One Hero at a Time (A Percy Jackson and Kane Chronicles cross over!)

Will

Desiree sits in front of me, her head pressed against my chest, sleeping. My arms are around her, yet despite this, I can only think about Rhea. Don't think of Rhea, I tell myself over and over. In the darkness, I can only see Des dimly. I focus on her so my mind doesn't wander to thoughts of Rhea. I haven't got any sleep in the last few days. I'm afraid. What if Rhea calls to me again? I was tempted by her last time... gods only knows what she could tempt me with next. So, I force myself to stay awake.

I give Desiree a gentle squeeze. At least she's here, and she's not mad at me for being an overdramatic jerk. I'm not very good at handling all of this- I never thought I'd be going on a quest this big. Could I become a hero? I always imagined going through life with my head down, and hope for the best. Now people are constantly asking questions that I have no answers to. I wish I could tell them I have everything under control- which is a complete lie. Again, I'm just going to hope for the best, and make sure no one dies along the way. Especially Desiree. If she dies, I'd never be able to live with myself.

My eyes feel heavy and sore. And the smell off of Desiree is making it harder to stay awake. She smells of flowers- roses, lavender, jasmine; every time she smells of a new flower. Some of the smells I can't recognize sometimes. It's always beautiful, though.

I close my eyes, feeling safer with Desiree here. Gods know I'm never going to hear the end of this from my brothers and sisters, but right now I don't care. Hopefully they don't start telling people, though. If some of the Aphrodite girls hear about this, I'll definitely never hear the end of it. Some of them have been pestering me to ask her out for years.

Thankfully, I fall into a dreamless sleep.

***

I wake to someone calling my name and poking me. My eyes open, and they burn from how tired I am. Desiree's still asleep in my arms, and my back aches from falling asleep sitting up. My eyes wander to the girl standing in front of me. I thank the gods I'm not so easily embarrassed, because my sister Emma is grinning at me. My brother Paul is standing beside her, looking impressed with me. I want to curse both of them right now.

"You know, it's breakfast soon, and you areour counsellor," Emma says.

"But if you're too busy with Desiree, we can go without you." He gives me a wink which causes me to glare at him.

I look over to my left and see everyone waiting by the door. When I look over, I notice all of them purposely look away. I suddenly regret allowing Des to stay the night here. I should have told her to go back to her own cabin the minute it fell silent between us. I just felt relieved with her there with me, and honestly, I didn't want her to leave. Now, though, I know that the Aphrodite girls will definitelyhear about this.

"Shut up," I tell Paul. "I'm getting up."

I wait until Paul and Emma walk away before I go to wake Desiree. I have a feeling Katie's going to question her for disappearing.

I gently wake Desiree up. Her eyes flutter open, and for a second she looks confused, until she looks up at me. I smile down at her. "Morning," I say.

She gives me a small smile, and pushes herself away from me. "Gods, you shouldn't have let me fall asleep," she mumbles, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looks over to my brothers and sisters who are now not even bothering to hide their nosiness. Her eyes grow wide, and a blush falls across her face hiding her freckles. "Um.. I'll see you later."

She gets off of the bed, and I drop my hands to my side. Gods, I'm an idiot. I know her feelings for me, and I feel like a rotten person right now. In September I'll be gone and we won't see each other. I shouldn't be... what is this? Leading her on? As much as I'd love to be with her, I have to be realistic, too.