radoddish- everyone has that one friend that is a matchmaker
MusicBooks4Ever- hey thanks so much for your kind words! and yes, this fanfic will include *that* moment so get ready to cry ahha
guest- ahahah thanks! needed to throw a little romance in there
LoverlyAstorxia- dude, i always appreciate your long, well-thought out reviews, that makes a writer's day! I kind of feel you on the twizzlers thing, i have to be in the right mood for them...and yes *that* moment is going to happen in this story. I loveeee your theories on it! no spoilers yet, but it will be a huge moment/source of conflict for both rosie and leo...and omg you were going to write something with rosie in it? i am FLATTERED! what a cute story idea, sounds completely in character!
AyeraeW- i love harley too! and i feel that, Ao3 for me is personally hard to navigate
all about hope- percy will pop up! there's going to be a christmas chapter with him :) and nah, reading scripts sounds fun!
TheMushroomGuild-hhahah thank you! i had alot of fun writing it!
I know...another chapter? but listen, this is a halloween chapter so i had to post it today! hope everyone has a safe and happy halloween!
"It's a Christmas movie."
"I've never lost so much respect for you."
"It is!"
"It's called A Nightmare Before Christmas! It implies that it's happening before Christmas! Clearly, a Halloween movie."
With that final statement, Rosie took another bite of her pancake, wiggling her eyebrows triumphantly at Jake.
The Mess Hall's rule of sitting at your godly parent's table hardly held anymore- Will, Rosie, Harley, Nyssa, and Jake all were currently at the Poseidon table. There were so few campers at camp currently that it didn't really matter.
Jake groaned dramatically. "Rosie, for the last time, it's a Christmas movie! It's a play on the words "night before Christmas"!"
Will picked up his cup, pounding it on the table. "Order, order in my mess hall!" He said in a booming tone. He glanced over at Nyssa and Harley. "Jury rules?"
Nyssa tilted her head towards Rosie. "Totally a Halloween movie."
"Up top!" Rosie said, leaning forward and giving Nyssa a high five.
"Come on, Nys!" Jake whined.
Will grabbed the salt shaker, using it as a microphone. He shoved it under Harley's mouth. "Alright, little man. What's the vote?"
Harley shrugged, shoveling eggs into his mouth. "I dunno know, I haven't seen it!"
Rosie snapped her head towards Jake. "I still totally win."
"Oh come on-"
Jake's words were cut off as Nico slammed down a box of Halloween decorations onto the table.
"Alright, idiots," Nico greeted ever so nicely. "You fools better be coming to the Halloween party tonight."
"I gotta be real," Rosie said, shaking her head in amazement. "You liking Halloween? Doesn't feel right."
Nico gave her a quick scowl before turning back to address the group.
"I mean it," he said. "I'm not planning this stupid party for no one to show up."
Weirdly, Nico seemed dead-set on celebrating Halloween this year. Even more so, he seemed dead-set on making Rosie come to the camp Halloween party he was planning. She knew why, of course.
Jason had called two days ago, saying plans had changed. He and Piper were planning to come for Halloween, but at the last second, decided it wasn't going to work out logistically. