what you think, and what you really want

by valdezzzzz

in which Piper is the new teacher, Jason stays true to his word, and Percy wears sweater vests. A Jasper fic, with some (a lot of) side Percabeth/Frazel. Teacher!AU

Coming at you with a Jasper (and some side percabeth) fic. I know a lot of people don't like Jason and Piper's characters for some reason. Something about them not having any depth or being useless or whatever. I personally really liked their characters and thought their story was unique in its own way. I feel like they went against what would've been a cliché of sorts if Jason had ended up with Reyna. So ya… plus Jason and Reyna are pretty much the exact same person, so they wouldn't have balanced each other out as a couple like Jason and Piper do.

So not too long ago I started reading the Trials of Apollo series. I got all the way up to the Burning Maze and then I couldn't go any further, not because I don't like the books or the series in general. I'll have a rant at the end of this story explaining everything. Warning though, it has SPOILERS for TOA, especially for The Burning Maze.

Nevertheless, reading TOA reminded me how much I loved the PJO/HOO books so I went and reread all of them. This got me back into fanfiction so here I am.

I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Rick does. I also do not own Pop-tarts

PIPER POV

As soon as Piper saw the sign indicating she had arrived at her destination, she regretted ever agreeing to take this job. Then again, it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She was fluent in three languages not including English, and yet this was the only teaching job she was able to find this side of the continental United States. It wasn't exactly her dream job that's for sure, teaching Foreign Language to high school kids in some Podunk town in the middle of nowhere. For a split second, Piper considering forgetting everything, turning around and hightailing it back to California. She could live off of her dad's vast fortune until she was able to find a job more her style, more… dignifying. She quickly shook these thoughts out of her head. She had been determined to make it on her own, without any help from her dad or his money. She still grimaced though, as she drove past the sign.

Welcome to New Rome: We hope you enjoy your stay!

Population - 178

From what Piper could tell, the residents of New Rome lived in one of two places: either in some house out on the edges of town, or in the only apartment building in town. Piper obviously couldn't afford a house at the moment, so she took her chances with an apartment. The building itself wasn't terrible. It was only three stories, with a single elevator on either end of the building. Piper was not a fan of the gaudy purple stucco exterior and decided she would rather stick a cleaver in her eye than to stare at the outside for the too long. But other than having a need for a serious paint job and some work on a couple sketchy elevators, the building was homely and welcoming.

Her apartment was small, consisting of a small living room, an even smaller kitchen, and a single bedroom with a private bathroom. The walls were painted a soft eggshell white, very generic, but at least they weren't purple. Overall, the apartment felt cozy and quaint. It was home for now.

It didn't take long for Piper to unpack. She was removing the Tupperware from the last box and placing it in her kitchen cabinets when she heard a knock on the door. Quickly placing the last of the plastic dishes in the cabinets, she walked briskly over to the door and opened it to reveal young, pretty woman, maybe only a year or two younger than Piper. The girl was a couple inches shorter than Piper, had dark skin, frizzy golden hair, and beautiful brown eyes that radiated kindness. She sported a shy, yet welcoming smile.

"Hi. I live a couple doors down, and I saw you moving in when I got back just few minutes ago. I haven't seen you around here before so I assumed you must be new to town. So I figured I would come over and introduce myself."

She reached out to shake Piper's hand.

"My name's Hazel, by the way. Hazel Levesque. Sorry I probably should have started with that."

Piper smiled and shook her hand. "Piper Mclean, it's nice to meet you."

"Piper." Hazel repeated. "That's a pretty name. Very unique."

"I try." Piper said with sarcastic smugness.

Hazel laughed. "So where are you from? And what brings you to our fine little town?"

"California… Los Angeles to be exact. I moved here because I'm starting a new job as a teacher at the high school."

Hazel's face lit up at this. "High school? As in New Rome High School?"

Piper wanted to say something sarcastic like "No, the other high school that doesn't exist because this town is only the next level up from a ghost town." But she decided she liked Hazel and didn't want to risk losing her as a potential friend.

"That's the one," She replied.

Hazel let out a tiny squeal and shuffled on her feet. It was somewhat adorable.

"I'm a teacher there too!" she exclaimed. "I teach social studies. Oh, this is amazing. We've been needing some new blood for a while now. The other teachers are going to be thrilled!"

Piper was taken aback by her sudden outburst but quickly recovered.

"Really? What's it like? The school I mean?"

"Honestly, it's pretty much what you'd expect for a town as small as this. There's about seventy or eighty kids in the entire school, and just six teachers… well, seven now that you're here."

"That's it?" Piper asked.

"Yup," Replied Hazel. "Most of the people in this town are old, having grown up here themselves and never moved away. And I bet you can imagine how hard it is to get teachers to want to move out here."

She gave Piper a knowing smirk.

Hazel continued, "New Rome is pretty much your standard, middle-of-nowhere, small town. Everyone knows just about everyone, and the only thing to do on the weekends is Friday night football."

"Sounds exciting," Piper said, not meaning for it sound as sarcastic as it did, but fortunately Hazel just chuckled.

"So, what do you teach?" Hazel asked.

"Foreign Language?" Piper said it as if she wasn't completely sure herself.

That's cool," Hazel replied with genuine interest. "How many languages can you speak?"

"Three. French, Spanish, and Greek."

Hazel was looking at her curiously. Sensing her oncoming question, Piper continued.

"My mother is from France; I spent a good portion of my childhood with her before going to live with my dad at the beginning of middle school. I took Spanish in high school and was able to pick that up pretty easily. I decided I like learning new languages, so I went to college for a language degree. That was where I learned to speak Greek as well."

"Why Greek?" Hazel asked.

Piper shrugged, "I wanted a challenge."

Hazel seemed to accept this answer wholeheartedly.

"Well, I won't bother you any longer. Just so you know, I'm going up to the school tomorrow to set up my classroom before the kids arrive next week. If you want to come with me, I'd love to show you around the school, introduce you to the other teachers, maybe help you get settled into your classroom?"

Piper smiled widely at the invitation.

"I'd love that. Thank you, Hazel. And please, you're not a bother at all. I'm just glad I've already made a friend."

Hazel beamed at her as she waved goodbye.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow morning then."

LINE BREAK

Piper woke up earlier than she normally did. She knew first impressions were a big deal in the professional world, and she wanted to make sure she was somewhat presentable when she met her fellow teachers. Piper wasn't one to dress up or to put a lot of effort into her looks. If anything, she did exactly the opposite. She knew she was pretty, as she'd had more than her fair share of offers from modeling agencies as a teenager.

Her looks didn't diminish at all as she got older. Looking into her bathroom mirror, she figured she had taken on more of a "mature" beauty. Her choppy brown hair was straightened out, lacking the usual side braid and feather she typically sported to honor her Cherokee heritage. Also unusual was her wardrobe. Instead of the tattered jeans and oversized sweaters she typically wore, she was dressed in a simple cream-colored blouse, with slightly faded skinny jeans, complete with a brownish-orange cardigan. Nothing crazy and over the top. Simple, yet elegant. Piper figured it gave her somewhat of a "teacher" look.

LINE BREAK

Piper met Hazel in the parking lot reserved for the school faculty. The school itself consisted of a single building, not big at all by most high school standards, but big enough for the small number of students and faculty who would be arriving the next day. Piper scanned her surroundings. She saw the football field that was across the street, with enough seating for a couple hundred people. She guessed the entire town would come out on Friday nights since they had nothing better to do. She also saw another structure protruding from the main building that looked an awful lot like a gymnasium. There was a big purple banner hanging from the side of the gymnasium, with gold letters written across it. Piper squinted.

Welcome back students! Go Praetors!

Piper turned to Hazel.

"The New Rome Praetors?"

Hazel laughed, "Don't look at me. I didn't choose the mascot."

Piper just shook her head.

"What? Hazel asked sarcastically, "You mean to tell me that as an opposing team, you wouldn't be intimidated when you went to play the Fighting Praetors?" She made sure to put emphasis on the words fighting praetors.

"Honey, I think YOU are more intimidating than the Fighting Praetors."

Hazel feigned being hurt. "Hey, I can be scary and intimidating sometimes."

"It's true," a new voice called out, "You should see her during football games. Or when she's playing Uno."

The girls turned to see large, muscular man walking towards them. He was built like a linebacker, with short, dark hair that resembled a military cut, and deep, brown eyes. He had a small tattoo on his forearm, crossed spears, it looked like something one might get if you were in the army. Piper noticed however, despite his almost warlike appearance, his face was extremely kind, it almost made him cuddly… almost.

Hazel beamed at the man approaching them.

"Hey Frank, this is my friend Piper. She's the new language teacher."

Frank was in front of them now, and he turned to give Piper a genuine smile.

"Frank Zhang," He said while shaking her hand, "Nice to meet you Piper."

Frank then turned to Hazel and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Even with her dark skin, you could see that she was blushing a deep red. Piper smirked at Hazel's adorable awkwardness. She then noticed that Frank was blushing slightly as well, not as much as Hazel, but it was clear that these two had not been together for very long. They were still getting comfortable with the idea of showing affection to one another in public.

"So, how long have you two lovebirds been going at it?" Piper asked.

Frank laughed, but he was blushing as much as Hazel was now. "We've been dating for about a month and a half now… I think."

"You think?" Hazel looked at him with one eyebrow raised, as if to say choose your next words carefully.

Panic covered Frank's face. He began to stutter.

"I-I mean… um… no, wait yes… uh."

This continued for a bit before Hazel decided to have mercy on Frank and started giggling. Piper smiled at the interaction. It was a strange sight to see, a small, shy girl like Hazel turning the looming linebacker, who stood a whole foot taller than her, into a stuttering mess.

Hazel turned back to Piper.

"Frank is the PE teacher here, as well as the head coach for the football team."

"Go Praetors," Frank said cheerfully.

Piper and Hazel looked at each other and simulated gagging.

Frank narrowed his eyes at each of them, before simply shaking his head and chuckling. He grabbed Hazel's hand and gestured for Piper to follow, as they made their way towards the school.

LINE BREAK

The principal's office resembled something closer to a sport's bar than a principal's office. Three large flatscreen TV's lined the walls, one on each side and one next to the front door. Each one had a different sports channel on, showcasing some random highlights from last nights baseball matchups. The office was covered in New England Patriots and Denver Nuggets memorabilia. An odd combination, Piper thought. In the middle of the room sat a large desk, covered in more memorabilia, plus what was most likely some school related documents. Behind the desk sat a fat, dark-haired man probably in his late fifties, wearing a multicolored button-down shirt that looked like a toddler had used it to take up abstract painting. Out of the corner of her eye, Piper noticed what looked an awful lot like a mini beer fridge tucked in the back of the office behind a bookshelf.

"So, Miss Piper," The principal started without even looking up, "I trust you have found our little town sufficient to your liking so far?"

Piper got the feeling this guy wanted her to tickle his ear, not give him an actual opinion.

"Uh, yes. I've found it very… quaint."

The principal seemed to accept this answer.

"Very good. I suppose you should go prepare your classroom for the horde of brats that is about to descend upon this school like barbarians at the sacking of Rome. No pun intended."

Oh, great Piper thought, a principal who doesn't like kids.

The man continued, "You can call me Mr. D or Principal D, nothing else mind you."

He grabbed a nameplate from the top drawer of his desk and handed it to Piper. She looked down to read it.

Miss Mclean

"Your classroom is at the far end of the hall, across from Mr. Grace's."

Piper stood there staring at nameplate in her hand, only looking back up when she heard Mr. D clear his throat.

"You are excused," He spat, giving her a shushing motion with both hands.

As Piper exited the office, she saw Hazel and Frank conversing off to the side. When they saw her, they smiled and gestured for her to walk over.

"So, how'd it go with Mr. D?" Hazel asked. "Has he threatened you with an invitation to come see his collection of vintage fish posters yet?

Piper laughed and shook her head. "No, but I get the feeling he isn't the most fun guy to work for."

This drew a small but nervous chuckle out of Frank.

"He's an interesting character. I'm assuming you saw the beer fridge?"

Piper nodded.

"We're also pretty sure he has a gambling addiction. He's not that bad if you can manage to stay out his way and not cause him to have to do anything that actually pertains to his job title. The hardest part is keeping the kids from bothering him, especially since he hates kids."

Piper had to ask, "So why did he become a principal if he hates kids so much?"

"Rumor has it that Mr. D used to be on the city council and was in very good graces with the mayor. He was probably on his way to becoming mayor himself, until it was discovered he had had an affair with another member of the city council's wife. As punishment, the mayor forced him to become principal here at New Rome High."

Frank paused for a few seconds after finishing his story. He then hastily added "That's just a rumor though, no one knows for certain what happened."

Hazel took over from there.

"He's scary enough that the kids here tend to behave for fear of being sent to his office, so it could be worse. Last time we had a major incident with any of the students was the Fish Taco Firebombing disaster."

Frank shuddered. "Those Stoll brothers, ugh. The whole school smelled like rotting fish for weeks. I'm still not convinced Leo didn't encourage them or help them at all."

"Just like you're not convinced Percy wasn't the one who blew up the plumbing in the boy's bathroom?" Hazel countered.

Frank just shrugged, then he turned back to Piper.

"Where's your classroom?"

Piper relayed to them what she had been told by Mr. D.

Hazel nodded and grabbed her arm.

"C'mon then Mclean, we'll show you to your classroom and hopefully introduce you to the rest of the teachers."

LINE BREAK

Piper never thought she'd find sweater vests attractive, but this guy (Hazel said his name was Percy) actually pulled it off quite well. The first classroom they had stopped by belonged to a tall, raven-haired man with some of the most unique eyes Piper had ever seen. And Piper knew a lot about unique eyes, her own eyes were said to be like kaleidoscopes, always changing color. Percy's eyes, however, were sea green, and appeared to swirl about like the ocean. He greeted Piper with a smile that made her think this guy was probably quite the troublemaker in his younger days. He wore dark jeans, a white, long-sleeve shirt, topped with a blue, argyle sweater vest. Piper didn't know how, but he managed to make it look endearing in a somewhat dorky way. Despite the look, Piper could tell that Percy was an athlete.

As if sensing her thoughts, Hazel whispered in her ear, "Don't let the sweater vest fool you, Percy is quite the athlete. He was a swimmer in college, and a pretty good one too. How this guy came to teach biology and English here, no one knows."

Percy must have still heard her, as he shot Hazel a playful smirk.

"I resent the first part of that statement. This happens to be my favorite one, my mother gave it to me for Christmas a few years ago."

Hazel returned the smirk. "Sure, it also has nothing to do with the fact that it's also Annabeth's favorite sweater vest."

Percy rolled his eyes, but Piper could see the blush threatening to overcome him. Percy reached out to shake Piper's hand.

"Nice to meet you," he started, "I'm…"

"PERSEUS JACKSON."

A loud shout echoed from the hallway outside the classroom. Frank winced.

"Speak of the devil."

Hazel slapped Frank's arm.

The door flew open to reveal a tall, blonde woman who looked like she could go multiple rounds with a TI-84 calculator and come out on top every time. She radiated intelligence. Her thick-rimmed glasses did little to cover up her stormy grey eyes, they merely completed the hot nerd look.

The girl stormed over to where Percy was standing.

"Did you take my graphic pencil set? You know I only use those for my architecture drawings!"

Percy tried his best to look innocent. "Uh… no?"

The blonde girl didn't buy it and glared even harder at him.

Percy finally cracked. "I thought they were just regular pencils, ok? For some reason I couldn't find any pencils in my entire classroom, and so I went to see if you had an extra. How was I supposed to know they were your fancy drawing pencils?"

