Flight [Peter Parker] - Book Two of Wealth

45

October 8, 2016

When Jacqueline woke up, she almost exclaimed in surprise. A gorgeous face was looking at her with a sweet smile.

"Oh, good, you're awake. We were all starting to worry. Beignet?"

The woman made way for Jacqueline to sit up. The girl had a slight frown on her face. This wasn't the forest. This was the inside of a small coffee shop instead. There was only a few other people other than the teenage girl, her cousins, and the strange, beautiful woman and most of them were just the employees behind the counter.

Jacqueline took a moment to process what the woman had said before nodding slightly. The woman then grinned, walking off to the counter.

The teenage girl then finally turned her attention to her friends. Elijah and Oliver seemed to be well-rested and had a fresh change of clothes. The son of Hades wore an acid washed shirt under a black parka jacket with black jeans and black Adidas shoes with gold lining all around them. Oliver wore a white t-shirt with a blue jean jacket, navy blue skinny jeans, and white high tops. It was as if both boys wanted their eyes to pop off even more than they did.

"Are you guys okay?" Jacqueline asked, reaching over the table for Elijah's hand, only then noticing what she was wearing, not remembering when she'd changed clothes

"You passed out from falling down a tree and saving us and you're asking us if we're okay?" Elijah had a teasing smile on his face as he squeezed her hand reassuringly, "We're fine. How about you?"

Jacqueline took a breath. It wasn't constricting anymore. She moved her wrists and her ankles, places where she'd felt an innumerable amount of pain before. Nothing. It was as if nothing had ever happened. This was weird.

"I'm... fine." The teenage girl said incredulously

"Oliver counted so many broken bones. He wanted to take you to a hospital and we were going to but, then, Aphrodite came."

As if on cue, the beautiful woman returned. Jacqueline finally had a good look at her yet, she found it hard to do so. One moment, the woman had sleek blonde hair with fair skin, face dotted with small moles and eyes as blue as the sky on a spring day. Another moment, she had curly brown hair, her skin tanner and with freckles, a nice hazel to her eyes. She wore a pretty, fitted pink dress with white heels yet, it also seemed to change into a two piece dress with flowers on it. It seemed as if she was indecisive over which body she liked better.

"Hope you like hot chocolate." The woman said, a smile on her full lips as she placed the beignet and hot chocolate in front of the teenage girl, "It'll warm you up in this breezy weather."

Jacqueline gave her a thankful smile as she took a bite out of the beignet. Her mind then processed what Elijah had said and she looked over at Oliver. He had been watching her intently, almost protectively and worriedly. The boy saw that she had caught him staring and he flushed, then scowled, looking away from her. A small smile played on her lips. There was hope for him yet.

"The boys have filled me in on everything about your little quest. Apollo must have spoken highly of me." Aphrodite stated

The teenage girl bit the inside of her cheek. How long had she been knocked out?

Even so, the girl swallowed down the sip of hot chocolate she'd just taken, "He mentioned that you'd be able to provide us aide for when we go up to Alaska."

"That I can." Aphrodite smiled widely, "Adding to your camp's deplorable fashion sense, I'll get you guys as close to Alaska as I possibly can."

Elijah choked on his chocolate croissant, "W-what? Just like that?"

"Why?" Oliver had a suspicious expression on his face

The goddess of love shrugged, her eyes on the teenage girl, "Let's just say Jacqueline's love story is not one that I'd like to finish just yet. This quest just makes it more... interesting and sets the base of what will happen in years to come."

Jacqueline felt as if she'd just had a bucket of ice thrown over her head. She suddenly lost her appetite and felt rigid. Sitting right beside her was the goddess of love. Aphrodite made the decision as to whether or not a relationship was worthy of continuing or not. Just the thought of her meddling with Jacqueline and Peter's relationship was unsettling. She was happy with what they had. He made her happy. She didn't want anything to change that.

The teenage girl thought over the fact that Aphrodite said that this quest was a pivotal point for whatever would happen in years to come. She just hoped nothing would happen to Peter once again. She had already spent much of the past month worrying about the boy, more so in the past week than anything else.

Then again, the thought of her and Peter being together for years made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. Jacqueline wasn't one to think about the future, she preferred staying in the present where she could stay grounded. Even so, she liked this thought. It seemed natural that she and Peter would be together for a while but, now getting the testimonial, it brought reassurance to the teenage girl. Maybe he wouldn't get tired of her after a few months, just as she had feared when they had begun dating.

So, what Aphrodite had said had Jacqueline split over its good and bad connotations.

Elijah casted the daughter of Poseidon a sideways glance before looking back at the goddess of love, "So, how are we getting to wherever we're supposed to be?"

"That's easy." Aphrodite responded, a reassuring smile on her face, "You won't even feel it but, I do warn you, a few minutes more and you'll start to feel drowsy."

The goddess stared pointedly at the cups the three demigods were drinking out of. Jacqueline felt a wrench at her stomach as she placed her cup back down on the table. Of course they'd be drugged.

"I have much in store for you, Jacqueline." Aphrodite promised, placing a hand on one of the teenage girl's, "You could ask your brother. I made his and that daughter of Athena's life so interesting and now look at them." The woman sighed dreamily as Jacqueline felt her movements become sluggish, "I'll have so much fun with you and that mortal of yours. He's such a handsome fellow. Those eyes and smile of his will be features that you'd never forget. What will come in a few years' time will showcase the magnitude of what you would do for your love. I have a feeling this'll be a nice story to unfold."

With that, Jacqueline's eyesight turned black as she slipped into nothingness once again, the last thing in her mind being the eyes and smile of her boyfriend.