Aphrodite Solutions to Aphrodite Problems

[Samantha Adams]

Samantha was in deep reflection as she was wont to do when overthinking a problem. The previous month had been one that had challenged her deepest beliefs on a level she’d never experienced before. Prior to those events she’d been very set in her ways and sure that her path to betterment was the only way. That her lifestyle pursuits, or rather, the type of lifestyles she didn’t pursue, would lead her to the achievement and happiness she was after. But between Killian’s party, the incident with Levi at the lake, and now that stupid volleyball game, everything had come into question. And the biggest question mark now was Evelyn Scott…her arch rival, thorn at her side, the literal antithesis of everything that was Smantha. But now…well…Samantha was having thoughts and feelings towards someone that she felt like she never should have. Romantic emotions like this were not something she had expected to deal with. This was a problem she would need help with and the solution might just be related.

Helena, despite being an Aphrodite camper, was one that Samantha didn’t mind as much. Unlike Levi or Evelyn, Helena had a much better reputation in her eyes, plus she was known for helping campers navigate through their love life challenges, and this certainly was a challenge! So Samantha had asked Helena to meet her at the Amphitheater at a time when it would be deserted, she couldn’t afford to have anyone spot her and start spreading rumors. So here she was sitting near the bottom, occasionally looking up and around waiting for Helena.

@ Helena L'Amour

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

Helena had been asked to meet the most unlikely person. It wasn't like Samantha and her didn't get along. They were civil. But that was about the most she could say. And that was far better than any of her siblings had it with the girl. The daughter of Athena was well-known for being prudish and judgmental, something that didn't tend to blend well with children of Aphrodite. Part of her concern was that Samantha might have finally figured out what her and Mateo were doing behind closed doors and she was going to attempt to save Helena's soul or whatever. But something told her that this was more personal. There was a new spark in the girl that Lena had only just been able to pinpoint. So she headed to the amphitheater hoping that it was assistance the girl was seeking, rather than giving a lecture.

As she arrived at the amphitheater, Helena smiled. "Well hello Samantha. What can I do for you?" She said, walking down the incline to go meet the girl. "Looking for help with an outfit to the next party?" Love and fashion advice, those were the bread and butter of the Aphrodite campers. Fashion was always the safest one to ask about, because people tended to get touchy where love was concerned. Lena hoped that Sam was ready to hear whatever it was she was asking for today.

[Samantha Adams]

“An outfit?” Samantha knew Helena had a gift for fashion but she had forgotten that was what most campers sought her out for. While that wasn’t what she originally planned on asking, it suddenly occurred to her, Evelyn was a fashion model, would she need to change her wardrobe if she ever wanted to act on her feelings? Where would she even begin? Most of her outfits were, in a word; practical. Nothing that would ever catch the eye of a model. Focus, she reprimanded herself, these weren’t feelings she could ever act on…could she? “Ummm no not really” she started, not sure how to get the right words out. “You see, I have been having a bit of a crisis lately…something happened and well….they started as just thoughts at first…glances, but now I can’t get someone out of my head and….uggggggggghhhhhh” she put her head in her hands in defeat. Why was this so hard?

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m having feelings…romantic feelings…lustful feelings…I don’t know maybe a bit of both I guess. But they’re about someone, someone I don’t think I could ever admit them to, someone I should never admit them to. And…well, I don’t know what to do with them, the feelings I mean. Soooooo I figured you might have some advice about what I should do, or maybe even how I can get rid of them?” she asked hopefully. If anyone could give her life advice right now it was Helena. 

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

"Oh! That's wonderful!" Lena beamed. She had been anticipating the girl not being willing to admit her feelings, but she just came right out and said it. "Honey, why on earth would you ever want to get rid of that feeling? Love is one of the best feelings on earth. It's what makes life worth living." She truly believed that. Despite the pain she felt right now waiting for Mateo to come to his senses, she truly believed that in the end it would all be worth it. They would have a love story for the ages.

Taking a seat next to Samantha, she smiled. "You know... Nothing says you have to do anything about them at all." She could tell that this was a new and strange experience for the girl. Helena had years to come to terms with her feelings for Mateo before he even noticed her. Samantha had, maybe, a few days to realize how she felt. "Love can be terrifying. It makes you vulnerable." She smiled reassuringly at the girl, showing that she empathized. "I'm terrified every day that the person I love won't ever realize he loves me too." She looked up at the sky as she confessed her feelings. "But, then I would miss out on all the moments that make me smile. Like when he protected me during Capture the Flag, or when he tries to get my attention when I don't just give it to him in a group."

"I'm not going to tell you it'll always be easy. But you might just like where things go... if you gave it a shot."

