dont know what to call this situation...
Luke Castellan x Fem!Reader
Everyone at Camp Half-Blood swears Luke Castellan and you are already a thing. The shared glances. The way he always ends up beside you at meals. The way his hand lingers just a second too long when he passes you a weapon. You both laugh it off, deny it easily—we’re just friends, they’re imagining things, don’t be ridiculous. But at a campfire one night, Percy says something he shouldn’t. Something casual. Something that makes the entire circle go quiet—and makes you look at Luke a little differently.
Based on Foolish One by Taylor Swift
A/N: Guys I'm sorry I keep disappearing </3. Hopefully I'm here to stay now! This was supposed to be shorter but oh well.
“Just admit it already,” Clarisse said, loud enough for half the pavilion to hear. “It’s getting embarrassing.”
Percy choked on his blue Coke. “Oh my gods, thank you. I was starting to think I was the only one seeing this.”
Annabeth didn’t even look up from tightening the strap on her armor. “Everyone sees it,” she said calmly. “They just don’t all have a death wish like you two.”
You frowned, spoon hovering over your cereal. “Seeing what?”
Chris Rodriguez snorted from across the table. “You and Luke. Obviously.”
Luke, who had been mid-sip of coffee, froze. “No,” he said quickly. Too quickly. “There is no me and— no. Absolutely not.”
Clarisse leaned back, arms crossed, grinning like she’d found a weak spot. “You’re kidding. You train together every morning. You sit together at every meal. You disappear on patrols for way longer than necessary.”
Percy pointed between the two of you. “And you do that thing where you look at each other like you’re about to say something important, then don’t. Very rom-com. Very tragic.”
Heat crept up your neck. “We’re friends,” you said, firm. “That’s it.”
Luke nodded a little too hard. “Yeah. Friends.”
Annabeth finally glanced up then, gray eyes flicking between you and Luke, thoughtful. “Right,” she said. “Friends who look miserable every time someone else flirts with either of you.”
Silence fell over the table.
Chris let out a low whistle. “Oof.”
Luke stood abruptly. “I’ve got—uh. Training,” he muttered, already backing away. “See you later.”
He didn’t look at you as he left.
Clarisse watched him go, then looked back at you, expression unreadable for once. “You should probably talk to him.”
You swallowed. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
Percy raised an eyebrow. “Sure,” he said gently.
The campfire had settled into a steady glow, flames low and warm, the night wrapped comfortably around the clearing. Laughter drifted in from somewhere near the cabins, and a half-forgotten song hummed under the crackle of firewood.
You sat on a log with your knees pulled in, staring into the embers. Luke was across from you, leaning back on his hands, gaze fixed on the sky like he was trying not to look at you on purpose.
Percy shifted closer to the fire, clearly bored. He glanced around the circle—Clarisse lounging with her boots crossed, Chris stretched out on the ground, Annabeth quiet and observant—and then his eyes landed on you.
“You know,” he said, voice bright and entirely too innocent, “it’s kinda funny how the older campers always end up sitting across from each other.”
“What?” Percy said quickly. “I didn’t say anything bad.”
Annabeth raised an eyebrow. “You’re about to.”
Percy ignored her. “I just mean, like—Luke, you could sit anywhere. There’s tons of space. But you always end up there.” He nodded vaguely in your direction. “Every campfire.”
You felt your ears warm. “It’s just a seat.”
“Totally,” Percy said. “Just a seat.” He tilted his head. “Same one, though.”
Clarisse let out a low laugh. “He’s got a point.”
Luke sat up straighter. “I’m not doing anything.”
Chris smirked. “That’s the problem.”
Annabeth leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand. “Percy, don’t push.”
“I’m not pushing,” Percy said. “I’m… observing.” He glanced at you, then back to Luke. “You know, my mom says if you like someone, you should probably just tell them. Saves time.”
“What? I’m serious!” Percy said, unfazed. “Life’s dangerous. Monsters, prophecies, tragic backstories—why waste time pretending?”
You laughed despite yourself, then stopped when you realized Luke wasn’t.
He stared into the flames, jaw tight, like Percy had accidentally named something he wasn’t ready to face.
Annabeth sighed softly. “Percy,” she said, gentler now, “they’re older than you.”
“So?” Percy shot back. “That just means they’re better at being dumb about it.”
Clarisse barked a laugh. Chris hid his face in his hands.
Luke finally looked up. “Percy,” he said carefully, “you don’t understand.”
Percy met his eyes, suddenly serious. “Then explain it.”
You felt the space between you stretch thin, fragile.
Luke exhaled and shook his head. “It’s not like that.”
Something in your chest dipped.
Percy frowned, clearly unconvinced. “Okay,” he said slowly. “But if it was like that… you’d be an idiot not to say something.”
