HI EVERYONE! ARE YOU READY FOR TRATIE? Of course you are! Why would you be reading this story otherwise?

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson

Fingernails

"Stupid… branches… Clarisse… capture the flag… grrr… scout… UGH!" Katie muttered to herself. She hopped over another branch and tiptoed behind a bush.

"Oh, I'm Clarisse. I think that Katie should go ahead to opposite side of the woods to be a scout when we all know that she's just bait because she's a Demeter kid and Demeter kids can't do anything!" she said imitating Clarisse, using an unrealistically low voice. "And why do we have to do it? Because I'm Clarisse and I say so! If you don't do what I say, I will beat the stuffing out of you, punk!" Katie rolled her eyes and looked around her. Not a living creature in sight. She untangled her hair from the bush and sprinted down the clearing and ran behind a fallen log.

She sat down and leaned against the log, trying to catch her breath. She wiped the sweat that was beading down her forehead and redid her ponytail. Suddenly, she heard a noise to her left. She quickly grabbed her sword and crouched down behind the log. She gripped her sword tightly, getting ready to attack if needed. Then, she saw a flash of blue in the wood. She relaxed. It was just her teammates. They were probably the group that Clarisse was leading to retrieve the flag.

Katie got up and started running to the right, opposite of where her other teammates were going. Her ponytail smacked against the back of her neck as she ran and her breathing became heavier with every stride she took. She rounded around a group of trees and entered a clearing. Right smack in the middle of it was a red cloth. The flag! She started walking toward it, but stopped. This was almost too easy. Surely they couldn't be that stupid. Katie turned around, and just in time too. She saw a bronze sword swing just inches from her nose. Her ADHD kicked in. She whipped up her sword and deflected the blade. Then she used the butt of her sword to knock the guy on the head. The guy fell to the ground but quickly got back on his feet. He tried to swing again but Katie caught his arm and pulled him into a headlock.

"Hey Katie," the guy said.

"Travis?" Katie asked. She loosened her grip on Travis and he fell to the ground. He hopped back up and brushed himself off.

"Those were some moves out there Gardner," he said.

"Well, even though you are my boyfriend, don't expect me to go easy on you," Katie said lifting up her sword just in case he tried to attack. Travis smirked.

"Feisty. I like feisty," he winked at her. She rolled her eyes and struck out at him. He quickly deflected her blade.

"And strong too," he said. She tried jabbing at his side but he sidestepped and kicked her in the side, making her drop her sword and throwing her to the gound.

"But just a bit slow," he said making a tsking sound, shaking his head. Katie grabbed her sword and wiped the sweat off of her upper lip.

"That sounds a bit cocky for a guy I just had in a headlock a couple of seconds ago," Katie said getting off of the ground. Travis stopped smirking.

"Touche," he said. Then, he struck. The flat of sword hit her in the chest, knocking the air out of her. She stepped backwards, gasping for breath. Travis showed no mercy. He leaped forward and swung his sword at her. She recovered and brought her sword up; hitting his with a clanging sound that rang throughout the entire clearing. She brought her foot up and kicked him in the chest, pushing him backwards. He stumbled, but regained his footing. She brought her sword back, about to swing, but he caught her elbow, and grabbed her other arm, keeping her still.

"Let me go!" Katie said struggling to get out of his grip. Travis didn't say anything for a while, but then suddenly, he laughed.

"What's so funny?" Katie asked glaring.

"Y-You… are… w-wearing… you're wearing nail polish!" he said dropping her arm to hold his sides.

"Yeah, what's so funny about that?" Katie asked.

"It's just… You! You're wearing nail polish!" he said.

"I can be girly if I want to," Katie said defending herself.

"Yeah, sure," Travis said.

"No really!" Katie said. "I can be girly!" Travis slowly stopped laughing.

"Why are you wearing nail polish?" He asked genuinely curious. "I thought you hated stuff like make up and… prissy stuff," Travis said shuddering.

"Nail polish isn't make up, Travis," Katie said.

"Well why are you wearing it? Why the sudden change of opinion?" Travis asked. Katie turned pink.

"I just-I thought that I should be more girly since I'm dating you," she whispered. Travis was silent for a moment before bursting out into laughter again.

"What is it this time?" Katie asked exasperated.

"You don't need to be girly for me," Travis said, "I started liking you before you put on nail polish and girly stuff. I like your bare nails. I don't care if you're girly. I like girls who can beat me up."

"If you like girls who can beat you up, why aren't you dating Clarisse then?"

"I said beat me up, not kill me," Travis said. Katie grinned.

"So you don't think I'm a useless Demeter girl?"

"Of course not," he said.

"Will you help me prove to everyone else that I'm not?"

"Definitely."

"Good. I'm going to need to beat you up," she said.

"Wha-" Katie interrupted him by elbowing him in the nose. Travis fell onto his butt, clutching nose and moaning.

"Sorry, babe!" Katie said. She ran to the flag, grabbed it, ran up to Travis, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and sprinted back to her side of the woods, winning the game.

The. End. Hope you like this chapter! I tried to make Katie a bit more tougher! Remember to Review!

~ xhiddendreamx