whatever was left of the injury, though it still hurt if she sat up too fast. "All healed up. It's just a scar now."
"A scar and a bad memory," Connor muttered. He looked as though the world had been weighted down on him suddenly.
"Well...I can't really remember anything, so it's just a scar."
Connor stared at her for a moment. It was the same unrecognizable way he had stared at her in the forest at the beginning of the month, when the Yale had trapped them behind a series of logs during the Camp's newest activity with the monsters because of Quintus. She could not for the life of her figure out why he kept on staring at her like that time and time again. She wondered whether he was planning something particularly evil for her, or if he had just developed a new expression at sixteen. She wondered if he would develop another new expression come seventeen. "What? No life flashing before your eyes or white light?"
Verona hummed out a no.
"Nothing at all?"
"I think I saw my dog from when I was like five," She stated, shrugging. "Dad said he had ran away to a farm upstate, but I think that was just code for Dad accidentally running him over in the driveway."
"Ouch," Connor scrunched up his nose. "I once had a hamster as a kid, Travis had a cat. Mom said the little guy had just died in his sleep, but he was like two months old in hamster years. I'm still convinced Travis' cat ate the little guy."
"Oh, death by car?" She shook her head. "That's not a good way to go."
She paused, wondering if she should tell him what she was about to. She hadn't even talked with Silena about it yet, and here she was, wishing she could tell Connor Stoll. What had happened to her?
"So...my dad got out of jail," She muttered into the prolonged pause.
Connor's eyebrows raised in surprise — of her actually telling him something important about herself, or the actual thing she had told, she wasn't sure. "Yeah? How's he doing with that?"
"Well," She laughed, recalling the Iris message the two had during the last week. "He's out on parole, so he isn't allowed to leave the state, which makes him a little upset because he wanted to come visit New York, but he's dealing. He's still looking for a job, but he's got a good resume, even with the whole ten year jail stint, so he'll probably find something."
"You gonna go visit him?" Connor questioned curiously, his eyes shining with a new kind of light. His dog, Benji, had come and rested at his feet, and Connor bent down to pet him.
"Maybe," Verona shrugged as the dog huffed happily. He didn't bark very often, which was probably a good thing even though Aurora's apartment complex was pet friendly. "I was thinking of going after summer was over."
"For the year?"
"No, no," She shook her head. "I don't think I'm...ready for that. Just a quick visit, maybe stay a week or two in California, and then come back."
Connor smiled softly at her. A foreign feeling filled her stomach with butterflies and she tried hard to shake it away. It was probably just the pain from her injury. "You should go...you'll have fun. Maybe even stay a little longer than two weeks. A month or so?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Are you trying to get rid of me, Stoll?"
"Couldn't you tell, princess?" His eyes glistened with mischief as he paused, as though thinking. "Hey, so...now that you're actually blonde — well, kind of — can I call you goldilocks and actually mean—"
"I'm out," She shook her head, grabbing the ibuprofen bottle and moving to get up. "That's it, that's enough conversation between you and me for one night. We've reached our limit."
He laughed quietly as to not wake Aurora, putting a hand on her back and helping her up when she hissed in pain a little — Connor's hand was warm against the skin that the ice pack had turned cold, and it rubbed her back comfortingly, the pain dissipating slightly. She wasn't even going to try overthinking this gesture, because her brain might have imploded if she did.
She shook her head as he let her go of her, stopping at the room she had been staying in and turning around to face Connor. "Goodnight, Stoll."
He laughed, moving towards his room as he called back out to her in a whisper. "Don't let the bed bugs bite, Blaze."
For the first time in months, albeit very much in pain as she went to sleep that night, Verona felt herself going slightly back to normal as she closed her eyes that night.
NOTE ————————— lmfao the timeline's kinda shifty but we're almost getting to the part where percy's 'dead' or whatever and ends up on calypso's island in the books, so connor and verona r definitely gonna be going back to camp for a while soon. also i'm hoping to develop annabeth's and verona's friendship more, so i'm excited for that.