Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Penny Jackson was in a bad mood.

Hey, getting stood up did that to a girl, especially when that girl had been waiting for the guy to ask her out for eternity and when he finally did, she was ecstatic. She had spent hours agonizing over outfits before finally submitting to the Aphrodite Cabin’s pushes to give her a makeover. Finally, she was ready.

She stood outside her cabin for two hours before checking to see where her date was. She checked the beach, the Big House, the armory, even the stables. But Robert Elijah Dare was nowhere to be seen.

Penny managed to corner Chiron, who looked more terrified facing the 5'3 girl than anytime during the Titan War. She pressed him until he cracked and confessed that Robert had gone home for the summer, and he had known that he would be doing so for a month. More than enough time to tell her, she thought, or at least asked her out earlier.

So there she was, looking for all the world like a girl who had given up, barefoot and still in her beautiful off-the-shoulder black minidress, laying on her bunk, twisting water into random shapes miserably. Her raven hair, so carefully styled, had come down from its intricate knot and had returned to its natural state around her shoulders. A mosquito buzzed around her; she didn’t have the energy to slap it away.

Gods, what was wrong with her? Moping over a guy who didn’t care, and probably never had. This sort of stuff was reserved for other people, people who weren’t living legends.

But she didn’t want to be a living legend. She wanted to be a teenage girl. She wanted to have someone who made her laugh, someone who made her swoon, someone that made her feel not like Penelope Jackson, daughter of Poseidon, child of prophecy, but just Penny, plain and simple.

There was a knock at her door. She straightened up, letting the water drop to the floor.

Who could it be at this hour? Curfew was long past.

She opened the door cautiously, looking both ways, but there was nobody in sight.

She sighed. Probably one of the Stoll twins’ pranks.

She was closing the door when something outside of it caught her eye. She opened it back up.

There was something on the bottom of her porch, a piece of paper. An envelope, in fact. Blue. She picked it up and closed the door, locking it.

The front of the envelope read in fancy script, “To Penny Jackson” She flipped it to the other side, but it said nothing. There was no information about the addresser.

Carefully, she opened it. A piece of paper was neatly folded inside, as well as a crushed blue rose. She opened the paper and read:

Dear Penny,

You shine brighter than the sun at midday,

More lively than a rose in June.

Oh, what I would give to hear you say,

“Won’t you be my complementing moon?”

I wrote that poem just now. I hope it isn’t too bad or too forward. Well, this whole letter is too forward. I confess, I am new to this business. Of letter-writing, poetry, and well… love.

Penny’s heartbeat picked up; she was acutely aware of her bare shoulders and the goosebumps that had just picked up on them.

I hope I’m not scaring you away with this talk of love and poetry. But, well, it was the only way I could get your attention without making a complete fool of myself in front of you.

Gods, what am I doing? I should probably just throw this whole thing in the trash can. That’s the rational decision.

Why haven’t I thrown it away yet?

I guess I’m just writing to say that I’ve had a hopeless crush on you since before both of our voices dropped. You probably don’t even know who I am, however. I’m not the kind of guy to be in the spotlight, and I prefer that way. In fact, I’m wondering why I hadn’t thought of this idea earlier. This is sounding better and better by the minute.

It’s funny how that works. What seems like a bad idea early becomes a fantastic one later, and vice versa. I guess it’s just our fickle human brains and hearts, doing whatever they please, stealing in a blink, just as you have done to my heart.

I’m getting delirious. I hope that this isn’t coming off as weird or creepy to you. The last thing I want is to scare you away.

Here’s some bad poetry to close:

Your hair is black, roses are blue,

Could this be the start of something new?

Love,

Your Secret Admirer

Penny was light-headed. Was this real? Or just a cruel prank by the Stolls gone too far?

But no. This seemed genuine, down to the neat script and the pauses before mentions of love.

Someone had wrote this and meant it.

It had come at the perfect time, and it had been sent by the perfect person, or so it seemed. The mixture of wit and light humor with adorable awkwardness and vulnerability, not to mention the shy mentions of love…

Penny collapsed on her bed, holding the letter close to her heart. Beaming at the ceiling, she went into a series of silent squeals.

Chapter Text

The next morning, she went straight to the Demeter Cabin and got something confirmed, then went through her activities for the day in a haze of thoughts.

The letter was in her breast pocket, where she kept it close to her heart. Memories pounded in her head.

“A blue rose? Hmm. Why are you asking this again?” Kevin Gardner had asked, squinting at the crushed petal.

“No reason,” Penny lied.

“Hmph. Well, a blue rose symbolizes a lot of things, most famously mystery and unrequited love. Lots of pining, lots of drama, yada yada yada. Can you get out of my cabin now?” He rubbed his eyes and yawned pointedly.

“Sorry.” As she closed the door gingerly, Penny wondered about whether or not she should have went to the Demeter Cabin at the crack of dawn, then dismissed it.

“Penny, you good?” She snapped out of her thoughts to see a redheaded boy with lime green streaks in his hair looking over at her in mild concern.

“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” Penny cleared her throat. “Say, Kaleb, we, uh, better get started on the actual archery instruction now, shouldn’t we?”

