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

Salone grinned, "This could either turn out really good or really bad." She warned.
The girl hadn't actual cooked in who knows how long. Salone opened a few cupboards to investigate the items inside.
She found a few things and put them on the counter and turned on the oven, a frying pan clattering onto the hot surface a few seconds later. She pulled out several eggs, a thing of sliced ham, milk, salt, and pepper. Then she found an apron and put that on, not looking at what it said on the front, Kiss the Cook. Salone began to make scrambled eggs, when the eggs were mostly cooked, she shredded the meat and added that, salting and peppering it next. Salone opened one of the windows so Hound could poke her head in. She wasn't particularly sure what Riley was up to during this time, but she hoped it had something to do with orange juice.
***
Fabian grinned slightly, inspecting the ruined shirt that was staying on by only a few strands.
"Could you help me get cleaned up?" He asked his ears turning faintly red. True Fabian was slightly embarrassed by the fact he couldn't get all the blood and what not off by himself.
"I think I may have a couple of cracked ribs," Fabian said, pulling off his shirt, or rather what was left of it. True fabian may have a few cracked ribs because it hurt to breath.

Riley laughed, and as Salone got off to cooking whatever she was doing with the eggs, Riley grabbed various ingredients from the shelves and began dumping them haphazardly in a bowl, mixing them pretty well despite his lack of cooking technique. He pulled his mom's large electric griddle out from the cabinet and plugged it into the wall, waiting (impatiently) for it to turn on. While it did so he went to the fridge and pulled out cartons of orange juice and milk, placing them on the table before returning to the counter and pouring some pancake batter onto the griddle. He looked to Salone as they cooked; whatever she was making smelled outrageous. He shook his head amusedly as he noticed that Hound had stuck her head in the window, and he snuck over to Salone and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Where did you find that apron?" he asked with a smirk. "I didn't even know my mom owned one."

The pancakes were nearly ready to be flipped, but oblivious Riley was oblivious.

--

Alison tried and failed to hide her blush at Fabian's suggestion, but she nodded. "Your ribs... it definitely looks like some of them could be broken," Alison admitted, glancing at the extensive bruising that colored his torso. "I wish I could heal them, but I'm not an Apollo child. I'll go get someone, and then I'll grab some supplies." She stood, shooting him a small smile before getting up and moving through the infirmary. She convinced an annoyed looking Apollo guy to check out Fabian's bruising and gathered some supplies... a bucket of cool, soapy and some more clean rags, gauze, bandages, first aid ointment... all of that stuff as well as a clean white t-shirt in a generic size, before returning to him. She waited patiently as the healer finished his business before setting down her stuff, sitting and looking to him.

Most of his cuts had closed up, but there were a couple that needed to be bandaged and she was going to have to handle that. "Okay. You managed to mess yourself up pretty badly, didn't you?" Alison asked, blushing abashedly as her eyes raked his torso. What she'd said was awkward, but she needed to lighten the mood not only for herself but for him.

Salone grinned, "Um... in that drawer. I am guessing it was a valentines day gift for your mom that she didn't particularly like because it was at the bottom of the drawer. Oi! That is not a proper kiss."
Salone flipped the pancakes, because Riley was being oblivious, and then walked back over and leaned against the counter, after turning off the stove because the eggs. The girl arched an eyebrow at her boyfriend before she saw Hound trying to get to the eggs, with her large pink tongue. Salone picked up a towel and expertly flicked the creature in the nose. Hound snorted, before withdrawing her head.
The girl sighed before turning back to Riley, "Where were we?" She asked.
***
When Alison's eyes raked Fabian she would discover that the boy was pretty muscled, running around with weaponry and wrestling Simba, his black lion, did that to a person. Fabian's tan abs showed it more than most. He hissed in pain when the healer started poking around with his fingers. He had successfully broken two ribs and cracked a third. This was the third time he had been in the infirmary these last several months. He had a thin silver scar on his rib cage from being hit with an arrow and a few more tiny scars.
"Occupational hazard," He answered with a growl as a different healer came over, pressed her hand to his ribs, and began the healing process. It was quite painful and his face drained of color within a few seconds.
When both the healers walked away a few minutes later, Fabian was breathing heavily, nearly flat on his back.
"Well that hurt," He said, giving her a weak smile, struggling upright again.

"I'm not sure," Riley said, leaning closer to Salone. "Where were we?"

He raised an eyebrow teasingly before moving away, opening one of the top cabinets and pulling out a couple plates, three for serving their food and two to use for eating. He waited a few seconds before sliding the pancakes off the griddle; they cooked faster on the second side. He set them on their serving plate before putting them aside, looking to Salone.

"I think we were about here," he said, snagging her around the waist and leaning down to kiss her when she probably wouldn't be expecting it.