The girl continued to glare at Percy, before finally shaking her head.

"Honestly Perce, how are you 26 years old and still losing anything and everything?"

With that, she turned to walk out of the room, giving Piper a small smile as she passed. The girl stopped at the door and turned to point at Percy.

"You owe me a new set of drawing pencils."

And with that, she left. Percy just chuckled and went to sit back at his desk.

Piper turned to Hazel and asked, "Are they dating or something?"

"Ha! Yeah, you would think."

Piper looked at her curiously. Hazel took this as her cue to explain.

"They've been doing this back and forth banter thing since I got here two years ago. Everyone knows they like each other. Heck, even their students know they like each other. They're both either too stubborn to see it, or they're just content to stay single and flirting with each other till they die."

As the trio turned to leave, Hazel called back to Percy, "Hey, is Jason back yet?"

Percy replied without looking up, "No, he's getting back tonight. Apparently, his sister flipped a cop off and got detained for a few hours."

LINE BREAK

As it turns out, the terrorizing blonde tornado from earlier had a name.

"Annabeth," Hazel said as she walked into the classroom, "This is Piper Mclean, our new Foreign Language teacher."

Annabeth looked up from her desk, and gave Piper a surprisingly cheerful smile, considering her precious drawing pencils had been looted recently. Annabeth stood up and made her way over to where Piper was standing next to Hazel and Frank.

"Annabeth Chase," she said, "I'm the math teacher here. It's a pleasure to meet you. Sorry you had to see that spectacle earlier, but don't worry, I don't treat all of my coworkers like that."

Annabeth laughed at the relieved look that must have appeared on Piper's face.

She was dressed extremely professional, with a grey pencil skirt, and a white blouse. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, with a few curly strands falling to the sides of her face. Piper guessed Annabeth was no-nonsense type, almost the complete opposite of herself… or Percy. But she also had an extremely kind demeanor about her, and exuded confidence. Piper decided she liked this girl.

LINE BREAK

Piper liked Leo even more. When they first walked in, the guy was scrunched over table with goggles on, trying to solder some electrical connections for a circuit board he was making for his personal project, a robotic dog he aptly named Festus. The guy was an engineering genius it seemed, as he taught most of science classes except for biology, which Percy taught. He had more attitude and sass than should've been able to fit in his scrawny frame. Piper got along with him splendidly and figured it wouldn't be long before they were casual best friends.

After chatting with Leo a bit, Hazel and Frank led Piper to what would be her own classroom, pointing out their respective classrooms (Frank pointed out the gymnasium) along the way.

"Across the hall from you is Jason's room," Hazel spoke. "He teaches History, but he also fills in for some of Percy's English classes. Unfortunately, he's not here right now since he went on vacation with his sister and their dad. But you'll meet him tomorrow at some point for sure. Now c'mon, we have to show you the spot where all the cool kids go to hangout."

Apparently, it doesn't take much to be a cool kid. All you have to do is a be a teacher. Hazel had led Piper to a room just down the hall from Mr. D's office, and on the door was a sign that said Teacher's Lounge. Piper was hoping for something resembled an actual lounge, or at least looked comfortable enough to allow for "lounging". She tried to not let her disappointment show on her face. The room wasn't much bigger than Mr. D's office. It had a single table with three chairs spaced evenly around it, a small fridge over beside the counter, an ancient looking couch that looked like it would serve better on a bonfire, and a rickety old vending machine in the corner.

Despite its obvious lacking of any lounge-ness, Hazel showed it to Piper with some apparent pride. Supposedly, this is where the teachers would hang during their minimal spare time, and it held a lot of memories, according to both Hazel and Frank. Piper couldn't help but smile.

It was at this point that Frank and Hazel said their goodbyes and strode off, hand in hand. Piper went to finish setting up her classroom, though she had this odd feeling in her stomach. For some reason, she was… excited to begin teaching tomorrow. She kept glancing at her nameplate that was resting on her desk. Miss Mclean. She kept whispering this to herself as she began to unpack.

LINE BREAK

Piper thought she was going to be the first one at the school. She knew she had gotten there quite early compared to when the other teachers were most likely to show up, so she was a little surprised to see two other cars already in the faculty parking lot. I bet one of those cars is Annabeth's,Piper thought to herself, as she shouldered her large, vintage bucket bag, and walked towards the school.

After dumping her bag in her classroom, Piper headed towards the teacher's lounge to get some coffee. Coffee wasn't Piper's first choice for a morning beverage, she usually tried to avoid any drinks with an excessive amount of caffeine. But she figured if she was going to be a teacher, caffeine was going to have to become her friend. She was just about to enter the lounge when Annabeth came out of said room, nursing a steaming mug in between her hands. The smell of coffee made Piper perk up immediately, and she flashed Annabeth a smile.

"Good morning Miss Chase," Piper almost sang.

Annabeth took a deep sip of her coffee before giving Piper a gentle grin.

"Morning Miss Mclean," Annabeth sounded almost as cheery. "Good luck on your first day."

"Thanks, hopefully I'll make it through with no disasters. Some coffee would help for sure."

Annabeth nodded in agreement.

"Pro-tip, if Leo is here in the mornings, get him to make your coffee. For some reason, whenever he makes it, it comes out like ten times better than when any of the rest of us make it. It's like he has magic in his hands when it comes to that coffee maker."

With that Annabeth took off down the hall, her heels clacking against the tile floor. Piper turned to enter the breakroom. She walked over to the shelf above the cabinet to retrieve a mug, and then made her way over to the coffeemaker. By the looks of it, this coffeemaker might be older than Piper was. Better than nothing Piper said to herself, as she tried not to think of the Keurig her dad always used to make coffee, and how effortless it looked. She put a filter in the top of the machine, then grabbed some coffee grounds from the tin can sitting on the counter. After making sure there was enough water, Piper hit the power button. Nothing happened. She hit it again, still nothing. She tried unplugging the power chord and plugging it back in. She hit the button, preparing to be disappointed, and yet, still disappointed when the coffeemaker just sat there, not making coffee. Piper seriously hoped the students were not going to be as difficult as this stupid coffeemaker.

"You have to tap it."

Piper shrieked and whirled around. It's a good thing the machine hadn't been working, otherwise she'd be wearing her freshly made coffee instead of drinking it. She found the owner of the startling voice occupying the table, sitting in the chair on the opposite side of her, so that he was facing towards Piper. He held a coffee mug in his right hand, and a book in his left.

"How long have you been here?" Piper asked accusingly, although she already knew the answer.

"Longer than you have," the man replied.

"And you couldn't say something sooner? Instead you decided to give me a heart attack?"

The man donned an apologetic look. "Right… sorry, my bad. I was just… distracted."

"Distracted? By what?"

"Never mind," the man replied quickly, and stood to make his way over to the troublesome coffeemaker. "You have to tap it twice on the bottom here. Not once, not three times, two times exactly." He demonstrated for her, tapping the coffeemaker twice and as he simultaneously pressed the power button. The coffeemaker roared to life. The man turned to give Piper a bashful smile, and it was at this point Piper got a really good look at him.

He was tall, maybe an inch taller than Percy. Piper couldn't help but notice the top of her head would fit right under his chin. He had short blonde hair, only a bit longer than Frank's, and blue eyes that seemed to sparkle with electricity. Piper thought they were the most incredible pair of eyes she had ever seen, even more so than Percy's. Something else caught Piper's eye. The man had a small scar, just above his lip on the left side of his face. He must've noticed Piper staring at it, as he chuckled and pointed to it.

"Lost a battle with a stapler when I was a toddler."

Piper gave him a curious yet amused look.

"What, were you trying to eat it or something?"

"Yes," the man replied without hesitation. Piper laughed.

The man took this opportunity to reach out his hand. "I'm Jason. Jason Grace. You must be the new teacher. Piper, correct?"

Piper shook his hand. "That's me."

"Well it's good to meet you Piper. Annabeth was telling me about you not a few minutes before she left."

"Hopefully, it was all good things."

"I would say so." He gave Piper a playful smile.

Piper felt a small blush creeping up on her face. Thankfully, at that very moment the coffeemaker gave off a whirring sound, signaling it was done. As Piper went over to grab her mug, Jason headed back to his seat at the table. As Piper mixed some creamer into her coffee, she looked over at Jason. He had picked his book back up and was seemingly engrossed in it. That is, until he looked up and caught Piper's gaze. He gave Piper a small smile, silently inviting her to join him at the table, as he set his book down, marking his spot with a piece of folded paper.

"So, what are you reading?" Piper asked as she sat in the chair opposite him. Jason's eyes lit up at her question and he lifted his book to show her the cover.

The History of the Native American

"School reading?" Piper asked. Jason shook his head.

"Just fun reading, I guess."

Piper smiled at him, tilting her head as if asking him to explain. Jason obliged.

"First off, I want to say, I don't spend all of my spare time reading. It's just something I do when I want to relax a bit. As far as the book goes, I don't know. I just kind of gravitate towards the more historical novels you know. I've found them to be the most interesting."

"So, you're a history buff? Makes sense." Piper said teasingly.

"A history teacher being interested in history, who would've imagined?"

Piper snorted, causing Jason to grin cheekily. She regained her composure and asked, "What part are you on?"

"Currently reading about the Trail of Tears." He replied. Piper's eyes darkened, and she looked down at the mug between her hands.

"Ah," was all that came out. Jason stared at her blankly, then his expression changed, as if he realized something else was going on. The electricity in his eyes seemed to dull, and he regarded her if with analyzing look, trying to figure out what was going through her head.

"I'm guessing that story hits closer to home with you than it does with most people."

Dang Piper thought, he figured her out quick.

"My dad is Cherokee; he grew up on a reservation in Oklahoma before moving to California a few years before I was born. That's where he met my mom."

"I see," Jason said thoughtfully. "And your mom? Is she from California?"

Piper shook her head. "France actually, she's an actress. She was in California shooting a movie, and that's how she met my dad. She actually helped him land his first acting role."

"I'm guessing she's the reason you're fluent in French?"

"Yeah, after my parents divorced my mom took me to live with her in France. I stayed there until I was old enough to start middle school, then I moved back to California to live with my dad."

Jason remained silent for a bit. Then he finally spoke, "I'm sorry to hear about your parents divorce, I can imagine that must've not been easy for you, especially at such a young age."

"Eh, they both agreed it was for the best. They were so caught up in their careers that they never really had time for each other… or me."

Jason nodded his head in understanding. Piper could see in his eyes just how much understanding he seemed to really have towards her situation.

"So… your last name is Mclean right?"

Piper groaned internally at Jason's question; she already knew where this was going.

"Your dad wouldn't happen to be Tristan Mclean would it?"

Piper nodded.

"And your mom," he continued, "Aphrodite Olympia right?"

Piper nodded again.

"Cool," was all Jason said, as he took a long sip of his coffee. "So, I noticed you like a lot of creamer in your coffee."

Piper was grateful that Jason was able to learn her big "secret" and just roll with it. Most people when they found out Piper was the daughter of not one, but two famous people, would immediately start to treat her as if she was some sort of royalty. It doesn't sound like a bad thing, but eventually you get tired of people wanting to be around you or be friends with you just because of your parentage. Nothing is genuine, no one wants to know how your day went, or what your favorite pop tart flavor is. (The correct answer is Strawberry. Brown Cinnamon Sugar can go to hades for all Piper cares.) Everything is so fake, a façade people try to put up, saying "hey, look at me, I'm friends with Piper Mclean." Piper was more than glad to leave that all behind.

Which is why she was so thankful to Jason for treating her like a normal human being, and not freaking out at the discovery of her parentage. She only hoped the other teachers would react the same way, because they would undoubtedly find out eventually as well.

She was brought out of her reverie by Jason waving his hand in front of her face.

"Oh, sorry," she said suddenly remembering Jason's question. "I've never really been much of a coffee drinker. I figured now's as good a time to start as any."

Jason laughed, "Yeah, teaching will do that to you."

Piper noticed Jason's coffee; it was extremely dark.

"You drink your coffee black?" she asked.

"Yeah, apparently I'm the only person here who likes it that way. I was kind of hoping you would be on 'Team Creamer is for Losers'."

Piper snorted at this. "Well, sorry to disappoint."

"Ah, well. At least you aren't 'Team Espresso'. Last thing we need is someone encouraging Leo to drink more espresso that he already does."

Lots of things about Leo suddenly started to make sense for Piper.

"I knew I liked him for a reason," she said teasingly.

Jason rolled his eyes, but a soft grin settled on his face as he stared down at his coffee. There was a comfortable silence, only slightly awkward, but it felt… electric at the same time.

Finally, Piper spoke. "Please don't tell my students."

Jason looked up at her, a confused expression on his face.

"About whom my parents are," Piper continued, "I expect the other teachers will figure it soon enough, but I would really prefer to keep this away from the students if at all possible."

Jason nodded, and then stared blankly out the window.

"Annabeth will probably have it figured by the end of the day," he said. "Percy won't figure out it unless someone tells him, he may be a teacher but there are times you wouldn't believe it." At this Jason's lips curved up ever so slightly, his voice was filled with amusement. Piper guessed him and Percy were pretty close.

He continued, "Leo and Frank will figure it out in a week or two, once they find out you are part Cherokee. And Hazel probably hasn't even heard of your parents before, she's kind of an old soul. Nevertheless, even when they do, I'm sure it won't change anything about the way they see you. They like you as you are, whether your parents are famous or not."

Jason gave Piper a reassuring smile as he said this, and Piper could see the faint traces of a blush appearing on his face.

"As for the students," His face became ever slightly more serious, "My guess is they won't be able to figure it out as long as no one starts spreading anything. Luckily for you, you don't look too much like either one of your parents."

Piper smiled at this. "Yeah, my dad always told me I looked more like my Grandpa Tom than himself."

"Well there you go," Jason said, "And I'm sure the other teachers won't say anything if you ask them not to."

Piper gave Jason a grateful smile. She then realized something.

"well, now that you know my whole life story, I feel like you owe me some stories of your own."

Jason looked like he was about to say something, but before he could even get a word out, Leo burst into the room.

"Red Alert!" Leo screamed. "The kids are here!"

He sprinted out of the room, obviously he'd already had his morning espresso. Jason gave Piper a look that said talk more later. Piper nodded, and they went to put away their mugs, as students began to pour into the school.

LINE BREAK

It wasn't until Thursday that Piper learned that Percy was, in all actuality, a child.

Piper walked into the breakroom to find Jason, Leo, Frank, and Hazel already there. Jason and Leo were sitting at the table, discussing what appeared to be a situation involving Percy's pet goldfish, and tic tacs. Frank and Hazel were seated together on the couch, listening to Leo ramble on about how his chemistry students somehow "mistook" tic tacs for fish food. Upon seeing Piper enter however, they all gave her a friendly smile. Leo had an especially goofy grin, which caused Piper to roll her eyes. She and Leo had bonded immensely in the first few days of the semester. Piper already considered him her best friend amongst the group. Jason wasn't lying about his coffeemaking skills either, the dude was a magician.

Piper grabbed her lunch from the fridge and sat down in the single open chair at the table. Jason shot her a kindly look, as Leo continued his story about his deranged chemistry students. Jason's predictions so far had been spot on. Annabeth had figured out who Piper's parents were by the 6th period of the first day. She had a lightbulb moment when she heard one of her geometry students discussing their outfit of the day. Apparently, the girl was wearing a cardigan she bought specifically because she saw Aphrodite modeling it on the cover of Vogue.

Annabeth didn't tell Piper she knew, she figured Piper didn't want anyone to know. Piper only thwarted Annabeth's feigned ignorance when she caught the blonde watching a YouTube documentary on the discrepancies of Native Americans being portrayed by Hollywood. Annabeth reassured Piper she wasn't going to tell anyone, even though Piper already knew she could trust the girl.

