The last one - I'm only doing the first series, no Heroes of Olympus. But I was curious as to why Clarisse seemed to be leading the whole thing - these are my speculations.

In case you missed the memo, I don't own anything.

Clarisse was sitting on the dock, looking at the moon and with her legs hanging over the edge, toes just skimming the surface of the water. Now that everything had calmed down, she just wanted time to be alone and think, and remember.

The moon shone down on the water, seeming extra bright tonight. Probably Artemis was driving her chariot, shining extra brightly in the memory of the Hunters who had died over the last week. They had been hit hard, that was for sure – their numbers severely lowered. Those still living hadn't come to camp that day, choosing to wander off on some other adventure. None of the campers had complained too much.

Silena definitely wouldn't have. The thought sprang unbidden to Clarisse's mind, and she let out a heavy sigh, staring out across the water at where the moon was rippling gently. Silena had hated the Hunters for their scorn for love.

Clarisse let out a shuddering breath, fighting the lump in her throat. She had told Chris that she wanted to be alone – even he reminded her too much of Silena. She remembered those desperate days spent by his side when he couldn't even remember her, remembered that one morning that Silena had come in and sat beside her, playing with her hair and squeezing her hand.

She'd never thought it would feel so nice to be touched, especially by a daughter of Aphrodite, but she'd relaxed and let Silena comfort her.

It's my fault she died.

That knowledge sat heavy in Clarisse's heart, like a stone. Everyone had tried to talk her into setting aside her foolish pride and helping the campers fight a war. Even Percy Jackson had come to her, had tried to talk her into it. And she'd said no. Somehow she'd thought her cabin's honor was more important that the biggest war Camp Half-Blood had ever faced.

And then Silena had come back on a pegasus, desperate to talk her into coming back. She'd pleaded with tear-filled eyes, begging Clarisse to come fight for Camp Half-Blood, in honor of Beckendorf.

And Clarisse had still said no.

And then Silena had stolen her armor and marched her cabin into battle, in the bravest, stupidest move she'd ever seen, and gotten killed by a drakon.

It was Clarisse's fault.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek, hoping that just this once her father would give her some leeway – Silena was his girlfriend's daughter, after all, and it was the end of a war. She hoped she was allowed to show a little weakness.

"Psst!"

She turned at the voice, wiping furiously at her cheeks. It was some girl, one of Silena's siblings. Normally she'd have had no use for a child of Aphrodite, but they'd burned Silena's shroud together today, and this girl was at least gutsy enough to approach her.

"What?" she snapped, not really caring enough to make her voice sound kind. The girl didn't even seem affected – she looked too excited. This piqued Clarisse's curiosity. "What is it?"

"Annabeth just went to see Percy with a cupcake," whispered the girl, darting a glance back. "Everyone's hiding and watching them – we think it's going to be the moment. Come on – hurry!"

Clarisse wanted to say she didn't care. She really did. But then she realized that this might be the culmination of the most irritating dancing-around-each-other-sexual-tension relationship anyone in camp had ever seen. She also realized that, for all they got on her nerves, Percy and Annabeth were kind of her friends – nothing like Silena had been, of course, but people she trusted with her life. And if this was the end of all that tension, and if it was a way to support them –

And, though they didn't know it, they'd also been Silena's pet project. She would have wanted to see this, and if she couldn't, Clarisse would see it for her.

So she hauled herself up and followed the Aphrodite girl down the dock and around the edge of the pavilion, where what looked like the whole camp was gathered, crouching around behind some bushes, their collective eyes fixed on two figures. Clarisse pushed through the crowd, parting campers around her, until she had a front-row view. She would watch all this for Silena, and maybe a little bit for herself, too.

She settled into position with most of the other head counselors in the front. She jostled Travis Stoll, who was about to complain when Connor slapped his hand over his brother's mouth. When everyone had quieted down, they all turned forward, their collective eyes fixing on two figures sitting at one of the tables.

She looked just in time to see Percy close his eyes and lean forward – but he wasn't kissing Annabeth, he was just blowing out a candle. Clarisse thought she could hear everyone sigh together, but they stayed there and watched.

Percy broke the cake in half and handed one half to Annabeth – the bigger one, noticed the part of Clarisse's brain that had been taken over by Silena. The two of them ate quietly for a few minutes, staring out at the water, and the campers all held their breath.

Finally, Annabeth sucked some icing off her fingers, set down the rest of her cake, and broke the silence.

"You saved the world."

"We saved the world," corrected Percy, and a few of the Aphrodite campers let out soft awws.

"And, Rachel is the new Oracle . . . which means she won't be dating anybody." There was a collective intake of breath at those words from Annabeth, and a few of the Aphrodite girls sighed in relief. Silena had complained about this new development enough so that Clarisse knew everything about the girl.

