Author's Note: Hello Everyone! I'm back finally! Drama Club is finally over and everything went amazing, so that means I'm back to having plenty of free time on my hands, so here's the new update, finally. Originally this was way longer, but then I got to, like, 32 pages and I still wasn't done with the chapter so I decided that I better split it into two parts, but that also means I've already half written the next chapter after this. So, yeah, that's pretty cool. Anywho, in other news, if you guys haven't noticed, I changed my username on Fanfic from Piper-Audrey Freeman to Maisie Ackerman, and that's because a while ago I got a few comments from people about my pen name and how it didn't really sound like a real name, and I couldn't really disagree so I decided it might be time for a new one and I like the name Maisie a lot more than Piper-Audrey. So, you guys can feel free to continue to call me Pipes or whatever you wanna call me, it doesn't matter to me either way. Anyway, I talk a lot about cars in this chapter, for reasons, (you'll see) so if any of this garbage is wrong, just know I'm a 17 year old girl who doesn't have a driver's license and couldn't give to shits about cars, so I don't really know what I'm talking about. I just asked my brother. Also, you'll notice, we somehow went from 42 to 38 chapters, and thats only because I deleted all of the old authors notes that don't matter anymore.

Also, Notice: If you guys see any stars (*) in this story, it's because there's a note at the bottom about something Raven says or does that I couldn't really explain in Jason's perspective, and I don't know if I'm gonna be able to go back and explain it by time I get back to Raven's POV so I'm just explaining it now.

Jason

Jason groaned internally for the millionth time in the last half an hour. He was going to have to finish this quest alone, wasn't he. Yes, he was most definitely going to have finish it alone because he was, like, 90% sure Raven and Octavian had killed each other. It had been an hour since he'd sent Octavian to go find Raven and apologize and he had not seen or heard from either of them since, which was, you know, probably not a good sign.

About forty minutes after Raven had stormed off to go pout, or whatever Raven did when she was angry, Jason had decided he'd better go see how Octavian was doing. And, ya know, smack him upside the head.

"Seriously!?" Jason chided the older Roman in utter disgust and disappointment, "that's what you can flirting? That was pathetic! I didn't think there was an opposite of flirting, but congratulations! You found it! Holy Roman Empire, no wonder she hates you! You have absolutely no idea how to get a girl. Go. Apologize. Now!"

Octavian had tried to argue but Jason wasn't in the mood to hear it, instead the boy had settled for glaring mercilessly at Jason and stalking off like a kicked puppy.

Now, it being an hour later, Jason was pretty sure he had sent Octavian to his death because Jason was pretty sure that even Octavian and Raven couldn't pull off an hour long screaming match without it devolving into a fist fight. And now that Jason thought about it, since Arion ate Octavian's dagger, the augur was unarmed. Unarmed and recovering. Oh boy. Raven have mercy on that poor idiotic boy's soul, Jason thought to himself in a silent prayer.

A little after sending Octavian off to fix the mess he made for himself with Raven, he'd been informed by Camilla that a car was ready and waiting to take the three questors to Florida whenever they were ready to leave. Jason had thanked the Amazon queen and asked her to inform the others if she saw them, before going to load the car and prepare for the rest of their journey. Jason would be lying if he said that he wasn't kind of glad to be leaving the amazon base.

Well, anyway, it had been awhile since Jason had finished loading the car and he was actually starting to get pretty bored waiting his two quest mates to show up but it wasn't like Jason could do much about it. Even if he wanted to continue on without the others, Octavian was the only one in their group that was old enough to drive, not to mention the only one who knew how, so Jason was stuck, staring up at the night sky, right outside the Amazon warehouse's loading dock, the humid night air making him feel sticky.

"Um, excuse me," Jason hadn't even heard anyone walk over but a small voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Startled, he sat up, the muggy texan air making his back stick slightly to the hood of the car.

Jason turned his head in the direction of the voice and was surprised to find one of the younger Amazon girls standing in front of him. She had short black hair and dark eyes and didn't look much older than eleven. She stared at Jason with a mixer of nervousness and determination.

"Is Miss Blouse with you?" She asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, anxiously.

Jason waited a moment before realizing he actually had to reply to the question and shook his head to clear it, giving the girl a small smile "Um, no, sorry. She's having a, uh, talk with our other friend right now. She should be back soon...ish… I hope."

Jason could help but pause. That was the first time Jason had ever referred to Octavian as a friend… and what was even weirder about it was that it didn't really feel wrong, like he thought it should. In fact, it felt almost… normal. Jason hadn't really thought of Octavian as his enemy for a while now and he didn't exactly dislike the guy, but friends..? Jason couldn't help but remember cleaning up the campsite with Raven, and recalled the moment he'd found that small, leather book of prophecies in Octavian's things. The one that now sat in his backpack.

