Quest weren't really Ashley's thing. She had never been on one before, much less led it. That was probably where having Jesse/Josiah with was a good thing. Even if he was a little love struck. He was the only one out of the three of them that had any real experience and he was a top notch fighter.

It also didn't hurt that he had borrowed one of his grandfathers cars to get them the rest of the way to California. Ashley sat in the back seat, since Jesse had insisted that 'his love' take the front. Somewhere past the Nevada line she pulled out her cell phone and began flipping through her pictures. It was no surprise that most of them were of Heath. Either pictures she had forced him to take with her or him trying to dodge her camera. Looking at them was painful. She had never in a million years thought that she would lose Heath. Now that she had she felt like it was more then she could handle.

She turned off the phone and slipped it back into her pocket. With nothing else to do she laid out on the backseat and tried to get just a few more hours of sleep.


































Ashley woke with a start. Jesse had slammed on the brakes and it had flung her forward. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as she peered out the car window.

The city of San Francisco loomed over them.

"We're here my love. Now where to?"

"How am I supposed to know!?" Chase said slightly on edge. "Your crazy grandpa is the one who sent us here."

"The park." Ashley said. Both boys looked back at her as she continued to peer out the window. She tore her eyes from the city and looked to Jesse. "Jesse, take us to the main city park."

"What makes you think he'll be there?" Jesse asked putting the car into gear and already heading there.

"A dream," Ashley said turning her gaze to study the city outside her window. "It's fading now but I know we'll find Eros in a park."

It took Jesse twenty minutes to find the park Ashley was talking about. The second he had the car in park Ashley was out of the car and running, looking at everyone she passed. It didn't take her long to find him. He was sitting on a bench reading a book with sheath of arrows next to her. Her arrows.

"I've been expecting you Chaos." He said without looking her way.

"Why does every God and monster I meet call me that? My name is Ashley."

"I know what your name is child." Eros said ignoring her rudeness. "I also know what you are and what you seek by coming here. I believe these," he gestured to the arrows then turned to look at her, "are what you seek?"

"I..." Ashley was at a lost for words. She had come for those arrows. But what was she going to do once she had them? Stab Heath and then everything would go back to normal? Would she even want to take him back or had this whole thing put a hole in their relationship too big to cross? If she stabbed him would he instantly be back to his senses? Or would he have lingering false feelings of love for the daughter of Aphrodite? There was only one way to find out.

"Yes. I came for those arrows."

Eros smirked and stood up, grabbing the arrows with the hand that wasn't holding his now closed book. He held the arrows out to Ashley when he stopped in front of her. When she went to take them he pulled them back.

"Do not mistake this as a gift Ashley Crenshaw. I give these arrows to you not out of generosity but as favor to Ares, it is his debt you will be in once you take them. Also in hopes that you will choose the right side when the time comes."

Ashley knit her eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean, which side to take?"

"You'll know when the time comes." Off in the distance they could hear Chase and Jesse calling for her. "I must go now Chaos," he said placing the arrows in her hands. "Just remember when the time comes."

Ashley looked down at the arrows in her hands, which turned out to be a blessing otherwise she would have been burnt to a crisp. The arrows were not a gift, that much she had understood. But what she didn't understand was what Eros and Ares were expecting from her. She understood that something big was happening but she found it hard to believe that the Gods were so interested in some decision that she had yet to make. No choice of hers would have any importance. Why would it? She wasn't a fighter or anything. Just a girl who liked to cause trouble.

"Ashley." She looked up from the arrows to peer over her shoulder. Jesse had pulled Chase with him by the hand and Chase was struggling to get free.

"I got them. I got the arrows." She turned around and held them up for the two of them to see.

"What are you waiting for!?" Chase said near hysteria. "Shank him already!"

Seriously? Who said shank anymore? Ashley pulled one of the arrows out before slinging the rest over her shoulder. She buried the head of the sliver arrow into his shoulder. She watched as it almost instantly dissolved. Then they waited.

Jesse blinked, as if he was waking up from an unexpected nap in an unfamiliar place. He looked at his hand that was entwined with Chases and then at the arrows on Ashley's shoulder. The look of sheer anger that crossed his face was something that Ashley wished to never see again. EVER. The next thing she heard was the sound of Chase's wrist snapping as Jesse broke it.

Chase cried out and Ashley went to help him as Jesse walked away. Ashley examined Chase's wrist. Jesse had been nice and the break was clean. That or he had just been too pissed to totally fuck it up. It was easy for Ashley to set with her basic medical training.

Her and Chase made their way out of the park and back to the car. Over the sounds of Chase's whimpering she heard the sky rumble and looked up. The first raindrop hit on her cheek and it felt like she could feel something in the world shift. Something begin.







LoLa walked with her nose in her phone as her class group made it's way through the Georgia Aquarium. The screen flashed different colors, reflecting the game she played. She should have been paying attention to what their biology teacher was saying, since there was surely to be a quiz on all this when they got back to school tomorrow, but the sea life was just too boring for her to care about. Which meant it was going to be another quiz she failed.

LoLa didn't care. She was so close to finally beating this level. So close. Then the screen of her phone flashed a new incoming message. Marcus had better hope that her game would still be where she left it when she finished replying to this. LoLa clicked the show button and waited for it to open.







LoLa rolled her eyes at her best friend slash "boyfriend". He wasn't really her boyfriend of course. The two just decided to fake date each other as a way to keep unwanted people off of them. It worked most of the time. The only downside is that LoLa had a slight real crush on Marcus. But whatever.

LoLa gave a short 'K' as a reply. She wasn't one for texting so she liked to keep it short sweet and to the point.

Luckily she wouldn't have to find an excuse to leave the group because the teacher had just announced lunch. With a relieved sigh LoLa made her way to the banquet room that had been reserved by the school. She did a quick scan of the room and spotted Marcus by the beluga whale tank. The blue light reflecting off of the water seemed to make his eyes bluer and he had a huge goofy smile on his face as he watched the whales swim. Of course he didn't notice the horde of girls behind him. These silly chicks would never learn. LoLa rolled her eyes and began walking towards him.

"Marcus," she said once she was in hearing range.

Marcus turned his attention from the whales to her and her traitorous heart did a little skip when his blue eyes met hers. He smiled when he saw her and his horde of fangirls giggled. LoLa shot them a glare, which they returned before walking away.

"I swear I need to stay around you 24/7 to keep the vultures away," LoLa said as she closed the small gap between them.

"I could say the same for you," Marcus said nodding at someone behind her as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He did that even before they were dating.

LoLa turned to see who he was gesturing to, expecting to see one of the beefy jock heads from their school. She didn't expect to see a girl with long chestnut brown hair and flawless features staring her down. The girls eyes sent a shiver down LoLa's spine.

"That's not creepy at all."

Marcus laughed. "Come on. Let's go eat."


The two chatted over lunch as they watched the fish swim in the tank next to their table. Occasionally one would swim by that Marcus knew, and he would explain it to her. If LoLa concentrated real hard she could pretend that she was on a real date with a real boyfriend. Not a field trip with her best friend. It was a nice thought.

They sat there after they had finished eating, just watching the fish when LoLa happened to glance up and see that girl from earlier staring her down again. LoLa furrowed her brow.

"That girl from earlier is back."

Marcus gave her a look before twisting in his seat, his gaze following the direction of hers. "She must really likeyou LoL's." Marcus said as he turned back around. "She can't take her eyes off of you."

LoLa sighed and pushed her chair back, standing up. "This shit gets annoying." LoLa said as she started walking towards the girl despite Marcus's calling out to her about how it was not a good idea to get into another fight.

