Lunch time is normal...

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

His hand automatically went to his hair in another futile attempt to flatten it. A smile crept towards his lips when she said it suited him. "Thanks and well, it could go either way," he agreed. "Maybe you just have some great instincts. Or you could be right about it being part of your demigod powers."

Appearing to be in deep thought, Jonathan let his eyes linger on her sandwich. He shrugged a few moments later. "Nah, you'll need it more than I do," he decided with a soft chuckle, throwing a glance at her bandaged wrist.

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Jonathan watched with slightly widened eyes as Ronnie slid her plate towards him. "Whoa, I was just kidding," he said truthfully. He moved the plate back to her, smiling. "A little more won't hurt. You'll burn the calories off in no time. Besides, I'm already good." He patted his stomach to emphasize his point.

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Jonathan was just about to reach over and pat her back to ease her coughing when Ronnie straightened up. He breathed a sigh of relief and raised his eyebrows at her, still smiling all the while. "Distracted, you say?" he questioned. "Did my messy excuse of a hair distract you?"

He leaned back, laughing a bit. Would Ronnie take him seriously again? He hoped not. Jonathan felt a little awkward when people mistook his jokes for the real thing. And believe it or not, it happened often.

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Breaking into a fit of laughter, Jonathan shook his head and grinned back. Who knew joking around with Ronnie was so easy? And fun too. Now he truly knew what Simon told him about kidding around. Just be yourself, man, Simon had told him. Don't worry about the jokes. They'll come easily when you're comfy.

"I didn't know my hair had that kind of effect on people. Should I keep it like this? Might work on monsters. I'll distract them to victory!"

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Jonathan abandoned all attempts to cease his laughter and leaned back on his chair. He couldn't even remember when was the last time he laughed this hard. That was a good thing, he guessed. It almost made him feel like a regular mortal again, not worrying about monster attacks every other day. Almost.

"My hair obviously has powers that extends even further to that of a Big Three demigod," he said boldly in-between laughs. It was meant as a joke of course, but someone didn't think it was.

"Excuse me?" a quizzical male voice said from behind Jonathan. He turned just as the boy was about to tap his shoulder, and his grin faded when he recognized the kid to be a son of Poseidon. Gulp.

"No, I didn't mean... It was a joke," he said quickly, trying to cover up for himself. The last thing he wanted was for this to end up in a fight. Poseidon kids didn't have Ares' temper, thank the gods, but this boy seemed to be a little exception, further proven when his fist connected with Jonathan's jaw.

Ouch.

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Well, that was way crossing the line. Jonathan didn't have a problem with people hitting him, but he didn't want people messing with his friends. Ignoring the pain from the blow as his adrenaline kicked in, Jonathan got to his feet and stood between the boy and Ronnie.

"Dude, she's a girl," he told him sharply. Boys mustn't hit girls--it was an unspoken rule. Heck, boys mustn't even touch girls when they barely knew each other. Just some traditional manners that Jonathan's adoptive parents drilled into his mind, but it didn't seem like the boy grew up in that kind of household. "And if you've got a problem with me, it's with me only."

The Poseidon kid stood up straighter but it was obvious from his face that he was slightly intimidated. Jonathan was a little taller than him, seeing that he was a little more than six feet tall. Nevertheless he stood his ground, glaring. "Wanna settle this like men, Lover Boy?" he seethed. "Let's see if your hair has stronger powers than a demigod like me."

The boy was really asking for it, but Jonathan had always been the kind of person who avoided fights, especially physical ones. "Look, man, I'm sorry. Can we just walk away like nothing happened?"

"Are you scared? Well, you are an Aphrodite kid, so I guess you suck at hand-to-hand combat..."

"Please just leave."

And then it happened. The boy seemed to fade in a daze for a split-second there before looking up at Jonathan like nothing happened. "Fine. It's cool. We're cool," he said suddenly before walking away. Jonathan was surprised. He hadn't expected the boy to agree that easily, but hey not like he was complaining. Without missing a beat, he turned to where Ronnie had fallen over and held out a hand for her. The worry was present in his eyes as he looked her over to see if she sported any kind of injury.

"You okay? Hurt anywhere?"

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

"Whoa whoa whoa... Slow down. Breathe," he managed to tell her, holding his hands up. She wasn't giving him any openings to speak, so he waited until she was all done before responding. "Don't worry about my jaw. It's fine." Yeah right. Like anyone could miss the bruise that was starting to form. He tentatively poked it with his finger but he stopped, realizing that it would do more harm than good. "I'll just ask a friend of mine to help me later. She's from Cabin 16, so it's all good." Jonathan mentally winced, knowing that he was probably going to get shouted at for getting hurt like this... again. No matter; he'll worry about that later on.

"Maybe he just lost the will to fight, I dunno. Not complaining over here," he said, laughing a bit but stopping when he realized that it hurt. "My height does wonders, actually. And honestly, I don't give a damn on what they think of me. They already think I'm a wuss because I don't really spar that much." He shrugged. "I'm used to it."

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Jonathan quickly waved her off. "Don't apologize. I haven't laughed like that in a long time," he admitted with a goofy grin. "No biggie."

Her comment about the bruise hit home though. He lightly traced his jaw with his fingers. Jonathan wasn't overly self-conscious about his appearance, unlike most of his siblings, but he didn't really fancy it swelling up. "Well, I'll just go talk to my friend now. Get some ice on this."

He hesitated slightly, swaying a little as he stood. Finally he managed a half-smile and a wave. "Thanks, Ronnie. See you around... I guess?"

Jonathan Wyatt Adams
Son of Aphrodite

---

Laughing, Jonathan gave her a thumbs up. No worries, it meant. "Alright alright. See ya, Ronnie," he said with one last wave. Slowly he turned with a smile on his face, setting off in the direction of the cabins. The adrenaline had all but worn off now, and he could feel the pain from his jaw coming back in waves. He didn't regret any of this though. He had met someone nice today, and even with the drawback of being hit by a Big Three kid, Jonathan wouldn't exchange this experience for anything.