(A/N. Selena Aiko is an entirely original character and belongs to me. Will Solace, however, does not. He belongs to Rick Riordan. And so does PJatO. Enjoy the story.)
Snow Day.
Selena stood at the window of the Hermes cabin, and watched the snow swirling by. Earlier that day, it'd started as small flurries, but now, it coated everything, turning the whole camp into a frosted wonderland. She breathed on the window, and traced her finger over the moisture, making a swirling pattern. This simple motion brought back many memories from her childhood in Idaho, where it was cold almost every winter. Selena drifted off into thought, and, while staring at a boy and a girl walking by, hand in hand and laughing, remembered what day it was. February fourteenth.
"Valentine's Day." The whispered words escaped her lips, echoing throughout the empty cabin. Since they'd gotten almost eight inches of snow, Chiron had decided to call a free day. Campers were everywhere, having fun outside, and, (at least in the Hermes cabin) in one case, staying inside to avoid the bitter cold. With another jolt, Selena remembered her boyfriend, Will Solace.
"Oh, gods." Selena twiddled her thumbs nervously as she thought aloud to herself. "I haven't gotten him anything!" Will was from the Apollo cabin, and very cute. Selena blushed, just thinking about him. Nervous jolts still overcame her whenever she was with him, even though they'd been dating for over a month. And now, Valentine 's Day had slipped her mind. What a horrible girlfriend she was.
Knock, knock. Jolting out of her woe, she reached over to the door, turning the handle and pulling it open. Standing there on the step, blue eyes twinkling and cheeks red from the cold, was Will Solace. Selena blushed a little, but managed not to make a fool of herself. Her face spread into a small smile.
"Hi." She said stupidly. Will smiled back.
"Wanna come out and sled with me?" he asked, slowly reaching out and taking her hand in his own gloved one. Warm blue eyes pleaded subtly. Selena hesitated. She never really liked the snow.
"It's awful cold…" she said slowly, fingering the chain on her compass. "but…" Looking at him once more convinced her.
"Okay." Will nodded.
"Good! I'll meet you out there."
Five minutes later, Selena was bundled up in a hoodie, a thick coat, her precious Ugg boots, a pair of woolen gloves, and a hat to match. Will waited for her by the volleyball pit. The icy cold nipped at her cheeks, but she didn't really mind so much, now. A long black sled was clutched in one of his hands, with a rope at the front to steer.
"Let's go up to Thalia's pine, okay?" he said. Selena nodded wordlessly as they trudged up the hill. The colossal, dragon-ringed, golden fleece-adorned pine in the distance was becoming larger as they walked up the valley. Her breath made ghosts in the air, floating away while she was left only to watch. Snow clung to her boots, and the harsh wind continued to blow. Selena looked at Will beside her. Her hand reached out and almost grabbed his, but it fell down to her side halfway there as if it had lost it's life. Sighing, she trudged on in silence.
Before Selena knew it they were at the top of the hill, which didn't take very long considering it's steepness. Snow lay glittering on the huge pine beside them, and every time the wind blew, a little snow would shake off and fall like fairy dust to join the snow on the ground. Two or three other people were sledding to their left and right, riding down into the valley with shouts of joy. Will set the sled down on the ground, and looked at Selena with a smile.
"Ladies first." He winked. Selena blushed, but a small smile was spreading her face. She sat down in the back of the sled, and Will climbed in the front. Selena, looking over Will's shoulder, saw just how steep the valley was. It dipped down, exactly, she didn't know how much. They would be lucky if they didn't crash into one of the cabin windows below.
"Ready?" Will asked.
"Uh huh." She nodded. Will pushed the sled forward with his hands, grabbed the steering rope, and whooped as they started rumbling down the hill.
It was pure bliss. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. The snow dust whirled by, and the wind whistled over her skin. As if on auto-pilot, she wrapped her arms around Will's waist to keep from falling. She was a bit surprised at herself, but right then, it didn't really matter. Campers stomping back up the hill to have another go whizzed past them as they shot down the snow covered bluff. Toward the end of the run, Will started to lose control of the sled. Over bumps and twists and turns they zoomed, until the sled tipped, and sent them rolling head over heels together out into the snow. Laughing, breathing hard, faces red, noses not more than an inch apart as they lay in the snow, was when some kind of wall of nervousness inside Selena melted away. Something felt more… natural, at that moment, though she couldn't say what. The smile hadn't left her face.
"Let's go again!" she said to Will, jumping us as if popped from a spring.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Will replied, jumping up too. He grabbed the sled, which was sticking straight up in the snow from their crash, and jogged back up the hill, Selena on his tail, smiling, and happier, feeling freer than ever before.
A whole afternoon, countless crash-and-burn sled runs, and a bucketful of laughter later, Selena and will lay at the bottom of the hill, making angels in the deep snow. Their hands at the end of outstretched arms barely grazed each other, but their eyes were locked, brown against blue, staring at each other, lost for words.
"I haven't had this much fun in a long time." Will finally spoke, standing up and stepping back to look at the angel he'd made. Selena copied him, absentmindedly standing closer to him than she usually would. They stood looking at the angels they'd made in the glittering snow.
"Me neither." Selena whispered. Will put his arm around her shoulders.
"Are you cold?" he asked quietly. Selena blushed, just a little bit now, and shook her head.
"No. But you seem a little chilly." Will didn't say anything, just dipped his head humbly, trying to hide his smile. Selena thought for a moment.
"Come on." She said, grabbing his hand and forgetting to be nervous. "We'll get something to warm us up." And with that, the two walked down the valley towards the Big House in the distance.
"Ah, excuse me, but I'm afraid you brats aren't allowed any of that." Mr. D crooned vainly from his seat at the card table in the corner of the Big House lodge room. Selena sighed. Chiron, sitting opposite him, smiled a little.
"Come, come, Mr. D. Let the children have a cup or two." His aged brown eyes twinkled. Mr. D sighed.
"Very well, but only one each." Selena smiled at Will, making a mental note to thank Chiron with something later. She pulled two mugs from the cabinet and gave one to Will.
"Ladies first." He repeated what he'd said before, a twinkle in his eyes. Selena nodded, and pressed her cup against the drink dispenser. Steaming, foamy hot chocolate poured into the cup. Will filled his cup next, and led the way out onto the porch. They sat side by side in lawn chairs, watching the snow and the campers drift by, just going back to their cabins after a day of playing in the snow. Three Hermes kids were in the midst of a very intense snowball fight. Selena sipped her hot chocolate, and looked at Will.
"Hey, Will?" she asked.
"Yeah?" he replied, taking another sip of his own cocoa.
"Thanks for asking me to sled today. It was really fun." She whispered these words a little. Will grinned.
"Hey, don't mention it! I thought it'd be fu-" he stopped, mid-sentence, as Selena leaned in, planting a light kiss on his cheek. He looked at her, a little stunned, red in the face.
"Happy Valentine's Day." Selena said, taking another sip of her drink. As Will sat there, smiling at her once again, she didn't worry about not getting him a present. Because, at least in her opinion, she'd given him the best one she could think of.
Fin.
(Another A/N. ;) Selena Aiko is sixteen, has short black hair, and her mother is Urania, the Muse of Astronomy. Her compass on a chain was a present from her mother for her 14th birthday. She's always been very entrepreneurial, and bottled up her feelings inside her, and Will's funloving, outgoing attitude helps her to kind of open up to other people.
This was something I did on DeviantART for a PJatO Valentine's Day contest. I wrote it at the beginning of February.
Again, Will Solace and PJatO do not belong to me. Selena Aiko does, though. I hope you enjoyed the story! :))