CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX: Just My Luck

There are three things everybody does alone. They are born, they die, and if they are lucky enough to have an education, they take final exams. And whilst the tests were supposed to bring out their best traits, preparing for it bought out their worst. Stress, anxiety, less sleep, grouchiness and overall unhappiness. And everybody revised differently.

Humility became self-doubt. Jason was known for this. He was sat in his and Reyna's room at the desk, surrounded with books and quitting at least once an hour for a coffee break and five minutes of positive thinking.

Striving became obsession. This was more Annabeth's forte. She liked revision cards with questions on one side and answers on the back, although she often got snappy and mean when whoever was helping her didn't hold the card up fast enough.

Some are driven to self-medication. Reyna was always known for her coffee addiction, so on her fifth cup of the night, she was still sat in bed buried under piles of paper and ripping books when she was too stressed to handle them with care.

And anyone who's known for bending the rules will find themselves breaking them. This was Percy. When he found himself falling behind, Percy was not a stranger to finding the old cheat sheets and even pickpocketing people's notes.

But most cling to the security of being part of a group.

They all sat around a table in the courtyard of the main building, books scattered across the table and often yelling at each other to move their stuff. They occasionally looked up to make eye contact and give each other reassuring nods.

"Shit, I'm out of coffee," Reyna announced at one point.

"Same," Percy said.

Annabeth picked up her take-away cup and weighed it. "I made the last coffee round," she said, disappointed by how little she had left.

"It's Percy's turn," Jason informed the rest of the table.

Percy grumbled at he finished off a sentence he was writing. There was a tiny coffee shop just around the corner that they took turns going to. Everybody paid him for their share and he threw their old cups in the bin as he left. They had long since memorized each other's regular orders. Annabeth watched him go before turning to Jason and Reyna, who seemed to be sharing some very informative eye contact.

Annabeth had been in a relationship good enough to know that communication could be shared through eye contact, and Reyna seemed to be trying to get Jason to do something. "I think I'll go and grab that other sociology book from upstairs," she mused, getting to her feet and jogging off.

Annabeth turned to Jason, confused. "What's happening?"

Jason sighed. "I've been meaning to talk to you," he said. "I've wanted to apologise."

Annabeth's eyebrows scrunched together, confused. "What for?" Then she looked disbelieving. "Last time you apologised to me it was because you were going to take my phone charger and not give it back. Are you planning something equally diabolical?"

He sniggered. "No. I just… I feel like I've been ungrateful. This whole rabbit's foot thing. Just because I enjoy the luck, does not mean that I don't trust you, and I'm not grateful. I am. And I've decided to consider it part of my luck to have a friend who's trying to save me."

Annabeth paused. "Did you lose the foot?"

"No, it's right here," Jason said, pulling it out of his pocket to prove that he wasn't just saying that because he lost it. "And Reyna didn't make me say this. She just strongly encouraged me."

Annabeth laughed. "Well, I would cash in your lottery tickets soon," she mused. "I have a new lead. This person might be able to tell us how to break the curse-"

"Hi!" said a cheery voice near them. There was a bubbly woman in a red polo shirt, holding a collection of four coffees in her hands. She had a black bob cut and a bright smile and she spoke with too much optimism. "Percy told me to give these to you. He's taking a quick detour to your apartment."

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked, making room for the coffees to be put down.

"I'm a friend from one of his lectures," she answered, smiling. "You must be the girlfriend Annabeth. He never shuts up about you." She leaned heavily over Jason as she put the coffees down and Annabeth suspected the girl was flirting with him. Shortly after she bounced off, looking very pleased with herself.

"She isn't pleasant," Annabeth decided.

Jason nodded in agreement. He picked up his coffee but he slipped, and the boiling hot water spilt all down his front. He jumped up in pain, but bumped into some old professor who was carrying a huge stack of paper, which fell from his hands and scattered around the nearby ground. Jason turned to Annabeth, apologising to the man.

Annabeth just looked shocked and mildly horrified. "What the hell was lucky about that?!" she exclaimed.

