#back with the modern day campers

[idle-compy]

campfam 4 life

(click for better quality)

[7s3ven]

UR MY LOVER. luke (pjo)

( master list )

IN WHICH… Camp Half-Blood has its very own band to entertain themselves. Most of the campers aren’t sure where they get their electricity for their instruments but one thing they are certain about is that the substitute lead singer and lead guitarist definitely have a thing for each other.

“Look in my eyes, they will tell you the truth. The girl in my story has always been you.”

A/N : Luke seems like he’d be in a band

Warning : sex references, some details differ from the og books, modern references

—

Y/N has been lounging in the sun on her rickety front porch when something, or rather someone, blocked the rays of warmth. She groaned, lowering her sunglasses to get a better look at who was bothering her.

“What?” She grumbled to the mischievous son of Hermes, Luke. It’s not like she hated him, quite the opposite to be honest. His presence was a breath of fresh air in her stressful days at Camp Half-Blood. But she was sleep-deprived and in desperate need of a rest. Luke merely smiled down at her, unthreatened by her hostile tone.

“Hey, little bolt.” He uttered, crouching down beside her to almost match her height. Y/N rolled her eyes, pushing her glasses back up with her middle finger. “So as you know, Chiron is letting us form a band. The only problem is I have an electric guitar and, you know, it needs electricity. And there’s not enough ‘round here. Personally, I think we’re lucky to have a daughter of Zeus.”

Y/N scoffed. “No.” She quickly retorted, already guessing what he was going to ask her. “I won’t power your stupid performances.”

“What? Why would I ask that? I was going to ask you if you wanted a quicky backstage.” Luke sarcastically joked, his lips curving into a cheeky smirk. Y/N’s lips curled into an unamused sneer as she set her sharp gaze on the boy beside her. “Help me out this one time, babe.”

“Ew,” She furrowed her eyebrows in disgust, “Don’t call me that.”

“Come on, sweetheart. I ain’t gonna stop until you agree. I won’t ever ask for this favor again, pudding.” His nicknames were becoming increasingly worse and Y/N's ears were practically bleeding. Y/N cringed and covered her ears, desperately wanting to bang her head into a wall to drown his voice out. Her last thread was Luke calling her kitty.

“Okay!” She sat up, flinging her glasses at him. Luke effortlessly caught them, looking down at the intricate rims. He traced his fingers over the gems embedded in the sides. They shined in the light and small rainbows reflected off them. “Just stop calling me those horrid names!” She exclaimed, slapping his shoulder.

He grinned, “Deal. Practice is tonight, 8 pm sharp. Don’t be late.” He tossed Y/N’s glasses back at her and quickly stood up. “See ya, princess.”

Y/N wanted to hurl a rock at him for that stupid pet name but Luke was already running away, bellowing out a laugh as he tilted his head back in amusement. “I’m going to electrocute you, Luke! I hope your guitar backfires!” She screamed, earning another chuckle from Luke.

“Yo, guys.” He burst into his cabin, grinning at Chris and Charles who were positioned on his bed, lazily lying down. “Y/N’s in. Now we just need a lead singer. Charles, how’s convincing Silena going?”

Charles pressed his lips into a thin line. “You know she has stage fright.” He uttered, referring to his girlfriend, “Maybe if I mentioned that Y/N will be there then she’ll go? I think she has a girl crush on Y/N.” Charles let out a low chortle.

Everyone liked Y/N, apart from when she was deprived of sleep and grumpy. She was like a fire ready to flare up, stalking its way through the high grass.

“So, how did you convince Y/N? I heard from Annabeth that she was in a particularly bad mood today.” Chris uttered, chuckling. "Did you promise her sex or something?" Luke shrugged as Charles chucked a can of Sprite his way.

He pulled back the tab and the can opened with a pop and fizz. “Nah. A part of me wishes, though. I might get some if I did. But, I have my ways.” He retorted, grinning. “Band practice is at eight. Charles, do your best to get Silena on board because I can’t deal with Clarisse as lead singer.” Luke sighed, taking a huge gulp from his can. Chris chuckled while Charles silently nodded in agreement.

“She is rather hard to deal with.” Charles muttered, his voice almost a whisper in fear that Clarisse would overhear him.

Luke would have asked Y/N to be the band’s lead singer but he knew she wasn’t happy with having to power up his guitar. She’d rather jump in water than agree to sing and she hated water. It probably had something to do with the fact that she could create electricity with her bare hands.

Water and lightning never went well together.

Luke was buzzing with excitement as he jogged towards an abandoned cabin Chiron had agreed to let them use for practice. He opened the creaky door, surprised to see Y/N already sitting on a dusty couch.

“I already hate it here.” She said, turning to face him. He cracked a grin.

“Not enough sleep last night, huh?”

Y/N scoffed, shaking her head. “I barely got any. Some idiots were up all night, singing their hearts out to Olivia Rodrigo.” Luke was ashamed to admit that those idiots were him, Chris, and the Stoll brothers. “I mean, how much of a loser do you have to be to scream your heart out to jealousy?”

“I don’t know.” Luke shrugged, sitting next to her. Dust surrounded the air around him and he coughed, fanning it away with his hand. His actions made Y/N lightly chuckle. “Maybe they related to the lyrics. Unlike you, perfect girl.”

Y/N scoffed, rolling her eyes. “I’m not perfect. I’m far from it.” Luke quickly turned to face her, resting his arm on the back of the couch.

“How come? You’re pretty and smart and you’ve got Zeus as your dad. Come on, you hit the jackpot on that one.” Luke grinned and the corners of Y/N’s lips twitched.

“You think I’m perfect?” She asked, confused. She quietly laughed, giving Luke an almost judging stare. “I don’t even have my life together. How can I be perfect?”

“Most of us don’t have our lives together. Look at me, I’m well over sixteen now and I’m starting a band at camp because there’s nothing to do ‘round here. And I’m also sitting in a dodgy looking cabin with dust everywhere. But hey, at least I have a pretty girl with me.”

Y/N stared at Luke for a second before she huffed in amusement. “You’re a no-good flirt, Luke.” She playfully shoved him.

“You seem in a better mood.” He smiled, proud of himself.

“You had nothing to do with it, I can assure you.” She rolled her eyes and turned her head, spotting Chris, Silena, and Charles walking towards the cabin. “Looks like your band mates are here.” She uttered, sitting up.

“Hey man, what’s up!” Chris joyfully greeted Luke while Charles’ approach was more quiet. Silena smiled at Luke and waved at Y/N with a bright smile.

“Alright, so everybody’s here. We got Charles on drums, Chris as back up guitar, me as lead and sub vocals, and Silena as vocals.” Luke loudly clapped his hands as away to earn everybody’s attention.

“Does that make me your back-up generator then?” Y/N butted in.

“Yeah. Hold this, darling.” Luke handed her a cord that connected to his guitar and she begrudgingly took it.

“No more names.” She warned, sending a small current to shock Luke. He yelped, taken aback, all while Y/N smirked. She stayed true to her words to electrocute Luke if he ever annoyed her.

Y/N lay on the couch, clutching onto the cord and aimlessly staring at the ceiling. The sound of Charles’ loud drums and Silena’s soft voice merged with the loud ringing in Y/N’s ears. She kept her eyes fixed on a certain spot, completely dazed until Luke pressed a cold can to her face.

“We’re taking a break.” He said, offering her a drink. She arched an eyebrow.

“Why are you giving me one?” She questioned, sitting up and taking it away.

Luke shrugged. “I mean, you are powering up my guitar. You deserve a little thanks.”

Y/N merely stared at Luke before cracking open the can, taking a small sip. “I trust you haven’t drugged this?”

Luke lightly snorted. “I have no purpose to put coke in your drink.” He held out his hand, silently asking for sip. Y/N shoved the can into his arms.

“So, when did you get the idea of forming a band?” She questioned, tapping her foot against the wooden floor. She glanced at Luke who smiled, a strange wishful look in his gaze.

“I’ve always loved music.” He admitted, “And being a demigod, you don’t exactly have a lot of chances. I did play at one festival, though… and it was amazing. But then I got attacked by a monster.” Luke chuckled under his breath, shaking his head in amusement. “It was still the best moment of my life. And I want that kind of joy back.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it back. What’s it like playing the guitar?” She quirked an eyebrow, tilting her head to the side. Luke grinned, his tongue peeking out from between his teeth.

“Amazing. You wanna learn?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, “I can hardly hold a guitar correctly, let alone play it, Luke.”

“Come on, pretty. I’ll show ya.”

“I need two hands to play. But I also need to power up the guitar. How do you suppose that’ll work?”

“You’ll figure out a way. You always do.”

That’s how Y/N ended up holding the plug with Luke sitting almost directly behind her, guiding her hands. He smiled as Y/N struggled, her fingers never quite reaching the right chords.

A twig snapped and Chris walked into the cabin, wiping away sweat with the back of his hand. “Man, it is hot outside- Oh, sorry. Did I interrupt something?” Chris paused, staring the pair.

“No.” Y/N quickly answered. They practically jumped away from each other. She handed Luke his guitar, clearing her throat.

“I should get going.” She announced to nobody in particular. She briefly smiled at the two boys before spinning around on her heels, quickly walking away.

“Hey, pretty, wait!” Luke stood up in a hurry but Y/N was already out the door and walking past the tall trees.

Y/N rubbed her tired eyes as she waltzed out of her cabin, almost screaming when she saw Luke leaned up against the wall.

He grinned and greeted her, tipping an imaginary hat. “Hey, pretty. You up for charging my guitar today? I need to practice my riffs.”

Y/N thickly gulped, looking for any sign of Chris or Charles or even Silena, who she knew was busy with teaching kids archery. “… Alone?” She questioned after a long pause.

“Yeah. Does that bother you? I can practice another time.” Luke offered.

The warm sun bore down on Y/N as she stared at Luke. “No… it’s not a problem. When do you want to practice?”

Luke stood up straight, folding his arms over his chest. He grinned down at Y/N. “Right now if you’re free, pretty. But it looks like you just woke up. Bad sleep?”

“Hardly any at all. Again.” Y/N retorted, sour and harsh. She silently followed Luke to the cabin, raising her eyes in surprise when she saw the lack of dust. “You cleaned it?” She questioned, craning her head to get a better look.

“Yup. The dust was getting to my eyes.” Luke uttered. Y/N hummed in quiet approval.

“You’d make a good house husband. You can clean, you can charm your way through everything, and you can play guitar. What’s next? Cooking?”

Luke smugly smirked, “I’m actually great with a pan, pretty. I’ll make you cinnamon toast someday. Or do you prefer pancakes?”

“Food is food.” She shrugged. “So, how’s the guitar going?” She fiddled with the cord, “I always wanted to learn piano. I tried it a few times but it never stuck.”

“I think you’d look charming playing the piano, pretty.” He flirtatiously smiled, twirling a strand of Y/N’s H/C hair around his finger. Y/N stiffened, her cheeks practically glowing red.

“Are you going to practice or stare at me until we grow eighty?” Y/N muttered, leaning away from Luke.

“I think I’m going to continue staring.” He retorted, winking at her. Y/N looked away, lightly frowning.

“So, what songs are you going to sing?”

“Silena’s gonna be doing most of the vocal work but there’s one song I’ll be singing.”

Y/N raised an eyebrow, silently telling him to continue because as much as she tried to dislike being here with Luke, she was curious. Luke plucked at the guitar strings, humming out a quiet melody.

“Wait.” Y/N articulated, “You aren’t going to sing to me, right? I don’t want a Barbie moment.”

“Too bad.” Luke replied, already getting ready to sing. Y/N softly groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was expecting Luke’s voice to be like nails on a chalkboard, a horrible sound overall, but the lyrics slipped past his lips and Y/N found herself not entirely hating it.

“Are you seriously singing Elvis Presley?” She said over the sound of Luke’s voice and guitar. He merely grinned, nodding his head.

“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin? If I can't help falling in love with you?” Luke smiled, his gaze never faltering. He was staring straight at Y/N as he meticulously played complicated chords. She felt uncomfortable under his eyes and a part of her wanted to sink into the couch. “This is one of your favourite songs, is it not?” Luke asked as he continued strumming.

“How would you know that, Luke?”

“Trust me, pretty. I hear you singing with the Apollo kids. As grumpy as you are without sleep sometimes, you sure sound cheerful when you’re singing Elvis. Join in on the singing, won’t ya?”

“Like a river flows. Surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes. Some things are meant to be.” Luke swayed, waiting for Y/N to join. She begrudgingly did.

“Take my hand. Take my whole life, too. For I can't help…falling in love with you.” They sang in unison. Y/N’s eyes were focused straight ahead of her while Luke’s ran over her soft features and lips that had been tinted with lipstick.

“Like a river flows. Surely to the sea. Darling, so it goes. Some things are meant to be.”

Luke couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face as Y/N’s voice drowned out his own and he stopped singing. She was far too lost in the music to notice.

“Take my hand. Take my whole life, too. For I can't help falling in love with you.” Y/N turned back to Luke, faltering when she saw how he was staring at her. Like she was his whole world or like she had planted the beautiful stars in the sky.

“For I can't help… falling in love with you.” Luke sang the iconic last line, grinning. His face was much closer to Y/N’s than he anticipated, causing her to flinch. She didn’t shuffle away, though.

“Have I ever told you how pretty you look… pretty?” Luke chuckled at how his sentence and his nickname for Y/N clashed. The apples of her cheeks turned bright pink and she didn’t sneer at him this time. She only stared at him with eyes that were vulnerable lest Luke give her another compliment.

The door to the haughty shack slammed open, Charles entering. He spluttered in surprise when he saw Y/N and Luke. “Sorry… I can leave and come back… if you want…”

Y/N stood up, brushing the non-existent dust off her shirt. “It’s fine. I was just leaving.” She didn’t spare Luke another glance as she hurried out, flustered.

“Were you two about to kiss?” Charles questioned. Luke frustratingly groaned, holding his face in his head.

“I liked to think we were going to.”

Y/N stood in the side lines of the stage, holding Luke’s cord while staring at a clipboard she held in her other hand. It was the list of songs Luke had given her to keep her occupied.

i, Lovesick by Laufey - sung by Silena

ii, Venus by Regina Song - sung by Silena

iii, Can’t help falling in love by Elvis - sung by Luke

The second song fit the daughter of Aphrodite. Y/N glanced at the stage, her eyes immediately finding Luke. He was helping Charles set up his drums. Luke seemed to sense her eyes on him and he lifted his head, smirking.

Y/N quickly diverted her gaze as she heard Luke jog towards her. “Hey, pretty.” He greeted her, “Silena’s vocals can only take so much singing so are you good taking over the last song?”

“No.” Y/N answered but Luke didn’t hear her, or he chose to ignore her.

“Thanks, pretty. I owe you one. Love ya!” He ran off while Y/N mentally cursed at him. She angrily looked at the list, her eyes slightly softening when she saw the song.

iv, Lover (remix) by Taylor Swift + Shawn Mendes

It was one of her favourite songs. She could remember listening to it when she wasn’t aware of her demigod status, always wishing for a love as pure as Jack and Rose’s. Despite being swamped by complicated emotions, she was still a teenage girl secretly wishing for a teen romance like the books and movies and songs suggested.

The makeshift concert started with a short light show conducted by an Iris kid and that’s when the band finally stepped out. The demigod crowd cheered, clapping their hands. The Aphrodite girls were holding signs up for Silena and Luke quietly chuckled as his Hermes brothers yelled a little too loudly.

Silena’s voice was beautiful as she sang and Y/N found herself shrinking back. How could she compete with that? She didn’t even want to sing. She was fine sitting backstage with nothing but a clipboard to stare at.

At least Luke seemed to be enjoying himself and all the attention he was gaining from the girls. Y/N felt her chest tighten. It’s not like she had feelings for Luke… did she? In this moment, Y/N wanted nothing more than to be an Aphrodite kid because at least they could sense love.

Luke sang the melody to the Elvis Presley song with as much tenderness as he did in the cabin, occasionally glancing over at Y/N to see her mouthing the words.

“Pretty, you’re up.” Luke said as the band hurried back stage for a small break. He took the guitar cord from Y/N, plugging it into some sort of machine that she didn’t recognise. “Drink some water so you don’t get dehydrated. You know the words, don’t ya?”

Y/N could only nod, too confused to process everything at once. “What about your guitar?” She asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“It’ll be fine. Don’t ya worry.” Luke ushered her up the steps onto the brightly lit stage. “Alright guys, we’re back. Did ya miss us? Of course you did. Anyway, Silena’s swamped so we’ve got Y/N singing. Don’t worry, folks, she has a great voice when she’s feeling nice.”

Luke cheekily grinned as he adjusted his headset microphone while Y/N glared at him.

“Anyway, this song will be a duet between me and Y/N. Last song for the night, hope you guys enjoy!”

The music started playing immediately, causing Y/N to stiffen. She locked eyes with Luke, who was standing a meter away from her, nodding his head to the beat.

“We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January. And this is our place, we make the rules.” She hesitatingly sang, earning a few hollers from the Apollo cabin. “And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear. Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?”

“Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever? And ah, take me out, and take me home. You're my, my, my, my…” The vivid image of Y/N and Luke singing together, their faces millimetres apart, haunted Y/N. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she glanced at Luke once more only to see that he was already smiling at her.

“Lover.” Luke mouthed as Y/N sang.

Luke tapped his foot, slowly playing his guitar. “We could light a bunch of candles and dance around the kitchen, baby. Pictures of when we were young would hang on the wall. We would sit on the stoop. I'll sing love songs to you when we're eighty.”

“See, I finally got you now, honey, I won't let you fall.” They lulled out in unison. “Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close? Forever and ever, ah. Take me out, and take me home. You're my, my, my, my lover.” Their voices blended together perfectly and the crowd found themselves swaying to the music, clearly noticing the romantic tension between Luke and Y/N.

“Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? With every guitar string scar on my hand. I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover.” Y/N nervously clasped her hands around her mic, her breath shuddering when Luke beamed at her.

“Look in my eyes, they will tell you the truth. The girl in my story has always been you.” Luke strummed the guitar cords as he walked towards Y/N, “I’d go down with the Titanic, it’s true. For you, lover.”

The music ended there, despite the song still having another chorus left. Y/N furrowed her eyebrows at Luke. “You had enough electricity this whole time?” She whispered away from the mic.

“Yeah. I just wanted to spend time with you, pretty. I like you, Y/N. More than I should admit because my fan girls will be a little upset.” Luke chuckled as he jogged off stage, Y/N following close behind.

“So I used my electricity for nothing? You could’ve just asked me to accompany you!” Y/N slapped his shoulder.

“Oh, come on, pretty. Be realistic. You wouldn’t have come if I merely asked. Even if I confessed to you then and there.”

“And what exactly do you like about me?”

“Everything, Y/N. The way your eyes shine when you read, the way you smile when you sing Elvis songs, and the way you have freckles that line up in a square, like constellations on your face. The truth is, you could break my heart into tiny little pieces and I’d still pick them up for you to hold. You like rainbows, don’t you?”

“Doesn’t everybody?”

“I adore you, Y/N. And it doesn’t matter that sometimes our worlds are coloured with different hues. Because when the colours bleed into each other, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Apart from your face and soul, of course.”

“What if the colour turns out to be an ugly yellow?”

“You’re ruining the mood, pretty.”

Y/N clicked her tongue as she tilted forward, gingerly pressed a soft kiss to Luke’s lips. He gently gasped.

“Your mics is on, by the way.” She whispered, “Just thought you’d like to know.”

PJO TAG LIST : @lostinhisworld @julielightwood @outerbanks-stuff @jennapancake @csifandom @evrybodydies1 @kkrenae @s0ulsniper @annispamz @justanotherkpopstanlol @soraya-09 @simpforeveyone @papichulo120627 @corpsebridenightamare @lilacspider @prettylilsimp @urmomsbananabread @ur-lacol-dsylexic @hottiewifeyyyy @kamiliora @be-bap @finnickodaddy @th0tblckgrl @shoyofroyoyoyo @uniquely-her @imafrkinsimp @syraxesrevenge @ahh-chickens @dracoslovergirl @midnightstar-90 @8812-342 @liv1104 @krkiiz @arialikestea @ch16rles @lizziesliz @maryclx01 @lukecastellandefender @yuminako @coryoskywalker @julielightwood @crybabysbakery @jsbabyyy @liviessun @p3pperm1nttea @angie-esc @purplerose291 @prettylilsimp @10ava01 @froggiesstalks @happy-jj @czennieszn @gisellesprettylies @loveyava @csifandom @luvvfromme @mashiromochi @kamiliora @yorksyree @mqg125 @jamesmackreideswife @niktwazny303 @2hiigh2cry @user021099 @living-in-my-imagination88 @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @randomgurl2326 @niktwazny303

[fryingpan1234567]

some CHB headcanons

every cabin has LEDs around the inside, but there’s a constant battle over what color they are

Percy has his rippling back and forth from teal to blue and it looks like light dancing through water all over his walls and floor

the Apollo cabin can usually settle for orange and yellow as a common ground

the Aphrodite kids have a different color for each time of day and sleep with pink on the lowest brightness setting

the Hermes cabin has like ten different strips and they’re all constantly shifting

Demeter cabin’s shifts with the seasons

ANYWAYS MOVING AWAY FROM THE LEDS

they have movie nights, which I will talk about in a different post

before everybody goes back to school, the Aphrodite and Hecate cabins have a massive salon at the end of the summer with new haircuts and magic hair dye and outfit recommendations and fake but enchanted sturdy nails and a whole bunch of other stuff and basically it’s a week straight of spilling hot tea between everyone in camp

if someone asks where a camper got their hair done when they get back to school they just go “oh, um… summer camp.” and their friends will snort and be like bro isn’t summer camp the opposite of a makeover?? but they get no argument, just a shrug and a half smile

when I tell you pride month over there is a fucking riot

because Mr. D is in on it, right?? because he’s the god of gender?? and Chiron is aroace and has been raising dumbass gay heroes for literal centuries?? PLUS the sheer fucking amount of queer peeps up in there?? dude yeah

cabins competing for who shows the most pride

Demeter’s roof is covered in rainbow flowers

Hecate’s is enchanted to emit actual light in whatever flag colors of whoever uses the front door, even when they’re straight (it’s just a rainbow)

Percy collects a bunch of shed scales from the hippocampi at the bottom of the lake and then puts them all over his cabin

I could make a whole post about CHB pride but

every single Apollo kid is also a theater kid fight me

Rachel Elizabeth Dare painted a skateboard for Percy’s birthday and he brings it everywhere now, it even sits in his backpack at school

Leo, Annabeth, Percy, and Piper fucking love horror movies. Frank, Hazel, and Jason fucking hate them. They watch through their fingers, if at all

Piper loves the band Surfaces with all her heart, but she also is a die hard Green Day and P!ATD fan

Jake Mason is covered in burn scars up to his neck, just like Deadpool, just not bald lol

Hephaestus and Apollo kids faintly radiate warmth (like more so than a normal person)

the Stolls sometimes stay at camp year-round because their mom is off on international missions that are too high-risk for them to help with

the seven are AVID Smash Bros players

really everyone but

not as many people go to the Athena campers for help with homework as you might think, but whenever anyone does, they’re happy to help

the sun chariot blasts music at a frequency only the Apollo kids can hear, so their life kind of has a shitty soundtrack that consists of a mix of Broadway, Queen, modern stuff, and random bits of Beethoven every now and then

the Romans swear on few occasions

the Greeks know when to swear and when to be polite

the Valhalla peeps swear unbridled and all the time

the Egyptians never swear (in English)

for the longest time, Will Solace thinks the only gift from his dad is his healing prowess— which is obviously great, but he expresses being upset over the fact that he’s not very good at archery

well, considering this is the dumbass who didn’t bring a weapon to actual fucking Tartarus, Nico drags him to the weapon shack thing immediately afterwards and made him pick something out

he's immediately drawn to the Celestial Bronze shotgun.

Nico’s just like “what in the redneck shit did you just pick up” and Will jokingly aims it at his chest and grins and says “you know I’m from Texas, right?”

that’s how they find out Will is one of the damn best marksmen in Greek demigod history

some of the Disney nerds in the Apollo cabin sing What Once Was Mine to the little ones who need bandaids for knee scrapes and give them lollipops afterwards

Percy Jackson absolutely used to make poverty and struggle meal jokes all the time, but he got weird and concerned looks for it at CHB, so he kind of just stopped. But one day, aboard the Argo II, the PERFECT opportunity came up and he just HAD TO and as per usual— everyone else looked at him like he’s crazy— but Leo laughed so hard chocolate milk came out of his nose and that’s the story of how the two of them became Best Friends

[queenie-official]

Part Three Of Summer Love: ‘Blurred Lines’

series masterlist celebration event camp logo

pairing: Modern!Anakin Skywalker x fem!reader

word count: 18k 😀

a/n: it’s 5:00 in the morning 💀 i’m so tired (proofread but i’m also so tired i probably missed a bunch)

“y/n?" Anakin's voice calls from beside you, his hand still outstretched in front of you as you stare down at it. he gives it a small shake waiting for you to take it.

you'd both just made it to the lodge hall, everyone else had already made it inside whilst you two had the discussion.

reality finally catching up with you as to just what this was going to entail. "you want me to hold your hand?" you ask in disbelief.

"i mean you don't have to, i just figured if we're gonna do the whole fake dating thing we might as well make it convincing." he says with a shrug, hand still waiting for you to take hold. you hadn't expected him to be so… eager?

his willingness for what's essentially going to be a public announcement to the entire camp was confusing. you'd still barely even discussed the details. how far was this to go? just hand-holding? who were you telling the lie to and who was allowed to know the truth?

your thoughts are cut off when you see his hand start to lower, you're quick to place your hand on top of his palm then. the questions pushed to the back of your mind as you’re unable to resist the chance to hold his hand.

did you come off too desperate? you started to question yourself, but the feeling of Anakin's calloused hands intertwining with yours was enough to silence any self-deprecating thoughts.

his hands were warm, and you found yourself staring at them. enjoying the way your hand looked in his. it was enough to distract you as he opened the doors tugging you gently along behind him.

slowly but surely more and more eyes were on you both as you walked to the food line. it came in waves, the whispers and points of fingers. you'd even heard a few 'i told you so's' not just from the campers but from some of your fellow counselors. which made you wonder just how far the rumor of you two dating had spread in less than a day. not that it mattered now.

Anankin's hand finally slipped from yours when he grabbed his tray, handing you one and pulling you back down from the cloud you'd felt like you were floating on. you mumbled a thanks before loading up your tray.

finally looking up and around the hall. you made direct eye contact with Padme who looked about ready to run over and tackle you to the ground in her excitement with questions. thankfully for your sake she didn't, letting you off the hook for now as you headed to your usual lunch table where a slack-jawed Kenobi and bewildered Rex sat.

as soon as you sat down you were both flooded with questions. both men's voices overlapping the other making it impossible to understand what they were saying. it's only when they both settle on the same question that you're left sitting in silence as they wait for your answer. "When did this happen!?" they'd asked, clearly already coming to the conclusion you two were now a thing.

you went to open your mouth and clear the air, with every intention of telling them the truth only to have the words die on your tongue as Anakin says "just now, on the way here" with a shrug of his shoulders.

you blink taken aback. he seemed to be doing that a lot to you within the last ten minutes since it started. it felt like a fever dream. "holy shit" Rex said in shock at Anakin's answer.

"i knew you liked her dude" he continues and you feel your head starting to spin, especially when Anakin doesn't deny it. this was way too much to process at once, but it's not like Anakin could deny it right? he'd agreed you two were a thing without a second thought.

you think back to the way he'd easily lied to Padme that first night when she'd asked what you'd been whispering about. maybe he was just a really good liar? maybe he'd explain to them the situation privately but didn't want to go into details in case he was overheard and then the ruse would be up just as quickly as it’d started. that seemed like the more logical explanation.

in that case you'd do the same, as soon as you and Padme were back at the cabin for the day you'd explain the situation to her but for now as far as anyone knew you and Anakin were officially a couple. what a day this was chalking up to be.

"i leave you two alone for five minutes and i miss everything!" Rex complains before going on a tangent about how from now on he was not being left alone with all the campers so he didn't miss anything else as important as that.

Ben remained silent, clearly taken aback and he looked unsure. like he knew something was up, Anakin was definitely going to be grilled later just as much as you probably were by Padme.

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the day blurred by fast, it hadn't even felt like you were present. truly an out-of-body experience. campers constantly coming up to you throughout different periods for confirmation on the status of your relationship- who knew kids were so interested in this stuff?

the camper most intrigued was Ahsoka, though she didn't show it at first. not asking a single question during her period with you guys in the crafts center like the other kids did, not even confronting Anakin to your knowledge.

nor did she confront you when you sat at the table together at dinner. even after Padme swarmed you with her own questions that you brushed off telling her you'd explain later.

no Ahsoka was too smart for that, she knew she wouldn't get any real information out of you that way, so she played the waiting game. looking for just the right moment to pounce, and sure enough when all the kids were either showering or brushing their teeth leaving you alone in the staff cabin room contemplating your life as Padme supervised the kids. Jasmine nowhere to be found after she'd dropped her kids off at the cabin. she made her move.

"is it true? you and Anakin are dating" the question pulled you from the hurricane that was your mind, turning towards the door where Ahsoka was walking in from.

you bit your lip unsure whether or not she should know the truth, she sat beside you on the bed narrowing her eyes; daring you to try and lie. no one ever talks about this but there is nothing more frightening than the judgment of a twelve-year-old girl. judgment that makes you cave instantly.

"no, we're just pretending." the truth comes out and you feel lighter, the room feeling just a smidge easier to breathe in. you look at Ahsoka gauging her reaction, she seemed disappointed. "we thought it'd be easier to just pretend we were rather than having to deny it constantly to everyone"

her nose wrinkles at the explanation like she'd just heard the most stupid thing ever. if she does think that she doesn't say it, just sighs instead before speaking up. "i figured, it seemed too good to be true. especially since i was the one who started the rumor" your mind went completely blank at the revelation, blinking rapidly.

she looks guilty, a small nervous smile on her face. "i know you guys said you weren't, but you just seemed so cute together! and Anakin seems to really like you- i just figured that if enough people were saying you were together you'd both realize your feelings and confess" oh this sweet mischievous child.