The girl smiled as she watched her approach. When LoLa was within five feet of her she turned and started walking away. "Hey!" LoLa shouted as she followed her. She didn't stop and LoLa had to push past people to keep up with her. She stopped just outside the beluga whale tank and turned back to face.

Her lips curled back and her eyes narrowed at her. "I have been waiting for you LoLa McCarthy." Then she opened her mouth and began to sing...





After they left the park Ashley drove them to the airport. She wanted to get back to camp as quickly as possible. Luckily she was able to charter a private plane to get them to New York, it would not had made her week if she had to fly back on a public plane.

When they were on the plane she curled up in a ball in her seat, making it clear that she did not want to talk, and stared out the window. About two hours into their flight the pilot came over the intercom and announced that they were having engine trouble. They were going to have to make an emergency landing the Atlanta airport.

Fantastic.

They sat on a tarmac for nearly half an hour before some came on board and told them it was going to take six hours to fix and that there were no other planes available. They were stuck in Georgis for at least six hours.

"What do we do now Ashley?" Chase asked as they stood outside the airport while Ashley tried to hail a cab.

"I was thinking we could visit the aquarium."

The Georgia Aquarium was large and one of the only ones in the world that had whale sharks. Ashley had been there once before with her father when his company had held some fancy party there. She had spent the night meeting business people that she didn't really get to enjoy it. She had always wanted to go back.

There seemed to be a school trip going on when they got there and a teacher mistook them for one of her pupils so they were able to get in for free, which was fine with Ashley. The first place Ashley drug Chase to was the tunnel. They got see sharks and big groupers swimming above their heads. It was amazing.

"I wonder if this is what it's like for Stella and Lance. They can breathe underwater you know."

Ashley rolled her eyes but it did strike her as interesting. If Lance and Stella could have this view all of the time she wondered why they ever even bothered coming back up to the surface.

They sat on the main floor of the cafeteria during, watching as the people chatted and talk about the fish. It was boring but they didn't want to raise suspicion by doing anything out of the norm.

Chase was the one that spotted them. He slapped Ashley on the arm and pointed. A girl with long chestnut hair was being followed by girl with bright red hair who was being followed by a black guy. It was the girl in the front that raised Ashley's eyebrow. Everything about her screamed monster to her, and if she was leading that girl somewhere that meant...

"Come on," Ashley said grabbing Chase by the hand and pulling him to his feet. She kept as much to the shadows as she could but didn't take her eyes off the trio. The redhead seemed to be unaware that her male friend had followed her.

The chestnut girl opened her mouth and began to sing. A soft low melody. It was nothing extraordinary, but Ashley wondered why she would lead her away to sing to her.

But then her voice was joined by two others and Ashley looked all around for the other two but they seemed to be hidden. Movement next to her made Ashley glance over at Chase. He had pulled his hand from her grasp and was moving towards the stairway that led to the tank along with the other guy, almost like they were hypnotized.

Ashley looked at the tank and after a minute she saw them, swimming around with the whales. Sirens. They must have lured that girl out there in hopes of her male friend following so they could get him. They had also unknowingly gotten Chase as well.

"Damn it," Ashley said as she unclasped Kake. She had really hoped that she was going to make it through this quest without running into any monsters. She jumped out from her hiding spot and pointed her weapon at the siren that stood closest to her.

She turned her red eyed gaze on her and smiled. "Chaos. I've been waiting for you."

The redhead turned her gaze to Ashley as well and looked at her even more confused then she had previously. "Who the hell are you?"

"Chaos," Ashley said sarcastically. "Seriously? You're standing face to face with a siren and your asking who I am? You should be asking yourself that question."

The siren chuckled. "I can see the chaos growing in your soul. You want to destroy me don't you Chaos?"

"Well yeah you are a monster and I'm a demigod. According to my boyfriend I'm supposed to like kill you."

The sirens eyes narrowed and she looked almost happy. "You are why we are here. The other three demigods are just bonus'."

Three? She did a quick scan. Her and Chase made two, the redhead and her friend made four. Ashley had been right in assuming they were demigods. It also meant she had two more people to keep safe other the Chase. Ashley found him and the girls friend. The two of them were still climbing the stair, but if Ashley didn't do something to shut up the two in the tank then they were going to be swimming with the whales.

"Would you shut up already? You're pissing me off."

Ashley lunged at the siren with her sword and the redhead let out a scream. The siren dodged Ashley and joined in with her sisters singing. Ashley lunged again and this time she sprouted wings, flying up and diving over the edge of the tank.

Great. Swimming. Ashley's favorite thing. Not.

There was no way she was going to ruin her clothes or shoes with the salt water so she took them off as quickly as she could, stripping down to her underwear. She ran towards the steps, making sure to push Chase and his new friend back a few steps to keep them from getting up there. Last thing she needed was the idiots drowning their selves.

Ashley looked down when she reached the top of the tank and said a silent pray to whatever God that was listening, hoping that it was Poseidon, before she leapt in. It didn't occur to her that the whales were from Antarctica and that the water was going to be freezing.

The cold hit her like a big slap in the face and it took all of her power to keep diving. On a normal day she would be happy to swim with whales, but the sirens were eyeing her like she was their next meal.

On the plus side they had stopped singing.


None of this made sense to LoLa. The blonde with an attitude problem, seriously who gave her an overdose of bitch?, had called the creepy chick a siren then lunged at her with a sword. How had she got that past security. Then the creepy chick flew, actually flew, over the edge of the tank into the water. That's when LoLa noticed the other two swimming in the tank.

Next thing she knew the blonde was naked and rushing up to the top of the tank. LoLa watched her go and that was when she noticed Marcus. Where the hell had he came from?

"Marcus!" LoLa shouted as he climbed the stairs with some other. He acted like he didn't hear, he should have known better then to ignore her. "Marcus!" Still no response. He was so in for it.

LoLa heard a splash and looked into the tank. The blonde had jumped in and was swimming towards those things, with her sword clenched between her teeth. She was about half way down when they cornered her. It was a blessing in disguise because they quit their God awful singing.

"LoLa," LoLa looked back towards Marcus. Him and that other guy were holding their heads like they had been bonked on it too hard. "What the hell is going on?"

"No fucking clue."

The other guy looked around, like he was looking for something and when he didn't find it he turned to LoLa.

"Where's Ashley?"

"Who?"

"Bitchy blonde."

"Oh! She's in the whale tank."

"What...?" The guy looked over at the tank and it was almost comical how big his eyes got when he saw his friend in the tank. "Shit! Heath is going to kill me if I let sea whores drown his girlfriend!"

The guy raced up the stairs and Marcus and LoLa both stared after him, giving them questioning looks. "What the hell! Where did he pull that bow and arrow out of?"

LoLa wrinkled her nose and climbed the stairs to stand next to Marcus. "I'm not sure I want to know."


Ashley wasn't sure how long she had been in the water but it felt like ages. Her skin was on fire where the icy water touched her and her lungs were burning from lack of oxygen. SO far she had only managed to take out one the sirens with a lucky swipe of her sword. The other two were still dancing around her.

That was until an arrow zoomed through one and disintegrated her. LoLa looked up and saw that Chase was standing up there with his bow drawn. He gave the okay sign and Ashley nodded, returning it. Then she looked back at the siren who was glaring up at Chase.

She decided to take this opening but at the last minute the siren saw her swatted her away, causing her to slam into the think glass. the siren dove for her and Ashley rolled out of the way into one of the whales. Totally gross. Ashley tried not to think about that. then turned back to the siren who had that evil happy look on her face.