The son of Apollo reluctantly agreed and the pair spent the rest of the afternoon coaching the newbie demigods on the basics of archery. It wasn’t Penny’s biggest strength, but she found that she was naturally good at most physical activities. She led an unofficial basketball team that met every Wednesday and Sunday.

“Okay, last batch, right?” she said tiredly when the sun was halfway in the sky and going down.

“Yep.” Kaleb didn’t even look winded, even though he had been doing the brunt of the teaching. She envied the younger boy for his energy, then realized how old she sounded.

“So, these are a mixture of newbies and people who’ve been at the camp longer, but never really learned archery.”

“Got it.” The group was over the hill now and Penny squinted to see their outlines in front of the bright sun.

The group stood nervously, each with a quiver of rubber-tipped arrows slung around their shoulders and a bow in their hands.

Penny and Kaleb walked them through the basics, then went around and individually helped them practice and slowly, they saw a gradual raise in morale and skill.

Penny walked around to the last person, someone much taller than her. She tapped him on the shoulder and stepped back quickly when the guy turned to face her with the arrow still nocked.

“Whoa there!”

The guy quickly took the arrow off the bow and went to put it back in the quiver, stammering out apologies, a deep crimson blush visible beneath his mop of blonde hair.

“No, no, don’t put it back, just hold it,” she said, stopping him. “Or aim the bow at the ground, like so.” She demonstrated with her own bow.

“R-right.” The boy ducked his head down again and seemed to try to melt into the ground, which wasn’t working, as he was freakishly tall. (Then again, everybody looked freakishly tall to 5'3 Penny.)

“What’s your name?” she asked.

“Chase. Wait, no- my name is Anderson. Chase is my last name. Not my first. I’m. Anderson Chase.” The boy seemed to hunch even lower, if that was possible.

Penny held back a laugh, mostly because she didn’t want to add to the boy’s miserable stance. “Pleasure to meet you, Anderson Chase. So tell me, how long have you been at camp?” She motioned for him to shoot and he hurried to nock his bow again.

“Uh, I’m seventeen, so I’m pushing ten years.”

Penny’s eyebrows shot up. She wondered how she had never heard of him. “Wow. You’re a real veteran, then.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“So tell me, Anderson Chase, how have you spent ten years here and never went to an archery lesson in all that time?”

His head shot up and he searched Penny’s face as if looking for any hints of malice. When he found none, he visibly relaxed and turned back to his target, which made Penny a bit relieved. It was the first time she had gotten a good look at his face and she wasn’t prepared for how attractive he was, or the intensity of his stormy gray eyes. Definitely an Athena kid.

“When I got here, I did take the necessary archery courses, but I was hopeless at it, and after a while, we all gave up. Now, I’m ready to give it another try, even though I’m a decade too late.” His shoulders sunk lower.

Penny felt pitying of the boy. “Well, it’s very brave of you to attempt something you previously failed at again, no matter how much the time difference between the two. And it’s never too late to learn.” She gently adjusted his aim, talking all the while. “In fact, I find this braver than trying again immediately. You’ve had a lot of time to build up many fears and you still chose to try it again.” Anderson let the arrow fly. It struck a white part of the target. She smiled. “And you’re determined.”

“I-I did it! I hit the target!” The blonde son of Athena looked both shocked and thrilled. Penny held her hand out for a high-five. He slapped it gently and carefully, like he was afraid of messing up.

“A little more practice, and you’ll be hitting bulls-eyes in no time,” she assured him.

He blew out a breath. “Just not hitting Chiron was a major breakthrough for me- I don’t think I can commit to bulls-eyes immediately.”

Penny laughed without thinking. In truth, she was shocked at the Anderson’s sudden dryness, as he had been proving to her that he was a shy, awkward person.

This part of him was unfamiliar- and yet, not entirely unwelcome.

The horn rang for dinner. Penny was shocked that the time had passed by so quickly.

She stuck out a hand. “Well, Anderson Chase, it was a pleasure relearning archery with you.”

He shook her hand. “And with you, Penelope Jackson.”

It was the first time he had said her name, and it passed through his soft pink lips easily. She normally didn’t like people using her full name, but with Anderson, it was different. He seemed to treasure it, savor every syllable and say it with almost reverence.

They seemed to notice at the same time that his hand was still in hers. They jerked their hands back at the same time, clearing their throats.

“See you soon,” Penny called, waving goodbye and walking down the hill.

“And you,” Anderson said after everyone had gone and he was left alone at the top of the hill, illuminated by the setting sun, grinning like an idiot.

Chapter Text

Over the next few weeks, Penny received a lot more letters from her secret admirer, who sent a new treasure along with each letter. Sometimes it was a leaf he found beautiful, sometimes it was a rare coin. But nature’s beauty pales compared to your visage, he wrote, and there are no rare pennies as rare as you.

She knew he was a guy because of hints he dropped in, sometimes calling himself a regular guy, sometimes saying he was a lovestruck boy. She also knew that he was about her age from other hints, references to pop culture and things that had happened at camp. She knew his innermost thoughts, his vulnerabilities and the problems he faced that came with being painfully shy.

