know what room Oliver was in. The Valkyrie knew Oliver was gay- that's why Morgan had thought it was weird that I'd go to his room or that I'd said that she'd hooked up with him.
Oliver drew in a breath. 'But Kenzie doesn't know how I feel about
'But why not just tell Kenzie how you feel?' I asked in a soft tone, even though I already knew what his answer would be.
Oliver shook his head. 'Because Kenzie's my best friend, and I don't want to ruin our friendship. It's one of the best things in my life. Kenzie's not gay, so he's never going to feel the same way about me that I do about him. When I realized you knew about my feelings for him, I just… panicked, and I thought that if maybe I gave you something else to think about, then you'd forget all about me and my secret.'
Oliver and I were more alike than he realized. I hated the fact that my feelings for Logan were so obvious to everyone. If I could have, I would have hidden them, especially since I had no idea how Logan really felt about me. Even back at my old school, I'd mostly kept my crushes to myself instead of immediately telling all my friends, because I knew how easy it was for one person to slip up and let a secret like that out of the bag. And if my crush didn't like me back, well, that's when things got humiliating, like they had with Logan. I could only imagine how much worse the situation would have been if Logan and I had been as close as Oliver and Kenzie were. So yeah, I could totally understand where Oliver was coming from about wanting to keep his feelings to himself.
He drew in a breath. 'Plus, I didn't want to be the juicy gossip of the week at the academy or make Kenzie that either. That would just hurt both of us. I've got enough to deal with as it is now-being gay, being a Spartan, learning how to fight Reapers. I don't need people snickering and texting about me behind my back, because I'm in love with my best friend on top of everything else, you know?'
I did know. I'd been miserable when I'd first come to the academy because I hadn't fit in, because I'd felt so desperately out of place. Even after I'd become friends with Daphne and Carson, there were days when I still felt that way-like all anyone saw when they looked at me was Gwen Frost, that freaky Gypsy girl who touched stuff and saw things. Yeah, I knew how Oliver felt.
'I know what you're going through,' I said. 'But don't you think that the car and the arrow were a little… extreme? You could have just asked me not to say anything to Kenzie. I would have kept quiet about something that important to you.'
Oliver winced. 'I know, but I was mean to you that morning in the gym, making fun of you. I thought that you'd tell Kenzie, even if I asked you not to. Let's face it. Getting payback is like the school sport at Mythos.'
'Why were you so snarky to me? I wondered about that.'
'Because Kenzie said he thought it was cool you liked superheroes. He's been dropping hints for a couple of weeks now that he's into someone. I thought it might be you, and I was jealous. That's why I made fun of your shirt.'
'But Talia Pizarro was the girl Kenzie really liked instead.'
Oliver nodded and drew in another breath. 'Plus, Logan had told me and Kenzie that you'd had some run-ins with Reapers and that was why we were training you, in case they came after you again. I know I overreacted, but scaring you and making you think there was another Reaper after you just seemed like the easiest, quickest way to make you forget about my crush on Kenzie.'
Oliver stared at me, his green eyes bright and earnest in his face. 'But I wasn't trying to hurt you. Not really. If you hadn't jumped out of the way of my Escalade, I was going to swerve to the other side of the street, and I made sure I put the arrow at least a foot away from your head in the library. I was just trying to scare you. That's all, Gwen. I swear.'
His logic made sense, in a weird sort of way. Oliver had just wanted to give me something else to think about besides the fact that he was in love with someone who would probably never return his feelings. It was my own fault I'd jumped to the wrong conclusions and had been stupid enough not to see Preston for the villain that he really was.
It was just like when I'd asked Carson about all the freaky games and decorations at the carnival. Carson hadn't seen anything wrong with the Reaper masks and Nemean prowlers because they were a part of the world that he'd grown up in. Those things were normal to Carson, just like fighting and scaring your enemy were normal to a fierce Spartan warrior like Oliver. Just like Daphne hacking into a computer system and messing with another girl's grades or me breaking into people's rooms and trying to learn all their secrets was normal to us. Maybe we all just did things that seemed perfectly reasonable to us at the time, even if deep down we knew that these things were wrong, or that other people wouldn't understand or agree with us.
I shook my head. 'Well, you did a good job. I thought there was a Reaper trying to kill me because of what happened to Jasmine.'
Oliver's gaze sharpened. 'What did you have to do with Jasmine?'
I sat there and told him all about Jasmine faking her own murder, trying to sacrifice Morgan to Loki, and how I'd gotten caught up in the middle of it all. The Spartan had just told me his secret. I figured it was only fair to tell one of mine. Besides, Oliver had helped save me by texting Logan and telling him we were in trouble. Then, after Preston had stormed off after me and Logan, Oliver had texted Nickamedes and the other professors and told them what was going on. Maybe he hadn't used his Spartan fighting skills, but Oliver was still a hero.
Oliver looked at me with new interest after I finished my story. 'Logan always said you were kickass, but I didn't really believe him-until now.'
'Why? Because most of the time I don't know the end of a sword from the back of my hand?'
'Something like that.'
We grinned at each other.
After a moment, my smile faded. This time, I was the one who looked down and picked at the bed sheet. 'So… Logan thinks that I'm kickass?'
Oliver winced. 'I'm, uh, really not supposed to say anything about that.'
I stared at him with narrowed eyes. 'Spill it, Spartan.'
For a second I thought he wasn't going to answer me, but then he sighed. 'Yeah, Logan thinks that you're
