Have You Heard The Rumors? [CUPID]

[haley]

Why she was here, she had no clue. It was one of those ‘seemed like a good idea at the time’ sort of things. After all, Haley Campbell wasn’t exactly the post popular person here. Early on, it was because she talked funny and didn’t get along well with others. Now, it was because she didn’t play well with others more on purpose. The fact that no one had ever seen reason to censor their opinion of her made her figure why not take an eye for an eye? So she stopped sitting off by herself and started getting in peoples’ faces and informing them just what she thought. She’d become something of a rebel just for the purpose of not wanting to be like everyone else. And there was the fact that she was fiercely competitive. And thanks to her mum, she had a knack for winning, which only made it all the more fun.

So here she was at the dance, by herself and proud of it. No one had approached her in the last twenty minutes, which really was the entire time she’d been here, and she was okay with that. She also was more than happy to stand out. Everyone else was all dressed up in fancy dresses and tuxedoes or dress shirts. They’d obviously all taken a good deal of effort to look their absolute best. So she did the opposite. She dressed in a worn out PacMan t-shirt, jeans that were just shy of having a hole in them, sneakers, and her favorite jacket with a Nike swoop on it that she’s run across at a Goodwill. The only thing more casual she could have gone for was pajamas, and yeah, that wasn’t gonna happen. But she wasn’t here to impress people, and had not reason or desire to look fancy and whatnot. Though she admittedly did spot Xander for a second about five minutes ago, which was about the only thing that had actually held her interest for any amount of time. She hadn’t talked to him since meeting him randomly in the forest a while back – purely by accident. Who knew the guy could play guitar? As promised, she hadn’t mentioned it to a soul. Oddly enough, he was one of the few she actually had sort of come to respect. She intended to talk to him further, though, whether he liked it or not. It was kind of fun bugging him because he took up the challenge and was actually a challenge. But either he was lost in the crowd or had already left. Not that she blamed him. This place was nauseating with all the cutsie couples taking a break from their training or daily life around the Legion and New Rome.

At least the punch was good. She looked at the cup in her hands and swilled the red liquid for a minute before downing it and leaning back against empty table. The least they could do was play some decent music. All this slow crap was just torture. Maybe some Skillet or The Who or Linkin Park would do them some good. She considered informing the dj that his music choices bit, but that would require moving from her spot and talking to the guy she knew for sure had an arrogant streak the size of Russia if his musical abilities were challenged. Mostly because she had done the challenging once before. Idiot kids of Apollo.

WORD COUNT: 578
TAG: Cupid

[mars]

Nearly two and a half decades had passed since Cupid had attended a proper dance. Certainly he had been invited to a number of them-after all, he was Cupid. Not that he was quite sure that this implied that he should be at a dance, but whenever he asked why he was presented with an invite, their response was just that: "Well, you're Cupid". He really didn't comprehend why they had to keep repeating his name. He already knew what it was after all. But if they wanted to be so obvious and dramatic about the issue then that was their prerogative he supposed.

Still, this 'ball' was a little less classy and upscale than he recalled them previously being. Then again, it was being hosted at the Roman Camp-which wasn't exactly known for its elegance or its party-planning skills. Romans especially weren't known for their taste in decorum or color scheme either, he noted as he eyed the decorative sashes and flowers that clashed horribly when placed next to one another. There was also an ice sculpture that he could see. Oh, how lovely, an ice sculpture of a bow and arrow wielding cherub. Of course the concept was supposed to be associated with the god himself, but he never understood where the connection was. In fact he found that the whole cherub thing was kind of tasteless. After all, he didn't really even have a fondness for infants. Maybe those that were three and above were acceptable for him to interact with (and he was even rather good with those children)-but any younger and he would politely excuse himself from the room.

The campers around Camp Jupiter, however, were at the right age where he considered them old enough to associate with. Or less associate with, and more play secret matchmaker. That was the aspect that was more fun for him after all. Especially with these Romans-they were a bit of a challenge when it came to his set of skills. Here at this dance though, he had a number of opportunities for a little bit of fun. Or at least his definition of it-which usually entailed screwing with peoples' love lives-as his mother so lovingly put it. It wasn't his fault if his conquests occasionally turned out for the worst. In fact, usually it was Venus' fault. That whole Helen of Troy thing was, at least. He could just shudder thinking about the whole catastrophe.

Instead though, he tipped back his small glass to sooth his nerves with the taste of ambrosia (in a paper cup....classy, Romans, classy). Honestly he wasn't so comfortable with this large of a number of people in the same constricted area. He wouldn't say he was a claustrophobic god, but he was certainly less social and a little more awkward than most of the other excessively garrulous immortals. He was even a little uncomfortable in the presence of one person-which said something about just how unusually shy the younger god was. How stories had gotten around about how egotistical and bothersome the god Cupid was, he would never know. Even flirtatious was a bit of a stretch sometimes. Certainly he was capable of flattering a pretty girl when one struck his fancy, but it wasn't as if he was out on a new escapade every night (like stories made it sound).

