tratie one shots, vol. i

[ black spot ]

prompt: soulmate au where there's a black spot on your body where your soulmate will touch you for the first time. when you touch, colors glow and your black spots disappear.

kinda confusing, but you'll get the gist as you read it lol.

words: 1036

. . .

His cheek. 

Travis Stoll's black spot was on his cheek. 

It was a oval area under his left eye, in the shape of a handprint. It was there for everyone to see. The girls he dated would go to kiss him and cup his face only to be met with the black spot, dull as ever and in no hurry to vanish. It was one thing for someone to have their spot on their arm or neck, where not many people would notice, but Travis wasn't so lucky. He hadn't found his soulmate yet at camp, and he only had one more year until he graduated. He'd wanted so badly to have a demigod soulmate, but it was too much to ask that they were Greek and at Camp Half-Blood. 

Not to be dramatic, but he supposed he'd live out his life an old fogey and forever alone at this point.

Unlike Katie Gardner. She had boys lining up to touch her hand - someone had to be the one. She'd find her soulmate in no time with those looks. She was so obnoxious. The fact that she gloated to him every day didn't help his feelings towards her. His only consolation was annoying her with the reasoning that she hadn't found her soulmate yet either, and loads of campers already had - Percy and Annabeth, Hazel and Frank, Leo and Calypso, Nico and Will... 

Gods, he was pathetic. 

"TRAVIS STOLL!"

The shout rang out, making campers hardly cast glances its source. They all recognized it and knew it well. Katie's footsteps thundered from the Demeter cabin and her fist banged on the Cabin 11's door. 

"Travis Stoll, you'd better get your butt out here!"

He smiled innocently as he slipped out of his cabin and closed the door behind him. "Yes, Katie dearest?"

She held up her left palm, which was violently gripping a trowel. "Seriously?"

"What's the matter?" 

"You know what." Demonstrating, she tried to release the handle, only to show that it was glued to her hand. "That's the most immature one yet, Travis. Get it off, now."

He smirked, leaning down slightly to level their eyes. "Where would be the fun in that? You say you keep misplacing your trowels, so I thought I'd help out."

Katie growled, "Get. It. Off."

Sighing, he limply picked up her hand and shook it. The trowel didn't move an inch. "Well, sorry, Kates, I don't know what to tell you. I guess you'll have to get it checked by a professional."

"Must you make everything so difficult?"

"I do, I really do."

Katie had had enough. This was the fifth prank that week, and it was only Thursday morning. Her fist clenched around the trowel - as if she needed to - and she spat, "I hate you."

He grinned, feeling accomplished. "Oh yeah? How much?"

In reply, she smacked him across the face with her right hand. 

He didn't even have time to respond before the colors started glowing.

Colors.

Their spots were flashing and dancing, shifting from rainbow to neon to every color in between. His cheek, her hand. Hues of colors that only Iris knew existed were sparkling and parading between the two. The show attracted onlookers, shocked at the shooting tinted light. 

Before they knew it, their spots had disappeared and a crowd of gaping half-bloods flooded around them became more pronounced. Some were laughing, others were too astonished to move. Who'd have thought, Katie and Travis? 

The brightness faded to reveal that their spots had completely erased themselves from the universe, leaving flabbergasted soulmates waiting for the other to say something. 

Dead silence.

Connor was the first to articulate any form of wording. "I knew it!" 

"You?" Travis and Katie sputtered simultaneously. This was a nightmare. It couldn't be real. Of all the people in the world designed for each other, this was the most wrong. Surely it was some sort of mistake. This wasn't possible. 

"Finally." A daughter of Aphrodite shuffled her way through the audience, clapping her hands together. "It took you two long enough. I wondered how it would happen."

"You... knew about this?" Katie scrambled to regain her composure.

The girl smiled. "My entire cabin knew, and so did half the camp, probably. It was painfully obvious."

"Wait a minute, lemme get this straight." Travis rubbed his temple and pointed at Katie. "You're my soulmate."

"You're my soulmate," Katie breathed, as if fully comprehending it. She groaned. "Great."

"What do you mean, 'great'?" He held up his hands. "Uh, you're lucky to have me as a soulmate. Tons of girls would kill to have me."

"They can take you for free."

"Are you not seeing me? You were made to be with this." Travis gestured to himself proudly. "You got lucky. I've gotta deal with you as my soulmate."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"That's the stupid part - it's not bad at all." His eyes still held anger, but his words were honeyed. "You're absolutely amazing, and I'm happy you're my soulmate. Isn't that dumb?"

"Yes. Anything you think is dumb." 

"You're saying you're dumb?"

"No, I'm saying you're dumb."

The demigods slowly dispersed, seeing that the two were saying nothing more than they usually would say to each other. It didn't matter that they were meant to be, they'd be bickering until the end of time. 

So what if they went on a date? (Travis owed Katie lunch because he poured soil over her food the other day.) So what if they held hands wherever they went? (May as well take advantage of the whole soulmate situation.) So what if they called each other "babe"? (It was just to annoy and irritate.) So what if they met each other's parents? (It was the decent thing to do after finding your soulmate.) So what if they kissed as greetings and goodbyes? (They actually didn't have an excuse for that one.)

They never did admit the truth - that they were in love, they were happy, they were perfect for each other. They never went a day without arguing or poking fun at each other. They never stopped the prank-yell-chase cycle. They never broadcasted that they were dating. 

Because where would be the fun in that?