Started With A Dare - A POTHENA STORY ✔

The Date Starts...

ATHENA'S POV

  I certainly didn't ask for this. If Aphrodite didn't force me to do it, I would still be curled up on my godly bed, reading my favourite book - Architecture For Gods. I know the name sounds lame, but after all, I wrote it. And I'm not really good at book titles.

  Now I'm spending time with the person I hate most in a stupid club, while he's staring at the fishes in the tanks, not even being a good entertainment.

  I studied Poseidon. He always wears that 'Neptune's lucky fishing' cap, even indoors, which makes him look hilarious. His Hawaiian shirt had pictures of parrots on them, like he was going to the beach. His hand was shoved in the pocket of his brown jeans.

  His hair was... kinda hard to describe, actually. Slightly higher than his shoulder, draped over his head like brown seaweed. He had thin lips and you almost couldn't see the red-ish part. The most interesting part was his eyes. They were the same colour as Percy Jackson's - green with a hint of blue, the same colour of the sea in the morning. He looked strangely like how Eros always looked to me.

  I realized I had been staring, and quickly turned away just as Poseidon turned to me. "Why are we here again?" He asked with a frown. His brown eyebrows were slightly scrunched up. I quickly looked away when I realized that I was staring again.

  "Because," I said, suddenly angry, "You were being an idiot."

  "What makes me an idiot? You're the idiot. Always finding your 'witty' ways to laugh at me when all I wanted was a little revenge!"

  "Revenge?! It all started because you weren't good enough to win Athens and blamed it all on me! Who would want a stupid horse?!"

  "At least my present can move! All yours did was stand there! It didn't even smile!"

  "And you got Medusa in my temple just because of that? That's the most stupid thing ever! That's why you're an IDIOT!"

  "OH YEAH, MISS CLEVER? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO PROVE THAT YOU'RE NOT ONE?!"

  "I WON ATHENS!"

  We were arguing so loudly that everyone was staring at us and starting to whisper. They must think that we're an arguing couple. Such a thought made me angrier. I had to get myself out of there - fast. But if I storm out myself, they would think that I'm rage-quiting him. Ugh, mortals. And I would never, ever, ever grab Poseidon because touching him is an insult to me, and a permanent insult to my life. I never understood why Aphrodite kept shipping the two of us. Heck, we're enemies! Hate is love in a twisted way? I don't think so. That saying does not fit Poseidon and me.

  Just as I was wondering what to do to get rid of him, Poseidon seemed to have decided for me. He stormed to the other side of the club, leaving me alone. Probably to flirt with some other random girl again and have another affair like Jackson. I, for one, find proper people to love and I never have an affair with anyone. Brain children are much better than... those you get when you hook up with someone else.

  Without Poseidon there, everything went really awkward. For some reason, those stupid mortals chose to stare at me instead of him. And now it was my turn to stare at the fishies. Even they seem to hate me as much as Poseidon does.

  Then I spotted him.

  Just across the club, he wasn't having any fun either. He wasn't flirting with anyone, just keeping everything to himself. He was holding his head with his hand, his elbow on the bar's table. He looked somehow lost, staring at another tank of fishies.

  Slow music started to play. The mortals stopped staring at me and danced with their date. Me? I would never touch him. Thanks, Aphrodite. Just the woman to get me into another awkward situation. This time, it has to be with Poseidon.

  Even with all my cleverness and such, I didn't know what to do. I wish I brought my book - it would really be much more fun reading about architecture. I would even rather read about fishies and the sea than to sit here like an idiot.

  There it is again. Idiot. The word I hate most.

  Despacito started playing. I never liked music, and I've never listened to this song before, but when the chorus started I heard that word. And Apollo was always talking about this song, so it was impossible to not recognize.

  The mortals started dancing to the catchy beat, laughing and everything. They wouldn't be laughing if they knew that Poseidon and Athena were just arguing in front of them, and now on either sides of the club.

  Correction: Poseidon wasn't at the other side of the club. He had gotten to the middle of the mortals, and was singing along to the song, dancing to it. He was smiling warmly, enjoying himself. His singing was heck good - of course. He created the sirens.

  The song was awesome. I don't like music at all, but this one was an exception - I could totally feel the catchy beat of it. I know it's kind of an inappropriate song because I know Spanish, (I know every language, actually) but Poseidon's singing made it the best song ever. Against the will of every cell in my body, I joined him. I went to the middle of the circle and danced along. (Yeah, try to imagine your favourite goddess dancing to Despacito in a mortal circle next to him) Poseidon didn't look angry, he just looked surprise. Next to my ear, his clear voice sounded even better. I felt like I was sitting in the front row of a first-class concert. 

  When the night came, Poseidon and I left. Sure, we danced together, but I still didn't touch him. That's a good thing. We didn't talk since the argument, and when we teleported back to Mount Olympus, things were the same. Awkward. But one thing changed: whenever he looked into my stormy gray eyes, I felt a heartbeat so fast that I've never felt before.