Speaking of pretty girls, however, an unusually pretty one did catch the corner of his eye as he lingered on the edge of the party at the refreshments table. "Interesting choice of dress.

[/color]" He commented (his tone indicating absolutely no sarcasm), tilting his head to the side curiously at the brunette's faded jeans and t-shirt.Ah, daughter of Victoria he was thinking. The face looked a little familiar, and the blatant advertisement of Nike products was certainly a hint. An amusing one at that. Very Nike-esque. Very original too he supposed, he could admire that even though he was wearing a very classy suit for the occasion. "Points for originality-it's Miss Campbell, right?[/color]" He smiled slightly, recalling that Victoria-or Nike-had very few kids running around either of the Camps. And the ones she did-apparently very pretty, he noted, a small red blush creeping up his neck despite himself.



tag ;; haley
word count ;; 709
notes ;; he so cute.

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[haley]

This dance was utterly worthless. Haley had come to the conclusion that five minutes was about all the time she planned on giving this little venture before heading back to the barracks and taking advantage of the fact that pretty much no one was there and it was actually quiet for a change. This place was just over the top. Apparently they thought they could make up for their total lack of any real knowledge on dances and anything but fighting by smothering the place with flowers and other ostentatious junk. Even the food area was littered with little heart-shaped confetti that she would not be a happy camper, no pun intended, if she found in the food itself. Especially that plate of little chocolates that she had been partaking of while here, totally unashamed of her mild chocolate addiction. Thankfully, this place worked people into the dirt so much she could probably eat straight lard and not put on a pound. Which actually sounded completely disgusting, but the point remained. So chocolate wasn’t an issue at all. And didn’t someone say or something read somewhere that chocolate was actually not one hundred percent bad for you? Sounded good by her!

She straightened up and was completely ready to walk right out without giving this train wreck a second thought when she noticed someone nearby, someone who was looking right at her. She’d consider the fact possibly a bit creepy if it weren’t for the fact that he was actually really cute. And he didn’t have that look that said ‘Give me a second while I come up with a proper insult for you’, which was a pleasant change. When he spoke up, she couldn’t help but think it odd that he wasn’t being sarcastic. And his tone was soft and warm, if that could even be a proper description of a sound, but it seemed to fit. Alright, so this guy seemed to have proven himself worth a chance. “I prefer to not blend in with the crowd,” she said with an offhand smile. “And yeah, that’s me. Though you can just call me Haley.” She gave him a sort of half-smile. How he knew her, she wasn’t so sure. There was the fact that she did have something of a reputation here, and not exactly a pleasant one, but the way he was acting, it was almost as though he wasn’t aware of her less than popular standing around here. Either that or he simply didn’t care. She pushed the thought aside. Why was she even questioning that? If someone was being nice to her, it wasn’t really something to complain about exactly. She shook herself of that train of thought and turned back to what was going on. He knew who she was, but she couldn’t exactly say the same for herself. “Not sure we’re met. Or if we have, I don’t remember and definitely don’t know what your name is ‘cause I kind of royally suck at remembering names.” She shrugged.

Shifting so that she could see him a little more straight on, Haley regarded him a moment. He was definitely cute. The fancy suit and the messy hair seemed to fit together perfectly, in her opinion. And was it just her, or was he slightly red? Must have been the lighting. After a moment, she met his eyes again, framed as they were behind thick-rimmed glasses that seemed to suit him really well. “You can’t honestly tell me you’re here by yourself. A face like that? Unless all the girls around here lost any sense of taste.” After all, if even she noticed, there was not a change in the underworld no other girls did. All the while, she scanned her memory of just any time around camp or those select times in New Rome to see if she could place his face. No, she would have noticed him if she had, she was sure.

WORD COUNT: 660
TAG: Cupid!
NOTE: Sorry it’s a bit short. Also, agreed, he's adorable.

[mars]

Cupid was becoming acutely aware of the fact that he may have been staring. Perhaps it would have been kind to apologize, but there was still a small part of him that was still hoping that perhaps she hadn't noticed his shameless gaze. It wasn't his fault if he really considered it. His mother was, after all, the goddess of beauty and love-and he, the god of affection, could only be expected to appreciate the looks of a beautiful girl. At least subtly and with a manner of class that not many other people could manage. After all, technically this could be considered 'checking her out', but that made it sound so....so, degrading and very unlike the god. No, checking girls out was for the highly trashy, and disrespectful. He preferred the term 'appreciating her beauty'. It sounded much more flattering, and much more accurate for his purposes.

"Understandable, though I don't think you could possibly blend into the crowd even if you had worn the expected attire.

