In which Pete Wentz tests out his flirting game on the 15 year old

"Look, these two are never going to get the courage to do anything, never mind ask the other out, and everything we've tried has failed. Completely." Pete Wentz, the half-blood who had just uttered those words, was stood in the middle of Emo Elysium, aka the Hades cabin, with Travie McCoy and Brendon Urie, sons of Apollo and Dionysus respectively. "Joe and Andy," He continued, addressing the boys stood in front of him. "Need a little… push. And I know exactly how to help them."

Travie groaned, rolling his eyes at Pete. "Look, Pete-" he started to say, but before he could continue Brendon butted in with: "if this one involves alcohol, I'm in." Brendon, as a Dionysus kid, had a bit of a taste for alcohol, and never turned down the option of a drink. "No," said Pete. "It involves my legendary flirting skills."

You see, Pete's flirting skills were legendary… or more… infamous. Pete pretty much flirted with anything with a pulse, and he was a very, well, forward kind of person. Meaning that his innuendos had an entire blog on tumblr devoted to them, run by no other than Patrick Stump.

"Let's hear it then." Travie let out another sigh and sat down on Pete's bed, putting his head in his hands as preparation. "I," Pete said, "am going to flirt with Joe. In front of Andy. And the whole camp." Pete smirked, looking far too pleased with himself for someone who had just come up with the most life-destroying idea of all time, at least from a teenage boy's perspective.

Travie shot up, looking completely horrified. "You can under no circumstances flirt with Joe, ever! All our hard work will be for nothing, you'll undo it all!"

"Travie." Pete shook his head. "Travie, Travie, Travie. There's a reason those two aren't together. And that's because all our other attempts have done nothing. I mean, we might as well do something big, it's not like we have anything to lose, right?"

"Actually-" Brendon started to interject, but was silenced by Pete who saluted the two other boys and stepped out of the cabin, leaving his two best friends to wonder in despair what the fuck was going to happen at dinner that night.

"So, Trohman, you hair looks amazing today, has anyone told you that?" Pete proclaimed as he sat down opposite Joe and Patrick, and next to Andy. Joe flushed a rosy pink and mumbled a thanks as he stared down at his salad. Patrick shot Pete a look that very clearly said, "what the hell are you doing you fuckboy", and he felt Andy stiffen slightly next to him. "Oh, and Joe, I've been seeing a snake in my cabin a few nights this week. Perhaps you could come over tonight and help me catch it?" Pete accompanied this one with a wink, making sure his meaning got across loud and clear. Patrick looked shocked, Joe was visibly flushing darker, and Pete could see Andy's fists clenching in his lap.

"P-Pete? What?"

"Joe… dude… you've gone purple" murmured Patrick, just loud enough so that Joe could hear him.

"S-shuddup p-Patrick, I'm d-dealing with it!" stammered back Joe, at a slightly less controlled volume. Pete's head shot up at that, and he smirked suggestively at Joe, raising his eyebrows. "What's that, Joe? Do you have a…problem? Because I certainly do, and I know a spot in the woods where you could help me out with it…?" Andy's jaw was clenched now, and Joe was beginning to resemble a pomegranate, while Patrick was still giving Pete a disapproving look.

Suddenly, Joe stood up and started jogging over to his cabin, sending a fleeting "I'll talk to you later" over his shoulder to Patrick. Patrick scowled at Pete, but after a second he turned his attention to the tense Andy sitting beside the troublemaking emo. "Andy, I think you should come with me, we have something to discuss. Now you," he turned his glare back to Pete. "You are going to stay here so that I can yell at you in approximately 15 minutes." At that, he grabbed Andy by the wrist and dragged him over to the stables, where the two wouldn't be overheard.

"You looked seriously uncomfortable over there, Andy. Anything locked up in there-" he tapped Andy's forehead. "- That you want to tell me?"

"It's just…Pete's so conceited, he's such a fuckboy, I mean who does he think he is, flirting with my Joe-"

"-Dude" cut in Patrick, hands on his hips. "What?"

"… Did I say that out loud?"

"Yeah. And don't worry. Everyone in our group knows already, apart from Joe. You two are so obvious, I mean-"

"-Sorry?"

"I said," Patrick let out a sigh. "You two are so obvious around each other. I mean, c'mon! You could be a little discreet!"

"Wait, wait." Andy looked like a bombshell had just been dropped, which, to be quite honest, it had. "Joe likes me too?"

"Yes, It's so obvious, you're so oblivious, what would you do without me?"

"Probably punch Pete in the face…"

Patrick rolled his eyes. "Just like usual, then."

Andy grinned, obviously still a little tensed up, but his eyes were shining with happiness.

…..

After Joe had run out to his cabin, he had watched as Patrick and Andy went to the stables, leaving Pete behind, and after about 15 minutes, the two returned, Andy with a very obvious spring in his step that was noticeable even from the distance that Joe was. Maybe he got off with Patrick, Joe thought bitterly, and now he'll notice me even less. I hate being the quiet, unnoticeable one whose only defining feature is their hair.

His blue-green eyes started to glisten with the beginning of tears, and as the halfbloods (including Patrick, Pete and Andy) trooped over to the campfire, Joe dashed over to the stables, where he knew he would be able to wallow in his own misery. He walked over to a black Pegasus named Dax, whom Joe talked to an awful lot (Poseidon perk: talking to horses).

He flopped down on a bale of hay in the stall, and waited for Dax to approach him. "Hey, hey boss!" Joe heard Dax's voice in his head.

"What, Dax?" Joe sniffled, raising his tear-stained face to meet the Pegasus. "Aw, boss, why're you upset?"

"You know Andy, the guy I'm always telling you about? Well I just saw him and my friend Patrick come out of here, and I'm pretty sure they hooked up in some way or another. What am I meant to do?" and with that he let out a choking sob and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking from pure despair.

"Boss, I have something to tell you about what they were actually doing here. And I think you're going to like it." Joe let out a noncommittal grunt, and shrugged his shoulders. "The reason they were in here is because some Pete guy was flirting with you and tattooed guy got really upset. That redhead dude brought him over here to talk about it and he accidentally referred to you as "my Joe"" Joe looked up, a glimmer of hope in his puffy red eyes. "Go on." He encouraged in a hoarse whisper. "Then tattoos said to redhead that he had a crush on you and some soppy crush stuff, and now you're here and telling me that you have a crush on him, so I think what you do now is pretty obvious."

A chorus of whinnying circled to the stables, starting at the beginning and ending right up against the furthest end, where Joe was sitting. He could roughly translate it as "demigod" or "half-blood". He heard the creaky door open and ducked under the separation that kept Dax's stall private from the main hallway. Joe heard soft footsteps, and someone walked into the stall right next to Dax's making Joe intake a sharp gasp of surprise. The other half-blood seemed to hear this, and grunted. He moved out of the stall he had been occupying and slowly opened the door to Dax's. Joe raised his face out of his hands to be greeted by a very shocked looking Andy, who immediately rushed to him and put his arms around the younger.

"Joe…" he whispered.

"Andy…" came the breathy reply.

"Joe, are you okay?" Andy was concerned, very concerned, but tried to stay calm for the younger teenager pressed to his side.

"D-don't worry about me, Andy."

"Of course I worry about you Joe, I care about you so much."

"R-really?" the younger looked up at Andy, his eyes glimmering with the remnants of tears. Andy still thought they were the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen. Before he knew what he was doing, he was leaning down to meet Joe, and their lips pressed together for the first time.