"You and your friend may have gotten my sisters Chaos but you will not get me. We will meet again." She said despite being underwater. She turned to the glass and swam straight at it full speed. Was she suicidal? Ashley had never met a monster that killed itself before.

But instead of splattering against the wall she went straight through the glass, leaving a body sized hole. The water was pouring out of it and where the hole was cracks began to form, spreading outwards. Ashley only had a moment to be thankful it was only the whale tank and not the shark, before it broke.

She was caught in the waves as they washed her out, luckily the whales had been smart and had swam down the water from the tank could only fill up so much of the room before it reached the bottom of the glass and stopped.

What Ashley was left with was knee deep water and soaking wet underwear. She was coughing up water as she stood on her feet.

"Ashley!" She could hear Chase calling. "We need to get out of here."

"No shit sherlock," she said as she got to her feet and looked around for her clothes. They had been pushed up into a corner by the water and like Ashley they were soaking wet. "Where are the other two? They need to come with us."

"Over here with me."

"Okay lets go." Ashley got to her feet and headed to the nearest gift shop, pulling the first things she found off the hangers and slipping them on.

"Ashley?" Chase said as he led the other two along. "I think we broke it."

"What was your first clue cupid?"


Getting the other two to leave with them and hop on a plane to New York was easier said then done. The black guy was all for it but the redhead bitched her face off. Claiming kidnapping and all this other bullshit. In the end Ashley had to slap her across the face and point out the facts to her. After that it was a little easier to coerce her into coming along.

Chase and Marcus, she found out that was his name, sat and talked the entire trip. While Ashley and LoLa, the redhead sat on opposite ends of the plane and did their best to ignore each other.

When the plan touched down they were picked up at the airport by Argus. Who successfully creeped the new kids out. Ashley always got a kick when New kids met him.

The ride to camp was quiet, Ashley sat in front next to Argus so no one else could sit next to her. Her arrows stored between her legs. Once at camp she jumped out of the van, leaving the other two behind and set off to find Heath.


It was crazy, thinking that she was the daughter of a Goddess. It had to of been her mom because she knew her dad. But she couldn't ignore the facts and the strange thing that had happened back at the aquarium. Putting two and two together it all made sense.

She was a demigod. Could this week get any worse?

1. Enjoying the view that Camp Half-Blood has to offer.

You mean staring at the chicks.

Get off my list Chase!

"Hey Chase!" Lexington shouted in protest as the list he had been writing had been torn away from him once more.

"Cram it Lex," Chase said as he wadded up the list and tossed it in the trash. "We're here to have fun. Not listen to you bitch about being bored."

Lexington tossed him a reproachful look. He had not been complaining. He had been listing the other thing he'd rather be doing then this. There was a difference.

"Ya know Chase, Lex is right. It is kind of boring." Li said as he lazily tried to toss cards into a hat.

Chase shot him a glare but all the other guys in the room were in agreement. Chase had decided to have an all guys slumber party in his dads cabin, he even convinced his siblings to vacate for the night, but he hadn't planned on what they were going to do. But as he watch Li toss the cards an idea hit him.

"Alright you guys want something to do?" Chase went over to Li and despite protest took the deck of cards from his hands and picked the ones up off the ground. "I'll give you guys something to do."

"I'm so bored," Aaliah said falling back onto Ashley's bed. They had been at the Eris cabin for almost two hours and so far all they had doen is listen to Ashley talk about Heath while Stella braided hair. Not that she was complaining, Aaliah loved to have her hair braided, but she was complaining.

She had thought that the guys getting out of their hair for a while would lead to an exciting night full of whatever girls did atslumber parties. Not them sitting around doing what they normally did.

"What do you want us to do Ali? It's not like there's too many options when we're confined to the camp." Stella said as she expertly weaved Ashley's hair.

It was true. After their last little escapade into the city Chiron had confided the girls to the camp for a whole month. He must have been hoping that it would teach them a lesson. So far all it had taught them is how utterly boring the camp can be.

"We could always crash the guys party and see what they're doing." Ashley said.

Aaliah sat straight up. That was actually quiet a brilliant idea, and those were something that her blonde friend didn't have often.

"Ashley that idea is perfect!" Aaliah said as she stood up and smiled happily.

Stella raised an eyebrow in a questoning look as she tied off the end of Ashleys hair. "You want to crash the guys slumber party? You do realize they're probably having a more boring time then us right?"

"We'll never know unless we find out."

Together the three girls left the Eris cabin and as steathly as they could made their way to the Eris cabin. They hushed each other, making more noise then they had been before they started doing that, and squatted down outside one of the windows to peer in.

"You're cheating!" Lexington shouted as he slammed the cards down on his bed. Chase had managed to get him, Benson, and Li down to nothing but their boxers and he still had on his shirt, socks, and boxers. He clearly had to of been stacking the deck.

Li wasn't complaining about being in his underwear made his way out of the room and into the bathroom. When Nature calls right?

"I'm not cheating. You're just a sore loser." Chsae said pointing an accusing finger at him.

"Yeah whatever. You just wanted an excuse to see me shirtless without making yourself look more gay then you already do!"

"I am not gay!"

"Strip poker really?" Ashley whispered as they watched the scene between the two. She was kind of bummed Heath wasn't at this party. But had to go to some football camp for school. Supposedly it was mandatory for his scholorship.

"It looks like more fun then what we were having."

"Ya know. Spying on people is illegal."

The three girls froze, then slowly they turned to look at one another. None of them wanted to look behind them because it would only confirm their fears that they had been caught.

"Guys," Stella said. It was anyones guess why she was stil whispering. "I think we might have been caught."

Ashley and Stella gave her their 'what the fuck' looks. They loved her but sometimes she could just be so... niaeve.

"What was your first guess captain obvious?" Ashley shot. She sent her one last glare before she sighed and turned around. She came face to chest with a whole lot of half naked asian.

"Why hello there."

Benson thought this was ridiculous. Chase hadn't been setting the deck, he wasn't smart enough to do that. No he was paying Ben off to do it for him. Of course if Lex had been paying attention to who delt he would have known that. As the two argued he sighed and reshuffled the deck again. Maybe it was time for Chase to lose another artical of clothing.

He was just about to deal the cards when he noticed they were still a man down. Li had disappeared into the bathroom awhile ago. Maybe he was avoiding Chase and Lex's argument. Ben sure wished he could. He climbed off the bed and went over to the door.

"Come one Li," Ben said knocking on the door. "We all want to hide from the idiots but I want to get this game over with."

"You looking for me?"

Three heads turned to look at the doorway into the cabin. Li stood there but he wasn't alone. Stella, Aaliah, and Ashley stood in front of them, each easily two inches shorter. They were dressed up and had their hair braided in different styles.

"I found these three peeking through the window."

Great. Just waht they needed. Girls to crash their party. Suddenly Ben realized just how naked he was and crossed an arm over his chest.

Ashlley glared at Li as he prectically pusshed them into the room. Then she looked back at the others. She knew Chase and Lex, but the shy blonde was one of those people she had seen around but never met. She didn't pay him too much mind.

"You guys throw the lamest parties ever." She said as she took a step into the room. "Seriously who plays strip poker?"

Chase shot her a look. "Apparently people who have more fun then you. Since ya' know. We didn't have to spy on you or anything."

Aaliah rolled her eyes. "Gods will you people just shut up." She walked over to Chases stereo system that had been playing softly and cranked it up. "Put your clothes back on boys. We're about to really party."

