Chapter 9.
"You look gorgeous! Doesn't she ladies?" Ashlyn gasps, as I emerge from her walk-in wardrobe in my navy blue high waisted shorts and striped sailor tee. The other girls Ash had invited over had helped to pull the look together, Tauren Hansen, had just expertly fishtailed my long auburn hair, whilst Macy Gorgons, had handled my makeup.
"You look ready to go to a party, to put it frankly." Tauren chuckles, adjusting her cropped denim jacket in Ashlyn's mirror.
Macy smiles, "You look beautiful."
"Right, shall we take this party downstairs?" Ash suggests, "The boys will be waiting for us."
Tauren, Macy and I follow Ash as she ambles down the hallway in her swimsuit and sheer throw-over, her vibrant curls up in a ponytail, roman sandals on her feet.
The four of us head down the staircase and stride into the adjoining kitchen to see the boys. I enter the room to see Andrew, Lyke and Luca sipping drinks around the dark marble island in the room. Large low hanging lights illuminate the sparking champagne flutes underneath it; Classy.
"Ladies, so nice to see you." Lyke grins, pulling each of us into a hug as we gather around the island and grab drinks.
It's not hard to tell that he's already slightly tipsy.
"Lyke." I murmur in his ear as he smothers me, "Stay focused tonight. Remember what we have to look for."
He nods, "Fine. I still want to have fun though."
I pat him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you can. I just don't want to find you passed out at Tigers house if I need your help."
I pull away from Lyke and turn back to the group, quick enough to see a hint of something cross Andrews face.
Could that be it? Maybe he's acting so hostile because he thinks Lyke and I have something, I mean, I've been spending a lot of time with the guy recently. I suppose it could look like something that it's not.
Luca coughs and runs a hand through his jet-black hair, "Shall we get going?"
We all nod in unison and finish off our drinks, I take a few sips of mine and leave the flute on the island, I want to be coherent tonight.
It's decided that the guys will travel in Luca's Jaguar XK, (Lucky guy.) whilst Ashlyn insists that we take her Ferrari, (Again, these guys have insane cars.) and in no time, I'm speeding of to Tigers chateau with the girls, wondering what I'm going to find when I get there.
Well, despite all the amazing stories I'd heard about the Berwick's mansion, nothing, absolutely nothing, prepared me for what it was going to be like when I arrived.
"Wow." I breathe, otherwise rendered completely speechless as Ashlyn, Tauren, Macy and I get out of Ashlyn's Ferrari to join the boys.
"It's really something else, isn't it?" Lyke chuckles as I walk over to him.
I nod, and look at the stunning chateau in front of me. With the music blaring and strobe lights blasting throughout the spacious two story building. People are everywhere, the noise is insane and it's not hard to spot the Berwick's infamous three level infinity pool, as it's absolutely packed with students.
I glance up to see a couple of students I know chatting on one of the glass rimmed balconies, the whole place looks crazy, and idyllic.
Tiger Berwick sure knows how to throw a party.
Lyke comes to stand between Ashlyn and I and wraps an arm around both of our shoulders before directing us into Tiger's mansion.
Andrew, Luca, Macy and Tauren follow behind, all of us looking at the place we're about to enter. I don't know whether I should be excited or afraid.
Well, I'm not here to party tonight, I've got a mission, so I need to keep that as my number one priority.
Tiger is standing by the door with a drink in his hand when the seven of us approach the entrance to the party, his girlfriend Venus dancing next to him.
"Hello friends!" Tiger grins, giving us all giant hugs. I swear I felt something cool spill down the back of my neck, great. Someone has already spilt alcohol on me.
Tiger, despite already being drunk, looks amazing. With his dirty blonde hair perfectly pushed back, and his flawless chiselled chest out on full display, as he's already in his shorts. He flashes us all an impeccable smile.
He points to Tauren, Ashlyn, Macy and I, "Hot, hot, hot, hot! Come in ladies!" and then to the three guys, "Jock, jock, jock. Good on ya, come enjoy the festivities lads!"