"i mean i've had him as my counselor two summers in a row now and i'm telling you i've never seen him act the same way he does with you with Padme. he says he likes her but i don't think he really does. i think he just found her beautiful and was infatuated with her" she continued to ramble, defending her actions and you had to give her some credit she was extremely emotionally intelligent. but way off.

sure he was a little touchy with you lately, prior to the hand-holding at lunch today. and yeah he joked around a lot but you worked at the same activity center. you were bound to be close- and as for the physical affection he just seemed like a touchy guy. he hugged and roughhoused around with Ben and Rex all the time.

he was just too nervous to do all of that with Padme is all and you don't blame him, you'd be nervous too if you were pinning after her. Padme was a gorgeous person inside and out. she was smart and independent, honestly if Anakin hadn't somehow managed to wedge his way into your mind so quickly, you probably would have had a crush on her too.

Ahsoka could see it on your face, the disbelief in her assessment. "if you and Anakin are just pretending why bother actually acting like a proper couple then?"

"hand holding hardly counts as acting like a proper couple Ahsoka" you laugh and she huffs in annoyance.

"stage one, denial" she says with a shake of her head. gods if this was how Ahsoka was acting you could already guess how Padme was going to be.

"shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?" you change the subject and Ahsoka relents, mumbling a 'we'll see who's right' under breath as she leaves.

you weren't in denial, what'd she know she was twelve for gods sake. you fall backwards on the bed with a groan. once more Padme took care of the kids getting them all to settle down for the day and giving them the usual 'you have an hour before bed' spiel.

as soon as she was done she came into the room. you could have sworn all you did was blink and she was hovering above you. "spill everything" she says excitedly and for a split second you consider keeping up the lie knowing the truth was only going to disappoint her as much as it did you.

but you couldn't willingly lie to Padme especially when you'd confessed to a literal kid not even a few minutes prior, so instead you suck up what remains of your dignity and go over everything that happened leading up to lunch.

she has her brows raised, a similar face to Ahsoka's earlier. "wow you two are doing everything except admitting you like each other aren't you" you roll your eyes, knowing this was coming.

"ive admitted it to you" she purses her lips and gives you a deadpanned look.

"yea to me not to Anakin" you groan rubbing your face with your hands in frustration.

"he doesn't like me he likes-" she cuts you off, with an exasperated sigh.

"-me i know, i know, so you've said a thousand times but what on earth has happened lately that says in any way he likes me like that anymore?" her question irks you, not because it was necessarily annoying but because it was unfortunately a valid point.

"i don't know Padme i don't pretend to understand the male mind" she shrugs with a soft fair enough and falls back beside you.

"maybe you're right, maybe he doesn't like you." she starts and you feel yourself grimace realizing just how much it was going to hurt when you called off the fake dating thing at the end of the summer. "but there's also a chance that i'm correct so stop ruling it out and acting like it's a definitive fact."

but it was, how much clearer could it be when he said so himself? you tune her out at this point tired from the day's events and even more so from the constant back and forth. you felt a sense of relief knowing you wouldn't have to fight back to anyone else about how you two weren't dating, making you realize just why Anakin had suggested it in the first place.

it was so much easier to pretend than to constantly have to deny something you two weren't. or so you had convinced yourself.

eventually, Padme let you be; heading to the top bunk to chill until lights out. you sigh truly a jumbled mess as you move to lay on your stomach, opening your phone to text Honey. whoever said in the eye of a hurricane there is quiet for just a moment was a liar- or you'd yet to reach that brief moment of respite.

'Honeeeyyyy' you send just to get your best friends attention, it was time to let every thought out of your mind and Honey was the one person you knew would listen to every single one. yes she would tell you how it is if she felt the need to but she'd always let you speak your truth first.

unfortunately for you, there was no answer not even five minutes later as you swiped back and forth from her message chat and your home screen. which could only mean two things, her phone was dead or she was busy with her family and didn't wanna come off rude by taking out her phone and messaging you. just your luck.

you sigh before typing a message anyway, deciding to just get everything off your chest now and then she can answer back later when she was free. it's not until you send '(so sorry to be putting this on you out of no where) - me and Anakin are fake dating 😀 we talked about how the campers wouldn't stop bothering us so he suggested we do it to get them to stop and i agreed 😭' that the chat was instantly opened.

a text bubble immediately appearing and sent within the blink of an eye. 'WHAAATTT!?' you couldn't help but laugh, you suppose if she'd been the one to send something like that you'd have reacted the same way.

you continued to explain the situation giving her all the details leading up to where you were now before she responds again. 'not you living out a romance trope'

'it seemed like a good idea when i agreed 😭' you type back, not that you were currently having doubts. 'it's purely platonic'

'my ass, in what world are we living in where this is going to go the strictly platonic route 🤨' fair honestly, you couldn't even entirely believe this was the reality you were living in. 'we're both aware this means he 100% likes you back right? i mean who fake dates someone when they have feelings for someone else.'

of course she said that, that is now three different people who've all separately told you this. 'maybe he's trying to make Padme jealous?' it was a sad attempt at an excuse and you both knew it. Anakin and you strictly did this to get the campers off your backs, there were no alterior motives involved.

if there were you never would of agreed to it, and even if you had it would not have the effect on Padme he'd think it would if that were the case. she harbored no feelings for him that much was clear. 'y/n, my love. i need you to be so fr with me rn girl 🙏😐'

okay maybe Ahsoka was right about you being in denial. but denial was good, denial was safe. it meant if everyone else was wrong and he didn't like you you'd have no reason to be upset when you already knew the truth. 'look i'm sure this whole thing will blow over once the gossip dials down between the campers and Anakin will call it off'

'whatever helps you sleep at night' was the last message you read from her before shutting off your phone. smooshing your face into the pillow wanting nothing more than to scream.

you look back up when you hear your phone ping a few minutes later, your heart flutters in your chest when you see it's a text from Anakin.

you decided you’re too emotionally drained to give him much attention so rather than opening your phone to respond you just unlock it and read the notification box 'Ben and Rex know the truth' you let out a sigh of relief- or maybe disappointment.

it was just like you thought earlier he just didn't want to give it away to the campers that you both were faking it. you turn your phone back off again, mind empty unsure how to feel. there's the quiet. the eye of the storm you finally made it.

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you woke up the next day without having realized you'd even fallen asleep to begin with. a small voice calling your name from beside you. when you finally open your eyes, the sunlight blinding you as it poured through the window successfully disorienting you further as you tried to recognize who was speaking to you at that moment.

"y/n" the small voice called again, this time you sat up before you opened your eyes. avoiding the bright rays of the sun as you adjusted to the room around you. once you could see properly you turn to your side seeing Mia standing at the side of the bed waiting for you to answer.

you blink a few times confused, looking up to the bunk bed across from you only to find it completely empty. your eyes fall back down to Mia. "is everything okay?" the young girl shakes her head.

"i don't know where Jasmine is" she says sounding worried. had Jasmine even come back to the cabin last night? you kept that question to yourself as you stared at the camper from Jasmine's group.

"that's okay, i'm sure she'll show up. is there something you need from her that i could help you with?" you offer trying your best to reassure her.

"she usually braids my hair for the day, Quinn said she could do it but she only knows how to do the one with three strands" you nod pulling yourself off the bed and stretching.

"i can help you, bring me your brush and hair elastic" the little girl smiles happily, skipping out of the room to go find just that. you look up to the bed above yours. Padme wasn't in bed either, not entirely strange since she always woke up before you but something felt off.

you aren't able to dwell on it as Mia comes back in the room with everything you need to do her hair. you brush her hair before doing your best to evenly part it down the middle with your fingers. working on one side and doing a fishtail braid before moving to the other. tying off the ends with the green elastics she's brought you.

Mia gives you an excited thank you before skipping off to join the rest of the kids in the other room just as Padme enters, closing the door behind her. "we have a situation" she whispers so none of the kids would overhear.

your brows crease together in concern. "what's wrong?" Padme looks over to Jasmine's bed and you feel your stomach start to swirl.

"she never came back to the cabin last night after curfew. no one's seen her this morning either. i already messaged around the camp, i even tried messaging her myself but she hasn't answered." so much for emergencies not being a common occurrence here.

"has anyone reported her missing to the directors yet?" you ask, walking over to the bed to grab your phone. when you checked the time you noticed it was almost time to head over to the lodge hall for breakfast. you press your lips together into a thin line before turning back to Padme.

"i told Ben and he messaged them. they sent a text to all the counselors to continue the day like normal for now and they'd have an announcement on what was going to happen before breakfast was over" you sigh rubbing the back of your neck with your hand.

"alright, i'm going to get dressed then and we can head out" Padme nods and leaves the room taking responsibility to talk to the kids.

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As you all walk to the lodge hall in one big group you hear the kids whispering amongst themselves about Jasmine. Padme hadn't told them the entire truth, simply saying that Jasmine wasn't with us right now and until she was back her group of kids were to come to us for help if they needed it.

it was clear they didn't believe her though and you were pretty confident that you just overheard one of the younger campers, Jason whisper to one of the older campers, Lily that he'd overheard Padme outside earlier on the phone saying to someone that Jasmine was missing.

"y/n?" you turn to the familiar voice meeting the eyes of Colton who stares up at you worriedly.

"you alright buddy?" you ask him and he shakes his head no. he mumbles a response but it was hard to hear him over the other kids. when he realizes you weren't able to make out what he said he raises his voice just a smidge more and this time you could hear him say 'i'm scared'. he seemed unsure of his words.

you give him a sympathetic smile sticking out your hand for him to take, he doesn't hesitate for once. taking it and simultaneously gluing himself to your side as you walk. poor kid was definitely worked up about this situation.

you let him stay with you even as you walk through the food line once you all get to the hall. you're internally debating whether to sit with him or have him sit with you as you stare at the table where the boys are at. thankfully he makes the decision for you. "can i sit with you guys today?" he asks shyly.

you give him a reassuring smile and nod as you both walk over to what has become your designated table. "and who's this?" Rex asks as soon as Colton sits beside you.

Anakin, who for once looked wide awake, turned to see who Rex was referring to. "hey Colton" he holds his hand out to the boy for a first bump. Colton shies away from all the attention but still shakily bumps Anakin's fist with his own.

"he wanted to sit with us today" you smile giving the little boy a gentle pat on the shoulder for encouragement as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. he still doesn't say anything but gives a small nod of agreement before focusing on his food to eat after moving his noise-canceling headphones from his neck to over his ears as the noise from the cafeteria becomes overwhelming.

you turn towards your friends as Colton stays in his own little bubble, content to just sit beside you all. "you seem wide awake for once" you tease Anakin who rolls his eyes in faux annoyance.

"how much can he hear with those on" Rex asks through a mouthful of eggs. you scrunch up your nose in disgust fighting back the urge to gag.

"gross Rex didn't your mom teach you not to talk with your mouth full" he just shrugs unbothered before shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth as well.

"you have the manners of a billy goat you know that?" Ben quips from beside him, shaking his head like a disappointed father. to which Rex almost flips him off but catches himself when he remembers there’s a camper present.

you laugh completely caught off guard by how specific the insult was. before finally answering Rex's initial question "he can hear us just fine if that's what you're wondering"

taking a bite of your food as he nodded not saying anything else, he must have wanted to talk about the Jasmine situation just not in front of Colton. you were internally grateful for him choosing to drop it, not wanting to freak Colton out anymore than he already was.

you let your mind wander as Rex talks to you all about something funny one of his campers did the other night. it's not that you didn't want to listen to Rex just that it was much harder to focus when you had the burning curiosity about where your cabinmate had disappeared too and an unsure feeling in your stomach.

as much as Jasmine was irrefutably a bitch, she was still a living being and you hoped she was okay. the worry must have shown on your face because you suddenly felt Anakin's hand on your leg, it's a miracle you don't jump at the sudden touch. his hand rubbing soothing circles on your knee, the action hidden completely by the table.

you feel your cheeks start to burn as goosebumps spread all over your body, such a simple thing and yet you feel like you're back in high school again. it was a welcome distraction, and shockingly effective as you felt the tension in your shoulders melt away. worries fading into something else. something warm and fuzzy.

it was scary in a way, just how fast you were falling with each small action of his. god you dreaded when this would be over, can your heart even take it?

there's a call from the front of the hall. Windu, Bail, and Qui-Gon all stood in a line waiting for everyone's attention. when it's finally quiet enough for them to talk Windu steps forward.

the tall brooding man looking more stern than usual as he began to speak. "Alright everyone we have a few updates for you all, for starters i'm sure a lot of you have heard that one of the Counselors has gone missing." he walks slowly back and forth as he talks, making sure to look across everyone.

"well the good news is we've made contact with her and she is safe." there are a few relieved sighs heard around the room but for the most part everyone just remains silent or gives a shrug of their shoulders. "however we would like to take this as a reminder that you are not allowed off of campgrounds without permission especially if you are on duty. you have a responsibility to your fellow staff members and the Campers you're looking after."

he comes to a stop in the middle of the room, leaving a small pause in his speech to let his words sit in. "now i won't go into any more details but for the remainder of the day we'll be having one of the swing counselors take over for the missing counselor's kids. so please continue business as usual."

with the lecture out of the way, Qui-Gon steps up and gives a much more encouraging message, mostly just to lift up the spirits. Bail chipping in every once in a while with a joke before the three of them made the synchronized closing statement to 'have a good day'.

it all seemed to help Colton calm down at least though the question still remained of where the hell Jasmine was. "do you think you could get the details Windu was so forthcoming about?" Anakin asked somewhat sarcastically to Ben who simply shrugged.

"probably not from Windu but i'll check in with Jinn before i head to my activity center" Ben says before tossing a piece of kiwi in his mouth from the small assortment of mixed fruit on his tray, to which Anakin responds by stealing one of the cherries to eat for himself.

"i thought you don't like eating this early?" you question him with a raised brow. Anakin shrugs, biting the cherry off the stem and eating it before putting the stem in his mouth.

your brows crease together in utter confusion before he pulls the stem out of his mouth, a knot now directly in the middle of it that you can't seem to look away from as he speaks. "today’s different, i've been up way earlier than usual." you just give him a small hum turning away from him and looking down at your plate.

feeling much too hot, between his hand that still remained on your knee and how casually he knotted that cherry stem you felt dizzy. you spare a glance at Ben and Rex to see if they saw how suddenly flustered you seemed. thankfully both men were too busy conversing with each other to notice.

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it's not until lunch that you guys get an answer for what happened to Jasmine, the woman in question still not back on campgrounds. "i was going to just send a text when i found out but figured it’d be easier if i just waited till now" Ben said as everyone walked in line together. trays in hand, as you all slowly loaded up your trays with your personal food preferences.

somehow Padme and Ben got to the lodge hall at the same time you, Rex, and Anakin did, usually one of you always managed to beat the other group. the campers almost never allowing you to leave at the same time. "so what'd you find out?" you ask while grabbing one of the pre-wrapped sandwiches.

"it's…i'll tell you all when we sit down" fair the other counselors were in line with you guys and this information wasn't supposed to even be known outside of the camp directors.

"did you already tell Padme?" you ask while, nudging your head in her direction. she somehow managed to get ahead of you all by three people.

"yea, i told her before the campers even got to the zipline first period" you nodded wondering silently if that's why her mood seemed sour. she was upset earlier but it was more worry and annoyance, now she just seemed straight-up angry. Veiled very thinly by her usual calm aura.

you stick your hand into the next bin without really looking only to come out empty-handed. a frown now gracing your features as you realize they had run out of pudding cups.

you give a disappointed sigh and grab one of the jello cups in the bin next to it, you had nothing against jello other than the texture so it's not like this was a big deal you'd just gotten used to a routine and unfortunately set yourself up for disappointment when doing so. wouldn't be the first time you did that and certainly won't be the last.

you make your way out of the line to your usual table alongside the boys. and when you finally sit down you don't get much time to mope before Anakin takes the jello cup off of your tray and exchanges it with the last pudding cup his pudding cup.

"you don't want it?" you tilt your head at him and he gives a nonchalant shrug.

"i like these better anyway" bullshit, you'd never seen him grab the jello cups and you could read it on Ben's face that he didn't believe a word Anakin was saying either.

"it's fine i don't want it" you insist and he scrunches his nose up as you try to put it back on his tray, swatting your hand away before you succeed.

"what'd you find out Kenobi?" Anakin asks changing the subject before you can protest again.

"other than you being an absolute sap when you're actually into a girl you mean?" Ben teases and you want to remind him once again that you're fake dating, as if he doesn't know- but the blush on Anakin's cheeks stops you.

it's gone before you can even process whether you were imagining it or not as Anakin rolls his eyes. "Jasmine, what'd you find out about her Ben" he says before taking an annoyed bite of his sandwich.

"right, so Jinn didn't tell me the exact timeline of events but what i've got is that she snuck off sometime last night and left camp to go hang out with some friends" you chime in quickly when you remember her not being in the room the night before.

"she walked the kids to the cabin after dinner and then left me and Padme alone with them. that must have been when" Ben nods seemingly remembering that Padme had said something similar to him when he told her.

"right well turns out her and the group she was with got caught drinking and driving, half of them are underage too. they were all detained and a few of them are being faced with charges" alright well that's certainly not what you were expecting, not that you were entirely sure what to expect.

"no way! is she one of the ones facing charges?" Rex asks in just as much shock and confusion as you, Ben shakes his head no.

"but she's definitely facing repercussions here. they want to fire her" it made sense after all if parents found out they'd throw a fit, rightfully so. you'd be upset too if you found out someone who's responsible for your kid was caught drinking instead of looking after them.

"what's stopping them?" you ask and this time Ben shrugs completely unsure. it's not like the camp was understaffed in any way, there was no real reason you could think of for why they'd keep her on.

"they're probably still discussing everything with the higher-ups" Ben concludes, finally digging into his food as he lets the information sit in.

"she'll probably be fired by the end of the day, i can't see this being swept under the rug the same way last year's incident was. sure no one spoke up then but really there's no way they didn't catch wind of the situation." Rex says in between sips of water.

"well she certainly found one of the quickest routes to get out of being a camp counselor" Anakin says, still unable to handle serious moments without making jokes.

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sure enough that night after dinner you and Padme had come back to Jasmine's side of the room completely cleared out. Opal the swing counselor who took over for her all day was there instead, unpacking a bag clearly being promoted to a full-time counselor.

the first thing you'd noticed about Opal was her height. you could tell she was tall earlier from afar but seeing up close was a little jarring. she practically towered over both you and Padme, the legs of a model Padme had said and you couldn't agree more. She was stunning honestly, with curly copper red hair like fire that framed her face, and pale freckled skin.

she turned to you both with a smile on her face as she introduced herself. "hey i'm Opal" it was more so directed towards you than Padme. a small reminder that you were the only new staff member, although they didn't know each other personally they knew of each other.

"y/n" you greet, mirroring the smile on her face and extending your hand which she promptly shakes. there's a small awkward silence that follows over you three, the sound of all the kids in the room besides yours providing a comforting ambience.

"is it too much to bring up the obvious elephant in the room…. or rather the lack of" Opal says while scratching the back of her neck and you can't help but snort, which leads to Padme giggling and sure enough all three of you are laughing together.

her comment broke the ice for sure, the three of you sitting on the lower bunks now just chatting- mostly shit-talking Jasmine but that helped lead to more basic getting-to-know-you questions. you're not sure when or how the topic eventually got to Anakin but you were suddenly wishing to be anywhere but in that room.

"so seriously how'd you get together? you two are seriously the cutest couple ever!" Opal's excitement for you was infectious and god did it make you feel guilty. Padme gave you a quick look, one that only the two of you would understand. the question of if you'd be telling Opal the truth or not hidden behind her amused smile.

"oh you know… it wasn't all that special- we just realized we both liked each other and" you make a clicking sound whilst intertwining your hands and Opal nods seeming to understand what you were trying to say.

"that makes sense, you know pretty much everyone was waiting for it to happen. i think some of the other counselors even had bets going" you couldn't hide the shock on your face and the way your brows shot up. sure the speculation made sense to some degree after the rumor Ahsoka started but she said it like they'd all been thinking it long before that rumor started.

"what made you guys think we were into each other? i mean besides the fact that we obviously were- since we're dating and all…" you give a strained smile feeling very much like an idiot for asking that. not to mention how terrible of a save that was, you could only hope she didn't see through that shitty recovery.

"i think how quickly you guys got close is what started it. then of course when he started showing up to breakfast for you that pretty much had everyone locked in on the fact he was into you. and we all saw how you look at him so it was no secret the feelings were mutual" oh you were going to throw up- they all saw the way you looked at him!?

here you were thinking you'd been discreet when clearly the only person who didn't notice was the very man you'd been ogling. you bite back the urge to freak out and put a smile back on your face. "oh right" you give a forced laugh, picking at the lint on your blanket.

did people really think he started going to breakfast for you? that wasn't the case at all, although now that you thought about it you never did truly question it- why had he started going to breakfast? surely it was something Padme related… but he always sits with you so maybe..

"Theo just threw up!" Quinn said slightly out of breath as she ran into the room, completely interrupting your thoughts. the three of you are all on your feet instantly, rushing into the connected room confused about how you would have missed hearing that.

Theo was stood in front of a pile of vomit shaking, his body probably still calming down from the adrenaline spike. he looked mortified the poor kid, you push past your weak stomach and go to stand next to him rubbing his back gently. "hey buddy let's go get you cleaned up okay? and then i'll walk you to the camp infirmary" Theo nods as tears begin to well in his eyes while you guide him out of the room.

you hear Padme telling all the other kids to go back to what they were doing while her and Opal clean up just as you're leaving the room and walking to the bathrooms. you help clean off his face and then his shirt which thankfully didn't get much vomit on it compared to the floor.

Theo is looking off to the side as you continue to wipe the shirt as best you can, avoiding eye contact from embarrassment. you can't help but sympathize with him, honestly throwing up in front of everyone was one of your biggest fears when you were in school. "you alright bud?" he gives a small nod.

"you don't have to be embarrassed it happens to the best of us you know" he doesn't say anything so you just give him a sympathetic smile before deciding to share an embarrassing story of your own.

"you know, one time when i was your age i really had to use the bathroom. but i hated using public restrooms." you begin, standing up and tossing the paper towel in the trash on the way out of the bathroom.

"so i held it as long as i could which apparently wasn't that long at all because i ended up peeing myself about an hour later." Theo's eyes widened, his head whipping towards yours in surprise.

"no way! at school!?" you can only nod the embarrassment still there even after all these years.

"oh yeah, worst day of my life. i thought id be made fun of for the rest of eternity after that. thankfully everyone moved on- i mean i did get teased a little but not nearly as much as id thought i would" maybe you should of left that part out, that would not ease your worries if you were him.

he doesn't seem to care though, just happy to have a less embarrassing story to compare his to. he still looks pale, his hand resting on his stomach which is still bothering him but at least he's in higher spirits.

you're about halfway to the infirmary when you hear someone call your name from behind you. when you look back you see Anakin jogging towards you, a concerned look on his face. "hey what're you doing out here this late?" your question makes his lips twitch up into a smile.

"i could ask you the same thing" he throws back and looks down to the camper beside you, when he sees how pale the kid is he gestures to continue walking. "i usually go for a walk around campgrounds before heading in for the night. Ben and Jacob can handle the kids without me" he says with a shrug as he answers your question.

"it's nice, usually quiet since pretty much everyone else is inside" he looks down to Theo again putting on a sympathetic look. "everything alright with you kid?" Theo shakes his head, giving a defeated sigh as he slumped forward.

"no i threw up in front of everyone" Anakin's brows crease in concern but he also takes one step back. you have to physically bite your tongue not to laugh.

"aw man i'm sorry that must of sucked" Theo nods and places both his hands over his stomach and mumbles 'i think i might again' and this time you take a step back as well. being vomited on by a kid is not a story you want to go home and tell Honey about.

"alright try and hold it in until we get inside the infirmary; but if you can't, run to the grass" the shaky thumbs up he gives you wasn't exactly reassuring and not even a few seconds later he's running off the trail to the grass and spilling his guts.

you turn away completely unable to handle the view without feeling queasy yourself. you can see Anakin grimace as he watches the two of you. he walks over to the kid for you clearly having a much stronger stomach as he rubs his back. "there ya go just get it all out" you hear him say from behind you followed by a mumbled "dude..what did you eat".

you turn back to them once he stops, eyes locked on Theo. he's once again shaking pretty bad from the adrenaline, you wish you had been more help right then.

"do you want me to walk him the rest of the way?" your eyes flicker up to Anakin's upon hearing his question. "i don't mind, plus it looks like he might need to throw up again" you couldn't ask that of him, this was one of your campers- well Opal's now but you'd been the one to say you'd bring him so you needed to be the one to do it.

"go back to your cabin y/n, i've got it" it wasn't a question this time, authoritative honestly. "if they send him back i'll walk him over to you guys, but i doubt it with the state he's in. they'll probably have him there for the night to watch over him."

you're about to protest and verbalize your thoughts when he speaks again, already starting to walk away with Theo in tow. "it's fine y/n relax, go before i call Padme and force her to come grab you" you huff crossing your arms and he just smiles, walking backwards now so he can look at you better.

"you're gonna fall if you keep walking like that Skywalker" you tease, somewhat hoping he does trip just to say 'i told you so' but he doesn't. just shrugs before sending you a wink and turning back around.

you feel your cheeks burn as they walk away, did that wink actually mean something or was it just friendly? there was no one else around for it to have to mean more- no one to pretend around besides Theo. that little boy was much more preoccupied with his nausea to care though.

you shake the thoughts from your head, spinning on your heel and heading back to the Naboo cabin.

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the next day proceeded relatively normal, Theo did end up having to stay in the infirmary overnight and the nurse said they were going to keep him there for the day to make sure he was truly okay before sending him back.

the only real difference was now learning to navigate your usual morning routine with a third party. don't get it twisted Opal was easy to get along with, you just weren't used to having such an active counselor working alongside you two.

it was refreshing and unusual in a good way. it made getting ready and having the kids ready at the same time a lot easier. sure Jasmine wasn't the worst at helping with the kids but honestly she did the bare minimum so to have someone going out of their way to help was definitely a welcome change.

"hey y/n?" you turn towards Opal as you all walk towards the lodge hall for breakfast. she's tying her hair back with a silk scrunchy as she speaks. "umm you're friends with Rex right?" there's a small blush growing on her pale cheeks and you can't help the smile growing on yours.

"yeah we're pretty close why?" she lets her hands fall to her side, patting the sides of her thighs as she thinks about how she wants to word her next sentence. you're instantly drawn in, standing side by side with her now.

"is he you know… seeing anyone?" she seems unsure with her question, like that wasn't the right one she wanted to ask. you smile, shaking your head no.

"you should sit at my table today, where do you usually sit?" Opal's face turns red enough to rival the color of her hair.

"oh no i can't i-" she clears her throat, wiping what you could only assume were now sweaty palms onto the jean shorts she had on. "i usually sit with my friends or well acquaintances i guess? we're close but like we never talk outside of camp."

you give a teasing smile as you enter the lodge hall, and she folds in on herself. which looked seriously awkward for a girl as tall as herself, but it was cute. "oh come on it'll be fun, you can sit next to me if it's sitting next to Rex you're worried about"

if you could take a picture of the look on her face rn you would print it out and frame it. "thanks for the offer i'm good" it was almost robotic and mixed with stutters as she spoke. you gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder, which was a bit of a feat with how tall she was but you got it in the end.

"alright but the offer will stay open" she gives you a soft 'thanks' before walking off to her friends table completely skipping the breakfast line. you were a little concerned until you saw one of the girls at her table hand her their chocolate muffin.

as soon as your tray is full you head towards your table, taking the rightful seat beside Anakin- who seems to be back to his usual display of exhaustion. "that didn't last long did it" you snort, nudging the boy with your elbow. he simply grumbles, words so slurred together you can't make out what he is attempting to say at all.

"he'll be alright" Rex said with a shrug once again talking with his mouth full, yeah you definitely couldn't see the appeal here but good for Opal.

"so Anakin says you got a sick camper?" Ben asks curious for more details, you could only guess Anakin had mentioned the situation in passing before he crashed for the night or perhaps on the way to breakfast in his hazy state.

"yea one of Jas- Opal's campers, poor kid was vomiting repeatedly. they're keeping him there till they're sure he's okay." Ben cringes suddenly wishing he hadn't asked as he looked down at his food. the oatmeal he'd chosen not feeling like the best choice he could have gone with.

"sorry…" he simply waves you off before shoving the bowl of oatmeal to the side and sticking with the bowl of mixed fruits. your eyes locked onto one of the cherries in the bowl, thinking back to what Anakin had done yesterday morning. you kinda wished he was more awake just so you could see him do it again.

you shake the thought from your head not before sparing a small glance at Anakin, he was as usual half asleep. his eyes closed as he leaned on his palm the only indication that he was awake was the lack of snores. he looked so pretty, and peaceful.

there's a small kick from under the table that pulls you back to reality, a knowing smile on Rex and Ben's face… maybe that small glance was a lot longer than you'd thought.

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"this is a terrible idea" Rex grumbles while fumbling with the threads of his friendship bracelet- or well what is supposed to be one. he still hasn't gotten the hang of it, and in his defense, you'd all decided against having the campers do it since he and Anakin couldn't figure it out during staff week.

however, Ahsoka had offhandedly mentioned wanting to make some for the friends she made at camp and you figured that since you knew how to make it everything would work out. so here you were right before all the campers arrived for the first period trying to teach both of them how to make the more simple design so that if they were asked for help they could give it.

"come on Rex it's not that hard" you continue to weave the strings in the right pattern as he watches trying desperately to figure out how you were doing it. "even Anakin's figured it out now"

this time Rex scoffs "that's because he doesn't have sausage fingers like i do" he wasn't wrong, Anakin and Rex's hands were equally as big but Rex's fingers were thick. almost to the point they looked swollen which was definitely not helping him keep hold of the strings.

"well two out of three of us can do it, that should be enough" Anakin said while tying off his bracelet the way you'd shown him. it was light blue and gold, and surprisingly as good as yours.

Rex sighs throwing his pile of knotted strings to the side. "i'm over it, you two can take care of everything today i'll just make sure all the materials are out and not being misused" he stands up heading to sit on a stool in the middle of the room before the kids arrived.

"here" you turn to Anakin who has his bracelet extended towards you.

"you're giving it to me?" he chuckles, gently grabbing your arm and pulling it towards him so he can slide the bracelet over your hand and tighten it to your wrist.

"Yeah why not, they're friendship bracelets right? it'd be weird to make them for ourselves" you look down at it on your wrist, unable to stop the smile before looking down at your own.

