Camp Half-Blood: Salty Shorts

Rose & Nathan

It's been a few days since I've talked to Ben. He went too far this time and I told him before that if he did anything again, I'd never forgive him. I meant it. Now he knew it. He's been trying to talk to me, but I've been avoiding him. Percy has been a big help in that. He hasn't left my side this whole time. Cole's been that way too, same with Nathan. They're great friends. Right now, I'm in my Cabin with Percy. I know they've come up with "Rose Watches" because I've become accustomed to a kind of schedule. Nathan walked in, right on cue. Percy smiled at me and told me he'd be back later tonight. I asked why because he hasn't done that before, but he said he needed to be with Annabeth to train for the rest of the day, but Nathan was free so I'd be able to spend time with him today. I was fine with that and gave him a hug before he left. When I turned around Nathan was sitting at the end of my bed. I walked up and jumped onto my bed, landing on my back. He let out a laugh, as did I since it was so random. I was relaxing for a couple minutes while Nathan seemed to be lost in thought, staring off into space. Then he suddenly spoke up. "Are you and Ben okay?"

"Obviously not..." I said sadly.

"Well yeah, i just don't know why. Nobody does. Did you want to talk about it?" I sighed.

"You really want to know?" I asked.

"If you'll tell me, then yeah."

"It's... it probably is going to sound stupid but... I saw him with another girl..." a tear rolled down my cheek as Nathan looked at me. His expression didn't show much, but I could tell he was shocked. "I-I felt like nothing. I didn't know exactly what was happening but I knew I was hurt and I spoke up and ran and blah blah blah now we're not talking." I said now with several tears staining my cheeks.

"Rose I... I didn't know. I wouldn't have made you tell me I..." he was flustered and stumbling over his words.

"Hey, don't sweat it... there's no way you could've known. Only Percy knows. I had to tackle him in order for him not to murder Ben." I faked a laugh. Before I knew it, I was in Nathan's arms. He engulfed me into a hug. I gladly hugged back thankful to let out some emotions and feel comforted by someone other than my brother. I never saw Nathan as the cuddly type, but, then again, I didn't know much about him. It was nice to see this side of him and not just the fighting/do-what-you-gotta-do side. We pulled away, Nathan still holding my waist and my hands still resting on his shoulders.

"You don't deserve to be treated like that, Rose. He never knew what he had until he lost you. It's not fair to you... for him to play with your heart like that." He stated slowly and in a meaningful manner. I smiled, the first genuine smile I've had for days. "You have that sparkle in your eye again..." he trailed off, getting lost in the sea that is my gaze. Our gaze. He leaned in, slowly. I didn't want to kiss Nathan... but it was a magnetic pull that wouldn't stop dragging me in. Was this right? A millisecond to stop... i didn't stop. Our lips lightly crashed. As if our kiss was a feather, slowly falling onto to floor. There were sparks I felt that I never did feel with Ben. Even during our first kiss. This moment felt like it was uncovering the truth my first with Ben had previously hidden. Showing that it was all a mirage. Maybe Nathan was really the one for me. Our feather like kiss turned slightly more heated as Nathan rested his hands on my cheeks, wiping away my, almost dried up, tears. We were like this for a couple minutes until we pulled away, on the verge of being out of breath. He rested his forehead on mine lightly as we looked each other in the eyes. He quickly looked away and moved away from me slightly. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that." I moved closer to him and laced my hand in his, using my other hand to turn his face to look at me.

"Don't apologize. It was nice." I said shyly.

"But Ben-"

"Don't worry about Ben. He hurt me... and I was planning on breaking up with him in a couple of days. I was going to think about it more but... I see now that he's not the one. If he really felt love for me, he wouldn't have done what he did. He cheated on me, Nathan. I've forgiven him for so many things already and it's tiring. I can't do it anymore, it was a matter of time, I promise." He gave me a questioning look.

"A-are you sure?"

"I'm positive, Nathan." He smiled.

"Does that mean we can kiss again?" He asked shyly. I chuckled at how cute he was being.

"After I go tell Ben it's over... W-would you maybe come with me? For moral support?"

"Of course." I smiled and we got up. I haven't been outside in a while. Percy or the others usually came to bring me food and stuff for the few days of absolute torture. I saw Ben sitting alone in the grass.

"Nathan can you just wait here? If I look up at you, come get me. If not, I'll be right back." He nodded and put his hands in his pocket with a reassuring smile. I walked over to Ben and sat down in front of him. He looked up.

"Rose!? Listen baby, please you have to be-" I cut him off.

"Ben, stop. I already know what you're going to say. It's not what it looked like, she was just a friend blah blah blah. Let's get to the point. You're sorry and won't ever do it again and I'm your only one. Well, Ben... I'm tired of this, I'm tired of forgiving you and it's just stressing me out. I can't do us anymore, Ben. It hurts too much."

"Rose, just one more chance... please." He wasn't using charmspeak, I could tell. But I couldn't believe him.

"I've given you too many chances, it even makes me feel sick to talk to you right now. I appreciate you not using charmspeak though... but nothing feels right anymore..." I trailed off.

"I told you I'd stop using charmspeak... I didn't lie to you... Rose I love you please don't do this, one more chance I swear I won't mess up."

"I love you too, but I think we need to take a break. If you're so keen on seeing new people, then I will too. And if our paths cross again, then so be it. Goodbye, Ben." I began to get up, but he grabbed my hand.

"Rose, please don't do this I can't imagine my life without you." He was urgent in tone, but no matter what I did, I knew I was going to be hurting. This option was only temporary pain.

"It's just a break, Ben. I'm not going to avoid you. Please don't make this harder than it has to be. It's hurting me as much as it is you."

"I don't want us to end, Rose..." a tear fell down his cheek. I wiped it away.

"For now, it has to..." I said and turned away, back to Nathan. I knew I may never be back with Ben, it must've hurt because I knew he knew that too. I'm not the type of person to hurt someone Emotionally like that. But I did what had to be done. It was time to think about me.

"You okay?" Nathan asked as we walked to the Pavilion to get some food. I let out a loud sigh before replying.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I mean, I have you now." I smiled. He smiled back and gave me a peck on the lips. "Nathan, I think we should take it a little slower. That first kiss of ours was wrong. I know I said otherwise in the moment, but it shouldn't have happened. Technically, i was still with Ben and I feel bad about that. Could we just take it slower?" I asked shyly.

"Of course we can. I was in a moment too, i knew I shouldn't have. I couldn't stop myself, I'm sorry." He said looking down.

"Don't worry about it, the past is the past. We can all think about the future now." I smiled to myself. He looked at me with a sparkle in his eye and laced his fingers in mine. Slower is better. Maybe that's where Ben and I's relationship went wrong.

The days went on. I was happy with Nathan. Ben hasn't found anybody. He hasn't talked to anybody either. He's been alone, and that breaks my heart. I never wanted him to end up like this, but that was inevitable. I'm not sure if I regret breaking it off with him, but there is this feeling that I shouldn't have done it. I don't know... time will be the only factor to either heal or change. But for now, I'll just enjoy myself. Like I was meant to.