"You don't sound disappointed," teased Percy, and there was a soft laugh somewhere behind Clarisse – the redheaded mortal herself had come to join them, watching as avidly as anyone else. She shrugged aside the Aphrodite campers' glares.

"Oh, I don't care," said Annabeth too lightly, and Clarisse almost snorted derisively.

"Uh huh," said Percy sarcastically.

This was the moment. Everyone knew it at this point. The way the conversation was going – they both knew what was going to happen, and there was nothing in the way anymore. Clarisse couldn't deny that now she was as interested as anyone else.

"You got something to say to me, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth's voice held the hint of a flirtatious laugh, and everyone tensed up, waiting . . . waiting . . .

"You'd probably kick my butt," countered Percy, and Clarisse almost laughed.

"You know I'd kick your butt."

"Yeah," whispered Connor Stoll from beside Travis, rubbing an imaginary wound on his arm, as if in remembrance. "She totally would."

This time, it was Travis' turn to muzzle his brother.

Percy swallowed a last bite of cake, dusting crumbs off of his hands. "When I was at the River Styx, turning invulnerable . . ." So the rumors were true, then. Clarisse had heard a couple of minor gods mumbling about it at the meeting on Mount Olympus, but she'd brushed it off. "Nico said I had to concentrate on one thing that kept me anchored to the world, that made me want to stay mortal."

He was not saying what Clarisse thought he was saying. No way.

Annabeth didn't seem to react. "Yeah?" she murmured, gazing off into the distance. Everyone was practically shivering in anticipation now.

"Then, up on Olympus, when they wanted to make me a god and stuff, I kept thinking" – Clarisse hadn't believed it when he'd said that; she couldn't even describe how she'd felt. She was angry, but reluctantly proud and understanding, all at the same time. Although she could barely admit it, even to herself, if anyone deserved to be a god, it was Percy Jackson.

"Oh, you so wanted to," teased Annabeth again, but even she probably knew she was lying. Everyone knew that Percy wasn't the type to take on godhood. Clarisse wasn't sure if that endeared him to her, or drove her crazy. Maybe both.

"Well, maybe a little," he admitted. "But I didn't, because I thought" – He was floundering now. "I didn't want things to stay the same for eternity, because . . . things could always get better." More awws from the Aphrodite crowd. "And I was thinking" – He broke off, running a hand through his hair.

"Anyone in particular?" Annabeth was smiling softly now, turning to face him. It was seconds away –

"You're laughing at me," whined Percy.

"I am not!" protested Annabeth, her smile growing bigger.

"You are so not making this easy." Percy didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that he was leaning in closer to her.

Then, a laugh spilled from Annabeth, an almost ethereal laugh that seemed to match the night and the stars. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain." The distance between them was almost nothing now; she rested her hands on his collarbones. "Get used to it."

And with those last four words, she bridged the gap between their faces and finally, finally, they were kissing.

And Clarisse could no longer hold it in.

"Well," she roared, "it's about time!"

And then they all poured forward, a laughing, cheering mass of relief and joy. They stormed Percy and Annabeth, surrounding them in waves and lifting them onto their shoulders. Her grief forgotten, Clarisse was lost in the energy.

"The lovebirds need to cool off!" she crowed, reaching up until she found the nearest body part – Annabeth's ankle, and held on to it, hoping it would go unnoticed. For Silena, she reminded herself, but she knew that it was for both of them.

"The canoe lake!" cried Connor Stoll, and everyone cheered, rushing still in their huge mass, down the dock where Clarisse had been sitting earlier. It was no longer a lonely place – now, it was filled with the elixir of body heat and laughter. Clarisse glanced up and saw that Percy and Annabeth were holding hands, both flushed red with embarrassment and laughter.

And then, with another yell, the crowd rippled and Percy and Annabeth were hurled from their shoulders and into the water, hands falling away as they hit the water with two separate splashes.

Everyone laughed, waiting for them to come up soaking wet so they could tease them, but seconds passed, then minutes – and they realized that they'd just thrown Percy into his element.

Still, Clarisse looked around at the others and saw the same expressions of determination on all the faces. They were going to wait here until they came up, even if it took all night.

Clarisse felt movement beside her, and Chris sidled up to her. "Hey," he whispered.

She couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Hey," she responded.

"You okay?" he asked, framing her face with his hands, his eyes filled with concern and sadness. "I know it's hard for you" –

She leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, cutting him off. Then she took both of his hands in hers. "I'm okay," she said, realizing as she spoke that she meant it.

The surface of the water rippled, and then they rose out of the water, both laughing, paddling to shore; Annabeth soaked, with her hair hanging wet around her face; Percy completely dry. She climbed out first and reached down to pull him up, and as they stood on the bank of the lake, surrounded by roaring campers, Annabeth leaned over and kissed Percy on the cheek.

And Clarisse swore that somewhere amidst the laughter, she heard Silena's voice sighing, "Finally."