[Samantha Adams]

“Ohhhh no no no no it can’t be love can it??? This is just temporary right!? ” Samantha didn’t know much about how Aphrodite empathy worked but she was aware they could read and pinpoint emotions well. For much of her life love was just a distraction from her goals; a side path not worth taking. Sure at some point it would benefit her to marry, but that was based around strategy, not feelings. Being the daughter of a powerful senator, she knew the important role she would have to play to further her family’s legacy and the family of whoever she’d end up marrying. The one and only time she’d opened her heart to the possibility of love was a couple years ago, but he had only wanted her for a fling and once he got that he was gone. Since then she’d determined any future coupling would be on her terms.

“I understand love can be good and work out well for some people, I’m not opposed to the idea of it happening to me…but why on earth did it have to be herrr…him why did it have to be him of all people?” she berated herself internally for almost slipping up and giving away too much information. She just knew she’d turn bright red if Helena figured out these feelings were for her half-sister, plus she wasn’t sure how much she could or couldn’t trust Helena with this information. “It’s just…none of this makes sense why I would fall for this…person. Plus I have no idea if they even have the same feelings for me, they’re kinda….hard to read. At least it's hard to read for me. This is all very uncharted territory. Let's say you're right and it is worth a shot, I'm honestly not sure how I'd go for it...”

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

Helena let out a small chuckle. "Oh it most certainly can be." Lena offered a reassuring smile and continued, "But if it's comforting, not all loves are permanent." Love was a fickle mistress, she could be there one moment and blow out like the flame on a candle the next. "I can't promise it is temporary, but it might be."

Her? Helena had only really ever seen Sam in a group setting, so she hadn't been able to pinpoint the direction of her affections just yet. But that certainly narrows it down. "You can't help who you fall for. Man or woman. We are all helpless when my mother and brother decide it's our time." Her smile was apologetic now. She could tell the girl was confused and bothered by this new revelation about her emotions "I could probably give better advice if I knew who it was, Sam. But if you're not ready for that, my generic advice is you will ever have an answer if you ask... Communication is important in any relationship. And the worst they can tell you is 'no', and at least then you have an answer and can plan for it." Helena said, trying to appeal to the logic in the child of Athena. They liked plans, didn't they? "Lots of ice cream, by the way. That's the trick for a broken heart. But if they say 'yes', well... that's the start of something beautiful." Helena grinned. "No risk, no reward."

[Samantha Adams]

Samantha paused, thoughtfully taking in everything Helena was saying to her about the permanency of love, to be honest she wasn’t completely thrilled with everything she was hearing but she knew Helena had a trustworthy reputation when it came to sharing advice on love. Samantha’s eyes flashed briefly when Helena casually mentioned not being able to control who you are falling for, man…or woman. Shoot, she cursed inwardly, had the girl caught onto her? These Aphrodite children were tricky when it came to picking up on stuff like this, plus if she was honest with herself she hadn’t exactly been very subtle. Perhaps it was time to reveal more? No, no she couldn’t do that! Samantha’s internal dilemma was building to a climax and it actually started to make her feel physically nauseous. What to do, what to do, what to dooooooo?? Helena's words hit her; ‘no risk, no reward.’

“EVELYN!” she finally burst out loud, “I think I have feelings for your sister!!!” The dam inside her had burst and there was no going back now, but her hands immediately clasped over her mouth in shock. “Oh gosh, I can’t believe I said that!” she said, panicking slightly, but it did feel good to get this off her chest. “Helena, what am I going to do? I can’t be falling for her? I hate her! No offensive, I know she's family. But come on, you have to know just how much this DOESN'T make sense right?!?” she looked straight at the Aphrodite girl, eyes pleading for answers that she couldn't find herself.

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

Helena was surprised when after a brief internal struggle, Samantha confessed who it was that she had feelings for. It took quite a bit of effort on her part not to laugh at the girl. Not because of how insane it was, as the girl from Cabin 6 seemed to think, but because of how oblivious she must have been. "Love doesn't have to make sense. In fact it rarely does." Lena said, by way of reassurance. "No offense taken, really. I get annoyed with her sometimes too, but she's my sister so... at the end of the day I'll love her regardless." I just hope she remembers that when it comes to me... Helena hated that she'd made her sister mad at her. It really hadn't been her intention at all, but it was certainly the result. How was she supposed to keep track of who Evelyn's current fuck boy was?

