Understandably, Clarisse had beaten Luke to a bloody pulp the moment we set foot on camp. I tried to intervene but Luke raised a hand to stop me, he faced Clarisse's anger head on, not even lifting a finger to defend himself. The campers were divided on their opinions on Luke – by divided, I mean most of the old campers hated his guts and the new ones (the children of lesser gods who were finally claimed and were having their own cabins built thanks to Luke's request from the gods) treated him as a hero.
With the surprise installation of the new Oracle, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, camp certainly felt a little more alive. Mr. D designated the first few days back at camp as a recuperation period, Camp itself hadn't faced much destruction but its inhabitants were all worn out and many of us were still injured from the battles. Rest was very much needed by everyone, even Artemis' Hunters were staying for the meantime at Cabin 8. The children of the Hermes Cabin were sympathetic to their kin and while there were still a few misgivings, Luke was more or less welcomed back.
"Is this seat taken?"
The sudden question startled me, coming from so near, and I tore my eyes away from the lavender flames of the bonfire, my ears suddenly reacquainted with the tunes of the sing-along. Luke was standing beside me at the topmost row of the amphitheater. He was back in his old attire of Bermuda shorts, slippers, and a camp T-shirt with the sleeves cut off. I couldn't help but notice how the light of the campfire cast eerie shadows on his face, a fresh-looking graze on his right cheek caught my eye and as though he'd read my mind, Luke gave a one-armed shrug. "That was Thalia."
I just nodded at his revelation, idly gesturing on the free space on my right; he took the invitation with a smile and settled beside me – a good foot of space between us. An energetic strumming coupled with fast beat-boxing came from the campers near the front, they were starting a new song; it's been a while since they'd stopped glancing over at my lonesome spot.
Annabeth was at the bottom part of the amphitheater, sitting beside Thalia and the Hunters. I tried not to dwell on the awkward conversation that we'd had a few days ago. She was understandably stumped and while I did my best to reassure her that I still consider her as a very good friend, she merely nodded and requested for some time alone. She hasn't said a word to me since although she would offer a forced smile whenever we passed each other.
Grover, on the other hand, was pretty much the same. He even dropped by here earlier, for maybe half a song, before Juniper waved at him from the woods and he had to excuse himself.
A cheerful but low humming came from Luke and I raised a quizzical face to him, Luke caught my expression and grinned, his humming grew louder. I had no idea what to make of this so I cradled my face in my palm and resumed staring at the dancing green flames of the bonfire.
This would be the first time that Luke and I were in such close proximities with each other after the averted war. We had as much privacy as the topmost seats could afford in an amphitheater full of campers but the distance still made this situation a bit intimate – the nearest campers being at least four rows down. I had never quite seen the amphitheater as filled as it was at the moment now that I think of it – thanks once again to Luke's proposition to the gods about claiming their children, there had been an influx of new half-bloods in the past few days. The new kids were as young as ten years old, accompanied by satyrs and chased by varying types of monsters but they all got into camp in once piece.
Anyway, it wasn't that we were avoiding each other… well, okay, so maybe I was a little guilty of that but mostly it was because Luke was preoccupied with every single camper who had a bone to pick with him. He'd let Clarisse beat the crap out of him sure (and he'd spent two days in the infirmary for that), but that was a special case; for all other battles he'd taken up a weapon and settled things properly in the arena. It didn't matter if it was one on one or a dozen against one. In the end, he'd generally been forgiven, or at the very least earned the other campers' respect.
I, on the other hand, spent a lot of time with Blackjack and the other Pegasi. If not, then I would be at the beck-and-call of the newly instated Oracle. Rachel was eager to help around Camp; I was something of a sidekick-slash-tour guide-slash-babysitter. I also spent a good portion of my days asleep; it was either Rachel or Nico who'd alert me when it was dinnertime and usually, I'd fall right back to bed after dinner. I don't think I have a legitimate reason for attending the sing-along tonight, really.
"So what made you join the party?"
Luke, once again, was a welcome interruption to my thoughts. I hadn't realized that the song had changed but then again I was never really listening from the start. I met Luke's clear blue gaze and offered a smile. "No idea."
He raised a brow at me, lips quirking in a bemused grin but he didn't press for further answers.
Given all the drama I'd caused back at throne room at Mt. Olympus, I thought he'd be more… questioning but I suppose he's still processing things. I'm not in a hurry myself.
"You'd be going back for the upcoming school year, aren't you? High school sophomore, right?"
Luke was staring straight at the bonfire, its bright blue light doing wonders to his profile.
