dance the night
"Baby, you can find me under the lights Diamonds under my eyes Turn the rhythm up, don't you wanna just Come along for the ride? Oh, my outfit so tight You can see my heartbeat tonight I can take the heat, baby, best believe That's the moment I shine"
summary: barbie date and an invitation from clarisse you can't refuse
pairing: clarisse la rue x f!reader
word count: 3.4k
tags: fluff fluff fluff
series masterlist 2/?
Life at camp was great. You were getting more comfortable here, you were getting along very well with your siblings especially Lee and Cornelia. They’re the ones who explained everything in detail, sometimes twice, to you. They also explained to you that if you wanted to leave camp during the summer, you needed to get a quest or a special authorisation from Mr. D and Clarisse knew, so she told you to get it since it was your idea to go see that movie.
“Mr. D hasn’t given one ever since I arrived,” Cornelia told you.
“Mmh,” you thought about it. “I accept this challenge.”
“It really wasn’t,” Lee said. “It was a piece of information at best.”
“It sounded like a challenge to me, watch the real professional at play here.”
You walked, determined, to Mr. D’s office. You didn’t have many arguments, but Cornelia did tell you Mr. D was always looking for campers to give him alcohol, even though his father, Zeus, forbade him to drink any. Mr. D was playing cards with Chiron. Maybe it wasn’t the right time, you hesitated before Chiron looked up.
“Yes?” he said, putting his cards down.
“Mmh,” you froze before staring at your camp director, “I needed to talk to Mr. D, please.”
Chiron turned his face to look at Mr D, and he took off his sunglasses before looking at you.
“What?”
“I– I would need…” all the courage you had a few minutes ago just disappeared, “I need an authorisation to leave camp for a day,” you explained with fake confidence. “Please.”
“And why would I give you that?”
“Because I need it, desperately.”
He stared at you without moving.
“It’s for next week, the 21st. It’d be just for a day.” you begged.
Mr D stared at you, bored. He was ready to take back his cards when you shouted desperately.
“I–” you stopped, knowing you shouldn’t cross this boundary, “I’ll give you anything you want, like… alco–.”
“No you will not!” Chiron gave you a hard stare. “Zeus–.”
“I’m desperate, so yes I will.”
Mr D was still silent.
“What is this about y/n?” Chiron asked. “Why do you need to leave camp?”
“I– I asked Clarisse on a date. Well,” you faltered. “It’s not exactly a date I don’t think, it’s more like I won a bet, and what I asked for was for us to go see a movie together. More like a… platonic date, maybe? And it would suck for me if I can’t go, when I won the bet you know.”
Chiron and you were both looking at Mr. D, and you had your best puppy eyes for him.
“Still a no for me,” Mr. D took his cards.
“Please, please, please, please, please!”
Mr. D shook his head. You sighed, thinking about what to say to try and convince him to let you go.
“That’s–,” you hesitated before blurting out “such a homophobic thing to do in 2024 to refuse to let us go on a date! Which is what this could be… potentially… a date, with us two girls.”
“What?” Mr. D muttered confused.
“And during pride month? You have no shame. It’s–.”
“Fine, if I give you this authorisation, will you shut up and leave?”
You nodded vigorously. And Mr. D sent you a flying paper with the snap of a finger, and after reading the paper to make sure it was legit – which did take a few minutes – you ran away in case he changed his mind. The first person you ran into Luke and asked him if he had seen Clarisse. He pointed at the Ares cabin and told you he saw her go in.
You walked to her cabin and knocked, shouting Clarisse’s name over and over again. The door flew open, revealing an annoyed Clarisse.
“Hi,” you smiled.
Her face softened slightly at your sight, but she still looked at you annoyed, with her arms crossed.
“What?”
“Guess what?” your hands were in your back, hiding away the piece of paper you got earlier.
“Mr. D banished you from camp?”
“What?” you frowned, confused. “No.
“Good,” she nodded. “So what was the news then?”
The paper was still held behind your back, you held her gaze a few more seconds before showing her proudly the paper. She looked at the paper, frowning, and then took your paper. You stood there patiently, swinging on your feet, waiting for her to finish reading it at her own pace.
“How did you get Mr. D to agree to this?” she puts the paper down.
“It’s a secret. But I’ll tell you if you want to know.”
“Of course I do, no one here in years got one of these,” she shook the paper in front of you.