But she still didn’t know who he was.

She had thought about staking out her cabin to find out who was sending the letters, but she waved it off. It was too dramatic, and besides, he would reveal himself when he wanted. Who was she to ruin that?

Penny’s self-esteem was much higher than it had ever been, and she was now seeing herself as not just a girl who has been through too much but as someone who was worthy of love letters.

Someone who was worthy of love.

She was walking around with a smile on her face all the time thanks to her admirer, but she wondered if he felt the same happiness. She wanted to make sure her silver-penned suitor felt the same warmth and love that he gave her.

So, Project Reciprocation rolled into action.

(Penny didn’t particularly like the name, but it did the job and she was too bothered to come up with something catchier.)

One day, after reading and rereading a new letter, she took out a piece of paper and Riptide and hesitated before putting the sword/pen into writing-pen form and, well, reciprocating.

Penny wasn’t a natural writer, but she tried her best. She talked about nothing and everything, about her favorite season and color, about the feeling she got when she saw that there was a new letter from him. She tried to put the feeling of a miniature sun going supernova in her heart into words, but it just wouldn’t translate. But he would know. They knew each other more intimately than regular pen pals, knew what made the other’s heart beat faster and the expectations put on the two of them. She didn’t need big words to convey that.

She signed it with a Love, Penny and sealed it up in a yellow envelope that she had bought a whole packet of in the camp store. With a stroke of sudden inspiration, she applied a kiss to the back of the envelope, the red lipstick making a bold splash on the light background. She placed it on the floor of her porch.

Penny couldn’t sleep that night, and she tossed and turned for hours until she felt the first rays of the sun. She threw off her covers and hurried to open the door. She squealed quietly- her envelope was gone and in its place was a new one, colored blue.

She opened it and read it quickly, sighing after each line as usual, but also searching for a sign that he had read it. Every line was heartfelt and open as the others, but there was no mention of her letter. Her spirits crumpled and she tried to salvage them as she read the love he gave her at the end.

But then she saw the postscript.

P.S.

I think my heart might burst in happiness. Oh, you wrote back! You wrote back! If this is what you feel like every time you receive one of my letters, then I may start writing one to you every day. Wait. Every other day now that you’re writing to me as well. Gods, I’m dancing just thinking about it! Love, love, love, love, love, AYour Secret Admirer

Penny’s heartbeat picked up. Her secret admirer had slipped up and started to write his real name. He had covered it up relatively well, but Penny had sharp eyes. She beamed at his words, but she couldn’t help thinking so, his name starts with an ‘A’? That certainly narrows it down. It’s not like there’s a lot of people at Camp Half-Blood with a name beginning with 'A’…

(Just kidding. There were a lot.)

As she walked to her activities, she jumped every time a boy said 'hi’ to her, regardless of whether his name started with an 'A’ or not. She nearly choked when Clarence LaRue asked what finish she used on her sword.

Get a grip, girl, she told herself firmly, but that part of her was dying rapidly thanks to the letters. She was learning to fully embrace her romantic side, the side that wondered about the world and the future.

If only she knew who wrote them.

“Penny?”

Penny turned around to see a now-familiar tall boy. His blonde hair glowed in the sun like a halo. And to complete this vision of perfection, he was holding two popsicles. He held the blue raspberry-flavored one out for her.

She gratefully took the popsicle and patted the space next to her on the pier when he hovered awkwardly behind her. She licked it and smiled at Anderson, whose ears turned the color of the ripe strawberries in the field.

Since their archery lesson, Penny and Anderson had seen each other around camp a lot. She had always waved hello and if she could, came over for a quick chat. Once he got past the initial shock of someone noticing him, Anderson always opened up and shown more of that wry humor. More than once, she found herself laughing at his words and lingering on his lips. But then she immediately felt guilty for even doing the acts.

The only person who she was interested in was her secret admirer, and she totally never noticed the way Anderson’s gray eyes changed shades according to his mood, or the laser-intense look he got when he focused on something, or the loud booming laugh he gave when he was shocked into humor.

Yep. She never ever noticed it. Ever.

“Thanks for the cool-down,” Penny said, partly to distract herself from her thoughts.

“No problem. This must be the hottest day of the summer.”

“So far,” Penny corrected. “There’s always room for improvement.”

Anderson groaned. “Why would you even say that?”

The pair chuckled and talked more about the weather and other things. It turned out that Anderson was really into architecture and was thinking about submitting an appeal for redesigning the stables, as no one had fixed it since the first world war.

Normally, Penny would have zoned out. Stables. Fun. But Anderson made the topic seem engaging and fascinating and she found herself leaning forward, captivated.

Anderson licked his pineapple popsicle. “What about you?”

“Huh?”

“What do you want to do when you grow up?”

Penny shrugged. “Well, I’m not really sure, but… never mind.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll laugh if I tell you.”

“I would never do that!” It was true. The boy didn’t have a mean bone in his body.

“Okay, well… I was sort of thinking about maybe becoming a therapist for trauma. Abuse victims and all.” She focused on a ripple in the lake.

Anderson was silent for a moment. “Wow. That’s…”

“Go ahead, laugh.”

