Will update the while fourth chapter soon. It's really long. So if you'd prefer it in pieces let me know
Chapter 3 I hear a small voice come from down below calling my name. “Miranda?” I sigh, ”Here.” After Sarah gets me down from my surprisingly comfortable bed in the tree, we walk through the woods towards the main building. “Omigosh, I’m sososo excited for the dance! I’ve got a gorgeous dress and matching earrings and shoes.” I smile at Sarah’s rambling. It’s the one thing that can cheer me up. “What are you going to wear?” “I don’t know if I’ll go,” I indifferently state. “What? But you have to go! I’m not going to let a stupid boy ruin the best party of the year for you! Come on, I bet you could fit into one of Ellie’s dresses!” She grabs my hand. She manages to pull my 5’11” body to her dorm with her 4’11” body maintaining a pretty good speed. I look through dresses absentmindedly, while Sarah squeals and throws random dresses at me. She exclaims, “I found it! It’s perfect!” She holds up a teal coloured halter party dress. I fits well. A little tight, though. She pairs it with a gold head band and gold snake skin flats. Later that night, Sarah shows up with mascara in one hand and a makeup bag in the other. She applied foundation to my face and then came the eyes. They kept tearing and grey watery smudges appeared under them. We finally got it to work. She added black mascara and eyeliner and a hint of gold sparkly eyeshadow. I felt fake. We walk down to the gym and join the party. I secluded myself in a corner. I see people dancing, chatting and making out. Sarah and Leila sway to the beat in the middle of the floor. Sarah spots Adam and leaves Leila alone. Leila looks uncomfortable. She soon exits. I find myself staring at Sarah and Adam. Young love. They were cutish. They looked uneasy, a sort of edgy look in their eyes. “Um, excuse me but why are you wearing my dress,” Ellie appears out of nowhere. “Sarah said I could borrow it,” “Well, isn’t that sweet, but if she really cared she would have told you how horrible you look.” She smiled, swishing her drink from left to right in her glass; a sly look on her face. “It needs something, how about this,” she says as she throws her liquid at me. “Oops!” and a hushed silence fell over our area of the crowd. I don’t think she processed the fact that this was her dress but I was too mad to even think about it. “B*tch!” I yell. I was about to hurl two carving knives at her face when Mr. Felten interfered, pulling me out by a wrist while she laughed at me. He threw me out and left me standing in the hall, still clutching the knives. My dress was wet, and my hair was a mess. I walked down the long hall and leaned against a wall, watching kids go in and out. I slide down the wall and sat there while the distant beating of the music would louden as someone would open the door. I ran up to my dorm as I saw him walk out the door. I’m sure looked like a psycho as I struggled to get up then ran like a bat out of heck up the stairs. I left the knives. ----------------------------- After harassing Miranda into coming to our dorm and getting her ready for the dance, I now had the task of getting myself ready. Caroline and Ellie took 5 hours to get ready, putting on layers of makeup and always staring into their mirrors trying to fix something. I wore a sleeveless lavender dress which hugged the shape of my body, with matching large intricately shaped silver earrings and matching silver high heels. After putting on a good amount of makeup, but not enough to make me look nearly as fake as Ellie or Caroline, I stood in front of the mirror doing my hair in my side of the large room. They had like 50 mirrors provided in our dorm along with lots of vanities and other things of beauty. Stereotypical. I used a flat iron to straighten most of my hair, but then do little curls at the ends. My black, thick long hair falls to my elbows. Ellie watches me from across the room. She’s not the nicest character, but she’s usually almost decent with me. “So are you going to stalk Adam at the dance?” she asks. I roll my eyes. “He talks to me too, you know.” “Yeah right,” she responded, like I wasn’t good enough for him. “Everyone knows you’re so dang crazy for him.” I literally wanted to burn her skin with the flat iron. Like, brutally attack her with it. But I just forced a tight smile and continued with my hair. That night, around seven, all the demigods crowded into the gym. The gym was brightly decorated, dimmed with color-changing spotlights. I hung out with some of my friends, daring enough to dance in the middle of the dance floor. The music coursed through me. The loud music boomed in my ears. I spotted Adam, watching me from across the room. I pretended not to notice, and looked away. Even though something inside me was raging, something that about him that needed to be fulfilled. I pushed the feeling away and danced to the music, Leila joined my side. I hated myself for being so crazy for him, hated it, hated it. And then he was next to me. I stared up at him, wanting