𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞; clarisse la rue

04

THE FIRST THING EXPOSED TO AMARIS' GAZE WAS A MUG FILLED WITH COCOA.

"Thanks Annie, I love hot cocoa" Amaris smiled at the girl who was sitting across from her on the same bed with a worried expression decorating her face. "I know you do, but this isn't from me, probably Silena's work" Annabeth brushed her fingers against the girl's shoulder to bring her comfort. "Was I here for long?" The brunette questioned. "Like three hours tops" she answered. Amaris' face transformed into disgust. "What? What's wrong?" the daughter of Athena sat up, her eyes scanning the face of the hurt girl "I was in this ugly capture the flag gear for that long? I need to change right now" the daughter of Aphrodite touched the fabric on her skin. A smile appeared on the other girl's face as she shook her head.

"But now, seriously, how are you feeling? I'm sorry for choosing that group for you, you would've never just fell down if ther—" the girl with braids started ranting. "What?" Amaris interrupted her while lowering the arm which she held the pink mug in.

Annabeth tilted her head with confusion while still letting her fingers brush against the brunette's shoulder. "Fell?" Amaris' voice sounded numb. "Yeah...when Luke and the others left, you tripped and hit you head, luckily, Arthur brought you here" Annabeth started telling the story completely differently than Amaris had remembered. "I really thought that you got yourself in trouble with that boy, but turns out that it wasn't as serious in the end" she continued cluelessly.

"That's not what happened" Amaris scrunched her eyebrows together, denying. "I didn't fall. He wasn't the one who saved me" the brunette started distancing from the other girl "he hit me, he's the reason why I'm here in the first place" her voice became quieter with each word, she couldn't believe that he made the whole story up to make himself look good.

There was silence in the infirmary for a few minutes, which felt like an eternity. "Amaris...are you sure? You know that I'll believe you over anyone but you need to be sure" Annabeth spoke heedfully.

"I am, I swear" the daughter of Aphrodite assured. The sight of Clarisse picking her up vividly flashed before her eyes. She knew that the two of them needed to have a talk. "What are we gonna do? I can confront him" Annabeth started coming up with ideas. "Don't do anything yet, I need to take care of something first" the brunette stopped her.

She rushed to her cabin and changed her clothes within seconds, the girl already lost her dessert privileges, so there was no motivation in wearing the orange Camp Half-blood shirt. Amaris put on a white cami top with a black leather jacket and a pair of low-waisted gray jeans that were decorated by a belt with a silver buckle, and a pair of black chunky shoes. Her last step was jewelry, including a silver necklace with a pendant and a pair of silver earrings.

Clarisse was wandering through the Camp Half-blood's woods, completely losing her mind. Every time a small rock came to her path, she kicked it furiously. She wasn't nice to anyone, yet Amaris had a strange affect on her. She found herself doing such hopeless things that she'd normally never give a single thought to. The daughter of Ares felt drawn to her and it drove her crazy.

When she decided to return to her cabin after what felt like hours, an unknown hand reached out and pulled her swiftly behind an opaque bush. Her reflexes stroke her to fight back but before she could lay a finger on the person, sight of her identity hit her like a moving train.

"What are you doing?" She snapped while inspecting every inch of Amaris' face with confusion. "It's Arthur, he told everyone that he had saved me instead" the girl declared, still holding onto Clarisse's shoulders. "I'm gonna kill that guy" she clenched her jaw while making an attempt on storming towards the cabins, but the other girl stopped her with her upcoming words.

"Was the strawberry shortcake from you?" Amaris lowered her stance as the taller girl froze in the spot. "Figured it may give you strength, but that was not the case as it seems" she spoke with a smirk decorating her face, mocking her as an act of affection. "You're saying what now? Stop playing with me" The shorter girl barged towards the daughter of Ares with a sudden blast of rage pinning her to a tree trunk which was near. Clarisse seemed surprised, still her expression changed in seconds as she leaned towards the tree behind her, looking at Amaris with a spark in her eyes.

"I've had enough, if you're trying to mess with me, well done, it's working, but enough is enough" she spoke sharply towards the curly haired girl. "What are you implying, Strawberry?" Clarisse tilted her head smoothly as the well known smirk reappeared on her lips. Amaris frowned. "first, you ignore me throughout the whole breakfast and then suddenly sneak a whole dessert into my cabin" she started pointing towards Clarisse's chest "then, you go all protective mode back in the forest like you've ever cared if somebody lives or dies" she continues. "Don't forget about me saving your butt from getting dress-coded" she raised an eyebrow, smiling slyly.

Amaris had no words, she was being mocked yet all she could think about was how close their bodies were. "What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" She grinned at her speechlessness. "Ugh, what cat?" Amaris sighed while backing up slightly, her mind was wiped clean, all she could see were Clarisse's sly eyes. The taller girl chuckled, her voice never sounded as gentle as it did now, everyone was used to her being so loud and cheeky, and here she was.

"Stop playing with me." Amaris pointed towards the other girl's chest one last time obnoxiously before walking away, leaving Clarisse leaned to the tree trunk. The grin didn't leave her face as her eyes followed the short brunette until she was out of sight.