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Who: Everyone at camp.
What: Apollo's sacred day.
Where: The ampitheater.
When: August 7, 8:30 PM.
Why: Apollo's at camp today, and as the god of music, he's holding a dance.

It was decided at the meeting of the summer gods, the Summer Solstice, but it took Apollo physically coming to the Big House and scolding Mr. D for being lazy and not putting up any fliers to actually get the god of wine to do it, a week in advance.

Apollo prides himself on being the god of just about everything - though Mr. D would say, out of the cocky god's earshot, that he's the god of everything nobody else wanted to be the god of. Because of this, he's always had a self-assured attitude which is sometimes hard to deal with.

Because of this, when he decided he was going to throw a dance for the demigods towards the end of the summer as a reward for accepting children of other pantheons into their Greek camp so well, most of the other gods decided to just let him have it rather than argue. (Considering that Hera and Zeus had gotten into three separate spats since the Solstice began, they'd all had enough godly screaming for one meeting.)

So at about 8:30 on the nose - since he's used to following a tight schedule on the sun chariot and he's excited about this, he'll be on time - a flaming, bright red Maserati drives up to the ampitheater. Apollo doesn't even have to lift a finger for the trunk to open, and speakers as well as state of the art DJ equipment rise up onto a platform. He waves his hand, and club music with a thumping bassline starts playing.

(Never say that Apollo doesn't like to make an entrance.)

Requests will be taken all night by Apollo, who will be manning the dj booth as well as making up freestyle haikus. He's one of the more amicable gods, especially to his kids, which he's hosted more of at Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter combined than any other god. He's charming and younger looking than most gods, with a cocky smile and sandy hair.
If you're a pretty girl, he might hit on you.

(Apologies in advance. He'd say old habits die hard because he's right. Sorry, Hunters of Artemis.)

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Do I look like a metal dragon?

[ That's a no. ]

Jeez, I was just checking.

[ Natalie releases his hand to head over to the refreshments table yet again, though she's not quite as thirsty as before. She'll wait for him to quench his thirst instead, because there are some things that need saying. ]

Nope, Festus likes to hog all of it to himself.

[ Punch. Hopefully not spiked, he thinks, grabbing a cup and filling it. He leans back with one hand on the table, taking a sip. Nope, not spiked, at least not yet. Surprise, surprise! ]

[ She's an inch away from chickening out of speaking up. It's not an ideal situation, amid the crowd and all. Still, it's a relief to break a period of silence because she tends to feel better around him. ]

I've got a question. [ Natalie starts, clearing her throat. ]

[ He raises an eyebrow. It's not like Natalie to announce it like that; usually she just asks. ]

Shoot.

[ She closes her eyes a moment, wondering if she can manipulate sound so only he can hear. But what was the point? They have got to be the most obvious people after that display on the floor.

Is this the right time? Is there a better time? It's not like she's some huge sap that she needs to be alone with him to say something. ]

Maybe we should head out first. I - no. What would you say if I said that whatever I was feeling the other day became real? Or if it was real the whole time and it took me so long to realize it?

[ Bad idea: taking a swig of your drink whenever your best friend asks you something you weren't expecting. Choking will happen, as Leo so graciously demonstrates. Even when he stops choking, he has trouble speaking. His mouth moves, but no words come out at first, and when they do, it's in a rush. ]

I - but that was a spell.

[ Not really comprehending... ]

[ Oh, gods. He doesn't feel the same way. The next morning, he probably woke up and was like wow that was weird with my friend Natalie, I hope I can forget about that. Natalie swallows and the corner of her mouth twitches nervously. ]

It wasn't a spell the next day.

[ No, no, say it. Just say it out loud and stop hinting. ]

[ Things he's prepared for this evening: dancing, music, food. This is none of those things. Instinct demands that Leo vacate the vicinity immediately, and fast. It's slowly setting in what she's trying to say, and he... he doesn't know how to react to it, because usually he's the one in that position, and he's a lot less subtle about it.

It wasn't a spell the next day. The words echo hollowly through his head as he tries to process it, feeling his stomach do a few flips. That means... Gods, that means Natalie actually likes him? And that those things he's been denying... weren't just the love spell, either. ]

...Oh.

[ That must be why she'd been avoiding him... not that Leo's gone out of his way before tonight to talk to her, either. ]

Yeah, I'll just -

[ Natalie just a thumb over her shoulder as soon as she's assessed the situation and turns in that direction, away from everyone and out the amphitheater. Sighing, she tucks her hair behind both ears and hunches over, arms folded, scooting away as fast as her sensible heels can take her.

Nope. This is the worst. This is why she prefers to act on a plan than an impulse. The moment is all wrong. ]

[ He opens his mouth to say something, but before he can get it out, she's already walking away. Watching her retreating form, he bites his lip and lets her go.

Should have said something - something other than "oh." How dumb could he be? Yeah, Valdez, you get a girl to say she likes you, and you go and stomp right all over that with just one word and upset her. Way to go. Real smooth. Natalie's probably mad at him, and the thought sends a pang of guilt through his stomach. See if they talk to each other now. Leo's so caught up in his thoughts that he doesn't even notice that he's steaming until someone points it out, and then it's time to bail. Can't be setting the dance on fire; somehow that didn't seem like the right way to show his respects to Apollo. If he knew where Nat went, he'd go after her, but he doesn't, so he just wanders... away, idly wondering if he might find her anyway, and wishing he had his tool belt or at least some nuts and bolts to play with.

Insane is the only word for what just happened, dance and all, but now that it's all sunk in... Natalie likes him, and that sends a jolt of... excitement through him. It's been really hard to deny it in the past week or however long it's been, though Leo's tried with constant reminders that they are friends and not more, burying those feelings from Aphrodisia (and after) under his admittedly pointless crush on Reyna. It's almost a relief to admit that more might not be so bad.

