"I don't get it- why do I have to act like this?" The girl said uncertainly.

The woman looked at Aileen nonchalantly, but gave no reply.

"I don't get it." The girl said again, determined not to get provoked.

"There's no need for you to- just do as I ask, and you'll get what you want." The woman said, and disappeared.

It's been a month.

Alex, as usual, had speedily gained information. He now knew enough about the gods' history to pass for a camp half-blood old-timer. He found most of the campers- and their secrets – stealthily and subtly. He had come to accept the gods' existence.

However, the gods did not accept his existence in return- At all.

Nobody claimed him. He had been stuck in the Hermes' cabin all month, and there were rumors going around. It was unheard of since the war with the Titans that a boy 16 years old weren't claimed. Either his parent was really careless, or… His parent couldn't contact him.

Unfortunately, another girl had the same problem.

For almost a month, the other undetermined camper, Aileen, sulked in the Hermes cabin, muttering about 'how it was all unfair', and how 'she had other things to do at home.' Alex really didn't want to listen to her moans and her pitiful complaints about her life, yet there was one thing nagging him.

Why was Jones so interested in her? She wasn't special, as far as Alex could see; she was a normal American girl who had the annual routine of going to school, and being expelled from it within the year, like most demigods- except some, like Alex. He didn't know much about her parentage –it seemed that it was a touchy subjects for most children at the camp- but he was pretty sure it couldn't be that significant.

Alex fleetingly thought about the mission he had before he was captured by the dog-man (Annabeth had taught him the proper name for the monster, but Alex wasn't very interested), when he was supposed to be researching about missing children in New York. Now, Alex thought bitterly, he was sure that it was a ruse so that MI6 wouldn't have the trouble of explaining Greek gods to him- they delivered Alex into Camp Half-blood to spy in the most inconspicuous way. Although, he still didn't know how Chiron knew about MI6.

But for the time being, Alex silently lay in the Hermes' camp, listening to the quiet breathing of his peers while they slept. There was no sign of danger, no imminent threat- he was safe, and he should've been enjoying every minute of it.

However, he felt strangely empty, like he was missing something.

The thrill has become part of me. Brilliant. Alex was sprawled on his sleeping bag deciphering all the new information that he had acquired the past month. According to everyone around here, this place was the safest place in the universe against monsters, who inexplicably attacked half-bloods due to a very old grudge (as in millions of years old) or just because their hungry. The gods' parents were called Titans, who wanted to rule the world again- but a couple of months ago, this boy called Percy Jackson saved the world.

So he's a hero too. Alex had thought. Good for him- people actually celebrates his success. At least he has no other imminent threats to his life. Every time I reluctantly save the world, it only wins me more trouble, and more people who want to kill me. My life, although very similar, is not like Percy's. He wanted to save the world, in the end. I had no other choice.

It wasn't that Alex was jealous- far from that. He respected Percy and wished he could know the other more. It was just that Alex didn't have any good friends in this camp. Not because he was unpopular -in fact, he was quite popular with the Aphrodite girls, and he conversed easily with many of the children there- but because he didn't feel like he was part of the group. It was everything that Ms. Jones wanted, but it was not what Alex wanted at all. Ms Jones already had another mission for Alex- and he had to comply. To do so, he had to befriend Aileen, who was still acting like a brat, with no explanation from Ms. Jones whatsoever.

Aileen wasn't bad, really. After the ordeal with Chiron, she had quieted suddenly, and had looked longingly at the sky, as if there was an answer to her problems in one of the clouds. She looked at Alex mournfully, then said, "I've got no idea what the hell I'm doing here, and I'm guessing it's the same to you. I'm sorry that I might act like a complete idiot, but trust me, it's not my fault." A grin had slowly crept up her face, and with a casual flick of her black hair, she asked, "do you mind if I stayed with you? I don't feel like acting likable, and I have an uncanny feeling that you'll be one of the only people willing to put up with me here." Alex had nodded, for that was what Ms. Jones wanted, and briefly wondered what Aileen had meant by not being it her fault that she was bratty. Currently, it had seemed that Aileen wasn't, in fact, a headstrong spoiled twat.