--

Alison looked at the boy with sympathy, instinctively holding out her hand and touching his arm. "You don't have to sit up; I don't care. Your ribs were broken, it's probably better that you don't, anyway," she spoke, turning redder as she realized that she was coddling him now. She didn't intend to, but it was true... he couldn't be feeling so well that he was eager to sit upright. She grabbed a second pillow from out of the infirmary's stock and handed it to him, allowing him to prop himself up. She took one of the cloths she'd grabbed before and dunked it into the bucket of warm soapy water, ringing it out sufficiently before lifting it toward Fabian's body.

"Well, if someone asked me this morning if I thought I would find myself cleaning off some muscley guy's bloody torso right now, I would have laughed at them," Alison spoke, forcing herself to joke about the situation as she gently wiped the cakey blood from his side, moving the cloth gingerly over any cuts or scabs. "You know, if you didn't appear to be in so much pain before I might have doubted your inability to dress your wounds, because most guys might enjoy getting their torsos scrubbed by young, reasonably attractive girls," she said, her cheeks reddening slightly as she joked in an attempt to stop the situation from being so extremely awkward.

Salone grinned at Riley as she moved to pick something up off the floor, picking up the pen Salone placed it on the counter. Then without warning Riley captured around the waist, causing her to squeal, and said," I think we were about here," before leaning in for a kiss.

"Shenanigans?" Salone agreed before being kissed. Her arms snuck up around his neck. Salone didn't really know if Mr. Peterson or Mrs. Peterson would be home at the moment, so they could possibly be walked in on. Not that Salone cared, she was a little occupied at the moment.
***

Fabian's ears turned red, when it came to girls, he wasn't exactly the smoothest guy.
"Thanks?" He sounded uncertain, he managed to sit up and he gently took the rag from her fingers. "Here, I can get most of it."
He proceeded to get most of the blood off with little help. He just missed hard to reach places like the small of his back. His back muscles happened to be very tense, almost like trying to snuggle a rock tense. He handed the rag back to her after rinsing it.
Will chose that exact moment to walk back into the room, his sleeves rolled up.
"Hey Ali, good to see you awake Fabian." Will sat down on the chair next to the bed, "You ready to go Alison? Danni is on her way out and she can clean him up."

Riley murmured an insignificant response of assent between breaths as he pulled her to him, his arms encircling her waist easily. Their kiss grew more heated than he'd intended it to, and before he even realized it he had Salone pressed up against the island's countertop and a hand pressed against her lower back, beneath her t-shirt. He didn't notice at first when someone cleared their throat, but it did get his attention when someone began to speak.

"WHO made this delicious breakfast?" a voice asked loudly, and Riley pulled away from Salone only to look up and see his mother watching them with a mixture of amusement and disgust on her face, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly. Riley's face turned probably the brightest shade of red it'd ever turned in his entire life and he backed away from Salone, grabbing the plate of stacked pancakes and transporting it to the table. "On Fridays I have cut hours, so I figured I'd come home early to spend some time with you," his mom spoke, clearly trying not to laugh at the look on Riley's face. "It seems that you had other plans, though, so maybe I'll just take some pancakes and leave."

--

Alison's blush deepened as she handed him the cloth. "Sorry, I was just trying to lighten things a bit," she admitted with a small smile, studying him and helping him when he needed it. She took the rag from him and dumped it in the trash can; camp couldn't afford having dirty rags lying around for infection to grow. She began to wash her hands.

"So what were you doing, exactly, to manage to get shot?" Alison asked, raising her eyebrow at Fabian. "If, of course, you're willing and able to tell me. I don't care," she spoke, smiling gently. Suddenly, Will appeared out of nowhere, and Alison was surprised. She hadn't been expecting him to look for her.

"Ready to go where?" she asked him, quirking an eyebrow looking between him and Fabian. She didn't really know Fabian, but she had been assigned a job in the infirmary and she felt obligated to fulfill it, no matter how much she'd love to go flying away on pegasi with surfer boy Will. Will had said that Danni would help him, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't needed.

"Do you still need help? I can stay," she offered Fabian, handing him the fresh white t-shirt she'd gathered, as they'd finished tending to his wounds.

