Daughter of Apollo

Chapter 14

"Pr-Pretty?!" I stuttered, blinking several times and trying to convince myself that I had heard him correctly. I thought about how messy my hair must be and how my eyeliner was probably smeared and the fact that there was a dirt stain clearly noticeable near the bottom of my orange camp shirt. I was not pretty. He must be crazy.

Marcus looked embarrassed. "Yeah. I mean, I would much rather hang out with you than those other girls. None of them have ever completely chewed me out like you have." He gave a slight smile. "For some reason they're all over me."

I laughed out loud, thinking he was joking. He had to know why those girls couldn't help but flirt with him, but he gave me a look like I was crazy. "Are you kidding me? You're gorgeous! Of course they throw themselves at you." Realizing what I had just spoken out loud, I slapped my left hand over my mouth.

Marcus gave me an adorable smirk and looked much more comfortable. "Oh, I'm gorgeous, huh?" He laughed as I shook my head furiously, trying to deny what I had accidentally told him. "You're blushing! You think I'm dreamy!"

I tried to look mad, but I couldn't keep the stupid smile off of my face. "Maybe," I managed to mutter.

"Then we're even," he replied, back to his normal, confident self. My stomach felt like it had when I went on the Tower of Terror the year before at Disney World. I wanted to puke, but at the same time it was exhilarating. I couldn't meet his eyes, so I changed the subject.

"How are we going to get out of this lake?"

"Who says we need to?" He smirked again and leaned back in the canoe, putting his arms behind his head.

We sat in the lake for over an hour, getting to know each other. He was an only child too, but he used to live in Chicago with his father, who he had never been close to. When he was fourteen and the first monster had shown up near their house, his father had driven Marcus all the way to camp and left him on the road with a single suitcase. I tried to butt in and say how sorry I was, but he quickly changed the subject.

"Besides," he went on, "I was sick of being the perfect football son. I love the sport, and I've played since I was little, but all that practice just comes in handy now that I spend time sword fighting and saving lives."

I rolled my eyes playfully at his last comment but otherwise ignored it. "Football, huh? What's your favorite NFL team?"

He seemed a bit surprised by my question but answered without missing a beat. "The Steelers. They're from Pittsburgh."

I sat up so I was close enough to shove him, and he laughed. "I know where the Steelers are from. I used to watch football all the time with my cousins. But I cheer for the Giants. Eli's the best quarterback out there."

I could tell he wanted to start an argument about that one, but he ended up shaking his head and letting it go with an amused smile.

"We're going to be in so much trouble for ditching our lessons," I pointed out as I gazed at the sunset. Was it really that late?

"We have a reason! We're stuck with no oars!" I rolled my eyes, but silently I wondered if he enjoyed spending time together as much I as I had.

"The lake isn't that big. We could have easily swam to shore."

He gave me a mischievous look he could have stolen straight from Percy. "Let's do it then." He stood up in the canoe, trying to keep his balance, and picked me up like I only weighed twenty pounds. I started hitting him and laughing for him to put me down, but he threw me into the chilly water anyway. I stayed under long enough for the numbness to wear off before I came up for air.

"I hate you so much," I yelled, but he just laughed and dove in after me.