𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 ꨄ

S e v e n t e e n

The last two months of summer breezed by in a blur of laughter, sun, and waves. Luna spent an abnormally large amount of time in the water, so much so that even Percy (who had been right next to her on all those times) had questioned if maybe she was actually his long lost sister. She'd tackled him and thrown him under the waves, but of course he'd retaliated and pushed her two times harder while laughing, because apparently, when you were friends with boys, they forgot the entire concept of the word "gentleman". Luna really didn't mind though, because she enjoyed splashing him repeatedly, even if it didn't affect him all that much.

The two of them had grown closer over the summer, and because of him Luna had even gotten to know Annabeth a bit, who wasn't as bossy in real life in comparison to their capture the flag games. Grover, their other friend, had hung around a bit as well, but two weeks after his return from the quest he'd left in his search for pan.

Luna had even dragged her cabin to the beach one Saturday, even if they'd initially come reluctantly. Eventually, they'd loosened up and they ended up spending the entire day there, laying in the sand, playing in the water, listening to music on the Walkman (which Luna had secured as much as she could in a bundle of towels so that it wouldn't get wet or filled with sand.)

Everyone had been so relaxed, they'd even let Madonna pass - although she'd made sure to put it on when Shae was in the water just in case. While Luna and Maeve had been talking under the shade of a tree, they watched as Shae had practically suffocated Mark as she tried to pull him under the water.

Just as the day was coming to an end and the sun bled into the horizon, Clarisse, Luna, Mark and Maeve played this game called Camel Fight. Maeve climbed onto Marks shoulders while Clarisse hoisted Luna up onto hers by the waist, holding her in place by her thighs. The objective of the game was for the people on top to grapple with each other until one of them managed to out balance the other, or the person on the bottom. Luna was pretty sure they got that covered since Clarisse was practically a rock, so she had full confidence as she and Maeve went at each other. They were laughing the entire time, and they did some more when Maeve fell and got a face full of water. Luna had laughed too soon, because while she was cheering, Clarisse had flipped her off her shoulders too.

When they'd all gotten out of the water, clad in towels and soaked, Ellis asked one of the Apollo campers to snap a photo of all of them with his polaroid camera. They crowded together, and when Edward (who had been in the middle) had thrown Luna on to his shoulders, he'd explained that, "So you're not the shortest one for once". Luna didn't complain, because it did feel good not to look like a gnome for once. Later, when Ellis printed sufficient copies for all of them and she'd gotten hers, Luna realized that this was the happiest she'd ever looked in a picture.

Needless to say, it had been a good summer. Between spending time at the beach with her friends, switching between the camp activities and training, she was having the time of her life. Which was why, as the weeks passed, the decision she'd have to make loomed over her threateningly.

However, on August 18th, she had other priorities. After she woke up that day, she went straight up to cabin three and knocked on the door. There was some shuffling, a groan, and then the door opened to reveal a disheveled Percy: his eyes were puffy from sleep and his hair was sticking up in all directions.

"How were you still asleep?" Luna chuckled. "Its eleven am!"

"If I could," He said groggily, "I would sleep till noon. Anyway, what's up?"

She grinned and handed him his present. "Happy Birthday, ding bat!"

Percy looked adorably shocked as he stared from down in his palm up to her. "You remembered,"