"Yeah, for once I'd be going to the same school for two years in a row… Goode High School." I could've kept my response to 'Yeah' but some part of me was craving for a proper conversation with Luke.
"I'm glad to hear that." Luke smiled, his eyes soft as he turned to face me but there was something wrong in the picture. It wasn't that he was faking his sentiment… it's just that... his smile seemed more on the sad side than the happy one.
"I ran away in the middle of third grade," Luke continued in a more subdued tone, a self-deprecating expression clouding his features. "Six years on the streets and five years at Camp Half-Blood before going on a world-domination tour for four."
… Okay… What is with all the sudden info? Given that I already sort of knew those things, I honestly had no idea how I was supposed to respond to that. With Luke laying out a profile like that, he was clearly sending a neon-lighted message but I wasn't sure –
Luke tore his eyes away from mine. "This… camp life is the most normal kind of life I've had and I can't live at Camp forever… I don't know my place in the outside world – or if I even have a place out there."
The far-off expression hadn't left Luke and that's when his words finally sunk in.
Oh.
Neither of us spoke for a long moment.
It was scary how much I suddenly didn't want the sing-along to end. Only a week ago I was ready to strike Luke down and now I was practically soaking up his mere presence. I shifted in my seat, my whole body turned towards him and I wet my dry lips.
"Luke–"
"I don't deserve anything from you, Percy Jackson," Luke turned to me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "I tried to end you and everything you loved."
I was going to protest but Luke lifted a finger against my lips, silencing me immediately.
"But if you'd have me–"
"Yes. I want you." I could feel my cheeks burning and it's not fair how Luke easily took my words in stride.
"Then you'd have to let me get up on my own feet, carry out my own choices." He looked at me hard for a few seconds but his gaze softened in the end. "I was ready to die back there. After everything I've done, hell probably wouldn't be enough of a punishment… but you changed all that." His right hand cupped my cheek and I couldn't help but lean into his warmth. "I had made the worst possible decisions before and this extended life you'd allowed me – I guess this is where I'm supposed to make up for all of those wrong choices."
My first thought was that Luke must've been practicing this speech. The second thing that came to my mind was that I wasn't just going to let Luke get off the hook so easily. I put my left hand over his right, pulling his hand away from my cheek as I scooted closer. We locked gazes as I placed his right hand on my waist.
"Okay," I said, "Make a choice."
A sly demeanor took over Luke, a mischievous glint was suddenly present his eyes. "Well now that's not fair at all."
I shivered at his words, inadvertently moving closer; I could practically feel the sparks of tension ignite in and around my body.
"Are you cold?" Luke asked, hand gripping my waist tighter as he closed the gap between us. He raised his other hand to cradle my jaw, leaning down to press our foreheads together.
I could hear the blood rushing in my ears, the pace of my heartbeats was quickly ascending, my trembling hands settled on his shoulders as the reality of what was going to happen made me light-headed… "Not really," I breathed, eyes slipping shut.
Our lips met and it was like submerging underwater – everything else apart from Luke and me faded into unintelligible noises. I was lost in a feeling of utter bliss, anchored only by the solid presence of Luke on my lips, around my waist, surrounding me completely. Luke's thumb was stroking my cheek and I couldn't help the moan that broke out of me; I could feel the smirk on his lips as we parted.
Eyes at half-masts, Luke wore a tiny quirk of a smile as he nipped at my lips with butterfly kisses. I couldn't believe how this was actually happening right now. I had to bring him back down for a second kiss just to convince myself that I wasn't dreaming.
Vaguely, my brain supplied that this was my first proper kiss. No offense to the girls but they did catch me off-guard and I didn't actually respond to them but this… this was just… something.
A pointed cough had us slowly pulling apart - looking to a seat three rows down where Nico was staring back with one arm draped over the back of his seat, wearing a testy grin. "You two might want to find a more private place for that…" He gave a nod indicating the rest of the amphitheater full of demigods.
Luke moved back and lifted both his hands as though in surrender before acting out a mock salute to Nico. "Yes, sir, private quarters it is." Then he turned to me and grasped my hand, winking as he whispered. "I do believe we just shattered the innocence of a twelve-year-old son of Hades."
That had me chuckling; I laced our fingers together as I stood up. "Come on…"
Hand in hand, Luke and I went down the side pathway of the amphitheater, turning more than a few heads as we passed and even getting a two-fingered salute from Nico. It was possible that every eye was on us as we left but neither Luke nor I bothered to check.
