Ryan's POV

Come on Ryan you can do this.

I strapped on my helmet and started to twist at the gold ring on my finger. I moved the adjustable segments until I heard the audible click.

It's easy and she's your friend.

The ring flew from my fingers and the various segments started to shift and expand in my hands until it had completely transformed into a bronze Dory spear.

I swept it back and forth a few times, inspecting its balance and how it cut through the air. As soon as I was satisfied I held it with one hand and positioned the massive shield in front of me.

Across the training area was Katie Bonifacio, Daughter of Hermes. She was already decked out in full armor with her sword and shield held ready in a more offensive stance. Now she stretched her muscles and prepared for battle.

She noticed me looking at her and flashed me a toothy grin. I chuckled and waved at her in response.

Chiron appeared from the chair above in his little box in the stadium. He was dressed from the waist up in Greek Hoplite armor.

He looked at both of us before shouting. "Heroes!" His voice easily echoed across the nearly empty arena. Those few people who were present quickly stopped what they were doing and looked up at him. "Are you ready?"

I nodded in reply while Katie gave him a thumbs up.

Pleased. Chiron clapped his hand together. "Begin!"

Someone blew a horn in the background as then two of us charged towards each other. Sparks flew as our weapons meet each other. We stood about a foot apart, circling each other carefully, analyzing the other fighting style and searching for a weakness.

I decided to make them first move, jabbing my spear forward, probing her for weakness. But Katie brought her sword up and blocked it expertly before she pushed it aside.

Her sword slashed at my side suddenly like a lunging viper. I barely managed to raise my shield in time, letting the blade simply graze its side. I took a step back and Katie moved in closer. "You gotta do better than that Ry."

"Right," I replied quietly and swung my spear at her. I didn't use the blade end and instead, hit her with the stone club at the other end. She winced in pain and stumbled back.

Well, here goes nothing.

"Um Katie, can I ask you something?"

She regained her balance and growled, still clutching the spot where my club hit with her sword arm.

It would probably bruise. Sorry about that. My club came at her again, but she blocked it with her shield. "Right now?" She questioned and stabbed her sword at me.

This time I wasn't able to block it and it struck the center of my chest. I was stunned momentarily and left unable to react as Katie darted at me. She slammed her sword hilt in my stomach. I double over and felt the air whoosh out of me.

"Sorry, what were you saying, Ryan?" I threw myself to the side in order to avoid Katie's foot from plowing into my chest.

I gripped my spear in a few inches from the blade and ran it through the gap in her shoulder armor. "Wanna go out with me tonight?" I said quickly and quietly, loud enough so that only the two of us could hear.

Her sword stopped halfway from cutting my breastplate. She just stared at me, wide-eyed as she couldn't quite process what I just said. "What!?" Katie squeaked, her voice rising to a higher pitch than usual.

I stop fighting and looked at her, waiting for her to respond. "A-are you serious?" The Daughter of Hermes's face seemed from absolute joy and utter confusion.

"Would you like to go out with me later?" I repeated a bit more slowly, feeling a slight grin form on my face. My unease disappeared a fraction as Katie's mouth shut open and close like a fish out of water trying to get air.

"Why did you heroes stop?" Chiron asked, snapping his fingers.

Quickly I resumed a battle stance as Katie's sword came crashing down on me. "I'm not sure Ry." Her face slowly poked up beside her shield, though she was unable to meet my eyes.

"Oh…." My voice dropped and a tight knot coiled around my chest. This was a stupid idea. I should never have asked her.

"Alright." Katie's voice was nothing more than a faint whisper.

Instantly my face shot up and looked at her. Even as I bent down as her sword pushed my shield back. "Pardon?"

"Alright, I will go out with you."

I stared at her with disbelief and shock from her answer. It took all my will power not to drop my weapons and hug her right there. Instead, I settled for doing a little victory dance that I had prepared for. Katie just stared blankly at me and watched the show.

Chiron cleared his throat and with a bit more annoyance this time. Behind him, other kids would be snickering or just plain unsure how to react. "Oh right," I flushed and punched Katie in the solar plexus, smacked her on the head with my sword hilt and swept my legs underneath her.

Everyone gasped as I shrunk my spear back to its ring form. I held up my shield and dropped it. Quickly helping her up then dragging her to somewhere more secluded I tackled her with a hug. "Thank you."

Despite her efforts to look cool, I can tell that she was just as flustered as me. "Really Ryan, it's fine. So what did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking of something simple, maybe a movie and some dinner," I replied. "Around 6?"

"Sounds good to me." She smiled, though sheepish and revealed the shy girl that lay underneath her confidence. "I guess I'll see you there."