“No, no! That wasn’t what I was going to say, I just… that’s a really good thing to do, Penny. You’ll be helping so many people.”

She looked sideways at him to see if he was being sarcastic, but he was completely genuine.

“I guess I just don’t want people going through the same things my mom and I did. My stepfather… was not the best person.” She stopped there. It was hard to think about, even years later.

Anderson didn’t push her for more information. Instead, he just put his hand on hers, comforting her. It was one of the things Penny was coming to appreciate about the son of Athena- he always knew where the boundaries lay and he never crossed them. He treated her with the respect she had found so rare among people, especially guys her age. It was a nice change of pace.

“Enough of that talk. So, are y-” She jumped up, cutting off her sentence, letting the popsicle fall.

“What? What’s wro-” Anderson saw exactly what was wrong as three naiads rose out of the lake and dumped a bunch of water all over him.

Percy yelled at the water spirits, but they were long gone, the sound of their tinkling laughter echoing from across the lake.

Penny shook her head. “I can’t believe them. They never go after campers. Satyrs, maybe, or the occasional forest nymph, but never demigods.”

Anderson looked sheepishly down at his soaked shirt. “Maybe they were just trying to cool me down.”

“Well, it’s a very weird way to do tha-” Penny stopped in her tracks again, not because of another surprise nymph attack, but because Anderson had his camp shirt over his head and was toweling his hair with it.

“So, what were you saying?” he said conversationally, as if he wasn’t shirtless and only wearing a pair of cargo shorts, his camp necklace, and flip-flops.

“Um-I-” Penny’s mouth was completely dry.

He shook his head like a dog; water droplets sprayed out and caught the sunlight, making mini-rainbows.

Penny made an inhuman sound, somewhere between a cough and a shriek. “I-I- never mind.”

Anderson wrung the shirt out, the muscles in his arm flexing. He was surprisingly toned, and yes, she was gawking.

He looked over at her and she tried to close her mouth. He smirked slightly, that simple action sending a wave of heat through her body.

“I-I could have made made that shirt dry, you know. Poseidon powers and all.”

“It’s okay- it is pretty hot out today, and this feels better.” He sat back down on the pier, both feet hanging off the edge, his eyes closed. Penny reluctantly sat down again and for a few minutes, they just didn’t say anything.

“Anderson?”

“Mm?”

“Can I tell you something?”

He cracked his eye open and looked at her. “What is it?”

Penny fiddled with the hem of her unofficial Camp Half-Blood crop top (every time Chiron looked at it, he looked as if he had just eaten a lemon). “You have to promise not to tell anyone, though.”

Anderson opened his other eye and he straightened up, his back muscles rippling. Did he always have those freckles? She shook her head slightly- she couldn’t get distracted.

“I won’t tell anyone.” He looked parts confused and curious, and part… relieved?

“You have to come to my cabin for that, though,” she said, making up her mind.

The son of Athena sprang up immediately. “Alright.”

They walked to her cabin and she hesitated only slightly before opening the door and letting him in. Vaguely, she was aware of the “no two people of the opposite gender and different godly parent alone in the same cabin” rule, but it was one of the most frequently broken rules as well as one of the most looped-around. (For examples, the frequent “sleepovers” that Nika di Angelo and Willa Solace had at the former’s cabin.) But why was she even thinking about that?

The son of Athena looked around the cabin, seemingly fascinated. Penny made sure he was sitting down before pulling out a box under her bunk and opening it to see the letters. Before Anderson could react, she shoved the most recent one into his hand. He read quickly and his face remained impassive except for a small smile.

“They’re all like that,” Penny said, pacing her cabin.

Anderson looked at her with the faintest smile on his face. He was still shirtless. Penny found it hard to concentrate. She tossed him one of Tina’s old shirts. She wondered how her half-sister was doing at their father’s palace. She would have to Iris-message her sometime soon. As Anderson put it on, he asked, “Why are you showing me this?”

“Because!” Penny tugged her hair in frustration and kept walking the length of the cabin. “I have absolutely no idea who it is and it’s driving me crazy!”

“Well, do you have any clue to who this person is?” Anderson was speaking rationally and calmly to her fiery and passionate.

“I know it’s a guy my age whose been at camp either the same amount of time as me or longer.” Penny snapped her fingers. “Oh! His name might also begin with an 'A’.”

Anderson fingered his camp necklace with nine beads on it as Penny stormed around, ranting, “I just don’t know who it could be, you know? I mean- the possibilities are endless! He might have put that 'A’ there and crossed it out to throw me off his scent, or it might have been a genuine mistake.”

“Why do you want to know who it is so badly?”

“Because- because-”

Penny deflated, her back to Anderson. She spoke quietly after a moment.

“Because my secret admirer has helped me feel like a regular person. Not Penelope Jackson, savior of Olympus, but just Penny. He makes me feel loved and heard and not to mention his personality-” Penny sighed. “He’s practically perfect.”

Anderson was silent. Penny turned back, not knowing what to think. His face was twisted. “You… you don’t feel loved?”

