AN: these chapters are unconnected; think of them as little snapshots!
"It's not a date," is the first thing out of Annabeth's mouth after she asks Silena to help her get ready for her date with Percy.
But Silena is already smiling a knowing smile, and Annabeth is immediately on the defensive. "It's not! We're just seeing a movie. That's it. At least, he doesn't think it's a date. So it's not a date." She wills herself to stop talking. This is so not her forte.
"Okay," says Silena, her voice full of amusement, clear blue eyes sparkling. "It's not a date. Is the offer still on the table, though? Because as much as I try to go against the stereotype, I love a good makeover."
"Wait, makeover?" says Annabeth, not letting any of her self-consciousness show in her voice. "I was hoping for something more minor. I don't want to look like a different person." What she really wants to say is, I don't want Percy to notice that I put in any extra effort, but she's pretty sure Silena has picked up on that.
"Natural it is," Silena beams, and guides her into the Aphrodite cabin. There's nobody else at this time of day, right after lunch, and Annabeth feels relief wash over her. She definitely doesn't need anybody more talk about her and Percy's relationship circulating around camp.
Silena tucks her glossy black hair behind her ears with a expression of focused determination on her face. Annabeth bites back a laugh. It's the same expression that her own half-siblings get when faced with a challenging brainteaser, but the context couldn't be more different. "Percy's going to fall over himself when he sees you. And he won't even know why."
Annabeth decides protesting is futile, and instead just tells herself to feel grateful. "Thanks. You know I really appreciate it." She knows that the Aphrodite kids are wizards when it comes to beauty, and Silena is their bedazzled leader. The raven-haired girl is a few years older than her, taller and curvier too, and despite being undeniably gorgeous, she doesn't possess any of the usual child-of-Aphrodite vanity. In all her years at camp, Annabeth has never really mingled with the Aphrodite cabin, but she and Silena are both head counselors and they've always gotten along well.
As for asking Silena for help... Well, it's not like Annabeth's a natural tomboy, or hates all things dainty and pink like Thalia does. She's just so wrapped up in quests and strategies and blueprints most of the time that her own appearance practically falls off the radar. Mascara and lip balm, if she's feeling up to it. But lately – for no particular reason, of course – she wouldn't mind looking a little nicer than usual. All in all, she absolutely does not object to some professional advice.
After getting Annabeth to sit down on a chair that looks like it's from a barbershop – where did they get that? – Silena drops her relaxed stance, careening into a whirlwind of activity. She pulls open a drawer of her vanity, extracting bottles and tubes and compacts, like a solider rooting for weapons before a battle. Some of the contents are glowing faintly; some are even swirling around like miniature whirlpools contained by delicate glass.
"Bon sang!" Silena curses under her breath in perfect French. Even her cursing is pretty. "Where's my Apollo's Glow Bronzer? I mean –" she glances momentarily up at Annabeth "-not that you need it. You've got the whole California-girl tan going on. But it just gives you this radiance, you know?"
She absolutely does not know, but she nods her head dumbly. Truth be told – and Annabeth would never admit this to anyone – she envies Silena a little. Not for her knockout looks, but because if she were Silena, getting Percy to notice her would be a breeze. If she were a child of Aphrodite, she'd know exactly what to do. Sorry, mom, she thinks to herself. But being a daughter of the wisdom goddess hasn't really blessed me with the wisdom that I want right now.
Percy is just so maddeningly obtuse. Which she supposes works in her favor sometimes, because he hasn't noticed any of the handful of girls around camp who've taken to admiring him (yeah, she is not happy about that development). But lately she's been working her demigod ass off for him to realize that she wants them to be something more than best friends, and so far her efforts have yielded pretty much nothing.
Sure – she catches him staring at her sometimes. Big deal. She's also seen him staring at a party-sized box of pizza carried by Travis Stoll with pretty much the same intensity. And yeah, she saw Percy give a death stare to one of the newer Demeter kids who tried to ask her out once, but she's not sure if he was really even aware of doing it.
As she thinks, Silena gets to work. "Honestly, I don't get why you two aren't dating yet," she says as she lightly dapples some sort of liquid blush onto Annabeth's cheeks. Her slender fingers are pleasantly cool. "He's obviously so into you."
Is it obvious, though? The look on her face must be a sour one, because Silena smiles apologetically and says "Sorry, sorry. Overstepping? I just get excited about romance. Okay, close your eyes for a second now." Annabeth obliges (in fact, the urge to close her eyes is impossible to resist, and she realizes a touch of unintentional charmspeak must be slipping through the words), and a feather-light brush dances over her eyelids.
"So," Annabeth says, eager to change the topic, "Are you using enchanted makeup?" Glancing at one of the glowing bottles, it doesn't seem like such an absurd question.
"Don't tell anyone," Silena says secretively. "You know Drew? She's kind of a Chanel purist. But if she knew I had my hands on this stuff, I'd probably never see it again."
When the not-makeover makeover is complete, Silena clasps her hands together with such joy that Annabeth can't help but feel happy too. She hands Annabeth a mirror: her skin is clearer and brighter, eyebrows evened out a tad, the slightest flush of color on her cheeks, lips looking a little fuller than before.
"Thanks, Silena," she says, feeling like she should say more but not knowing what, exactly. "I love it."
"Don't mention it," the girl says, her smile white and gleaming. "I am so here if you need me. You know that like half the camp is rooting for you guys to—"
Before she can finish her sentence, Charles Beckendorf's large frame appears in the open doorway of the cabin. "Beauregard," he says, grinning wide. Silena whips her head around so fast it's almost comical. "I was looking for –" he stops abruptly when he notices the daughter of Athena sitting there too, and he shuffles uncomfortably on his feet. "Oh. Hey. You look nice, Annabeth."
Annabeth waves to him, looks at Silena's flushed face, and smirks. It's nice to know that she and Percy aren't the only ones.