how did we get here when i used to know you so well? [private]

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

The celestial bronze blade sliced through the curtain of vines. It showed no mercy, reflecting the will of its wielder.

Taylor Brooks was not having a good day. She was coated with a shiny layer of sweat, making her somewhat tattered clothes stick to her skin. The leather breastplate she wore was no help with the brewing heat. The armor she had borrowed from the forges was now filled with slight punctures and scratches, courtesy of the scorpions and other small monsters Taylor disintegrated with mild difficulty. It was a great workout, taking your frustrations out on mindless demigod-killing beings, but Taylor wished it didn't feel as exhausting. Nevertheless, it was a good distraction to her otherwise restless thoughts. In the forest, hunting for dangerous creatures, she couldn't let her mind focus on matters that made her want to curl up into a ball and wallow in self-pity.

Taylor wiped the sweat off her brow with the back of her hand, tucking loose strands of red hair behind her ear as she did. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a now drenched shirt under her armor and a pair of knee-length shorts to allow her legs free movement. With her sword on the ready, Taylor cautiously made her way through the tangle of vine and leaves, trying her best to muffle the sound of her sneakers scraping the forest floor while her eyes and ears remained open and alert to any suspicious movement.

It wasn't until she heard some rustling to her right that Taylor started, immediately slipping behind an old-looking birch. Her eyes widened as she gave a closer look. What is he doing here?

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how did we get here when i used to know you so well? [private] Tumblr_inline_mlmrzatc4o1qz4rgp

Zachary Hunter Chance; son of Demeter, goddess of nature

Zach had no idea what he was doing. He hadn't felt this low in such a long time. "Low" wasn't even a word to describe it really. More like morbid or even sad maybe. He just felt disconnected that Taylor still couldn't remember anything. A small part of him still thought that she did not believe Zach. A small nagging in the back of his mind started to make him believe that Taylor trusted James more than Zach. But Zach was in the relationship with Taylor, not James. Or was? Zach was deciding this as he took another sip from his whiskey bottle.

"I mean, who wouldn't want to date me?" Zach asked the tree, as if an inanimate object would respond to his drunk question. When the conifer tree failed to answer his question, Zach kicked it before muttering, "Stupid tree." Sliding down against the tree, Zach took another swig of the vodka, only halfway through it now. The vodka had been cheap and easy to get his hands on due to the Hermes cabin, only costing him ten dollars and taking over a Hermes' kid job as a trainer for a week.

Then, Zach heard someone slicing down vines, making him wince as pain shot through his body. "I can feel that!" Zach hollered as he got up, stumbling then falling flat on his face. Rolling over, Zach giggled before he hiccuped. Getting up slowly, Zach saw someone in the brush. Standing up again, or more like trying too, Zach picked up his trusty sword, swinging it back it forth. He had a better chance of hitting himself with the sword than Taylor.

"Halt! You goes there? I'll kill youuuu," Zach slurred, rubbing his blue-green eyes to get a better look at the person. When Zach saw that it was Taylor, he scowled. "Oh, what are YOU doing here Miss. I-can't-remember-anything-but-trust-james," Zach hissed before he fell back on his butt. Then, Zach mood seemed to change as he winked at Taylor. "Weird, girls usually have their pants off by now."Shrugging, Zach took another sip of whiskey before he hiccuped again.

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Correction, what is he doing here drunk?

Taylor's nose wrinkled in disgust at the unmistakable smell of alcohol. She gaped at the scene unfolding before her, not knowing what to make of this. What were people supposed to do in this situation? Approaching a drunk boy blindly slashing away with his sword seemed to be a very bad decision, but Taylor decided to do it anyway.

"Zach, what are you doing -" Taylor cut off, parrying his blade with hers. She probably shouldn't have spoken. Talking to drunks didn't exactly yield good results. Still, Taylor couldn't very well leave him alone now even if he hadn't noticed her in the first place. The forest was no place for a wasted guy with a sword.

Taylor's face turned stony as he winked and continued his slurred speech. There was no mistaking the negative emotion in his voice and she had to remind herself that he was drunk to avoid getting into a snappy mood. Just how much alcohol had he consumed? A look at the half-empty bottle in his hands answered her unspoken question and she bit the inside of her cheek in worry.

"Zach, you have to get out of here," she said as she drew closer, a little part of her mind wondering if he would even listen to her. Knowing that he might accidentally cut her (or himself, from the looks of it) if it remained in his grip, Taylor reached for his sword.

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Zachary Hunter Chance; son of Demeter, goddess of nature

When Taylor said he needed to get out of here, Zach laughed. Taking another swig of the cheap vodka, the liquid burned the back of his throat, making him cough. "Cheap vodka burns, Zach commented before he fell back onto the dirt. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Taylor grab for his sword. Zach let her take the sword. For a few moments, Zach remained quiet, looking up at the sky.

"It hurt when you cut the vines," Zach finally said, sitting up fast. Zach felt his head swim and he suddenly felt really sick. he feeling passed though as Zach pointed a finger at Taylor. "No, y-you shouldn't be here!." Zach took another long swig of the vodka, now a quarter left of it. He had no idea how much alcohol his body could take, but Zach was hoping the whole bottle.

