THE WALK FROM THE Big House to Cabin Fifteen was short, yet filled with enough awkwardness to last Elle a lifetime.

Annabeth walked ahead of them, never slowing her pace. Every step was filled with hard-set determination (and some underlying anger).

Jason and Elle tagged along behind her. Occasionally, Jason would glance at her, open his mouth, then look away. Elle kept her eyes trained on Annabeth's blonde curls, too lost in thought to even notice Jason's gaze.

Her mind was burning with questions for Annabeth, but she couldn't bring herself to ask, because would the blonde even answer? Would she, like Chiron, refuse to tell Elle anything? Or would she share Elle's entire life story if asked?

"Here we are," Annabeth announced, breaking Elle's thoughts and the stiff silence.

Compared to other cabins, Cabin Fifteen was boring. That may have been a little rude of Elle to think, but it was true. The walls were mud with a rush roof and there was no color, save for the wreath of crimson poppies that hung from the doorway (the cabin's only decoration too, might she add).

"You think this is my parent's cabin?" Jason asked.

"No," Annabeth said. "This is the cabin for Hypnos, the god of sleep."

"Then why—"

"You've forgotten everything," she said. "If there's any god who can help us figure out memory loss, it's Hypnos."

Jason glanced at Elle in confusion. Elle shrugged. Jason sighed.

They stepped into the cabin, closing the door behind them. If there were windows in Cabin Fifteen, they had to have been covered, because Elle couldn't see a thing.

She scuffled forward, only to stub her toe against a bedpost.

"Fuck!" she yelled. Grumbling, Elle glared behind her where she presumed Annabeth was. "Why is it so fucking dark in here?"

When she spoke, Annabeth sounded amused. "The children of Hypnos love their sleep."

"Yeah, well I love my toes," Elle retired sharply, "and breaking one on a bedpost isn't how I want my evening to go."

Once her eyes adjusted to the dim light, Elle noticed three kids asleep in bed. A fire burned brightly in the hearth, the only source of light. Above the mantel hung a tree branch. A strange white liquid dripped from it into a small bowl. The liquid looked thick, and with a dirty mind, incredibly wrong. A smirk quirked at Elle's lips. She may not have remembered Percy well, but she just knew this was exactly the kind of thing they would laugh with her about.

Beside her, Jason began to blink heavily. His breaths slowed. Elle glanced over, elbowing him gently in the side. She too had begun to feel the exhaustion of the day creep up on her, but she wasn't about to fall asleep: she wanted answers.

"Snap out of it," Annabeth told him. At his confused, sleepy glance, she explained, "Cabin Fifteen does that to everyone. If you ask me, this place is even more dangerous than the Ares cabin. At least with Ares, you can learn where the land mines are."

That woke Jason up. "Land mines?"

Annabeth didn't answer. She walked up to the closest kid and shook his shoulder. "Clovis, wake up!"

The sleeping boy, Clovis, mumbled, pulling the covers closer to his face.

"Clovis!" Annabeth began to shake his shoulders repeatedly. Finally, she stepped forward, yanking the stack of pillows out from under his head.

He jolted, sitting upright. When the immediate shock faded, he yawned.

Annabeth, Jason, and Elle yawned too.

"Stop that!" Annabeth said. "We need your help."

"I was sleeping."

Annabeth huffed in exasperation. "You're always sleeping."

"Good night."

Now, Elle had no clue why people were so terrified to see her, but it sounded like the kind of thing that would wake someone up.

Stepping into his line of vision, Elle poked him in the cheek. "Hi," she said blandly.

Clovis' eyes went wide. Her appearance didn't fully wipe the sleep from him, but he was awake now.

"Y–you're — but...?"

Elle's jaw clenched. This was so infuriating. She was sick of people looking at her like that. Sick of watching them falter and stumble over their words. Nails dug into her palms once more as she fought back the anger clawing up her throat.

Fingers brushed her own. Her head snapped to the side, angry gaze meeting Jason's concerned one. He gently unraveled her fingers, preventing her from making the cuts on her hands deeper.

Although her gaze softened, she pulled her hand away and adverted her eyes. She was embarrassed, again. Jason was holding himself together despite everything, and hear she was, tearing apart at the seams.

Clovis blinked twice, still shocked by her presence. Elle wasn't sure if he was trying to comprehend what he was seeing, or simply trying to stay conscious.

When he didn't respond quickly enough, Annabeth launched into an explanation of Jason and Elle's memory problem. Every now and then she'd snap her fingers or clap her hands under Clovis' nose to keep him awake.

When she was done, he stood and stretched with a yawn. "So," he said, sounding significantly less tired than before. "You two don't remember anything, huh?"

"Well, it's different for Elle," Jason answered, "but for me, it's just impressions. Feelings, like..."

"Yes?" Clovis urged.

"Like I know I shouldn't be here. At this camp. I'm in danger."

"Hmm. Close your eyes."