No POV

"Oh, my gods Katie. I still can't believe Ryan finally asked you out." Piper squealed out in excitement, much to Katie's annoyance. She rolled her eyes and tried to keep cool. After all, it was only the tenth time she said that in the past five minutes.

Katie just shook her head, but secretly her heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. The daughter Hermes had waited forever for Ryan to ask her out.

The Son of Hades had always been so passive with her that she started to believe that he wasn't interested in her. That was until he suddenly brought it up during their sword training, then had the nerve to beat her after.

"Louder Piper, I think the other half of New York still hasn't heard you yet," Katie muttered, kicking her legs absently against the porch railing.

"Come on, give me some details," Piper said, completely ignoring Katie's comments. She smiled cutely and rested her head on the railing beside Katie.

"So you finally got a date huh?" A voice said from behind her. Katie sighed inwardly and started to count to ten. She liked Aphrodite kids like Piper and Silena, but if there was one person she couldn't stand it was Piper's wicked step sister Drew.

She approached the two of them from the canoe lake. Though no doubt she was just there to stare at her own reflection in the lake. "Ya, what about it?" Katie said.

Drew places a perfectly manicured hand on her chest dramatically. "I'm happy for you Katie. I never thought you would ever get a boyfriend."

"Drew shut up!" Piper snapped angrily.

Gee, thank you for your faith in me. I forced a smile and push her hand away from me. "Thank you, Drew."

"Details!" Piper interrupted her. Even Drew was nodding her head eagerly in agreement.

"He's going to pick me up a 6 pm and we're going out for dinner and a movie."

The sisters share a look smiling at one another. Finally, Drew looks up in surprise as if realizing something. "Wait. You said that it's at 6 pm?"

"Ya?"

She gasped and grabbed Katie's wrist. "Then we only got a couple hours to get you ready!"

"Ready?" Katie raised an eyebrow, but before she could open her mouth to protest Piper also joined her and started to drag her to Drew's car.

"Where are you taking me?" Katie demanded as they drove in complete silence save for the occasional laughs they would share. She gulped nervously. It was rare for these two standing in the same room together without fighting. But now realized that them agreeing on something was one of the most terrifying things that she's ever seen.

"You know this could be considered illegal? Or this payback for that little makeup thing?"

Drew responded by rolling up her sleeve and showing patches of her skin that were still stained with paint that she might have replaced with concealer. "What gave you that idea?"

She suddenly broke off from traffic and parked on the side of the street. Piper gets out before Drew even stopped the engine. She pulled Katie out and started leading her to one of the many shops in Time Square. "Come on Katie you'll love it."

The two of them brought her to a store and the end of the street. She looked up at it and felt the color drain from her face. The sign was bright neon pink that said The Venus Salon. You'll look as good as a goddess afterward.

Barbie's workplace. Katie mused as she was unwillingly forced inside. A small bell hanging from the ceiling rang as they walked in. The inside looked like a normal salon with large, leather swiveling chairs lined up on either side of the room facing a mirror and a small table with an assortment of tools and makeup.

The walls and ceiling were painted pink and white with paintings on ornate wooden frames would hang from. Of course, most of them would be of Aphrodite.

Seated at the front desk was a young woman reading a fashion magazine which covered her face. The only thing visible were her dark curls at the side of her head. Drew rings the bell on the front desk. "Hello, mother."

She looked up from her magazine and smiled at them. "Hello, girls." She beamed at them and spread her arms out as if she wanted a group hug. "Are you here for your weekly spa visit?"

Piper and Drew wrapped their arms around their mother. "We are mother. But do you mind if I brought my friend?"

She gestured towards Katie who was leaning back on a pillar and watched the exchange. Aphrodite stood up and looked at her from head to toe, taking in her outfit, posture and body language. "Of course not dear." She smiles and winked at her. "I'm Aphrodite."

"Katie." She replied, holding her hand out.

"What time is her date?"

"How did you-" Katie began but was quickly cut off by Drew.

"6 pm and she need a lot of work mother," Drew added, leaning towards the Love Goddess.

"Hey." Katie scowled. "How did you know I had a date?"

Aphrodite smirked as if it were some inside joke she had. "I'm the Goddess of Love dear. I can always tell when someone is jittery for a date. Now come alone we have a lot of work to do."

She picked up a remote from her desk and pressed a big red button. A panel behind her slides open and reveals a walk-in closet filled with clothes. The three girls follow Aphrodite in and gasp.

Clothes as far as the eye can see. There were little markers on top that divided the outfits by event. Proms, Graduations, Weddings, it looked like Aphrodite has an outfit for every occasion. Each one more extravagant than the last.

Katie wrinkled her nose and looked at each outfit all the while the girls were chatting with their mom.

"Where is your date happening?" Aphrodite asked, running her hand across a rack of clothes.

"A dinner in a restaurant and a movie."

"So nothing fancy then." She replied, placing her hand on her chin thoughtfully.

Finally, they stopped at the end in the largest collection that said casual wear. Yet even that looked like it cost a small fortune. "Come just a nice pair of jeans and a T-shirt," Katie whispered.

"Don't hold your breath." Aphrodite gave her a backward glance and smirked as she turned to a rack of dresses.

"What's wrong with my clothes now?" The daughter of Hermes grumbled to no one in particular.

Drew and Aphrodite suddenly turn to her in surprise. "Where do I start? That flannel jacket belongs to Ryan, your jeans are too baggy and those undershorts are meant for boys."

Katie looked at Piper imploringly who for the whole exchange kept her face neutral. "What do you have to say about this?"

She shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, I'm with them on this one."

"When did you suddenly get so girly?"

"Mother-daughter bonding time." She shuddered. "It was Hades at first but I got used to it after a while."

"Cooties." Katie hissed before lowering her head in defeat. "Dress me up in whatever way you want."

"Oh, I won't be dressing you up," Aphrodite said suddenly. Everyone looked at her in surprise, but then goddess simply waved them off. "Drew, Piper could you girls get the makeup and comb for me?"

They took the hint that it was time for them to leave and shuffle out. Once she heard the sound of their footsteps and the click of the door closing, the Love Goddess sat down on an unopened box of clothes. "Judging from the look on your face I'm guessing you're surprised."

"I am, aren't you like then queen of meddling with other people's lives?" Katie said a bit too harshly than she intended.

She was surprised to see a glimmer of sadness cross her eyes when she spoke. "Sometimes being over three thousand years old doesn't always mean you become any wiser. For years I spent meddling in you mortals love life. Helen of Troy and Paris, Romeo and Juliet, Franz Ferdinand and Sophie, all such beautiful love stories yet each ended the same way. Tragedy. War and two lovers snuffed out."

"What about Percy and Annabeth. You wanted to make their love life 'interesting' right?" Katie pointed out.

Aphrodite winced as her shoulders slumped down like she wished she hadn't remembered that. "I did don't I." She smiled sadly. Her gaze become distance. "I suppose that's what it took for me to finally learn my lesson."

"But you're the Goddess of Love. It's your job to make sure people fall in love."

"Perhaps, but that doesn't mean I need to meddle. Sometimes all it takes to get people together is a small push, a little nudge to get them in the right direction. That's why I'm giving you free reign of what you want. Piper told me all about you Katie. But if you want my recommendation that's fine as well."

"I do." She said, and actually meant it.

Aphrodite nodded and looked into the clothes rack, before pulling out a purple and black dress that went down to her knees with long black sleeves. It wasn't' particularly girly which is why Katie liked it. "This maybe?"

"I love it." Katie grinned with delight. She reached out for it but also looked around some more and pulled out a pair of black leggings. "These would go with the dress as well."

"Indeed, now what about your shoes?"

"What do you mean? I'm keeping my sneakers." Katie said as if it were obvious. Her wings lifted her off several inches in the air. She flew over a set of clothes and quickly changed into her new outfit.

Aphrodite clapped her on the shoulder and led her out. The two daughters of Aphrodite were waiting outside. They both stood up and gasped, eyes wide as they saw Katie. "Oh my God Katie you look great!" Piper said.

"Thanks, girls." She blushed slightly and let them fix her hair, combing so it's no longer messy, but flows like a wave. Drew started to apply some light eyeshadow and lipstick.

Just as she finished, guitar music started to play outside. They also listened as a small smile formed on Katie's face as she heard her favorite song. Firework by Katy Perry. (Yes it is no judgment.)

"Cause Katie you're a firework. Show them what you're worth. Make em go-oh-oh-oh." The muffled voice said from outside. Katie ran outside, stopping at the steps of the salon as she saw Ryan Colt.

The Son of Hades was standing on the sidewalk dressed in a dark blue plaid shirt, black jeans, and sneakers. His cinnamon brown hair was combed to one side which made him look like he just came from a walk on the beach. When he saw me, his amber eyes lit up happily. "Hey." He set his guitar down and grinned at her. "Well? Did you enjoy the show?"

Piper not too subtly stepped behind Katie and nudged her forward. She gasped as she lost her balance and fell right into Ryan's hands. He blinked in surprise as he held his date in his arms. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Wordlessly, she nodded and blushed bright red.

Ryan gently set her down and extended his arm towards her. "Then let's go?"

She gladly wrapped her hands around the crook of the hi arm and they walked towards his motorcycle.

Author's Note: Hey guys. I had a lot of fun writing this story and I was wondering what you guys think. I'm sorry if it isn't very good since this is my second time writing shorter one-shot stories. Don't forget to Favorite, Follow, and Review.