𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐘 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐌, luke castellan

𝐈𝐈.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐈.
pauses, then says "you're my best friend"

ᯓᡣ𐭩

"𝐒𝐇𝐇," 𝐀𝐍𝐍𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 Maisie as the older girl accidentally stepped on some crunchy leaves just before the steps to the Hermes cabin.

Maisie winced. "Sorry," she whispered and took the lighter she had borrowed from a Hephaestus kid out of her pocket. Annabeth held out the muffin they had brought and stuck a singular candle in it.

"This'll have to do," she remarked once she was done.

"He's a fool if he doesn't appreciate it," Maisie joked, knowing Luke would appreciate the gesture regardless of its level. He was turning nineteen and the two daughters of Athena had wanted to prepare something. So they stole a chocolate chip muffin from the kitchen, early in the morning, and came to Luke's cabin to surprise him.

When the girls stepped inside, they looked around the cabin, between the several bunk beds, both for Hermes' kids and the unclaimed. Finally, Maisie's gaze settled on Luke's bed. He was still asleep, his blanket covering his entire body.

Maisie saw this as her opportunity to get revenge. She went up to him and pulled the blanket off him forcefully, causing him to wake up, confused. Annabeth walked up to them and practically shoved the muffin in Luke's face.

"Happy birthday!" she said, her voice low, careful not to wake any other campers up.

"Happy birthday," Maisie repeated, leaning in to softly push his forehead. Her way of showing affection sometimes.

Luke pushed her hand away but smiled despite himself as he sat up in his bed.

"Thank you," he said before blowing out the candle.

"Did you make a wish?" Annabeth asked him, already taking out the candle to throw it in the closest trash can.

Maisie could've sworn she saw Luke's gaze on her for a brief second before replying to Annabeth.

"I did," he responded. Annabeth smiled at him and handed him the birthday muffin.

"Did you steal this?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in amusement.

"No..." Annabeth replied unconvincingly.

"You should never speak to my siblings again. Terrible influences," Luke said as he got up. The girls giggled in response, knowing full well they would be taking advice from Hermes' kids again.

"We should get going and you should be getting ready," Annabeth spoke, turning to leave the cabin.

Maisie hesitated. When Annabeth noticed she wasn't next to her, she turned.

"Maisie?"

"Uh, give me a minute," Maisie said, turning to face Annabeth. In response, the younger girl gave her a knowing smile and left without another word.

Maisie turned around to find Luke already looking at her. In truth, she didn't even know why she hadn't gone with Annabeth. She didn't have anything specific she wanted to say to him.

"What did you wish for?" was what she ended up asking.

Luke smiled at her in response. "If I tell you, it won't come true."

"Yeah, that's fair," Maisie said, her cheeks reddening involuntarily. She looked down at her shoes in an attempt to hide her flustered state.

Suddenly someone spoke from one of the beds. "Will you two shut up already?" said Chris Rodriguez, mostly to his pillow.

Maisie had to suppress a giggle while Luke quickly apologized to his brother.

When he turned back to her, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Wanna go down to the forest?"

"Now?" Maisie asked, to which Luke nodded. "I'd like that," she responded with a smile.

"Good. I'll come find you in a bit, okay?"

Maisie hummed in response and turned to leave. Unbeknownst to her, Luke was watching her as she exited the Hermes cabin and set off to her own.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

"How does being nineteen feel?" Maisie asked Luke as they were walking through the forest.

Luke turned to face her, a small smile plastered on his face.

"You'll know soon," he said.

"That sounded so ominous," Maisie said, causing Luke to let out a laugh.

"Maybe you won't live to see nineteen," he joked.

"Oh, don't say that," Maisie cried, pouting.

"No, okay, I'm sorry," Luke said, giggling before wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Maisie leaned into his touch, taking it all in. She still remembered the time when she was completely alone and felt hopeless. But that time was long gone.

"Thanks for the surprise, by the way," Luke said, after some silence.

"Anything for you," Maisie responded, smiling up at him. His own smile seemed to have disappeared, his expression more serious.

The girl frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"No. It's just..." Luke trailed off. He removed his arm from her shoulders and turned to fully face her.

Maisie furrowed her eyebrows, looking up at him. He didn't say anything, only reached out to push a stray strand of hair behind her ear. The girl's cheeks went pink unwillingly as he stared into her eyes.

"Maise," Luke whispered. Maisie knew what it meant. In fact, she had been imagining this moment for a while.

Luke proceeded to cup her cheek with his right hand. They were now standing so close to each other that if one of them moved forward, their foreheads would touch and their lips would meet.

Luke used the proximity to his advantage. He slowly leaned in, causing Maisie to let out a soft gasp. As Maisie stood on her toes, their lips met. The girl rested her hand on the back of his neck, attempting to pull him closer, as if this wasn't enough.

"Get a room, halfbloods."

The pair abruptly broke apart, looking for the source of the voice they had just heard. Luke spotted her before Maisie did. Maisie followed his eyesight towards a tree. Sitting at its roots was a dryad, a look of disgust on her face. Maisie couldn't suppress her laughter. Luke grabbed her hand and guided her away from the forest, as not to annoy the dryad further.

Maisie was still laughing uncontrollably by the time they exited the forest, which made Luke laugh too.

"I can't believe that just happened," Maisie said in between giggles, once her laughter had died down a bit.

"Which part?" Luke questioned, smiling smugly.

"Every part, to be honest. But that dryad-" Her sentence was cut short by the sound of her own laughter.

"Okay, come on, I'm afraid excessive laughing will be your cause of death." He placed his hand on her back, softly pushing her so she'd walk.

Maisie smiled up at him, pressing a soft kiss on his shoulder. Despite his futile attempts not to, Luke's cheeks heated up.

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dear reader!

super fast burn relationship bc the point is the heartbreak :D