Haha, I hate writing Author notes in the start of a chapter but I’m just here to tell you: The title sounds suspicious and exciting, huh?
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
~Chapter 23~
Ashton
“So how do you play this game again?” she asked for about the millionth time.
Ash groaned, “Weren’t you listening a while ago?”
Clarence shook her head, strapping on her armor. She looked expectantly at Ash for an answer. Finally, Ash sighed and explained again, “Every game, four cabins are chosen to compete against each other. We fight in the arena and the rest of the demigods watch us there. First, it’s two against two then the remaining two fights. You have to do your best since you’re new, okay?”
Clarence nodded, “Isn’t it unfair that other cabins have three members, others have two and four?”
He shrugged, “The number doesn’t matter here, Clarence. It’s how you do well in fighting.”
“You just want to win this, don’t you?”
“Exactly, Jed and I have one seven times already.”
She smirked, “So you’ll be lucky to have me.”
“Remember, we can use any weapon, power…anything.” Ash told her, ignoring the smug comment.
“Who are we up against?”
“The Hades/Pluto cabin, the Zeus/Jupiter cabin and this cabin with four members which are Barrett Dillon, Geena Leavitt, Ethan Sherwood and Pamelia Crewe.”
That was three, against two, against two and against four, Ash thought. But he was sure they could take them down. The Hades/Pluto and Zeus/Jupiter cabins were pretty powerful, being children of the big three. The other cabin had a chance, too because there were four of them.
“Where the hell is Jed?” Clarence asked, looking around. She was already in full battle armor and had her bow on her hand and the quiver of arrows slung on her right shoulder and her hair was pulled up into a ponytail to keep her hair out of her face.
As if on cue, Jed came running up towards them, prepared in his Roman armor.
“Where have you been?” Ash asked bluntly.
Jed nervously scratched the back of his neck, “I was just getting ready,” he turned to his cousin, “do you know everything now?”
Clarence nodded in response, though she looked as suspicious as Ash. The three demigods proceeded to the gate. They heard the loud announcements of the praetors and Chiron and the shouts of the demigod audience, cheering for a particular cabin.
Ash spotted Matt and Ami to the north of them, Emerald and Gerald to their left and Barrett, Geena, Pamelia and Ethan to their right, all of them had their weapons ready and are eagerly waiting for the steel gates to open. Soon, there came a loud bell and all the players were out.
It was the three of them against the Zeus/Jupiter cabin, whilst the other two cabins fought. Ash and Jed charged at Matt and Clarence was left to take care of Ami. Matt had a great advantage because he had the power to fly. The two guys aimed their swords towards him, and three swords collided. Matt flew up, above them and attempted to knock them out while in the air.
From the corner of his eye, Ash caught a glimpse of Clarence and Ami fighting. Clarence was trying to get into a long distance from Ami to shoot her arrows but Ami preferred close combat because she has a knife. They’ll going to have a hard time fighting, Ash thought.
While his attention was away, he hadn’t realized Jed had a large cut on his forehead made by Matt. Matt was bruised all over, too, because of Jed. He made his way towards the two but Matt was faster. His sword immediately hit Ash’s right chest. Ash winced and groaned in pain, clutching the area. Fortunately, after that, Jed managed to hit Matt and knock him down. Demigods soon got the son of Zeus to be healed.
Jed rushed towards Ash, “Are you okay?”
Ash winced again, “Just go help Clarence out…I’m going to be fine.” Jed gulped but nodded then rushed over to the two girls.
Then, there comes the unexpected happening. A lightning was shot near their spot – one by Ami, of course – and almost hit Clarence. She collapsed on the ground, and Ami looked woozy, too. Ash saw Jed tell something to Clarence. His cousin nodded and went over to Ash.
“What the hell are you doing here? You have to go fight her!” Ash told her.
“I’m a little weak because of the lightning bolt, thank you. And come on, don’t you see you’re bleeding?!” Clarence knelt by his side and checked on the wound.
“I don’t trust Jed fighting Ami at all.”
“Why not?”
He raised his brows, “Would you really think Jed would hurt someone he likes? Especially Ami?”
Clarence face palmed, “Shoot, I need to go back there.”
But Ash held her back, “No, don’t go back. Just shoot your arrows from here.” Clarence instantly took out her bow and arrows then began shooting Ami.
But it didn’t hit her…
Because Jed was deflecting them with his sword.
Clarence glared, “What the hell?! Is he crazy?!”
Jed said something to Ami and she scurried out of the battle area and into the gates. A ring sounded, declaring the first round was over. Ash glanced at his side and saw that the four-member team won. They’re in sooo much luck.
Clarence helped Ash up and they went to their own gate, Jed following them. When they reached there, Ash sat on the bench and Clarence fetched some supplies.
