"Come on, warriors!" Clarisse shouted, raising her spear into the air. "Flank them! To the right! The other right!" She was looking carefully at the battle preparations going on in the arena. She was so involved she didn't notice Chris appear next to her. "Second rotation! Now!"

"Hey, Clarisse?" Chris said quietly, his hands in his pockets. She didn't hear him.

"Third rotation! I did not say stop!"

"Clarisse?" He said again, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"What?" She said, turning quickly and glaring at him. Her intense expression quickly changed to a softer one then turned to a worried one. "Oh….Chris, what is it? I'm kind of busy."

"Can we talk?" He said, looking a little nervous.

"Umm…I'm kind of busy, Chris." Clarisse said, poking her thumb out at the arrangement of soldiers that, without her direction, were scrambling around like blind giraffes. "Fall in!" She shouted before turning back to Chris.

"It'll be quick. Just let's talk real quick." He said, nodding toward a separate section of the arena. Clarisse ran her thumb along a notch on the shaft as she looked at him. He had been acting a little strangely later and it made it even more difficult for her to talk to him. Which is something she needed to do soon. She had a big decision to make and she didn't really have anyone to talk to. Annabeth and Percy were back in New Rome going to college soon and here she was, Silena dead and Chris going off to Arizona State next Fall. Everything that was going on, this talk would not be quick. She was sure of that."

"Let's just do it after, okay? We're almost done, anyway." She picked at the notch again and then blushed a little when Chris leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek.

"After." He said with a nod. He smiled a little then headed back out of the arena. Clarisse thought for a couple of minutes and then turned back to the soldiers. She continued with the training exercise, but actually focusing completely on doing it right was pretty much out the window. She had been having trouble before talking to Chris, but now she couldn't get the look on his face out of her mind. The sad thing was that she really didn't want to talk to Chris. They had been dating for a long time and she was probably the only guy that she had ever truly cared about as more than a comrade-in-arms. They'd gone through the Battle of Manhattan together and they'd stayed together through the war with the giants. If Chris broke up with her now, she probably couldn't take it.

That's why when she finished with the exercise she made sure to leave out of a side exit instead of the front where she knew Chris would be waiting for her. She had fought the drakon head-on and squared off with a giant by herself, but when it came to something that she couldn't stab or actually fight then she couldn't do it. She tucked her helmet under her arm and peeked out of the entrance, seeing Chris pass through all of the battered and fully exercised soldiers. He finally sighed a little and headed inside the arena. Clarisse took her chance and hurried out, taking off for her cabin. She wasn't sure she could move as fast as she did, but it wasn't long until she was bursting into her cabin, slamming the door behind her.

She took a second to catch her breath, leaning up against the door, before she moved to her bunk, dropping her helmet on her mattress then propping her spear up in the corner. She finally sat down in her bunk and put her head down for just a second when someone knocked on the door. Her eyes shot open and she scrambled off her bed, ducking behind it. There was only other person in the cabin, her brother James. He was laughing at her only before she gave him a death glare that he knew meant 'stop laughing and open the godsforsaken door or it will be that last thing you ever do.' James sobered quickly and hurried to the door, opening it a crack.

"Oh, hey, Chris." James said loud enough for Clarisse to hear. Maybe she didn't have to kill him. She stood and quickly scanned the cabin for cover, but it wasn't enough time before Chris, unexpectedly, shoved his way into the cabin. She had just enough time to dive under the covers of her bed, creating a giant Clarisse-sized lump on her bed, knocking her helmet to the ground.

"Is Clarisse hiding from Chris again?" The newcomer to the cabin said. She furrowed her brow and removed her blankets to see her brother, Chris, setting a sword on his bed. She quickly stood up, smoothing her clothes off before glancing at James who was laughing again. She made her way to the exit, taking a second to put her hand on his forehead and give a forceful shove, knocking him on his butt.

"It was worth it, Clarisse." He said with a chuckle as she exited the cabin. She took a deep breath as she closed the door behind her. She was a child of Ares. She had no fear. She was strong. She led soldiers into battle with magical beasts that almost always outnumbered them. Why was she so worried about a boy? On top of that, she had been fine without Chris before he showed up all labyrinth-crazy. She could deal with being without him. Clarisse turned away from her cabin and got to the center of the cabins before her pep talk wore off and she made a beeline for the beach. Did she feel dumb for being such a coward? Yes. Would breaking up make her decision all that simpler? Yes. Did she want to break up with him? No. She was better off before she had feelings for boys. She chuckled quietly to herself as she got to the beach. It was the same spot where Silena and she had become such good friends. Somehow she had gotten tasked with helping Silena mourn Beckendorf. They had gotten to talking and it wasn't long until Silena was pestering her with questions.