Penny didn’t know what to say. As she thought about it more, she realized, no, no she had never felt truly loved by anyone. Her mother was obligated to love her, her father didn’t care, and just when she thought that Robert might be it, he went and ditched her. But her admirer not only saw those parts of her but acknowledged them, knowing she was insecure and sharing his own. They had bared the deepest, most vulnerable parts of themselves to each other and had accepted them.

“No, I… guess not,” she said quietly. “But this guy-”

Anderson stood up. Slowly, he made his way towards Penny. She stood frozen, not knowing what was happening until his warm arms encircled her. His heartbeat thudded steadily through the borrowed shirt. They stood like that for a long moment until Anderson pulled away.

“You are loved. Never forget that, Penny. Okay?”

She nodded, her throat bobbing. “O-okay.” Her voice was hoarse.

“Good.” Anderson sat back down on the bunk, but there was a different energy in the air now, something warm and comfortable, like the feeling of Anderson.

“Anyways, I just brought you here so I could get your help,” Penny said hurriedly, trying to get away from the energy-charged moment. “I don’t know who this person could be, and he never gives any helpful hints as to his identity. Can you help me write something asking who he is? I admit, I’m not the best with words.”

“You’re fantastic!” Anderson exclaimed. At Penny’s semi-confused look, he backpedaled, “Or at least I assume. I mean, I know you’re a good talker. Wait. Um. No. No, not no, you’re good, I just, uh-”

“Want a shovel for that hole you’re digging yourself, Chase?”

His ears flushed. “Er. Um. No.”

“You’re right. You’re doing a mighty fine job yourself. Fantastic, some might say, but others might merely just say 'good’,” Penny smirked.

He ducked his head down. “R-right.”

Penelope felt bad for him. “So, what do you say, master of words? Wanna help me?”

Anderson grimaced. “Yeah, about that…” Penny’s heart sank.

“I just- how do you know if he’ll even respond? You said yourself that he hasn’t given any helpful hints. Maybe he doesn’t want to be found.” Anderson was clearly trying to break this to Penny as gently as he could, but she didn’t care. He didn’t know her admirer like she did. He would respond- she knew it.

“Of course he wants to be found! You think that he wants to remain anonymous forever?”

“Well-I-” Anderson was clearly flustered by the intense look Penny was giving him. Penny wanted to feel normal but make no mistake, those eyes had paralyzed monsters and Titans right before they died at her hands.

“I came to you because I thought we were friends, Anderson. So either you can help or not.”

Anderson looked up at her in a slightly panicked way. “You’re- you’re not wrong-”

“Listen, if he doesn’t want to reveal himself immediately, that’s okay. And I don’t want to pressure you into anything. The choice is all up to you.”

Anderson looked into her sea-green eyes, so intimidating and intense and yet captivating and persuasive. They hooked a man right in like the name of her sword, Riptide. No one would ever deny her anything.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

Penny’s face broke out into a radiant grin. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She went to hug him, but decided against it at the last moment. It would make things weird. Or at least weirder than they already were.

They spent the rest of the day drafting the letter. Anderson was razor-sharp when he was focused and nothing could break his concentration. Except for Penny’s occasional laughter, when he would look over at her and smile, making her face burn.

Penny didn’t know it yet, but she was falling and falling fast and hard for two boys, boys she thought of as different, but there was one key detail that the son of Athena was hiding from her…

Chapter Text

July passed in a haze of sparring, swords, and sweat and by the time Penny had tied her hair back and looked around August was well underway. The Summer Spin, so far away in June, was suddenly next week, and Penny had no idea what to do.

She paced her cabin, rereading the newest letter again and again. It had all of the charm and romanticism she had come to expect from his letters, but the tone was more shy than usual, which was expected, taking into account Penny's previous letter, where she had basically demanded that they meet.

To an outsider, this behavior might have seemed sudden or hurtful, completely uncharacteristic of their relationship, but Penny and her admirer knew each other on levels deeper than they had ever gone. She knew his insecurities, his desires, his dreams without ever knowing his name, and it was the same for him. She knew that sometimes, he needed a gentle nudge in the right direction, and sometimes, that nudge needed to be a full blown call out.

I know how this is for you, reading this letters almost every day and not knowing the person behind them. But I think I'm ready now, Penny. I think I'll do it.

I just hope you won't run away when you find out.

Here's the hint:

As the season of heat draws to an end,

You get brighter while the rest of us grow duller.

If you're sure that this is something we can mend,

You'll find me wearing your favorite color.

That was it. That was her hint.

Granted, it wasn't that bad. It would have been perfectly fine, actually, if the theme for the Summer Spin had not been announced later that day.

"The theme is the ocean!" Chiron said, to much excited murmuring. "Wear something that represents that unstoppable force, but nothing outlandish!" he added hastily, looking at the Stoll sisters, whose faces had pulled into identical scheming smirks and with the admonishment, turned into pouts.

The crowd had dispersed, talking animatedly and comparing ideas. One of the best parts about the Summer Spin was that you only got the theme a few days before and most of the time, you didn't have the proper outfit. So you got something you could bedazzle, headed over to the arts and crafts class, and started hot-gluing with your extended cousins. It was group therapy in a way. (Heavens know they needed it.) Even the most sour, battle-hardened demigods softened when they were blending fabric paint.

