A/N at the bottom
There was a recurring bet in Camp Half-Blood.
It had started when a group of campers were talking. The group consisted of a son of Aphrodite, a daughter of Nemesis, a daughter of Hermes and a son of Nike. One thing led to the other and, in the end, they were betting against each other (surprisingly- or not -Hermes and Aphrodite seemed to be in agreement with this).
This soon extended as a rumour around Camp and every single camper, satyr and nymph decided to get into the bet- well, not every single one, but you get what I mean.
"Pst! Connor!" Connor Stoll turned around from his 'oh-so-interesting' activity to find a daughter of Nike trying not to look suspicious for talking to him.
"What is it?" He whispered back.
"How is the poll this week?" As a reply, Connor pulled out a small brown leather notebook from his pocket and opened in the date's page.
"We have 150 drachmas, two kitchen duties free, one stable duty-free and your cabin's possibility to side with Athena on the next Capture The Flag." Connor read, completely immersed in what he was reading. "If you win, of course."
"Of course." The girl replied, rolling her eyes. "The options?" Connor focused his eyes on another column that was taking the whole page.
"Eh, we have during practice, the upcoming chariot race aaaaaand, during inspection later today."
"Add five drachmas to practice, now." Connor perked up upon hearing that and wrote down the new bet, along with the camper's name.
"Give your drachmas to Nemesis, they are withholding it until we have a winner." The girl nodded and left Connor to go back to what he was previously doing. "On second thought..." He muttered to himself before smirking and skipping to the arena. He had to push people around to get to the edge, as it seemed like all the campers.
"I heard she woke up screaming at her siblings..." Connor heard some camper whispering to her nymph friend. "You're lucky you don't sleep nearby..."
"Did you hear the rumour that she is blackmailing him?" Another one gasped and mumbled to his friend. "That's why they're dating..."
"In the mortal world, this would count as partner abuse." One stated with more seriousness. People were nodding around the person who did that last statement as if they were finally realizing what it was.
Finally, Connor reached the edge of the crowd only to be face to face with a common show:
His 22-years-old older brother, Chris Rodriguez, was being beaten up to the pulp by his girlfriend and daughter of Ares, 20-years-old Clarisse La Rue.
Alright, maybe 'beat up to the pulp' was an exaggeration, but Clarisse was clearly showing who was a better fighter.
Right now, Chris had managed to get up from the floor, the back of his clothes and his left side were covered in dirt. His right hand was holding his sword tight, using it as support to stand up. His messy brown hair was covered in sweat and sticking on the back of his head while the front dipped right in front of his eyes. He was panting, clearly trying to gather his breath while looking at his girlfriend.
Clarisse, unlike Chris, was standing there, twirling her beloved spear Maimer- Connor swore Percy Jackson still called it 'Lamer' -between her hands. She seemed like she hadn't broken a sweat, looking relaxed and slightly bored. Her slightly long brown hair, pulled back with her signature red bandanna and her clothes weren't covered in a speck of dust.
"Already out of breath, punk?" Everyone knew how Clarisse loved to boast when she was training, especially if her training partner would be weaker than her. Connor had never heard her taunting Percy or Annabeth; those two knew how to hold their ground when fighting her. However, whenever Chris trained with her, Clarisse seemed to taunt him even more. "You wouldn't last a minute in real battle..."
"Are you eager to leave a blood trail, Clarisse?" Chris managed to reply, a small smirk appearing on his face. "Should have told me so I made you scavenger hunt..." That statement made everyone tense, including Clarisse, who stopped twirling her spear and pointed it towards Chris.
"Only an idiot leaves a trail of blood. And you seem to be one..." Connor saw his brother smirk at her and stand straighter without the help of his sword.
"I'm a daughter of Hermes, Clarisse... You seem to forget that my father stole Apollo's cattle and got away with it..." His smirk got bigger while bragging about his birthrights. Clarisse rolled her eyes and grabbed both hands around her spear, which was still pointing at Chris.
"You seem well enough to talk, punk... but this ain't a chit-chat." Without warning, Clarisse charged to Chris, who barely managed to dodge the attack, blocking it with his sword. The collision of the metal was heard around over and over again, every time Chris swung his sword, Clarisse blocked him easily. Her footwork was steady and she was a wooden post, there was no way he could move her.
What no one knew, not even Clarisse, was that Chris had no intention of moving her backwards. His goal was to get as close as he could to her. His plan faltered a little when Clarisse took a chance to kick his leg open, forcing him to kneel. Gasps were heard from the crowd, while the Ares' cabin cheered at their Head Counselor.
"Are- are you hinting me something, Clary?" Chris' taunting and short-of-breath statement made several of the lookers wince and chuckle, whether at his bravery or at his stupidity. Clarisse's reaction wasn't waited for long as her face turned red as her bandanna.
"Don't. Call. Me. Clary!" She shouted at him, her spear being swung around and colliding with Chris' sword at each word as if that added emphasis to his statement.