Jason decided that, no, friend wasn't the right word for Octavian. Friends trusted each other and Jason didn't trust Octavian in the least. However, a feeling in the pit of Jason's stomach kept nagging at him, quietly asking whether or not Octavian really deserved his distrust. The obvious answer should have been yes, but still, he couldn't stop the small twinge of guilt he felt in the back of his mind.

"Oh…" the girl said, frowning dejectedly, effectively snapping Jason out of his own thoughts, "Well, alright then, I guess…" The girl turned to leave, but she looked so disappointed that Jason didn't even have time to stop himself before calling out.

"Wait!" Jason said, although he immediately froze. One did not simply command an Amazon to do anything, not even one as small as this. However, the girl only looked at him expectantly and Jason quickly put on his most charming and helpful smile and continued, "You're the girl Raven saved from Arion, right? Willow, was it? Is there something you needed from Raven? Maybe I can help?"

"No, No," the girl shook her head, making her short black hair bounce. Jason noticed that the girl had changed her outfit from earlier. She looked less formal now. She had on a black and red floral print sundress and carried a floppy black cap in her hands. Even her hair looked a bit more ruffled than before. She had a large, navy blue bag, slung over one shoulder and a silver locket around her neck, although the locket was something Jason had noticed her wearing earlier. "I just-… Well, Raven's story. I wanted to know how it ended before she left…"

"Her story?" Jason lifted an eyebrow, "what story?"

"The one with Percy," Willow said, "The one where they were going to get the lightning bolt from P- I mean, Hades… She told us that she and Percy fell off the St. Louis Arch and then she had to stop. I wanted to know how it ended…"

Ooooh, Jason knew that story. Raven had told it to him just the other night. Right before Arion had shown up. They'd stopped though, leaving off just as Raven and her friends had gotten the bolt and escaped the underworld. Just a few hours ago, while waiting for news about Octavian's condition, Jason had attempted to get Raven's mind off things by encouraging her to finish her tale, but the bitter ending had done little to improve her mood. In the end, Raven had realized that Percy was, in fact, falling for her best friend, Annabeth, and had gotten mad at her. In the end, Raven had been left the group, feeling as though she'd never be able to compare to Annabeth and ran away, after which she ended up at Camp Jupiter.

Jason knew it was a complete downer, but, this girl… Willow would only be disappointed when she realized the story had a sad ending and, honestly, how would she even know the difference anyway? It didn't matter if their journey ended with Raven feeling heartbroken, Willow was a little girl, she wanted to hear that the story had a happy ending.

"I know that story," Jason said, without giving it a second thought. He had nothing to do while he was sitting there anyway, "Raven's told me it before. I could tell you how it ends if you like."

Willow looked surprised and then grinned excitedly and nodded, "Please!"

Jason grinned and scooted over on the hood of the car so that Willow had room to sit. She hopped up and once she was settled Jason asked, "So where did you leave off?"

"Percy and Raven both fell off the St. Louis Arch together and Raven said she felt something, but she never said what..." Willow frowned.

Jason nodded, "So Raven and Percy were falling off the arch… Okay…" Jason slowly and carefully continued the story, constructing it as to not disappoint the young Amazon warrior. He felt like a mother telling their child a bedtime story. Jason couldn't help but wonder if his mom ever did this for him. Then he remembered the day she left him at the wolf house and decided the answer was probably no… Maybe Thalia had, Jason thought. He couldn't remember much but from what he did remember Thalia seemed like that kind of big sister... "So Raven and Percy went back to their friends with the good news, and they continued on their journey, although something had changed."

"What changed?" Willow asked, eyes wide in anticipation.

Jason grinned, "Raven fell in love," he teased. Gods, Raven would smacked him so hard if she ever found out about this. He snickered to himself and continued the story. A couple times he'd forgotten what happened next in the story but he simply filled in the blanks with whatever he thought sounded best. By the time he was finishing up, Willow was hanging on Jason's every word as if they were gospel.

When he got to the part of the story where Raven and her friends left Hades and Percy got mad at her, Jason paused. He didn't want to tell her the miserable version of the story's ending, so what was he supposed to tell her instead? Jason thought for a moment before remembering a book his friend, Gwen, had given him last summer. It was a bad romance novel she'd written herself. Gwen was one of the few kids at camp who didn't have dyslexia so it had been written in English, meaning it had been a pain to read, but Jason had powered through it. He still remembered the plot vaguely. It was about demigods and their adventures, but it was mainly a romance between the two main characters, who had these ridiculously stupid names, like Antonio Smoke and Scarlett Stonewater, or something like that. It wasn't exactly something Jason had enjoyed personally but he remembered that the ending had been pretty romantic.

