Chapter 7 – Piper

Piper, not Reyna. Sorry!

Piper woke up feeling relatively calm. Thick, fluffy covers were piled up around her and she felt very warm. As if nothing cold would ever touch her. She enjoyed the feeling. Something was wrong though. There was something missing and when she thought hard, she realized what it was. Jason wasn't hers anymore. He never had been. She waited for the rush of cold to hit her, bringing all of her sorrow back, but it was as if the warmth surrounding her was pushing it back. She stayed warm. She decided that she would stay in her room under the warm covers all day, maybe forever. She wouldn't join the others for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner. She would just stay in her room, thinking, mourning and locking herself away from the outside world. Yes, that's what she would do. The idea was blissful. Just staying in her own little bubble, where she could think at her leisure and daydream. She could imagine her perfect world without anyone giving her a reality check. It would be perfect. She gave a sigh of relief and turned underneath the thick blankets. The soothing silence was a blanket of its own. She lazily opened her eyes and then, she screamed.

Leo was leaning back on a plush blue armchair with his feet up on a small coffee table, fiddling with something in his hands. He looked up when she screamed and grinned. "Glad to see you're awake!"

"Leo!" Piper shrieked, sitting up straight and clutching the blankets around her, even though there was no reason to do that.

"That's my name!" Leo said cheerfully.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sitting."

"How did you get in here?"

"The door," Leo said indifferently, getting up easily and sitting down on the bed with Piper. "Now if you're done asking stupid questions, you need to get ready so we can head down to breakfast."

Piper chose to ignore this. "Why are you here?"

"To make sure you don't ditch. I know you were probably planning on spending the entire day in your room, under the covers, maybe even crying a little," Leo said knowingly. "And I'm here to make sure you don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because, my dearest Beauty Queen, staying holed up in your room isn't good for your mental or physical health. I know it's nice to live in your own little bubble but Gaea and her forces aren't gonna let your bubble float by. They're gonna pop it and if they pop it, that's a problem. If I, your good friend, pop it then it'll still be okay. And I just popped it." He grinned and stood up, walking to the door. "Now, come on."

"I have to get dressed Leo."

"You're already wearing clothes."

"Pajamas," Piper said slowly.

"They're still clothes, but whatever. I'll wait outside."

"I'm locking the door," Piper said, unsure of why she was telling him this.

"No you won't. I'll be guarding the door, I won't let anyone in. You have 10 minutes," he said looking at his watch, which looked very futuristic. "After that, I'm opening the door, no matter what state you're in."

"Why can't I lock the door?"

"If you lock it, there's no guarantee that you're coming out," Leo said simply. "I'm starting the timer."

"Leo," Piper protested, but he was already closing the door. She hurried to get dressed, pulling on a pair of old jeans and a plain dark blue shirt. She braided a few strands of her hair in the front in record time and threw the door open. Leo was smiling his annoying smile.

"You still had 3 minutes." Piper was about to go back into her room but Leo grabbed her wrist and pulled her out. "Oh no, you don't," he said, pulling her along the hall.

"I – forgot – shoes," Piper said struggling against his surprisingly strong grip. Her feet felt cold against the wood.

"Fine," Leo said, releasing her so suddenly that she fell.

"Leo," she said angrily, picking herself up. "I am going to kill you." She turned and stalked back to her room. She pulled on her old sneakers and contemplated locking the door. Deciding that it would be pointless, she walked back to join Leo. "Please don't make me face the others," she pleaded.

"It's fine Piper, I'm here with you," Leo said, taking her hand and pulling her to the dining hall, where he pushed her into a seat before taking the seat next to her. Hazel was on her other side and Frank was across from Hazel.

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked gently. For a moment, Piper forgot about her jealousy towards Hazel and was sincerely grateful for the younger girl's concern.

"Yeah," she said with a weak smile. "How is Nico doing?"

"He became conscious last night but has a really bad headache. He's resting in his room," Hazel informed. Hazel looked up suddenly and glanced nervously at Piper. Piper turned and saw Jason walking in and taking the seat across from Leo. There was a heavy silence in the room. Piper stirred her cereal.

"Are you feeling better?" Leo asked, effectively breaking the silence.

"Just a little headache," Jason said. "Listen guys, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I got all of my memories back now, so it's all okay." He paused and looked around. "I'm really sorry Piper."
"No, I'm sorry. All of this happened because of my meddling mother," Piper said, feeling the eyes on her. "She-she kept your feelings for Reyna hidden so…so I would get you. It was wrong for her to do that. Our whole relationship was wrong."

"It's okay," Jason said. "As long as we stay friends."

"Of course," Piper said smiling. She still felt strange and a little sad, but she felt considerably better.

Once breakfast was over, everyone went their separate ways. Hazel went to be with Nico, Frank was once again tricked into taking care of Coach Hedge and Jason had gone to take a well-deserved nap.

"I think I'll just go to my room," Piper told Leo, getting up. Leo stopped her.

"No you won't. You're sticking with me today."

"Why?"

"So you don't lock yourself in your room," Leo said getting up and leading Piper to the front of the boat, where he began a conversation with Festus. Once he was done with that he began examining a number of maps, a GPS system, and his Wii remote. He started pounding away on a keyboard, leaving Piper wondering what he was doing. After about 10 minutes of this, Leo said, "I forgot to welcome you."

"What?"

"Welcome," he said, straightening up, "to the Singles Club."

"The Singles Club?" Piper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been a member for life!" Leo said smiling. "And you'll probably be here until we finish this quest, because there isn't a big market on the Argo. Jason's out, Nico doesn't seem like your type, Frank…well I guess you could try…"

"No." Piper said firmly. "You're just saying that so Hazel is available." Leo smiled.

