Silena and Beckendorf deserved better. That's it. That's the AN.

Story #4: Beckendorf's Life-Saving Flirting

"She's coming!"

The Hephaestus kids stop cleaning their cabin to dog-pile on each other to look out a window despite there being more in their cabin. Beckendorf glances outside a different window and sees the source of panic.

They knew their cabins were being inspected, which is why they were cleaning, and they assumed Annabeth was checking but it's not. It's Silena Beauregard. Aphrodite's head counsellor with long black hair and big brown eyes. She was a tougher evaluator than Annabeth who was frightening enough.

But there she is. Hair waving in the wind as she walks over, bright orange camp shirt and official clipboard.

Beckendorf's been counting the time they've spent cleaning since the inspections were announced. They should've had another ten minutes or at least twenty since he sees that Silena's doing the runs and she's more thorough than Annabeth. Beckendorf glances at the previous cabins and then it clicks when he sees the empty one next door.

Silena skipped Artemis' cabin since the Hunters aren't here. He counted The Big Three cabins as empty since Percy wasn't at Camp but he didn't factor in Artemis'.

Beckendorf snaps out of his Silena trance. He turns to his siblings and sees them still staring at her when their cabin is still a mess. He knows their cabin is always a mess and they won't even get close to winning shower privileges, but they didn't want to be last. Nobody ever wants to be last.

"Don't just stare at her!" Beckendorf yells. "Get cleaning!"

The Hephaestus dog pile crumbles as everyone scurries to their feet. They scatter, doing the bare minimum to pass. Beckendorf helps shove things under the bunks, tossing junk in their basement workshop. Jake Mason hides things under their pillows as Nyssa runs a vacuum through the room while swerving around everyone.

Beckendorf glances out the window and sees that Selina stopped halfway because Chiron approached her. He watches as she flips papers on her clipboard, likely showing him the ranking so far. If Beckendorf had to guess, Aphrodite's cabin is in the lead because Selina wouldn't want it any less (and they're always the top regardless of who's inspecting).

When Chiron trots away and Silena continues her way over, Beckendorf perks up with a way to distract her.

"Keep cleaning, I'll go talk to her," Beckendorf orders. He tosses a rag onto a dresser as he runs out the door.

His siblings look up for a second and watch him run out. Beckendorf has a not-so-secret crush on Silena Beauregard and had it for at least three years. His siblings know it. Every camper knows it. It's one of the first things new campers learn upon crossing the border when they first see Silena. Chiron and Mr. D know. Silena probably knows it too.

"Beckendorf's trying to distract her with flirting? We're cleaning stables."

-o-

Beckendorf's heart races faster once he approaches Silena and it nearly stops when she looks up from her clipboard and meets his eyes. She doesn't smile but her lips curve in a way that shows pleasure about his presence. For a second, he forgets why he's here but sees the clipboard and remembers he has to buy time for his siblings.

"Hey, Silena, looking pretty today," Beckendorf starts.

Silena purses her lips together, holding the clipboard to her chest. "You think I'm pretty?"

Beckendorf pauses. Did he really say that?

Silena laughs a little. "I'm kidding; of course you do."

Beckendorf exhales a nervous laugh since she saved him from that one. Before he could say anything, the sound of shattering glass distracts them. Beckendorf turns around as Silena tilts her head to look past him. Someone threw something out the window from his cabin to hide it and when he faces Silena again trying not to know where that noise came from, she's giving him a face with all her weight on one hip.

"What was that?" Silena asks, pointing her pen over at his cabin. Her sharp tone shows that she knows the answer

"Those Hermes kids trying to last-minute clean and boost their score," Beckendorf reasons.

"I already visited their cabin and they scored a seven."

"Are you serious?"

"Your cabin isn't clean."

"What? Of course it is."

-o-

"Move, move, move!" Nyssa screams at all her siblings. She isn't sure if anything is getting done since everyone is moving everything everywhere at top speed. "Move or else we're sleeping in the melting pot!"

It wasn't entirely their fault they had a lot of stuff. They were builders so they needed it. Their cabin is like a tiny factory which is why they need so much more time to make it look nice. They should be exempted from cabin inspections.

"Polish that fire pole!" Nyssa orders. "Silena should be able to see her reflection in it and any surface possible."

-o-

Silena isn't convinced and Beckendorf knows he's running out of time. He expected her to walk around him when he stopped in front of her. He wonders if she's playing along, wanting his siblings to give her a nice cabin. Or maybe she wants to chat since there aren't many cabins left. Or maybe she wants to chat with him, period. He can never tell.

"Silena, if you don't trust me after years of being good, then that means you never trusted me," Beckendorf argues.

Silena pouts, glancing down at her clipboard for a moment. "It's a shame. I was rooting for you to beat my cabin. We got a perfect 10."

"Of course you did."

"We barely had to clean. It was already immaculate."

Beckendorf folds his hands together, taking one of her hands into his. "Give me time and I can live up to your cabin."

Silena cocks a brow. "So yours isn't clean."

"Come on, Silena, you know our cabin is always a disaster."

"You still manage to look good."

He drops her hands and his mouth dries. "Well, I - you really think so?"

Silena nods as she writes something down on her clipboard. Her eyes flicker up for a moment and Beckendorf thinks this is it. His three-year longing has finally paid off … until he felt compelled to kiss her and she lifted her clipboard so he'd kiss that instead.

Beckendorf's body heated up like a fire and he wanted to jump into one. He has never been so embarrassed and he hoped nobody around saw that. When Silena lowers the clipboard, she's snickering. Her eyes twinkle and the apple of her cheeks blush.

"When you're a woman, your body is a mystery," Silena whispers, her face now close to his. "It's a secret that mother taught all her children, sons included. The tighter you hold onto your body, the more people want a piece of it. You can use that to your advantage or you can throw it away. You can't do both. Maybe one day, you'll love a woman enough that a kiss will be worth all the scrambled flirting. You shouldn't have to beg for someone to love you. Don't look hungry for a piece, Charlie, or else you'll starve."

Beckendorf doesn't know what to say and she pecks his cheek before walking past him. He turns around and watches her walk up the steps to his cabin before announcing her entrance. She didn't look back at him but he knows that she knows he's looking at her.

Beckendorf's problem is that he couldn't tell if they were flirting or if it was just Silena being Aphrodite's daughter. Or just Silena being Silena Beauregard. Women are complicated, more so than machines. He's learned from Percy that sometimes it's better to save your wit and let the stupidity do the talking … no wonder his cabin only scored a four.

I chose four because this is the fourth chapter.