Benson should have known that partying with Ashley and her friends meant a whole lot of dancing and even more crazy. The girls seemed hyped up to max, even more so then usual. Stella and Ashley had taken to jumping from bed to bed and Aaliah was talking to Li.

Benson watched as Lex got up and went over to the two. He pulled Aaliah up by the hand and was trying to get her to dance. It seemed to be working until he had to open his stupid mouth. "Shouldn't you be in my bed?" All Benson could do was shake his head as he watched the son of Zeus get smacked hard across the face.

A few hours later everyone seemed to be coming down from their fun high. Stella and Ashley were curled up together on one of the empty beds and Aalish was currently using Li's lap as a pillow. Chase was sitting against the bed next to Stella, absentmindidly playing with her hair.

"This night turned out to be pretty good," Benson said as he was enjoying the relaxing aura in the room.

"Yeah. Bitches can crash whenever they want."

Ashley used to hate the times she came to New York on her dad’s request, mainly because he almost always never showed up no matter how many times he’d promise to be there. It eventually just became a way for her to get out of school work that the Athena campers provided. Then Heath came into the picture and her trips to New York became something that she loved.

The first time she came to New York after Heath had left for school she had invited him over out of utter boredom but it didn’t take long for them to find an activity to keep them occupied. Ashley began to pray that her dad would call her home, just so she could spend time away from camp with Heath. She loved camp and all but everyone seemed to know everything there. Here it was like she had escaped away to a secret place with Heath. Even if that secret place was her bedroom in her father’s penthouse in Central Park East.

Valentine’s Day weekend just so happened to be one of those times. Ashley had gotten a ride into the city from one of the year rounders who had a car and the second she reached her dad’s place she called Heath over. She would have to wait until he got out of class, of course, before he could actually come over but Ashley didn’t mind. It gave her more time to clean the already spotless place up some more.

Since there was no one there but herself she cleaned in a t-shirt and her underwear. It was way more comfortable that way since she really wasn’t in the mood for sweats. When she had finished cleaning what she could find to clean she went to the kitchen to start baking cupcakes. Baking was one of Ashley’s favorite past times and she did it every time she came home. She always had something new for Heath to try each time he came over.

This time it was his favorite though. Pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Ashley had never really cared for cream cheese but it was pretty good when whipped up into a frosting. She was just finishing up the frosting, waiting for the cupcakes to cool enough when she heard the door open and Heath’s voice call out.

“In the kitchen,” she called back out to him.

He came up behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, wrapping one arm around her waist while the other went for the bowl. Heath stuck a finger into the frosting and pulled it out, licking it off. “Heath keep your nasty hands out of my frosting bowl,” she said whacking his wrist with her spoon when he went for the bowl again.

“You mean this bowl?” He asked as he swooped in and got another finger full.

“Your spit just contaminated the frosting.”

Heath rolled his eyes. “Come one Ash. We both know my spit isn’t the worse thing you’ve had in your mouth.”

Ashley blushed then tried to hit him with her spoon again but he was already moving away towards the living room. So she went back to finishing up. The frosting was already basically done she just had to put it on the cupcakes. She touched one to make sure they were cool enough to out the icing on without having them melt it off. When she was satisfied that they were she spread globs of the icing over them, covering the tops. Then she pulled out two plates and set one on each of them before taking them to the living room and joining Heath on the couch where he was watching some movie about an axe murderer.

Ashley wasn’t a squeamish person. She could sit through any George A. Romero, Leprechaun, or Chuckie movie and not bat an eye. But when there was some inbred hillbilly running around on T.V. chopping people up it kind of unsettled her. Ashley ate half her cupcake before sitting it aside and curling up into Heath, burying her face in his shoulder whenever there was an unnerving scene on the T.V.

They stayed up most of the night watching movies, only when Ashley started dozing off in his lap did he suggest that they go to bed. Ashley agreed an went to her room and changed while Heath stripped down to his boxers. Ashley settled for shorts and a tank top. She crawled into bed next to him and used his shoulder as her pillow while he wrapped and arm around her. She almost instantly fell asleep since she always found it easy to fall asleep when she was wrapped up in Heath’s arms.

She woke up before him the next morning, she always woke up before him, and went to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and fixing her hair. She didn’t really have any plans today besides sit around at home so she didn’t bother with make-up. Heath had seen her without when he was forced to take care of her after he had gotten her sick when he took her to see that damn Christmas tree. Sure it wasn’t really his fault since she could have dressed a little warmer, but she wanted to blame him so she did. Just not to his face.

When she went back into the room he was waking up and Ashley climbed on him, straddling his waist. She bent over and kissed him, despite the fact that he still had morning breath. “How did you sleep?” She asked as she sat back up and moved hand to pet his hair.

“Fine but I would have slept better if someone wasn’t such a bed hog.” He said jokingly.

Ashley feigned insulted and gently hit his arm. But then a sound caught her attention and she perked up. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Ashley held a finger up to her lips to hush him and listened. She couldn’t hear anything now but she was sure she had heard a door. She was quiet for a few more minutes before she decided to go and check it out. She was just making it to the door when it started opening itself. Ashley took a step back as it opened fully.

In the door stood the second most intimidating man she knew, Heath being the first. Unlike his daughter he was tall, big belt, and even at his age his hair was still naturally dark. But his piercing blue eyes were nearly a carbon copy of her own. They were the only thing she had inherited from this man and they were darting between Ashley and Heath before settling on her.

“Both of you get dressed and meet me in the living room.” After almost an entire year of waiting, Andrew Crenshaw had finally shown up.

Ashley took her time getting dressed, explaining to a very confused Heath that he had just unintentionally met her father. She put on jeans and a shoulder exposing sweater then waited for Heath to slip on his own clothes. Heath didn’t look happy when she told him who her father was. But who could really blame him. Ashley’s dad was the ass of all parents. Ashley held Heath’s hand in her own as they went out to the living room together, this was a subconscious act left over from when her and Danielle would be called into the living room for fucking up some rich person’s life and causing their dad to take responsibility for their behavior.

Just like from her childhood her dad had pulled chairs from the dining room and set them in a triangle formation, like always he took the point. Ashley sat in the chair to his right and Heath sat in the chair to his left, crossing his arms and pulling off the intimidating look really well. Ashley’s dad sized him up before turning to her.

“Who is he?” Andrew Crenshaw, a man of many words who so often didn’t use them.

“A prostitute I picked up off the street.” Ashley’s words were laced with sarcasm that her father apparently didn’t get. Ashley rolled her eyes. “He’s my boyfriend dad.”

Her father raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you think you should have told me you had a boyfriend?”

Ashley had told him, multiply times since every time he called her she used Heath as an excuse to get off the phone with him. There was no use in reminding him of that though, since he only heard what he wanted to hear and when it came to Ashley that was absolutely nothing.

“Don’t you think if you actually visit her when you say you’re going to that you would have known she had a boyfriend?” Ashley’s head turned quickly to look at Heath. He looked mad and he kept balling his fist up under his armpits. “I mean this is like the eighth time she’s come home from camp and the first time that you’ve actually shown up.”

Ashley looked between her dad and Heath as they stared each other down. “I don’t think that my relationship with Danielle is any of your concern young man.”

The young man stood up, fist balled down at his sides. “Her name is Ashley and you’re the worst father in history.” Then he pulled Ashley up by her hand. “Come on we’re leaving.”

Ashley followed Heath to the door.

“Danielle if you take one step out the door I’m calling you into the police.”