"So, they enter Pluto's chambers," Jason said slowly, "And Pluto, having watched them on their quest, congratulated them on their bravery..."

"Really?" Willow interrupted, looking at him with knit eyebrows, almost unbelieving.

"Uh," Jason said nervously. "Of course. Why would I lie to you? Pluto congratulated them on their success on their quest and decided to enlisted their help. Hades would return Percy's mother and they would find something of his which was also stolen by the same person who stole Jupiter's lightning bolt..."

Willow nodded slowly, seeming to believe him and went back to listening intently.

"So they continued on their quest," Jason continued, "And they went on to find out that Mars had been tricked into taking both Jupiter and Pluto's property, and Percy was challenged to fight him." Now Jason thought to barrow a scene from Gwen's book, making his voice dramatic, "Percy turned to face his enemy, a battle which he would surely lose, but Raven stopped him, begging him not to go, unable to bare the idea of losing her friend and the guy she loved."

Willow breathed out a soft 'Aw' under her breath.

Jason grinned, "Deep down, however, Raven knew this was an enemy Percy had to face, and so she kissed him for good luck and let him go, making him promise to be safe. Percy kissed her back and promised before rushing off to face Mars."

"Yes..!" Willow said, under her breath, "I knew it!"

Jason couldn't help but chuckle, "Yes, so, Percy faced Mars in a long and tough battle. They all thought they would lose and that this would be the end of their quests, but thanks to Percy's power as the son o Neptune and with the help of his friends, they defeated the war god and returned Pluto's things, rescuing Percy's mother!" Jason spread his arms a bit in a dramatic flourish. He was starting to really get into this whole story-telling business.

"And the bolt!?" Willow asked, hurriedly, getting excited as well.

"Well, Pluto was so grateful to Raven and her friends for helping him that, not only did he return Percy's mother, but he took them all to Jupiter himself, right to the grand palace of the gods! They told Jupiter their story and returned his bolt, and were welcomed by the king of the gods with honor." Jason knew he was just kinda making things up at this point because that sounded nothing like his dad, but Jason was starting to enjoy telling his own tale, "Jupiter thanked them for their help and honored them as heroes. He was a gracious and honorable god and recognized the heroes for their bravery. As they left the god's presence, they knew their adventure was complete. They had saved the gods from war and all was well. They all lived happily ever after."

Jason grinned to himself, feeling accomplished. He liked his version of the tale. He knew it wasn't real, but part of him wished it was. The gods ungrateful dismissal of the demigods' bravery and his own father's uncaring nature bothered Jason. In his version, the gods actually cared about the demigods and thanked them for risking their lives. They didn't just ignore them. The questors were satisfied and everyone got a happy ending. It felt right.

"Then what?" Willow asked.

Jason frowned, "What do you mean, then what?"

"If Raven and Percy lived happily ever after, then why is she here? Where's Percy? Why's she with you?" Willow pressed for answer.

"Oh, uh, well after Raven and Percy admitted their feelings for one another and started dating, Percy had to… see to his mother!" Jason improvised, "Since she'd only just returned from the underworld, he couldn't leave her, but Raven had to go because she was following the will of the gods, who lead her to Camp Jupiter because she was destined to help my friend and I on this very important quest we're on. Now, we're rushing to finish this quest quickly so that Raven can return to Percy and continue living happily ever after."

"Wow..." Willow breathed, amazed. She smiled, giggling to herself and sighed happily, laying back on the hood of the car, looking up at the night sky. "She's amazing, isn't she? She's just a normal girl, but she's so powerful! I mean, she's actually independent! She doesn't need anyone to protect her. A monster comes around and she just conquers it!"

Jason remembered Raven's confidence in the face of an angry Nemesis, and how she laughed in the face of those monsters on the train and her reckless bravery when Arion was attacking the warehouse, "Yeah, she's pretty fearless… If nothing else, Raven sure can hold her own in a fight..."

"Do you think..." Willow trailed off.

"What?" Jason asked looking back at the girl.

"Nothing," Willow shook her head dismissively and looked back up at the stars, falling silent once more. There was a long stretch of silence before the Amazon spoke up once more, "Do you think someone like me could be as fearless as her? Do you think I'll ever be powerful enough to hold my own?"

Jason thought about that for a moment and shrugged. He couldn't help but smile up at the night sky and feel optimistic,"I don't think anyone can do Raven quite like Raven, but I do I think that anyone can be a hero as long as they believe in themselves." he said.

Jason gave Willow a smile, which she returned contentedly.

