CHANCE | luke castellan

NIGHT SWIMMING

I said goodbye to Annabeth and Arthur and went back to Hermes' table but Luke wasn't there.
- Where is Luke?; I asked Chris who was still sitting at the table.
- He went to the beach. I don't know what happened to him, he just suddenly got up and left. He looked really angry. We better leave him alone until he loses his temper.; Cris replied. How strange, I wonder what made him angry. But Chris was probably in the right, after all, he knows him very well.
-Okay, thanks for the information.; I thanked Chris and sat down opposite him.
- Don't worry, he gets angry quickly. I think he just went to burn the food, probably just wanted to talk to his father for a bit. Luke doesn't really have a good relationship with his father, but sometimes he has conversations with him like that. He never asked him for anything, he just addressed him like that. And it rarely does. Luke is like that, he's a bit strange you know.; Chris said. I was so sorry to hear that Luke has such a bad relationship with his father. But I was interested in something, so I asked Chris.
- Burning food? Why does he burn food?; I asked.
-When you burn food, the smoke that comes out has a smell, the gods love that smell. If you set food on fire the gods will listen in most cases.; Chris explained.
- Thanks for the explanation, I didn't know that.; I thanked.
-You're welcome. And don't worry about Luke, he just needs time to himself sometimes. We all need that, but he is special, sometimes she simply isolates herself and functions like that for a few days.; Chris said, and I just nodded. Every day I learn more and more about Luke. And the more I learn about him, the more interesting he is to me as a person.

For the rest of the day, I didn't see Luka at all, as if we were passing each other the whole time. I spent the rest of the day with Chris. He is great company. We helped Grover carry some baskets of food, so I hung out with him too. I didn't even see Luke in the cabin when I laid down to sleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night. I looked at Luke's bed, and he was there. He was sleeping, I hadn't seen him for half a day, so I was really glad to see him even while he was sleeping.

Then the stupidest possible idea occurred to me. I got up and went to his bed.
-Luke, are you sleeping?; I gently woke him up.
-I was sleeping.; he answered quietly opening his eyes.
- Let's go for a night swim.; I invited him.
- Go with Arthur.; he said cheekily and turned around. I felt anger in his voice, but not only pure anger, but also disappointment and even a bit of fear. I can't explain how I feel someone's state, I just feel their feelings. I couldn't understand what he meant by that.
- Why would I go with him?; I asked.
-I see that you are quite close, so that's why.; he dramatically turned and answered. Our faces were only a millimeter apart. I felt his breath hitting my face.
- I don't even know him at all. Annabeth introduced us to each other today. He seems like a pretty boring guy to be honest.; I said.
- It didn't seem like that to me.; he mumbled but I managed to hear him clearly. He lay down again, only this time on his back. When he muttered that, I understood what the matter was. He was jealous of Arthur. He was probably afraid that Arthur would become my new friend, and that I would then hang out with him less. Of course, that would never happen.

- I see what the problem is, you are afraid that I will beat you in swimming too.; I said because I knew that way I would 100% get him out of bed. His ego is the point to strike. That's what I realized in the short time I've known him.
-Don't be funny.; he said getting up slightly.
- That's how it seems to me. ; I continued to tease him.
-Okay then, let's find out.; he got up from the bed. I knew I would get him out of bed this way.

We walked towards the beach in silence. I hate it. I hate when we are just like that in silence. I miss his gentle voice very much. We arrived, and Luke started pushing the boat into the water.
- Let's go with the boat a little further, so we will swim in deeper water.; He said. I didn't say anything, I felt that my words would only make the situation worse. He got into the boat and he gave me his hand. I took his hand and entered the boat. We paddled for a few minutes until we got far enough. The moment was beautiful. The stars were reflected in the sea. The air was light and fresh. The moon was illuminating everything, and the water was very clear and shiny.
-And why did you finally decide to come here? I lost the bet, and I know you don't like water?; Luke asked after we stopped.
- I don't know, I wanted to spend time with you I guess. We didn't see each other for half a day, I missed you.; I answered. He just smiled. I knew that at that moment his ego was the size of the entire sea. He was full of himself, I felt.
-You can't do without me huh?; he asks, taking off his shirt.
- I didn't say that...; I didn't even finish. He threw me into the water. Chris was right, he really likes to throw people in the water.

I knew how to repay him. I started pretending that I couldn't swim and that I was drowning.
-Helen, is everything okay?; he asked. I really wanted to play with him, so I continued to pretend. When he realized what was happening, he started to panic.
-Helen, take my hand, I will pull you.; he said, I could sense a huge amount of fear in his voice. His hand was shaking and I could see that he had gone completely pale. I felt a little sorry for him, but revenge is revenge. I took his hand and instead of climbing into the boat I pulled him into the water. He sank a little, so he quickly surfaced back.
- You are crazy, I thought you were drowning.; he said in a panic. I wanted to answer something, but I couldn't from laughing.
- It's not funny, I thought you were going to drown. I thought I was going to lose you.; he said worriedly. I didn't laugh anymore. I hugged him, tightly.
- You won't lose me. I promise.; I said. I felt him hug me back. I felt him rest his head on my shoulder. We floated like that for a few seconds.

We swam, joked, looked at the stars, talked, splashed with water. A simply magical and perfect night. I wish that night had lasted forever. But we had to go back to the cabin.