Travis's mind could not stop flipping in between the recent events. The war was finally over but something was still bothering him. It involved a certain brown haired girl who he had known since he was eleven. That had been six years know and he still couldn't figure her out.
1 year previously
They stood preparing for battle and to be honest Travis was scared out of his mind. There was going to be fatalities. That was part of war. He just hoped it wasn't anyone he loved. Especially the one he hadn't told.
He watched her yank her sleek hair back into a ponytail. She began jogging in place, her sword strapped to her side. She caught his eye and flashed that smile of hers that showed she was not afraid of anything.
The labyrinth exploded with monsters and demigods right then. Katie took off into battle and he watched her go.
How could someone be so fearless?
Three years previously
He remembered finding her curled up under a tree. It was her fourteenth birthday. She was clinging her knees to her chest and crying on them.
"Katie?" He asked cautiously. She sniffled and looked at him. She wiped her tears away and just looked at him. He sat down next to her. "Katie what's wrong?"
"What's wrong with me?" Katie asked. He looked at her shocked and scooted closer to her.
"Katie what on earth makes you say that? There is nothing wrong with you," Travis asked.
"Do you know what today is?" Katie asked him.
"Of course I do Katie, it's your birthday. You should be celebrating," He said.
Katie shook her head slowly. "I hate my birthday."
"Why on earth would you hate your birthday?" Travis asked.
Tear welled in her eyes, " My birthday is the day everyone leaves me. When I was born my mother left me with my father. When I turned eight my father left me for his new wife. I also had to leave my house. I turned ten at camp and I was actually happy but then Kirrah, my old best friend ditched me. I turned eleven and lost peace and freedom from pranks. I turned twelve and lost a whole patch of strawberries. I turned thirteen and Patrick, my brother that really felt like family left for the Titans. I am so afraid that I will lose something again this year. I am afraid of that every day but I am most afraid on my birthday."
Travis took the crying Katie in his arms and just let her cry. It was soon enough dark and Katie fell asleep crying in his arms. He held her close and whispered in her ear, "Katie I promise that no matter what happens you will never lose me. You might think that that is a curse but nothing will keep me from protecting you. You are my best friend even if we do fight."
He carried her to her room and tucked her in her bed. He then took a necklace out of his pocket and clipped it around her neck.
"Happy birthday Katie, I love you."
Five years prior
"I will never fall in love," Katie insisted. The two of them had been fighting this topic all morning.
"Why are you so against falling in love?" Travis asked.
"When you fall in love you are bound to get hurt," Katie said. Travis stayed quiet on the topic the rest of the day. He knew why she didn't want to fall in love; she was afraid of getting hurt.
Three months ago
It was the battle they had been preparing for years. Percy was giving instructions and Katie of course had stepped up to the job at hand immediately. She charged into battle. She fought without fear, she protected others and when not fighting she tended to the sick and wounded.
He watched the way she fought. She used any weapon at her disposal with perfect accuracy. She fought with less fear than an Ares cabin member. She screamed at a few campers for being cowards and when they complained that they had no experience fighting because they had never been on a mission before she told them point blank that she hadn't either.
She gave pep talks to everyone who needed one. She helped collect food. The one that was probably most impressive though was when she iris messaged the Ares cabin to yell at them to "get their butts to New York and help immediately". She helped charge Olympus against the Titians and fought them away from the top of the mountain.
After the war was over she went around the city with her siblings and re-grew as many of the plants as she could. Never once did she break down. Never once was she afraid.
When we got back to camp though she did something that I don't think anyone would have the courage to do; she iris messaged her dad, whom she hadn't spoken to in nine years and told him she was okay.
How was it that the most fearless person he knew was also the most fearful? How was it that she could do all of that, deal with all of that and yet he couldn't tell her he loved her?
Maybe fatal flaws explained all that. Hers was fear; it was her weakest point but also her strongest. And his was her.
The door at the far end of the cabin squeaked open and then closed. His bed jostled slightly and something warm curled up against him. "Travis, I'm afraid."