Salone somehow managed to become pressed up against the island and Riley. The kisses became much more heated and Riley's hand pressed up against the skin on the small of her back. His fingertips brushed the scar were the serpopards had mauled her. Salone's heart raced against her collarbone. Her hand had managed to get tangled up in his hair and then-
"WHO made this delicious breakfast?"
Salone jumped and felt her face and ears turn bright red, Riley slid away from her. Salone tugged on the hem of her shirt before picking up the pan of eggs and carrying it over to our table. She was sure the look on both her own and Riley's face was priceless. Salone's ears burned even hotter at the next sentence and she tugged her shirt down slightly before returning to the kitchen. Hound was sitting in the backyard looking amused.
"I made the eggs and rescued the pancakes from being burned, your son did the rest," Salone answered casually, or rather attempted to. She felt like she sounded faintly embarrassed. This was worse than when Danni walked in on her and Riley... well... Salone couldn't remember most of it because she had been on drugs. So this may have been as bad but the girl wasn't quite sure.
***
"Chasing people who are way too interested in Demi-gods." He stated briefly as Will looked curiously between the two.
Fabian took the white cotton shirt and his fingers brushed Alison's only for a few milliseconds. Then in a smooth movement he pulled the form fitting shirt over his head and then adjusted it so the fabric wasn't crooked or uncomfortable. Danni came in at that moment swearing under her breath, she had just gotten another phone call.
"Fabes, I can't take care of you. My boss just called." Danni made a pained face, "He sounded very... eh-"
She realized Alison and Will were standing there, "displeased."
Danni waved and hurried out the door.
"Well, that was sudden." Fabian stated, he sounded like he had a bit more energy. He pulled the blanket off of his legs, showing the bandages and what not. Will pulled a face at the amount of bandages on the other guy's leg.
"That looks like it is painful."
Fabian smiled wanly, "It is, I think I am going to be on crutches for a few days."

"You can stay," Riley said lightly, taking a seat at the table to eat and trying to wipe his look of embarrassment clean off of his face. He met his mother's eyes and she gave him a look of mild forgiveness mixed with chiding, but it was clear that she hadn't seen that he had gone to sleep in Salone's bed in the middle of the night. Granted, she may have let that one go if he explained the situation to her, but he wasn't so sure.

"I'm glad," Mrs. Peterson responded with a grin, opening the fridge and pulling out an array of cut fruit and putting it on the table to complete their meal. "You kids did well; I'm impressed," she commented, deciding to put aside the make out session that she'd just interrupted for the moment, walking over to the breakfast nook and placing down the bowl of fruit.

"Thanks," Riley spoke, and he took this moment as an opportunity to look to Salone, shooting her his best "I'm sorry I didn't know my mom would walk in on us" look and shrugging, suppressing laughter at the ridiculous nature of the situation. He ran a hair through his newly disheveled-thanks to Salone- hair and made his way over to the table, taking a seat across from his mother and moving over on the bench to make room for Salone. He took a hearty helping of eggs and a pancake, suddenly ravenous. They hadn't had a big dinner, and he'd worked up quite an appetite between everything that'd happened in the past twelve hours or so.

"So, are you kids excited to go to this dance tonight?" Mrs. Peterson asked after a few moments of awkward, uncomfortable silence, and Riley welcomed it.

"It'll be alright," he said, shrugging noncommittally. "Salone has been attempting to teach me how to dance, and it's been interesting," he spoke.

--

Alison wondered vaguely if the people Fabian was referring to had anything to do with the organization they'd supposedly defeated, but she shut her mouth due to the fact that Will was in the room and Danielle had entered. She knew Danni had been in on all of that action, and while she'd been told that the organization had been defeated she wasn't so sure. She doubted the explosions could have taken down everything, but she hoped to the gods that she'd never have to encounter anyone from that organization again. The exploding bullet... it definitely seemed like something they'd be capable of. Alison observed Danni and her frenetic energy carefully, studying Fabian curiously as the girl left. He disregarded the subject, but it still disconcerted her. She stood gathering her books and looking to Will and then to Fabian as he spoke.

"I would ask, but somehow I don't think you're going to want to go ride pegasi in your condition," Alison spoke lightly, examining him. She felt guilty for leaving, but Will was here now and Fabian seemed to be well-off on his own. She looked to Will for confirmation of his desire to go.

The color slowly faded from Salone's face and she slid down next to Riley. She caught sight of Riley's hair and her lips twitched in amusement. It resembled a rooster tail with some of the feathers gone crazy. At his apologetic look she flashed him a smile and started to dish up herself.
When Riley mentioned the dancing, Salone nearly killed herself on a piece of ham. It was just basic dance steps that would allow Riley to maneuver on his fake leg better. Clearing her throat she made a noise of amusement, "It's just the basics," She clarified. "So he doesn't break any of my toes."
She nudged him playfully before going back to her food with gusto, she hadn't gotten much to eat the previous night due to the sandwich incident.
***
Fabian swung his legs over the side of the cot and grabbed one of the crutches. Will made a movement to stop it but Fabian just said, "Do you really want a hungry lion roaming camp?"
Will's face paled slightly and helped Fabian stand up.
If anyone had seen the size of the lion, 3/4ths the size of hound, they would understand. Fabian hobbled to the door and Will gave the guy a disapproving look. But there was no stopping him as Fabian could bench press Will and several other people with ease.

