Camp Half-Blood: Salty Shorts

Rose & Ben

Ben's POV

It was Thanksgiving. There was a huge capture the flag game at Camp and then we were having a huge lunch. I woke up early to my sister Piper's yelling. "Everyone up! We have a game to win today! We're on the red team and we don't have the Athena Cabin so we gotta start planning!"

"Huh? W-What?" I asked groggily, still not quite awake. I sat up in my bed wrapping my blanket around me and turned my blurry vision to the clock on my nightstand. The glowing green numbers read 5:32 A.M. I groaned and started to go back to sleep, but Piper ruffled my hair and threateningly pointed a squirt gun at me.

"This thing is filled with part of every perfume I could find in this cabin all mixed together. If you don't want to smell like a skunk I suggest you get up." Piper raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed and got to my feet, stumbling haphazardly over to the table my siblings were crowded around. It was a map of the forest. I listened to Piper until she gave me my job. I was going to be part of the group stealing the flag. It was too early to get breakfast but I was awake now. I studied the map to see who our allies were. We had the Zeus Cabin, but we didn't have Poseidon or Apollo. Which means I'm going up against Myra, Cole, and Rose. I smirked slightly. Rose could get very competitive. I was going to run into her without a doubt. I spent the rest of my time idly talking to my siblings until breakfast.The Pavilion wasn't packed when I got there. I sat with my siblings and ate before Rose even got there, which freed me up to go sit with her while she ate.

"Morning, Princess!" I greeted, smiling and sitting down next to her. Rose glared tiredly at me, but gave my hand a light squeeze as a greeting. Knowing Rose, she wasn't going to talk to me until she eats. A few minutes later, Myra stumbled over to the table, half asleep. She slumped down on the bench opposite from me and yawned, ignoring me completely. Cole sat down next to her and said hi to me, before handing Myra a plate and getting one for himself.

"You guys ready for the game today?" Cole asked, looking at the three of us.

"Ready to beat you all." I smirked, nudging Rose playfully. She rolled her eyes as she finished eating.

"I'd like to see you try, Sir Benjamin III." Rose said. I blushed at the stupid name. Rose liked to tease me with it sometimes. She grinned, kissing me on the cheek which made my face get even redder. Myra made gagging noises which were shut up by Cole whispering something into her ear. Then her face got as red as mine. Cole and Rose laughed at the two of us.

"Rose! Myra! Could you guys come here for a second?" Annabeth called from the Athena Cabin's table. Rose squeezed my hand again before leaving with Myra. Cole and I sat in silence. A few minutes later the horn blew signaling the end of breakfast. The two teams split up to their respective sides of the forest after Chiron listed all the rules.

"Okay. I want our attacking group ready to go. You're all going to split up. Each one of you should be at their base in ten minutes. Defenders. Don't break rank! No matter what!" Piper ordered. I went with the rest of my group to the edge of the clearing. Our flag was standing tall and proud on the edge of a rock formation. It would be hard to get to and easily defended. The horn blew loudly again, signalling the start of the game. My group took off. We split into teams of two. My partner was Thyon, a wiry son of Athena who looked to be a few years younger than me. We crept through the woods, stealthy and fast.

"Group One! Strike!" A yell came from directly in front of us. Thyon immediately split off from me, backtracking. I turned to follow, but tripped over a thick tree root and twisted my ankle, crashing onto the ground. Two people picked me up, dragging me to my feet.

"Seriously Ben? I thought you were better than that." I looked up to see Myra, laughing at me. Cole rolled his eyes at her, giving me an apologetic look.

"Let's just go put him with the rest of the prisoners." Cole said, trying to get Myra to leave me alone.

"Lame. We're gonna dump him with Rose instead." Myra announced, walking off. I was limping, so Cole helped support me. We didn't have to go very far before we found Rose. "Rose! I brought you a present!" Myra exclaimed, dramatically gesturing to Cole and I.

"Myra! Gods. What did you do to him?" Rose sighed and took me from Cole, letting me lean on her. I went to respond, but Myra beat me to it.

"I didn't do anything! Your idiot tripped and hurt himself!" Myra smirked. Rose just rolled her eyes.

"Myra we should get back to our post." Cole said, tugging at Myra's wrist. Rose helped me sit down near the base of a tree. Myra reluctantly stopped making fun of me and trailed after Cole, leaving Rose and I together.

"So..." I mumbled awkwardly, clearing my throat.

"So?" Rose replied teasingly, not looking away from her post. I got an idea. I couldn't help my team win by attacking now, but Piper was just ranting on how important defensive positions were a little while ago.

"My ankle hurts... Do you think it's broken?" I asked. Rose came over to take a quick look at it. As soon as she came near I grabbed onto her arm and pulled her close to me, she accidentally hit my ankle, which killed. I let out a whimper of pain.

"Ben, seriously?" Rose looked annoyed as she started to get out of my grip.

"I-I just want cuddles. Please, Rose? You're still at your post..." I pouted. "And I'm freezing..." I continued. It was true. I was wearing a short sleeved Camp shirt without a jacket.

"Ben why didn't you wear a jacket?" Rose scolded me. I bit my lip. This line would either go really well, or I'd be sitting in the cold for the next hour.

"Cause you're hot." I replied, a cheeky grin on my face. Rose smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but only for a few minutes. And only because I'm cold too." She said, making herself comfortable next to me and letting me wrap her in my arms. I shifted my hurt leg carefully, entangling my legs with hers and burying my face in the crook of her neck. Rose started playing with my hair, pulling lightly at the short strands and relaxing me. She was so warm... I started to doze off just as another group of my team members ran through the clearing. Rose simply summoned water from a nearby stream and managed to defend her area without moving. One of my team members shot me a panicked look. I have to distract Rose, but how? I leaned up a bit, half asleep, and pressed my lips to hers.

"Not now, Ben." Rose refused to kiss me back. I let out a whine and tried again, kissing her neck to get her attention."N-No, Ben. Stop that." Rose ordered. I kissed her on the lips again, biting down lightly this time. She finally gave in and kissed me back. Her hands went under my shirt, resting on my waist. I pulled her closer to me, feeling warmth shoot through my veins. The kiss was slow and Rose was gentle, her hands tracing up the back of my spine. Every time I shivered she would smile against my lips, like she knew exactly what to do to me in order to get the reaction she wanted. Just as she started to tug at my shirt, the horn blew loudly, scaring us.

"BLUE TEAM WINS!!!" Echoed through the forest. The blue team was Rose's side. I pouted and Rose smiled victoriously, tracing my lips with her finger.

"W-Would you mind if we showed up to lunch a little late, Princess?" I asked, hardly containing the urge to kiss her again.

"Of course I mind! I'm starving! We can finish this later." She lightly pressed her warm lips to my newly bruised ones. Then she helped me back to my feet, letting me lean on her as we walked back to Camp.