Back...Again -O p E n-

Loud music blasted from the headphones Taylor was wearing. She proceeded nod her head at the beat while she jogged up the hill. She was deaf to everything around her, the music being the only thing that mattered to her at the moment. It was always like this everyday. Just her and music. And nature, of course, she added as an afterthought, feeling the wind breeze through her auburn hair. I love this camp.

Taylor saw a few campers wave to the direction of the camp boundaries. A boy, which she judged to be the same age as she was, waved back at them. She knew the boy by face, having seen him around before. He must have sneaked out of the camp, by the look of his get-up. Not that Taylor was surprised; she had heard rumors that some of the campers liked to run away from camp a few times. She couldn't understand why they wanted to leave though. The camp had everything they'd need. What made them want to run away from a place that provided everything?

The boy started to slowly walk backwards. Taylor blinked in surprise. He just got here, didn't he? Why was he leaving again? Well it wasn't really any of her business, but curiosity definitely got the better of her. Taylor took her earphones off and quickened her steps towards the boy. Aware of the slight ringing noise echoing in her ears (I really need to stop listening to rock songs at max volume, she thought irritably), she started to call out in an effort to stop him from leaving.

"HEY!" she shouted, her voice louder than usual. "Where you going?"

Taylor slowed her pace into a walk, knowing that she had caught the boy's attention. She began panting at this point, having been jogging up and down the hill for a few minutes. She stared at the boy, wary that he might run any second. She gave him a skeptical look for a few moments, before it faded into a friendly one.

"Nice to meet you--Zach. I'm Taylor.--I'd shake your hand, but--I'm not exactly--sanitary--right now," she said between breaths with a chuckle, referring to the shiny layer of sweat that covered her body. She peeked behind him, into the world beyond Camp Half-Blood. Last time she had been there, it was three years ago. She sighed and turned to look at him. "So, where were you going? I mean, you just got here." asked Taylor curiously.

Taylor couldn't help but notice that Zach's eyes were a beautiful clear blue...wait, green. No, blue. Green. Well, whichever of those two, she thought with slight exasperation. She ran a hand through her hair and grinned. She was actually torn between wanting to ask what he was trying to forget and just shrugging it off like it was no big deal. She was really really curious though... He didn't seem like the type to get angry easily, right?

Hoping her hunch was right, Taylor began, "I'm not trying to be rude, okay? But I'm really curious"--she shrugged--"but what do you need to forget?" Taylor sighed, then continued. "You know, running away won't really solve your problem. It'll just...keep coming back. Know what I mean?"

She finished with a smile, just so Zach knew that she didn't mean to be nosy or something. Just genuinely curious.

Zach relaxed and smiled, which Taylor took to be a good sign. He was quite a good-looking boy, and those eyes...they were just killing her. Blue or green? Whatever. He was pretty honest too; Taylor didn't actually expect him to tell his life story that quickly. "Bad boy, huh? You don't look like one," Taylor told Zach, biting back a laugh. "I guess life isn't too good for us demigods."

Taylor kicked a rock and watched it roll downhill. "Me? I went to this girl-exclusive private school. Can't stand it there with all of those 'girly' girls. One time I got really pissed and almost killed some of them." She turned to Zach, a sad smile on her face. "Got expelled, of course. Then Dad's business started failing, and so he sent me here instead. It's not as tragic as your story, but it has its quirks."

She looked up to the skies, placing her hands behind her head. The sight of the clear blue skies somehow soothed her. "I like it here though. Great place to start anew." Taylor looked into his eyes, ignoring the fact that she still couldn't tell whether they were blue or green. "No use running away from it, Zach. It'll just keep coming back." Taylor paused before snorting, "Gods, I sound cliche, huh?"

Rolling down the hill wasn't a pleasant experience. Especially when you were covered in sweat all over. Thing was, small stuff like grass and dirt tended to stick to your body like glue. Taylor was hellbent on keeping her eyes and mouth closed during the ordeal--she didn't fancy having to puke bits of grass or whatever afterwards. Finally, they skidded into a stop, at the bottom of the hill. Taylor was panting, slightly out of breath, and when she registered that they were no longer rolling, her face broke into a wild grin. And she did something that others wouldn't probably do in her situation. She laughed.

"Gods, Zach, that was AWESOME!" Taylor shouted, startling some other campers who were nearby. She looked around, and noticed that most of the campers had watched them tumble down the hill. She felt no inch of embarrassment whatsoever. "Your grand entrance," she told Zach, spreading her arms wide. That was when she noticed she had bits of grass and dirt all over her.

While she was slightly busy picking off the grass, a brown-haired boy approached them. Taylor looked up and smiled. "We're alright. I think," she glanced at Zach and turned back to the boy. "Haven't seen you around. You new? I'm Taylor." She continued as if nothing unusual had happened.

"I'm usually finer than this," Taylor remarked, dusting off her orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. She looked up to Alex, noting that his eyes were a shade of green. At least this time, I'm sure they're green! she thought.

Taylor stood up, getting most of the dirt off. She was a little bit better-looking now without the twigs sticking to random parts of her body. "Hey, you okay?" she asked Alex, squinting at him. He looked a little queasy. Taylor had the suspicion that she and Zach were the cause of that. It made her slightly uncomfortable.

 

"It was an accident," Taylor said, smirking at Zach. He was a pretty cool guy, she had to admit. Taylor glimpsed something etched on Zach's upper arm, but she couldn't make it out as he had quickly covered it with his sleeve. Hmm...something's up, Taylor thought, looking into Zach's eyes, but she didn't push the subject. She let it drop...at least for now.

"But if you totally want to experience the fun," Taylor said cheerfully, turning to Alex, "I'd love to give you a free ride!" She laughed, ignoring the stares of the other campers.

"Yeah, just think of it as a huge slide...with grass and rocks and branches..." Taylor trailed off. Taylor couldn't get the tattoo out of her mind. She tried putting it off but she was bursting to ask. However, before she could ask, she found that the other campers who were staring earlier started laughing. Staring was one thing, but laughing... Her eyebrow twitched. The laughs triggered her memory of the girls in her private school...and how she almost froze them...

Taylor's fists started clenching, though a smile was present on her face. She knew she couldn't freeze solids, only liquids. An idea popped in her mind. She hadn't tried freezing blood yet. Freezing the victim from inside out. Perhaps this was a perfect time to try that out?

No. NO. SNAP OUT OF IT! the rational part of her mind yelled. Breathing deeply, she slowly worked on relaxing herself. But she had to do something about those laughing campers! "Hey, you!" she shouted. "Fancy a roll down the hill?" Some of the campers were silenced, but some had started staring cockily at her.

Bring it on, Taylor thought, narrowing her eyes.

Finally, Taylor snapped out of it...mostly because she had just seen Alex's beautiful smile. She shook her head vigorously then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Okay, Taylor, smile, she thought, and a smile lit up her previously tense features. She smiled at the other campers, in a sort of I'm-going-to-get-back-at-you-later way.

Taylor shifted her attention back to Alex and Zach. "Sorry, just got a little overboard. They reminded me of a nasty experience," she said casually.

..