heey everyone! did everyone have a good Halloween? who went out trick or treating? I did! :) I got so much candy and spent all of today pigging out during classes :P anyway on with the story! and I forgot to mention this last time, but I really appreciate the reviews you guys! keep 'em coming!
disclaimer: I do not own any of these lovely people I am writing about...except Val and Clara of course ;)
Chapter 9
Clara's point of view
I watched with everyone else as Val stomped out of the room.
"Well…" there was an awkward silence as thick as cement until Leo blurted, "Hey, why don't I go show Clara around?"
No one disagreed, so Leo jumped out of his chair and took my hand.
"Awesome!"
He dragged me out of the room mumbling about how moody people were such downers.
"So where do you want to go first?"
"Ahh…" I glanced around and thought I saw something that might prove interesting. "Is that an archery range?"
"You bet," he grinned. "You do archery?"
I nodded and he led me down the hill towards the range.
"You any good?" he lifted his eyebrows expectantly.
"I am," I sniffed. "Does that surprise you? 'Cause you look surprised."
"Well," he shrugged. "Your arms look a bit too tiny to pull the string," he grinned and mimed having difficulty's drawing an arrow.
"For your information, I manage just fine. Besides," I swatted at his scrawny arm. "You're just as scrawny as I am!"
Leo gasped dramatically, drawing his hands to his neck for extra effect.
"Are you insulting my scrawniness?"
I honestly wasn't sure how to answer that, so I just stared at him blankly.
He laughed and mused, "If I recall correctly, you were the one checking me out while I was missing certain articles of clothing earlier-"
I gasped. "Was not!"
"Not to mention that scrawny is so the new ripped. And I invented the scrawny." Leo bragged.
"Oh pu-leas!" I cried. "Checking you out? I barely even noticed you were a guy!"
"Hey!"
"HA!"
"But seriously, how can you even shoot?"
"It's not that hard…"
"Yeah? Well I bet you I could shoot better than you!"
"Oh really?"
"Yep! In fact…" Leo grinned mischievously and cracked his knuckles. "Care to make it interesting?"
"Like, a bet?"
"Yes a bet, Blondie! Or are you too scared?" he taunted.
I turned up my nose and huffed, "Fine! I'll whoop your ass! But what do I get when I win?"
"You mean if," Leo shrugged. "You pick."
"Fine." I tugged on the tips of my hair and thought hard about what I wanted when I won. I wanted to make it something good, because I was confident in my ability to out-shoot this scrawny little mechanic. "That's it!" I cried. "When I win-"
"You mean if."
"-I want you to build me a mansion up to my standards in New York City right next to the biggest shopping mall there is."
I crossed my arms and gave Leo a smug look as he stared dumbfounded at me.
"That's totally ridicules!" he protested. "Pick something else!"
"Fine!" I huffed. "I want…a silver bracelet. There was this really pretty interlocking one I saw while I was shopping with Val, but I didn't have enough money for. I want one like that," I explained.
"Fine," Leo agreed. "But if I win…" he gave me a devilish smile that made me kind of nervous. "I get to take you on a picnic."
"…A…picnic?"
"Yeah! For dinner. We can grab some grub and a blanket and have a picnic on the beach," he explained. He seemed calm enough to me, but then I noticed his hands fidgeting nervously behind his back, and I wondered, Is he asking me out? Because, that's what it sounded like.
"You mean…like a date?" I had to get some clarification here, or else it would end up being pretty awkward if one of us thought it was a date and the other didn't.
Leo blushed and looked towards the forest.
"I don't know…maybe…"
Aww, he's so cute when he's nervous!
Oh, umm, what? Did I just think that?
Ok so, he basically just asked me out…what was I supposed to say? Did I want to say yes? Should I say yes? I mean, sure he was cute, but…oh, who am I kidding. I wanted to say yes. I really didn't care if I'd only met him that morning. He was cute and funny and…and I probably wouldn't have to go through with it anyway. I would totally win.
"Fine. If you win I'll go on a date with you this evening."
"Yes!" Leo did a fist pump and bobbed enthusiastically the rest of the way to the archery range.
When we got there, he deposited me next to an array of bows and told me I was able to choose from whichever one I wanted.
"I'm just gonna run up to my cabin and grab mine!" he called over his shoulder as he jogged off.
I browsed the rack and admired all the different bows there were. They were mostly simple ones which I figured meant that these were like training bows, and anyone could just come along and use them. But even though they were simple, they were beautiful. Long and slender and gracefully curved, some were silver and others were gold and some were a multitude of different colours.
