Author's Note: I actually don't have any idea where I got the idea for this story. And there's a warning about OOC-ness for the sake of humor. But PixieKindOfCrazy is writing this with me, because she's a daughter of Aphrodite. I'm a Zeus kid *high-fives with Jason*.

By the way, I 100% support Jayna over Jasper. Don't hate me.

So I don't own Heroes of Olympus, because my name is not Rick Riordan.

Valentine's Day. As a general rule, not my favorite day of the year. And after this week's events, any chance it had of making my top 365…crashed, burned, and died.

It all started with that dumb chest of broken arrows. Well, there was a bunch of other junk in it as well, and a Venus legacy asked me to help her find a spear to use in the war games. She was a probie, so decided to take her to the armory to find something.

She pointed to a box in the corner. "What's in there?" she asked.

I frowned; I'd never seen the box before. It wasn't really a box, either. It was more like an old chest. I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe some imperial gold treasure?" I suggested with a laugh.

The girl shrugged, but managed a smile. "Maybe," she agreed.

I walked over to the chest and opened it up. It was full of arrows, lances, bows, swords, everything you could think of. I started rummaging through the chest, looking for a spear for the girl to use. Behind me, I heard the door open. Reyna's voice: "Hey, Venus kid, you're need back with your cohort."

The girl addressed me. "Uh, so can you…"

"Yeah," I assured her. "I'll bring it for you to the war games, okay?"

"Thanks!" she called, and I heard her footsteps fading away. I continued to look for a good, usable spear.

"What are you looking for?" Reyna asked me.

"A spear," I murmured.

"Don't you have a spear already?" she asked.

"Not for me," I told her, pulling aside broken weapons to get deeper inside the chest. "For that girl—Ah!" Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my fingers, and I quickly pulled my hand away. My middle and index fingers were bleeding.

Reyna came to kneel next to me. "What did you do?" She took my hand to examine it.

I shook my head, annoyed. "Must've pricked myself on an arrow, or…" I met her eyes, and it was like my voice didn't work anymore.

Her dark eyes seemed to sparkle, and her dark hair fell perfectly across her shoulder in a beautiful braid. She seemed so radiant, almost like a goddess. I could feel my heart start to pick up its pace, pumping blood straight to my cheeks. "Um…" I tried to finish my sentence, but I couldn't seem to remember what I had been trying to say.

Reyna frowned at me. "Yes?"

My cheeks were burning. Why is my heart racing like this? I thought. And…I wanted to pull her toward me and…

I shook the thought out of my head.

"Hello?" Reyna waved her hand in front of my face. "Grace, are you awake?"

I blinked, remembering the blood running across my palm and down my wrist. "Oh," I said stupidly. "I'll…just wash this off." I got up and pulled my hand out of hers, incredibly relieved to get out of there.

I wrapped a Band-Aid around each of my bleeding fingers when I got back to my barracks. My heart had thankfully slowed down, but it was still beating uncomfortably quickly. The very thought of Reyna sent it racing again, so I tried to block it out…without much success.

Evening muster was a bit of a nightmare. Just glancing in Reyna's direction, just hearing her voice tempted me grab her by the shoulders and kiss her until I couldn't breathe. I kept my eyes fixed on an ant that was crawling next to my foot.

At dinner, for some reason, Reyna decided to sit next to me. "Jason," she said casually, "is something wrong?"

I felt dizzy with lust, and I hated myself for it. But I managed, "N-nothing. Nothing at all. Why do you ask?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Because you're acting very weird," she replied. "Especially around me."

I stared at her. Why did she look so…perfect? Her hair, her eyes, the way she was looking at me like I belonged in a mental hospital, which I probably did. I'd never felt this way before. My body tingled, like the hairs on my arms and legs were standing straight up. I wanted to get up from my seat and run, but…I found that I couldn't take her eyes off her. It was as if her looks were an addiction and I felt light-headed, in a good way. The best way possible.

Reyna leaned away from me with that strange expression on her face. "Why are you…what are you doing?"