"mines pink and gold… i can make a different one-" he cuts you off by sticking his hand out to you.

"no i like that one go ahead" you stare at him for a moment, slightly dumbfounded as you distinctly remember him saying he hated the color pink when you'd mentioned it was one of your favorite colors.

nevertheless you oblige, sliding it over his large hand and tightening it on his wrist just like he'd down for you. you stick the hand with his bracelet out next to the one with yours and smile. "look we made them match on accident"

"alright lovebirds let's go the kids are coming in" Rex interrupts the moment between you too as groups of kids start filing in. you flush and walk over to the front of the room ready to begin the day.

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Ahsoka clocked the matching bracelets on you and Anakin's wrists immediately. she even chose to sit directly next to you at your table for once instead of Anakin's just to quiz you.

or maybe torment you was the better word "oh come on how can you still deny he likes you y/n, he made you a matching bracelet!" she whisper shouts at you and you're forever grateful that Anakin is busy helping a girl from his cabin, Chloe, who's sat on the opposite side of the room.

"they're friendship bracelets Ahsoka- Friendship is in the name. you gave me one for goodness sake" the young girl groans frustratedly at you, running her hands through her black hair. you pointedly shake your wrist in front of her, the bracelet she'd given you on display with a few from the other campers that had been given to you throughout the day.

"that's different" this time you groan frustratedly, running a hand tiredly over your face. "look i didn't just give you one, i gave Colton one, i gave Mia one, i gave Rex one and Anakin one- i even made one to give to Ben and Padme!" you stare at her with a raised brow letting out a soft 'okaaaay'.

"Anakin only made you one, he hasn't made Ben or Rex- or padme one" she put some emphasis on Padme's name that had you rolling your eyes.

"we're adults we don't make friendship bracelets for all our friends" she deadpans before looking straight at the pile of friendship bracelets at your side that you did in fact make for all of your friends. "i'm an outlier!" you defend yourself and she huffs deferred but not defeated.

"alright guys we should probably start cleaning up if we want to make it to the lodge hall for dinner first" Rex calls from where he's sat. he'd been stationed on the stool all day with self-imposed string-cutting duty. a few kids had asked him for help throughout each period only to quickly realize why he wasn't teaching them shortly after.

there was a bunch of disappointed voices as they all started complaining, which was how it'd gone all day with each period. none of the kids wanting to stop or just whining if they hadn't finished the bracelet they were working on. "yea, yea we know but if you really want we can just do this again the day after tomorrow." this only elicited more complaints, some of the kids confused on why they couldn't do it tomorrow.

"you complain now but you'll have fun tomorrow it's Canoe day" tomorrow all activities centers would be shut down for the day, and everyone in the camp would be out on the lake in groups of 2-4. it was supposed to be a fun little water day activity for everyone since you didn't have to stick with your specific periods.

the lake was closed off at a certain point with rope floaters so that no one went past it. this way the kids could go on their own canoe without staff members if they wanted. there was even a cookout and bonfire later in the evening where everyone could roast smores.

it was a camp tradition and you were excited to participate in it. "alright you guys heard Rex come on let's clean up" they don't protest as much when you're the one saying it which makes you smile and Rex complained about how 'unfair it is' and that 'they favorite you'.

you play with the bracelets in your hand while looking down at the one on your right wrist. the one Anakin gave you. would he think it was odd you put all the other bracelets the campers gave you on the opposite wrist? you'd seen him get a few bracelets from the kids as well but he hadn't put them on. which honestly was more odd than what you were doing.

"hey i've got a question for you" Anakin pulls your attention, placing his arm over your shoulder as he walks with you and everyone else to the lodge hall. he pulls you close to him, creating a small private bubble for just the two of you as he speaks. it's overwhelming in a way, his cologne wafting into your nostrils from how close you were.

"the floor is yours" you say and had he not been holding onto you, you'd have done a dramatic bow.

"you remember how i said i liked to go for walks after dinner?" you nod and he continues "well i was wondering if you wanted to join me, it could be fun" you raise a brow at him confused and unsure as to why he'd want that.

"it will really sell it for the rest of the camp that we're dating" he adds when you don't answer back immediately. right that made sense plus well you guys were proper friends now, it made sense for you both to hang out one-on-one.

"yea sure that sounds fun" he gives you a bright cheesy grin before letting his arm slip off your shoulder. his touch leaving you only briefly before he's placing his hand on the small of your back instead.

it makes your cheeks burn, you have to fight every cell in your body to not shy away. Anakin doesn't seem to notice or at the very least care, you shouldn't be surprised by that anymore though.

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you spent the entirety of dinner thinking about Anakin's hand on your back instead of paying attention to the conversation Padme and Opal were having beside you, as well as ignoring the way Ahsoka lifted Colton's headphones to whisper to him, probably about you and Anakin judging by the way she kept glancing at you throughout the conversation from directly across you.

Padme finally asks you what's going on after you've all walked back to Naboo cabin for the day. the kids all settling in and giving a warm welcome back to Theo who was no longer a sickly pale color.

"you've been out of it since you sat down with us at dinner, is everything alright?" she pulled you aside from everyone, including Opal in hopes she could get some actual answers.

"yeah i'm fine just sorta been lost in thought" daydreaming more like- she gives you a look and you just smile nervously, cheeks burning in embarrassment as she sees right through you.

she looks ready to push further but gets interrupted when your phone buzzes in your pocket. it's Anakin letting you know he was outside the cabin waiting for you. you look up meeting Padme's face, she's got a smug smile having seen the message that he sent.

"it's not what you think" you begin to defend and she just looks even more smug somehow. "no seriously Padme this is purely a platonic hang out" she throws her hands up while taking a few steps back.

"i didn't say anything" she laughs and you glare at her. there was no real malice behind it of course, you both knew that… but if looks could kill. 'your face says it all' you mumble and she sticks her tongue out at you. "go hang out with your boyfriend y/n, he's waiting" she practically sings it and you wish the floor would open up and swallow you whole.

"fake boyfriend!" you whisper shout the correction but she's already left you alone in the hallway. you let out an annoyed sigh before exiting the cabin.

Anakin's sitting on the cabin's porch fence, scrolling on his phone as he waits for you. the second he hears the door open and locks eyes with you there's an infectious smile on his face. one that has you beaming just as brightly.

"ready?" he asks, standing up and already starting to walk off. you follow along, picking up the pace so you're side by side. he leads you away from the cabins and towards one of the forest walking paths.

"i thought we weren't supposed to walk these paths at night?" your question doesn't deter him as he continues to walk, the crunch of twigs beneath your feet filling the small void of silence along with the crickets chirping.

"we aren't supposed to in the dark, but as far as i can see it's still light out" he says and points up to the sky, the sun has almost fully set. the sky a deep cool blue that's just barely bright enough with all the stars to see where you're going.

"rule breaker" you snort, and he shrugs looking up to the sky as he walks. his feet avoiding certain tree roots with practiced ease. showing just how often he'd walked the path.

"i prefer rule bender" he says while looking down towards you. "it's fine we'll walk this way for a few minutes and then we'll end up in front of the lake" he points off the pathway making you raise a brow. "trust me, i've done this a thousand times"

"what made you start doing this anyway?" you ask curiously, following closely beside him as he leads the way.

"Ben has worked here longer than me. when i started he took me out for a walk my first night for some fresh air since i was nervous" he jumps onto a boulder in front of you, pulling himself up before sticking his hand out to help you up as he speaks. "it sorta became a tradition for us each night that year, didn't last though clearly for him anyway."

once you're up on the boulder beside him he jumps down. "how come he never joins you now?" you ask from above him, he holds his hands out so he can catch you when you jump.

"we hadn't been placed in the same cabin my first year, it's much easier for one counselor to slip away instead of two of the three." you jump and he catches you with ease, gently setting you down on the ground. his arms linger for a few seconds around your waist before he lets go, making you shiver. "this way"

"do you have any traditions like that with Honey back home?" this time he asks the question, and you ponder for a moment as you both approach a clearing leading to the lake.

"nothing that involves walking at night, kind of a dangerous game to play as two women who definitely do not exercise the way we should" he laughs and you simply admire the way his eyes crinkle at the edges when he does.

"we do have movie nights every friday, we consistently have a growing list of movies we want to watch together so we pick a random one depending on our mood for the day and then make some popcorn and snuggle up on the couch." Anakin nods, kicking some small rocks into the shallow part of the lake as he listens to you.

"how do you manage every friday night?" he asks, coming to a full stop when he realizes you're not next to him anymore.

"we live together" you answer simply, while untying your shoes. he looks pretty confused before it clicks what you're doing.

"must be nice, me and Ben have thought about moving in together but we also think one of us would kill the other- i think the only thing keeping me safe now are the kids" you try to hold back a laugh but fail, Anakin just rolls his eyes continuing on back towards the campgrounds.

"it's definitely a little bit of a challenge at first, but once you figure out what works it's great." a comfortable silence falls over you two.

you keep your eyes out towards the lake, enjoying the way the stars reflect off the cold water. it's not till you turn back to Anakin that you see he's already staring at you. a soft look on his face that you can't quite read.

"we should probably head back to our cabins" he says softly, not wanting to break the silence. "busy day tomorrow" he adds voice barely above a whisper. it's strange the pull you feel towards him in this moment. it's always there but this felt different. like there was a shift in the air.

he holds his hand out and you feel your heart hammer in your chest as you take it without hesitation. and when he intertwines his fingers with yours you think you may just faint. this was different, not a sole around to see you two and yet here you both were.

"this is an interesting little relationship you and i have" he jokes and you can't help but giggle. he swings your hands beside you both as you guys walk. bright smiles that could outshine the sun on your faces. an interesting little relationship indeed.

you had to tiptoe back into the staff bedroom, everyone already asleep as you'd accidentally been out a lot longer than you'd intended. flopping onto your bed with a mix of excitement and exhaustion as you do your best to contain your giggles.

you stare up at the bottom of the top bunk, finally allowing it all to sit in. every little thing you'd done together, each thing he'd done swirling around in your head. oh you were so about to get the biggest 'i told you so's' in the morning, and you know what? you weren't even mad about it.

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"oh my gosh.. oh my gosh!? OH MY GOSH!" Padme's voice rang in your ears as she jumped up and down excitedly at the news, you decided to tell her the second she got back in the room from a shower before Opal did. you'd only just woken up, hadn't even gotten the chance to message Honey about it.

if you hadn't covered your ears you were pretty sure you might have gone deaf. "i knew it! i so knew it- i told you so didn't i" she's shaking you now, your head wobbling back and forth with each jostle.

"Padme… i love you but i think i'm going to pass out if you keep whipping me around like this" she releases your shoulders only to wrap her arms around you and deathly bear hug.

"i'm sorry i can't help it, i just knew he liked you. you two make the cutest couple!" woah, you pull back at that- couple? i mean it's not like you'd both confessed. well maybe indirectly but you definitely were not dating yet. not for real anyway… right?

"uhh Padme we're still just fake dating" she deadpans at you and the fire behind her eyes makes you think she just may start jostling you around again.

"nope i refuse to accept that as a reality." you give her a look, ready to tell her that's not how that works but she puts a finger over your mouth keeping you quiet. "i need you to think about what you just said and then think about last night again and try to tell me that you're not actually dating."

she moves her finger from your mouth and you give it a few seconds to test if she's serious. when you realize she is in fact you open your mouth once again to deny it but are promptly shut down but her finger on your mouth again a soft 'shhhhh' coming from hers.

you sigh, pulling back from her. "alright i'm not going to say it but just know i'm thinking it" she rolls her eyes completely over this game of back and forth.

"and just know i rebuke it" you stick your tongues out at each other before smiling and laughing. she leaves you alone in the room as you get changed and ready for the day. you leave yourself with just enough time to message Honey about everything that's happened.

'OMG SO YOU TWO ARE FINALLY TOGETHER FR EEEEEK!!' her message brings a smile to your face that probably mirrored hers. oh how you hate how you're gonna have to shut it down.

'not exactly… we're still just fake dating yk…' theres a long pause on Honeys end before the speech bubble appears.

'girl don't play with me rn 😐' honestly why'd you even bother, nothing you say ends up being taken seriously by anyone.

'i'm serious Honey' you're pretty sure she's fighting you in her mind rn with how quick her responses are.

'y/n i need you to tell me one time you've guessed correctly about your situation with Anakin so far and then i'll believe you' you're stuck staring at your screen in silence. racking your brain for an answer, evidently you take too long as honey follows up with 'yea, that's what i thought'

brutal honesty, not something she uses on you often but clearly she decided this was a special case. 'okay well this was nice but i have to go to breakfast now😁' You try to switch topics and end the conversation there but she brings it right back.

'subject changes don't work on me babes💋💋" alright and that's enough from Honey you snort a laugh before turning off your phone. that girl knew you too well for your own good.

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it's safe to say breakfast went differently today, not just because it was Canoe day which meant it was a more 'extravagant' breakfast- pancakes instead of eggs and French toast instead of breakfast sandwiches- but because now you and Anakin had a slightly unspoken thing going on.

one that you mutually had acknowledged last night without actually discussing it. "mooorning" Ben greets you with a mischievous glint in his eyes as you sit beside Anakin. taking a long dramatic sip of his water before sending you both a wink. Anakin wasn't paying much attention as usual.

he did however shockingly have a plate of food in front of him, and a not-so-sleepy expression on his face. you choose to ignore Ben's teasing and focus on Anakin instead with a raised brow. "like i said busy day today" he says before taking a bite of french toast.

"yea he's been up for the last two hours shockingly, just so he'd be awake enough to want to eat" Ben says annoyed, clearly he'd been the one to have to wake him up.

"how is today's schedule going to go?" you ask not having been given the full breakdown, just the rough summary.

"well after we finish breakfast here, there's going to be free time while a few of the selected staff members help set up all the canoes and rope off the section of the lake we'll be rowing in. once they're done we're free to do whatever we want really, go in the canoes or stay on the lakefront and just chill. until the cookout in the evening followed by the bonfire and s'mores before we all have to turn in for the night- they even extend curfew for this" Rex grows restless at Ben's side the more he explains, like a child ready to be released in a candy store.

you watch him amusedly, and when Ben finally finishes Rex is quick to chirp in- "and this is my year to shine as i've been one of the selected staff members to help set up" he says proudly, puffing out his chest like a mating bird that has you snorting laughing at him.

"yea they selected him this year" you could tell there was a hidden 'and not me' behind Ben's words, but didn't push as he didn't seem too upset by it. just mildly annoyed.

"i think it's great you got selected Rex, it's the perfect chance for you to prove to them exactly why they didn't choose you any of the years prior" Anakin teases and Rex deadpans before sending him a swift kick from under the table.

you and Ben both roll your eyes at their antics. "you two are ridiculous you know" Ben chimes in and Anakin deflects with a 'what it's true'.

"well, i'm just happy because me and y/n are going to be canoeing together" Anakin says while wrapping an arm around your waist. if you had food in your mouth you probably would have choked.

you fight the urge to verbalize a 'we are?' as you take a sip from your water bottle to distract yourself from how much you enjoyed his touch.

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Anakin, Ben, Padme, and you all spent free time together. just chatting on one of the benches outside of the lodge hall, all of the kids from each cabin were playing tag in front of you all in the open grass area as the selected staff members finished setting up for the day.

it was crazy how casually Anakin had slipped into his role as your fake boyfriend but what was even crazier was just how much more he was acting like he was your actual boyfriend since last night. yeah, Honey and Padme may have had a point.

the four of you were all sitting on the bench side by side, packed together like sardines. Anakin had made it a smidge easier for all of you by having you rest one of your legs over his to make more room. his thigh's warmth against the back of yours was easy to get used to.

the big calloused hand of his that rested on top of your thigh however was a little bit harder to brush past. especially with how much you were all joking around, laughter bubbling out of your chests and each time without fail if the joke made him laugh hard enough he'd give your thigh a squeeze.

you were a flustered mess and it was so pathetically obvious, even as you tried to pretend this was all normal. laughing when the group laughed occasionally tossing in your own joke when you'd actually paid attention enough to know what was going on.

despite all of that; when the announcement was made for everyone to come down to the lakefront because they'd finished setting up, you and Anakin were the last to leave the bench. watching as all the kids ran down excited to get in the lake on the canoes the rest of the staff not far behind.

He gives your thigh a pat to get your attention, and you don't waste a second to give it to him. "ready?" it all felt to good to be true honestly but you nod nonetheless, pulling your leg off of his and standing up.

he takes your hand in his this time without asking, tugging you along behind him as you clumsily follow. he's the one to push the canoe out, the one who helps you tighten your life vest before helping you step inside and then climbing in himself. rowing you both out to the outer edge of the lake away from where everyone else was.

Anakin seemed to always be the one to take initiative, to test how far you'd let him go, and each time no matter how small of a push. you felt the pull towards him grow stronger. it was almost ridiculous, but you didn't dare try and fight it. not anymore.

"we should go out further" you blink a few times trying to figure out if he'd been talking this whole time and you'd somehow missed an entire conversation with him. he looks over to you awaiting your answer, when he sees your confusion he juts his chin towards the rope sectioning everyone off to this side of the lake.

"we can't go past the rope Ani, it's against the rules" Anakin freezes completely at your sentence and your brows crease together in concern. did he really wanna go out past the rope that bad?

"i.." he begins but trails off once more a blush growing on his cheeks as he clears his throat trying to push it down. but the way his ears shine a bright red are a dead give away and now you're trying to remember what you said that could have gotten such a reaction out of him. "right, yeah but it's only against the rules if we get caught" he finally recovers.

"i think i'd be kind of hard to miss a single canoe floating past the rope" you cross your arms and he smiles, ever the rule 'bender'.

"they're all to busy enjoying their own time to care, come on it'll be fun" he's already rowing you both to the rope before you even get to answer.

"famous last words" you grumble and he snorts, giving a quick glance behind you to check if anyone’s looking before he lifts the rope up and rows you both past it.

"yet you're doing nothing to try and stop me" he says while continuing to row you both out, slowly getting farther and farther away from everyone. he doesn't stop until you guys are slightly behind the small island that’s in the center. "see perfect"

he moves the paddles into the canoe, laying on his back so that he's looking right up at the sky. "do you do this every year too?" you ask, leaning into your palm as you watch him.

"nah but i've always wanted to" he looks over to you briefly while putting his hands behind his head for a little added cushion. your eyes briefly glancing down as his shirt rides up exposing a little bit of his midriff. "now i have a partner in crime" he jokes and you roll your eyes.

"more like someone to bring down with you" you force yourself to look up at the sky, leaning back on your hands and using the sides of the canoe as support.

"goes hand in hand really" you hum at his response, allowing a peaceful silence to wash over you both. the sound of laughter from everyone in the distance and the warm rays of the sun washing over you two made the moment feel like something out of a movie or maybe it was just the heat making you hazy.

you both sit like that for a while, basking in the sunlight before Anakin's phone vibrates in his pocket. you turn to look at him shocked he risked bringing it out onto the lake, the odds of you two falling out were low but you'd never chance it. "it's Ben, he said they're all looking for us"

"all as in everyone or all as in just our friends?" you ask suddenly panicked as he sits up, tucking his phone back in his pocket before nudging his foot against yours.

"just our friends, relax. we've been out here for thirty minutes it's no wonder they're looking for us" thirty minutes!? maybe the heat really was getting to you because it had not felt like thirty minutes.

good news you and Anakin successfully make it back on the sectioned-off side of the lake without being caught by the camp directors. bad news buckets of surprise water balloons had been brought out.

the kids were going crazy with them, completely targeting the very outnumbered staff. which you'd only realized after you'd stepped off the boat. being met with the feeling of ice-cold water splashing against your head, broken pieces of hot pink rubber falling to the ground.

the culprit, Zion, standing red-handed in front of you with another balloon rearing to go. the second it leaves his hand you run, causing Anakin to be the one hit instead. square in the middle of his back since he was busy putting up the canoe with the others.

the second the canoe is secure he's running after Zion, grabbing a water balloon from the bucket along the way. you load up with a few of your own ready to chase after him as well only to get hit by Ahsoka from your right. you switch targets instantly both of you tossing all the balloons in your hands at each other as you chase after her.

that's how the next few hours are spent until the very last water balloon is used and the sun is halfway down the horizon. the selected staff members already getting the bonfire going before everyone headed over.

the cold water that soaked your clothes mixing with the cool night breeze was lethal as your teeth chatter together. Padme and Ben had run back to the cabins to grab blankets and towels for your friend group, a few other counselors doing the same as well as some of the campers.

Rex, Anakin, Opal, and you found a spot close to the fire as you waited for their return. you did your best to hide your smile as you watched Opal finally talk to Rex for the first time, a blush on both their cheeks as they spoke.

it was adorable, but you had to stop Anakin from teasing them. it didn't take much really just a gentle smack to his arm telling him to stop and that Opal was too sweet to be teased like that.

"for the happy couple" Ben teased, chucking a soft blanket at Anakin before plopping down with Padme and handing Rex a towel. both he and Padme had changed their clothes before returning. the smart idea honestly as the fire was doing nothing with how wet your clothes were.

Anakin wraps what was definitely his blanket judging by the smell of his cologne on it, around you both after gently pulling you into his chest. arms resting around your waist as you practically sat in his lap. if you weren't bordering hypothermia you'd probably be freaking out more, currently however you were just happy to enjoy the warmth of his body.

how he was so warm when he was just as soaked as you, you had no idea. that boy was just a human furnace. "do you wanna go change?" Anakin whispers into your ear, creating a little bubble with just you two in it despite having your friends all around you.

did you want to go change? yes definitely- did you want to have to get up and move in order to do so? no, no you did not. "i'm good" he chuckles, your teeth still chattering as you speak.

"you're freezing" he argues and you simply shrug. he rolls his eyes before fully pulling you into his lap now, wrapping his arms over yours completely cocooning you. you let out a soft satisfied sigh that has him smiling against the back of your neck.

maybe you were hallucinating but you swear you felt his lips press a small kiss before he rested his chin on top of your head. "are you two gonna roast marshmallows?" Padme asks pulling your attention away from the fire. she has a smile on her face you've come to know all to well, as she waits for your answer. holding out the packet of roasting sticks for you to grab and pass to the people next to you.

"yeah thanks" Anakin says reaching out and breaking the shell of warmth as the blanket parts. as he pulls out two sticks before handing the packet to the next person it hits you; just exactly what you were doing and who you were doing it with. the irony of Padme being the one observing you two and you the one currently sitting in his lap.

you're absolutely dumbfounded, the feeling of Anakin's calm breathing against your back only makes it all the more surreal. over a hundred kids and staff gathered around a giant bonfire not even batting an eye at you two. to most of them you were actually dating so it made sense, and honestly you weren't sure how to feel about that.

this was more than just fake dating, that much was obvious even to you now. but if you weren't fake dating and you weren't actually dating, what on earth do you call whatever it is you two are doing right now? you felt your stomach twist in uncertainty the more you thought about it.

"here" Anakin holds out the stick to you, two marshmallows already on one end waiting for you to roast them. you blink a few times before taking it sticking your hand out from the blanket and holding the stick over the fire.

Anakin doesn't acknowledge your silence, probably thinking you were just enjoying the quiet. boy would he be wrong, there was no quiet to enjoy with how loud every thought in your mind screamed. curiosity clawing at you, needing to know just what to label you both as.

"you know when i was younger, my mom would take me and my stepbrother camping with Ben's family all the time." he shifted you in his hold as he extended his own roasting stick over the fire, carefully twisting it as he roasted his marshmallows. "and i still remember the first time i was finally allowed to roast my own marshmallows. i burnt them to a crisp"

"how'd you manage to do that?" you laugh and he smiles against the back of your head, continuing to twist the stick in his hand. you follow his lead twisting your own as he spoke again.

"well for starters i was like 9 and ornery." his voice was low, it rumbled in chest and against your back. "and i was so focused on trying to mess with Ben that i forgot i was even holding a marshmallow over the fire to begin with. the worse part was they all saw the marshmallow on fire and didn't say anything! not even my own mother" you bite back a laugh, poorly as he can very much tell you’re laughing at him.

"my first betrayal- she'd said it was the natural consequence for messing with Ben. she was right of course but i still got upset and threw a fit" you mumble a quiet 'bratty' under your breath and he gently pinches your side making you giggle.

quiet. all the thoughts in your head were gone as you listened to him speak, finishing roasting your marshmallows and then placing them onto the prepped graham crackers with chocolate that rested on top of your knee. the blanket half fallen off his shoulder from all the movement.

you didn't ask when he prepped the graham crackers, it wasn't important. not when you were sat in the lap of someone you'd grown so fond of, biting into s'mores simultaneously and relishing the sweet treat with a childlike fondness.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

the walk back to the cabins was a long one for everybody, you and Anakin lingering behind tiredly hand in hand not quite ready to let go of each other. it's not until you have to part ways to go to your separate cabins that you both acknowledge the fact you have to let go.

everyone else is inside getting ready for bed as you both stand face to face, working up the courage to say goodnight. "you have Marshmallow on your face" you reach up cradling his head with your hand as you wipe off the goo from his cheek with your thumb.

when you try to pull away his hand grabs hold of your wrist, forcing you to continue cradling his head- not that you were against it. the dark of the night was a dangerous thing you found, as it provided you with a cover the morning light didn't. a certain boldness that the sleep-ridden parts of your brain aided in. one that had him leaning down and you pushing up on your tiptoes to meet him halfway.

soft lips pressing against each other, the sugary taste of s'mores on each other's mouths making you crave more. just as you feel his tongue lick at your bottom lip you both hear the sounds of footsteps coming from behind you. pulling away quickly, flustered, very much wide awake and aware now.

Anakin clears his throat after Jacob walks past, not even paying attention as he scrolls on his phone. "i'll see you tomorrow y/n" you can't even meet his eyes, giving him a small nod ready to run back to your cabin as quick as possible.

"goodnight Ani" you say before doing just that.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

you crashed so quickly last night that you'd almost thought it was all just a dream when you woke up. the taste of roasted marshmallow still in the back of your throat the only thing reminding you that it was in fact reality. Holy shit. you kissed Anakin. Anakin kissed you. you both-

"are you okay? you look like you're having an existential crisis over there" you turn to Opal who's sat directly across from you, her phone forgotten in her hand probably from the moment you flung up in bed.

"uhhh- me yea i'm fine.. fine, great actually" your voice raises in pitch with each affirmation and she looks like she believes you less and less each time.

"you look a little pale y/n" you force a smile and give a nervous laugh. pulling yourself up and out of bed so quickly you stumble over your own feet almost crashing into the dresser.

"yep i'm totally cool" you repeat cool a few more times while grabbing your stuff for the day and stumbling out of the room down the hall and into the bathrooms.

as soon as you're inside one of the stalls you pull out your phone plopping onto the toilet lid. 'Honey i'm freaking tf out'

'what happened?' you bite your lip as you type out a very rush 'me and anakin kissed' but reading it back when you hit send it says 'mme ahnd anaki nkissed' thankfully it was legible enough as Honey was quick to send back a response.

'OMG!? 👀👀' you spend the next few minutes frantically typing out barely legible messages explaining what happened in between changing into your clothes for the day.

'this is the greatest day of my life and it's not even me who got kissed' not the time Honey you huff to yourself staying firmly locked in the bathroom stall away from all of your campers and probably Padme with a shit ton of questions if Opal mentioned the state you woke up in.

'what are you so freaked out about? is this not good news?' of course it was but had he even actually meant to kiss you or was it just the heat of the moment? and not to mention now you'd have to face each other and pretend like nothing was different until you got the chance to talk to each other semi-alone on the way to the activity center.

'it's just such inconvenient timing 😭😭' that was the best way you could think to put it.

'inconvenient timing? i'm sorry did you have a plan for a more convenient time in your oh so busy schedule??' you deadpan, at least her attitude was enough to calm you down.

'we beefin rn?🤨🤨' Honey liked the message and you find yourself smiling.

'yea we are let's go 💥👊💥👊' you laugh a little too loud at that, liking the message right before the door to the bathroom opens.

"y/n are you in here?" Mia's voice rang out. you turn your phone off tucking it in your back pocket, ignoring the next few buzzes as you grab your dirty clothes.

"yea i'm right here Mia, everything okay?" you ask while exiting the stall the young girl held out her hair brush and a handful of elastics.

"can you do my hair again? i wanna do bubble braids" you smile softly at her before directing her out of the bathroom with your hand on her shoulder.

"yea come on i'll do it in the other room i just need to put my stuff into my room.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

your able to successfully dodge most of Padme's questions on the way to breakfast. using Opal as a scapegoat by bringing up the fact she'd been chatting with Rex all night. a necessary sacrifice to keep her off your back, you'd find a way to apologize later.

right now your only focus was walking into the lodge hall and- he wasn't there. for fucks sake he wasn't there. your eyes dart over the entirety of the building in an instant. not in the breakfast line, not coming out of the bathrooms, not at the normal table, and certainly not at some other table. shit.

you skip the breakfast line entirely heading straight to where Ben and Rex are sat. "where's Anakin?" the question startles them as they both swivel in their seat turning to where you stood behind them.

"good morning y/n, how lovely it is for us your other clearly less important friends to see you on this fine day" Rex's sarcasm isn't lost on you but you brush it off giving him an 'i'm serious look'

"he didn't wanna get out of bed, it's not shocking with how early he was up yesterday and how late he stayed up but honestly you'd think after the fourth time i pulled his blankets off he'd have given in" Ben answers you relieving you of the fear he might have purposely skipped breakfast to avoid you.

you relax instantly letting out a soft 'thank the gods' before exhaustedly plopping onto the spot next to Ben. practically melting into the table, he gives you an awkward pat on the back for encouragement. "should we be concerned?" you shake your head no at his question, your forehead rubbing against the table with a weird squeak to it as you do.

