Chapter Text
To say camp was boring would be a massive understatement. Drew hadn’t seen any sustainable drama since the deaths of Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckendorf, and that was years ago. Turns out that war really puts a new perspective on things, and people don’t see the reason for fighting with their lovers or putting off asking out their crush. And now that the Aphrodite cabin didn’t do their rite of passage anymore, there was absolutely no new heartbreak. She loathed that McLean brat more and more every day.
It was honestly devastating. The only entertainment she was able to get was from messing with some of the younger campers, but even that was growing impossible.
“Stop it, Drew. You can’t be doing that.”
She’d recognize that southern accent anywhere. Her boredom quickly flared into annoyance. “Stay out of it, Will.”
The two Hephaestus kids she had been convincing to pull Chiron’s tail took the interruption to run away. Now she was alone on the courtyard with Will Solace. She debated going off to her cabin, leaving Will mid-conversation. She knew he hated when people deliberately ignored him, but decided against it. She looked in the direction the voice came from.
The medic stood off to the side, wearing his doctor outfit with an orange camp shirt. Honestly, he looked ridiculous. He was tanner than she remembered, and were those freckles? His skin shade and blonde hair went together nicely, she won’t deny it. Plus, he had a nice build.
She scanned him up and down, she could kind of see what she saw in him. He was far from ugly, and his bubbly personality was fun to crush. But he had somehow gotten over her and went off with the dead kid. That was a shocker, they were complete opposites. And they were such an ugly couple. Together all the time, always smiling and joking. They never fought or argued and if they did it was behind closed doors.
Just like her mother, she was good at hiding how she really felt. She pushed her thoughts away and smiled, “you would look better if you frowned less, you’ll get wrinkles!”
He crossed his arms, looking away towards Cabin 13, “I don’t frown often, you're a special case.”
Not missing a beat, she quipped, “Aww, so I’m special!” Will was refusing to look at her, he kept staring at the dark cabin in the distance. Something was brewing in her gut and it only took her a second to register it as excitement. This is the kind of thrill Aphrodite kids were supposed to feel, a thrill that they were robbed of when Ms. Boring became head counselor.
“Goodbye, Drew.” He walked away, not sparing her a single glance. If she wasn’t already sure of her little project, she was now. This guy was so disrespectful! He needed to be brought down a peg. His sassiness made her want to scowl, but instead she beamed even though he couldn’t see it, “Bye bye William, see you later!”
She noticed him stiffen at her words and try to hide it. He continued towards the infirmary and disappeared from sight. She chuckled to herself. For the first time in a long time, she felt alive. Turning towards the Aphrodite cabin, she began to plan.
As if things couldn’t get more convenient, Jason and Piper were visiting. They would be the perfect witnesses, or maybe just Jason. Piper might be able to see through her act.
She was writing her ideas in a pink glittery notebook while sitting on the dock. She convinced a naiad to give her a foot massage at the lake. One of her siblings was sitting next to her, one who still had a sense for true love. He was peering over her shoulder and snickering, making suggestions every once in a while.
“Maybe we could have some fireworks, they always make things more dramatic.”
She rolled her eyes, “No Damian, we need this to be quiet and natural, or else the Hade’s spawn won’t believe it.”
Damian leaned back on the wood, staring at the area where the trees met water. The lake really was beautiful during the fall time. “Well he needs to, I’m so sick of seeing them around.” A leaf fell from a nearby tree and Damian caught it in his hand, “Their breakup would be beautiful .” He crushed the leaf in his fist, brown dust falling and flying into the wind.
Drew giggled, “I like the way you think.”
When Drew first arrived at camp, she made quick work of her rite of passage. Will Solace was someone everyone knew and loved, he brought light into everyone's life. With her charmspeak, it was too easy to convince him he loved her, and it was even easier to confess to him she didn’t. The resident sunshine became more like a rainy storm cloud for weeks, the entire Apollo cabin, or what was left of them, hated her.