You held up your index, and made a ‘come closer’ motion with it. She came closer, and you put your face even closer, her nose almost touching yours. Clarisse was taller than you – taller than most campers actually – and your face was facing up. And having her this close to you, it was as if time had stopped. You smiled.
“I promised him alcohol,” you whispered.
“What!” she stepped back. “Do you know Zeus–.”
“I know, I know, Cornelia told me. I don’t remember what I said after that,’ you lied, “I guess he just likes me.”
“Okay,” Clarisse smiled, “liar.”
Clarisse and you stood there, at the threshold of the Ares cabin, for a few more moments, just enjoying each other's company before her siblings ran in, pushing you toward Clarisse. Your body slammed against hers, and her arms wrapped around your shoulders to steady you. You would have been upset if it weren’t for the outcome. But Clarisse quickly let go before grabbing the shirt of her brother and made him stop in his tracks. You didn’t hear what she said, but you saw Mark nodding vigorously before walking away.
“Let’s get out of here,” Clarisse grabbed your arm and led you outside.
“So,” you started when she stopped under a tree and sat there. “Since we’ll be out all day long, is there anything specific you want to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, what do you usually do when you’re not here?” you asked.
“I’m never not here,” she shrugged.
Right. Some campers didn’t leave to go home.
“Do you know what you’re going to wear?” you changed the subject, not knowing if she wanted to elaborate or not.
“No. Do you?”
“Uh obviously! I have the perfect outfit for Barbie. I actually planned this before coming here, minus the ‘going to camp half-blood’ cause I didn’t think I’d end up here. It’s all pink, and cute and oh, should I also do my nails? Should we do our nails all pink?” you beamed at the idea.
“No.”
“Ok, you’re right cause yours do look very good in black, why change you know,” you nodded. “Oh, we could cosplay Barbie and Raquelle. But it’s not going to be accurate, Raquelle hates Barbie.”
“I think it’s pretty accurate,” she shrugs.
You slapped her arms playfully before laying your head on her lap. The weather was nice, the sun was out and the leaves were shading you from it, the perfect combination for you to take a nap and do nothing at all. Your eyes were closed, enjoying the calm and the silence.
“Wake up sunshine,” Clarisse pinched you lightly on the hip.
You jerked awake.
“I’m not sleeping” you mumbled, standing up.
“I have to meet up with my brothers and sisters for the next Capture the Flag strategy.”
“Can I come too?” you yawned.
“We’re not on the same team, remember.”
“I won’t tell anyone anything.”
“Nope,” she walked away, “don’t follow me,” she turned around, walking backwards.
“I won’t,” you said even though you wanted to.
The night before the maybe-not-platonic date, you decided to prepare everything and lay it out perfectly. This way, in the morning, you could just wash up and then dress up without any stress.
Cornelia was your bunkmate, with the bed above yours. You never had any other siblings growing up, some cousins, but you only saw them for the holidays. And now you have a bunch of siblings you saw all the time, and Cornelia was one of your siblings with whom you got along with the best.
“So tomorrow huh,” Cornelia sat on your bed. “I never thought I’d live to see Clarisse being friendly with anyone other than her siblings.”
“I think she’s funny and she’s nice… sometimes. Well with me she’s nice most of the time.”
“Sure, if funny was a synonym of mean. Wait– do you even have money to spend on tomorrow’s activities?”
“Actually I do. When my mom dropped off my things, she left me with some money. I mean she did say it was for any expense that I would have to make on my way home, but I have other priorities.”
“Clearly,” she rolled her eyes, laughing. “You’re gonna regret this in August.”
“That is a problem for future me.”
Like before any exciting day, it took some time to fall asleep. Anxiety and excitement mixing together, making up the worst and best scenarios. What if Clarisse is just messing with you and forgot? That can’t happen, you just saw her a few hours ago and you were talking about it. But what if you had annoyed her so much with it, she’d stood you up? What if she doesn’t like everything you planned? Not a single positive and happy ‘what if’ comes to your mind.
“Wake up!” someone shakes you awake. “It’s 8 already, you're going to be late!” Cornelia said.
Your eyes shot open, panicked.
“Fuck!” you ran to the washroom.