Jason paused, his face falling. He reached into his jacket and pulled the pocket out, but no foot was to be found. Annabeth jumped to her feet, looking around the courtyard for Percy's 'friend', and got a glimpse of her leaving. "Come on!" she exclaimed. Her and Jason raced towards her as fast as possible.

The only made it a few meters before Jason tripped up, falling so hard that Annabeth had to stop in her tracks to make sure he was okay. "Wow," she muttered, looking down at him. "You suck!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

The hours after that were frantic. Carl had only survived maybe two hours before his death. Jason had… well, none of them knew, so they had to act incredibly quickly. "Reyna, you get Jason to a safe house and keep him safe," Annabeth instructed. "Percy, I'm going to text you the address of one of my leads. I'm going to find Jim; I have a few questions."

Reyna took Jason's hand and lead him away from their courtyard. Annabeth packed up all of Jason's revision, afraid it would fly away or destroy itself if Jason touched it. As soon as Jason and Reyna were slightly isolated, Reyna got her phone out.

"Hazel, it's me," she said into it. "Look, I have a favour." She turned away from Jason for a second as Hazel asked what she could do. "Jason needs a safe house. I know all of New Rome is supposedly safe, but we all know there are loopholes. Not in the praetor homes. Those houses are probably the safest places in San Francisco."

"You want to stay at my place for a while?" Hazel asked.

"You won't even notice we're there, I promise," Reyna said.

Hazel almost laughed. "You guys are always welcome! Come on over, you can have the guest room." Reyna thanked her before hanging up the phone. She turned back to Jason, after taking her eyes off him for less than a minute.

Her face fell. He was messy and dishevelled, like he'd lost a fight with a bear, his hair looked like it hadn't been brushed for months and he had grime on his face. He looked really sad about something. "What happened?!" Reyna asked.

Jason paused, speaking with a great level of sadness. "I lost my shoe." Reyna looked down to his feet, where he was missing a shoe. He was standing next to a drain, so she assumed the shoe was down there.

She sent a silent prayer to the Gods before leading him back to a house that used to be hers. It did not take her long to realise they were being watched. She led Jason behind her as she looked around for the source. They were just arriving at Hazel's house when Reyna's phone rang.

"Annabeth, what's up?" Reyna asked.

"A freaking jailbreak, that's what's up," Annabeth answered. "Jim is out and he's after Jason, naturally. He blames him for Carl's death, because Jason picked up the foot… whatever. Look, with Jason's luck, he'll get himself killed, so just be on alert."

"Shit," Reyna whispered. She pushed Jason inside the house and Hazel smiled at them. She offered them a drink – which Jason spilled.

"What's going on?" Hazel asked.

Reyna paused. "It's complicated," she said. "Everything's going to be fine, just don't worry. Thanks for letting us stay here. Jason just has… some really damn bad luck." Just as she said that she heard a crash from behind them and figured Jason fell to the ground in a heap with Hazel's lamp. "Jason? You good?"

There was a pause. "Yeah, I'm good," he croaked.

Hazel nodded, looking suspicious. "Okay, well I have a Senate Meeting to get to," she mused. "Are you guys going to be good here?"

Reyna nodded. "We'll be fine. Thanks so much for letting us stay here!" Hazel left and Jason sat down on the couch. The house used to belong to Reyna, so she couldn't help but grumble about the little things. Where Hazel put the armchair, which draw she kept the spoons in, the new choice in curtains. She didn't like it.

After a while there was a third phone call and Reyna sighed. "Seriously, I have never met a group of needier people," she grumbled, answering the call. "Yes, what is it?" She kept her eyes on Jason while she was on the phone.

"Hey," Percy said. "I need your help."

"I can't take my eyes off Jason," Reyna said, watching him as he fiddled with and dropped a precious antique. She wacked him on the arm as she hid the remains. "He's already lost his shoe and he looks like he got caught in a thunderstorm. Things are getting worse and worse!"

"What happened to his shoe?"

"I don't know," Reyna exclaimed. "He just doesn't have it anymore! What do you need help with?"

She heard Percy sigh. "I found the place," he said. "Big mansion a little while away from New Rome. There's a black wig in the bin, so this is the chick who stole the foot. Annabeth thinks she was the person Carl and Jim were working for."