Annabeth’s eyes flicked to you, sympathetic.
The music from the other side of the clearing swelled, trying to reclaim the moment.
Luke stood abruptly. “I’ve got patrol,” he muttered. “Early.”
Clarisse watched him go. “Coward.”
Percy looked after him, then back at you, expression sheepish. “I was trying to help.”
You forced a smile. “I know.”
But as Luke disappeared into the shadows, the warmth of the fire felt suddenly hollow—like something important had slipped away without either of you stopping it.
Luke didn’t get far before Percy caught up to him.
“Hey,” Percy called, jogging a few steps to match him. “Luke, wait.”
Luke stopped near the edge of the clearing, the firelight barely reaching him now. He didn’t turn around right away.
“You shouldn’t have said anything,” Luke said quietly.
Percy blinked. “I didn’t say anything.”
Luke scoffed, rubbing a hand over his face. “You said enough.”
Percy shifted his weight, suddenly a little less confident. “I was just—look, everyone sees it.”
Luke finally turned, eyes sharp. “That’s exactly the problem.”
Percy frowned. “Why? She’s—”
“Don’t,” Luke cut in. He took a breath, steadying himself. “She deserves someone who doesn’t hesitate every time things get hard. Someone who isn’t… me.”
Percy stared at him for a moment. Then, softer, “You think you’re protecting her.”
Luke didn’t answer. That was answer enough.
Percy crossed his arms. “You know what I think?”
Luke sighed. “I’m sure you’ll tell me anyway.”
“I think you’re already hurting her,” Percy said. “You just don’t want to be the one who admits it.”
Luke looked away, jaw tight.
“She thinks you don’t see her,” Percy added. “That you don’t choose her.”
Luke swallowed. “She doesn’t know anything.”
Percy shook his head. “She knows you won’t say it.”
For a long moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Luke exhaled, defeated. “I can’t mess this up.”
Percy’s voice was gentle when he replied. “You already are.”
The campfire circle thinned quickly after Luke left.
You stayed where you were, staring into the fire, replaying Percy’s words in your head—someone doesn’t even realize they’re doing it, some people don’t say what they mean.
Clarisse plopped down beside you with a huff. “Well. That was a disaster.”
You let out a small laugh. “He was obviously talking about someone else.”
Clarisse turned slowly. “You are kidding.”
Silena slid in on your other side, expression gentle. “Who do you think he meant?”
You shrugged. “Someone Luke likes. Or used to. Maybe someone who left camp.”
Clarisse made a strangled noise. “You cannot be serious.”
“What?” you asked, confused.
Clarisse gestured vaguely in Luke’s direction. “You really think the kid was talking about anyone but you?”
You shook your head immediately. “No. That would be ridiculous.”
Silena frowned softly. “Why?”
Because Luke had never said anything. Because you’d promised yourself you wouldn’t imagine something that wasn’t real. Because wanting him felt like asking for too much.
You swallowed. “He’s just… Luke.”
Clarisse leaned back, staring at the stars. “You know, I once watched him take a spear to the shoulder and barely react.”
“He looked worse tonight,” Clarisse added. “And that was just from not saying something.”
Silena reached for your hand, squeezing it gently. “It’s okay if you don’t see it yet,” she said. “But you’re not imagining the way he looks at you.”
You stared at the fire again, heart aching. “Percy wasn’t talking about me.”
Clarisse sighed. “Denial is a powerful thing.”
Silena smiled sadly. “So is fear.”
The fire crackled, sparks rising into the dark.
The next few days pass wrong.
Not loudly wrong. Not in any way anyone could point at and name. Just… off, like Camp Half-Blood has tilted a few degrees and no one’s bothered to fix it.
Luke stops sitting near you at meals.
Not obviously. He just arrives late or leaves early, or chooses a spot across the pavilion instead of beside you. Training schedules never quite overlap. Patrol routes shift. Every time you almost run into him, one of you turns away first.
Chris catches Luke near the armory on the third day, watching him fumble with a strap he’s adjusted a hundred times before.
“You’re doing that wrong,” Chris says mildly.
“You are,” Chris replies. “But that’s not what’s bothering you.”
Chris leans against a rack of weapons. “You gonna keep pretending nothing’s happening, or are you planning on actually fixing this?”
Luke laughs under his breath, humorless. “There’s nothing to fix.”
Chris raises an eyebrow. “You’ve nearly walked into three trees this week.”
“She thinks you don’t care,” Chris says, quieter now. “And you think you’re sparing her something.”
Luke’s jaw tightens. “I am.”
Chris sighs. “You ever consider you don’t get to decide that alone?”
Silena corners you two days later, catching you outside your cabin just as you’re heading to lunch.
“You’re avoiding him,” she says gently.
“You are,” she insists, falling into step beside you. “And he’s avoiding you back. It’s like watching two people play chicken with their own feelings.”
