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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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It's not stupid! [Whatever it really is. Maybe it's stupid that she's running from it and that she's in denial, but the truth itself wasn't stupid. It couldn't be.] Just...explain. Please.

Apparently is if you can't figure out what I meant when I said it clearly. [Ron said making a face and rolling his eyes.] You're supposed to be the smart one, you can figure it out. I've already gone and said it about three times already.

[She almost looks afraid to say it.]

You've dodged around actually saying it, you know. That you...love me. [Also a foreign phrase. She immediately feels like she overstepped some invisible boundary. Maybe Ron didn't think "deeply caring about" and "love" were the same thing.]

[Like he wasn't, really.]

[His eyes darted away when she finally spoke and he shrugged. It took a minute before he nodded, feeling his ears heat up in the familiar way. His throat felt dry when he spoke.]

...Said it near enough.

[Step lightly, Hermione. He wasn't looking at her, but she was busy staring him down. Was...this really what he meant? It didn't seem possible; she knew Ron had issues from his childhood about people loving him and then abandoning him when things got hard. She knew that he put everything into relationships that were stable and that he was loyal almost to a fault sometimes.

But love? What did that really mean? She was almost too convinced that he was just blurring the line still. It was easier to assume that was it than face her own wants and fears when it came to her best friend.]

It's different. Love and caring for someone. I know you care about me a lot, Ron, really I do, and I know you'd do anything to protect me, but that...[She stops. She is actually at a loss for words and she's kind of curious if he'll agree with her.] It's different.

[Ron could feel her eyes boring into him. It took him everything he could to ignore the flight instincts pulsing through his body. He couldn't look at her in fear of what she'd say or do. Even his mind had a dozen different ways to say what he did and each one of them seemed to fail because she and people were a variable he didn't understand. They were too complex for him to even begin to understand.

He'd considered his feelings. He'd considered them for so long. Because it was scary what he felt and was impossible. He was afraid of losing her in a different way than the Weasleys. He fought with her because he enjoyed seeing the fire in his eyes. There was a million and one things that he could think of as to why he knew. Never mind that he'd spent years now thinking on it.]

[Scowling slightly, his voice roughened.] I considered it. [The words sound more formal, more like a child of Athena deep in thought.] If you've got to question it you should think back more, Hermione. Because I've thought about it for a while. It's enough to make anyone crazy and it's dead scary. [A breath.] But I know it cause it is different.

[Pointedly...] You're the only one who makes me feel anything like it. So that means something .

[It was too much. That's what was happening. It was too much to take in and she was suddenly feeling far too many emotions that she couldn't process nearly fast enough for her to articulate what she thought of the situation. She knew she was sticking her foot in her mouth and that she was overcompensating for her lack of understanding. She was approaching the situation with irrational logic, and she knew it.

But it terrified her. This. It scared her as much as it scared him and it showed.]

...I don't know what to say. [And it was true. She had so much to say but she didn't know how to say it. She was afraid of saying the wrong thing, of him accusing her of being too emotional and walking away from her. It was best to just be neutral, right?]

[That certainly wasn't the right thing. Ron immediately tenses at her words and is quiet for several long minutes. It really felt like he was the only one that really tried anything between them. So that meant-- great. There he went ruining another relationship, right? Because why would she want to be near him now? She wasn't leaving-- right. Not when he screws up.

Eventually he snorts.] There you have it, then. We should get back 'less you want it to start looking strange-- [He made a face.] Maybe someone else will ask you for a dance. [And then he can turn in early because he's pretty sure the last thing she wants to do is be around him.]

[Oh no. Oh no, that's not good at all. She can sense how tense he'd grown suddenly and his silence unnerves her a lot. She's just going to take a tentative step closer to try and grab his arm again. She can't help but flinch at his words though.]

Ron. I--[Now is not a good time to panic. But that's what her brain's doing. Logic and facts she's great at. Interpreting other people's emotions she's also great at. Understanding and dealing with her own? Not so much. But she's trying to keep him there until she can actually form a coherent thought that wasn't a resounding 'why me?']