Leo found out the next day, when Piper decided to wear her hair like she normally wore it. Loose and choppy, with a couple side braids, and a single feather tied into one of those braids. Leo was a lot less subtle about it, but he promised not to say anything too.

"I always knew you were the daughter of a practical goddess Piper," he had said, referring to Aphrodite. "Don't think this means I'm going to give you any special treatment though. You're still going to have to ask me NICELY to make your coffee." Piper had smacked his arm, but she was grinning widely still. She decided to ignore the fact that the guy thought her mother was a "goddess", lest it make things weird.

Frank and Hazel hadn't found out yet, But Piper recalled some advice she had received from Jason.

"Maybe you should just tell them all at once, that way you can get it off your chest without having to worry about when the next person is going to find out."

As if sensing her hesitation, Jason added on, "I promise they're not going to tell anyone, and they're not going to treat you differently because of it." Piper decided he was probably right, and she trusted him.

Leo had just finished up his story, and Frank and Hazel were now in their own little discussion on the couch. Judging by both of their blushes, Piper assumed they were planning their next date night. She had a sixth sense about these things, blame it on her mom. It was at this point the door to the breakroom slammed open, and the two remaining teachers walked in.

"Gods, Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed, as she walked into the room obviously very flustered. A smug looking Percy followed behind her.

Jason chuckled, "Either of you want to tell us what's going?"

Percy and Annabeth glared at each other, seeming to have a silent argument that no one else could interpret. Finally, Annabeth relented.

"Percy here," she made a general gesture towards the raven-haired nuisance, "was accusing me of only watching documentaries and educational movies and shows, claiming that I have never watched a normal movie in my life."

"Well, have you?" Percy asked with a cheeky grin.

Annabeth chose to ignore him. "And so, I asked him if he ever watched anything educational or if all of his movies were mindless action and violence."

Everyone turned to look at Percy, waiting to hear how he had replied.

"What? Of course, I've seen some educational movies," he defended himself.

"Finding Nemo does not count as an educational movie!" Annabeth did everything but scream in his face.

"Yes, it is! Think about it."

Percy and Annabeth were now facing each other, with all the others chuckling at the spectacle, ready for them to duke it out.

"First off," Percy started, "It covers biology obviously, I mean, they literally spend like ten minutes of the movie inside a whale. Second, it covers a foreign language."

Piper scoffed at this. Annabeth look at Percy confused, until realization dawned on her face.

"You cannot be serious! You're really going to say that the…"

"Yup," Percy interrupted. "The whale counts. Dory was speaking whale, which, in the context of the movie, counts as a foreign language."

Piper thought Leo was going to die from laughing. Percy continued his persuasive speech.

"It also includes some Reading Comprehension. Like when Dory was reading the address off the mask."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Only you would find that level of reading educational, Seaweed Brain. And here I was thinking you were an English teacher."

Percy grinned at the mention of his pet name. Oh yes, Percy and Annabeth even had cute nicknames for each other, that they and only themselves could use. Percy was Seaweed Brain, which if you can't figure out why then that's your problem. Percy referred to Annabeth as Wise Girl. Apparently, Annabeth was even smarter than Piper originally thought. She had originally wanted to be an architect, with a dream of designing something permanent, like the Parthenon or the Eiffel Tower. That dream had changed however, when she joined Mr. Brunner's class, who she affectionately referred to as "Chiron". The professor had had such an impact on her, that she decided she wanted to become a teacher instead. She still graduated with a degree in architecture but took the first teaching job she could find. Piper thought she was incredibly overqualified.

"Yeah, well. You're still a wise girl." Percy stuck out his tongue like a seven-year-old.

"Yeah, two years later and that comeback STILL sucks," Annabeth countered, returning the facial gesture.

Everyone else in the room shared a look. Like why don't those two just get it over with and kiss already? Piper was seriously having to restrain herself from 'cooing' whenever they used their nicknames. Leo was still snickering, but he eventually pulled himself together enough to throw a question at Percy.

"So, Percy, are we still on for game night?"

Percy nodded. "Yes sir, bring your best pair of losing pants because it's my week this week." Percy turned and pointed at Piper. "That means you too, Mclean."

Piper gave him a confused look. Jason leaned over.

"We," at this he gestured to everyone in the room," have game nights at Percy's place every Saturday. What he means to say is that you're invited."

"We know you have nothing better to do," Annabeth added in teasingly.

Piper smiled widely. "I'll be there." She had forgotten all about telling the rest of the group her secret.

Annabeth smiled back, and then turned to Percy. "So, what's the plan? Am I stealing all your money again in Poker?"

"Oh no," Percy quipped, "This week we're playing on my turf. We're playing Uno."

LINE BREAK

As Piper drove towards the outskirts of New Rome, she surveyed the scene that lay before her. She had yet to see this particular part of the town, as she had only seen the outskirts momentarily when she first came to New Rome a week ago. Now that she wasn't looking to judge and hate every little detail she could find worth hating, she was able to take in so much more. To put it simply, it was breathtaking. Once she drove past the water tower, which marked the edge of town, the landscape opened up into what seemed to be rolling hills, covered in grass and late, summer-blooming flowers that still had some beauty to show off. Large oak trees that seemed ancient and ageless, dotted the hills and the side of the road. Piper smiled as she obeyed her GPS and turned off onto a small gravel road.

There were already several cars parked in front of the house, it seemed the only person who hadn't arrived yet was Jason. The house was something else though. It wasn't big, as a matter of fact, it was actually kind of small. A single-story, colonial-style house painted white with light blue accents on the doors and windowpanes, and a covered porch that wrapped all the way around. Piper thought it was the best house (at least from the outside) that she had ever seen, even more so than the mansions she was surrounded by back in Los Angeles.

She was now making her way up the porch steps to stand in front of the door. She looked down at the doormat under her feet.

Hi, I'm Mat

Piper rolled her eyes; Percy would have a doormat with a pun on it. She was just about to knock on the door, when she heard the sounds of a car coming down the driveway. She turned to see what she recognized as Jason's car pulling up and parking behind her own. The man himself got out and shot her a grin, before grabbing something from the trunk of his car, and then making his way towards her. Piper couldn't quite tell what was in the shopping bag he had in his hand, so she asked.

"What's in the bag?"

Jason put the bag behind his back, so as to hid it from her.

"Nothing you need to know about right now, you will find out soon enough."

Piper wanted to protest, but Jason had already moved forward to knock on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal Leo, who beheld them with a cheeky grin.

"Sup, mis amigos?"

They followed Leo into the house. It was clean and furnished somewhat nicely, but you could definitely tell its resident was single and thought that sweater vests were a spectacular fashion statement.

"Grace!" they heard Percy call from what must have been the kitchen, "Did you get the stuff?"

Jason smiled knowingly at Piper and gestured for her to follow. They walked through the foyer, and into the living room, which was separated from the kitchen by only a granite counter. Piper thought it was a nice, open concept. Percy was behind said counter, with a small hand towel thrown over his shoulder, engaged in what appeared to be the cutting of some potatoes. He set down the knife and looked up to regard the newest arrivals.

"Well, Grace?"

Jason nodded and stuck his hand into the shopping bag, bringing out what looked an awful lot like a box of cereal. Piper narrowed her eyes at him in confusion.

"That's what you couldn't show me? A box of corn flakes?"

Jason shrugged. "Percy makes a potato casserole that is to die for, his secret ingredient is corn flakes. He just so happened to be out of them, so I made a quick pit stop, thereby practically saving his butt."

Percy scoffed, muttering something under his breathe. Piper could only make out a few words like "he's lucky" and "secret" and then what sounded like a girl's name. Reyna.

Piper decided to ignore it. The rest of the group was sitting around the living room, waiting for word on when dinner would be ready. Hazel stood to give Piper a hug, as did Annabeth, who then pulled her into a conversation with Leo about the theoretical flaws of some futuristic, sci-fi movie involving time travel. Needless to say, Piper didn't really follow along.

It's not long before godly smells start to waft in from the kitchen. About half an hour later, Jason informs them that dinner is ready and to wash up. The girls get their food first, because it's Percy's house, and according to Percy, his mom had been ingraining some chivalry in him from the time he was in the womb.

"She says she used to read me stories of the medieval knights when she was pregnant," Percy explains, "like she thought I would come out on a white steed, sporting a royal crest and whatnot, the epitome of good manners." Percy shakes his head fondly, it's clear to Piper that he adores his mother.

"Sir Perseus does have a nice ring to it." Annabeth remarks, causing Percy to grin at her, which in turn makes Annabeth blush.

Jason wasn't kidding when he said that Percy's casserole was to die for. Piper is afraid she might actually explode from eating too much of it. There are a few smaller dishes as well, including a simple tossed salad that Hazel brought. Piper puts some on her plate to make herself feel better.

"Delicious as always, Percy," Leo remarks between scoops of casserole. Percy, who's sitting at the head of the table, gives him a smile in thanks.

"It turned out alright," He says modestly, "However, next week you're cooking. I've been craving some of your tacos recently." Leo only responds with a thumbs up, his mouth full at the moment.

The group continues eating, engaging in conversation about various topics, including the first week of school. Jason asks Frank how football practices are going, and the guys start getting carried away with the topic, before Annabeth reigns them in. Eventually the conversation shifts to the typical teacher gossip, mostly which students are dating who, who the teachers think would look cute with others, and why Mr. D decided to wear that particular shirt the other day?

All in all, Piper is having a blast, even though she is a little behind on some stuff, she feels content and included, which is all she ever wanted. There wasn't an issue, until Annabeth asked Frank and Hazel what movie they went to see for their date night on Friday. As Frank gives a brief synopsis of the movie, Piper can't help but think that the plot sounds somewhat familiar. Then she hears Hazel speak out.

"Oh, the main actor… what was his name, honey?" she looks to Frank for help, "Wasn't it Tristan? Tristan something?"

"TRISTAN MCLEAN?!" Percy interjects with extreme enthusiasm. Piper is frozen in her chair. Jason and Annabeth are staring at her with concerned expressions, while Leo stares at his plate.

"Yes! That's him!" Hazel replies.

"I love that guy!" Percy has his hands resting on the back of his head, as he leans back in his chair. "Wasn't he married to that other actress at one point? Aphrodite, right? I know he has a daughter…"

The room suddenly gets very quiet. Hazel and Frank are now looking back and forth between themselves and Piper, as if having a silent conversation amongst themselves. Percy isn't looking at anyone, he's just staring straight ahead, with a look of bewilderment etched on his face. He eventually turns to Piper, but before he can say anything, Piper stands up.

"I need something to drink." She grabs her cup and walks down the hallway into the kitchen. Piper honestly doesn't know why she is freaking out. You knew they would find out eventually, she thinks, trying to calm herself. You should've told them yourself when you had the chance. So what if they know who your parents are? Piper leans against the counter, burying her face in both of her hands.

Why am I freaking out so much? What is wrong with me? Why can't I just be normal and cool about this?

She hears someone approaching from the hall and uncovers her face. Jason is standing in the doorway, he has a cautious smile on his face, as if trying not to scare Piper away for good.

"I should just tell them, right?" Piper asks.

"I think they might already know… or if not, they have a fair idea."

Piper nods and looks down at the tile floor beneath her feet. She hears Jason taking a few steps closer.

"I'm sorry," is all he says.

Piper shakes her head. "No, it's fine. I don't even know why I'm freaking out honestly. Like, I knew if I didn't tell them they would find out eventually, even Percy. I just didn't expect them to figure it out this quick."

Jason has moved closer and is now leaning against the counter next to her. Piper notices their somewhat close proximity, but she doesn't seem to mind.

"Of course, I don't even know why it should matter if they know. I mean, you, Annabeth, and Leo didn't treat me any differently. What reason do I have to think any of the others will? Why am I so freaked out about people knowing who my parents are?"

Jason is silent for a second, and Piper can feel his eyes staring at her. Surprisingly, it only feels a little uncomfortable.

"Maybe," he begins, "it's because for most of your life, people have always known you as the daughter of two famous actors."

Piper is grateful to him for not saying their names, she doesn't need to hear them anymore if she can help it. Jason continues speaking.

"You're so used to having people want to be close to you because of who your parents are, not because of who you are. It's all you've ever known. And I think that you being scared is just a natural reflex to this, because you're worried that these people will turn out to not be any different."

"But that's so stupid." Piper retorts, "I know they are different."

"And maybe that's why you're scared, because you actually like them and care about them, because they are so different. Which would make it hurt even worse if you were wrong."

Piper remains silent. She's beginning to think Jason is right. After all, she's only known these people for about a week, but they already feel more genuine than any of her other so-called "friends" ever have.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" she asks Jason.

He shakes his head without hesitation. "I've known these people for a while now. We've all got our own issues and skeletons in our closets, but it hasn't stopped us from being there for each other."

He pauses for a second, as if thinking about his next move.

"Has Leo ever told you about what happened to his mother?"

Piper shakes her head.

"She died in a fire, back when they lived in Houston. Leo became an orphan after that, everything he accomplished since then, he did on his own. Frank… both of his parents died in Afghanistan. Hazel's mom literally used her to get child support and then wasted it all on herself. Annabeth's parents are divorced and don't talk to her anymore. And Percy… he was abused by his stepdad for years. He's been my best friend since I moved here, and even I don't know most of that story. But the point, Piper, is that we all have reasons to not trust each other, which is exactly why we do trust each other."

Piper suddenly felt like her parental issues were so small compared to those of her friends. At least her parents were still alive, even if they never really gave a crap about her, plus they had never abused her in any way.

Jason must've read her mind.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel like your problems weren't that bad. Sometimes it's better to have no parents at all than to have some who don't care."

He grimaced. "I didn't mean for that to sound so dark, oops."

Piper's lips turned up slightly, but they went back down just as quickly.

"Are our friends going to be okay with the fact you just told me all their secrets?"

Jason didn't even hesitate to answer. "Of course, they are. They trust me, and more importantly, they trust you. You're one of us now."

That brought a sincere smile to Piper's face, and then she realized something.

"Wait, what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Piper chided playfully, "What's your sob story?"

"How do you know I have a sob story?"

"Well if you don't, then how do I know I can trust you?"

Jason raised his eyebrows at her. Piper held her hands up, as if to say Your words, not mine.

He shrugged once he realized she had him there, and then leaned back against the counter.

"My mother was an alcoholic, all she cared about was when she was going to get her next drink. Our dad was never around at all, she had only seen him a couple times herself. After the first time they met, she ended up with my older sister, Thalia. Couple years later, he comes back to see her again, and not long after, I was born."

Jason's eyes grow darker, and Piper can feel the anger starting to radiate from him.

"Thalia was my mother more than she ever was. She practically raised me on her own, despite being abused constantly by our mother. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore. Thalia knew our mother liked me more than her, so she wouldn't abuse me like she did Thalia. My sister ran away, and our mother never even cared so much as to mention it ever. I tried to find her when I got older, but I could never figure out where she went or get a hold of her. It wasn't until I was in college that she finally reached out to me herself. Turns out she had moved to a place where she knew I would never be able to find her."

Piper had a feeling she knew where this place was.

"New Rome?" she guessed. Jason didn't move, but his face told Piper that she was right.

"She said she didn't want me to find her because she was afraid of what might happen if mom found out I was looking for my sister. Once she knew I was on my own and it was safe, she looked me up. We were able to reconnect, and after college I moved here and took the first job I could find, teaching at the local high school."

