"Want to Kiss?"

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©-Rick Riordan

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/Revised/

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Rated T

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I absolutely hate this.

Think it's easy? Yeah, right, I totally agree; if you can't see me right now, please know that I'm rolling my eyes and planning ways to literally kill men. Not the perfect way to go if you were Demeter's daughter, but I'll be damned if I didn't say or do anything about it and pretended that I actually liked this job. Sorry if I sound blunt, but if you were in my shoes, I'm pretty sure that you would say the exact same thing and try to get out of here.

So what am I doing this very moment that could lead to my death? Sitting here, listening to Drew ramble on how to kiss, and waiting for the next customer to get in line and pucker his lips. Why couldn't I enjoy the day at the carnival without being traumatized for an entire month? Couldn't these Aphrodite girls think of another way to raise money for Camp? I can't believe they got me dragged into this mess, but it was worth it; they promised to leave me the heck alone and won't try to pair me up again. Not listening for a single second, I put on a fake smile, waiting for Drew to finish.

"…And that's how this place works—got it?" she said, placing the jar in place. "Hon, are you listening to me?" I looked up, startled by her words.

"Yes, Drew…I hear you loud and clear…" I replied, trying not to barf on that simple phrase.

"Good. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to check out the other stands and make sure everything else is running smoothly. Oh, and Katie, don't you dare mess this up—okay?"

I gulped. "Yes Drew." Still unconvinced, she began to walk away, not bothering to look over her shoulders, flipping the so-called perfect curls that grew on her head.

As I took my place, I felt a slight touch on my right arm. "Look, I'm sorry that we got you into this mess, but hey! Lara's here—that's good, right? You're not the only non-Aphrodite girl being forced to do this." I stared at Sam, trying to smile.

"Yeah, I guess..."

Why on earth was Lara here anyways? I looked at my left, seeing the young girl glaring at everyone who walked by.

"It's okay, Sam." I replied, trying to think of something positive, "We're not going to literally murder anyone for today, so it's not that big of a deal…"

Sam smiled slightly. "Great. Just remember what Drew said, and you'll survive." Her eyes looked at two dark figures in front of her, "Well, it looks like we have our first customers. Don't hurt yourself or try to bite their lips, alright?"

I nod, still incredibly disgusted as I see their faces; Joshua Mason and Winter Archer, sons of Apollo. Seeing Sam staring at him, Joshua walks towards her, and put a dollar inside her jar; puckering his lips Josh closed his eyes. Blushing, Sam leaned forward and kissed him, twirling his dark brown hair with her hands. Unfortunately and not blushing for this girl, Winter, a soon-to-be-15-year-old, walks up to me, smirking.

"So, one dollar for a smoochie-smoochie, right?" he leaned over, staring into my bright green eyes. This boy, I admit, is cute, supposedly, but he flirted with multiple girls a day. Men, right? His darj hair fell over his mysterious eyes that stared into mine, hiding his stupidity. They are so...stupid. I wouldn't be surprised if all of them were dropped on their heads repeatedly as a baby,

Quickly, I came up with something; probably not the brightest thing to say, but whatever. "Oh, you have to go over there," I lied, pointing at Lara. "Give the money to her and she'll give you a 'smoochie-smoochie' for your satisfaction!"

"Thanks, cutie…" With his grin growing wide, Lara gave me an evil glare as Winter started flirting with her, waiting for his kiss. Quickly, she gives him a peck on the lips, and he left with Joshua.

I, being victorious as usual, did the exact same thing as more men came by, clearly upsetting Sam and Lara, because of my little plan. But before the blue-eyed girl could slap me, a young boy named Carson walks up to her and smiled, put his money on the stand, and kissed her without hesitation. Three cheers for finding true love at a carnival (I'm joking, as usual)!

The breeze tickled my skin with delight as a fragrance of fruit blew past me, blowing my hair to the right. It was as if my strands wanted to run away from me, urging my mind to let them go so they could be free from their cage. The smell of my nature were at the tip of my fingers, and I could feel the joy blooming inside of me as I saw Miranda selling our freshly grown beauties I spent a few months on. Sighing, I wish I could be planting strawberries or selling them with the rest of my siblings; but sadly, I cannot.

A few hours later, the sun was starting to set, hinting that the day was about to finish. Yes, in just a few hours, this will be over! My jar is empty, unlike Lara and Sam's, because I didn't kiss anyone, and probably never will today. Pretty soon, there are barely any mortals here anymore; just us, the Greek demigods of New York. Happily, I smirked, knowing that I didn't die of herpes…but was it too good to be true?

