This chapter... Was one of my absolute favorites to write! I see that a lot of people demanded, "MORE FLUFF!" And don't worry, I was itching to write fluff, too. :) So, here is chapter six!


Reyna's POV:

Things are going downhill… fast.

I've got Annabeth giving me suspicious glares at me every time she sees me, Hazel trying to be mature or something by telling me to stop, (although, curiously, she hasn't told anyone anything), and I even heard that the children of Venus are noticing the way me and Percy look at each other, and it is not in a friendly way.

And then there is Percy in itself who keeps asking me for us to "hang out"… just as friends. And it's not just that; he's been staring at me weirdly since the whole hickey incident, which, with a little help from a Venus's child's borrowed make-up kit, I managed to not get spotted with it. Anyways, he acts so tough and serious with his friends, but when I see his gaze flicker to me, those infinite, sea green eyes soften. It's worse when our eyes lock, because he gives me this smile.

That cursed smile.

A smile that is slyly concealed as he talks, so only I realize that he is actually smiling. It literally fills me up with some unexplained warmth throughout my chest. And lately, when I catch that smile, I end up tripping over myself or toppling something over, making Percy chuckle quietly.

Stupid smile.

How on Jupiter's Earth am I going to act mature and ready for this war if some stupid smile is making my knees wobble?

So, finally, Friday rolls around, and I have some time to distract myself from all of this. Built exclusively from the demand of the teenagers in New Rome, a movie theater sits between two cafes in the city's square. It is not huge, but just big enough to hold most of the teenage population. It's one of the few "modern" things we have here.

Most of the nights they show boring reenactments of classic Roman tragedies for the elders, but Friday nights belong to us. This week, they are premiering a popular horror movie, my favorite type of films. I just find it funny how normal mortals find the stuff scary.

Being the daughter of Bellona, I've learned that nothing is scarier than a battlefield. Well, even battlefields aren't that scary for me, but you get the point.

Anyways, I got to the theater to notice it was packed. I hurried to get in line, and noticed Percy was a couple of people behind me.

Great. So much for some "Reyna-time".

I try not to glance down Percy's way, and focus of paying for my ticket. I fished out of my pocket a couple of denarii as I get closer to the ticket booth. Just as I was second in line to get tickets, a lady in her early thirties came up to announce that the theater was sold out.

A collective groan came from the remaining people in line, and I sighed for show. People started to disperse, and I smiled as I slipped to the back of the theater unnoticed. Or so I thought.

I notice that Percy is right on my heels and asks, "Reyna? Where are you going?"

I turn around and give him an icy glare, putting my index finger to my mouth. Percy is confused for a moment, but then mouths, Ohh!

I nod and start sneaking towards the back again. When we reach the back of the theater, Percy chuckles. I snap back at him and hiss, "What is so funny?"

I swear, he always puts me in an annoyed mood for some reason. Something in the back of my head tells me that it's because I'm using that as denial. But denial of what?

"Reyna, leader of the Twelfth Legion, who is so mature and smart, is sneaking into a movie?" Percy says amused.

"Shut up, and help me onto this window," I snap, pointing to a window above me. "Sure thing, leader," Percy whispers mockingly. I scowl.

Percy wraps his hands along my waist, triggering my stomach to knot. My scowl deepened, and Percy hoisted me up toward the window, where I unlock the hatch and open it up slowly. I climbed in, and helped Percy get in as well.

We were in a small closet filled with thousands of film reels. Percy looked in awe at all the reels and I smiled slightly. He looked like a little child in the zoo. His deep green eyes sparked in the small rays of the moonlight that filtered through the window.

Percy's eyes flickered to mine, and I dropped my gaze to the floor. He starts towards me, and I open the door quickly and step outside. Reluctantly, Percy followed my lead and walked outside as well.

Inside this new room there was red carpet on the floor, and white paint on the walls. In the middle was a large, vintage projector attached to the wall, the film reels already turning as the previews began. Sitting behind the machine was an old man in his late forties. He turned around as I walked in and smiled.

"Hey, Kurt," I grin, waving. Kurt was wearing an old Hawaiian shirt and kakis with loafers. I knew him since forever, and he was one of the first friends I made when I first arrived at Camp Jupiter long ago. "Queen!" he says cheerfully, getting up to hug me.

Kurt is from Cuban decent, and according to Kurt, Reyna means "queen" in Spanish, so that's how he's called me ever since. Kurt notices Percy behind me, shifting on his feet awkwardly, and he winks at me. I blush slightly, and walk over to my usual spot.

You see, Kurt has been working in the projection room since the theater opened, and has always let me sneak in whenever the theater sold out, and I didn't get a chance to buy a ticket. It is a little secret between us, and this is the first time I ever brought anyone along with me.

