The Madness of Midas' Hand {Private w/ Dawn and Diggy}

TSomething stirred in Alec's stomach when he heard Serena's laugh. He didn't know the reason why, but he faintly remembers the last time he felt something like that. As he forced the memory out of his mind, he found himself grinning back at his fifteen year old friend. He always found himself in a light and cheerful mood whenever he was around her. She was a ray of sunshine, no pun intended.

While he studied her face, he wondered if he could ever picture himself with her. There were too many complications. First of all, their age. at eighteen years old, he was three years older than her. What would happen if he had to leave camp? He couldn't force Serena to leave just because he was and long distance relationships never worked out for him. If they decided to go that route, he guessed that their blossoming friendship would go downhill.

Second, Kate was still a major factor in his life. The on-and-off couple hadn't established their relationship status as of the moment and the thought was killing Alec softly. He didn't know whether or not he was cheating on his British girlfriend whenever he'd unconsciously flirt with Serena. The idea bothered him. There was a definite fine line between having the appearance of a bad boy and actually being one.

And lastly, he has heard some rumors about Serena's admirers back at Camp Half-Blood. The last thing Alec heard was that she was being pursued by some Aphrodite kid. However, it was harder to picture her with some blonde-haired pretty boy than himself. In fact, he'd rather not think about it at all.

Judging by his thoughts, Alec had no ounce of romantic feelings in Serena. She was his close friend or buddy, if you may. The weird sensation in his stomach may have been due to the lack of food, he finally decided.

"Alright, alright," laughed the eighteen year old, holding his hands up in defeat. "I'm still going to pester you at Camp if you forget about it, though," he warned.

"I haven't changed my mind, Serena. No worries," he assured her with a lazy smile on his face. There if goes again. The fluttery feeling in his stomach. He needed to grab a bite soon.

"D'you mind if we stop by Taco Bell when we get to Seattle? I'm starving."

Much to his amusement, Serena cocked an eyebrow at him. The confused expression on her face threatened to make Alec guffaw, but he stifled it and only let a small chuckle escape his lips. He couldn't decipher why, but this girl had the ability to hold his interest much longer than anyone has ever done.

After mentioning Taco Bell, a small smile graced her face as she muttered an agreement. He opened his mouth to ask her about the type of relationship she shared with the son of Aphrodite back at camp, but they were startled when Nezza jolted awake. He bit back a groan. He had been meaning to ask about the topic, but could never find the appropriate time to do so. Thanks Nezza.

Watching quietly as Serena exhibited her expertise in the medial area as she aided their third companion. He had started to grown fond of the young girls and didn't want to think about what would happen after the quest. He wondered if everything would just go back to normal, be switched off like a light switch.

Alec laughed at Serena's reaction to Nezza's mutual craving for Mexican food. He looked passed Serena, to the daughter of Nyx, and winked. "Great minds think alike."

With the additional help from a map and a friendly guard (who seemed like reluctant about three 'kids' traveling together), they managed to locate a Taco Bell not far from the airport. Surprisingly, the sun was shining in Seattle. He always had the impression that Washington would be similar to his hometown in England.

He ordered a plate of Nachos Bellgrande and a drink named Strawberry Fruitista Freeze (strawberries were his weakness, along with cherries). Also, he bought an extra bottled energy drink to quench his thirst later on.

Seated across from his friends, he watched curiously as the two devoured their food like hungry animals. Nezza was tame, but Serena… whoa. That girl could seriously scarf down food down her throat fast. He didn't eat as fast as they did for he wanted to savor each bite.

When they finished, Alec noticed Serena's eyes glued to something, turning around he caught the sight of the morning news. "That's not good," he muttered to himself.

Alec tossed a few bills on the table, not caring if they were twenties or hundreds, so they could dash out of the franchise.

He had heard from around camp that the Amazons stayed at some nice building. You couldn't miss it, one of the campers had said. Alec hated feeling useless and perhaps this was his time to prove his worth. "Hey, I think I know where they are." With that note, he jogged to the whereabouts of where magic seemed to linger.

They wandered around town, passing buildings and cars. This part of town seemed out of the ordinary, somewhere he'd picture a bunch of female warriors. But soon enough, the cars stopped appearing and the buildings seemed lifeless. He frowned. He was sure he felt something sketchy about this place.

"There's something weird about this place. I can sense it. It's like there's a bunch of stuff relating to our culture here," he said, referring to their second lifestyle as demigods.

He followed Nezza inside a glass-filled building. Alec admired the contemporary feel to the area and could see this as a work place for a well-known company.

When he saw all the broken decor, he wondered who would be pissed enough to trash the place. And that's when he heard the sound. It rang in his ears like alarms. He thought about why he hadn't noticed it before. It was like someone was cleaning up the area. But he was sure that if someone got the Ajax, fireballs wouldn't appear out of nowhere.

He was lucky that Nezza pulled him down before his hair could get burnt off. Turning his head around, he muttered a profanity when a giant hydra came bolting towards them.

Alec got to his feet, unsheathing his sword as he ran towards the creature. He moved swiftly from side to side, avoiding anymore fire being spit out by the monster. Once he was close enough, he used a table to hoist himself up and he leaped, jumping high enough to be able to slash his sword through one of the hydra's heads.

He felt triumphant when the head fell to the ground, expecting the hydra to get weaker, but he hadn't really listened to his companions who were screaming at him. He looked back at them, puzzled, but the sickening sound of a head resurfacing from a decapitated body forced his attention back to the hydra.

"Crap," he said drily. His attempt at making their job a bit easier took a toll when the hydra grew two more heads. He sprinted away from the monster before more harm could be done, occasionally throwing sharp ice splinters, hoping one would penetrate through the creature's skin and through its heart.

No such luck. "We're screwed."