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, each taking their time to process. Piper felt like she saw a whole new side of Jason, one that was so different from the incredible guy who always seemed to have everything together, with no holes in his self, and no dark spots in his past. Now, he was Jason, an incredible guy who has issues just like any other person… just like her. Piper decided she liked this Jason a bit more.

"Thank you."

When she spoke it was barely audible, but Jason turned towards her. She wasn't sure if a simple thank you was enough to cover just how much she meant it, but it's all she could bring herself to say at this particular moment.

Jason stared at her, his lips curving ever so slightly upwards towards his ears.

"You ready to go back in?" he asked.

Piper hesitated, taking a moment to be sure, and then nodded.

Line Break

It honestly went about as well as Piper could have hoped. Percy and Frank had pretty much already figured it out, so they were already over their initial shock. Hazel had no idea who Aphrodite Olympia was, and only knew about Piper's dad because of the movie she and Frank had just seen. Percy apologized to Piper multiple times for making her upset, despite Piper insisting that it wasn't his fault, and that he did nothing wrong.

"Can't you just say you forgive me?" Percy pleaded.

"No, I'm not going to because you did nothing wrong, and you have nothing to be sorry for."

"But…"

"Percy, I swear, if you don't stop apologizing, I'm going to call your mother and tell her how you refused to hold the door open for me on Thursday."

Percy's jaw dropped. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Percy remained silent for a few seconds, holding a glare in Piper's general direction.

"Can't you just let me apologize?" he said quickly.

Annabeth reached over and smacked him on the head. "Oh my word Seaweed Brain, let it go. Gods you're stubborn." Annabeth gave Piper an apologetic look on Percy's behalf, Piper didn't fail to notice the irony of it.

"Well then," Leo smacks both of his hands on the table so as to get everyone's attention. "Who's ready for some Uno?"

It's been a while since Piper had played Uno, but she remembered the basics of it. Percy dealt everyone their cards, and the game began, and so… chaos ensued.

Piper eventually caught on to the fact that the others each had their own distraction techniques they used to try to throw the other players off. Leo tapped out constant messages in Morse code on the table, causing Annabeth to throw a fit occasionally, yelling things such as "Watch it Valdez" and "You take that back!"

Percy told random stories about his goldfish that he kept in his classroom, because what better way to distract someone than recounting The Tales of Newgene and Clovis.

"You wouldn't believe how many times I've had to tell students that it's 'Newgene' and not 'Eugene'." Percy dropped a 'plus four' on top of the deck. Hazel muttered something and drew four more cards. She typically resorted to bringing up embarrassing stories about whoever she needed to distract. It was a dirty tactic, but it worked.

Annabeth countered Percy by not-so-subtly letting her hair down, causing the raven-haired man to forget he only had one card left, that is until she softly whispered "Uno" as she batted her eyes at him. Percy cursed and drew two cards. Annabeth seemed to have a different plan for distracting each individual person, and Piper could only assume she had already figured out a way to distract Piper herself.

Frank put a red seven on top of the deck. He had switched over to his coaching voice now, barking out random football phrases whenever someone went to place a card or draw. It was an unorthodox, but effective intimidation tactic.

Jason's distraction technique was by far the most subtle, until he decided to use it that is. Whenever it wasn't his turn, he carefully rubbed the sleeves of his sweater together, creating a large amount of static. He would then reach over with his long arms and shock any player that he deemed worthy of being distracted. Since Piper was sitting right next him, she was on the receiving end of this tactic several times.

"Ow, watch it Sparky!" she quipped, causing Jason to roll his eyes and hit her with a 'skip turn' card. She narrowed her eyes at him, which he simply returned with a cheerful smile, and a hint of smugness. Piper knew she would have to figure out her own technique if she was to be successful during these game nights. And luckily, she knew just the thing.

She had always had a pretty persuasive and convincing voice, it allowed to get away with things most people wouldn't have. She wasn't called Piper for nothing. She turned to Leo, who was about to play his next card.

"You know you want to use that reverse card, don't you Leo?" She put all of the charm she could muster into her words.

Leo turned to look at her… as did everyone else.

"Um… what?" Leo squeaked.

"I know you have a blue reverse card. So, why don't you use it?"

"It… it does seem like a good idea."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "What is going on?" he said to no one in particular. Piper ignored him.

"Come on Leo, do me this big favor please?"

Leo looked absolutely torn, but he slowly placed the blue reverse card down. Piper smiled in triumph.

Annabeth's jaw had dropped. "What the heck just happened?" She tapped out a seemingly angry message to Leo in Morse code. He just shrugged, obviously he didn't know either.

Piper laughed and then turned to give Jason a vengeful glare. His face was expressionless, that is, until Piper donned a mischievous smirk, and placed a 'plus four' on the deck. Jason frowned.

"Oh, it is so on Mclean."

The rest of the night was a blur.

LINE BREAK

"Hazel do something about Frank, he's only got two cards left."

"On it!" She slapped a 'reverse' card down, and Percy fist bumped her. "Did I ever tell y'all about the time Frank tried to give The Talk to his players at the end of practice?"

"Hazel! First the 'reverse' card, now THAT story?!"

Not much later, Percy had brought out the sweater vests.

"Gods, dude." Leo covered his eyes as if shielding them from the sun. "Did Mr. D give that to you?"

Percy, while donning a bright, gaudy orange and pink patterned vest, played a yellow 'three'. He smirked at Leo.

Annabeth put down a yellow 'eight'.

Leo shot Piper a look, and she could tell he was planning on hosing her. She immediately went into convincing mode.

"Leo, honey, let's not do anything rash now ok. Maybe play a… OW! Jason!"

Jason waggled his eyebrows at her. Leo snickered, and placed a 'skip turn' card on the deck.

"Sorry Piper, not this time."

Piper folded her arms across her chest and put on her best pouty face.

Jason played a wild card, and changed the color to red. Frank cursed, as he started drawing cards, picking up one after the other. He probably drew about 11 cards before he got one he could play. Hazel gave him an apologetic smile, before she placed a red 'reverse' card down. Frank shot a look of betrayal, and the rest of the table erupted in laughter.

Frank wasn't the only unfortunate soul though. At one point, Leo had accumulated so many cards that he began to take desperate measures, which were not appreciated by the rest of the players.

"No, no Valdez, don't you do it! Leo wait…"

"Gosh darn it, Valdez put your shirt back on! No one wants to see that!"

Once they had gotten the scrawny elf to put his shirt back on, everyone noticed that Percy had changed his sweater vest again. It was the blue argyle vest, the one he had worn the very first time Piper had met him. The one Annabeth apparently liked so much. When Piper looked over at Annabeth, she saw why he had changed. Annabeth had only two cards in her hand, and it was her turn.

"Annabeth, sweetie…" Piper began to work her charm, but Annabeth stopped her by putting up a finger and wagging it back and forth.

"Don't even try that with me, Mclean."

Jason was too far away to shock her, Annabeth had zoned out Leo's tapping, Hazel was out of embarrassing stories, and Frank's voice was almost gone. Their only hope now was Percy.

Said man was sitting lazily, an elbow propped up on the table, with his chin resting in his hand, his startling green eyes resting upon Annabeth. She was doing her best to avoid them.

"Hey wise girl?"

Uh, oh Piper thought. Jackson had brought the big guns.

"Yes, Percy?" Annabeth stared at her cards, refusing to be drawn into Percy's game of cute pet names.

"You like architecture, right?"

Hazel snorted. Everyone could now tell the real game Percy was trying to play.

"I-I do." Annabeth was trying her hardest not to lose focus, despite the fact that she only had two cards.

"I was wondering if you could… maybe… possibly, give me some advice for this… idea I had?"

"Oh… yeah?" Annabeth's voice was a few octaves higher than normal.

"Yeah, you see, I was thinking of adding some décor to Newgene and Clovis' fish tank. And I was thinking of maybe having a little building in it, you know? One that they can swim around in or just… chill."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yeah, and I was thinking to myself 'you know what would look really cool?' A Greek temple."

Annabeth took in a sharp breath, her eyes remained steady though.

"It could have some… columns… and a… cornice…" Percy was practical whispering the words in an almost sensual way. Piper was glad she wasn't into architecture, and she could only imagine how Annabeth felt right now.

"And it could also have a… what is that thing called?" Percy tilted his head as he asked the question. "It sounds like what happens when you get really cold."

"A frieze," Annabeth spoke flatly, as she placed a blue 'five' on the deck.

"Uno… sorry Percy, you're going to have to do better than that."

Percy's face was expressionless, and as Annabeth smirked at him, Piper realized the blonde had turned the tables on Percy. He didn't seem worried though, as he recovered enough to focus back on his own cards. His eyebrows furrowed, deep in thought, and now it was Annabeth's turn to go on the offensive.

"Hey Perce, have I ever told you how much I like this particular sweater vest?"

"Um… once or twice, maybe."

"Well I really do; I just think it makes you exude… confidence. If you know what I mean."

Percy's eyes fluttered across his cards, and then he looked at others crowded around the table. He picked out a card from his deck and held it in his other hand.

"You guys trust me, right?"

And without even waiting for an answer he placed the card on the table. A blue 'reverse' card. Piper knew immediately what his plan was. Percy was betting on the fact that Annabeth's last card was not blue, and that she would have to draw. Everyone was now turned to stare at the woman in question.

If Annabeth was worried, she did not show it, nor did she seem particularly thrilled either. Piper thought that Percy had actually called it correctly, that is, until Annabeth let a victorious smirk appear on her face, and she placed her final card down.

It was a wild card.

The table was in an uproar. Leo was cackling uncontrollably, Jason was arguing with Frank over what Percy should have done different, Hazel was patting Percy's shoulder, who was still in shock. Annabeth was just sitting there casually, basking in the glory and chaos of her victory. Piper gave her an approving nod, which caused Annabeth to smile.

"She played you man," Frank finally said after everyone had calmed down.

"I was NOT played."

"Uh, yes you were!" Piper interjected. "The whole 'it makes you exude confidence' bit, she freaking played you like a fiddle."

Percy looked down, his face blushing red with embarrassment. Annabeth laughed, and leaned closer to him, tapping on his shoulder to get his attention.

"If it's any consolation, nothing I said was a lie in regard to the sweater vest."

If Percy could have blushed anymore than he already was, you could have cooked an egg on his cheeks, but at least he was smiling. Everyone else was too busy laughing, but Piper didn't fail to notice him briefly squeezing Annabeth's hand under the table. All in all, it was a great night.

LINE BREAK

It had been a few weeks since Piper's first game night. Since then, she had gotten to take part in a few more such nights, and by now had a solid, weekly routine worked out. Classes were going well, her students were… decent, though she had been hit on a few more times by the more outgoing guys than she cared to admit. Her coworkers, though they were way more than that, were great, and Piper found herself being able to admit that she was content, happy even. She had found some incredible friends, and she was especially grateful for a couple of great girlfriends in Hazel and Annabeth. They had even had a girl's weekend once, spending Saturday inside watching cheesy rom-coms and just hanging out. Of course, 'hanging out' always included some girl talk.

"So, Piper." Hazel paused to take a sip of her capri-sun, "What's going on with you and Jason?"

Piper jerked her head up, jaw slack and hung in astonishment.

"I don't know what you mean."

"Oh please," Annabeth ganged up on her too, "Something's different about you two, I can see it."

Piper wanted to deny this, but the truth is, things had changed between her and Jason. Ever since their conversation in Percy's kitchen during her first game night, she couldn't help but notice the way her heart fluttered whenever she saw him. But Piper didn't think that meant anything other than that yeah, she found him attractive. Any regular person with working eyes would. That didn't mean she liked him or anything, he was just a friend, a very attractive friend.

"We're just friends."

Annabeth and Hazel shared a look, like a this girl is really about to this game look.

"It's true," Piper tried to argue. But the other two were having none of it.

"Don't act like we haven't noticed how you two always just so happen to be next to each other whenever we're hanging out, like y'all are some magnets, being drawn together inexplicably."

Hazel demonstrated the motion of being brought together with her hands, causing Annabeth to giggle in a very un-Annabeth way. Ugh, Piper thought, what are we? Teenagers?

"Do you like him?" Annabeth asked.

"As a friend, yes."

The blonde raised her eyebrows, daring Piper to challenge her further.

"You're dodging the question. Do you like like him? Yes or no?"

"...No?"

"You don't sound so sure."

Piper just wanted this conversation to be over with.

"Look, I'll admit, he's attractive, obviously. But that doesn't mean I like him or have feelings for him."

"No," Hazel agreed, "But it can lead to it."

Annabeth reached over and patted Piper's knee reassuringly.

"Look, if you do like him…"

"I never said…"

"IF," Annabeth repeated with a lot of inflection, "you do like him, that's great. If you don't, that's great too. But if you do… I want to be the maid of honor in your wedding."

"OH, HECK NO!" Hazel shrieked, Piper rolled her eyes at Annabeth's request and at Hazel's refusal to curse simultaneously.

"I was the first person to befriend her, I should get to be the maid of honor!"

The two girls argued back and forth for a few minutes, before Piper decided to save their friendship before things got ugly.

"Guys, guys, let's be real here. Even if, and that's a big IF, Jason and I were to, for some reason, get married, at least one of you two would probably already be married anyways. So, the married one could be my matron of honor, and the other could be the maid of honor."

Hazel clapped her hands. "Oh, that's a stellar idea, Annabeth will probably be married to Percy by then, so she can be the matron of honor."

Now it was Annabeth's turn to become a stuttering, blushing mess.

"Excuse me! Who said me and Percy were even a thing? Much less getting married?"

Piper smirked; she had been waiting for this moment for weeks.

"Well if I remember correctly, I do recall you holding hands with Percy under the table at my first game night a few weeks ago. Does that sound like something?"

"WHAAATT?!" Hazel whipped around to face Annabeth, who looked like she was trying to back into the deepest, darkest corner she could find. It was now her turn to be interrogated.

LINE BREAK

It was a cool, Friday night, and the town of New Rome was electric with the prospect of the first football game of the season. Piper, having hitched a ride with Annabeth, was walking with the blonde girl towards the stadium. They were both dressed simply, having opted to go for similar pairs of skinny jeans, and Piper had borrowed a purple and gold top from Annabeth, since she couldn't bring herself to spend any money on some school paraphernalia. The entire town was going to be there for sure, as the stands of the stadium were already mostly filled, despite it still being fifteen minutes till kickoff.

Piper and Annabeth spotted Hazel and Leo already seated a few rows up and picked their way towards them through the crowd. Both of the teams had already gone back into their respective locker rooms, having completed their warmups. Piper took her seat next to Hazel and waved to Leo who sat on Hazel's other side. He grinned back at her, before returning to fidgeting with his little mechanical helicopter he had built. Annabeth, after chatting with some of her students, made her way up the steps, and sat down next Piper.

"Who are we playing again?" Piper asked Hazel.

"The Mt. Orthrys Titans. They're a rival school from a nearby town."

"Frank's got his work cut out for him," Annabeth added.

"Yeah," Hazel replied, "I was talking to him earlier today. I think the key is going to be not letting their outside tackles get leverage on our defensive ends, since their runningbacks tend to run sideline to sideline instead of downhill. If we can keep them contained, we stand a pretty good chance."

"Agreed," Annabeth said, "Our linebackers and defensive backs are going to have to be disciplined, because from what I've heard, the offensive coordinator for Mt. Orthrys likes to use a lot of deception and trick plays."

Piper never realized how much these two might be invested in this sport. She wasn't super surprised by Annabeth, as she liked any game that had any sort of strategy to it, but Hazel tended to be super nonchalant about most things. Her boyfriend is the head coach though, Piper reasoned with herself. Piper had never gotten super into football, or any sports for that matter. She had watched a few games, and knew the basics of it, but she wasn't nearly knowledgeable enough to keep up with whatever Hazel and Annabeth were talking about. She made Hazel promise to explain things to her as the game went on.

