The Moon's Shine (PJO)

Chapter 13

Percy closed his eyes. He couldn't believe he said it to her face. But now that it was out in the open, he wasn't afraid of the repercussions anymore . . .

"I like you too," Artemis said nonchalantly.

Percy's eyes flew open, and he gaped at the goddess in shock. "Really?" he asked, blushing.

"Of course. You're my best friend. I would've disintegrated you by now if I didn't like you."

Upon hearing this, Percy deflated. Did I accidentally get friend zoned by a goddess?

At this point, Percy could've accepted the compliment and back out, saving him a lot of embarrassment. Artemis wouldn't even notice; she didn't have experience with relationships to realize.

Only, Percy didn't want to. He wanted to admit all of his emotions, the emotions he'd been keeping in the recesses of his mind for weeks. He wouldn't survive without telling Artemis how he really felt.

So he cleared his throat. "That's . . . not what I meant," he said. 

"Oh?" Artemis lifted her bow up to aim at a target.

"I-I have feelings for you," he stammered out.

Percy cringed after he said it. It came out awkward and shy. 

However, Artemis just said "Okay," and fired at a target.

Percy watched the arrow thud into a bullseye and felt as though it was his heart being stabbed through. Only, instead of being heartbroken, he became angry. "Did you not understand me?"

"I did." Artemis fired another arrow. Another bullseye. "You have feelings for me. Anything else?"

Percy didn't respond. He spun on his heel, planning to storm into the woods. He expected to get rejected, but not in this way. The demigod felt as though the goddess ripped out his heart, burnt it, then crushed it with her foot. As though his feelings didn't matter.

Frustrated tears welled up in his eyes. She didn't even consider his emotions. 

Before he could take a step though, Artemis was there, grabbing his hand in a vise grip. "Where are you going?"

Percy gazed at her angrily. "Away."

"Why?" 

"You obviously don't want me here." Percy tried tugging his arm out of her grip but failed to dislodge it.

"Don't be ridiculous," Artemis dismissed.

Percy finally tore his arm away. "You're right." He glared at her. "I won't be able to get out before you kill me."

The demigod was so heartbroken and furious that he didn't see the regretful expression on the goddess' face. "You don't understand."

"I do. I knew it was a stupid thing to come here and confess my feelings." He blinked rapidly, trying to contain his tears. "I know I don't have a chance with you, but that doesn't mean you an just act like a—"

Before Percy could curse out the goddess, Artemis lunged forward and planted her lips onto his.

Percy's eyes widened in shock—but then he melted into the kiss. He put his hands on the goddess' hips and pulled her closer to him. Immediately, all of his worries disappeared and he felt like he was in heaven.

When Artemis pulled away, he could only look at her in confusion. "What was that for?" he asked, trying to hide the fact that the enjoyed the kiss.

"I was just joking before," Artemis said. A golden blush crawled up her cheeks. "But that seemed to be the wrong course of action. I'm not the most experienced in relationships."

Percy just stared at her, trying to absorb all of this information. Finally, he asked, "Was the kiss just to shut me up?"

"Of course not! I . . . panicked." Artemis looked away, blushing harder. "I didn't know how else to mend the situation . . ."

"So . . . you have feelings for me too?"

Artemis lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Of course, you dolt." Her teasing tone dropped to a softer one. "I've been debating for the past few weeks, and I've come to a decision." She stared into his eyes. "I want to be more than just friends, Perseus Jackson. I . . . want to try a relationship. If you're interested, of course."

Percy's only response was to pull her into a tight hug. 

And the tears that fell from his eyes were definitely not frustrated ones.