Blowing off some steam... (PRIVATE: Anime)

Will chuckled at her response to the essay and the questions, "Children of Athena always have time to think. This particular one is the headmaster and I have no clue where he finds the time."
Will pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and shut the door on the machine. Opening it he drained about half before putting it on his bedside table. A small cat crossed the cabin and stretched out on it's master's bed. Will read the questions and laughed, "No what would you do will a rainbow colored unicorn question."
**
Salone laughed, held up her hands, and her cheeks turned faintly red. The girl teased lightly, "You having the attention span of a small child isn't my fault..." She paused for a moment to think, "It doesn't help that your addictive either..." She sighed and then looked back up at his face.
Salone rolled her eyes about Riley's theory about Danni turning innocent people into killers... Well... it was maybe partially true.
"The worst she could have done in an hour is given her a nose piercing, somehow I don't think she would have gone for that. Or introduced her to a boy." Salone shrugged.

"A rainbow unicorn question..." Alison spoke, considering this and looking down at her bottle of tea for a moment before looking back to Will. "I'd probably take it and twist it as much as I possibly could. It would be interesting, to say the least. It'd probably be good," she shrugged, a wry smile forming on her lips. She wasn't the most confident person, but she was very sure of her ability to write. Her mom had encouraged her to be creative since she was young, and this encouragement had manifested itself in her writing talent. Sometimes she missed her mother, but she couldn't remember her very well. All of her memories of her were frustrating; it was as if she peered at her mother through a river's current. Sometimes, she could make out the distinct lines that formed her face, recalling a memory that she had slipped through the cracks years ago, whereas other times she was left with only a jumbled blur. Today was in the middle, she could hear her mother's chiding her as she made a mess at the kitchen table, but she couldn't recall her true appearance. She frowned, having fallen deep into thought again. Realizing this Alison looked up, blinking and taking a sip of her tea.

"Sorry about that again; I'm just processing everything that has gone on today," she spoke with a bit of truth. She glanced around the cabin, and having come in the back entrance she hadn't even realized that it was the same one that she lived in herself. Will would probably have realized that. Of course, there was a commons area where they were sitting and separate sections for boys and girls, so it would make sense that she didn't really recognize it at first since she'd remained at one side during her brief visit here earlier.

((totally just made that up I would assume there are separate boys/girls sections though because creepy))

--

Riley grinned, laughing at the idea of Alison with a nose ring. "Are you kidding? Alison would probably attempt to fight Danielle before she allowed her to give her a nose ring. She's pretty conservative, to say the least," he said, shrugging. "But the latter option, given their discussion before, I may have to worry about. Danielle doesn't always seem to have the best judgment with men, from what I've seen... no offense, or anything," he said with a light chuckle, though he knew that the recent circumstances had been bad and he wouldn't judge Danielle based off of that.

"But again, Alison's pretty conservative, and she knows what she's doing. She probably wouldn't let a guy walk all over her," he said flippantly, though he wasn't entirely sure. He took Salone's hand anyway and guided her back down toward camp, figuring that he needed to go make sure Alison had been okay in settling in.

"But anyway, gorgeous, you're sure you're willing to go to this dance with me? It's kind of hard to match my dapperly handsome appearances and my suave dance moves, but I think you can keep up," he joked, beaming at her. "I'm sure that once you're done with me I'll be set in the dancing department." he said, rolling his eyes.

Will nodded, understanding, "Camp does come as a shock most times and it is probably an even bigger one with your particular past." He cracked a window open to allow a bit of a breeze in. William felt like it was warming up just a little bit.
"Do you want to work on the questions outside? The cabin is starting to get stuffy."
He asked, getting the door. At some point he had tucked the pen behind his ear and he had a pen mark on his cheek bone.
***
Salone giggled at the idea of Alison having a nose ring. She had also considered getting a nose ring at one point but she had vetoed the idea. "None taken, Danni is boy crazy. If they kiss well she dates them... "
Salone winced at that her friends philosophy, If you're not near the one you love, love the one you're near. During her break up with Riley, Danni had tried to impress upon her that philosophy. Riley took her hand distracting her from her chain of thoughts and she offered a smile. "Well that depends on if you have two left feet," She teased.

Alison shrugged. "I've known about camp for a few weeks ago, with Riley's stories and everything, but it's all just hitting me now I suppose. But yes, working on the questions outside sounds good," she said, smiling slightly. She walked to the other side of the cabin and grabbed a zip-up sweatshirt from her duffel bag. She didn't really need it, but as she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with her capris she figured she'd take it anyway. She slipped it on, stepping out the door as William held it. As he walked out, she looked at him and laughed.

"You've kind of got something on your cheek," she said, grinning. "It looks like you forget to click your pen closed." Alison shuffled her papers and took a seat at a picnic table outside, where the sun was shining and their air temperature was just about perfect.

--

"Well, at least she doesn't kiss them and leave them," Riley spoke, laughing as they made their way back towards the courtyard.