That’s what made her head counselor so quickly, she went for someone as popular and well liked as Will Solace. She was able to make him stop smiling, which seemed almost impossible. That was, until that wretched Piper came in and ruined everything. And the worst part was that she somehow convinced the rest of their siblings that heartache isn’t what Aphrodite was about, which was just plain stupid.
That’s what made this scheme even better, Nico was Piper’s friend. Not only will it be adorable to see Will all distressed again, but the heartache it will bring Nico, the betrayal Piper and Jason would feel… she could feel her toes tingling already. She kept jotting in her notebook, occasionally kicking the naiad when she pressed too hard. Damian kept offering his ideas and she kept writing them down, this was going to be amazing .
“Okay so go over it one more time.”
This brat was getting really annoying. Drew resisted the urge to sock the kid in the jaw. Damian scoffed, “What did you not get, it’s like, so simple.”
Drew hummed, “Yeah, just go to Jason and pretend to be hurt, it’s not that hard.”
Damian and she recruited one of their younger sisters, a new camper who just arrived a week ago. She couldn’t have been older than nine, but her inability to understand her role was getting under Drew’s skin.
They were standing on the outskirts of the forest. Through some extensive spywork, Damian found out that Jason goes to Zues’s fist at the same time every night to meditate. So the plan was simple, her younger sister (she didn’t bother to learn her name) would go to Jason begging for assistance, Jason would bring her to the infirmary and see Will romancing with Drew, Jason would then either get mad at Will (which would be hilarious) or go tell Nico. She didn’t know which one she preferred, on one hand she wanted the son of Hades heartbroken, but watching Will suffer had been one of her favorite pastimes in, well the past.
“This is impossible, can’t I just pretend to be hurt?” It was clear Damian was getting impatient, so was she. But he had a stronger thirst for drama than she did, she always preferred a simple heartbreak.
It was her turn to scoff, “No Damian, you need to be on the lookout for Piper, she cannot go to the infirmary.”
It was true, Jason was probably stupid enough to buy her act, but Piper definitely wasn’t. And chances were that if Piper saw Jason hurrying into the infirmary with her younger sister, she would follow.
Drew could tell Damian was getting fed up, but he ceased anyway. “Whatever. You got until eight thirty, I don’t think I could distract her longer than that.”
She nodded before he walked away. That gave them thirty minutes to set up and execute. She smiled to herself, then to her younger sister. An idea came over her, it felt like fire rushing over her skin, starting at her heart and spreading to her fingertips. Then, without warning, she punched her sister in the face.
The kid yelped and threw her hands to the left side of her face. “W-wha-?” Tears were forming in her eyes and Drew could see a red splotch spreading from underneath small hands. Perfect.
“There, I just made your job easier. Now you don’t have to pretend.” She grabbed her sister by the shoulder, ignoring when she flinched, and spun her towards the forest. “Now go and tell Jason that you fell, and it hurts a lot.” Drew couldn’t help the ounce of charmspeak that flowed into her words, making them sweeter than nectar. The kid’s eyes glazed over as she stumbled into the forest.
A triumphant smile took over her features. Where they were positioned, Zeus’s fist was a good five minute walk. That gave her time to go to the infirmary and carry out her part of this plan. She guessed Damian found Piper by now, at least she hoped. The new head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin was the only factor that could throw this plan into ruin.
She tried not to think about that as she took up a light jog toward the infirmary, jumping over stray tree roots and mud puddles.
Saying hi to a few campers along the way, she eventually made it to the infirmary. She was glad she thought of doing this on a day where activities were light, so the chances of someone getting hurt were low. Of course, there wasn’t a zero percent chance, but she prayed her mother was looking after her with this one.
Just as she expected, the infirmary was basically empty. The only people there were Benny, the son of Demeter who was the receptionist, and she could see a hint of blonde hair in the not too far off distance. She turned toward Will’s office and started to move, only to be interrupted by Benny.
“Ah ah ah, not so fast.” She turned. Benny was sitting with his legs up on the counter and a comic book in his hands. He was peering at her over his thick rimmed glasses, “You don’t look injured, Miss Tanaka.”
