Monmas-Stolen Love, Stolen Chance

                                    

                                          
Third Person POV 
                          
Mona played with her bracelet as she surveyed the carnage of the battlefield. The battle for Manhattan was over, Kronos was defeated. The gods would probably call them up to brag about how they were so important when all the demgiods knew that Percy Jackson had saved the day. 
                          
It seemed like he always did that.

                          
"Hey Summers!" A voice shook her out of her thoughts. Turning, Mona was just in time to see a rolled up scroll fly at her face.
                          
"Thomas!" She yelled, snatching it out of the air and preparing to launch it back.
                          
"Mona, don't!" The boy said, ducking on reflex. Mona flushed a little as she realized it wasn't the insufferable son of Hermes she had expected but one of his nicer half brothers.
                          
"Sorry Derek."
                          
"S'okay. Don't open that til you're alone, got it?"
                          
Mona inspected the scroll in her hands. "Why? Who's it from?"
                          
Derek grinned, only looking slightly apologetic. "I can't tell you. But I was told to say, please see it through the whole way. Don't cut out early, 'kay?"
                          
The daughter of Apollo narrowed her eyes. "Why not?"
                          
Derek gave her a sad look. "Just don't. Promise me."
                          
She sighed. "I promise."
                          
The boy nodded and took off running, probably to help with the cleanup. 
                          
Mona checked her watch. Three of the fifteen minutes Will had given her to calm down from their half brother Michael's death were up.
                          
'Don't open it til you're alone.' Derek had said. Mona walked into the Empire State Building and took the elevator a floor up, looking for an empty room.
                          
Finding a dark office, she flicked on the lights and closed the door, sitting on the floor since the desk was huge and the chair looked uncomfortable.
                          
Mona unrolled the scroll and shrieked when it flew up and hovered in front of her.
                          
"Hey there, Masterpiece." She scowled at the nickname and barely stopped herself from ranting at the video image on the screen.
                          
"So this is it, huh? This final battle could end the world. It's kinda scary, isn't it?" Thomas Winters' white-blonde hair flopped in his eyes as he smirked at her. His bright blue irises twinkled like they always did.
                          
Mona wanted to rip the scroll to pieces, to stomp it into the carpet and not finish the strange video scroll that Thomas' son of Hephaestus friend Cody probably made.
                          
'Don't cut out early, 'kay?' Derek's voice once again rang in her ears. 
                          
Only because you asked so nicely. She thought grudgingly.
                          
"Anyway, I made this and gave it to Derek. He's only supposed to give it to you on one condition. I'll get to that later. Did you figure out the gifter?"
                          
Mona frowned. It was no secret that she got what she said she wanted. Even if she mentioned it once to a friend, it would show up a few days later on her bed. There was never a card, no price tags, nothing.
                          
She looped a finger around her bracelet again, one such gift.
                          
"Had to be frustrating, not being able to thank someone for all these cool things. You said that after the ukulele, right?" His grin widened.
                          
"None of it was paid for, hope you know that."
                          
"Tommy! Let's go!" A voice shouted off screen. Thomas turned to the speaker and told him two minutes.
                          
"Looks like I gotta go, so honesty hour. I know, unexpected from a son of Hermes, but it's needed. We got off to a crappy start in our relationship, yeah? And it hasn't gotten better. I wouldn't be surprised if you hate my guts."
                          
"Darn straight." Mona muttered with a scowl, remembering all the things he did. And all the names she'd called him, all the insults and angry shouts.
                          
"I didn't mean to screw it up that bad. I'm just bad at that kind of stuff. The gifts were to make up for my stupid attitude. That's right, Masterpiece, I got you those gifts. Stole them, more accurately. That's the biggest gift a child of Hermes can give someone, really. Stealing for them." Thomas seemed to be rambling now.
                          
"Thirty seconds, Tommy."
                          
Thomas took a deep breath. "Mona Lisa Summers. I called you Masterpiece for a reason. I know you hated it and I probably should have stopped when you said so, but it was accurate. You are a masterpiece. You might think your mom was high when she signed your birth certificate, but I think she had a prophetic moment. I asked Derek to give this to you, but only if I didn't make it."
                          
Mona frowned again, not understanding her thought-to-be nemesis' reasoning.
                          
"We're as different as night and day. Summer and winter, ironically." He grinned, but there were unexplained tears in his eyes.
                          
"But the phrase is 'opposites attract' for a reason. I love you, Mona. And if you see this, I'm sorry I never got to say it in person. Remember me, Masterpiece. Remember me and live up to your name."
                          
The screen went black.
                          
When Mona's half sister Lynn found her an hour later, she was curled up in a corner of the office, bawling. 
                          
The other daughter of Apollo didn't understand what happened, all she could see was a strange metallic scroll with Mona's dagger through it.