I glanced uncertainly at my twin brother. "You sure?"
Conner nodded his head. "Yes, I am. You can totally see they're flirting."
As my heart sank, I could see Katie laughing around Austin, a guy from the Apollo Cabin. Okay, maybe I did have an obvious crush on Katie, but it was only Katie who didn't see it.
"You should talk to her," Conner advised. "Seriously dude. Don't let her go with those lame-o poetry guys."
Nodding my head, I walked towards Katie, confidently before...I fell flat on my face.
"Omygods! Travis, are you okay?" Katie asked.
Thank the Gods she's not laughing, I thought, sitting up as I spat dirt out. I was pretty sure that I looked silly. Austin was grinning, trying not to laugh. Conner face-palmed, shaking his head disapprovingly.
"Yeah." I stood up, brushing off dust. "Uh, er, um, ahh-"
"Yes?" Katie waited patiently.
As I spoke, it came out in a gibberish that didn't even sound like an invented language.
Katie's mouth twitched a tiny bit. "Hey, did you hear about the dance this weekend? On Friday?"
Of course I did - I was planning to ask her before anyone else did. Afraid to speak, I only nodded his head.
"You're going, right? I hear it's going to be amazing."
"I am definitely going," I blurted out. I hoped that it didn't sound stupid. Unfortunately, it probably did. "Poopirahnalowitme?" I mumbled.
"What? I didn't catch that." Katie leaned in closer, so that they both were face-to-face.
"I said..." I couldn't breathe. She was standing so close. Really close. "D-do you wanna go with the dance with me?"
Before Katie could reply, Austin butted in. "Whoa, Katie! I just asked you that same question before Travis here interrupted."
Okay, really? Were him and her already getting that close?
"I-I-" Katie hesitated, looking from Austin to me.
"Never mind. Forget I asked." I turned my back, heading towards my camp.
"Hey! Travis, wait!" Katie called.
Closing my eyes, I realised that maybe I was really stupid all along. Katie would never like me - I was just an annoying person that she had to deal with. And maybe I was oblivious to the tension between us. Kind of distant, and we would only speak if we ever bumped into each other. There was a final decision, that might affect us both.
I'm going to let her go.