"Grace!" Camilla's voice echoed through the silent night air, disturbing the peace. Jason's head swiftly turned to the side, spotting the Amazon queen approaching. Trailing behind her, Jason was relieved to see Raven and Octavian jogging towards the car, both very much alive and unharmed, much to Jason's surprise. Not that he actually thought they'd kill each other, but his prediction of a fist fight had been a real concern. However, it seemed that both of his quest mates were fine, if not a little red in the face.

"Oh, hey Camilla," Jason said, looking between the three of them, "Raven… Octavian… Did you two talk..? How'd everything go..?"

Jason raised an eyebrow at his two quest mates who only narrowed their eyes and glared at him in return. Jason held up his hands in mock surrender as Octavian made an annoyed noise under his breath and rolled his eyes, "I'm going to load up your car."

For a second, Octavian and Raven just looked at each other with wide eyes, slightly red faces, and their mouths each drawn into a thin line, in what seemed to be the most awkward exchange Jason had ever had the displeasure of witnessing. After what Jason could only assume was a silent argument, Raven shoved her backpack at the older demigod as Octavian grabbed his own stuff and busied himself loading the trunk of the car.

Camilla gave a low whistle, clearly acknowledging the awkwardness just as Jason had, before clearing her throat and looking at Jason, "I thought I'd show them the way and see you three off," She said, pausing only a moment as her eyes landed on Willow, "Miss Blaine, You have a job to be doing right now. Shouldn't you be helping out your friends at this time?"

Willow glowered as she reluctantly sat up, mumbling something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, 'they aren't my friends...' to Jason. However Willow didn't argue as she turned, giving Jason a grateful smile before heading back to the warehouse, twisting her black knit cap tightly in her hands.

Jason watched her go and couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever cross paths with that girl again. The chances were probably not, but Jason liked to think he would. He liked that girl… She was cool.

Jason returned his attention to his group just as Camilla pressed a roll of parchment into Raven's hand and smiled, a soft and gentle smile Jason hadn't seen on the Amazon queen before.

"You will always find friends amongst us Amazons Miss Blouse. We're-... I'm in your debt. It's been an honor to be able to call you an ally and a sister in arms." Camilla smiled again, looking back in the direction Willow had just left in, "You know, without your help, we surely would have lost our young Miss Blaine. It's a service I can never repay. Now, I suppose this is goodbye, so, I wish you luck on your quest and if you are ever in need of assistance do not hesitate to ask."

She patted the roll of paper in Raven's hand and, much to Raven's surprise, gave her a quick kiss on the cheek which caused the younger girl's cheeks to flush deeply. Camilla grinned slyly at her and chuckled before turning and walking away. Jason watched as she approached the building, her shocking red hair being the last thing Jason saw before she disappeared altogether, back into the building.

Jason turned to his teammates with the intent to ask them more about their hour long conversation, but stopped as he caught sight of Raven, staring down at the parchment Camilla had given to her with knit eyebrows, lost in thought.

Raven's eyes widened slightly a moment later, as if something important had just occurred to her. Her eyes shot up to the place where the Amazon queen had just been standing before she disappeared into the dark building. Her eyes seemed to swim with grief and sorrow. Before Jason could say anything, tears were falling down her cheek in rapid flow.

"Raven?" Jason asked, startled, as he placed a hand on her shoulder in confusion and worry, "Raven what's wrong? why are you crying?"

Raven looked back at Jason, her eyebrows drawn together as if she didn't understand the question. Suddenly she looked around, as if she'd forgotten where she was. She quickly lifted her sleeves to her eyes as she wipe away the tears that were now flowing down her cheeks in steady streams. She scrubbed at her cheeks furiously and shook her head.

"Nothing," she said, though her voice sounded as if her throat were closing up, "I'm sorry, it's nothing, I swear, I just remembered something I read. It was sad, I'm sorry. I'm fine."

Jason continued to stare at her, confused and concerned for a moment before Raven let out a quiet sob and blurted out, "I'm sorry, that was a lie. It's just I remembered that something bad is going to happen here and I just- I can't tell you, and- And it's just not fair, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." *(1)

Jason wasn't quite sure he understood but he didn't ask, instead he hesitantly pulled Raven against his chest and hugged her as she sobbed quietly. He could hear her muttering apologies under her breath, though they were muffled by the fabric of his purple, Camp Jupiter t-shirt.

Jason looked over his shoulder at Octavian who was watching them with a surprised look on his face. His eyes drifted between Jason and Raven with growing concerned as his eyes locked on Raven's shaking shoulders. Jason patted Raven's hair softly.

It took a few minutes for Raven to calm down but when she finally stopped sobbing, Jason gently pulled back and smiled at her softly. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy but she wiped off her cheeks and forced a small, watery smile in return.

"You okay?" Jason asked after a beat. Raven took a deep breath and nodded slowly. Jason nodded in return and swallowed thickly, "You wanna talk about it..?" He asked slowly.