Jason glanced at Annabeth, but she nodded reassuringly. His eyes landed on Elle. The girl gave him a small smile. It wasn't reassuring, nor was it happy, but it seemed to help because the boy closed his eyes.

He stood tall for a moment, but then his body began to sag. Right before he collapsed, Elle grasped his shoulders, gently lowering him to the ground.

The color seemed to drain from his body. His body felt lighter, weirder, farther away. Slowly, he became transparent.

Elle looked to Clovis in panic. "Is that normal?"

Clovis didn't answer. Instead, he stepped over, crouching down. He pressed his palm to Jason's forehead. As he pulled it away, Jason's eyes snapped open.

"This is serious, all right," Clovis said, glancing back at Annabeth.

"What happened?" Jason's tone was panicked. Immediately, his eyes went to Elle.

"You were out for a few minutes," she answered, fighting to keep the concern out of her voice. "You almost dissolved."

"Dissolved? Like, literally?"

Elle nodded. She offered him a hand (one he accepted) and hauled him to his feet.

Clovis spoke up. "Usually, memories are lost for a good reason. They sink under the surface like dreams, and with good sleep, I can bring them back. But this..."

"Lethe?" Annabeth asked.

"No," Clovis said. "Not even Lethe."

"Lethe?" Elle asked. Sparing a quick glance at Jason, she could tell he didn't know either.

Pointing to the tree branch above the mantle, Clovis said, "The River Lethe in the Underworld. It dissolves your memories — wipes your mind clean. Permanently. That's the branch of a poplar tree from the Underworld, dipped into the Lethe. It's the symbol of my father."

"You went there once," Annabeth told Elle. "With Percy, Nico, and Thalia — the other children of the Big Three. You two told me it was powerful enough to wipe the mind of a Titan. Actually, I'm pretty sure you did wipe the mind of a Titan."

Elle's eyes were wide as she blinked. "Seriously? I was in the Underworld? With a Titan?"

Annabeth started to smile as she said, "Actually," but then she faltered. Elle wasn't positive as to what had caused her sudden silence, but by the look in Annabeth's eyes, the brunette knew Annabeth had remembered something not-so-pleasant.

When she didn't share it, Jason spoke up.

"But..." he looked confused. "The lethe — that's not my problem?"

"No," Clovis said. "Your mind wasn't wiped, and your memories weren't buried. They've been stolen."

"Stolen?" Elle interjected. "How?"

"By a god," answered Clovis. "Only a god would have that kind of power."

"We know it was Juno," said Jason. "But how? Why?"

Clovis scratched the back of his neck in confusion. He looked at Annabeth. "Juno?"

"He means Hera," Annabeth said. "For some reason, Jason prefers the Roman names."

"Hmm," Clovis mumbled.

"What?" Jason asked. "Does that mean something?"

"Hmm," Clovis said again, and this time the trio realized he was snoring.

"Clovis!" Elle snapped.

"W-what? What?" His eyes fluttered open. "We were talking about pillows, right? No, gods — I remember. Greek and Roman. Sure, it could be important."

That threw Annabeth off. "But they're the same gods," she said. "Just different names."

Clovis shrugged. "Not exactly."

Jason looked intrigued. "What do you mean, 'not exactly'?"

Yawning, Clovis explained. "Some gods are only Roman. Like Janus or Pompona. But even the major Greek gods, it's not just their names that changed when they moved to Rome. Their appearances changed. Their attributes changed. They even had slightly different personalities."

Annabeth looked displaced. Elle could tell she didn't like being wrong. "But... okay, fine. So maybe people saw them differently through the centuries, but that doesn't change who they are."

"Sure it does," Clovis said. "The gods change to reflect their host cultures, you know that. I mean, these days Zeus likes tailored suits, reality television, and that Chinese food place on East Twenty-Eighth Street. It was the same in Roman times, and the gods were Roman almost as long as they were Greek. It was a big empire. Lasted for centuries. So of course their Roman aspects are still a big part of their character.

"I guess that makes sense," Elle said. She glanced at Jason, who seemed to be following along, then to Annabeth, who looked mystified.

"But how do you know all this, Clovis?" the blonde questioned.

Elle had been wondering the same thing.

"I spend a lot of time dreaming. I see the gods there all the time—always shifting forms. Dreams are fluid, you know? You can be in different places at once, always changing identities. It's actually a lot like being a god. Like recently, I dreamed I was watching a Michael Jackson concert, and then—"

"Clovis," Elle interrupted.

"Right," he said. "So we call the gods by their Greek names because that's their original form. But saying their Roman aspects are exactly the same — that's not true. In Rome, they became more warlike. They didn't mingle with mortals as much. They were harsher, more powerful — the gods of an empire."

Elle frowned. "Like, a dark side of the gods?"

"Not exactly," Clovis said. "They stood for discipline, honor, strength—"

"Good things, then," Jason said. He sounded defensive. "I mean, discipline is important, right? That's what made Rome last so long."

