Happy Birthday, HimekoUchia! This update is from me to you. I was going to hold onto it longer while I outlined and wrote down notes for my book, which is going to take longer than you might think, but I decided it would be a nice present. And she did art for me for this fic yesterday for my birthday, so she deserves a present.

Chapter 7

It was a small gathering in front of the stairs. Everyone present carried a glass of red wine, lifting it towards the boy that stood at the foot of the stairs. The same boy that looked like Nico. He smiled so confidently at the crowd as they clapped for him. His clothes were fairly different, though he still looked the same, just with slightly shorter hair that now came to just above his shoulders.

The brown-eyed boy held his head high, shoulders back, as he smirked and raised his own glass. The woman with the timeless face came to stand in front of him, blocking the line of view for a brief moment. As the woman stepped back, the brown-eyed boy slipped something underneath his shirt.

The boy's mother stepped forward to hug him, though she seemed a little sad. She whispered something into his ear before stepping back. One thing was for sure, the girl from the hanging was nowhere to be seen. However, Kronos was present.

Kronos leaned against a wall, his eyes locked onto the boy the celebration seemed to be for. The brown-eyed boy caught Kronos's eye and nodded with a smirk. There was something different now about those eyes, something dark seemed to reside there. Kronos simply nodded back, though he did not seem so cheerful.

As the party drifted on, the group moved into the dining hall, where food was being served. As the brown-eyed picked out his food, his eyes roamed over to where Kronos was talking to a girl around his age. The boy narrowed his eyes.

She was so beautiful, with golden blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. The boy's lips tilted down as he watched them. Setting his food aside, the boy grabbed his glass of wine and made his way over to them.

"Enjoying your party?" Kronos greeted him.

"It is quite the event," the boy that looked like Nico replied. His eyes flashed over to the girl with a look of distaste. As his eyes finished their glance over, his lips turned down.

As the girl raised the glass to her lips, it slipped from her hand and shattered onto the floor. "Oh no, I'm so sorry," she said quickly, crouching down to try and pick up the shards.

Kronos knelt down beside her and assisted her. "It's all right, Rhea, accidents happen." His eyes flickered up in warning to the brown-eyed boy, who had a smirk on his lips. "May I have a word with you?"

The boy shrugged. "But of course."

Once out of the hall and out of earshot, Kronos pushed the boy into a white pillar that stood several feet from the door. "What is wrong with you?" He tilted the boy's chin up. "I'm starting to worry about you, ever since-"

The boy's eyes flashed dangerously and smacked Kronos's hand away. "You swore we would not discuss that out in the open," he hissed. "I rule now and we agreed that it would be for the better."

Kronos let out a sigh. "Is this about what I told you the other night?"

Those dark brown eyes became dull as they stared back at Kronos. The boy crossed his arms. "I don't care what you do, run off and do as you please," he motioned to the dining hall, "as you already are."

"I will be fine," Kronos assured the other boy. His eyes shined like true gold as he put on a smile. "I will be back before you know it, unharmed."

"It doesn't involve us," the boy mumbled.

"It does," Kronos replied. He let out a sigh and crossed his arms. "We've been the best of friends, let's not fight on your day. Your secret will always be safe with me." Licking his lips, Kronos reached into his shirt pocket. Whatever he pulled out, he handed it to the other boy, who clasped his hand around it. "Take it."

"Kronos," the boy whispered. He stared down at whatever it was like it was something that made him sad. The boy seemed uneasy about holding it, even biting down on his lip. He looked up to meet the other's eyes. "Are you sure you want to give me this?"

"More sure than I've ever been."

The boy's face seemed entirely different now, like it had during Jason's last dream. It was soft and the hint of a smile began to appear on the corner of his lips. "But you only get one."

Kronos gave a nod. "And I want you to have it. You and I have been through so much now, it just seems fitting." He pulled the boy in for a hug. The smile melted away from the brown-eyed boy's lips, his eyes growing sad and distant. "Just think about it while I'm gone. And make sure to keep it safe. Like you said, I only get one."

When the boy pulled back, he stared down at his hand. As his fingers opened, a small vial of silver liquid could be found there. Those dark brown eyes flickered up to stare at Kronos from behind black bangs. A small nod was the only reply that Kronos received.

Jason's eyes snapped open to stare up at the white ceiling above him. He did not move, merely laying there to think for a second. It was the first dream he had in a week, though it was definitely longer than his previous ones.

The week had gone by and it was Sunday now, Percy's birthday. The boy sighed and tossed his legs over the side of his bed. Running a hand through his blond locks, he sat there in his boxers with a strange feeling coursing through his body. These dreams left him still feeling tired, like he was not actually sleeping when they happened.

He just did not understand why he kept having them, and why they centered around the same people. Dreams were supposed to be random, or so he thought. In all honesty, Jason found himself wishing that he could just go back to having no dreams at all, rather than continuing with this series of dreams.

Getting up, Jason stretched and put on his pajama pants. Today would hopefully take his mind off things. He was expected to be over at Luke's house in two hours, and was only told to bring a pair of trunks to swim in and the present he bought Percy. Technically, most of the kids had said he didn't have to buy Percy anything, but Jason felt it wouldn't be right after being invited to the party. And Luke had also promised him that he would meet the rest of the kids. It had to make Jason wonder how big these families were.

Jason let out a long breath and opened the front door to get the newspaper for Ms. Mellie. It was so stuffy and humid today, even with the air conditioner running. Shutting the door with a grumpy frown, Jason dropped the newspaper onto the couch and headed to the bathroom.

After only a few seconds under the hot water, Jason was forced to make the shower mildly cold. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back once he found a decent temperature. How could it be so humid that he would rather have a slightly cold shower?

Since he was not having to worry about the water getting cold, Jason took his time. It depressed him to think that showering would be the closest thing he would get to the water, unless he got to continue going over to swim with Luke and the others, either at one of the pools or at the river.

After he was finished, Jason wrapped a towel around his waist and went back to his room, where he picked up his phone from the nightstand beside his bed. There was a missed call from his aunt. He made a face as he wiped a hand across his chest. It was already covered in sweat from the heat filtering in from the stuffy environment. Groaning to himself, he went to the hall and fiddled with the air conditioner to make it colder.

Opening his phone, he tapped his aunt's name and put the phone to his ear. As it rang, Jason shut his bedroom door, just in case Ms. Mellie decided to walk by. It had barely rang twice before his aunt picked up.

"Hello? Jason? Were you still sleeping when I called? Get out of bed, lazy boy," came his aunt's unforgettable voice, stern tone and all. There were times Jason wondered if she could make a drill instructor cry.

Jason plopped down on his bed. "No, Aunt Lupa, I was getting a shower. One of those friends that I told you about is having a birthday party today, and I was invited."

Judging by the sounds of water that he could hear, Jason was going to assume his aunt was in her garden to water her plants. "Yes, I'm happy to hear that. I'm glad you're making friends down there, Jason. I know you think I'm being hard on you, but this is for the best."

"It's not the worst I've been through," Jason mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?" His aunt snapped, the sound of water stopping.

Jason's eyes widened and he sat up straight. "Nothing! I was just saying what a good job you did at raising me for the past few years."

Without even seeing her, Jason knew his aunt was narrowing her eyes at the phone. "You better be doing your homework." An idle threat, Jason knew this by now. If she really wanted to scare him, she could come up with much worse. "I just wanted to call and see how you were doing."

She could know in person, if she hadn't sent him away. Jason cringed instantly. His aunt seriously scared him sometimes with things. There were times that he had to wonder if she could read his mind. There was even one time that he and Lee almost managed to go farther than kissing, and the second Lee put his hand in Jason's pants, Jason's phone rang. And that was just one of many occasions. She never hinted at knowing what he was trying to do when she called, but that woman had some scary good timing.

