Forgive But Never Forget [A PERTEMIS STORY]

Chapter 22

Percy POV

                 El Time skip!

7 days later...

It's been a while since Christmas. Exactly 5 days, and of course, I was pretty nervous about what would happen between Artemis and I on New Year.

You see, on Christmas, well, something... special happened. Let me show you.

Flashback

I walked along the edges of our protective barrier with a smile on my face. I had just given Artemis her present, and she loved it. And she gave me a bead on my necklace to remind me of her.

I fiddled on the necklace, before finding the perfect spot to sit. It was underneath a tree, looking out to the moon, which was reflecting of a lake in front of me. I heard movement coming from behind me, and I glanced behind to see Artemis sitting beside me, silently staring at the moon. I turned back to the sight of the reflection of the moon on the small lake.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I asked.

"Yeah, it really is."

Like you, I think to myself. But I don't tell her. The last thing I wanted was to be turned into a Jackalope, joining the other men who had been turned into Jackalopes.

And then the silence came. It wasn't an uncomfortable one either, because I actually quite enjoyed it. That was, until, Artemis broke the silence. Which caused it to happen.

She turned to face me, and I also turned to face her. She smiled and placed a strand of hair behind her ear. Oh gods, why is she so beautiful? What with the moonlight shining onto her, she looked like what a goddess should really look like.

So, a summary. An attractive 18 year-old Artemis was speaking to me privately, face-to-face. Yeah, no wonder the hunters are so suspicious of me.

"I'm sorry," She said. That surprised me.

"What do you mean sorry? What for?" I asked.

"You gave me so many good and useful presents, and I gave you a stupid bead."

"As long as you tried, I don't care much."

"Oh fine, but remember, I kind of owe you." She replied, leaning in a bit.

"Saving my life is good enough for me." I replied, leaning in to close the gap further.

Now we were staring at each other, faces inches apart, sucking in air. And then I did something stupid.

I kissed her.

Her lips sort of tasted like the forest, which is kind of hard to explain. It sort of tasted like mint. We completely forgot for a moment that we were both godly, and that she was a maiden leading a group full of maiden girls. All I cared at that moment, was her.

I know, I know, it's cheesy. But it's true.

As soon as it ended, we came back to our senses and blushed. At the same time, we apologized and stood up.

"Uh, yeah, I think I need to go now." I stated quickly.

"Weird, I think I need to go too, see you tommorow!" She replied, and we both sped off in opposite directions.

Flashback End

Since then, every time Artemis and I met it would be extremely awkward, causing many hunters to look at us strangely. I know I'm going to have to eventually talk to her, but at the moment I just don't have the courage.