In fact, she reminded him of Jack.

The thought sent a jolting pain through his heart, and he felt his eyes moisten- he felt utterly alone, and now his most trusted friend wasn't here to comfort him anymore- ever. Sighing, he quietly exited the cabin and decided to go see the nightly sea.

After Yassen's death and the terrible ordeal with Scorpia, Alex hadn't been released by MI6. He went to various missions, all of them successful, yet his friend and housekeeper, Jack, seemed sadder and forlorn, losing her usual cheerfulness as more and more missions were completed. Alex knew Jack didn't like the fact that he had to do this, and there was nothing that could stop MI6 from using him, but perhaps Jack had seen the change- Alex had come to accept it, and in some ways, started to enjoy his job. Because soon after, all too suddenly, she bluntly told him that she was going to return to America, after "she found someone trustworthy to take care of Alex."

Alex gaped at her, uncomprehending. "You can't be serious."

Jack looked at him dispiritedly, and sighed. "Please understand, Alex. I can't handle this anymore- your business with MI6, that's taken a toll on me. I only came here to work for your uncle so I'd have a place to live. It's just too much."

Alex looked at her. Then, Jack gently and uncertainly touched his scar on his chest through the rough surface of the T-shirt, as if reminding him what had happened before.

"Please understand, Alex. These last few years, after Ian's death, it's been hard for both of us. I. Just. Can't. Take. It. Any. more." She said desperately, trying to find some emotion in Alex's now blank face, which hid the turmoil in his mind. Alex nodded mutely, as if he understood, and left the table, and without a backward glance, went up to his room.

Jack silently watched him go, a single tear escaping her eyes.

Next to the sea, Alex let himself wallow in his loneliness, closing his eyes. A few weeks after the affair, Jack had left for America- forever. He remembered his uncle, he remembered Jack, and bizarrely, he remembered Yassen, and the way his voice stood firm when he said he did not kill children. It seemed, to Alex, that they were the only ones who had protected him before.

For a while, he just sat in the sand, watching the waves roll by. The sea was strangely quiet today, and Alex was blissfully isolated. He closed his eyes, and took his mind off his worries. He soon drifted into sleep on the cold sandy floor.

A short scream jolted him from his sleep. Alex started, then jumped up- somebody was in trouble, and he was ready to help. Quickly, he scanned the area for a weapon, then realized useful weapons would be in the armory. Jeez, I'm not the hero here- what am I thinking? Alex marveled at himself, but he didn't think twice about running towards the source of the scream; the scream had been cut short soon after, a telltale sign that the person was in trouble. He ran to the source of the scream, as fast as he could.

-He ran to his cabin.

Chiron blearily watched the commotion from the big house, and seeing Alex, he sighed. The poor boy acts like the whole world is his responsibility- so much for "giving him rest", as Mr. Blunt had put it. He watched as Alex hurled himself into the Hermes cabin, and bit back a smile, as he heard no other noise, he was sure that the problem wasn't serious- probably another new camper getting a nightmare.

It was time that Alex knew that he wasn't the only one who can save the world- Chiron mused.

Then, without bothering to check on the camp mates, he sauntered back inside, promising himself that he'll have a talk with Alex and Aileen tomorrow, to see whether they were getting used to this new life.

After all, being in a camp for kids with gods as one of their parents, without being determined, could prove to be aggravating...

and anyway, he had to make sure Alex wasn't going to do anything stupid.

A/N:

Before anything, I have to say that I'm really sorry. Come to think of it, this upload didn't take very long to write, it's just I wrote like twenty drafts, and all of the sucked. I'm sorry it took so long to upload- I had some trouble in my life... Can I leave it at that?

I was actually going to scrap the whole fic, and forget about everything, but when I looked at the umber of hits, and reviews, and how people were still reading this fic, I felt that I had to finish it.

So, yeah. I'm going to try.

Thanks for bearing it with me, and giving me hope :)

(ohmygaud can i get any cheesier?)

Oh, and I don't own PJO or AR 'cause it would've never been completed if I did.

Once again, sorry, and thank you!

Bookwormy girl.

See you next time! (and let's hope it doesn't take me a whole ****** year to write it!)