Chris is still yelling. It's horrible. I hate listening to him, but I can't just ignore him. He doesn't even recognise me. I used to fight him every day. I trained him for years. He arrived about a year after me, and I was the best person for the job.
"You're an illusion, Mary!"
I started crying, despite myself. He was my only real friend. My siblings didn't count because... well, they were my siblings. Everyone always thought I was dating Chris. Him not recognising me was bad enough, but... The name he called me, 'Mary', didn't make me upset... It made me jealous, and I don't really know why.
"Get away!"
He was getting more desperate now. He looked me right in the eye. I took the opportunity.
"Have some Ambrosia, please, Chris." I sobbed. My voice was barley above a squeak. He didn't hear me.
"The son of Poseidon. He has to stay on the earth."
What?
"A thousand skulls." With that he passed out. I was relieved. When he was asleep he was the same old Chris. Not that I had watched him sleep pre-Kronos. That would be creepy. I trickled some Nectar into his mouth. He always slept with his mouth open, which had proved to be a big mistake when he slept near the Stolls. There had been several attempts on his life in the last week. Then he spoke. He tended to mutter in his sleep. 1 word. "Clarisse." What was he thinking? He said something else. "Sorry... Never told her." What? Never told me what?
He rolled over on his cot. His hand fell on top of mine. I took hold of it without thinking.
"Isn't that sweet?" A voice came from the doorway. I had stood up and drawn my sword within a second. Chris' hand fell away. I saw the persons face. Mr D. Great. Note the sarcasm. "Chiron told me what was wrong with Charles, now move aside, Claire."
"Okay," I was pissed off. "First off, our names are Chris and Clarisse, got it? Second, why?"
"Don't question me. Step away, unless you want to look after your boyfriend in dolphin form?" He sounded hopeful. My face burned.
"He is not my boyfriend." I grumbled, but I reluctantly stepped away.
"Your voice says 1 thing, your actions say another." I went an even brighter shade of red. He snapped his fingers. Chris stirred in his sleep. "Clarisse" I swear, that was the loudest whisper ever. If it was possible, I went even redder.
"Colin there seems to agree with me. Anyway, he should he fully healed by tonight. He'll be joining us for dinner. I'll send someone to check on him. Go back to your regular activities. Oh, and fix your face, you're redder than the strawberries."
I left in a hurry. On my way to javelin practice I ran into Silena Beauregard. (Forgive the spelling.) Literally, ran into her. Stupid Barbie. "Watch it, Aphrodite kid." She ignored me and stepped closer.
"Clarisse, have you been crying?"
"None of your business."
"You can tell me." She put an arm around my shoulder, and I was so overcome with emotion, I broke down.
"It's Chris."
"Chris? Chris Rodriguez? The Hermes kid that went missing?" She was smart for an Aphrodite kid.
"Yeah. We found him. He's mad. Not 'angry' mad. Insane mad. I'm looking after him. Nursing him. When he's asleep he goes back to normal. And he-" Should I tell her this? I didn't want to, but I couldn't stop blubbing. "He keeps on saying my name, and 'I never told her'. I don't know what he means. He'll be at dinner tonight. I have to talk to him, but I don't know what to say." I hated myself for blabbing.
"He likes you." She said, smiling.
"What?" I was shocked, to say the least. "How'd ya know?"
"Mom. All us 'Aphrodite kids' can tell who likes who. I can tell Chris likes you, and you like him, too."
"That's ridiculous! He's just a friend!"
"Like Percy and Annabeth are 'just friends'?" She asked innocently, smiling.
"Yeah! Well, no, not really. We are just friends! He doesn't like me!" I collapsed on a bleacher.
"Only 1 way to find out." I wanted to wipe the smirk off her face SO badly. She knew she'd won.
I sighed. "You got me. How?"
"Just trust me." She stood up and started running. I cursed. Why am I so curious? I got up and followed her. I found her leaning against Cabin 10 (Aphrodite, for those too lazy to read TLH). We went in. I saw her getting out a make-up kit. I ran for the door. Silena snapped her fingers. A chair jumped in my way. Belts reached out from it and grabbed me. I was trapped in a cabin full of girly clothes and make up, alone with a walking Barbie who saw herself as matchmaker supreme. Oh, shit.
