Equilibrium

Chapter 29: Jackie's POV

WOW is it great to see Leo again! The few times he'd visited camp after the war with Gaea, him and I had grown pretty close. We both like to joke around and pull pranks so we've always gotten along pretty nicely. When he'd left with Calypso a couple months ago, I'd been devastated. He was one of the few people at camp I had actually considered a friend, and I hadn't known when he was going to visit camp again. But now he's here right in front of me and he's already teasing Luka the same as I am, and I couldn't ask for anything better. This dude just lights up the room, I swear to gods, he's always smiling. So the second the smile slips from his face at the mention of Adrestia, I get really worried. If Leo frowns at it, it's gotta be really bad.
"Wait so... you know who she is? Adrestia?" I ask, exchanging a worried glance with Luka.
Leo taps his fingers on the table nervously, eyes flitting between Luka and I.
"She's bad news."
Luka's face pales. "Like how bad? Who is she?"
Leo leans in closer like he's going to tell us a secret and I mentally prepare myself for the worst. I bet she's a giant or a titan or some other terrible monster waiting to eat us alive and destroy our camps. Subconsciously I grab Luka's hand in anticipation and worry. Leo opens his mouth, and instead of whispering the terrifying truth about Adrestia, he bursts out laughing.
"Oh my GODS I got you guys GOOOOD!" He howls, "Pshhh you should see your faces! It looks like I told you the world was gonna swallow you up or something!"
Luka and I exchange a confused look and he asks, "Wait so you don't know who she is?"
"Ha no, sorry. Maybe Athena's relic can help with that. But oh my GODS I'm never gonna get over that. Luka I thought you were going to pass out or something!" He cackles and slowly I start to giggle too. Luka looks livid, and I'm loving it.
As I start laughing though, Leo snorts and raises an eyebrow at me. "Not that you're much better, Jack Jack. You grabbed his hand!" My face goes beet red and I quickly untangle my fingers from Luka's, jumping back like I've been burned. Leo just smirks. "Sooo what's goin' on between you two? Are you guys a thing? Oooo who made the first move? I bet it was Jackie. Hmm did-"
"Dinner's ready!" Oh thank the GODS Calypso just saved me from Leo's incessant rambling. I make a point to not look at Luka because somehow, my face has grown even redder, and I certainly do not need him seeing that.
Leo stops pestering us and leaps up to grab his girlfriend by the arm, tugging her over to where we're sitting.
"Cal, meet Jackie and Luka! Well, you've already met Jackie, buuut this is Luka! They're on a quest."
"Hey there, nice to see you again," Calypso smiles at me and I beam back at her. She's stunning. UGH. Goddamn, why do all the good ones have to be taken? "And nice to meet you, Luka." Luka smiles at her politely and then she whirls around and starts setting the table for dinner.
After devouring the most incredible tacos I've ever eaten in my entire life and laughing over dumb jokes with Leo, I start feeling really sleepy.
"Hey I'm-" A yawn cuts me off mid sentence.
"Tired?" Calypso giggles.
"Yeah, pretty tired."
"Yeah me too. It's been a long day. We haven't really slept that well in over a week now." Luka mumbles in agreement.
"No problemo, there's a guest bedroom down that hallway," Leo points towards a doorway leading out of the kitchen, "And a pullout couch in the living room. Unless you wanna, ya know, share the bed or something-"
"LEO-"
"JUST KIDDIIIIING oh my GODS!" Leo explodes into another fit of laughter at my outburst.
"Haha, very funny." Luka rolls his eyes, and Leo just grins at him mischievously.
"Time for bed!" Calypso claps her hands twice and we all stand up and say our good nights. Luka offers to take the couch, so I head off to the guest bedroom.
I change into the pajamas Calypso leant me and flick off the lights. I flop down onto the bed, expecting to fall asleep immediately since I'm exhausted, but minutes pass and I just stare up into the darkness.
I don't know how long it's been. An hour? Two hours? I'm getting frustrated. I can't sleep. There's just too much on my mind right now. Sighing heavily, I slide off the bed and tiptoe down the shadowy hallway to the kitchen. I grab a glass off the counter and get a drink of water before heading back to my room. I start back down the dark hallway and I'm almost to my door when I collide with a tall dark figure.