Penny walked around the camp aimlessly, consumed in her thoughts. The clue, which would have been relatively helpful, was now almost impossible. Almost everyone would be wearing blue.

And she still, still didn't know what he looked like!

The daughter of Poseidon ran over what she knew about him again in her head. He was a cis guy her age who had been at camp either the same length as her or longer. His name might begin with an A. He was shy and sensitive and that bled over into his letters.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she walked into a wall without noticing. She yelped in surprise and- the wall did too?

"Sorry!" She backpedaled a bit and looked up at the person she had run into and- holy crap.

It was a guy who looked to be about her age, easily a foot taller than her with gelled short light brown hair, hazel eyes, plump pink lips, and a jawline to die for.

"What's your name?" Penny asked. She was certain she had never seen him before- she would have remembered those unbelievable features.

"Uh, Asher, 18. Son of Dionysus. I enjoy hiking and swordsmanship. You?" He grinned.

"Penny, 17, daughter of Poseidon. Enjoys the ocean and sweet things."

His eyes widened, framed by thick lashes. "Holy Hera. You're Penny Jackson? Like, the Penny Jackson?"

"That's me." Penny was always a bit uncomfortable when people realized who she was, but Asher didn't seem awed by her. It was more of a detached curiosity, like he was watching a mildly interesting T.V. show. It wasn't much better, to be honest.

"Huh." He studied her. "You know, from all the stories told about you, I assumed that you were older. They were probably exaggerated."

"Well, they aren't." Penny didn't elaborate and neither did he. "Are you new here?"

"Nah. I've been here seven years."

"Seven years, you say?" Penny was faintly aware of her heartbeat picking up. "That's- that's pretty long. How come we've never seen each other before?"

"Well, I spend most of my time in the forest, scouting and mapping my discoveries. I don't really have time to socialize."

Penny felt her eyebrows raise despite herself. "Impressive. And what do you find in the forest?"

"Well, there's always something new. Sometimes it's a tunnel into the Labyrinth, sometimes it's a new spot for dryads to take root. There's so much left uncharted. And so many monster dens to take out," he said, his eyes burning with something Penny recognized from the Battle of Manhattan. That bloodlust that had become so integral for living that it had stopped caring what anybody thought about it. It was one of the most terrifying parts of the war for Penny. She feared deep down that the bloodlust had never left her, and her secret admirer had helped her in facing those feelings.

The look disappeared relatively quickly, though, and Asher grinned at her and tucked his hands into his pockets. "Just kidding."

"So, are you a year-rounder or just stay for the summer?"

"I'm very much a year-rounder. The woods never stop, you know. I have to be here all the time just in case something new comes up, like a blocked exit or one of the dryads are complaining about me."

Penny couldn't help it; she snorted. "Why would they complain about you?" (To be fair, the only dryad she knew was Jacob, her best friend Grove's boyfriend.)

"Ah, they hate me, tromping around in their woods all day, killing monsters and just generally being unpleasant."

"Who could ever hate you?" Penny's face flushed. That statement had definitely come out wrong.

Asher smirked again, but his face darkened as he looked sideways. "Well, that guy for example."

"Who?"

Penny turned to see where he was looking. Across the green was a tall boy with a mop of curly blonde hair, looking shocked, dismayed, and was that... jealousy? She quickly put the thought behind her. You're getting too far ahead of yourself, Jackson. Putting the cart before the pegasus, as they say. But she couldn't help but feel a slight twist in her stomach at the son of Athena's hurt face.

The softness, negative though it was, disappeared entirely from Anderson's face as his gaze shifted from Penny to Asher. Penny didn't need an empathy link to read his emotions, fiery red with a little blue and green mixed in.

For a moment, Penny thought he might come over to them, and she found herself silently urging him to. She didn't know why, but she was finding his presence increasingly comforting.

Anderson looked like he was going to at first, but then he seemed to snap back to reality and remember himself. He looked at his hands, then Penny and Asher, then the grass, and walked away.

Penny went after him, barely registering Asher's shocked, slightly mulish face.

She hurried to catch up to the son of Athena, who seemed to be heading nowhere in particular, just away from Penny.

"Anderson! Anderson, wait!"

He didn't turn around. Penny felt a sudden spurt of anger.

"I am not going to run after you and beg, Chase!"

Anderson stopped walking. He turned around. His gray eyes were as soft as spring clouds.

"I'm not asking you to," he said, just as softly.

If Penny felt bad before, then this was a new scale of awfulness.

She took a breath and tried to look him in the eyes.

"I'm... sorry."

He blinked. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I-I don't know." She swallowed. He was too pretty for his own good, inside and out. She was almost jealous.

But she knew that those feelings were something else. And she hated herself for that. For feeling something for a boy with golden hair and a shy grin and for a person with an elegant hand who for Penny, lived in a box under her bunk, a future memory, a story to tell.

She didn't want that. And she could tell that her admirer didn't either.

But maybe it was time to stop thinking about a person like that in such a high regard. Penny had her own life, didn't she? And she was going to make everything of it. Starting with the boy in front of her.

