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"are you sure you wanna stay down here?" kayla asked haven as the two of them, plus kayla's boyfriend, andrew, stood at the entrance to the sun wheel. it was night, fairly late, actually, but it looked just as if it were day with the bright lights from the wheel. the sun in the center of the wheel, closely resembled the real one, pulled by the chariot of Apollo day after day. the three campers at the entrence had been hanging with a big group all night and most of it had already gone up to the wheel. Most were people haven really didn't talk to, or couples. she was much happier with waiting at the bottom, sitting on the bench.

"I'm perfectly okay with waiting down here!" haven assured her friends. andrew seemed all too excited about this, and haven knew exactly why. if she were in a relationship she'd want to be alone on the big wheel too. the couple grabbed each other's hands and basically did anything but sprint into the line. kayla was a sweet girl, and haven was glad she was friends with her, but sometimes her countless boyfriends annoyed her.

finding a nice, comfortable and secluding bench, haven sat down. Pulling her legs up and sitting criss-crossed, she took out a pad of paper from her bag and began to sketch whatever she saw. the daughter of Hephaestus remembered when all of this was being created. it was the first real even she really got to be apart of and it was interesting to realize that by looking back. it seemed like a long time ago, but even she knew that the amount of time was nothing compared to some other things and events. but some things were better left forgotten for now.

haven felt so much better about a lot of things since she came to camp. her self confidence was so much higher for one thing. but that was only among many. It was nice to be apart of a lot more now.

only after a couple minutes did haven really take a break and look at what she created. nothing special in her eyes, but definitely a worthy sketch for the actual image she saw clearly that night. she captured even the smallest bolts and rods in the wheel, and put most detail in that part, for it was the main focus. even as late as it was, the area was crowded. she was able to scan out and name many of the campers out there. with a smile, haven ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes once more, before returning to the sketch and adding the ocean and the bright the moon.

ooc: okay. so i dont have a play by at the moment for her so just bare with me >,<

haven was far too lost in thought to really notice any of the small details of things going on around her. having a keen sense of what was going on was one of the last things on her mind at that moment. she was only focusing on the details of whatever she decided to draw. maybe in the back of her mind she wondered how much longer kayla and the group would be, but that wasn't too important either. nothing was important. to haven, everything seemed careless, everyone seemed careless. at least only for the time being. there hadn't been much tragedy lately and that was a good thing. there was a calm normality that she hadn't felt in a while. the bright lights gave a false impression that in the world of Olympians, everything was fine.

the only thing that could pull her out of the clueless state was if she had been addressed, and that's exactly what happened. and it came out of no where, only a short amount of space behind her.

haven jumped with so much surprise by the sound of that voice that she nearly fell off the bench. instantly she closed her sketchbook, pulling it close to her chest and gripping it so tight one might have been surprised she didn't rip it into two. she gaped at the ground for a second, turning her head slightly to the side, just making sure he wouldn't notice her expression as she tried to pull herself together. her breathing wasn't obvious, as a matter of fact it wasn't there for a few seconds, but her heart still raced like a jack rabbit. haven closed her eyes and didn't wait any longer to turn around and face the boy she hasn't seen in countless months with a soft smile. he's back?

letting out a puff of air that haven regretted the second it came out, she worked up the ability to speak. "i guess there were a few things i never got to tell you about me," she said, shrugging, her eyes traveling upwards to meet his. she didn't know if she meant for it to sound suggestive to anger, but haven chose to let it go. did he look different? she asked herself. maybe he had changed but she couldn't bring herself to study him. she just looked right up to him, not being able to break whatever eye contact she held with the boy she had gone months without seeing.

it had been a long time since she had thought about him. well no, that wasn't true. she thought about him a lot but had tried so hard to push him away and out of her mind, it was like a distant memory after all those many months. she didn't understand it as much as the next person. haven was just as shocked when her first real friend, let alone boyfriend, just jumped up and ditched camp without so much of a 'see ya, i'll be sure to send a postcard!' haven didn't know much of what to think anymore. she had tried not to dwell on anything for too long and for a long time, haven believed she was over it and that she might not even see him every again.