"great because as much as i'd love a reason to beat up Anakin it's way to early for me to put in that amount of energy" you turn to look at Ben as he speaks, Rex agreeing with him through a mouth full of food. at least this time he keeps his mouth shut as he does it.

was this really a good outcome though? this meant realistically you wouldn't be able to discuss with Anakin until after the first period ended and that's if Rex even left you two alone.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

which he didn't as it turns out, because as usual, the universe loves to torment you. he'd managed to single-handedly keep you two from having even a second of alone time together. since when did Rex talk this much honestly?

not to mention the kids all had to come to you and Anakin since Rex was no help, you really regretted agreeing for the kids to get another day of working on friendship bracelets. the collections of bracelets you received growing larger, to the point you felt guilty not being able to wear them all and just took them off only keeping the one Anakin had made you on.

you could tell a few of the kids were disappointed because of this but you explained to them you'd cherish each one and just didn't want to ruin them which seemed to make them feel a little better even for the ones who didn't truly believe you.

all day it’d been like that, talking to Rex, explaining to the kids something you'd thought they'd already figured out the day prior to canoe day, reassuring them you did like the bracelet they made you even though you didn't have it on. an endless cycle making it hard to breathe when all you wanted to do was take two minutes to yourself in order to pull Anakin aside and ask what that damn kiss meant to him. what it made you.

even on the way to dinner it was never-ending chatter from the kids and Rex, and gods it was just too much. you were overstimulated, about ready to explode at the next person who came up and talked to you. forget talking to Anakin you just needed everything to stop.

"y/n" Anakin's hand on your arm pulls you to a stop, all the kids continue on pass you both along with Rex who takes lead after Anakin sends him a look. "breathe" he slides his hand down your arm and into your palm giving it a gentle squeeze.

you hadn’t realized just how much the world around you was spinning, breathing in much too fast for any oxygen to actually enter your lungs. when he notices you still unable to catch your breath he gently pulls you to his chest, giving you a hug just tight enough for the pressure to help relieve you.

he takes long exaggerated breaths in an attempt to trick your brain into copying him. it works, slowly at first, but eventually you're calm. relaxing into his hold and listening to the sound of his beating heart. it's embarrassing how fast you spiraled without realizing it, but Anakin doesn't say anything.

for once he didn't try to joke his way out of a serious moment, letting you take all the time you needed to recover. when you do finally pull away he doesn't try and ask what was wrong, he lets you find the words you want to say.

"thank you..." you start, looking up into his eyes. he doesn't look scared or concerned not at first glance. not until you really look into his eyes do you see the worry hidden behind his calm expression. putting on a brave face to keep you calm and comfortable. "i'm okay now, promise."

"what happened there?" he finally asks, your hand still in his. his thumb rubbing soothing circles over the cold skin.

"i don't know…today was just a lot" he leads you both to the nearest grass patch to sit down in. you let out a loud sigh opting to lie down instead.

Anakin lays down beside you keeping his eyes up at the stars above you. "Yeah for me too" you look over to him checking to see if he was just saying that to make you feel better. there's a genuine look of exhaustion on his face that shows he isn't.

you both fall into a somber silence and for the first time, you take initiative. your fingers tapping against his making him turn his attention down to your hand. you keep your eyes on the stars but you can see him smile faintly through your peripherals.

he turns his hand up letting you slide yours into his, the mood already feeling much lighter. "you always manage to quiet my mind" you confess, turning your head to his. your noses are so close they're almost touching. its a different kind of overwhelming, the kind with that underlying pull towards one another. the same pull you felt last night when you kissed.

"funny because you always manage to make mine louder" you snort and he laughs "what i'm serious, i've never met someone who takes up as much of my mind as you" the sincerity in his voice is what makes your breath hitch, giving him the courage to continue.

"even now i can't get my mind to stop running with thoughts and questions about you. it's kind of annoying" oh you were in love with him. would you be saying that out loud anytime soon absolutely not. way to soon, but there was no denying it in your heart. the way it swelled from his words before kicking into overdrive.

there's a long pause as you just stare into each other's eyes before you break the silence. "Ani….can you kiss me again?" he takes so long to respond you're almost sure you only asked in your head.

"i like when you call me that" he mumbled, so quietly and quickly you're barely able to catch it before his lips are on yours.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

Oh what a joy it was to tell Honey, Padme and Ahsoka all of this the next day. truly you were ecstatic you'd talked for the rest of dinner together, about anything and everything. eventually landing on the big 'what are we' question. to no one's surprise but your own denial's, he'd asked you out.

now having been dating for the last two weeks of camp. the dreaded day of goodbyes had finally come.

all the campers had left a few days prior leaving just the staff to help clean up and put everything away for the summer. you'd all finished the first day giving you guys the last two days to just chill and hang out together one last time.

you honestly felt like crying as Padme hugged you, neither one of you wanting to let go of the other. "i don't know how i'm going to survive this world without you" she sniffles and you can't help but laugh.

"i think i've rubbed off on you too much, you're starting to sound like me and Honey" you sniffle as well and both pull away laughing at just how emotional you were.

"save some tears for the rest of us" Rex calls from over Padme's shoulders. you flip him off and he does it right back to you before walking over and giving you a proper hug goodbye.

"i hope everything works out between you and Opal" he smiles down at you while pulling away, patting your head like some child. you have half a mind to swat him away but ultimately decide to let it slide just this once.

"alright me next" Opal says engulfing you in a bone-crushing hug "i loved hanging out with you even though it was for a short amount of time, i hope we get to hang out again soon or next summer!" you smile patting her back to let you go so you can breath enough to talk.

laughter bubbles out of you both after the wheeze that leaves your mouth. "we'll see each other again it's a promise" you finally speak. Ben walks up to you now pulling you into a hug as well.

"i am just so grateful that Anakin finally has someone else to bother all the time" he jokes and you hear Anakin gasp dramatically behind him making you snort.

"you're not off the hook Kenobi, you've just gained another person for him to help bother you." he lets out a sigh crossing his arms as he steps away from you.

"i was afraid you'd say that, i suppose i'll just have to learn to live with it." he strokes his beard pretending to truly ponder this over, and you roll your eyes before turning to Anakin.

he was looking at you like a sad puppy and you felt so incredibly guilty as if you'd be leaving him forever. which wasn't the case at all in fact you'd planned a date for saturday night. still he pulled you into a hug holding on like he was going to lose you. it was going to be weird going from seeing him every day to just a few days of the week.

it would be okay though, he would make sure of it.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

Bonus scene (as well as another wee times skip):

"omg i can't believe this is it!!" Honey jumped up and down beside you as you walked towards the restaurant. "i'm finally meeting her this is a dream come true"

"you know i honestly figured you'd be more excited to meet Ben" she just let out another squeal unable to verbally answer. she was excited to meet everyone for different reasons, Padme just happened to be the only person she really cared about. the bestie who helped her bestie as she put it.

the look in Honey's eyes when she laid eyes on her was definitely an i'm either going to faint or scream look. judging by the way she completely froze you guessed fainting was the higher possibility, slowly you pushed her towards the group, already sat amongst a conjoined table outside.

"y/n!" Padme cheered upon seeing you followed by an excited squeal when she saw Honey. "omg! it's good to finally see you in person!" she was out of her seat in an instant, giving you a long hug before her and Honey clung onto each other like long-lost siblings.

"you'd think she was the one introducing me" you joke before turning to the rest of the table and greeting everyone else, giving them all quick hugs before you sat down next to Anakin.

he gives you a kiss on the lips in greeting instead of a hug, putting his arm around your shoulder as you wait for the two girls still hugging to release each other and join you all.

"omg it's so weird seeing you all, i can't believe you're real" Honey snorts, plopping down on the empty seat next to Padme.

"so Opal, Rex, and Ben" she says listing off the last three members and pointing at them for confirmation- not that she needed it.

"it's an honor to meet you" Ben said sticking his hand out to which she happily, albeit shyly, shook.

"what is she famous? who greets someone like that" Anakin jokes and Ben just rolls his eyes, you smack his arm chastising him like a disobedient child to which he gives a dramatic 'ow' while rubbing his arm.

"hate to say it but i'm with Anakin that was oddly formal even for you Kenobi" Rex teases as well and Opal shrinks beside him feeling sympathy for Ben but much to shy to say anything to Rex.

"it was a normal greeting" Ben argues, feeling himself fluster under the spotlight of his friends. now that was rare, and an interesting sight to see.

"alright let's order food i’m starving" Padme pivots the conversation away from Ben's odd behavior.

the group of you all relearning how to navigate with each other along with Honey. it was easy though, everyone clicking into place like pieces of a puzzle. jokes and stories flowing from your mouths without a single awkward pause.

the warm breeze of summer blowing away with the new cool wind of fall with each passing second and shared laugh.

a/n: she’s here 😭 she’s finally here

i shall have my wattpad and ao3 up to date tmr whenever i wake up ✨

i’m going to be completely honest with you guys and say after the 2 am mark i forgot pretty much everything i previously wrote 💀 been writing purely off intuition 😀

anywhooo hope you guys enjoy fr 🫶🏼🫶🏼 you’ve been so supportive and i appreciate ever second of it!

a special thank you to @munsondjarin who is the whole reason this fic was even conjured up and @everydaydreamer who encouraged me to write it as well as let me bounce ideas off of her anytime i needed 💋💋 love you both sm

i’m not sure when the bonus smut chapter will be written or out but i shall keep you all posted and in the mean time i am finally going to write some fall fluff oneshots 🥳🥳 and also im going to be doing the rest of my august schedule

so please send in any questions you have for me surrounding the series, whether it be character info or inspiration or how i can up with certain names and so on✨

i’ll also be posting all of the cut dialogue and possible ways scenes were originally supposed to go (i took ss throughout the process before i deleted anything🙂‍↕️)

now if you excuse me i am going to pass out🥰 have a wonderful days huns Xx <3

tag list: @anakinskwkler @anakinstwinklebunny @divineani @huayan @poppysrin @bxbyysstuff @dollhobigem @skywalkercinema @corio-letit-snow @avatarobsessedgirly @kelsxxyawn @7xss @throughparisallthroughrome @humongouscatfest @rhiannonhippiegirl @akixxrafiiy @ter-luer @w0rsh1psells @bulllsseye @anitaxl @everydaydreamer

[losergender]

pjo / hoo headcanons i have collected since my hyperfix came back

ignore the huge amount of nico and will. six years after reading the series i'm still obsessed with them </3

nico helps cabin 11 steal candy from the infirmary because everyone knows will can't stay mad at him for longer than 5 minutes

the apollo kids gifted nico a bunch of mythomagic packages after learning he had burnt his collection so he could start a new one. he thought it would not be as exciting but turns out he really really missed collecting them from zero because he had gotten used to getting doubles all the time

on the same note, cabin 7 (and specially will) try to learn to play so he has someone to play with. will and him always exchange doubles and sometimes he sacrifices good cards for mid ones just so will doesn't have a mid deck

nico once got a double perseus card and gifted it to percy

the first times nico played his favorite music to hazel she was flabbergasted by the emo genre but didn't want to be mean so she smiled and said it was "very cute"

leo calls will "güerito"

connor stoll owns a nintendo switch that used to be his and travis' (mostly travis') until he accidentally almost destroyed it and it became only his (the screen has a sepia filter to it, one of the joysticks needs adhesive tape to stay in place, it works slowly and the screen has cracks on it). when he can't sleep (because who in camp half-blood can sleep properly?) he plays pokémon until he falls asleep. he is also a big fortnite and minecraft fan.

lou ellen knows how to do balloon modelling

nico once asked chiara about what has italy been doing the past century and she showed him winx club like it was the most important thing italians did (and it is)

percy and will love teen beach movie

austin lake takes it upon himself to show nico all the music he missed during the past decades + the reason cabin 7 learns nico doesn't know any song from after 1942 is that they invite him to play a letter association game and he opts out because of this (the game is forgotten right after because having him listen to the classics is more important). no one suspected he didn't listen to modern music because 99% of his clothes are band shirts he got from percy and thalia.

will was obsessed with hannah montana / miley cyrus as a child (the climb is his favorite song)

connor didn't go to college with travis because he doesn't know what to study yet but instead he spent the year getting his driver's license

each cabin gets a "call home" day every other few days (initiative promoted by the iris cabin)

children of tyche's fatal flaw is impostor syndrome because they are constantly afraid everything they have is undeserved and just a product of their godly heritage

will's favorite dessert is texan sheet cake , nico's is panna cotta

the aphrodite cabin didn't like that nico was the only one with a personalized camp shirt (they are so done with the color orange...) so they started an initiative to get every cabin personalizes shirts with a representative color voted by the head counselors and their cabins number.

the iris and hermes cabins got together to start a camp half-blood magazine released monthly for year-rounders. they do a gossip section about couples at camp (for which they "hired" a child of aphrodite as their correspondent), interviews to the seven or to popular campers, the athena cabin added a crossword section...

[madelynraemunson]

You can answer this privately, but a few weeks ago I was thinking about if Reader was trying to make Eddie jealous with the song I kissed a girl in the background making out with some girl on the stage you know. Or tryna make him want her more lol.

def need to catch up tho

ooooh a lil toxic lovin’ i see i see 😏💋 thank you for helping with the possessive!eddie dirty talk and reactions, my sweet.

from the CMWYW universe

timeline: shortly after chapter 013

𝐈 𝐇𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐌𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐭 18+

a collaboration with @emsgoodthinkin 💌

modern!strip club owner!eddie x modern!fem!exotic dancer!hargrove reader

CW: jealous!eddie, wlw, possessive!eddie, boyfriend!eddie, biting, degrading kink, eddie calls us a slut lmao, bratty shy girl, dom!eddie, sub!shy girl, lmk if i miss anything

[WC: 2.0k]

“I just think you’re getting a little too into it.”

It’s crazy to think Eddie would draw the line at Gareth and not Steve. Yet here you two are, arguing in the dressing room mid-shift because Eddie realized his D&D friends — who are regulars at his D&D themed strip club — have eyes and money. 

“Babe, this is GARETH we’re talking about here,” you emphasize. “Gareth!”

You’re talking about the Gareth who’s gamer tag is ‘Gareth the “Gare Bear” Emerson’.  The same Gareth who still uses the bunny ear method to tie his shoes. The same Gareth who gets upset when his food touches. Aside from his now relatively toned build, clear skin, and knowledge on self-care and personal hygiene, Gareth Emerson is still the same guy. And that guy is a fucking dweeb.

“Yeah, but Gareth is conventionally attractive now,” your boyfriend points out. “And somebody who’s had no choice but to build their charm from the inside out is a dangerous person.”

Projecting, are we Munson? You think to yourself. You couldn’t believe the audacity of your boyfriend. Ever since you two became exclusive, Eddie has become extra protective of you. You didn’t mind it. You actually preferred it because it means he cares. But really, at work? The place you clock in every day (not only to see him but) to make a living?

“You left scratches on his back last time.”

“He paid me to make a girl jealous.”

“And let’s not forget whatever the fuck that was that you did with Creel,” Eddie adds refusing to hear you out. 

“Henry PAID me for a lap dance,” you hiss. “He was lonely, I was doing my job. He came in and spoiled me and your business on his off day, babe.”

The heat dissolves from Eddie’s cheeks when he hears his pet name. Albeit flattering, this conversation between you two wasn’t over just yet. 

Eddie knew what he saw. He knows that blank, fucked out stare from anywhere, and it was prominent when you were giving Henry a lap dance, using the crinkle of his pants to get yourself off.

There’s no arguing there. But you were single when that happened and Eddie at the time made it really seem like he didn’t want anything with you. None of this was taking away from how ridiculous Eddie was being.

“Okay,” you sigh, still choosing to honor his wishes. “No more dances for Gareth.”

“At least for tonight,” Eddie barters, issuing you a fake pout. “Feeling a little bit jealous, but I’ll get over it.”

Stay away from Gareth, or men in general tonight. You can definitely do that. 

Eddie’s a happy camper now. He watches as you do your thing at Vecna’s Lair, cock twitching eagerly in his pants as you swing down the pole and sink your pelvis onto the stage. The men douse you in ones, fives, tens, twenties. And you let it rain down on you with ease. 

But why is Eddie still so jealous? He can’t help but turn green with envy when he sees you smile at your patrons. When you lock eyes with them as you speak. And the way they gravitate towards you and your pheromones like some magnets on a fridge. 

You seem to be unbothered by everything, unbothered by his presence in a room full of other gentlemen. Eddie needs to test the waters. Eddie needs to know you care.

So he decides to grab a beer and approach the first customer of the opposite sex who happens to spiral into his periphery. It happens to be good ol’ Stephanie tonight. 

A regular during the beginning days of the week, this kind hearted, very approachable redhead welcomes Hellfire’s owner with a smile, offering her beer bottle to Eddie for him to give her a clink, hello. 

“Hey!” he chimes. “How uh, how are you doing?”

“I’m doing well, and yourself?”

Eddie grins. “Not too shabby.” 

Performatively studying her with his eyes, he decides to ask her an innuendo-filled question. “You enjoying yourself tonight?”

“What’s it to ya?”

“I always like to make sure my customers are satisfied.”

Her brow does a fruitful quirk upwards.

“So you’re the owner huh? Already so young and successful. That’s quite impressive.” 

“D’aww,” your boyfriend’s hands clutch his chest. “I appreciate that.” 

You can’t help but look over, stomach warped into knots.

Eddie told you to stay away from guys. So why is he flirting with a girl? Specifically a customer you’ve interacted with before. Not that Eddie would know that, since he’s always in his office when Stephanie is here.

Eddie knows you see him now and that’s all the satisfaction he needs. Knowing he got the reaction he wanted, he excuses himself from Steph, strutting back over to his office to disappear for a while and let your mind wander.

But your mind is already two steps ahead. When Stephanie catches a glimpse of you, her eyes sparkle. You wave her over.

“You just keep coming back for more, don’t you?” you infer as she strides towards you. 

Stephanie chuckles. “You just can’t seem to keep me away, Shy Girl. I owe Vicky and Robin one for putting me onto this joint.”

You swing your legs over so you can divert your attention to your stunning regular. She seems to be receptive to your flirtatious nature. And conveniently, the DJ transitions into a very fitting song:

“How are you doing tonight?” you assess her.

Stephanie shrugs. “I’m doing okay. The chick I was telling you about last week stood me up. So I’m here just trying to make myself feel better.”

“OMG I’m so sorry dude.”

But she brushes it off. “It’s okay. The loneliness will die down. I just gotta feel sorry for myself first.”

You rest a consoling hand on your shoulder. Before becoming exclusive with Eddie, you knew the feeling of rejection all too well. 

“You’re welcome here anytime. Even if you just wanna talk. Girl to girl, we can even do a private room for an hour.”

Just then, Stephanie reaches into her bra and pulls out a twenty dollar bill with the smuggest look on her face. 

“What about center stage? You tryna kiss it all better?”

You could’ve… and would’ve done it without the money. But knowing Eddie is in for the plot twist of his lifetime, you’ve rendered the deal priceless. Happily obliging, you accept the money Stephanie insists you take from her and extend your arms out.

“Bring it in, chica.”

It’s not what I’m used to. Just wanna try you on. I’m curious for you…

And then it happens. It starts with a timid smack of the lips to feel out both your comfort levels. The feeling of safety and trust propels you both further into realms of intensity you wouldn’t have thought of exploring with one another before. She tastes of cherry, with a hint of minty coconut. 

You let out a satisfied hum. It registers as a vibration against her full, vivacious chest. Dancing your fingers in her wavy hair now, you pull her closer to your chest as your lips lock in tandem. 

“WHEW!” you can hear Argyle shout all the way from the kitchen. “GAH DAMN!”

…I kissed a girl and I liked it. The taste of her cherry chapstick…

The uproar creates a chain reaction and soon all the gentlemen at Hellfire are hooting and hollering at the relatively unscripted act of affection in front of them. Soon, the money follows. Grinding your hips against her torso now, you chase the feeling of self-indulgence as you unravel yourself onto Stephanie. Right in time for Eddie to see.

I kissed a girl just to try it. I hope my boyfriend don’t mind it.

Floored, confused, and just a tad aroused, your man stands at the foot of Vecna’s Lair with his hands curling at his sides.

It felt so wrong. It felt so right. Don’t mean I’m in love tonight.

His stiff cock protrudes at the posterior ends of his zipper, boxer briefs shamefully laced with the salty spouts of his leaky tip. Fuck, he’s so hard. But still, oh so very pissed.

I kissed a girl and I liked it. I liked it.

Standing where you knew he’d be, you shoot him a wink, letting him know that you’re well aware of his foiled plan. And after you and Stephanie thank one another for each other’s time, you prance off to the dressing room with mountains of bills in your hands.

———

“You think Eddie’s gonna like this green set?”

There’s an itch to burn the cash you got tonight, so you find yourself browsing the internet for lingerie on your phone.

“Oooh,” Nina coos in approval. “Yes girl. You’re gonna look like a sexy dragon of sorts.”

“Mm. And what about this g-string?”

“Yes, get it. I have the same one and it’s so flattering and comfortable. Look!”

Just then the door shoots open.

“Eddie, what the hell?!” Nina shrieks, quickly donning her cloak to cover up. “Knocking, fucker. Ever heard of it?”

You turn towards the entrance to find your flustered man at the door, scowling at you briefly before turning to apologize to Nina.

“Sorry, Neens,” his gaze softens sincerely. But Nina is already storming out. “I was dumb for that.”

“Yeah, no kidding,” you tsk.

You two wait until your colleague is out of range to engage in what you both know is about to be some pretty reckless behavior. When all is clear, Eddie wastes no time, pouncing on you, pinning you by the wrists to the drawer of your vanity, leaving love bites at the crook of your neck just keen enough to draw blood. 

Pathetically, you love it. Your dripping cunt swells for the intensity — the fury of his rough hands — the vampiric blows to your hot pulse points — the rugged buckling of his hips as he digs his claws into the tender indents of yours.

“Eddie…” you whimper.

“This familiar?” he demands between breaths. 

“Rings a bell,” you muster, tracing his large display of excitement with your trembling palm. “Though it seems like you don’t necessarily…have a problem with it.”

A sinister laugh escapes his throat.

Eddie huffs. “Think you can be a smart aleck with me without repercussions?”

As swift as they come, Eddie flips you around, easing you safely onto the desk portion of your vanity by the your neck. You squirm around like a brat, whining and kicking at him with your heels in playful retaliation. His fingertips then tightly enclose around your thin lacy bralette, causing a minor tear of the sparkly chrome fabric.

Too far. Grabbing him by the wrist, you eye him in disapproval.

“Eds!” you hiss at him, seriously this time.

“You’re buying new sets anyways,” he shrugs indifferently. “You know, with the money you got for being a needy little slut.”

You issue a low grumble as Eddie sinks his body atop the small of your back. The softness in Eddie returns again when he presses delicate kisses around the tip of your chin.

“Mine, remember?”

He spins you around again, ordering you to your knees with an authoritative snap. You oblige a little too quickly, but you don’t care. You’re at the mercy of him tonight and always.

“Yours…” you breathe, knowing he’s about to fuck you and your mouth to spit and tears. “Yours only…”

He smirks, satisfied with himself. You bite your lip eagerly as you watch the King of Hellfire — and your heart — unbuckle his belt, ushering his pants down to line his pulsing cock up against your lips. Desperate for more already, your tongue peaks out to say hello. The deep lines of his snarky face concave further.

“Pucker up, sweetheart.”

💞 valentine’s divider by @saradika-graphics 💞

happy valentine’s day, sweethearts 💌

tag list: @chrrymunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n , @corrodedcoffincumslut , @bebe07011 , @mmunson86 , @eddiesguitarskills , @chelebelletx , @imonhereforareasonsadly , @eddies-trailer-babe @mediocredreams , @motherfckerr , @jxpsi , @lindseyj23, @sidthedollface2 , @manda-panda-monium , @elvendria , @micheledawn1975 , @hereforshmut , @siriuslysmoking , @nymphetkoo , @m-chmcl-rmnc , @justinelittlewoodsworld , @ahoyyharrington , @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse @kellyxo1 @emsgoodthinkin @winchester-angel @chloe-6123 , @redbarn1995 @angietherose @kiyastrf94 , @purplewitchcauldron @kellsck @joyfulfxckery @munsons-mayhem28 @dragonfire @emma77645 @drivelikenina @livosssblog @thinkingth0ts @hugdealer @ellielunamckay

[callmelola111]

color me purple ♡ part one

 ✄ - - - -   part 1 , part 2 , part 3   - - - - soundtrack - - - - ♡

synopsis: it’s summer and you’re back at camp stillwater. as a counselor you mean serious business and you’ll do whatever it takes for your cabin to come out on top. the only thing in the way of that; ellie williams and her crazy antics. 

      | 𓆣 | pairing & wc: ellie williams x reader. wc: 3.3k

      | ❀ | cw (by part): 18+ themes (MDNI), modern au, fem reader, some fluff + some angst (for now), marijuana use, pet names (doll, princess, hun), light sexual themes, swearing, mentions of blood (reader gets bloody nose), mentions of age (reader and ellie are both said to be 20 but feel free to change it in ur head lol)

a/n: feeling so summer lately i just had to write this. living vicariously through reader cause like why tf am i not having a summer camp gay awakening. this series is just 3 parts but it is sweet as pie so pls enjoy!!! i love you all dearly ♡~ lola

The blinding sun beamed down on your bare skin. Normally the sweltering heat would bother you more, but the excitement of your first day back at camp was more than enough to distract you from the outlandish temperatures. You barreled down the grassy hill, duffle bag in hand, revealing the large wooden arch that spelled out the words CAMP STILLWATER.

The grounds were bustling with counselors and caretakers preparing for the arrival of campers later that evening. Everyone was dressed in color coded garments that signaled what cabin group they belonged to. You were dressed in red, head of cabin 12. Your sheer, white ringer tee read “Staff” and was hemmed with strips of crimson. To match, a pair of red booty shorts with white stretching down the sides. They were just long enough to cover your plush cheeks until naturally riding up as you walked to reveal the crease where ass meets thigh. To top it off, knee high socks striped with the same exact red. You were fucking adorable.

Nature crunched under your sneakers as you practically skipped down the trail headlining it to your cabin. As you reached the steps a very familiar voice called out your name.

“Well, well, well, look who it is. Cabin neighbors, once again. Did ya miss me doll?”

“Ellie fucking Williams, don’t flatter yourself. I’ve been praying all week that I wouldn’t get stuck with your dumbass again. But, here we are.” You rolled your eyes in a dramatic fashion putting an emphasis on your obvious sarcasm. This would be your 3rd summer bunking next door to your biggest rival Ellie Williams.

Although you and Ellie weren’t truly enemies, she did get on your nerves, and you got on hers. This fed into a mutual sarcastic bit that you guys have continued to carry out for years. You’d think by 20 years old the two of you would’ve grown out of these childish antics, but it was secretly one of your favorite parts of the summer. 

Ellie gave a half-assed chuckle, “you can never escape me.”

“Oh yes I can!” You whipped your head around, excusing yourself from the conversation and climbed up the weathered steps of your cabin. Ellie gawked as she watched you depart, your thighs giggling with each step. Her piercing green eyes always found their way to your body, but only when she thought you wouldn’t notice.

You entered the barren room and didn't even take the time to unpack before you started adorning the walls with themed decor and tying red ribbons in your hair. Cabin 12 always thrived with spirit when you were there. You took your role as camp counselor seriously and took the competitiveness even more seriously.

Camp Stillwater ran on a point system, and at the end of the summer the cabin with the most wins a trophy. The girls from your cabin were always finishing first in the tournament games, but when they didn’t, it was Ellie’s stupid blue campers who were swooping in to steal the victory. It drove you crazy. Last summer you came second to her and you were determined to never let it happen again. You began speaking to the empty room as if trying to somehow manifest these dreams into reality.

“This year cabin 12 will finish the summer with the most points.”

“Talking to yourself again?” You jumped at the sound of Ellie, not noticing that she had been lurking in the doorway. She was only there for a moment, but didn’t feel like announcing herself, too busy enjoying you running around like an excited puppy, spouting off about victory. Ellie had always admired your high spirits and go-getter attitude. A ray of light emitted from you constantly and she loved to bask in its glory. But, of course, she’d never let it be known.

“God Ellie you can’t just sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry princess but the warden wants everyone at the mess hall like now. Come on slacker!” You noticed the change of clothes on Ellie, she was now adorned in a T-shirt just like yours but with blue details rather than red. Her auburn hair was pulled into a messy half-up, half-down, she always wore it like that when it started getting hot.

“Shut up, I'm not a slacker!! I’m just busy going above and beyond for my campers.” you argued, a pout forming on your lips. Ellie always knew how to press your buttons.

“You really wanna win this year huh?” She moved into your space, tilting her head with a cocky smirk. 

“Yeah, yeah I do.”

“And you really think I’m gonna let that happen?” she teased.

“You’re so annoying Ellie. You can do whatever you want, but I will be winning” You jutted your head forward dramatically in an attempt at intimidation. Ellie rolled her eyes.

“Right… let’s just get going before we’re late and they don’t let you counsel at all” Ellie grabbed your hand and pulled, urging you to follow. Feeling her warm, calloused hand in yours, you almost didn’t want to let go. But, you did.

The mess hall was lined with strings of wooden picnic tables, all connecting to create a sense of community when it was filled with campers. Flags cascaded the walls, each a different color with a number, representing the teams. A large case expanded across the back wall, filled with trophies from years before. The corners of your mouth upturned with anticipation of the summer to come. Your thoughts were soon interrupted by an amplified voice booming from a megaphone. Holding said megaphone was the warden, Mrs. Campbell.

“Alright ladies! Tonight is the night! You all know what to do so go ahead and file out to find your campers!!” You and Ellie exited out the back of the building, heading to the camp entrance. A swarm of girls’ chatting and screams grew louder as staff united with them. One of your favorite parts about Camp Stillwater was the lack of boys. You felt safe, and you loved the idea of getting to empower all these young impressionable women.

You held up a sign signaling your cabin number and a single file line began forming in front of you. You handed each of your girls red ribbons (matching the ones in your own hair) as a personal touch, trying to foster a bond right from the start. Meanwhile, Ellie stood around for her campers dapping them up, giving off the perfect “chill counselor” vibe. You found the lack of discipline a little obnoxious but to each their own. 

That night Stillwater kicked off camp with a bonfire complete with goodies for smores. You sat, knees together on the rough log, feeling as it left imprints of the bark on your bare thighs. Ellie sat just one log over goofing off with some other staff members, shooting an occasional glance at you.

The plastic bag of graham crackers crinkled as you ripped it open to begin assembling your late night snack. The hot air had turned cool with the lack of sun, but the preceding heat lingered in the melted chocolate you attempted to pass out. You stared as the sticky mallow and sweet liquid coco coated your fingers, inviting golden crumbs to join in. Ellie observed you deciding how to handle the mess, and with just a few seconds of thought, watched you stick your sugary soaked fingers straight in your mouth. A surge of guilt hit Ellie, noticing how much your licking troubled her. She clenched her thighs together and decided sweets just weren't for her.

