Anti-Hero || Leo Valdez

30 - We Wait For the Gays - I Mean the Guys

It had been a year since Via had stepped foot onto the porch of the Big House, yet somehow it felt like yesterday. Annabeth led her around the wraparound porch. Chiron was sitting there at the small card table he and Mr. D used to play Pinochle at and looking through some papers. At the sight of him, Via felt like her old self. Chiron always meant well when it came to the demigods at this camp, and he'd tried to convince Via and Pat to stay, telling them that he feared for their safety. Seeing his anxious face as they crossed the border at Half-Blood hill heading back towards home had been hard for Via.

"Chiron," Annabeth greeted, catching the centaur's attention. "We have guests."

He smiled warmly at them, then froze at the sight of Via. She'd never seen him look so shocked before. "Olivia... what has happened, child?"

"It's..." she racked her brain for something other than the words it's a long story but they came out of her mouth anyway. "It's a long story."

"Oh, boy, another demigod with another long story," grumbled a cranky, almost hungover-sounding voice. Via's eyes widened and she looked around in time to see Dionysus trudge right through her. She felt a jolt of power that was not unlike being electrocuted.

"Mr. D?" She asked in surprise as the wine god sat down across from Chiron, summoning a can of Diet Coke and popping it open. "I thought you had to go back to Olympus!"

"Me too," Dionysus grumbled, taking a swig of Diet Coke.

"Mr. D returned after the Giant War to resume his punishment," Chiron explained. "Now that the gods are no longer at odds with their Roman counterparts, Zeus has declared that they are free to roam the mortal world. Except for Mr. D, that is."

"Whoopee," Mr. D deadpanned before taking a long swig of his soda. He pointed at Via. "Now, Orlando, either tell us why you're a ghost or buzz off."

Leo frowned. "Uh, her name is Olivia, not Orlando. I'm pretty sure Orlando is her brother's middle name."

"And I'm pretty sure I never asked," Dionysus retorted, sipping from his Coke again. "Are you going to tell us the issue or not? If I'm going to have to suffer through the rest of my punishment, I'd like to get some pinochle in." He grabbed a wine catalog off the table, flicked it open, and began to browse.

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Via told him, "Chill, this is what he's normally like. The only person's name he ever gets right around here is Nico's."

Then she retold the entire story for what felt like the billionth time, from the moment she and Pat left camp to the moment she and Leo returned. Even after she was done, everyone was quiet for a while, except for Dionysus, who made small grunting sounds of approval when he saw a wine he liked. Via didn't know why he bothered looking when he could just summon wine to drink — though he wasn't supposed to do that while he was at camp. Maybe the catalog just gave him ideas for which wines to summon when his punishment was over?

It was Annabeth who finally broke the silence.

"So, Artemis has a secret hideout at the train station in Indianapolis?" she asked.

"Actually, she has several secret hideouts all over the US," Via said. "We've never been to any of the others because the Waystation is the only one that takes in non-hunters."

"And Thalia knew about it but never told me?"

Via let out a nervous laugh. "Apparently."

Annabeth huffed in annoyance. Via got the feeling that Thalia would be getting an earful from the daughter of Athena the next time they met. She almost felt bad for the huntress.