Lies [Sequel to Secrets]

Part Eleven:

Part 11:

"Is she dead?" Was the first thing Zoe heard when she woke up. And, as expected, it was from Charlie.

"No, I'm not dead." She replied, and the three people surrounding her bed jumped.

There was Charlie, who had concern written all over his face, yet was trying to crack a joke for Sammy and Alex's benefit. Sammy had his arm around Alex who had a mixture of worry and concern on her face.

"Where's Michael?" Zoe tried to sit up but Charlie pushed her back down.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You just got scorched by lava and fell off the top of a climbing wall! No unnecessary over-exertion!" As he said it, Zoe glanced at her left arm which was covered in bandages.

"How am I still alive? And you haven't answered my question about Michael."

"You're still alive because of Michael." Charlie's eyebrows knitted together in a frown. "He reacted before any of us could. While you were falling, he managed to control the wind and slowed you down, but at a terrible cost. He used up so much of his energy using his powers, that his heart almost gave out." Zoe stifled a gasp.

"Is he alright?"

"The Apollo campers got his heart working again, and he should be back to normal by tomorrow." Charlie smiled, but Zoe knew it was just a cover.

Yet deep down, something was stirring inside of Zoe. Michael, the boy who had offered her a marshmallow and seemed so kind to her, in a teasing brotherly way, had just risked his life for Zoe, a girl he barely knew. If Charlie could've done it to save her, then he would've done it in a heartbeat, but Michael? Did he ... like her? Wanted her to like him? Was she too stubborn to admit that she liked him back? Or maybe she didn't like him all?

And then there was Charlie. He had been careful not to annoy or disrupt Zoe to much when he had come to talk to her on the beach, but she didn't exactly like him in that way. Or maybe she did...

Charlie must've sensed her raging thoughts. "Look, go back to sleep. We'll wake you at dinner." Zoe nodded and shut her eyes, drifting off into a restless sleep.

•••

She woke up to someone gently shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see Charlie hovering above her.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty." He smirked, helping her get out of the warm and cosy bed.

"Really? As soon as I wake up I have to see your idiotic face?" Zoe teased, noticing that the bandages on her left arm were gone, and there was nothing there.

"Alright drama queen." Charlie rolled his eyes. Then he noticed her looking at her arm. "The Apollo campers put some nectar on it, and it healed up pretty well so you're all better now."

"What's nectar?" Zoe asked as the two of them started walking over to the dining pavilion.

"Nectar and ambrosia? It's the food of the gods. Demigods can eat only so much of it, otherwise we'd literally burn up!"

"Wait - is Michael awake yet?"

"He woke up a few hours before you. He's fine, just a little bit pale."

'A little bit pale' was an understatement. Michael was eating a dinner of pasta when they got there. His skin looked like it had turned five shades lighter and his face was like he'd seen a ghost.

"Hey Michael." Zoe greeted when she sat down.

"Hi Zoe." He replied, smiling at her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, thanks to you. But are you okay? Your face is so pale." She reached up and poked his cheek, which was enough for his eyes to light up again. And it was enough for Zoe not to notice Charlie sulking off, his shoes echoing on the floor.

A/N:

And now the burning question must be answered:

Pizza or chocolate?

Nah, JK.

Michael & Zoe OR Charlie & Zoe?