That name cut through Ashley like knife, it always did when he called her that, and suddenly she was just as angry as Heath.

“And tell them what Andrew?” Ashley yelled as she turned back to face him. “That your dead daughter ran away, because Danielle is dead! You need to get that through your thick head. I know we may have looked exactly alike but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m not her. I’m Ashley and I’m leaving.”

She all but pushed Heath out the door, grabbing their coats before she slammed the door shut. She didn’t feel like waiting for the elevator so they took the stairs, all twelve flights of them. She was still shaking with anger when they got outside and blasted with a cold rush of February air. Heath put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around to face him.

“Are you all right?” He still looked incredibly angry but there was also a hint of concern underneath it. Ashley shook his hand off.

“I’m fine,” she said rather too harshly. She flinched at her own words. Heath wasn’t the one she was mad at; there was no need to take it out on him. “Sorry. I’m just still a little angry.”

“I don’t blame you,” Heath said pulling his cigarettes out and lighting one up. “I hate your dad. It’s taking what little will power I have to go back in there and not punch him in the face.”

“No one would blame you if you did,” Ashley said looking down at her shoes.

Heath smirked. “Come on.” He took Ashley by the hand and led her down the street away from her father.

They ended up spending the day at the Central Park Zoo. Ashley wasn’t a big fan of the zoo but it was a nice distraction. Ashley knew she would eventually have to go back home and face her dad, but she wanted to avoid it for as long as possible so she sat on a bench in the park with Heath and watched people walk by.

“Do you think I was right to snap at him?” She asked after what seemed like hours. “I mean was it fair?”

Heath examined his dying cigarette before crushing it out on the ground. “I think that it was a long time coming. He deserved everything you said to him.”

That didn’t stop her from feeling guilty. “But he’s my dad.”

“And you need to stop making excuses for him,” Heath said raising his voice just a bit. “Look I know both of you took the death of your sister hard but it’s not an excuse for him to forget that you’re still here and alive. He needs to pull his head out of his ass.”

Ashley stared at Heath for a minute before turning away and watching the people pass by again. He was right. Ashley had been making excuses for her dad for way too long, putting up with more than anyone else would have. To her, her dad was the last family member she had alive, besides an aunt in Italy and an uncle in Florida that she rarely saw, but she didn’t have to let him walk over her. Ashley didn’t let anyone walk all over her, what should make her dad any special. When she got home that night she was going to tell him that. Make him understand that their relationship would have to change or completely disappear. She had to stop making excuses for him.

Ashley laid her head on Heath’s shoulder and his arm came up to wrap around hers. “Hey Heath.”

“Yeah Ashley?”

“Thank you.”







“She’s really gone isn’t she?”

That was the first thing Ashley’s dad said to her after she returned home from her day out with Heath. He had suggested that he go back to his dorm room and stay the night with him but she wanted to go home and talk things out with her dad. So Heath walked her home and kissed her goodnight before going back to his dorm.

Ashley’s dad was sitting on the couch waiting for Ashley when she got back. He had taken the jacket to his suit and shoes off, and the first few buttons to his shirt were undone. There was a half empty bottle of whiskey on the coffee table next to him. Drinking was never a good sign. Ashley sat down on the sofa next to him and put her hands in her lap.

“Yeah dad. She’s gone.”

The old man turned so his piercing blue eyes were staring at her. “But you’re not. You’re here and you’ve been here all along haven’t you?”

Ashley didn’t meet his gaze, just kept staring at her hands in her lap. “There was nowhere else for me to go. You’re the only family I have left.”

He looked at her a moment longer before turning away from her to look back at the ceiling. “That’s not true. You have him. He seemed like a good enough guy. It looks like he was taking care of you while I was gone.”

Ashley smiled at her hands. “Heath is the kind that takes care of anyone. He’s just good like that.”

They were silent for awhile after that. Ashley’s dad stared up at ceiling while she stared at her hands. Her dad was the one to the break the silence. “You love him.” That one caught Ashley off guard and her head shot up to look at him. He met her gaze. “Don’t you?”

What was she supposed to say? That word was taboo in her relationship, something she would never day say to Heath for fear of him getting scared and leaving. She knew how she felt about him, but she was always unsure of the way he felt. There were some days that she thought there might be a chance that he felt the same but those chances would be squashed by the rational side of her screaming that Heath stuck around for the physical part of the relationship.

“Come Dad. Let’s get you to bed.”

Ashley helped her father down the hall to his room, and as disturbing as it was she also helped him strip down to his under shirt and boxers and get into bed. It felt like something had changed between the two that night. Sure they hadn’t really talked about Danielle’s death but at least her dad had acknowledged it and even if he was drunk it was still a step in the right direction.

Ashley got herself ready for bed, by which she stripped down to her under wear and crawled under the covers. Heath’s side still smelled like him so she cuddled up into it and buried her face in his pillow, letting his scent lull her to sleep. She woke up early that next morning because her cat Spaz seemed bent on not letting her sleep and kept rubbing up against Ashley trying to get her to pet her.

“Fine!” Ashley said after fifth time she knocked her off the bed and she came back. The grey tabby laid on her chest as Ashley stroked her fur. The cat hadn’t always been hers. It was originally Danielle’s. She had rescued it from a couple of kids who were picking on the small starving kitten and brought her home and nursed her back to health. The first night they had the thing it had had a seizure and they had taken her to the vet only to find out that she had feline epilepsy. Danielle had looked down at the little thing and said, “Well you’re a spastic little thing aren’t you?” , and that is how the name Spaz had stuck her.

Looking at the cat always gave Ashley a pang of longing for her sister but she just couldn’t seem to get rid of her since Danielle had been so attached to her. “Come on let’s go take your medicine.” Feline epilepsy was treatable with medicine and it kept Spaz’s seizures few and far between. Normally when Ashley was away at camp there would be a house keeper that would come in and do this but since she was here they didn’t come in early and Ashley was left with the task of giving the cat her medicine. It was no easy task since cats didn’t like shots any more than humans did.

She managed to keep a hold of her just long enough to get the medicine in than the cat jumped from her arms and hissed at her before walking over to its food bowl.

“Love you too,” she said rolling her eyes. She decided that since she was up that she might as well make breakfast. She dug through the cabinets and found what she would need then set to making biscuits and gravy from scratch. She had just put the biscuits into the oven when her dad came into the kitchen. Thankfully he had enough sense to put on pajama pants.

He sat down at the island and was rubbing his temples. “Man my head is killing me.” Ashley had already planned for this and pushed a bottle of aspirin and water towards him. He thanked her before taking two of them and swallowing them down with water. He didn’t say anything else as he watched her cook. When the food was finished she made him plate and handed it over to him before making her own.

They ate in silence, neither quite sure what to say to the other since it had been over a year that they had been in the same room with no one else and they were both sober. Ashley was hapy with the silence but her dad had something on his mind.

“You should invite him to the dinner tonight.”

Ashley almost choked on her biscuit. She had to take a drink of milk to help swallow it before she could answer her dad.

“Are you talking about Heath?” He nodded. “Andrew I don’t think these kind of things are exactly his forte. I mean I’m not even sure he owns a tux.”

“Then buy him one,” he said pushing food around on his plate. “If you two are going to be dating seriously then he needs to be exposed to these sort of things. For future purposes of course.”

Ashley didn’t even want to think what kind of future purposes he was talking about. But she agreed to try to get him to go, more or less just because she didn’t want to fight with him. After breakfast Ashley got herself ready then headed down to Heath’s dorm. The door was opened by his nerdy roommate. A flash of recognition crossed his face.