to kiss his lips really bad. And hating myself for it. He stared down at me, his face half smiling the way it drove me crazy. He gestured for me to come to him. I nervously walked, scared that he was going to play with me, and make me look like a fool. "We Found Love" by Rihanna started playing. I found myself close to him, staring up at his face. "...Do you wanna dance?" he asked me. That was like asking me if I wanted to go heaven when I die. "...Yeah, sure," I responded. He put his arms around my waist. I put my hands on his shoulders. We sort of awkwardly swayed to the music. The feeling inside me, the craziness, raged on. "How's the weather down there, shortie?" he asked me teasingly. "Shut up," I responded, laughing. "Haha, I'm just kiddin'," he said in his slight southern accent. He stared at me, half smiling. I stared back. He was so enchanting that he drove me crazy...I felt like I would do anything for him. I realized we were slowly pulling away from the rest of the crowd on the dance floor. His smile sort of disappeared. He slowly tucked one strand of my hair behind my ear. "You look gorgeous tonight." I think I might have stopped breathing. "..Thanks," I responded weakly. "You always look hot to me." He laughed, then leaned down closer to me. "I...," his breath caught in his throat for a minute. Then he cleared his throat. "I really, really like you." He stared down at my face, hopefully, I thought. "If it wasn't obvious enough...I really like you too." He laughed, I kinda laughed too. It must have come out so weird. I felt so embarrassed. I looked away from him. I don't know what overcame him, but next thing I knew he jerked his face down towards mine and pressed his lips against mine. I kissed him back. And the feeling inside me was settled, becoming ecstaticness. “We found love in a hopeless place." The kiss lasted for about a minute. A minute that I wished would never end. As he pulled away, his face broke out into a grin. "Next time..don't be embarrassed by what we're both feeling." ------------------------------------------------------------------- I storm from Felten's office twenty minutes after the dance started. Paige had already left. I stomp down the hall to my room. There's a shimmery black off the shoulder dress slung over my hammock. I walk over to it, my anger gone. I hold up to myself in the bathroom mirror, the dress falls to right above my knee. I slip it on and manage to button the buttons running down the back. I brush on a little make up, I don't wear much normally. Knowing that I'll kick off my heels as soon as I hit the floor, I don't put on shoes. As mad as I was fifteen minutes ago, my heart’s pounding with excitement. I haven't been to a dance since I left my mom's when I was nine. I look in the mirror one last time before I dart out the door. There wasn't much I could do about the frizziness to my hair so I smooth it into a low bun as I rush to the gym. I'm at the end of the hall and I can hear the music pumping from speakers. There's some groups of people clustered in the hall around me. A couple here and there. One group has an even number of boys and girls gathered around a bottle. Minus that group the hall is quiet. Well it is now, the kids stare at me. Me the mortal. A guy I saw with Sarah's blond friend sneers at me and laughs. "You don't belong here," his pudgy friend taunts. "And you don't deserve my time," I clench my fists and try to push past them to get into the gym. The music is so loud now, it's over whelming. "No, you don't. This party is for people who belong here," the boys come towards me. Mike, that's the tall kid's name, was brave enough to sneer at me isn't as brave as the others. I can't say anything, because I don't belong here. I'm about to resort to violence when a shadow looms over me. "What are you waiting for," Nate asks, sliding next to me. The guys gape. One of them, with me, a mortal. "Well... erm, I don't know where this leaves us," one of the boys says, backing off. All of them are slowly dropping their fists. Murmuring begins, "Nate?" "He defended a mortal!" "Are they together?" and the worst "Huntresses can't show interest in guys!". I mentally kill myself when Nate looks at me, surprised at the boisterous standbyer's comment. I give a weak smile, "It's true, but for tonight let's just enjoy the party." He nods and grabs my hand, earning us more stares, as we walk in. The lights are dimmed, a table with punch is in the corner, and music blares from speakers on the stage. I look at the DJ and do a double take. A drop dead handsome face with blue eyes surrounded by black curls, no shirt with a tan, taunt stomach. Sounds like 90% of the guys here (well the abs part), but instead of a pair of slacks and loafers he has a black horse body. The gorgeous DJ is a centaur. My mind wonders down the gutter as Nate and I navigate the dance floor to a corner with Sarah and a boy with dark honey colored hair. "Hi Sarah," I say, not having to speak very loud to be heard because the music somehow seems a lot quieter from over there. "Hey! Ariana