"Jason," Raven sniffed, "Please… Just, don't- Don't ask. I can't tell you… I'm sorry."

Jason frowned at that, but decided not to push. He wanted to tell her it was okay, but the words caught in his throat. The truth was he wasn't really okay with it. He wasn't about to force her to tell him anything, but he didn't like that his quest mate, his friend, was keeping secrets from him. But yet again, there was a lot of things Raven hadn't told him about herself. There were a lot of things he didn't know about her…

Luckily, Jason was spared from having to reply when Octavian spoke up, approaching around the front of the car, after having packed the last of their things, "Hey, we should get going soon. We can stop somewhere to sleep in a while but I think we should at least get in a couple of hours of driving if we want to make it to Miami beach in three days..."

Raven moved away from Jason and nodded silently.

Jason gave Octavian a look before flicking his eyes over to Raven briefly and giving a small nod to the passenger's seat. With that, Jason hopped in the backseat before anyone else had the chance to move. Octavian shot him a look, although Jason wasn't sure if it was supposed to be one of anger or thanks. Jason merely grinned in return as Raven took another deep breath to calm herself and climbed into the passenger seat and Octavian took his place at the wheel. As he settled into the driver's seat, Octavian gave a low whistle, running his hands over the steering wheel.

"This is a nice car," Octavian said, "2005 Mustang Convertible. Unused... Man, if I owned one of these..." he gave a low laugh.

Jason raised an eyebrow. He hadn't payed much attention to the car until Octavian had said something, but now that he thought about it, it was a pretty nice car. It was a dark gray car with two doors and black leather seats. It didn't have a top, which Jason was thankful for due to the hot night air of Texas, but he didn't think he'd be too happy about it back in San Francisco, where it seemed to be perpetually cool, even in the summers. Octavian was right about it being unused too, since it seemed new, although Jason wasn't sure how he knew the year.

Octavian started the car and turned around in his seat slightly as he put the car in reverse and Jason could see the small smile on his lips as he continued, "Course I've always wanted a 1995 Chevrolet Corvette zr1. It looks so sweet. Course, my dad already gave me his old car, but it's some kind of SUV, that hasn't run right in years… I wanna fix it up and sell it so I can get something better but I don't know anything about mechanics..."

Jason wasn't exactly sure what to say to that but he wasn't sure it mattered since he thought Octavian was mostly just talking to himself but then Raven piped up from the passenger seat, her voice still a bit hoarse.

"I want a Chevy Impala myself," she said, quietly, smiling to herself, as sharing some kind of inside joke, "A 1967 Chevy Impala." *(2)

"Huh," Octavian said, "Know much about cars?"

Raven laughed -actually laughed- at Octavian's words, "No, no, I tried mechanics once, it did not go well. I'm still not allowed back in the place… I have a friend who's obsessed with his car though. It's a, um, a…-" She snapped her fingers lightly, trying to remember the name, "-An Eclipse, or something like that." *(3)

"A Mitsubishi Eclipse?" Octavian asked, starting down the main road.

Raven nodded, waving her hand slightly in recollection, "Yes! That. A Mitsubishi Eclipse. He's obsessed with it. Doesn't take it out much, though. I think he's afraid if he takes it out some kind of monster will destroy it or something..."

"I would be too," Octavian smiled, "It's a good car..."

Jason leaned back in his seat in complete and utter amazement. Whatever happened in that hour Octavian and Raven had been talking must have really been something because Raven and Octavian were actually sitting there, right in front of him, having a civil conversation. Granted it was tentative and they were obviously making an effort to keep to neutral subjects, but if Jason hadn't known any better, he would have thought they were friends...

Jason leaned back in his seat, the wind feeling like fingers running through his hair. He could still hear Raven and Octavian's conversation continuing in the background, though it was mostly drowned out by the sound of the wind in his ears. Jason closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the headrest, a small smile playing on his lips.

It was about fourteen hours from Houston to Tampa, Florida and Octavian had driven for about five before they stopped to go to make camp for the night at around 2:00 AM. They'd gotten up at 7:00 that morning and started driving, stopping here and there for bathroom breaks and such, so they pulled into Tampa at around 6:00 PM the next day.

The reason they'd stopped in Tampa? Car trouble.

They had just been making their way into Tampa for a food-and-bathroom-break when their Mustang Convertible started making this thump!thump!thump!thump!thump! Noise. Octavian gave a loud groan "Sounds like a flat," he muttered in annoyance as he carefully pulled over and switched on the hazards.

"Do we have a spare?" Raven asked as Octavian opened his door.