"I'll probably still manage to break your toes," Riley argued with a grin, taking a bite of his pancakes. They ate and made mild conversation, and thankfully his mother didn't make any further mention of their shenanigans. The day was relatively uneventful; once it reached mid-afternoon time Riley's mother all but dragged Salone out of the house to apparently take care of girlish necessities before the dance such as hair and nails and the whole nine yards... he'd shot her an apologetic look, shrugging and allowing them to go. He hung out at home, spending some quality time with Hound and getting some stuff done, and by the time they got home his mother had whisked her away into the guest room before Riley see her.

"What is this, a wedding or something?" Riley had joked, but his mom had just shooed him away and went to fuss over his girlfriend. He spent all of twenty minutes getting dressed into dress clothes and messing with his hair so he looked presentable for this shindig. Granted, he looked pretty darn good for the twenty minutes he took, but guys were lucky; it took them mere seconds to look great, whereas girls took hours. Anyhow, this was how Riley ended up on the living room couch in his quite dapper looking suit, complete with a silver colored vest and matching tie underneath it. Apparently this was to match Salone, but he had absolutely no idea what she was wearing. He didn't quite get why these things took so much preparation. Sure, this was like a prom, but it was still a bit absurd.

((riley's suit is like this with a black jacket whoo http://www.mensusa.com/images/Vest-Tuxedo-Silk-TieBow-Tie-Set-Packages-in-18-Colors.jpg ))

--

"A hungry lion?" Alison asked, raising an eyebrow as she watched the boy hoist himself up onto a set of crutches with just a slight bit of difficulty. She watched, concerned as the boy made his way to the door. "Do you want any help? We don't have to go to check out the pegasi right now. I know you're capable of moving yourself, but your injury was pretty serious and it can't be so easy to get around like that," Alison vouched, looking to Will for a second. She was unsure as to what she was supposed to do, watching this strong boy hobble toward the door.

"Maybe," Salone responded with a small smile. The next several hours turned into a very girly hay day for the girl. Mrs. Peterson whisked her off to get ready for the dance... This included chocolate, lots of chocolate. Towards the end of the shopping excursion they got their nails done... this was torture for Salone. Hiding the fact from Mrs. Peterson was much easier said than done with the girl's ridiculously ticklish feet. Eventually the whole thing was over and they were back at Riley's house a few hours before the dance even started.
"Mrs. Peterson," She protested. "I can find my things, go and distract Riley."
After she managed to get the woman out of the room, Salone put her dress on along with her shoes. Then she went into the bathroom to look at her face. They had done her makeup there, it looked pretty good on her but Salone couldn't resist adding a touch of sparkle. Done she started on her hair, generally she didn't do anything to it. But the girl wanted to look nice. The ending effect was a braid around the top of her head and a few long gold ringlets escaping to brush her cheeks and back of her neck. Carefully she opened the door.
***
Fabian chuckled lightly, "A lion is a wild beast and unless you want the population of satyrs and other creatures dropping abruptly."
Will followed behind him slowly, looking around for a massive black lion, "Yeah. The pegasi can wait."
Fabian was a very hardy creature, he had been shot, stabbed, clawed, and had several other wounds before. A puny exploding bullet wasn't going to keep him in bed.
"Don't worry about me," He told Alison, "Not yet anyway."
He added as an afterthought. Fabian Black was a rather odd person and what he said echoed the fact. They found the lion about half of an hour later, sitting in the forest, chomping of the carcass of a deer he had caught.
"That is disgusting," Fabian told the lion. The big black cat looked up at him, blinking with yellow eyes before licking his maw and going back to the leg.

Mrs. Peterson glanced back to the guest room door, where she saw Salone peeking through the doorway. "Are you ready?" she asked, a bit too excited for a 45 year old woman at seeing her son's girlfriend in her prom dress. "Oh, you look fantastic! We can take pictures now, then. Everyone should be over shortly, and then the limo will get here. Let me go get my camera..."

The woman prattled on, clearly excited, and Riley stood curiously and made his way over to the guest room's door, which had been shut. He knocked gently, waiting. "I presume I can see you now?" he spoke, amusement in his voice. The doorbell chose that moment to ring, and Riley groaned internally, grateful as he heard his mother moving toward the front door. He was dying to ask Salone how her day with his mother went; the story was bound to be entertaining. Plus, why wouldn't Riley want want to see how his girlfriend looked after being called "fantastic" by his mother?

--

Alison followed the pair tentatively, making light conversation with them both as they made their way through the forest. They finally found the lion, and Alison froze. She'd been expecting a big lion, but the blood... it overwhelmed her. The exposed flesh, the reek of death, all of the gore was too much for her.