"But technically speaking I only have one left foot, so you cannot use that term," he said, joking and laughing at her. "Though you can argue that my having one left foot is worse than having two." They were a distance away from the courtyard, but Riley could take in the scene pretty clearly, and he wasn't surprised to find Alison sitting at a picnic table with a pen and some papers. Seemed pretty normal. What was odd was the surfer dude hanging around her, who she appeared to be talking to. He looked like he would probably be the typical surfer, conceited and flippant about relationships, and Riley made a face, though he couldn't judge too quickly.

"Gods Salone, you must be a mind reader."

Will scrubbed at his cheek, only succeeding in smearing it even more across his cheekbone.
"Did I get it?" He fixed Alison with his bright blue eyes. He took the pen out of his ear and clicked it.
"Hang on a sec, I am going to grab some of my homework." He returned with his AP calculus book, calculator, notebook, and pencil. He had also scrubbed the pen off. Will opened the book and copied down the problems, occasionally squinting as his dyslexia kicked in.
He looked up and saw a girl with blonde hair holding hands with a boy with brown hair.
"Is that your brother?" He asked, examining her face and then comparing it with Riley's face. Anybody could tell they were siblings.
One the way down Salone teased, "Unless your fake foot is a lefty."
She sobered up just in time to see Alison talking to a boy with a text book sitting in front of him. He had dirty blonde hair that flipped out at the ends and striking blue eyes. Will also had a surfer look about him.
"Oh boy, That is William Henry. His father is filthy rich and Will is a notorious player." Salone said softly... Dang it Danni.

Alison giggled involuntarily as he smudged the pen across his face, creating a great blue smudge. Oh god, why was she giggling? She mentally scolded herself. "No, you just made it worse," she spoke as he headed off into the cabin.

She set off to work on her essay writing while he went away, and she didn't really pay him much attention when he returned as she was immersed in her writing world. She glanced up; however, as he spoke, her attention directed to where the forest began, and suddenly there was a Riley and a Salone there. She couldn't help but notice that Riley looked incredibly happy holding the girl's hand, but she was anticipating that. She knew he was head over heels for her, and so she'd predicted that they were going to be together again before she'd even met Salone, even though she'd been a bit skeptical. She also noticed that he looked kind of disconcerted as he spoke to her, and he wondered why that was so. He wasn't looking in their direction, and so Alison took the opportunity to finish off her sentence on her paper before speaking to Will.

"Yes, that's Riley in the flesh," she replied easily. "As well as his girlfriend who I had mentioned earlier," she said, shrugging and penning another sentence of her essay.

Meanwhile, Riley listen to Salone, feeling a faint pang of annoyance at Danielle even though it wasn't her fault. He wasn't really all that worried, though. Alison was smart. She would be able to sense it if a guy was ingenuine, and he hoped that she'd be alright. He wasn't her keeper; he was barely even her brother even though he felt as close to her as he did.

"A notorious player?" Riley spoke anyway, raising an eyebrow. "Well, that's interesting. At least he's rich," he continued, scrutinizing the boy from afar. Alison seemed to enjoy his company, but that meant nothing. "I take it he's not the greatest person to be friends with?" Riley asked curiously as they moved slowly closer to the courtyard. Alison looked up and he waved at her, and she grinned and waved them over to the picnic table. Riley led them over, looking at her curiously as she wrote diligently on what looked to be a legal-type paper.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, leaning across the table and glancing at her work, which he could barely make out. "Writing already? Relax a bit," he encouraged, and she just shot him a look.

"I'm applying to get into a private school in the area, and my new best friend forever William has been helping me," she spoke, smirking as she used the words best friend forever. It just sounded so... juvenile. "He's kind of adopted me, since Danni abandoned me to go someplace. Will, this is Riley, my brother," she introduced him.

Will grinned at her giggle, "You should smile more, you are much more pretty when you are happy."
William didn't say it in a flirtatious way, he said it like he was stating a fact. Then Riley and Salone were over at the table. He offered Riley and Salone each a hand to shake, his grip was cool, firm, but his hands had calluses on them.
"Salone," She introduced herself.
"Your Salone?" He asked, arching a blonde eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"
Salone laughed, the teenager in front of her seemed slightly perplexed, "Hospitals and I do not get along. I can't sit still for too long or I just might set fire to things."
William grinned at Salone and snorted at Alison's comment, "I will start to annoy to sooner or later and you'll not want anything to do with me."
He reached casually towards the essay to read it, guessing Alison was going to smack his fingers out of the way.

Alison blushed slightly, trying to hide it from Riley as he'd arrived but she was sure he'd caught it. Riley shook Will's hand, releasing Salone's in doing so. The whole thing felt kind of awkwardly formalized, but he obliged the boy anyway. He couldn't help but be amused at the boy's confusion, as his facial reaction was pretty funny.

"Maybe," Alison spoke, watching Will as he reached for her essay. She grabbed it, propping his textbook up on her lap where he couldn't reach it and shutting her eyes for a few seconds before scrawling out her last sentence. "Here," she said after reading it over again, holding it out for him to inspect. Instead of following the prompts Alison had written a witty, concise paper explaining why they were unnecessary, and in doing so she drew from the prompts to make an example of how she could have used them but didn't. It was rather entertaining, and it was definitely more interesting to read than to hear the description of it. She felt slightly squeamish as William read it, as she always did when others scrutinized her work, and she was glad when Riley spoke.

