(BAILEY) more than friends?

[Skye Jade Remmington]

If there was a dictionary definition for the term "normal day," you would see a picture of that day at Camp Half-Blood. The sky was cloud-free, but clouds were lumbering outside the camp borders, trying to get past the enchantments, moving like molasses. The temperature was like room temperature – not hot. Not cold. Fairly unnoticeable. Classes were canceled because so many people were sick, and so there were some campers lounging around near the lake like Skye was. Yet, most thought it was cold (probably because of the wind), so they were inside. Most people were probably bedridden in the Infirmary.

Skye's eyes landed on a yellowish canoe with its paint peeling off. There was definitely room for two. She dragged it over to the edge of the water and waited, tapping her foot and smoothing her blond ponytail over and over nervously. She and her friend Bailey had arranged to meet here. Except....Well, really, Skye didn't know if she wanted to be friends with him anymore. No, she kind of wanted to be more than friends. The feeling probably wasn't mutual, though. Bailey probably just liked her as a friend and nothing more. How many guy friends turned boyfriend had she had before? Oh right, none. And Bailey Allison wasn't going to be any different. She shouldn't get her hopes up. They. Were. Just. Freaking. Friends. And she didn't want to make this complicated.

Still, Skye was proud of herself. They had formed a mutual good friendship in, oh, less than ten minutes? Nobody had ever really wanted to be around her so quickly. Not the special girl. And ugh, she really had to stop thinking about that. Her new life was here, not back hope. Period. Plain and simple. And this was a nicer home than the one she'd had before. Waaayyyy better. It was full of people who understood her. And people who understood you was, like, the best feeling ever...

Skye sat down on a rock near the canoe and stared down at her green-with-white-flowers printed sundress, hoping it didn't look too dressy or — God forbid — awkward. She fingered her ponytail again, before undoing in and making a French braid in its place. She didn't know why in Tartarus she was bothering to be all dressy, but, well, she was.

She checked her watch. It was one o'clock in the afternoon, right when they had decided they would meet at the canoes. She hadn't meant to get there early, it just kind of...happened.

[Bailey Allison]

"Dude, what time is it?"

"Dunno," Bailey replied. He was lying on his surfboard, gently bobbing up and down in the waves. Sighing, he glanced at his watch. "12:58..." Something about that number bothered him... There was something about that time that he was supposed to remember. But what? Maybe he was supposed to be headed for classes now? Nah, that couldn't be it. Classes had been canceled. Whatever. He'd think of it later.

Yawning, Bailey started to paddle out when it suddenly came to him. Apparently, the time had triggered something else in the other boy's memory since both suddenly shouted, "OH, CRAP!" simultaneously.

"Mr. D's gonna kill me!"

"Skye's gonna kill me!"

"At least it's just Skye," the other boy said contemputously. "I'm probably gonna get turned into a grape vine."

"She's still gonna kill me!"

Both boys started paddling for the shore as fast as possible. Without so much as a word to each other, they instantly parted ways with Bailey trying to figure out where he should leave his board. Was there time to go back to the Hermes cabin? Gah, why hadn't he set an alarm on his watch? He took one last glance at his board before deciding to sprint for his cabin. There was no way Bailey would just toss this thing in the bushes and hope no one stole it. It was just way too valuable to him. After slipping it inside the Hermes cabin, Bailey jogged towards the lake while simultaneously changing from his rash guard to a clean t-shirt. The boardshorts would have to stay though... maybe they'd go swimming?

The Hermes camper immediately caught sight of Skye and tried to slow his pace so it wasn't obvious that he had nearly forgotten about their meeting. It didn't seem to be too effective judging by the looks other people were giving him. "Hey Skye!" he called out cheerfully... well, as cheerfully as one could sound while breathing hard. Bailey took a seat on a rock opposite her and finally had a chance to properly see her. Damn, she looked pretty... She had on a dress, and her hair was all twisty-looking. "You look nice," he said, smiling up at her.

He glanced at the canoe that bobbed gently in the water. It was almost as if it had been deliberately placed there. "I dunno about you, but it's awfully crowded here." Indeed, people were packed along the shore, trying to enjoy a bit of sun. A slight wave of claustrophobia swept over him. "We could try going to the other side of the lake. Wanna give it a try?" He nodded towards the canoe.

Word Count: 444!
Muse: Surprisingly, it's still alive.
Notes: Hi, this post failed.
Tagged: Skye/Maria

[Skye Jade Remmington]

"You look nice," a voice Skye had had bouncing around in her head for days now remarked. Skye looked up and smiled softly, her lips wet with clear Essence lip gloss. There was Bailey. He looked cute as ever with his floppy, slightly messy sandy blond hair and sideways grin. Bailey's eyes sparkled with a joyful expression, and his windblown hair looked like caramel. His overall expression was one of happiness, that made him seem to glow against the backdrop of the lake.

"So do you," she replied truthfully, making eye contact with him. She'd missed him so much, even though they did see each other often. Hours stretched into years when you thought about someone so much, instead of being with the physical them all the time. No matter what she was doing, Skye's mind always managed to wander back to Bailey. Always.

"I dunno about you, but it's awfully crowded here. We could try going to the other side of the lake. Wanna give it a try?" Bailey gestured to the canoe that Skye had pushed into that very spot. Skye felt like her mouth was going to fall off of her face from smiling so much. She probably looked like a clown or something, but... she couldn't help it. He probably thought she was a complete freak. Well... that's what she was. Screw normality. She was her, not a typical Californian girl.

"Sure," Skye said lightly, climbing into the boat, hoping her sundress wasn't going to... dip into the water and get wet, or something. She took a seat and gripped the paddles and beckoned for him to join her.

"So, uh," she began, stammering slightly and mentally kicking herself for acting so idiotic, "what've you been... up to?" She figured it was as good a conversation starter as, well... as any. Hopefully he didn't think she was a babbling idiot.