"I- I need to go," Alison spoke as she fought back nausea, gaping at the thing before stumbling away, making her way deeper into the forest in search of pure air. Her head pounded. After seeing so much blood, Alison should have been easier about it, but it haunted her in her dreams. All of the blood in The Hospital, the bodies in that morgue, during the battle and after the explosions, Riley... she couldn't deal with it, and these were animals. Finally she couldn't detect the scent and she slumped against an oak tree, her eyes wide as she took shallow, frightened breaths. What was wrong with her?

Salone allowed Riley to slip into her room.
"I kinda feel like a trussed up show poodle," She confessed to him. "But I figured, might as well look good right?"
She turned slowly so her boyfriend could get the full effect. She could hear voices in the family room but she wanted a last few moments with Riley before she had to put on her social face. She took him in and smiled, "You look great in a tux, I have no clue why you were so worried about the silly thing."
Salone saved him from responding by grabbing him by the tie, pulling him down to her level, and giving him a kiss. Serves whoever walks in right, the door was shut and they forgot to knock.
***
Fabian kicked himself, finally recognising Alison. He gave his lion a dirty look.
"Stay here and keep an eye on him so he doesn't wander off," he told a spluttering Will. Slowly he limped after the girl. Judging from the direction her scent Alison had wandered deeper into the forest... not necessarily safe.
When he finally caught up with her she was sitting on the ground with her head in her hands.
"That bad huh?" Fabian asked gently, sitting down next to her, his leg at an awkward angle to avoid any pain. "It gets better as time goes on. It doesn't go away completely but it fades in a way."

"Even if you didn't want to look your best, my mom would have forced you to get yourself made up anyhow," Riley joked, taking her in. Whatever the makeup artist had done was perfect. Salone didn't look so much different than usual; her best features were just highlighted and brought to attention. He was about to comment on her appearance when she spoke before him, dragging him down to kiss her before he could get in a single word. He didn't object; he kissed her back gently, careful to avoid messing up her hair or makeup and resting his hands loosely against her waist. He took a breath after a few moments, pulling back to look at her.

"Thanks," Riley spoke breathlessly, grinning at her. "But I must say, gorgeous, that you look pretty darn incredible tonight yourself," he said with a grin, leaning down to steal another quick kiss before they'd be forced to go outside. He wished they didn't have to go, but it was inevitable.

"Riley!"

His mother's voice echoed through the house and Riley pulled away from Salone, tucking a loose curl away from her face. "I guess we have to go, huh," he spoke, maybe just a little bit distracted.

--

Alison looked up tentatively as footsteps approached her and Fabian entered the picture. She hadn't been expecting him; if anyone were to come should would have thought for sure Will would have followed after her... not that she was truly expecting to be followed. He sat down beside her, seemingly confident and comfortable in his addressal of her fear. She'd begun to tremble slightly, and while she'd tried her hardest to stop, her body wouldn't allow her to. He seemed to understand her situation and she looked to him curiously, her brown eyes examining him before she softened, nodding. She had the strangest notion that she'd seen him before today, but she couldn't quite understand how.

"It's- bad. When your brother's leg is blown off in front of you and you're held hostage in a sick, sadistic hospital system for a few weeks, you don't necessarily come out loving the presence of blood. I could barely even get near you earlier. I ran away, and the only reason I came back was to look for Will. He'd left; though, and I got drawn into playing nurse by one of the supervisors at the infirmary." She shrugged noncommittally, feeling slightly guilty at this admittance. Her eyes met his. She needed something to focus on, for closing her eyes only triggered her memories further. "You work with Danielle, right? Your accident... it had to do with The Hospital. They're not gone."

Alison stated this as fact, because she was sure that this was true. "You know me. I've never really met you, but you know me." The apprehension and fear that flashed in her eyes at the mention of the organization was raw but calculating. She'd never been good at hiding her emotions.

Alison wasn't planning on accepting bull from him, though she suspected that he was a pretty straightforward guy.

Salone grinned as Riley stole another kiss... so much for trying to play it safe where her heart was concerned. Then Mrs. Peterson called and Salone made a face then it turned into a smile, "you have lipstick on your face."
She notified him, fetching him a kleenex to clean off his face. The boy always seemed to be talented in the department of removing whatever was on her lips. "Hurry, get rid of the evidence before your mother comes looking," She teased him getting the door and arching an eyebrow at him.
Shenanigans.
**
Fabian looked at her out of the corner of his eye while she spoke, she was truly an very intelligent individual.
"You cut of a snakes head and it can live for twenty four hours before it's body dies," He said, making a soft noise as his leg twindged. "Yeah, I did work for Danni... more of blackmailed by her to work for her but that is generally how it goes."
He turned his head so his grey blue eyes could look at her properly. He was struck by her facial expression and he considered her again for a moment, "No, they are trying to get back on their feet and that is why Danni had to leave camp. You cannot tell Riley or Salone." Fabian said in quiet tones, deadly serious. His pale brown hair flopped into his face and he made no movement to push it away.

