Hello friend

I took a few small, unsure steps towards New Rome, tugging at the hem of one of my endless black hoodies nervously. Man up, dude, it's too late to back down now. Taking a deep breath in an effort to calm my nerves, I started walking again towards our set meeting point. "Maybe that won't be so bad after all"I muttered to myself, already knowing I was a big liar.

Jerome was excited about seeing Robin. He didn't know why, he just was. When he walked inside of the café, his eyes scanned over the people inside and smiled.

"Hey, Peter." He greeted to one of his friends. Jerome then turned to look at Robin and waved at him.

I was trying to make a small boat out of a napkin when I heard Jerome's familiar voice. I looked up just in time to see him wave at me and waved back, standing up to greet him. "Hey. How are you?"

"Good. How are you?" Jerome smiled and walked over to him. "Have you ordered yet or are you waiting for us to do it together?" The son of Apollo asked with a smile on his face.

"Uh, I didn't know I had to wait for you"I mumbled and ran a hand through my hair awkwardly. "Sorry, I guess. So, um... This seems like a cool place, I haven't been here before"

"...Oh, yeah! Yeah, it's a nice please to be." Jerome smiled. "Um, so, did you get something to eat or drink yet?" The son of Apollo asked, walking toward the front counter.

I looked up at the other boy confused. Is he deaf or something? Maybe he's just plain stupid. Great, I made friends with a stupid guy. "Yeah, I've ordered a milkshake, they told me they're really good"

"O-Oh, right. Sorry, I'm just nervous." Jerome shook his head. "I'll be right back." The son of Apollo finished walking up to the line and stayed there before ordering a iced tea and a turkey panini.

I nodded quietly, unable to think of a not-sarcastic, not-insulting reply to his words. So I just sat back down and waited until he got back, trying to assess the situation. So. What do we have here. I am apparently friends with a son of Apollo. A retarded son of Apollo. A retarded but hot.... wait, what? Oh no, no no no no no. Sorry pal, no chance, no way. Your request has been deleted, nope, not happening. Where was I? Right. Retarded friend. Let's just hope it's actually just the nerves.

Jerome came back three minutes later with his panini and drink in hand. "Hey again," He greeted before he took a seat across from Robin. With a bright smile on his face, the Jamaican demigod continued talking "Do you want part of my panini?"

I looked at him with a puzzled expression. Are we on food-sharing level now? I don't think so. "Uh, no thanks, I'm okay. So, uh..."I trailed off, suddenly feeling very awkward. Remember, it's too late to back down now. "Um.... What is your favorite place here at camp?"

"Okay." Jerome smiled a bit and took a bite out of it. The son of Apollo swallowed before answering Robin. "It has to be New Rome? Or the Apollo temple? I dunno." He shrugged and laughed a bit. "You?"

"Well, it's certainly the Little Tiber, no discussion necessary."I grinned and gave a shy smile to the waitress as she brought me my milkshake. "Thank you"I muttered and took a small sip, humming in pleasure at the sweet vanilla taste. "Yup, they were right. Anyways, uh..."

"Um, well, what do you usually do other than go to the Little Tiber?" Jerome asked, tilting his head to the side, then down at his drink.

"That's pretty much it. Well, that and the stables. I avoid training like the plague so, I have a lot of free time to avoid humans"I chuckled at my own attempt at a joke. "So, um. How is healing others and stuff?"

"Oh, I can't heal. I'm more on the musical side of my powers and...uh, another thing." Jerome didn't like to talk about the last thing and instead focused on Robin. "Wait, why do you avoid training?"

I nodded with a shrug at his answer. It was obvious he didn't wanna disclose information and that was more than fine with me. "Well, cause I don't like it, that's why. And the excuse of 'Oh, I gotta go train my powers, you know, so I won't blow you guys up' always works"

"Oh? So you do train, just you use your powers more. That makes sense." The son of Apollo smiled and looked down at his panini. "So, uh, where are you from? I'm not sure if I asked you that yet or not."

"Oh no, I don't train. Not the swords and combat. That's training to me. Harnessing my powers is just... fun"I explained further, suddenly feeling kinda bad about my non-muscular form. "Well, I'm from New York, you could say"I replied, glad for the change of subject. "I've never been anywhere too far away from our small appartment though, so I dunno"

Jerome slowly nodded his head. "I'm from Jamaica, came here when I was ten by the Wolves of Lupa." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Robin. "So, uh, what do you do for fun?" He asked, then turned his head to look out the mirror, seeing one of his friends. He gave him a wave and smiled.

"Sounds cool"I nodded and took another small sip of my milkshake. "Fun? I dunno. Care for the horses? Practice my magic? Take a couple photos? I have no idea. Why, what do you do for fun, mister Social?"I asked with an amused smirk.

Jerome turned to look at Robin and laughed a bit. "Oh, no, no. I'm not that social, but, ah, anyway," He shook his head. "I play music, hang out with a couple of my friends, I also like being in the stables. I also just like doing anything adventurous. I'm an archer too."

"Of course you are, Wonder Boy"I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "So, are you a distance fighter or do you also use, like, a sword or whatever?"

"I'm a total distance fighter." He laughed a bit. "I'm guessing you are too? Using your magic to keep people at bay?"

"Yeah, sure. I mean, I don't fight a lot, so. But I do have a couple of daggers. I do know how to use them, so it's alright"I gave a small smile and quickly finished up my milkshake. "This is a... nice place"