Quest: Matchmade

Chapter 34 - Rachel's P.O.V.

Some nagging voice in the back of her head had been pestering Rachel that she should had called Argus to pick them up from the bus station the second they returned to New York. And, what did she do?

She hailed a cab.

She didn't understand why she hailed it, but there was no time to think, as the cab stopped right in front of her the second her whistle called it. Octavian, was impressed by her abilities, to say the least, making her blush and smirk at him. She was worried about him, so if she was a clown and stuff, she could live with it.

She saw the panic face he had when he woke on the bus, and pulled out a pawn chess' piece from his pocket. Hence, to not scare him more, she had to act like nothing happened. She had grabbed the bag from him, the one that had the books inside, despite his protests and negatives, carrying it all the way back.

In all honestly, the only thing those books had as bad were their weights.

At least for her.

As soon as they reached Half-Blood Hill, Rachel paid the cab and exited it, Octavian following closely to her. They watched the cab turn around and disappear from sight in a cloud of dust, before they started to walk hill up.

"I think we should had warned them..." Octavian muttered, making Rachel look at him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean... They'll freak out we walked inside and they didn't have a party for us..." She couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure..." She replied, smiling. "The Stolls can make a party from scratch with five minutes of warning..."

"That's... good." Good, my behind... You're terrified! "I'm not a party people..."

"Ergo, that's why I didn't call them." She explained, smirking and kissing his cheek. That was enough to make him smile shyly. They haven't realized, but they hadn't stopped holding hands since the library incident. That neither of them minded.

"You know... You know what's going to happen to me?" The question took Rachel by surprise, who had to stop walking and face him, serious. "I mean, I quitted from the Legion and well..." Rachel rubbed her neck, thinking.

"Well, the Stolls are more than happy to have you..." She started, not sure how to say it. "I guess you could stay here... Of course, if that's what you want..."

"I- I'm not sure of what I want anymore..." His confession took her by surprise, while some part of her smiled inside. Carefully, she walked to him and gave him a short kiss on his lips, leaving him puzzle.

"Well, you could stay here while figuring it out, what do you say..?" Very subtle, Rachel...

"Sounds like a good idea..." He agreed, walking the rest of the Hill up. Soon, they were at the Camp's entrance and, of course, no one was there to greet them. Not that they minded.

The first thing they did was to walk into Big House and informed Chiron that they were back, successfully. Chiron nodded and welcomed them back, although he had a wary look on his eyes, as if he knew things could turn bad. Talking about negativity... After that, Rachel thought that Octavian needed some heart-to-heart talk with someone that wasn't her, so she dragged him to the only place she knew he was welcome.

Cabin 11

Knock, knock!

"Coming, coming!!" Rachel heard Travis scream, half asleep. Octavian chuckled at that reaction. "Who in Gods' name knock at this ungodly- Octavian!" Forgetting his rant about waking up early, Travis hugged Octavian, surprising him. Rachel simply smirked.

"Travis, I would like you not to suffocate him... And return him alive for dinner." She warned him, before waving and walking to another cabin. She knew Octavian was in good hands. Now, it was her turn.

Knock, knock!

"Who is it?" Apparently, they wake up early...

"It's Rachel..." The door flew open and showed an already dressed Piper, with a small smile on her. "Hello, Piper."

"Rachel! Good to see you... When did you came back?" She allowed her inside the cabin, that was empty. Rachel assumed everyone was showering or something.

"This morning..." Rachel told her, trying not to distract herself.

"So, it was a successful quest?"

"I don't know about that, but it was a quest, alright." Piper looked at her, confused and Rachel launched on an explanation, a more detailed explanation than she gave Chiron of what happened during the quest. The good thing about Piper is that she t there, listening and not interrupting her every second. That also helped her to clear her thoughts and think rationally.

"Wow..." That was the only word that left Piper's mouth after hearing the unedited version of the quest. "I assume you want help or some kind of advise, right?" Rachel nodded.

"I seriously think this is gonna doom him, Piper..." Rachel's voice quivered a little, trying to keep strong. "He's not strong enough yet, but the fighting will be his doom... And I- I mean, we're gonna lose him..." Piper grabbed her hands in hers and looked at her, serious.

"Unfortunately, the only advise I can give you now is to be there for him... Whatever you want to be for him, whatever he wants you to be, be there." She emphasized, making Rachel nod. "Oh, and keep him away from those damned books."

"I have them with me..." She showed, opening her bag. "I wasn't sure to leave them with Chiron..." She returned deep in thought.

Even if it kills her, she will be whatever he needs.

Even walking away from him.

----

Good morning/afternoon/evening!

I have a couple of things to say, so pay attention!

First, happy belate birthday to our favorite Seaweed Brain, Perseus Jackson! Without him, this world we're fantasizing about would have never excited to us, so that means I have to give a shout out towards his creator. Happy birthday, Percy!

Second, I was meant to post yesterday- read reason one above -but I simply forgot. No other explanation.

Third, I had promised you something as a surprise today, so I'm here to tell you that I'm editing and fixing any mistakes in my already published and complete stories! Once all the mistakes and inconsistencies are vanquished, I will make them in PDF files... Which leads me to this request... some of my stories- collabs, adopted or not -have not had cover. So, if someone wants to, since I'm asking a favor and not actually paying for it, I'm open to ideas. Just PM me and I'll tell you how to send it to me.

Now that announcements are done, the stories!

The First Times: 1 chapter! Your comments overwhelm me... thank you, thank you, thank you!

Quest: Matchmade (former collab with ReeReeWithAngst): 1 chapter!

Also! Right after The First Times chapter of the day, you get a special one... Stay tune!

xoxo, SilverHuntresses