Grammar mistakes are fixed now. ;)
"STOLL!"
Travis glanced up from where he was crouched by the tether poles, idly pulling up handfuls of grass. A grin curled onto his face when he saw Katie marching toward him, fists clenched and a murderous look on her face. Bouncing up, he dusted himself off and gave an exaggerated bow.
He couldn't help but admire the way the sun rays spilled onto her dark brown skin, creating small splashes of light. Her curly hair was pulled up into two pigtails that bounced up and down as she stormed toward him. She wore tattered jeans that were caked with mud up to her knees, evidence of another morning spent gardening.
What caught his attention most, however, were her eyes. Instead of their usual chestnut brown, they gleamed a bright pink the exact same color of Drew's nail polish.
"You filthy, arrogant pig!" she shouted, shoving him in the chest and sending him stumbling back several feet. "Change them back!"
Travis laughed as he caught himself on a tether pole. "What's wrong, Lady Katie?" He plastered a look of shock onto his face. "Well, that sure is a change. Really, what would your mother say?" He shook his head disapprovingly.
Katie looked like she was about to burst from anger as she glowered at him."Listen up, Stoll," she growled. "I don't know how you did it, but you're going to fix them. Right. Now." She took another threatening step toward him.
Ducking behind the pole, he grabbed the ball attached to it and held it up as if to shield himself from her. "Are you sure you don't like them?" he asked. "To be honest, I think pink is a color you wear perfectly. Maybe you should just keep them that way. I'm sure the Aphrodite kids would love them."
Katie snarled in frustration. "Argh!" she yelled, slashing her hand through the air. The earth beneath Travis's feet trembled, the grass pulling itself away from him until he was standing on a patch of fresh dirt.
He snorted. "What was that supposed to do? Get my shoes dirty? I don't even-Ahhhh!"His sentence was cut short as the ground underneath him collapsed, sending him plummeting downward.
His body smacked into the solid ground several seconds later. He lay there for a moment, stunned. Then the pain hit. A groan escaped him and he rolled over, clutching his chest that felt as if a boulder had just slammed into it. Open blue sky stretched above him. Blue sky and a pair of bright pink eyes.
"What the—" he moaned as the words sent a stab of pain through his chest.
Katie smirked and sat down cross legged, her chin resting on her hands and a triumphant look on her face as she leaned over the newly formed pit. "Here's the deal," she said. "You turn my eyes back and I'll let you out."
Travis raised an eyebrow. "And if I say no?"
"Then you can stay in there for the rest of your short, miserable life and contemplate the consequences of your actions. That, or the natural benefits of whole grain cereal."
"Yeah, how about no." Travis grasped at the dirt walls and used them to pull himself gingerly to his feet, ignoring the pain that must have been coming from bruised or broken ribs. He smirked up at Katie. "I can just climb out of here."
"I don't think that's going to work."
"I'll make you a bet," Travis challenged. "If I get out, then you have to keep your eyes that way for a month."
Katie stood up. "Goodbye, Travis," she said simply before walking away.
"You Demeter kids are all the same!" he shouted after her. "All you do is work and be serious! You never take any risks or chances!"
The pit was about ten feet deep, leaving the top over four feet above Travis's head. He scowled. "That's fine," he muttered. "I can get out of here myself. And Katie can have pink eyes for the rest of her life."
He got a hold on a thick root sticking out of the wall and attempted to pull himself up. His ribs instantly exploded in pain. He gasped and fell back, losing his grip and sending himself once again to smack into dirt. "Ow," he mumbled.
An hour later, Travis was becoming desperate. After two, he was alternating between cursing and screaming for help. When none arrived, he set himself to digging at the wall with his shoe in the hope that he could tunnel out.
When he finally gave up and dropped in sheer exhaustion, sweat was dripping down his face. If his ribs hadn't been broken before, they definitely were now. Heat waves washed over him, nearly instantly drying the sweat on him. Travis wondered if perhaps Katie's mother had convinced Apollo to make the day this ho on purpose, to punish him for pranking her daughter.
At what must have been around noon, Connor dropped by. He took one look at Travis and burst out laughing. "Oh, man, she got you good!"
"Come on, Connor!" Travis pleaded. "Help me up!"