"Private school?" he asked, looking to Will and then to Salone and back to Alison, recalling what she'd said about this guys' father being filthy rich. "That's... great for you, I suppose, but how are you going to get in? There's also training to think of, you can't just jump into the mortal world without the-"

"It's possible that I can get a scholarship, Riley, and I'll be fine. Half the school is demigod, apparently, and I've been living in the 'mortal world' for my whole life," she spoke, her tone softening slightly toward the end of her statement. She knew Riley was concerned. She didn't need to sound bitchy about it. She was just sick of being lectured by people, be it her social worker or dozens of foster parents telling her to be good and succeed but also be careful and all that blah. Riley had raised an eyebrow, but he took a breath.

"Fine," he said, glancing to the blonde boy.

"Anyway," Alison said, a look of mischief in her expression. "I see that you two are together again," Alison said, and Riley flushed slightly. "Couldn't pry yourselves off of one another before, it seemed." At this his face reddened, but he laughed anyway, taking a seat carefully beside her on the picnic bench. It was an awkward maneuver, and so he sat with his legs out of the bench.

"Right," he responded. "I suppose you would have seen that," he said, his tone lightening.

"Look at you Riley, drawing conclusions! I'm so proud!"

Will put down the paper and looked up to catch the last of the conversation, he grinned at the look on Salone's face before she covered it up.
"For the record," She looked up at Riley. "It is your fault she saw. You couldn't resist kissing me then and there." Salone raised her eyebrows while William laughed at Alison and Riley's interaction.
Will finished reading the paper and took Alison's pencil and circled a few pages.
"You just have a few spelling mistakes," He told her, "Other than that it's brilliant."
He took his text book and opened the AP book back to his homework page. Salone had slipped her arm around Riley's waist.

(I feel like today is national pathetic post day)

(yay for pathetic posting this post is so boring whoo this topic must find a direction)

"Maybe I couldn't," Riley admitted, eyeing Will and Alison carefully as he leaned into Salone's touch. He didn't think he should be so worried, even though Alison seemed quite pleased with the boy. Alison couldn't help but laughed at her flustered brother and his girlfriend; their expressions were hilarious. She took her paper from William, scrutinizing it some more and making a few changes before signing off on it. "So I presume that you've been given the grand tour of this place?" Riley asked, and Alison shrugged.

"Eh, I haven't gone all over yet. We'll see about that tomorrow, but I'm a bit exhausted today after everything. I got to calling Charlotte though, so that was good," she replied lightly, trying not to let her exhaustion leak through her voice. "There are the last of the forms, right?" she spoke, turning to William. "I don't think I can handle much more paperwork; we just need to get the technical information now and we'll be good."

"I'll have to complete your tour tomorrow. Anyway, your call home went well?" he asked Alison with a small smile, and she just barely managed to conceal her reaction to the question.

"It was alright," she lied, and Riley nodded even though he knew that it wasn't great based on her expression. Alison sighed and pored over her papers once again.

"Look, if you need any help-"

"I'm fine, for now." Alison didn't want to discuss her issues, at least not with all these people around. She barely even wanted to discuss them with Riley. At this point, she just wanted to either forget about them and hang out here and be happy or go back to her cabin and sulk until she fell asleep.

(What do you have in mind? O.o)

Will finished his homework and shut the textbook. Looking back up to see the rest of the conversation and he looked between Alison and Riley. He saw Alison trying to hold back the emotions of the phone call, his hand slipped under the table and he applied pressure to her fingers, for comfort. Then he removed his hand and grabbed his pen out of his pocket. William had been very discreet and now he was writing in his math notebook. His writing was slightly slanted as the paper was at an angle. It was a letter to his father he had started earlier that day. The people here at camp were stuck writing letters because they had no access to the internet and through that email.
Salone's eyes bounced back and forth between the two and she squeezed Riley's fingers lightly.

((random time skippity skip okay everyone hop in the tardis i've never even finished watching doctor who OH WELL whooooOOOOOOOoowwwowooohoohhohoohohoh))

Riley wasn't quite sure how he'd wound up throwing rocks at his girlfriend's window, but he didn't think it was a bad idea until one of them broke through.

"SALONE NEWTON," he'd called, completely conspicuous on a bright Thursday morning in April of 2013. "Your attendance is requested."

He stood outside her cabin clad in a pair of dark wash jeans and a casual polo shirt, a pebble in hand and a backpack of his stuff slung over his shoulder.

"Gorrrrrrrrrgeous," he drawled teasingly, grinning wryly as he tossed the second, pebble he'd been holding. And then the window cracked, shards of glass falling down towards him as the pebble rebounded and fell to the ground. He ducked, calling out and then, when he determined that it was safe, looking up and turning white.

Somehow, the week and a half period between Riley's return to camp and the current moment, when he was preparing to return home to visit some old school friends had flown by in what seemed like a couple of hours, though Riley knew that to be untrue. He and Salone were preparing to stay at his mom's house for the weekend. He'd invited Alison to come, but she'd had school to contend with. And that was how he was left her, he supposed, chucking rocks at his girlfriend's window like the insolent fool he was and possibly impaling her with shards of glass... if, of course, she was near the window, and he hoped not.