"Do I?" Riley asked, quirking an eyebrow. He took the Kleenex, stepping into the bathroom for a second and making sure to wipe the lipstick off before coming back out to Salone. "I still don't see why it's so wrong for me to kiss my gorgeous girlfriend, but I suppose it makes my mom a bit uncomfortable," he spoke with a grin, taking her hand. He lowered his voice.

"I'm going to warn you, Christina is probably here again. She's going to drop dead when she sees you, probably, but if she's being bitchy I'm sure you'll handle her properly. She won't get a chance to be that way, though," Riley said, shrugging. "I'll be there the whole time."

He opened the door to the guest room and allowed Salone to step out before him. They made their way into the living room and his mother brightened, ecstatic. "Come on kids, it's picture time!" she announced. Several other parents he remembered had arrived, and it was as if this were the actual prom. Wonderful. He obliged his mother for a few photos, sure Salone wasn't too thrilled. Christina had brought her equally single-minded friend and her boyfriend with her, so this was going to be one interesting night.

--

Alison paled, looking away for a moment before looking back and meeting Fabian's eyes. "I wouldn't tell Riley or Salone. Riley is in no state to do anything about it, and it'd only cause him more unnecessary stress. I wouldn't put him through that," Alison spoke reasonably, taking in this information.

"You weren't at all successful in stopping them, were you?" she asked, a small twinge of hope in her voice. She didn't want to think about that organization rising again. What they'd done to her, what they'd done to Riley, what they'd done to countless others... it was unacceptable. It was horrifying. Her expression grew grave. She knew that she was in no position to be captured by them again, but she would have to be more wary than before.

Salone laughed before she left her room. Holding Riley's hand she entered the pictures and by the time it was over, she felt like she was a blind woman. She blinked a few times clearing her vision. She could feel the three other teens' in the room eyes upon her, but she pretended she didn't notice. Salone leaned slightly into Riley for a few of the pictures before Mrs. Peterson let up on the unrelenting storm of the flash button. Salone straightened and squeezed his fingers lightly and she glanced up at him, offering a smile. Then the camera went off again and Salone was blinded, "Ah." She said half laughing.
***

Fabian sighed, he wasn't allowed to say much.
"We are working on pulling out the roots of the entire society, but most of the danger is gone."
He looked at her, really looked at her. Taking in the curve of her nose and cheekbones, she looked vaguely familiar.
"You can trust me when it comes to this, okay, Alison?"
Fabian said her name softly, trying to get Alison to understand his position. He couldn't say anything more, if he did he would and anyone found out. Fabian would most likely get arrested and not come out for a very long time.

"Mom!" Riley protested as Salone laughed at his side, leaning into him. He snuck a quick kiss on her cheek only to be bombarded once again by the flash on his mom's camera; he should have known better. He looked up only to see his guy friends smirking at him, and he shrugged. His mother, temporarily distracted by the arrival of the limo driver and a few other parents, had left the room, leaving the kids to their own devices. This should be interesting. Christina gazed at Salone with a sort of jealousy even while she was tucked safely under her boyfriend's arm, but Riley met her gaze and a grin appeared on her face. He couldn't help but chuckle as they all went out to the front lawn, making small talk. Riley was dying to say something to Salone, but he knew that he shouldn't. Somehow he still couldn't shake the feeling that this prom plan would backfire on him.

--

"I trust you," Alison spoke somewhat assuredly, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head against them for a moment, shutting her eyes and trying to process things. It was going to be okay. The organization couldn't get a hold of her anymore. She was safe. Still, she couldn't help the feeling of panic that rose up inside of her chest when she thought of them. She took a breath, lifting her head up and looking at him for a second. She didn't know why she felt like she recognized him more than just from Danielle's mention. There was a slightly awkward silence between the two before she looked back to where they came from.

"Somehow, I feel like Will probably isn't doing a very good job restraining the lion and taking care of all of that blood," Alison spoke softly, a slight twinge of amusement in her voice. She still didn't know how she felt about the other boy. She was awfully confused.

