Story Of Tonight
As the red team walked through the woods they started to discuss their battle plans and what they thought were good ideas but not things they would use this time, "and Pandora your job is to keep Luke distracted" Lee called back to the girl snapping her out of her thoughts.
"W-what? Why me?" Pandora as she ran to catch up with the boy.
Charlie and Lee smiled at her, "it's always his go to plan when you two aren't on the same team and didn't you want to give him his gift early?" Lee asked with a smug smile as Naomi came up beside them.
"I saw one of the campers on the blue team talking and they are sending a small group with Luke so he can't sneak off this time and I think we should do the same just so we don't lose our secret weapon" Naomi signed with a proud smile.
The two boys looked to Clarisse, "send Finn and and Lilly with them from my cabin so they have some muscle and Dixie, Ein from Apollo and Kacey and Leona from Hephaestus and we'll keep Naomi's brothers while she goes too" Clarisse strategized.
Everyone smiled at her as her friends applauded her, "look at you! I couldn't be prouder!" Pandora said as she wiped fake tears away from her eyes.
Clarisse smiled and rolled her eyes before she shoved her away, "yeah yeah, go take your team towards the creek and try not to get killed" Clarisse waved them off with a small smile.
Pandora turned to walk away but turned around and walked back towards Clarisse with a small smile, "Hadleigh would be so proud of the leader you're being" Pandora whispered as she took Clarisse's hand and pulled her into a hug.
Clarisse looked around slightly and when she saw no one was watching she melted into the hug, "thank you" the girl mumbled with a smile.
Pandora lightly cupped the girls cheek and gave a warm smile before she dropped her hand and turned away once more, "Alpha team follow me!" Pandora called as she walked ahead of her team.
"Alpha team? Don't you mean assault team 1?" Lee called after her.
Pandora turned around with a big smile, "no I ment Alpha team because we're the select team!" Pandora called back as she slid off her ring. Lee rolled his eyes as she tossed her ring up and watched it fall back into her hand once it had transformed, she rose her sword making her little team cheer as they lurked away from the rest of the red team.
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Luke stood with his team while Lucas, Darla, Jackson talked with the head of Aphrodite cabin and tried to make a somewhat coherent plan of attack, "why don't we work around them? They have Pandora so we'll send a team to distract her and take her prisoner while we work around everything else" Jackson stated, "with all that being said I will take the birthday boy and a few others and we will lead the attack against Pandora while most of you will infiltrate their territory" Jackson said as he walked back towards Luke. "Time to shine kid" Jackson said as he patted Luke's shoulder and walked toward a few other campers. Luke felt a smile creep across his lips before he twirled his sword, "alright my team on me! We're going for the water girl" Jackson said with a smirk as he shared a look with Luke.
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Pandora was stood on top of a bolder when the horn sounded, she smiled and pulled the rest of her hair that wasn't in a side braid into a low hanging ponytail. She hoped off of the bolder when she heard yells of excitement from behind them and in front of them, "everyone remembers the plan?" Pandora whispered as everyone moved to huddle together.
"You go for lover boy and we take care of everyone else, easy peasy" Kacey said with a sly smile.
Pandora nodded towards the boy with a smile, "okay everyone take your posts, the other team should be getting close" Pandora said making everyone nod and quickly dispersed. Pandora motioned for Naomi to follow her when she saw Naomi had yet to hide, "what's wrong you seem more concerned than usual?" Pandora sighed as she moved them behind a tree for cover.
"You said you saw something in the water the day you drowned and it just feels like somethings always following you, are you sure none of the gods made you drown yourself? Because ever since then they haven't interfered with your life since the incident" Naomi signed with a frown making Pandora stop breathing for a moment.
"You're reading too much into that, the gods had nothing to do with what happened that day" Pandora retorted before she looked out from behind the tree.
Naomi roughly pulled Pandora back to face her, "well I think they did because I know you and your not suicidal and you don't go down without a fight that's why your the best swords woman in camp!" Naomi snapped back as she signed to her furiously.
