Magnetism • Luke Castellan

I

Shink, shink, shink

The sound of swords clashing echoed through the arena as campers lost focus in their own battles, unable to look away from Luke and I's fight for more than a few seconds.

Funny how it was always some spectacle like this, the Ares Cabin Counselor and the so called " best swordsman in three hundred years", battling each time like we had everything to lose.

Luke's sword twisted under mine, nearly flinging it out of my hand as I tightened my grip on its hilt. Gritting my teeth I readjusted myself before taking a swing, the tip of my blade just grazing his upper arm as he grimaced and pulled away.

" Why don't you drop that sword pretty boy, let's see how you fare without it." I taunted as he glared at me before his lips twisted up into that annoying smirk of his.

" If you wanted to get on top of me, you just had to ask, Stormund." He teased and I let out a angry huff, lunging forward only for my blade to meet his.

The conch sounded from afar, signaling dinner time, and the two of us reluctantly dropped our weapons as other campers started to make their way over to the mess hall.

" You should probably have that fixed up before dinner." I spoke haughtily, tapping my sword against the cut on his bicep as he hissed.

" You should probably do the same with that leg." He fired back, my brows furrowing as I looked up to him before glancing down at my right calf. Blood was soaked through my jeans and I swore, realizing the cut he gave me the other day had opened back up.

" Gods I absolutely loathe your existence in this camp." I bit before turning on heel and beginning the walk to the infirmary. I quickened my pace when I felt his presence come up next to me, eager to be left alone.

I could never be that lucky.

" No, you loathe that I'm a better swordsman than you. Under all that armor, I bet you're just as lovesick as the rest of the girls at this camp." He insinuated, clearly getting a kick out of watching my blood boil.

" Are you sure you're not a son of Aphrodite? You're so vain you'd probably marry yourself if you had the chance." I rebutted as we weaved our way through groups of campers who were headed to dinner.

" You must think I'm the most handsome man alive. Calling me pretty boy and a son of Aphrodite in the same day." He continued to push as I scoffed.

" Castellan if you keep talking I'm going to give you a matching scar on your other eye." I snapped turning to see his eyes darken. Over the years I'd realized that anything that reminded him of his life outside of Camp Half-Blood, especially when he was on the run with Annabeth and Thalia, was a sore subject.

Now that I successfully shut down his snarky remarks, the remainder of the walk to the infirmary was in silence. Not a peaceful silence, but I appreciated it all the same.

Upon arrival, I swiftly opened the door, attempting to close it behind me, but Luke slipped in, elbowing it open as I frowned in defeat. I could feel his disapproving gaze on the back of my head but ignored it, scanning the room for a medic.

A disappointed sigh spread through the room as its owner peaked out from behind a curtain, the respective bed housing a patient. Julian looked us up and down, taking note of our injuries as we shifted with slight shame.

" It's practically everyday with you two. Play doctors amongst yourselves, I'm busy. " he directed, giving us no room to argue back.

We trudged over to the cabinets, picking through the supplies until we found some dressings and gauze.

I sat on a empty bed while Luke sat across from me, watching as I rolled up my jeans to see the poorly bandaged wound.

" Great. That's gonna leave a stain." I spoke with disdain. This was my favorite pair of jeans too. I slowly removed the old bandaging before setting it aside to inspect the wound.

" Let me." Luke said suddenly, startling me as I'd almost forgotten he was there. My brows furrowed as I lifted my head to give him a pointed look.

" Hell no. I've got it." I argued as he pushed himself off the bed so he was standing in front of me.

" Please, you did such a poor job last time, if you do it again it won't last another twenty four hours." He said while grabbing a wet rag. I rolled my eyes but twisted my leg, allowing him to dab away the blood.

We sat in silence as he gingerly wound new gauze around the dressing, ensuring it was tight enough before tying it off. I flexed my foot to check it's mobility before rolling my jeans back down. I looked up to offer a quick thank you but my eyes fell on his cut bicep as he rolled his sleeve up. I considered the circumstances before I sighed and moved closer, brushing his other hand out of the way. His dark eyes lifted to mine and his mouth opened in protest.

" Be quiet. I had to sit there in humiliation, so you're going to sit here in humiliation while I do this." I told him, watching with displeasure as his lips twisted into a smirk.

" I was going to request another doctor considering your skills are... less than proficient." He quipped, prompting me to scrub away the blood a little harder than necessary. I watched as his jaw tightened and we shared a look before turning back to his arm.

" I'll have you know I'm a lot better at fixing up other people." I told him as I pressed the dressing to his cut.

" Well that's ironic considering you're probably the one injuring them." He said with an eye roll I ignored as I wrapped the gauze tightly around his bicep. Once I tied it off we took a second to admire my handiwork.

" You know it's actually not bad." He conceded as he fixed his sleeve.

" What can I say, I've had a lot of practice." I said with a sly grin as he shook his head.

" We're fixing injuries not adding more right-" Julian stopped himself as he rounded the corner, studying us with a strange look in his eyes. I crossed my arms over my chest and turned from Luke to the medic.

" Not a word, Julian." I told him sternly as he fought down a cheeky smile, zipping his lips shut. I shot him a playful glare before walking out the door, tailed by Luke.

" Sometimes I worry he's holed up in there too much. The boy needs to go for a walk, get some sun." I explained as Luke chuckled, falling into step beside me as we made our way towards the mess hall.

" I think he really just wants to see less of us." He added and I couldn't help but agree.

" I can't imagine why. We're delightful to be around." I joked as we shared self-righteous smirks. We neared the mess hall and prepared to split ways.

" Obviously. Same time tomorrow?" Luke asked despite knowing my answer.

" Obviously." I copied him as he shook his head and we made our way to our respective tables for the remainder of dinner.