Gods, Salone was going to kill (or, in good circumstances laugh at) him. Maybe both. Either way, Riley was stupid and the situation was ridiculous.

"Hello?" he called, not thinking to go around to the front door and enter the cabin.

--

Alison had awakened that morning and she had been very hungry. So hungry, in fact, that she grabbed an entire stack of pancakes and doused them with maple syrup and butter, but after two bites she was full. Earlier, she'd spent about an hour getting dressed and doing her hair, even though it looked as it usually did, straight and curled naturally at the ends. She'd pored over every detail of her outfit as she usually did on her first day at a new school, even though she hadn't picked out anything special, just a pair of nice pair capris and a top with a denim jacket. She'd put on a minimal amount of makeup as always and made sure she had everything she needed in her bookbag, and somehow she still managed to wind up ready about an hour before she was actually supposed to leave and get on the bus.

Great. This was all she needed, down time to freak out about what was going to happen. She should have been used to the whole new student routine, but somehow it never got old. At least she'd gotten settled in camp, and while it didn't feel like a home to her it was okay. She'd gotten to call Mrs. Murphy in the past few days and the woman had accepted the fact that she wasn't returning, though Alison promised to come back to visit whenever possible. In truth, she was excited to be starting school, but it was still a bit odd for her; so much had happened in the past week that the idea of being thrown out in the mortal world again seemed bizarre. Anyhow, that was how she wound up sitting on the picnic bench outside of her cabin, poring over a Trigonometry book as she scrawled equations out onto scrap paper, trying to catch up with what she'd missed. It was frustrating, but she was alright. She'd always been a good student. Riley couldn't understand it.

Eventually the time came for her to leave for the bus, and she made her way up the hill alone, double checking everything she'd need in her mind.

((boring posts are relatively boring but they're a foundation I suppose

of course i am not referring to that ridiculous post up top but you know))

Salone had barely managed to hide her dress in her duffle when Riley came in. The dress was strapless and silver. She was wearing her usual black 'what part of buahaha don't you understand' T-shirt, jeans, and her converse.
"Oi! Knock next time. For all you know I could have been indecent." She threw a piece of chocolate at him, a hershey kiss still in it's wrapper, before giving him a naughty grin. She turned back and zipped her duffle. Her hair was pinned up in a sock bun, yes socks, and she was wearing silver dangle earrings. Salone walked over and ran her fingers lightly over his shirt and then showed him a small pebble resting in the palm of her hand, "Love, where could this have come from? "
She looked at him with an arched eyebrow before giving it to him. "Now, how am I supposed to forgive you for putting a hole in my window?"
She gave him a devious look.
***
Will was leaning against the tree that served at the bus stop. He had a book open and he was reading it slowly. William was not a fast reader but he was thorough. A dirt and gravel road ran along outside of camp's borders and Will looked up when he heard a pair of footsteps. He looked up and discovered the feet belonged to Alison.
"Hey," he said, offering a dimpled smile. He had seen the girl a few times over the course of the week. "Nervous?"


(( Dis dress http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRT-lCvnPiLoKKHUu395FQydnIWkNu7P5LTggcmIfxWwVlBBzttAw))

Riley had managed to make it into her cabin, and he couldn't help but grin at Salone's statement.

"You're never indecent to me," he said cheekily, winking and catching her chocolate and taking his pebble from her. "But you've obviously been mislead. There was some crazy guy outside tossing rocks are your window and I all but chased him away when I realized he was coming after you. You should be grateful; I'm always getting rid of your hopeless suitors," he spoke, smirking.

"So now I'm just going to claim my reward for saving you and we'll be on our way," he spoke, leaning down to kiss her gently. He'd been most hesitant kissing her as of late, mindful of her condition, which seemed to be fine, but he wouldn't risk it. After a moment they drew apart and he grabbed her hand, making sure she had her bag ready before he led her out of the cabin. "My mom's thrilled to see you, you know. Thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread, but I think I might have to argue. Sliced bread is kind of mediocre; there's no comparison." Riley's mood had been improving since he'd arrived back at camp; he'd thrown himself into his training and recovery, and he was much happier than he had been cooped up at home. Anyone could see that his weight had been gradually lifting off of his shoulders, while he could still be bitter at times or experienced nightmares and the like.

The pair made their way toward camp's borders, and Riley allowed Salone to call Hound. It was kind of nice having personal transportation with Salone. Riley knew how to drive, but he neither owned a car at camp nor was he sure he could actually drive one at the moment, given the fact that he'd lost his right leg. He supposed he'd have to learn to adapt, and he was pretty sure they made cars with left side foot pedals for those in his situation.

--

"I've done this too many times to be nervous," Alison responded to William lightly. It was kind of comforting to have him there, with his dimpled smile and all... though she couldn't grow too dependent on that. "But somehow the nerves never end."