Ash glared at his friend, “Really, Jed?! You had the chance to get her out there and you just chickened out!”
“It’s not that easy!” Jed snapped back.
“She’s my best friend and I wouldn’t mind taking her down,” Clarence sat beside Ash and began to treat his wound.
“That’s different, Clarence! She’s not just a best friend to me!” Ash had never seen Jed this angry before. He could actually see the anger in his eyes.
“A fight is a fight, Jed. You don’t make exceptions for others,” Ash said.
“Well, of course you wouldn’t understand, Ash! All you care about is winning! You don’t know how it feels like to be in my place.”
“We’re just trying to make things fair, Jed. What? You just leave your whole team for your girlfriend?” Clarence scoffed.
“If you really cared for Ami then you wouldn’t try to hurt her! Are you making me choose between her and you guys?”
“Yes!”
“Then fine, I’m quitting.”
“What?” Ash questioned. His wound was already covered in bandages but it still hurts a lot.
“I quit, okay?! I’m not going to fight with you guys.” Jed said, storming off. Ash sighed and ran a hand through his black hair.
“So I guess it’s just me and you, then,” Clarence said.
“Yeah,” he looked into the direction Jed went to.
She put a hand on his shoulder, “Ash, just don’t worry about him. Best friends fight sometimes, right? He’s going to cool off. For now, we have other problems.”
“Are you okay after the lightning?” Ash asked her. She had a few small cuts and bruises on her arms.
“I’m fine, but I was talking about you. You do know that there are four of them, right?”
Ash picked up his sword, “Yeah, and we’re going to beat them.”
The two demigods made their way towards the gate. After explaining that Jed backed out, the bell rang and they were off again.
Ash headed for the strongest and largest of them, which is Barrett. He successfully stabbed him on his left forearm, which was the arm uses to hold his sword. Barrett shifted his sword to his other hand, but it would be harder for him to fight with that.
Ash smirked, “Half- brother against half-brother, huh?”
Barrett merely nodded and pushed his sword towards him. Ash sidestepped and hit him again with the butt of his sword. Barrett was knocked out cold after that.
Ash spotted Clarence to his left and noticed she already took down Pamelia. She flashed him a wink before charging at Geena.
While Ash was distracted, he was suddenly shoved to the ground by Ethan. Ethan stood over him, with a wicked smile on his face. He positioned his sword then Ash passed out.
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
“Do you think we should wake him?”
“What do you think, idiot?”
Ash’s eyes fluttered open, and he saw he was in a white room. He was lying on a bed with Jed beside him and Clarence standing next to Jed.
“Where am I?” he asked in a raspy voice. Clarence handed him some water and he drank all of it in one gulp.
“In the infirmary,” Jed replied, “You passed out during the battle.”
“And let me guess, the other team won.”
Clarence gave him a small smile, “Actually I took out the two of them on my own. The whole camp was pretty impressed.”
“Well, good to know that I’m not here for nothing.”
Ash turned back to his best friend, “And why are you here?”
“I’m sorry, okay Ash? If I hadn’t backed out, then you wouldn’t be hurt.”
“I’m going to fine, Jed. You worry too much.”
Clarence shook her head, “You’ll have to be in bed for a week, Ash until you get fully recovered.” She stared at Jed, “And as payback or punishment, you, Jed, would be taking care of him.”
Jed’s eyes widened, “Wait, what?! Ugh, Clarence do you know how gay that sounded?”
She rolled her eyes, “Stop being a lazy prick. You deserve it.”
He sighed and nodded, “Alright, fine.” He turned back to Ash, “I’m really sorry. Can you forgive me?”
Ash smirked, “I don’t know…”
Jed groaned, “What am I supposed to do to make you guys forgive me? I mean, don’t make it too hard, I still have to apologize to Ami!”
Clarence and Ash laughed. After the laughter died down, Clarence spoke, “We forgive you. But don’t expect us to give you dating advices.”
Jed frowned, “Whatever. It’s getting pretty late…well actually it’s midnight. We should head back to the cabin.”
“And how am I supposed to get out of this bed?” Ash asked.
“I’m on it.” Clarence marched over to the back of his bed and pushed it. Ash realized the bed had wheels which would make it easier for them to take him back to the cabin. Jed went ahead of them as Clarence pushed the bed out of the infirmary.
“So you took them out all yourself?” Ash questioned when the cold night welcomed them.
“Yep,” she answered, popping the ‘p’.
“Show off…” Ash mumbled to himself.
He heard Clarence chuckle, “I heard that you know.”
Ash thought how much help Clarence would be during the games. She has stealth and strategy, plus her bow and arrows are uniquely dangerous. And then he remembered how Ami summoned that lightning and it almost hit her, though she wasn’t hurt that much.
“Hey, Clarence,”
“Hmmm?”