but there Simon was, and as the two of them were there, every single thought, emotion and memory came flooding back into haven's mind like a waterfall.

haven's eyes were still glued to the boy before her. all's she could do was just that for at least those few moments. watching his smile reach across his face made her straight emotion falter back to a slight smile, but it vanished once again when bringing up the reminder that he had been gone for months on end. did he think it was some joke to her, that he wasn't there? it sounded almost like that. he tried to make things lighter in the heavy awkwardness, but in haven's mind it wasn't working and she was fairly positive he felt almost the same.

she shifted her weight from one foot to another, trying to decide on whether she should turn on her heels and walk away or think of something to say before he did. she wasn't a coward, though, so she decided the former wasn't an option. either way, she was lost for words. Where does one even begin when you haven't spoken to someone in months? haven felt like how she had been before camp had really gotten to her. she felt small and irrelevant, tongue-tied and no one would care. she almost forced something out to just say something, anything to break the silence.  

but then he beat her to it, and the first thing out of Simon's mouth was an apology. it was an apology that haven wasn't expecting. as he made his way around the bench she followed him and faced him still. she was taken aback, but the second he finished what he said, which really wasn't anything at all, a million questions shot back into her head. all the questions she had when he did leave, the ones that she had wanted to forget about because she never believed he'd be back, came flooding back to mind.

and all of a sudden, it was her turn to speak. she had the floor, the mic was in her hands and for a second, she could only stare, her mouth the slightest bit gaped. her palms felt sweaty as they gripped her sketchbook and in one motion she let go of the binder and held it now only in one hand at her side, still not finding the effort to put it into her bag.

running her free hand through her hair again and pushing it away from her face, haven finally spoke, her eyes falling to the ground. "what made you think leaving without any explanation would have been okay?" haven bit her lip, and then looked back to Simon before continuing. "Why did you even come back? did you think everything would be fine, after you just came back and apologized for abandoning me? No explanation. No goodbye. No nothing."

haven had a low voice, but strong enough to get her point across. she hated to sound angry with him, but she didn't know what else to do or say. she realized that she sounded selfish, but at this point she didn't care. it was his fault for even coming back. haven thought for another second and thought that it probably would have been better for her if he hadn't come back, or at least kept his distance from her. even though it was now, much to late for it.

ooc: sorry for the late reply, it's been a long week

haven's heart felt as if horses hoofs were pounding against her chest repeatedly in circles, it was beating so hard. her stomach was in knots and she didn't know if it were the feeling of sickness or just the old feeling that came with these sort of conversations for her. she had no sort of reaction to Simon's words other than now gluing her eyes to the ground between them, squinting at the dirt, as if the earth itself would give her some sort of assurance and explanation. nothing came from the ground though, not that she had really expected much from it. the only sounds were either coming from Simon speaking of the heavy crowd of people around them.

confusion was really what was swept all over haven. she heard his words clearly, and detected some truth he put behind them, but somehow they didn't fit. she didn't understand if she really knew this Simon. Time changes people, how much did it really change him?

how he was continuing to call her 'Beautiful' wasn't helping her anger either. how he had tried to explain his return in wanting to see her again...she wanted to believe that. she missed him in those months more than anything and maybe that was what pushed her to change and push out of her shell. some parts of Haven had wondered if he had left to be rid of her without confronting any problem he might have faced between them. at one point, she wouldn't believe Simon would do anything like that but the more she had thought (for she did have a lot of time to do so) she considered that he might have done just that. she was almost speechless though. barely knowing what to say, she shifted her weight from one foot to another for what felt like the thousandth time.

trust was not going to be easily restored between them, that Haven was entirely sure of. just giving him a chance was going to be hard. as difficult as it was to listen and consider what he said, she tried her best.