Clovis tilted his head curiously. "That's true... but the Roman gods weren't very friendly. For instance, my dad, Hypnos, he didn't do much except sleep in Greek times. But in Roman times, they called him Somnus. He liked killing people who didn't stay alert at their jobs. If they nodded off at the wrong time, boom — they never woke up again. He killed the helmsman of Aeneas when they were sailing from Troy."

"Nice guy," Elle commented sarcastically. "Definitely want to bring him home to my parents."

"I still don't understand what it has to do with Jason," Annabeth said. It seemed everyone had gotten used to ignoring Elle's pointless remarks.

"Neither do I," Clovis said. "But if Hera took his memory, only she can give it back. And if I had to meet the queen of the gods, I'd hope she was more in a Hera mood than a Juno mood. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"No!" Elle interrupted urgently. "What about me? Where are my memories?"

Clovis gave her a once over. "Well..." he looked to Annabeth. "Does she know?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Chiron... Chiron said not to tell her. Something about an oath. But I don't know..." The blonde met Elle's anxious eyes. "I feel like you have a right to know."

"Yes, thank you! I do have a right to know. It's my fucking life!" With an expectant gaze, Elle looked at Clovis.

He was silent for a long moment. "If Chiron swore an oath, it must be for a good reason. While I could technically tell you, I don't think it would be wise."

Elle almost screamed. How could these people say they cared for her and then refuse to even explain who she is?! It wasn't fair, and it wasn't right.

"Now can I go back to sleep?"

Insensitive little shit, she complained silently.

Elle wanted to ask more questions, but she knew she wouldn't get the answers she wanted.

"Alright, thanks Clovis," Annabeth told the boy, but he was already asleep. Turning to Jason, she said, "I'm beginning to think you are in serious trouble."

Jason sighed. "I suspected as much."

"And Elle," she offered the girl a pitying smile. "I'm sorry."

When Elle offered no answer other than a downcast gaze, Annabeth began to leave.

Jason lingered for a moment, waiting until Annabeth was out of earshot. Then, he turned to Elle. Together, they began to follow behind.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. "I know you're upset."

Elle scoffed. "I'm not upset. What's there to be upset about? It's not like the entire fucking Camp is terrified of me and everyone refuses to say why. No, I'm having the time of my fucking life."

Once the words have left her mouth, she sighed at herself. Being rude to Jason would get her nowhere. While she was embarrassed to have him worry about her, she knew he only meant well.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I should be asking if you're okay. That was a lot."

Jason shrugged. "I don't know why, but I'm used to a lot. It almost feels natural, having all this stress surrounding me." At her silence, Jason second-guessed his words. "I mean, I know it sounds super weird and all—"

"I get it." Elle cut him off softly. "I feel the same way."

An awkward chuckle left Jason's mouth. "There's something seriously wrong with us, isn't there? We're crazy."

"Oh, definitely," Elle nodded. A grin found its way onto her face. "But all the best people are."

Jason's eyebrows furrowed. As his blue eyes met Elle's own, he smiled. "Did you just reference Alice in Wonderland? You remember that, of all things?"

"Did you just understand my Alice and Wonderland reference?" Elle countered, arching an eyebrow. "And says you!" She laughed. "You don't even remember your own last name, Superman."

"'Superman?'" Jason repeated incredulously. "Another reference!"

"Well," Elle softened her tone as she batted her eyelashes at Jason, pitching her tone an octave higher. "'I can tell you're pretty powerful. You're going to be important at camp.' It seems someone as important as you is in need of an important name like Superman." And although she broke character by laughing, Elle added, "'Sweetie.'"

For the first time that day, Jason laughed. Elle had never heard it before, but she already knew she would never get sick of hearing it. When Jason laughed, every muscle he had relaxed. His eyes lit up and he smiled wide. His laugh was loud, but not annoyingly so, filled with genuine happiness. It also happened to be the most contagious sound Elle had ever heard, and soon, she was laughing too.

As their laughter died down, they sighed simultaneously, and it set them off again.

All day the two teenagers had been on edge. They'd woken up in an unknown place, been attacked — twice —, transported across the country with the promise of solving their memory problem, met with a rude goddess and a vague centaur, and been stared at and whispered about, all to be told no real information about their identities. But now, the stress of their lives slipped away for one blissful moment, leaving them laughing all the way to the dining pavilion.

a/n: i hate this chapter very much but oh well. i love jason and elle's little moments though, so i suppose that makes up for it.

apologizes for the late update, I've been a little busy lately and got distracted obsessing over a leo valdez fic idea. i'm back on track now, although i will be going away in july. not sure if i'll be able to keep updating or not (i probably will).

i'd also like to apologize for the fact that i got lazy editing this and didn't thoroughly read every sentence. so if there are mistakes, please just let me know.

thanks for reading!