When Drew came back, she told Lara and Sam to bring the money to Chiron—excluding me. Snarling, she rolls her eyes, "Hon, stay here for an extra thirty minutes, and actually try to help the camp, alright?"

"…But Lara and Sam get to leave –"

"Their jars are full and they actually did their job correctly. You, on the other hand, didn't make any money and scared away some of the boys! The deal is off unless you get at least one dollar in this contained in less than thirty minutes. The clock is ticking, dear Katie." Clapping her hands, Drew winked and turned around, rolling her eyes. Oh, that female dog…

Waiting impatiently, I start fidgeting with my hands and brushed a strand of my brown hair away from my green eyes. Can't I just put my own money inside of this jar and leave? Oh, wait, that's right, I left my wallet in the Big House. Silently, I mentally slapped myself and watched the other campers.

All of a sudden, a dark shadow blocked the path. "Hey, Katie-Bear." Still drowsy, my eyes look up, getting the full description of him.

I'm not going to scream; I'm not going to throw a tantrum; I'm not going to go "Why him?" because that's not me (but I sure do wish it was). Instead, I am going to kill myself after this mess is over, which will end in, say, 15 minutes. Hovering above me is a smirking freak: Travis 'effin Stoll. The Travis 'effin Stoll that planted chocolate bunnies on the Demeter cabin during April Fools'. I stood up quickly, the tone of my voice definitely not soft or caring.

I growled, "What are you doing here, Stoll?"

Smirking, he put his hands on his cheeks and looked at me, leaning over. "I'm just your first and last customer, Katie-Bear, just ready to kiss..."

My jaw almost dropped. "Uh, what? You're mental if you think that I'm going to lock lips with you -"

"You will, dear Katie. With this dollar, I can make the next second or so a living heaven of pleasure."

"- you don't even know that the Isles -"

"...Not interested in your freedom, huh? Dommage, ma chérie," he winked at me, putting a dollar inside the jar, caressing my cheeks and brushing my brown hair with his gentle yet soft hands. Don't think like that Katie... He's your enemy; the rival!

I smacked his hands, "Touch me again and I'll -" my eyes widened as I saw a sack tied to his jeans, full of something that started with the word 'd'. "The Aphrodite cabin put you up to this, didn't they?"

He smirks, "Yes, they sure did. C'mon, Katie; I know you want to kiss me," he says, licking his bright and irresistible lips. "Pucker up, Princess..."

The next minute of my life was a nightmare.

I didn't have a chance to cuss, or swear, because he grabbed my shoulders and planted a passionate peck, holding my body close to his along the way. I couldn't pull away. Twisting softly yet full of power, Travis closed his eyes and used his right hand to pull my head in so he could feel my lips more, while his left held my body and waist in place, because of the stand. He murmured softly, and I felt a goose bump encountering my shoulders, traveling down my arm. Unlike him, my orbs were just staring at his closed eyelids. I felt my body tremble as his warm hands grasped me, and I screamed; no sound came out though, and nothing was heard.

My heart started to beat like a drum, running as though it were on a race track, finishing the last lap, starting to sprint to the finish; but it wasn't just full of delight, the missing pieces of the puzzle that finished it included surprise, anger, and vulnerability. This was my first kiss, and I shared it with him. Well, in the real world, Earth (or Gaia) isn't full of rainbows or perfection like a fairytale. And this is no fairytale.

From the corner of my eye, I saw two girls - Destiny Suhn and Phoenix - taking pictures of Travis and me "kissing". Full of outrage and hatred, I pushed him away, but he pulled me in much closer, carrying me bridal style now, lifting me away from the stand. From what I heard, Des and Nix were going to post everything on the internet. I screamed and pounded my fists against his chest and back, hoping that he would get the message.

Finally, he let me go. "Wow, you sure need some kissing lessons..." I was unable to speak, this close to fainting, but the anger blocked me from doing so.

Smirking, he put twenty more dollars inside the jar.

"Dommage, ma chérie" = "Too bad, my darling"

I'll admit this is not my best work; it's not that descriptive, and I rushed through it. I fixed/edited some parts, so yeah.

Feel free to point out any grammar mistakes; I'll fix them up and revise as soon as possible.

Also, I'm planning on making another story called: "Cupid's Apprentice"

A special thank you to everyone at the PJO forum: "Live it Up!" (created by Sandra) Please, visit and interact with other authors! If anyone from the forum is reading this and I used one of your characters, I hope I nailed them- but I rushed, so the chances are very little.

Thanks for reading!