She glanced out at the road, anticipating the arrival of the yellow beast of a bus most schools provided. It served its purpose, but she'd never enjoyed riding on one... mostly being that she became carsick if she was in one for too long, and that was never fun. Looking back to Will, she forced a smile. "What are you reading?" she asked, but her question was abruptly cut off at its end by the arrival of the yellow beast. Alison made a face, glancing to it for a few seconds. She expected that Will probably had friends he'd want to sit with, and so she waited for him to get up and board before she made a motion toward the bus. The last thing Alison wanted to be today was the naggy new student who hung around people when they didn't necessarily want her there. No, it would be best if she stayed on the outskirts, at least for her first day.

Salone stood on her tiptoes to help the kiss last longer and she grinned, "Is that a challenge Mr. Peterson?"
Her eyes sparkled with mischief and she gave him another kiss. "All of my other suitors? Hmn.. This is news to me."
She kept the tone light, she couldn't help but notice his happier self show through. Salone had been helping him with his recovery with the training. Her ways were brutal but he now showed many improvements and possibly a few more bruises. Salone picked up her duffle and followed him out. She whistled piercingly and Hound came pounding into view.
"Maybe fried chicken, but not sliced bread." She shot him a grin while Hound flattened herself against the ground so Riley could get on. Salone got on after him and she leaned up against him, looking over his shoulder.
"Danni said something about a car picking us up before the dance, do you know anything about this?"
She asked him as Hound began to move.
***
Will grinned at Alison's response, "First days nerves are all ways the worst."
He remembered when he first started at the school, absolutely terrifying, especially with all the other Demigods. Will flashed the title of the book at her, The Scarlet Pimpernel, before boarding the bus. He sat down in the middle and scooted over so Alison would have room to sit next to him if she wished. He opened the book again and ignored the rest of the idiots on the bus. With a pen he would occasionally write notes and he did this for the rest of the trip unless Alison or somebody different asked him a question.

((NU I TYPED HALF OF THIS AND ACCIDENTALLY DELETED It okay here we go again gosh darn it i am a bad person for doing this why did i do this well at least this sort of has a direction now but eh i'm mean and bad angst))

"Maybe, but I would argue that oreos were a better invention than fried chicken," Riley agreed, rubbing Hound's scruff gratefully as she knelt to allow him to mount her. "Though I would also that you oreos in no way compare to you," he said, beaming like an idiot as she got on behind him and looked over his shoulder. He heard her question but waited to respond until Hound had successfully transported them through the space-time continuum and they'd arrived on Riley's front lawn. Riley slid off of the creatures back as she flattened herself once more, holding a hand out to help Salone even though she did not need his assistance in any way. He swung his pack over his shoulder, making his way up the path to his house. He wouldn't been chivalrous and taken Salone's bag, too, but he figured that the combination of helping her off of Hound and carrying her stuff wouldn't bode well, as she was one to do for herself.

"Thanks, Hound," he spoke as they left the dog behind. Riley grabbed a set of keys out of his pocket, stepping carefully up the steps to the door and unlocking it, swinging it open to the subtle ding of an alarm system. He held the door for Salone. "My mom's working this morning again, and so it'll just be us for a couple of hours. About the car service... yes, apparently that's happening. I had spoken to my mom about it a few days ago, as we were planning on going with one of my old friends and his date, but I'm not sure what Danielle would have to do with that... maybe the plans have changed?" he spoke. "Anyway, the guest bedroom is down here; I'm sure my mom has it meticulous for you," he said, leading her down the hall to a neat looking bedroom with a separate bathroom attached and everything.

"Here we are," he spoke, putting on a false British accent and smirking. Suddenly, he heard the familiar sound of claws against hardwood floor and he was bombarded by Dog, who nearly made him fall over backwards. "Hey big guy!" he spoke, softening toward the enormous German Shepherd, who had proceeded to jump up at him. At Riley's touch he sat, leaning back and looking entreatingly up at him.

"You know what, I'll let you get settled, and I'll be right back. I have to let him out," Riley explained, walking into the open-air den that led into the kitchen and opening the door to let the dog run free in the backyard. As he waited for the dog he flicked on the TV, figuring he should probably check the news to scope out potential monster attacks and the like. What he hadn't expected was to be bombarded by images of explosions, and his eyes were glued to the screen instantly even though his fingers wanted to press the power off button on the remote. His mood was once again overshadowed by the knowing and dread that came with experience in a war, and he stared silently at the not so terribly graphic gore on the screen. Just the explosion, over and over and over. It wasn't awful, but it still affected him. He had been starting to recall events from the explosion, and it wasn't a fun experience. Blood, dust and pain. They'd tried to force him not to stare at the injuries he'd sustained, but it'd been all he could see. His fingertips pressed the power button and the television screen flicked off. It was horrible. The world was horrible.

--

Alison nodded, surprised she didn't recognize the title of the book he'd been reading. She boarded the bus behind him, glancing around for a potential safe seat before she realized that William had shifted over to accommodate her. Hesitantly she sat beside him, shifting her backpack to the floor at her feet, even though it skeeved her out. "You don't mind that I sit here?" she asked, looking to him as he studied his book. She hoped she wasn't bothering him. Gods, she was so nervous. She wasn't always good with first impressions, giving or receiving. With her luck, today would go awful. They were quiet for most of the car ride, Will leaving Alison alone with her nerves. It was only about ten minutes to the school, and Alison watched curiously for the school as they pulled up. It was going to be interesting... she hadn't set foot within the school before, so navigation was bound to be a disaster.