I realized that I had been leaning toward her more and more. I wanted her. I wanted to run my fingers through her long, glossy hair. I wanted to feel her soft lips on mine.

Everyone else at the table was staring at us. Dakota smirked. "Ah, he mused. "It was just a matter of time, huh, Jason?" He took another swig of Kool-Aid as I glared at him, blushing violently.

I sat up straighter, trying to act casual. I put on my poker face. "A matter of time before what?" I snapped.

Dakota shrugged. Gwen raised an eyebrow. Dakota shrugged and waved his fork back and forth between Reyna and me. "This," he said.

I wanted to answer back, but our praetors James and Isabella stood up. "Time for war games!" they announced.

I was so thankful to leave. As I walked to the Field of Mars, my heart was beating so hard, I could hear it in my ears, and I was panting like I had run two marathons. I put my hand over my heart, wishing it would slow down. What was going on with me?

Someone clapped a hand onto my back. I jumped, dreading Reyna. But when I turned around, it was worse than Reyna. It was Octavian.

"Well, Jason Grace," he mused. "You seem…distracted."

I took a deep breath, calming my heartbeat. "Looking for any advantage you can get, huh?" I muttered.

"Oh, Grace," he said, "you make me feel like I need to stand on your back to feel taller."

I raised an eyebrow. "But don't you?"

Octavian laughed, but there was a hostile edge to it. "It's a good thing you have a better sense of humor than your father," he mused.

"Isn't it?" I murmured absent-mindedly. I tried to keep my marching steady: left, right, left, right. But Reyna passed by me, just barely glancing in my direction, and I stumbled, cursing in Latin under my breath.

We got together to discuss strategy. Daniel, one of the centurions from Fourth, looked at me. "You want to sneak around and be our distraction?" It sounded like an innocent suggestion, but I'd played enough war games to know that the competition between cohorts was fierce. It usually ended up being the first three cohorts against fourth and mine, fifth. And whoever was first over the wall got the Mural Crown. I had gotten mine a few months ago, when I learned to control the winds and fly myself to the top of the wall. But being a distraction usually involved eagles having to carry you off the field.

Gwen spoke up. "I was thinking this time, you guys do the distraction, and we get the banner. Change things up a little bit, you know?"

Daniel narrowed his eyes. He pointed at me. "Why don't you fly some people up to the top and start attacking?"

"Two words: water cannons," I replied.

He rolled his eyes. "Then avoid the water cannons and get the flag, Grace."

I really wasn't in the mood for a cold blast of pressurized water to the face, but I'd managed to get over the wall once; why not again?"

I nodded. "Fine," I said. "And what about the rest of you? Gonna snatch the flag while the rest of us are getting slaughtered? Take the glory for Fourth?"

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "If it makes you feel any better, the rest of us can't fly, so you'll have the best shot at grabbing the banner."

It went back and forth for a while before we finally decided on a battle plan. Fourth would play distraction while I took two people to the top of the wall with me.

Gwen said, "Who's going with him?"

Reyna immediately stepped forward, dagger in hand. "I want that medal," she said. "I'll go."

I felt dizzy again. She seriously seemed to be glowing, she was so beautiful. I wanted to grab her and undo that braid and—

"Hey!" Gwen snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Come on, Jason, wake up! We need to win this game."

I cleared my throat. "Um, right. So I'm taking…Reyna…and…" Her name in my mouth made my tongue feel ridiculously dry, and I stammered to a halt, my mind blanking.

Dakota snickered. "Bobby, dude. You're taking Reyna and Bobby."

I nodded, feeling hot under my helmet. "Right. So we'll go around and find an opening, then we'll attack." My heart rate had skyrocketed, and I felt out of breath again.

James blew the whistle from the top of the watchtower, where he and Isabella would be referees. The game started, and chaos erupted on the field. Swords clashed, battle cried went up, and water cannons were on full blast. I took Bobby and Reyna around the back of the wall, where there were the least guards. The back of my neck tingled as I was too aware of Reyna running behind me.

Don't get distracted, Jason, I told myself.

