Everything Has Changed, Part 3

**Everything Has Changed, Part 3** is the sixty-third chapter of Zak Saturday's Immortal Love Life. It was first published on March 3, 2016.

## Chapter

**Nobody edit below this box**

**Sarah's POV**
That night was terrible. I didn’t get any sleep at all, and just cried all night.
At one point during the night, I heard someone scream. Normally, I would get up to see what happened, but I wasn’t in the mood to. I don’t think anything serious happened, so I stayed in my (or Emily’s) bed.
The next morning, I got out of bed and prepared myself for the day ahead.
I don’t know why, but a part of me felt like I should peek into Luke’s room, so I did. He was still asleep, but he wasn’t in the bed alone. Annabeth was sound asleep next to him. That worried me.
I walked toward them and Luke woke up as I approached.
“Uh, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“Uh, sleeping,” he replied.
“That’s not what I meant. Why is she in here with you? Doesn’t she have her own bed?”
“Yes, but thanks to our brother and sister-in-law allowing her to watch that scary movie the other night, she’s been having nightmares about it and came to me for comfort.”
“Is she the one I heard screaming last night?”
“Yes. Thanks for coming to check on her.”
“Hey, I had a rough night last night.”
“Yeah, so did I. My girlfriend’s dead sister is possessing her body and she used her powers to push me and Annabeth into the pool.”
I smirked. “You deserved it.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For being an ass.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Now, if you don’t mind, it’s 6:00am, and I would like to try and get some more sleep.”
“Fine. But how about I take Annabeth and get her some breakfast while you try to get some more sleep?”
“Ok.”
I bent down next to her. “Annabeth, wake up.”
Her eyes fluttered open a couple moments later. “Is it morning?”
“Yes, it is. So how would you like some breakfast while we let Luke here get some sleep?”
“Ok. But you’re not coming, Luke?”
“I’ll catch up with you later, ok?”
“Ok.”
He gave her a kiss on her forehead and she hopped out of bed. Then we headed to the kitchen.
“Ok,” I said. “What would you like for breakfast?”
“Umm, pancakes,” Annabeth replied.
I smiled. “I want pancakes too. Do you want to help me make them?”
“Yeah.”
“Ok. I’ll get the ingredients and you can mix them.”
“Ok.”
I got the ingredients, Annabeth got the bowl. We set them all on the island and began to mix them. Then I got the grill out and made the pancakes. I also made some bacon. Mom came in a few minutes later.
“Hey, Mom,” I said. “Want some pancakes?”
“You know how much I like pancakes,” she replied.
“Yes, I do.”
I gave Annabeth her stack first, then I did Mom’s and mine.
I wanted to talk to Mom alone, so we ate on the dining room table while Annabeth ate on the island.
“So how’d it go with Zak last night?” Mom asked.
“Horrible,” I replied.
“What happened?”
“I don’t think you want to know.”
“It doesn’t really matter to me whether or not I want to know. But if you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Ok.”
“But I do want to talk about Luke.”
“Ok. What about?”
“Why does Emily like him so much? I mean, he’s an asshole.”
Mom sighed, but grinned. “Sarah, the only reason he’s being an ass to you is because you’re being an ass to him.”
“Well, how do you expect me to react to waking up thirteen years past the date I remember and find a guy’s arms wrapped around me and I don’t even know him?”
“Well, when you put it that way, you make a good point.”
“Yeah. But why do you like him?”
“Because I feel like he understands me better than anyone else, except maybe Nick, and I understand him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Like the situation with him and his father is similar to me and my mother.”
“Ok. What’s up with him and his father?”
“If you want to know, you ask him yourself.”
“Why?”
“Because, Sarah, he’s taken for granted a lot. Everyone in the town is suspicious of him.”
“In a good or bad way?”
“How can you be suspicious of someone in a good way?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. But I can understand why they would be suspicious of him. I mean, he’s kind of intimidating.”