The group chatted about a few miscellaneous things until, eventually, the teams were ready to come back out of their locker rooms. By now the entire stands were filled, and whoever was left were standing along the outside of fence surrounding the track that wrapped around the field. The stadium hissed at their rivals as they made their way unto the field, and then cheered loudly as the New Rome Fighting Praetors broke through the banner held up by the cheerleaders, followed by their head coach, Frank Zhang.

"Where are Percy and Jason?" Hazel asked, looking towards Annabeth.

"Percy said they should be here in a few minutes, but that was ten minutes ago, so I'm not sure exactly."

At that very moment, Annabeth's phone rang.

"Hello… oh hey Percy, are y'all here yet? …Yes, we're in the stands. Can you see us? …No? Okay, hold on, I'll come find you guys."

She hung up, placed the phone in her back pocket, and stood up.

"I'm going to go find the boys and bring them back up here, be right back."

Piper and Hazel nodded, as Annabeth began making her way down the steps.

The game had started by now, and Hazel did her best to explain to Piper the strategy behind the plays, the formations, and the calls being made.

"See how our quarterback acted like he was going to pass, before handing the ball off to the runningback? That's called a draw play. Offenses use it to make the defense think they're going to throw the ball, therefore causing the defensive backs and linebackers to drop back into coverage, before handing the ball off to the runningback instead."

Hazel finished her explanation just in time for her to jump up and shout along with the rest of the stadium as New Rome's quarterback scampered for a first down. Piper was trying to figure out if Hazel was always this into football, or if it was a side effect of dating the head coach.

She was too distracted then, to notice the tall blonde making his way up the steps, until he sat down in the empty seat next to her. Piper turned to find Jason smiling at her in greeting, and she smiled back, working hard to fight down the butterflies that were fluttering around in her stomach.

"Where's Percy and Annabeth?"

Jason shrugged, "Don't know, Annabeth came and found us, and pointed out where you guys were sitting. Then she said she was going to get a drink from the concession stand, and Percy offered to go with her. I got tired of waiting for them, so I just came up here."

Piper nodded, as she bit her lip, trying not to smile too much lest she look like an idiot.

"Do you watch a lot of football?" Jason asked her.

"I've watched a few games on TV, but I don't know much. Hazel was actually explaining the plays and such to me, but I think she got too distracted and has forgotten."

They both turned to watch Hazel jump up and down, shouting encouragements to Frank, and screaming at the refs for not throwing a flag on that 'obvious holding penalty'.

"What about you?" Piper asked, turning back to Jason, "Do you know a lot about football?"

"You could say that."

Piper gave him an expression, asking him to elaborate.

"I played quarterback in high school, even had a few college offers."

"Why didn't you take any of them?"

"Eh, they were mostly from some smaller schools, and as much as I enjoyed playing the game, I was ready to move on to other things."

"I see… so let me guess? You were the king of your high school? Most popular guy there, probably dated the head cheerleader at some point, along with every other cliché in the book?"

Jason chuckled, amusement filled his eyes, "Do you really want to know?"

Piper propped an elbow up on her knee and placed her chin in the palm of her hand, an obvious 'I'm listening' look. Jason just shrugged and turned towards the field.

"Most of what you said is correct. I was pretty popular in high school I would say, not the most popular, but pretty high up there. I never dated the head cheerleader though, actually, I never dated anyone in high school. And before you ask… It's because I never really had the time, with school and football, plus trying to find my sister."

"So, you've never dated… anyone?"

Jason shook his head. "I dated this one girl not long after I moved here, but we broke up… mutually, after a few months…. Her name was Reyna, she works at the depot store on the other side of town."

Piper remembered Percy saying something about a girl named Reyna during her first game night about a month ago. She wondered if Reyna was actually as okay with the breakup as Jason made her out to be.

Their conversation was interrupted as the crowd roared in disapproval at a call made by the referees. Piper spotted Annabeth and Percy along the fence near the track, as Annabeth was waving animatedly, making her very easy to spot. Piper pointed them out to Jason, who simply smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Those two… I swear, man."

Piper laughed, as the crowd groaned again in exasperation. She looked down at the field, trying to figure what was going on, and she saw Frank having a discussion with the refs.

"What's going on?" She finally asked Jason.

"Bad call by the refs," He replied, "One of the other team's defensive ends jumped offsides, and our lineman jumped in reaction, but the refs threw the flag on our guy for a 'false start'."

The rest of the game went on like this, with Jason explaining certain things to Piper that she didn't already understand or was confused on. Piper was afraid she was starting to annoy Jason with her multiple questions, but he didn't seem to mind for whatever reason. Sometimes he started explaining things without her even having to ask, and Piper couldn't help but love the way he talked so passionately about the game. She couldn't even bring herself to stop him when he began to explain to something she already understood.

"Frank's going to have to get his safeties to quit biting on that play action."

"See how the quarterback is throwing the ball before the receiver has even turned around? That's a timing route. If properly executed, it's almost impossible to defend, since the defender has no idea when the receiver is going to turn around, and by the time he does, the ball is already there as soon as the receiver turns."

Piper was most impressed when Jason started predicting what was going to happen before the play even started.

"Frank's bringing a blitz from the weakside linebacker. I bet he's trying to get this quarterback rattled, that's good, the guy has been too comfortable in the pocket this whole time."

Piper raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed before pointing to himself.

"Played quarterback, remember? I know how to read defenses… and offense for that matter."

"Maybe you should be a coach too," Piper suggested.

"Lot's of people think they should be coaches simply because they know a lot about football, but there's so much more to it than that. I thought about it, but decided it didn't work for me… besides, Frank seems to be doing just fine on his own, with the staff he's got."

Piper just simply nodded and turned back to the game.

The game ended being a close, hard-fought struggle, but the Praetors ultimately came out on top, thanks to some second half adjustments by Frank, winning 21-17. Hazel scrambled down the steps to congratulate her boyfriend, which left Piper, Jason, and Leo to follow slowly behind. The trio noticed that Percy and Annabeth were no longer in their previous spot along the fence, and subsequently, were nowhere to be seen. Piper asked one of her students, a cheerleader named Katie Gardiner, if she had seen either of the missing teachers.

"I think I saw them walking towards the concession stands… they seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry."

Katie winked at Piper, and then ran off to find her boyfriend Travis, who just so happened to be the quarterback. Well, there's a cliché, Piper thought to herself. By now, Frank and Hazel had made their way over to the group, and Piper told them which way Percy and Annabeth had gone. After a collective eye roll, the group made its way towards the concession stands. When they got there, however, Percy and Annabeth where nowhere to be found, and so they began to spread out in search of the couple. Piper and Jason were walking along the back of the stadium, a little ways past the concession stands, when Piper stopped suddenly, and grabbed Jason's arm.

"Listen," she said. They both remained extremely quiet for a moment, and then they heard what sounded like muffled whispering. They made their way over to where the buildings that had the locker rooms where located and peered down the alley between the two buildings. Percy and Annabeth appeared to be in a very serious discussion, judging by the expressions on their faces. Piper looked at Jason, sending him a silent message, and he nodded at her in understanding. The others are going to want to see this.

Jason ran to find the others, while Piper stayed to keep an eye on Percy and Annabeth. She couldn't make out what they were saying, which was fine by her. Piper didn't want to eavesdrop, but she did want to be there if something… special happened. They were still in heavy discussion when Jason finally came back with the others.

"What's going… hmmph!" Leo started to ask before Jason promptly covered his mouth with his hand.

"Quiet…" Piper whispered, holding a finger over her mouth in the universal "ssshhh" sign. She then peeked back around the corner, and almost screamed herself.

"What's up, Piper?" Jason asked as he and the rest of the group looked down the alley as well.

Annabeth was standing on her tiptoes, her hands on either side of Percy's face. Percy had his hands on her hips, and was holding her close to him, as he was leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. The kiss wasn't super passionate, which Piper was thankful for, she didn't need to see two of her friends French kissing at this hour. Instead, it was slow and thoughtful, as they worked to figure each other out. It was sweet and innocent almost, like they had been waiting for this moment for so long (which was probably the case in all actuality) and they didn't want to mess it up.

"Um, are they…?"

"Yes, Frank."

Frank was silent for a second, and then he whispered to himself, "I can't take it anymore." The others watched in shock, as he stepped out from their hiding spot, and into the alley.

"WELL IT'S ABOUT TIME!"

Percy and Annabeth jumped apart like a couple of middle-aged parents whose kids had caught them about to have sex, which wasn't too far off from reality when Piper thought about it. Percy's hand was still resting on Annabeth's back, and both had extremely shocked looks on their faces… as well as deep red blushes.

"Frank!" Hazel walked over and smacked her boyfriend on the arm. "Why did you think that was a good idea?"

Frank just shrugged. "It just felt like something I had to do."

Hazel rolled her eyes at him, "I'll deal with you later," and then she turned to look at the newly discovered 'couple'.

"So, Piper was right all along, huh? When were you going to tell us?"

By now, Jason, Leo, and Piper had walked over as well. Percy stood there with a ghostly expression on his face, his jaw moving up and down, like he was trying to speak, but nothing came out. Annabeth rolled her eyes at him.

"This isn't something that's been going on for a while, Hazel. This only just happened."

"Wait…" Piper stepped forward, "You mean to tell me that that was your first kiss?"

Annabeth nodded. "Officially? Yes."

"So… it's official then? You two are official?"

Percy had now recovered from his initial shock, and he took this opportunity to answer Piper's question.

"I guess so," He said, looking at Annabeth as if for confirmation. She smiled back up at him, and he continued, "I think we were both hoping to have some time to talk about it amongst ourselves." Annabeth nodded in agreement, and she turned back to the group.

"Jason, could you by any chance give Piper a ride home? I'm going to take Percy home after we get done here."

"Oh, um… sure, of course. Uh, yeah, I guess we'll leave you two alone then. Have fun you guys."

With that Jason herded the others out of the alley and towards the parking lot. Piper didn't miss the wink Annabeth shot her as she was being pulled away, or the smug smile Hazel gave her as they walked side by side towards their cars.

Piper and Jason didn't say much at all during the first few minutes of the car ride, which was odd considering the most recent events. She looked over at Jason, he was staring ahead, his focus solely on the road, like a good driver should be. Piper couldn't help but think that it was so very Jason of him.

"Penny for your thoughts?" She asked him, determined to break the awkward silence.

"Just thinking about some things… and about what's most important you know?" He said without taking his eyes off the road.

Piper didn't reply. So much for making conversation, she thought to herself. She then heard Jason speak up again.

"What about you? What are you thinking about?"

Piper was quiet for a second, trying to decide how to answer. She finally turned to him, taking in his whole figure, she studied him intensely. Not in a weird, creepy way, but in an analyzing way, trying to figure out how this guy ended up here of all places. This guy who could do anything. Piper couldn't help but feel that a guy like Jason being here of all places, was a waste of potential.

"Do you ever feel like you could be doing more with your life?"

Jason looked at the road with a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"Well… take yourself for example. You're incredibly smart, you're likeable, you're driven, you're…"

"Funny? Dare I say hilarious? Not to mention incredibly good-looking, or possibly even… hot?"

Piper smacked his shoulder, but she laughed as well.

"More like incredibly cocky."

It was Jason's turn to laugh now, before allowing Piper to continue.

"But seriously though, do you ever feel like you could be doing… more, I guess? Like doing something bigger and better than being a high school teacher in some town in the middle of nowhere? I mean… you have so much going for you Jason, and I just can't help but feel like you could be doing so much more."

Jason was silent for a minute, but Piper couldn't stop herself. She was on a roll now.

"You should be in some place that is… big enough for you. Somewhere like New York, or Chicago, or San Francisco, where you can use your full potential. I just feel like here, in New Rome, you won't get the chance to become the best that you can be."

She finished her rant and realized that they were now in the parking lot of her apartment building. She sat there, waiting for his reply. Jason was staring at her now, his left arm resting on the top of the steering wheel. His eyes were sparkling with electricity, as if he was enamored by something that he saw. Piper couldn't help but blush under his gaze, until he finally spoke.

"You know, someone else once told me something very similar."

He was facing her completely now, having shifted in his seat as much as his body would allow him.

"My sister said I could do so much more with myself, she never could understand why I was okay with just being here, doing what I do. The truth is… I'm happy, doing what I'm doing. I love my job, I love working with these kids, and working with people I like. I have some incredible friends who I care about more than anything, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Frank, Hazel… you. Yeah, I could be off doing some fancy job, stuck in some fancy suit and tie, maybe making a name for myself out there. But now that I know what I would be leaving behind, what I would be missing, I couldn't truly enjoy it. As for all that potential, I think these kids here, in this town, deserve every bit of my effort and potential, just as much as the rest of the world does."

Jason's voice was calm and steady, never rising to a shout, and never lowering to a whisper. It was smooth and sturdy, and it made Piper wish she could have something just as calm, and just as steady, in her life.

"Something tells me though," Jason interrupts her contemplating, "that you weren't just asking me this, were you?"

Piper feels like she shouldn't be surprised that he's able to read her this well, but she is, nevertheless.

"For so long, I've been told that one day I'll be as successful and famous as my parents were. I've since come to the conclusion that I don't want to be as successful, or as famous, as either of them. I've been determined to make my own way, to do my own thing, and to get there on my own. I can't help but feel though, that it won't matter what I do on my own, if I don't get somewhere meaningful. And that's not to say that this place, these people… my friends, don't mean anything to me, because you guys mean the absolute world to me. And I listened to what you said, and it makes sense, it really does. But I'm not sure if I'm going to feel the same way in a year or two. I feel like if a bigger or better opportunity comes, there's no reason for me to not take it. There's nothing stopping me from moving on up in life, and making the most of myself, you know what I mean?"

"You want to prove yourself?"

Piper nodded, "I want to prove to myself, that I can do things on my own, and that I can accomplish all that I am capable of, on my own."

Jason nodded, though he seemed conflicted, fighting within himself. He eventually seemed to figure it out though, and he turned to smile softly at Piper.

"Well, if that opportunity comes, and I know it will, I just have to say that I hope you're wrong, and that you do feel as if you have already proven yourself, because I kind of like having you around."

Jason was blushing profusely at this, and Piper couldn't help but smile at his words.

He wasn't done talking however, and he kept on going. "But if that time comes, and you haven't changed your mind, I can also honestly say that I hope you take it, and I hope you run with it. I hope you know that you belong in some bigger and better place just as much, if not more, than I do. You're smart, you're confident, you're…"

"Funny? Dare I say hilarious? Not to mention incredibly good-looking, or possibly even… hot?" Piper sarcastically and playfully repeated what Jason had said earlier.

"Way to ruin the moment, Mclean," Jason rolled his eyes, but he was laughing at the same time. "But yeah, I'd have to say so."

Silence filled the air, as Piper took a second to process what he had just said. They were extremely close now, their faces mere inches apart. Piper felt her breathe get caught in her lungs, and she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do now. She remained frozen, trying to decide if it was worth the gamble to lean in closer and get it over with. She was about to go for it, when Jason suddenly leaned away.

"I'll walk you to your door," he said, and proceeded to open his door and step out.

Way to ruin the moment, Piper thought, slightly annoyed and disappointed, as she stepped out of the car.

LINE BREAK

"Wait, that's it?" Annabeth asked abruptly, "What happened after?"

Piper ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "He walked me to my door, we said goodnight to each other, and then we did that awkward little goodbye hug. You know, the one that makes you want to strangle yourself afterwards?"