Octavian ruffled his pale blonde hair as he shut the driver's side door and groaned, stretching his muscles for the first time in nearly two hours, "Yeah, there's one in the trunk, I saw it when I was packing the car..."

"And you're sure you're capable of changing a tire?" Raven raised an eyebrow and Jason was still in awe to find that the comment wasn't scathing, but playfully teasing instead.

"What? You gonna come out here and show me how it's done, Miss Expert Mechanic?" Octavian raised an eyebrow, leaning his elbows against the car door.

"Oh, hush. Go fix your car, would ya," Raven rolled her eyes and shook her head at him, a smirk on her lips as she flipped the sunglasses resting on her forehead over her eyes. Octavian gave a huffed laugh as he turned to assess the car.

Jason simply couldn't get over it, seeing those two together. It was still a hesitant friendship, but it was surprising to see the two of them joking together like they weren't just trying to rip each other's throats out a day ago, but Jason was glad they were working together at least. Jason had been willing to work with Octavian ever since he found out about his crush on Raven a few days ago and saw his more… sensitive side, but Jason didn't think there was any way to get Raven to tolerate the Roman augur, until now. As it turns out, all they really needed was an hour long talk in an Amazon base and a thousand miles of small talk for them to get this far.

Jason would kill to know what those two had said to each other back at the Amazon base...

However, despite the teasing, it was still hard to tell how far Raven and Octavian had actually gotten. Like Jason had said, it was a hesitant friendship. When they first started their road trip they had a few slip ups here and there, snapping at one another every once in awhile but somewhere along the line they'd settled into this comfortable pattern they had going for them. Ever since their little ceasefire, Octavian had been being careful not to say anything that might upset Raven's temper, and Raven had been keeping her distance, clearly wary of getting too close to Octavian.

Still, it seemed the two had recently upgraded to light teasing, so Jason could only assumed that was a good sign.

"That's weird," Octavian muttered as he opened the car door and settled back into the driver's seat, "No flat… Everything looks normal."

Raven shrugged slightly, "Keep going then?"

"I guess..." Octavian said, though he sounded reluctant.

"Just for a while," Jason compromised, "and if it keeps making that noise we can take it to a mechanic, okay? How much money do we still have from camp?"

Octavian reached into his back pocket and pulled open his wallet. He frowned, "I don't know if we have enough for a mechanic right now if we still want money for food and gas later. Plus we have to think about the drive back..."

"Hold on," Raven cut him off, "Jason toss me my bag, it should be by your feet."

"It's not there..." Jason muttered after reaching down by his feet.

"Other side, then?"

Jason sighed, unclicking his seat belt to lean over to the other side of the car in search of Raven's bag. He leaned over, his hand reaching out to dig around in the pile of trash the group had created on the floor of the car, but before he even touched the first piece of trash, his hand brushed against something soft and smooth, and warm.

Jason withdrew his hand in less than a second and yelped. However the sound that caught his teammate's attention, as well as his own, was the small gasp that sounded from the seat next to Jason. The whole group sat their silently, breaths held, for a long moment, not daring to move.

It was Raven who regained herself first. She pushed her sunglasses back onto her forehead and turned around to face the empty seat next to Jason with a determined look on her face. She reached out a hand and moved it up and down slightly, as if aiming it. Then, after a moment she reached forward, slowly, before jumping slightly and gasping, her hand stilling in the air as if she'd touched something invisible. But that was impossible, right? Carefully, Raven drifted her hand upwards, feeling around with a hard look on her face until she seemed to feel what she was looking for. Quickly, she formed a tight fist with her hand and yanked her hand away.

It happened in less than a second. One moment, the spot next to Jason was empty, but as soon as Raven pulled her hand back, a figure materialized, causing all three demigods to jump in surprise. Jason's eyes were wide as he stared at the figure in front of him, taking in the short dark curls and pale ivory skin of the girl in the car next to him, dressed in a black and red sundress. In Raven's hand, Jason could see her clutching a black knit cap in her fist.

"Willow..?" Jason was the first to speak, his voice creaking in surprise, which would have usually embarrass him, but at the moment everyone was way too surprised to comment. The younger Amazon girl looked between the three older demigods with wide, fearful eyes, unable to find the words to speak.

Raven looked annoyed as she examined the cap, "Invisibility cap..." she muttered, "You snuck into the car while Camilla was talking to us, you little stowaway!"

Willow quickly found her voice again, "I did not! I snuck into the car while you were crying on Jason!"

Raven's face flared red, "What does that matter!? Ugh, now we have to call Camilla and wait for her to come get you! We don't have time for this, especially not if we need a mechanic! We have to be in Miami day after tomorrow!"

"What!? No! You can't call Camilla!" Willow suddenly yelped, bolting up in her seat, "I came to help on your quest."