I chose an especially beautiful royal blue and gold bow and tested out the weight. There was an old fashion quiver (you know, the kind that you wear like an over-the-shoulder purse) with matching arrows that came with it, so I slung it over my back and nocked one.
I aimed carefully at the closest target from where I was standing off to the side of the range. I let the arrow fly, and it whistled through the air.
I didn't expect much from the shot, because I was standing off to the side and had a weird angle on the targets, but my arrow impaled itself on the inside of the blue ring none the less.
Hmm, pretty good.
Leo sure was taking a long time. I decided to move more into position and take some practice shots.
I stood at a little marker about twenty feet from the target and pulled back the string. I let it go and my arrow flew straight. This time, it hit inside the red ring, the one just outside the bullseye. I frowned and nocked another arrow, planning to send it straight through the center like I'd only done a handful of times before.
Just as I loosed my arrow, Leo yelled from not far behind me, "Hey, Blondie! I got it!"
My arrow went wide and embedded itself in the dirt behind the target. I spun around and pouted at Leo as he strutted up to me.
"Ready?"
"For someone who's about to lose, you're awfully cocky," I commented lightly. "Who's going first?"
"You can,"
"Fine," I sniffed.
Leo grinned and fidgeted behind me as I aimed for the bullseye. With a deep breath and as much concentration as I could muster, I let my arrow fly and prayed to Artemis and Apollo that my arrow would hit center.
I held my breath until the arrow made contact.
"Ha! Beat that!" I yelled and jumped up and down, clutching the bow to my chest and grinning like Leo.
My arrow hit just to the left of the bullseye. It was in the yellow, and I seriously doubted Leo could hit a bullseye, which was the only way he would win this and score a date with me.
Silver bracelet, here I come!
Leo didn't look in the least bit worried though, he just sauntered up to the line and lined himself up to shoot. He looked awkward and unused to the weapon. It seemed totally alien to him, almost like he'd never even picked one up before other than to make it.
That made me feel better. There was no way he'd even hit the target! I would so win this thing.
Leo shot the opposite way I did, so I could see that had his tongue stuck out of his mouth in concentration, and one eye shut tight and his nose all screwed up adorably. No way he'd make it.
He loosed the arrow, and it did the last thing I expected. It whizzed straight by my arrow and stuck right into the bullseye. Seriously though! I would have been less surprised if the arrow actually turned around in midair and killed me where I was standing behind him. But it actually hit dead center. And that meant…oh no.
"Oh, yeah!" Leo hollered, throwing his hands in the air victoriously and parading around me several times while I stood frozen, staring at the target.
"What? How…I don't-" I spluttered unintelligently until I finally blurted, "How did you do that?"
Leo slammed on the braked and spun around to grin at me.
"I'm just amazing like that!"
I squeaked and ran up to the target in hopes that it was just an illusion or something. Maybe Leo's arrow wasn't the one on the bullseye. Maybe it was the…what was it called? The mist? Maybe it was the mist that made it look like Leo's arrow was there, but it was actually behind the range in the dirt.
I reached out and yanked it from the target in desperation and examined it in my hands.
Nope. Definitely not an illusion.
"So…" Leo slung his arm around my shoulders and leaned ever so slightly on me, wiggling his eyebrows and grinning. "I guess that means we've got a date…" his grin just got wider and wider.
"Oh, fine!" I grumbled, shoving the arrow at him and shrugging off his arm and marching away.
I picked up my discarded bow and tossed it back where I got it along with the quiver of arrows. Leo trailed behind me, plucking the other arrows from the targets and the dirt, grinning like he'd just won the lotto the whole time.
I felt my face heat up as he grabbed my hand and towed me in the direction I thought the dining pavilion was in.
"Great! We'll just snag some food…get a blanket…no one will even notice," he promised.
"Okay…"
When we reached the dining pavilion Leo motioned for me to stay put. Then he strolled up to the pavilion and disappeared from view. Despite Leo's warning, I couldn't help but creep closer. I wanted to see all the demigod campers together.
There were like, three marble steps up so that the floor of the pavilion was a little over two feet above the actual ground. I sat on the grass by one of the columns and peeked over the edge.
Leo was strutting up through the middle of a bunch of big tables filled with laughing kids from about ages ten to collage aged kids. He pointed at some people and grinned, and shouted to someone, "Eh, Jason!" and generally caused a big ruckus. Kids looked over, and some called out greetings, but most just rolled their eyes and smiled slightly before turning back to their meals. When Leo reached a table filled with big, burly kids and started talking and joking with them, I decided to look around more closely for Val.
I realized that the tables must be sorted by the campers' godly parent. So if Leo was a son of Hephaestus, those must be his brothers and sisters he was talking to.
And over there, the kids all decked out in tons of makeup and more pink than I'd ever seen in one place before must be the Aphrodite kids. They all looked plastic and totally fake, but there was one girl sitting on the end who caught my eye. She was really pretty, but in a naturel way. With choppy brown hair and no makeup, and only wearing jeans and a standard orange camp t-shirt.
I caught sight of Percy lounging at a table he had all to himself, and Annabeth who was sitting with a group of other kids who all had blond hair and intelligent grey eyes as well.
The boy who Leo called out to before was also sitting by himself near what I assumed was the head table, where Chiron stood in centaur form and a pudgy guy with curly dark hair and an extreme fashion faut pas sat. I mean, who wears leopard print like that anyway?
I continued to scan over the tables, and I noticed one completely empty one in the back corner. I wonder if that could be the Hades table?
Well…Nico and Val aren't here…interesting…
I looked back at Leo who was receiving pounds on the back and high fives and a few astonished looks from eavesdropping campers at surrounding tables.
So much for no one even noticing.
He grinned at his siblings and gathered up a ton of delicious looking food in a basket that he seemed to have gotten while I wasn't paying attention to him, and turned to leave. I scuttled back to where I was supposed to wait and stayed there until Leo came parading back down the little hill.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Does it matter?" I whined.
"Nope!"
He offered me his arm with a sly smile and I reluctantly took it. We walked for a few minutes until we reached the beach.
"I would take off my shoes if I were you," Leo advised, putting the basket down to unlace his boots. Apparently he'd changed since we got back to camp (I'm guessing while he was at his cabin? I'm not very observative so I didn't really notice) and was wearing a pair of ripped up and charred jeans with the red shirt I bought him and a pair of tan work boots with red laces. And not to forget his precious tool belt.
I unzipped my black boots and hopped around trying to pull my socks off. Leo laughed and steadied me when I hopped in his direction.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
"No need," he informed me with a cute smile.
We stuffed our socks in our boots and walked across the beach, hunting for the perfect picnic spot.
"We shouldn't go too far so that we are still inside the border," Leo mussed, gazing down the beach. It extended farther than I could see, and with the late afternoon sun glinting off the water it was really pretty. "I guess here is good?" he looked at me for confirmation, so I just smiled nervously and nodded.
His lips twitched and he put down the basket and pulled out a blanket to spread over the sand.
Phew. For a minute there I thought I would have to sit on the sand. And I was seriously not in the mood to have to dig sand out of my pants.
"So, this is alright?" Leo checked again.
I nodded kind of awkwardly.
Thing is, I'd never been on a date before, and I wasn't really sure how to act. And at the moment, I wasn't sure if I should sit, or help Leo set out the food or something. I ended up just plunking down at the top of the blanket and fiddling with my hands in my lap while I watched Leo collapse on the blanket beside me with the basket.
"So," he started rifling through it and talking at the same time, so his voice came out muffled. "I wasn't sure what you like, so I brought a bunch of different things. Let's see…we've got…burgers…" he pulled himself out of the basket and peered over at me. I wrinkled my nose and shook my head quickly. "Okay, umm…wait you're not a vegetarian are you? 'Cause if you are I'm sure I've got something here, but-"
"No! Don't worry, I'm not. I'm just not a fan of burgers." I assured him.
"Okay, good. Cause I would have had to run back to the pavilion and I would have felt bad about leaving you here," he sounded relieved, and not even like he was making up some crap like some guys do to try and sound cute or nice to their dates. "Anyway," he continued, diving back into the basket. "We've also got…some sandwiches, a salad, what the heck? How'd this get in here?" he pulled out a rubber ball about the size of a basketball, like an oversized dog toy. He shrugged and tossed it over his shoulder. "And last thing…cheese pizza. Anything you like?" he asked hopefully, looking at me with big brown eyes.
"I like pizza…" I offered.
"Great!" Leo exclaimed and grabbed two slices of cheese pizza. He handed me one and I unwrapped the saran wrap and tentively took a bite, testing the flavour. Leo took a big bite and chewed it happily, looking out across the ocean. I chewed thoughtfully and decided that it tasted really, really good.
"This is delicious!" I muttered around my next mouthful. "It tastes just like the pizza that my family usually has!"
He swallowed and grinned.
"Yup, that's how our awesome enchanted food works here at Camp Half-Blood!" he gestured vaguely in the direction of the pavilion. "Oh! That reminds me," he reached his free hand back into the basket and pulled out two goblets. "Drinks!" he announced, handing me one proudly.
I peered into it suspiciously and said, "It's empty."
"Well duh," Leo laughed. "Just tell it what you want to drink, and it magically fills up."
I stared at him skeptically for a minute before deciding to give it a try.
"I'm going to feel totally stupid," I announced. "But…coke."
I half expected nothing to happen and for Leo to laugh at me and say how stupid I was for thinking that talking to a goblet would get me a drink. But after a second, it was like the coke was being poured from an invisible pitcher and it filled right to the top.
"Whoa…" I breathed, examining the goblet from the outside and smelling the liquid experimentally.
I looked over at Leo when he laughed at me. He was lounging with his legs out and ankles crossed and one arm propping him up in an upright position. He was giving me a weird look as he sipped at his drink and watched me.
"It's not poison, you know," he told me with a smile.
I huffed and took a big sip just to prove that I wasn't scared to drink my strange, appearing-out-of-thin-air coke.
"Good?" Leo asked knowingly.
"Good," I agreed, taking another gulp.
Leo laughed and finished off whatever he was drinking.
I munched on my pizza and gazed across the ocean towards the slowly setting sun. It was the perfect evening for a picnic, and despite the slight tension in the air, I was enjoying myself. Leo was so sweet and funny, it was so adorable.
"So," Leo ventured, looking at me slyly from the corner of his eyes. "How 'bout we play some Twenty Questions?"
"You're on," I giggled.
Leo grinned and announced, "I'll start!" he tapped his chin and gazed at the sky thoughtfully. He shrugged and told me, "We'll start with an easy one. What's your favourite food?"
"Umm, maybe steak…or tacos…or mashed potatoes…" I mused.
Leo gave me a strange look and laughed, "Really?"
"What? A girl's gotta eat!" I cried defensively, causing him to laugh harder.
"Whatever," he chuckled. "I make some pretty wicked tacos
you know, maybe I could make you some sometime."
I blushed and mumbled, "Maybe…so what do you like?"
"I'd definitely say tacos," Leo laughed. "I think after making them so often on quests I've really acquired a taste for them."
"How 'bout you're favourite animal?" I asked.
Leo grinned a little bit sadly.
"Dragons. Defiantly dragons. You?"
"Big cats or canines, I guess."
For the next half an hour at least we asked each other questions and answered them ourselves. They were funny, pointless questions like favourite colour, favourite mythical creature, favourite movie and favourite sport. We figured out that autumn was both our favourite season and that apparently I was way too easily embarrassed just because when Leo asked me what my most embarrassing moment was, I told him that it was the time I tripped on my own two feet in front of my whole class at school. Leo's was much more embarrassing, I've got to admit (walking in on your two best friends making out when you're supposed to be hanging out would be pretty embarrassing), but I'm just a little more prone to embarrassment I guess.
"Oh, I've got one," Leo exclaimed, leaning towards me a bit. "Have you ever kissed anyone?" he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me, and I squealed, "Leoooo…" and pushed his head away, flopping down on the sand to the opposite side.
"Oh, c'mon, Blondie!" Leo laughed, leaning over me. "What is it? What's the matter?" he teased.
"Nothing!" I promised, sitting up to try and hide my bright red face. "But, no, I haven't."
"Hmm, me neither," Leo mused, sliding in close to me. "Maybe we could-"
"Leo!" I squealed, swatting at him.
He laughed and returned to his side of our small blanket.
"Relax, Blondie," he chuckled. "I'm just joking."
He stretched out on the blanket rested his head on his hands and crossed his ankles again.
"So, do you have any siblings or anything? Besides the ones here I mean," I peered over at him curiously after I got over my immense embarrassment. In fact, I'm pretty sure that what just happened was a serious contender for my most embarrassing moment now.
Leo's answer was strangely flat and un-Leo like.
"No."
I shifted closer to him and tried again.
"How 'bout parents? Do you live with your mom when you're not here?"
Leo stiffened and I immediately regretted opening my mouth. He seemed so different all of a sudden, almost fragile.
"Leo…?" I slid in next to him and fingered the hem of his t-shirt as I gazed down at his face, waiting for some response.
His impish features seemed to smooth out, and he inhaled deeply. As he opened his eyes and looked up at me, they seemed to shine just a bit as if they were wet…
"Are you ok?" I asked gently.
Instead of answering, Leo jumped to his feet and held out a hand for me, his tense, sad expression replaced by a somewhat forced light and teasing one.
"C'mon Blondie, I'll show you the forge."
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