“Remember Ami and the lightning bolt?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“There’s something about her summoning those lightning bolts. Remember when they went on that date and we heard the thunder…then there it was again during the games…at the same time Jed was going towards her.”
“Are you saying Ami’s powers are triggered by Jed?”
“Exactly…”
They already arrived at the cabin. As they went in, Ash noticed Jed was already fast asleep on his bed. Clarence helped him get on his bed.
She licked her lips, “Then it’ll be dangerous if they hung out…or dated.”
“Yeah,” Ash said, an idea forming in his mind.
Clarence crossed her arms, “Okay, mister, what are you planning?”
He smirked, “Just…something.”
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
Amelia
She sat up on her bed, sunlight kissing her face. She glanced at her brother at the far opposite of the cabin, sleeping soundly. Matt was pretty bruised up last night but Ami was lucky she had only gotten a few cuts, due to her trusty knife. She felt uncomfortable fighting with Clarence and Jed, though. Game or not, she’s still her best friend and he’s still her crush.
She ran a hand through her hair and hopped off the queen sized bed. She made her way to the bathroom and took a cold shower then changed into a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She put up her brown hair into a ponytail with a lacy ribbon and got a denim skirt that reached above her knees.
She went outside of the cabin and noticed that Jed was waiting for her by the door.
“You look beautiful,” he commented.
Ami flushed, “Thanks…”
“So, uh, can we take a short walk in the woods? I need to talk to you about something.”
Usually, that kind of stuff doesn’t end up well, Ami thought. It was probably bad news that would get her upset. But she couldn’t conclude things right away.
“But we have lessons.” She told him.
“Ash, Clarence and I, since we won, we don’t have to take lessons for five days. Plus, it’s still early and we’ve got plenty of time.”
They walked towards the woods in silence and Ami couldn’t help but feel anxious about it. Jed looked like he was in deep thought so this wouldn’t be really good. She braced herself of whatever he’s going to say.
Finally, they reached the part of the woods where there was a flowing river. They just stood there for a couple of minutes before Jed cleared his throat.
“I’m sorry about last night.” He said.
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“No, there is. I should’ve let you win. I shouldn’t have told you to run away. Trust me, Ami, I didn’t want to hurt you. I care about you.” Jed took a step closer towards her.
“Clarence and Ash were mad at you. It’s only fair you take me down. I don’t really mind if you fight me.”
“You’re more important than they are to me,” Jed was closer now, they’re noses almost touching. If Ami leaned forward, then they would be kissing. Though, she’s not going to try such a stupid thing.
“They know you longer than I do,” she said.
“That doesn’t matter to me,” Ami’s heart melted at his words. She wanted to press herself against him and kiss him to death.
She gulped, “Why are you saying this?”
Their foreheads were touching. “What do you think?”
“About?”
“About us.”
“What about Clarence and Ash? They’re our best friends…wouldn’t they feel left out…?”
“Who cares about them?”
Jed’s warm breath fanned against her face. He cupped her cheek, making Ami shudder a little. This was it. Her eyes fluttered closed, anticipating his warm lips against hers and the tingles and explosions she’ll feel. Jed does like her back, no doubt. This was going to be her first kiss…with the guy she truly likes.
They’re lips touched each other lightly and…
“YOU FILTHY LITTLE JERK!!!”
Ami and Jed pulled away immediately and looked at the direction where the voice came from.
Clarence was in the river, completely soaked and Ash was by the edge, laughing at while she glared. “Ashton Harper, I swear I am going to kill you!” Clarence yelled.
Jed marched up to the both of them and Ami followed close. He glared at them, “Were you two spying on us?”
Clarence grabbed Ash’s foot and he plunged into the water as well. Then, she slapped his arm, “This is all your fault! You pushed me into the water!”
“Well, you were stepping on my foot so I just gently shoved you-“
“Guys!” Jed scowled. Their attention snapped to Ami and Jed.
Clarence sighed, “This was your plan, Ash. And you had to drag me into this.”
Ash rolled his eyes, “You were the one who agreed to this!”
“Ugh!”
The drenched demigods propped themselves out of the water and stood in front of Jed and Ami.
“Care to explain?” Jed asked.
“Look,” Ash said, “We’re just going to dry up and change then we’ll tell you everything.” Without even giving Jed and Ami a chance to respond, they walked past them and went back to the cabin.
Jed turned back to Ami and whispered in her ear, “We’re not done with that kiss yet.” He pecked her cheek then walked away.
~ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~ ΔΟΛ~
Yayy! I didn’t make them kiss! MWahahahahaha…..I’d love to see how frustrated you are. :D
Anyway, I watched the movie Swindle yesterday and it was AWESOME. Yeah. Just sayin'.
-Vireen, Daughter of Riches