What? [He didn't let her grab her this time, instead taking a step back and practically looming over her. His mind in a whirlwind as it went from hurt to angry. And if there was anything Ron learned it was not to seem like he was hurt. Because after all this time it got you no where and just made things like this hurt more. She'd just reminded him of why he didn't bother with people. Why he'd felt the need to protect her and stick by her all this time muddled in his brain because it felt like the one person he thought he could count on just ignored the thing that troubld him most.

Which she had, technically.] You've said your part-- which, thanks for that, really. Nice words you had. [He scowled.] So now that I've gone and made an idiot of myself you can go back and find someone you'd really want to be here with, eh? And I can go back to my cabin and write to mom and dad that I'll be coming back for school. You don't have anything to say, so sounds like a decent plan for the evening.

Edited 2013-08-10 06:33 (UTC)

[His tone stopped her dead in her tracks and she shrank back, suddenly just a tiny bit afraid of his reaction. She hated when he was angry. She could argue and bicker with him all day long but when he was truly angry she never knew how to calm him down effectively.

She didn't have a right to cry right then. She knew that, but she had a hard time ignoring that for the second time in three days tears sprang to her eyes. This time they weren't out of frustration though. She was genuinely upset.]

Stop it, that's not what I'm saying! [And it suddenly hits her what he's saying.] You can't go back!

[Recently, he'd taken to all he could not to make her cry. And if she did he'd mustered up some ability to comfort her. But today even at the sight of her tears the anger still roared in him. Because, really, it felt like if anyone should be hurt here it was him.]

That's right. Cause you're not saying anything. What else am I supposed to think, Hermione? [He shot back, the same harshness to his tone. He knew he shouldn't, but he gave a snort.] I'm stronger than I was three years ago. I could if I wanted to. [But did he really want to? He missed his family, but really the only place he felt any good at was here at camp. And he had half-siblings... But he really didn't think he wanted to look at her if this was going to be how it was. If his gut was right.]

You can't! [It was a bad idea. They'd just had this conversation a few days ago, about what would happen if one of them died, about being strong. She didn't think he was any more ready than she was. It didn't matter that she was crying or that her feet were killing her from being in heels all night. It didn't matter that everyone around them was dancing and chatting and having fun. What mattered was that she'd messed up and she had absolutely no idea what to say to fix it.

Simply saying, "I love you" didn't seem like it would work. Not if she was still trying to decide if she really, truly meant it.]

Ron, please. You can't leave.

I can. [Ron said evenly, staring her down. The part of him that wanted to comfort her was overwhelming, so he clenched her hand and looked away, scowling. Exhaling he chose the worse thing that he could come up with to say.]

After all, at least I know what's there. And who knows if I'll ever get to see them again? Could be my last chance. I'm not the one who's going to abandon my family altogether. [Meaning he was always going to fight to see them, since he knew well she didn't really communicate as much with her family as he did his.] Maybe it's adopted, but you're right. Love's definitely different.

[...that did it. That was the last straw and she couldn't help but gasp as she brought her hands to her mouth.

He finally got what she was saying. She should have been happy, right? But then why did she feel so miserable suddenly? Her family was a somewhat sensitive subject that she didn't often bring up to anyone, not even Ron. Her parents were kind and loving people, but since she'd been a year-rounder at camp she had broken the bonds enough that it was almost as though the Grangers didn't have a daughter at all. At first it hurt being away from them, but after a year, everyone was used to it. Ron was fiercely protective of the Weasleys though and she knew it broke his heart every time he had to skip a chance to see them. She was happy for him, of course. He deserved it after everything. On the other hand, sometimes she felt a little emptiness from her own family. It had been her fault that she had to be separated from them. And now it was her own fault she had to be separated from Ron.

She couldn't even say anything and she shook her head, taking a few steps backwards. There's something mumbled, something that sounds like "I'm sorry" and "Please don't" mashed together but it doesn't matter. Hermione's already doing what Hermiones do best in the presence of angry Rons. She's turning tail and running. She's out of the amphitheater and heading straight for Hecate cabin.]

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