I just need a breather // Saph

It was a very unproductive day, or so Jonathan thought. There was absolutely nothing to do. Heck, he had inspected Cabin 10 for like five times now out of sheer boredom. Go get a life, Athan, he thought to himself with a soft groan after he finished making his bed for the nth time (he actually took to messing it up and fixing it again and again just for something to do). Slipping on the orange Camp Half Blood shirt, Jonathan stumbled out of the Aphrodite cabin and into the sunlight. And that was when he saw Adelaide storm out of the Zeus cabin in sheer frustration.

Remembering how Adelaide looked in the last cabin leader meeting, the son of Aphrodite watched her walk away for a few moments before following. His lips twisted into a small frown. He never liked seeing others get upset, and as much as possible, he wanted to at least cheer them up. It was his nature, and there was no changing it even if others found it nosy and irritating. Heck, if some total stranger broke down in the middle of a sidewalk in New York, Jonathan wouldn't think twice to offer a hand. After all, he just wanted to help in even the littlest ways... was that really so bad?

Panting, Jonathan finally arrived at the top of the hill, just in front of Thalia's Pine. The sight of Adelaide leaning against the tree with her eyes darting around suddenly made him nervous. Some people can get real terrifying when they're angry, and taking into account that Adelaide was a daughter of Zeus, Jonathan could only hope that she could keep her emotions in check and not zap him in blind rage.

Hoping for the best, Jonathan put on a smile and nodded at the Zeus cabin leader. "Hey there. Just... just thought I'd say hi. And, um, mind if I join you?" Jonathan paused, watching her carefully before adding, "You look like you could use someone to talk to."

After mumbling a soft 'thanks', Jonathan plopped down on the grass beside Adelaide. He was slightly surprised when the girl easily let out a little of her frustrations, but he wasn't complaining. After all, it was the reason why he followed her in the first place: to offer his listening services. You didn't need to say anything, you didn't need to give advice. All you had to do was lend a good pair of ears and sometimes, that alone made all the difference.

Adelaide's condition was worse off than he originally thought. Jonathan couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and he was pretty careful not to show that. "The Titan lord can really be a pain in the neck, huh?" he sighed. Maybe if Kronos hadn't made the vengeful decision to overthrow Olympus, none of them would be in this mess. Adelaide wouldn't have to worry about fixing up Cabin One. She wouldn't have to worry about her siblings fighting all the time. Her boyfriend wouldn't have died, and Alec would have been in Jonathan's place at that moment. Then Adelaide wouldn't have to be all teary-eyed and frustrated with the way things were going. She would just be that carefree cabin leader that didn't need to carry the burden of all these problems.

The world of what if's, Jonathan thought bitterly. It was a world he was familiar with. In fact, it was the kind of world he had lived in and still lives in, however much he tried to deny it.

Jonathan noticed how the environment sort of dimmed and looked up, only to see the rain clouds gathering outside the camp. He barely suppressed a gulp. "It's okay," Jonathan quickly said. "It's better to let everything out. Can't keep those emotions bottled up in you forever, right?" Leaning back with his hands planted on the grass, Jonathan looked over at the girl and grinned. "Don't hold back. You can trust me."

Alec, so that was his name. Jonathan had heard about the incident through the grapevine, that the Zeus cabin leader's boyfriend was one of the casualties in the last battle. He didn't have to ask to know how she felt. But then, he knew he couldn't completely understand either. Jonathan had been hurt before, but death was a very different story. It was another thing to know that you wouldn't be able to see the other person again, or at least have the promise of knowing that she was happy. Plus, there was also this twin issue in Adelaide's case. How can the Fates be so cruel to subject her to a loved one's death and on top of that, bring into the picture a long-lost twin? It was sick. But that wasn't the sort of thing to tell a person who was already dangerously close to tears.

"Do you think he should know about Alec?" Jonathan asked softly. He wasn't going to offer any piece of advice in that matter. He knew that you shouldn't take the advice of people who hadn't experienced what you've been through. This was the best way, he thought, helping Adelaide get in touch with the right course of action on her own.

Jonathan sighed and started to pull some blades of grass out of the ground, crumpling them in his palm before letting the wind carry them away. He glanced over at the girl, reading it from her eyes. She wanted help. No, she needed help. "Do you want me to bring it up with the other cabin leaders? Like Faye; her cabin is a whiz in architecture. Or Grayson, I'm sure he'd be able to do something too."