That was when she got a brilliant idea. I can help Samanth, and get Evie to forgive me. A quick smile formed on her face. "You know... Evelyn likes girls too." Lena said, by way of bringing the conversation back on track. "And I happen to be someone who knows quite a bit about what she likes..." She grinned conspiratorially. "And... who she likes." This plan was either going to bring her back into Evelyn's good graces, or completely ruin their relationship forever. Helena had been making a lot of big gambles with her actions lately, but at least this one she knew how bad it could potentially go before she jumped in. "...Your feelings might not be as far-fetched as you think." It was subtle, but it was definitely exposing her sister's feelings. But now she just hoped the child of Athena would pick up on it. They're supposed to be smart, right?

[Samantha Adams]

Samantha thought she detected just the trace outline of a faint smile spreading over Helena's face. She couldn’t fault the girl, if she wasn’t so mortified herself she could see the humor in the situation. But Samantha was mortified, oh was she ever! She’d almost regretted even coming to Helena in the first place, but….and this was quite a big but… it did feel good to let it out all, even if it wasn’t in the most graceful manner. “Well this…love…” she shuttered, still not used to calling it that “it certainly qualifies for not making sense. Oh thank Athena you find her annoying too! I don’t think a single season has passed at camp where she hasn’t pulled some kind of prank on me. I guess all the attention must have sparked in me some kind of…feelings for her. To be honest, I’ve always found girls to be pretty but until now they were never feelings I wanted to act on. Before Evelyn I’ve never met a girl I wanted to…be with…in that kind of way, you know? But there’s just something about her…..” Samantha drifts into her own thoughts, trying to practice feeling ok thinking about her and Evelyn together in an intimate setting.

She wasn’t shocked to hear that Evelyn was bi too, unlike her, the girl wasn’t shy at all about her sexual preferences. What did draw her interest though was Helena's offer of a scheme. Samantha wasn’t usually comfortable with schemes and sneaky plans, but if she was honest with herself she was way out into uncharted territory and if Helena was going to be her guide then she’d need to trust her instincts. “You mean….she might have similar feelings…towards me?” she said, trying to piece it all together. “So what do you have in mind then?” Samantha felt that if she was going to make this work, she’d have to be willing to get her hands a little dirty.

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

Helena listened to Samantha talk about Evelyn and her smile just grew. Yeah... that's love for you. "My sister doesn't admit her feelings very well. The pranks were probably efforts to get your attention more than anything else... if I had to guess." Evelyn didn't like to get attached to people. Her siblings were a different story, but Helena knew that she had never really loved any of the others she had let herself be intimate with. Lust, sure. But not love. Samantha was different, there was a special interest there, and Helena wasn't sure if Evelyn was in denial or just too stubborn to voice it aloud. But it was definitely different. "I know it's annoying, but... I guess try to find a way to think of it as a compliment? She hasn't spent that much time and energy on anyone else that I know of to get their attention."

Oh, good, she picked up on it. Helena nodded and confirmed Samantha's suspicions. "I see it two ways. We can do the scary, but probably most mature thing. And just tell her how you feel and see what happens." Helena had recently learned that, perhaps, using ones words instead of playing games that toyed with their emotions, was probably the better plan. Even if things had turned out better than she could have imagined in the end, Mateo had still gotten hurt in the process and she didn't really want to repeat that in the future. "Or you can have a bit of fun with her." Helena smirked. "A little payback for all those pranks she's done to you."

"Personally, I'd opt for the telling her. And we can plan something grand. But... I'll happily help you plot a prank if you'd prefer to give her a small taste of her own medicine."

[Samantha Adams]

“Get my attention?! Oh! Well those pranks certainly got my attention all right!! She couldn’t have just said ‘Hi I’m Evelyn, nice to meet you, what’s your name?’ I mean is it that hard to be a decent human being? Argggggggghhhhhhh. You see? This is what I mean, I want to wring her stupid neck with my bare hands but I also want to…to…well it’s a very lovely neck ok?.” Samantha had kept her emotions in check for most of her life, buried down so that she could better fulfill the role her father had put on her, so she could accomplish the goals she had set for herself, but now that she had released them there was no stopping the torrent.

Calming down a bit she began to realize just what those pranks might have meant. “I mean, she didn’t prank any of the other girls, not like she did to me. She really did put a lot of thought into them….am I special to her?” Samantha was in one word, proud. She prided herself in her maturity, she prided herself in her restraint, and she prided herself in always being the bigger person. When Helena suggested a second option, one a little less scrupulous, Smantha prided herself in throwing that all away; at least for just this one moment. “Ohhhhhhh I know exactly what option I want to choose Helena.” she confirmed.

She had attempted in the past to get some payback and pull a few pranks on Evelyn but Samantha just wasn’t cut out for these sorts of games. Those pranks had, at best, been ‘G-Rated’ with one attempt going completely unnoticed by Evelyn at all. But now, she had her own secret weapon, her own Aphrodite friend to help her out. “Ok, tell me everything, what all do you have in mind for some playful payback?” she asked, grinning ear to ear at the possibilities.

