~Nico
She looks like Will. Aphrodite beckoned us towards her, like a shepherd calling her sheep. Kayla and I glanced apprehensively at one another once more. Birds were singing around us, but the air felt cold.
"No use making me wait!" Aphrodite chirped. Fearful for our (love) lives, the both of us scurried forwards.
She was standing there in the middle of the trees, looking extremely out-of-place, among all this nature. That didn't stop Aphrodite from looking intimidating as well. "What is it you need me for?" Her arms were crossed, her chin was high.
Kayla looked as shaken up as I felt. "Er, Aphrodite, we have a problem that concerns, uh, one of your sons here at camp?" She ended her sentence like a question, as if she expected to be smote from the face of the earth.
Aphrodite looked wary. "Who?" We didn't expect her to get right to the point.
I stuttered out, "M-Mason?"
Her face lit up with remembrance. "Oh! You're talking about my son charmspeaking your almost-boyfriend-but-not-quite-boyfriend, right? I knew what was happening, but I let it slide so you could realize how rude to Will you were being." Aphrodite looked at her nail beds, then glanced back up at our incredulous faces. My face colored. The birds around us didn't stop chirping.
"What." Kayla said in a quiet voice that still somehow held very much "are you kidding me" sort of attitude in it.
"Do you need me to explain it again?" She spoke really slowly, as if talking to toddlers. "I let my son charmspeak Will Solace so that Nico could realize how terrible he was being. It's simple, really." Kayla looked at me again. The look on her face was one of exasperation.
"Well," I started, "I think I've learned my lesson. Could you break the spell?"
Aphrodite smiled, "Nope." She chuckled at the looks on our faces.
Kayla was starting to lose it. "What do you mean "nope"?" She used air quotes around the words.
Aphrodite only clucked at her. "Watch your mouth before I ruin your love life." She turned to me, "I can't do anything, but you can." My face formed a question mark.
She chuckled again. "The only way a love spell can be broken is by a true love's kiss. I know, very old-fashioned, but that's the only way." She used her hands when speaking, rolling her eyes at the terribly out-of-date remedy.
"How do you know I'm Will's true love?" The words felt unfamiliar in my mouth. I was getting fairytale vibes from this whole situation.
"Oh, I know." I forget I'm talking to the literal goddess of love. Of course, she'd know this stuff. "That's all I've got for you two. Thank you, Kayla, for keeping your mouth shut. If you didn't I don't think I could've gotten through this without messing up your future." She smiled that sharklike grin. "Well, goodbye."
As light started to appear, we averted our eyes from the goddess's true form. We stood there a few moments after she had left.
"Wow, okay." Kayla said. She looked at me. "Time for you to go kiss Will again."
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Wow, I'm being nice? What is this??