Sparing with Clarisse has been, and still is, just like having an argument with anyone from the Aphrodite Cabin that can charmspeak: You can NEVER win. As her boyfriend, I've gotten used to it and spend a good amount of time in the infirmary.

Right now, she already has me pinned to the ground. Her hands are clamped tightly around my wrists and a smirk is spread across her face. I guess I still haven't recovered from the sparing we did yesterday, since I usually put up more of a fight.

Immediately after she pins me, I hear, "So Clarisse, I see you're still wasting your time being friends with traitors." I felt the grip Clarisse had on my wrists loosen. I could've easily flipped her over since she'd let her guard down, but I didn't. The whole "traitor" thing was a touchy subject for her so I knew she was about to blow up with emotion, and she is not the type to go cry her feelings out. No, she gets it out a much different way. She shows her emotions with her fists.

Her expression turns blank. Usually it's hard to tell what goes on in her head but this time I had NO idea what she was thinking. Then, her face turned cold. Shoving off my chest, hard, she stood. Glancing behind me I see the smirking face of Drew Tanaka.

Encounters with Drew happen often for Clarisse. She has becomes wise to Drew's ways and knows that (to her dismay) physically hurting her did not solve anything. She usually used witty comebacks to hurt Drew emotionally, but this time Drew had gone way too far.

"You can make fun of me. You can even make fun of HIM if you really want to." Clarisse pointed at me as she made that comment. "But NEVER," she began to walk towards Drew, "EVER, stoop so low as to call Silena a traitor!" She began to creep dangerously close to Drew. Her fists balled up and turning white. The usually red tinted hazel eyes that belonged to Clarisse flared a dark shade of red and seemed to be on fire. The flame grew at each step that was made. Through gritted teeth Clarisse spoke. "She is a HERO, damn it! More than you'll ever be!"

Before I knew it Clarisse had Drew backed into a wall. I prayed to the gods Drew wouldn't say anything. "You're defending that slut-bag of a traitor?!" Drew scoffed. Too late.

Drew just pulled the pin out of the grenade and there will be only a couple seconds delay before it goes off. Within those seconds, since Chiron (and the rest of camp) have unofficially deemed me the bomb disarmer, I have to be the one that has to prevent murder.

For a long while Clarisse did not hesitate to punch me in the gut when she was angry with me, but now it's different. Now, she does hesitate. That hesitation is my only advantage while dealing with her. Whether it's sparring or stopping an Apollo kid from getting a broken arm, I only have a second or two to make my move.

Drew, on the other hand, was treading in some incredibly dangerous waters right now. I know I'm supposed to go stop Clarisse whenever she gets 'hostile,' but I'm really considering the option of not interfering.

"The only reason she ever stuck around with you is because it made her feel like she was actually pretty," Drew commented, adding, "Since she wasn't." A smile spread across her face and I knew she was about to go for the finishing blow. I pushed myself up off the ground and got ready for what was to come. "She made the whole cabin look bad, so it's a good thing she's dead now."

Clarisse was fast, but I had a couple seconds head start. Before she could make any contact with Drew I grabbed her around the waist and carried her out of the arena. As I carried her she alerted the entire camp to what was going on by yelling. "I SWEAR TO THE GODS, CHRIS, LET ME DOWN!" She yelled. "LET ME GO!"

I took her to the one place the two of us can ever be alone: the woods. Finally, she was able to push herself free of me. Once she was orientated again, her eyes still ablaze, she punched me right in the gut with the force of a laistrygonian giant. I crumpled on the ground, clutching my stomach. My vision returned, and I watched as my girlfriend continued in her fit of rage. No tree nymph was safe here, as Clarisse began punching and kicking at the trees.

"C'mon 'Risse," I tried to get through to her. "Just let it go." Her back was turned to me as she continued her destruction of the forest. "C'mon Tuff Girl," I said this with a coaxing tone. Her knuckles were ripped up and bleeding from hitting them against the trees.

She stopped her rampage and I could she her shoulders heaving up and down very slowly. Something was off about her breathing, though. Her shoulders were… what was it… shaking? Her breathing was staggered as we stood there in silence. The only sound was a small tear hitting the leaves at Clarisse's feet.

"Are you…?" My voice trailed off as she turned around. She had tears streaming out of her eyes as she looked at me with a pained expression on her face. No words were said as I walked towards with outstretched arms. We stood in the forest for what seemed like an eternity as Clarisse cried over the death of her friend. I didn't mind. Not often did my girlfriend need support in a way such as this, so I wanted to be (excuse the cliché) a shoulder for her to cry on. Not only that, but it broke my heart to see her cry.

It had happened only once before. It was the day of the Titan War; the day Silena died. She had tried to hold it in at first; to try to be strong for her deceased friend, but she ended up crying over Silena's body for a long while. I had stood behind her, the whole time, with my hand on her shoulder for support.

I just wanted to fix this so bad, but I didn't know how. Her crying began to slow so I thought now would be an appropriate time to talk.

"Hey, 'Risse?" I asked.

"Yeah?" She responded, her voice hoarse.

"My siblings and I have been saving up a prank that we were going to save for the Demeter cabin during the fireworks. It was Travis' idea to do it to them. I hope he knows that Katie doesn't like when he pulls pranks on her." She gave a small smile at that last comment. "But I was thinking that we could use it tonight. On the Aphrodite Cabin. For a bit of payback."

"Oh? Am I allowed to know what this prank is?"

"No. You'll have to wait 'til tomorrow." She seemed almost disappointed by this comment.

Before we parted to go to dinner, I gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. Her eyes no longer puffy and red, she joined up with the rest of her cabin to head to the dining pavilion.

The next morning, I wandered about outside all the cabins, waiting for the sign that shows that our prank of the century had worked. At around nine o'clock, the time the kids in Cabin 10 get ready in the morning, screams erupted from the cabin. Everyone turned to look as girls came running out of the cabin, making a mad dash for the showers. Their faces were absolutely hideous and distorted. They all looked different. Some had green faces, some had a large amount of facial hair, some had terrible face acne, and some looked completely like monsters. Drew was the last to come running out, and her face was, by far, the best. She had wrinkles and large flaps of skin hanging from her cheeks.

As I walked by Travis, he was explaining the prank to Katie. "We switched their makeup with enchanted makeup that makes you ugly." Katie nodded, laughing really hard. "We were gonna do it to your cabin but I decided that I like you much better when you're really pretty." The part about that being the reason that they didn't do it to their cabin was a lie but it still worked. She hugged him and then gave him a small peck on the cheek. His face turned completely red, and Katie's face was completely red as she walked away as well.

"This is absolutely hilarious, Rodriguez!" I heard Clarisse's voice from behind me, mid laugh.

"You think so?" I said this with the signature son of Hermes smile.

"I know so." She then did something that surprised me, considering she hates when we show affection in public. She gave me a hug and whispered into my ear, "Thanks."

I guess it's true, what they say. Laughter can make anything better. Even the most shattered of hearts.