It all started because of the straggly roots of the Silver Linden.
…
Rushing to find Percy after hearing some important news from New Jersey-ite nymphs, Grover was running so fast he almost tripped over his hooves.
The Poseidon Cabin was in sight, and Grover started a full-out sprint. Until the satyr stumbles over a thick, snake-like root.
Cursing in Greek, Grover stands up and brushes himself off. He glimpses upwards, wanting to see what evil thing had tripped him.
The tree was ugly- with crackly, ripped bark and mal-formed branches.
"Oh my gods, I am so sorry. Really I am! This old tree does it to satyr all the time. I can't yank out the roots though, it would kill me. I would if I could though-" The nymph babbled on until Grover cut her off.
"It's fine, don't worry about it." Grover groaned, ignoring the searing pain in his leg.
"Are you sure? You don't look quite alright." The nymph asked worriedly. The satyr took his first look at the girl.
Grover expected her to be as ugly as Hades, judging by the awful shape of her tree.
He was horribly wrong.
The nymph had wispy brown curls and big green eyes, staring at Grover guiltily. She was beautiful.
"What are you looking at? Is there something on my face?" The girl said, patting her cheeks and mouth to check if there was food or something on it.
"What's your name?" Grover asked, still in confusion about the ugly tree and the beautiful girl.
"Juniper." She blushed green, embarrassed under Grover's stare.
A girl with wavy blonde hair rose out of a patch of flowers. The new girl matched her flowers perfectly.
"Juniper, dinner! Mom's not in the best mood so I'd get to Jessamine's area as soon as you can!" The blonde shot off running to a spot about twenty feet away, and sat down with a green-tinted family.
"I'll be there in a minute, Iris! Thanks!" Juniper shouted in the running nymph's direction, and started to wave goodbye.
"I never caught your name." Juniper said, already walking backwards toward her family.
"Grover, I'm Grover." Grover mumbled, blushing down to his Adam's apple.
"Well, I'll see you later, Grover!" Juniper yelled, already far away from the satyr.
Jogging to Percy's, already extremely late, Grover shook his head in shock. Juniper.
Percy was leaning against his cabin.
"So who was that?"
…
Juniper was hiding under her hair that night at dinner, knowing Iris was staring at her, smirking.
There was a short, unexpected silence at dinner. With five girls in the family, silence was a rare and cherished gift.
Unfortunately, Iris was not participating in photosynthesis. The blonde sits up and says, "So, who was that guy you were chatting with, Juniper?"
Juniper's father sits upright suddenly, "Guy?!"
"Calm down, Daddy. He was no one. A satyr tripped on my roots, that's all." Juniper spoke quickly, shooting glares at her sister.
"Sweetie, I told you we need to trim those roots. They are a hazard to others." Her mother scolded.
"That's not what it looked like to me." Iris smiled smugly. "I think someone was flirting."
Jessamine sat up faster than her father did. "Ooh! Juni was flir-ting!"
Lilou, with her platinum blonde curls and Rosalia, with her red waves shot up at the exact time.
"Oh my gods! Does Juniper have a boyfriend?" Lilou whispered to her twin.
"I think she does!" Rosalia whispered back and said louder, "'Per's got a boy-friend!"
"GUYS!" Juniper yelled, trying to be heard over all the chatter. "We talked for what, five minutes? I don't think that counts."
"You don't think it counts, Juniper. But does it really?" Jessamine said, faux-mysteriously and winking.
"No, it doesn't count at all." Juniper snapped, getting aggravated.
Her mother and father had gotten up from the dinner area and headed to their trees, claiming migraines.
Iris looked around, making sure no one was listening in on the sisters' conversation.
"So… do you think he was cute?" Iris said, eyebrows wiggling.
"I guess Grover was cute, he was blushing the whole time though!" Juniper stated, giggling and throwing away her façade.
"I WAS RIGHT!" Lilou shouted, tossing her hands up in the air.
"Girls, I'm going to bed. Nothing happened with Grover, so don't be dwelling on it all night, okay?" Juniper uttered, exhausted from her sisters' constant jabbering.
…
Walking back to her tree, the air was humid and sticky, making Juniper feel antsy and claustrophobic.
"The air's disgusting, isn't it?" A familiar voice said.
Juniper turns around and sees a teen-aged satyr. "Hi, Grover!" the nymph said, eyes brightening.
"The pollution's so awful, you can't even see the stars anymore." Juniper said sadly, staring at the dim balls of gas floating in the sky.
"I know! It's horrible seeing everything that used to be so bright and happy turned dark and dreary. I once had… a friend who said something like that once. She never liked the way humankind was turning out." Grover murmured, eyes downcast.
Juniper didn't like the feeling she had when she found out Grover's friend was a she.
The two stopped when they arrived at the Silver Linden. Juniper sat at its ugly roots and patted for Grover to sit next to her. The satyr hesitated, but sat down. The pair talked for a while, about stars and the Earth and themselves. The nymph found out that Grover wanted to find the god Pan, but was underestimated and harassed by the head Satyrs for being young and scrawny. Grover found out that Juniper was harassed for her unhealthy tree, and made fun of as a child since she used to bear a major resemblance to the plant. Seeing the pitch black sky turn into a smooth navy color, Grover jumps up and gets ready to leave.
"Grover… Thank you." Juniper said sincerely, knowing she would miss his company.
The satyr blushes, stutters a 'You're welcome,' and starts to rush off.
"Wait!"
Juniper runs up and kisses his cheek, and waves him off.
The wood nymph sighs, and is about to step into her tree when she hears an, "I saw that."
"Iris, I can explain." Juniper groans.
"You don't need to! Juni's got a boyfriend!" Iris sings.
"I guess I might."