You rushed through your routine, before rushing back to your bed and grabbed your outfit, and put it on. And all of that only took 28 minutes. You looked at yourself in the mirror for a final check-up, before opening the door. Clarisse was already there. Her curls free, just like the first time you saw her. It felt weird not seeing her in her usual orange tee, but she still looked pretty. She wore a simple short brown tank top with blue faded jeans, with her beaded necklace still hanging from her neck.
“You look really pretty today,” Clarisse smiled shyly, holding her arms around her.
“Thanks,” you approached her, putting your hands on her arms and leaned in, “you look pretty every day.”
“Don’t come home too late,” Lee interrupted, appearing just next to you.
“Don’t worry, but also don’t wait up!”
You grabbed Clarisse’s hand and dragged her away from your cabin. A taxi was waiting for you outside the camp, and in no time, you were at the local theatre in the middle of nowhere. And lucky for you, the people of this town weren’t going to see the 9:30 am slot for Barbie. Except for that one couple sitting in the back. You dragged Clarisse in the middle and sat with the popcorn and sodas. You ate in silence, watching the trailers.
Well, that was not fun. The worst ‘what ifs’ from last night came back immediately, making you anxious. It was not supposed to be like this. What if she wasn’t enjoying herself. What if she was mad because she ate a salty popcorn when you asked for the sweet ones. What if she was disappointed—
“Ouch,” you looked at her, frowning, rubbing your arm. “Why did you do that?”
“You were ignoring me.”
“What? Oh I– I didn’t hear, sorry.”
“I asked you, what’s the deal with Barbie anyway? Why are you so excited about a blonde, white, plastic doll?”
“W– Barbie is not– ok. She is a plastic doll, and she may not look like us but it’s the idea of Barbie, the idea that us women can be anything we want. And how in Barbie Land, it’s all about girls and women being able to be whoever they want, and have whatever jobs they want. Barbie is literally a doctor, a pilot, a model, a chef, a fashion designer, a business woman, a teacher – she has every job in the world. And there is no one telling her that she can’t do that because she’s not a man. And also, the Barbie franchise is my childhood. The movies, they deserve every Oscar honestly–,” you stopped. “Sorry, I talk too much.”
“I asked,” her attention went back to the screen. “So did you have any barbies growing up?”
“Of course! I had Barbie's dreamhouse, and so many barbies and outfits. I’m surprised I didn’t end up being a writer with all my imagination. Did you have any?”
“No.”
“No?”
“My mom wasn’t the kind to buy me anything. And certainly not dolls.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t feel sad for me, I’m fine,” she gave you a quick glance.
“I’m not!” you frowned. “So you never watched Barbie and A Christmas Carol? The best Barbie movie ever?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, we have to change that. Mmh. But phones and laptops aren’t allowed though… Maybe if I ask my mom to ship me her old DVD player? Do you think that’s ok?”
“Already planning on your next move to woo me?” she teased, approaching you.
Your eyes widened, your cheeks were hot.
“I– No! I– I– I don’t.”
“Relax sunshine, I’m kidding,” she laughed.
And just then, the lights went out and the movie was about to start, thank the gods. Because you did not know what to say. The movie was incredible, you shed a few tears at the end, and sang Dance The Night with Clarisse laughing and cheering you on. It was a great experience, and it was even better to have watched it with Clarisse.
“Did you like it?” you asked her when the credits started rolling.
“Yeah. It was great.”
“And you’ll love the other Barbie movies because they are way less depressing.”
She laughed.
“So, what’s next?” she stood up.
“It’s almost time to eat. What do you want?”
“Whatever you want.”
“No you choose, I insist,” you smiled.
“We don’t have any money,” Clarisse stopped you when you were going to step into the mall.
“I do. Remember I paid for the tickets, and the food.”
“Yeah, but I thought you only had enough for these.”
“Nope. Well, remember how I said my mom is an opera singer. I mean she is talented, but I come from a family of opera singers and it’s generational wealth. Meaning I’m rich, I mean my mom is but her love language is sending me money to compensate for being away so often,” you joked.
She stared at you, concerned.
“I’m kidding,” you grabbed her hand, “let’s shop.”
Clarisse refused to accept anything you’d set eyes on for her.
“Well, at least try on some of them, just to see.”
She agreed to it, which was a mistake because now that you knew her size, you could buy her everything she laid eyes on. She was trying on this simple burgundy long-sleeved tee shirt, and after she put it back, you took it with you.
“What are you doing?” she tried to grab the T-shirt back.
