Hi! I'm Erin Buckley. I have black hair, and brown eyes. (No, it is not my brother or a Child of Hades)

I'm on my way to gardening club. I only do it because my best friend does it. Her name is Katie Gardner. Cool right? She likes gardening and her last name is Gardner. Get it? You could say Katie is pretty, but in a sort of plain way. She has light brown hair, and green eyes.

A lot of jocks at school have crushes on her. She has been asked out so many times,  and yet each time, she denies them. She's never said why. I don't have a crush on her. I'm gay, and I have a boyfriend named Carter, who I love a lot.

Anyways, I open up the gate to the the picket fence. It is pretty, with roses running up and down the sides. I expect to see Katie watering the tomatoes, or reading to the basil. She does that sometimes. Instead, she is nowhere to be found. Huh. Maybe she is late. I go to the shed to get a spade. 

There, I see something I thought I would never see in my life. Katie is pushed up against the shed wall, being kissed by a boy. He has light brown hair, and mischievous smile on his face. If I didn't have a boyfriend, I would totally be crushing on him right now. But then, the protective older-brother part of me comes out and realizes what's happening. He's probably one of those jocks that asks Katie out, sometimes they can get a little pushy.

"Leave her alone! She doesn't want to date you!" I shout at him, tossing the spade in my hand. 

The boy's eyes widen, and he grabs Katie and dodges out of the way just in time. The spade falls harmlessly to the dirt.

"What the HADES?" Katie screamed at me.

"Why would you throw a spade at my BOYFRIEND?!"

Boyfriend?

The boy begins to rub Katie's back, whispering soothing words into her ear. All the tomato plants around us had begun to shake. Now they were calming down.

"I'm sorry Katie, you never mentioned you had a boyfriend. I thought he was another one of those jocks trying to date you. Sorry." I say apologetically, reaching out my hand to help them up.

 I haul Katie up, and as I reach for the boy's hand, I get an electric shock. 

"Ouch!!" I scream, jumping back.

"Oops." The boy said sheepishly, uncurling his fingers to reveal a buzzer. 

"Forgot that was there. I'm Travis, by the way." He stood up, brushing dirt off his jeans. He shook my hand, buzzer free this time.

"I'm Erin." I said, smiling back.

"So how do you know Katie-Kat here?" He said casually, hooking an arm over her shoulder. She blushed and hid her face in his chest."Travvviiiissss!!!" Katie whined.

"Yes Katie-Kat?" He said smiling.

"I told you not to call me that!" She shouted, her voice muffled, kicking him in the shin.

"Ouch! One of these days, Katie-Kat, you're going to hurt me and feel sorry about it."

She lifted her chin and looked up at him defiantly. "Never."

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Carter.

Carter: Meet you at Sander's in a few?

Erin: You know it. Love you.

Carter: Love you too  <3 :)

"Who was that?" Katie asked, now standing side by side with Travis, his arm around her waist.

"Carter. I've got to go. See you guys later?" I said, stuffing my phone back into my pocket.

"Yeah, sure." Katie said.

I turned to go and heard a scream. Whipping around, I saw Katie and Travis, back to back, holding glowing bronze swords. In front of them was a snake.....woman????? 

"A Daughter of Demeter and a Ssson of Hermessss, how possssitively delightful" She hissed.

Travis raised his sword to bring it down on the snake-woman's head, but she dodged. She slipped around the back of Katie and began to squeeze. Like a python almost, slowly attempting to squeeze the breath out of her. Katie's face began to turn blue, and she dropped her sword into the dirt. 

I finally found my feet. I grabbed Katie's sword off the ground, and heaved it with all my might towards the head of the snake woman. Her head hit the ground with a thump at my feet, her face frozen in a mixture of shock and surprise. Had I actually done that? The coils around Katie loosened, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

"What was that thing?" I asked, breathing heavily, looking at Travis and Katie. Travis was staring at me, shocked. He finally found his voice.

"We'll explain everything, but you and Carter need to meet us at Ally's Pizzeria." He said, helping Katie up. He glanced at her with a worried expression. She was still unconscious, so he carried her bridal-style to a brown pickup truck parked nearby.

I texted Carter:

Erin: How about Ally's Pizzeria instead?

Carter: Finnnneeee, but you're paying :)

Erin: You're so lucky I love you.

--------- time skip from Kai, a good Daughter of Kronos. (Gateway of Thread and Stone)------- 

We arrived at Ally's Pizzeria. Travis and Katie were already there. Turns out, Carter knew Katie and Travis from this camp he goes to. Glancing around, Travis beckoned me closer, and in low voices, they told me everything.

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4 years later, I am at their wedding, tears pricking my eyes, as I watch my best friend walk down the aisle towards Travis. Her hair it down, with a small white flower crown gracing her head. She is wearing a simple white dress, and the happiest expression I have ever seen. I sniffle a little, finding it hard not to be emotional. Carter grips my hand, and smiles. The rings on our own fingers glint in the dusk light. I lean my head on his shoulder and sigh. There are some definite perks to being married to a Son of Aphrodite.

I love Tratie so much. So sweet, and perfect, and flirty and mischievous. Tratie babies will definitely be a handful, yet I think Katie could do a very good job of being a mom.

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters made by Uncle Rick

Love ya, my little ghosties!

~Ari