Jason had long since wondered if he would have to wait to lose his virginity after his aunt died. If she died. The woman was as stubborn as they came.

"I'm okay, nothing to report. Still no family to be found," Jason finally answered. The boy fell back on the bed and covered his eyes with his arm. "I don't suppose you'd consider letting me return early, would you?"

His aunt's signature laugh came echoing through the phone. Well, he already knew the response he was going to get. "Oh, Jason, you are so funny. No, I think you're going to want to stay there, you know, once you find that family you're looking for."

Jason rolled his eyes. Doubtful.

"Don't roll your eyes at me, boy," the woman snapped.

Jason cringed. "Sor-" Jason stopped and uncovered his eyes. Furrowing his brow, the blond pushed himself up to look around his room. Out of nowhere, a strange feeling had come over him.

The sound of one of the kitchen cabinets closing drew his attention. He hadn't heard Ms. Mellie leave her room. Reaching beside his bed, Jason picked up the baseball bat that he kept there.

"I'll talk to you later, Aunt Lupa," Jason said before hanging up.

Slipping on a shirt and boxer-briefs, Jason crept out in the hall. Once he felt close enough, Jason jumped into the living room, bat poised behind his head.

Nothing.

His blue eyes scoured the area, but found absolutely nothing. His mind kept racing with the question: did someone break in? He didn't think there was a window open and the door was locked as well. Still, it didn't hurt to be too careful. And so the search began.

After nearly an hour of turning over every inch of the house, save for Ms. Mellie's room, Jason gave up. It was very unlikely that anyone was there, and there was no possible way for anyone to have gotten out during his search. Even when he had went to put shorts on, Jason had kept an eye and an ear out for any movement in the house, and yet there was no trace that anyone had even been inside.

Giving up on his quest, Jason checked the clock. It was nearing ten, which meant he needed to hurry and head over to Luke's house. Sending off a quick text to Luke, Jason left his apartment and headed down the stairs to his car.

The second he closed the car door, a crow landed on his car, spread its wings, and let out a caw. Since no one was around to see him, Jason would go to his grave swearing that he did not jump. The fact that his heart was now racing was merely a coincidence. Narrowing his eyes at the bird, Jason honked his horn. However, it did nothing to deter the bird, which hopped along the hood of his blue car and continued its crowing.

The weird thing was that Jason could have sworn that it was looking at him. It turned its head and stared at him with those beady black eyes before leaning down to peck at an acorn that had landed on Jason's hood.

Losing his patience, Jason cranked the car. If the bird wanted to stay, it could enjoy the ride. But, as soon as Jason shifted into reverse, the bird took off. The blond frowned and watched it fly onto a nearby tree branch, where it continued to caw and torment him from afar. Whatever, he thought as he backed out of the tiny driveway.

The house still looked like it had the other day when Jason arrived at Luke's house. The blond was standing there on the porch when Jason pulled up, tossing a small wave. Luke jogged down the marble steps as Jason got out of his car.

"Glad you could make it!" Luke greeted him. "The party is already set up, so you won't be forced to do any manual labor."

"But where is everyone?"

"Ah," Luke chuckled. "So, the party was moved to Percy's house." He motioned for Jason to follow him towards the woods, where three people could be seen waiting. "Poseidon, Percy's father, was having some work done on their house and pool over the summer, so we weren't sure if it would be ready by then. However, Poseidon had us out here all week to finish everything up. Percy's birthday present from his parents is the infinity pool they installed to replace their old one."

"Damn." It was still taking some getting used to. Cecil had been his richest friend back home, but these kids made even the brunet seem poor in comparison. "So, what were they doing to the house?"

Luke gave a casual shrug, tossing a wave to his brothers and Nico, who were waiting for them. "Just some renovations. We try to check on the houses every few years and see if anything might need fixing, or maybe our parents feel some improvements should be made. These houses were once the houses our ancestors built when they settled down here." The other blond smiled when Jason's eyebrows raised a little. "I know, they look so new. Honestly, there's not much left of the original designs these days."

"Morning, Jason," Connor greeted as the two reached the woods.

Jason placed a hand on Luke's chest before they could walk into the trees. "Percy won't be sour with me if I didn't get him a super awesome present, right?"

Travis let out a chuckle. "Don't worry so much, Jay."

"Travis is right," Luke agreed. "It's not like we want for much, as bad as that sounds. Christmas isn't much better. We usually just flat out ask each other if there's anything we might want a few weeks before and then do some online shopping." He smirked at the shocked look on Jason's face. "We're not really big on Christmas."

"Not by the standard anyways," Nico sighed. He gave a small smile when Jason waved at him, which totally did not cause butterflies to flutter in the blond's stomach.

Nico had been very docile towards Jason this past week at school. Perhaps their little bonding adventure had been more productive than Jason had originally thought, but he wasn't going to complain. Nico had even sat next to him at lunch the other day.

Luke peeled back a tree branch and motioned towards an old trail that ran through the woods. "Percy's house is two down."

Jason grinned down at the pale boy. "Do I get to see your house?"

"Unlikely, as it's across the road," Nico replied as he stepped into the trees.

Luke chuckled. "Sorry to burst your bubble. It's not much to see. There really aren't as many tombstones in the front yard as you might expect anyways." The blond got an elbow in the stomach for that. "I'm kidding!" He nodded into the trees. "Come on, Percy will be wanting to open his presents."

The woods were rather thick, but a trail had been cut out for them to follow. There were some leaves and a few thorny vines that were on it, but all the trees had been cleared away about two or three body lengths wide. There were a very large assortment of trees, but most of them were those that grew dense leaves. It was so perfect for them probably, because it kept people from seeing their land unless they were brave enough to enter.

Luke glanced at Jason. "So, Jay, has anyone caught your eye around here yet?" Luke asked, bumping shoulders with the blue-eyed boy.

"Uh," Jason chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek. He did not feel like it would be appropriate if he told Luke his boyfriend was attractive, so Jason needed to lie. "Not really."

He wanted to say that it was not a total lie, but that would be yet another lie. Glancing back at the very brown-eyed boy that he had been thinking about, Jason frowned. He still was not sure what it was about Nico that drew his attention. Jason was still just trying to convince himself that it was purely physical and that there was no real interest there. Perhaps it was just those dreams he had been having. The boy did look like Nico, so perhaps it was just Jason's subconscious tricking him. Because, if he had to be honest, Nico was not Jason's usual type. And he doubted he was Nico's either.

What even was his type? A ghost boy that Jason had no real clue what he even looked like. And he wasn't even real!

Jason glanced at Luke from the corner of his eyes. Although, Luke was attractive himself, and in good shape. Perhaps Nico did go for the athletic types.

"That's a shame," Luke sighed. Jason stiffened a little, realizing that he had drifted off into his own thoughts. "I'm sure you could find someone. I mean, all the girls at school seem to be interested." Luke cleared his throat. "Someone smart would scoop you up before it was too late."

Luke suddenly let out a yelp and fell to the ground, his face landing on the dirt trail that they walked on. Jason blinked and stared down at Luke's foot. A twisted vine stuck up from the ground and Luke must have tripped over it. Nico, who had been walking behind the two blonds, casually stepped over Luke. "Better watch where you're going," the brown-eyed boy mumbled as he kept walking.

The twins chuckled and offered Luke their hands. "He is cranky today," Travis pointed out.

The two stuck their tongues out when Luke narrowed his eyes and jogged to catch up to the moody brown-eyed boy. Luke dusted himself off as they kept going. "I'm going to have to spray myself off before they let me in the pool now."