"i've waited for months," Haven began, and smiled, despite everything, "for you to come back. and waited months for you to say almost exactly that; full of regret and what not. but also in that time i've spent a lot of time figuring what i would say to you if i did ever see you again. a lot of what i thought of wasn't really at all pleasant."

haven looked up at the sky for a moment before finally moving her gaze back to Simon, who was already looking at her.

"what made you leave so suddenly? Why couldn't you tell me? Warn me?"

"your dad." haven repeated the words in a low voice. that had come as a surprise to her. she didn't really know what her mind was expecting but, it having to do with his dad...well that wasn't it. after Simon even suggested it, haven considered whacking him a few times with her sketchbook, but that obviously wouldn't fix anything, plus haven could never really see herself doing that. no matter what the reason had been, she wouldn't. not that she could do much damage anyway. give her a hammer maybe...she let it go.

but his father? what was Simon's dad doing back in his life? she had only gotten Simon to talk about his father a couple of times, but she never really pushed into it. she had her own family problems, why would she push others to talk about their own? This was different though, and surprising enough to haven to make her die down and take one step backwards with her emotions. haven's eyes traveled anywhere but on the boy in front of her. she felt all of a sudden guilty, like she had stepped too far in some place she had no right to be. none of that halted her curiosity, though.

"Simon, I had no idea..." she trailed off, wondering why she was feeling apologetic now. "What did he do with you for pretty much a year?" maybe now her anger was pointed towards Simon's father because it was his fault for Simon not being around.

Unless it was all some cover story, because really, why would his dad need him all of a sudden. New questions were flooding Haven's head and she recognized it all, like it was starting all over again. new questions, new theories. Her mind was way too active to be put into these sorts of situations. it would trail off in the wrong directions and come up with things that she never really wanted to think about. it's probably the type of thing everyone has, but haven just thinks sometimes she has it worse.

her eyes went to Simon again, but she didn't look him straight in the eyes. too much was going through her head.

ooc: it's okay :o

haven's eyes scanned Simon with instant worry, but she chose to believe anything he said at this point. She settled on his answer not really wanting to question any of it and get into some sort of large fight. If they weren't already in one now...would one describe this as a fight? No. It was more of a...well, Haven didn't know what to call it. She settled with describing it as complicated.

Clearing her throat she wondered how to describe just how she's been. Haven really didn't want tell how she had been, but taking him out of the picture, you could have said she had been doing great. If she hadn't counted the fact that she thought about him all the time, she was doing fine. She was socializing, training, creating and tinkering with new things. Camp had done wonders for her and she was loving it. New problems were what was coming up. Simon. She had been able to almost forget about her old life in texas. almost. but she could barely bring herself to tell him she had either been doing great or been doing terrible. It was hard to get something out, but she nodded and spoke the partial truth. "I've been doing great, really."

and just as she said that, her friends exited the wheel. Haven's head instantly went towards them. giddy with excitement and probably ready to make off somewhere else for the night, she watched kayla walk her way, a smile wider than haven has ever seen plastered over her face. She had come to camp in January, so she didn't expect her to recognize Simon. She waved, separating herself from the group slightly for just that moment. They all stopped a couple feet away by the bushes, laughing.

"Haven!" her friend called until she finally reached where her and Simon stood. Haven had her mouth part open, trying to find more words to say, but once again, she was speechless. "We just got off. We were thinking of going to get something to--" she stopped short, finally realizing Haven wasn't alone by the bench. "Hi there, I haven't seen you around here before!"

Haven couldn't help but feel almost a little embarrassed that her friend, the preppy, giggly daughter of Demeter, interrupted them. Haven wanted to bury her head in her hands she was frustrated. She had almost forgotten about her friends on the ride. Not wanting to deal with so many people at that moment, she looked at the ground, wondering if it were possible to just fall through the earth and just keep falling. That would be nice.

ooc: no worries. mine was just as late. LONG WEEK. I thought summer was supposed to be for not doing anything...?