"Aww, she didn't deny it!" Connor heard some daughters of Aphrodite squealed in delight behind him but his attention was purely focused on the battle in front of him. By now, Clarisse was looming over a kneeling Chris and it looked like she was whispering something on his ear.
To everyone's surprise, Chris was smirking and, before Clarisse could even consider taunting him, he swiped his leg behinds hers and made her fell on her back. Before she could retaliate, Chris pinned her down and placed a small knife on her throat.
The entire arena was silent. Clarisse La Rue had been defeated- unless she miraculously counterattacked in the next five seconds -by her own boyfriend with a trickery. Clarisse despised those kinds of victories and everyone could see it on her frown and in her squirming under Chris. But Chris was not giving in so easily either.
"Surrender." Chris mocked her, not moving from his position.
"You wish." Clarisse immediately swung a punch in Chris' direction who avoided it by inches. But the goal wasn't to hit him but to pull him away so Clarisse could push him away and get up. Once she was up, she touched her neck and seemed satisfied when she saw her own hand. "You're playing dirty now, Rodriguez?"
"I thought I always did." Chris shrugged his shoulders but was still smirking before dropping the knife he was holding. Clarisse used the opportunity to charge at him and both of them got engaged in a physical mix martial arts fight. Despite her big figure, Clarisse was tremendously agile, while Chris was quick on his feet.
The fight had gotten more intense and everyone was supporting both sides. Connor could hear the chants for both names and hoped this didn't climb to worst as there were no corners where Clarisse could beat up his brother until he wasn't awake.
To everyone's dismay, the lunch bell rang, making everyone groan that they would never see the end of the fight. Frankly, everyone wanted to see if they were close to winning the bet, the match was just a bonus. No one made a move to interrupt or to even leave until Chiron trotted their way and stood there, looking at the campers sternly.
"I'd suggest having lunch." He calmly stated. Clarisse, who seconds before was fisting Chris' T-shirt on her hand and was about to deliver a punch, was frozen in place, glancing at Chiron with what... was that a small pout on her lips?
"You never let me have fun..." She complained, releasing Chris who fell to the ground in tiredness. After that, Clarisse walked out of the arena not before taking Maimer with her and wrapping a towel around her neck. Connor doubted that Chris would walk out the arena if it wasn't for some of his siblings, ready to placed his arms around them to help.
"One of these days, she's gonna knock you out and you won't wake up, Chris..." One camper muttered when he passed by but Chris simply smirked and winked at the camper. Connor sighed and pulled out his notebook, only to cross out the latest bet.
"Let's pray to Hermes that he wakes up next time..." He whispered to himself before joining the rest for lunch.
That same night, there was a thief in the Hermes' cabin.
Ironic, isn't it?
Said thief knew exactly what they were looking for. It also knew where were the squeaks and sounds of the floor, knowing exactly where not to step on. It also knew where was the treasure hidden.
It couldn't have taken the thief less than five minutes to get what he wanted and leave the cabin. The thief knew his partner was waiting and making his partner wait was worst than not getting the treasure.
"There you are!" His partner whisper-yelled at him, trying not to get caught by the harpies. It was then when it looked at him. "Why are you dressed like a robber from a fifties' movie?" The thief pulled his stripped long-sleeved black-and-white sweater with a smirk before taking off his black eye mask.
"Adds to the thrill, sweetheart." The other person rolled their eyes before gesturing with the chin.
"Did you get it?"
"Don't I always?" The thief bragged before showing the treasure: a small brown leather notebook. Opening the latest entrance of the notebook, he began to read. "Oh, they were betting on the arena today!"
"That explains why there were so many people..."
"And tomorrow, it seems like the highest bet is around the volleyball match-"
"...but we didn't classify for it!"
"Wait, it says you'll insult me from the sidelines."
"They are taking this out of proportions!" The thief looked from the book to his partner. "It's none of their business! Besides, it's how we are! Why are they sure you'll snap one day?"
"Apparently, it's not healthy-"
"Are you?" The thief stopped talking and stares at his partner's soft question. The tough and incredulous exterior of five seconds ago was crumbled and he could see the fear and pain that were hiding behind. The thief smiled softly and wrapped an arm around his partner.
"Let's make a bet of our own..." He pulled out a pen and went to the last page of the notebook, writing down:
'For the Break-Up Bet: we bet all the rewards that only death will separate us. Clarisse La Rue & Chris Rodriguez'
Good morning/afternoon/night, everyone!
I know I've been absent from the platform for months, but between the COVID-19 situation here (today is our first free-lockdown day) and some personal situations that had happened in my family and with me, I had absolutely no will nor ideas to write down.
I would like first, to dedicate this shot to my bestie AMillionPages. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hope college and life is not being too harsh on you! I miss you, Love you!
I want to thank everyone who still reads my fics (seriously, guys, I still get follows and comments from Mortals: Meet...!). I still have one more one-shot for this month, so I hope inspiration comes to me before the end of it. Stay tuned! If you have ideas for fics or want a one-shot, don't hesitate to let me know!
xoxo, SilverHuntresses