"And that was what happened when I walked in," Percy finished as Jason's sword smashed against his.

"Dude," Jason yelped as Percy twisted his blade out from under his, "I apologize for Piper. She was acting really hyper this morning. But they really all ganged up on you, huh?'"

Nico, inspecting his Stygian iron blade a the side of the ring, laughed out loud. "You should've seen it. They were laughing at his hair."

"The bang thing?" Frank said wisely, leaning against the fence edging the ring.

"And how distracting it is?" Leo added from his perch, straddling said fence with some manner of tinker toy in his hands,

Percy flung his arms wide in exasperation."Does everyone but me know about this?"

"Yes," they all said immediately. Jason would've taken advantage of Percy's distraction, had he not already been pinned to the ground by a) Percy's foot and b) Percy's sword.

"Air," Jason rasped. "Please." Percy too his foot away and gave Jason a hand up, unconsciously fingering his messy tuft of hair.

'I don't know," Percy mumbled, striding towards the edge of the ring where Frank, Nico and Leo were hanging out. "It just made me feel like an idiot, you know? Got on my nerves."

"You could always get back at them," Frank suggested.

Leo grinned, "What if you duplicated the situation? Like, Annabeth walks in, and there's Frank and I on your couch, and we're all just staring at her."

Jason grinned. "That could work. If we planned it really well."

"Maybe got some of the girls in on it? Hazel? Possibly Reyna,or maybe Calypso?" Nico said thoughtfully, still examining the hilt of his blade. everyone stared at him as if this stroke of prank genius was completely unprecedented, which it was not. The Great Skeleton Dance Party of Freshman Year was not likely to be forgotten anytime soon,

"I like it, I like it," Leo grinned. "Cadaver Hands strikes again!"

Nico's sword was at Leo's throat, "DO NOT," he growled, "call me CADAVER HANDS."

"But your hands are freezing!" Leo squeaked, wide-eyed. Which was true, as Leo knew from various secret handshakes, video games, and sword drills. It did not help that to Leo, who ran hot, everyone else's hands were ALWAYS cold.

"THAT DOES NOT WARRANT A NICKNAME," Nico hissed,

"Yessir," Leo 's voice was a pitiful squeak. "Please put big pain-inflicting sword away."

Nico put big pain-inflicting sword away.

Jason got a call forty-three minutes before Leo's carefully planned Zero Hour, just as he was about to leave. Reyna was busy with praetor duty, taking over for Frank, but she was in position for her role in the prank, to which she'd agreed under threat of soaking. Annabeth and Piper had class for another fifty-three minutes. Hazel was fully involved in the prank and ready to go. She said she was sorry she'd missed the action the day before and was eager for her own chance to get involved. Nico was ready. Leo was on his way over to Percy's. Jason was about to leave himself. The call took him completely by surprise.

"Um, 'ello?" He said, the phone pressed between shoulder and ear as he ran around his own shared apartment trying desperately to find his sword.

"ABORT MISSION!" Percy's voice hollered in his ear,

"Slightly panicked much?" Jason looked the couch. He didn't know where Piper hid his weapons, but it was annoying. She insisted the same was true about leaving them lying around. IT was an argument they had not resolved. They'd gotten-distracted.

"Dude, she is going to hate me, like, KILL ME," percy said.

"No, she won't. She's got a sense of humour. Maybe she'll even think it's clever."

"I'm laughing. You hearing me laughing right now? Bro, I know I was mad at her yesterday, but we-now, I, uh…"

Percy's blush could literally be heard over the line. Jaos stood bolt upright.

"Dude," he said suddenly. "You did not."

Silence.

"PERCY FREAKIN JACKSON!"

"I'll see you in ten." Percy hung up really fast.

Jason showed up in eight.

"TALK," he ordered.

"NO," Percy insisted. "Then she'll really kill me."

"I'll get Piper to tell me," Jason threatened.

"Dude, no!"

Leo passed by. "We have work to do," he said completely out of character, "What are you arguing about, anyway?"

"NOTHING," both Jason and Percy yelled. Leo nodded. "So sex then."

"NO!" Percy yelled. Jason stared at Leo. "Definitely sex," Leo said, and walked away just as calm as you please.

"I am deeply alarmed," percy said, staring after him.

"Well," Jason said slowly, "he did open a garage with Calypso...and lives with her…"

"You live with Piper," Percy pointed ou. His eyes snapped open. "Gods! You live with Piper! That just hit me all of a sudden!" percy's eyes took on a panicked look that made Jason REALLY nervous.

"Um, what about that, exactly?" Jason asked anxiously.

Percy grabbed his friend's shirt, wild-eyed. "YOU LIVE WITH HER! ALL THE TIME! The charmspeak and the looks and the weapons ALL THE TIME! HOW DO YOU DO IT!"

"Um, I love her?" Jason asked anxiously. "YOU live with Annabeth and she's terrifying!"

"To YOU maybe!"

"We're arguing about girls?" Leo asked perkily, popping into the conversation.

"NO!" Both screamed again.

"Okay. Nobody's a loving the McShizzle," Leo mumbled, putting his hands up in a surrendering gesture,

"We'll finish this later," Jason sighed, exhausted "We have a prank to execute."