"Do you have a crush, Clarisse?" She had said, a playful grin stuck on her face. "I've seen you taking care of that Chris guy. Do you have a thing for him, huh? Huh? Do ya?" She said with a giggle. Clarisse wasn't happy with how the topic had changed, but at least she wasn't sobbing over Beckendorf.

"I'm just trying to help him out." Clarisse had said nervously, her face red as a tomato. "I mean, I guess he's not completely repulsive." She admitted, her face getting even redder.

"YOU LIKE HIM!" Silena shouted far too loud for Clarisse's comfort. Clarisse's eyes bugged out and her hand clasped around Silena's mouth, muting her humiliating words.

"For Olympus' sake, can you keep it down?" Clarisse said, finally cracking a small smile. She finally removed her hand from Silena's mouth. "Now, you can't tell anyone."

"Well, I wouldn't want to damage your stone-faced and cold exterior, Clarisse." She said with a quiet laugh. Clarisse rolled her eyes and bumped her with her elbow. Clarisse found herself now sitting in the same spot and missing her friend.

"I figured I'd find you here." Clarisse glanced back and saw Chris sitting down next to her.

"This is where Silena spent most of her time after Beckendorf…"

"I know." Chris said with a sigh. There was a long pause, the only sound being the waves crashing in on the sand. "What's going on, Clarisse?" Clarisse took a deep breath and cleared her throat. She opened her mouth to speak, but she wasn't sure what to say. Chris laughed a little and then nodded. "Okay. How about this? We both have something to tell each other." Clarisse nodded. "So, how about we say it at the same time? Sound good?" She took a deep breath and then nodded. "On 3. 1…2…3."

"I want to join the military."

"We should get married."

"Wait…what?" She said, looking at Chris who was studying the ground.

"You want to join the military?"

"You want us to get married? I thought you were breaking up with me."

"Why would I be breaking up with you?"

"Why would we be getting married?"

"Do you not want to get married to me?"

"No, Chris, that's not it. I'm just…we're a little young, aren't we?"

"You turn 21 this year. I turn 20."

"Well, but…You're going off to college."

"I thought you were, too."

"Chris, I don't really…I don't really think that college and I would be a good fit."

"And the military is better?"

"Well…? Kind of."

"We had talked about going to Arizona State though. I thought that was the plan." Chris said quietly. He took a deep breath as his hand slid into his pocket. Clarisse glanced at it a moment and then looked up at Chris. He was thinking. She was glad that one of them was, because she was too busy panicking. "You want to join the military?"

"Well, I could get college paid for in just three years. It'll give me time to play catch up a little bit as far as schoolwork goes and I'll be able to fill an actual need, Chris." Clarisse said quietly.

"What would that mean for us?" Clarisse took a deep breath and looked down at the ground.

"I…I'm not going to ask that you wait for me or anything, Chris. I don't expect you to not move on."

"Clarisse, I—"

"Three years is a long time and it's going to be hard to see each other so little. Especially after being together for so long, but I…I just have to do this." She looked over at Chris and then stood again, nervously picking on a small scar on the back of her hand. "I'll just…I'll talk to you later."

"Clarisse." Chris said. Clarisse ignored him and turned toward camp. "Clarisse, stop." He said calmly. She paused and closed her eyes, turning back toward him. She opened her eyes and found him on his knee looking up at her.

"Chris, what are you doing? Get up." She said with a sigh.

"Nope." He said as he reached into his pocket and retrieved a ring. "Clarisse, I don't want to stop you from what you want to do. We've been together long enough to know that I typically can't stop you from what you want to do. If you want to join the military, then I support you. We'll just…take the time that we have and make the best of it. I love you and I want to be with you no matter what. We've overcome giants and titans and crazy labyrinth mind tricks. Three years apart isn't going to be a problem. Clarisse La Rue, will you marry me?" Clarisse opened her mouth, but the only thing that came out was a strangled exhale.

"Yes?" She mumbled, taking a small step forward.

"Are you asking me?" Chris said, tilting his head a little bit. Clarisse shook her head.

"No. I mean, yes. I mean, yes. I'll marry you." She finally said and he smiled, taking her hand and sliding the ring on her finger. She blushed softly and then looked down at the ring on her hand. Chris smiled and slipped his arms around her middle. His forehead pushed against hers and she looked up at him, kissing him lightly on the lips. They finally pulled away and she took his hand.

"You thought I was going to break up with you?" She laughed quietly and slugged him in the arm.

"Shut up, Chris."