She plastered on her prettiest smile, “I have business with Will.”
At this, Benny raised an eyebrow, “He’s on duty, bother him later.” He returned to his comic book.
Now she was getting angry. Her little sister probably already ran into Jason, so that meant they were on the way and who knows if Damian is carrying up his end of the deal. Her frustration fueled her to not care about how much charmspeak she used in her words when she said,
“Stop bothering me, rodent. Sleep .”
The sound of Benny’s body hitting the floor was a muffled thump, one that didn’t carry past the front area, thankfully. She strided past the empty cots, noting the freshly folded bed sheets. She knew that was Will’s doing, he used to tell her how he liked making beds, unlike his siblings.
Finally, she reached the desk. Will was facing away from her filling out some paperwork. She placed her hands on his shoulders, not unlike how she did with her sister only minutes before, and turned the spinning chair until he faced her.
The flinch and startled yell would have made her laugh in any other situation, but she was way too focussed to find humor. He looked up at her with those pretty blue eyes, they were wide and confused. Gods, she missed this.
“D-Drew?” He cleared his throat, clearly not over his shock, “Drew, what are you doing here?” She only chuckled, his face was amusing, not as amusing as Nico’s will be once he finds out about all of this.
“Y’know-” She leaned down so her lips were able to graze his ear, “I never got over you.” If she used a lot of chamspeak to knock Benny out, then she used an unhealthy amount on Will. His eyes went from vibrant sapphire to a pale celeste in seconds.
His head started to lull from the intensity of the words, maybe she needed to dial it back a bit. But then Will’s eyes drifted to a photo frame on his desk, depicting him and his boyfriend smiling in front of a drooling hellhound. His eyes cleared up almost completely.
Will stood, only a little unstable on his feet. “Drew, what are you doing?” His voice was commanding, she found herself taken aback. This wasn’t the insecure Will Solace she knew back then, this was someone different. Someone who found love and was willing to protect it. Her innocent smile morphed into something else, it was pointy on the edges and promised nothing but cruelty.
Will tried to take a step back, but his desk got in the way. When he bumped into it the photo fell face first to the floor. Pretty ironic, she thinks.
“Benny?” Will raised his voice so the Demeter kid could hear him, too bad he was out of commission.
“Hey, Will?” He looked at her, she noticed his chest rising and falling a little quicker, and she could tell by his body language he was about to bolt. She wouldn’t give him the chance. “Go sit on that bed.” She pointed to the nearest cot.
Since Piper became head counselor, and it was found out she possessed charmspeak, Drew had been training. It started with animals, demanding them to get her things and what not, but then it progressed to campers. She could get almost anything she wanted, staying under Chiron and Mr. D’s radar, of course. She’s willing to bet her chamspeak is way stronger than Piper’s, and Will following her command without hesitance only proved that.
She stalked over, taking her time to open the curtains around the cot, this was a show after all. “Lay down.” He complied. She positioned herself on top of him, her thighs sandwiched his hips, and looked down. She lowered until they were face to face.
From what she heard from people she’s charmspeaked, they were aware of their body and actions but had no control over themselves. In case that was true, Drew made sure to peck Will on the nose and whisper a quiet, “They’ll never believe you.” She didn’t use charmspeak then, she didn’t have to.
Suddenly, the door swung open. It clattered against the wall with a loud bang.
“Will!” A very distressed Jason Grace could be heard from where they were, she thinks she saw Will’s eyes widen a fraction. Her smile grew.
She did one last check, making sure they would be visible once Jason came down here, and turned back to Will. She leaned down so her nose was pressing against his. Her hands found his neck and she scratched the delicate skin lightly, snickering when he tried to pull back. Her fingers traced his collar bones and pulled at the shirt, she pressed against his jugular in a way she knew was uncomfortable. Finally, she lined their lips.
“Kiss me.”
