The autumn hall smelled faintly of dust, old wood, and the faint tang of camp—sweaty campers, stage lights, and costumes tossed in a messy pile. Curtains hung heavy, velvet, separating the stage from the audience… and you from him. The Fall Play had finally arrived, and somehow, you and Percy were cast as the lead couple—the lovebirds.

You’d rehearsed, tried to keep your distance, tried to remind yourself it was just acting. But being near him, seeing the way his green eyes followed you, the way he laughed at your lines in rehearsal, it was impossible to pretend. Every glance, every accidental brush of hands during choreography, made your heart race. You weren’t acting at all. Not really.

Backstage, you tugged nervously at your costume, fiddling with your hair. Percy leaned close, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, brushing a stray lock behind your ear. No one else was around. No cameras, no castmates—just the dim glow of the stage lights. You didn’t move, didn’t speak, but your chest hammered and your stomach felt like it was doing summersaults. You knew if anyone saw, they’d tease mercilessly, but for now, the world had shrunk to just the two of you.

“Places in five,” Chiron’s voice echoed. Your pulse skipped. The audience would soon fill the seats, yet your mind couldn’t focus on anything but him—his messy hair, the crooked grin, the way he somehow made everything more alive.

On stage, as the play moved into the final dance, the audience blurred. Every line, every gesture, every breath felt like it belonged only to him. You were painfully aware: your heart wasn’t pretending. You couldn’t pretend. Every look, every brush of hands, every smile whispered it.

“Back on in five!” came the call from backstage.

And suddenly, the stage felt impossibly big, yet impossibly small. You were panicking, caught between falling and fangirling, between wanting to keep your cool and losing it entirely. You wanted the spotlight, the perfect line, the harmony of the scene—but most of all, you wanted Percy. And that truth? Unscrpitped, unstoppable, and entirely yours. But you knew it could never be.