this part is in travis' pov, as requested by the wonderful reader @Marinafuso3! i really enjoyed getting into his mind and writing his thoughts on the matter. thanks for requesting it!
words: 1442
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I adjusted my glasses with my thumb and index finger as I observed Katie, who crossed her arms in front of her and stared at the ground.
This was pure gold.
For the past two days, I'd pestered Katie like any other day at camp - but she reacted differently. Totally different. The second she saw my glasses, she'd become flustered and stutter her way out of conversation.
It was awesome.
Now that we stood a few feet apart at the campfire, I knew she couldn't just duck out and avoid me like she'd been doing. I saw her, and she knew it.
"What do you want, Travis?" She stumbled through the sentence, and a corner of my mouth lifted.
"I just wanna know something," I mused.
She subconsciously stepped back as I strolled closer. "What?"
I took one longer step to come up right in front of her, and she curled into herself. "I was just wondering how you look so pretty all the time."
A strawberry-colored blush crept up her neck and to her face, but she only whispered an unconvincing, "Shut up, Stoll."
"That's a tall order, Katie-kat." Normally, the nickname made her fume, but as of late it only produced blushes and hushed giggles.
Her eyes darted everywhere but on me. "I've gotta go."
And she walked off.
I didn't know how to take the shift - obviously, it was because of the glasses. I didn't mind, though; the new development made it much easier to flirt with her.
Obviously, I used it to my advantage. After she'd made fun of me for so long when I couldn't see, the tables had turned and I had the high ground. During the campfire, I kept my eyes trained on her. She'd steal a look at me and see that I was already staring, and she'd quickly busy herself with a pink tint on her cheeks. Every time I walked by her, I'd every so slightly brush my shoulder against hers. If an opportunity came up to throw a pickup line her way, I wouldn't hesitate.
So, basically, I didn't change at all.
She, however, changed drastically.
Instead of hissing at me to shut up, she'd mumble it and look away. Rather than yell at me for being clumsy and bumping into her, she'd suck in her breath and freeze up. For every pickup line that she'd usually hate, she became a flustered mess.
Oddly, I found it adorable.
I figured I may as well play around with it.
When Chiron brought out marshmallows, everyone smooshed together to be around the fire. I weaved around the crowd, thankful my dad blessed me with pickpocket-like stealth. I barely grazed anyone as I searched for Katie, and she didn't notice when I sneaked up behind her.
She stood with Miranda, waiting to get a stick to roast her marshmallow. The orange glow shed a light on her jovial expression as she laughed at something Miranda said, and I found myself feeling bubblier.
"See your Clark Kent anywhere?" Miranda commented, and I froze.
Katie elbowed her without glancing over. "Shut up."
"I'll bet his glasses look even more hot when the fire's reflecting off his lenses!" Miranda threw an arm over her forehead dramatically, giggling when Katie nearly decapitated her by swinging her arm round.
"Stop bringing it up!" she begged, tossing a braid behind her shoulder as she looked at her. I could now see her side profile, and her face was deadly serious. "It's hard enough to ignore him without you talking about it."
Miranda held up her hands defensively, backing off the topic, and I slunk back into the outskirts of the campers. I'd heard all I needed to.
Why was Katie ignoring me?
I thought it was awesome that she'd clearly gained a new opinion of me since the glasses, so why would she avoid it? I mean, it was only a matter of time - catching feelings for me was inevitable.
"Lost in thought, dude?" Connor hid his smug expression with a cough.
I shook myself, noticing that I'd been looking at Katie from across the fire pit. "Nah."
He rolled his eyes. "Just go talk to her. She obviously likes you with those dorky nerd goggles, so making a move won't hurt."
He was right.
I studied Katie's face, pondering. What if she'd just taken a new tactic to try and get under my skin? I always succeeded in annoying her, hence why we were enemies in the first place, but what if she was trying to get me back by ignoring me?
Since when did I doubt my charming abilities?
The campfire steadily wrapped up as the pit morphed into ebbing embers. The rest of my siblings headed back to the cabin with Connor, who gave me a look that said you better make that move, you chicken.
Well, I couldn't say no to that.
"Katie-kat!" I called as I chased my supposed nemesis down.
She'd been walking with Miranda, who stopped in her tracks to make Katie stop, too. Katie turned to Miranda and gave her a death glare as her hand gripped her sister's arm to keep her from walking away.
Miranda faced me and grinned. "Hey, Travis!"
Thank the gods for Miranda.
"What do you want, Stoll?" Katie grumbled. It was almost all she said to me anymore.
I smirked as I approached her and sent a quick glance to Miranda in thanks. "I just wanna talk."
Katie's eyes found mine briefly before she looked away, biting her lip and whimpering something along the lines of, "Well, I don't."
"I'm gonna go make sure everyone's settled in for curfew," Miranda offered, and before Katie could respond, she slipped away from the conversation.
Seriously, Aphrodite was looking down on me today.
Katie turned to leave, too, but I stopped her with a simple sentence.
"So, I'm Clark Kent, huh?"
She spun around with a horrified expression. Scrambling for some excuse, she eventually settled on accusing. "You were eavesdropping? I can't believe you, Stoll!" She found a bout of energy as she fussed me, putting her hands on her hips. "You're so annoying! You can't just go around an- uh..."
The second I readjusted my glasses on the bridge of my nose, she faltered. I smiled cockily, inching towards her. "I was expecting you to make fun of me with my glasses like Connor, but I have to say... I like this reaction better."
Her eyebrows shot up, but her surprise didn't stop the blush that lit up her face.
"It's actually really cute that you think I'm smokin' hot now."
"Hey, I never said that!" She muttered, taking a step back from me.
"Didn't have to."
"I hate you!"
"You sure about that, Kates?"
When I walked closer to her again, she gulped. However, she didn't back up again.
I reached for her arm and tugged her to me gently. "Y'know, I always wondered how people in glasses were able to kiss someone without knocking them all over the place."
Her gasp was muffled when I cupped her face in my hands and brought her lips to mine.
Katie was still as a statue at first, and my confidence left me for a fleeting second. I tried to savor what I could of the kiss before she inevitably hauled back and kicked me in the gut.
But then, the unexpected happened.
She kissed me back.
Her hands laid tentatively on my chest, and she tilted her head for her nose to rest just under my glasses. My hands traveled down to her waist, one gripping her hip and the other splaying across her back. My brain shorted out and the only thing I was going off of was my instincts.
But instinct was all I needed.
She hesitantly wrapped her arms around my neck, and I hugged her tighter. She sighed into the kiss, and I broke it just long enough to whisper, "I like this better than being enemies."
And I kissed her again.
It was so natural, how I kept her body flush up against mine; how her fingers played with the curls at the nape of my neck; how she pulled me impossibly closer; how I didn't want anything else in the world.
Ending the kiss with one last peck, I rested my forehead against hers. Both our breaths were ragged, and my head spun. I just did that. I kissed Katie Gardner.
I chuckled.
"What?" she asked, a light smile on her lips.
"If I'd have known this was the outcome of getting glasses, I would've gotten them years ago."