"Why, hello," Kurt says, stretching out his hand to Percy. Percy smiles and shakes his hand, saying, "Uh, hi. I'm Percy. Uh, I mean, Percy Jackson… sir." Percy blushes a bit, and I smile slightly again.

"Well, if you need me, I'll be out back, okay? Queen, you know what to do right?" Kurt says looking at me. "Yeah, I've got it, Kurt." I reply, and Kurt sneaks in another wink towards me before heading out. Percy scratches his head awkwardly, and I motion for him to a chair next to me.

We sit in front of a small panel of fiberglass that lets us see the screen down below us. Although you do not experience the movie the same up here, you can at least see everything just fine. I notice the movie has barely started, so I take the chance to ask Percy, "So, where's your girlfriend?"

A hint of venom is injected into my voice, and I am even surprised as it comes out. Percy raises his brow slightly and smiles.

Oh, gods. Not the smile.

My palms start to get sweaty and I wipe them with the back of the chair furiously. "Annabeth? Oh, she doesn't like horror movies," Percy explains quietly.

"Why?" I ask.

"Well, because she thinks that their plots are too obvious,"

I laugh, and Percy's eyes soften again. "Well, your girlfriend is right,"

Percy's eyebrows arch in surprise and I frown. "What?" I say crossing my arms. "Nothing, it's just, you just agreed with my girlfriend on something." Percy admits.

I look at him quizzically. "I've seen the way you glare at her, and I know you can't stand her," Percy continues, "It almost seems like you're… jealous."

"Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" I say. Percy drops his gaze from me and shrugs. I catch a slight sigh from him.

"So, why are you here?" I quickly change the subject. Percy looks up to me and smiles. "What? I can't come to the theater now because mighty Reyna says so?" he smirks. My lips pucker and he smiles wider.

"Reyna, you're so cute when you do that," Percy mutters to himself faintly.

My heart stops.

"What?" I studder, and my heart starts racing at full speed again. Percy looks at me, and our eyes lock. The way he just looks at me, gods, I feel like I'm having a heart attack. I furiously try to stop these feelings, without success.

Before I can explode, though, Percy returns his gaze to the movie. We sit in silence, and I barely even pay attention to the movie, anyways. My eyes keep flickering to Percy, and I am shouting at myself mentally to turn away, but I can't. I hear people scream at some parts below us, but Percy doesn't even flinch.

Instead, I even catch him smiling in amusement.

Halfway, towards the movie, a horse appears, and Percy bursts out laughing.

I frown in confusion. "Um, what's so funny?"

"The horse," he says breathlessly, clutching his stomach, "the things it's thinking…"

I mouth an ohh, as I remember that Percy is a son of Neptune, and has the gift of reading the thoughts of horses, as Neptune created them himself.

"What's it, uh, 'saying'?" I ask, curious. Percy regains his breath and says, "Trust me; you do not want me to translate… He swears like a sailor!"

After realizing what he said, he added, "No pun intended, of course."

I laugh now, and Percy joins me. We end up clutching our stomachs and have tears our eyes as we laugh. Finally, we stop to catch our breaths, and Percy looks up to smile at me like an idiot.

My breath catches in my throat, and my heart is out of control. He leans in slowly, as if to relish the moment, and I feel so dizzy and it is as the temperature rose twenty degrees.

His lips catch mine, and my body goes on auto pilot. My right hand holds his cheek, and the other wraps around his neck. The kiss is long and sweet, and I close my eyes, feeling that warm sensation again, only multiplied by a million.

When we pull back, I find Percy grinning at me brightly. I grin back at him, and he takes my hand, lacing our fingers together. The blood rushes to my ears at the sensation of his hand touching mine. Percy notices this, and he chuckles.

When the movie ends, I leave a note for Kurt telling him thanks, and we both go to the closet and out of the window. Percy begs to walk me home, and I have no choice but to accept.

The walk to my principia is quiet as I untangle my hand with Percy. At first he looked at me hesitantly, but sighed and let it go. When we reach the place, Percy looks both ways, and when he sees no one is around, plants a quick kiss on my lips.

"Goodnight, Reyna," Percy whispers against my lips before turning to leave. I watch him walk away, and sigh.

Once inside, I plop on my bed and replay tonight's events in my head. At first, that warm sensation filled me again, but is quickly drowned out by a growing feeling of painful dread in my chest.

I realized I had broken my promise. I grit my teeth, and pace around nervously in my room. Panic consumed me, as this is a feeling of dread I've never had before.

Because I knew I was going to have to choose. There were no compromises, no battle strategies- no. It was one, or the other.

Period.


Ugh, as much as I loved writing "lovey-dovey" Reyna, I had to face the cruel reality that she is going to purposely hold back from loving Percy. Grr.

Anyways, I hoped you enjoyed this, and I hope I wrote longer than before! Haha. :) Thanks for reading, and please review!

-The TimeMachine