“Yeah, but you don’t understand why. And you won’t until you get to know him.”
“I don’t think that’ll help.”
“Yes, it will, Sarah. Luke is really misunderstood by a lot of people, even by your dad. I mean, you’ve seen how he is toward Annabeth, right?”
I nodded. “He seems to be quite protective of her, which is the only thing I like about him.”
“Yeah, well, one time, about a year ago, he was accused by one of our neighbors of having some kind of sexual contact with her, even though the damn asshole didn’t have any proof of it and never really witnessed him acting in any way inappropriate to Annabeth. And we have proof of that since we have cameras all over the house, both inside and outside.”
“Wow. What did Luke think of that?”
“Ask him yourself.”
I sighed. “Fine. But can you at least tell me how his and Emily relationship was?”
“Their relationship is good. I mean, yeah, they do have an argument every once in a while, but who doesn’t? And I’d say they have more serious arguments than stupid ones.”
“Like what?”
“Well, I’d say that the worst argument they’ve ever had was about Annabeth a few months ago.”
“What, that she doesn’t really ever leave them alone?
“No. Neither of them mind about that. They love her and they’re not annoyed by her. But, anyway, a few months ago, Annabeth got a letter in the mail from her dad asking her to come home.”
“Did she go?”
“She’s still here, isn’t she?”
“Oh. What happened?”
“Well, she was debating on whether or not she wanted to reunite with her father and was asking us what she should do. Luke didn’t want her to go.”
“Why, because he didn’t want to lose his ‘little girl’?”
“Basically, yes. But Emily told her to give her father another chance. Luke didn’t like that at all. He argued how Annabeth’s father already had his chance with her and blew it and Emily argued back that she believes in second chances and that just because it didn’t work out between him and his father, and probably never will, doesn’t mean that it can’t work out between Annabeth and her father. She also said that if she could ever get a chance to have her sister, you, back, she’d do anything to make that happen.”
A tear streaked down my face. I wiped it away. “What did Luke say?”
“Well, he brought up the time that your dad was drunk driving with Emily in the backseat when she was only a few months old then and them getting into a terrible accident almost costing both their lives,” Mom continued. “Yeah, that made the situation even worse, especially since Emily didn’t even know about that until then.”
“I’ll bet,” I said. “So what happened?”
“Well, Annabeth did go home to her father, but it didn’t work out too well, mostly because of her stepmother. So she came back to live with us less than a week later.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.”
“Did Luke gloat at how right he was about that?”
“A little bit, but he did try to contain it.”
“Sure he did. And that makes me want to get to know him even less.”
Mom smiled. “Hey, nobody’s perfect.”
“I know.”
“Can I have more pancakes?” Annabeth asked, coming to us with her empty plate.
“Of course you can,” I said.
I got up and made her some more pancakes. Then Luke came into the kitchen, followed by his dragon, Black.
“Hey,” I said. “Want some pancakes?”
“Uh, sure,” he replied.
I got him a plate, put some pancakes and bacon on it, and gave it to him. He sat down on the island next to Annabeth and started eating. She had finished and moved onto his lap. He didn’t seem to mind.
I made eye-contact with Mom. She gestured for me to talk to him.
I sighed. “Hey, umm, do you think when you’re done eating that we could go to the park and talk?”
“Uh, sure,” Luke replied. “About what?”
“Just things in general.”
“Ok . . .”
“Can I come?” Annabeth asked.
Luke looked at me.
“Of course you can,” I said.
“Yay.”
I smiled. “You can come too, Black.”
I gave him a piece of bacon and he happily ate it.
“I made some more bacon for the animals. I know how much they love it.”
“Ok,” Mom said.
“I’ll give it to them.”
“Thanks.”

A little while later, we finished with breakfast, got dressed, and went to the park. We took Annabeth to the swings and Black stayed with her while Luke and I climbed on top of a jungle gym twenty feet away.