((You have never heard of Scarlet Pimpernel? *GASP* That is your HW from me))
Salone laughed and shook her head, "Note to self, Get Riley a gift card for his birthday so he can spend it all on Oreos."
She shot him a smile before letting him help her off Hound. Salone had decided that Riley shouldn't be denied all attempts at chivalry. She didn't even let him get near her bag though and when he eyed it like he was considering taking it, Salone held it behind her back and shook her head. The girl followed Riley up the steps and into the house, the familiar scent hitting her. Riley did a failed attempt at a British accent causing her to giggle.
"Thanks," She told him and she went inside. She hung up the dress in the closet and then left the duffle on the massive bed. Salone made sure to shut the closed before going out to look for Riley only to find him glued to the T.V watching the after effects of the Boston Marathon. The look on his face said it all. Then he turned it off, still holding the remote. Salone walked over and took it from him, then placed it on the coffee table.
"Come here," Salone said, not giving him much of an option. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled him into a hug, her fingers tracing the back of his neck at the hair line.
"It will get better, it doesn't go away completely. But it gets better."
She pressed her forehead to the side of his neck and breathed deeply.
***
Will cast her a side ways glance before patting the seat next to him, "Relax, or you may get stuck in that position."
He gave her an easy smile, one of his arms were dangling back over the seat in a casual position. The bus ride was only ten minutes and the breaks squealed as they came to a stop. Will shut his book and stuffed it in his bag before standing. He waited for Alison to get off the bus before exiting himself.
He started walking along the side walk, keeping pace with Alison. He had stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and he glanced down at her.
"Where do you need to go first?"

Riley was barely aware of Salone's presence before she'd taken the remote from him, pulling him gently into a hug. He hadn't realized that he'd been clenching his hands into fists until he released them, finding small half-moon indentations where his nails had pressed into his palm. He relaxed slightly, wrapping his arms around Salone's waist and shutting his eyes as she leaned into him, comforted by her presence. He'd fallen apart too many times in the past few weeks, and now she was here to hold him together and it was almost more difficult to remain composed. He took a breath. He was here. He was okay. He didn't need to worry about any more explosions.

"Thank you," he spoke softly after a moment, his voice relaxing. He stood there with her for a moment before getting an idea, and his eyes sparked with slight amusement, a great improvement over the darkness within them before. He moved to sit down on the couch but tightened his arms around her waist, dragging her down with him so she was trapped in his arms. "Before you ask me what I'm doing, I'm being spontaneous, as usual. Distract me," he said, forcing a grin and leaning in to kiss her. Maybe he was going nuts, but he desperately needed to be distracted and he couldn't think of a more effective method of distraction.

(riley is such a typical teenage boy right now I cannot oh whoops I just so very discreetly pulled you into my lap isn't this just a beautiful day)
--

Alison forced a smile, leaning back into the bus seat before it stopped and she took in the school. It was grand and enormous, far nicer than any other school she'd ever attended. suddenly she felt out of place, but it was alright because no one seemed to take much notice of her anyway as she made her way into the building with William. "Uh, I think I have honors English first," she spoke, glancing at her schedule. The room numbers were all screwy and she knew that she would mess up somehow. She handed him the paper, unable to decipher it. "Do you have any idea where I'm supposed to go?" she asked him.

William led her to her class and she murmured a thanks, engrossing herself in her schoolwork.

((time skip because school bleh))

Approximately six hours later, Alison fumed her way out of the building, a detention slip in hand and the contents of a cup of coffee dumped upon her body. Wonderful. Just... wonderful.

Salone shrieked slightly as Riley dragged her onto the couch and into his lap. So much for being romantic about it. Salone put her finger on Riley's lips and made a stinker face.
"Say please," She arched a thin blonde eyebrow, fighting a grin of amusement . Salone waited until he complied with saying please before kissing him, one arm sliding up around his neck while the other hand tangled in his hair. Salone gave a very good distracting kiss and she intended to kiss Riley breathless.
***
Will showed Alison to her first hour class and then gave her directions to her next on so she wouldn't be hopelessly lost. The school was massive and they had 10 minute passing periods. When he saw Alison next she had coffee on her and she was holding a yellow detention slip.
"What happened?" He asked offering her his jacket so no body could see the coffee explosion on her.

((Yay, pathetic posts))

((fluffomania LOL))

Riley fought off a smirk, adjusting his arms around her torso, holding her to him and pulling a quick pouty face. "Please?" he asked gently, forcing back a grin as she kissed him, successfully distracting him from everything he'd been worrying about. He let himself get lost, focusing on himself and Salone and that was it. This could have been potentially dangerous, but at the moment, Riley really didn't care. Eventually they had to pull away and Riley took a breath, grinning at Salone and resting his head against her shoulder for a moment. "You," he said breathily, tilting his head and pressing a kiss to her neck, "you, are absolutely incredible," he continued, pressing tiny, quick kisses up her neck to her jawline. "I think I already told you that, though," he murmured, pulling back and looking to her. He was drawn back to reality fully as Dog barked at the door, jumping up and scratching against it. Riley made a noise of disapproval, leaning back into the couch and keeping his grip on his girlfriend. Dog could wait a minute or two.

