Artemis PoV
I smiled and hugged my now fully clothed best friend.
"I have to go to the meeting now," I mumbled as I left.
During the meeting, my brother keeled over and spewed a prophecy about how I could not remain a virgin.
Zeus tried to assign someone to me.
After several minutes of myself and the other female Olympians screaming at him, Zeus came to the worst conclusion in the history of ever.
My powers were taken, and it was a free for all.
When would my father realize I was not a piece of meat?
I ran out of the council room, bounding back to Percy's place.
It seems that word of the prophecy spread quickly because a mob of gods was trailing me.
Percy quickly pulled me inside and locked the door.
"What the hell is that?" He asked.
I bit my lip. "I have to lose my virginity, and Zeus took my powers then declared it a free for all."
"Have I told you your father is a bastard?" He asked me.
I smiled.
Then I frowned. "Percy, I really value you as a friend, and I don't want to lose you, but if I have to do this, I want it to be you."
"When do you have to lose it by?" He asked.
"Umm, the end of the month," I answered.
Percy kissed my cheek. "Good. I have time to take you on a date."
I blushed.
"How does the fair sound?" He asked.
"What's the fair?" I asked.
Percy smiled. "You'll like it."
He grabbed my hand and flashed us to a place with all sorts of rides and games.
Percy talked to a guy behind a glass wall and gave me a blue bracelet.
Lots of rides, screaming, and shaved ice later, we went to a game booth.
I threw a ball at a stack of cans and got more paper thingies.
Percy took them, saying they were like money in here.
Many games later, we found ourselves at a strongman competition.
Percy slammed the hammer down and hit the bell effortlessly.
Then I got a puppy.
I smiled, holding him. "I'm going to call you Spot"
Percy chuckled and kissed my cheek.
He took me to a pet store and got a bunch of toys, food, a collar, and a bed.
We appeared back at his place, and I placed Spot on the ground.
I kissed Percy's cheek. "Thank you."
Percy kissed me.
His tongue entered my mouth, and I moaned softly.
Percy's hands rested at my waist, while mine ran through his hair.
I pulled away for breath, blushing deeply.
Why was it so easy to look at him as my lover instead of my friend?
My thoughts were interrupted by Spot head butting Percy.
He chuckled and picked up the animal. "Look! He knows who his owner is. He's trying to protect you!"
Percy sat down on the couch, and I rested my head on his lap.
I felt Spot climb up onto my stomach and curl up.
Percy played with my hair, and I eventually fell asleep. I woke up in Percy's arms in bed.
I yawned and sat up, finding my pet curled up on his bed in the corner of the room.
Percy sat up and pulled me into his lap.
"It feels wrong to be doing this so easily," I murmured.
Percy kissed my cheek. "Just think of this as temporary. What you want us to be afterwards is up to you."
I snuggled into his chest.
"Food?" He asked.
I mumbled something he perceived as an agreement, and my temporary boyfriend summoned breakfast.
It felt wrong to think of him as temporary. He was being so kind. What was I doing?
I sighed.
I felt Percy's nose poking my cheek. "What's the matter?"
"I feel meh," I explained. "You don't know?" Percy confirmed.
I nodded.
Percy whisked away the empty trays and just held me.
After some time, I looked up and kissed him.
He kissed back.
I woke up the next morning in bed with Percy, his arms draped around me.
I could see the clothes strewn about the floor from the night before.
As I showered, I remembered that Percy too had been a virgin before last night.
I felt guilt, because I knew he had been saving his for marriage.
I stepped out of the shower and dried off. I told myself that I had to spend the rest of the month with him so that the rest of the minor gods couldn't hurt me.
I slipped on one of his shirts and a pair of his underwear before sliding back into bed.
I was woken up by my dog licking me. I sat up and rubbed Spot's head. Percy walked in with breakfast.
I set my pet back down and ate my pancakes.
Afterwards, Percy flicked on the television and we watched several movies. At some point, Percy had fallen asleep.
I ran my fingers through his hair.
"Artemis," he murmured sleepily.
My heart skipped a beat. He was still asleep. Was he dreaming about me?
My mind raced with what that could mean.
Spot jumped up onto the bed and licked Percy's face.
He opened his eyes and realized what was occurring. "Spot, down," I ordered.
My pet curled up on Percy's muscular stomach.
Percy whined playfully about being trapped.
The rest of the month passed in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately, I had grown even more attached to Percy, looking at him as a lover instead of a friend.
What's worse, I couldn't come up with a reason to stay.
Percy woke up in the morning with his arms around me as usual, kissing the top of my head.
We spent the day at the fair again, and this time Percy won me a beautiful necklace.
At the end of the day, I was staring at the door.
I thought about what would happen if I left.
What would he think of me? Was I supposed to return the gifts? Would he hate me?
Percy touched my arm, his lips brushing my ear. "Why don't you stay another night? They might need to do some last-minute renovations to your palace."
"Yeah, they might," I murmured, our faces inching closer and closer.
I felt his lips brushing mine. "Wouldn't want you to get spooked by a worker or something."
Then we kissed, my hands running through Percy's hair.
I woke up naked, in Percy's bed again.
I slipped out of bed, trying my best not to wake him.
I left Spot sleeping, and the necklace hanging on the dresser mirror.
With that, I flashed back to the master bathroom in my palace.
I cried to my heart's content as I showered. I tried sleeping, but found it too cold.
I grabbed more blankets, but it wasn't the same.
I couldn't sleep. Not without him.
I screamed and thrashed and punched and kicked, but nothing made me feel better.
Eventually, the exhaustion overtook me, and I fell asleep.
This was what I did for several weeks. I woke up in the morning to find none other than Aphrodite sitting at the foot of my bed.
"What are you doing here?" I asked weakly. "I think you know why, Artemis," The love goddess chided. "You shouldn't have left him."
"It was for the best," I lied. "It was just a fling."
"Stop lying, Artemis," Aphrodite told me. "He loves you. He's hurting."
"No," I whispered. "We're just friends."
"You love him," she stated. "You're hurting yourself. You went to him because you could trust him. You started to look at your best friend as a lover, and you liked it."
"You're wrong," I whispered. "I just needed comfort."
"You slept with him twice," Aphrodite chided. "You love him."
Then she left me to my thoughts.
I got up and got dressed, hearing the doorbell ring.
"Percy?" I asked, holding the door.
"Hey," Percy mumbled, acting as nothing had happened.