[/color]" He insisted, his lips twitching slightly in a bashful smile. It was, of course, meant to be a compliment-but he accompanied the statement with a smile just to reassure her of that. After all, he supposed if you happened to over-analyze the words, then it could be interpreted to mean that she had too outrageous an appearance or personality or something along those lines. When that was very far from the truth. Though he supposed anyone related to Victoria typically had a rather outrageous personality so that may have been true of her, but it was almost always a good thing. And in this case, the demigod seemed rather friendly and humorous, so she must have been one of Victoria's more pleasant Roman children. After all, children of the Roman goddess of victory generally spelled trouble..They were nearly as competitive and ruthless as the Mars kids were sometimes. Hardly Victoria's fault-it was just in their blood (and not everyone could be as cheerful and optimistic as the goddess was-not even her children sometimes).

Politely taking the girl's hand, he lifted it to his lips and gave it a gentle, chivalrous kiss. It seemed a little suspicious as an action for this day and age, but let's recall that he was born centuries ago-so his methods and manners were still rather old-fashioned (and even, charming). Well charming, unless you were a feminist. He had noticed that they didn't take well to 'gentlemen'. He had actually been slapped once for simply holding a door open for an apparent feminist-something which had shocked him into utter silence and then sent him on his way, still confused by the whole ordeal. Since when had manners become a bad thing? He must have missed that memo, even during the movement for women's rights. "No, we haven't met actually. I mostly keep to myself-not the friendliest people here, as I'm sure you know. I'm a..son of Mars, by the way.[/color]" He grinned, shrugging slightly. Though technically none of that was a lie-he'd been careful to keep it that way. He didn't want to necessarily lie to her, but at the same time, he didn't want to reveal his identity quite yet. Attitudes tended to change once people realized they were conversing with an actual god.

"I a-am actually." He stuttered slightly, turning red from the unexpected embarrassment that arose in him as she paid him a compliment. "Both by choice, and I'm sure the shy personality probably doesn't help my cause. These people are more fond of the angry personality, correct? Though I still fail to see why someone as lovely as yourself doesn't have a date either.[/color]"



tag ;; haley!
word count ;; 613

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[haley]

There was something about how… timid he seemed that was really endearing. Most of the people here were brutish and in your face, so it was odd to find someone so… not. And refreshing, really. Okay, so she’d found one person so far, but no offense to Rowan, but he was a bit on the hard to understand side sometimes. Nothing against him. This guy, she had yet to make a judgment on, but his odds were looking good. His method of complimenting was unusual, but between his tone of voice and that smile, there was no real way it could be anything else. Haley certainly couldn’t say this happened often. But she smiled either way. “Well, thank you.” Though she honestly had no idea what she was supposed to do in response to that. What was even protocol for complimenting people? And why the heck was Haley even considering rules? Not like she’d ever really done so before.

For a moment, Haley was uncharacteristically caught up in trying to figure out what the heck was going on in her head, that she didn’t notice him reach for her hand until his fingers wrapped around hers. Well, that was one way to shock her out of her thoughts. When he kissed her hand in a way that reminded her strongly of stuff you only really saw in Disney movies – she blamed that younger girl in her barrack for that mental reference – with the old-fashioned prince whose name was never actually mentioned in the entire movie. She’d always thought it lame when she saw it in the girl’s movie-watching, but now that it wasn’t some weak little prep with a poofy gown and a tiara and some guy who apparently only shopped at Shakespearean Flops ‘R’ Us… it was actually really sweet. And she’d be completely lying if she said that it didn’t make her feel slightly fluttery. Dear gods, she’d just used ‘fluttery’ to describe herself. She watched him for a second before smiling slightly.

Not the friendliest of people here? Well that was sounding more and more like a load of crap. Though her disbelief was only doubled – quite possibly tripled – when he said who his dad was. “You’re kidding, right?” She realized that that possibly came out a little harsh. And fact was, she actually had no desire whatsoever to insult him, even if she did think his siblings were all total asses. So she hurried to amend herself, “I mean, that you’re not friendly. You’re easily the friendliest person I’ve met at this camp.” Which was true, even though it hadn’t actually been the original source of her outburst. “And, uh, I get to know your name?” she added as she realized that they were decently into a conversation and she still had little to no idea who this guy was.

He stuttered. Oh, now that was just too cute. He was actually, truly uncomfortable, wasn’t he? But by the looks of it, maybe not in a bad way. Was that possible? Then again, that annoying flutteriness in her own stomach wasn’t exactly normal, even if it did feel kind of cool. Sure, Haley had openly checked out guys, and even commented on it before. But that was more of a her being obnoxious thing. Not like anyone ever paid her a second’s notice, or at least not in a flipping the bird manner. Not this guy though. She shook her head slightly as he seemed to effortlessly pay her yet another compliment. “Well, then. I have half a mind to know if you have any interest in changing that.” Though oddly, she was starting to actually feel self-conscious about her less-than-flattering attire. Why didn’t she wear something nicer than this!?

WORD COUNT: 626
TAG: Cupid