"She doesn't care" A CHB fanfiction

Hairstyles and devastation

Alli's POV

So, Jaiden was finally all clear and ready to get back to his usual schedule. Thank god for that, it was honestly so boring to walk to archery practice without his incessant chattering and lame jokes that still made me laugh.

Don't tell him I said that.

We walked together and sadly, Hali came along to, I trailed along, shooting  them awkward smiles in between and playing with the ends of my hair. Luckily, Hali had to go do something cuz she was kind of busy, so me and Jaiden got to hang out during practice. It was nice, without worrying about any monsters or attacks or certain naiads.

...I'm salty, okay?

Lunch was okay, same as usual, and then I had to do the dishes while Jaiden taught sword fighting. Chiron had noticed that anyone coming and hanging out with Jaiden would obviously distract him, so neither me nor Hali would be allowed to interrupt anymore.

I didn't really mind. The farther away I was from Jade, the closer I was to not being a nervous wreck. 

I wandered around looking for something to do till I got an idea. 

"So why am I here again?", Faye asked, plopping herself onto her bunk. 

"I'm bored and I want you to practice all those elaborate hairstyles you come up with on me. Pleeeeeeease?"

Faye gave me a knowing smile. "You need advice, don't you?"

"Yes!", I exclaimed. "Jaiden took a spear for me, he almost sacrificed himself, and now we've gone back to whatever we were but I don't wanna do that. I can't act like this isn't hurting me anymore.", I told Faye as she nodded while brushing my hair. 

"Why don't you just tell him that? you guys are best friends, you're relationship won't change if he doesn't love you like that. Other people might be awkward around each other after something, but you two aren't other people. You're you, nothing'll happen.", she said.

"I know, but it makes me nervous.", I muttered, fidgeting with my bracelet. "How'd you end up with my brother again? I forgot"

"How could you forget? I literally kissed him in front of everybody because he was about to tell a very embarrassing story. Percy was very proud and Annabeth just wanted to hear the rest.", Faye laughed.

"Oh yeah, the whole camp knew you guys liked each other.  It was so obvious.", I smiled, rolling my eyes.

"I don't even understand how you ended up together though. Sometimes I see you next to each other and its just so baffling how to people so different could love each other so much. Like, he didn't even seem like your type.", I murmured.

"Well, I know its cliche, but that's life, I guess. You don't always end up with people you think are your type. Your brother is a good guy, he didn't put me up on a pedestal like other guys. He plucked up the courage to love me and want to be with me. Once I realised that, how could I have eyes for anyone else?", She smiled, and in that moment I knew that my brother had found his "once in a lifetime" kind of love.

"What about you? I know Jaiden isn't your type, so why do you like him?", Faye asked, while her fingers delicately tugged on my hair and combed through them.

I shrugged. I didn't ask for complications, I just wanted a simple kind of love, at this point in life, I'm just tired of everything. I sighed and said, "Being a demigod is so hard, but I can't live happily, but I can't die either. I'm just sort of...here. Jaiden just eased that pain for me. He's always been there, but I've never considered him to be like a brother or anything. It could be possible that I've been looking at this all wrong, right? He's been like a huge support to me even through all my stupid mistakes. My biggest comfort...my biggest fan...my emotional support human. One day, I had a 'kaleidoscope moment' like my world did a whole 360 and suddenly, I was blushing when he put his arm around me. I got nervous when he was nearby, other guys didn't interest me anymore and all I could think was, "This is so boring, Jaiden is much better than him." I didn't know what was going on! It was only when I sat down and thought about it that I realised I liked him. Loved him, even."

Faye nodded for me to continue. "But now, I'm scared. I'm scared that he's going to do that whole 'polite rejection' thing out of pity. I've seen it before. I'm scared that he's going to end up with Hali and as much as I try to convince myself she's good for him, and they'd be amazing together, I don't want that. I'm scared that another girl will be the reason for that laugh, I treasure his laugh, I can't bear it. Most of all, I'm scared that this will change. I want him with me for as long as humanly possible, I don't want to step back from our friendship for a girlfriend or wife who isn't me. Because I'm in love with him, Faye. I'm consumed by every little smile, every little nervous hand through the hair, everything about him, and I don't know what to do anymore. Usually I'd make him jealous, or flirt, or pretend to be interested in stuff he's into, but I can't do that with Jaiden, he's like, more mature than other guys." I wiped away a tear that managed to escape my eyes.

Faye turned me around and hugged me. "That's the most heartfelt thing I've heard you say in all the years I've known you. It's the first time you've spoken about someone like this. I can tell you love him a lot, and I wish you good luck. I know for a fact you won't get rejected. It's written all over the guy's face, he can't take his eyes off you."

"Are you sure that isn't just because I'm inelegant?", I sniffled, but I was smiling.

Faye shook her head. "He's just as in love with you as you are with him. You just need to tell him. Your nervousness won't help, but then I know he can't hold his confession in much longer. It's only a matter of time, so wipe your tears, you look like a firetruck with how red your face is, and just relax."

I turned to her. "I gotta update you about my brother's habits. I know you live together, but it's only been like 2 months so, first of all never touch his sandwich, second, always remember to buy chocolate ice cream, oh, and when he sleeps- wait, you already know everything about his sleeping habits, don't you, Faye?", I smirked.

She nodded absent mindedly and then realised, turning pink.

Ah, poor Faye, she'd been with my brother for years, but she was really shy when it came to stuff like sleeping in the same bed and everything, since she wasn't an affectionate person.

I decided to spare her and spun the chair towards the mirror to admire the way she had done up my hair. She put her hands on her hips and said, "My hair isn't long enough for this and yours is nice and thick, so its perfect. Plus, its intricate, so we got to chat."

I smiled and hugged her, then left to go do my chores. Hiding would be too immature. Chiron and the others knew my hiding spots, anyway.