Annabeth and Hazel both groaned in understanding. The three of them sat around the table in the breakroom, nursing their steaming mugs of coffee. Piper had called them, asking them to meet her at the school extra early, so that they could discuss last Friday's events. The other two girls got the underlying message though, we need to talk about Jason.

"Am I crazy? I thought there was something there… but maybe I was wrong?"

"No, no, you aren't crazy," Hazel said as she sipped on her coffee. "The dude is definitely into you, I think the fact that all three of us see it, should be enough proof of that."

Piper sighed, dropping her face into both of her hands, as Annabeth rubbed her back in small, slow circles.

"What are you going to do?" Annabeth finally asked.

Piper sat up, trying to put a determined look on her face. "As of right now… nothing. I made my move pretty much; I feel like I put myself out there. If he feels the same way, then he can do something about it."

LINE BREAK

He didn't do anything about it. Neither Jason nor Piper seemed willing to bring it up, so it never came up. Things were slightly awkward between them, and Piper was beginning to wonder if, maybe, they had all been wrong about Jason, and about how he felt. Thinking about that made Piper furious, because if had been leading her on this entire time… she preferred not to dwell on that for too long.

Interactions between the two were somewhat normal… there was definitely some tension hovering around them, but no one bothered to mention it, not even the other teachers. Weeks had passed now, and the semester was rolling on, with the holidays fast approaching. They had more game nights, and Piper learned that beating Annabeth at poker might not be worth her infuriated wrath. They went to more football games, as Frank had led the team to an undefeated record so far, with the playoffs fast approaching. Percy and Annabeth were now officially dating, but the dynamic between them didn't really change, to no one's surprise. They still flirtingly bantered, and then fought like an old married couple. The only thing that changed was now Percy walks into Annabeth's classroom every morning to kiss her good luck in front of her entire first period class. The display is always received with whoops and hollers from the students, and a deeply blushing Annabeth trying to shove a laughing Percy out of her classroom. She never tells him to stop though.

LINE BREAK

Piper was seriously about to give up hope that Jason might actually like her, but she was not going to make a fool of herself again and put herself out there, only to be left hanging. She was stubborn like that, but hey, she wanted to still have some dignity and pride left. She figured if Jason really wanted something to happen, he could spare some of his own pride. She hoped today might be the day. It was Thanksgiving, and Jason was hosting dinner at his place.

His house was bigger than Percy's, a two-story farmhouse (not exactly what it sounds, please look it up if you are not familiar with the architectural styles) painted a soft yellow, with a friendly porch adorning the front of the house. "A gift from my dad," Jason had told Piper, as he held the door open for her to walk in, "Apparently, this is his way of making up for all those years that he wasn't involved in mine or Thalia's life. Because you know, it's too much to ask of him to actually try to become involved in our lives, so instead he just buys us houses."

Piper smiled sheepishly, still admiring the decorum. "I like it personally, I didn't think you could get much better than Percy's house, but I think I might be wrong."

Jason grinned while shrugging, "I like it too, so I guess I can't complain, huh? It's a bit fancier than Percy's for sure, but at least he actually bought his house. Plus, Annabeth still likes his house more than mine, which is the most important thing, right?" Jason winked at Piper, causing her to roll her eyes playfully.

As they ventured into the house, the smells of Thanksgiving began to invade Piper's nose. Percy had made his signature potato casserole again, Hazel had brought some pumpkin pies, and Jason currently had a turkey frying out back. Leo and Frank were in the living room watching football on the TV, while Percy, Annabeth, and Hazel were busy in the kitchen. Annabeth wasn't actually doing anything, she always said when it comes to cooking, she's completely hopeless, she was just there to make keep Percy in line.

"Hey Jason," Percy shouted form across the house, "Is your sister going to show?" Percy was wearing a maroon sweater vest this time, supposedly his 'special' Thanksgiving one.

"Nah, she doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving."

When Piper looked at Jason curiously, he just shrugged. "Something about Thanksgiving being a celebration of masculine colonialism or whatever."

"Ah," was all Piper was able to say in reply.

"Did… did you family celebrate Thanksgiving? I wasn't sure because of… you know?" Jason's voice was filled with nervousness, like he was trying very carefully not to overstep. Piper couldn't help but laugh at his anxious tone.

"What are exactly are you referring to? The fact that my family was never much of a family, or my heritage?"

"Um…"

Piper rolled her eyes, "My dad and I celebrated a few times, whenever he just so happened to be around during Thanksgiving. And the Cherokee had nothing to do with the original Thanksgiving, just so you know."

Jason raised his hands, as if in surrender. "Hey, you can never be too careful, you know."

Once the turkey was ready, they all sat down around the table to eat.

"As tradition," Leo exclaimed, "We are all going to say what we are thankful for. I'll start, I'm thankful for my job, my friends, and any leftovers that I will be taking home." There were several murmurs of agreement from the boys, causing the girls to roll their eyes.

Frank went next, "I'm thankful for the way my boys have worked hard this season and have accomplished so much… and my awesome girlfriend obviously."

Hazel struggled to get her words out, as she was too busy blushing, but she managed to squeak out a sharp "ditto" much to the pleasure of her boyfriend, and the amusement of everyone else.

"I'm thankful for my friends, my mom, Newgene and Clovis… am I forgetting anything?"

"You're hilarious, Percy… no, don't you dare, you little…"

Percy, however, had already slobbered a kiss onto Annabeth's cheek. She grimaced, as the rest of the table snickered at them.

"As I was saying," Annabeth finally settled herself, "I'm thankful for my job, my coworkers who I am so grateful to also call my friends… and for the fact that, thanks to my new position as principal, effective next semester, any ridiculousness from my boyfriend will result in his immediate firing."

The entire table was silent, and Annabeth took a casual sip of her wine. Finally, everyone erupted.

"WHAT?!" Percy shrieked, ignoring the ominous threat his girlfriend had just given, as he tackled her in her chair. "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

"WHY ARE YOU JUST NOW TELLING US?!"

"AM I GETTING A RAISE?!"

"SHUTUP LEO!"

Once everyone had calmed down, and sat themselves back down, Annabeth took a minute to explain.

"The board for the school district approached me last week. Apparently, Mr. D is being given his position on the city council back, and so they offered me the job. I waited until now to tell you guys because… well to be honest, I just thought it'd be funny to casually drop it during our dinner conversation."

"Ok, so that's like not cool," Leo pointed out amusingly, "It's almost evil, but who cares. Annabeth is going to be our boss!"

Everyone cheered, and Annabeth blushed as they congratulated her. Percy kissed her on the forehead, before leaning back cautiously. "You weren't serious about firing me, right? I'm not that ridiculous."

Annabeth laughed, "Not entirely, but don't get any funny ideas." She kissed him before returning to her meal, leaving Percy with a slightly puzzled look on his face.

"So, wait," Piper began, "Is there going to be a problem with a teacher dating the principal?"

Annabeth shook her head. "We were dating long before I got the job offer, so we're kind of grandfathered in, I guess. But let's move on already, Piper and Jason still have to go."

Everyone turned to look at Piper. "Well," she began, "I guess I'm thankful for each and every one of you. You have no idea how much it means to me to have some friends who like me for me, and not because of who my parents are. So, I'm thankful for that, for you guys." They all smiled brightly at her.

It was now Jason's turn. "For starters, I'm thankful that the Stolls have finally let up on pranking Clarisse, I'm thankful that I'm going to have a boss who will hopefully get us some new desk chairs?" Jason looked at Annabeth hopefully.

"Trust me, it's at the top of my list."

"And I'm thankful for my sister who cared for me when I was little, even if she's not here. And… for the best friends I could ask for." At this, everyone raised their glasses, tapping them together in cheers and agreement.

The rest of dinner was fairly uneventful, at least by comparison. Afterwards, Leo and Frank agreed to help Jason with the dishes, while everyone else crowded into the living room. Percy crashed on the couch, ready for his Thanksgiving nap, while the girls sat around a small table, making chitchat. Eventually Leo and Frank came in, having finished the dishes, with Leo crashing on the couch opposite Percy and falling asleep instantly, while Frank made his way towards his girlfriend. Piper gave him her seat, as she got up to go explore outside. From what she had seen on her drive up, there was a small barn with a wooden fence running behind it, and a lake at the bottom of the hill. Piper figured it might be worth checking out.

She walked outside and made her way towards the barn. It was a fairly small barn, barely big enough to hold what looked like a single horse stall, a stack of hay, and some large bags of feed. The wooden fence began at the back of the barn, and sloped down the hill towards the lake, before disappearing behind another small hill. It eventually wound its way back around, as it ended back at the barn again. Piper began to walk along the fence, towards the lake.

The lake was beautiful. As Piper descended towards it, she could pick out the large groups of ducks floating on the surface, and some cranes wading near the shore. Behind the lake was a vast wooded area, that seemed to give the place a protective, secluded feeling. Piper took a moment to take it all in, until she noticed something out in the pasture. She smiled softly. The horse was a magnificent creature, with a light brown coat, and a dark mane and tail. Piper tried to remember what that color was called. A Dun, she finally recalled, as she leaned on the fence, her gaze solely on the grazing horse. She remembered the first time she had ever ridden a horse, and how she had broken her arm after falling.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an approaching person, who turned out to be none of other than Jason. Piper wasn't sure if she should consider herself fortunate or not. Jason smiled at her though, as he leaned on the fence next to her.

"His name is Tempest," was all he said.

"Another gift from your dad?"

"Actually, he just came with the property. The previous owner didn't want to keep him, so I told him he could just leave him here. Besides, Tempest seems to like it here, and it wouldn't seem right to needlessly take him away from this."

Jason then whistled, and the horse's ears perked up, before slowly raising his head. Tempest began to make his way towards the onlookers in a rather nonchalant manner, like a typical horse.

"Me and him aren't exactly best buddies…" Jason explained, "But we're getting there." The blonde man reached out to scratch the side of Tempest's large face, before moving to the front of his face, right between the horse's eyes.

"You a fan of horses?" Jason asked, while massaging the ears of the large animal in front of them.

Piper shrugged, "I haven't had the best experience with them, but I wouldn't say I'm not a fan by any means."

"Well, here." Jason reached into the back pocket of his jeans, pulling out a small cube of what looked suspiciously like a dried turd. Jason laughed at Piper's face, before holding it out to Tempest with his open hand, allowing the equine to quickly consume it. "It's just a horse treat," he said as he reached back into his pocket and pulled out another cube. He handed the cube to a hesitant Piper, who still wasn't sure she trusted it's contents. Nevertheless, she let Jason show her how to hold her hand out, flat so that Tempest didn't accidently nibble off her fingers.

"Let him sniff your hand first, so that he knows your friendly."

Piper followed his instructions, allowing the horse to take a few whiffs of her, before unfurling her hand to reveal the treat. She almost gagged as the horse licked up the treat with his large tongue, covering her hand in soppy horse spit.

"That's disgusting." She said matter-of-factly.

Jason laughed, giving Tempest one last smack on his large, equine butt as the horse trotted off towards the lake. The duo made their way back up the hill towards the house. Once they reached the porch, Piper made her way towards the door, but Jason stopped her by placing a hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him, and he gestured to the large porch swing. Piper nodded, and they moved ot sit down on the swing. She feared the conversation that was to follow.

"Things have been weird between us, haven't they?" Jason's voice was calm, but wary.

Piper didn't say anything, she just stared ahead.

"I suppose that's my fault, though. I haven't exactly been an open book when it comes to my feelings." Piper felt him shift and look at her, even though she was now looking down at the floor of the porch. "I know what happened that night at your apartment must have confused you, and I'm sorry. It's just that the things you said that night, specifically about how you wanted to prove yourself and move on up in the world, they scared me."

Jason was silent for a minute. Piper was now turned to face him completely, her mind going into overdrive as she processed his words. Jason began to speak again.

"The truth is, I like you Piper, I like you a lot, and… I think you like me too. At least all the guys say you do, so if I'm wrong you can blame them for all this." Piper snorted, but she felt a faint smile beginning to show on her face.

"And if we do like each other, that's great… that's awesome, actually. But at the same time, I don't want to be the reason you let an opportunity go past you. I want you to be able to make it to wherever you're going, because I know that you're an incredible girl, who's going to do incredible things. So… with that being said, I'm okay with taking a chance on the possibility of being the guy you leave behind, for a chance to make this work. That is… if you're willing to give this a chance?"

Jason's usually steady voice clipped ever so slightly there at the end, as he looked at Piper with a nervous expression. Piper slowly reached out and took one of his hands and held it between both of her own.

"So, you're telling me," she had a playful smirk on her face, "That, in the event I decide to move onto something greater, you would be willing to let me go?"

"Willing, yes. Enthusiastic about it… no."

"Mhmm," Piper nodded, as she scooted closer to Jason, and put one hand on the back of his neck. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you'll need to worry about it."

They were both leaning in closer, ever so slightly closer. Their lips were practically brushing over each other, when Jason whispered, "Still, I thought it was pretty noble of me, don't you?"

Piper rolled her eyes, still smiling however, and she placed her other hand behind Jason's neck.

"Jason?" she whispered, their lips still just barely brushing, and he raised his eyes in acknowledgement.

"Shut up," Piper said, as she closed the miniscule gap between them.

LINE BREAK

The semester closed with a bang, that's for sure. Piper was officially dating Jason now, not to the surprise of any of their friends. Leo, however, with him being the only single person of their group, had invoked what he called the 'LEO' rule. "It means no pairing off during group settings, thereby leaving me hanging." He didn't seem upset that he was the only single person though, as he stated that the rule was merely for 'self-preservation'.

The football team had made it deep into the playoffs, all the way to the third round, before they lost to the team who would go on to win the state championship. Frank was disappointed with how it ended, but he was proud of his team, as was the whole town. "I think that next year, we have a real shot at the title, especially since we have most of the core players coming back. I think next year's team will be pretty stout."

Overall, Piper would say that her first semester as teacher was pretty solid. Her and Jason were currently heading to Percy's house for an early Christmas party, that had to be a few days before actual Christmas, because Percy and Annabeth were flying to New York to celebrate with Percy's mom. They had decided to do Secret Santa, instead of having to buy presents for everyone. Leo made sure that no one drew the name of their significant other, citing the LEO rule over and over. Piper had gotten Percy, and, after a warning from Annabeth to not get him another sweater vest, instead bought him a t-shirt that made it look like you were wearing a sweater vest. She just couldn't resist using the loophole to mess with Annabeth, and she knew Percy would love it.

Piper was excited, but also nervous, as Jason had told her that his sister, Thalia, would be making an appearance at the party later. Needless to say, Piper was a bit on edge. Jason reached over and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers, and offering her an encouraging smile.

"Relax Piper, she's going to love you."

"Pfft, what makes you think I'm freaking out about that?"

"You've been freaking out about it since I told you she was coming two days ago."

"Okay… well… I think I have a right to be a little on edge."

Jason leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I think you underestimate yourself, Pipes." Piper rolled her eyes at the cutesy pet name, but she couldn't deny she liked referring to her boyfriend as sparky, or her boyfriend for that matter.

Percy's house was decorated like Christmas had come and thrown up on it. There wasn't an inch of the house that wasn't covered in lights, but at least the inside had order to it, a more controlled chaos. "Annabeth helped me with the inside," Percy informed them as they walked in and removed their coats. Ah, Piper thought, that explains it, as she eyed the tree that definitely could not have been decorated by Percy.

Annabeth appeared out of nowhere, and grabbed Piper by the arm, pulling her into a nearby room with some privacy.

