𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. ── 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞

three months later

IT WAS SAFE TO SAY THAT JASON HADN'T felt this nervous any other time in his life.

He had the dryads in the forest of Camp Half-Blood help him set up the perfect date—a picnic in the woods. They'd go for a swim, dry off, and eat their food, together.

It was to be perfect.

Jason examined his handiwork. Fairy lights sprawled across the trees, and twinkled exactly every 2.7 seconds, which, (according to a very old computer), was the perfect length to create a romantic setting. A red, plaid blanket lay on the grass, and on top of it, a large picnic basket filled with food, A thick carrot soup, green salad, lamb chops and mashed potatoes, cheese and fruit, a chocolate cake, courtesy of the magic plates back at camp. The lake glittered to their side, naiads and nymphs flitting about the crystal clear water.

It was to be perfect.

When he first started planning the perfect date, Leo had seen him flying up 10 feet to hang lightbulbs, and naturally, he was curious. "Hey man," he had said, "what... are you doing?"

Jason had just grinned at him, like that was supposed to convey the whole message. It didn't, obviously. But what was also obvious was that Jason was trying to set up a date, and Leo... tried to help. Till he almost burnt down the entire forest, in excitement, of course.

But now the time had come to try, (and hopefully not fail miserably like the awkward person he was around her), to ask out Andromeda Jackson. Wish me luck, he thought.

He jogged to the dining pavilion, where everything was still going as it was supposed to. A regular old day for Andy. The most nerve-wracking moment yet for Jason. He slid next to her and  finally dared to look at her.

She was drop dead gorgeous. Her long, silky (don't ask how Jason knew), brown hair was in waves framing her face, and her grayish-blue eyes twinkled as she laughed at whatever joke Connor and Travis made. Her laugh was as hypnotizing as a siren, and he wasn't surprised that he was jokingly robbed blind every time he talked to her. She was wearing a short, orange Camp Half-Blood tank top, and black denim shorts. There wasn't a bone in Jason's body that wouldn't agree with anyone that said that she looked even more beautiful than Aphrodite herself. Her lips looked soft (again, don't ask how Jason knew—that was for him and Andy) and kissable, but it wasn't like Andy would kiss him in public. That was for Jason's cabin, and Jason agreed. No Aphrodite kids would be watching them and their date today.

He tapped her shoulder. "Andy, what's up!" He said, trying his best to mask his nerves.

"Jace," she grinned, lacing her hands with his, "you're just in time! Help me settle a debate between—" she gestured to her half-brothers, "me and the Stolls. They said that it's easier to forge art than conduct a heist, but while a heist requires planning, forging requires art skill, you know? Like, any idiot can plan a successful heist..." She rambled on for a few minutes, but Jason didn't mind—he could watch her talk about the things she loved for as long as she wanted.

"So, which one is it?"

"Um," he rubbed the nape of his neck, "to be honest, I've never tried either." She dramatically gasped, like this wasn't new information.

"Boy scout, we need to get you a life." She smiled at him, and then continued arguing with Travis and Connor about art forgery and whatnot. 

Jason had to ask right now.

He turned towards her. "Andy?"

She let go of his hand and moved her torso to face his. "Yeah, what's up?"

"I want to show you something—in the forest. I found it and I need to see what you think of it."

Andy dusted off her shorts, got off the stool, and grinned. "Sure! I'll be a sec, I just need to grab something." She lightly jogged towards the Hermes cabin, and Travis and Connor, in the meantime, decided that their life mission was to glare the wits out of Jason—which wasn't very threatening, but Jason didn't want to get on their bad side. Not after Athena cabin spider incident.

"So... what are your intentions with Andy?" Travis asked, his voice much, much lower than normal. Jason was pretty sure that he was faking it, but that wasn't for him to judge.

Jason furrowed his eyebrows. "Um, the same as they have been for the last two months, I guess. Date her?"

"Fine then, mister," Connor scowled, "whatever you do to my sister, we will do to you."

Jason stifled a laugh. "Um, I don't think I would like to kiss you guys."

Finally, Andy came back from her trip to the cabin, and she had brought Jason's fleece jacket. Jason had heard that some campers from the Athena cabin had embroidered his last name on the jacket, and Jason couldn't help but wonder if they were just predicting the future.

Andy smiled at him. "So? What did you want to show me?"

He smiled. "It's something I found in the forest. Here, come on." Jason finally took her hand, and pull her towards the forest. A few minutes later, they had finally arrived.

Her eyes widened. "You... didn't find this. Is this... for me?"

Jason smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, it is. It's our first date." She smiled, and threw her hands around him.

"Thank you," she said, "for this. I love you."

Now, it was Jason's turn to be shocked. "You said it," his jaw dropping.

Andy smiled. "Well, yeah. It's our first date."

Jason gave her his signature lopsided smile. "Well, then... I guess I love you too."