“Ok,” Luke said. “So what do you want to talk about?”
“You,” I said.
He looked confused. “What about me?”
“Well, my mom says that I should get to know you and maybe I won’t hate you as much as I do now. So tell me about yourself.”
“Ok. Well, for starters, I’m a demigod.”
I stared at him in disbelief. “What?”
“I’m a demigod. A demigod is someone—”
“I know what a demigod is.”
“Oh, really? Then what are they?”
“Well, a demigod is another word for half-blood, and someone who’s a half-blood is half human, half god. But you’re seriously a demigod?”
Luke nodded. “Yes. Annabeth is too. But be quiet when you say that. There’s a lot of people here today.”
“Ok. But if you’re a demigod, who’s your godly parent? And who’s Annabeth’s?”
“I’m a son of Hermes and she’s a daughter of Athena.”
“So the god of thieves and the goddess of wisdom. They exist?”
“Yes. And don’t say that’s it cool, ’cause it’s not.”
“Ok. Now it makes sense why you hate your dad so much since he’s apparently a god, but why did you run away from your mom?”
Luke sighed. “I didn’t want to run away from her. I had to.”
“Oh, you had to,” I said sarcastically. “Why?”
“My dad made her insane.”
“Insane? What kind of insane?”
“The kind that’s hard to describe.”
“Ok. Have you seen your mom since you ran away?”
“Once, but that was also when I met my dad for the first time. Not a good experience.”
“Ok, let’s get off the subject about your dad. Umm, tell me when you met my mom.”
“Well, I was nine and it was about an hour or so after I ran away. She was reasonable. She didn’t take me back to my mom, she just let me roam free. She even gave me a sword to defend myself with.”
“Yeah, my brother told me that you’re great with a sword,” I said.
“Well, I don’t mean to brag or anything, but, yes, I am,” Luke replied.
I laughed. “Ok. Back on the subject. What else happened after my mom let you roam free?”
“Well, I moved from city to city quickly. Being a demigod, monsters can sense me wherever I go, so I have to keep moving. Your mother would come look for me almost everyday. I guess she really cared about me. I mean, she asked me if she could adopt me after only knowing me for a few days. But I said no.”
“Why?”
“I liked being on my own, and she understood. But that didn’t keep her from asking, which was annoying.”
“But you obviously eventually said yes. Why?”
“Let’s come back to that question later, ok? A lot happened up to the moment that Raylee adopted me and Annabeth.”
“Ok. Well, then, how about we talk about your ‘little girl’?” I asked.
“Ok,” Luke said. “What do you want to know about her?”
“Tell me about how you met her.”
“I was fourteen, so about two years ago. Thalia and I were—”
“Thalia?” I asked. “Who’s she? Is she also a demigod?”
“Yes,” Luke replied. “A daughter of Zeus.”
“Zeus? Wow. And she’s a girl?”
“I know where you’re going with that, and you’re wrong.”
“So you two were just friends?”
He blushed. “Let’s come back to that question later too.”
“Ok.” I smirked. “Back on Annabeth.”
“Thalia and I were resting near an old warehouse in Richmond when I heard a sound from a nearby alley. We went to check it out. There was a sheet of corrugated tin quivering at the end of the alley. We prepared ourselves, knowing that someone was under it. I lifted it up and Annabeth jumped out. She was scared and trying to fight me with a hammer. I disarmed her and calmed her down. I could tell that she was a demigod, and a tough one at that. Surviving for a while, alone, and that young. We introduced ourselves and I gave her a knife that was given to me earlier that day ’cause it was better than a hammer. And from that moment on, the three of us became a family.”
I smiled. “That is really cute.”
Luke also smiled at the happy memory. “Yeah, it was.”
“What happened after that?”
His smile faded. “Well, we were demigods. We couldn’t stay in one place for long, so we kept moving. No place in particular, just trying to survive. At one point, we ran into a satyr, Grover. You know what a satyr is, right?”
