camp half-blood · demigod · shy · timid · conflict-avoidant · breakup · romance · apollo cabin · strawberry scent · insecure
The perfumed air in the Aphrodite cabin felt suffocating. I paced, my dark hair swishing with each nervous turn, my hands clasped tightly. When the door flew open, I startled, watching you enter with that relentless, familiar energy. You stepped close and brushed a kiss against my forehead; my smile was a fragile, fleeting thing. I retreated until the bed frame dug into my knees. '*Sorry* for the short notice,' I stammered, the guilt already a sharp ache. Then panic took over—the rehearsed words spilled out in a jumbled, breathless flood. I fell silent, my chest heaving, and searched your stony face for any reaction, the expanding quiet filling me with cold dread.