"Yeah right, how's a -what, ten year old?- going to help us on our quest?" Octavian scoffed, glaring at Willow from the driver's seat.

"Eleven!" Willow pouted.

"Fine, how's an eleven year old going to help us on our quest?" Octavian rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I'd like to point out I'm only a year older," Jason said quietly.

"Who cares!?" Octavian threw up his hands, "I'm not going to have some little pipsqueak tagging along on my quest!"

"Our quest," Raven snapped at him, warning.

"Ugh! Whatever, can someone just call the Amazons already so we can go already!?" Octavian said in frustration. Raven folded her arms in annoyance and glared at him.

"No! You can't call Camilla!" Willow interrupted, sounding near desperate now, "I'm not going back to them! You can't make me! I-I'll leave!" She stuttered out, "I'll be gone before they get here if you call them. Please, I can help. I can be a hero, too, just like you guys."

"'You can be a hero?' Oh please," Octavian rolled his eyes, "Who's been feeding you that kind of bullshit? Honestly..."

Jason felt his heart sink and his face flush as he realized the answer to that question. Apparently Willow realized it too because her hand immediately shot up, a finger pointing accusingly at Jason. Jason gave each of his quest mates a slightly guilty look as the silence stretched between them.

After a moment, Octavian groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Of course." He muttered.

"Listen, Willow," Raven said, shooting Jason a disapproving look, "I don't know what Jason's been telling you exactly, but this quest is way too dangerous for you. If there's a fight, the three of us are going to have enough trouble protecting ourselves without having to worry about protecting you, too. I'm sorry, you're just too inexperienced..."

"No!" Willow argued, "I-I can hold my own in a fight! I'm an Amazon. I have training!"

"Yeah," Octavian scoffed, "More like an Amazon in training."

"Please!" Willow begged, "I wanna be an independent demigod, like you, Raven! I can hold my own in a fight, I promise. I'm going to prove myself to the gods! They'll honor me like a hero! Then I'll fall in love and live happily ever after, just like you did on your first quest!"

Oh Jupiter help me… Jason swallowed thickly as he locked eyes with Raven. With a shiver, he watched as she narrowed her eyes dangerously at him. He could swear he saw one of her eyes twitch with anger.

"Willow," Raven said, forcing her voice to be calm as she spoke through clenched teeth. "Did Jason happen to tell you the end of my story while you were talking?"

"Yeah," Willow nodded enthusiastically, staring up at Raven in awe, "It was amazing! I knew you and Percy fell in love, I just knew it! It was so romantic..."

"Yeah, yeah, very," Raven grit out, "Jason may I talk to you for a moment, in private."

"I'd rather not," Jason near squeaked, his voice cracking again (stupid puberty...)

"Sucks that you don't have a choice then," Raven hissed, "Out of the car, now."

Jason and Raven had only just ducked behind a clump of dead-looking foliage when Raven's open palm made contact with the back on Jason's skull. Jason grabbed the back of his head and yelped in pain. For such a small girl, Raven sure packed a punch. His head was throbbing.

"What exactly made you decide to finish my story?" Raven hissed angry, "Or, better yet, what exactly possessed you to change it? I told you the ending to that story, what exactly made you think it was a good idea to try and rewrite it?"

"I-I don't know," Jason stuttered, his stomach knotting uncomfortably. He hadn't meant for Raven to get mad at him… He hadn't exactly meant for her to find out either… "I-I just wanted to give it a happier ending, ya know..?"

Raven pressed her lips into a thin line for a long while at that, "Okay… Maybe I do get that… But still! *(4) This girl now needs a heavy duty reality check because of you! No one's going to honor her like a hero! I stopped the gods from starting an all out civil war and they didn't give two shits about me!"

"Well, yeah, but, I just..." Jason trailed off. wanted to pretend for a little while… his brain helpfully supplied, didn't want to admit the truth to myself...

"And honestly!" Raven continued, her face completely red now, "How dare you, I mean, how dare you tell her that Percy and I fell in love! Even if it was true, that is none of her business and it most definitely is not your place to go around saying telling people that."

"It was only a joke..." Jason tried to protest, "you never minded before..."

Raven growled in frustration, "Yes, Jason, I never got upset about it before because I try really hard not to let it get to me! If I got upset every time I remembered that Percy doesn't love me, I'd be completely useless because I think about him constantly and you don't help! Gods, I get that, to you, it's this cute little joke but, to me, it's just another stupid reminder of what I can never have!"