Once inside the house, I rapidly lose the rest of the group I arrived with. Tauren and Macy went off somewhere, Luca disappeared to find Selina and I have no idea where Ash, Lyke or Andrew are.
Perfect, just perfect.
I begin to scan the room, getting pushed about by the people around me as they sway in time to the throbbing house music that Tiger is blasting over his state of the art sound system.
I need to get out of this house and find somewhere to breathe. Or at least find Laura and Callia.
I begin to weave through the teens in my road and walk down the large marble staircase in the mansion, before heading out into the ground floor deck, where the infinity pool begins.
Only to run into Selina.
"Amber! How are you?" She grins, her arms wrapped around a boy I've never met. She's looking gorgeous, as per usual. With her wavy blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, dressed in heels and a pearly pink bikini.
I smile at her, "Great thanks." Although it's obvious she doesn't care, she's just too busy trying to dance with the boy she's with.
"Hey, uh, how are you feeling, since what happened on Monday?" I ask. I mean, she was in bed with a killer headache like Ashlyn and I, clearly, something changed in her too.
She looks at me, "WHAT? I don't know what you're going on about! Babe, kiss me!"
She turns away from me and pulls the boy dancing with her into a lip-lock, ignoring my question.
Note to self: Keep an eye on Selina too.
"Ah, there you are! I knew you'd be down here."
I turn around to find Laura standing behind me. A cocktail in one hand and the other placed on her hip.
Her straight brown hair has been pulled up into a high pony tail and she's wearing a lilac one piece swimsuit.
I smile at her, "Hey!"
Of course, she knew I'd be down here...
She laughs, "Haha, what?"
I sigh, "Laura, I think we need to talk."
She shrugs, "Why can't we just talk here?"
I motion to all the students surrounding us, That's why.
If she can read my thoughts, she'll hear that.
She does, and the two of us walk off the balcony and around to the large garden surrounding the Berwick's mansion. Like the rest of the place, the garden is stunning. Filled with marble statues, water features, a small stream running out to the surrounding ocean, and towering emerald green hedges, it's like a wonderland.
I take Laura over to one of the carved wooden benches in the area and the two of us sit down. She keeps a steady grip on her cocktail. I don't blame her.
"So, what's up?" She asks.
My eyes widen, "Are you kidding me, Laura?"
You can read people's minds, can't you? That's what's up.
She sighs, "Uhm, yeah...About that."
I decide that it's probably best to just have the conversation with her through my thoughts, so that anyone listening in on us won't be able to pick up the complete conversation.
Let me guess, it started after you got sick for a few days?
She nods, "It was crazy, I just felt like the virus had made me acutely aware of the people around me, or that people were suddenly just opening up a whole lot more to me than usual. I mean, I've always been a gossip, but this...Is something else entirely. Amber, what's happening to me?! How do you know about all of this?!"
Calm down. I got the virus too, I have a feeling a lot of us did. Ashlyn, Lyke, Emma, we've already confirmed that we have...abilities. You're not alone in this.
Her eyes widen, "What?!"
I spend the next few minutes filling Laura in, using my thoughts to explain what happened in the temple, and the abilities that some of my peers have already picked up. I explain the list, and how I'm trying to figure out who the other Gods of Olympus are within our school. Or, who's abilities have been placed into them.
Once I've finished my explanation, Laura seems to have calmed down a little.
"So, who do you think I am then?"
I bite my lip and pull out my phone to look at my list.
I've already ticked off Athena, Hestia, Artemis and Hermes.
You can read minds...Who would that fit with?
It wouldn't be Demeter, or Aphrodite...
Could you be...Hera?
I guess Hera was kind of catty, and Laura isn't exactly that. But she does always know what is going on, and has a strong opinion on everything...And so does Hera.
"I do like peacocks" She jokes.
Well, I think she's the best match. Wow, Hera...
"I know..."
The two of us stay like that, thinking over what we're discussing. I can't believe we're just having a casual conversation about this, and how Laura is just reading my mind. It doesn't even seem weird anymore.
So, can you control what you can and can't hear?
