this summer at camp half-blood felt... different. slower. sweeter, maybe. the sky stayed gold longer in the evenings, and the air didn't buzz with urgency like it had last year. there were no surprise quests or monsters crashing through the woods (at least not big ones), and for once, i got to just be here. no disguises. no missions. just me.
most mornings i trained with silena. don't let the pastel colors fool you—she could kick my ass with a dagger and still have time to fix her lip gloss before breakfast. we spent hours sparring and laughing, collapsing into the grass after a particularly brutal round, comparing bruises like trophies.
"you know," she said once, brushing shimmer across my cheekbones before the campfire, "you'd be terrifying if you tried."
i smirked. "i am terrifying. i just accessorize."
she laughed, but there was something in her eyes i couldn't quite name. soft. lingering. i didn't dwell on it.
ethan nakamura kept showing up around me, too. quiet. intense. always watching but never in a creepy way—more like he didn't know if he was allowed to get close. but i liked having him around. i'd tease him during training, nudge his shoulder, make him laugh even if he didn't want to.
"you brooding again, nakamura?" i asked one morning, blades clashing.
"just focused."
"hmm. mysterious. very tragic-hero. should i be worried you're gonna monologue at me about fate?"
he flushed. full-on blushed. it was... kinda adorable.
then there were the stoll brothers—my partners-in-prank-crime. they were chaos in twin form, always dragging me into schemes that got us kitchen duty or monster poop patrol. i never minded. they made everything fun. and maybe i imagined it, but lately they'd been hovering closer. sitting beside me at meals. arguing over who got the last brownie and offering it to me anyway.
"you like her," connor whispered to travis once when they thought i couldn't hear.
"you both like me," i said without turning around. "try harder."
they laughed. but neither of them denied it.
honestly? i didn't think much of any of it. i was too busy soaking in the sun and making the most of the peace. i didn't notice the way ethan looked at me like he'd memorized my every movement, or how silena lingered whenever our hands brushed. i missed how travis always had an extra bottle of nectar in case i forgot mine, or how connor got weirdly quiet when i talked about the mortal world.
maybe i was just bad at noticing. or maybe part of me didn't want to notice. because feelings complicate things, and camp felt like the only place where everything was still simple.
for now.
A/N small update before we get into book 2
YOU ARE READING
someone to call mine (pjo various x reader)
Fanfiction"i don't hate you," my voice was barely a whisper against his chest "i know sweetheart," he murmured, his arms tightening around me i looked up at him, my eyes brimming with tears, "but i should hate you," i confess "you should," he cupped my face...
