This is the sequel to my first story, Blush. Thanks to my dearest, darlingest sister for helping me edit this, you're cool and stuff. :3 Enjoy!
Disclaimer: All rights go to Rick Riordan! I just made up the plot.
Reyna was having a very good day. It had been three months since the battle with Gaea, and Reyna was finally going to have a whole week of holiday time for the first time since she'd been praetor. She stretched her legs out as much as she could in the cramped space of Camp Half-Blood's white van. Jason, who was sitting next to her, was bouncing his leg up and down. He was as excited as she was to make it to camp. He'd had a rough past couple of months, making plans for temples to the gods and what-not, and was anxious to get back home after two weeks of being away from Piper.
Reyna wasn't jealous of Piper's relationship with Jason anymore, and was good friends with both of them. No, Reyna had been thinking about a different blonde over the past few months. She'd been practicing, too. All of Camp Jupiter knew that she'd been playing chess every single chance she got, and Reyna had enjoyed hearing from Hazel the theories about the reason for her obsession with playing the game. Only one came close though; that she had a crush on some centurion, and said centurion enjoyed long, drawn out games of chess. Well, they got two out of three, anyway. But even Hazel didn't know that chess wasn't the only thing she'd been practicing the past few months.
Jason sat up, still for the first time in hours.
"Look, Reyna. We're almost there! I can see Thalia's tree!"
Jason was practically bouncing up and down his seat now, eager with anticipation.
"Gods, Jason," Reyna said, smiling. "Can't you sit still for a single minute?"
Jason settled back into his seat, smiling sheepishly. But as they drove up the hill, they could see a small crowd of people waiting for them, and Jason started squirming in his seat again. Reyna couldn't help but feel excited as well. What if Mal- er, Annabeth, yes, Annabeth, is in that crowd? She thought. Oh gods, what if he, I mean she; oh, never mind! What if Malcolm is there? Oh gods, oh gods, oh gods...
Just as Reyna was beginning to panic, Argus, their many-eyed driver, stopped the car in front of the crowd of people that had gathered to greet her and Jason. Reyna let Jason clamber out of the car first as she composed herself.
It's just Malcolm, she tried to convinced herself. If you're freaking out when you see him, you will be much more prone to blushing. You can't let him win this little game of ours just because you were feeling a little anxious.
As Reyna stepped out of the car, she had to force herself to not scan the small crowd for him. She was instantly mobbed by people, and when she saw blonde curls coming her way, her heart leapt to her throat. Unfortunately, it was just Annabeth.
"Reyna! It's great to see you!" Annabeth said enthusiastically, giving Reyna a hug. "How was the trip?"
"It was fine," Reyna said, fighting to keep her disappointment off her face. "Grace bounced in his seat the whole way here though, he was so excited."
"Missed me that much, huh Sparky?" Piper teased her boyfriend. "I'm flattered!"
"Nah," Jason replied, grinning. "I just missed the food."
Piper smacked him on the arm, smiling.
"I am personally offended, Grace," Reyna deadpanned. "Is our cuisine not refined enough for you?"
Annabeth, Piper, Percy, Nico, and Will laughed as Jason struggled to find an appropriate answer. Reyna's mind, however, had wandered off again.
Why isn't he here? Where is he? If he was here, he would have come over by now...
She allowed herself to quickly glance around at the crowd of people. But the only blondes there were Annabeth, Jason, and the healer Will Solace, who had an arm around a scowling Nico. She would have to ask him about that later.
Annabeth did not miss Reyna's glance around, nor the look of disappointment she let show for just a moment. Annabeth smirked at her.
"If you're wondering, he's at the table waiting for you," Annabeth said.
Reyna gaped at her.
"How did you...?"
Annabeth laughed lightly.
"Don't you think I grilled my brother for every detail as soon as we left dinner? It's not often he's in a library alone with a pretty girl. That he's not related to, anyway."
Reyna grinned and started for the Athena Cabin, ignoring the confused looks on her friends faces.
"Oh, and Reyna?" Annabeth called.
Reyna turned to her.
"Good luck. He's been practicing, and he may be better than you think," Annabeth said, winking.
Reyna smirked.
"You haven't seen how much I've been practicing these past three months."
Annabeth laughed, and Reyna hurried to the library, not noticing the six people following her to the Athena cabin, whispering amongst themselves.
As Reyna approached the grey cabin, she slowed her pace, trying to slow her frantic heartbeat. As she approached the small structure, she regained some of her usual confidence, determined to win round two with Malcolm. She stopped before opening the door. Alright Reyna, she thought. Just like you've practiced. Slow and confident up to the table. When she stepped inside, however, she faltered. Unlike the last time she'd been in the Athena Cabin, there were lots of people inside. And not just the Athena kids; there were lots of other campers moseying through the aisles, looking for a book, or reading on comfortable-looking armchairs.
Gods, Reyna thought, there is way too many people here. How am I going to keep myself from blushing with an audience?
But as she walked down the past the rows of bunk beds, another thought occurred to her: How will he? I can use this situation to my advantage.
Confident once again, she strode up to their chess table, where Malcolm sat waiting for her. He grinned when he saw her, but she spoke before he had the chance to open his mouth.
"Hello, Malcolm dear," Reyna said loudly. A few heads turned their way. "How've you been the past few months? I do hope you've been practicing as much as I have. Either way though, you are going to lose again today." She smiled as a dozen more heads turned towards them.