this is my," she pauses before saying,"boyfriend, Adam." "Nice to meetcha Adam." Nate and Adam proceed to talk in what I assume is what they call "bro talk". I catch a few words that make no sense what so ever as Sarah and I chat. "How's the party been so far? I got here late." "Great! Adam and I kissed and danced and I'm gushing to a total stranger!" I laugh, "It's okay, “cause if you wanna hear something really interesting I'll tell you." "Go ahead I'm a great listener." And I don't have that feeling Sarah is a gossiper, so I talk, "Well Nate kissed me, for one. For another I'm not supposed to kiss anyone except my mother and father. Then I was accused of stealing secret items. A dress appeared on my bed," I pause and point at the skin tight dress I'm wearing. "I was confronted by a group of boys who wanted to kill me, or something like that. And the DJ is a very hot centaur," I finish. "That is so sweet! He's sorta flirt but he never got with a girl before. It sucks your not SUPPOSED to date," Sarah smiles at Adam as he looks over while he's still prattling to Nate. "Don't worry about the boys here, they hate anything different. And that very hot centaur's name is Remuar. He's the archery coach. He hates me, but once he sees your skills he will love you. Oh and Miranda was the one who told me about your skills," she finishes with a sigh. By the time she has finished Nate's back and looming over us all like at a shadow at noon. I smile up at him as he says, "Let's hit the floor." I nod, not trusting my voice afraid it will blurt out that I don't dance ever. Period. The. End. A nice slow song that doesn't require more than swaying from side to side comes on. His rough hand brushes the skin peeking out of the low cut back of my dress. My hands barely reach his broad shoulders. The whole room seems to have slowed down. The volume dropped. Only the slight brushing of hemlines on the floor make a noise. "This is nice," I say in a low voice. The talkative guy from earlier is gone, a slight smile plays on his mouth. I guess he's nervous. I am too. My ADHD kicks in after a minute of this swaying. I look past my arm at the couples. Some are demigods, a couple consist of wood nymphs defined by their slim build and sharp features. Even the DJ, Remuar, is dancing with a red headed girl in a pink dress. I see Felten out of the corner of my eye, he's one of the few wallflowers left. Which are being picked like roses, not weeds. "Serves him right," I scoff under my breath. Nate follows my gaze. "Felten? What'd he do," I can feel his arms tighten with that odd I'm-protecting-you-from-everything-that-moves way. "Accused me of taking the dorms' sacred items. Said it was cuz I used to be a mortal." "Wow, Felten is one to fly of the handle but that's a serious accusation. And now that no one can over hear us, will you tell me why you lied?" "I lied because. Because. Well, if I said I was Hades' daughter people would understand why I became a huntress. But if I said I was mortal its it'd make my life miserable," I look at him with pleading eyes. Hoping he understands. Emotions dance across his face. Lips brush my forehead, "I forgive you." ----------------------------------------------- I know punching Felten was out of character but I was mad. I walk up to my room. I stop on the fourth floor when I hear two guys talking. "I can't believe they let a mortal in the orphanage. Shes not gonna fit in at all.” "Yeah, I can't believe Artemis let that Ariana girl be a huntress." I jogged off thinking "I can't believe these people are treating Ariana this way. I wonder if they'll treat me that way." I open the door to my attic. I see a green dress layered with black lace. It reminded me of my favorite Broadway show, Wicked. I put the dress on. I stare in my mirror. Somehow, my hair looks perfect. I don't wear makeup so after that I head down to the party. I arrive at the party, and Mr. Felten says, "Demigods, I would like to introduce you all to the new oracle, Paige Hetley." Everyone was staring at me. I'm not used to being the center of attention. I spot Laura and Gracie across the room and scurry over to them considering they're the only people I know. Gracie was dressed in a sea foam green dress. I guess that corresponded with her dad and all. Laura's dress was blue. Blue has nothing to do with Demeter, but the color went great with Laura's skin tone. "Hey Paige!!!!!! I'm so happy that you're here tonight!" Laura practically yelled at me. "Yeah, we're both really excited for you to be here," Gracie whispered. "Thanks." I spot Will at the other side of the room. I call out to him, "Hey, Will!" He walks over to me. "I'm not Will; I'm Jack, his identical twin brother. Isn't your twin Ariana? ... Yeah, you are. I feel so sorry for you. Having a mortal for a twin." "You know I am a mortal, too you know." I was mad. He was making fun of me and my sister. "But you have the sight. You were meant to be here. You were meant to see and live in this world. She wasn't. That's why we don't like mortals. We are better than them