--

"I don't want that," Alison said quickly as William offered her his jacket. She had been startled by his appearance, and at the moment she didn't want to take anything from anybody. She just wanted to go home, preferably unseen, but home was thousands of miles away and she knew she was going to have to get on that monster of a school bus, anyhow. Plus, if she put on Will's jacket, she'd only manage to stain it with coffee. She stuffed her detention slip in her knapsack, once again dabbing at her brand new shirt with countless napkins to try and reducing the amount of damage that'd been done. She would have stayed in the bathroom longer to try and fix it, but she'd been frustrated and eager to leave. She kept pace with William, remaining silent and pensive until they boarded the bus, when she sat across the aisle from him in her own seat. No need to subject him to the smell of coffee.

"Before you ask again, I got into a fight... at least, you could say that. Some demigod girl... I would guess she'd be a daughter of Aphrodite or Apollo or some major god based off of her elitist attitude- no offense. Anyway, she's been kind of eyeing me since I came to camp. I guess daughters of Geras don't give off the best vibes to other people? Anyhow, we didn't hit it off so well when we met at camp, and today she made one too many fleeting comments about me and I turned to her and, quite civilly, I might say, gave her a few choice words. Well, she didn't like that very much, and one of the teachers overheard and sent me to the office for harassment. Apparently, since no one heard her say anything to me, I'm supposed to get in trouble." Alison rolled her eyes, sighing and leaning back into her seat. "It got better later, when she 'accidentally' spilled her cup of iced coffee on me on the way out of the building. Whoops," Alison said, shrugging as she fumed.

"Just to make it clear, this never ever happens. I don't get in fights or trouble with people," Alison spoke, sounding slightly perturbed. At least her classes had been decent.

Riley broke off the kiss slowly and Salone grinned at him. When he buried his head into the side of her neck and began pressing kisses against her neck, she tilted her head to the side, her eyes half closed.
"Your pretty incredible yourself," Salone answered, moving her arms to wrap around his chest, snuggling into his embrace. Just as she got comfortable in his arms, resting her head underneath his chin, just as Dog started barking at the door.
"Remind me to get you a dog door," She muttered, disentangling herself from his grasp and getting the door. Coming back she sat next to Riley and tickled the back of his neck with her fingers while leaning against him.
***
William pulled a face while listening to her story.
"Is it that one chick with the long black hair?" He asked, arching a blonde eyebrow. If he thought of the right girl he bet he could help Alison get even... if she wanted too. Boarding the bus he sat in the seat across from her and Will leaned against the windows. His bright blue eyes watching her. After hearing the completed story he asked, "Now were they the choicest of choice words? Or work they pretty lame choice words?"
He flashed a dimpled grin, trying to get her to relax.

"Nooo," Riley complained as Salone expertly escaped his grasp, getting up and letting Dog inside the house. Thankfully she returned to his side promptly. "I think I do need a dog door," he admitting, squirming as she tickled his neck. He grabbed her wrist.

"What are you doing?" he asked, smiling lightly as he looked to her. Knowing her it was probably some form of mischief to keep him distracted or worse. Not that he minded, so much. He took the wrist of hers that he'd grabbed and pulled it down between them, shifting his grip on it up toward her palm. He was going to say something dumb before Dog proceeded to jump up on the couch beside Riley, resting his enormous body on the cushions with his head propped on Riley's thigh.

"Oh dear gods," Riley murmured, laughing at the dog. "This is just pathetic." He turned his attention back to Salone pointedly and Dog whined, nudging him. Riley laughed and again tried to ignore the dog, but then the doorbell rang and Riley looked up and it was raining outside, so it would make sense that Dog was all frantic. Riley said, looking toward the front door. "I suppose I'll have to go get that, even though my mom should have a-"

The door swung open and in walked Mrs. Peterson, damp and carrying about six grocery bags. "-key," Riley continued, and his mother brightened at their appearance.

"Hey!" she greeted them. Riley moved to get up and help her, but his mom shook her head. "Stay there, you can help me in a moment once I get everything inside. It's raining, and with your leg-"

"My leg is fine," Riley said pointedly.

"But it's raining-" Mrs. Peterson protested, and Riley sighed resignedly. "In a minute, I'll let you help. Salone, did Riley get you settled?" she called, walking to the kitchen, and Riley shot Salone a look that was a combination of "dear lord did she have to come home so early" and "dear lord why do things have to be so complicated."

--

"Long black hair, pretty but coated with makeup? Yeah, that's her," Alison said, biting her lip and gazing out the window for a moment as they waited for the bus to load. "Apparently my clothes are too 'department store,'" she spoke, a wry smile making her way onto her face against her will. She was still angry. Pissed. Annoyed. But the situation had been kind of hilarious. She looked to Will, considering his question for a moment. What exactly had she said to this girl?

"I don't use my words worthlessly," she said, eyeing him. "She couldn't compete with me. Might have dropped a swear or two in there. She deserved it, she's quite the bitch," Alison admitted, making a face as she used the word. She didn't like using swears like that because they tended to make her sound unintelligent, but in the context of her words it hadn't sounded unintelligent at all.

