The Hunters of Artemis: The Return of the Hunters

Chapter 15: Coming Out

Dear readers,

I am so sorry for the short chapter! I'm going to be busy since school starts in a week and I still haven't been Back-To-School shopping yet. So, once again, I'm sorry!

-flygirl1

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About half an hour later, Jack came back from his "talk" with Hannah. 

"What was all that about?" I asked, raising my head from my sketch that I was drawing on the complimentary pad of paper on the bedside table. 

His face flushed. "Uh, nothing."

I felt the bed move and saw Anna get up off of the bed. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" I asked jokingly.

"I'm going on a walk," she said briskly, walking out the door without glancing at Jack once. 

He looked at me with confusion written across her face. I looked to the door to make sure she had left. "Jack, she thinks that you and Hannah are having a..." I searched for the right words. "romantic tryst."

His face turned tomato red. "Excuse me?" His breathing was starting to pick up pace.

I laughed tightly. "Yeah... Well, it's just that normally, Hunters don't talk alone with boys this much. After all, that's how my parents started off..." I let the smile fall. "Mom broke her oath. Truly loyal Hunters don't do that."

Jack tensed up. "Do you guys think I'm with Hannah because... Of that? You know, love?"

I shrugged. "I don't think I'm in a place to judge, or assume. But you need to go apologize to Anna. Do you have any idea how much she likes you?"

He paled and stammered, "S-she w-what?"

Staring at him, I nodded. "She likes you, and you've barely paid her any attention." 

Okay, so, maybe I shouldn't have told him. It was something Anna had to take initiative on, but he's so... ignorant! He can't see that she likes him a lot, and he goes off to talk with some Hunter. What did they expect me to do? Sit and watch Anna in agony as Jack just doesn't see what's going on? No! 

He put his head in his hands and groaned loudly. "Why her? Why, why, why?"

I just sat there, confused as Hades (who probably didn't know what the heck was going on. Probably because he most likely wasn't listening). "Um... Is there something you'd like to say?"

Jack looked up at me, his eyes full of remorse and regret... and also just plain sadness. "You know, if I weren't the way I am, I'd probably like her back."

"What way are you?"

He shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I need to find Anna."

I walked in front of him as he started to get up. "No. What is the matter with you? Anna is my friend, and anything you tell her, she's going to tell me anyway, so you might as well go ahead and tell me now before she does."

He glared at me before sighing. "Fine. But you have to promise not to tell anyone," he said fiercely.

I nodded, eager to hear his secret. "I promise. I won't tell a living soul."

"Swear on the River Styx," he demanded.

I hesitated. A swear on the River Styx was a huge deal. If you broke that promise, bad, bad, bad things would happen. "I can't promise that, but you can trust me."

Closing his eyes and opening them slowly, Jack sat back down. "About a year ago, I... um... I found out that I'm..."

He stopped. 

"You're what?" I pressed. 

Jack looked up at me nervously, as though he thought I would freak out at him once he told me. "I found out that I'm... uh, I'm kind of... not normal..."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I know that. You're a demigod. None of us are normal."

He started to knead his hands. "Not like that. I'm not normal because... Well, I just mean... I'm gay."

My mouth dropped open.