With your hunger satisfied, the bonfire burned bright and you droned off getting lost in the flicker of the flames. Just then, you see a familiar Ellie in your peripherals wandering to the woods. Curious, you peeled your sticky legs from where you sat and got up to follow. You trailed behind her struggling to conceal your presence due to the snapping twigs under your feet. Ellie snaked her body back to acknowledge you and your obviousness. She loved to tease.

“Stalker much?” 

“God, you wish I was stalking you, Williams.” 

“So why are you following me then? Trying to catch me breakin’ the rules?” she questioned, half joking, half not. Continuing your follow, the two of you reached a more secluded part of the forest and Ellie halted.

“If you don’t want me to catch you, then maybe you should stop breaking rules. Ever think of that?” you taunted.

“Whatever Nancy Drew.” And with that, Ellie reached into her pocket pulling out a freshly rolled joint.

“You gonna bust me?” she teased before you quickly slapped the drugs out of her hands and into the moist dirt below.

“ELLIE!!!” you scolded her like she was a camper.

“Hey what the hell dude?!” she reached down to retrieve the now dirty joint and began to light it. A panicked look washed over your face and your eyes darted around, surveying for any possible company. God forbid you let this girl get you in trouble.

“I should be saying what the hell to you! Smoking on the job? So much for setting a good example… God, Ellie!” You palmed your face not sure how to proceed. In spite of your make believe beef, Ellie was your friend and you didn’t want to tattle. On the other hand though, the goodie two shoes and competitive freak inside wanted so badly to expose Ellie's naughty behavior. With her out of the picture, you could finish this summer out with a win. But, if you were being honest with yourself, camp wouldn’t be the same without her.

“Sorry, sorry. I know” Ellie shook her head at the ground pretending to be ashamed but she couldn’t have cared less. She knew you’d never tell, so on she went with her scheming.

“You wanna hit though?” 

“Ellie!!” This time you gave a blow to her exposed bicep, really trying to lay the guilt on thick.

“Come onnnn. This is your 3rd year here, you’ve gotta loosen up at some point. Just one hit? Please, for me?” Ellie flashed you the most annoying puppy dog eyes and a devilish smirk already anticipating your answer. Growing up you found it easy to resist peer pressure, you’ve always thought of yourself as a rule follower, but when it came to Ellie she always knew what to say to push you to the edge. She was such an instigator and you fell for her act every damn time.

“Fine… one hit.” She practically shoved the weed in your hands in excitement as you reluctantly gave in. Ellie always had so much fun chipping away at that good girl exterior you worked so hard to uphold. You then took a slow drag and passed it back to her. You fixated on her wet lips as they placed themselves around the joint. She took a quick inhale before an amused look spread across her face.

“Cherry?” Already feeling the high, you gave Ellie a puzzled look, not understanding what she meant. 

“Your lipgloss hun” She gestured to the pink stain rimming the tip of the joint.

Your face flushed red, “shit sorry.” You dug your foot into the ground and gave your lips a lick, recalling the fruity flavor.

“S’all good, I liked the taste” She replied, making your face turn a shade redder, almost matching the shorts that hugged your curves. Ellie would remember this moment, the taste of your lipgloss felt like a brush with destiny. Already assimilating the flavor to memory, she imagined her lips on yours and that cherry taste lingering in an exchange of saliva. God Ellie!! Stop being a perv and shut the fuck up!!

As one of the few masculine girls at camp, she was practically drowning in women, but her fixation with you prevented anything past a casual hook up. And casual hook up she did- with at least a fourth of the staff. Understandably, things got desperate being stuck at camp for 2 months straight. It’s not like you had the privacy to rub one out while sleeping in a room full of occupied bunk beds. But, with Ellie being a known player, you personally hadn’t thought twice about getting involved, despite the occasional butterflies. Bullying each other was more fun anyways.

Finally, Ellie finally finished off the joint, letting you take a couple more hits in between hers. She stomped the roach out into the moist ground making sure to put out any remaining embers. Her long stride pointed in the direction of the light filled cabins before you stopped her. With weed now rampant in your system, you weren’t ready for the night to end. 

“Waitttt, stopppp, we can’t go nowww!” You grabbed Ellie’s wrist leading her back into the darkness, straight towards the lake.

“What? You wanna hangout with me all of the sudden?”

“I- I wanna swim…” you mumbled, almost afraid to hear it come out of your mouth. One of the most important rules at Camp Stillwater was no swimming after dark. Ellie almost gasped hearing you propose such a mischievous idea. 

“Rulebreaker! Rulebreaker!” she chanted, almost falling over with laughter. Inside though, Ellie was kicking her feet at the thought of having a late night swim with her favorite girl. 

“Come on Els, you’re the one who told me to live a little. Pleaseeee!!” You bat your long lashes like a cartoon character but there was no need to beg as Ellie was already on board. She loved corrupting you.

“I’ll race you!!” She shouted before dashing through the trees, kicking up dirt with each long stride. Of course she turned it into a competition, and you bolted right after her trying to catch up.

Neither of you even stopped to breathe as you reached the edge of the lake. Instead shirts, shorts, and shoes all flying off your bodies landing amongst the greenery, desperate to get your sweaty bodies into the cool, evening waters. As you dived in, a sense of euphoria washed over your body along with the deep blue ripples of H2O. Ellie’s head rose out of the water 2nd. She slicked her wet hair back and gave you a toothy smile that was to die for. You giggled at the sight, everything seeming a bit more silly while under the influence. 

“Having fun princess?” she questioned, cheeks full.

“Yeah I am,” you smiled back, “I don’t think the fact that I’m breaking like 5 different rules has hit me yet.”

“Enough with the rules, let's have fun!” Ellie dove back into the water circling around your smooth legs. She took ur skin between her pointer and thumb, giving you little pinches like some sort of sea creature. You kicked and squirmed in reaction causing Ellie to shoot back up from her underwater adventure.

“Fuck off!” you shoved her bare shoulder with a teasing force. She put her hands up surrendering to your irritation. Her veiny arms glistened with lake water and your eyes wandered before getting stuck on the large tattoo adorning her forearm.

“Hey, that wasn’t there last summer.” you gestured to her.

“Yeah, uh, I got it a few months ago”

“It looks good,” you paused, “can I touch?” Ellie offered out her inked limb to you. It rested in your left hand and you used your right to trace the linework. Water droplets collected with each gentle brush of your fingertips. Goosebumps followed your delicate touch and Ellie's face turned red with enjoyment. 

“S’pretty” you said, noticing a blush growing across your own face. You glanced off into the distance at the silence. The thick forest trees and bright stars urged you to take in a deep, pollution free inhale. Ellie broke the moment of zen to speak.

“Turn around.” she demanded. You obliged immediately despite her unknown intentions. You felt her hot breath on your neck and sudden skin-to-skin contact. She hooked her long fingers around your wet locks of hair, moving them across your back to one side. A chill radiated down your spine

“What are you doing Ellie?” you whispered. The closeness you shared and the now still lake, cloaked with haze, sent a hush over the both of you. 

“Guess what I’m drawing” she whispered back. You scrunched up your shoulders in response to her vibrations hitting at your pulse. The feeling of her rough fingers met your back and began tracing symbols. You attempted to focus on her movements but it proved hard to decipher the message when she felt so close. Despite knowing Ellie for a long time, the two of you had never had this much prolonged touch. It ignited a feeling that you weren’t sure how to get control of. The silence hinted at your cluelessness.

“Here I’ll do it again,” she said, drawing out "I ♡ U” once more across your back.

“Fuck, I dont know. A dick?” You turned back to face Ellie questioning her with a giggle. Her face was littered with disappointment before quickly concealing it from you with a big splash of water. The tender moment was lost. She went along with your answer, lying through her teeth. 

“Fine, you got me freak! It was a dick.” You splashed Ellie back harder, amused by her childish humor. The water slinging continued until you both became absolutely winded and ready to climb in bed. Oh fuck, bed...

“ELLIE, OH MY GOD, CURFEW!” you practically squealed before switching to breaststroke and heading towards land. Ellie snapped out of this little dream and followed after you.

You frantically threw on your clothes over your now soaked bra and panties. Wet spots began seeping through your shorts as you fiddled with your sneakers. Your wet feet swirled in the dirt below, caking them with the mud of your making. You vetoed the shoes and bolted towards the cabins completely barefoot. You were so focused on getting back that you hardly even noticed the branches and rocks assaulting your skin.

“FUCK WAIT UP!!” Ellie yelled, just feet behind you. As you looked back to acknowledge her request your ankle caught on a huge log that littered the forest's path. Your balance was thrown and your face went plummeting straight into the ground, hitting a dull rock on its way down. Ellie’s pace doubled as she jumped to your rescue. She fell to her knees by your side giving you support as you lifted yourself up. Looking down, your hands were dirty, stuck wood chips pressed into the skin. You dusted them off against each other, seemingly fine.

“Bro, oh my god, are you okay??” Ellie pestered, worried out of her mind. 

“I think, yeah. It was honestly more embarrassing than painful.” you gave a light chuckle before looking up from the ground when suddenly a gush of liquid escaped your nose. Your finger dipped into the steady flow and you took note of the deep red now covering them.

“Just great.” you rolled your eyes. Ellie had the most concerned look on her face despite your injury being a simple bloody nose.

“We’ve gotta get you to the nurse like now!”

“Ellie chill, I’d rather not have an encounter with authority while I'm high as fuck and out past curfew.” You never thought you'd be saying that sentence.

“Fine, at least take this.” Ellie handed you a crumpled up tissue she had retrieved from her athletic shorts and you shoved it up your nose halting the flow.

Returning to the main area of the campgrounds felt like a walk of shame. You were drenched, muddy, and decorated in your own blood, and Ellie looked just as bad. Eventually the two of you reached your neighboring cabins and there waiting in between the steps of 11 and 12 was Warden Campbell. Fuck.

 ✄ - - - -   part 1 , part 2 , part 3   - - - - masterlist - - - - ♡

[rottenpumpkin13]

Inspired by recent events - how would modern AGSZC handle long haul international travel? The airports, the flights and the inevitable jet lag

♯ Angeal always tries to find the positive and bright side of everything, so he's game for anything. He’s the one making checklists, planning every detail, ensuring everyone’s luggage is in order, and being just a little neurotic (just a little) he sees it as part of the fun and a way to ensure everything goes smoothly. Even jet lag can’t dampen his spirits! He views it as just another part of the adventure.

*Angeal kicks the door down*

Angeal: To whoever had the audacity to go up to the packing checklist I've helpfully pinned to the fridge and write 'calm down Angeal', I just want you to know that I'M FUCKING!! CALM! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO CALM IN ALL MY LIFE—HEY! GENESIS YOU GET BACK HERE AND EXPLAIN WHY I FOUND A WHOLE BOTTLE OF LIQUOR IN YOUR LUGGAGE? WE'RE GOING ON A BUSINESS TRIP, YOU DONUT, NOT TO A RESORT. IF I GET ONE WHIFF OF ALCOHOL ON YOUR BREATH I'M THROWING YOU FROM THE AIRPLANE!

*Sephiroth and Zack are watching from a distance*

Zack: Why is Angeal screaming at the wall?

Sephiroth: Don't look, Zack.

♯ Genesis loves traveling and views every aspect of it as part of the vacation, thanks to his aesthete heart. Packing is an artform to him, creating playlists for the car ride to the airport is essential, selecting books, and planning which episodes of his dramas to catch up on during the flight. Jet lag would be a downer for him, but he's rarely sleeping on vacation anyway, preferring to be out partying. But once he's back needs at least two days to recuperate.

*Genesis is sitting in the briefing room with sunglasses and a cocktail. Zack is fanning him*

Lazard: Commander, this is ridiculous. Your vacation ended two days ago.

Genesis: On the contrary, director. I'm still on vacation.

Lazard: Your theatrics are disrupting the workspace.

Genesis: No they're not.

*Sephiroth and Angeal walk in and immediately slip and fall on the sand that's scattered on the floor*

♯ Sephiroth is convinced that no one in the world hates taking trips more than he does. Work trips are terrible, and the 'getting there' part of vacations is dreadful no matter the 'distractions' he brings to keep his mind busy. Honestly, he'd be a happier person if teleportation were more widely used so he could just appear at places randomly. He's a homebody who loves the comfort of his own space and values his sleep, so jet lag hits him hard.

Zack: Hey, how are you—

Sephiroth: I haven't slept in 22 hours and if I don't drink something caffeinated and release my anger within the next minute, then I will be forced to enlist the help of the shadow that's been following me around all day to tape your mouth shut.

Zack: What shadow?

Sephiroth:

Zack, panicking: WHAT SHADOW?

♯ Zack loves trips, partly because his upbringing in Gongaga made him eager to see the world. He's just happy to be there, though he hates packing and always forgets to bring essential stuff like his underwear and toothbrush. But that's what Angeal is for! Jet lag is nonexistent to him because he can and will sleep through anything, as long as he has a comfortable enough space. The only thing he can't deal with about trips is the sitting still part... yeah, he needs to stretch his legs or else he starts to lose his mind.

*In the airplane*

Genesis: Are you alright? Your eye is twitching and your knees are shaking.

Zack: I can't take this anymore.

Genesis: Read a book.

Zack: I hate reading.

Genesis: Watch a movie.

Zack: I can't focus.

Genesis: Then do one of the two things I do when I'm bored—either poke Angeal with a back scratcher until he explodes or challenge Sephiroth to an arm wrestling match.

Zack:

Zack: Somehow I feel like Sephiroth breaking my arm is the safer option.

Genesis: It is.

Zack: Alright.

♯ IF Cloud survives the motion sickness, he will not be a happy camper during the trip.

Cloud: I feel like I'm gonna throw up.

Sephiroth: Ginger is known to reduce nausea and prevents vomiting. Consuming ginger in the form of tea, candy, or even chopped pieces can be effective to combat nausea and vomiting.

Cloud: Do you have ginger?

Sephiroth: No.

Cloud: Then why the hell would you bring that up?

Sephiroth: It's always nice to learn something new, Cloud.

Cloud: *visibly annoyed*

Sephiroth: I realize I've made a mistake. I'm in the splash zone.

[happyk44]

you know what could've been interesting. new praetor jason fresh from a war being sent on quest after quest without much reprieve and then...

disappearing.

he doesn't come back. people move on in a matter of days. elections are held. a new praetor joins reyna's side. people talk about him in the past tense. new campers are confused. they think he was a hero of the ancients. not a hero of the modern day.

truth is jason just left. he got tired. he got stressed. he had a breakdown because he's only fifteen and they put the world on his back and kept it there. his step-mother started coming into his dreams. she talked loud about responsibility, about duty, abouot purpose. his father stood there beside her, large and imposing, and he didn't want this anymore.

he stumbles across the wilderness school. some teacher thinks he's a student trying to sneak off. he falls into line with the others. creates a narrative for himself. the mist handwaves away any concerns, twists and blends him in.

he meets leo and they fall into one another easily. he is leo's fiercest protective. everyone huffs and grumble's about "valdez's guard dog". they get in trouble, little things here and there, and it's almost hilarious. he's never got in trouble before - at least not for actually breaking the rules. he's got in trouble for not holding strong to the image demanded of him, not for breaking into the principal's office and altering the PA to scream "free day, do what you want" over and over again the moment the button is hit.

he meets piper. her hand sweats whenever he holds it and she never quite meets his eyes. they don't fall in love. why would they? they never actually did before. and jason is so close, practically breathing down her spine at every second, she never fears his eyes will stray elsewhere.

the three of them are a little team. piper manipulates, sweettalks her way into everything. no one can resist the bat of her eyes and the unintended syrup of every word she says. leo builds, creates - his mind is too advance for high school classes. jason stands strong behind them, wolf-like eyes warning away everyone who nears.

when they're dragged, rough and tumble, off to camp half-blood, there are few lies between them. and none of those lies are what they mean to each other.

[curseofdelos]

I was rereading the 'should we let Nico suffocate in a jar' scene, and I was struck by Hazel's relationship with Jason in this scene and in this paragraph in particular:

Because Hazel and Jason WERE friends pre-canon!! In TLH, when Jason gets his memories back, Hazel is one of the characters he lists as someone he was friends with back in Camp Jupiter. Then, in SoN, Hazel is among the campers who looked up to Jason as a leader - both as a praetor and the former leader of the fifth cohort - and was eager to get him back.

...But then, in this scene, he doubts that Nico is trustworthy and questions if rescuing him is the best course of action.

What's interesting too is Hazel, in SoN, also doubted how trustworthy Nico was. He was keeping things from her and was annoyingly cryptic, and this was something that frustrated her. However, the second Nico is in serious danger, she sets all her reservations about him aside and rescuing him becomes her primary goal. (Rick's writing can be so inconsistent sometimes that I'm not confident this was intentional, but my interpretation of this is that Hazel was so afraid of losing Nico that she forgave him for all the lies, half-truths, etc. Petty squabbles don't seem important in the face of potential tragedy.)

Hazel approaches the "should we rescue Nico" debate from the perspective of someone at risk of losing her brother. Nico is the only family she has left, and the only demigod who can relate to her struggles of being a kid from the 30s/40s transplanted into the modern day. She loves and cares about him. Her own feelings and her own relationships take priority over the quest. It doesn't matter to her that they're walking into a trap; she'll do whatever it takes to get her brother back.

Jason, on the other hand, is approaching the debate from the perspective of a soldier. His biggest concern is whether or not Nico is someone they can trust, and if he's worth risking their lives (and the quest and the world) to save.

Jason has no personal relationship with Nico at this point and no reason to trust him - especially considering Nico was travelling between both camps and said nothing to him during those several months Jason lived at CHB, and especially considering the number of times he's lied to and betrayed Percy over the years. Yes, the reasoning behind Nico's actions are sympathetic and valid, and the decision to keep secrets was out of his hands to a certain extent, but Jason's (and Percy's) hurt and distrust of him is valid too. WE know Nico can be trusted, but it makes sense that Jason doesn't given his experience with him.

Jason has been at Camp Jupiter since he was a literal toddler. The Roman legion is the only life he knows. He was born and raised to be a weapon for the gods. His entire story happens precisely because Hera/Juno wanted a champion. He was moulded to be the kind of person who follows the gods unquestioningly, and at this point in the series, he's only beginning to break out of that mentality (hence why him standing up to Zeus later in BoO is such a big moment for him). He prioritises the quest over Hazel's feelings because as a Roman leader, he was taught to prioritise the quest over all else.

And it's so interesting to me the way that this difference in opinion - Hazel prioritising Nico's life over the quest VS Jason prioritising the quest over Nico's life - ultimately leads to a fracture in their relationship and completely alters the way Hazel views Jason for the rest of HoO. In Jason's defence, he does apologise to Hazel fairly soon after this moment, but it's interesting to me that in HoH she's still clearly (and understandably!) bitter about the position he chose to take - to the point she wonders if Jason would abandon her too if he deemed it necessary for the quest - and in a way she isn't bitter towards Leo (iirc) despite him making the exact same points.

Because Jason was her friend. She looked up to and respected him. When he disappeared, she was among those who missed him and wanted him to come back. He was a fair, good, and just leader, so she assumed he would be on her side and fight for what she believed was right, but he isn't and he doesn't. When the time comes for Jason to support Hazel in rescuing someone important to her - in much the same way she supported his rescue - he fails her. He doesn't take her feelings or her trust in Nico into consideration. He weighs the cost-benefit analysis in his head, and isn't sure rescuing her brother is worth potentially walking into a trap.

And Hazel is hurt. Who wouldn't be? And Jason does try to make things right by apologising, but not immediately agreeing to stop your friend's brother from suffocating to death in a jar is a difficult argument to bounce back from.

idk. The way their different approaches to the "should we rescue Nico" debate causes their friendship to fall apart in this scene is so interesting to me <3

[ep2nd]

Anonymous reminder to talk about you pj mcyt au! (I was told to name a smp in the tags so… fable? Do you have fable smp? I ask, knowing the answer is probably no) anyways! Have a good day, I love reading headcannons

LE GASP THANKSSSSSS

Sadly, I did not put Fable in here, have herad of it, and maybe I'll dig into it and add it later

BUT NOW LETS TALK

Athena and Ares Kids

False- Favored daughter of Athena. Best War strategist, greatest Archer of her siblings. Her father died when she was young, leaving her defenseless. Single-handedly got to camp at the age of 6. Oldest member of camp. Joined the Hunt at 16.

Etho- Always planning something. Typical gray eyes, used to have black hair. Went on a quest and came back with a scar, white hair, and very broody. Disappeared after a few years- unknown.

Gem- Gets along great with the Demeter cabin. Came to camp with Sausage, Fwhip, and Zed and now they are all honorary found family. Great swordswoman. Joined the Hunt at 14.

Impulse- Smart. Great tinkerer and craftsmen. His Dad was an inventor, and alive. Can craft almost anything, honorary brother of Hephaestus cabin and Skizz. Tango and he get into lots of fire trouble. Not the best at being strategy smart, or good at fighting, but great with people.

Pearl- Greatest daughter of Ares. Blood-thirsty. Has several mood swings. Great with plants, love playing pranks, and loves fighting the best. Knows how to weild several weapons. Once fought her own father and won. Came to camp when she was 8. Don't talk about her dad.

Puffy- Great strategist, fighter, and people person. Loves kids. Will fight anyone for the kids. Veteran Camper. Came back to help.

Reddoons- showed up at camp, found out he was a son of Ares, then disappeared. May or May not be working with the enemy.

Tapl- great Archer, and that's kinda it. Knows how to get out a situation. Very bored. Wished his dad was Apollo.

Techno- Greatest son of Ares. One of the few people who can beat Pearl, Liz, False, and Dream. Wished he was a son Athena. Doesn't like his dad. Tries to not be bloody thirsty like his dad, but in the heat of battle- well. Was brought to camp by Phil. In college. Mom died at War.

Xisuma- Veteran camper. Basically the adult supervision. Has the best plans. Took False in and helped her, along with several others, dubbing themselves as Hermits. Has a stygian sword, gift from Hades and Joe after helping them in the Underworld- yes he's been to the underworld, he's been to several places. Waves the fans off- but let's be real this guy was SICK back in his day.

Bek- strongest Ares kid. Both physically and will. Doesn't use weapons- only fists.

Welsknight- Doesn't like his dad, but understands the honor and need of War. Man came from a line of knights, holds up chivalry. Veteran person. Visits sometimes. Best friends with X, went on several adventures with him, like that time he held up the sky or killed a hydra or fought a Titan- ya know stuff.

Quig- Uses sword and only sword. Quick, in everything. Doesn't like to talk much. Great friends with Pete. In college. Dad died in shooter stampede. Hates guns.

Pete- Veteran camper. Earned a chariot in battle. Has pet birds. Great Archer and sword fighter. Green eyes that can peirce the soul or make you eat your vegetables.

Pigical- Also doesn't like his dad- surprising I know. Uses fast and nimble combat. Tries to be a pacisft. Weak. Very kind though. His mom banished him.

Boffy- most cruel son of Ares. Uses a scythe. Great fighter, but also very dangerous. Rumors said he tortured his victims, enjoying death. Disappeared. No one knows where, hopefully not to the enemy.

Muka- carries a gun. Son of Ares with modern weapons. Has a pet mechanical wolf. Disappeared, but more of a loner. Found the other camp, kinda just chills. Great mom visits regularly.

[barnabyboppins]

Hopefully lukewarm take (i haven’t checked)

I recently finished reading the Heroes Of Olympus series (having read pjo immediately prior) and I think it’s pretty shitty that the worth of all of our good guy characters are, to a notable degree, measured by their ability to find and engage in romantic relationships and are then greatly defined by those relationships. (Disclaimer; I don’t think I’m in a justified position to discuss lots of the racial criticisms for HoO but I do agree with a lot of em and that aspect does factor into this topic)

7+ important recurring characters is quite a lot of people to balance, even in a five book series and all of the non-pjo characters suffered immensely for it. But one character arc I anticipated over and over again that never ended up happening was any one character finding fulfillment from the non-romantic relationships around them by de-prioritizing the idea of a perfect someone in favour of accepting the support of their friends/comrades/campers/family/etc. (Second disclaimer: I don’t expect a novel saga from 2010 to have characters declaring their orientations (or lack thereof) aloud but the idea of a character learning to define themself by or through something outside of romance isn’t a new one)

I think Percy and Annabeth are very cute and work well as a couple (are they the only white couple?) and I don’t really see any chemistry between Piper and Jason (I feel like they’re on very different paths from each other and Piper stagnates greatly in favour of supporting jasons development) but I think literally every other Good Guy character had the potential to not need romance in their arcs. Frank could have been raised to praetor by consensus and recognized by his peers and grandma, actively validating his growth rather than him achieving great feats and no one noticing or really caring except for Hazel. Hazel could’ve been shown learning about the modern day with Frank and Nico during downtime and reconciling her identity and trauma with the diversity of today while discovering a new freedom in acceptance (from the Seven) of who she is from back then and who she may yet want to be (and also not dated a 16 y/o at 13).

Leo, Reyna and Nico were the main ones I was thinking would forgo the need for a partner at least as a necessity for their growth/healing as all three have severe familial trauma, are distanced from other demigods socially somehow, and all were explicitly ousted from conventional romance in-writing.

Initially with Leo I had hoped he would confront his struggle being the “seventh wheel” by expressing how he was feeling overlooked as a friend (and as the ONLY shipwright) in favour of everyone’s romantic interests, which would lead into further emotional vulnerability in the party but, that never happened save for a few stoically non-communicative gestures of support to Frank and otherwise weird hang-ups on Hazel before he fucked off to Calypso, letting his friends think him dead for weeks. Leo lacked connection and felt inferior and less important than the rest of the Seven and the narrative validated that by only fulfilling him through an a Rapunzel-like hot babe trapped on an island who is physically dependent on his emotional dependence on her. That’s not a recipe for healthy relationship! I related to Leo initially as an aromantic person with 9 siblings, half of whom are already coupled so it was very disappointing when I realized by the third book that RR just didn’t take what was to me the most obvious arc for a character who is vitally important to a team but least noticed. Also the Hazel-Frank-Leo pseudo-love shape didn’t need to happen, at least in the way it did, and I think the Leo-Hazel-Sammy weird love thing was stupid.

I think Nico and Will are a very cute couple and I’m looking forward to reading their book when I come around to it but I felt unsatisfied that the thing that got Nico to stay at camp after 5 books was a guy who had little significant presence until the last book and not like, any of the other deeply important connections he made during his journeys? Nico’s been talking about never returning to either camp for a while and none of the Seven or Reyna (I think) thought to check in with him? I get that Will is supposed to be like the first person to insistently want Nico around but if Will really is the first then that’s kinda fucked up given the whole like, eight books worth of people he’s met. It’s a bit fucked up that after years of Nico’s presence, seemingly the first connection to anchor him down is an unspoken suggestion of a romance

Reyna’s character journey confuses me because I don’t if I missed or forgot it but I don’t remember her having a conclusion to her internal struggles. Aphrodite telling her she’s doomed to singledom gets brought up again and again and it’s mostly just to make you feel bad for her. She doesn’t tell anyone else. She doesn’t seek fulfillment in the platonic or familial connections she has. They visit her house, trauma dump about her abuse AND fakeout her sisters + the hunters + the amazons deaths just to have Reyna be even more hurt. Reyna and Nico come to understand each other while they’re travelling but by the conclusion of the series she’s just gone back to her isolating and stressful role as the praetor, but now with more work to do! Aphrodite’s words are never explained and their veracity is never tested and all it serves is to give Reyna more misery porn.

I guess what I’m saying is I think the story would have been better if The Seven & Co had a little more connection with each other and not just with their respective partners and if we could have seen some internal growth come from that.

[queenie-official]

Part Two Of Summer Love: ‘The Lie’

series masterlist celebration event camp logo

pairing: Modern!Anakin Skywalker x fem!reader

word count: 11k next part

Monday, 5:00 a.m.

"way too fucking early" you grumbled to yourself staring at the date and time on your phone.

"you'll get used to it" Padme says; walking into the room already dressed for the day with wet hair she was letting air dry.

you groan, every cell in your body screaming at you to crawl under the blankets and go back to sleep. you could actually do that, campers won't arrive till 8:30; of course, if you did go back to sleep now you won't have time for a shower beforehand unless you skip breakfast.

"what are you plotting over there?" Padme asked with an energy you envied, you look over at her wondering how anyone could be so peppy this early.

"world domination" you answer dryly, falling backwards and letting out a soft 'oof' as your back hits the mattress.

"pretty bold plans for someone who can't even get herself up to use the bathroom" she quips; you grab the pillow from beside you and chuck it vaguely in her direction not bothering to aim because that would mean having to properly get up.

"you'd be surprised what you can get done lying down" you argue only to get smacked in the head by the same pillow you just threw.

"Yeah, like what? more sleeping" you hear her say, the words muffled because you don't bother moving the pillow off of your head.

"also napping, dozing, snoozing, resting- the list goes on really" she pulls the pillow off of your face and gives you an inquisitive look.

"first of all, those are all synonymous. second of all i'm not letting you rot in the bed and skip breakfast" you close your eyes letting out an annoyed whine. "let's go, up and at em" she grabs your hands and starts pulling you up; instead of helping, you relax your body completely forcing her to deal with your dead weight.

she groans but doesn't relent, shifting to let gravity do most of the work and aid her in getting you up. "this trick doesn't work on me y/n, i did it on my older sister growing up" she grunts, somehow pulling harder now. "and guess what she figured out the trick to winning, now i know too" she finally gets you up with one last tug and you slam into her from the momentum.

you both yelp then Padme stumbles backwards causing you to trip on her feet and the next thing you know you're both on the floor. a tangled mess of limbs and wheezing laughter.

"you're stronger than you look Amidala" she giggles then gently pushes you off of her.

"and you're heavier than you look" you gasp dramatics in full swing now.

"how rude" you huff, pulling yourself up from the floor and pretending to storm off angrily. grabbing your shower supplies on the way out.

you drop the act when you turn to close the door behind you smiling brightly at her and sharing one last laugh.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

its easy to forget you and Padme have a third roommate, not just because you two spend all of your time together when you're in the shared room or the fact you both pretend she doesn't exist but mostly because Jasmine seemed pretty content with you guys ignoring her- with everybody in the camp ignoring her in fact.

whenever you ended up in a room alone with Jasmine she would remove herself from the situation. sometimes physically, other times by just busying herself with her phone.

this unspoken system worked great for the entirety of staff week, unfortunately, now campers were going to be introduced. which meant you had to put aside your morals and differences in order to communicate with one another. the campers' safety came first, so an exchange of numbers was in order.

after your shower, and once breakfast was over all the staff stayed in the Log hall for a final speech from the Camp directors before the Campers finally arrived. during this time you all exchanged numbers with one another. obviously you didn't have everyone's number but you all had enough to be able to communicate with one another through at the very least a mutual.

the number you were currently staring at belongs to Jasmine. Padme had given it to you, she bit the bullet and asked her for it while you were busy smiling at the number you'd just received from Anakin.