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

"Yeah, that sounds like love alright." Helena laughed. "Do you know how many times I've wanted to literally knock some sense into Mateo?" For months she could literally feel how he felt about her, but he was too stubborn to admit it to himself, let alone her. She waited what felt like an eternity for the man to finally have a revelation. "But at the end of the day, I love him... And it all worked out in the end."

As Samantha asked if she was special, Helena nodded. "My sister may look like she falls in and out of love with the change in the wind. But it's really just lust... she's never been in love. But there's something there...a spark, if you will. I don't know how to describe it." Helena's face scrunched slightly as she pondered the best way to explain things. "Imagine love being like a fire. It can range anywhere from the dull glow of embers to a raging inferno and changes based on how well it's fed, and can be smothered completely out if neglected, smothered, or drowned. Evie's never had any flames before, except for one person. It took me a long time to figure out who it was for, because you two were never alone when I saw you... but... there's a little ember there. And with the right feeding, it can grow."

With a conspiratorial grin on her face, Helena turned her attention to Samantha. "Somehow I knew that would be your answer." Helena had a small bone to pick with her sister after everything with Theo went down. Helena knew that her plan hadn't been a great one, and Mateo had every right to be mad at her for it. She could even understand why Levi was a bit miffed. But Evelyn's reaction, at least after finding out that Theo had taken things further than Lena's comfort, should have been more understanding. Lena understood it was Evie's current boy toy, but it's not like she cared about him. If she had, Lena never would have chosen him. So Lena was more than happy to make her sister squirm a bit before giving her a happily ever after. "Evie has an image that she's crafted over her time at camp. But I know where she keeps things that could ruin that image. It wouldn't hurt her, not really, just embarrass her a bit."

"She has a few more modest bits of clothing in her wardrobe... If all of her favorite outfits were to disappear, and she were to be only left with her modest clothes... she would have to leave the cabin eventually to find them." Helena grinned. "I think, if we can manage to get a child of Hypnos to help us out. We could probably keep her sleeping long enough to grab her clothes, her diary, and her teddy bear." Lena's grin continues to grow. "In the diary there's a picture of her from when she was 13, during her brief awkward phase. Braces, pimples, the whole nine yards. And she sleeps with the teddy bear... Anyway, I was thinking that we could leave a trail of all her 'good' clothes to your room, where on your bed is the bear holding the diary with the picture out of it. And just when she absolutely panics that someone knows her secret, you step out of the closet with flowers, chocolates, and a confession of your feelings for her. The last part is key, otherwise I won't help!"

[Samantha Adams]

Samantha’s emotions felt all over the place! Fear and confusion mixed in with happiness and….love? She still wasn’t comfortable with the whole idea but was trying to allow herself a moment to just follow the emotion rather than rigidly analyze and resist it. It was reassuring to hear that you could have feelings for someone while also being driven crazy by them; that certainly explained her current relationship with Evelyn!

From there on, Samantha’s challenge was to try and listen to both her rapid internal thoughts and Helena's advice. It didn’t help that thoughts of Evelyn kept breaking through though with that smirk she always flashed! If Samantha was honest, that smirk and the way Evelyn always teased her had caused some feelings to stir up, feelings that she was only just lately identifying with. Helena's fire analogy drew her back into the conversation and Samantha wondered just what it was about herself that had ‘sparked’ Evelyn so. As Helena continued she knew she didn’t want that spark to die out; for either of them. As she listened intently to Helena's scheme, nodding occasionally in understanding, she couldn't help but grin. This would be a great way to pay back Evelyn for all those years of pranks while at the same time getting a chance to express how she felt. She knew she’d be very nervous when the time actually came, but for now she put on a brave face and agreed to the deal.

[Helena L'Amour Rare Rare]

Lena watched as Samantha nodded. The girl was unusually quiet and attentive. It was quite the change from the girl who usually lectured everyone about purity. Helena wondered if, just maybe, there might be hope for Samantha yet! As the grin spread across her face once Lena stated her idea for the plan, she knew that things were about to get very interesting. Either Evie forgives... or I manage to get a bit of revenge on her without really getting my hands all that dirty. Win-win. Helena thought to herself. As soon as she had the agreement, she reached out her hand to shake Samantha's. "Alright... I'll give you a week to get whatever supplies you want for your romantic reveal! Lovely working with you." She said, then stood up and made her way back to Cabin 10, humming along the way. Quite pleased with herself.

~~~ END RP ~~~