Reyna paled. "Crap, it's probably Ivy," she grumbled.

"Ivy?" Percy asked.

Reyna shrugged. "Her real name's Vivian or something, but her fake name is Ivy," she explained. "The poisonous kind. Every praetor knows Ivy. She's the biggest nuisance this city has!"

"Is she a Demigod?" Percy asked.

"She couldn't be further from it," Reyna said. "And if she was, we wouldn't except her into this camp. She's a mortal, one of the ones who can see through the Mist. Like your friend Rachel. Except Ivy's manipulative. She uses the God world to her advantage in the black market. She makes money off us and always seems to be one step ahead of the game."

"Well I need help," Percy said. Reyna stopped Jason from breaking a bone as he almost fell off the couch. "This place is big and she has security guards. I need someone to help me sneak into the back."

"Ask Annabeth," Reyna said. "I can't leave Jason!"

"I did ask Annabeth," Percy said. "She said she's one step closer to a solution and she's going to see Jason now."

"Ask Nico," Reyna suggested. "Hazel and Frank are at a Senate Meeting-"

"And Nico's in New York," Percy said.

Reyna paused. "Ask Camille! You guys are friends, right?"

Percy sighed. "Yes, Camille and I are somewhat friends. But it's a lot easier to sneak into a guarded mansion when you're not eight months pregnant!"

Oh yeah. "Percy, answer me honestly," Reyna said. "Do you need me to come straight away? Is this honestly your last resort?"

"Yes!" Percy exclaimed. "Annabeth's going to be there in a second anyway! Just get your butt over here!"

Reyna sighed before saying fine. She hung up the phone and turned to Jason, pulling her sternest face. "You will not move off that couch," she said. "Sit there and do nothing. Don't stand, don't talk, to turn on the light, don't turn off the light. Don't even scratch your nose. Annabeth will be here any second."

"Reyna, I will survive a couple minutes alone," Jason promised. "I'm fine."

Reyna nodded, not confident at all as she jogged out the door.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Reyna found Percy, he was in a bush, a little way away from the highway surround New Rome and Camp Jupiter. She knelt down and hid next to him from a couple of security guards outside of a tall black gate. That lead to a large courtyard with freshly cut grass and a large collections of flowers. There was a large, modern mansion with walls made out of windows and panels of dark wood.

"Is this Ivy's place?" Percy asked as Reyna joined him. She was braiding her hair, preparing for some practical work as he spoke. She just shrugged. "You don't know?" he asked. "If this woman is as dangerous as you seem to think she is-"

"She's not dangerous," Reyna interrupted. "She's just cocky and in way over her head. And I've never actually been to her place before. I've sent people to meet her in public places whenever business needed to be done. Or she would just sneak into camp and barge into Senate Meetings." She grumbled angrily, as if dealing with Ivy had been an incredible strain in the past.

Percy sighed. "Okay, so as far as I can tell, there's a back gate. Two more guards are there, as well as two pacing the East and West sides. That's one on each side. There's a butler that answers the door, and I'm almost positive there's more staff in the house. This chick is loaded."

"There won't be more staff," Reyna said. "Ivy's smarter than that. The more people who arrive, the more dangerous her situation becomes. I would say the butler is almost done for the day and nobody else is home. Except Ivy." Almost a minute after they saw the butler's car backing out of the drive. "So do you have a plan?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm thinking basic attack and distract," Percy mused. "These are mortals after all, they aren't smart enough to expect better. I'll go up and distract the first couple of guards. Cause a scene so they call the East and West patrollers round to help." Reyna nodded and Percy was surprised that she agreed. "Then I'll take them all out and climb over the gate."

Then Reyna looked confused. "I thought I was going to sneak in while you attack?"

"I'm getting there," Percy said. "After I get over the gate, the two guards at the back entrance will come running to stop me. Then you sneak in through the back and enter the house. Find Ivy, and then I'm trusting you to do the actual day-saving."

Reyna pouted. "Okay."

"Okay?"

Reyna nodded. "It's a good plan. One snag, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. How are you going to try and get past the guards?"