Connor shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. Katie said if any of us let you out, she would turn us into potato plants. Nobody's willing to risk it."
Travis sighed, running a hand through his curly hair in frustration. "She's got to let me up sometime. I mean, she doesn't hate me that much, right?"
"Dude. She split the earth open and trapped you in a giant pit. What do you think?" Connor glanced behind him. "I've gotta go. Don't want to be seen talking to you too long. I'm only allowed here to give you this." He pulled out a canteen of nectar and tossed it to Travis. "Drink up," he said before turning away.
"Wait!" Travis called. "What about Percy? Or Annabeth? She might listen to them!"
Connor paused. "Annabeth left a couple hours ago to pick up some blueprints for Olympus. And Katie told Percy that he would never be able to eat blue food again if he helped you."
"I'm doomed," Travis muttered, taking a swig of the nectar. "Doomed to die in a pit, alone and scared."
"Have fun, bro." Connor gave a salute and jogged away.
It had taken several hours, but Travis's ribs were nearly healed. He smirked. "Stupid Katie," he muttered. "Didn't you see this coming?" Just as he was about to start climbing, thick roots pushed their way out of the ground and lashed themselves around his ankles.
"Seriously?" he cried in disbelief.
At dinnertime, the smell of hamburgers and chocolate wafted over to him from the pavilion. Travis's stomach growled loudly.
The sky was nearly dark when Katie finally wandered over, a gardening spade in one hand and a confident smile on her face. "Are you ready to reconsider?" she asked.
He looked up and for a moment his breath stopped.
Katie had changed out of her muddy jeans and now wore a pair of overalls rolled up past her knees. She had let her hair down for once and let the dark, tightly corded curls spiral out. Instead of hairpins and clips, bits of hay were stuck in them, giving the impression that she had lost a fight with a karpoi.
Travis had never seen anything more beautiful.
"Well, Stoll?" She sat down, letting her legs dangle into the pit.
Travis slowly got to his feet. The roots shifted, allowing him to walk several paces forward so he could stand beneath her. Her eyes still glowed a hot pink as he stared up at her. They may have changed color, but they were still hers. They were still filled with everything he loved about Katie; the fierce determination that would radiate from her when she stood up for something she believed in; her laughter that filled the world with colors Travis had never seen before and that left everything grey and dull when it stopped; the expression of tenderness she would have on her face when caring for the plants she so loved; the way she was smiling at him right now.
"I can change them back," he said softly. "In exchange for something."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm already letting you out of the pit, idiot. What more do you want?"
He swallowed. "A kiss."
Katie blinked in surprise, her mouth hanging over slightly. "What?" she asked, surprise apparent on her face. "Me? Kiss you?"
All at once, the feeling of hope and fantasy was swept out from under him, leaving him with reality. Why would she want him? He was a thief, a second hand kid that amounted to nothing. Even his own parents had rejected him. Here he was, staring up at the face of a half goddess and asking for her to love him back when he had nothing else but love to give her.
"I'm sorry," he muttered, turning away. "That was stupid." He stared at the impassable dirt wall in front of him. "The effects will wear off when the moon comes out. You just need to wait a few more minutes."
Silence.
She was probably gone by now, celebrating the return of her regular eye color. She would be in her cabin, knowing that she never had to speak to him again.
The roots unraveled themselves from Travis's legs. He watched them slither away from him and sink into the ground. He felt a tear drop onto his cheek as the moon slid out from behind a cloud, spilling its white light into the pit.
When he turned around, Katie was inches away from him, her chestnut brown eyes gazing into his. Travis looked at her in shock.
"Idiot," she whispered. She lifted her hand to his cheek and brushed away the single tear. "You are a complete idiot, Travis Stoll."
And with that, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
Her lips tasted like raspberries. Warm raspberries soaking in the sun.
Katie stepped back, a small smile on her face. "See, Travis? Even a daughter of Demeter can take a chance."
Travis laughed then, a bubbly hiccup of a laugh. He wrapped his arms around Katie and lifted her off her feet, squeezing her tightly and pressing their bodies together.
"I love you," he whispered into her ear. "I've loved you for a long, long time."
"I know," she whispered back. "I just never thought I would fall in love with a son of Hermes."
"And?"
She pulled back to look him in the eye. "And then I fell in love with you."