Now, whether it was from the liquor or not, tears began rolling down Zach's face. "Why don't you love me? I love you so much. We even did it!!! I mean, I know I was good but... it was your first time." Zach suddenly bursted out in laughter, the tears stopping as he remembered that one night. Falling back on his back again, Zach's laughter stopped as he hiccuped again.

"You should drink to lighten up Taylor. Maybe James can can get you the liquor," Zach snapped, remembering who Taylor believed. Or who Zach felt she believed more. Grumbling, Zach finally stood up before punching a tree, busting open is knuckles on his hand.

"Why can't you remember anything?! Why?" Zach asked Taylor, pleading almost. Begging almost. Turning to her, more tears rolled down his cheek. A faint drip could be heard as blood fell from Zach's hand to the forest floor.

"Please remember for me."

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

How did Zach get his hands on vodka, of all things? But all Taylor could do was stare at him, aghast, as he rambled. And some of the things he said straight out shocked her senseless. Her heart sank, realizing what he meant, and she opened her mouth a dozen times to speak but no sound came out. The ache inside her intensified as tears cascaded down his cheeks and she stood there awkwardly, both swords in one hand, a million things racing in her mind at once.

He's drunk, Tay, he's rambling and he's drunk senseless... He probably doesn't know what he's talking about anyway...

She could feel her forehead become clammy with sweat that had nothing to do with the sun's heat. Her heart thudded madly in her chest as dread passed over her body in waves. It took Taylor a great deal of effort to push aside the slurred words echoing in her ears, to ignore the meaning they brought with them, and focus on what Zach was saying now.

"I'm not drinking and you should stop," she said sharply, trying to reach for the bottle this time. She should have taken it first instead of his sword. As she moved, Taylor didn't realize that she was slightly trembling. Maybe Zach affected her more than she thought...

Her first wild grab for the bottle missed as Zach turned away to punch a nearby tree. Taylor was shaken to see the blood dripping from his knuckles as he drew his hand back. It took her a few tries to get the words out, and even then her voice cracked slightly. "I can't... I can't, Zach, everything's just gone and they don't come back no matter how hard I try. But you have to stop this, please..."

She reached for the bottle again, a weak effort to try and put an end to this madness.

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Zachary Hunter Chance; son of Demeter, goddess of nature

Zach let Taylor take away the bottle of vodka. He knew he was way past his alcohol limit and the vodka he had consumed would be coming up soon to say hi. Without even thinking, Zach got on his knees, moving on his knees to get closer to Taylor

"Please Taylor lovveeee meeee. I love you so much princess. You're so beautiful," Zach rambled, reaching out and hugging Taylor's' legs. A hiccup came out of Zach's mouth as he held onto Taylor's legs.

"I'm so sorry for everything. I feel like this is my fault. You didn't want the baby," Zach mumbled, his stomach doing flip flops. Letting go of Taylor's legs, he fell back, groaning and holding his stomach. "Ugh, I need to not drink nrr," Zach slurred, not even forming words anymore. Suddenly, Zach got to his feet, swinging around in circles before he fell to the ground again.

"You know, I miss my gang. We were like bang bang and people were like ahhhhh and then we would be more like bang bang," Zach giggled before getting up slowly, holding his stomach. At this point, he was pretty sure he had burned a hole in his stomach. Well, at least it wasn't moonshine. Yeah, that vodka was about to say hi again. Scrambling up, Zach ran to the nearest bush, upheaving whatever was in his stomach, which was mostly the vodka. A few minutes later when he was done, Zach groaned, leaning against a tree, hoping it would help him feel better.

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor was still wondering what to do with bottle in her hand when Zach hugged her legs. She froze, a red flag going up in her head, saying that she should push the guy off or something but she didn't know how to do it nicely, and it didn't help that her temper was slowly rising again. Thankfully Zach let go of her quickly and she was left with swords and vodka battle in her hands while he toppled over. It gave her some time to think.

Baby? Gang? What was Zach on about? Was she really confused, or did she just not want to admit that she understood? It was easier and less taxing on her emotions to just convince herself that she shouldn't trust the ramblings of someone who had just downed vodka, but she couldn't completely dismiss what he said even if he was drunk...

When Zach went to puke on an innocent bush, Taylor took the opportunity to hurl the near-empty vodka bottle in a random direction. The sound of shattering glass filled the air and Taylor took a deep breath, unconsciously dropping the weapons she held. Running a hand through her hair, she continued to ease her breathing, which turned shallow and ragged a few minutes ago, and tried to ignore the hollow feeling in her gut that made her want to run away and curl in some corner. Taylor Brooks was not that kind of person. She was that girl who didn't back down and faced problems head-on. But as Zach leaned against a tree, Taylor felt very much unsure whether to come closer or not.

"I'll... I'll take you to your cabin," she said softly, finally overcoming herself and taking a few steps towards him. "You need to go lie down... rest or something..." She was never good at awkward situations and it showed. With much reluctance, she placed a hand on his shoulder to make him move.