"I'm freaking out Piper, what if she doesn't like me? What if she thinks that I won't be able to take care of her precious son? I can't cook! I can barely make cereal!"

Piper's look of confusion cleared once she realized who Annabeth was talking about.

"Annabeth, chill. Percy's mom is going to love you. You're smart, kind, and insanely pretty. And Percy is in freaking love with you, okay? So calm down, you two are going to go to New York, you're going to charm his mom right down to her socks, and she's going to demand to know when you two plan on making her some grandbabies."

Annabeth smacked Piper on the shoulder, but she laughed as well. "Thanks, Piper. I don't know why I'm so nervous about this."

Piper realized that she and Annabeth were in fairly similar situations, it was somewhat ironic.

"Hey, at least you're getting to meet the mother, whereas I'm getting to meet the sister. Consider yourself lucky."

The night was pretty typical for the most part. They had dinner with the usual Christmas dishes, plus an all too familiar potato casserole, while a stereo played Christmas hymns softly in the background. After dinner, they moved to the living room and exchanged gifts. Percy practically jumped Piper after he opened his present, and Annabeth gave her the evil eye. Piper smiled at her innocently, and Annabeth rolled her eyes, so Piper figured she was in the clear… hopefully. Turns out, Leo had drawn her name, and she hastily opened his gift to her.

"Oh my word, Leo!" Piper exclaimed in joy as she held up each of the purple and gold shirts one by one.

"I figured it was time you had your own paraphernalia."

Piper was about to respond, but then there was a knock on the door. She looked at Jason, trying not to convey the nervousness she actually felt. It must have not fooled him though, as he reached over and squeezed her hand. Percy had gotten up to get the door, and Piper watched as he swung it open. Was that a scowl on his face? Piper wondered what was up with that. She watched as he stared out the door, even though she was unable to see the person on the other side. She eventually heard a voice, however.

"Well, don't make me call Annabeth, Kelp Face. Let me in."

Percy's face broke into a grin and he stepped out of the way to let the latest arrival through the door. If Piper hadn't known better, there was no way she would have been able to peg this girl as Jason's sister. She had spiky black hair, and her clothes were all just as black. The only thing that gave it away, was her eyes, they were the same electric, blue eyes. It was uncanny, as Jason's eyes were one of the things she loved most about him, to see practically the same pair on someone else.

Thalia walked into the living room, and then went over to greet Annabeth with a hug. She made her way around the room, greeting everyone somewhat cheerfully, but usually following it up with an insult. She gave Frank a fist bump that any pair of bros would be jealous of, and then walked over to Leo to give him a high five. Jason had warned Piper that those two would be teaming up to embarrass all of the couples at every opportunity.

Thalia then turned to Jason, giving him an almost… sad smile as she pulled him into a hug. "So," She said still hugging him, "I hear my baby brother is growing up." Jason rolled his eyes.

"I've been taller than you for like eight years Thalia."

"You know that's not what I mean, doofus. I mean where's this girl you've been telling me about?"

Thalia's eyes finally found Piper, and Piper tried not to shudder. Her nervousness melted away however, when Thalia smiled pleasantly at her, a look that seemed somewhat unnatural on a girl as fierce looking as Jason's sister.

"So, you're the reason that every time I talk to Jason, I have to listen to him go on and on about some girl he's met or dating or whatever? And how he thinks she might be the, and I quote, "closest thing to an actual goddess," that he has ever seen?"

Jason groaned at his sister's obvious attempts to embarrass him, while Leo and Percy snickered behind him. Piper couldn't help but blush after hearing how Jason had described her to his sister.

"Ah ha!" Thalia exclaimed, "She's a blusher! Thank goodness, that makes it all the more fun to tease both of you. His last girlfriend was no fun to tease whatsoever, that girl never blushed."

Thalia grabbed Piper and wrapped her in a big, enthusiastic hug. "This is a good thing, ummm… what was your name again?"

"P-P-Piper," the brunette managed to get out amidst the bone-crushing hug.

"This is a good thing, Piper, it's hard to get Jason all flustered so I have to make do with embarrassing his lady friends." Thalia said as she finally let the poor girl go. Piper gasped for air briefly, before straightening herself up.

"First off, it's nice to meet you too, second, don't think you'll be able to get me that flustered all the time, and finally… I know a few ways to get Jason blushing very easily."

Thalia cackled in delight, as she turned around to face her brother, a horrified expression on his face. "I like this one little bro; I like her a lot. Sweet, but feisty, AND she can help me embarrass you even more."

The night continued on, as Piper got to know Thalia more and more. Thalia told her lots of stories about Jason as a baby, much to Jason's dismay, but Piper still caught him smiling at her, obviously pleased with how she and his sister had bonded. Eventually, they all decided to play Pictionary.

There was a lot of debate about how to split up the teams, as everyone wanted Annabeth on their team, for obvious reasons. After lots of arguing and compromising, the teams were split as such; Jason, Piper, Leo, and Thalia on one team, and Annabeth, Percy, Frank, and Hazel on the other. It seemed that placing Percy on the same team as Annabeth may have been a mistake… or a genius move, depending on which team you were on.

"A FIDDLE!"

"A SEA URCHIN!"

"A CENTAUR SITTING IN A WHEELCHAIR!"

Annabeth facepalmed in frustration, as the other team was dying from laughter. She turned to Frank and Hazel for help, but they were clueless as to what she was drawing.

"A LARGEMOUTH BASS!"

"Time!" Thalia finally yelled, still snickering with the rest of her team.

"It's a freaking triangle, Seaweed Brain! I even wrote out the Pythagorean Theorem!"

"I was wondering what that was for…"

"Wait," Frank said, "Why are there two of them? And what is all that other writing then?"

"Those are geometric proofs! I was trying to show how the sides of each were similar despite them being different sized triangles!"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's cheating," Leo piped up.

"Not like it mattered." Thalia added, before obliging Leo with a high five.

Needless to say, Piper's team swept the floor with the others.

As the party started to die down, and people started to leave, Piper and Jason said goodbye to Thalia, and then, after thanking Percy for hosting, got in Jason's car and left.

"I knew I would regret introducing you to my sister."

"Oh, don't be such a baby, you knew she would love me. You said so yourself."

"Yeah… yeah I did."

Piper leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Don't worry Sparky, she only told me half of your embarrassing baby stories. She's telling me the rest next weekend when we get lunch." Jason groaned as he started the car, and Piper giggled before pulling him into a blissful kiss.

"Thanks for introducing me, it means a lot to me."

"Not like I had a choice; she would have found you sooner or later."

"Oh my word, just take the compliment and drive Sparky."

Jason dropped her off at her apartment, and walked her to her door, this time making sure not to leave without getting a goodnight kiss first. As Piper closed the door to her apartment, she leaned back against it and smiled, thinking about how this night could not have gone better. She went and placed her purse down on the counter, and began to remove her jacket, when she noticed she had a missed call on her cellphone… and a voicemail. She pressed on the voicemail and placed the phone to her ear.

Hi, Miss Mclean… this is Dianne Brewer. I'm the Dean for the College of Liberal Arts here at Columbia University. I was hoping to speak to you about a potential teaching position here. Please give me a call back when you can. Thank you.

LINE BREAK

Piper and Jason had only been dating for about a month, but it had been the happiest month that Piper could remember having in a long time. And now, she was afraid she was about to ruin it all. Jason was going to be here soon, as it was Christmas morning, and they were going to be having their own little celebration here at Piper's apartment, just the two of them. Piper hadn't told Jason yet about the job offer, because she knew that it was his worst fear come true. She also didn't know what she was going to do with the offer, but she hoped talking to Jason about it might help her decide. She knew that Jason was most likely going to live by his word and tell her to go and take it, but a small… no, large part of her hoped that he would do the opposite. That he would beg her to stay. But she knew that it was not likely; after all, they had only been dating for a month, hardly enough time to justify her giving up this incredible opportunity.

There was a knock on the door, and Piper scurried over to let Jason in. He smiled warmly at her, his hair dusted with little snowflakes, and his cheeks red with cold. Piper laughed as she ruffled his hair and kissed his frigid nose. They had a cheerful breakfast of pancakes and hot chocolate, before moving to the couch to exchange their gifts. Piper managed to forget her impending news for a while.

Jason held the wrapped box on both of his hands, as he held it up to his ears and shook it. Piper smacked him.

"Stop fooling around, and just open it."

"Where's the fun in that?"

"Because if you do guess it, you'll ruin the surprise."

"So, you're saying I'm close?"

Piper glared at him, causing Jason to simply chuckle, and begin to unwrap the box. He pulled the lid off the top and dug the tissue paper, before pulling out a small book.

"The Complete History of the Cherokee Indian" he read the title, his mouth curving up in a slow smile as he did.

"Remember when we first met?" Piper asked him playfully.

"How could I forget? You were about to attack my favorite coffeemaker."

"Favorite, really?"

"Well, yeah. I'm kind of indebted to it. It's the reason I got to talk to you for the first time."

Piper couldn't help but beam at her boyfriend, despite the pure cheesiness of what he just said. Jason examined the book further. "Thanks, Piper, I love it. You wouldn't happen to know what chapter you first appear in, would you?"

"Har har."

Jason set the book down, and reached behind him, pulling a small gift bag out from behind the couch. He handed it to Piper, who mockingly held it up to her ear and shook it. Jason rolled his eyes, causing Piper to smile smugly, before turning her attention to the gift. She pulled the tissue paper out, and reached down into the bag, pulling out a small, red jewelry box. She eyed Jason, before slowly opening the box to reveal its contents. Piper gasped and placed her hand over her mouth in awe.

Inside the box was a beautiful silver necklace, with a small feather charm at the end.

"It reminded me of you," Jason said, "Simple, but beautiful and elegant… plus the feather obviously."

Piper thought she might cry, but instead she leaned forward placed her hands on either side of Jason's face, and kissed him for all she's worth. Then, at the worst moment possible, she remembered something. She finally pulled back and dropped her hands from Jason's face.

"Is something wrong, Pipes?"

Piper stared at him, scared of what she was about to say, but knowing that she couldn't keep this from him any longer.

"There's something I need to tell you."

Jason's face dropped immediately, sensing the discouraged tone with which she spoke. He shifted so that they were both face each other completely.

"What's up?"

Piper took a deep breath.

"I got a job offer."

"Okay… from who?"

"Columbia."

"Columbia? As in THE Columbia? As in Columbia University? The one in…"

"New York… yes, that one."

Jason's face was expressionless.

"When did you find out?"

"A few days ago, the night of Percy's party. I saw the voicemail after we got back."

"And you're just now telling me?"

"I needed to think about it. I already called the dean, and she said I could take some time to think it over."

Jason was silent for minute, he was no longer looking at Piper, but at the space in couch between them.

"So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me."

"You already know what I'm going to say though." Jason's voice was sharp and cutting. Piper bit her lip.

"I was hoping you might not say that though, that you would tell me to stay, to not take the job."

"Is that really what you want me to say though? Are you really thinking about letting this opportunity go" Jason was looking at her again, his eyes full of confusion and pain.

"I-I don't know yet."

"Then I can't say what you want me to say, Piper. Not after everything you've told me about wanting to prove yourself, about wanting to make it big on your own. Geez, Piper, this is New York we're walking about."

"Well forgive me for hoping that your feelings might have caused you to reconsider. Forgive me for hoping that you might possibly want to consider a future with me, I mean, it's not like we're dating or anything." Both of them were standing up fully now, their voices only a few levels below shouting.

"You don't think I haven't considered that? That I haven't dreamed about it? Because I have! A lot! And it hurts me to know that this is what I would potentially be giving up by letting you go! But it hurts even more to think that I might be the reason you don't achieve the things you want to in life! And here's this perfect opportunity for you to take that next step, and here I am standing by my word and telling you to take it! And I don't know why you're so mad at me! You knew that this is what I would say!"

Piper was furious. She stepped up to look Jason in the eye and began jabbing her finger into his chest. "Because if you ACTUALLY cared about me, about us, you would be doing everything in your power to convince me to stay!"

"I do care about you, which is why I want you to take the job!"

"How can you say that? How can you say that you care, and then at the same time want me to abandon you?!"

"You just don't get it do you?" Jason asked her accusingly.

"Get what?!"

"Why I want you to leave? To take that job? It's not because I don't care, in fact its quite the opposite! It's because I'm in love with you, Mclean! Which is pretty freaking crazy to say, considering we've been dating for what… a month now?! But it's true! It's always been true. I've been infatuated with you since the very first time I saw you try to mug the coffeemaker!" (ha pun)

Jason was now moving to grab his coat. When he spoke again his voice was lower, still angry, but at least he wasn't shouting.

"I'm not going just sit here and let you rot away in this God-forsaken town because of a relationship that hasn't even celebrated it's one-month anniversary."

With that, he opened the door and walked out. Piper collapsed back into the couch, as the tears began to flow. She wondered how Christmas could have gone from the best one ever, to the worst, in a matter of minutes. She looked down at the coffee table and was slightly relieved to notice that Jason had at least grabbed her gift to him. She stared at the one he had given to her, but she closed the box, as the sight of the necklace only made her more upset.

LINE BREAK

It had been a few days since their fight, and neither of them had spoken to each other since. Piper concluded that this meant they were officially broken up, which is what she told her friends when they asked her about it. She had thought the job offer over and had decided that the least she could do was to honor Jason's request, and to take the job. She had already called the dean back and let her know of her decision. Now she was in the process of packing up her apartment. Annabeth and Hazel had both offered to come over and help her, which she gladly accepted. Annabeth was currently talking about how her and Percy's trip to New York went.

"Percy's mom is the nicest, sweetest woman I have ever met. She literally hugged me as soon as she saw me, even though it was literally the first time we had met. She actually taught me how to cook something, and she didn't get mad at me! I think Sally is an actual angel from Heaven."

Neither of the girls tried to bring up Jason, which Piper was thankful for. But they both went on about how much they were going to miss her, and how they would have a girl's weekend/trip sometime in the future. Piper hoped that she could find some friends in New York who were half as good as the ones she had here. In a city of 8 million people, she still didn't think it was possible.

She got to the point to where she didn't have enough boxes for her stuff, which made sense. She definitely has a lot more stuff now than when she first moved here. Piper got in her car and drove to the store a few miles down the road. This was one of the few stores in the entire town that she had yet to be in. It was huge, and she was completely lost. Luckily, someone else noticed her lack of direction.

"Can I help you find something?"

Piper turned to survey the employee who had spoken. It was a girl, a tall girl with long dark hair braided behind her that contrasted her creamy skin. She had dark eyes, and her face did not seem to match the friendly voice, even though it was obviously her that spoke.

"Um… hi. I'm looking for large moving boxes."

"A few aisles down that way, they're on the bottom shelf."

Piper smiled at her thankfully and turned to walk in the direction the girl pointed, until the girl spoke again.

"You're the girlfriend, aren't you?"

Piper turned to give her a puzzled look.

"Excuse me?"

"You're his girlfriend, right? Piper?"

"How do you…"

"It's a small town, word gets around fast. Especially when it comes to someone like Jason Grace."

"Whatever you say… you're probably aware then that I am no longer his girlfriend."

"I figured as much, judging by your need for moving boxes."

Piper narrowed her eyes at the girl in front of her. She knew this girl, or at least she'd heard of her.

"You're Reyna, aren't you?" Piper didn't even need to phrase it as a question, she already knew the answer.

"As luck would have it, yes I am." The girl gave a sarcastic curtsy. "I can't help but wonder, Piper, what did Jason do this time?"

"What makes you think he did anything? How do you know it's not my fault?"

"Is it?" Reyna asked pointedly.