“He’s still sleeping,” he said crossing his arms.

“Not for long,” Ashley said pushing past him into the room. Heath was knocked out on his bed. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping that Ashley almost felt bad for waking him up. Almost.

Ashley jumped on him, laying her body on top of his and Heath gave an ‘Oof.’ He had drawn back a fist to swing but luckily he opened his eyes before he did. Heath groaned. “Good morning to you too.”

Ashley wasn’t one for beating around the bush so she jumped straight to the point. “Will you come to the dinner tonight?”

Heath raised an eyebrow at her. “You mean that charity thing your dad wants you to go to?” Ashley shook her head. “I’d rather hang out with Jesse.”

“Ouch, Heath,” Ashley moved around to where she was sitting between Heath and the wall with her legs hanging over him. She bit her bottom lip and pouted. She watched him as he watched the blood rush her to lip. “Please Heath. It would mean a lot to me.”

Heath stared at her hard. “What do I get if I go?” Ashley smirked then bent over and whispered something into his ear, something that caused both of his eyebrows to shoot up. “What am I going to wear?”

“Well they have these things called tuxedos. . .”

“I know that smart ass,” Heath said flicking her in her forehead. “But I don’t exactly have one.”

“Just leave that to me,” Ashley said pushing herself up off of him. “Be at my place by eight. If your late I castrate you.”

On her way home she stopped by one of the tux shops. Luckily the guy was able to figure out what size he wore by his height and the sizes that Ashley was able to provide him. He promised her that the tux would be at Heath’s dorm in time for him to meet her at eight.

Ashley started getting ready at five. She curled up her hair and pinned it into an elaborate updo, then worked on her makeup. She was just slipping on her dress when the door bell went off. She looked over at her clock, it was eight on the dot. Ashley zipped up her dress and made her way to the door.

“Congratulations you get to keep your penis,” she said as she opened it and let Heath inside.

“Haha very funny. Can I take off this bow tie yet?”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “No you have to at least get to the dinner before you can take anything off.”

Heath groaned then looked at Ashley like he was looking her for the first time. “Are you wearing a wedding dress?”

Ashley looked down at her dress. Yeah it was white and fancy but she didn’t think it looked all that much like a wedding dress. Heath was a guy and whenever guys saw a white dress they thought wedding. “No Heath. It’s just ball gown. Girls like me wear them to these types of things.”

Heath gave her a skeptical look but decided to change the subject. “Where’s your dad?”

“He already left,” Ashley said as she grabbed her shawl off the coat hook and her clutch from the table by the door. “And we should too before we’re late.“

Ashley took Heath’s arm and let him lead her down to the bottom floor where there was a car waiting for them. They got inside and rode in silence to the event hall. Once there it was the normal stuff that Ashley had gotten used to growing up. Reporters flashing cameras and asking questions to the big important people. It had been awhile since Ashley had actually been to one of these things so many people were quite surprised to see her.

The evening progressed nicely, not too many people bothered Ashley since it was mainly her dad that they wanted to meet. But a few were curious about Heath. So she would introduce him, tell them that she had met him at summer camp, and whatever other bullshit they wanted to hear. Ashley was worn out half way through the night. Her and Heath were sitting at a table when Angela, someone Ashley had never liked came and sat down with them.

“Hey Ashley who’d your friend?” She asked giving Heath the hungry eyes.

Ashley took a hand and placed on Heath’s thigh. “My boyfriend Heath. Heath this is Angela Hatter.”

Heath gave a nod of acknowledge meant but didn’t give her too much attention, he was too busy dying of boredom to care about anyone right then and there.

“Ah I see,” she said not taking her eyes off of him. “Does he have any brothers?” Tons, Ashley thought. But that would have been awkward to say.

“No he’s an only child.”

“That’s too bad. Well I’ll see you around Ashley,” she said as she got up and left. She walked behind the two and she distinctly saw her slip something on the table under Heath’s arm. Ashley bent over and snatched it. She folded it open and laughed.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“What?” Heath asked taking the paper from her. He took one look at it and started laughing too. “Really?”

“You and your good looks are a menace to society. I should keep you locked away.” Ashley said between laughter.

“Think I should give this one of the Aphrodite boys and let them have some fun with it?” Heath asked examining the paper as if it was some interesting artifact.

“Go for it. At least then someone would get some use out of it.”

Heath looked over at Ashley and smiled at her. She smiled back before she leaned in to kiss him.

“I’m really happy you came. It made the boredom much more bearable.” She said once she pulled away.

Heath was about to say something when someone interrupted them. “Hey guys.”

They both turned at the exact same time to see Lance, focused on a hand held video game and sitting down across from them. He was dressed in a tux as well except he had undone his bow tie and was letting it hang loose around his neck.

Ashley looked at him in disbelief and Heath had curious look on his face as well. How could they had not noticed that Lance was there? She looked back at Heath and between Lance just randomly popping up and Angela slipping him her number they started laughing again. It was one of those moments where everything just seemed funny.

It was Lances turn to look confused as the two laughed. “What’s so funny?” He asked as intensely destroyed a video game character.

Ashley shook her head. “Nothing Lance.”

Heath leaned back in his seat and out an arm around Ashley’s shoulders. "Hey if he doesn’t have to wear his tie does that mean I can take mine off?"

Ashley and Lance simultaneously said, “No!”

The day that Lexington had met Jesse White had started out like any other day. He woke up at the ass crack of dawn, even though it was summer, suffered through his home school classes, even though it was summer, and gritted his teeth through the daily catholic mass that his Aunt Lydia made him go to. He’d been going to these every day since his mother had ditched him on her doorstep. Lexington wasn’t a very religious person though. He sat through mass, gave communion, but he didn’t really believed in it. He found it hard to believe that there was just one ‘Supreme Being ‘.

Around noon his aunt let him go out after checking to make sure all his school work was done. Lex enjoyed the few hours he got daily to go around Tybee and take in the local cuisine. His favorite place was a little diner on the pier that had the best onion rings on the island and Suicides to die for. Figuratively speaking. It was just a normal day. Until two little kids started annoying the piss out of him. This happened every summer. Tourists who were too busy shopping or doing something else would set their kids loose and they would terrorize locals like Lex.

Lexington couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was staring. He looked around the diner and spotted the culprit. A guy, a few years older than him, who was surveying his surroundings like he was looking for the best way to escape. His facial expression was hard to read due to the sunglasses he wore, but Lex got the message when he saw one of his eyebrows shoot above the glasses. ‘What the hell are you looking at?’ But Lex didn’t look away. He wasn’t to break eye contact so he let the other guy do it instead. After his food arrived the guy gave it his entire attention while Lex decided to focus on his onion rings.

After a few minutes the two children became too much for him and he got up and left. He had to be home soon anyways to help his aunt clean the already spotless house. Lexington was going to take the shortcut through the woods that would lead straight to the house. Lexington wasn’t oblivious to the fact that the children from the diner were following him. He wasn’t stupid. He had just turned around to tell them off when his eyes went wide. It wasn’t little kids that had been following him, It was giant blue monkeys. The kind of monkeys that looked like they just might be cannibals. Lex was on the defense but honestly he wasn’t much of a fighter.

The blue monkeys were on him. He held his own but not for long as the little fuckers quickly over powered him. Lex was not going to be killed by blue monkeys. He was doing his best to keep the things at bay but he was getting nowhere. Until one of them burst into dust. “What the hell?” Lexington was confused, thing didn’t randomly burst into dust, but then again there weren’t supposed to be blue monkeys either.

