he was a boy -- she was a girl [Aya]

Lucas St. Pierre

Pierre couldn’t wipe the grin off his face.

He had been driving around the city for half an hour now, killing time until he had to pick up his best friend from school. Pierre’s grin only grew wider and wider as he glimpsed more people gaping at his car in astonishment as he zoomed past. As he made a turn towards 5th street, the traffic light turned orange. Smirking, he slowed down, coming to a stop exactly in the middle of the street as the light turned red. On normal days, he would have done everything to make that light – he hated getting stuck in traffic. But he was driving a rare beauty here, it needed to be admired. A gleaming black Hennessey GT Spyder, it was enough to make any man feel like the king of the street. Shiny silver Volvos? Pfffft. This baby could put a Ferrari to shame.

Pedestrians were actually pointing in awe and whispering in obvious admiration. Pierre pretended not to notice and nonchalantly checked his hair in the mirror. His sandy curls were windswept and a satisfied flush colored his cheeks. Damn, he looked good. It was good thing the car was a convertible or how else will the world admire his gorgeousness?

A honk sounded beside him and he saw the car next to him had its windows rolled down. The driver was a woman in her mid-forties, grinning at him appreciatively. “Nice ride,” she called out. “A Hennessey GT Spyder, am I right?”

“That’s right.” Pierre smiled. “You know your cars.”

“Yeah, well, I like to drive men around.” She replied winking and subtly licking her lips.

Pierre could only blink. Was she flirting with him? He was young enough to be her son. He leaned back, putting on his sunglasses just as the traffic light glowed orange. “Well, that’s too bad.” He said coolly.

“Why?”

“Because I fancy doing the driving.” He smirked, revving up the engine the second the light turned green. Without a second glance, he sped away, curving into the street where Rayne’s school was. He was used to having older women hit on him all the time. After all, he did look a little mature for his age. But still, sometimes it still unnerved him how some women could be so blunt. Especially those he suspected were already married.

As he neared the school, he saw teenagers hurrying out the school gates, shouting and punching the air in glee. Oh, that’s right; Rayne said they had a two week break starting today. Pierre couldn’t help feel envious of the students pouring out of East Hampton High. Ever since his father abandoned him, he had never been able to finish his education. But the stab of jealousy was already dull in its familiarity. Besides, what did it matter? He could read, he could write. And what could school possibly teach him that he can’t teach himself?

“Dude, that’s some sweet wheels you got there!” Someone called out, bringing the laughter back to Pierre’s lips. He wondered what Rayne would say when she saw the car. He hoped she wouldn’t ask where he got it: she really wouldn’t like the answer.

Speaking of Rayne, she was already standing at the gates, scribbling into a notebook. Sometimes, he still wondered how this innocent, tattoo-infested girl came to be his closest friend in camp. Pierre drove right up to her and beeped his horn loudly, causing heads to turn towards them. “Hello, sweetheart.” He greeted happily. “Join me for a ride?”

Lucas St. Pierre

Rayne's reaction was better than he expected. The sight of his best friend completely frozen in astonishment was just priceless. Her bright, dark eyes were wide and her mouth had formed a cute little O in disbelief. If he hadn't known this kid like a little sister, he would have kissed her at that moment. She just looked so lovely in her innocence.

Pierre got out of the car - jumping out instead of using the door, like a star in an action movie - and proceeded to pick up Rayne's fallen notebook and the pen that had started rolling away. He also took her schoolbag and dumped them all on the front seat. When it was clear that Rayne seemed to intend being a statue by the schoolgates forever, he opened the door for her and jumped inside the car. "What are you mumbling like a goldfish for? Hop in!"

Behind Rayne, a small crowd had gathered, watching the whole scene with interest. Among them was a tall, muscular boy with blond wavy hair who nudged the guy beside him. "Hey, is that Rayne's boyfriend?" He demanded, loud enough for Pierre to hear. Was it his imagination or did the boy look a little annoyed?

"Yeah, I am." Pierre called out, grinning wickedly. "So don't anyone dare hit on her or I'm going to find you and kick your arse. Understood?" He revved up the car again, just for effect, and laughed as the sharp growling sound of the engine made the blonde boy jump. He turned to Rayne. "Well? Get in the car sweetheart, come on. We have lot's to do...I doubt you'll be getting any sleep tonight."

Lucas St. Pierre

Pierre reached over and slipped the seatbelt over Rayne before settling back and stepping on the pedal. "Why wouldn't I?" He asked back, driving into the busy main street. "Did you see his face?" He added, letting out a howl of laughter and slapping the wheel in glee. "He looked like he was going to wet his pants."

He glanced at Rayne, who looked ready to rip his throat out. "Oh, come on!" He wailed, although unable to completely stop chuckling. "Loosen those frown lines, Rayne. I was just having a bit of fun. Besides, trust me, I did you a favor. That Christian guy will want you even more. He'll be tripping over his own feet trying to get your attention when school starts again."

As the words left his mouth, Pierre suddenly realized that Rayne and Christian did not mix well in his head. Imagining that wimpy golden boy holding hands with Rayne chased the smile off his face. Not that he was jealous or anything. He had just grown naturally protective of Rayne over the years of their friendship. No, he wasn't jealous. He certainly didn't want any part of the whole falling-in-love-with-the-best-friend scenario and all the drama attached to it. Jealousy is not for the heartless, he thought, scowling. Come on Pierre, what's wrong with you? This is just you not wanting to see your best friend get hurt. After all, he should know fully well how some men play women and leave them as soon as they grow bored. And Rayne was just too...naive to play this game yet. Call it a brotherly instinct if you liked. But it definitely. wasn't. jealousy.

