Chapter 38, guys! Let's do this! I'm excited about this chapter because of the dance! I hope you guys are excited about it as well. I kind of got this idea from another Preyna fanfiction. I can't remember the details, but thanks to that author! Anyways, I don't think we have any review shoutouts this week. I also want you guys to remember that I won't be updating as much over the summer, but I will continue at my normal pace once the school year starts again. Thanks for your understanding! (Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan!)

Reyna's POV

The plans for the dance were in full swing, and frankly, Reyna was pretty excited. She couldn't deny that the thought of attending a "prom" of sorts made her giddy inside. Reyna appeared as a persistent tomboy leader, but that didn't mean that she had the smallest girly part inside of her. The girly part that made her so attracted to boys as well.

Reyna, Percy, and Jason had informed the centurions of their plans, and the centurions had seemed pretty excited about the idea. It was a fun activity after all. One that didn't include hard work or training. The only person that didn't seem too enthusiastic was Octavian for obvious reasons. He had the same mindset that Reyna originally had towards the idea, but he wasn't as determined to change it as she had been.

The centurions and praetors had decided that the dance be held in the mess hall. Of course, they'd have to talk to the wind spirits about moving most of the furniture out. Jason was in charge of that part. Reyna figured the spirits wouldn't be too happy about moving everything out, and that's why Jason, the son of Jupiter, was best for the job.

Reyna, being the leader she was, appointed herself to oversee all the technical elements. The dance had been Percy's original idea, but he seemed just fine with letting Reyna take charge. He was a leader, but not like she was. He was willing to step aside and let her do her thing. Percy would be in charge of setting up. And lastly, the centurions were in charge of gathering and inviting everyone.

All of the camp officials had decided that the dance would be formal. Reyna assumed that most of the campers didn't own anything too formal, so semi-formal would also suffice. Reyna, however, owned no dresses. Sure, she owned a toga, but what good would that do for a modern dance? This wasn't 2,000 years earlier.

Reyna had considered going to the daughters of Venus and asking if they had something she could wear. She wasn't so sure, however. She was worried they'd pick out something too fancy, and then insist that they do her makeup and hair, blah blah blah. The only person Reyna would trust in that department was Piper, but she wasn't sure how she stood with the indigenous girl.

Nevertheless, it was the day of the dance. The previous day had gone by quickly. Reyna was pretty much occupied with planning the whole time, so she wasn't really paying much attention to the time.

Today, however, the arrangements were getting made and everything was being set up in the mess hall. The dance started at 7:00 and it was probably going to go until 11:00, though people could leave as they wished. At the moment, it was the afternoon, about 4:30, though Reyna had told everyone to eat an early dinner so that everything could be prepped. Besides, there would be snacks at the dance anyways.

Everything was going pretty smoothly. All Reyna needed now was an outfit. And a date… Although dates weren't required, Reyna still felt weird going to a semi-formal/formal dance without a date. She would've asked Percy if the circumstances were different, but for obvious reasons, she couldn't.

A dress, a dress… Reyna thought. Where was she going to get one? She didn't want to go into New Rome and purchase one, so the only available option seemed to be… the daughters of Venus.

Reyna had currently been in the mess hall watching all the furniture being movd out by the wind spirits, but she excused herself and made the trek towards the barracks, which is where Venus's daughters likely were.

She arrived and opened the door to find a group of giggling girls fixing their already flawless makeup, and overall preparing for the dance. When they noticed her walk in, their eyes went wide.

"Need help asking a guy to the dance?" One asked after setting down her mascara.

"Need help asking out Percy to the dance?" One corrected, eyeing her sisters and giggling.

Reyna's cheeks went red at the comment. Was she that obvious? No, the daughters of Venus were just good at noticing that kind of stuff… right?

"Uh… no. Legionnaires, I need… a dress," Reyna said, toning down her blush a bit.

The girls looked at each other and smiled, passing knowing looks. "You want a dress?" One asked. "You came to the right place, praetor."

Reyna was starting to think this was a bad idea, but before she could back out, one of the girls Reyna knew as Harper gripped her arm and lead her to a large closet.

"I have just the dress for you," Harper said. She stepped inside the closet and rummaged around for a bit.

Run while you still can, Reyna thought. Before she could get out of there, Harper returned with a purple dress.

Reyna gasped. The gown was gorgeous. It was a dark purple, off the shoulder dress with a sparkly silver band in the center. From the waist down, it was flowly tulle, and from the waist up, it was velvety.

"Uh… thank you," Reyna said as she took the dress gingerly. "It's… really pretty."

Harper beamed. "Of course it is. I'm pretty sure the Venus girls are going to be supplying most of the dresses for tonight. I just thought that one suited you best."

Reyna gazed at the gown. "Yeah... I guess it does. Thank you, legionnaire."

"So… does this get me off of training for a week?" Harper asked hopefully.

Reyna shook her head. "Don't even go there."

"How about if I do your makeup?" Harper suggested. "Percy'll be impressed."

"I'm not trying to impress Percy…" Reyna lied. "But you can do my makeup with no reward."

"Fine," Harper fumed. "But I know you like Percy."