Pandora quickly poked her head back out before looking back to Naomi, "well I was because I lost Hadleigh! She was my protector and she died protecting me! She should be alive not me!" Pandora responded as tears welled in her eyes, she furiously wiped her eyes as she looked away from Naomi. Dixie suddenly gave a low whistle alerting the red team someone was approaching them, they quickly readied their weapons. Naomi lightly touched Pandora's shoulder but the girl flinched away from her touch and shook her head, "not now" Pandora signed as she continued to watch for the blue team.
When Pandora saw Jackson leading a small group with Luke she smiled slightly, she gave a higher pitched whistle this time as the blue team cautiously crossed the river. The red team lie in wait for a moment longer before they sprung into action, Pandora stood off to the side as the others attacked so she could work with the water. Pandora drew the water around her fingers and froze the water into claws and shot them at the blue team, she quickly pulled a large amount of water from the river and doused it over the blue team before she froze the water under their feet and shot a pillar of ice up from the ground to knock whoever hadn't fallen yet off their feet. When the blue team started to collect themselves as the ice melted from underneath them they charged forward to continue their attack, Luke, Jackson and Annabeth surrounded Pandora with sly smiles. Pandora smirked as she made two rotating rings of water that surrounded her body before she made the water turn into a form of armor with tentacle-like arms, she whipped her water arms at Annabeth and Luke while she blasted Jackson with a stream of water. Luke quickly rolled out of the way to dodge the whip but Annabeth wasn't so lucky as the whip knocked her back into the river with Jackson, Luke looked from Annabeth and Jackson as a smile crept over his lips. "Alright crescent let's dance" Luke muttered with a smile.
Luke and Pandora watched each other closely as he stalked closer to her, "try and keep up" Pandora said with a sly smile before she threw her arms out in front of her. Water shot forward and effortlessly threw Luke back into the river but he wasn't going to give up so easily as he quickly brushed himself off and started towards Pandora once more. Pandora whipped her arms around in an attempt to catch Luke, after not being able to catch she threw her arms down and made the water form a done around them before she froze the water around the two of them. Pandora unsheathed her sword and pointed it towards him with a smile, "let's see what you've got birthday boy" she said before she launched herself forward and made a distracting strike to bait him. He tried to counter the attack but felt as her sword grazed his side as a warning, Luke pushed himself back away from her while slashing his sword in her direction. Luke's face pulled in surprise when she kicked his sword away and parried his attack with a kick to his stomach, he stumbled back as she riposted by bringing her sword down towards him. He tried to quickly deflect the blow before she could retaliate with another attack, he surged forward and pivoted on the balls of his feet as he stabbed at her. Pandora side stepped the attack and slashed her sword in an upward angle to connect with his sword, their swords clashed loudly together as the sound of the metal connecting echoed across the ice. As the sound reverberated around the two took a moment to breathe as they continued to push their swords against each other's, Pandora dropped one hand as she reached for her dagger. Luke took this moment to disconnect their swords and swing her back at the hilt of her sword, Pandora's eyes widened in surprise as her sword fell from her hand. She quickly retracted her hand so she could cradle it against her chest while her other hand tightened on the hilt of her dagger, Luke suddenly felt fear arise in him when he saw blood on her hand. He took a step forward and reached out towards her with his empty hand but Pandora waved him off and gave a reassuring smile before her face fell back to determination as she kicked his his sword from his hand with a spinning hook kick, Luke hissed in pain but felt relieved that she wasn't mad at him for cutting her. Pandora swung her dagger towards him which he pivoted his shoulders to the side to dodge the attack, he reset himself and punched towards her only for her to hook the daggers hilt around his wrist and pulled his arm behind his back. She twisted his arm until he hissed out in pain then kicked him away from herself, Luke turned back around to catch Pandora's gaze. She playfully smirked at him as she readjusted her grip on the dagger with her fingers wrapped around and under the belly of the handle, and her thumb is wrapped around the handle and in contact with the forefinger. Pandora put herself in a fighting stance and motioned with her free hand to come at her, Luke smiled lightly but shook his head as he motioned for her to attack him. They were at a standstill where they just watched each other intently, Pandora suddenly let her eyes light up to her blueish green as she destroyed the ice dome around them. As the ice started to fall she propelled herself up and darted across the ice shards, she was practically run through the air when she was a few feet away from him. She lunged forward with her dagger in her left hand, as she propelled herself towards him, he grabbed her by the throat and her left wrist holding her hand that had her dagger which was now rendered useless in her suspended arm, without hesitating she drops the dagger into her right hand and thrusts it forward to hold it to his throat. "Dead" she whispered. He let out a deep breath before smiling up at her, he let her drop back towards the ground when they heard the horn blow and finally breaking eye contact to see which side had won. The red team stood proudly with the blue team's flag raised in the air, Clarisse smiled proudly as she stood tall with the flag in her hand. The red team burst out in cheers and applause for the girl, everyone from the red team ran towards her to congratulate the girls first win as a head councilor. Pandora pulled the girl into her arms and kissed her on the head with a big proud smile, when she pulled away from the girl she looked back towards Luke only to see him already looking at her.
