tratie one shots, vol. i

[ hotel room ]

i know, another cliche cringe-fest. sorry, i've been struggling with yet another writer's block. oops. 

words: 2234

. . .

"Are you freaking SERIOUS?" Katie chucked her backpack into the room. "Travis, we can't stay here."

I shrugged carelessly, plopping down on the bed. "We don't really have a choice, this is the only hotel in Chicago that's safe for demigods."

Maybe it wasn't the best idea to lie about the fact that there were three other places we could've stayed, but I saw the opportunity to annoy Katie Gardner, I took it. The quest was already a great opportunity because Chiron only wanted two people on it, and we volunteered at the same time. Rather than choosing one of us, Chiron said we'd go together. 

Both of us were too stubborn to back out, so we ended up going.

It was a goldmine for pranks and tricks. 

Only half a day in and I'd managed to get her a dozen times.

Katie hated my guts, and it was hilarious.

"And why'd you get a room with only one bed? That only makes it easier for me to kill you in your sleep." Katie's eyes glimmered tauntingly, and I couldn't help but revel in that look.

"Only one available, chill. I'll sleep on the floor if it means you won't beat me up right now. Unless you wanna get it on tonight." I wriggled my eyebrows while Katie glared daggers at me.

This was gonna be fun.

The trip to Chicago had been a tiring one - all of it on buses with gross seats and even grosser people. It had taken hours, and we weren't even a quarter of the way to our destination. My eyelids dipped every couple of minutes, prompting me to go to sleep. But Katie had a different idea when she inspected the bathroom and threw a look over her shoulder to me. 

"Keep watch. I need to wash off the day or I'm gonna kill someone. Preferably you." She closed the door before I could protest. 

Huffing, I plopped onto the bed and leaned against the wall. As the minutes passed, I grew extremely bored with just sitting there, trying not to fall asleep. What is it with girls and long showers? 

I glanced around the room: it was blandly furnished, with a queen-sized bed, a table with a couple of wooden chairs, and an ancient-looking armchair; green wallpaper was etching off the walls, and just-as-nasty matching carpet lay on the floor. It had a tinge of must in the air (probably because of the old window AC unit), but otherwise it was a clean and well-kept room. It was begging for a prank to be left in it when me and Katie split. 

Or multiple.

I shuffled across the floor to my knapsack, letting my socks gather static along the way to tickle my feet. As I dug around in my bag, I pondered what would leave an impression on the next demigods to crash here. Perhaps setting up a tripwire, or screwing the tap on the sink tighter so it'd spray someone in the face, or maybe pouring Jello mix into the shower head to stain someone blue.

The possibilities were endless.

Giddily settling on the blue Jello first, I pulled the package out of my bag and fiddled with the opening. Just as I ripped it, Katie stepped out of the bathroom with rosy skin and nothing but a towel. 

Ooh, perfect timing.

"Travis, I swear to the gods, if you make a remark about-" she stopped short, squinting at me. "Why do you have a pack of Jello?"

"You never know when you need a good cup of Jello."

She didn't buy it.

"Just making sure they remember us here."