I looked up, trying to decide how high it was. I was still pretty new at flying, and I'd never done it with two people hanging onto me before. But I took a deep breath and held out my arms. "Alright," I told the two of them. "Hold on tight."

The three of us linked arms, and Reyna held my arm with both of hers. It sent shivers everywhere, but I had to concentrate.

A breeze blew through, and I concentrated on the winds all around me, pretending that they were wrapping around my waist, imagining them lifting me off the ground, solidifying under my feet. Reyna's hands tightened around my arms, and I fought hard to stay focused. I took a deep breath. "Here goes," I muttered. I imagined shooting up, and the winds pushed us toward the top of the wall.

I heard the blast of a water cannon off to my right. I tried to land on the wall with Reyna and Bobby. But my mind went fuzzy as Reyna readjusted her grip on me. She was holding onto me tightly, both of her arms around my neck.

I began to hyperventilate, feeling butterflies again. My mind went blank and I found myself staring into Reyna's dark, sparkling eyes, completely forgetting about Bobby, who was hanging onto my other arm. I needed to kiss her. This wasn't just a lusty desire; this was a necessity. I needed her. Now.

I leaned in to press my lips against hers, seeing her cheeks go rosy and her eyes fill with panic. Off to the side I heard my name called once…or maybe twice…

Then there was the pain and shock of a water cannon hitting me full-force in the neck and face. I felt like I was drowning. All of my concentration shattered. The wind stopped supporting me. The three of us were free-falling to the ground, and the last thing I remembered was the back of my head exploding into black stars that swallowed me in darkness.

Jason…

Jason.

"Jason!" Isabella's face slowly came into focus. She didn't look very happy, but she didn't look upset either. Just annoyed.

I tried to sit up, but my head ached horrendously. My vision swirled around, and I felt slightly nauseous. I wondered if I was concussed. I wanted nothing more than to sink back into the blackness. But Isabella's stern face made me wonder if she'd even let me pass out again.

I realized we were still of the Field of Mars. Reyna and Bobby were being taken care of by the medics, and praetor James was overseeing it. Other legionnaires were heading back to the barracks, laughing and high-fiving. I frowned. "What happened?" I asked Isabella.

Isabella rolled her eyes. "You tell me. You were about to get over the wall, and you decided that it would be the perfect time to sneak in a kiss."

The memory made my heart take off at full speed, beating quicker than the blades of a helicopter. The nausea came back, but it had nothing to do with my apparent concussion. I heard Isabella continue, "I need you focused, Grace. You're the best fighter we have. I can't afford for you to get distracted in battle like that. That was unacceptable."

I glanced at Reyna, and my heart jumped hard. I was seriously starting to lose it. I looked at Isabella desperately. "Isabella," I panicked, "help me."

She frowned, like I'd caught her off-guard. "What's wrong?" she asked.

I stammered out, "Every time I see Reyna, m-my heart starts racing like crazy, I can't breathe, I feel feverish, and I get the sudden urge to shove my tongue in her mouth."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to grab them back. I usually try to censor myself before I speak, but right then I was on 100% panic mode. The censors weren't working.

I expected Isabella to laugh, or gasp, or slap me or something, but she kept a completely straight face. After about two seconds of silence, she said, "That was beautifully phrased, Grace."

I blushed even harder. "Isabella, please," I begged. "I don't know what's wrong with me. You're a daughter of Venus, so I was hoping you could tell me and fix me or something."

She frowned. "To me, it just sounds like you have a crush on Reyna," she told me.

I shook my head slowly, but I wondered if it was true. "I've never felt this way about her before. And I just…want her, you know?"

Isabella's frown deepened. "Then it's lust you feel," she murmured. "And you've never felt this way before…" Suddenly she gasped. "And this week's Valentine's Day! It must be love magic, then," she decided. "Tomorrow morning, I'll take you and Reyna to see Roxanne. She's also a daughter of Venus, and she's great with love magic."

I nodded. "Alright," I said. Anything to get these awful thoughts out of my head.

Tell me what you think about this story. It shouldn't be that long, maybe a few chapters.

Reviews are awesome!

~Mandi2341