Chapter 26

At first Percy tensed when he saw her hand trying reach his cheek, and then tensed at the contact as he fight himself not to escape but Piper didn't seem to register it as she tenderly run her thumb along the trail left by his tears. He could feel the warm of her fingers and palm on his skin. Without even knowing what they were doing, the two leaned toward each other and...Bang, the earth swallowed Piper leaving Percy kissing the air "NNNOOOOOO" the voice and he screamed (just joking :P)

...and their lips met, clashed and it was a wonderful feeling for them, there was no more Chaos in head ("Hey"), no more worry about a certain earth goddess, no more noisy brat, no gods, no demigods, just this warm feeling they were enjoying. There was a blinding light in their heads so much that it almost crushed Chaos in Percy's head, and whatever the creator tried to tell him was lost. They unknowingly lean on the dirt with Piper on top "Please mom, let it not only be a dream please" she pleaded to her mother as she was enjoying the taste of Percy's lips. She found herself smiling as she thought that all the training, walks and even tension was worth this feeling, this moment. Percy couldn't help himself than smile as he tasted her which also made Piper smile, none of them broke the kissing all this time which resulted in the two of them without any oxygen in their lungs. Piper was the one who broke the kiss as she could keep on any more, her hairs fell on her face and some on Percy's, she smile at him as she put some behind her right ear and Percy gave her back her smile by showing her his pearl white teeth and she could see that his eyes had a sea-green color in them and they shined as she never saw them, and for a moment they looked like someone else eyes.

She tried once again to kiss him but as she learned, Percy rolled them and ended up on top of her as she was below him, she just gave him a goofy smile and put her arms around his neck and leaned to catch his lips Percy avoid her and took off her arms still smiling at her and crossed them above her head, maintaining them with one of his hand making of her his prisoner. To that Piper answered by locking her legs around his waist which only made Percy smirked at her action, he leaned and kissed her passionately. The lock on Piper's hand loosed and she took the chance to run her fingers through his messy brown hairs. Their kiss was getting hotter and she cut the kiss to take her breath, Percy looked down on her and his smile suddenly disappeared, something flashed in his eyes and said:

"I can't"

"WHAT" "WHAT" Piper and the voice both said at the same time.

He took her arms off of him and stood up saying "I can't do it, I'm sorry Piper" he walked back and turn around so that her back was facing her.

"What in hell? I brought out the pop-corn and everything" the voice said

"What? Why?" Piper asked him with tears in her eyes, as her worst nightmare was coming true "Do I kiss badly? Was it too much, please tell me" she pleaded as tears were pouring out of her eyes.

"It's not you...it's me" he whispered.

"What about you Do you have a girlfriend you had to go back to?" she angrily asked and you could feel the venom and disgust for that "supposed" girlfriend of his, but Percy didn't seem to register it or if he did, he made no sign of it.

"Dear me, don't tell that it's about that blond-ass of yours" Chaos told him but Percy here too chose to ignore him.

"No...You...you" he muttered as he couldn't think right but Piper wasn't the type to wait

"Me what?" she spat at him "What's wrong with you? One moment you're ok and then it's not ok, and the worst of it is that you are not even able to tell me what's wrong. What should I do? AND FACE ME GODDAMIT" she asked/screamed as she was now crying.

Percy turned around to see her and her sight broke his heart, he walked to her and engulfed her in a warm hug.

"You were perfect and there is no one else in my life" he said as he grabbed her shoulders with both his hands to look at her face. When he said "You were perfect" Piper's heart stopped beating and she calmed down a moment.

"But..." she uttered for him as she looked at him right into his eyes to seek the truth out of them but she could feel it in his voice as much in eyes as he didn't back down before her fiery look.

"But I can't stay with you. Once we reach camp Jupiter, once it's in sight we shall part our ways" he said as he looked beside him, and you could see one tear running on one of his cheek. He wiped it with the back of his hand and stood still without looking at her he just whispered "I'm going back with the others..." he didn't want to look at Piper's face, he knew that he would find tears and they would be like a dagger to his heart.

"What in hell is that? You have the girl and you chicken out?" the voice tells him but Percy chooses to ignore it "I had the pop-con and coke but now they will be cold...should I remind you that you're supposed to be my "entertainment" and as hell now you're not entertaining me with your stupidity."

"I thought a little bit of drama was welcome for you..." Percy angrily tells and he adds "...you should've left me dead, at least I would be in peace with people that really love me...not here "entertaining" some old immortal bored out of his mind who's trying to direct my life" he bitterly says the last part and there was a deafening silence from the said immortal.