“Of course I do. They’re half man, half goat.”
“And their jobs are to find and protect animals and lead them to somewhere safe, and that’s what he did with us. No offense to him, but he wasn’t the best navigator. He led us into tough situations by accident, though. He was young in human years, so it was understandable, I guess.”
“Hey, my mom always told me to never judge anyone by their age. Just because they’re older, doesn’t mean they’re smarter or more responsible.”
“Yeah, she told me that too. And that’s actually true, because Annabeth is smarter than me.”
“I’m sure she is. After all, girls mature more faster than boys.”
He glared at me.
I just laughed. “You can continue now.”
He did. “Grover finally did lead us to some place safe for demigods eventually, Camp Half-Blood, but not all of us made it.”
“What happened?” I asked.
Luke had a pained expression on his face. “Monsters were chasing us. Most of them were going after Thalia since she was a child of the Big Three and their scent is stronger than any other demigods. They were gaining on us and Thalia stayed behind and sacrificed herself to save Annabeth, Grover, and me. The monsters killed her. Her father took pity on her and turned her into a tree. Now her life force is in that tree, possibly still alive, and keeping monsters out of camp with a barrier.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. After that, Annabeth and I lived and trained at camp for a while. Raylee would come see us at least once a week. And, eventually, she asked me and Annabeth for like the millionth time if she could adopt us, and that time, we said yes.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, Annabeth said yes first because your mom guaranteed her that she could keep her safe from monsters with her powers and that she could go to school, and Raylee held to that promise because we’ve been here for almost a year now and not one monster has come after either of us here. I said yes for two reasons. One, I could tell how much Raylee cared about me, and as much as I hate being taken care of, I’m glad it’s her and not someone else. And the second reason was that I was not going to leave Annabeth at all. I promised her and myself after Thalia’s sacrifice that I would take care of her and keep her safe, because there are very few people that I trust with her and your mom is one of them. Now, unfortunately, I can’t keep her safe at school, but if something happens to her, I will find out and I will make sure that it doesn’t happen to her again.”
I smiled. “It’s like you’re related to my mom by blood. But, as you said, Annabeth is a smart and tough girl. I’d think she’d know the right kind of person she should be around. Like you.”
“Thank you,” Luke said. “And I’m sure of that too. But it doesn’t hurt to make sure of that yourself.”
“True. But may I ask why you don’t go to school?”
“Raylee and I both agree that it’s a waste of time. It’s useless, and you don’t really learn anything. And even if you do, you probably won’t remember it a week later, so what’s the point?”
“Well, I believe it depends on how devoted you are into learning something new. I know my mom isn’t really interested in that most of the time, and, apparently, you aren’t either. But what would you do during the week then if you don’t go to school? My brother told me that you would hang out with him or my mom or with your dog around town. Do you do anything else?”
“Well, sometimes I would ask Raylee to send me to camp until Emily almost got home. Annabeth and I would go there every weekend and spend most of the summer there. I know it’s summer now, but it’s a lot less crowded here then it is there.”
I laughed. “Ok. So you’re glad of being adopted into our family.”
Luke nodded. “Yes. And I’m pretty sure Annabeth is too. Raylee treats us like we’re her actual kids by blood and not by paper.”
“Yeah, she’s always like that. But she told me earlier about the situation with Annabeth and her father a few months ago, and how you and Emily argued about it. Why wouldn’t you let her go, because I have a feeling that it wasn’t just because he already had his chance with her and blew it.”
“If you think that, then you probably know why.”
“I probably do. It was mostly because of attachment issues. You didn’t want to lose her because you care for her like she’s your daughter.”
He didn’t deny it. “Yeah, and she is my tough little girl.”
“But not by blood.”
“Does she really have to be by blood in order for me to call her my little girl?”
“I guess not. But my mom also told me about that time a neighbor of ours accused you of being sexual in some way toward Annabeth. How did you feel about that?”