"i wish i didn't delete her number from my phone after camp last year, then i wouldn't have had to talk to her at all. i just really thought she wouldn't be back this year." Padme sighed. she was sitting next to you, hunched over and leaning into your side. it was like the exchange with Jasmine drained all the energy she had for the day.

"i could have asked her for us" you honestly felt guilty she was the one who did it. as much as you didn't like Jasmine you at the very least had the advantage of not truly knowing her like the rest of the camp did, it would have been easier for you to pretend.

"if i can prevent you from ever having to interact with her one on one, i would do it again one hundred times" she says while turning off her phone, she had to unblock the number once it was added again.

you could only hope that you'd never have to use her phone number. Padme said that it was probably unlikely as long as Jasmine doesn't lose the kids she's in charge of and vice versa, and as long as an emergency doesn't arise.

emergencies weren't a common occurrence at Camp Wookiee and the staff took great pride in that fact, so as far as you were concerned this meant you'd be able to remain contact-free with Jasmine. what could possibly go wrong right?

“you two look rough" Rex's voice pulls you and Padme's attention away from each other and your thoughts.

"thank you Rex, that's just what every lady wants to hear first thing in the morning" Padme's voice was dripping with sarcasm, a sour look on her face as she glared at the man who now sat in front of you two.

"happy to be of service" he answers back just as sarcastically. it's not long before Anakin and Ben find and join you guys.

Ben sat beside Rex and elbowed him in the ribs as a greeting. "the hell was that for!" Rex grumbled and Ben just shrugs.

"you probably deserved it judging from the looks on their faces" he answers with the cross of his arms and a smile. you don't bother hiding your own smile that grows on your face, the corner of your mouth twitching from the urge to giggle.

"you guys ready for the campers to arrive?" Anakin asks from beside you. his choice to sit beside you any chance he got no longer phased you but it still confused you. especially when there was an open seat right beside Padme, you chalked it up to him being nervous to sit next to her.

"yep, we got the list of names from Bail this morning; i've got a lot of returning campers to look after" Padme spoke up first and Anakin leaned in closer towards her, what good it did with you in the middle of them you didn't know.

you leaned back only slightly, fighting off the warmth in your cheeks from how close his face was to yours. his lashes were long and there was the cutest little mole on his chin that you hadn't taken the time to truly notice before.

Ben cleared his throat and Anakin pulled back to look at him, you internally thanked him when you noticed he'd done it for you. you hadn't even realized you'd been holding your breath and took the space from Anakin to breathe again calming your racing heart.

his brows furrowed and he grumbled a 'what' to Ben who just rolled his eyes at his friend's ignorance. Padme nudges you and you can see the knowing smile on her face out of the corner of your eye.

"who'd you get for campers y/n?" Rex asks curiously. you honestly hadn't checked yet, it didn't feel necessary until you were face-to-face with all of the campers anyway. it's not like you'd be able to recognize them.

you pull out your phone and open the messages app to Bail's contact after swiping out of Honey's chat. there's a hitch in Anakin's breath from beside you that you decide not to address. "uhh here you guys can just look, i won't know who they are anyway" you hold your phone out to them.

a smile grows on Ben's face when he sees the name of one of the campers "ooo Anakin's gonna be mad about this one" he points at the screen and Rex snickers.

Anakin reaches over and snatches the phone from you, you take a moment to process what just happened before turning to the boy with an annoyed look on your face.

"no way!! You got Ahsoka" you squish your face next to his to look at your own screen, you feel him tense for a moment at your action before he forces his body to relax.

"who is she?" you ask curiously pulling back as he hands you your phone back.

"only Anakin's favorite Camper" Padme answers and you raise a brow. "he's had her the last two years working here." she continued and you turn to him for confirmation.

he has his arms crossed and the beginning of a frown starting to form on his face. "yea and i figured she wasn't coming back this year because she wasn't on my list" he's fully frowning by the end of the sentence.

"Why is she your favorite?" you ask curiously, Ben speaks up before Anakin can.

"honestly she's almost everyone's favorite. Ahsoka's the one kid you never have to worry about following the rules. she even helps the other kids stay in check." Ben answers before Anakin can.

"well maybe she chose the crafts center as one of her activities- and even if she didn't you'll be able to talk to her during breakfast and lunch." you say in hopes of making him feel better.

Anakin opened his mouth to respond but was swiftly interrupted when you were all called to attention by Qui-Gon. the campers had just arrived and were loading off of the Buses.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

when you first had lunch with all of the staff members last week it was incredibly loud and there were only forty of you. now as you stand in front of 100 ornery children you realize just how quiet you guys were in comparison.

The second the campers were loaded off of the bus camp director Windu led them to Center hall also referred to as the camp auditorium. the kids had already been told who their camp counselors were and to ensure each kid was where they belonged you were instructed to look over the roster that was given to you on the way into the hall and check off each name.

the way this worked was simple, there were twelve kids per cabin. Padme, Jasmine, and you were responsible for all twelve kids at Naboo cabin. however, to make things easier each counselor was given four names out of the twelve to look after in particular. so theoretically you only had four kids to worry about.

the three of you stood off to the side waiting for your names to be called so your campers knew where to go. it was awkward, Jasmine stood directly beside you and no one was allowed on their phones. so the usual method of escape was a no-go.

the silence from all three of you was loud. Padme kept busy with the clipboard in her hands fiddling with the pen chained on it. you had reread the twelve names on the list at least twenty times already in lieu of making the situation any more uncomfortable.

Padme and you both shared a breath of relief the second your names were finally called and saw kids stand up and head towards your direction. you both put on your best fake smile and prepared for the fact you'd now have to pretend to like Jasmine at least a little bit.

"Hey everyone!" Padme started off the introductions. "i see a few familiar faces from previous years and some new ones. here at Camp Wookiee we welcome all" she said with a sugar-sweet smile, most of the kids seemed to like her.

you couldn't help but notice the two boys in the back who were snickering to each other though. you made a mental note to keep an eye on them. "let's do roll call" Jasmine spoke up, this was the first time you'd heard her voice and boy was it weird. it felt almost wrong to hear.

what truly shocked you was how cheery she sounded, it's not like you'd really given much thought as to what she sounded like but if you had to guess that never would have been it. talk about a direct contrast from everything you know about her and how she portrayed herself.

Padme looks down at the clipboard in her hand "alright here's how we're gonna go about this, when i say your name you say here and i'll check you off as present. when your name is called the counselor who will be looking after you will raise their hand for you to join their side, of course all three of us will be here if you need something though so don't think you're limited to just your sole carer."

it was interesting to see this side of Padme, she'd always been a tad on the serious side but there was always a more joking aura to her. As she spoke now it felt like encountering some type of politician- okay maybe that was a stretch but honestly, she was a great leader and it showed in the way she spoke to them.

"Ahsoka" Padme read off first, you raise your hand and she greets you with a smile as she walks to stand by your side. "Aubrianna" she says next and you raise your hand once again.

"you can call me Aubri" she corrects and Padme nods, then writes 'Aubri' next to her name. the little girl smiles proudly and comes to stand at your side next to Ahsoka.

"Colton" the shortest boy of the bunch, steps forward and over to the small group forming next to you when he sees your hand raised. he doesn't say anything, looking rather overwhelmed by all of this. you watch as Aubri tries to spark up a conversation with him and he practically folds in on himself.

you softly call Aubri's name and she happily turns to you, a small gesture for her to come over to you and she's giddily rocking on her feet standing directly at your left side. Colton relaxed the second he was alone again and although he didn't say anything you can tell he felt relieved.

Just about every other kid in the group is named before you get the last one for your group. "Zion" Padme finishes with a smile. he was one of the kids snickering earlier, Zion drags his feet over clearly not happy about the arrangements.

the friend he was snickering with, Matteo, was one of the kids under Padme's responsibility. followed by Lily, Quinn, and Ren.

Jasmine got the most boys out of the group to look after. Henry, Jason and Theodore- well Theo actually, that's what he told Padme he preferred to be called. then there was Mia, the one girl assigned to her, she seemed like a sweetheart honestly. not even the look of a complaint on her face when she skipped over to the group.

"Alrighty well now that everyone is accounted for we can get started" Padme was once again the first to speak, very much the natural leader of the Naboo cabin. "we are gonna show you guys around as one big group and then we can split off for free time before lunch, how's that sound?"

Matteo raises his hand and Padme gives him a small nod as a signal to go ahead. "are we gonna be able to hang out with whoever we want during free time?" Padme's brows crease slightly at the question, a sympathetic look growing on her face that makes the boy's instantly sour in turn.

"sorry but we're going to be dividing so that your primary counselor can get to know you better" Matteo scoffs with the most annoyed look an eleven-year-old can muster.

"that's stupid!" he shouts and crosses his arms pouting. Padme doesn't deter nor does she take offense by his very clear distaste towards her at the moment.

"i'm sorry you feel that way, i understand how frustrating it can be to do something you don't want to do, especially when you just want to hang out with your friends." she lowers herself slightly to his level while speaking "but i have to remind you that stupid isn't a nice word and we don't use mean words here."

Matteo seems to fluster in embarrassment at the way Padme is talking to him like a small child, which of course he was but no middle schooler ever wants to admit something like that. "if i promise that we'll have free time later where you'll be able to hang out with your friend, do you promise not to use that word?" she gives him the ultimatum and he doesn't seem sure what to say clearly having expected more of a fight.

it's only when Zion starts laughing that he seems to snap out of it and mutter a quick 'whatever'. Padme is quick to move on from the situation and redirects the whole group to start heading outdoors.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

you plop down on one of the picnic benches near the Camp's Lake. you'd all just finished the tour and gone in your separate directions. Ahsoka, and Aubri seem to get accustomed to you quickly. they both sat directly in front of you and befriended one another instantly.

Colton and Zion on the other hand were proving to be difficult. Zion didn't wanna talk to anyone not out of shyness but simply because he didn't think you guys were worth his time, rather than sitting with the group he sat as far as you would let him. in other words against the nearest tree.

Colton's lack of words was a little bit of shyness and lack of interest, but he at least made the effort to sit with the group. he was on your side of the bench about an arm's length away from you every so often throwing you a glance like he wanted to say something but wasn't sure.

you wanted all the kids to get along but it's not like you could force them to enjoy each other's company, so you decided to do the next best thing. work on getting along with them individually and work your way up.

since the girls were busy chatting and Zion was content sitting by himself and chucking rocks into the lake you decided Colton would be the first on your list to befriend. you just had to figure out how to approach him without scaring him away.

"i like your shirt" you start simple. at first he doesn't acknowledge you but when he realizes that statement is directed to him he finally turns to look at you.

"t-thanks, it's umm Gravity Falls" his eyes are darting back and forth between your face and the ground unsure how much eye contact was considered too much.

"i love Gravity Falls, Waddles is my favorite character" You watch his eyes light up and know you've nailed it.

he scoots slightly closer to you and points to Bill on his shirt "He's my favorite!" he says happily there's a big smile on his face as he flaps his hands excitedly at his sides.

there's almost an instant switch with how quickly He opens up to you- sure it was just him excitedly rambling on about the show but that's a lot of progress from him not talking to you at all. also, you weren't lying when you said you loved the show so it was just as fun for you to listen to him talk about it and discuss theories.

"Hey Snips!" you and Colton's conversation gets cut by Anakin's voice yelling towards your group. Ahsoka's head snaps behind her so quick you're shocked she doesn't get whiplash.

"Skyguy!" Ahsoka cheers perhaps a little too loud as both you and Colton flinch. Colton instinctively covers his ears, squeezing his eyes closed until the noise dials down.

Anakin and Ahsoka share a bear hug before pulling apart. Anakin does what any annoying older brother would do and places his hand on her head tussling her hair, she huffs and shoves his arm away making him snort.

the rest of Anakin's campers finally catch up to him, he must have jogged ahead of them when he spotted Ahsoka. while the two seem to catch up you wave his campers to come join yours, and they happily oblige.

Zion starts talking to the boys and Aubri the girls. oh how you don't miss being a kid when boys thought they couldn't be friends with girls, you had to hold back a laugh at the thought they still might think cooties existed. Colton hadn't left your side, now preferring your company rather than being alone.

you didn't mind, now you had a buddy and if you could provide a space he felt safe to be in that's all that mattered. Anakin Plops down in his usual spot right beside you as always invading your personal space. "so how's she treating you?" he asks Ahsoka while nudging you with his elbow.

Ahsoka takes a minute to access the interaction between you guys before a smug smile appears on her face. "pretty good, we haven't talked much yet but i think that's gonna change pretty soon" Interesting phrasing you weren't going to question her though.

Anakin throws his arm around your shoulder pulling you into him. your face burns and you're pretty sure your heart just stopped altogether before kicking into overdrive, should it be beating that fast? "You're gonna love her" he tells her and gives you a squeeze.

literally what was happening, you two hadn’t even hugged before let alone whatever this was. maybe this was just some one-off thing because he was excited. you let out a nervous laugh but don't push his arm away from you. he put it there what harm could it do to enjoy it?

Ahsoka's eyes lock in on his arm and you can see the gears turning in her head, she's definitely plotting something. you clear your throat feeling like if you spoke beforehand nothing would have come out. "Ahsoka what activities did you choose?" you ask, trying to pivot the conversation just a tad.

"Arts and crafts, Zip lining, Archery, sports, and woodshop" Anakin smiles brightly when she lists off crafts first, looks like he would be able to talk to her more than he thought.

he lets his arm slide off your shoulders making you feel disappointed as much as you are relieved. "you're in for a treat then, you're gonna have to deal with me and Rex" Ahsoka grimaces slightly.

"in the same room? you're both idiots though" you choke on your spit unable to hold back your laugh.

"hey we aren't that bad!" Anakin defends himself looking back and forth between you two as if you'll stop laughing and back him up.

"just the other day you and Rex were fighting over friendship bracelets" you laugh and he dramatically lets his mouth drop open in faux shock that you would further smear his name.

"friendship bracelets really Anakin" Ahsoka deadpans at her former counselor and shakes her head in disappointment.

"hey he started it, i was just defending myself" you hear her mutter 'and you’re the adult' as well as Anakin mumbling 'snippy' right after. suddenly the nickname made more sense you just smiled and turned away briefly to examine all the kids and make sure they weren't doing anything they shouldn't be.

they were all chucking rocks in the lake now, attempting to skip them rather unsuccessfully. except Colton who remained on the other side of you, comfortably swinging his legs back and forth occasionally knocking his shoes together so they would light up.

"who's this?" Anakin asks, turning to get a better look at the little boy beside you. Colton doesn't acknowledge him, he was either in his own world or just simply didn't want to talk to him.

"this is Colton" he turns to look at you slightly when his name exits your mouth but shys away when he sees Anakin looking at him.

Anakin's face flashes with recognition before a small smile appears on his face. "Cool name, when i was little i had a stuffed Dolphin that i named Colfin which is like the same name if you think about it" Colton wrinkles his nose in disapproval.

"it's not the same though and i don't like dolphins" he says rather bluntly Anakin doesn't deter and just nods in acknowledgment.

"the bullies of the sea right?" Anakin asks and Colton nods. "how about sharks?"

Colton ponders the question over for a minute "they're cool but i prefer Jellyfish" there was a brief glint in Anakin's eyes that looked an awful lot like he was going to tease him but ultimately decided against it.

"why jellyfish?" he asks instead which results in Colton's undivided attention ready to explain his stance without a second thought.

"they're the coolest marine animal- did you know there's a type of jellyfish that's immortal!" he's speaking animatedly now explaining how the jellyfish can revert to a younger state by reprogramming its cells.

the key to getting Colton to open up was simply just having a conversation he wanted to participate in. the four of you keep the convo alive while the other kids play exchanging questions as well as your likes and dislikes. it was a peaceful way to spend the rest of free-time.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

The rest of the day went by smoothly, all of the kids were getting along well, Zion got his hang out with Matteo at the bonfire later in the evening and you were right to think they were troublemakers. one of the first things they did was find a stick that they tried to set on fire with the intent to chase the other around with it.

safe to say you and the other camp staff did not let that happen, the second they got close to the fire their plan was snuffed. thankfully that was the only real concern that arrived today and currently, you were helping the campers settle into the cabin.

Padme was helping too and as much as you'd like to give Jasmine the benefit of the doubt and say she was helping too, that would be a lie. in truth she seemingly abandoned her kids once they were all in the cabin and went to your shared staff bedroom. it's not like you needed her help and even if you did the rooms were directly connected so she'd be able to hear, but it was the principle of the matter.

you were all responsible for these kids and even though she seemed to handle them fine it was clear she couldn't care less. honestly why was she here? you try not to let your frustrations show as you help one of Jasmine's Campers, Theo, set up his bed.

"alrighty kids lights out at Ten so you all have a little over an hour to just talk and settle in for the night" Padme announces from somewhere behind you as you finish up.

all the kids give her their own versions of okay and continue with their conversations. Theo thanks you and jumps onto his bed with one of the other boys Henry. it was always nice to see how quickly kids were able to befriend each other.

you glance around the room and relax, no unhappy kids that's a win for the day. even Colton was chatting away, him and Ahsoka seemed to get close. the conversation during free time earlier definitely helped.

"we can leave them alone now y/n" you turn to Padme, she's smiling at you from the doorframe ready to head into the other room. you nod and follow after her. plopping onto your bed and truly relaxing for the first time today.

"tired?" she snorts and you turn to her. she's braiding her hair in front of the mirror for the night.

"definitely, you aren't?" she shrugs in response, finishing off the braid and tying it with a small elastic.

"it'll hit me more in the morning when we have to get up early again" she states while walking over to close the door so she can change. you groan already dreading it. "it's not like we'll have to be up as early as we were today" she offers thinking it would make you feel better. it doesn't.

"why did i choose a summer job that requires me to be up this early" you put your hands on your face dragging them down dramatically. "i'm not built for this Padme" she giggles and sits down next to you on your bed.

"you'll be fine, you've just gotta whine about it first" she snorts and you smile, kicking off your sneakers and scooting over more so she can have more space. she takes the invitation and lays beside you so you're both shoulder to shoulder.

"gosh you're starting to know me too well" you laugh, turning on your side so you guys can look at each other better while speaking.

"ooo is Honey gonna get jealous?" she jokes while turning onto her side as well.

"she'd probably be more jealous of me than you" Padme's brows shoot up in confusion.

"She totally thinks you’re amazing and insisted i become besties with you so she can as well through association" You pull your phone out and go onto Honey's chat to show Padme the messages between you two during one of your debrief sessions.

Honey🍯💛: 'i think i’m in love with your cabin mate y/n ngl'

you: 'she's amazing right?'

Honey🍯💛: 'the total package honestly, you have to become besties with her 🙏🙏 i'm not exaggerating when i say i need her energy in my life'

you: 'wow im chopped liver i see'

Honey🍯💛: 'never you'll always be my number one 😚😚'

"oh my gosh" she laughs while reading over everything. "you two are something else"

"friendship goals you mean?" you swipe off of the app and let your phone fall from your hand once you switch it off.

"oh absolutely, i honestly wish i had a friend where i was that comfortable with them. im close with my friends but not that close" you gasp in faux offense at her words.

"i thought we had something" you fake sniffle, pushing your lips into a pout. your ready to put on the most dramatic performance of your life when Padme lets out a loud laugh at your antics.

you break character and smile, she's quick to pull you into a hug. "we definitely have something" you cheer while hugging her back and she laughs more.

you hear your phone ping and pull out of the hug to answer. "is it Honey?" she ask curiously, peering over to look at your screen. your frozen in place from the contact name that appears, Padme on the other hand is smiling like a madwoman. "you okay there y/n?" she asks teasingly.

"why wouldn’t i be it's just Anakin" you do your best to brush it off, but the flush in your cheeks and panic in your eyes gives you away completely.

"just Anakin" she pushes further and you give her a nervous smile. "i didn't know you texted"

"we don't but it makes sense that we start right, we're friends after all" you grimace at how high pitched your voice is getting as well as your own defensiveness.

"of course it does, especially since you’re friends with a mutual crush" you turn your head off to the side unable to look her in the eye, you’re burning alive here.

"he doesn't have a crush on me" you grumble and you can tell she wanted to oppose your statement but instead she focused on something else entirely.

"you're not denying that you have a crush on him though!" she says with a gasp of excitement and you can feel your heart racing, when your silence remains she shoots up energetically. "i knew it!!"

you hush her, the walls here were thin and you could not handle the campers finding out about this. "i don't know- i don't dislike him" she deadpans and gives you that look she always does.

you flop backwards laying flat on the bed with a huff. "y/n i love you girl but we gotta work on your honesty with yourself." she hovers above you forcing you to look her in the eyes while she speaks.

"i can hide from my own desires if i want to" you protest, grabbing your pillow and placing it over your head.

"oh so Anakin's a desire now" she pulls the pillow off of your face and holds it out of your reach. "how quickly the truth tumbles out"

"has anyone told you you’re insufferable before?" You say annoyed and she laughs.

"no i'm usually told i'm a delight in fact" she gives you a blinding smile and you roll your eyes but smile back nonetheless.

"they'd unfortunately be right" she lets out a quick 'aww' while placing her hand over her heart jokingly.

"so are you gonna answer his message orrr" you purse your lips together in thought. "if you don't do it i'll do it for you."

you gasp "you wouldn't dare" she gives you a ‘try me’ look and you suddenly regret ever sharing your phone password with her. "diabolical" you mumble before picking your phone up and staring at the message notification.

'hey you ready for tmr?' it was a really simple message so why was it so hard to work up the courage to respond. Padme stands up and climbs the ladder to the top bunk leaving you to figure this out on your own.

"okay you can do this" you whisper to yourself, sitting up and cracking your knuckles finally opening up the chat to respond.

'totally' you type and then sit there for a good minute trying to figure out what else to say so your message doesn't come off dry and uninterested. maybe you should of consulted with Honey first for back up, it was too late to back out now though.

still coming up empty you just give in and press send hoping for the best. to your horror the message is read instantly and he responds just as quickly.

'three minutes just to type totally, didn't realize i was talking to a granny' mortifying was the only right word for this. you knew he was probably just teasing but that did not help one bit.

one negative about acknowledging you have a crush on someone, you begin to fumble over everything you do. second guessing your every action, why couldn't you just be normal- no, this was fine you can salvage this.

you bite your tongue and ask yourself how you would normally respond to someone saying something like this to you. you take a deep breath and start typing 'not everyone can be the flash when typing'

'much quicker this time trying to fight the granny allegations y/n?' you groan but relax; one bonus of it being Anakin you're talking to, you could always count on him to be unserious and joke around.

'i'm not fighting anything, besides i was talking to Padme when i typed that out so i was a little distracted' a little white lie never hurt anybody, Padme wouldn't mind anyway.

'alright i'll let it slide this time, only because Padme was involved' your stomach twists and you suddenly feel a little nauseous. it was like the universe loved to torment you.

'you know she's practically my bestie here, maybe i can put in a good word for you' if the universe loved to torment you then it was only fair to say you were devoted to torturing yourself even more.

'why would you do that?' you can't help but furrow your brows in confusion, what did he mean why?

you brush it off and reply 'because we're friends and friends help each other out'

'right, i gotta help Ben with the kids so goodnight. i'll see you tmr' strange, you shrug it off and send back a goodnight after liking his message.

you look at the time 9:56 just about time to tell the kids lights out. you turn off your phone and stand up. "do you wanna come with me to turn off the lights" you ask openly, Jasmine of course doesn’t respond but Padme does.

"you've got this, but if any of the kids need something and you aren't sure how to help let me know" you nod at Padme's answer and walk into the other room.

some of the younger kids already put themselves to sleep the rest were either busying themselves or still chatting with friends. "hey guys everyone into their own beds alright, i'm going to turn off the lights for bed"

there is a few groans of protest but they all do what you say anyway. you walk over to the lights before asking if everyone is comfortable and when there's a unanimous yes you flip the switch off and head back into your room closing the door.

you finally change out of your clothes from the day into pajamas and are just about ready to turn off the lights in your room when there's a light flurry of knocks on the door.

you open the door to see Colton, he looks uncomfortable and you can’t help the worry that washes over your face. "is everything okay bud?" you squat down to his height and he looks around behind him before whispering to you.

"i can't sleep in new places" his voice was barely audible not wanting the other kids to hear him. you frown sympathetically and hold your hands out for him to take; he hesitates at first, unsure whether he wants to make physical contact but in the end he takes you up on the offer placing his hands in yours with a big breath of air.

"is there anything i can do to help?" you ask quietly giving his hands a small gentle squeeze in hopes of comforting him.

he shrugs unsure "i don't know…" you let him think on it, taking all the time he needs. "i don't really like the dark" he settles on and you nod immediately scanning through your mind for a solution.

"how about this, we have a little portable lamp that i can set up on one of the shelves in there and i'll leave our room cracked open so you can come and get me if you need anything else" you suggest and he pauses in brief thought.

"but then the other kids will know" you smile softly and tell him to trust you. he's very clearly uncertain but eventually gives in and lets you do your plan.

while he climbs back into bed you head back into the room and grab the lamp off of Padme and yours dresser. placing it on the shelf closest to the hallway and switching it on. Thankfully Colton's bed was closest.

"guys i’m gonna leave this lamp on so it's easier for you all to see if anyone needs to get up and use the bathroom alright?" the kids who are still awake give an okay, or well some of them did, others sorta just grunted like cave dwellings.

you look at Colton who seems much better, still a little uncomfortable but it was still a new environment and It wouldn't be that easy of an instantaneous fix. But you were glad to help even just a little bit.

you left the door open just a smidge like you said you would and then flipped off the lights for the room finally crashing onto your bed- hopefully for good.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

to your body's exhaustions' relief there were no interruptions throughout the night. Padme had even managed to get you up this morning without too much of a fight, in other words without having to physically drag you out of bed.

getting the campers all up and ready in time for breakfast was way more difficult than you thought though. a good majority of the kids were in fact worse than you, which according to Padme is a massive feat.

"tired already y/n?" Ben's voice calls you over from the food line.

"not as tired as Anakin" you joke gesturing over to Anakin's tired form at the table closest to the door. you wait for Ben to exit the line so you can both walk over to him together.

"he looks like he's ready to make a run for it" you snort once he's filled his tray. you both start walking toward the aforementioned man who was as usual barely awake.

"yea a run for it straight into his bed" Ben quips and you giggle before taking the seat next to Anakin.

the man in question gives a grunt for a greeting not even bothering to open his eyes. "pathetic honestly" Rex says before joining you three. "you do realize we have to be fully functional in an hour right?" he kicks Anakin from under the table to wake him.

Anakin opens his eyes just to death glare him "an hour is all i need" Rex puts his hands up in defense before he starts eating his breakfast.

"No offense Anakin but you look like you need a lot more than an hour of resting your eyes" you poke his cheek and he swats your hand away.

"you're right, and i've got just the solution" you raise a brow but your question is quickly answered when he rests his head on your shoulder, completely placing his weight against you and closing his eyes. this wasn't actually happening right, you turn too look at the two boys in front of you with burning cheeks.

Rex doesn't even seem phased as he continues eating like this was an everyday thing, Ben isn't any better as he just shrugs with a smug smile. maybe you just needed to relax, after all you did stuff like this with Honey all the time.

you decide to just focus on your food and ignore the soft snores that have started coming out of Anakin's mouth. how he could fall asleep that easily with the noise level in here you weren't sure but boy did you envy it.

you did your best not to read into the situation while finishing up and just chatting with the other boys until it was time to leave. you honestly felt bad having to wake Anakin back up but he was surprisingly not too grouchy, guess that hour of sleep actually did help.

the way today was going to work was easy, now that breakfast was done you'd all head to the bonfire pit where you'd divide into who you worked with. then the campers would go to whichever group was part of their first activity, after that there would be a quick roll call then you'd walk with the kids to the crafts center.

rinse and repeat this process each period throughout the day till lunch, then free time followed by the last two periods till dinner. this of course was just for today so the kids knew where to go as well as knew their schedules a little better. Come tomorrow they'd be in charge of getting to their activities on their own.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

"are you sure that's what you're supposed to do?" you hear one of the kids ask Rex from the table near yours.

all the kids at your table were just about done with the activity, working on cutting out the flower petals just like you'd shown them. it was one of the easier crafts you'd found as long as it wasn’t rushed through. you decided the kids would be fine on their own and stood up to take a look at how Rex was doing.

"pretty sure kid" he mumbles and the kid beside him grimaces before looking at their own, it looked better than Rex's but that wasn’t hard to beat clearly.

"Rex you’re butchering it man" you look over at Anakin who's on the opposite side having stood up curiously at the same time you did.

"i am not- it looks just like y/n's does" he argues and you honestly take offense to that statement.

"mine does not look like that" he snaps his head towards you with a frown.

"that's honestly an insult dude" Anakin adds and Rex chucks the paper plate on the table, crossing his arms annoyed. the kids are laughing at the situation, only making Rex grow more annoyed.

"maybe you should stick to organizing the materials Rex" you pat his shoulder encouragingly.

it was the last period of the day, you'd been doing the same craft each time so you'd think by now he'd have gotten it down. to his credit he got it right the first period but somehow has gotten worse each time since.

"i can't believe the camp directors stuck you in crafts" Ahsoka's voice garners the attention of all three of you.

"not you too" Rex frowns, running a frustrated hand down his face.

"i mean Anakin's not much better but he's still doing significantly better than you are" Anakin scoffs at her.

"hey i'm doing great thank you" he defends. you snort walking over to him and pinching his cheek like he was a small child.

"yes you are sweetie, don't let anyone tell you different" you joke; and his cheeks flush, probably from embarrassment as he swats your hand away.

"you guys are cute together" Ahsoka states and You both snapped towards her at the same time.

"you know we aren't together snips right?" he asks crossing his arms with a deadpanned expression, not wanting to come off as joking.

"i do know that yea… do you?" she asks half teasing half serious. you think you see him blushing but that can't be the case.

"he likes Padme" you interrupt doing your best to save him from her teasing. Ahsoka just wrinkles her nose before shrugging off your response.