Reyna shrugged off the comment and sat down on a chair while Harper did her thing. Reyna made sure that the daughter of Venus didn't go too hardcore on the makeup. Just light and natural.

After a few moments, Harper gave Reyna a mirror. Reyna looked at it and nearly gasped. Even with some restrictions, Reyna had to admit that Harper had done an amazing job. Reyna looked actually really pretty. She had some blush, highlighter, mascara, lipgloss, and eye shadow on, but even with such simple makeup, she looked great. Enough to impress Percy…

"Thanks again, legionnaire," Reyna said. "I will admit that I had some doubts."

Harper scoffed. "Never doubt my beauty abilities. Also, you're welcome."

Reyna acknowledged Harper's half-sisters and left the barracks, heading to her cabin.

At this point, it was about 5:15. Reyna wanted to hang out at her cabin before the dance started. Partially because she didn't want to ruin her flawless makeup, and partially because she didn't want anybody to see her face just yet. Reyna rarely wore too much makeup. On a daily, she wore mascara, and that was nearly it.

So Reyna camped out in her cabin for a while until her watch read 6:15. Reyna was going to change into her gown and do her hair, a task that she didn't need Harper's help with. Reyna was simply going to leave her hair down, something that she never did. It was nearly always in a braid, but tonight, it'd be plain down.

Reyna changed into her dress and took a look in the mirror. "I never knew I could be so… pretty," She whispered to herself. She couldn't help but think of how Percy would react.

Reyna took out her braid and brushed through her long, dark hair, letting it fall around her shoulders. She looked and felt more beautiful than she had in years. She looked… almost older… and a bit like her older sister Hylla. But regardless, even if Percy didn't find her attractive, tonight, it was still a win for her.

By the time Reyna was all ready, it was 6:44 and Reyna figured she'd better head to the mess hall. Shoes, she thought. I need shoes.

Unfortunatley, Reyna didn't own any semi-fancy shoes, so she just slipped on some black Converse and called it good. The dress was floor-length anyways. No one was going to tell.

Finally, Reyna slipped outside into the warm air, lifting up her dress as she headed towards the mess hall so she wouldn't get any dirt on it. When she arrived, nearly half the camp was there, the girls in dresses, and the guys… well, the guys didn't seem to try as hard, but most of them were in suits.

She didn't see Percy yet, or the rest of the 7 demigods of the prophecy, so she waded towards the front of the crowd so that she could be ready to commence the dance. As she passed, several demigods stopped their conversations and gawked at her. It made sense, though. No one at camp had ever seen Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano so dressed up.

Reyna adverted all eyes, trying not to embarrass herself, until she finally reached the front of the mess hall. The sun had already set, so the sky was dark. Colorful LED lights illuminated the room. Where the centurions had managed to find those, Reyna wasn't sure, but they added to the effect.

Reyna wasn't sure the last time that the mess hall had been so… done up, so to speak. It looked… well, like a highschool party. The campers looked amazing as well. Almost all of the females had on dresses. Some formal, some semi-formal, but pretty all the same.

The men surprised Reyna, though. She didn't expect so many to have on dressy clothes. Some had full-on suits, others just had on slacks and a dress shirt. Either way, all of the demigods looked so different… Some were hard to identify.

Reyna stood at the front of the mess hall for a bit longer, looking for the other praetors so that she could start the dance. Eventually, she spotted Jason in the crowd. He noticed her at the same time and stepped up to the front with her.

"Hey," said the blond boy.

"Hey…" Reyna replied. Jason looked so… handsome… he was wearing a suit, though the front wasn't done up, revealing a white dress shirt underneath. His short hair was the same, but Reyna still flushed.

"Uh, have you seen Percy?" Reyna asked.

Jason shook his head. "No, but knowing him, he'll just show up 'fashionably late.'"

Reyna smiled. "Yeah…" She was kind of nervous for Percy to show up. Would he find her attractive? Would he be too attractive for Reyna? She wasn't sure, but she knew for a fact that he would look amazing.

Just then, she spotted Percy, arm in arm with Annabeth. Her dress was a light blue spaghetti-strap peice with lace designs on the bodice. It was shorter than Reyna's, about mid-shin, but Annabeth still looked breath taking in it. Her hair was done down in curls.

Percy, on the other hand, wore a light green dress shirt and slacks. He looked… amazing… he hadn't done anything with his messy hair, but Reyna preferred it that way. It suited him. The green shirt also brought out his sea-green eyes which were stunning on their own. Reyna couldn't help but stare giddily at the handsome boy.

Percy left Annabeth and joined the other two praetors. His eyes were fixed on Reyna, and she suddenly felt self-conscious. Was he mentally judging her? Was he taking in the dress? Reyna couldn't tell.

"Alright, let's get this party started," Percy said, rubbing his hands together. "It's gonna be fun!"

"Okay," Reyna mumbled. She held up her hands for attention. "Legionnaires… let's have some fun tonight."

Cheers erupted from the gathered kids. Reyna gestured to the DJ, one of Vulcan's kids, and some music started to play. The campers started milling around, eating food and dancing. The current song was more peppy and fast, but Reyna made sure that there would be several slow songs for dancing to.