Drew could almost see the heartbreak in his eyes, he was fighting against her. His body was twitching unnaturally, as if to escape her. The idea was so cute she almost laughed. His hands tried to grip the sheet, but he wasn’t strong enough so it looked more like his fingers were dancing. His lips pressed against hers in a robotic kiss, it looked too fake.
She pulled back. “You love me, remember?” She kept her voice down, barely a whisper. She heard Jason’s sound of shock at Benny's body. Time was running out and they haven’t even done anything yet. She pushed down on his neck out of frustration, only feeling a little bad when he made a strangled sound and the area turned red. For this to work she needed to swallow her pride and do things that grossed her out.
“Kiss me like I’m Nico di Angelo.”
The name filled her with disgust, she really didn’t want to stoop this low. But for the sake of the mission, it needed to be done. Her throat was sore from the amount of charmspeak she used, maybe she’d steal some medicine from the inventory room after all this was finished.
Will’s eyes closed this time, which was a relief. Open eyed kisses were a) creepy and b) a dead giveaway someone was uncomfortable. His lips hovered below her’s before his head pressed up, slamming their mouths together. Before she could properly digest everything, his tongue was in her mouth. It was moving, exploring her mouth with vigor but still careful. Hilariously enough, she could still feel his reluctance. She kissed back but it was hard to keep up. Is this what a true love’s kiss felt like?
Footsteps echoed in the infirmary, they were rapid and frantic, Jason would see them in seconds. She pushed down her disappointment that this was almost over and instead grabbed Will’s hands and flung them around her.
“Will? Will, Benny is out cold and I got this girl-”
The words were cut off by a strangled gasp, this was it. He saw them, she could feel his eyes drift between them. She prayed to whoever would listen that Will would stay under her trance, and with the amount of charmspeak she used on him, she didn’t doubt he would. She could hear even from her spot a few feet away Jason’s breathing picking up. There was sparking in the air, little shocks that broke the silence of the room. He was clearly furious. Drew heard through the grapevine that Jason was fond of Death the Kid, even seeing him as a little brother. So to see this, the person Nico trusted his oh so guarded heart to, in a position such as this ? Drew held back a laugh.
Soft footsteps hit the ground, too light to be Jason’s, and ran towards the exit. Drew could only assume that was her little sister. If Jason noticed the runaway he didn’t let on, she could still feel his eyes on them. She thinks she heard a crack of thunder in the distance.
“Solace, I’ll make you regret this.”
And he was gone, leaving electric air in his wake. Part of her was hoping he’d blow up at Will, maybe even get violent. But the more she thought about it, Jason didn’t seem like the type to throw a fit, that was more Percy’s territory. She pulled back from the kiss of which Will didn’t try to stop once. Immediately, his body went limp, arms falling back to his sides. She felt a strange rush of power as she sat on top of him, something she wasn’t used to.
Her hands found the hem of his shirt and pulled it up, giving her access to his toned abdomen. She traced his abdominal muscles, enjoying how they twitched and spasmed under her touch. Then she moved downwards, pulling and releasing the hem of his boxers a few times just to scare him. Her eyes drifted to his neck, where the red marks she left were turning into a dark purple color. Will still looked completely dazed, his eyes were glassy and trained on the ceiling.
“I really am sorry about this Will.” She flattened her palm on his chest and curled her fingers, digging her nails into tan skin until it bled, “I wish you and your boyfriend the best.”
She stood, not bothering to pull his shirt back down and made her way to the storage room to grab some throat medicine. When she came out, Will hadn’t moved, but his eyes looked a little shinier than they had been before. Damian was most likely done with Piper, meaning she was going to find Jason. A little girl and an angry Jason Grace just left the infirmary in a hurry, and that’s bound to get some attention. She glanced at the back window, not too far from Will’s desk.
As she approached her makeshift exit, something cracked under her foot. Looking down, she saw the picture from before. She picked it up, ignoring the groans of Benny stirring.
“Bye bye, William.” She looked at him in his eyes, only hoping he saw her as she dropped the frame to the floor, its shattering hiding the sound of her opening the window and leaving.