Nico glanced back at them and Jason blushed a little. "At least it wasn't mud," Jason pointed out."

"So not interested in anyone? That's a shame. I bet you're one of those modest types, too. Probably don't even think of yourself as that attractive." Luke suddenly threw an arm around him. "He's attractive, right?"

Connor turned around and began to walk backwards. "Yeah, he's okay. Not ugly enough to go ringing bell towers just yet," the brunet teased.

"What do you think, Nico?" Luke asked, smiling from ear to ear.

Nico turned to shoot Luke a dark glare. "We're not playing 'ask the openly gay boy if he thinks a guy is attractive' game."

Luke and Jason managed to catch up to the other three, where Luke took the opportunity to throw his arms around Nico. "Don't be so grumpy. If you're good, I'll let you snuggle with me tonight."

A twisted smile crept its way across Nico's face. "Perfect, it'll give me the chance to cut off your penis."

"Besides," Luke continued, ignoring Nico's comment, "I'm bi and so is Jason. I don't feel like your comment has any validation here."

"I hate you sometimes," the shorter boy mumbled.

As they exited the woods, Jason got an eyeful of Percy's house. It was very large, even bigger than Luke's There was a lot of... blue with the decorations in the yard. Most of the flowers were blue, and so were the umbrellas that were around the pool. There was a stream that ran through the yard, winding around the house. The front had a large cascading fountain in the middle of the driveway. The backyard had a smaller fountain for birds to bathe in, which sat next to a large gazebo with a swing, several rocking chairs, and a bench.

Of course there was the pool, which came back quite a ways from the house. A few lounge chairs were down on a stone walkway where the pool drained off. There was a lot of different varieties of chairs to lay and sit in by the pool. There was also a Jacuzzi at the edge of the far end of the pool. Some rocks had been built at the edge of the pool, letting a waterfall fall into the giant pool.

A portion of the house with a sliding door sort of hung over the very edge of the pool. There were blue curtains to keep people from seeing in, but the door was soon opened to reveal Percy in only a pair of light blue swimming trunks. Jason felt very confident he knew what Percy's favorite color was.

And, well, Jason definitely had to hand it to Percy on having a nice body. He was kind of turned on, maybe a little bit, if he were being honest. "Damn," he accidentally let slip out.

"Don't let Percy catch you saying that," Luke chuckled as they placed their things down at a nearby table. "His ego is already big enough."

"That's not all that's big about me," Percy grinned as he jumped from his room and landed on the marble deck. Must make for easy access for getting back to his room, Jason thought. "If you know what I mean."

"I have seen you naked, so yes," Luke rolled his eyes. "Most of us have seen you naked. You have no shame in running around naked."

Percy just stood there in some superhero pose. "Didn't hear complaining from you. Besides, we did have that experimenting time together when we were younger and curious." Luke rolled his eyes. "I even caught Nico trying to see me naked when we were a little younger."

Nico's face was bright red when Jason looked at him. "Please stop talking about these things in front of our guest."

Luke chuckled. "Where's your parents, Perce?"

Percy gave a nod towards the house. "Dad was collecting all my presents, and Mom was helping Demeter with some last minute cooking."

A young woman with untidy hair tied back in a ponytail came out, dusting her hands off on her pants. "Everything is ready!" She grabbed the back of Percy's head and pulled him down to kiss the side of his head. "Get inside so everyone can sing to you."

"Mom!" Percy whined.

The woman blinked as Jason walked by. "Oh, you must be the new boy I've heard so much about."

Grinning, Percy slung an arm around Jason. "This is our new friend Jason. Jason, this is my mother."

She smiled and held out her hand, which had some blue icing still around her fingers. "Please, call me Sally. I'm so happy you could make it here today, and I'm glad Percy and the others have made a new friend." She slowly worked on ushering them inside. "It's just so hard for any of them to make friends around here, and I know how hard that can be. Growing up in this town is not easy, and it doesn't get easier with age. The only difference is that we can choose to not socialize that much when we become adults."

The man that Jason had seen at the courthouse the other day was piling up presents next to a very large blue cake. In fact, most of the presents had been wrapped in blue paper. Definitely Percy's favorite color. Demeter gave him a warm smile when she noticed Jason slide into the room. As Jason passed by the table, he slipped his present in with the others.

Most of the other kids had come inside by now and were gathered around the table. Sally grabbed Percy by the shoulders and ushered him towards the cake. There were a few in the room that Jason didn't really recognize, so he kind of hoped that Luke would do some introductions later. But, for the most part, Jason knew most of the people his age.

Sally made sure to grab her camera as Percy got ready to blow out the candles. Percy's father smiled and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. Grinning, Percy leaned in with a deep breath and blew out all of the candles.

"Happy Birthday!" Everyone cheered.

As Sally and Demeter worked on cutting the cake, Jason took a second to actually count how many people he needed to be introduced to, including Percy's father. There were seven in total that Jason was not familiar with.

Luke held up a glass and smiled at him. A sharp pain shot through Jason's head and he pinched the bridge of his nose, shutting his eyes. Clapping pounded in his head.

"A toast, to the new Head of House."

More clapping and a flash of the boy that was not Nico smiling. Everything seemed to spin, yet no one was clapping. Everyone seemed to be talking among themselves, while Luke made his way towards Jason. He grabbed the blue-eyed boy and guided him over to a corner.

"You okay?" Luke asked, tilting his head to catch Jason's eye.

After a second, Jason nodded. "I'm fine," he whispered.

Luke patted him on the back and guided them both forward. "So, I know there's a few people here you haven't met. So I thought I'd go ahead and get the introductions out of the way." A grin broke out across the blond's face. "Aside from the adults, this is the last of us."

"Thank god, I thought there was like an army of you," Jason breathed in relief.

"Well, there is a good bit of us, but not as big as you might think. At least it doesn't seem that way to us." He leaned in to whisper into Jason's ear. "Although, I wouldn't go asking Nico when his father is going to bang Persephone. I don't think he's accepted yet that the two have sex."

"You must want to die today."

Luke stiffened at the sound of Nico's voice from behind them. Jason and Luke turned around to find an annoyed Nico standing there with Annabeth and Reyna, who were both trying to hide their laughter. Nico's eyes flickered over to meet Jason's blue ones.

Reyna offered a slice of cake to Jason. "Have you introduced him to the rest of the group yet?"

"Not yet," Luke replied.

Nico gave them a toothless smile and walked by with the two girls, patting Jason on the shoulder. Even through his shirt, Jason could feel how cold the boy's hand was. What was with Nico's body temperature. It was like he swapped every time they made contact. Before Jason could question it, though, Luke wrapped an arm around Jason's shoulders and guided him to some of the others.

Thalia was actually there, as was Apollo. The latter narrowed his eyes as Luke walked by with Jason. There was definitely something going on there, but this was also no time for Jason to question it. They ended up coming to a stop in front of Sally and her husband.

"Thanks for letting us invite our friend Jason to Percy's party today, Poseidon," Luke greeted the man. "I thought you might want to meet the stranger in your house today."

The man's sea-green eyes drifted over to Jason. He held his hand out as he looked the blond over, studying him in great detail. "It's nice to meet you, Jason. Percy tells me you're down here looking for your family." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, basically gazing into Jason's soul. "Had any luck yet?"

"Unfortunately not," came Jason's reply. He realized at this point that Poseidon was still shaking his hand.

Sally squeezed her husband's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll find them eventually."

The man at her side pointed the fork he was using to eat cake with at Jason. "Don't be a stranger, Jason. If you ever need help with anything while you are here, don't hesitate to ask." His lips turned up into an awkward smile.

