Dancing with Death

"Why are We Different?"

Eliza stepped carefully over one of the kids on the floor of the Hermes cabin. The cabin was apparently a lot emptier than it had been about a year ago, but there were still one or two kids sleeping on the floor. She cringed as the door creaked open. Slipping out, she shut the door and raced across the common area to the cabin assigned to Jupiter... Zeus... Jason's father. Softly, she knocked on the grey door.

Hopefully, Jason wasn't asleep yet.

Just as she was about to give up and leave, the door opened a crack. "Eliza?" He pushed the door all the way open. "What are you doing up?"

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Some of the Hermes kids snore."

He cracked a smile and stepped aside. "Come on in."

She wandered into the cold foreboding cabin. There was a brooding statue of Zeus in the center of the room, glaring at the bunk beds. "Homie."

Jason scoffed. "Tell me about it." He sat down on one of the beds, which creaked loudly. "So, what brings you to my... humble abode."

Eliza took a seat across from him. "I don't know. I guess I just needed someone to talk to."

Jason nodded and folded his hands like a therapist. "Penny for your thoughts."

"You sure about that?" She challenged. "There are a lot of them."

He didn't look phased.

She sighed. "Alright, you asked for it." She took a long breath. "Why are we different? We both tend to lean towards the Roman identities of the gods. Neither of us got claimed today, though your situation is different than mine, but that's not the point. The point is, we're not like these other half-bloods. Why?"

Jason sighed. "I wish I knew. I probably would if I had my memories."

"Same." Eliza flopped backwards onto the bed, making it squeal. "Jason, do you ever get the feeling that we're not supposed to be here?"

"Yeah," he sounded more intrigued. "You do too?"

She propped herself up on her elbows and met his gaze. "Yep. Something's off. I just don't know what." She let her head fall limp, her red and brown hair barely brushing the bed. "I hate not knowing things."

"You know," Jason leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "You really do sound like..."

"Don't!" She snapped. "I let you off easy the first time because you didn't know any better. Don't push your luck."

He watched her, confused. "Why do you hate him?"

Eliza looked away.

He sighed. "Fine, don't tell me, but know that I think having a vendetta against a fictional character is weird and unhealthy."

"It's not that I don't want to." She finally answered. "I can't. I remember that I don't like him, but... the Mist took away the context. I can't remember why."

Jason dropped his gaze to the floor. "And I thought my memory loss was bad."

"What?" Eliza cocked her head.

"I don't remember anything." Jason explained. "And yeah, that's annoying, but... I can't imagine having details with no context. That's like having pieces from different puzzles and no reference picture."

Eliza gave a small smile. "For a guy who doesn't understand, you're pretty good at describing it."

He shrugged. "Lucky guess." He watched Eliza twist the crimson ends of her hair. "That's not all you wanted to talk about, is it."

She shook her head. "It's... this quest. You, Piper, and Leo are the only people I know here - the only ones who can make me feel even somewhat comfortable. I don't want to lose that. I don't want to lose you. You guys are the only family I have, even if our time together wasn't real."

Jason grabbed her shoulders. "You're not going to."

"You can't promise that." She stared him straight in the eyes. "You don't know what will happen."

His grip tightened. "No, I don't, but I do know that I will do everything I can to finish this quest and come back." He held her concerned gaze. "I won't leave you here alone."

Without thinking, Eliza threw her arms around him. It felt... right, as if, for the first time since they were on that bus, things made sense. She wanted to stay like that forever, until all her problems disappeared, but she couldn't. There was too much riding on Jason's quest, too much at stake. He had to go. She had to let him.

Slowly, she pulled away and met Jason's shocked expression. "Sorry. Probably should've warned you."

His surprise melted into a smile. "Don't apologize. No harm done. Feel better now."

She took a deep breath, feeling the tightness loosen in her chest. "Much. Thanks."

He shrugged. "That's what friends are for, right."

She nodded. "I should probably go."

"You could... stay here tonight." He offered. "If you want to."

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. The offer should've been wildly inappropriate and awkward, but, coming from Jason, it wasn't. "Sure, but I'll be sleeping on the other side of the room."

They both chuckled.

"Deal." Jason tossed her a spare blanket. "See you in the morning."

Eliza claimed the bed farthest from him. "Good night." She wrapped the blanket around her body and curled up on the empty mattress.

A/N
Sorry, filler. 😅
Hope you enjoyed it anyway.
Forewarning, I'll probably take my time going through the Lost Hero, because I'm waiting for the library to get Mark of Athena and it's taking SO long. I literally got a new book first. How does THAT make sense?!
All that to be said, I'll probably be moving at a slower pace than I did with the last stories for a little while.
Until next time.
-Cheshire