The Jealousy Match

Chapter 1

Jason is Acting Weirdly

PIPER POV

"Drew, I told you to stop stealing my makeup!" someone shouted from across the room.

"Lacy, that's my shirt! Give it back!" another yelled.

"Mitchell, that hat defiantly doesn't go with that shirt," someone stated.

I groaned, waking up to another typical day in the Aphrodite cabin. I slowly got out of bed and made my way into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and I was slightly horrified. Not that I cared that much about my looks, but I do prefer not to look like a hobo.

My chocolate brown hair was a rat's nest. I had dark bags under my eyes, and I definitely needed to change from the big, baggy clothes I'd slept in.

I sighed, taking out my hairbrush from a cabinet, attempting to tame my hair.

Since my last quest with Jason and Leo, my godly parentage had defiantly grown on me, though I still wasn't sure if that was a good thing. My short, choppy hair was now long and smooth; one of my Aphrodite siblings had even convinced me to put eagle's feathers in it. I wore a slight trace of makeup, and I had become much more confident in myself.a

I started daydreaming about a certain crush of mine when I was snapped back to reality.

"Piper, you almost done? We have archery in ten!" Mitchell called from outside the bathroom.

I ran a couple more strokes through my hair then set my hairbrush on the counter, and hastily pulled my hair into a side ponytail. "Yeah, one minute!" I put on a bit of mascara and eyeliner and ran out of the bathroom to the trunk by my bed. I grabbed an orange Camp Half-Blood v-neck and a pair of denim Abercrombie shorts on top. (I had stolen the shorts from Drew last week.) I changed and laced up my combat boots before I told my cabinmates to line up outside the door.

After a couple cat-fights, makeup issues, outfit changes, and a debate about platypuses, I finally got the Aphrodite crew out to the archery center.

And that's where I saw him—Will Solace, my crush.

As much as I liked Jason, I didn't see anything happening between us—he acted so [i]friend[/i]ly around me all the time. So I'd kissed that dream goodbye, and developed a recent crush on Will.

Will was giving shooting pointers to a few campers, holding a bow in his hand and wearing shorts and an orange Camp Half-Blood tank top that showed off his ripped arms.

I put on a confident smile, walked up to him, and said, "Hey, Will, nice top."

He jerked his head around at the sound of my voice, and his face broke into a smile. "Hey, Pipes, what's up?" Will asked.

"Oh, not much, I just practically killed myself trying to get my cabin out here, you know, the usual," I told him.

He laughed.

Gods, I thought to myself, he has such a cute laugh.

"So . . . Piper, what are you doing tonight?" Will asked, blushing.

"Um, I think I was supposed to meet Jason and Leo at the forges . . ." I told him.

He looked down, obviously disappointed.

"But," I continued, "I bet they don't really need me to do anything, I always just kinda sit there."

Will looked up and blushed again before asking, "Want to go to the movies with me, then?"

On the outside I made sure to stay cool, calm, and collected, but on the inside I was jumping for joy, thinking, Oh my gods, YES!

I smiled back at Will and said, "Sounds like a date."

"Cool. So, I'll pick you up at seven?"

"Sounds great, Will, see you later," I said.

Will waved and went back to the Apollo cabin.

I was so excited and caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice Lacy come up to me before she asked, "What's with the face?"

I tried to act innocent. "What face?"

She put a hand on her hip and cocked her head to one side. "The lovey-dovey face. Who asked you out?"

I started to laugh at the twelve year old. "What the heck is a lovey-dovey face?" I asked.

She smirked and said, "Oh, just your face right now So, who's the lucky guy?"

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Why do you care?"

"Because I'm your half sister, and our mom is Aphrodite, the goddess of LOVE, so I kinda have a right to know," Lacy replied.

"You have a right to know?" I asked casually, trying to change the subject. I didn't want my sister to know about the date, for I knew she would tell the whole Aphrodite cabin.

"Stop changing the subject, Piper!" Lacy ordered.

"I'm not changing the subject," I said.

"Yes you are!" she insisted.

I knew we were starting to make a scene now.

"Lace, why don't we talk about this somewhere else?" I offered.

By now a crowd had gathered around—fabulous.

"Piper McLean, I am not leaving this spot until you tell me who!" she said.

I rolled my eyes before I leaned in close to whisper in her ear, "Will Solace." I was so annoyed with Lacy that I figured I'd tell her just to get her quiet.

Her eyes got ginormous and she was smiling like a cheshire cat. "Oh my gods! Really?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm," I muttered, twirling a strand of hair around my finger and kicking the ground.

"He's cute!" Lacy said.

"Yup."

Lacy's smile faded. "But I thought Jason—" she began.

"What about Jason?" I asked.

But a bored expression was already coming onto her face. "'Kay, well, I'm off to see who Mitchell just asked out, bye!" And with that, she turned on her heel.

"Lacy, wait!" I called, but the twelve-year-old had already run down the hill, screaming, "Mitchell!"

I laughed. As annoying as she could be sometimes, Lacy was still a great sister.

I turned around and saw Jason and Leo walking by. I ran up behind them and yelled, "BOO!"

They both screamed (Leo screamed like a little girl) and turned around. Once they saw me, they started scowling and saying, "Not funny!"

I doubled over with laughter. "You're right, that wasn't funny, it was freaking hilarious!" I said, still laughing.

Leo just stuck his tongue out at me.

Once I finally stopped laughing, we all started walking toward the lunch pavilion. Jason turned to me and smiled. "So, are you excited for the P&M night at Zeus's cabin tonight?"

My brow furrowed. "'P&M night'?"

"Pajama and movie night. You know, we sleep over at Zeus's cabin, watch movies all night long, there's drinks and everything. We're doing it three days in a row this week."

Oh, yeah. I'd forgot.

"Um, sorry, but I don't think I can make it tonight. But I pinky-promise I'll be there tomorrow!" I said.

Jason's smile faded. "Why not?" he asked.

I smiled and replied in a sing-song voice, "Because I have a date!" Gods, I'm sounding like an Aphrodite girl more every day, I thought.

I was expecting at least smiles and congratulation from Jason and Leo, but Jason just asked, sounding bewildered, "With who?"

I grinned, and this time didn't hesitate when I responded, "Will Solace!"

Leo glanced nervously at Jason, who was now starting to walk away.

"Is he okay?" I asked anxiously, a bit confused at Jason's behavior.

Leo kept looking from Jason to me to the ground. "Um, yeah, I think so, I mean, I hope—I mean . . . I'll be right back."

He ran off toward the Zeus cabin, where I'd seen Jason disappear inside, leaving me alone on top of the hill, feeling more confused than ever