[BoO Spoilers!] Anything you can do, I can do better (Camp Half-Blood musical)

Was she serious? This was her retort? Darren could have made something better building an old fort. Well at least that’s what he told himself. “You think you’re so fancy with your little boots and cape, I’ve fought better soldiers back in Australia and most of them were apes.” Spinning on his heels his body turned, armor disappearing and leaving him in just his bathing suit sword strapped to his side in its sheath, the music was slowing down and it felt as if they were about to return to the anything you can do part. He wasn’t quite so sure anymore, this song wasn’t exactly what it was five minutes ago and he still didn’t know the rules.

Oh ha, she was funny so funny, he wasn't number one. Never claimed to be, everyone knew Percy Jackson was number one, and let's not forget Stella she wouldn't even last five seconds; probably wouldn't know what to do with herself if she ever met a Demi-Titan. It wasn't until he was spinning back around that he heard her mention the scars, and halfway around was all he got. The music that only they could hear stopped as Darren stumbled and fell, his eyes going white and body falling to the ground. He didn't catch himself, and instead was met face to face with the sand. This wasn't how he imagined this day going, he didn't need these memories but here they came nonetheless.

Sydney, Australia was where his mind raced to. It didn't matter how many times he tried to push it away, keep it down and forget it happened it always came rushing back. First "Lauren..."She was stolen, taken away and when he finally found the guys he tried to be a hero. Tried to stand up for her and be the person she needed him to be, but he was young and they were not. Beaten, broken and both of them thrown back in front of their 'family' Darren was held down, shirt ripped off and two diagonal cuts were made down his back making an x. The blades they used rusty and old, breaking off halfway down only to be forced the rest of the way. His throat caught and he had trouble breathing for a second in 'the real world'. The 'vision' or memory stopped there though, it seemed he wouldn't get the 'pleasure' of remembering the entire thing today.

"I'm sorry, sorry...I wasn't good enough." His voice choked out, eyes slowly fluttering open. He wasn't sure where he was, memory foggy, slowly though it came back to him.

OOC: Sorry, I edited my last post, I found a way to do it without changing the rhyme scheme.

BIC: Darren froze in the middle of a twirl, his eyes becoming a curious milky color -- or had they just rolled up in their orbits? Anyway, he fell on the sand, panting, mumbling words. Tiberia frowned. The music had stopped so she was free to do what she wanted but instead of cutting him up like she had wanted to do these past minutes -- scratch that, ever since she had met him -- she crouched down next to him in the metallic clinks of her armor and pushed him over so that he wasn't face down, breathing sand in, choking. His face was half-caked in ochre sand grains, he had trouble breathing apparently but it calmed down gradually.

"Dude, you okay?" she asked, relieved to have her normal voice back.

Words, someone was saying something, but none of it made sense as it was all mumbled and he could hardly understand it. Until of course he picked his head up his head and sees an angel looking down at him, or well he thought it was an angel until his mind came rushing back and he realized where he was and what was going on. Rolling over, away from her, he hopped up and stood up dusting himself off. There was no way he could play this one off, but Darren was the master at ignoring things and acting completely oblivious. “Wha? Me? Who what? Nah I’m totally and absolutely perfectly okay. Nothing to worry about Lauren.” Wrong name, wrong name! He screamed in his head, dusting the rest of the dirt off of his chest and stomach. Not like she’d notice anyway…right?

"No." He was quick to reply, no one needed to know about that. "I'm fine, nothing happened Tiberia. Your just having some left over effects from the song or something; whoever you were portraying obviously won the argument in the duet and I ended up on the floor. Nothing more, nothing less. Let's just forget about it, alright?" Sure, it was a lie, but he didn't care. He just wanted to forget, to shove it deep down and forget why he moved to America. To never remember the reason why he pushed himself so hard, trained as much as he did and never accepted defeat. Most believed it was because his mother was Nike, but really? The woman he's only met once for five seconds, the same woman who gave him up at birth to a father who didn't want him and that Darren didn't even know only to be left st an orphanage and then left to fend for himself on the streets of Sydney six years? No. Only he knew the real reason. It was staying that way.

"Wait a second, did you just acknowledge you lost? I gotta get you to the infirmary, something's definitely wrong."

She probably would've skipped past the whole thing if he hadn't said that -- she wasn't one to stick her nose into people's businesses, but a son of Nike (particularly this one), saying their opponent won, that wasn't normal at all.

OOC: short post sorry

No, no, no, no, no! Infirmary bad, he'd never been to it in his entire time here! He always made sure to get his own help whenever he could, have people simply give him stuff that would heal whatever wound he had, he did not need people commenting about them. No smile on his face, the happy go lucky attitude gone. Darren shook his head sitting down and sighing "No, honestly I'm fine. I don't need to go to the doctor, alright? That just happens sometimes, side effect of how I grew up is all." No need to spill his entire life story to the girl that hated his guts for whatever reason. Even if he was destined to make her see how awesome he was, or make her laugh at least once. Well not laugh at him at least. "Just don't mention it to anyone alright? The Apollo kids are already wondering why I never go to the infirmary no reason to give them another reason to try and drag me in there." Did he just say that?

Darren nodded his head in thanks before standing back up kicking the sand with his foot before pulling out his sword and spun it once in his hand. A sly smile made his way onto his face seeing she had recently picked her weapons back up and it reminded him why they were there in the first place. She was a Roman officer lady and he was the best sword fighter on the face of ever, so obviously they needed to have an epic duel in which they would always contest who the true winner was yet no one would ever know. Walking back over to her he readied his sword, it hanging down by his side pointing at the ground though. "So um, still wana have that fight?" Cue boyish grin.