Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of its characters.
Katie was making girls jealous.
Her perfect laugh and beautiful brown hair were the envy of every girl. She could make any guy fall for her the minute she opened her clean grass green eyes wide with disbelief. Her teeth never needed whitening nor did they ever need braces. Katie could have mud caked on her face and still be gorgeous. Her nails never reached a little over the bleeding point, and they always looked like they never seen a bottle of nail polish, yet girls hated the guys holding her hands.
The worst was her personality.
Katie was quick, witty, and sarcastic. She knew every way to kill someone. They always think, damn, she watches way too much 1,000 Ways to Die. Her smiley disposition did not help. Katie could be crazy and fun or she could be grouchy and scold someone every second. Either way, she was a fearless person and could look you dead in the eye while thinking some very mean thoughts and you'd die. Her glare was always tinted with either hatred or laughter. She was a marvelous person, yet she was the envy of every girl.
Then there were the boys she dated.
She dated Will Solace for a month; he was cute, funny, and full of worry—just like Katie. Then she dated Butch, son of Iris; he was strong, serious, but could always crack a joke. Katie went on one date with Michel Yew, since they were both short and all, but she decided he was too mournful. She was the girlfriend of Castor for a little over a year; then he died. Castor was crazy, odd, and always knew how to have a good time (if you know what I mean *wink, wink*), but Katie hated to lose him. The last guy she dated was Malcolm, son of Athena; he could always smile and sprout out a fact or seven when she asked, but he screwed with Katie and dumped her.
That's when he had his time to shine.
(((())))
Travis was making girls and guys alike jealous.
His long, dark eyelashes were something to look at with jealousy. Girls were envious of every perfect spot on his face. He never had a spot of acne or a little hair growing between his two marvelously shaped eyebrows. His smile was not creepy or sweet; it was the perfect combination of the two. His lips were full and kissable. Never had they chapped when he was younger or older. His blue eyes held a twinkle of mischief that made every girl trip over their words when he looked at you with them. His nose held the Cindy-Lou-Hoo effect and his hair—oh gods, his hair. It held the effect that a girl had run through with her hands. Which, considering his luck with the ladies, is probably true.
Travis was terrible at making bad impressions though.
Travis was friendly and kind and sweet. He was always the one who held open his arms when Katie had a bad break up. His pranking was dismissed as harmless and adorable. His sarcastic attitude and fun outlook on life made him the life of the party. On more than ten occasions, he would be caught in the secret demigod garage, making out with the new girl, or drinking beer with Pollux at a party. His spying was the best of fun though. If you were spying with Travis and Connor, you were a true Hermes kid. If you weren't a Hermes kid and spying with them, you were a lucky bastard. He was most noted for his flirting at all times. His personality made boys hate him.
Then, of course, there were some benefits from girls liking you.
Travis had the reputation to hump-and-dump. He didn't like long term relationships and all the girls he dated didn't either. They were mostly Aphrodite girls, Iris cabin girls, Dionysus girls, or, if he wanted to get his ass kicked, Athena's children; everyone who was anyone had fucked him once or twice (and don't tell anyone, but Katie had done that a few times as rebound). Whispers in the arena when he walked in were like this:
Girl 1- "I heard he's good in bed."
Girl 2- "You've never slept with him before?"
Girl 3- "How long have you been here?"
Girl 1- "A few days, why? Besides, I wouldn't sleep with him. I heard he had an STD."
Girl 3- "Shit. I slept with him last night."
Girl 2- "I slept with him this morning."
Girl 1- "How?"
Girl 2- "We skipped breakfast, duh."
Yes, Travis was not too bad with the ladies.
(((())))
Katie was just a little jealous.
The girls hang on his every word and bite their lip and giggle at his jokes. He always had one on his arm and another behind him in case one dumped him. That never was the case though. On more than one occasion, she found him leaned up against her car with a girl grinding her clothed hips into his. She would always whisper, "What the fuck?" and spray them with water from a hose. He always felt the need to torment her by doing something evil, but lately, just to not give him the satisfaction of making her angry, she'd blown it off. He would purse his lips, and by dinner the next day, Katie would find her iPod on her bed. She would always find a little watermelon or cherry lip gloss on it from the newest girl he was fucking. Occasionally, she would find a new song added to it with a note in her notes. Most of the twenty times he stole it, he would leave a picture of himself smiling, laughing, or shirtless (egotistic, isn't he?).
The song he added a week ago was one that confused Katie. It was Everybody Talks by Neon Trees. The note with it said:
Katie dearest,
I feel that this song has a meaning. Maybe you'll figure it out, but I doubt it.
-Travis Stoll
Katie Gardner despised Travis Stoll's flings.
(((())))
Travis was full blown with jealousy.
He couldn't control it. He had held his arms open when she had a rough break up or remembered Castor again. Once rumors of her break-up swirled around camp, he drove to Manhattan for two cases of Krispy Kreme donuts and welcomed her into his tree-top hangout with opened arms and a shoulder to cry on. They would sit up there for about a week while she cried her eyes out. At night, when she was asleep, he would slip out and go steal some food. He would want to make out with her at all times of the day. He would watch with narrowed eye slits at the guys she dated. To fill the void in his heart, he put any girl onto a bed and would slam into her. She would giggle and bite her lip. But none of the times would she be like her. On the rebound, she would want to have angry sex with him. Her nails would leave scars for days, and the hickeys on her neck would not go away for a couple of days, so they hid out within the forest. During Capture the Flag, with the screams as mood music, they would both be moaning loudly.
Her flawless face and everything southward were worth a million dollars to Travis. Millionaires had to be the only one able to afford her if she were a prostitute. Her inner beauty obviously reflected outward only a little bit because she was radiating with kindness and stability. He would listen to her dreams of law school—something that, even being dyslexic, she had the ability to go to. He would coax her into believing that after many doubts would roll out into the air.
Travis Stoll was jealous of Katie Gardner's beaus.
(((())))
Then, something amazing happened one day.
Travis was sulking in the fact that Katie had gotten her heart played again and was not coming to him.
She was looking for him. Of course, the tree-top hideaway. She scrambled to the ladder and climbed high up. The only difference was there was no protective arm latched around her leg.
When the top was reached and Travis was discovered, Katie had wide eyes. Travis had a lot of Pillow Pets.
"Um…?" She started.
Travis stood off his plush mound. "What do you want from me? I'm sick and tired of you taking of advantage of my kindness while you won't come tell me what's wrong when I could clearly see your arm bruised. You have to tell me what's wrong with this son of a bi—"
Katie shut him up by kissing him tenderly with love.
When the need for air came, they leaned their foreheads together. "Wanna go on a date, Katie-Kat?"
She kissed his again, and with her whisper nearly silent, said, "It's about damn time."
They kissed again.
"You know, we could always talk later," Travis said and pulled Katie into the fluff of Pillow Pets.
"Sure."
Later, Travis could taste Katie's strawberry lip gloss from before on his lips.