She chose her words carefully. "I just... I've never met Asher in all of my years of being at camp, and I'm wondering how I never did."

His face fell almost imperceptibly. "Are you?" A barely audible voice. His gaze sank to his sandals.

"Yeah, so I could have avoided him earlier. Is he always like that?"

A pause of shock- then, his smile slowly widened. He stammered, trying to find words, but just replied with a grinning shrug.

"I guess he is."

Penny shook her head. "Gods, he sucks."

"That's very rude of you, Miss Jackson. What if he overhears you?"

"Then he knows to back off."

"Only a fool would ever try to force you into anything."

Penny could read Anderson well enough by now that she knew when he was joking and when he was telling the truth. And this was the truth. She didn't know how to feel.

Start with the boy in front of you. Start by making something of your own life.

"Well, you've got that right." Her lips quirked up into a smile. "And only a fool would ever lose to you on a race to the armory."

He took a second to process the words, then grinned even further. "You are so on."

Penny mimicked his earlier shrug, then without a warning, took off running in the direction of the armory.

Anderson ran to catch up. He yelled, "Hey, no fair!" All he got back was an exhilarating laugh, one that made him smile up in the warm sunlight.

And up ahead, where he couldn't see her face, the savior of Olympus giggled into the summer day.

Chapter Text

Penny was starting to wish that she had just gone to arts and crafts.

She sifted through the small mountain of clothes on her bed, looking for something she knew for a fact she didn't have and something she did not have time to get, because a week passed awfully quickly and it was the night of the Summer Spin.

She heard the chattering of demigods outside, early-goers for the dance and felt another burst of panic. The black dress she would have worn for her long-gone date with Robert wouldn't work, and it would just be a bitter memory. Her mamá had given her an embroidered tunic that was too big for her, and belted, it looked enough like a dress. No, it was too precious. Maybe wear jeans and make a statement?

"Make an idiot of yourself, more likely," she said to herself, groaning and flopping down on her bed in defeat. Someone laughed on the common green, where many people had banded together before heading down to the beach, the location of the Spin. Maybe it was her secret admirer. Maybe it was Anderson. She scolded her heart for skipping beats at the thought of them.

Penny groaned and covered her face with her pillow. She had to find something. Anything. Maybe she should just swallow her pride yet again and go to the Aphrodite cabin, who would doubtless be busy, but find a way to whip an outfit up for the girl savior. She was turning the thought over in her head when a sharp knock sounded at the door.

She cautiously peeked out the cabin door and saw pink-streaked jet-black hair perfectly coiffed over a no-nonsense face. Good-looking in the way of a Victorian painting. 

"Drew?" She opened the door a bit further. "What are you-"

The Japanese teen heaved a sigh and pushed past her "The things I do for my friends, you would not believe." 

That confused Penny even more. She and Drew were civil at best. She didn't think she had ever had a conversation with them that lasted more than a few minutes.

They raised their immaculate eyebrow at Penny. "We're not friends, sweetie, so take another guess."

Who else knew that she didn't have anything in her cabin that wasn't ratty T-shirts and borrowed who-knows-what? The same person whom she had confided to about Robert's ghosting. The same person whom she told everything to. 

"Who is he?" she blurted, sounding desperate, but she didn't care. She had to know. 

Drew tsk-ed their tongue. "Impatient. You'll find out. And in the meantime, that boy owes me so many drachmas, he'll be paying up from Hades." They talked while examining Penny and took hold of her jaw, turning her face from side to side. She felt like a bug under a microscope.

"Well, at least there's something to work with." They put down a large black bag Penny hadn't noticed before and cracked it open, pulling out palettes and curlers and mirrors and sprays until Penny nearly shrunk under it. 

Drew noticed how the girl was intimidated and softened the slightest bit. "Just relax. I don't agree to private makeovers for just anybody, you know. You're a good person, if a bit cocky at times. But all heroes are. He'll stop pining, at any rate. Now stop moving, this is going on your eye."

For the next fifteen minutes, Penny felt like a doll under all the scrutiny and the intense makeover Drew was giving her. 

Finally, they stepped back and examined her. They gave a quick nod, shoved something into her hands, and gestured to the private bathroom. "Don't come out too early, I'm changing too," they called. She noticed a coral-pink tuxedo peeking out of the bag. They were feverishly applying mascara when she closed the door and changed into the dress.

She took a look at herself in the mirror and caught her breath. It was a starry ocean night, deep blue at the hem, and gauzy cup sleeves, working its way up, ever lighter, to a high waist, embedded with small gold pearls and embellishments at the sleeves, hem, and all across the dress, highlighting her brown skin and making it the perfect choice for an ocean night. She took a deep breath. She was ready. 

Drew was fastening their cuff links when Penny walked in. They couldn't control the self-satisfied smirk on their face. "The gold was the perfect choice," they muttered, quieter than Penny could hear. They nodded briskly to her. "Good. Now for jewelry."

She stayed still while they layered gold jewelry at her neck and ears, giving her a thick gold bangle and a gold hairpin.

"I don't know how I can thank you," Penny said, and she meant it. 