"Shit!" Startled, I stumble backwards into the kitchen, almost losing my balance, before instinctively crouching into a fighting position, ready to defend myself. The figure steps out of the shadows and I jump backwards. "Stay back-"
"Jackie, it's me." Luka towers over me, a smirk on his face, his hair messier than I've ever seen it. I bet if he saw himself right now he'd throw a fit and start desperately trying to fix it.
"Oh." I breathe out a sigh of relief, straightening up, feeling myself blush. "Uh-"
"Are you okay? Sorry for crashing into you." He looks me up and down, concerned.
"O- oh, yeah! I'm totally fine."
"Oh okay, good. I thought you were gonna attack me there for a second." His lip quirks up into a small smile. I can't help but laugh.
"You better watch out. I'm battle ready at all times, and one day I might just mistake you for a monster and you'll end up with a sword in your gut."
"Well that's reassuring," He rolls his eyes, "I don't think you could beat me in a fight though. Too short."
"Oh shut up!" I slap his arm playfully, "I could take you any day!"
"Wanna test that theory?"
"Hell yeah I do. I'll whoop your ass. But... Maybe not right now." I glance around the dark kitchen.
"What, are you nervous?" Luka's smirk grows and he steps forward.
"What? No! Of course not!"
"Oh yeah?" He takes another step forward and my heart skips a beat.
"Yeah," I cross my arms in front of my chest, blowing a strand of hair out of my face, "Can't go waking up Leo and Calypso now. We're their guests, remember?"
Luka rolls his eyes and smiles. "Yeah I guess you're right." We stand there awkwardly for a second, and I turn to head back to my room, but Luka puts a hand on my shoulder to stop me.
"Uhh, Jackie? About what Leo said earlier... About us being a couple? We're not like- you don't like me like that, do you?"
Ohhh fuck no, this isn't happening. Not right now. My mind goes blank, and all too fast, I splutter, "No! What?! Of course not!"
"Oh. Okay. Yeah. Yep." He averts his gaze and folds his arms over his chest.
"He's crazy, sometimes. Leo, I mean."
"Yeah, yeah I can see that." Luka drops his arms and lets out a little laugh, but it sounds hollow. "Well... goodnight Jackie."
"'Night, Luka." I go back to my room and close my door, but I don't lie down in my bed. I just lean my back against the door and slide all the way down until I'm on the floor, knees pulled up to my chest. I bury my head in my hands, pulling at my hair furiously.
Wow. I seriously fucked that up.
Luka's just like- I don't know. I hate him but I don't. He's infuriating, but he's gorgeous. He's such a dumbass sometimes, but other times he's actually really thoughtful and sweet. Sometimes I can't fucking stand him and his sass, but I know he's got my back. I don't want to like him. I really don't. Not like that. But I think I do. It's almost impossible for me to even admit that to myself, let alone Luka. I like him. And it's becoming a serious problem.
Especially since he hates me, and thinks I hate him too.
What Leo said earlier is still bothering me. Is it really that obvious that I like Luka? It seems like it's obvious to everyone but myself. I can't let Luka know. I need to clear the air.
I need to tell him that I don't like him. I mean, I do like him, but he can't know. If he found out, it might interfere with our quest, and I can't deal with rejection. Not right now.
Coming to a decision, I stand up and open my door, only to find myself face to face with Luka, his hand raised like he was about to knock.
"Wha-" My question is cut off as Luka's lips come crashing down on mine. I'm shocked at first, but then I let myself melt into the kiss, bringing my hand up to cup his jaw as he wraps his arms around my waist. Everything around me seems to vanish, and then it's just Luka's lips pressing softly against my own. We break apart all too soon, my head spinning.
"What just- what just happened?" I mutter breathlessly, a million confused thoughts racing through my mind as his blue eyes pierce into mine.
"I'm not sure, but I want to do it again."
My stomach flips nervously but I close my eyes and lean in. A shiver runs down my spine as we meet in the middle, and in that moment, the rest of the world fades away.