warrior ( RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE. )

ix. GUILTY

WARRIOR!
( chapter nine )

ONCE INGRID LEFT the craft center, she immediately spotted multiple eyes staring at her. "Okay matchmakers, you can come out now."

Slowly, each member of the Aphrodite cabin comes out of their hiding spots, whether it was in a bush or behind a cabin. Piper stood at the front, a nervous look on her face. "Well? How'd it go?"

Ingrid made the smile on her face falter, and returned to her normal, straight face. "I think we might need to talk about this in the cabin."

The Aphrodite children murmured between themselves, but nevertheless ushered her back to their cabin. Ingrid took a seat, as they stared at her expectedly, waiting for her to say something. She took a deep breath before smiling wide. "It. Was. Perfect!"

The cabin let out a collective squeal, before Piper quieted them down. "Okay okay, let her talk! We need details, don't spare them!"

   So Ingrid began to retell her date, if it could even be considered that. To her, it was merely just them getting to know each other, but of course to the children of love, it was in fact a date. Every once in a while, one of them would interject with a squeal or a joke, making them all laugh. Ingrid's face hurt from smiling so much.

   "You two are officially my new favorite couple at camp." Mitchell said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

   "How many time do I have to tell you that we aren't a couple? We barely even know each other!" Ingrid said and Mitchell let out a huff.

   "Fine, then you're our favorite should-be couple alongside Connor Stoll and Kennedy Lennon, Sherman Yang and Miranda Gardiner, and Will Solace and Nico di Angelo." He said, and everyone began to talk about the should-be couples excitedly, a flurry of conversations whirling around Ingrid's head.

   In the midst of the chaos, Piper turned to Ingrid. "Hey, you did good today. I'm proud of you."

   Ingrid felt her face flush with embarrassment. "Yeah well, I wouldn't have done it if you didn't pressure me into it, so thanks."

   Piper gave her a quick hug, taking Ingrid by surprise. "No problem, Ingrid. Besides, you're turning me into a total badass with these training sessions, so thank YOU."

Ingrid felt pride course through her veins. She was normally uncomfortable when people praised her, but for some reason, this time was different. "All in a day's work." She said. She then stood up, seeming as though everyone had calmed down. "I should probably get going."

While the cabin collectively whined, Ingrid still made her way out of the cabin, taking in the fresh air. As nice as they all are, their cabin always reeked of various perfumes that made her head spin. As Ingrid bounded down the steps, she saw Casey walking towards her, a puzzling look on his face.

"What were you doing in the Aphrodite cabin? Wait, were you with Piper? Did you kiss her?" He asked excitedly and Ingrid scrunched her nose.

"What? No! Um, we were all just hanging out. No big deal." She said sheepishly, wringing her hands together.

"Oh, okay. What's that on your hands?" He pointed out and Ingrid looked down to find paint on her hands. She silently cursed herself for being so messy.

"Oh uh, it's just makeup. They have it lying around there everywhere, I must've rubbed some onto my hands on accident." She said, and Casey nodded. She knew that he could see through her, but somehow, he didn't say anything.

"Okay, whatever. Now come on, you're gonna miss spearing lessons with Clarisse! She might let us use her electric one this time."

LATER THAT NIGHT as Ingrid lay in her bunk, she couldn't help but feel so terribly bad. Lying to Casey made her feel guilty, and she hated it. He was her twin, the one person who has always had her back.

She didn't want to lie to him. She didn't even know why she was. Normally, they just told each other everything. When they were younger, Casey would always tell Ingrid who stole her juice box (it was normally him), and Ingrid would let Casey know when someone broke his crayon (it was normally her). They grew up being two peas in a pod, and nothing was ever able to break that bond. Except for this.

Ingrid was always afraid of love, mostly because she didn't fit into the standard that her family wanted her to. When she was 7, she played 'house' with her friends, and she was the dad. She kissed her friend playing the mom and in that moment, she knew she liked girls. Because of her family's standards, she stayed quiet, afraid of what would happen if they knew the truth. Except for Casey. She told him right away, and has supported her ever since.

When she was 13, she was caught kissing another girl by her mom. Of course, her mom disapproved. Lucky for her, she remembered Camp Half Blood, which was something that Ares had brought up when the twins were born. She made Ingrid and Casey go, never wanting to see them again. Ever since then, they've stayed at camp, not once wanting to go back to the house they lived in.

When they arrived at camp, Casey made Ingrid promise to never keep secrets from each other. They've kept that promise until now.

Ingrid turned to her side. Why couldn't she just tell her brother the truth? It wasn't like it was some scandal that would get her in trouble. If anything, Casey would be beyond excited for her. Maybe it was because it was more personal? I mean, relationships are a big thing for people at their age. It's a milestone, and something that you're supposed to trust others to know.

The more Ingrid pondered this, the more she hated herself for it all.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
sorry for such a short chapter!
when i plan my stories, i write out
everything i want to add in, and this
chapter didn't have many details,
but i promise the next one will!