Book 1: Sparks Fly (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 4: Seymour Eats a Goddess

"Here we are!" Drew says cheerfully. "The Big House, camp headquarters."

Looking at it gives me an undeniable feeling of yes, like this is where I belong. Jason, on the other hand, looks like he wants to bolt. Drew's arm is still wound into his, though. She hasn't even glanced in my direction, so I'm going to take a wild guess and say we were not friends when, or if, I was ever here before.

"I am not supposed to be here," Jason says out of nowhere.

"Oh, please." Drew giggles. "You're perfect here, sweetie. Believe me, I've seen lots of heroes." She glances at me for a second, and Jason follows her gaze.

Then he slips his arm out of hers and says, "Look, I appreciate—"

"Is it that girl?" Drew says, her voice taking on a whiny tone. "Oh, please tell me you are not dating Dumpster Queen."

"You mean Piper?" I raise my eyebrows.

"Um..." Jason seems at a loss for words. He doesn't know Piper, or maybe he just doesn't remember her, but either way, she thinks they've been dating for weeks.

Drew rolls her eyes. There's pink eyeliner around them, and it makes it hard not to look at her whenever she blinks. "Let me help you decide, sweetie. A guy with you looks and obvious talent?"

She isn't looking at him, though. She's focused on a spot right above his head.

"You're waiting for a sign," I say.

"Like with Leo at the lake," Jason agrees.

"What? No! Well...yes. I mean, it's probably Zeus. I don't know how twins could have different godly parents. And that makes sense, the most powerful god! But—"

"Wait," Jason interjects. "Why Zeus?"

"Well...Zeus is her godly parent." Drew nods at me. "It was a whole controversial thing, when she showed up as a child of the Big Three, and then her sister, Thalia, was turned into a tree on Half-Blood Hill, who's also a child of Zeus, and now you. And Percy, Nico, and...Beatrice?...no, Bianca were somewhere in there, too."

"The Big Three...Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto?" Jason asks.

"Huh?" Drew looks confused.

"He means Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades," I correct him.

Then I hear footsteps on the front porch. No, wait, not footsteps. Hooves.

"Chiron!" Drew calls. "This is Jason. He's totally awesome!"

She gives me no introduction, which I guess is fair because Chiron is already supposed to know me.

When Chiron rounds the corner, I don't step back. I didn't make the connection when I heard the hooves before, but of course. He's a centaur. Jason, however, backs up so fast that he would've tripped if I didn't grab his arm and pull him up again.

Chiron's eyes widen when he sees us next to each other with our identical features. He barely looks at me before he fixates on Jason and says, "You should be dead."

It only takes a few milliseconds for him to register me and say, "Jackie?"

I manage a smile. "I should probably know you, right?"

"What do you mean?" Chiron asks.

"I don't know anything about my life before about an hour ago other than my first name and, as they've come up, random facts about Greek mythology." I tilt my head toward Jason. "And Jason, my newly-discovered twin, is having the same experience. Except Roman."