Percy grinned. "The good old fashioned way." Five minutes later he was dressed in a red polo shirt and cap with a logo on it. He held a hot pizza box in his hands and Reyna was behind the bushed, dragging an unconscious Pizza Man into a hiding spot.

"Fancy place," Percy observed to the two guards as he walked up to the gate. "Wonder why someone so rich is getting such a cheap pizza." The guards stopped him in his tracks. One of them moved to the intercom.

"Miss Fitz, there's a Pizza Man here for you," the guard said. Ivy Fitz. Unique.

There was a pause before a woman spoke over the intercom, audibly sighing. "I am currently the owner of a top company, in possession of three holiday homes, seven of the most powerful cars in the world, a bathroom I can play baseball in. I have a limitless credit card. My life is the life of people's dreams. If I wanted pizza, I wouldn't order it from peasants."

Percy almost laughed. "Some people say that money can't buy happiness," he said, optimistically. "But it can buy pizza, so those people clearly don't know what they're talking about. That'll be $57."

One of the guards narrowed his eyes. "For a pizza? Really?"

Percy shrugged. "It was a long walk here."

"She didn't order the pizza," the second guard said. "Off you go."

Percy pretended to look confused. "Yes she did. Or one of her staff members did. Basically, I just walked up some big ass hills to get here and it's freezing. Pay me and I better get a big tip."

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the property," the first guard said, clearly. Obviously his interest in the pizza price had faded and he remembered he had a job to do. Possibly involving ass-kicking.

"And I'm going to have to ask for my well-earned money," Percy contradicted. "Besides, I'm not even on the property. I'm outside the front gate. Now that'll be $57 not including tip."

"Sir," the second guard said, beginning to get angry. "Don't force us to call the authorities."

That. That was Percy's que to start making a scene. He grabbed the front of the second guard's shirt and shoved him against the gate. "I want my money!" he demanded. The first guard left into action. He pulled out a baton, like police officers used sometimes in prison riots. He aimed it at Percy, who caught it before it hit him. He pushed it back so it hit the guard in his stomach before twisting it up to hit him in the face.

The second guard tackled Percy to the ground, but he rolled over and punched the guard in the ribs, making him short for breath.

He jumped to his feet but instantly ducked, his instincts taking over. The baton flew over his head and Percy turned back to the first guard. When he took another swing Percy grabbed the baton, ignoring the flashing pain in his hands at the contact. He swung the bat around so forcefully it shook the guard off who fell to the floor.

Before he could get up, the second guard got to his feet. Percy used the baton to trip him up and used it to knock the second guard out in the most painless way he knew. To be fair they were only doing their jobs. But their jobs could possibly cost Jason his life, and Percy had his priorities in check.

The first guard got to his feet and grabbed the weapon. There was a small struggle for power, and when Percy realised he would lose, he threw the baton far away from him so the guard couldn't use it either.

Percy shoved the guard as hard as he could until he fell into the gate. Percy then grabbed a handful of his hair and banged his head against the black metal, watching him fall to the floor, unconscious.

He only had a second to enjoy his victory before two more guards ran at him from either sides, pausing when they noticed the unconscious bodies. "Hello boys," Percy greeted. "Pleasure, etcetera." He cracked his neck and his knuckles. "Should we begin? I could go all day."

Meanwhile, Reyna's part of the plan was going like clockwork. She climbed up the metal railing near the side, the post being abandoned so the guard could fight Percy. She landed on her feet on the other side and started walking towards the building, attempting a look of nonchalance. She noticed Percy in the middle of a fight and she considered running over to help him. But when she saw him judo-flip someone, she shrugged. He was pretty good at this whole 'fighting' thing. She remembered when Annabeth judo-flipped him and laughed to herself.

Reyna found a side door and tried her luck. Locked.

She wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to break into a house and not bring something to pick a lock with. Anybody would think the extra braid across her hairline was for decoration, but she pulled the clip out and pushed it into the lock. She looked around quickly before pushing the door open and stepping inside.

She was in a very fancy kitchen. Everything looked automatic and lit up with very bright lights. There was a hairless cat on the work top and Reyna glared at it as it hissed at her. She paused, wondering whether or not she was supposed to be looking for a safe when she heard a click.