Salone laughed and she made eye contact with Christina, she was giving Salone a dirty look. She just gave the other girl a dazzling smile, squeezing Riley's hand lightly. The other's hurried out the door and Riley hung back, he looked like he wanted to say something.
"What is it?" She asked softly, craning her neck up to see his face. But he lead her outside onto the front lawn. Salone looked around for the drive, half of her hoped the driver was Danni, instead it was a man in a suit and sunglasses she didn't recognise. Disappointment hit her in the gut and she looked at the grass before looking back up.
***
Fabian sighed before standing up, stiffly and reaching for the crutch. Generally he was much more faster when moving but he was suffering from a slight handicap. He offered a calloused hand to Alison to help her up.
"Thanks for trusting me," He said softly but his brain answered in the back of his mind, but you probably shouldn't. When they managed to make it back to Will they found a black lion cub frolicing around and a William looking exhausted. He had managed to drag the deer carcass a little ways away so Alison wouldn't be affected by it. Fabian had a low throaty laugh when he saw Simba as a baby lion. Will joined in too, unable to resist the contagion of Fabian's laugh.

"It's Christina," Riley murmured near Salone's ear as they made their way outside. "She's so intimidated by you that she doesn't know what to do with herself," Riley murmured with a crooked grin. Upon looking inside the limo, Salone made a face and Riley stood by here.

"You okay?" he asked concernedly, though they still made their way to the limo and the other couples, forced to take a couple dozen more photos on the way there. Finally they began to enter the limo, and Riley kissed his mom on the cheek, murmuring a goodbye at the same moment she was telling him to remember to be safe, and she gave Salone a quick hug before whisking them into the limo.

"And the adventure begins," Riley murmured with amusement in his tone, trying (with some difficulty) to maneuver the short vehicule with his leg.

--

Alison took Fabian's hand to oblige him, but she didn't rely on much of his weight to stand herself up- the boy was using a crutch, for the gods' sakes- even though he was probably perfectly capable of supporting both she and himself. He thanked her and she looked at him for a moment before they began walking back.

"You're welcome, but I need to. If I don't trust you, who do I trust? Danielle, maybe, but she's the only one who can help keep this organization at bay. I won't say anything about it, I promise. I just need to know that it's under control, and you know that. Thank you," she spoke, looking to him for a second as they made their way back. She spotted Will not fifty feet away, and what looked like a black lab hopping around happily in the grass. Wait... that couldn't be... it had to be the lion from before.. but it was so young. She almost asked about it, but she shut her mouth and decided against that idea.

"You look like you're having fun," she greeted Will, who looked more tired than she was. Thankfully, the deer was gone, though his shirt bore the telltale traces of blood that told her that he'd done what he could to get it away for her, and as she noticed this Alison blushed slightly, looking to him with admiration.

Salone didn't answer, her eyes on the sky. It had turned several different shades of blue and it was beautiful. Then she ducked into the car, it was a very roomy Limo. Danni had definitely delivered on a good choice of car. Unfortunately she had to sit next to Christina. Salone decided then and there she didn't like her much. The girl reminded her too much of those slippery aphrodite girls. Salone suppressed a shudder briefly imagining that they found out the girl was a demigod. Salone flashed a smile at Riley and helped him become situated.
**
Fabian muttered quietly before they came around the corner and saw Will.
"Definitely not Danni. You can only trust her as much as a poisonous snake."
That was the truest statement anyone had ever said about the girl. A spy, military commander, and in some extreme cases an brilliant assassin.
Will gave her a tired, dimpled grin while the cub scrambled towards Fabian. The injured boy scooped the cub up.
"I bet this feels great, huh? " He tickled the cub lightly on the stomach. Then he offered him to Alison since he couldn't support the extra weight at the moment. Generally Fabian was as strong as a lion but his energies had been diverted to healing.
Will stood and walked towards the two, "You feeling better, Ali?"

Riley managed to make his way through the vehicle and sat beside Salone, lacing his fingers through hers gently and shooting her an apologetic grin as he realized that she had to sit next to Christina. Luckily, the conversation kept up throughout the car ride and while Christina eyed the couple enviously, she didn't say anything offensive. The limo was chic and fancy, and someone broke out a bottle of champagne, causing Riley to raise an eyebrow. He shrugged and took a glass,-he figured he might need it to get through tonight, with the dancing and whatnot- pouring a very small amount of the alcohol into his glass, not enough to leave him all that inebriated. Salone might slap him for taking it, but he knew what he was doing even though he hadn't had the best experience with alcohol in the past. Al offered Salone a glass and Riley couldn't help but smirk slightly. He was curious to see how she'd react.

--

Alison watched the cub warily- was that the same creature who'd been devouring a deer just twenty minutes ago? She was taken aback as it leaped into Fabian's arms, but she had to admit the creature was cute. Her nerves kicked into overdrive as Fabian offered him to her quite desperately and, so as not to put a burden on the boy, she took the cub gently in her grasp and set him down on the packed dirt. He was cute, but not cute enough for her to want to snuggle with him. She'd seen what he could do. Will spoke to her, and she looked up, smiling at him.