The whistle caught Lex’s attention and he looked up to find the guy from the diner standing in the tree above him. Had he too been following him? He waved at the monkey before throwing something that seemed to transform into a dagger midair. It buried itself in the monkey’s chest just like its brother it burst into dust. Lexington stared up at the teen. Who the hell was he and what the hell was going on?

He jumped down from the tree and even behind the glasses Lex could tell he was sizing him up. “Come on,” he said turning and motioning Lex to follow him. Yeah how about not. Lex didn’t make it any of his business to go running off with weird strangers who killed weird things.

“Who the fuck are you?”

The guy looked back at him and raised that damn eyebrow again.

“No time. Come on.”

Oh there was time. “I’m not going anywhere until I get some answers.”

Lex learned a very important lesson that. Kidnappers give you answers when they want, not when you demand them. They will also make sure to get you into their car weather you want to go or not. Lexington fought the entire way and it must have pissed the guy off because he snapped at Lex.

“LOOK! If you want to know why mutant Keebler elves attacked you and who I am, and more importantly who you really are. You will shut up, and stay in this car and come with me. If you want to face those monsters again and even worse ones then be my guest and try and run away.” Yeah he was mad and Lex was silent. “What no witty comment? I couldn’t get you to shut up while getting you here.”

Lex had a few witty comments but none of them were burning at the edge of his throat like this one was.

“Who are you?”

“Jesse White, you?”

That had not been the answer Lex was looking for. “Lexington Stone.” Who is exactly was this kid and what kind of drugs had Lex’s aunt slipped into his milk. “But you didn’t really answer my question.”

And of course the kid had a witty response for that and Lex had to be more clear about what he wanted to know, which was everything. As they sped down the interstate Jesse explained to him what he was. Greek Gods weren’t exactly something he knew a whole lot about since his aunt all but forbid studying any God but her own Catholic one. But the idea of Greek Gods being alive and working seemed a lot more believable then just one God. Still Lexington planned on ditching this guy the second they stopped for more than half an hour and go straight to the cops. Originally he had thought this guy might have been one of the four horsemen in disguise but he slowly began to realize that he was riding alongside the Devil.

The Jesse kid didn’t seem like he planned to stop for long enough to fill up the car though and the silent trip was unnerving him. Out of boredom her went through the glove box and found an extra pair of sunglasses and slipped them on, they would help with the bright sun. Then he read the owners manual to pass the time. After they passed into the state of New York Lexington pulled out his rosary, he never went anywhere without mostly because his aunt wouldn’t let him and began to say Hail Mary’s out of habit. Jesse looked over and gave him a questioning look.

“What?” Lexington asked raising his eyebrow at him.

“You’re Catholic?”

Lexington nodded his head. “At least it’s the only religion I know anything about. I lived with my aunt and she sort of stuffed her Catholic beliefs down my throat. I break out the rosary whenever I get bored out of habit.”

“I see.” Jesse gave the beads a critical look before reaching over to pull them out of Lex’s hands. He then held them up and let go so they would go flying out of the topless car.

Lex was horrified but yet it felt oddly freeing to see them disappearing. Like a chain that had been holding him down all his life had been cut free. Lex looked over at Jesse, a cross between shock and admiration written on his face. He wasn’t sure if he should thank him or punch him in the face.

“I’m pretty sure you’re going to Hell for that.”

Jesse held up a finger. “First thing; it’s not Hell it’s the Field of Punishment. Second thing; Shut up. I like quiet.”

Lex shut his mouth after that. Jesse had officially entered his book as the coolest person he had ever met. Lex wished he could have his attitude of not giving two fucks about anything, but growing up with his aunt kind of made him second guess everything he said.

Lexington was asleep when they pulled into the camp and he stared at in shock. Apparently he wasn’t lying about it. There really was a camp for dyslexic, ADHD, nobodies like him. He got out of the car and began to follow Jesse up to a big blue house but he didn’t get far when he noticed a blue/green glowing lightning bolt above his head.

“Hey Jesse what does this mean?” He asked pointing up at it.

Jesse’s eyes followed but it kind of seemed like he saw glowing blue symbols all the time. “Zeus is your dad. Explains the suits.”

Lexington looked down at his outfit. At least he was wearing jeans and sneakers with it. It may have looked semi-casual but it wasn’t that bad. He liked it. On their way to the house they ran into two people. A blonde shirtless guy and a girl in a swimsuit, both were carrying surf boards. The girl took one look at the two of them and dropped hers and a look of horror crossed her face.

“My Gods there’s two of them.”

The day had started out like any normal Saturday. Ashley had waked up to sunlight streaming in through the window and the smell of rain clinging to the air. She pushed herself out of bed enough to be able to see out the window. It wasn’t raining but the grey tint to the sky said that it had recently. Probably while she was asleep.

Ashley’s normal Saturday consisted of sword training with the Apollo cabin and hand to hand with the Aphrodite kids. The last one was a complete and utter joke. The only reason she ever went to those classes was to poke fun of the girls when they complained about breaking a nail. But today she was diverting from the norm and skipping both training sessions. She had different plans that day and she didn’t plan on being at the camp for long. She just had to find a few people before she left.

Her first stop was Lance’s cabin. She had heard that he had decided to send his two week long fall vacation at camp. This worked out well for Ashley. She didn’t bother with knocking as she walked into his cabin. Lucky for her he was up and dressed. “Go to Heath’s football game with me today.”

Lance gave her a questioning look, like he was trying to decide if she was asking him or telling him. He must have figured he didn’t care either way and shrugged. “Sure I don’t have anything better to do.”

Ashley let out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t really wanted to argue with Lance about going so the fact that he was going to willingly was a hug relief. But then again the odds that he would have said no were slim. Lance was always pretty much up for anything if he didn’t already have plans.

Her next stop was Jesse’s cabin, where she found him ignoring the living world under his bed. He took a little more convincing then Lance.

“Go to Heath’s game with me.”

“No.”

“Please?”

“Pouting doesn’t work on me Ashley.”

“Lance is going.”

“So?”

“You’re really going to make him suffer through a whole day with just me?”

Ashley had a point there and he knew it, but he still wasn’t going to agree to go without getting something in return. He made Ashley promise that she would do him one favor he got to choose what it was, and she couldn’t say no to it. Ashley was a little leery of this bargain, especially since Heath didn’t like Jesse in the first place, but she agreed to it none-the-less because she might need Jesse’s help in acquiring something.

So a little after nine the three of them left camp together and headed to Ashley’s third stop, Heath’s dorm room. She seemed to be knocking on his door for what seemed like forever. It was opened by some nerdy looking who appeared to have just rolled out of bed. He looked angry but then he gave Ashley the once over like most guys did and his facial expression seemed to change instantly. He leaned against the door and tried to pull off suave when he said, “Can I help you?”

Ashley rolled her eyes. “Where’s Heath?”

The look that crossed his face told Ashley that this wasn’t the first time that he answered the door to find a hot girl who was looking for Heath. “He’s not here. He went to get something to eat before he went to practi. . . Hey you can’t just barge in here!” He shouted as Ashley pushed past him into the room going straight for Heath’s closet.

“Jesse squeeze the nerd for info.” She said as she began ruffling through the mess that was Heath’s laundry.

Jesse gave her a confused look. “Info on what?”

“The slut who’s been coming to my boyfriends room.” She said like it should have been obvious.

