Jason waited patiently at the table at Reyna's favorite coffee shop. He'd never really known why she preferred this one over all the rest, with the name Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles. It was owned by a woman named Iris, but Jason had never met her, only the cheery waitress, Fleecy.

As if sensing Jason's thought's about her, Fleecy appeared with her notepad and apron, her eyes flashing from gray to white to black. "Can I help you yet?" she asked.

Jason forced a smile. "No, still waiting. I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Fleecy nodded and walked away to the next table. Jason stared at the door, willing Reyna to walk in, but she didn't show. Which left Jason to tap his foot in anxiety.

He hadn't told Piper, but last night Jason had decided to end any further romanticism with Reyna. He just wanted to stay friends with her, that was all. It wasn't fair of him to lead Reyna on when he was really thinking of Piper.

Jason looked at his watch again, and realized Reyna was only five minutes late. He must have arrived way earlier than he had expected. Then again, he'd been up all night debating on what to do.

The doorbell dinged pleasantly and Jason looked up to see a very flustered Reyna at the doorway. She was in her business suit and her dark hair was tightly braided back, so she looked like her usual intimidating self. She found Jason and promptly sat down across from him.

"I'm sorry I'm late, there was a traffic jam, and my work called and said they need me for an emergency meeting at eleven, which I didn't even plan on going to work today! It's been a long morning," she ranted. "Anyways, good morning!"

Jason laughed. "Thanks, Reyna. Good morning to you too! And I wasn't even really upset about your tardiness, I was just early."

Fleecy the waitress stood at the end of their table. "Now can I take your order?"

"Yeah, um, we just want the usual, if that's all right with you, Reyna." Jason responded.

"Yes, that's fine." Reyna said.

Fleecy rolled her eyes. "Well, you could've just said that in the first place, and I could've had your order ready a long time ago!" she said exasperatedly, walking off to go place their order.

Jason turned back to Reyna. "Anyways, how have you been?"

"Better. Not really excited about this storm that's supposed to happen later today. Did you hear the forecasts? Blizzard, with a least six inches of snow and winds up to sixty miles per hour. Crazy, isn't it?" Reyna asked, staring out the window as if expecting the sky to open up and attack.

Jason nodded. "Yeah, that won't be fun, especially with the big game coming up on Sunday. Can you make it back from work okay without getting caught up in it?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry. When are you guys leaving for Lethe?" Reyna asked Fleecy laid their coffees on the table.

Jason mouthed Thank you to Fleecy then answered Reyna's question. "Early Sunday morning. We're not staying over since it's a relatively close city, and I wouldn't want to anyway."

Reyna smiled and continued talking and taking drinks in-between sentences, but Jason wasn't hearing anything she was saying. Her obsidian eyes turned to kaleidoscopic, her dark firmly braided hair turned to chocolate colored, choppy and uneven. In no time, instead of Reyna sitting there, it was Piper.

"Jason? Are you even listening?" Reyna said, breaking Jason's daze. Jason blinked a few times, and her face returned to normal.

"Uh, yeah…I mean, no. I got distracted, sorry," Jason apologized, taking a drink from his coffee. "I've got something to tell you, okay?" he added.

Reyna nodded and motioned a finger. "Go on."

"I think I just want to stay friends. I love you, Reyna, but I've come to realize that I love you like a sister. You've been my best friend since, well, forever, and if we did actually get together and later broke up…I don't want to lose my best friend. I hope you understand," Jason said nicely.

Reyna sighed and ran a finger through a loose strand of hair. Her eyes focused on something out the window. "You don't see me, do you? I can tell the difference in the way you look at me compared to her," she said slowly.

"Reyna-"

"Oh, stop it, Jason. I'm not saying that I believe everything that magazines come out with, but I've noticed. I knew something dramatic had to happen for you to change like that, it just wasn't normal. This Piper, she makes you happy, doesn't she?" Reyna asked, but she sounded like she was trying to keep her voice upbeat.