That was strange, Jason thought as Luke led them on to the next group.

Luke took him over to where Rachel, Mitchell, Annabeth, and Malcolm were standing next to a window with two girls. All of them stopped and smiled or waved. "Enjoying the party?" Mitchell chuckled.

Jason offered a small smile. "Well, Percy definitely has a giant pool, and a very large house."

"A few years ago, his parents let him turn the right wing upstairs into an arcade, since Percy is an only child," Annabeth said with a sigh. He really wanted to know what was the deal with her, Luke, Percy, and Nico. Because Nico and Luke seemed to be dating, but people at school said that Percy and Annabeth dated on and off. Yet, Jason had seen Nico and Percy kissing.

Luke motioned to the group. "Well, you already know these four. Well," Luke motioned to the other two, "here we have Miranda and Katie."

Katie held her hand out first. Her skin had a very healthy and natural glow to it, and her smile was incredibly bright. Though, one could also nearly miss the specks of dirt under the girl's nails. She had her black hair braided and thrown over her left shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," she greeted him.

Miranda looked similar to Katie, just shorter. But that could have been because she was probably younger. She had the same dark hair and brown eyes. She wasn't as tan as the other girl, but her face was decorated in freckles.

"Hi," the girl said meekly.

Jason smiled. "I was worried when Luke said there was even more of you. Sort of made me think I'd be overwhelmed by new people here," he chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck.

"Katie and Miranda are sisters," Malcolm supplied. Miranda is actually a freshman, which is why you probably haven't seen her around school with us. Different lunch schedules and all that. And Katie graduated two years ago. She helps Persephone and Silena around their little shop."

"We grow herbs and flowers, as well as some other merchandise," Katie smiled. "Luke should bring you to the shop."

Rachel was busy stuffing her own mouth with cake. "So good," she mumbled around a mouthful of it. Once swallowed, she raised her eyes to meet Jason's face. "Have you tried this yet?"

Jason had not. Luke had started leading him around before he could take a bite. Since they were still stationary, Jason cut a piece and shoved it in his mouth. No surprise at all that it tasted like heaven, but just as sinful as hell.

Luke pressed on Jason's back and began to guide him away from the group. "Sorry to steal the our new friend away so quickly, but I've still got to introduce him to the only girl that could probably win a fight against the entire football team."

The group chuckled and tossed Jason a wave. While stuffing her mouth with another piece of cake, Rachel watched Jason get pulled away, her green eyes almost haunting. It unnerved Jason quite a bit the way she stared at him. Jason turned to Luke. "Should I be nervous to meet this girl?"

Luke chuckled. "Nah, she's harmless, so long as you don't cross the line." The blond came to a stop behind the giant of a girl that Jason had spotted earlier. "Jason, meet Clarisse, our group's fairest of maidens."

Frank and Hazel placed hands over their mouths to hide their smiles, while the girl's shoulders stiffened. "I know you're not talking about me, Castellan," she growled. Turning around, she narrowed her animal-like eyes at them. "So this is the new kid?" She grunted and crossed her arms. "I expected more."

Luke just grinned. "Clarisse is Frank's sister."

"And older and the better fighter," she added snidely.

Frank just rolled his eyes, while Hazel leaned up to whisper in his ear. Jason held out her hand to shake, though she never took it. The girl raised an eyebrow at the offered appendage before raising her own hand to take a sip of punch.

The last three were actually sitting together on a couch in front of a TV so big that it took up an entire wall, aside from the doorway they had to come in through to get to the living room. Two of them were actually twins. Which confused Jason, because he thought there was only one set of twins in the group. There was also a blond next to them, who reminded Jason of a lanky cat. Especially with his slouched posture and slightly droopy eyes.

"So, Jason, these are the other twins of our group, Castor and Pollux. They are freshman as well, so you probably won't see them around school much. Dionysus's only kids." He grinned down at them. "You two seem to be hitting the juice pretty hard."

The two smiled toothily up at the two blonds. They were both rather plump and had very young looking faces. Their hair was quite curly and a light blond color. They were also both short. The exact same height, and really not a difference in them that Jason could notice, unlike the Stolls, who had about an inch difference in their height.

"And this is Will," Luke continued.

Surprisingly, the other blond came alive at the mention of his name. He shot up from the couch to smile and shake Jason's hand. Will actually looked like he had some muscle on him, and a nice tan. He kind of reminded Jason of a surfer with his body and shaggy hair.

"Unfortunately, I'm his cousin," Will said with a grin, pointing behind Jason and Luke. Jason followed Will's finger to where Apollo was sitting. "I'm not really like Apollo, though. I don't write horrible poetry or anything. Probably will go to medical school, though."

"Will's cool," Luke said, clasping the shaggy blond's hand. "He doesn't live here, though. Not yet anyways."

Will smiled. "Mom and Apollo have been talking. Since he's going to be gone for several years, save for a few weekends here and there, he offered to let us live in our family's house. Dad passed away when I was younger, but his grandfather was the brother of Apollo's grandfather." He shrugged. "They tracked my mom down when Dad passed away of cancer a few years ago."

"So you're moving?" Jason asked.

"Possibly." Will shrugged again. "I... kind of want to." His sky blue eyes flickered over to Luke. "You know, just this town kind of freaks me out."

Luke patted him on the shoulder. "You'll be fine, I promise."

Will gave a small nod and sat back down next to the twins. "Hope you enjoy the party, dude."

After everyone had their fill of cake and snack food, Percy was taken before the table of presents. People were looking at the green-eyed boy with baited breath, waiting to see which present he chose first. Reaching out, he picked a present from the top of the pile. It was from Leo. It was clearly a magazine or a comic, judging by the shape and size of it.

A smirk slowly crept across Percy's lips before the youth was in a full blown state of laughter. He finished tearing off the paper and Poseidon chuckled, though Sally did not seem so amused. She quickly ripped the magazine from her son's hands. It was kind of easy to know what it was, since Jason caught sight of part of a breast.

Piper rolled her eyes. "Really, Leo, you got him porn?"

"What?" Leo shrugged innocently. "I figured he got lonely."

Percy was still laughing, until Annabeth crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the ground. Slowly, Percy's laughter died away and he tried to look bashful. "Thank you for the thought, Leo, but I really can't accept such a thing." However, the second Sally and Annabeth turned their backs to dispose of the present, Percy bumped fists with the Latino boy across the table. And Leo, of course, mouthed that he had another copy to give Percy later.

Leo grinned mischievously at the green-eyed boy before receiving a punch to the shoulder from Beckendorf. "Way to keep it classy," the big guy grumbled.

"What?" Leo shouted while rubbing his arm.

There were definitely a lot of presents. Mostly one from each of the families, and then some from individuals in the group. But then Percy also got quite a few presents from his parents. From what Jason could tell, none of the presents were the cheap. Well, maybe save for Leo's gag gift and the beanie that Jason had bought him.

As soon as Percy was done, he declared that it was time for swimming. So everyone went to get changed. Luke took Jason to a guest room for them to change. Jason had changed in front of other guys before, but it felt a little different with a guy he had only known for a short time. Maybe the bond of playing a sport together helped Jason not care as much in a locker room. Or maybe it was just that he was more secure in himself than a lot of guys were.

There wasn't much to look at in the guest room, since nobody actually lived in it. He had gotten a little jealous, though, because Percy had let Nico change in his room. To be fair, Percy was already in his swimming trunks, so the two probably weren't even in the same room together. It did make Jason curious, though, as to why Luke and Nico didn't just change together.