Reyna looked at the other praetors. Jason excused himself and headed towards Piper who was dressed in a gorgeous red dress. Honestly, Reyna didn't know that the camp had this many dresses on hand. Or suits, either. Who would've thunk?

Now, it was just Reyna and Percy. He couldn't take his eyes off of her, so she just stared at the milling demigods, acting as if she didn't notice his gaze.

Suddenly, he leaned over and whispered into Reyna's ear, "You look spectacular."

Color dotted Reyna's cheeks. She stared at her hands, hoping that no one had just seen that.

"Seriously." Percy pushed a peice of Reyna's dark hair behind her ear. "You look like a goddess."

Reyna blushed like crazy. Finally, she looked over at Percy and said, "You look amazing, too."

Percy smiled. "Thanks."

The two made eye contact that seemed to last for hours, but really only lasted a few seconds.

"Well, I'd better go find Annabeth," Percy said. "See you around?" He winked.

"Y-yeah… Go have fun, Percy," Reyna said, her face flushed.

"You too," Percy called over the loud music, walking away.

Reyna tried to calm her racing heart. She had never been complimented like that before. A goddess? Percy was such a romantic guy… He really knew how to make a girl fall for him…

Snap out of it, Reyna told herself, coming to. The LED lights were bright and the music was loud. The campers seemed to be getting really hype over a certain song. Who knew some Roman demigods could be into music so much?

Reyna pushed her way through the large group, not exactly sure where she was going. She crashed into Hazel and Frank, though. Thee couple looked very cute together. Frank was wearing a polo shirt and dress pants, and Hazel was wearing a short magenta dress, her curly hair pulled into a half-up half-down do. Frank was clearly flustered at how pretty his girlfriend looked. The whole scene was adorable.

"Reyna… you look fabulous!" Hazel exclaimed, smiling sweetly.

Reyna smiled at the legionnaire. "Thank you! You look amazing as well."

Frank stared at Hazel as if she hung the stars in the sky.

"Enjoy the dance, you two!" Reyna waved and walked away. She was shuffling around the dresses and couples when she saw Piper and Jason. Jason's arms were wrapped around Piper's waist, his lips resting on her forehead. She snuggled into his chest and they swayed around slowly. The sight made Reyna want to cry, but she wasn't sure why. They were a couple, and that behavior was natural! So, why did it hurt Reyna so badly?

She turned in the other direction and saw Octavian fuming in the corner. Of course, he was. Why couldn't the augur even have fun during a fun event? He was such a narcissist.

Reyna strolled through the crowd, mingling with the legionnaires. Secretly, she wished she could've spent the whole night with Percy.

Percy's POV

Percy lead Annabeth towards the snack table. Why have the table there if he wasn't gonna eat anything? That just wasn't Percy's way. He grabed some Cool Ranch Doritos off of the table. If he couldn't have actual blue chips, a blue bag was the next best thing.

Annabeth grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and devoured it. Percy watched her as he crunched on his chips. He'd never seen her eat anything so quickly.

"Is that good?" He laughed.

Annabeth nodded after she had finished he cookie. "The best cookie I've ever had."

Percy was about to make a comment on how his mom, Sally, made the best cookies on earth, but soon a slow song turned on. The first one of the night. Percy threw away his empty chip bag and held out a hand to the blond in front of him.

"May I have this dance?" He asked.

Annabeth linked her arm through his. "Yes, you may."

Percy grabbed her waist and they started to sway back and forth. He looked into the daughter of Athena's gray eyes and smiled. "You look amazing."

Annabeth blushed. "You look great, too."

Percy and Annabeth continued to dance together, but Percy couldn't help but think about how great it would be to have at least one dance with Reyna. She seriously looked so gorgeous in her purple dress. Of course, Percy loved her without makeup and a fancy dress, but the added pizzaz just made her so much more… unbeliveable.

Annabeth must've been able to tell that Percy's mind was elsewhere. "Are you okay, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy nodded. "Yup, yeah. I'm great."

Annabeth smiled. She looked beautiful as well. Her light blue dress from the Venus cabin looked great on her, and Annabeth's make up and hair were on point. Something was missing, though. He couldn't pinpoint it, however.

The song ended and Percy dropped his arms. "Hey, lets go find the others. I'm curious to see what Leo's up too."

Annabeth nodded. "Same here. I also want to see Piper and Hazel's dresses. I haven't seen them yet, but I'm sure they look great."

Percy and Annabeth strolled around, trying to find their friends when Percy's eyes caught Reyna. The now purple light illuminated her skin and hair and made her look spectacular. He was smitten. If only he could have a single dance with her…

So, what'd you think? Don't worry, that's not the end. Prepare for part two which I am SUPER excited to write! I'm sure you guys will really like it. Anyways, I hope the wait for this chapter was worth it. I'm updating more than I thought I would druing the "summer." Yes, it's not summer yet, but I'm so excited! Sorry, I'm rambling. Anyways, please review! It does so much and really helps! Review, review, and REVIEW!