Chasing The Dark

Chapter 3 - Apollo Has No Patience

Entry #1

I decided to start this journal to write down my discoveries about Will's secret. He's been really secretive about his recovery and I want to know what is he hiding from me.

Goals to discover:

-Why did Will left camp?

-Why he had the scars?

-What is he hiding?

Apollo closed the journal, making the first serious decision since he arrived to Camp Half-Blood. Sure, before it was all fun and games. Maybe routine and bored. But Will's secret seemed to be the thorn in his side that he couldn't reach, but he could see it. He felt like he should know it and help him, no matter what Zeus said about it: gods should pay attention to their kids lives.

~oOo~

After lunch, half Apollo cabin was on archery teaching duty. Each had a different group. Kayla was in charge of her little siblings, teaching little Aria and some other Apollo kids, who were too hyperactive for their own good. Austin was on Infirmary duty, replacing Will, so Reid was in charge of teaching the advance archers (almost all the rest of Apollo cabin and a few Athena kids). Will, however, got stuck with the average shooters, while Kayden was in charge of the really bad archers (let's just say Percy Jackson was in that group). Neither of the guys minded to teach the classes.

Apollo observed from afar the campers and his kids. Everyone stopped to greet Will and ask him how did he feel about it. Will always replied with a smile and a 'I'm fine'.

"Hey, Will!" Apollo looked away for a second, to see Nico di Angelo walking towards Will, who was talking to Jake Mason. Will brighten a little bit, while Jake nudging with a smirk.

"Knock it off, Jake!" Will gritted his teeth to the son of Hephaestus, making him chuckle "Hi, Nico..." he greeted the son of Hades "You're late for class..."

"Yeah, I was consider not to come, but I changed my mind..." Nico shrugged.

"That makes me feel so much better..." Will rolled his eyes, sarcastically. Jake chuckled again.

"Fine, I'm here now. Let get this over with" Nico groaned and picked a bow and arrows and faced a target.

"You're doing it wrong" Will told him, using Jake's help to get up from his seat.

"Tell me how, Oh, Great One" Nico teased him bowing exaggeratedly. Will grabbed Nico's arms and placed them correctly. But on doing so, his sleeves got up a little, as well as the bottom of his T-shirt, exposing his scars. That's when Apollo started to pay more attention.

"Um, Will...?" Jake got his attention, pointing at his T-shirt. But, on doing so, it got Nico's attention as well.

"What? What are those, Will?" Nico started to question him, making Will uncomfortable.

"Um, scars?" he stated the obvious, trying to play it cool.

"Yeah, don't we all have it?" Jake tried to help Will. Apollo noticed how fast was Jake to intervene, which means that Jake knows the real reason behind the scars.

"No, yeah..." Nico looked puzzle for a second, after nodding " I just thought that..."

"That what?" Will asked back. Apollo could look a big drop of sweat at the side of his forehead.

"That your Dad made them disappear" Nico finished "You know, when he healed you"

"Ah! That!" Will smiled and shook his head "Well, Dad is forbidden to heal any scars or bruises, so I guess he focused on other stuff..."

"Yeah, that could be it..." Nico didn't look convince, but dropped the subject.

~oOo~

Apollo stayed till the end of the class. Will and Jake were the last ones there.

"That was a close one before..." Jake sighed, helping Will on his feet.

"Yeah... I swear, I almost spit the whole thing out" Will confessed, walking slowly "I owe you one, man"

"Don't mention it, Will..." Jake waved it away "How bad is it...?"

"It's getting worst... And it'll get worst if I don't help..." Will admitted. Apollo noticed he look defeated, even broken.

"That's why you left? You could had warned me, to cover you up..." Jake complained at the end.

"I thought of it... But I didn't like the idea of you lying for me... Plus, my Dad would had figure it out and punished you" Punish him? I'm not a monster! Well...

"Your Dad was the least you should worry about..." Jake tried to light up the mood.

"He's been asking questions"

"He did what?" Jake was gaping at Will, surprised "H-how?!"

"He was the one that changed my clothes... Usually Austin does it, but Dad did it" Will told him when they arrived at the Cabins.

"Do you think he's gonna start asking questions? About everything?" Jake wondered, curious. Will snorted.

"Dad might be a lot of things. Bad poet, bad flirter, bad disguises. But, and I'm sorry to think this, but he never sees it all" Will finished, sighing and rubbing his neck.

Apollo stood behind his kids' cabin and heard it all. Did his kids actually believed he didn't pay attention to them? That women were all in his life and that was it? That means a change of attitude...

Entry #2

Will had archery class today. He got the average class. He talked with Jake Mason, from the Hephaestus' cabin and Nico di Angelo, from the Hades' cabin. The di Angelo kid asked Will about the scars. Will lied to him. Also the Mason kid lied about it.

I followed Will and Jake Mason to Cabin 7. Mason knew where Will went when he left. Something was getting 'worst' and he has to 'help' or it'll get worst. Will didn't want Mason to lie to me.

Other findings:

-My own kids think I don't care about their lives.

Questionings:

-Am I that bad of a poet?

-Am I that bad of a flirter?

-Am I having the same problem as Helios after many years?

Is time to change my attitude...