This was probably the fastet update I've ever done. Sadly. Well, anyhoo, this chapter is dedicated to my friend Jennifer, who texted me every five seconds, ordering me to work on it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson, or Cowboy Casanova.

I walked outside of my tent and sighed. Better get this over with. "Apollo?" I called. He was leaning on a tree, smiling peacefully as he listened to something on his iPod.

"Hmm?" He took off his earphones and his smile widened. It was a mega-watt smile, the kind that movie-stars usually have. "Thalia! Sorry, didn't see you there. I was just listening to Carrie Underwood." I smirked, Giselle was a huge fan of Taylor Swift and thanks to her, Apollo was on a country phase.

"He's a, a good time, cowboy Casanova leanin' up against the record machine. He looks like a cool drink of water, but he's candy-coated misery," I sang, indicating him.

He pretended to be offended, "Hey! I'm not that bad." I rose my eyebrows and he laughed. "You have a nice voice Thalia. You sure you're not my kid?"

I grinned and motioned up towards the sky, where a storm was gathering, "I'm sure. You want me to prove it?"

"Nah, I'm glad you're Zeus's kid. Otherwise we would be incest." My heart started beating fast. We? I tried to remember the list, but Apollo's smile was so disarming... I felt a sneeze coming on and the electricity in the sky started crackling. "Uh-oh Thalia. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have flirted with you. I broke Artemis- I mean Lady Artemis's rules. I'm sorry. Please don't be angry."

The sneeze went away and he relaxed. I guess he thought I wasn't angry anymore. Hey! I wasn't about to tell him that it was just a sneeze. I punched him in the shoulder, "You coward! You're a god and you're scared of a little half-blood."

His voice got serious. "I'm not scared of you. I just don't want you to be mad at me." I looked at him and I swear there was some kind of electricity there (and it wasn't coming from me). He coughed and changed the subject. "So, what are you doing here? I thought you Huntresses were going into town today."

I sighed. "Well, anyone who didn't want to go into town, or was too sick, got to stay here with you." I indicated the empty campsite bitterly. "Which basically meant just me."

He looked at me, concerned. "You're sick?" I nodded. "Well let's get you out of those clothes then." I must have looked scandalized because he backtracked, blushing. I had to keep myself from laughing. Apollo, suave, debonair player was blushing? "I mean, *it's been scientifically proven that if you're in your own clothes, you feel a lot better."

I went into my tent to change, and when I came back, Apollo's watch was glowing, and he was talking into it. "Look G, I know I'm late. Yes, I know she's keeping an eye on you girls and you don't have much time, but Thalia is sick." He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I know you don't care, but I'm the God of Healing and I have to help her. Wait, she's out of the tent, I have to go." He rolled his eyes, pointed to the watch and made a talking motion with his hands. "Okay. I'll be there soon. Bye." He tapped the watch which I noticed was shaped like a sun. "Sorry Thalia, but I have to go. You'll be okay on your own, right?"

Before I could answer he disappeared in a flash of sunlight. I rolled my eyes, disappear before I could tell him that he was supposed to stay, typical Apollo. I would have to add that to the list.

There was a buzz in the air when the Huntresses returned, and Lady Artemis looked furious. Instead of checking in with me to see how things were here at the camp, she walked straight towards her tent. Shortly after she went in, a bubble surrounded her tent. A bubble that would make anyone who tried to go into her tent bounce back 30 feet. Lady Artemis was angry. Something had happened. "Why is Lady Artemis angry? Did something happen in town?" I asked Phoebe.

She was watching the tent warily. "Yeah. We were kicking butt in a basketball game, when all of the sudden Giselle fainted. Like, oh my gods I'm dying, fainted. She said she was fine, that she just needed to sit out. So we kept playing. We beat them, 31-8. We looked over, and Giselle was gone. We tracked her to this old arcade, with like Pac-Man. And there she was, with Apollo." I got a bad feeling in my stomach. "They were laughing and hugging and he kissed her on the forehead!" My stomach flipped and I guess I looked green, because Phoebe looked backed away. "Okay... I know when someone's about to puke. I'll just leave then," she ran off quickly, to avoid getting puked on, but my stomach had stopped swaying. Call me an odd person, but my first instinct wasn't to cry and weep about Apollo. It was to find out what had happened to Giselle. I mean, I know what happened to her, she got turned into some kind of animal, but I wondered where she was.

So naturally, I asked Gavina, a nymph with a knack for animals. She told me that Giselle had been turned into a stork. Go figure. And as for where she was, Gavina's best guess was a pond somewhere. So I tracked down the nearest pond, and, sure enough, found a stork, staring morosely at it's reflection. I walked up to it. "Giselle?"

It looked at me, opened it's beak and spoke. "Oh. Hi Thalia."

I looked at stared at her incredulously. "How can you talk?"

She let out a small caw, which I guess was a sigh. "I used to be a human, so I still have some human qualities. But that's not why you're here. You're here for the answer that all of the other girls wanted. You want to know what was going through my mind when I betrayed the oath. And you know what? I have no idea." She returned to staring at the pond. "Apollo was... so charming. I couldn't help it. I fell for it. But look where it got me. I'm a stork." Her voice got bitter. "And he didn't lift one finger to help me. He didn't even think of turning me back. I was his for one purpose. And after the flirting, the kissing, the touches, he didn't need me anymore. So I gave up everything for him, and he just..." her voice trailed off sadly. I felt a great burst of anger. So this was how Callisto felt. This was how Daphne had felt. This was how many had felt. She looked at me. "The gods are very fickle Thalia, remember that. It is good advice."

"But why would you give me advice?" I asked, "You hate me!"

"I used to resent you, yes, but that was out of greed. I wanted what you had, and now, because of Apollo, I cannot get it. I wanted to be lieutenant. I wanted Apollo's love." I made a sound of protest, but she covered my mouth with one wing. "Yes, Thalia, he loves you. But don't trust him. Or any god, for that matter. They may love you for a day, but never longer than a month. Their attention spans are short. Now I know that, and it is too late. Don't let it be too late for you too."

She flew off, and the list floated through my mind with one more item added. He is cocky, he thinks he can shoot better than the Huntresses. He flirts with girls other than me, and chases after nymphs. He is disrespectful to Lady Artemis. He leaves too quickly, I never have time to talk to him. He is a god. My quest to get over Apollo had been renewed, this time with added vigor. This time, it was for Giselle.

*I actually have no idea if this is true.

Okaaaaay, that was a really dark chapter. So I have a few things to clear up. First off, I know Thalia was OOC. And probably Giselle too. But I like to think that they both went through something major together. They had something in common. On a lighter note, I was thinking of writing a one-shot about Giselle's thoughts about Apollo. What do you think? I also have a question for you readers. Check out my poll to find out what it is!

~Loony