“The fact that anyone would think that I would do such a think to anyone, especially to Annabeth, is insulting. I know that some fathers would do that to their daughters, but the idea of me ever doing anything like that to my little girl, sickens me.”
I smiled. “You’re going to be a great father someday, Luke. Biologically, I mean.”
“Everybody tells me that,” he replied.
“Because they know it’s true. And, because of that, I can see why Emily likes you so much.”
“And why’s that?”
“Are you kidding? Girls love guys who love kids. Though, most of the time, guys only pretend to love kids to get girls to fall for them. You’re not one of them.”
Luke smiled. “Yeah, but I don’t think that that’s the reason why girls like me.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, most of the girls at camp like me, but—”
“Wait. How do you know that most of the girls like you?”
“I can tell by the way they are to me. How they look at me.”
“Ok, so you’re not a clueless idiot.”
“No. It’s not that hard for me to tell whether a girl likes me or not. The only time it is is when—”
“You like the girl too.”
He nodded. “Yes. That’s how it was for me and Emily.”
“Ok. But why do you think that, based on how much you care and love Annabeth and that you’re not afraid to show it, isn’t the reason why most of the girls at that camp like you?”
“Well, because of how they treat her when they’re talking—or should I say flirting—with me.”
“How do they treat her?”
“Like she’s their pesky little sister. They try to shove her away from me and I hate that. So, no. I don’t think that’s the reason why most of the girls I meet have a crush on me.”
“Well, you are quite good-looking.”
“Thanks.”
I blushed. Why did I just say that? On to a different subject.
“Ok,” I said. “I’m going to be a protective older sister and ask you some serious questions.”
“Ok,” Luke said. “Shoot.”
“Alright. First question, have you had any girlfriends before Emily?”
He hesitated. “Yes.”
“How many?”
“One, technically two.”
“Was the technical one Thalia?”
He nodded. “Yeah.”
“Can you tell me about that?”
“Well, I did have some feelings for her and I think she did for me too. There was a couple times where I attempted to kiss her, but we were always interrupted. It never happened.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah. Sometimes I can’t help but think of what might’ve been if she hadn’t been turned into a tree. Is that bad?”
I shook my head. “No. You met her first. Like with my mom and Nick. It’s completely understandable.”
“That’s exactly what Emily said.”
“You told her that?”
“At first, no. But your mom convinced me that I shouldn’t keep that from her and that she’ll understand.”
“And she does.”
“Yes. Just like she understands why it’s hard for Zak, your boyfriend, to look at her.”
My smile faded. “Yeah. Now what about that last girlfriend you had?”
Luke hesitated again. “That didn’t end well.”
“Does it ever?”
He smirked. “I guess not.”
“Ok. Well, tell me her name, her godly parent if she was a demigod, how you two got together, and why you broke up.”
“Ok. Her name was Cassandra. She’s Annabeth’s oldest sister at camp, so she’s a daughter of Athena. She also had a crush on me and did whatever she could to hide it. But she liked Annabeth and she’s the only person at camp that I really trust with her.”
“Wait. So you’re saying that the only way you’ll ever date a girl is based on how she treats Annabeth?”
He nodded. “Yes. And if she likes her too.”
“That’s sweet. That’s what a good father would do.”
“Yes. But that’s not what Annabeth’s father did, unfortunately, for her.”
“Ok. Back on Cassandra. When did you two start dating?”
“About a few months after Annabeth and I first came to camp. She wanted me to meet her in the woods late one night after curfew. I did, and she made me climb up a tree with her. We sat on a branch strong enough to hold both our weights, and she kissed me.”
“Wow. I guess she couldn’t help her feelings for you any longer.”
“No. From that moment on, we became a couple.”
“Were you ever attracted to her?”
“Well, the fact that she’s Annabeth’s older sister, who looks a lot like her, ruined the attraction most of the time. But, yeah, I liked her. She was cool and independent.”
“What did Annabeth think about you two dating?”