"everybody likes Padme" okay, factually correct but you know as well as she does that's not what you meant.

Rex clears his throat, "hate to interrupt whatever this is but it's time to get these kiddos to the lodge hall for dinner." you turn to look over at the clock and sure enough it's almost six.

"right" you clap your hands together a few times to get the attention of all the kids, when they clap back you can’t help but smile.

"it's time to clean up so we can head out to dinner. so i want everybody to stand up and throw out any paper clippings or trash you see on the tables while Anakin, Rex, and i put away the supplies we used today, okay? then we can all line up at the door to go" they all give an okay before standing up and doing what they were told.

it didn't take long for the crafts center to look like it did at the beginning of the day, it was a good thing all of the kids were hungry enough to do as asked without much of a fight.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

dinners were handled differently than lunch and breakfast. at dinner everybody had to go to their assigned tables to sit with the people at their cabin, it was easier for the counselors this way as the kids would all be in one place to walk back to their respective cabins.

that's how you ended up with Colton seated to your left and Padme on your right while catching up on how your respective days went. well you and Padme were anyway, Colton had headphones to help block out the noise while he ate.

what stopped you mid-conversation with Padme however was something one of your older campers said right in front of you.

"Quinn what did you say?" you ask her completely shifting your attention from Padme to make sure you'd overheard the girl correctly.

"i was just telling Ren how you and Anakin were a cute couple" you felt your mouth open and close a few times at Quinn's words, searching for the right thing to say right now.

"omg Anakin asked you out!?" Padme practically shouts and you feel your whole body tense as the fight or flight urge to run away kicks in.

"No!" you shout back and then turn to the two girls in front of you "who said me and Anakin were a couple!? we are not dating" Quinn tilts her head in confusion.

"all the kids who have arts and crafts with you guys is saying it" she shrugs. "it's okay if you are, no one's judging you guys for it" you truly wanna curl up into a ball and wither away. maybe have the room swallow you whole while you're at it.

"yea i mean we all see how you guys act together it's pretty obvious" Ren adds and your jaw drops again rendered completely speechless.

Padme is snorting from beside you now very much unsuccessfully holding back laughter. "oh my gosh this cannot be happening right now" you stutter out, putting your hands over your burning cheeks just wanting to hide from everyone.

"hey it's time to clean up and head back to the cabin" Jasmine's voice interrupts your spinning mind. she was talking to the kids but it was also directed towards you and Padme.

the kids all do as she asks before you even get the chance to clarify to Ren and Quinn that you and Anakin were definitely not dating or together in any way for that matter. you turn to Padme with pure fear written on your face and she places a hand on your shoulder.

"hey it's fine relax" was it fine? what if Anakin heard the kids talking about it and thought you were the one who started that rumor. "y/n deep breaths hun, you look like you're gonna pass out"

"i'm freaking out Padme" she gives you an ‘i can tell’ look.

"i promise you it's not that deep, you know it's not true and kids are gonna believe what they want" she shrugs a little too calm for your liking.

but of course she wasn’t freaking out it's not like the rumor was about her and who she had a crush on, no it was about you and someone who had a crush on her. there's that torment the universe loved to inflict upon you.

Padme chucks out your trash for you and puts the tray away. then she takes both your shoulders into her hands and guides you out of the lodge hall back to the Naboo cabin.

it wasn't until you sat down on your bed while Padme took care of the kids by herself that you finally touched back down with reality. you look up at the bunk across from you where Jasmine is sat on her phone, living in her own world. as much you hated her for what she did you were very much envious of her right now.

oh what you would do to only have to communicate with your friends back home. home, god you missed Honey right now. a ping comes from your phone, talk about speak of the devil and she shall come.

'hey pookie ☺️ i miss you' it's times like this you swear your both telepathically connected because what're the odds.

'so much happened today Honey it's not even funny' you send back after hearting her message.

'tea time?' you let out a sigh and fall back on the bed as you type out a long rant going over today's events from breakfast to dinner.

'are we sure this is a bad thing?' the question makes your brows furrow.

'how on earth is it not' you wait for her to respond as the speech bubble appears, your attention briefly flickering to the the door as Padme enters.

"i turned on the lamp for Colton so don't worry about him alright?" she whispered to you, not wanting the other kids to overhear. you give her a quick thumbs up, currently too drained to use your voice. she just smiles back at you and closes the door to change, then reopens the door just a crack like it was last night.

your phone vibrates and turns your focus back onto your conversation with Honey. 'i mean i'm not saying it's a good thing, but if even the kids can see you belong together maybe it's a sign✨'

you fight back a smile 'now is not the time to be delulu Honey' she dislikes your message before responding.

'wrong it's always time to be delulu. it's called manifestation and it works😌' you smile fully this time and allow yourself to feel better.

'yea but what about Anakin's what’s he gonna think?' you argue, it was the only real thing that plagued your mind about this.

'we can't assume what he's going to think, you'll just have to wait and see babes' she's right of course but boy do you hate it. 'you could always bring it up yourself and talk about it with him tomorrow, if you're that concerned he'll think it's you who started the rumor. clear your name and all that'

you scrunch your face together at that suggestion. you hated confrontation, she knew it too, but you also knew this was the best plan you had so it was time to Women up and do just that.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

you tried your best to act normal during breakfast, especially when Anakin pulled a repeat of what he did yesterday. resting his head on your shoulder and effectively passing out. the entire time all you could think about was how this was probably fueling the kids' imaginations right now.

you could hardly even focus on eating which Ben and Rex both seemed to pick up on as they shared a concerned look. "are you alright y/n?" Rex was the first to ask.

"i'm fine yeah" you don't sound convincing but he takes it as a sign not to push.

"if you ever wanna talk we're all ears, or if you feel more comfortable texting you're always welcome to message." Ben reminds you and you give him a grateful smile.

"Yeah no matter how late it is, and i'm sure Anakin would agree. besides he's up later than all of us anyway so if anyone's likeliest to answer it's him" Rex is quick to add, wanting to double down on what Ben said.

"thanks guys, i appreciate it" you relax a bit as the pit in your stomach starts to settle, morphing into exhaustion instead. you don't even realize you're doing it until you see Rex elbowing Ben, a silent way to say 'are you seeing what i'm seeing' and Ben swats his arm away in a wordless way of saying 'of course i am'.

you had rested your head right on top of Anakin's, you fought the urge to pull away in fear it'd look suspicious. suspicious of what you weren't sure but it's what your brain said- or maybe it was your way of justifying staying in the position you were in.

his hair was soft and smelt of sandalwood and coconut, it was kind of calming. you wondered briefly if Anakin thought similarly of you when he rested his head on your shoulder, but quickly pushed the thought away when you realized he probably didn't pay attention to something like that with you.

you do eventually lift your head up only when it's time to get up and leave the lodge hall and start the day. today was at the very least going to be a little easier as you all would just be walking straight to the crafts center.

with a few shakes of your shoulder, Anakin wakes up. sitting up straight and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. completely oblivious to your previous actions which you were internally grateful for, mostly out of fear he'd think it was weird.

the walk to the crafts center was quiet between the three of you, a peaceful silence. you and Anakin walked side by side, Rex in front of you two a few feet ahead.

"do you know which project you wanna do for today with the kids?" Anakin asks through a yawn.

"yea i think we're going to do the paper bag kites, Padme said it's gonna be windy today so they could use them during free time later" he nods before getting lost in his own thoughts.

maybe you should bring it up now, this was probably as close to alone time as you'd get with him. you turn your head to examine him; he still looks slightly sleepy, there's a bit of a slouch to him with the way he's walking right now making you promptly decide against talking to him about it. who were you to ruin his sleepy mood after all?

the three of you walk inside the Crafts center and start setting up all the supplies on each table for the kids. it's not long before they all start filing in, and as usual you lead; today was a much easier craft than yesterday's honestly. most of it consisted of just decorating the paper bag to their liking, then either Anakin, Rex, or you would attach a long string to it for them.

the kids liked this way better as they had much more creative freedom, you took a mental note of that so you guys could plan accordingly.

you're helping one of the little boys, Darnell, cut out a bat shape to glue on his bag when you hear a few kids talking about you and Anakin again. it makes your heart stop, you have to force yourself to focus and finish quickly before you start to panic too much.

"hey y/n is there any more purple glitter" one of the girls at the table, Sasha, asks and you blink away your thoughts to process her question.

"um, i'm not sure i'll check for you" you hand Darnell his bat cut-out and head to the back where the supply closet is, biting the inside of your cheek nervously and silently praying to whatever god will listen that Anakin doesn't hear any of the kids saying you two are dating until you can address it with him.

your digging around the closet when another person joins you. you turn to look behind you meeting eyes with Anakin who smiles at you.

"what are you looking for?" he asks while grabbing some extra glue sticks, it's honestly insane how fast kids go through those things.

"purple glitter, do you know where it would be?" he points to the top shelf above you, and sure enough there's a line of different glitters. in rainbow order too so you could only guess you had Rex to thank for that.

you grumble disgruntledly to yourself while standing on your tiptoes to try and reach it. "you know you can ask for help right" Anakin huffs from behind you.

"why, i've got this" you can feel the amused stare from behind you as you prove to him you very much don't have this. you're about to step on the bottom shelf for a bit of a boost before you stop completely at the feeling of Anakin's chest against your back.

he reaches over and grabs the glitter easily and holds it low enough for you to grab. your brain buffers for a moment before you actually do grab it and by the time you turn around he's already heading back out of the closet, glue sticks in hand.

you head over to Sasha, taking her small tube of empty purple glitter and refilling it. your mind is still reeling from what just happened, this man was going to send you into cardiac arrest at this rate. you force yourself to take some deep breaths and calm down after handing her the little glitter tube and walking to put the rest back in the closet.

was it too far to be thinking about how much you enjoyed the slight pressure and weight of his chest against the back of you? well it's not like anyone can hear your thoughts so you allow yourself to indulge just this once.

╚═*.·:·.✧ ✦✧.·:·.*═╝

the next few periods go back quickly and simultaneously slow as molasses. without a doubt you overheard kids talk about you and Anakin as if you were a happy couple multiple times each period. the final push for you was when Anakin was walking by the same table you were during clean-up before lunch and heard kids talking about it.

he didn't say anything but there was no way he didn't hear it so you decided to confront the situation on the way to lunch. you let Rex lead the line of kids out this time and walked at the back with Anakin, it was time to stop procrastinating and get this over with.

"are you alright?" Anakin asks and you tilt your head slightly. "you've been acting weird all day" he crosses his arms unwilling to back off even if you try to deny it.

you press your lips together into a thin line before speaking up "i… it's just the kids have been- have you heard what they've been saying?" you mentally slap yourself, of course he heard, and even if he didn't you need to just spit it out.

he just shrugs nonchalantly, which gives you nothing. was that an 'i don't know i haven't been paying attention' shrug, or an 'i have heard but don't care' shrug?

"they're all saying we're dating, and each time i deny it they only seem to think we're dating even more." you finally spit it out and feel a huge weight on your shoulders lift off.

"oh, that's it?" you come to a full stop and so does he, why is he being so nonchalant about this what the hell? your brows crease together.

"that's not weird to you, or annoying?" you ask and he licks his lips in thought.

"i mean some of the kids at my cabin brought it up yesterday, i denied it and they didn't believe me so i sorta just accepted the fact they wouldn't believe me." he explains and now you feel dumb, all that overthinking for what.

"shouldn't we address this with them?" this time his face scrunches up in confusion.

"why? they're clearly not gonna believe us, honestly we're better off just saying we are then maybe they'll let it go" you blink dumbly up at him, the last part of his sentence on repeat in your head.

does he not realize they wouldn't be letting it go at all, sure they would move on but in their little ten to fourteen-year-old brains it would be a confirmed fact. not like to them it wasn’t already though… maybe he did have a point. or more accurately you just liked the idea of confirming to everyone you were dating.

"do you really think that would work?" his eyes twinkle with something you're not quite sure of before he answers.

"i mean it's worth a shot right? let's just pretend we're dating and then they'll leave us alone" okay woah wait a minute, how'd this go from just saying you were dating to pretending you were dating? to be fair it's synonymous right? but when he says pretending, does he mean just a simple 'yea we are' or fully method acting the situation?

you decide to just take the chance, what harm could come out of this right? if it was just confirming then you could live with that, and if it was more than that at least you could satisfy your little crush on him. yea he likes Padme but she was very clear on the not liking him back department.

"okay yea, let's do it" he holds his hand out to shake on it. "looks like you just got yourself a fake girlfriend" you joke, shaking his hand. "Honey is going to have a field day with this" you laugh once your hand slips out of his and you see him look at you with both shock and confusion.

your brows crease worried that you said something wrong. "Honey is someone's name?" he asks bewildered. oh, that's right you haven't brought Honey up in conversation with Anakin before.

"yeah she's my best friend and that’s her name, why?" you watch him go through a shit ton of emotions all at once before he settles on a relieved smile.

"nothing, don't worry about it. let's go to lunch" he turns and walks ahead of you, you don't let him get too far before you pick up the pace so you're once again walking side by side.

a/n: here she is the much anticipated Part 2 ☺️ i hope you enjoy!!

i only proofread this once instead of the dozen times i usually do so if you spot a mistake please pay no mind 💀👩‍🦯

see you all next week for the final part 💋💋

Tag list: @anakinskwkler @anakinstwinklebunny @divineani @huayan @poppysrin @bxbyysstuff @dollhobigem @skywalkercinema @corio-letit-snow @avatarobsessedgirly @kelsxxyawn @tartine-de-pain

[bouncybongfairy]

The Connection of Water Part 2

Percy Jackson x Water Nymph Reader

Summary: Your relationship with Percy is beginning to flourish, which causes some jealousy from Naylene. You explain that because you were raised by a full blooded water nymph, this meant you didn’t have any contact with the modern world. After learning this, Percy takes you to the city and indulges you in the first time you’ve ever been to a mall.

Word Count: 3k+

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When you woke up in the morning, most of the girls were already up. Once you started getting ready, you had three little girls asking you about what happened when you left with Percy. You told them you went for a walk, which wasn't entirely a lie, and satisfied their curiosity. You felt well rested and optimistic about today. You really wanted to learn more about the camp and how things were running around here. Percy was telling you about different competitions the camp hosts. After getting dressed, you make your way down to the canteen for breakfast. You pulled your hair into a ponytail as you walked. Once you got to the outdoor picnic tables, it didn't take long. They haven't issued you any camp t-shirts, so you wore the one Percy loaned to you. Percy motioned you over to sit at his table, which you did. 

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" he asked. 

"Great actually, I thought I might be uncomfortable because you know, a new place away from home, but it was fine," you said. 

After eating breakfast, Chiron gave you five camp half-blood tee-shirts, which you appreciated. It made you feel better to be wearing what everyone else was wearing. It gave you a sense of camaraderie. Not to mention Naylene was giving you dirty looks non-stop. You were pretty sure it was because you had not only gotten close with Percy, but wearing his clothes. You push that aside and head back to your cabin to change your clothes. Even though you missed your dad and sisters, you were so happy that the cabin you ended up being assigned to was so peaceful; everyone was so kind and caring. After changing, you make your way to one of the common areas, unfortunately there weren't any activities planned today. Just general combat training, but other than that, it was going to be an uneventful day. You make your way to a picnic table where Percy and a couple other campers were hanging out. 

"One of the things I've been missing about the modern world is going to malls. Even if you only went there to eat and walk around it was still always really fun," one camper remarked. 

"What's a mall?" you asked, which caused everyone to furrow their brows. 

"Wait you- have you ever like, see the modern world?" Grover asked.

"Well, I was raised by my dad and he's a full blooded water nymph and was extremely uh, paranoid about mortals and modern society. The only times he would leave the lake was to get certain medicines and foods. Oh he would also get our birthday presents from mortal commerce," you said. 

"Wow, and I thought I was isolated from the modern world," Annabeth said. 

"So you've never been to school, or movies or anything like that?" Percy asked. 

"No, I'm sure if my dad was mortal I would have but that's not how the cards were dealt," you said playing with the two roses on your necklace. 

After hanging out at the table for a while you departed and made your way to the lake. You stripped your shirt and jeans off and dove into the water. You let yourself float still for a couple moments, taking in all the sounds underneath the water. The water rushing pasted your ears or the frogs making ribbiting noises. You lay flat on your back, slightly above the floor of the lake. You looked up and gazed at the sun breaking through the surface, it was really beautiful. You swim around slowly, guiding yourself through the water. The water was cold but not in an overwhelming way, it felt more refreshing than anything. You were surprised by how big the lake was, it felt like you could swim for miles without stopping. You take a break from swimming and let the current take you, suddenly you feel something grab you by the back of your shoulders. You jump and whip yourself around to see what holds you. You let out a sigh when you see that it's Percy, he was laughing so hard that his face was covered with bubbles. You laughed and shoved his shoulder. You pulled your hair out of the ponytail that it was in and started swimming circles around him. He reached his hand out and let his fingertips graze the end of your tail. You stopped in front of him and made eye contact, he moved the charms from your necklace out of your face after they floated up. He signed the word beautiful which made your jaw drop. Most water nymphs can use sign language because it's the most effective way to communicate under the water. 

I didn't know you could sign.

Chiron has been teaching me just in case I need to in combat.

How did you know where I was?

Your tail is stark white, and when it hits the sun, you look like a ball of light.

You smiled at him and put your hand on his chest, he gently grabbed your wrist and pulled you in for a quick kiss before pulling away. After swimming around with each other for a while you decided to take a break, sitting on top of the large rock that the other naiads used to bask in the sun. You used your fingers to brush your hair out slightly, Percy was sitting with his elbows on his knees. His skin was so pale in comparison to his black hair which was even darker if possible while it was wet. You didn't realize how long you'd been in the water until you saw that the sun was setting. You were about to make small talk when Naylene and Madison jumped onto the rock. 

"My Gods, I had no idea your tail was white, it's beautiful," Madison said.

"Oh then-" you started but were interrupted.

"So Y|N, how's the dream house. Are you able to tell your sisters apart under all that hair?" she asked. 

"Yeah everyones really nice, it's nice to be around girls who don't feel the need to compete with each other. They were all super welcoming," you jabbed back and suddenly as you could. Naylene was about to respond but before she could Percy began to speak. 

"We actually have to get back to my cabin but it was nice seeing you both, let's go Y|N," he said standing up and diving into the water. 

"Look I don't know who you think you were, I guess you think wearing a shirt with his last name on it makes you queen of the sea or something. Percy and I are almost a thing and I swear to the God's if you fuck that up you'd better watch your back," 

"Naylene!" Madison said as she jumped off the rock into the water, "I'm sorry she's normally bitchy but I don't know what's wrong with her lately. I'll see you around," she finished jumping off the rock. 

You were a bit taken back by what Naylene said, it was like her words went down your throat and created a pit in your stomach. Percy popped out of the water as you were about to lower yourself into the water from the bottom of the rock. He set his hand on your tail and looked up at you. His eyelashes were clumped together because of the water, his eyes were dazzling. He asked you if everything was alright and you reassured him that it was. After hopping back into the water, Percy grabbed your hands and pulled you on top of him. You were lying chest to chest, he then used a current that propelled you both towards his cabin. You laughed and rested your arms on his chest, helping steer in the right direction with your tail. His hair was slightly covering his eyes because of the momentum of the water. This made you laugh and prompted you to kiss him on the chin. Once you got to the dock that was attached from his cabin he got up first and then pulled you by the shoulders onto the dock. He picked you up and carried you over to his bed that had a huge towel draped over it. He then handed you another towel, you used this to dry your hair and tail. 

"Thank you," you said. 

"No worries," he said while using a towel to dry his hair, he then sat down on his office chair before continuing, "so you really never seen the mortal world?" he asked. 

"No, like I said my dad told us about it but not very much," you explain. 

"Can I take you?" he asked. 

"When?" you asked slightly skeptical about these plans. 

"Tonight." he said matter of factly.

"Is that even allowed?" you asked, finishing up with drying your hair and moving your attention to your tail. 

"Well like Chiron told you, they can't force us to stay here and we are allowed to go into the modern world to get toiletries, clothes and other necessities," he said. 

"But at designated times right?" you asked, finally standing up, now that your legs had finally emerged. 

"Well yeah but I-," he took a big sigh and walked over towards you, pulling his tee-shirt over your head, "I really like you and I know we just met and I respect if you think we're moving too fast like really I do get it. Today when I went into the water you were literally sparkling, you moved with such fluidity and grace. You are so striking and I just can't keep my eyes off you, you're so kind and genuine and I love that. It may be selfish but I want to be the one with you when you experience the world," he said, wrapping his arms around your waist, you looked up at him and smiled. You weren't quite sure what to say so your heart generated an answer before your brain could. 

"I would love to come with you but I am a bit scared," you said resting your arms on his shoulders. 

"It's okay, I grew up around mortals until I came here. Not to brag or anything but I know my way around," he said kissing the top of your head before continuing, "let's get ready yeah?" he asked and you nodded, letting your head rest on his bare chest listening to his heart beating. It made you giggle when you noticed that his heartbeat was fast. 

~

After you left Percy's cabin, you walked back to yours to get your backpack. One of the older girls asked you where you were going as you were shoving different things into your bag. You told her you were going for a late night swim because you were used to sleeping in water rather than a mattress. She bought it and rolled over before falling back asleep. Your heart was racing thinking about going into a real city. You dad always told you stories about buildings taller than trees and all the different shops and people. Even though your dad did explain the glorious upsides to the modern world he didn't leave out the dangers that came right along with it. How mortals are extremely judgemental and can be so cruel when it comes to beings who are different. This scared you but you knew as long as you concealed any mystical aspect of yourself, everything would be fine. It also brought comfort to you knowing that Percy had extensive knowledge of the modern world. You finally made it to his cabin where he was also gathering his things into a backpack. You knocked as you walked in which made Percy jump and you laugh. He let out a sigh and slung his bag over his shoulders, asking if you were ready to go. You nodded your head and started towards the entrance of camp. Percy fills you in on how during this time of night they start training new campers to become guards; this means that the front gate won't be as heavily guarded as it normally would be. Hand in hand you slip right past the entrance of the gate. After walking in the woods for a while you both talk and giggle with each other, you guys finally reach a train station. 

"Have you ever been on a train?" Percy asked you as he bought your tickets. 

"No but my dad told me about them because he used to ride one to get into town," you said. 

"Well I'll be here for your first time," you blushed and followed him onto the train car.

When you saw Percy hand the worker green bills you immediately recognized it from when you left home. Before the dove symbol appears over your head your dad helped you pack a bag and gave you a fabric drawstring bag with similar green paper inside. When you asked your dad what it was, he told you not to worry about it and not to lose it. You pulled the small velvet bag out of your backpack and showed Percy to ask what it was, his eyes widened when he saw.

"Where did you get all that?" he asked while counting it. 

"My dad gave it to me before I left home," you said, setting your bag down by your feet. 

"150 bucks," he said before folding the stack and putting it back in the bag.

"Is that a lot in terms of human money?" you asked as he handed the cash back to you. 

"Yeah it's a nice chunk of change," he said. 

"Oh okay, where are we going again? I know we're going to the city but what are we gonna do?" you asked. 

"I was thinking we could go to this mall I used to ditch class to go to. It's called ShopLand Plaza, it's really cool. It had a carousel and a lot of different places to eat and alot of cool stores," he said, wrapping his arm around you. 

You ended up falling asleep for the hour and a half ride there. Percy woke you up 10 minutes before you needed to get off the train at your stop. You were grateful because it gave you time to collect yourself before going into modern society for the first time. You grabbed your backpack and stood up with Percy, following him towards the train door. He grabbed your hand to help you off, and you were a little overwhelmed to say the least. It was loud; music blasting from a couple different directions, children screaming and of course just the loud sound of the subway. It wasn't until he led you up the concrete stairs that you felt better about coming. Percy told you it was only a 15 minute walk to the mall, as you walked you were slowly taking in your surroundings. All the billboards and people with crazy styles of mohawks that were two feet tall and colored every color you could think of. Or the most beautiful woman you'd ever seen, she was wearing a white fur coat with bright pink lipstick and was holding a cat that had a bedazzled harness on. It didn't take you long before getting to ShopLand. Once you walked in, the smell of food was one of the first things that you noticed once you walked inside. 

"Let's eat, I'm starving," he said, taking you by the hand and leading you to the restaurants that were lined up along the wall. 

Percy ended up deciding on Chinese which you were very excited to try. It was amazing, your dad had made rice before but adding egg, carrots, and peas made it that much better. It was the first time you'd ever had broccoli beef and you fell harder for it than you did Percy. After you guys ate, you started walking around, wandering into different stores. You got to the Disney store and when you saw The Little Mermaid doll you completely lost it. You had no idea that there was any type of representation of water nymphs in mainstream media. It made you a bit confused because your dad said mortals had an negative outlook on mythical beings but seeing pop culture yourself gives you a different story. Percy bought you the Prince Eric and Little Mermaid plushies which kept you blushing for a solid 30 minutes. You then followed him as he walked into a store called Zumiez, he was browsing the Thrasher's magazines. You held onto his arm and rested your head on his shoulder. You got bored after a while and noticed they sold bathing suit tops which you needed. As you looked around you noticed a store employee walk up to you and start a conversation. 

"So uh, are you looking for anything in particular?" he asked, taking a sip out of his plastic cup. 

"Oh yeah, I'm looking for a bathing suit," you said, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear. 

"Oh yeah for sure, are you like a model or something? I just asked because you're incredibly gorgeous so I- '' before he could finish his comment the drink he was holding had dropped causing water to spill all over him. He quickly made an excuse before rushing into the back room, when you turned around and saw Percy standing behind you a smile crept onto your face. He walked over to you and wrapped his arms around your shoulders as you looked through the bathing suit tops.

"Was that you? How did you know it was water in his cup?" you asked after deciding on a purple top, matching the one on the Ariel plush. 

"Yes it was and I didn't. I just hoped and prayed to the Gods that it was water," he said, giving you a kiss on your cheek. 

After you purchased your top and Percy got his magazines you started making your way out of the mall and towards the subway. Before you left however you had Auntie Annes for the first time and your eyes practically rolled into the back of your head when you took your first bite, washing it down with a frozen strawberry lemonade. You made it in time for the train and as you sat you looked up at him and tapped him on the shoulder. 

"I have a question and you can't laugh at me," you said which made a smirk appear on his face. 

"Okay, go ahead," he said. 

"What's a model?" you asked which made him laugh, you couldn't help but join him before entering a food coma for the rest of the ride home. 

[copajay]

music to my ears

♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.

masterlist

finally after 2 years and 10 months this series is coming to an end HAHA hope you guys enjoyed reading!

summary: there has always been a strong rivalry between the apollo and ares cabins at camp half-blood, so how will the two opposing sides compose themselves when the son of apollo and the daughter of ares fall in love? (not proofread)

date: 12/29/23

series: txt demigod series (located in masterlist)

scenario themes: percy jackson! au, forbidden love

idol: hueningkai of txt

concept: fluff, tiny amount of angst

warnings: swearing

word count: 3.9k

you've only ever felt betrayal twice in your life.

the first time was when your parents revealed to you that your dad wasn't exactly your father. essentially, that he wasn't your biological parent and the reason they hid it from you was because your father was actually the greek God of war.

the second time was when your half-sister ruined your relationship to fuel a petty cabin war at your summer camp.

the second requires us to go into a bit more detail.

it was your third year at camp half-blood and by now, you knew your way around the place fairly well. you knew the best seat in the mess hall, the best hiding places in the forest, the best spots to throw parties, and more. you also knew that there was only one rule you had to follow as a member of the ares cabin: stay away from the children of apollo.

it's not like apollo and ares themselves didn't get along, but some feud a while ago between both cabin's counselors spread like wildfire throughout the camp, and now the two groups can't stand one another.

you didn't mind since the feud began long before you came to camp half-blood. you didn't need to break off any existing friendships and you can't really miss what you never had.

that was until you met kai huening.

it was a searing, sunny day in the middle of july. you had just finished training with your half-siblings and decided to take a shortcut to the cabins from the training grounds by passing the amphitheater.

you never really had an ear for music, as long as a song was catchy you'd listen to it. you couldn't grasp the idea of a couple instruments moving someone to the point of tears. at least you didn't think you could until you heard the most beautiful piano piece being played in the center stage of the amphitheater.

you recalled hearing about a talent show of some sort being organized by the end of the month but you didn't really pay it much mind. inching closer towards the curtains set up behind the stage.

it seemed like a practice of some sort, with a group of kids sitting around watching the boy play. then he began singing what sounded like a modern rendition of an older song you vaguely remember (just think of fairy of shampoo haha).

his voice combined with the delicate notes he was playing on the piano mesmerized you. it all came so naturally to him, almost as if he was born with music running through his veins.

he played for another minute or so until he switched to another song equally enchanting as the last. you must have stood there for half an hour listening to this mystery man serenade an audience of about ten campers before you snapped back to reality as he began packing up.

straightening yourself up, you shoved your head back behind the curtain, taking a moment to compose yourself for the walk back to the cabins. once you finally started to walk away you heard an extremely familiar voice call out, "excuse me!"

shit. he probably saw me staring and thinks i'm a complete psycho.

bracing yourself, you turned around with a tight-lipped smile on your face. "yes?" you responded. "i noticed you halfway through my practice and was wondering if you had any feedback for me? the talent show's in a couple weeks and i'm starting to get really nervous." the stranger confessed.

"oh, um, honestly no. I'm not exactly a music expert but you were great." you hesitated. the boy smiled widely, extending a hand to you, "i'm kai. and you are?"

"y/n." you smiled in return.

kai stayed beside you for the remainder of your brief walk to the cabins, cracking small jokes and complimenting you along the way. you didn't know why but you felt oddly drawn to him. he was so kind, gentle, and patient.

"so which cabin are you headed to?" he asked once the two of you neared the field. right as you were about to answer, someone interjected calling out kai's name.

you recognize the interferer as a resident of the athena cabin: kang taehyun. he seemed to be close to kai, casually wrapping his arm around the shoulders of the taller boy and carrying him off. kai made sure to shoot an apologetic look coupled with a wave over his shoulder which you happily returned.

you couldn't stop smiling by the time you got back to your bed. kai. you knew nothing else about him, not his last name, not his godly parent, nothing. and yet you were giggling to yourself at the thought of seeing him again.

so much so that your half-sister ryujin had to make sure you hadn't gone insane. "what's gotten into you?" she questioned, plopping onto the corner of your twin bed. "I met a guy" you confessed like a giddy schoolgirl. sure it was a bit embarrassing to admit, but you can't help how you feel.

ryujin simply laughed, shoving you over to make more room for herself on the bed, "what's his name and cabin?"

sheepishly, you turned to face her before confessing that you only knew his first name. you could tell from the change in her expression she was judging you, heavily.

throwing a pillow at her to avoid the shame you felt, you swiftly added, "it's not like I'm in love with him. he's just... cute."