Luke smiled lightly back at her when she felt someone touching her shoulder, she looked back towards Clarisse to see her smiling. "Go" she said with a smile and playful wink before she pushed her away.
Pandora gave the girl a confused look but when her hand ghosted over her pocket she smiled thankfully at the girl as everyone started the trip back to camp, Pandora looked around for a moment before her eyes fell on Luke's retreating figure. "LUKE!" Pandora called as she started after him, he turned around at the sound of his name and caught sight of the girl.
When she finally met up with him she smiled brightly up at him, "you're not going to celebrate?" He asked in confusion.
"I-I wanted to give you your gift" Pandora said with a warm smile as she stuck her hand into her pocket.
"You didn't have to crescent" Luke said with a soft smile but that quickly faded when he saw her hand, "shit! I am so sorry Pandora!" He shouted as he gently grabbed her hand.
He cradled her injured hand as he guided her towards the river, Pandora let out a small sigh as he gently pulled her towards him as he submerged their hands in the water. Luke released one of his hands from hers as he gingerly brushed some baby hairs from her forehead, she slowly turned her head towards him as the setting sun light washed over her face. He silently admired her beauty when light flashed beside him, her hand glowed briefly in the water before she slowly lifted hers and Luke's hands from the water. She smiled at him as she stuck her free hand into her pocket and pulled out a leather sting with the black pearl in between his 3 camp beads, "is this what you found in the water the other day?" Luke asked softly as he reached out to touch the pearl.
Pandora smiled as she stuck out the necklace to him, "well I saw Annabeth had her fathers college ring on her necklace and I thought you should have something to represent the friendships you've made since your arrival at camp" Pandora said as she refused to meet his gaze.
Luke smiled softly and lightly grabbed her chin in between his fingers and lifted her head up, "thank you, really, thank you" he said and pulled her into a tight hug.
Pandora breathed out softly and wrapped her arms around him, "of course how else would you know how much I like you" she murmured but Luke's eyes widened slightly.
He pulled back with a surprised expression written across his face, "you what?" He asked in disbelief but felt a smile creeping across his lips.
"I-I uh- I mean how much w-we all like you!" She stuttered as she felt the blush climb up the back of her neck.
"No no no no no, that's not what you said" Luke said with a smile.
Pandora stuttered some more, "o-of course that's what I said!" She countered.
Luke smiled more, "okay but that's not what you ment!" He retorted. She scrambled for words when he gently took the necklace from her hand and tied it around his neck, "how does it look?" He asked with a smile.
She smiled softly as she reached out and readjusted it, "as good Thalia's pine tree, a Centaur in a prom dress, and a Greek trireme on fire can" Pandora replied with a smile.
He laughed lightly as he gently grabbed the pearl, "I really mean it when I say thank you" Luke said while he released the pearl and suddenly cupped her cheeks, "and if we're being honest" he paused as he lightly licked his lips. "I really like you too" he whispered as he tenderly kissed her cheek. Luke pulled back and smiled brightly back at her as her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened, before he could say anything to her hands quickly cupped his cheeks and pulled him towards her lips. Luke gasped in surprise but immediately calmed himself down as he looked over Pandora's face, her eyes were closed but she was holding her breath telling him she wasn't sure what she was doing nor did she want to see his face when he rejected her. He smiled against her lips and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him as he lightly kissed her back, her eyes flew open in surprise but when she caught his gaze once more she finally breathed out and closed her eyes once more. Luke moved one hand to cup her cheek as he moved his lips steadily against hers while his eyes fluttered closed and he relished in the moment, suddenly they heard people cheering and clapping once more. The two quickly pulled apart and looked in the direction the sound was coming from when they saw Jackson, Lucas, Lee, Dixie, Clarisse, Naomi, Charlie, Annabeth and Darla standing on a hill with smiles.