If only he'd had the sense to say that before she ran off. She'd caught him way off guard back there. ]

[ She admittedly doesn't get very far, standing just outside the amphitheater but covered by the night. Closing her eyes, she gathers the mist to surround her completely.

This is stupid. She has ruined everything. There's no one to blame. Hermione advised her that perhaps she should bite the bullet and let loose her confession. Here she is, hiding because she's a coward and does not want to find out what his real response may be. Gathering her flowy skirt, she leans against a column, kicking her shoes off and digging her bare feet into the dirt.

A group of campers socializing outside inch dangerously close to her though Natalie's head is too far up in her cloud of doom to notice and move away. A careless (or not) girl accidentally steps on her invisible foot and Natalie yelps. ]

Ow! Fu - gods!

[ Her quick string of curses sends the campers running back inside, yelling incoherently. Frowning, Natalie leans down to rub her aching toes. ]

[ Leo's trying to take deep breathes while he walks, a valiant effort in trying to stem the fire before it starts. Maybe the steam has faded a little? It's hard to tell when his mind is elsewhere, but then he hears her voice and sees the campers running, so he turns to head in that direction. He doesn't see her anywhere - not that it means much. ]

Nat? You doing the misty thing?

Nnno.

[ But without a hitch, Natalie reappears against the column, wrinkling her nose and looking incredibly sheepish. At least she knows she's still got it in her to scare people... without intending to do so.

She has a hand cupped around her heel, examining her foot. ]

I was stabbed by a stiletto.

Liar.

[ He shakes his head at her, chuckling. ]

Maybe you should get that checked out while we've got the god of healing back there.

[ She snorts. ]

I'll be okay.

[ She murmurs an incantation and a bandage materializes and wraps itself around her injury. Natalie, meanwhile, stoops to pick up her heels, ready to keep going. ]

[ Man, that magic thing is cool. Leo might have been able to dig out some bandages from his tool belt, if he had it with him, but somehow it's just not the same.

...He should say something before she takes off again. ]

You know, if you're going to run away again, you should probably go somewhere no one can step on your toes.

[ Probably not the right thing, but. ]

[ She shoots him a blank look, arms falling limp at her sides. ]

That was the plan. Duh.

[ She rises to an upright position finally and brushes off the back of her dress. ] Night.

[ His eyes widen slightly, startled. ]

Wh- I didn't mean go!

[ Gods, he is so bad at this. Thanks a lot, Hephaestus, for so graciously giving him your social ineptitude. He really appreciates it. ]

[ Natalie holds both hands up, swiping across an invisible slate. ]

You don't need to say anything, Leo.

[ Still, she remains in that very spot, because it may be worth it to hear him out, even if it's to tell her he would rather keep things the way they were. ]

[ Leo hesitates, because he keeps making mistakes tonight, and he doesn't want to upset her even more. And if he was honest with himself, he had no idea if this was going with this would be the right way to go, because what if it really was just the spell? What if it had left some residual effects and they just assumed it was real because that day was over? What if...

No. He can't think in what-ifs or they'll never get past that weird avoidance thing, and then he'll lose one of the very few non-mechanical friends he has, and that would royally suck. ]

Natalie, I'm sorry...

[ And as soon as the words leave his mouth, he stops. Yep, wrong again. This is fun, like Girl Problems Bingo. How many ways can Leo mess up tonight before some old god wins the jackpot?

He rolls his head back to stare up at the night sky, sighing. ]

I'm an idiot.

[ For a second, Natalie's heart sinks as she stares at him, wide-eyed. He's sorry? He's - no, he isn't finished. She holds her breath and hates that she's suddenly feeling everything so intensely after ignoring them for quite some time now. Each movement pushes her closer to the edge, but she won't explode. Or at least, she hopes she doesn't. ]

You're kind of an idiot. [ She snorts quietly. ]

You don't have to respond. I just didn't want to hide - hide it from you.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[ Leo rolls his eyes, but the problem still stands: he has no idea what to say. How he feels is getting more and more obvious with every awkward second that passes by, but. Words. How does he put that into words and just explain it? Natalie did it so easily earlier, but right now, he feels like action would be easier. Why can't he just -

...Wait.

Why can't he? It's not like he can ruin this any more than he already has.

Please don't make me regret this, he prays to whatever god or goddess will listen (probably Aphrodite; she seemed to have it out for him). He can feel himself getting hotter, and he takes a deep breath to try and steady himself before stepping in close to Natalie and... yeah, and kissing her softly on the lips, as if he's still afraid of doing something wrong. ]

[ Maybe that's it. They're meant to spend the rest of their days rolling their eyes and joking with each other. Maybe not. There's always time. She might ease out of a crush, he might ease into one. They might end up hating each other after an eventual quest together. It's not optimism or being negative, not to her.

Natalie stands there, unsure what to do with her limbs, like they're completely unnecessary. Arms fold, then hand, shoulders slump, then stretch. She flattens her arms over her stomach and pretends not to notice his closeness. He is warm and they aren't even touching, not yet. Slowly, she lifts her head to let out another string of excuses but he shuts her up. Just like that.

With a deep breath, she doesn't hesitate in actually returning that kiss. No spell. All real. ]

[ It's hard to believe that this is actually happening - just them, no meddling from gods in need of entertainment. It's actually Leo kissing Natalie, and it's actually her kissing him back, and maybe that means this isn't a mistake, after all. He can feel his skin starting to tingle, the signs that he's close to losing control, but he doesn't pull away, instead putting one hand on her cheek to pull her a little closer. ]