because we live in both worlds." "You know what Jack..." I slapped him on the face. "That didn't hurt me..." "It wasn't supposed to hurt, it was supposed to be symbolic! Whether you like it or not my sister and I are somehow intertwined in your freaky Greek world!" I ran off. I didn't go to my room because I didn't want to see any thing that had to do with the Greek gods or any mythology. I run to what looks like a barn. Finally something normal. I walk inside and it smells like any regular barn. Fresh hay and horse aromas filling the room. I see a figure petting a horse. Great exactly what I need. Company. I see something else, something on the horse. Wings. Great. A pegasus, just when I wanted to get away from the mythological world. “Did you do it?" "No, how do you know about that? Mr. Felten didn't tell anyone." "Except me." The figure fled out of the barn. Its voice sounded familiar but mutated. I was ran to my attic changed into the biggest T-shirt I owned and fell asleep. ---------------------------------------------- "I'd invite you in but...We wouldn't be alone," Adam said, staring into my eyes. AM I FREAKING DREAMING?!?!?!?!?! We stood outside his dorm in the doorway, one of his hands still enclosed in mine. "Yeah, I get it," I said, smiling at him. OH MY GOSH, OH MY FREAKING GOSH.. "So...I'll..." "Call me. I...I won't be able to sleep anyway," I said sheepishly. He grinned, like he could possibly understand. "I'll talk to you for a little while, but you know me. Demigod of Hypnos. I'll fall asleep on the phone," he said, seemingly embarrassed. "if you and I are gonna work out, you're gonna have to put up with that." I'd put up with anything for you. "Haha, no worries," I said, grinning like an idiot. "Well then, goodnight," he said. His grin slightly faded as he kissed me on the cheek. But I really wanted another on my lips. Right after he did, I heard a group of demigods walk by. "Ooh! Look at Adam and his new little girlfriend!" "Aphrodite, eh? Danggg, she's gonna be high maintenance!" "Are you gonna let her in for a sleepover, Hypnos?" I rolled my eyes and Adam did the same. He smiled at me, and I turned around and smiled back. I walked to my dorm, soaring to the top of the world. Grinning like an idiot. Something inside my heart felt like it was exploding. It was off and on again. I heard running footsteps behind me. Then next thing i knew, Leila was in front of me, yelling her head off. "SARAH FREAKING NOREEN WAHID!!!!! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh......!!!" "What?!" I asked, smiling. "WHAT THE HECK DO YOU MEAN BY WHAT?!?!?! You and Adam...are together now! You kissed! IN FRONT OF ME!! I'm so flipping happy for you!!!" I flipped out. "OHMYGOSHHH I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER FELT THIS HAPPY IN MY LIFE...OHMGEEEEE..I haven't told him this yet....but I'm in love with him." We were jumping up and down in the hallway, screeching like little girls. "I have something to tell you too!" Leila said eagerly. We stood in front of my dorm now. "Shoot," I responded. " So, you and Adam were kissing. I was alone, watching from a distance. It was really awkward, and I decided to leave you guys alone. I walked out of gym and Dylan was standing outside. I asked him, 'Why are you standing outside of your own party?' He replied,' I don't know, just all my guy friends are dancing with a girl, or making out with one, and so it just got really awkward for me, I guess.' 'Same here, I was with Sarah but Adam stole her away. And now they're kissing.' 'Really? Wowwww, it's about time,' Dylan said. 'Yeah, I know, I'm so happy for her but...kinda feel sorta left out because.. Never mind.' 'What?' he asked. 'You can trust me, Leila.' I kinda felt like I could. 'Because I feel like I'm the only one who isn't hooking up with someone.' He looked up at me with surprise. 'I feel the exact same way!' I nodded, staring at the ground, kicking it with my foot, not knowing what to say. Dylan was studying me in my gold sleeveless dress. 'You look....really pretty.' I was surprised. 'Uh...thank you! You look great tonight.' He blushed. 'Thanks.' I started to see him in a different light. He's always been nice to me, and he's really good looking.. Next thing I knew, his hands were sliding down to my waist. 'I really like you, you know.' I was shocked as he continued. 'And I was just wondering...do you wanna go out?' I didn't know what to say. 'You haven't given me any indication on whether I should kiss you right now or not.' I smiled, and I don't know what got into me, but I kissed him first. " "AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! HOLY FREAKIN’ **** that's sooooo cute." I wanted to be more reactive, but I was as tired as heck and anxious to call Adam. The start of a relationship makes you unpassionate towards others, I guess. After a long giggly half awake chat with Adam that lasted about an hour, he fell asleep on the phone as predicted at about 3 am. I smiled to myself as I heard him breathing softly over the phone. "I love you," I whispered as he slept.