Jesse didn’t need to be told no more before he turned on the roommate and started drilling him. Lance came in and just laid back on Heath’s bed. It took Ashley a couple of minutes to find what she had been looking for and as she held up the jersey she couldn’t help but make a face. Really? The Violets? What the hell kind of team was that. Ashley held the jersey up to her nose and gave it a sniff. It had that distinct Heath smell but it didn’t smell sweaty or anything.

“Are you done Jesse?” She asked as she slipped the jersey into her bag.

“I was done five minutes ago.”

Ashley shook her head. “Of course you were. Talk to me as we walk.”

The three of them left the room and Jesse had told her what he learned. The girl who had been showing up was a brunette cheerleader named Misha. At first she started coming around to ask for homework assignments; apparently they had the same English class. Then she started coming around just to see him. Normally Heath would have his roommate answer the door and have him tell her he was out. When that was unavoidable though he stood at the door and talked to her, never invited her in.

That gave Ashley some relief. She trusted Heath completely; it was the girls she didn’t trust. She knew first hand just how hard someone was willing to work to get what they wanted. She had spent six weeks going after Heath and even after that it was a constant battle on her end to keep him. She never used the L word or anything that might scare Heath away.

Ashley took Jesse and Lance back to her place in the city and told them to help themselves to her food while she went and got changed. She stripped down and began rifling through her draws. She opted out of underwear, the jeans she wanted to wear would be too tight and she didn’t want to show panty lines. Instead of a normal bra she chose to wear a sports bra, the jersey would be too huge that it wouldn’t matter what kind of bra she wore either way. Then she put on the jersey, tying it up at the bottom so just a tiny strip of mid-drift showed and slipped on a pair of her favorite Jordan’s.

Once her outfit was perfect she worked on her hair. She had left it down for most of the day but it was windy out and she didn’t want the wind blowing it in her face the entire time. She actually wanted to watch the game. She tied it in a tight French braid, making sure no loose ends would escape. She didn’t do her face up any more then she would for training at camp. Just mascara and eyeliner. When she was happy that she was decent enough to go into public she went back downstairs to find Lance and Jesse.

The two of them were sitting on her couch watching some dumb cartoon eating tubs of ice cream. Ashley cleared her throat to get their attention. “Are you two ready to go?”

Lance looked down at his ice cream and back at her. “Can I take the ice cream with me?”

Ashley gave him the, you-can’t-be-serious look. But apparently he was. “I don’t care Lance. Let’s just go so we’re not late.”

None of them wanted to drive in city traffic, especially during a game, so they took a taxi to Sexy Stadium. The person who had donated it to the school had named it after himself. He was apparently extremely full of himself considering his name was Sexton and not Sexy. They made it through the ticket line without any problems but they wouldn't let Lance bring in the ice cream so they had to stand around and wait for him to finish it. Lucky for him it was almost gone by the time they got there.

They found good seats surprisingly. The players weren’t out on the field yet but the cheerleaders were down on the sidelines warming the crowd up. Ashley’s blue eyes scanned them, wondering which one was the one that had been hounding her boyfriend.

“Jesse.” Was all she needed to say. He followed where her eyes were and understood what she was saying.

“On it.” Jesse got up and disappeared into the crowd and Lance followed him with his eyes. But then the game music stated and his attention was back on the field.

Ashley’s eyes scanned the team as they ran out, looking for the same number that she now wore. She gave a loud cheer for Heath when she spotted him, although she doubted he could hear her over the roar of the crowd.

The anthem played and the game started. Jesse returned half way through the first quarter, bringing drinks with him. He had seen some of the cheerleaders go over to the concession stand for water and he followed them. Misha was among them and Jesse pointed her out to him. Everything from her roots to her perfectly manicured nails looked fake. Even if she hadn’t of been hitting on her boyfriend Ashley wouldn’t have liked her.

They watched as the game progressed, cheering on Heath each time he was up to play. The end of the game was close and only a last minute score allowed Heath’s team to win. Ashley and the guys made their way down to the field. Heath was in a circle of the center of his teammates and cheerleaders as they celebrated. He took off his helmet and was smiling ear to ear. That’s when that Misha chick signed her death certificate.

She pushed her way towards Heath and then threw herself on him. Jesse and Lance kind of took a step back from Ashley as if expecting her to explode. She saw Heath put his hands between the two in the universal sign for get this crazy chick off of me. Ashley pushed her way through the group. Well she didn't have to really push, when you see an angry blonde wearing a guys jersey as another chick is kissing him you kind of move the fuck out of the way.

When Ashley reached the girl she tangled her fingers in her hair and pulled her off of Heath by it. He seemed to slightly confused yet relieved at the same time. Ashley threw the girl onto the ground and put a foot on her chest to keep her from getting up.

“Hey bitch here’s a tip. Next time you want to molest my boyfriend make sure I’m not around.” Ashley made sure to press down on her chest before turning her back and glaring at Heath. He threw his hands up, and the innocent look on his face was too much. Ashley couldn’t stay mad at him. She was about to say something to him when she felt someone pull her hair. Messing it up. This bitch was gonna die.

Misha had Ashley by her hair and just like Ashley had done early she turned Ashley around to face her. “I don’t know who the hell you are but I’m not going to let some twelve year old come in here and throw me around.” Then she slapped Ashley across the face. So she was a girly fighter. Ashley had delt with one or two of these in her life before. What was one more?

Ashley pulled back her arm and punched her in the gut. The shock of it caused her to let go of Ashley’s hair. Ashley pushed her back on the ground and straddled her, taking hold of her uniform in her fist. The girl lashed out at Ashley, aiming for a slap but scratching Ashley across the face instead. Ashley lifted a hand and touched her cheek. There was blood on her hand when she pulled it away.

Jesse and Lance slide up next to Heath during this small bit. “Aren’t you going to stop her?” Lance asked. Heath shook his head. “Nope.” Lance gave him a confused look. “Why not?” Heath raised an eyebrow at him as if to silently ask him if he was serious. “Because it’s hot.”

Ashley punched her once. “Don’t you ever.” Punch. “Touch.” Punch. “My boyfriend.” Punch. “Or my hair.” Punch. “Ever again.” Instead of slamming her fist into the girls face this time she slammed her head into it. The sound of her nose breaking and her blood gushing from it filled Ashley’s ears. This is when Heath did step in.

“Alright you that’s enough,” he said picking Ashley up and throwing her over her shoulder. Ashley screamed at the girl as he carried her off the field, calling her every foul name she could think of. She only shut up once they were in the tunnels that led to the locker room.

He sat her down on a bench and looked her over. “Are you okay?” Ashley glared at him. “Oh come on. You’re not seriously mad at me?”

Ashley stood up on the bench that she was sitting on, making her height even with his, then grabbing him by his shirt pulled him closer to her. “Don’t you ever. I repeat EVER, let anyone but me kiss you ever again.” Then she threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around her neck and her legs around his waist which was a little difficult thanks to the padding, but his hip pads made great leg rest. Heath dropped his helmet and wrapped his arms around her to keep her up. Ashley kissed Heath as she tried to get her body as close to his as possible.

It was fierce and rushed, Ashley poured all of the anger that she had left over into it and was doing her best to bruise his lips with her own, even if it was her own that would be bruised in the end. Heath got into it; he slammed her body up against the opposite wall and pressed into her. Lance and Jesse happened to walk in during this and decided that it was best to leave the two alone for awhile and set off to find something to eat. They had their number if they needed to find them. Ashley was panting when they finally pulled apart for air.

“You know there’s something sexy about a girl with someone else blood on her face.” Heath said wiping a bit of it off.

Ashley smirked. “I’m also not wearing underwear.”