Jason glanced over when he heard something metal being placed on a wooden surface. Luke had taken off his necklace, his shirt already on the floor. Jason's face heated up a little as Luke's underwear fell to the floor. Well, Jason had to give it to Luke for having a nice body. Perhaps Nico did go for the athletic type.

Quickly shaking his head, Jason finished taking off the rest of his clothes and slipped into his trunks. He made sure to pick up his towel before turning back around. Luke turned around and beamed at him. "Well, I suppose the baseball has done wonders for your body."

Jason coughed as his face lit up in embarrassment. "Um, thanks."

"I still have to wonder how people don't just swoop down on you."

There was a heavy knock at the door, much to Jason's relief. Percy grinned at them when Luke opened the door. "Come, bitches, it's time for swimming." He grinned and slid a pair of shades from the top of his head over his eyes.

When they got outside, Jason found two more adults outside. A man and a woman were lounging by the pool. The woman had a large sun hat and sunglasses, while the man looked quite large and intimidating. He sat behind the woman, applying sunscreen to her back.

"Gird your loins," Luke quickly whispered to Jason.

The woman tipped her glasses down to inspect the boys after they came out of the house. More specifically, she stared at Jason. It was sort of at this point that the blond wished he had his shirt on still. She smiled and got up, her heels clacking loudly on the marble.

She looked like something out of a magazine. Her long, blonde hair nearly reached her back as it bounced about from behind her. The sunglasses she wore reflected Jason's image, while her teeth nearly blinded the blond boy from how bright they were. Her skin matched that of Percy and Apollo's, perfectly kissed by the sun. Her nails and lips had both been painted a cherry red.

And then there was her attire, or what she wanted to pass for attire. The woman had on a bikini top and a pair of ripped blue jean shorts. And her heels probably gave her one or two inches to her height. Jason wondered how women could endure such footwear, it looked so painful.

She smiled and held out her hands, offering both of them some lemonade. "I was wonderin' when you boys were gonna show up," the woman said. This woman spoke like the very definition of the word Southern Belle. The accent was absolutely perfect for being one.

Luke smiled and accepted the glass of lemonade. "Sorry. Oh, Jason, this is Silena's mother, Aphrodite."

Even the way she shook his hand was the epitome of how a southern lady would act. Like some noble woman, she grasped Jason's fingers and shook them gently with the back of her hand pointed out towards Jason.

From there, she reached up to cup Jason's cheek and examine his face. The blue-eyed boy glanced at Luke uneasily when the woman tilted his face up to get a better look. "Well you didn't tell me he was so handsome, Luke." Her attention returned to Jason's face. "Well you're just a doll, sugar."

Thankfully, Percy was his savior. The raven haired boy gripped his shoulders and steered him towards the pool. "Sorry to steal him away, but I think he wants to do some swimming."

Jason was able to breathe a sigh of relief once he was inside. "For some reason," he began, "I was not expecting to be hit on by a cougar during my time here."

"I wouldn't let my mom hear you call her a cougar," Silena said, smiling up at them from where she sat in Beckendorf's lap. She chuckled, which was like honey to the ears. "Mother can be very vain when it comes to her looks. She might just have to go dipping into her special creams if she overheard that."

Luke laughed at that. "I guess I should have warned him about your mother on the way over."

Jason, however, was busy watching the man that was with Aphrodite. Even after she had sat back down, the man glared so hatefully at Jason. It got to a point where Jason had to fight off the urge to shiver. "Who is that?" He finally asked.

Luke subtly followed Jason's gaze. "That's Ares, Clarisse and Frank's father."

"But it looks like-"

Percy clamped a hand over Jason's mouth with a grin. "Yeah, exactly." He grinned down at Silena, who rolled her eyes. "Silena doesn't like Ares much."

"Clarisse and Frank are cool," the girl supplied.

"At least your mom never ended up marrying my dad," Beckendorf mumbled. Silena smiled fondly and kissed his cheek.

"But isn't you mom married?" Jason asked.

Silena let out a sigh as she coated her arms in sunscreen. "Yes, she is. My mother is a polygamist." She took in a deep breath. "I really wouldn't have a problem with it, but I can't quite tell if she actually cares about any of these men she ends up with. She didn't love Drew or Mitchell's fathers. She barely ever talks about mine. Tristan might be the first she actually cares for, but she refuses to break off this fling with Ares."

"Tristan?"

"Piper's father," Percy answered.

It was a slow process, but Jason slowly realized he was being stared at while he was swimming. He started to notice it about ten minutes after getting into the pool. Every now and then, Drew would just give him this look of lust from where she was tanning. It didn't really stop there, though. Aphrodite also made a habit of watching him. And it slowly turned into this thing, where everyone in Aphrodite's house was staring at him. In fact, the only one not doing it was Silena. Even Piper and Mitchell were staring at his body.

Honestly, it made Jason reluctant to get out of the pool, even to dive back in. And it wasn't like it was completely just him. Some of them occasionally stared at guys like Luke or Percy as well. It was definitely mostly Jason. Probably because he was new.

At least Nico had decided to swim this time. So, it was kind of a welcomed distraction for Jason. "I see you have an audience," the pale boy smirked.

"Don't remind me." Jason frowned, doing his best not to look at anyone in Aphrodite's family. "I think I'd actually prefer to swim fully clothed."

"Aw! Are you shy?" Nico teased him. He stuck his tongue out when Jason narrowed his eyes. "Maybe you should eat more cake and destroy that body of yours."

Time always seemed to pass by fast when swimming was involved, and this time was no exception. Thankfully, it was still early and the day and no one had to be anywhere. However, as it neared the hour mark, Jason needed to slap himself.

His problem was that his eyes kept wandering. And to where exactly? To Nico, of course. No matter if the boy was swimming or sitting on the edge of the pool, Jason found himself wanting to stare at the boy. He was very cute when wet, not that Jason would ever admit that out loud. And it was not like it meant anything to make a casual observation. Of course not, that was perfectly natural. But the way the water dripped off of Nico's pale, smooth skin was very distracting. And, while he was scrawny, Nico did have a nice figure, Jason would not lie. Long legs, thin waist, dimples on his back, and lips that practically begged to be kissed-

Wait, what? No. Jason did not need to think like that. With a groan, Jason sank beneath the water once again. The fact that Nico looked really good with wet hair also did not help matters.

Needing air, Jason swam to the surface. From there, he moved over to the edge of the pool and pulled himself up. He padded over to where he put his towel, dripping as he went. And fully aware of several eyes on him as he did so.

Once again, Jason's blue eyes roamed over to where Nico was sitting in between Luke's legs on a lounge chair. The blond was being very enthusiastic as he spoke, going as far as to use his hands. Nico rolled his eyes at whatever they were talking about, mumbling something to the blond and shaking his head. Luke sighed and pouted before pulling Nico more onto the chair and massaging the boy's shoulders. Grinning so that the boy between his legs could not see, Luke leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear. Without warning, Nico's eyes darted up to Jason.

Jason let the towel fall over his head, blocking Nico from his line of sight. Had he known Jason was staring, or perhaps they were talking about him? But why would they talk about him? Jason pulled the towel back, so that it simply rested on top of his head. Nico still had his eyes on him, chewing on his lip. He turned his head and whispered something to the blond, something that Luke seemed disappointed by.

Someone cleared their throat behind Jason and the blond turned around to find Drew standing there with a sweet smile on her face. "Looks like someone works out, hon," she said, appraising Jason's body.

"Uh..." Never so badly did Jason actually want to cover himself, and he wasn't even naked. "Thank you?"

Giggling, Drew leaned in and walked her fingers up Jason's chest. "I don't suppose you could use those big muscles to apply some sunscreen to my... sensitive skin."