She shakes her head, "Not yet. I hope I can learn to though, there are just some thoughts you don't want to hear."
I smile and give her a friendly hug, "I'm sure you'll be able to learn soon. But I think this might be a good thing, maybe you can help me figure out who else to look for at this party. See if anyone is having really weird thoughts."
She chuckles and takes a sip from her cocktail, "Sounds like a plan."
I pluck the drink out of her hand, "It'd probably be a good idea if you weren't drunk whilst doing it..."
She groans a little, "Fine, I'll do it. For the greater good!"
"That's the spirit!" I laugh.
The two of us get up off the bench and begin our walk back into the mansion when a figure emerges from the shadows.
"Holy!" I jump, my heart stopping slightly as Laura and I jerk backwards in fright.
I hold my hand over my heart as the person gets closer to us and I discover who it is.
"I swear, you very nearly gave me a heart attack." I gasp, looking up at Andrew.
A crooked smile forms on his lips, and he tightens his grip around the two bottles of beer he's holding.
"Sorry about that. Hey, Laura."
Laura smiles at him, "Andrew." She acknowledges.
She looks over at me, "You know what, I'm going to try and find Callia. I'll catch you later."
I nod, but gulp slightly. What did she hear inside Andrews mind, what on earth does he want with me?
I watch as she struts off, before turning to face Andrew. I'm so glad that he can't read minds, well from my knowledge anyway...Because he looks gorgeous, with his messy bronze hair ruffling in the slight breeze.
I lace my fingers together, "Soo...What's up?"
I'm curious to know what he's doing here, why he suddenly wants to talk to me again. I mean, sure, he was friendly on Sunday, and then on my first day at school...But after that, he's hardly acknowledged me.
He holds out one of the bottles of beer to me.
I look down at it before taking it, surprised by the gesture.
"You're not a fan of the fancy cocktails they have on offer here?" I ask, trying to make conversation.
He shrugs, "You quickly get over the splendour of this island, cocktails suddenly become less of a novelty and more of an easy way to get drunk."
I take a swig of the beer and let the cool liquid run down my throat, "I suppose you could look at it that way. But I thought everyone in this place loved getting drunk, it's all that seems to be happening here. There's riches, fancy cars, alcohol...Anything and everything you could ever want. This place is unbelievable."
"Not everyone here is the same, some of us like to drink for the pleasure of it...Not to get off their face every weekend. That quickly becomes boring, although a lot of our peers seem to enjoy it."
I look up at the flashing lights of the mansion and the compressed bodies of my classmates all dancing together, drinking, chatting, kissing...
It's like a scene from a movie, and I'm on the outside looking in on it.
I look back to Andrew and he gestures forwards, the two of us begin to walk through the gardens, the only thing guiding us through the statues and hedges are the small twinkling garden lights and the shine from the moon streaming down on this cloudless night.
We walk wordlessly through the garden, I gaze at all the lovely water features around us, taking occasional sips from my drink and wondering what I'm actually doing here with Andrew right now. I'm still very confused. But I don't want to talk, I don't want to spoil the moment.
"I came to apologise. That's why I'm here."
I stop short and stare down at the grass beneath my feet.
"Uh, you don't have to do that. You didn't do anything wrong." I mumble, unsure of what the right thing to say right now actually is.
I walk over to the fountain beside us and perch on the white marble edge of it, looking up to watch the cherubs on it spout water out of their mouths.
"I did, actually. I've been a jerk to you all week."
I continue to watch the fountain, I don't want to look at Andrew right now, I'm still confused as hell.
"Really, you haven't. You've been busy, I've been busy...It's fine."
"Amber, you're too reasonable, I do want to be friends with you, I wasn't just being nice to you earlier this week because I hurt you." He tells me.
Gee, either Andrew can read minds too, or he's suddenly become very intuitive.
I decide to test this out.
Yes, I thought that. That's the truth.
He doesn't reply. Like he's waiting for me to speak.
Ok, phew. He can't read minds like Laura, that's a relief.