Jason nodded, knowing it would be no good to lie. Reyna was too smart for that. "Yes, she does. I'm sorry-"

"Don't be sorry, Jason," Reyna said, leaning across the table. "Love is a beautiful thing, I've heard. I haven't found mine, but you, you have! And I won't keep you back from that, it wouldn't be fair of me. Maybe if you hadn't become famous, things would have worked out between us. But I can't change the past, nobody can. Things happen for a reason, and I've come to accept this. So don't be sorry, Jason," she said, pushing her empty cup to the end of the table.

Jason had only half finished his, but he pushed his aside as well. "I want to thank you, Reyna, for being understanding. Though to tell you the truth, I was expecting a little more violence, like throwing your coffee cup at my head or something."

Reyna half-smiled and looked at her watch. "I better go in case there is another traffic jam," she said, getting up from the table.

Jason followed her out the door, and they stood there in the cold air for a moment. "Goodbye, Reyna. Be safe while you drive tonight, okay?"

"Yes, you too, Best Friend. I'll watch your game on Sunday at home, but good luck!" Reyna said, pulling out her keys and looking uncertainly at the sky.

Jason waved and turned around, but Reyna called his name. "Jason?"

Reyna ran over to him quickly, the wind beginning to pick up his pace. "One last thing. Is it true?"

"Is what true?" he asked, blocking his face from the wind.

"Is she pregnant with your child?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, she is."

Reyna smiled and started to walk away. "Call me, okay? I want to hear all about it!" she yelled over the wind.

Jason was starting to worry. It was one o'clock and Piper still had not shown. He was left to pace his living room anxiously in silence, with no T.V. on, and his phone clenched tightly in his hand for any call from Piper.

Reyna had mentioned the bad traffic jams this morning, so maybe that was what she was stuck in, or she had to drive slow on the country roads because of the worsening weather.

Maybe he was just worried because he was nervous about what would happen when she would arrive. He didn't know how she would react, even after all the time they had gotten to know each other over the past few weeks.

He stared out the wide windows in his living room. He could see the storm swirling with snow, and the wind blowing wildly through the buildings. It was so thick that Jason could barely see the street 52 floors down. He'd seen blizzards before in Tiber, the wind rocking against the top floors and keeping him awake all night, but he'd never seen one so violent.

Jason's phone began to vibrate, and Jason answered it eagerly. "Hey, Piper! Are you alright?"

On the other side of the phone, Piper laughed lightly. "Yeah, I'm fine! The traffic in the city sucks though, I might be here for a while even though I'm only about a block away. Everybody's trying to get home as quick as possible, a lot of businesses and schools are closing for the afternoon because of the weather! But don't worry, I'm still coming!"

Jason sighed in relief. "Piper, you could've just stayed home where you're safe, you know. I could've come over to your house for the day. And are you talking to me while driving?" he scolded.

"And risk you getting snowed in at my house two days before the big game? And no, I'm stuck in a traffic jam, so I'm technically not driving, Jason."

"I'm hanging up on you now, because I don't want you to get hurt on my account," Jason said stubbornly, crossing his arms even though Piper couldn't see him.

Piper laughed again. "Okay, Mr. Officer. But not if I hang up first!" she said quickly, and Jason hurt the phone go silent. She had hung up after all.

Smiling, Jason shoved his phone in to his pocket and sat down on the couch. He didn't know what to do now that he was reassured, maybe watch T.V.? Looking around at his house, he realized that it could really use a cleaning. He hadn't asked the maids to come up and clean since he and Piper had made it a big part of his daily lessons, but now that they had started to go over to Piper's once in a while, cleaning had been neglected.

Jason sighed and began to pick up the random objects laying around, the shoes, magazines, clothes, and the occasional wrapper. He put those in the appropriate places and started the great search for his vacuum. Jason found it in the spare bedroom and rolled it into the living room right as he heard the door open. Surprised, Jason checked his watch. It was already 1:45! He'd spent about forty minutes just cleaning!

