Flight [Peter Parker] - Book Two of Wealth

39

October 5, 2016

Jacqueline sighed softly, watching as the waves lapped at her feet. She enjoyed the quiet that accompanied sunsets. It was a way to clear her head of any thoughts that she had. Even so, she couldn't stop the same thought from floating around in her head.

Peter was in trouble because of her.

"Hey."

The teenage girl looked up, biting her bottom lip when she saw Elijah moving to sit beside her. They were starting to become good friends and, all in all, good cousins. She enjoyed his company here.

"Hey." She sighed, placing her chin on her knees

There were a few moments of silence before Elijah broke it, "You ready for this?"

"Not really. I've never really been on my own before. You?"

The boy shrugged, "This is my first quest, actually. It'll also be my first time out of the states other than me living in Ethiopia for a while."

"You lived in Ethiopia?"

"Yeah, I was born there." The golden eyed boy had a soft smile, "I came here when I was eight."

Jacqueline nodded along, now truly noticing how his voice had undertones of an accent, "I never would've known."

The son of Hades shrugged, "I've studied English practically all my life. My accent isn't really that prominent anymore."

"That's so fascinating." The girl smiled softly

"To be honest," Elijah stated, breaking the comfortable silence they were in, getting a handful of sand and watching it fall back down to the ground, "I'd have thought you were a Roman."

"Really?"

The boy shrugged, "You have that aura around you. They're disciplined, headstrong, too perfect. You're all of the above, and more."

The teenage girl raised an eyebrow, taking in what he was saying. She made a mental note to ask Natalie or Frank or someone. She was intrigued about that camp any time someone talked about it.

"I'm not perfect." Jacqueline said

"It's not an insult, if you were thinking it. I actually am Roman." The boy pointed down at his forearm where she saw the same tattoo that Frank and Percy had except this one had what looked like a hieroglyph and two stripes, "I'm Camp Jupiter's ambassador so I go from Cali to New York and back every couple months. It's pretty sweet."

For how much time she and Elijah had spent together for the past week, Jacqueline hadn't noticed the tattoo. Every time she caught sight of her brother's or any of those with the purple shirts, the teenage girl was amazed with how nicely the tattoo looked. Even so, she knew her dad would kill her if he ever saw her with it.

"That sounds amazing."

Elijah grinned mischievously, "Isn't that what you're used to?"

"I've lived in Florida, California, New York, and, recently, Maryland. For the past couple years, I've only really travelled out a few times. I don't really like moving around a lot, to be honest." Jacqueline shrugged, looking back out into the lake

"So, I guess that's a no." Elijah said and Jacqueline laughed once more, "What's got you so down?"

The teenage girl sighed, shrugging once more, "Just... everything. I don't like the fact that other people are in danger because of us. The fact that my boyfriend was dragged into all of this is just worst for me. And, we're supposedly going into a trap into a land where we can't even contact our parents or any other god? It's all too much."

Elijah smiled sadly as he watched the girl shake her head, "Life's pretty weird. That's way too much weight to put on a person, let alone us three."

Jacqueline smiled softly, looking over at the son of Hades, "It's fine. I'm used to it after years with having to deal with weird stuff."

"Oh, right. 'Cause your dad's an Avenger?"

"Yeah." Jacqueline sighed softly, "The amount of times danger has been in my life..."

"It happens." Elijah tried to be supportive, "But, as far as I've heard from the news, your dad's pretty protective. Not only of you but of others, even people he doesn't know."

"That's what makes him a hero. Some people can't acknowledge that, though."

Elijah could tell that Jacqueline was talking about Oliver but, the teenage girl couldn't care less. Oliver was nothing but a bully. Jacqueline had had more than enough experience with bullies and she wasn't going to let another one come into her life, much less stomp all over her with his fragile masculinity.

"Jacqueline, about Oliver-"

"I don't wanna hear it, Elijah. I'm sorry it's just... he's not worth any trouble."

"I know you don't want to hear this but, I doubt he'll tell you. Just hear me out so we don't ever have to talk about him ever again if you don't want to. Maybe he'll be bearable on our quest."

Jacqueline let out a long sigh before nodding, "Fine."

The boy had a relieved grin before his smile fell and his expression was serious, "Oliver isn't normally that hostile. He isn't hostile. It's just that you remind him of Tony Stark, your dad, and that makes him think of the Avengers, and that reminds him of his family."

"What happened to his family?" Jacqueline asked softly

Elijah sighed softly, "He lost them a couple years ago. He still hasn't gotten over it."

"Oh no." Jacqueline's heart quenched both in sadness and disbelief

The son of Hades shrugged, "This really isn't my story to tell. It'd be better if he told you himself. Just know, he's not that bad to get to know. He's pretty stubborn so, he won't try to be the bigger man in all of this."

Jacqueline bit her bottom lip, turning her attention away from the water lapping at her feet and over to Elijah. The boy had a forlorn look on his face. He really cared for his friend. His cousin. His family. Just like Jacqueline did.

"My mom's not just important to me. She's really important to Oliver. We all have someone to lose if we don't succeed on this quest."

Jacqueline realized that she had just entered a world where there was no point of return to her old one. She had been granted a second, maybe a third, chance of having a family, and it started the moment she woke up almost a week ago. Elijah seemed eager and happy that she was there. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she was the daughter of Poseidon. She now had a chance at actually having a brother and cousins, something she hadn't had before and that she hadn't ever thought would happen.

"Family sticks together." She said softly

Elijah smiled, his golden eyes twinkling in the sunset's light as his arm slung around her shoulders, "Family sticks together."