"Introduce me to Miles Gardiner and we're even. Now let's get going."

The night was deliciously warm, with a light wind brushing Penny’s thick black hair against her face. She had rarely seen the campers do decked out, and she couldn’t help smiling as Willa Solace kissed a furiously blushing Nika di Angelo's hand.

As Drew and Penny entered the common green, the latter caught the eye of a certain Demeter boy in kelp colors, which she personally found tasteful but judging by the look on Drew's face, was better kept to herself. She introduced the two quickly and made herself scarce. Miles didn’t seem to care; he was plenty busy with the vision in pink before him.

As Penny descended to the beach, her heartbeat grew more and more erratic, thumping with each step.

A or Anderson? A or Anderson? Someone’s heart would be soaring tonight and another’s breaking- if Anderson even likes you that way, she reminded herself furiously. And hadn’t she made her decision already? She wouldn’t spend more time hung up on words, a nameless, faceless person who didn’t even want to reveal himself. 

But that was before he got a fashion genius to give you a private makeover, she thought miserably. A was passionate, a dream come to life; Anderson was real, a true future. But what's wrong with wanting both? Excitement and stability, present and future. If only they were the same person… hold that thought.

Asher had just caught sight of Penny and was walking towards her. She silently cursed her luck and swept her eyes over the crowd on the beach. Lights twinkled overhead, illuminating the space just enough so that individual faces were not visible. She caught a glimpse of blonde hair and her head snapped up.

"Hey, Penny," Asher said, smirking and positioning himself effortlessly slightly too close to the daughter of Poseidon.

"Hi, Asher," she replied a bit impatiently, scanning the crowd once more for that mop of blonde hair- almost too bright, as they joked. 

"So, I've been thinking since our conversation earlier," he started, a strange gleam in his eye that was too reminiscent of that bloodthirsty glint to be comfortable. 

She made a noncommittal noise and dropped her eyes; she had lost him. It didn’t matter. She'd find him later. She just had to find her secret admirer. It was welling hot inside of her; she had had no idea how desperate she was to know his identity until now. She didn’t think she could go another day without knowing who he was. 

Asher adjusted his blue tie and continued. Penny couldn’t help but note the color and with a fresh wave of horror, prayed desperately that he wouldn’t be her beloved A. 

"And I really like you, so what do you say to hanging out more." It wasn’t phrased like a question, more like a statement, with a hint of cockiness in it. Penny also hadn’t realized up until now that she preferred shy people. She briefly recalled her past crush on Charlene Beckendorf, a silent woman if there ever was one. And now here she was…

"Asher," she started, but abruptly cut off when when she saw the crowd murmuring and staring at someone in the middle. Asher twisted his head around and squinted. 

"What is that?" he muttered, the corner of his mouth twisting up with a slight snarl.

All Penny saw was flashes of what looked like parchment, but just then the crowd parted and her breath left her.

His suit was designed to look like- well, writing on parchment, torn in some spots, splotches of gold and blue ink on others. Goosebumps pricked up on her arms. Gold splotches that looked identical to the embellishments on her dress. His head was ducked down do his face was hidden, but that bright gold hair… she would recognize it in her sleep. And she had, hadn’t she? she thought, dazed. All those nights staying up writing and reading and rereading letters, drifting off into sleep of ink splotches and camp beads and that same blonde hair. But what got her was the blue rose in his lapel. 

She had always known. And when he looked up slowly, it only confirmed her… dreams. 

"You," she breathed. Everyone looked on silently- they wouldn’t dare interrupt a moment so fragile, so hopeful.

"Me," he said a little hoarsely, the ghost of a laugh in his voice. 

There was so much to say, so much flying through her head, but the loudest one was thank god I don’t have to choose. 

She gave him a silent look and walked to the edge of the beach, where the woods started. The sky was bursting with stars, bright like jewels. The voices and laughter of the campers had faded, but Penny could have sworn she still heard Asher scoffing, "Him?"

She heard soft footsteps on the sand behind her. She hesitated before turning around. There Anderson Chase stood, all long limbs and sheepish glances. She could almost believe he was the same boy she had given an archery lesson to on that hill all those weeks ago, but there was something different now. He was more self-assured, more open. He stood taller than he had ever done. And she knew why.

"You listened to my advice."

"I did. And you listened to mine."

She was standing more relaxed, open in a different way. She wasn’t Penelope Jackson, savior of Olympus- she was just Penny, talking to her.. who knows?

She exhaled. "You didn’t tell me."

He scratched the back of his neck and stuttered. "Well, I-I didn’t know if you were going to run off, I didn’t want to shatter what we had-"

"Have."

Anderson looked up, gray eyes darker in the night. "What?" he breathed, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

She stuck her chin up. "Have. Unless you don’t want it." 

Anderson stared at her for a moment, then seemed to regain his thoughts. He crossed the feet between him, closer than Asher had been, but Penny didn’t want him to move, never wanted this moment to end. 

"For you, anything."

And he leaned down, closing the space between them that had previously and in the future would be filled by words, but now, now, she wasn’t caring about the past or the future, there was only now, now, and Anderson, always and forever, under the summer sky.