eternal sunshine

𝓣𝓦𝓔𝓝𝓣𝓨-𝓕𝓞𝓤𝓡: 𝓛𝓐𝓣𝓔 𝓝𝓘𝓖𝓗𝓣 𝓓𝓘𝓟𝓢

"Okay, what the actual fuck, Odessa?" JD questioned as Odessa entered the Apollo cabin to prepare for bed.

"What did I do?"

"Not a date? Are you serious?"

     "Luke and I just finished talking about that. I never said we weren't going on a date. I said I wanted to take things slow. I've only been here a month, and I feel I need more time to get to know him as Luke before he's more than that. He's okay with it. What's your problem? How do you even know about our conversation?" JD's face went pale.

     "Don't change the subject. Why did you do that?"

"What do you mean don't change the subject? I am the subject, and I should be. It's no one's business at camp to know the status of my relationship with Luke, whether it is platonic or romantic. Whatever comes of our relationship is between him and I, and we both would very much appreciate it if you all, and I mean this in the kindest way possible, mind your own fucking business." Her tone was much nicer than it should've been. Before going their separate ways, Luke and Odessa discussed the boundaries of their relationship (both platonic and romantic), including the influence/ opinion of others about their relationship. They both agreed that while they liked each other very much (something they both constantly reminded the other of), they didn't want to feel pressured into the next steps of their relationship by others. It was their relationship, and when the time felt right to both of them to be more than friends, they would both know it.

     "B-but," started one of her siblings.

     "No buts. Mine and his relationship, no one else's. When we both feel it is right, we will become more. Right now, if we're both being honest, we feel pressured to be more because of all of you. So butt out, please," Odessa softly spoke. She hated that this had to be said, and she tried not to be too bothered by the campers' curiosity and involvement in her love life. She knew that many were unaware of typical mortal boundaries, not that that made it okay. Having so many people be opinionated about her love life made her feel like she had no privacy to relish and enjoy something that was supposed to be closer and personal.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

     "Take it they didn't like it very much?" Luke questioned, sitting next to Odessa, staring out at the moonlight estuary. She shook her head, digging her toes into the sand.

"Not at all those nosy bastards." Luke laughed at her statement.

"Yeah, neither did my siblings. How did they even know?" She shrugged, turning to him.

"No clue. Cameras in the woods?"

"You know that's not possible, Odie. The technology of it all." She nodded, taking in the way the moonlight hit his features.

"Spies?" Luke tried not to react as Odessa was staring right at him, but she could see his muscles contract slightly. "I'm joking, Lukey. You alright?"

"Yeah, just not too big a fan of being watched or having like no privacy. That's creepy."

"You're right." Luke's eyes followed Odessa as she stood. They had only been there for five minutes, and they were already leaving? Most nights, they usually stayed there talking for about an hour. Since running into Mr.D, they tried to make their visits to the sounds less frequent, going every other day or two. He knew she usually arrived a lot earlier than him because if she were to get caught, she was highly confident she wouldn't get into trouble. She had managed to reduce their sentence to two weeks of bathroom cleaning duty. It turns out that Mr. D is a big fan of lumpia, and so now, every two weeks, Odessa's mother sends some. Who knew gods could be so easily bribed?

"Leaving already?" He questioned, following her with his eyes. Her silver-decorated hands removed the purple and black flannel from her body, placing it on top of the Converse in the sand next to where she sat. He noticed two white towels folded neatly in a pile next to a dagger.

"Nope." He turned away as her hands gripped the bottom of her black sleeping shirt. "Not yet." The sound of footsteps on the sand made him turn back to her. He watched as she walked toward the water in her black and white plaid shorts and a black sports bra.

"That has to be freezing this time of night, Odessa." Luckily, she hadn't gotten too far away from him, so he didn't have to yell and alert the creatures of the woods about their presence, although many of them already knew and simply didn't care, which was odd, to say the least considering the monsters that lived in the woods. She turned to him, gesturing for him to follow after her.

"Come on, Lucas."

"Don't have a bathing suit."

"I'm literally wearing my pajama bottoms," she spoke, continuing toward the water. He sat in the sand as he debated whether or not to join her. A groan left his lips as he removed his shoes and socks, setting them down in the sand. He looked down at his gym shorts before gripping the material of the Metallica shirt he used for bed. It was a birthday gift from JD three years ago. JD had given him a birthday gift every year since he was 15. He tossed it on top of his shoes and joined her at the edge of the water. Odessa turned to look at him only to quickly turn back to the water. Oh my gods, she thought, her eyes wide. She hadn't taken a full look at him, but what she saw had already left her speechless.

     "You're insane for this, Odessa," he spoke, turning to look at her.

     "I'm sure it's not that cold." Luke knew, however, that the water was cold. Before she knew it, he had picked her up bridal style and was running into the water. "Lucas." It didn't come out as the intended scream she wanted because they weren't supposed to be out there, let alone going for a swim so late at night. Even if Mr. D liked Odessa, she didn't want to take too much advantage of that. He set her down in the water. She gasped and shivered when the coldness hit her.

     "I told you," he gloated, looking down at her. "The controlled environment of the camp doesn't affect the water." Her hand held his shoulder to steady herself. Jesus, how can someone be so muscular?

     "I-it's not that bad." He snickered. 

     "Sure." She went to get out, but he wrapped his arms around her. "Nope. You must go through with it." Luckily, she knew it was coming and took a deep breath in before he let them both fall into the water. 

     "Fuck," she shuttered when she surfaced. He moved her hair from her face, breathing in and out rapidly. "That was a terrible idea," she laughed. He nodded, his teeth chattering. 

     "It may be summer, but the water seems to stay cold. Want to get out now?" Instead of answering, she plunged into the water. "Guess not. Odessa Reyes, the things I do for you." He followed after her into the water.