As he opened his mouth, Jason accidentally sneezed in Drew's face. It wasn't his fault! As she had been talking, Jason had caught scent of nutmeg and pine, and very potent at that. The girl just stood there in shock that someone had actually sneezed on her. The Stolls could be heard in the background, probably dying from laughter.

"Sorry about that," Jason said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Without saying another word, Drew held up a hand to silence Jason before she walked off to where Piper and Mitchell were sitting. The girl sat down and furiously started rambling to her siblings. Piper just rolled her eyes at whatever it was, but Drew was adamant. All Jason could understand was, "It doesn't work!"

A few minutes later, Jason ended up getting his butt kicked by Percy at who could swim to the end of the pool the fastest. Percy made it all the way before Jason could even reach the halfway mark. Honestly, it was like the guy was part fish.

When they sat on the edge, Mitchell sat down on the other side of Jason and offered the blond a lemonade. "Where's mine?" Percy pouted.

"The pitcher is over there," Mitchell sighed, smiling at Jason.

Percy just grumbled and got up. "But it's my birthday."

Jason glanced over to Nico again, who was actually staring at him curiously. A finger was placed under the blond's chin and Jason was made to look at Mitchell again. "Enjoying your swim?" The brunet asked.

Smiling, Jason nodded. "Yeah."

"You know, my family has a pool, too." Mitchell smiled and scooted a little closer as Jason took a drink from his lemonade. "I could give you my number..." Something tickled Jason's nose again, like lavenders. "If you wanted it, I mean."

"Um... maybe another time, yeah?"

Mitchell just blinked at him. "Holy shit," the brunet whispered.

"What?" Jason asked, perplexed.

Smiling, Mitchell stood up. "Nothing. Don't worry about it." He chuckled and put his sunshades on. "I hope you enjoy the rest of the party."

Jason just blinked as the boy walked back over to Piper and Drew, sitting down and leaning in to whisper to them. Both girls nodded before the glanced back over at Jason, who just sat there in confusion. What was going on? Were they trying to see who Jason might be interested in?

Wasn't really any of them.

The blond's eyes slowly wandered back over to Nico, who now look amused as he got up and laid down on his stomach on the lounge chair next to Luke. Smiling, he waved over at Jason. He couldn't help it, Jason smiled back. He really liked seeing Nico smile.

"Hey there, Jason," came Piper's soothing voice as she sat down next to him.

"Um, hi..." Jason's brow furrowed as he stared at the girl. He actually liked Piper for a friend, it was just strange to him that Piper and her siblings were all coming over to talk to Jason. If Silena actually tried, Jason might be worried.

"So, when is your birthday Jason?"

"Oh, it's at the beginning of July." Maybe she wasn't going to try anything? That would be ever so nice.

Piper smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "That's a shame, you could have ended up with a bunch of cool stuff."

Jason shrugged. "It's cool. I wouldn't want all of you to spend money on someone you barely know."

"Honestly, money isn't all that great." Piper leaned back on her palms. "It's nice, but you don't really appreciate things like your birthday when you already get whatever you want." She smiled warmly at the blond. "I usually prefer thrift store clothing to the more expensive shit."

"I'm betting Drew has some expensive tastes," Jason chuckled.

"You have no idea."

Once again, Jason ended up sneezing. He was just happy that he was able to cover his mouth with his shoulder this time. "Sorry about that." Jason rubbed his nose on his arm. It was like the smell of freshly cut grass suddenly hit his nose. His allergies must be acting up, or something. "I hope I'm not getting sick."

"Er..." Piper tilted her head to the side. "I'm sure you're fine." She let out a sigh when Jason looked down at the pool water. "I don't suppose you'd wanna watch a movie at my place tonight?"

He was honestly starting to feel bad for having to tell all these people no. It was just that he was pretty sure that they were all hitting on him, and Jason did not want to lead them on. Sure, they were all super attractive, but they weren't the one that Jason was interested in.

"I should probably catch up on some homework," Jason said meekly. "Maybe some of us can all watch a movie together next time." That was good, right? He was fine with hanging out with Piper, he just would rather it be with other people around.

Piper leaned in a little closer. "Are you sure? I am known for my great taste in movies."

Okay, so that smell of grass was very strong right now. Jason ended up sneezing again. "Did Percy's family just cut the grass?"

Letting out a sigh, Piper stood back up. "I don't think so." She smiled and patted Jason on the shoulder. "But I would like to hangout more, even with other people around."

Piper returned to her siblings, just as the other two had before her. Letting out a sigh, Jason got up to get a refill on his lemonade. He glanced over when Piper called for Silena to come over, motioning furiously for her older sister to hurry. Silena pecked Beckendorf on the lips before she got up and padded her way over to where her siblings were huddled together. Jason just let out a grunt and refilled his drink. What was their deal?

A very well-manicured hand reached out and grabbed an empty cup before filling it with lemonade. "Having fun, Jason?" Aphrodite asked with a smile. She reached into her glass and picked out an ice cube. There was no subtlety at all at how she rubbed the ice across her lips and upper chest. "It sure is hot out today. I hope you're ready for the weather down here." It's quite," she let the ice cube fall between her breasts, "unpredictable."

Jason just forced a smile onto his face. "I'm sure I'll be fine." He took a sip of his drink and headed over to where Luke and Nico were. "Have a good day."

"Holy shit," Mitchell said suddenly.

It was just strange. Everyone around the pool was staring at Jason in shock. Jason glanced over his shoulder. Aphrodite looked stunned, to put it simply. She had basically become a statue. And her children just sat there and gawked as Jason continued walking over to where Luke and Nico was. Jason finished off his lemonade and placed it on a nearby table before sitting down at the foot of Nico's lounge chair.

Silena shook her head and leaned in towards her siblings.

"Am I missing something?" Jason asked.

Nico repositioned himself, so he was sitting up. Shrugging, the boy pulled his knees up to his chest. "Who knows with them." Even though he had just told Jason not to worry, the blond did not miss the way Nico glanced over at Piper and the others. And he frowned when Silena got up and began walking towards them. The brown-eyed boy sighed. "What now?"

Before she got to them completely, Silena stopped and signaled Nico to come to her. Letting out a grunt, the pale boy got up and walked over. Jason would deny it, but his eyes might have wandered down to watch Nico's hips as he walked away. Silena smirked as she crossed her arms and leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear.

Whatever she said caused Nico to frown. He shook his head. "No, you're wrong," the boy said quietly. Silena just gave him a look. "You can't be serious."

Silena turned him around and gave Nico a little shove back towards Jason and Luke. "Just humor me for a second."

"Fine, whatever," Nico mumbled as he sat back down. It made Jason's stomach do a somersault when the boy sat down a few inches away from Jason. Luke arched an eyebrow at the boy, but Nico ignored him. "Are your allergies acting up, Jason?"

Jason's shoulders slumped. That's what Nico wanted to talk about? "I don't know what's up, I don't get sick very often. Maybe like once a year." A smile slowly crept across his face when Nico leaned towards him by leaning on his palm. "I'm sure I'm fine."

Nico gave a small nod. "You know, I was thinking... While you're down here, you should probably visit New Orleans." He smiled and sat cross-legged. "If you wanted, I could probably-"

"Yes!" Jason slowly blushed as he realized he hadn't even let Nico finish. "I mean, that would be great." A huge smile burst onto his face. "When were you thinking? I'm good for whatever weekend you want. It sounds really fun."

For a short while, Nico just blinked at him, mouth slightly agape. Luke glanced between the two of them. He opened his mouth, but slowly let it shut again. Nico just shook his head. "I'll, um, let you know." He pursed his lips. "Would you mind... getting me some lemonade?"