"I told you they had a thing! Pay up Lee!" Lucas yelled as he hit Lee, Lee groaned but still held a smile as he pulled out three gold drachma. Everyone laughed as Pandora and Luke stood to walk towards their friends with cheesy grins, Luke looked down for a moment before he intertwined his fingers with Pandoras making her smile as her cheeks went aflame, the group waited for the two before they all started back towards camp.
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It was later on in the night long after curfew and the group were sat at the beach around a fire, everyone had tired themselves out after the game of capture the flag so they weren't doing anything crazy. Luke walked up behind Pandora with two drinks as he sat down next to the girl and passed her one of the cups before he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, he pressed a soft lingering kiss to her temple making her smile. Pandora pulled her jacket closer to herself as everyone talked, "so Dora you headed home tomorrow?" Jackson asked as he sat back down with his cup and a snickers bar.
Pandora took a sip of her drink, "yeah, what about the rest of you? Any big adventures planned" Pandora asked as she leaned into Luke's side.
Lee smirked lightly, "we're going to Glacier National Park, I have a family friend out that way who got us a cabin at Apgar Village Lodge. It's going to be pretty sweet" Lee said with a proud smile.
"Who's all going?" Luke asked after he took a sip of his drink.
"Me, Dixie, Naomi, Jackson and Lucas" Lee said.
Pandora's eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the other 5 who weren't mentioned, "why aren't you guys going?" Pandora asked.
"I'm going home to see my mom one more time before I leave camp in the spring" Darla explained making Lee and Lucas boo the girl.
"Stop talking like you're going to die as soon as you leave camp, you've lasted 20 years! That's longer than most get and you're going to thrive outside of camp" Lucas said as he nudged her in the side.
"That's funny coming from you Lucas, you're 21 and you're still here" Darla sassed.
Lucas's hand flew to his chest in mock hurt, "I am still here because this camp wouldn't know what to do without me!" He declared.
"Yeah you're right, we would probably burn the whole world down without your wisdom" Lee mused.
Lucas threw him a sarcastic smile before he flipped him off, "Athena always has a plan" he said with a smile while Annabeth rolled her eyes.
Luke leaned closer to Pandora's ear as everyone started bickering, "you wanna take a walk?" He asked softly. Pandora smiled slightly and nodded, Luke's smile grew as he pushed himself up before offering his hand to Pandora. She gratefully took it and held onto his hand as they walked away from the group, they walked in silence for a moment before Luke finally pulled her to a stop. "I'm going to go crazy without you for the next two days you know" Luke said with a pout.
Pandora bumped her hip against his as she gave a warm smile, "it's two days, three at the most. You'll live" she told him with a smile.
Luke rolled his eyes as he released her hand to snake his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, "you don't know that" he whined and buried his face into her neck.
She chuckled softly as one of her hands traveled up to his hair, "you'll be fine and I'll be back before Christmas so we can spend the day with our friends" Pandora tried to reason.
"Fine" Luke whined softly, Pandora smiled and leaned her head back against his shoulder.
"You'll be okay, and maybe one day I'll take you with me" Luke's head shot up at Pandora's words.
He looked towards her with a confused look, "to meet your family?" He asked as a small smile creeped across his lips.
Pandora laughed softly, "well yeah! My aunt and mom are very interested in meeting you" she said while looking out over the sea.
Luke smiled before he pressed a soft kiss to her cheek and rested his chin on her shoulder and looked out over the sea, "I'd like that" he muttered as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his chest against her back. Pandora smiled slightly as they listened to the waves crash against the shore, everything just felt right in that moment but they knew this moment wouldn't last forever so they relished the moment for as long as they could.