Magnetism • Luke Castellan

V

Upon arriving at the beach I was met with the glorious sight of Clarisse hoisting the blue teams flag up high, cheers erupting from our team.

A smile broke out on my face and I started to laugh before stopping myself upon feeling the pain in my throat. I reached up to check if it was still bleeding and my fingers came away crimson.

I sighed, knowing I'd have to get that bandaged up soon. My eyes drifted until they spotted the man who gave me the cut, quietly talking with Chris. As if he could sense my gaze, his eyes snapped to me.

" Hey dude, your thumb is bleeding." Chris, who seemed oblivious to my presence, spoke before looking back up at Luke.

" It's not my blood." I heard him answer, refusing to look away from me. Chris finally got the hint and followed Luke's gaze over to me. I watched his expression change as his stare honed in on my bloody neck, lips parting slightly. I looked from Luke to Chris, who couldn't seem to find the proper words.

You could cut the tension with a knife.

" Nikita! There you are!" I heard Clarisse exclaim as she practically bounced over to me, looking elated at our victory. Capture the flag was a very serious matter to Ares Cabin.

" I don't know what you did but Luke wasn't anywhere to be found, making our job 10x easier. Wait- gods what happened to your neck?" She exclaimed, removing her arm from around my shoulder so she could carefully tilt my chin up to examine the injury.

" It was worth it, wasn't it? We won." I replied, giving her no real answer. Her excited state worked to my advantage as she didn't question me further, clapping me on the back before shouting in triumph with the rest of our team.

" What is wrong with you?" A loud voice rang out, drawing everyone's attention. We found Percy, standing up from the water while Annabeth watched on the shoreline. It was hard to see from a distance, but it seemed as if the bloody cuts he had received in battle just disappeared.

I took a few steps closer, confusion flooding my face. Suddenly the hologram of a massive trident appeared over the boys head, campers staring in awe before the boy noticed, looking up.

" You have been claimed by Poseidon. Earth shaker, storm bringer... Percy Jackson, son of the sea god." Chiron declared. A child of the big three, a forbidden child. We all knew what that meant.

Campers began to kneel as a sign of respect, the newly claimed demigod looking a bit taken back. I nudged Luke, who had somehow appeared to my left, bringing him down with me. I caught his jaw tightening before I stood and directed my attention back to Percy.

His eyes were wandering around the crowd, stopping once he spotted me. I offered him a reassuring smile, though inside I fought off the knowledge that he was going to have an incredibly hard life, before it was inevitably taken from him.

Demigods didn't have it easy, but a child of the big three didn't last long. Just look at Thalias fate, permanently morphed into a pine tree that stands lone on the hill outside this camp.

" That's crazy. The kids been here for two days and he got Poseidon to openly claim him in front of everyone." Chris said what we were all thinking. We stood in silence for a moment, thinking about its connotation.

" Nikita! Clarisse told me to come find you. Let me take care of that." Julian popped out of nowhere, reaching to lightly move my jaw to better examine the cut.

Before I could speak, I caught a strange look pass over Luke's face. His jaw twitched as his gaze hardened on the healer.

" I've got it." He said, brushing off the demigod who was actually trained to care for such things.

" Are you-"

" I said I've got her." He insisted with a stern tone that left zero room for argument. Julian backed off, taking a step back before casting me a "what's his deal" look. I merely shrugged.

" Let's go." Luke spoke simply before walking off, prompting hasty goodbyes to Chris and Julian so I could catch up to him.

" What's got you so up tight?" I prodded, keeping step with Luke as he tried to lose me.

" I lost." He responded begrudgingly, although I suspected there was more to it.

" Your team lost, yeah." I corrected. The scoff he let out told me he didn't like my answer. We reached the infirmary where Luke shoved the door open, striding over to the cabinets to gather supplies.

" Listen, I get it. I hate losing, but we weren't working alone. Capture the flag is a team sport." I continued, hopping up on the counter next to him. The only sound cutting the silence was him rummaging through the cabinets, looking for what he needed.

He finally stood up, a rag, gauze, and dressings in his hands. He slowly approached me, reaching to set the gauze and dressings by my hip. I watched him critically, his movements slowed, becoming unsure as his hands twitched, seemingly itching to do something.

As if he could not longer resist, he placed his hands on my knees and pulled them apart, stepping into the space he'd created. My body responded, my breath hitched and my heart rate began to speed up. I was not anticipating being so close to him after he held a sword to my throat the previous time.

He then proceeded to move a hand to my chin, gently grabbing it and tipping it up as he worked the wet rag over the cut. I could feel the dried blood being washed away before he moved on, satisfied. He reached for the gauze and dressing, fingers brushing my hip as he retracted his hand.

I did my very best to keep my eyes looking up at the ceiling. My senses heighten as I could feel every little touch and movement he made, unable to focus on anything else. I could feel him press the gauze to my throat, slowly wrapping the dressing around my neck, cautious not to make it to tight or too lose.

His fingertips grazed over the small hairs at the nape of my neck, causing goosebumps to erupt in their wake. I took a breath, closing my eyes as he secured the gauze in place.

His hands slipped away. It was finally over. I could open my eyes.

Deep Mahogany. I gasped, outright startled as I realized his face hung over mine, eyes mirroring my own. This time Luke seemed to be searching within my gaze, meticulously studying each and every part. I was frozen. It felt like I was being analyzed under a microscope. Like my very soul was being picked apart, and every word I'd ever written on it was being read.

" I've gotta go." I said quickly, eager to get myself out from under his penetrating gaze. My sudden burst startled him enough that he'd stepped back, allowing me enough room to drop back onto the floor. I rushed for the door, not planning to turn back.

Kind of a lil filler before things get more interesting/ complicated *evil laughter* . ALSO guys, do not be afraid to comment your lovely, chaotic thoughts. Y'all enjoying this book is the only thing keeping me going rn (I despise school).

Cheers Loves ❣️