Travis had left with Katie after knowing that Madeline was okay after her encounter with Clarisse. Before he left, he turned and gave his little brother a wink when Madeline wasn't looking. Connor swatted in his direction, telling him to leave. Imagine if Madeline had seen-
"What was that for?" she chuckled, imitating his flailing.
"There was a bee," Connor answered, not making eye contact as he covered his embarrassment.
"So, has she always been like that? Clarisse?" Madeline asked.
"The whole time I've known Clarisse, yes," replied Connor. "Don't worry, it's really nothing personal. She tries to maim almost everyone now and then."
"That's good to know," Madeline mused. She picked up her breastplate. After spinning around for a moment, she asked in a confused tone, "Where's my helmet?" Connor thought about it for a moment before gesturing towards the bush that held the helmet Clarisse had kicked.
"It's so strange," Madeline said as she walked over to the bush.
"What is?"
"Oh, it's just that she always seemed so calm to me is all," Madeline joked. He watched as she bent over into the large bush to pick up the discarded helmet, smirking and noticing her nice shape through the jeans she was wearing. She turned and dusted off the helmet, knitting her eyebrows together and frowning down at it. Connor quickly turned around and ran his fingers through his curly hair, trying to look casual.
"Ready?" she chimed. Connor just nodded, pretty sure that his voice would give him away, and they left the arena.
They walked around camp, laughing and having light conversations. They came up to the Aphrodite cabin, making sure to avoid the Ares kids and their cabin. And their weapons. Connor knocked on the door, only for show though, since nobody was really in the cabin. He barely waited a second before opening the door and letting himself in. Madeline placed her helmet and breastplate down on the floor, surprised at how tidy the place looked, considering there was a battle only yesterday. There were potted flowers everywhere, frilly pillows, posters of famous models and actors, and all things frivolous.
"This place is…well decorated," noted Madeline, observing the room that made her woozy with all its...charm? Madeline didn't follow Connor down the hall, so she stood there in the middle of the main room, waiting awkwardly.
"We probably shouldn't be in here," she said nervously, thinking back to the ferociousness that the Aphrodite girls were capable of. They might not physically harm the boys they try to seduce, but she had a feeling they would have no problem with her.
"I think we'll be fine," Connor answered, along with the noise of him scrimmaging through some stuff. Madeline contemplated whether or not she should follow him. After a few campers passed by the ajar doorway, she got nervous, despite the fact that they weren't paying her any attention, and went to join Connor.
"Did you find the shield?" asked Madeline, hinting at him to hurry up. Connor stopped the search he was doing through one of the closets and turned around, looking baffled. "I can't think of where these girls put their armor. They may have actually gotten rid of them," he said, shaking his head.
"We could come back later instead of going through their stu-," Madeline began, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor of the cabin. The footsteps grew louder as they got closer to the room Madeline and Connor were in, searching through the Aphrodite girls' possessions. Madeline stared in anticipation with a blank face at the door. Connor just leaned against the wall and smiled. A group of about ten girls walked into the room, chattering and gossiping at first, but then stopping once they realized they had guests.
"Hello," one of the girls said, not sounding amused, though she threw a perfect smile at Connor. The rest of the girls followed suit, their mouths dripping venom.
"Hello ladies," said Connor, taking on a whole new exterior. He looked relaxed and seductive, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest and sporting a cocky smirk. Madeline studied him while he flirted with the girls, intrigued at how naturally it came to him. When he was with Madeline, he acted like he was with his brother, nothing like this side of him.
'Smooth moves,' applauded Madeline in her head as she watched the girls; they were annoyed with him, she knew, but no one could deny he was a good looking boy. She'd heard talk around Camp about the Stoll brothers being players, but this was the first time she was really seeing it. She could understand why the girls' icy exterior began to thaw; Connor had luscious curly brown hair, gorgeous sparkly blue eyes, and a dazzling white smile that seemed to be forever on his face. He was also tall and had the perfect amount of muscle, lean but still obviously strong. Madeline backed away, unacknowledged, from the girls and Connor, not really sure what to do. She knew she shouldn't interrupt the Aphrodite girls, but she did anyway.
"I'm sorry, but do you girls have any extra armor lying around? If you could just point me in the direction of a shield my size, I'll leave you guys alone," she said, waving her hands to get their attention. Connor turned his gaze to Madeline, surprised to see her holding back laughter as she bit her bottom lip.
'That didn't go as planned,' Connor pouted mentally, standing up straight to look at Madeline and how she was smirking.
"Sure," one of the girls responded. "Follow me." Madeline turned to look at Connor quickly before leaving the room, raising both her eyebrows and widening her eyes. He just watched as she left the room, a few other girls following. Madeline followed the group of girls to a closet in the back corner of the main room.
"What are you and Connor up to?" one of the girls demanded, ditching her blinding smile.
"I'm really sorry for coming into your cabin without permission. He just thought this would be the best place to find extra armor," replied Madeline apologetically. Though they all maintained their severe facial expressions, one girl opened the closet door and handed Madeline a shield. She gingerly took the piece of metal armor and then headed towards the hallway where Connor was on the opposite end of. She beckoned him over and they quickly exited the cabin together, her picking up all her armor and him shutting the door behind them. Madeline waited until they were a few yards away from the cabin before she let out a round of nervous laughter. Connor couldn't help but joining her. Her laughter was contagious.
"What's that for?" he asked.
"I just really hope I'm not on a team with those girls tonight," she answered.
"Capture the Flag starts in an hour," a camper announced to the general public as they passed by.
"It'd better if you're teammates, that way they won't sabotage you. Maybe. Nervous yet?" Connor asked her, nudging her with his shoulder. He noticed her lingering gaze as she followed the announcer with her eyes.
"Maybe," she admitted. "How abnormal does it really get, you know, with weapons involved and all?"
Connor continued walking, Madeline following behind, and answered, "On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd say insane."
"Fantastic," mumbled Madeline as they walked onward. He knew she would get over her fear and eventually come to love Capture the Flag, like him and every other camper. It would be good for her.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," encouraged Connor, getting a scoff from Madeline.
She rolled her eyes and replied, "You make it seem as if there's not a possibility of me getting killed."