"I guess I just haven't been feeling like myself recently." He explains.
Oh, Andrew, you're not alone on that one. I think to myself.
"What do you mean?" I ask him.
I slowly turn and look down at my hands instead of the fountain.
"I-I don't know how to explain it, everything seems weird. It's like suddenly...Never mind. I don't want to burden you."
I peel my eyes away from my hands and gaze up into Andrew's, there seems to be an inner turmoil in those chocolate brown eyes of his.
"I won't judge. Seriously, it's not a burden." I say to him, my voice soft.
He takes a sip from his beer.
"It's just little things. Like you, for instance. For some reason, when I'm around you, there's this pull...Ugh. This just sounds weird."
I smile, "It's fine. I've had my fair share of weird this week."
But behind that smile is utter curiosity. Could Andrew...Could he be like me? I mean, his sister Ashlyn, is Artemis, that should count for something.
Shoot.
I bite my lip and try to think back to the research I was doing the other night, I didn't think of it at the time, because I didn't know that Ashlyn and Andrew were step-siblings...But weren't two of the Gods siblings?
"Andrew..." I ask. "Were you sick this week?"
He nods, "Yeah, why?"
Perfect, just perfect. Andrew is in the same boat with the rest of us.
But why has that made him be so distant from me, until now?
And who is he?
I haven't seen him displaying any abilities recently, but maybe that's because I haven't been looking for them.
I'm about to ask this, when the two of us are startled by a loud noise.
CRACK
The two of us look up as a strike of lighting comes down over the ocean and thunder growls up in the sky.
"Amber, you've got to come quick."
My head whips around and the two of us stare at Lyke, he just appeared out of nowhere. He obviously ran down here, but Andrew didn't know that."
Andrew looks to me, and then to Lyke.
"What is going on...?"
"Sorry mate." Lyke says to him, "But some trouble is going down. It's Callia..."
Oh, right.
I stand up and look back at Andrew, "I'll be back in a minute."
He looks completely astounded, "What are you guys keeping from me? I knew something was up with you two! You've been whispering to each other all week."
Lyke steps towards his friend, "It's complicated, but we'll explain later. Just trust us."
Andrew narrows his eyes, "I don't like this."
I sigh, "Come on, let's go."
Lyke doesn't even bother waiting for me to walk back up to the house, within seconds I'm encased in his arms and he's practically flying through the garden.
We're back at the mansion in under two seconds.
And it's not hard to spot who's causing problems, Ashlyn, Emma and Laura are trying to calm down a drunk and unruly Callia.
"Stop it! Leave me alone!" She shouts, lashing out at them.
I guess that sounds slightly normal, but throughout the room papers are fluttering about and a cool breeze is whipping around us all.
Lyke and I dash over to the girls to help them out.
Lyke snatches Callia and flings her over his shoulder before sprinting out of the room.
The storm subsides.
Laura looks over at me, "He's taking her to the clearing, in the Viridescent Forest. He wants us to meet up with him."
I nod.
"Which car is the fastest?" Emma asks.
Ashlyn takes no time in replying, "Probably my Ferrari, let's get going.
The four of us turn and head out of the room, heading towards the parking area.
I'm about to run over to Ashlyn's ride when a hand reaches out and grabs mine.
Andrew spins me around to face him.
"Amber." He pleads, "Seriously, what the hell is going on?"
I look to Ashlyn, Laura and Emma.
"Just come with us, I'll show you."
If Andrew has had the same virus as us, there'll be no harm in taking him with us. Seeing as he is in the same boat, I just don't know whose Godlike abilities he has.
I guess we can kill two birds with one stone tonight, and now that Laura is also with us, there'll be seven of us.
And hopefully, after that, only five Gods will be left to find. (Note: Even though there are '12 Gods of Olympus' this sometimes may or may not include Hades (as he technically isn't on Mt Olympus - some include him and some don't) so whilst Hades isn't on Amber's list, there are still only five of the official 12 left to find. Hades is just a bonus ;)
Fingers crossed.
I just hope nothing bad happens at Tiger's party whilst we're away.