Chapter Text
The training field seemed louder than usual.
Swords cracked against practice dummies, arrows thudded into targets, and someone somewhere was yelling about proper footwork.
But Cheryl was barely paying attention.
She wiped sweat from her forehead and stepped away from the archery range, rolling her shoulder. Her last arrow had landed slightly off-center.
Good enough?
She slung the bow over her shoulder and started walking toward the path leading back toward camp, planning to maybe go to the lake. The afternoon sun sneaked through the trees, warm and bright, and Cheryl tilted her face toward it for a moment as she walked.
Sunlight always helped.
The path curved around the edge of the woods, and Cheryl slowed slightly when she noticed someone standing ahead. They were talking to another camper, turned away, sunlight catching in their hair. For some reason, Cheryl looked twice.
Something about them felt… familiar. She frowned slightly, trying to place it. Their long hair. That pink ribbon. It tugged at something in the back of her memory.
The other camper walked off, leaving the person alone. They turned. Cheryl stopped walking. For a second she just stared.
No way. There was absolutely no way.
The girl across the path blinked in surprise too, clearly recognizing her at the same moment.
“…Cheryl?” The name sounded strange coming from that voice. It sounded older, but still unmistakable. Cheryl let out a small, disbelieving laugh. “Shirley?” They stood there for a moment, both a little frozen.
Neither of them had expected this to happen.
Shirley took a few steps closer. “You look so… different,” she said.
Cheryl snorted softly. “That’s usually what happens when 5 years pass.” Shirley smiled a little at that.
The silence that followed was awkward. “So,” Cheryl said after a second, rubbing the back of her neck. “Uh… how have you been?”
“Good,” Shirley said. “Yeah. I'm Good.”
Another pause. Cheryl shifted her weight. She suddenly felt weirdly nervous, which made absolutely no sense.
“Are you staying here?” Shirley asked.
“Yeah,” Cheryl said. “Camp Half-Blood. Been here a while now. Not year-round though.” Shirley nodded slowly. “That’s cool.” Cheryl shrugged. “It’s chaotic, but you'll get used to it.”
She glances back toward the training field. “I've made some friends here too.”
“Friends?” Shirley asked.
“Yeah.” Cheryl thought for a second. “Eris, from the Aphrodite cabin, Abby from 6…” She trailed off slightly. Shirley’s expression changed for just a moment. Not much. Just something small in the way her smile tightened.
“Sounds like you’re busy,” Shirley said. Cheryl didn’t notice the shift.
“Yeah,” she said. “Camp tends to do that.” A breeze rustled through the trees, leaves shifting softly overhead. Neither of them spoke for a few seconds.
“Well,” Shirley said eventually, glancing toward the path behind her. “I should probably get going.”
“Oh,” Cheryl said quickly. “Yeah. Me too.” Another awkward pause.
“It was… nice seeing you again,” Shirley said.
“Yeah,” Cheryl agreed.
Shirley gave a small wave before turning and heading down the path. Cheryl watched her go. For a long moment she didn’t move. Then she sighed softly and started walking again.
The sunlight felt warm on her shoulders, but her mind was somewhere else now, drifting back through old memories she hadn’t thought about in years. Back to a time when Shirley hadn’t been someone she randomly ran into on a path. Back when she had been part of every single day.
Then, Cheryl suddenly realized something that made her chest feel oddly heavy. She couldn’t remember the exact moment they stopped being friends. Only that somehow, somewhere along the way—
it had happened.