"Her face... I think what I said was what made her dump the coffee on me, later. She was practically foaming at the mouth," Alison said, chuckling. "You should have seen the look on her face. For some reason she thought it'd be funny to make a comment about Riley missing his leg- and, by the way, I don't think she's ever even talked to Riley, so I don't know how she knew that- and so I came right back at her and she nearly passed out. 'I don't know, Riley may be missing a leg but he's still managed to get a girlfriend. You seem to be missing a conscience, and while you're still intact physically you'll never get a guy with that kind of deformity,'" Alison spoke, laughing. The whole situation was ridiculous. Maybe Alison should have said less, but the girl had been begging for it.

Salone grinned at him and leaned in for a kiss when Dog got Riley's attention and the doorbell rang. She stood up to get the door and Mrs. Peterson walked in carrying groceries. Dog was still trying to get Riley's attention. Salone gave the dog a brief scratch before standing and helping with the groceries.
"Play with your dog, Riley." She teased lightly, "He is obviously attention starved."
She waited till Mrs. Peterson was in the kitchen before giving him a brief kiss and saying in a low voice, "Besides, I get you all to myself later."
Then she went into the kitchen and helped his mom put the groceries away.
She answered her question, confirming that Riley had helped in getting her settled in. Salone put the stuff away in the fridge, prevented a glass from shattering on the floor by catching it, and then she wandered back out of the kitchen to see what Riley was doing.
"Your mother got a massive thing of Oreos... double stuff," She whispered in a conspiratorial tone. She turned her head slightly as she saw Hound wandering down the streets and chase a car.
***
Will grinned broadly, his dimple showing in his cheek. Now he knew who they were talking about.
"If you want to get even with her, I think I can help."
Will knew the the cheerleader in question had a massive crush on Will and he tended to use what he knew to his advantage. Especially if this girl went to their camp. His blonde bangs fell forward into his eyes and he looked at her through them, his crooked smile was also in place. The whole situation Alison had been in was quite ridiculous.

Riley raised an eyebrow as Salone left the room, grinning. Dog rolled over onto his back and Riley gave him his attention, stroking his fur as the dog acted like it was half its size. Salone re-entered the living room and Riley grinned as she whispered to him about the Oreos. He patted Dog's side and he rolled off of the couch, satisfied as he finally trotted off to go sit on the rug.

"I love you Mom!" he called into the kitchen, and he could hear her laughing.

"I see you heard about the Oreos," she replied, stepping out of the kitchen and grinning at them. Riley follow Salone's gaze outside to Hound.

"I wonder what mortals see, when they look at that," he spoke with a grin, and he forced himself to stand up. He pulled one of his thin, waterproof North Face rain jackets and stepped outside, grabbing the rest of the few bags in his mother's car trunk and bringing them into the kitchen. She eyed him knowingly.

"Riley, you didn-"

"Mom, I can do things for myself. I'm fine," he spoke, unloading the bags into the fridge. "Organic peanut butter," he murmured as he unloaded, making a face. "Seriously? Skippy is so much better," he argued, and his mother just sighed, resigning in her argument again having Riley rest his leg. She supposed that he should use it as much as possible, but he was her son and he'd recently had half of his leg amputated and her concern was justified.

"I can never please you, can you?" she said lightly, smiling.

"I have high standards, what can I say?" Riley said, looking to Salone. "Haven't you realized this by now?"


"Of course," Mrs. Peterson replied. "So, how are you guys? Things at camp are good? How is Alison?"

--

Alison shrugged. "I don't know, is revenge really the best option? I kind of don't know if I want to know what else she's capable of. Who makes fun of someone for losing their leg? She's clearly a bit demented."

She looked to Will, eyeing him. He was so hopelessly attractive. How could someone be so smoldering? She had to ignore it. He had a devious glint in his eye, though, and she needed to know what he was thinking.

"What was your plan for revenge, anyhow?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"An extra large dog." Salone answered before grinning as she followed him out into the rain, the cool drops splattered on her face and bare neck and they slid down. Salone liked the rain and the smell of the earth after a good storm. She pulled stuff out of the back and she heard what Riley said about his standards while looking at her while she came into the kitchen. Salone blushed faintly. She put the bags on the counter before putting the items away.
"I think she is having an interesting experience..." Salone stated, "Becoming friends with William and starting at that school."
She looked at Riley arching an eyebrow at Will's name, she was slightly concerned for his younger sister for dealing with such a flirt. But Salone had dated much more dangerous people. Fabian had a temper with claws and Eli was the son of Set. Set had been hunting Salone for as long as she could remember. So she shouldn't be worried about another person's dangerous relationships.
***
Will nodded, "If it makes you feel better she gives me the creeps. "
He massaged a spot on his forehead and was about to pull some homework out of his bag when he realized Alison had asked him a question.
"Well, Elena has had a massive crush on me since I showed up. So, I was going to say she could see me kiss you. That would only cause bigger problems for you and your brother would probably have a hay day."
Will shrugged," But I agree with you, just more issues."
He pulled out his homework and got started on his history, Will when doing homework clicked his pen multiple times when thinking.