It Starts with a Dream

6/ Minor Camp

"Hey, Chip, come on, buddy. Gotta get up."

I felt someone shaking my shoulder, trying to get me up.

"Ugh, half an hour, please," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Nope," said Nolan yanking the sleeping bag off me. "Everyone else is already up. You're lucky that today isn't chore day, because if so, you would've been the one stuck cleaning."

"What kind of sick rule is that?" I said while sitting up and stretching.

"It's mine, now get up; breakfast is in twenty," he said flicking me on the forehead before getting up and leaving the cabin.

I looked out the window. The sun was barely up. I got dressed inside the cabin since no one else was in there and went outside.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake," said Nolan while leaning against the outside of the cabin.

"Why do you people get up so early?" I asked with a yawn.

"Need to make sure that everyone's awake in time for breakfast, or else they'll miss it."

"Why do you care so much about what other people in the cabin do?"

"Because," Nolan said, putting an arm around me, "i'm the cabin leader and if my cabin acts poorly, it reflects back onto me. That's you you're up before the sun."

"I guess that makes sense. Still don't like being up this early though."

"Never said you had to."

I looked around at the other cabins. Everyone else seemed to be just getting up. My eyes lazily scanned the other campers until they came to a stop on a familiar looking jacket. It took me a minute to remember where I had seen it before. There's no way; it couldn't possibly be.....

"Ayden?" I asked myself outloud.

Nolan looked in the direction that I was looking in. "Oh, hey, yeah, you're right, that is Ayden. I didn't know he was back yet; thought he still had a week of school left."

"You know him?" I looked at Nolan in shock.

"Yeah, lots of people here do. How do you know him?" Nolan asked still looking over at Ayden as he wandered around like he was looking for something.

"He went to school with me," I responded. My brain was moving slower than usual. I couldn't really process anything; or maybe I just didn't WANT to process anything. I couldn't bring myself to accept that Ayden was also a demigod. Was that why he was so distant towards me later in the year?

"Hey, Ayden!" Nolan called out, waving his hand, trying to get Ayden's attention.

Ayden looked over and saw Nolan and smiled and waved back to him. His eyes traveled over and met mine. As soon as he saw me his smile dropped. He looked unsure of how to react and started walking over to us. He soon broke out into a run and slammed into me with a tight hug.

"OhmygodChipwhenyoudidn'trespondtomymemesIthoughtthatsomethingwaswrongbecauseyoualwaysrespondtomymemesevenifyoudin'tunderstadnthemandthinkthati'minsanebecauseifindthestuffhilariousand-" Ayden stopped to breathe with tears on his face and hugged me even tighter. "I'm just so glad I found you in one piece."

"Hey, i'm happy to see you too, Buddy. But, uh, can you loosen up your grip a little? I can't breathe," I choked out.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," said Ayden and he let go of me and backed up a little. "I was just... really happy to see you...."

"I could tell. Now, what were you saying earlier? You kind of had your face smashed into me and I couldn't understand you," I said laughing and rubbing my ribs-which I could've sworn that Ayden had broken when he slammed into me with his death-grip-like hug.