Piper ran from the door way and practically sat on his heater. She had about fifteen layers on from the looks of it, but she still was shivering. "Jason, it's freaking cold out there! Sorry, buddy, but if it's this cold in Lethe for the Game of Champions, I'm staying in my warm house instead of sitting in a stadium," Piper said, gradually peeling layers of coats off. At about the fifth coat, a whole bunch of alfalfa fell out on to his carpet.

"You are so lucky I haven't vacuumed yet," Jason joked, leaning on the vacuum handle.

Piper blushed. "Sorry, I had to feed the horses before I left. And uh, I don't really have any lesson plans for today, we've pretty much covered everything. So I guess today it just for hanging out."

"You drove through a blizzard and got stuck in a traffic jam for two hours just to 'hang out'?" Jason said, his arms crossed in doubt.

Piper messed with her shirt hem. "Well, I suppose-"

"Piper, we need to talk." Jason stated as he sat on the couch. He patted the spot next to him to motion for Piper to sit down, and she did so uncertainly.

"About what?" she asked slowly.

Jason took a deep breath. "Piper, today Reyna and I made it official-"

"Oh my god! You guys are dating? That's great!" Piper interrupted, but Jason could sense the fake enthusiasm.

Jason held up a hand. "No, we made it official that we are just friends…which means no dating. At all."

Piper gasped. "What have you done? All my hard work is gone, wasted…How did you guys decide that, exactly?"

"Um, funny that you ask, really. We uh, had a discussion about my feelings for her," Jason paused, "and you."

Piper narrowed her eyes. "Jason Grace, if you ended it because of me, I swear I will-"

"What, Piper? What? Because I did. Yes, I ended it because I, Jason Grace, love you, Piper McLean!" Jason taunted.

Piper stood up from the couch. "I cannot believe you! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" she said, running her fingers through her hair, pulling out all the braids.

Jason stood up from the couch to face her. "Then what did you honestly expect to happen? For me to hate you? Because darling, that's impossible."

Piper raised her hand to slap him, but apparently thought better of it because she turned and picked up her mountain of coats. "That's exactly what I expected! You were supposed to fall madly in love with Reyna, and not even give me a second thought! I had this all planned out and everything!"

"I really don't see what the problem is here. It's my life, and I'm free to make my own decisions and have my own feelings towards certain people." Jason stated. "And don't you even think about leaving, this conversation isn't over yet!"

Piper threw on a few coats. "Watch me walk through that door, because I'm also free to make my own decisions!" she said loudly, walking towards the door.

Jason ran after her, and caught her by the shoulder as she opened the door. "Piper, please stay," he begged.

"No, Jason. I have to get home," she replied shortly.

"Fine, you can leave. But just- just answer one last question. One, that's all."

Piper sighed. "Okay, what?"

Jason looked her in her beautiful kaleidoscopic eyes. "How do you feel about me?"

She pulled away, and Jason could see the tears welling in her eyes. "I love you, okay? I love you." Then she slammed the door and left Jason alone at the doorway.

Jason wanted to chase after her, but he just let her go, in the end.

He walked in a daze to his couch and turned the T.V. on, but he just laid on the couch and stared blankly at the screen, not really absorbing anything.

Jason really didn't know how much time had passed. One, two, five? Maybe more, but he couldn't tell from the blizzard-dark skies. And it wasn't like he was checking his phone for the time. He stared at it, waiting for any sign of Piper calling, saying everything was alright.

It was later at night when the phone finally went off. Jason eagerly reached for it and answered, automatically expecting Piper's voice without checking the caller-id, but instead of Piper's sweet voice, Percy's filled the speaker.

Jason didn't understand much of what he said, but what he did nearly made him drop the phone.

Piper. Car wreck. Hospital. Lost the baby.

So, a big thank you to everybody! And quite honestly, I'm not completely happy with the first scene, with Reyna and Jason, but it will work...I think. I hope it's alright.

Again , thank you!