“She liked it. She also hoped that we would get married someday so that I would be her brother.”
“Aww, that’s cute.”
“Yeah, well, I doubt it’s ever going to happen now.”
“Why did you break up?”
“Because Raylee adopted me and Annabeth.”
I was confused. “What do you mean? Did she not like you leaving her to be with your new family?”
“No, it’s not that at all. That came out wrong. When Raylee was getting ready to adopt me and Annabeth, I met Emily for the first time.”
I realized what happened now. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” Luke sighed. “I don’t know what happened then. I was just so drawn to her, I couldn’t explain it. She was to me too.”
“Do you think it was love at first sight?”
“Maybe.”
“It probably was, because I, myself, fell in love at first sight.”
“Yeah.”
“Did she know that you and Cassandra were a couple?”
Luke shook his head. “No. I should’ve let her know that, but something kept me from telling her, and I still don’t know what. After living with her for a few days, one thing led to another, and we kissed.”
“When and how did Cassandra find out?”
“Well, I was going to tell her the next time I saw her, but Annabeth beat me to it. Cassandra was angry, sad, and hurt. And it was over with us. She started resenting me, which I didn’t blame her, but she would tolerate me for Annabeth’s sake since we agreed on that at the start of our relationship. But not a day goes by that I don’t regret it. But at the same time, I never felt like my relationship with Cassandra was going to last long. And it just got worse after that.”
“What do you mean?”
He adjusted himself uncomfortably. “About a year ago, Cassandra did a crazy thing.”
“What?”
“Let’s just say she got pregnant.”
I stared at him. “Ok. How much crazier does it get after that?”
“Very. She didn’t even get his name. Just some nameless idiot trying to help her with her pain.”
“Her pain? Oh.”
Luke sighed. “Yeah. I was the only person at camp that she told.”
“Why did she tell you?”
“Well, I was walking by her cabin, I noticed that she was crying and I made her tell me what was wrong. After that, I helped her through her whole pregnancy. Or, most of it.”
“Why?”
“Because I felt guilty about it.”
I sighed. “Luke, it was not your fault that your ex-girlfriend allowed herself to get pregnant by some nameless asshole she met and didn’t even bother to learn his name. But the pain she had? Well, that was kind of your fault. But we can’t always control our feelings. The heart wants what it wants. It’s practically impossible to fight it.”
“Yeah.”
“What happened after that?”
“Well, she stayed at camp until she started showing. Then she went home to L.A. I would go see her everyday, go with her to checkups, anything.”
“Did Emily know?”
Luke nodded. “Yeah. She kind of didn’t like it. Not because I was with my ex-girlfriend, but because I felt guilty and Cassandra still resented me. She didn’t want me to help her at all, but I insisted and she let me. A few months later, she had her son.”
“She had a boy?”
He smiled. “Yeah. He had gray eyes like hers and weighed at 6.5 pounds. But I wasn’t there when she gave birth to him.”
“How come?”
“Because she didn’t tell me. He came a few weeks earlier than expected.”
“Wait. You helped her through the pregnancy for months and she didn’t tell you that she went into labor?”
He shook his head. “No. She didn’t want me there. She was giving him up for adoption, but I was trying to convince her not to. She didn’t want me there to put pressure on her.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“That’s exactly what Emily said.”
“Ok. So what happened?”
“Well, she gave him up for adoption and I asked your mom if she could adopt him for me since I wasn’t old enough to myself.”
“Wow. And what did she say?”
“What do you think she said?”
“Knowing my mom, probably yes.”
Luke nodded. “Of course, since Cassandra was the biological mother, she gets to choose who can adopt her son, and she wouldn’t let me.”
“Why the hell not?”
“She didn’t want me to raise him because she kind of blamed me for getting pregnant with him in the first place.”
“What? That was not your fault and she knows it.”
