» 𝕟𝕠𝕥𝕖: This was an ooooold draft that I finally finished. I thought it was a funny concept - seeing what Travis and Katie's relationship looked like from the eyes of a new camper.
» 𝕕𝕒𝕥𝕖: 8/21/25
» 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕕𝕤: 944
. . .
Camp Half-Blood was, mentally, a lot for Liam to take in.
First, he finds out that he's not totally human. Freaky enough. Then, he gets the least safe taxi ride to a mysterious side of Long Island where he meets a centaur and a fat guy drinking a Diet Coke who explained that Liam was to stay with them, at Camp Half-Blood.
Weirdest day ever.
He stayed in Cabin Eleven, which was a rowdy place with not enough beds. It was okay, though, because the cabin counselors told Liam that he'd be claimed by his own godly parent soon enough.
"Better hope it's not Hermes, though," Travis, the older one, said. "You'll be stuck here with us forever!"
Liam secretly hoped he was any other god's kid.
But, as he acquainted himself with other campers and found his place, he found that CHB was a lot of fun. Capture the flag, crafts, bonfires...
And, it was at his first bonfire that he saw her.
Brown hair pulled back into two long braids, a radiant smile beaming out at the people surrounding her. She wore overalls and a camp shirt, but Liam decided that even if she was in tattered rags she'd have looked gorgeous.
He had to meet her.
Liam watched as Travis, the Cabin Eleven leader, walked up behind the girl and covered her eyes with his hands. She scowled and spun to face him, but the grin on Travis' face showed that he wasn't too concerned about her anger. They spoke briefly, and the girl pretended to reach out to hit him. Travis dodged her attack carelessly and strolled away, that same grin on his face.
His hopes were dashed. Guess she's taken, then.
As the days progressed, he took note of every single time the two interacted with each other - pestering lovingly, a hidden smile here and there, a serious conversation turning into the girl screaming, "STOLL!" They were obviously obsessed with each other.
One night, he even saw them having a date. At dinner, he caught them sitting off by themselves and talking passionately. He could've sworn they were about to kiss at one moment. But, right before they leaned into each other, the girl glanced around and scooted away from him, blushes crawling up both their necks.
Liam figured she wasn't into PDA.
His second week, Liam found that he was in the same archery class as the girl. She was complaining to the camper next to her about how Travis had put fake insects all over her bed that night and that she couldn't get the icky feeling off of her.
"I hate him so much," she grumbled.
So, Liam decided he could at least introduce himself to the pretty girl. He walked up to them and smiled. "Hey, I'm Liam."
"Oh, hey. I'm Miranda," said the second girl, but Liam was already focusing in on her.
"Katie," she said.
He nodded in approval. "Fits you perfectly. So, how long have you been here?"
"Almost six years. You're the new kid, right?"
"Is it that obvious?" He grimaced.
Miranda, the other girl, shrugged. "We all looked like how you did at one time or another. It's a lot to take in."
"Tell me about it." Instead of beating around the bush, Liam decided to just get his burning question out of the way. "So... Katie."
She stared at him, nodding.
"This is kind of a weird question, um," he shuffled his feet, "Listen. I get it if you and Travis are an item or something-"
"What?!" Katie looked as if she was about to vomit. "What the Styx are you talking about?"
The other girl started laughing.
"Did Travis put you up to this?" Katie demanded, getting up in Liam's face. "Where is he? What did he tell you?"
"Katie - calm down," Miranda finally said through her fits of giggles. "He doesn't know any better."
Liam looked at the two of them helplessly, not knowing what he got himself into. He hadn't meant to cause an uproar. "So, does that mean you and Travis aren't dating?"
The look that Katie gave him made him feel like he should've figured that out a long time ago, even though he'd only been gathering evidence the past week on the contrary.
"We are enemies, period." Katie drew a finger across her neck. "We hate each other, if you didn't catch on."
If he read into things, Katie almost looked disappointed that she said that.
"You swear that Travis didn't put you up to this?" she asked, eyes full of grief - or hope.
Liam put his hands up defensively. "No, I swear! I just thought-"
"You thought wrong."
Miranda pat Liam on the shoulder. "I know, we're all thinking the same thing. It's okay."
"Miranda!" Katie stomped her foot.
"Katie!" Came a mocking voice from behind them.
Liam turned and saw none other than Travis Stoll approaching them, bow in hand and smile beaming.
"What are we discussing so zealously over here, Katie-kat?"
Katie's face bloomed a wonderful red as she hissed, "You're late to archery, Stoll. Why'd you even bother showing up?"
Liam watched, dumbfounded, as Travis bowed dramatically and swept up Katie's hand to kiss it. "I couldn't miss even catching a glimpse of your radiant face, Katie-kins."
Katie yanked her hand back and whacked Travis with the side of the arrow she was holding. "Go away, Stoll! Nobody wants you around."
Miranda snorted and elbowed Liam. "It's infuriating to watch sometimes."
As he observed them bickering for the last ten minutes of archery, Liam thought that there was no way they actually hated each other. He was fairly certain that he'd never met a pair that belonged together more.
How could Katie deny that they were together?
This camp was weird.
