give me love. (cher)

The air was warm and crisp as Sawyer made his way to the beach, a picnic basket in hand. He noticed how the sky was painted shades of orange and pink, with streaks of red. Part of him wished that Lucille was around to witness the beautiful landscape he had before him, but he remembered that she would be around much later for their date that he planned under the stars. The day marked their five month anniversary of their relationship, which was the reason for a celebration. Additionally, they had officially been friends for a year. He was enjoying his new life with Lucille; being with her made him truly happy for once. Whenever she was around, he could forget all about the club, the suffering he and his mom underwent, and all about the struggles of being a demigod.

Making his way towards the shore, he pulled out a picnic blanket from inside the basket and laid it down a few feet from the water. It wasn't one of those conventional red and white blankets; it was a light coral and white, triangular in design. It mirrored the couple perfectly: they were unique.

While Lucille would be attending dinner in the Mess Hall in a few minutes time, he would be on the beach preparing their date. He had already told Cabin 2's leader that he would be skipping tonight, but the kid knew better than to question him about his motives. It had already occurred to him that he had a bad boy reputation around camp, yet he didn't do anything to cease it.

The date he had planned wasn't exactly a dinner under the stars. Sticking to the unorthodox, he had chosen to alter the common date idea and instead, made all the food desserts and other kinds of sweets. He had picked up some stuff at a deli they both loved and as well as asked some help from a co-worker from the magazine for help. Sawyer prepared an assortment of desserts, ranging from chocolate ganache cake, to raspberry cheesecake, lemon squares, and strawberries dipped in chocolate. Sawyer didn't think Lucille wanted a cheesy date that half a million girls could brag about. She deserved something more special.

After setting up his iPod and speakers to play Panic! At the Disco, a band that wasn't indie, yet Sawyer tolerated it since he knew Lucille was a huge fan of them, switched on the lights that a few of his only friends helped him set up, and arranged the desserts in a manner which he thought was okay, he was finally done. He walked a few steps back, his feet hitting the water. With the sun finally gone, the date was ready. He had never done this thing before and hopefully she would like it either way. Sawyer plopped down on the picnic basket, checking his watch for the time. Lucille was scheduled to arrive any minute, via one of her friends. His heartbeat hammered in his chest as he waited her arrival.

The sight of his girlfriend never failed to make Sawyer's heart thud rapidly. He couldn't believe that he was able to get a girlfriend. It was shocking. The loner of his old school got a girlfriend? Most especially, a gorgeous one? If he learned of this when he was fourteen, he would've been convinced that you got the wrong person. A grin automatically lit up his face when she jogged towards him, leaping in his arms. He picked her up and spun her around, kissing her on the cheek as he set her back down on the sand.

"It's just going to make it easier for me to kidnap you and take you away to a remote area in Madagascar," he teased, bending down to meet her lips. He could taste the taste of cinnamon on her mouth as they kissed with his arms wrapped around her. Having her in his arms just felt right, as if he were shaped for her. Sawyer was about to deepen the kiss, but the daughter of Hades pulled away to take off her shoes.

Sawyer watched her reaction as she browsed through the little props he prepared for the date. "You're amazing," he muttered, snaking an arm around her waist. He couldn't keep his hands to himself whenever she was around, the fear of losing her arising. He felt like whenever he'd blink, she would disappear. He needed assurance that she would stay here with him.

He sat down on the blanket, pulling Lucille with him. "As you can see, we've got quite a selection of desserts that I've prepared. What would you like to start with?" He thought about what they could do after the date. Perhaps they could lie down together and watch the stars or have a thumb-war. It was so easy for him to be happy around Lucille and he hoped she felt the same way.

With his head propped up by a rolled-up spare blanket and his arm around Lucille, Sawyer was starting to consider the day as one of his best. The dessert-tasting passed by smoothly, no remains of the food he had prepared were left on the plates he had brought along. He was starting to get used to this whole dating thing. Hopefully he wasn't so bad at it either.

The previously pink sky had been replaced by a midnight blue, a blanket of stars settled on the sky. Sawyer wasn't the one to stargaze, but he was pretty sure that it was difficult to see the stars in the city. But here in Camp Half-Blood, they were as clear as day. He remembered reading about astronomy in school and therefore, was familiar with some of the stars. Everything seemed to be clear in Camp Half-Blood. Maybe his mess of a life was finally sorting itself out. He wasn't going to the club as much as before, his time being preoccupied by his girlfriend or writing. On the contrary, he was aware that things weren't that simple; he couldn't just quit or leave the club. His own life was at stake. He had promised to stay, signing a blood contract. Sawyer was stripped off his rights. The fight club owned him.

Shoving the thoughts away from his mind, he willed himself to focus on Lucille. "You see those three stars aligned there? That's Orion's belt. The four stars around it that looks like an disproportional rectangle? Together, they make up Orion the Hunter." Sawyer had been at the top of his class back in school. How couldn't he? Nobody would befriend the quiet loser who had been altered to a bad boy.

Sawyer felt sick to the stomach. Deep inside, he didn't want to quit the club. He already found a home in them, even though he was constantly getting beat up for it. He would do whatever it takes to keep his position there. Nobody, not even Lucille, would be able to keep him away.

"I don't even know how astronomers could even decipher each one correctly," Sawyer chuckled to himself, drawing Lucille closer as she rested her head on his shoulder. The extra warmth wasn't exactly needed, given the fact that it was in the middle of August, but nevertheless, it still provided him comfort, knowing that his girlfriend was around. Even before he was aware of his demigod status, Sawyer briefly took up Greek Mythology as an elective in high school. Apparently, Orion was a giant huntsman, who had caused the current shape of the straits of Sicily. Orion was mentioned in the oldest surviving works of Greek literature, if he remembered correctly. He didn't want to appear like a nerd to Lucille, but he couldn't help himself. Sawyer felt like he didn't need to have his guard up around her. For once, he could finally be himself.

His shoulders shook as he laughed when Lucille punched him in the shoulder. "Since I took astronomy up in high school. Besides," he paused, grinning at her wickedly, "I have brains, as well as brawn." From the close proximity, he caught the faint smell of her perfume. Although the scent was dull, it was something so familiar to him that he could identify it from a mile away.

Sawyer wrapped the arm closest to Lucille around her as she snaked her arms around his waist, locking them in an embrace. "It was just pure luck, I guess. I didn't imagine that it would go this well," he admitted sheepishly. "Maybe for once, the gods answered my prayers." Numerous times has he prayed to his father, to any god, that his life would finally go right. When he found about his new home in Camp Half-Blood, when he found friends in his fellow contributors Modern Eggs Society, but most especially, when Lucille entered his life, may have been the times that one of the gods sent him blessings. Even when he and Lucille were still friends, he bet that she was a gift. It was suddenly dawning on him that the gods answered his prayers a long time ago all along.