“So, um… thanks!” She blurted out, shifting awkwardly on the porch, suddenly very aware of how not awake you looked.

Your hair was a disaster—full-on bedhead. your dark eyes, still heavy with sleep, blinked at her like your brain hadn’t caught up yet. Katie tried not to shrink under your skeptical gaze, but, to be fair, she had just knocked on your cabin door at 9 a.m., and judging by your expression… yeah. Mornings were not your thing.

You stared at her. She stared back.

this was so awkward.

“Uh, right! So, I just… wanted to say thanks,” she said, clearing her throat. “For, um…” She hesitated, suddenly very aware that this could go horribly wrong if she was wrong. “For helping my plants grow.”

You didn’t react.

She swallowed hard. “it was you who watered them while i was gone, right?”

*Please say yes. Please say yes. If you said no, she was going to simply collapse and disappear into the ground.

You just blinked. For a second, she thought you might shut the door in her face and go back to sleep, but then—

A slow, small nod.

Oh, thank god.

She exhaled, breaking into a bright smile and holding up the tiny potted forget-me-not she’d been clutching this whole time.

“Here,” she said, placing it in your hands. “I appreciate it.”

You stared at the little flower like it was some kind of alien object. like no one had ever given you a plant before. Which, honestly? It’s probably true.

Katie had spent the winter break at her dad’s place, leaving her plants in the (highly questionable) care of the stoll twins. but when she got back, they weren’t dead—which was shocking—and the twins admitted, with matching smirks, that you had actually taken care of them.

Which was… unexpected. You weren’t exactly known for being a sweetheart. In fact, most people were terrified of you. Something about the constant glaring and whole ‘child of hades’ thing.

But here you were, holding a tiny flower, half-asleep, half-confused, and somehow… kinda cute.

Katie bit back a grin.

Maybe you weren’t as scary as everyone thought.