The Boy on Fire

Chapter 6

Connor's POV
When I woke up with a beautiful girl on top of me, I had no idea what to think. I mean, this was like my dream come true. But when I finally fulfilled my life's dream, she ran away crying. What did I do wrong? I would never forget the strangled sound she made before she ran away screaming and crying.
"What was that for, Stoll?" Leo had yelled at me.
"I...what was I supposed to do?" I asked innocently.
"Not that! Oh, no. If she freaks out when someone touches her, what...oh, no. This is bad," he muttered to himself.
Then he ran off after Julianna. I guess I should've felt bad, but I didn't. I was confused. What was I supposed to think?
I scouted the area and found an old shed with a bunch of old sports supplies. I saw a bunch of footballs, soccer balls, and my favorite, lacrosse balls. Memories of me and my uncle playing lacrosse before I got claimed. One of my only good childhood memories. I grabbed a metal stick, a bucket of lacrosse balls, and headed out to the field, which doubled as a lacrosse field. Luckily, the goals were already set up. I dumped the bucket onto the turf next to me. I stood at the 12 meter arc, scooped up a ball, and shot it at the net. It flew in effortlessly. Too easy. I jogged back to the 20 yard line and aimed for the corner of the net. Score. It went on like that for ten minutes or so, until something unexpected happened. I was about to shoot the last ball at the net when someone jumped in front of me. Julianna. She was wielding a girl's stick and had a huge grin on her face. I attempted a V cut, but she anticipated my move. She defended, then checked me and the ball fell out of my stick. She scooped it up with ease and flawlessly executed the perfect shot.
"Whoa," I mumbled. Even I was baffled.
"What? Didn't think I would turn out to be an old all-star lacrosse player?" She asked me with a smirk on her face. "I do have some bright sides to my crazy, mixed up life," I laughed.
"So...about before...we good?" I stammered. She gave a small shrug.
"I suppose so. You're not a bad guy, and if we're going to be on this quest together, it won't help us to be sworn enemies." She reasoned. I couldn't believe it, but Leo was actually right. She was smart.
"So, where are we?" Julianna asked.
"Good question," Leo replied. His face turned pale. "Where's Festus?" He breathed.
"We should find him too," I said. I immediately cursed myself as soon as I said it. No duh we had to find him! I just got so frazzled when I was near Julianna. Wow.
"Let's walk around a bit," she suggested. We walked around to the front of the school, where there was an incredibly helpful sign that read:
Otterville, Illinois High School, Jersey County
Festus had landed in the school's parking lot with a portion of his wing torn off. The fraction of a wing was stuck in a tree trunk.
"I can fix it, but it's going to take a while," Leo informed us. "We should find a hotel or something. At least an abandoned house," Julianna shook her head.
"No. No abandoned houses," she looked into the distance as if a thought had just crossed her mind. She shook off the thought. "Let's find a hotel,"
Festus could fly short distances, so we decided to find a place to stay before asking him to follow us. We walked until we found the Town Hall, and asked the mortals inside if there were any hotels nearby. They told us that there was a hotel about two or three miles from where we were. They gave us the address and sent us on our way.
Leo took a small metal box from his tool belt, pressed a button and started speaking into it. He relayed the address and said to meet us there.
"Festus?" Julianna asked. Leo nodded, and we started walking. We walked and talked, and it turns out we had been flying for about twelve hours. Since we left at about seven, seven thirty that morning, it was about 7:45 at night. We only had a couple more hours to go until we reached Alaska. When we finally arrived at the hotel, Festus was already there, and we led him to the woods behind the back lot where he could hide. Leo had told us that we had to wait until it was light out for him to repair the dragon, so Festus would have to wait until morning.
We entered throughout the front doors to find an ancient room. Like, from the seventies. That old. The wallpaper was peeling and the front desk was all run down with chipped, faded paint.
"Um, we'd like a room for three," Leo began to the lady who looked even older than the building. The lady squinted at us behind her huge, thick glasses before picking up a clipboard off the desk.
"And preferably three separate beds," I added. Julianna nodded in agreement.
"Fourth floor, Room 375," replied the lady with a thick accent that I couldn't quite place. I was cautious because of the last monster I had faced in the mortal world had a thick accent too, but this lady was mortal. I could sense it.
She handed us a key card then said, "That shall be $30.00 for one night," she informed us. Julianna slipped her backpack off her shoulders and handed the lady three ten dollar bills. She gestured her hand towards a door that read "Stairs" in big, brick letters. We headed towards the door, pushed it open, and began to climb. We reached our room and we were surprised when we opened the door. It was a pretty good sized room with a walk in closet, a full bath, but only one double bed and one single bed.
"The crook only gave us two beds!" I exclaimed. I knew a lot about thieving and trickery, being a son of Hermes.
"It's fine. Julianna and I can share," Leo said. My eyes widened at this comment. We all went inside the room and Julianna put her stuff down.
"Well, maybe she doesn't want to share with you." I retorted. "Maybe she wants her own bed or..." My voice trailed off.
"That's ridiculous! Right, Jules?" Leo asked. Julianna didn't seem pleased with the nickname.
"Why do you think you can claim her? She's a person! Not private property!" I shot back.
"Well, you're not any better!" Leo shouted. "She's not yours either."
"Both of you, SHUT UP!" Julianna screamed. This startled both me and Leo, quieting the room.
"I wouldn't want to share with either of you! You're both acting like children." Julianna scolded. She picked up her backpack, and went into the closet. After a minute or so of awkward silence, I heard muffled sobbing from the closet. Leo glared at me, then went into the bathroom to take a shower. Five minutes passed, and I decided to go check on Julianna. I had to at least apologize. I knocked on the door.
"Julianna? Could I come in?" I asked. No answer. "Please?" I tried. Nothing. I opened the door to find Julianna. "Oh no," was my first thought. Having walked a few miles, she must have wanted to change out of her clothes. And that's exactly what she was doing. She screamed, covering her torso with he shirt she had been planning to put on. I was speechless.
I was finally able to spit out, "Uh..." Leo came running out of the bathroom sporting a towel around his waist along with another towel turban-style on his head.
"What the Hades, Stoll?" Leo yelled, shoving me out of the doorway and slamming the door. "What was that for, huh?" He asked, pushing me against the wall. Julianna walked out of he closet wearing her shirt just as Leo's fist made contact with my face. Dark sports danced around my vision and I collapsed on the floor.
My last thought before I blacked out was,"Note to Self: Never anger a child of Hephaestus,"
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Hi! Soooo sorry for the slow update, the short chapter, and the super awkko-taco ending. I also didn't edit it tat well, so extra apologies for any spelling/grammar mistakes.
I was thinking about speeding things up and finishing the book within the next few chapters. I can try, but my chapters seem to be kinda boring and action-less. Don't worry! I'll try to put in some more demigod action in the next chapter or two. Like monster fights and stuff like that.
Keep the comments coming! I NEED suggestions!
Thanks so much for almost 130 reads!
Until we meet again, my fellow demigods.
-Gussifer Lopez