Chapter 2(RW): Maybe dreams can come true

Clarisse hates dreams. She hates what happens every night in her dreams. Every single night without fail, it's the same dream.

A black-haired girl, her back turned to her as she stared at the moon in front of them. Clarisse would wake up as soon as she managed to get in front of her, though not long enough to see her face. She was always a mystery to Clarisse, a mystery that attacked her every night. A mystery that she hated.

Waking up in the Ares cabin every night was the routine she expected, as well as getting up early to get some training in before everyone else woke up.

What she didn't expect, however, was for her to sleep in. An Ares kid was always alert, but there was something that made her dream go on for longer than usual.

The girl laughed. Clarisse didn't know what it was for, didn't know who it could be towards, but the change in the dream changed something in Clarisse that she wanted to rip out of her. Longing, a deep aching longing in her. It was desperate, it was hurting. She wanted to turn her around; she wanted to see her face, just once, but when she tried to get close, once she tried to touch her, she woke up.

And that, along with everything else, she hated.

She slept in, waking up to an empty cabin. She grumbled as she hoisted herself off her bed, quickly took a shower, and headed towards the armory.

Her siblings noticed her, though no one mentioned her lateness because her mood was more than sour that day, and no one wanted to test it.

What would she have said to war-obsessed siblings? "Hey, I'm having these dreams about this girl, and I'm sort of obsessed with trying to see what she looks like?" Heck no. Even she hates everything about that. Ares doesn't obsess himself over a woman, and neither will she.

After training, her siblings decided to get some breakfast before going about their routine. Thankfully, they finished before the Hermes kids got there. Gods know what might've happened if she let herself hear Luke Castellan's constant jokes and tirades.

She sat at her table with her siblings, and, unlike the shouting and cheering of her siblings, she was silent. The girl kept showing up in her mind. She tried to forget about it, but it would keep coming back.

She was so distracted that she didn't notice when she was hit with an egg until it happened. Everything went silent. She didn't know how it ended, but before she knew it, she was in the Big House sitting in front of Chiron and Mr. D.

Chiron looked at her with a gentle look that she despised.

"Clarisse," He said. "Is there any explanation for what happened back there?"

Clarisse scoffed. "Don't get mad at me. That kid is the one who threw an egg at my head. I barely did anything to him."

"For once," Mr. D spoke, causing Chiron to glare at him. "What? I'm not wrong."

"I've noticed the way you've been acting around camp," Chiron continued. "You've been off. Want to talk about it?"

Clarisse looked at him, her face as cold as ice. No, she doesn't want to tell him about the girl she's constantly thinking about. Instead, she just huffed.

"I'm fine," She muttered. "Can I go now? I'll apologize to the kid. I bet he isn't even that hurt in the first place."

"You broke his nose," Chiron told her.

"So?"

"And his arm and his two pinkie fingers."

"They'll heal. He should've had more tougher skin before wanting to throw stuff at me."

Chiron sighed. "Just maybe try and keep to yourself. Capture the flag is on Friday. Only four days. Maybe you can let all that anger out then?"

Clarisse stayed silent for a long moment until she groaned. "Fine," she said. "But if anyone gets in my way again, I will hurt them."

"Wouldn't expect anything less," Mr. D called out, earning another glare from Chiron.

Clarisse stomped out of the Big House. She watched the other campers playing and chasing each other. A scowl formed on her face as she walked to the infirmary. She pushed open the door to find Lee Fletcher tending to the kid she had hurt. Lee noticed her, and a smile formed on his lips.

"Hey, Clarisse, come to apologize?"

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "If you say anything about this to anyone, I will break you next." She moved to the kid. She watched as he looked at her with fear in his eyes. "I'm sorry for breaking your leg, but if you throw another egg at me, I won't be so sorry next time."

Without another word, Clarisse turned and walked out of the infirmary, bumping into Annabeth Chase, who, as always, was walking with a book in her hands. They stared at each other for a long moment.

"Chase."

"LaRue."

The two locked eyes. Clarisse could admit that she respected Annabeth's intelligence. It was sad that she wasn't worth Clarisse's attention.

"Still looking for a quest, huh, Wisegirl?" Clarisse asked.

Annabeth huffed. "Well, if you must know. Yes, I am. I just feel like I'm so close. Like something is gonna happen. Someone is going to come, someone is going to get a quest, and I am going to join it."

Clarisse chuckled. "Determined, are we?" She laughed. "You Athena girls are always so prideful, it's sickening."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Please, Clarisse. If you had the chance to go on a quest, would you take it?"

"If I were as death-driven as you, maybe," Clarisse smirked.

Annabeth scoffed and walked away. Clarisse's smirk grew as she walked back to the armory.

Fortunately, there was no one there. She readied the straw dummy before swiping at it. She hit it once. Twice. Ten times before she decided she was done. She watched as the straw fell to the floor in crumbles at her feet.

She breathed heavily. She threw the sword onto the floor and walked out of the armory. Someone would clean that up later.

Clarisse stormed into her cabin and climbed into her bed. She didn't want to go to sleep.

She hated that the most.

𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋𑁋

The next day, Clarisse managed to wake up before her siblings. She walked to the armory when she spotted some kids at the camp entrance. She walked towards them. They were gathered around someone, though, it wasn't the one she expected.

She was pushed to the side, and Annabeth Chase ran to the front. The kid was a blonde boy holding a minotaur's horn. He looked hurt, but Clarisse thought he would be fine.

Other kids began to whisper about the kid, about how he killed the Minotaur. Annabeth and Chiron were whispering sharply to each other.

Clarisse rolled his eyes and was about to walk away until a sudden force made her turn back. While everyone was too busy talking about the kid, she watched as a figure came up the hill. She walked towards them. Once they got up the hill, the figure must've noticed them because they started shouting.

"Help!" They, a boy, shouted. "Help! We need help, please!"

Clarisse hesitated before running to help the boy. He was a black-haired boy, and he was holding a girl who was passed out in his arms. Clarisse hoisted the girl onto her shoulder and helped the boy up the hill. They had a bunch of scratches over their bodies as well as burn marks. They looked more hurt than the blonde kid was.

Once they got up the hill, Chiron noticed and rushed towards them. His face paled once he saw the injuries.

"We have to take these three to the infirmary," Chiron said. "Clarisse, you take her."

Clarisse adjusted the girl and carried her into the infirmary. Once she was off her shoulders, she could see the girl more clearly, and her heart dropped once the realization hit her.

It's her. The girl from her dreams. It's her.