"I'm better, thanks," Alison spoke. "Sorry about before; you can say that I have a bit of an aversion to blood and gore," she said easily. She wasn't about to go into the details of that with him. It was actually quite relieving to have been able to talk to Fabian, who understood her fear better than most. She couldn't do that with Will. He simply wouldn't understand, even though he would try to. She hated that, when people tried to relate to you when it was clear that they couldn't. It was frustrating, and she'd experienced more than her fair share of it during her time in the foster care system, speaking constantly with well-meaning social workers and authority.

Salone felt a pang in her gut when the glass of alcohol was offered to her. She shook her head, if they were attacked she wanted to be on high alert. That among other things...
"I don't drink," She stated simply, opting for a can of pop instead.
The girl, Christina finally couldn't help herself and let out a bark like laughter. "Well, why not? At least every high schooler drinks once."
She was mocking her, Salone's ears flushed an angry red. For a moment she contemplated putting a bullet in the girl's skull.
"Because," She stated coldly, before Riley could interrupt. "My mother was an alcoholic."
Were the scar had been, before the hospital and the removal of them all, burned. When the girl had been younger her mother had thrown a wine bottle at her, leaving a serious scar. The girl had been pretty good at hiding most of her scars.
Christina's cheeks flushing in embarrassment and the entire car fell silent.
***
The baby lion mewed at Alison, wanting to be picked back up. He placed his tiny paws on her leg before Will scooped him tiredly up.
"You spoil this ferocious beast. You're quite the overgrown house cat yourself."
Fabian flashed his signature crooked grin, oblivious to Alison's scrutiny.
Will turned to Alison and his face softened, "It's okay, most people do when they first show up here."
The son of bast eyed Alison, thinking. So she hadn't told her boyfriend her background... interesting. "You going to the Apollo kids big music night?"
He asked Will.
"Yeah, I think I was going with a few friends."
Apollos held a massive music night once a month, but it had gotten banned after somebody had managed to smuggle in some alcoholic beverages. Mr. D had just reinstated it after so many kids started causing issues.

Riley watched on amusedly as Christina probed Salone, trying to get her to drink, but he hadn't anticipated her reaction. While he'd known that her mom was abusive and that she likely drank quite a bit, he hadn't made the connection when Al had held out the bottle to her until she spoke, her voice cutting through the air like glass. All of the limo's inhabitants seemed taken aback, and Riley wrapped an arm around Salone's shoulders instinctively, tracing patterns gently against her skin. He glanced down at the champagne in his glass and on a whim he dumped it, thinking twice. He should probably be at his best possible level of awareness, lest they be attacked, and he was clumsy enough on his foot.. he didn't need to fall over. Plus, he felt it would be a bit inappropriate to drink after witnessing his girlfriend's obvious discomfort with the substance, and he'd already had a couple of bad drinking experiences in his lifetime. Instead, Riley grabbed a diet Coke instead, and while a couple of his guy friends raised an eyebrow he was sure they understood. He held it up, shrugging and making a toast to "friends,"-because what the hell else were they supposed to toast to?- and afterwards the awkward silence dissipated as Christina's friend pumped up the music and all of his friends started talking excitedly, Riley contributing but feeling oddly detached from the situation. Christina tried to make conversation with Salone, mostly being incredibly annoying and asking overly personal questions. He liked his old friends, but he'd kind of outgrown them at this point. After all the time they'd spent apart under completely different circumstances, it was unlikely that they'd be close anymore anyway. After what seemed like an eternity they arrived at the party, and Riley was more eager than he should have been to exit the vehicle.

--

Alison smiled gratefully at Will as he took the baby in his arms, because she certainly wasn't prepared to do it no matter how cute it was. She hadn't grown up around animals, and she was altogether uncomfortable with handling them. She realized that both boys were looking at her quite thoughtfully for a moment, and the silence weighed on her as color pooled in her cheeks. Finally, Fabian spoke to Will and Alison was grateful for the filler. "Music night?" Alison asked interestedly. She loved music, though she was terrible at making it. Poetry slams were more her thing, even though she was sometimes uncomfortable when sharing her writing with others.

Salone felt grateful for his arm around her and she felt even better when he dumped the alcohol. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and drew his arm even tighter around herself. She toasted with them, not particularly sure what, before sinking back into his embrace. Her hand rested lightly on his leg and Salone wasn't particularly paying attention about the conversation.
She decided that she was going to have strong words with Danni concerning alcoholic beverages in a limo with mentally impaired mortal teens. Quietly she waited for the drive to end... hopefully nothing disastrous would happen.
**
Will explained, "Music Night is a monthly thing that the apollo kids put on. Since we can't go to actual concerts without causing too much chaos. It's been banned for a few months because some Hermes kids snuck some alcohol in. Mr. D said we could have it this month though."
Fabian shook his head, limping back towards camp.
"This one is supposed to be awesome though. We had some hecate and other kids working on it." Fabian called over his shoulder.