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Zachary Hunter Chance; son of Demeter, goddess of nature

Zach felt Taylor's hand on his shoulder. Without giving it much thought, Zach leaned his head against her hand. "Please remember something for me," Zach begged, heartbreak layering each word he said. Moving his head away, Zach looked forward, looking into space mostly. He stood up slowly, looking over at Taylor. Yet, he was glaring at her.

"I don't want to go with you. Why don't you go with James? I think you believe him more than me. I may be drunk, but everything I said was true," Zach hissed at Taylor, not caring if he hurt her feelings. She needed to know the truth. Marching away, Zach hummed. Beofre he made it a long way, Zach turned back around.

"You know what, I hope you and James have great babies and maybe you'll keep his cause unlike mine, you go rid of. And now I'm going to go back to my gang cause that's were I seem to belong." Turning around quickly, Zach hit a tree in front of him, knocking him out cold. With a thud, he landed on the forest floor.

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor's mouth dropped open. The number of times James' name cropped up in this conversation was too damn high. What was it with these two guys? She was about to tell Zach that he was wrong, that she had no reason to believe either of them in fact, but he had already marched away before she could. Maybe it was a good thing because she wasn't sure if it was the right thing to say, especially to a drunk person who was visibly hurt. Her hands balled into fists at her sides and she briefly considered stopping him but he had already turned to face her again.

"You know what, I hope you and James have great babies and maybe you'll keep his cause unlike mine, you go rid of. And now I'm going to go back to my gang cause that's were I seem to belong."

The whole thing could've been a lot more serious if Zach hadn't passed out right after saying that. Even so, Taylor wasn't laughing at all. Rooted to the spot, Taylor released a breath she didn't realize she was holding and put both hands on the back of her neck. Closing her eyes, she ran over everything Zach had said in the past couple of minutes.

Zach... was part of a gang? Come to think of it, she did remember seeing a tattoo on his shoulder when she stumbled upon him on Half Blood Hill. Maybe it was true. Apart of that, he said they did it. And he mentioned a baby, a baby she supposedly got rid of. Taylor remembered the time she met James in the infirmary, his offhanded comment to disregard the rumors that she had gotten herself knocked up...

Oh my gods.

When Taylor opened her eyes, she had her hands clapped over her mouth and she couldn't deny the slight moisture gathering in her eyelids. It couldn't be true... could it? It felt like she was hit by a ton of bricks over and over again. What had she done?

Moving robotically, Taylor's knees gave way as she knelt next to Zach. She hurt him so much and she would continue to do so. A pang of guilt, so many pangs of guilt, struck her as she contemplated this.

"I'm so sorry."

And she really was. And words weren't enough to express that.

Without meaning to, she leaned down and kissed him. Maybe it wouldn't mean much - especially considering that he passed out - but she just wanted to try and make up for her faults. She just wanted to ease off the guilt.

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Zachary Hunter Chance; son of Demeter, goddess of nature

The presence of someone's lips on his woke Zach from his drunk knockout. His blue-green eyes fluttered open. Taylor. Without a second thought, Zach kissed Taylor back, a hand going behind the nape of her neck. After a second or two though, Zach pulled away, turning his face away from Taylor. He sure as hell did not know what to do.

Sitting up slowly, Zach studied Taylor, his eyes almost lifeless, figuring out what to do next. Zach stood up, no longer feeling dizzy. Yes, he was still drunk, but he knew what he was going to say.

" Why won't you believe me? Something in the back of my head says you don't. I have been telling the cold hard truth. Whatever I said when I was slurring was true too. I'm still druunk, remind you, but I said the truth. If I couldn't remember anything, I'd believe you. Just trust your instinct. Yet, you still believe James and there's nothing I can do about that. Fine believe him. But don't come looking for me when you realize he doesn't know that much. I'm so done and going back to my gang," Zach finished, feeling pretty proud of himself. Hiccuping again, Zach started to walk away, not caring about Taylor anymore. She chose who she chose, not Zach's problem anymore. Yet, Zach soon started running. And running fast. He broke through the camp's borders, dropping to his knees. His breathing was heavy and his chest ached from everything. He choked on a sob before he stood up and walked away again.

TAYLOR BROOKS✰

Taylor almost jumped when she realized that Zach was kissing back. Part of the reason why she kissed him was because of his lack of consciousness. Believing that she was the only one who would remember made it easier for her to do. But alas, Zach had woken up and kissed her back, but Taylor did not have enough time to dwell on this for he pulled away rather quickly. He stood up so easily for someone as drunk as he was and she followed suit, carefully avoiding his gaze as her cheeks flushed at the thought of kissing someone who almost felt like a stranger. Almost.

She barely had time to process his last words before he walked away, and he was already long gone by the time she could gather the strength to speak.

"But Zach, I don't know what to believe anymore," she whispered to the wind. There was no answer.

Swallowing back the lump that had formed in her throat and the heavy heart that came along with it, Taylor picked up the two swords and made her way back. It seemed as if a lot of things had changed in a span of a few minutes, leaving her in an empty shell every time. Taylor thought she would be used to this kind of thing by now. There was nothing worse than realizing just how wrong she was.

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