"Stop right where you are," said a British accent behind her. Reyna turned to see a woman, a little older than she was, in a black pencil dress and light blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore a mischievous grin and had dark eyes.

"You're going to give it back," Reyna told her.

"Sweetie," the woman laughed, condescendingly. "No I'm not."

"We'll see," Reyna mused. "I'm guessing you're Vivian?"

She smirked. "Please, Reyna. Call me Ivy."

Reyna rolled her eyes. "You know the thing is cursed, right?" She looked the woman over, wondering if she had it on her. She didn't. It wasn't anywhere in the kitchen either.

Ivy shrugged. "You'd be surprised to know how much some people will pay for something like that."

"Oh, really?"

"There's a whole market out there," Ivy said. "Millions to be made." Then she smirked. "You Demigods, with all your weapons and your armour, tablets and amulets. You use them to stop the big bad monsters. Any one of them could put your children's children through college."

"So you know the truth?" Reyna asked, not being able to stop herself from judging. "Everything that's going on out there, you know about it, and this is what you decide to do with it? You become a thief?"

Ivy looked defensive. "I procure unique items for select buyers," she said.

Reyna almost laughed. "Yeah, and because of it, my boyfriend will be dead within a week, so hand that thing over."

Ivy did laugh at that point. "It's a shame you won't be with him for his final moments." She pulled a gun out from behind her and pointed it at Reyna, smiling.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Don't even scratch your nose," had been the last thing Reyna said before she left. When she said that Jason felt the itch on his nose and waited until she left to scratch it. He didn't need to get yelled at for disobeying orders.

He didn't feel unlucky. Sure, he was a mess and he missed his shoe, but he didn't feel like he was going to die any second. Hazel's house was too quiet and peaceful. He remembered that living room. Him and Reyna once built a pillow fort in there when they were thirteen. It had been great.

He wondered when Annabeth was going to arrive. He had been sat down for a full two minutes, which was surprisingly long when you were literally doing nothing. Nothing bad could happen when he did nothing. Right? He thought wrong.

Of course he did.

He was simply looking at the radiator when it began smoking and making funny noises. "Wha-" Jason grumbled. "Come on!" He paused before getting up and walking to it. He would rather fix it and burn himself than let it explode. Except after touching it for a second it caught on fire, with his trousers. "Damn it!" Jason exclaimed.

He used the curtain to try and put the fire out and it worked. But he also got tangled up in the curtain and fell to the floor, ripping the fabric off its railings and hitting his head, knocking himself out, exposing him to the window that Reyna had insisted he kept covered.

Now he knew why. Because outside was Jim, the prison breaker, who was wondering where the hell Jason was and how he could find him. And Jason had revealed himself in a big flaming curtain before passing out. Just his luck.

"Well that was easy," Jim smirked. By the time Annabeth got there, Jason was missing.

A/N: REMINDER: Instead of Gossip Girl, this last dilemma is going to be based off of my favourite episode of Supernatural.

Asteria Daughter of Koios: Awe that warmed my heart! Literally, I blushed reading that and grinned like an idiot. I was thinking about doing a series of one-shots following this story, so it may not be completely over. Thank you so much for writing that last review it meant so much!

Europeowl1209: I forgot to reply to your last review. You're so kind! I'm an aspiring author as well, so I use fanfic as practise, you know? Cool Metaphor. If I do that sequel series of one-shots I would like to bring Emeraude back in to guest star for a while, yes. There isn't much time in this fanfiction to fit her in, but if I continue it as one-shots then no, we haven't seen the last of her.

ALL OF YOU: You have been some truly amazing readers! All of your reviews (positive or critical) have meant so much and everyone who favourited or followed has made my day. This story is coming to an end. BUT: The last chapter's going to be laid out a little differently. So I ask you: What were your favourite scenes? Your favourite lines of dialogue or not dialogue? The tiniest scenes or the major scenes? This is kinda important to write the last chapter, so please! As many scenes as possible. PLEASE PLEASE let me know!

I love you all, and please review! Until next time, -Izzy