“Emily was with me then and she argued the same thing with her. But, in the end, she just told us to leave and we did. Everything went back to the same way it was before Cassandra got pregnant as if nothing happened.”
“But something did,” I said.
Luke nodded in agreement.
“Ok. Let’s move on to a more positive subject. You said that you never felt like your relationship with Cassandra was going to last long, and it didn’t. How do you feel about your relationship with Emily? Do you think it has any kind of future?”
“Perhaps this will answer your question.”
He reached over, grabbed my left hand, and lifted it up. I looked at it and noticed something gold around the ring finger.
“Is that a—”
“Promise ring,” Luke finished. “I gave it to Emily last month.”
“Wow. You must really love her.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“But I’ve gotta say, considering how attached Annabeth is to you, I’m surprised you even have any time to have a relationship.”
“Well, one day, she’ll be a teenager and start liking boys more and me less.”
“And you’re ok with that?”
“I never said I was. I’m actually worried about that.”
I laughed.
I looked down at Annabeth still playing on the swings with Black. Then I thought of something from earlier.
“She’s lucky to have you,” I told Luke.
“I know,” he replied. “And I’m lucky to have her.”
“Yeah. Now let’s see how much she enjoys to see you lose to a girl.”
“I don’t know what you mean, but I have lost to a girl before. Annabeth I’ve lost to many times.”
“Probably because you go easy on her.”
“Yes. And she hates it. But even when I don’t go easy on her, she beats me half the time.”
“She is a tough girl, isn’t she?”
“Yes, she is.”
“Yes, well, let’s see how much she enjoys me beating you.”
“At what?”
“Follow me and see.”
We climbed down the jungle gym, got Annabeth and Black, and headed home.
I led them into the arena. “Ok.” I turned to Luke. “You claim to be a great swordsman. Even my own twin brother thinks so.” I found my sword, picked it up, and faced him. “Prove it.”
He smiled. “You’re on.”
He grabbed his own sword and we prepared to fight. Annabeth and Black watched with excitement from the stands. Luke and I gave each other one more confident smile and we charged.
I’ll admit, Luke was a good swordsman. I won’t go into much detail about it, but it ended with me disarming him first, then he managed to disarm me and use my sword against me with his bare hands.
I was really impressed. “Wow. You are good.”
Luke smiled. “Thanks. You’re not bad yourself. It doesn’t usually take me that long to disarm my opponent.”
“Yeah,” Annabeth cheered, running over to us. “I knew you could do it, Luke. You always do. No offense, Emily. Or Sarah.”
“None taken,” I said. “But, uh, if you two don’t mind, I would like to go work on some music alone right now.”
“Ok,” Luke said. “But why?”
“Because I have a couple new ideas for some songs and it’s bugging me. And it won’t stop bugging me until I work on them.”
“Ok. Have fun.”
“I will.”
I ran off to the music room.
When Luke was telling me about how he met Annabeth along with Thalia and how they became a family, it gave me an idea for a new song. But I’ll work on that one later. After my conversation with Luke, I understood him better now. Mom was right: he is misunderstood a lot. He’s had a tough life, especially with him being a demigod.
Now, I’m starting to feel something different toward him. Something that I probably shouldn’t be feeling, but as I said before, we can’t always control our feelings. The heart wants what it wants. And what my heart wants is for me to write this song about what I’m feeling right now.
I grabbed my music booklet and started writing.

Well, Sarah got to know Luke a little more. Things that you guys probably already knew about him, with a little bit extra things that I added.
Please review **here**.

**Nobody edit above this box**
## Character Appearances

### Main Characters

* Sarah Hollinger
* Zak Saturday (mentioned)
* Zack Hollinger (mentioned)
* Raylee Hollinger

### Minor Characters

* Luke Castellan
* Annabeth
* Emily Hollinger (mentioned)
* Nick (mentioned)
* Cj Hollinger (mentioned)
* Thalia (mentioned)
* Grover (mentioned)
* Cassandra (mentioned)