Everywhere Piper went, someone would be talking about either the search for the Roman camp or the journey to Greece. And, frankly, she was getting sick and tired of it. As if she needed to be reminded about them! She spent most of her days worrying and most of her nights were plagued by dreams (or nightmares, rather). She definitely did not need the gossip flying around camp being added to that list.
Piper adjusted her position as she lay on the beach, far away from everybody else. The Gods knew that she needed that little bit of peace and quiet if she wanted to stay sane. Besides, it had been a while since she'd relaxed or even had a little time to herself. Nowadays, she spent most of her time at Bunker 9 helping Jason and Leo plan…well…everything, really. She sighed as she pushed those thoughts out of her head. If this was the only bit of rest she'd get for a while, then she was going to take full advantage of it. Regardless of anything else.
She listened to the waves lapping gently against the shore, creating a sound that was slowly lulling her to sleep. The warm heat from the sun made the temptation of taking a quick nap irresistible, even if she was outside and on the sand. In fact, she could feel herself pulling away from reality as she gently closed her eyes…..
"You alright?"
Piper didn't need to open her eyes to know who the voice belonged to. She'd dreamt about that person loads of times, it'd be amazing if she hadn't recognised him.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
She felt Jason lie down next to her.
"You seem…. distracted."
"Trust me, I'm not."
A few minutes of silence passed by.
"What were you doing here by yourself?" Piper heard him shuffling.
"I just wanted to get away from it all. The whole camp's buzzing about our quest and….it's getting on my nerves."
"Are you sure that's it?"
"Pretty sure," She frowned as he chuckled quietly. "What's so funny?"
"It's just that, when you're not charmspeaking, you're a terrible liar."
Piper quickly sat up.
"That is so not true!"
She glared at him when he didn't even bother responding. Piper flopped back down onto the sand.
"Yeah well….you're terrible at lying too. In fact, you're even worse than me!" She snapped as she faced the sky.
"Whoa, calm down," Jason teased.
"Shut up," She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Tell me what's really bothering you," Jason turned to face her. She looked at him and sighed.
"A lot of things."
"Like…" He prompted.
"Like our voyage. Plus the search for the Roman camp."
"You're not the only one worrying about those things."
"I know, I know. But, what if something goes wrong?"
"Then we'll fix it. Like we always do."
"What if it's….unfixable?"
Jason raised an eyebrow and grinned.
"That won't happen."
"How are you so sure?" Piper asked as she frowned.
"Well, we've got a daughter of Aphrodite who can charmspeak a goddess into going back to sleep," Piper blushed a light pink as he smirked at her. "A son of Hephaestus who has a magical tool belt and awesome culinary skills, a daughter of Athena who helped save the world from Kronos once before and you've got me," Jason grinned. "That's how I'm so sure."
Piper smiled.
"I hope you're right."
"So do I."
"You do know that if anything goes wrong, I will be pinning it all down on you?"
Jason sat up.
"How come I get all the blame?"
"You just do."
"A valid reason, Piper," He claimed sarcastically.
"I thought so too," She grinned at him.
Their eyes met and she felt like the whole world had vanished, leaving only her and Jason. Everything else really didn't seem to matter anymore. All her worries disappeared as she thought about what he'd said.
"Piper, I-"
The conch horn sounded, signalling that it was time for dinner. She frowned.
"Sorry, what were you about to say?"
He hesitated before standing up and offering her his hand.
"It doesn't matter."
Piper took his hand and stood up. She brushed the sand from the back of her clothes.
"You ready?" He asked. She nodded and, together, they slowly made their way towards the dining pavilion.