Piper just sat there looking at the standing form of a possible/potential (ex-)boyfriend of hers, she brought her knees to her torso and wrap her arms around them as she putted her chin on her knees blinking back her tears, she swore to herself that she never again show any sign of weakness since she decided to go to Rome "I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing me crying because of him..." she could feel anger rose deep inside her, she was angry against the Fates "stupid hoes» she thought of them, against her mother for making her taste a meal she wouldn't eat, for showing a wonderful dream and then brutally walking her out of it but she all those feelings were nothing before how she felt about Hunter "That accursed boy" she spat "not even able to do the right, do I have to scream my lungs out that I love him?" she bitterly said, "Why is it always me, why can't I have the people I like for myself, what in Zeus' name did I do to deserve this?" at the end of her silent exchange she almost broke down but fought against her tears.

She glanced up at Percy from the corner of her eyes and saw for a moment a panic look crossing his face and barely heard him cursed "shit" as he ran to their campsite. She didn't have the time to ask him what was wrong but only saw him taking a hairpin out of his braid ? That she didn't notice on the back of his head "a hairpin?" she thought to herself but Percy was already out of her voice's reach. She quickly stood and run after him with her dagger already in her hand. Before even reaching their campsite she could hear yells, screams and sounds metal noise. Once she got there, she slowed down and registered what she was seeing; there was a dozen of monsters of different kinds: ogres, giants wearing shirts that were way too small for them with big muscles and they looked like terminator in a kid's shirt, there was also snake woman which she didn't remember names.

Thalia was fighting more monsters than she had arms to do so, with her scary looking shield which had Medusa's screaming head on it and from where she stood, Piper could smell ozone and lightening burst out of her spear lighting the dark night and suddenly there was more monsters than she counted thanks to the light. Far on her right she could see Clarisse fighting couple of ogres with her spear by herself and judging by her facial expression you could tell that she was enjoying the challenge even she was running her spear through them, leave it to a child of Ares to enjoy such a thing. Few feet behind her Nico was holding his own against dracaenas by himself with his pure black sword. His always scared her though she never knew why and that since the first time she saw it, his swordsmanship wasn't bad although far bellow Hunter's. For a moment she thought of joining him to help as he looked overwhelmed by the monsters but stopped when she saw him stab his sword on the ground as if there was a monster as he screamed: "SERVE ME" that was the moment she understood how scary and dangerous Nico really was even if he already looked dangerous and gave her a sentiment of uneasiness. Out of the ground, undead soldiers of every great and old country busted out: Romans, Greeks and Napoleon's legions. She almost thought of running out of there screaming out her lungs as a mad girl, she felt as if she was watching some horror movie late in the night as the undead soldiers took on the closest monsters to them. "Maybe I should tell dad about Nico so that he can summon real undead for his next movie" she could see Nico playing the character of the son of the devil or some kind of demon "It took you enough time Death Breath" Thalia screamed at him as she struggled against an ogre that clung on her shield out of fear as if shoving back the scary looking Medusa but as she saw him breathing she didn't look surprised. One of the monsters sneaked behind him to impale him on its spear and an ogre at the same time raised its bulky mace to smack him.

"Noooo, watch out Nico" she screamed at him as she ran to his aid but the damned boy didn't to seem to mind her as he only looked at her as if just taking notice of her presence just like the others and monsters did. She then knew that she was charm speaking as she screamed but Nico stayed still on the dirt and then the earth shook for a moment, Piper expected Gaea's dirt body to bust out of the ground but it only delayed the two monsters behind Nico for a moment but enough for him to come out of her charm-speak and just as the weapons were about to touch him drowned in his own shadow? "WHAT?" she screamed in her mind as she yelped seeing him disappear and suddenly appeared behind them and stabbed them with his sword killing them both "No. the devil himself" she thought. But the way they died didn't seem normal to her and the way Nico looked energized by their death unsettle her. Nico looked at his dead soldiers with a raised eyebrow as if saying why in hell didn't you warn me or better tried to protect me? But they only gave in back a smug smile and a look that said Oh sorry we thought you could handle yourself, aren't you a big boy? Lost in her own thoughts she didn't register monsters sneaking behind her and she only saw the look of panic shadowing Thalia's face to understand her mistake. As she expected a blow on her, she only heard something fast running near the both side of her ears impaling themselves on the monsters behind her. Thalia and her looked at a smiling Arya weaving at her, but unfortunately for the two of them the forgot their own enemies and then a fireball bigger than one for playing basket past behind them at an incredible speed to smack on the monsters behind the two of them leaving a trail of sulfur to end into Nico's dead soldiers and the monsters they had been fighting, "thanks the gods" Piper thought.