"Doesn't really matter know does it? Nor is it any of your business."

"I'll find out sooner or later, once word gets out. I'd prefer to get my info from the source however."

"Well, why don't you go ask Jason then? He's single anyways, maybe you can be the one to get him back on his feet, you know? Rekindle the old small-town romance."

Reyna laughed surprisingly, which threw Piper off a little bit. "You think I want to swoop in and save Jason? Please… if I wanted him back, you could at least make it a challenge for me by still being with him. But see, I don't want to get back together with him."

"May I ask why?"

"I have ambitions and dreams I wish to pursue and getting attached to someone here is a roadblock in that plan." Piper couldn't help but roll her eyes at the irony.

"So now, I will go back to my original question," Reyna said, "Why did you two break up?"

"Would you believe if I told it was for similar reasons to what you just gave?"

"Ah," was all Reyna said. Piper felt like at this point it can't hurt to divulge, everyone was going to find out at some point anyways. Freaking small towns.

"I have a job offer in New York, Jason wanted me to take it, and I got mad at him."

"Why? Shouldn't you be happy he supported you?"

"No, I wanted him to tell me to stay. To show that he truly cared about our relationship enough to fight for it. Which, looking back on it now, I see is stupid. We'd only been dating for a month, hardly enough time for me to justify passing up on this job."

Reyna was silent, and Piper took this as a signal that their conversation was over. She turned to walk down towards the aisle Reyna had pointed out earlier. She found the boxes she was looking for, right where Reyna had said they would be, and began to pull some off the shelf. As she was doing so, she heard some approaching from down the aisle, and turned to see the aforementioned employee standing in front of her again.

"Did you want to take the job?" Reyna asked.

"I don't see what that has to do with it?"

"Just answer the question, please… honestly."

Piper was silent for a second, before sighing and letting a faint "no" slip from her mouth.

"Why not?"

"Because I care about Jason, I care about him enough that I was willing to pass up on this job for him. But apparently he didn't care enough to feel the same way."

"Why did he want you to take the job? Surely there must be a reason."

"I-I know, it's because I told him that all I ever wanted was to prove myself… to myself. To make it on my own, to be successful… to be happy."

"So, he thought that the only way you would be truly happy, is if you took this job, correct?"

Piper was silent, her mind racing and at the same time, blanking.

"Tell me, Piper. You say you want to find success and happiness on your own? Do-do you think you haven't found it yet?"

"What do you mean?" Piper replied.

"It just seems to me, that you may have already found everything you wanted, right here." Reyna made a gesture with her hands, pointing to everything around her.

"The depot store?" Piper asked in confusion. Reyna facepalmed.

"No idiot, I mean New Rome. I mean your job here as teacher, your students, you friends… Jason. Can't you see it?"

Piper just stared at Reyna; her feet frozen to floor. Reyna sighed and shook her head.

"Look, I'm not going to bother you anymore. All I ask is that you think about what success and happiness actually mean to you."

With that she turned to start walking away, but Piper grabbed her shoulder, and she turned around.

"Why are you telling me this? Why even bother?"

Reyna smiled softly, her face taking on a genuinely friendly expression for the first time. "We're different people, Piper, different girls. I know we may say we want similar things, but I know that that's what I want truly. You, on the other hand, I don't think you really know yet." She turned to continue walking away, but just before she turned the corner, piper called out "Reyna!" The dark-haired girl stopped and turned to look back.

"I think… I think that we could've been good friends, if not for… you know."

Reyna smiled and nodded. "It's not too late you know?" And with that, she disappeared around the corner. Piper finished gathering the boxes and went to go checkout.

LINE BREAK

Piper opened the door to her apartment to find Hazel and Annabeth still sitting on her living room floor, packing stuff into boxes. They smiled at her, not saying anything, and then continued to wrap Piper's belongings in bubble wrap. Piper placed the newly bought boxes on the floor and went to her bedroom. She sat down on the edge of her bed, and stared at the floor, as she thought about what Reyna had said.

What does success and happiness mean to you? Piper had thought about it long and hard on her drive back. For the longest time, she imagined success being what people typically though of, making lots of money, buying fancy things, all that pizazz, and Piper always imagined herself making it there on her own. And she always just assumed happiness would come hand in hand with success. Now, she wasn't so sure.

She opened the drawer to her nightstand and pulled the little red jewelry box out. She opened it slowly and stared at the necklace. Piper thought about how happy she had felt being with Jason, and not just him, but being with her friends, being with her students, being here… in New Rome of all places. As she began to realize something, she picked up the necklace out of the box, and clasped it behind her neck, placing a hand on the feather charm that dangled just below her clavicle. She walked out of the room and into the living room where her friends where.

"Do you guys think I'm successful?"

Hazel and Annabeth stopped what they were doing and looked at Piper with puzzling looks.

"What do you mean Piper?" Hazel asked.

"Would you guys say that I'm successful? That I've succeeded in my goals?"

The other two girls exchanged silent looks, before Annabeth replied.

"I supposed that would depend on what your goals were. But if you're referring to your… previous job specifically, well… your students loved you, and you loved your students. And your coworkers loved you, and you loved them right back… so I would say, yes. Yes, you are successful."

Piper smiled brightly at both of the girls, and then ran to snatch her keys off of the kitchen counter.

"You guys can stop packing for now, I'll be back in a bit."

"What?" Hazel said.

"Piper, wait!" Annabeth shouted, getting Piper's attention just before she walked out the door.

Annabeth grinned at her knowingly. "Nice necklace." Piper rolled her eyes, left her apartment, and got in her car, smiling from ear to ear.

LINE BREAK

Piper thanked her lucky stars she didn't get pulled over on the way to Jason's house. She must have been going twenty over the entire way. When she finally got to his house, she parked her car and almost sprinted to the front door. She took a few deep breathes to slow her panting, before knocking tentatively on the door. No answer. She knocked again, and still, no answer. Piper knew Jason was here, since his car was parked in front of the house. She walked around the side of the house and started heading towards the barn.

She was about halfway to the barn when she spotted movement out in the pasture beyond the fence. She smiled and began to make her way down the hill along the fence. Jason was in the pasture with Tempest, holding a large bucket, as the horse buried its head in said bucket, munching away on feed. Piper leaned against the fence and watched as the blonde man pulled a treat from his pocket and gave it to Tempest after he had finished his meal. He then turned and began walking towards the fence, right to where Piper was standing. He then looked up and spotted her.

His walking only slowed for a split second, as his shocked eyes took in the sight of her, before he recovered and continued on, without straying from his original path. He walked until he was just on the other side of the fence from Piper, and then he stopped.

"Figured you'd be gone already," his voice was steady and calm, but also somewhat cold.

"Not quite done packing," Piper answered truthfully.

Jason didn't respond immediately, he just nodded and placed the bucket on the ground, before leaning against the fence himself, only a few feet away from Piper.

"It's good to see you, Piper, I would've hated to have left things how we did."

"I know. It's good to see you too Jason."

"So… is that the only reason you're here?"

Piper shook her head. "I needed to tell you something."

"Okay?"

She took a deep breath. "I ran into Reyna earlier."

If Jason was interested at all in this, he didn't show it. "Oh, yeah? How'd that go?"

"It was… interesting. She told me some stuff, and, dare I say it? She helped me understand some things."

Jason's head perked up, showing his obvious interest now. "Like what exactly?"

"Well, she got me thinking… about what I want out of life. About my goals, and what I want to achieve."

Jason didn't say anything, so Piper continued talking.

"I've decided I kind of like where I am in life right now. I'm happy, being here in New Rome."

The blonde in front of her looked at her as if he didn't believe a word she said.

"Oh, really? Just like that? What about your goals? What happened to making it on your own and proving yourself?"

"That's the thing about goals, they change sometimes."

"Piper you can't be serious? All you've ever wanted was to be successful and happy…"

"And I am successful and happy. I have a job here, a job that I found on my own, that I earned on my own, and a job that I'm good at, and that I love." Piper had now moved so that she was standing directly in front of Jason, with only the fence separating them. "And on top of all that, I've found some incredible people that I get to call my friends, people who make me so extremely happy and content." Piper took a gamble at this point and reached one of her hands out to cup the side of Jason's face. "And on top of THAT, I also found an incredible guy, who I love and care about so deeply, who loves me so much that he was willing to let me follow my supposed dreams, so that I might be happy."

Jason stared at her, his face softening by the second, as her words poured over him. He reached out with his opposite hand and wiped the single tear that was streaming down Piper's face.

"Pretty noble of him if you ask me."

Piper laughed softly, "It was noble, and I was too blind to see just how lucky I was, and how foolish I would have been to leave someone like that behind."

She saw Jason look down, and when his eyes lit up, and sparkled the way she oh so dearly loved, she knew he must have seen the necklace. Piper began to lean forward towards, but only halfway, so as to give him an opportunity to turn her down, or to meet her halfway. Jason didn't move for a second, but when he did, he moved quickly, bringing their lips together in a somewhat aggressive manner. Piper didn't mind though; she was too busy glowing on the inside to care.

When they finally pulled apart, Jason placed one his boots on the middle rung of the fence, and swung himself over, coming face to face again with Piper, except with no fence this time. He placed on his hands on her waist, and the other on her neck, and began to pull her in closer, until Piper stopped him.

"Wait," she said, placing a hand on Jason's chest. "I need to hear you say it."

"Say what?"

"Say that you want me to stay, that you don't want me to take that job in New York."

"I thought that's what you said earlier?" Piper rolled her eyes so far back she thought they might never return to normal.

"I know I said I want to stay, but I want to hear you say that YOU want me to stay."

"Oh…" Jason said, finally understanding what she wanted.

"Piper Mclean," he began, again placing his hands in their previous positions on her waist and neck. "I don't want you to take that job in New York, I want you to stay here, and stay with me… please?"

Piper smiled brightly at him, before she leaned in and kissed him squarely on the lips. Thank you, she mouthed without actually saying it. Jason grinned at her, before placing his arm around her shoulder, and leading her up the pathway towards the house.

"So… This guy you speak of, the one whom you're willing to give up your dreams for. He must be a pretty incredible guy for you to do something like that, don't you think?"

Piper smacked his arm playfully, but she giggled nonetheless, before getting her own mischievous smirk. "Oh, he's alright. It helps that he has a really nice house."

"Oh, I bet it does. The horse doesn't hurt either, I imagine."

LINE BREAK

Piper walked down the halls alongside Leo, as they made their way towards Annabeth's office. "It's going to take a while for me to get used to having to go to the principal's office to find Annabeth." Leo nodded in agreement.

"Just wait till the students get here tomorrow, I can't wait to see their reaction. Those Stoll brothers are going to have their work cut out for them this semester."

The duo laughed as they continued on down the hall. Piper stopped by Jason's classroom to see if he was in there, which he was not, to her dismay. So, they kept on walking.

"Okay, I know I've said that I'm alright with this being single stuff, but now it's starting to get on my nerves. Why can't I get a pretty girl to move here randomly and fall in love with me? Do you think if Jason died mysteriously, you could learn to love me?"

Piper smacked his arm, her head thrown back in laughter though as she swung open the door to Annabeth's office. "Don't worry Leo, I'm sure you'll find someone eventually."

They both walked in through the door, only to find that Annabeth wasn't alone in her office. In front of her desk stood another girl. She had long, caramel colored hair, and dark, almond shaped eyes. Her skin was creamy white, but not pale. Piper turned and saw Leo's jaw practically on the ground. She smirked at him.

Annabeth looked up from her desk to smile at the pair of newcomers to her office.

"Piper, Leo, this is our new math teacher."

The girl smiled as she turned and reached out her hand to Leo.

"Hi, my name is Calypso, but most people just call me Callie."

After introducing herself, telling Annabeth she'll talk to her later, and leaving Leo to make a fool of himself in front of the new girl, Piper made her way to break room. She walked in, and scanned the room, her eyes resting on the blonde headed figure seated at the table, his face shoved into a book. Piper approached quietly, her lips turning up as she recognized the book that he held in his hands.

"Did you find my name yet?"

Jason looked up at her, smiling as he shook his head.

"Not yet, I'm getting kind of worried that it won't be in here at all."

"Wouldn't that be a shame?" Piper replied as she leaned down to peck him on the cheek, before going to fix herself a cup of coffee. She stopped directly in front of the counter, as she stared at the machine in front of her.

"Oh, bless you, Annabeth!" Piper exclaimed as she beheld the brand-new Keurig in front of her.

One and a half years later…

The wedding was absolutely beautiful. Piper remembered the tears that threatened to fall as she, Hazel, and Thalia stood in the bridesmaid spots, watching Annabeth walk down the aisle, escorted by none other than Jason, Percy's best man. Percy could barely hold back his tears as well, doing his best to not ruin the suit or sea green tie he was wearing. Sally Jackson was seated in the front row, glowing like an actual angel at the site of her son getting married.

During the reception, everyone gathered to watch as the newly wed couple had their first dance, and then as Percy danced with his mother, while Jason danced with Annabeth. Annabeth had invited both of her parents, and their families, but had chosen not to include them in the wedding, opting to have Jason, Percy's best friend, the closest thing she had to a brother, fill in where necessary.

Once the guests had been seated, the meals served, the toasts given, slow music began to play over the speakers, and everyone grabbed their partners before heading to the dance floor. Piper found herself, being whisked onto the floor by Leo for a bit, before taking a turn with both Percy and Frank, and then eventually ending up in the arms of the guy she truly wanted to dance with.

Jason glanced ran his fingertips over the shiny ring on Piper's left hand. They had gotten engaged not long after Percy and Annabeth, and the rotation for bridesmaids had already been set. Piper having been Annabeth's maid of honor, while Annabeth was set to be Piper's matron of honor, and Hazel the maid of honor. It hadn't happened yet, but everyone knew it wouldn't be long Frank popped the question, as he had already picked out the ring. And when he did, Annabeth would get to be Hazel's maid of honor. It worked out pretty well, just how they had planned it a couple years ago.

"I know I've said this already," Jason began, "But I can't help but love the way Mrs. Grace sounds."

Piper had to say she agreed. Mrs. Grace, she repeated to herself as she placed her under his chin, and they danced the night away.

Congrats you made it to the end. Hope you enjoyed it. Now here comes the rant.

SPOILERS AHEAD

So… when I was reading TOA I was enjoying myself. It was cool to see everything from a (former) god's perspective. And it was cool to get all the cameos from the characters of the previous series, as well as a plethora of new characters. My happy mood changed however when I got to The Burning Maze.

It all started when I found out Jason and Piper broke up. They're my favorite couple only behind Percabeth. Now I find out they're apparently broken up, because Piper "didn't know who she was without him", so she wanted to figure who she was on her own… whatever that means. I mean, I get it… sort of. In my opinion though, it just seemed like a lame reason to break this couple up. I wasn't too worried though. It was obvious from the book they still had feelings for each other and were probably going to get back together at some point. So I kept reading… lol noob.

I have never been so shocked by a book in my entire life. I mean, I almost figured one of them might die due to what Jason had been told. But I was hoping that it would be metaphorical or have another meaning like most prophecies do. I didn't think Rick would actually kill off Jason. And the way he did it was so… gory. It was just so shocking and descriptive. I was horrified lol.

I would've actually been somewhat ok with him dying if he had gotten a chance to reconcile with Piper first. But no, they didn't get a chance to say goodbye or have any last words with each other, since he died so quickly. Overall I feel absolutely betrayed. Piper and Jason deserved better. I managed to read the rest of the book and the next one (TTT) but it was hard lol. I know its lame and stupid but I would really like for Jason to comeback somehow in the last book. Or I would at least like some closure. So ya end of rant.