You huff a small laugh. “You’re reading too much into it.”
“He asked for patrol reassignment,” she says softly. “Didn’t want to overlap with you.”
Your chest tightens. “Why would he do that?”
Silena hesitates. “Maybe you should ask him.”
You shake your head immediately. “No. Percy misunderstood something. Luke probably likes someone else, and now it’s awkward.”
Silena’s eyes fill with something close to frustration. “Or,” she says carefully, “Percy understood exactly what he was seeing.”
You force a smile. “I really don’t think so.”
Silena studies you for a moment, then nods. “Okay,” she says, even though it’s clear she doesn’t agree. “But you can’t keep pretending this doesn’t hurt.”
By the sixth day, the tension is unbearable.
Camp feels too small. Too quiet. You catch glimpses of Luke everywhere—in the archery range, near the Big House, passing the strawberry fields on patrol—but never close enough to speak.
Every almost-moment goes unresolved.
After lunch on the seventh day, you return to your cabin, mind spinning, heart heavy with things you refuse to name.
Your bunk looks the same as always.
Except for the folded piece of paper resting neatly on your pillow.
ou recognize the handwriting immediately—slanted slightly to the right, deliberate, careful, like every word was weighed before it was written.
You unfold the note with shaking fingers.
I should have asked sooner.
Meet me in the strawberry fields at sunset—if you’re willing.
For a moment, you just stand there, the note pressed tight in your hand, pulse loud in your ears.
The strawberry fields stretch out beyond the cabins, quiet, private, honest in a way the rest of camp isn’t.
Luke never asks for anything lightly.
And for the first time all week, avoidance isn’t an option anymore.
The strawberry fields glowed golden-orange in the light of the setting sun. The air smelled faintly of berries and wild grass, and for a moment, the rest of the camp didn’t exist. Just you. Just him. Just the space between you that had stretched unbearably thin all week.
Luke was already there when you arrived, standing near the edge of the field, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket. He looked up as you approached, and something in his eyes—nervous, vulnerable, desperate—made your stomach lurch.
He ran a hand through his hair, something he always did when he was trying to think. “I… I wanted to tell you something,” he began, voice tight. “For a long time.”
You nodded, barely trusting your own voice. “Okay.”
Luke took a slow breath, stepping closer, though still giving you space, respecting the weight of the moment. “Do you remember the first day we met?” he asked softly.
“I—” He paused, jaw working. “I didn’t know what I was doing. You were… new. Scared. And you were funny in this way that made everyone else fade out. I… I don’t know. I just knew I wanted to keep seeing you. Protecting you. And I didn’t know why. Not really.”
You felt a lump form in your throat.
Luke’s eyes flicked down at his hands, clenching and unclenching. “And then the next day, and the day after that… every time you laughed, every time you rolled your eyes at me, every time you… existed in front of me, I realized that I’d—” He swallowed hard. “I’d been in love with you since the first second you walked into my life. And it’s been like that ever since.”
Your chest ached. You felt tears pricking at the corners of your eyes, unbidden, unstoppable. You’d imagined this confession a thousand times in your head, and yet hearing it was nothing like you expected. It was better. It was terrifying. It was everything.
“I… Luke…” Your voice caught, trembling. “I… I love you too. I have for… I don’t even know how long.”
Something in him shifted—relief, disbelief, hope—all tangled together. His shoulders dropped, and he stepped closer, careful, letting the space between you collapse into something smaller, warmer.
Before you could even think, his hands were at your waist, pulling you gently toward him. His forehead rested against yours, breaths mingling, and then—soft, trembling, inevitable—his lips met yours.
It wasn’t hurried. It wasn’t rough. It was every unspoken word, every day of tension, every near-moment and missed glance, all pouring into that kiss. Luke kissed you like he had been practicing in his mind for years, like he’d been saving it for the moment when both of you could finally breathe freely.
You pressed closer, letting your hands find his shoulders, threading fingers into the back of his hair. The sun dipped lower, turning the fields into a sea of gold and shadow around you, and for the first time in what felt like forever, the world felt like it belonged to just the two of you.
When you finally pulled back, foreheads resting together, your tears mingled with a laugh, quiet and breathless.
“I love you,” you whispered again.
“I love you,” he echoed, voice thick, eyes glimmering in the sunset. “Always have. Always will.”
From the edge of the fields, a cheer erupted. “About time!” Percy called, waving his arms like a banner. Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled, and Chris and Silena were both grinning like fools. Even Clarisse let out a soft laugh. Luke and you froze for a moment, foreheads still pressed together, before you both burst into laughter, the sound carrying across the golden fields—proof that everyone had been rooting for this all along.
dededos
turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
jbbartram-illu
yousharknotpass
areudirty