Well, whatever it was, it was making Pierre's expression darker by the second. He cleared his throat and decided to change topic. "So, how's school? Anything interesting happened?" He inquired, looking out the window in an attempt to look nonchalant. The skies were beginning to darken, the brightest stars already popping out in the violet sky. His watch read half-past five. They could catch dinner before driving back to camp. A quiet rumble was starting in his stomach."And where do you want to eat 'cause I'm starving."

Lucas St. Pierre

"Liar." Pierre accused, turning back to Rayne (who still looked like she swallowed a bucket of lemons). Stubborn as always, he thought, giving a mental sigh. Fine. I already apologized for gods' sake. I'm not apologizing any more. They drove in silence for a while, Pierre biting his lip to keep himself from saying something blunt. He instead immersed himself in driving, looking for the nearest Pink Sundaes. It was one of their favorite hang-out spots and he figured some ice cream would melt away the tight, disapproving line that was Rayne's mouth. Then maybe they can decide where to get some dinner like civilized grown-ups.

Bingo! He spotted the ice cream parlor right next to a Mcdonald's. The first time Rayne had brought him here, he was completely taken aback. The outside of the store was as pink as cotton candy, with giant scoops of plastic ice cream decorating the glittered path to front door. The windows were painted like licorice and had mini teddy bears hanging on them. On the roof, there was a giant, glowing sign that read PINK SUNDAES in rainbow colors. It was absolutely revolting. He remembered begging Rayne to get ice cream anywhere else, because the place looked like a Barbie kindergarten playhouse he would not be caught dead in. But Rayne had only given him a mischievous grin and dragged him - literally - inside.

The inside was even more incredible.

The interior was painted dark and red, and just radiated a dark, chilling atmosphere. The staff all dress up in white and black uniforms that had blood splatters all over them (once, a waiter told them in secret that it was actually just cherry syrup) and there was even one outlet near camp where the waiters wore disturbing clown make-up during Halloween. The chairs and tables looked like they were lifted from some 18th century medieval castle. All Pink Sundaes stores had the same motif - and Candy-land facade and a Horror house interior. Pierre had narrowed it down to two options: either the owner had been through severe trauma when he was a kid or he had hired a designer who was completely mental. But the sundaes they served were absolutely delicious.

He found an empty parking spot and drove the Hennessey right in. There was still a tense feeling in the car and Pierre decided it was high time to break it. He grabbed Rayne's shoulder and gave her a not-so-gentle shake. "Loosen your panties, love!" He teased, poking her once in the waist. "Come on, get it over italready! Look! Ice cream! Raaayne - a - layne - a - layne!"

Lucas St. Pierre

He hurried after Rayne, smirking in triumph. “Well, to be honest love, I don’t think the story of how I got that car is PG13.”

They entered the shop and as always, Pierre had to stop and marvel at the epic change of atmosphere. Three out of the seven tables were occupied by a bunch of college students. Now that he thought of it, he had never seen an actual kid inside Pink Sundaes. He supposed it made sense. With the Barbie Pink advertising, it must have attracted a lot of little girls who ended up screaming when they got inside. He imagined just how many children around the country fell for this shop’s trick – and tried to predict how many of those kids will need psychiatric help when they grew up.

They picked a table near the window, where Pierre played with solitary rose on display. He hated roses. Never liked their fragrance. A waiter came over, wearing a white button-up that had a huge, red-stained tear in the chest, as if someone had driven a stake through his heart. “Hi. Welcome to Pink Sundaes.” He placed two laminated menus on the table and winked. “Let me know when you know what you’re getting.”

Pierre gave him a dismissive smile before turning back to Rayne and their conversation. “Don’t worry though, I didn’t steal it. Well, technically.” He amended, taking a menu and browsing it with interest. “A nice…lady friend told me I could borrow it, as payment for a service I did for her the other night.” He grinned mischievously, picturing Rayne’s face behind the menu he was now holding to shield his face. “I’m getting the Dark Chocolate Temptation, how about you?”

Lucas St. Pierre

"No, I didn't just do a paint job Sunshine. I was hired to be an escort. And, no -" Pierre added before Rayne could butt in. "I just needed to stand next to her while she entertained her party. Look, love, I need to sustain myself on my own, right? And I can't get a decent job since I'm not legally an adult yet so we have to make do of what we have. Besides," Pierre picked up the spoon and smiled at his reflection in it, looking very pleased. "What's the point of having this marvelous face if I can't use it to get what I want?"

The waiter came around and laid down two bowls of ice cream. His Dark Chocolate Temptation consisted of two scoops of chocolate ice cream, with chunks of fudge brownies and a sprinkling on chocolate chips, the whole thing topped with whipped cream. Rayne's Strawberry Delight had two scoops of creamy strawberry ice cream and one scoop of vanilla, topped with huge colorful marshmallows and nuts, then drizzled with thick hot fudge. They thanked the waiter and picked up their spoons.

Before Pierre could sink the spoon in his sundae however, a sudden thought occurred to him. "Rayne," He began in his most pretend docile voice. He smiled innocently, fixing his gaze on Rayne's face. "What favor did you think I had to do to get that car?"

Lucas St. Pierre

Pierre licked his spoon with dissatisfaction. "You are no fun at all love." he mumbled, stabbing his spoon into the ice cream with a sigh. The silver sunk in easily since the ice cream had started to melt and he scooped out a huge chunk of it into his mouth. He let the mundane task of chewing brownies overtake his mind and for a moment, he forgot about Rayne or where he was. The brain freeze that followed was welcome.

He remained silent until he finished his sundae, looking out the window with a forlorn expression in his face. It had already been an hour and the sun was definitely setting. They needed to start the drive home if they wanted to catch dinner on time. It was precarious times for demigods right now and Chiron had warned them about staying out too late. Not to mention Mr. D might get furious and punish them or something. He looked at Rayne. "Ready to go?"