"Jealous?" Piper glared at him. "Maybe not…anyway it isn't that bad. It was worse for me." Piper looked at him questioningly. "When you're a single and all the couples are off together, it can get lonely. Since you have a fellow single right here, that won't happen. And I won't get lonely either!"

"I don't want to be in your stupid club, Leo," Piper whined.

"Come on Piper. You don't need a boyfriend to be happy. There was a time in my life, not so long ago, when I was miserable because I didn't have a girlfriend. Now, I've come to realize that you don't need a girlfriend to be happy! You lived your life before Jason didn't you? You can live it after him!" Leo ranted. "I know it'll be a little harder for you to accept, being a daughter of Aphrodite and all."

"Fine," Piper said, realizing Leo had a point. "I'll be the second member in your club."

There was a loud creak from the front of the ship. "Festus says he's single too," Leo translated. He leaned in closer to Piper and whispered, "But I'm pretty sure he's having an affair with the Hephaestus chariot."

"Really Leo?" Leo nodded. "What about Buford?"

"Buford is happily married to his Lemon Pledge with extra moisturizing formula," Leo said immediately. Piper laughed. Leo had everything figured out.

"What about your tool belt?"

Leo gave her a strange look. "Don't be stupid Piper; my tool belt is an inanimate object."

"And Buford isn't?"

"He has a name, therefore he is alive. Besides, to be in a relationship you must have feelings. Festus clearly has feelings and Buford has feelings as well. He proved that when he got upset over me using Windex."

"Lemon Pledge doesn't have feelings," Piper said triumphantly.

"So?"

"So…never mind," Piper said, giving up hope of having an intelligent conversation with Leo. He once again began messing with the various pieces of equipment. Piper watched with mild interest. "Can you teach me?"

"What?"

"How to work the ship."

"Why?"
"So I know how to work the ship," Piper said simply. Leo still looked puzzled. She sighed and said, "There's nothing better to do."

Leo smiled. "Okay student. Remember, I am the teacher, so during our study sessions call me Professor Leo."

"Professor Leo?" Piper scoffed.

"What do you need Piper?"

"That's not what I…never mind." Leo grinned.

"Okay. The first thing you need to learn is how to talk to Festus. Be warned, he's a chatterbox." He leaned in and whispered, "And he's actually quite boring. He just loves the sound of his own creak." Piper laughed and soon Leo was explaining what the various creaks and whirr's meant. Once Piper had gotten the basics of that, he explained that Festus spoke in Morse code sometimes and began teaching her how to make sense of the tapping.

"Okay, let me try," Piper said smiling and tapping out a message. Hi, this is fun.

"Um, Piper, you just said 'Hi, this is love'." Leo said, turning a little red. It is, it is! Whoa, where did that come from?

"Oops," Piper said laughing. "Show me how to tap 'fun' again?"

By lunch time, Piper couldn't stop laughing. Her mood was much lighter than it had been in a while.

The others were in high spirits too. Nico was feeling better and his eyes had lost some of their dead look. Nico feeling better seemed to make Hazel feel better, which made Frank feel better as well. Jason was looking refreshed and seemed to be feeling better as well. Leo wouldn't stop grinning in his cute way. Whoa! Cute? When did that happen? I'm losing it, I'm losing it! Leo is not cute! Actually he kind of is but that's beyond the point.

"Shut up Piper!" Oops. Those last words were not supposed to be said out loud. Everyone's eyes were on Piper. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to disappear. "Sorry," she muttered, staring down.

"Um…okay," Jason said. "Let's talk about the Great Prophecy." Everyone murmured agreement.

"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call," Frank said. "Well that's us."

"To storm or fire the world must fall," Hazel said. "Storm could be Jason or Percy, or maybe even both. And fire…" Everyone looked at Leo.

"So…I may destroy the world after all…" he said uncomfortably.

"Not necessarily. These prophecies are always twisted," Piper assured. "An oath to keep with a final breath. And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

"The last line makes sense," Jason mused. "But the third one could be anything. Man, my headache is coming back, see you guys later," he said, hurriedly leaving.

"Mine too," Nico suddenly said, hastily leaving as well. Hazel followed him looking concerned and Frank followed her. Leo got up and walked to the door.

"Coming?" he asked Piper. She got up and followed him to the deck. A cool breeze was blowing.

"Thanks for taking my mind off all…this," Piper said, stepping closer and hugging him. She didn't release quickly. She liked having his warm arms around her. And then a memory popped up in her head. A memory she hadn't seen before.

She was at Wilderness school, walking to the lunch room. Leo was standing there waiting.

"Hello Pipes," he said, grinning when he caught sight of her.

"Meet me on the roof?" Piper asked.

"Not trying to kidnap me or anything?" Leo said suspiciously. Piper punched him playfully in the arm.

"Will you be there?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Leo replied.

"Okay, tonight at 11," Piper said in a whisper. Leo nodded, and the scene shifted.

Leo was standing only a few inches from her. His face was extremely close. Then he was leaning in. He was about to kiss her, but the scene dissolved.

Piper was back on the Argo, hugging Leo. She stood still, completely shocked. It had been Leo. The one on the roof, the one in the most romantic moment, was Leo. She pulled away. Leo must have noticed the change because he asked, "What's wrong."

"Nothing," Piper said. She decided that she would forget about what she had just seen. "Finish teaching me?"

"Of course Pipes," he said, leading her over to Festus.

My life is seriously messed up.

Okay next chapter will be Reyna. Sorry, I just wanted to fit this in and it had to be before Reyna and...yeah. Reyna next. Octavian will make an appearance along with some stuffed animals. :'(

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