"sure, y/n. because you smile to yourself thinking about every 'cute' guy at camp" she mocked. you were debating whether or not to throw another pillow at her before she started again, "you know, i've been told that I'm a pretty good wingwoman."

if 'pretty good' meant 'terrifyingly bad', ryujin would be absolutely correct. despite her fascination with matchmaking, she had the opposite of the midas touch when it came to relationships. almost every couple she's ever set up has ended in a messy breakup.

you knew this, but you also knew you're fairly awkward and new to romance. maybe ryujin could help as long as she didn't interfere too much. perhaps the ryujin curse was simply a reoccurring coincidence. "okay fine." you mumbled, unsure.

you saw a glint in her eyes and knew you were probably going to deeply regret this.

the next day, ryujin woke you up extra early to get breakfast. her reasoning? you needed to be properly fueled for a day full of 'man-hunting'. as you made your way to find a table to sit at, you noticed kai and taehyun sitting with another person in the corner of your eye. taehyun seemed to be too busy bickering with the third person not so subtle ref to the taehyun fic while kai was more engrossed with writing something in a journal.

before you could react, ryujin was shoving you in their direction, convincing you to sit with them. you tried refusing but she was extremely stubborn, a trait she seems to have inherited from your father.

by the time you arrived at the table, taehyun and his acquaintance looked up at the two of you puzzled. meanwhile, kai greeted you with another one of his signature bright smiles.

"kai! what a coincidence! y/n has been talking about you all morning. mind if we sit? i'm ryujin, by the way." the short-haired girl chirps, blissfully unaware of how embarrassed you are beside her.

kai doesn't seem to mind, though. simply smiling harder and motioning to the spot next to him, which you gladly take. the rest of the breakfast went by awkwardly considering the only two people who really cared to converse with one another were you and kai, but neither of you minded.

once everyone finished eating, he lightly tapped your shoulder to get your attention. "have you ever played the piano?" he inquired. you simply shook your head in response.

he looked around the table before coughing and standing up, "y/n promised me she would help me prepare for the talent show, so I think we should head out," he announced before shooting you a look.

eager, you stood up and nodded in agreement before running off with him away from the others.

once the two of you were finally out of sight, ryujin turned to taehyun. "so... tell me every and anything you know about this kai guy." she declared. rolling his eyes, the boy simply shrugged and retorted, "what do you want to know?"

"just give me the basics. is he a big 3 kid? does he have, like, superpowers? is he a player? or a virgin? and don't lie." ryujin rambled.

taehyun sighed before answering "he's a good guy. a real loverboy, and his only 'superpower' is being crazy good at composing music, which if you ask me is pretty lame. and he's not a big 3 kid, his dad is apollo."

ryujin froze. she must've misheard him. apollo? it can't be. she just set up her half-sibling with a child of APOLLO. if any of their siblings found out they'd both be dead.

"taehyun... does kai know who y/n's godly parent is?" she stammered, to which the other demigod shook his head in response. "well, it's ares." she croaked dramatically.

"so?" he responded. both ryujin and the long-forgotten camper beside him gasped. "so? the ares and apollo cabins can never mix." the stranger declared. ryujin nodded vigorously, which led to taehyun sighing once again.

"cabin feuds are immature, and i never thought you of all people would engage in them." he said, eyeing the demigod next to him, "besides, if y/n's godly parent is ares then that means so is ryujin's, so how are you 'mixing' with her right now?"

immediately, the camper shot ryujin a disgusted look and got up. "i'll see you later, taehyun." they added bitterly before speedwalking away. rolling her eyes, ryujin got up as well, leaving a baffled taehyun alone at the table. as she left the dining hall, ryujin began a desperate search for you to break the bad news.

in the meanwhile, kai had brought you back to the amphitheater, inviting you to learn how to play piano. you were pretty clumsy at first, but he walked you through it patiently.

once you were finally getting the hang of the basics, he decided he wanted to teach you one of his songs. "do you mind?" the brunette prompted as he reached for your hands.

"not at all." you breathed. he kept his fingers over yours as he guided your hands along the keys of the piano. the action felt so intimate and yet so innocent.

you couldn't help but blush at the contact, wondering if he was just as affected by it as you were. looking up, you saw that he was no longer staring at the keys but at you.

he stopped playing but his hands remained on top of yours as he inched closer. you could practically feel his breath on your face. your heart rate began to accelerate as you closed the distance between the two of you, your lips slightly grazing his.

the moment was ruined however by a crazed ryujin bursting from behind the curtains of the amphitheater, shocking the both of you and causing you to hit a loud, sour note on the piano.

"y/n. we need to talk." your half-sister squeaked, avoiding meeting kai's gaze. "can't it wait?" you huffed, visibly annoyed. "no." she deadpanned.

excusing yourself, you ripped your hands away from kai's and stood up, immediately feeling cold and desperate to run back into his embrace.

pulling ryujin aside, you stared at her unimpressed until she began talking. "y/n I don't know how to tell you this, but... he's-that guy--kai is... he's one of apollo's." she stammered, clearly exasperated.

usually, you'd be a bit taken back, but you honestly couldn't bring yourself to care. why should a petty cabin war keep you from someone you like? "this changes nothing, ryu. you're being dramatic." you grumbled.

her expression went from sympathetic to irritated within milliseconds, "y/n! what are you gonna do if the rest of the camp finds out? we don't associate with them." she sneered.

"you sound insane. he's a sweet guy and it's not like we chose our parents." you retorted. "fine. go and tell him and see how he reacts." she challenged.

you simply scoffed before turning and walking back to kai. he wouldn't care... right? you considered telling him, but with seeing how happy he looked, you couldn't bring yourself to do it.

"i, um... have to go!" you muttered, collecting your gatherings quickly, leaving behind a confused kai. as you passed ryujin on your way out she followed you, scolding "see? you couldn't even bring yourself to tell him because you know how he'll react-"

you stopped in your tracks and whipped your head around, "ryujin. you will not tell anyone about this. understand?" you warned. it's unlike you to threaten anyone, especially your own siblings but you were exceptionally angry in this situation: a petty cabin war getting in the way of your first potential romance.

ryujin simply nodded, "but you know you'll have to tell him eventually." she added, solemnly. you nodded wordlessly, accepting your fate. he'd either flip out on you or be totally cool with it but then all his siblings would flip out on him. it was a lose-lose situation and you felt hopeless.

for the next two weeks, you made a conscious effort to hide your growing relationship with kai. from constantly insisting that the two of you hung out somewhere hidden like the strawberry fields to making up excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't walk you to your cabin.

you kept your secret for nearly half a month until the day he asked you to officially be his girlfriend. you tried to enjoy the moment but your head was filled with doubt. would he still want to date you if he knew who your father was?

not only that, but you felt guilt piling up inside of you for hiding something so seemingly important from him. before you knew it, you were tearing up.

worried, he immediately rushed to console you. "if you're not ready that's perfectly fine-" he sputtered, panicking. "it's not that," you began as tears dropped onto your cheeks, "i've been keeping something from you, kai, and I'm so sorry,"

"whatever it is, I'm sure it's fine." he replied comfortingly. you shook your head, "the reason i never let you walk me to my cabin is because... because it's-"

"the ares cabin?" he guessed coolly. your jaw dropped, how did he know? he simply laughed, "I thought so after the fourth time you made me duck when another ares camper was walking by. y/n, I honestly don't care, I like you, and I want to be with you. so... will you be my girlfriend?"

overwhelmed, you practically jumped on him, the tear stains on your face now dry. "of course." you sighed, "but... won't we have to keep it a secret?" you added, worried.

"i hope not, because i was planning on dedicating my songs to you tomorrow at the talent show," he admitted sheepishly. you nearly pounced onto him again until you remembered that nearly the entire camp would be there, including your half-siblings.

"as sweet as that sounds kai... I don't think that's a good idea. how will people react?" you hated how much you sounded like ryujin at that moment, but you couldn't help but worry.

"if you don't want me to, I won't, otherwise i really don't care." he shrugged. it pained you to do so but you asked him not to, as you were still nervous about the reaction from the campers.

you knew you would have to reveal your relationship eventually as you didn't want to keep kai in hiding, but you just didn't know when the right timing would be.

but who needs timing when they have a nosy half-sister who's hiding behind a statue listening to your whole conversation?

ryujin wanted what was best for you, and she knew that this relationship would only hurt you. so she decided to hatch a plan that would prevent it from going any further.

while you were out with kai she assembled all the other ares cabin residents to discuss how to break the two of you up. your hidden relationship came as a shock to all your siblings, with most of them spewing profanities at apollo and his son upon finding out.

they ultimately decided that they would just have to sabotage his performance and find a way to put it on you. kai adores music, so why not target the thing he loves the most? the plan was cruel, but they firmly believed it was what you needed to see the reality of your situation.

when you finally found yourself back at the cabin, you could tell your siblings were acting off. however, you couldn't care less after the day you had with kai. blissfully unaware, you collapsed onto your bed, excited for the upcoming talent show and seeing your boyfriend perform.

if only you knew.

you woke up the next morning to a completely empty cabin. despite being confused initially, you brushed it off and got ready to find a seat at the talent show.

finally seated, you spotted kai standing off to the side of the stage, sending him a small wave. unbeknownst to you, your half-brother saw, scoffing and praying for the plan to work.

after an hour of the program running smoothly, you saw a large piano being rolled to the center of the stage, with kai following. excitedly, you waited to hear his set as he sat down to his instrument and adjusted his microphone.

however, once he began playing the piano the once beautiful notes came out odd-sounding and unprepared. it was evident that the piano had been tampered with, and even more evident that kai was completely shocked.

a silence loomed over the crowd until a certain section began bursting into laughter, that section being cabin #5, aka ares cabin.

you felt betrayed as you looked at your siblings giggling at kai's embarrassment, and even more so when ryujin simply smiled at you, whispering, "it's for the best."

disgusted, you looked to kai. who looked absolutely furious and wouldn't meet your eye. flickering your eyes over to the apollo cabin section, you felt their gazes hitting you and your siblings like daggers.

kai stormed off towards camp and you quickly got up and ran after him. finally catching up to him, you panted "kai wait! I had no idea, I'm so sorry."

he didn't even bother turning around before responding, "maybe they're right. it would never work out between us." he explained coldly. you felt your heart shatter as you watched him walk away.

that night, you refused to speak to any of your siblings, especially ryujin. they initially confronted you, then apologized, then begged for you to at least look their way.

you didn't care if you were being unreasonable, you were enraged. how could ryujin betray you like that? how could they all disregard your feelings? you felt hurt more than anything else.

you could barely sleep that night, only thinking of how upset kai must be. he trusted you, and all you did was prove that the ares cabin really is his biggest enemy. he'd never take you back.

you didn't have it in you to get up the next day. alternating between pretending to sleep and ignoring your siblings, you stayed in bed until 3 pm. you felt like shit and you couldn't be bothered to face anyone in the camp. that was until you heard a commotion outside the cabin door.

peeking through the blinds for your first glimpse of daylight, you saw one of your half-brothers and another camper getting into a heated argument, watching as your other siblings got into confrontations of their own with people you've never seen before.

that's when you realized that the people they were arguing with were the children of apollo.

you ran outside, not caring that you were in your pajamas with horrible morning breath and bed hair. all you cared about was where kai was in all this mess.

you spotted him trying to break up a fight between ryujin and the camper you saw before sitting with taehyun and kai.

"kai! what's going on?" you yelled over all the noise. you watched his face soften for a moment when he saw you just to turn into a scowl, "i'm not sure." he responded distantly.

you attempted to calm down ryujin as kai did the same with his sibling until you heard a loud smack.

it was complete silence as the campers tried to comprehend what just happened. after about thirty seconds of stillness, the campers began going back to fighting, except this time with much more violence. it didn't take long before mr. d and chiron showed up frantically trying to break up the students.

once the dust had settled, the two adults sat the restless demigods down and scolded them for what felt like an eternity. "what started this all? I know you've had some... issues for a while now but why today?" the centaur finally asked.

kai quickly glanced at you, which you only noticed because you had been staring at him for the entirety of the time you were getting reprimanded.

to everyone's surprise, ryujin spoke up first, "i found out that one of my siblings and someone from the apollo cabin were... seeing each other."

gasps erupted among the apollo kids as kai hung his head low. "i told my siblings and we decided to ruin the talent show for them. it was purely out of pettiness and hatred for people i've never even spoken to. i now realize how immature it was and I'm deeply sorry." she looked at you during the last portion of her speech.

you wanted to forgive her, after all she's your sister. but she's also the reason kai still won't acknowledge you.

the next thing you know, campers one by one admitted the ways they had wronged the other side and apologized, sincerely. like that one scene from mean girls.

you felt like you had something to get off your chest as well, and you couldn't keep it in anymore, "i was the one 'seeing' someone from the apollo cabin," you started.

another round of gasps.

"and that's not what I want to apologize for. i handled it horribly. trying to keep it a secret from everyone, including my own siblings and closest friends. I shouldn't have hid it. I'm truly so, so sorry." you professed.

you saw the corner of kai's lips slightly go up, and that's all you needed to feel content. mr. d wrapped the mini-therapy session up and the demigods on both sides swore to end this feud once and for all.

you decided to forgive ryujin and your siblings but you would be lying if you said you were over it all, especially because you couldn't even bring yourself to initiate a conversation with kai.

luckily for you, he approached you first. "i accept your apology... and i'm sorry for being so rude earlier," he faltered.

you were about to respond when he began speaking again, "I'm not sure how we got into this mess but, i want a do-over. do you think we could do that?" he asked with his signature smile. how could you say no?

"yes." you beamed, extending a hand. "i'm y/n, daughter of ares. and you are?"

"kai." he replied, "son of apollo."

"okay, kai, son of apollo. will you go out with me?" you asked, half-jokingly.

"i would love that."

[callmelola111]

color me purple ♡ part two

 ✄ - - - -   part 1 , part 2 , part 3   - - - - soundtrack - - - - ♡

synopsis: it’s summer and you’re back at camp stillwater. as a counselor you mean serious business and you’ll do whatever it takes for your cabin to come out on top. the only thing in the way of that; ellie williams and her crazy antics. 

      | 𓆣 | pairing & wc: ellie williams x reader. wc: 3.3k

      | ❀ | cw (by part): 18+ themes (MDNI), modern au, fem reader, some fluff but mostly angsty, HEAVY sexual themes on the verge of smut, swearing, slight mention of marijuana, ellie is kinda a perv, ellie calls foot fetishes weird so if u have one i'm sorry lol not trying to kink shame its just for the plot !!

a/n: happy wednesday y'all!! i was literally kicking my feet while writing this hehe. i love being a delulu lesbian on paper. also i've never played poker before so if i worded something wrong i am so sorry lolz. sending hugs and kisses 2 you all ♡~ lola

Mrs. Campbell seemed taller this evening as she stood waiting to confront you with your fate. The moon shone brightly casting her long, mangled shadow across the dirt. As she spoke, your gaze remained locked to it, avoiding the disappointed look you knew was written all over her face. 

“What do you two think you’re doing?!?” she yelled. You struggled to form any words with the large lump consuming your throat. Your stomach would’ve dropped too but you were pretty sure you had lost it during your barefoot dash through the woods. Ellie stood next to you just as silent until your devastated face clued her into your current state. She quickly tried to rationalize, speaking for the both of you. 

“Mrs. Campbell, we're so, so sorry. Seriously, it was all my fault, please don’t blame Y/n!” You softened hearing Ellie so quickly take the fall. Feeling compelled to finally join this tense confrontation, you looked up from the ground. Your eye’s met with the wardens but they were filled with concern rather than fury as you had expected. Your injuries had alluded to a situation that she felt needed a bit more context.

“I’m just trying to figure out how you two ended up here bloody, wet, and 2 hours past curfew!” she said. With the guidance of Ellie you calmly explained the situation. Of course, it wasn’t the full truth. You took extra care to leave out the part about your little smoke sesh. And after what felt like hours of questioning and nagging, you and Ellie were given the benefit of the doubt, remaining counselors for the summer.

Mrs. Campbell gave her final say, “You girls better count your blessings. I’m feeling nice tonight. But, I can’t let your behavior go unpunished. Neither of you will be participating in tomorrow's first round of games. I'll take your campers under my wing while you two think about your behavior back at the cabins. Alone.” Tears welled in your eyes as you came to terms with the consequences of your actions. Ellie shifted her gaze to your heartbroken expression and the corners of her mouth turned down. Sure it was just one day of sitting out, but she knew how much the competition meant to you and felt like a total piece of shit for making you miss out. Even if it wasn’t completely her fault. 

“That’s final. Now both of you please go wash up and stop making me worry!” Mrs. Campbell concluded.

You and Ellie made the 5 minute walk to the showers in silence, still shaken up from the recent events. Despite the water’s icy temperatures, it felt nice to wash off the evidence of your night living on the wild side. However, Ellie showered one space over with little emotional relief, too consumed by you. She just stood idle as the sharp drops of H2O hit her back. Questioning how you felt about her, if you were mad, and what you were thinking but wouldn’t say.

She couldn’t take it anymore and quickly switched off the water, drying off with a rough gray towel. You followed in suit, stepping out wrapped in your pink towel. The textured fabric wrapped tightly over your breasts hoisting the mounds up to peak over the linen. They sat pretty like a Victorian woman in a tight corset. Ellie, now in a fresh pair of clothes, kept her head forward but eyed you from her peripherals before finally speaking.

“I’m so sorry… I don’t even know what to say. I never wanted to get you in trouble.” She looked absolutely miserable, so convinced you hated her. You’d never seen this side of Ellie before. A side that was real and vulnerable. You had always pinned her as this impenetrable tough guy, never seeming bothered by anything. And now here you were, bothering her. What was so special about you, why did she care?

“Ellie, I’m not mad at you, just a little sad. This was my choice as much as it was yours.”

Ellie turned to you, voice breaking, “Wait… really?” Part of her felt like an idiot for bringing it up now, considering it was all in her head, but you didn’t think twice about giving her the reassurance she seeked.

“Yes, really.” Ellie gave a timid smile slanting to one side and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that her assumptions were just a product of overthinking. 

“Now please, stop being so melodramatic and help me patch up all these stupid cuts.” You took a seat on the long bench placed in the tiled bathroom and Ellie followed like a humble servant. She got down on her knees like she owed it to you. Taking a wet cloth in her right hand and carefully cleaning your cuts one by one. Her touch was gentle, almost too much, but she didn't want to hurt you. You took pleasure in Ellie’s tender care and couldn’t help but wonder if she’s like this with all her friends. Even more, you questioned if it’s something you should be enjoying as much as you did. Ellie took her sweet time rinsing out the dirt from your wounds that you had acquired as an unwanted souvenir. Tending to your injuries gave her more time to study all of your nooks and crannies. Something she had only dreamed of. Ellie enjoyed every second until she reached your thighs, your gorgeous plush thighs. She observed as your pink towel bunched at the abdomen before splitting down the sides of your legs in a triangle-like formation. Mind hazy with desire, she couldn’t help but yearn for the other body parts under that towel that she wished to tend to. Ellie internally slapped herself for the heat that followed her nasty thoughts and her tour of your body was cut short. Following the clean, she took some Neosporin to smooth across the bigger gashes that covered your knees and elbow. You winced at the friction.

“It really got you good huh,” she teased, “maybe you can lie and say you got attacked by a bear or something.”

“No, not a bear,” your eyes rolling, “just Ellie Willaims and her antics.” 

“Oh shut up, you had fun.” You didn’t say anything back, just gave a smile, because you knew Ellie was right. As much as you wanted to be upset about how everything went down and how you were so easily influenced by her, you just couldn’t. Maybe because you knew she had no ill intent, or maybe you were beginning to realize that breaking rules wasn’t so bad- perhaps, it was even a little fun. 

You woke up early the next day with everyone else, despite your impromptu grounding. Although you yearned for sleep, the sun shone too bright and the girls chatter, too loud. You pulled the scratchy covers of your twin bed up, making it semi-nice for your next sleep. A sleep you looked forward to, as it signaled the end of this awful day. But, with the cabin overcome by girlish excitement it was hard to remain in such a sour mood. You ventured to the top of an empty but rickety bunk bed to observe the members of team red from above. It was like watching a village of little ants running around prepping for the day ahead. Some flew out the screen door to shower, a few braided each other's hair, and all of them finished dressed up in color coordinating outfits.

As 9:30 am approached, you wrapped up your finishing touches to the last few stragglers with silky hair ribbons and red face paint. By 9:40, the once bustling room was empty and the silence was loud. In an attempt to occupy your wandering mind you cracked open a Nancy Drew book, the 3rd in its series. The crisp pages slid between your fingers as the mystery consumed you, but it wasn't long before your peace was interrupted.

A peculiar knocking sound tore you from the novel opened in your hands. Setting it down on your green and pink bedding, you ventured to your dirty window to scope out the inexplicable noise. On the other side of the glass stood Ellie, like a kid, throwing rocks at your window. You stared out the gray panes that divided her in four, rolling your eyes at the audacity of it all. She continued her little performance pulling out a janky sign written in dried out blue marker. It read I'm bored… You pretend to be distraught at the news, playing into her little game. Ellie then flipped the sign over to show you the back where she had scribbled the words Do U wanna hangout? and then some idiotic smiley face to complete the message. Ellie’s own face mimicked the emoticon as she displayed all her teeth like a child on picture day. It was stupid and cheesy and it was kinda working.

The sign continued to waver in the wind as you consulted the imaginary angel and devil that lurked on your shoulders. You finally answered Ellie (whose arms were getting tired) through the window with a simple middle finger and yanked the curtains closed knowing you weren’t supposed to be leaving your living quarters that day. And although you maintained a tough exterior for the sake of the bit, you felt just a little bit giddy being invited over by Ellie. That same giddiness nagged at your morals until finally you sided with the devil. Besides, everyone will be gone and too busy to catch you guys slacking off.

You rushed to the sink to brush your teeth aggressively and then changed into a red cropped shirt with a wide neck and black biker shorts that sculpted your ass perfectly. You weren’t sure why, but you had this sudden need to impress her. Her opinion now carried a weight that was foreign to you. That weight then influenced a smear of the same cherry flavored lip gloss from the night before, remembering Ellie’s thoughts on it. You slipped the tube into your bra just in case and then skipped over like the girl next door.

Ellie opened up with a smirk. Her hair was messy and despite waking up hours ago her lounge wear remained on. You didn’t mind though. Something about her toned body in a black wifebeater tank and gray sweats made you excited. 

“Well hello there.” She gestured for you to come inside. You sat in the middle of the room on an old, sage green rug. Anticipating Ellie’s next move, you pulled your scuffed up knees to your chest. She plopped down next to you and began to poke.

“I was starting to think you weren’t gonna show up.” 

You scoffed, “I mean, I hate you Ellie, but not that much.” You straightened out your right knee and gave her a little kick in the shin.

“Shut up dude. I know you love me.” Ellie nudged your shoulder and you gave a simple chuckle in response, but inside you were questioning the past feelings of distaste you once harbored for her and the new ones that replaced them. You needed a distraction.

“Sooo.. how are you gonna entertain me??” Your question sent Ellie’s mind to all kinds of places, some dirty most dirty.

“Oh? So you wanna be entertained? How about a little game of poker?”

“Poker?” you said, becoming suspicious of Ellie's seemingly normal answer but the tone of her voice was a dead giveaway to the mischievous plans.

“Well… not just any poker. I play a little differently.” You urged her to continue.

“Like different how?”

“Ever heard of strip poker?” she questioned, scrunching her freckled nose in anticipation of your response. She wouldn’t think twice about indulging in this game with other friends but it was something about you and the unspoken homoerotic nature of your relationship that made the request much more daunting.

“Oh my god Ellie,” you gave a long sigh, “Do you really wanna see me naked that bad?” Usually her face would go bright red at a comment like this but today she was prepared for your little quips, having taken the leap to propose such a game in the first place.

“No. I wanna watch you lose.” she stated bluntly. And with her words, a jolt of that familiar cutthroat attitude surged through your body along with a little arousal that you ignored, pretending it was just adrenaline. 

“Oh you’re on.” you spat. What had Ellie Williams done to you? Just days ago you would have opposed such a scenario like sneaking over to play strip poker but her dangerously seeming presence was exhilarating to you. She was a drug you just couldn’t quit. And before you could even think twice, that drug was pulling out her playing cards and popping a mixtape ← into her old cassette player.

You grew quiet and the music grew loud as you anxiously waited for Ellie to shuffle the deck. She had a classic one with the red patterned backings. The cards slotted into each other as Ellie thumbed the split stack from bottom to top. It made a satisfying noise that repeated a few more times before she dealt them out between the two of you.

The rules were simple, each chip signified an article of clothing, whoever had the worst hand lost a chip and a little bit of dignity along with it. A stack of 4 old poker chips sat in front of you balancing on the ridges of the rug. 1 for your shirt, 1 for your shorts, and 2 for each sock. Ellie had the same. You could practically feel the sweat gathering on your brow as the game began. The first round was close, Ellie with a straight and you with 3 of a kind.

She quickly snatched up one of your chips before saying, “You lose!!” 

“This is just the first round, don’t get used to it.” you replied, peeling off your left sock. Quickly you placed your other foot on top of the now bare one, hiding it from Ellie like it was something to be embarrassed of. She took note of your behavior and clarified her intentions.

“You know, I don’t have a weirdo foot fetish if that's what you’re thinking.”

“Oh my god. Shut. Up. I don’t think that, I just don’t want you looking at my feet.” You turned your face away from her, putting your hand up theatrically. Your embarrassment amused Ellie.

“Just wait till you have to take your top off.” 

“That won’t be necessary.” You tried seeming confident in your reply but your face felt hot and your hands were clammy. You didn’t want to imagine being so exposed in front of Ellie. What if she doesn’t like it? Why did it matter if she did?

“Right, we’ll see how that goes…” Ellie’s voice trailed off, letting go of your stubborn ramblings. The game continued as so; round 2: you won, round 3: you won again, round 4: Ellie won. At this point there were no more socks to take off. Your stomach twisted and turned thinking of the next possibilities. Part of you wanted to give up and take off but the other part of you wanted to stay around and see what Ellie looked like without a shirt. This confused you.

During round 5 you could hardly focus, but luck was on your side when all Ellie could present was a pair against your straight, leaving you a winner. Without a second thought she crossed her arms grabbing at the hem of her tank. Her biceps flexed with motion as she pulled it over her head revealing a black sports bra. You stared unintentionally, mouth agape.

“Like what ya see?” Ellie remarked. Your cheeks flushed red and your head shot down into your lap like a reflex. 

“Relax, we’re just friends having fun. You can look.” she continued. Right… friends. You took a deep breath in trying to calm yourself. There was still more of the game to play and a craving for victory that lingered.

The next round was brutal leaving you with a measly high card, the worst hand you could get. Before Ellie even revealed her hand, your mind was at war deciding if you should remove your pants or shirt first. This felt like so much more than a simple game of cards with a friend. I mean here you were in front of half-naked Ellie, questioning if she was more of an ass girl or if she liked tits better. After your losing cards were revealed you took a pause, twirling a stray thread around your finger that you had pulled off the rug. Just as you were settling on pants Ellie interrupted.

“If- If you dont wanna, you don’t have to. I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable.” Ellie was starting to feel guilty for roping you into her games. For her, this wasn’t about winning, it was about pleasure and that's what made her feel so bad. You were here to play poker and Ellie was just waiting to see what panties you wore that day. Such a perv. 

“NO,” your voice raised, halting Ellie’s skewed thoughts like your life depended on it. “I want to.” You stood up slowly trying to steady your shaky hands. Gently, your long fingers rimmed around the waistband of the shorts. Ellie sat criss-cross looking up at you like a god. The black spandex peeled off your wide hips and down your thighs at an agonizingly slow pace for Ellie. Finally reaching your knees they fell the rest of the way down, pooling at your ankles. The cool air tickled your pantie-clad privates, sending you back down to the warm spot you left on the floor.

Ellie couldn’t even speak. It was like a wet dream seeing you dressed in nothing but a crop top and some lacey, pink underwear. The heat between her legs was almost unbearable and she could feel as her slick seeped straight through the plaid boxers hidden under her sweats. Too busy with her downstairs, she failed to give you any sort of sign that would hint to the pleasure your body was giving her. You felt stupid for even wanting that from her and flipped to lay on your stomach trying to hide your nakedness. Without Ellie’s approval or encouragement you felt ashamed.

Wanting this moment of awkwardness to pass, you reached for more cards to continue to the next round. Ellie grabbed the deck before you could even reach it.

“Actually uh- we should just stop.” she said, not even able to make eye contact from how overwhelmed she was with lust. Of course, you didn’t know this and a downward spiral of thoughts began. Have you done something? Said something? What happened?

You stuttered out a “Wha- why?” Ellie continued staring down at her crotch. Her stupid crotch- that was the reason why. She knew that if she lost the next round, her sweatpants that shielded her from embarrassment would have to be removed. The large and growing wet spot of your doing was something Ellie refused to let you see. She assumed that if you were to ever discover the amount of arousal a friendly game of poker caused, you’d be disgusted and never speak to her again. 

“I just- I think you need to leave.” You blinked hard and fast, trying to swallow back any tears being provoked by Ellie’s response.

“So… I’m that ugly, huh?” you said, voice now shaking. You felt humiliated.

“No, no!! It’s not th-” 

“Save it Ellie,” you yelled, tears beginning to run down your cheeks. “This is the last time I let you make me out to be some loser idiot who falls for all your tricks! I am not ending up like all those stupid girls who you’ve fucked over!” You kicked open the swinging door taking one look back at Ellie. Her face was dumbfounded, confused, hurt. What were you saying? What was all that supposed to mean? She thought of chasing after you but knew it would be no use. You were too stubborn and upset to be talked to by Ellie, and it was quite clear that neither of you had realized what this game had meant to the other.

 ✄ - - - -   part 1 , part 2 , part 3   - - - - masterlist - - - - ♡

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