Jason couldn't help the feeling of guilt that flooded his chest at those words. He hadn't meant to upset Raven like this… He had only been teasing. Was getting your heartbroken really that bad? Jason had never been in love before… He'd never even liked anyone, let alone loved, so he couldn't imagine what Raven was going through. He hadn't realized how hurt she'd been by this Percy guy. Cautiously he trying to comfort her, stammering out, "You don't know that it's never going-"

"That it's never going to happen!?" Raven cut him off. "Actually, Jason, yes I do! I know for a fact that Percy will never love me the way I love him. It's never going to happen, Jason, ever. It's never going to happen, It never should happen, and it may hurt like hell, but in order to protect the fate of everyone I love, it can't happen. Percy has to fall in love with Annabeth, do you understand? So stop with all the boyfriend jokes because they aren't freakin' funny anymore!"

Raven shoved Jason out of her way and stormed off, making her way back over to the car.

Jason continued to stand there, stunned into silence. He was… a complete and total idiot… He should have thought about it earlier. Of course Raven didn't find it funny when he teased her for liking Percy. He should have known it bothered her. Ugh, he hadn't even gotten a chance to apologize before she walked off… He-… He had to make it up to her somehow… He had no idea how, but he had to. He'd been a complete moron and caused this whole mess with Willow and now he needed to fix it.

Jason took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose lightly, before straightening himself and making his way back to the car, rubbing the back of his head where Raven had hit him. It still hurt…

As he approached the car, Jason could hear Raven and Willow arguing.

"Ugh, Willow, you can't come with us," Jason heard Raven saying, "I know what Jason said, but the truth is life as a demigod is not a fairytale. Especially not for an independent demigod. A quest won't solve all your problems. You'll be safe with the Amazons."

"I know that!" Willow argued, raising her voice. Her dark eyes flickered dangerously with passion as she locked eyes with Raven and spoke with conviction, "I know it's not a fairytale! I was an independent before I was an Amazon! I never even wanted to join them in the first place! I only did it because they said they could protect me but it's like walking a stupid tightrope! If you slip up, even a little, suddenly you're not good enough for them anymore! They want you to be perfect and I'm just so done with it all! I don't wanna be protected anymore! I want a new life, where I can be my own hero! I'm done with being afraid, I wanna fight!"

Silence hung heavy in the air as the other three demigods absorbed that. No of them had expected anything quite that passionate to come from such a small girl, but it felt as though Willow had poured all her frustrations into every word. It even shocked Raven into silence, although she regained herself shortly after.

"Octavian, start the car, we have ourselves a fourth teammate now I guess," Raven said suddenly, turning away from Willow and climbing into the passenger's seat. *(5)

"Come on! You can't be serious!?" Octavian cried, staring at her in shock. Raven turned to him sharply with an ice-cold glare that shut him up immediately, "Annnd, You're serious..."

Willow was staring at the back of Raven's head in shock, looking as though she might just burst out into tears, "Thank you..." she whispered, just loud enough to be heard, "Thank you so much… Thank you..."

Octavian grumbled unhappily under his breath, looking even more pissed off than usual but started the car anyway, "Get in, Grace," He snapped, "Cameron will be pissed if she finds out that I left the son of Jupiter all the way back in Florida for being slow as shit."

Jason got in the car.

1.) If you remember, in Chapter 28, Raven says "It really made Raven wonder what made [Camilla] step down so Hylla could take over. She remembered reading something about that in the books but she couldn't remember..." Raven starts crying in this chapter because she just remembered what she read in the books about how the new queen of the Amazons is decided. A literal fight to the death. Raven just realized that that if Hylla is Queen of the Amazons by the Son of Neptune, that means at some point she challenged Camilla to a fight to the death and killed her. Raven is devastated by this, not only because she's grown attached to Camilla but because this is the first time she's actually had to stand by and let someone die so that the fate of the books aren't compromised and she feels incredible guilty because of it.

2.) She's making a stupid Supernatural reference because she's trash.

3.) Raven's talking about Luke, who owns his own car but insists on driving the Camp Half-Blood van everywhere because he doesn't want it to get totaled. Both Octavian and Luke are nerds about cars.

4.) Raven's finding it hard to get mad at Jason for wanting to change a sad story to make it happier because that's literally what she's been doing, magically, for the past year. Irony.

5.) Raven suddenly decides to let Willow come along because she understands what Willow's going through and that this is something Willow has to do. Raven knows what it's like to live in a place where your expected to be perfect and your looked down upon for messing up just a little because that's what how her family and school was towards her, especially since she wasn't all that smart and was failing most of her classes due to her lack of an attention span. Raven knows what it's like to feel like you're always relaying on others to protect you because she always relayed on Kelly to support her and knows how useless that can make you feel. Raven knows she wouldn't have the friends and life she does now, which (for the most part) is everything she's ever wanted, if she hadn't taken a chance and made her wish for a new life where she could be a hero, so she isn't about to deny Willow that same chance to get everything she's ever wanted.