Jason was basically over at the pitcher before he even knew what he was doing. But he just smiled and poured the drink. He returned and sat back down next to Nico, offering the boy the drink. He smiled stupidly as Nico took it with a sad smile.

Why was he sad? Had Jason done something wrong? Was their too much ice? Not enough? Did he want a bigger glass? Maybe Jason should have just brought the whole pitcher? Oh God, what if Nico canceled their trip because Jason had screwed up his drink?

He breathed a sigh of relief when Nico patted him on the shoulder. Nico glanced at Silena, who just smiled triumphantly. The girl returned to her siblings, who all looked shocked. Silena held out her hand and they each paid her some money.

Slowly, Nico raised the glass up to his mouth. He let out a breath, his eyes trained on Percy. But he never took a drink. He smiled and held the glass out for Jason. "Here. Why don't you drink it?" He rubbed the blond's shoulder. It was like icicles were touching Jason's body. "You look thirsty."

As the liquid poured down Jason's throat, he could have sworn he smelled rain. It was his favorite smell. "I feel a little dizzy."

Nico got up and motioned for Jason to follow. "Come on, we'll see if we can't find you some medicine."

Unfortunately, Jason was paying more attention to the back of Nico's head, rather than his own footing. So, the blond ended up stumbling. Nico was quick enough and held out his hand. Jason quickly grabbed it, but found that he was no longer staring at Nico. It was the boy that looked like him, the one from Jason's dreams. There was a look of panic in the boy's eyes as he jerked his arm away. But it was no longer Jason's arm. Kronos now stood where Jason had been, and Jason himself did not seem to physically be there at all. But rather an invisible observer.

They were back in Salem, where night had fallen on the town. A few townspeople passed them by, though they do not seem to pay the boys any attention. The brown-eyed boy keept his head down as two women passed before looking up with panic in his eyes once again.

Kronos sighed and brushed his hair out of his eyes. "Calm down, there is nothing to worry about," he whispered.

The other boy shook his head. "No, she hast seen," the boy that looked like Nico hissed back.

"Thou art exaggerating." Kronos grabbed the boy when he made to run again. "Calm thyself, please. We do not know what she hast saw, so we have no need to panic at this time."

"She saw!"

Kronos narrowed his eyes, jerking the boy closer. "Keep thine voice down," he hissed.

The other boy glared back at Kronos. "And if she did in fact see, what then?" Leaning in, he lowered his voice to make sure only Kronos could hear him. "How far would you go to protect the secret?"

Kronos's eyes searched the boy's brown orbs in the dark. But, before Kronos could answer, there was a snapping noise. It kept getting louder and louder, while the two boys faded away into smoke and darkness. Jason's eyes widened as he was brought back to find Nico's fingers snapping in his face.

"Hello, Jason? Are you there?"

The blue-eyed boy shook his head. "Um, yeah, I'm fine. I guess I zoned out a little."

Nico tilted his head to the side. "A little? You were gone on me for at least two minutes."

"Sorry," Jason whispered.

Nico quirked a brow at him. "Are you sure you're all right?" Reaching into a cabinet, the brown-eyed boy pulled out a bottle of Tylenol. "You don't look like you've been sleeping very well," he mumbled as he handed two pills to the blond.

Jason's shoulders slumped. "Is it that obvious."

"Only to someone who doesn't sleep much themselves," Nico mumbled as he poured a glass of water and slid it over to Jason.

Jason quickly downed the pills and placed the empty glass on the cabinet. "Why don't you sleep?"

Brown eyes flickered up for a brief moment before returning to the cabinet. "Who said I was talking about me?" Nico smirked. "I could have been talking about Annabeth, or perhaps Leo."

"Leo's too hyper to not be sleeping," Jason chuckled. He placed his empty glass in the sink. "But it's not like I haven't noticed. When school first started, you were practically falling out of your chair."

Nico shook his head lightly. "It's nothing, I'm fine." Jason was not convinced, but he kept his mouth shut. "I already get enough from my father, Demeter, Persephone, Luke, Percy, Reyna, Bianca, and Thalia, I don't really need you to add your concern to that list," the boy mumbled, running a finger across the counter's surface. "But I'm flattered the oh so attractive Jason Grace takes the time out of his day to stare at me. Now I'll have to write your name in my binder at school and draw hearts around it."

Without even changing the tone of his voice or batting an eye, Nico had completely mocked him. Well, two could play at that game. Jason smirked. "So you think I'm attractive?"

"Whoa, let's not get distracted here, there are more important things to think about." Nico leaned his hip against the counter. "I mean, now I'm going to have to think about what I'm going to wear to prom, if you're taking so much time to stare at me." The boy finally smirked. "Maybe if you used all that time trying to learn how to cook in class, you wouldn't be so bad off."

Jason smiled goofily. "Well, maybe you-" He stopped and stared down at where he had touched Nico's arm. It had been so cold not but a few minutes ago, but now the raven haired boy was so warm. Nico looked down and smacked the blond's hand away. There was another deep thump, just like Jason had heard the first day he had met Nico.

Those dark eyes watched Jason's hand in confusion. Had Nico felt it, too? Slowly, Nico looked up at Jason. "Touch me again," he said quietly, holding up his palm.

"Oh." Jason held up his hand, slowly reaching out towards Nico.

Nothing. Nico's skin was still warm, but that was it. Nothing unusual. Nico grabbed Jason's wrist, then his shoulder, and finally the center of Jason's chest. Nothing. Nico began chewing on his lip.

"Maybe it was just a shock," Nico muttered.

It sure didn't feel like a shock.

It was at this moment that it dawned on Jason at how close they were standing. He practically had Nico pinned against the counter, and Nico seemed to realize it as well. The boy's eyes lowered to Jason's chest a single time before he cleared his throat and maneuvered around the blond.

"I better get back outside," Nico whispered as he slipped out of the kitchen.

Jason wiped a hand across his face, letting his head fall back. He needed to stop. Nico was taken, and he did not need to try hitting on the poor guy. He nearly jumped when Luke poked his head in the kitchen.

"There you are. So, I think everyone's done swimming for the day. If you want to grab your clothes, we'll head back over to my house and chill for a little bit," the blond suggested.

Jason nodded his head. "Yeah, sounds good."

Luke disappeared out of the kitchen, leaving Jason alone with his thoughts once again. Was it a good idea to spend more time around them right now? Or, more specifically, Nico. Yet, he was not really ready to go home. The more time he spent around them, the more he enjoyed the company of these outcasted kids. To him, everyone else in town were the weird people.

Jason headed up the stairs to retrieve his clothes. He found Aphrodite in one of the bathrooms, standing in front of a mirror while applying makeup. Or had been, because when Jason found her, she was just staring at her reflection.

Jason opened the door to the guest room that he had used earlier and slipped inside. Luke's clothes were already gone, which meant the other blond must have been up here before coming to find Jason. After changing, Jason headed back for the door when something shattered.

Stepping quickly through the door, Jason jogged down to the bathroom. Aphrodite still stood in front of the mirror, though it was now laying in shards in the sink. The blonde woman had her hand covering her mouth as she picked up a shard from the destroyed mirror.

"Um, are you okay?" Jason asked.

The blonde woman took in a deep breath, though her eye remained on the broken mirror. "Oh, Jason, you startled me." She finally looked up and smiled. "Silly me, I guess I'm a little clumsy." If Jason did not know better, it looked like the woman wanted to cry, judging by the red eyes. "I, um..." She rolled her hand in the air, like she was trying to think of what she wanted to say. "I'll need to get a broom."

Jason took a step forward. "I can help clean that up."