"You? Practicing? I thought you were praetor; doesn't that mean not a lot of free time, dear?" Malcolm obviously saw what she was doing, and was trying to take advantage of the attention being focused on them. "I think that last game was pure luck."
Their audience was growing, and Reyna felt their eyes on her as she sat in her chair.
"Pure luck? That was sheer genius, Malcolm McCallister, and you know it. You're just upset because you were beaten by someone who isn't a child of Athena." She could see the Stoll brothers making bets with several people in the corner of her eye, but she refused to acknowledge the crowd of people around them. By then, nearly everyone in the library was watching them.
Reyna began setting up her pieces, surprised Malcolm had remembered that she chose the black pieces last time. Malcolm, pieces already set up, grinned at her quip.
"Well then, Rey," Malcolm said as Reyna frowned at the horrid nickname, "Do you want to bet on it?"
Reyna looked at him, surprised. She didn't have a plan for that one.
"All right then, Mal," she said, smiling at his frown. "What do you bet?"
He gave her a wide Cheshire-cat smile.
"I bet you 50 drachmas that you are going to win."
Reyna blinked. If he bets that I win, then if I do, he wins his bet and 50 drachmas, however that converts to denarii. But if I don't, then... I lose. But I can't lose, and I can't let him win, so...
"Only 50 drachmas? Please," she said, enjoying his confusion. "I think we should up the ante here. How about if I win the game, I have to kiss you. And if, by some miracle, you win the game, you get to kiss me."
The room was so quiet, you could've heard a pin drop. Reyna risked a quick glance around the room. Several jaws had dropped, and there even seemed to be even more people in the room. Among those who'd joined were Percy, who looked like he'd been hit over the head, Jason, who had a similar expression on his face, as well as Piper, Annabeth, and Nico, who all looked like they were trying very hard not to laugh. Will Solace was probably not very far from Nico, but Reyna couldn't see him.
By far, however, the best expression was on Malcolm's face. She could see the flush creeping up his neck as he realized there was no way to back out without losing his dignity. He did not let the flush reach his cheeks, but his flustered expression was almost good enough on its own.
"Well?" Reyna said, thoroughly pleased with herself. "What do you think?"
"I, ah, sure. Er, I mean, yes, I agree to your terms," Malcolm said, obviously embarrassed. "Let's begin, then."
For the next hour or so, Reyna and Malcolm, who'd pulled together his confidence for the rest of their game, went head to head in game of chess even more intense than the last, with several new tricks on the parts of both Malcolm and Reyna. Both were at the same time trying furiously to get each other to blush, and neither succeeding. They'd practiced well. The crowd, instead of slowly fizzling away, seemed to grow in size, and several times Reyna saw the Stoll brothers cashing in bets in the corner of her eye.
Finally, it was down to Reyna's queen, knight, and three or so pawns to defend her king against Malcolm's queen, bishop, knight, and pawn. The odds did not look good. Reyna seemed to be losing. But the game was not over yet.
"Eager for me to kiss you, Malcolm? Because it sure seems like you want me to win; you are making this far too easy."
"Not at all Reyna; I prefer being the more dominant one in a couple," Malcolm said cheekily.
For what felt like the millionth time that day, Reyna felt a blush creeping up her neck. No, just focus on what you practiced. You've done this a thousand times. Just make your move. She calmly took his bishop with her knight.
"Check," Reyna said, smiling.
Malcolm looked at the board in annoyance, and moved his king to the one spot her knight could not reach.
"The game is not over yet, Reyna," Malcolm said as she moved a pawn towards his knight. "I can still win this game."
"Really?" Reyna said unblinkingly as he took the pawn. "Because you just made a big mistake." With that, she moved her queen to the spot his knight had just been. "Checkmate."
Shocked, Malcolm looked at the board. After a moment, he chuckled weakly and shook his head.
"Gods, and I thought I had you this time." He sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, leaving the curls messier than before, which was definitely not attractive. Reyna walked around the chess table to his side. He stood, making the several inches he had on her much more obvious. He slipped his hands around her waist, resting his hands carefully on her hips.
"I believe I just won our bet, Reyna," Malcolm said quietly, though Reyna was sure even the people in the very back could hear what he said. She could hear a couple of people who were to hyperventilating. She chuckled.
"What?" Malcolm asked as Reyna wrapped her hands around his neck.
"Our audience seems very excited."
Did he always smell this nice? Reyna wondered.
Malcolm smiled and closed his eyes. Reyna did the same and leaned in, slowly closing the space between them. And their lips finally, finally, met.
The huge crowd of people in the Athena Cabin erupted in cheers, clapping, and wolf-whistling. But Reyna didn't hear them, because she was too distracted by the fireworks exploding behind her eyelids. She'd kissed a couple boys before, and while she remembered feeling giddy, she didn't remember feeling quite like this. Maybe because she liked Malcolm much better than the others, or maybe because of the months of anticipation and waiting. But gods, kissing Malcolm felt like being on top of the world.
When they broke apart, it felt like several days had passed, but judging by how exuberantly people were still cheering, it had only been a few seconds. She looked at Malcolm and started to laugh. His face was bright red.
"Somebody's happy," Reyna said, still laughing.
"Yeah," said Malcolm, grinning back. "That's just about right."
Sooooo, what did you guys think? Leave a comment, you guys know the drill. No flames please, but constructive criticism is welcome! R&R