“I might want it for myself!” you hid it behind your back.
‘Doesn’t look like something you’d wear.”
“My style changes, it depends on my mood. Maybe I want us to have matching clothes.”
“Then why is there only one in your hand?”
You quickly grabbed another one. And then it was settled. You’d buy her things and then another copy for you – everything went, from boots to shirts to pants, and jackets. Then you went to a jewellery shop. You needed new rings because yours flew away from your hands during the last Capture the Flag – they were obviously a tad too big.
“Did you find anything you like?” you asked her.
“No, they aren't the most useful things to have.”
You pouted and threw a bunch on the table.
“What are you doing?”
“Putting these back on the shelves, cause I chose half of these for you,” you sighed dramatically.
“Oh,” she took a look at the jewellery.
Various rings and bracelets.
“They’re great, I love them.”
“No you don’t.”
“You picked them out so yes, I do.”
“You don’t have to, it’s fine,” you sighed.
“Maybe you don’t have to buy all of it, just one of each.”
You nodded and picked one ring for her, and two bracelets for each of you. You gave them to the seller to wrap them and left to look at other items. Clarisse soon joined you and soon enough the seller gave a little bag, you paid and left. Your hands were full of shopping bags, and before leaving, you needed a little bit of rest so you two sat on the chairs in the resting area. Thankfully, the mall wasn’t too crowded as it was still early in the afternoon on a random Tuesday.
“Huh!” you gasped pointing at something behind Clarisse.
“What?” she turned around swiftly, not seeing any threat.
“A photobooth!” you smiled.
You stood up, grabbed all of your bags and walked to the booth, hoping Clarisse was following you. You turned around, and Clarisse was still sitting still, legs crossed, leaning into the chair, staring at you. You held your hands together and motioned her to come. She didn’t move for a good minute, but seeing how you weren’t going to move, she caved in and stood up.
“Sunshine,” she put her hands on your shoulders, “you can look at me for free, I won’t charge you, don’t worry.”
You rolled your eyes, smiling.
“You’ll thank me in a few years because of this. Pictures are the best kind of souvenirs.”
Clarisse got in first, the space was a tight fit, and you were glued to Clarisse, but you two fit in the frame so it was good. You put the coins inside and waited for it to take the picture. But that was not good enough for Clarisse – she put her arm around your waist and scooped you onto her lap.
“Better?”
You nodded, staring at her.
“Better,” you confirmed.
You went to take a pose but too late, the four pictures were already taken.
“It’s fine, we’ll take another one.”
Another turned into another few more and you ended with a ton of pictures. By the time you left the mall it was already pretty late. Almost time to go home. But neither of you wanted that, so you went to the beach instead – the main beach in the east. It was empty – people at this hour were all eating. You two sat on the sand, far from the shore.
“Did you have a great time?” you asked.
“Yes,” she looked at you, “did you?”
You nodded enthusiastically.
“Aren’t you glad you lost that bet against me?”
“Mmh,” she shrugged, “my option would’ve been just as good for me.”
“Well, I am glad I won. I prefer this option much better.”
Clarisse started to lie down but you grabbed her arm.
“Sand will get in your hair.”
“I’ll wash it tonight, it’s fine.”
You shook your head, and took off your blouse and laid it on the sand, behind Clarisse. She tried to protest, but you were insistent so she had just had to accept.
“I don’t want this day to end,” you admitted, staring at the waves. “I don’t think Mr. D will give us another authorisation anytime soon,” you laughed.
Clarisse stared at you, not saying anything. You arrived at camp only a week or so ago, and yet you two were already closer than she was with any of her siblings. You were nice to her, always rooting for her, and you were a great friend. Not many people were these things to the Ares kids.
“There's this field trip around October,” Clarisse sat up again, “I assume you’re not staying around the whole year. But it’d be great if you could come.”
“A field trip? To where?”
“It’s something we do once a year at camp,” she explained. “A trip to Olympus.”
Olympus, well that’s no small trip.
“Are you asking me to meet your father? I didn’t think we were already at this stage so early on," you smirked.
“That’s the last thing I want,” Clarisse mumbled.
“Mmh? What did you say?”
Clarisse shook her head and stared at the ocean, while you kept your eyes on her face.
“If you want me to come, I will,” you said softly. “I want to. Well, I’ll have to ask if I can but I’m very persuasive so I’m not worried.”