A sharp nail was pointed at Jason's face. "No!" Her face softened as she noticed Jason's startled expression. "I mean, no, that's quite all right. You're here for a party, you don't need to worry about such labor." Her eyes returned to the shards of broken glass. Aphrodite slowly rubbed the back of her hand. When she noticed Jason still standing there, she raised her hand to the side of her face to block Jason's view of it. "I think Luke was wanting you to go back to his house."

Nodding to her once, Jason took his leave. Taking the steps two at a time, he made his way outside, where he found Luke, Travis, and Connor waiting. The other blond smiled at him as he approached. "There you are. I was beginning to worry you got lost in the house."

Jason chuckled. "No, I was just talking to Aphrodite, she seemed a little upset. Don't know how she managed it, but she said she broke a mirror."

Luke's blue eyes roamed up to the window that must have been the bathroom. "Okay, well, I suppose it's nothing to worry about." His words may have said as much, but Luke did not seem convinced himself. The smile had vanished from the blond's lips as his eyes continued to watch the open window. "Silena or one of the other kids will take care of it."

Jason nodded and followed after the three siblings as they made their way down the steps. "So, is Nico not coming back with us?"

Luke perked up again. "Well, Nico was feeling tired, so Bianca took him home." He nudged Jason's shoulder with a smile. "You know, as much as he might hate to admit it, I think he's warming up to you. Don't tell him I said that."

Jason chuckled. "I won't. He's cool, when he's not being so closed off or trying to scare me."

Travis and Connor suddenly appeared beside Jason, grinning like madmen. "So, Jason, what kind of birthday would it be without a magic trick?" Travis said with a sly grin.

"Um, shouldn't you have done that for Percy then?"

"Yeah, but Percy's seen most of our magic tricks," Connor replied.

Luke shook his head. "Not today, Travis," he sighed. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Jason doesn't want to see your lame trick."

Jason shrugged. "Doesn't bother me."

Connor's grin widened as he reached into his pocket. Luke narrowed his eyes in response. "No, you really don't want them to do this," the eldest of the siblings mumbled. Connor stopped and frowned. "Believe me, you'd probably get physically injured, knowing them."

"That's so hurtful," Connor said, shaking his head.

"You both nearly got expelled for blowing up the science lab."

Travis leaned an arm on Jason's shoulder. "He's exaggerating. There was just some smoke and a little fire, no big deal." Jason glanced at Luke, unsure of where this might go. Maybe a magic trick was not the best idea. "Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

"You could send him to the hospital," Luke muttered under his breath.

The twins both pouted. "You don't trust us," they both whined.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Fuck no. I can barely trust you to stay out of my room when I'm not home."

Connor scrunched his lips. "You know, the projectile ink canon was really unnecessary."

"Besides," Travis continued, "it's a card trick." That did not seem to ease Luke's suspicion at all. Connor handed his twin a deck of cards that he had pulled from his pocket. Travis shuffled the cards and then both of them tapped the top of the deck with their index fingers. He spread the cards out and held them out for Jason. "Pick a card, any card."

Letting his fingers run across the cards for a brief moment before he grabbed a card in the middle. "Look at the card," Connor instructed. Jason flipped it over. The two of hearts. He nodded and slipped it back into the deck. "Now, watch and be amazed."

Travis shuffled the cards with a wicked smirk. "Now then, I need you to tell me your card."

Jason arched a brow. "What?"

"Just do it," Travis instructed. He tapped his foot as he waited for Jason.

"It was the two of hearts."

Travis flicked the deck and knocked off the top card, which Connor managed to catch. "You mean," Connor began. He flipped the card over with a huge grin. "This card?"

Sure enough, Jason was staring at his card. "Neat." He arched a brow at the two. "Can you do it a second time?"

"You bet!" They replied, receiving a glare from their older brother.

After reshuffling the deck, Travis held the cards out again for Jason. Jason picked the one on the very bottom this time. He frowned as soon as he looked upon his card. It was the two of hearts again. Was this part of the trick? "Um, okay..." He placed the card back in the deck. After they shuffled the cards, Jason went to tell them the card. "Two of hearts."

Travis paused and frowned down at his deck. Connor leaned in and whispered in his brother's ear. Travis pulled off the top card to reveal the two of hearts again. They didn't seem as content with the trick the second time around.

"That's not a very good trick," Luke chuckled.

"Uh, one more time," Travis muttered, shuffling the deck again. He held the cards out for Jason with a determined look on his face as he watched the blond pick his card. "What's your card?"

"Um..." It was actually the two of hearts... again. "Is this rigged?" He pulled more cards out of the deck. Five of clubs and the ace of diamonds. Well, they weren't all the same card. "It's the two of hearts again."

Travis took back the three cards that Jason had took and reshuffled the deck. He then had the blond pull another card, which turned out to be the two of hearts yet again. "What the fuck?" The brunet muttered when Jason showed him the card. "It's not supposed to work like that."

Luke just shuffled his head and patted his brother on the shoulder. "Nice try anyways, guys." He chuckled at Jason. "Come on, let's go find something to watch."

Once they were back at the house, Luke took Jason upstairs to the entertainment room and had him pick out a movie to watch. While Jason tried to make a decision, Travis and Connor ran downstairs to make some popcorn and get some drinks for all four of them.

Jason ended up staying until it was nearly dinner. Penelope offered to feed him, but Jason needed to get home so he declined. Now that school was in full swing, the boy had already found himself with a paper and an upcoming test that needed to be dealt with.

Placing his still drying swimming trunks on the top of his car, Jason fished out his keys. Catching sight of something from the corner of his eye, Jason glanced up.

Standing there, at the edge of the woods, was a big, black dog. Huge might be the better term for it. And it was watching him, or so it seemed. The dog just stood there and stared in Jason's direction. As the blond went to unlock his door, the dog began to growl. Oh god, Jason thought, he needed to get in his car.

"Jason!" It was Luke. With panic in his eyes, Jason looked at the other blond, who was standing on his front porch. "I hope you had a good time at the party!"

Jason quickly nodded his head. He opened his mouth to tell Luke about the dog, but when he looked back, the dog had vanished. Jason scanned the woods, but there just was no trace of the dog. He had not imagined it, had he? Well he was not on anything, so that was not likely.

Clearing his throat, he turned back to Luke. "It was great, actually." Luke grinned back at him. "Thanks again!"

As soon as Luke was back in the house, Jason jumped in his car and held onto the wheel. He was not sure why the dog was getting to him so badly, especially when it had done nothing more than growl, but Jason's entire body was filled with dread. Cranking his car, Jason's body spasmed in a shiver.


So, I'm reading through all my old chapters to remind myself of what is to come. As anyone that read the old version might can confirm, this chapter had quite a bit of changes made to it. And that's pretty much from here until chapter 16 or 17. I say 16 and 17, because I have one or two chapters I'll be adding in. I'm adding a new one in about two more chapters for sure. But a good bit of the fluff will be taken out. Percy and Nico were too dependent on each other in the old version and just always kissing. Which is nice, I know, but this isn't meant to be a fluff piece. As the tone of the environment typically suggests, it's a dark story. Like really dark. In fact, something very dark is going to happen in that new chapter.

That being said, do expect some of the good stuff that was in the old version to stay in. The fall festival is next chapter and it has always been one of my favorites, I'm just going to be adding a little more to it. So definitely expect a lot of the good shit to remain, don't worry about that being taken out. But starting next chapter, the content of each chapter is pretty good. Like I really like the upcoming chapters. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you guys next time. Might be a little longer than normal on an update, as I'm going to be outlining my book's plot for myself to reference and have notes for. But I'll try not to take too long, as I don't like making extensive notes as it is.