Torn

a Percy Jackson and The Olympians Story

By: Emily Helene

Four Hours Ago

"Come on, Katie." Connor sighed. "You've got to pick one."

Katie, though smiling, scoffed at him. "Right." Her smile faded slowly and the confident air left her voice. "Do I have to?"

He nodded motioning from his brother, Travis to himself. "You can't have two boyfriends. That's like, slutty."

Katie tried not to let the "slutty" remark get to her but it was difficult. She couldn't choose. Travis was funny and immature and an idiot, but that only made him cuter and all that more irresistible. Then there was Connor, who was still stupid and immature, but he would be better for her. She would be better off without Travis. No matter how much it hurt.

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, already feeling the beginnings of tears forming. "Connor." She whispered, before running away. Logic was for children of Athena, not daughters of Demeter like her.

Now

She rested her head on her pillow, staring up at the tiny pot of bluebells at her bedside. What had once been a beautiful indigo now reminded her of her hair after the blue eggs that Travis had swiped from the Big House (the ones that read "DO NOT TOUCH! THESE BELONG TO PERCY") and cracked them over her head, their gooey, not to mention raw contents spilling not only all over her scalp but also down her neck and shirt.

Either way, it hadn't been a pretty blue, but a sad blue. The same emotion her flowers were feeling.

Thin rays of light shone through the thin sheer curtains across the cabin. Gracefully, the shadows of the trees swayed back and forth in such a way that they appeared to be dancing with the sun's rays on the floor.

Katie sighed, sitting up and bringing her knees in to her chest. She shook soundlessly, forcing the tears not to fall and began to blink repeatedly.

If it weren't for the absolute silence inside of cabin four, she would have missed the almost soundless knocking. It was timid at first, but grew slightly more confident. Then came the voice,

"Katie? I know you're in there." Connor's voice. It was like suffering a punch to the gut all over again. "It's me, Connor." She could hear the smile in his voice.

She buried her face in her knees, willing the puffiness of her eyes to vanish and the thick feeling in her throat to subside. Only the first complied.

"Come in," she croaked, her voice as even as possible, meaning it wasn't. She heard the door open and shut and the quiet shuffling of feet headed in her direction. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her head up and stared at Connor. A concerned look was spread across his face that made her want to wrap him in a tight embrace. A look that his brother would never give her. Confidence and bravado took precedence over sensitivity. In Travis' opinion, showing your emotions or even coming across as though you remotely close to cared was weak. To her, it was human.

She looked at Connor again. His eyes bore into her face, searching for some hint as to what was wrong. A part of her wanted to smile at him, try and give him what he was giving her. She had chosen him, after all. He could give her what Travis couldn't. He was still as immature and spontaneous as his brother but he was more careful, more aware. He was safer. And safer was always better, right?

He sat down next to her, resting a gentle hand on her knee. "What's wrong?"

Katie took a breath, regained her composure and tried to come up with a bona fide lie.

"Nothing, just feeling bad about today..."

He nodded like he understood and didn't speak. He did, however, lean in closer to her and move his hand from her knee to her back. Slowly, he traced circles with his fingers and did his best to comfort her.

"You've got me," he smiled. "Don't forget that."

"I know."

She turned to steal a quick glance at him once again and tried to force herself into forgetting about Travis and thinking only about Connor. Despite his obvious good looks, she just kept finding the qualities that he shared with his brother. Flaws, if you will. The way that they both raised their eyebrows, as if daring her to make a move. The little dimple that formed on the left side of Travis' smile...She trailed off, unintentionally thinking of the eldest Stoll when her head should have been filled with thoughts of the one in front of her.

Her head told her to reach out and hug Connor but her heart wanted her to run out and throw her arms around a different boy. She listened to her head, trying to block out the obvious sound of her heart breaking into itty-bitty pieces.

She had to be strong. She was certain she could grow to love Connor,. But could she grow to forget Travis? That she wasn't so sure of.

She flung her arms around him and pressed her face into his neck, feeling his heartbeat quicken against her own chest. He held her close, his breathing slow and even. A content sigh escaped his lips.

She turned her head so that she was looking at the window and rested her head on his shoulder.

At that same moment, a familiar face strode confidently by the Demeter cabin. But the look she got wasn't one of complete arrogance and total self assurance. It was a flash of something foreign. Betrayal.

Her throat tightened and a thick lump formed almost immediately.

"I've got you." Connor's voice was a gentle hum and she could feel her eyes growing wet. It felt like someone had wedged a giant boulder in her heart, twisted it and abruptly pulled it out, leaving her exposed, hurt and confused.

The same emotions were displayed on his face when she made her choice.

She swallowed hard and tore her gaze from his face, turning towards his brother.

"I love you, Katie," he whispered and her heart began beating wildly, hating this new position it had been forced into. She had never been one to lie, but now she had no other choice.

"I love you, too, Connor." The words left the unmistakable taste of wrong in her mouth and she hoped that he hadn't noticed this.

She turned towards the window again, expecting to see Travis glaring at them. But he was gone and that was worse. Having him look at her that way brought her pain but having him gone was almost unbearable.

So, when Conner pulled her face in hands and brought their lips together, she closed her eyes and pretended they weren't his.

But it was a terrible lie and she couldn't even fool herself.

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Happy Writing,

EmilyHelene (: