Chapter 36

Skye

The fireworks display in front of the entire camp was amazing.

Different rainbows of colors varying from the brightest reds to the deepest blues danced over the sky, creating vast paintings in the clouds.

Skye tried her hardest to pay attention to the display of fireworks, but Connor had placed his arm around her a few moments ago, and she was almost ready to explode. Her heart was hammering against her chest, but she tried not to let it show as Connor kept his arm around her shoulders.

They were lying on the blue picnic blanket that Connor had brought. The air was slightly chilly, but comfortable, and Skye had to admit that when Connor wrapped his arm around her, she grew significantly warmer.

Campers were laughing, dancing, and just relaxing as the display continued. Skye spotted Fletcher and Reyna a few feet away from them, and she smiled at the sight. She didn't know how Fletcher and Reyna would work out, but she was happy for her brother.

She spotted Piper and Jason laughing together with Leo, and she smiled at the trio. She had known them from school, and was good friends with Piper, but now she would have to say that they were on a whole different level.

She smiled when she saw Percy carrying Annabeth around on his back, and she didn't seem to appreciate the gesture, seeing as she was kicking and punching him, to get him to put her down. Although the smile on her face alleviated any connotation that she was mad.

Before Skye knew what she was doing, she had snuggled closer to Connor as a cool gust of wind blew by. When she realized what she had done, her cheeks became warm and red, but Connor only tightened his grip on her, and her nerves deflated.

She closed her eyes, only hearing the soft sounds of Connor breathing and the fireworks exploding above her.

"You're beautiful," Connor suddenly breathed out, and Skye's eyes shot open. He was looking at her like she was a piece of artwork, and his eyes darted over her facial features. Skye was pretty sure her face turned the color of the red fireworks that were exploding above her.

"No, I'm not," she laughed nervously, and started playing with a loose strand of the blanket that Connor had brought. Connor kept a serious face as he brushed back a loose strand of Skye's hair. This time she looked up and met his eyes and as his fingers grazed her cheek she felt like her heart had fluttered at the same speed of a hummingbird's wings.

"You are," he said softly, and they were so close that Skye felt like she was being drawn to him. Almost like a magnet.

His eyes flickered to her lips, and before she knew it, he was kissing her, soft and sweet. His hand cupped her cheek, and her arms snaked their way around his neck.

She had kissed boys before (Percy being one of them…but let's not go down that path) but this kiss with Connor was more explosive than the fireworks above them. Ha, cliché.

His lips were soft, but had a rough part to them, and he smelled like a mixture of cinnamon and AXE which didn't exactly sound appealing, but when Skye smelt it, she felt like she could bury her face in his torso for the rest of her life.

When he pulled away, he rested his forehead against hers, and Skye laughed nervously.

"That was…"

"Wow."

"Yeah."

They both ended up laughing, and Skye nestled her head back onto his chest, more comfortably this time as he wrapped his arm around her. He held her close to him, and Skye closed her eyes with a faint smile dancing on her lips.

That kiss was better than any sort of firework.

Fletcher

As if Fletcher wasn't nervous enough, Reyna seemed to want to keep her distance. Or so it felt like.

All around them, couples were cuddling, kissing, or being a little more than PG-13, but every time Fletcher tried to move closer to Reyna, she didn't respond. Her eyes were glued onto the fireworks above, and a small faint smile was playing on her lips.

Fletcher thought she didn't look more beautiful.

She turned and caught him staring, and blushed slightly.

"What are you looking at?" she asked gently, and Fletcher's heart hammered against his chest.

"You look beautiful," he whispered, and Reyna's cheeks flushed as she looked down in embarrassment. Fletcher took this as the initiative to lift her chin, and she took a jagged breath as he did so.

A firework the color of cotton candy exploded above them at that moment, and Fletcher noticed that Reyna was slowly moving closer to him. His eyes flickered to her lips, as did hers to his, and soon they were both leaning in slowly.

Right before his lips brushed hers, she froze.

Fletcher looked up and noticed the look of confliction on her face. She pulled back slightly, and Fletcher felt his heart sink.

"I'm…I'm sorry," she said, and stood up before rushing off. Fletcher stared in astonishment at the place where she had originally sat before he stood up and raced after her. His heart was in the pit of his stomach by now, but he followed her back to camp and the cabins.

The grass was cold against his feet, but Fletcher didn't care. He saw Reyna a few yards in front of him, as she stopped in front of the Big House, and froze right before the steps.

"Reyna!" Fletcher called out, and he noticed how she tensed. She subconsciously started braiding her hair, the way that she usually wore it, but she didn't turn to face him. And the fact that she didn't deflated any sort of hope Fletcher had for the two of them.

"Fletcher, I think it's best if you leave," Reyna spoke as Fletcher neared her. It was almost as if she could sense him coming towards her, and Fletcher stared at her with a look in his eyes that would have been heartbreaking to anyone else.

"Why?" he asked breathlessly. He couldn't help but feel like this was Annemarie all over again.

Stop it. Reyna and Annemarie aren't the same person.

But when Reyna turned and faced him, and that look in her eyes sent Fletcher's heart spiraling downwards, he couldn't help but feel like his heart was about to burst, the same way it had when Annemarie ended things with him so many months before.

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"Don't be," Fletcher laughed bitterly. "I get it."

Reyna frowned at him, and turned fully this time so they were facing each other. She ran a hand under her braid as she did so and shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

"I'm afraid I don't understand," she said while raising her eyebrows at him. Fletcher ran a hand through his already disheveled hair and chuckled with no humor behind it.

"You're not interested, it's not you it's me, blah blah blah, the usual," he said, spitting it out more harshly than he had expected to. "Trust me, Reyna. Save your breath, I've heard this all before."

Reyna frowned, and opened her mouth to speak, but it was like the words got caught in her throat.

"But it's not like that-"

"I know when I'm being rejected," Fletcher said and started to turn on his heel, but Reyna caught his wrist in the process. As soon as her hand came in contact with his wrist, Fletcher's head dropped in shame. He shouldn't speak to a girl the way that he had. His mother had raised him and Skye to treat people with respect, and he had been rude to Reyna.

"I'm sorry," he said as he turned and met her soft brown eyes.

"Don't be," she said, "I'm sorry for running away…but you have to understand that…we can't be together."

Fletcher let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding, and looked down at his feet, suddenly very interested in the ground and his shoes. The fireworks still illuminated the sky, but Fletcher was less than interested in it.

They stood in silence for a few moments, the only noise being the cracking fireworks and the cheering of campers in the distance.

"Can I ask why?" Fletcher asked while looking up at her. He spoke softly, breathlessly as he did so, and Reyna fidgeted under his gaze.

"Aphrodite came to me a while before," she said gently, and Fletcher noticed the way she played absentmindedly with the ends of her braid. "She said that a demigod could never heal my heart."

Fletcher chewed on his bottom lip, and let out a sigh. He had really started to like Reyna, too.

"I'm sorry," she said, "but you are a demigod, and Aphrodite is the love goddess…I just…I think that it is wise not to get involved or else we will both just end up hurt in the end."

Fletcher nodded. She was right, and he knew she was right, but he still couldn't push back the disappointment that had filled his heart.

"I understand," he said gently, and Reyna smiled weakly.

"I really am sorry-"

"Don't be," Fletcher said, and forced a smiled onto his face. "You're a great girl, Reyna. I'm sure you'll find someone who will heal your heart. Even if it's not a demigod."

Reyna smiled at that. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Reyna looked up at the sky when another firework went off, creating the words in the air that read; We are all family, and we will all be there for each other

Fletcher and Reyna both smiled before Fletcher gestured towards the beach.

"Want to head back?" he asked, and then caught himself. "Only as friends, of course."

Reyna smiled and nodded at him.

"I'd like that."

Percy

Annabeth had nestled her head in the crook of Percy's neck as they laid on the green blanket that Annabeth had brought with her. Percy would have brought one, but Annabeth insisted that he would forget…she was right.

Either way, it didn't matter. Percy was content as the girl that he loved laid in his arms and the summer night was as perfect as summer nights can get. The stars were shining brightly in the sky, and Percy could swear that he saw them twinkling at him, greeting him.

Annabeth smelled like lemons, as she always did, and Percy swears that he could never get enough of that wonderful scent of hers.

She stirred in his arms, and turned to look at him as the fireworks display came to a close.

"I love you," she murmured, induced with a tired voice. Percy grinned and kissed her forehead lovingly.

"I love you, too."

Annabeth smiled, obviously too tired to continue on with the conversation, and she closed her eyes with a smile on her face. Percy loved the way she looked when she slept. It may sound creepy to anyone else, but she closed her eyes ever so softly, and her blonde curls spread out around her face. She would usually have a small smile on her face, and would curl up next to him.

Her breathing became steady, and that's when Percy knew she was asleep, so he lifted her up carefully, and carried her bridal style towards the Athena cabin. He would have normally brought her to his own cabin, but he had some business to take care of, and he didn't want to leave her alone in case she had a nightmare.

Malcolm smiled at Percy as he placed Annabeth gently down on her cot. He kissed her forehead one more time, and let his fingers linger on her arm, watching as she slept so soundlessly and peacefully in front of him.

He smiled and nodded to Malcolm before exiting the cabin and heading to the beach.

The beach had mostly cleared out by now, since the fireworks had ended and many campers were heading back to their cabins. Something caught Percy's eye as he walked, and he spotted Connor and Skye laying on their blanket still. They were asleep, and Skye was wrapped in Connor's arms as he held her close to him. Percy smiled at the sight, and continued on, not wanting to ruin their moment.

He walked towards the canoe lake, and stepped into it, not allowing himself to get wet as he did so, and headed down towards the bottom of it.

He liked to call this his thinking spot, seeing as he usually came here to get away from everything.

As soon as he was encased by the water, he felt power surge through his veins, and he smiled as fish swam by, greeting him with warm hellos. The moon illuminated a shadow in the water, and Percy looked up at it, feeling warmed by the serenity of the evening.

He walked to the bottom of the canoe lake, and sat down. He pulled his knees to his chest and closed his eyes, letting the water swirl around in his hair, and hearing the thoughts of the fish and turtles that swam by. Many of them were very comical, and earned a few laughs out of the son of Poseidon.

Percy couldn't help but feel the heaviness in his heart. He had known it had been there for a while, ever since the end of the war with Gaea, but he had tried his hardest not to acknowledge it. He was happy with his friends, and with Annabeth, but there was something troubling him, and he didn't know what that loss in his heart was.

A current caused Percy to open his eyes, and when he did, it was like Poseidon had heard his thoughts and had helped him, because standing in front of him was a hippocampus with a rather large cyclops on its back.

"Percy!" Tyson cried before jumping off of Rainbow and raced over to Percy. Percy laughed as Tyson tackled him in a hug that would put football players to shame.

"Hey big guy," Percy greeted, as Tyson finally released him from his grip.

"Daddy said that you were sad," Tyson said while grinning at him. Percy smiled sadly and rested a hand on Tyson's shoulder.

"A little bit," Percy said, "but I'm better now that you're here."

Tyson grinned and clapped like a little kid who had just received a thousand tons of candy.

"I am glad that I make you happy," Tyson said, and Percy smiled. "Where is Annabeth?"

Percy laughed lightly, and pointed up to the surface of the lake.

"She's asleep."

Tyson frowned and Percy raised an eyebrow at him, still trying to ignore that heaviness in his heart. Yes, Tyson made it better, but he couldn't ignore it forever.

"She makes you whole," Tyson spoke, as if he was reading Percy's thoughts, which in all honesty, slightly creeped Percy out a bit. He stared at Tyson and frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been sad, brother," Tyson said, "but Annabeth makes your heart whole again."

Percy smiled at his brother, and nodded.

"I guess you're right, big guy."

"Yay!" Tyson giggled, and Percy smiled before giving his brother another hug.

"I've missed you, buddy," Percy said, and Tyson only hugged Percy closer to him.

"I've missed you too, brother."

I thought that the Percy and Tyson reunion was cute and I'm hella sleepy so I'm sorry if the ending was rushed and short.

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~stay beautiful~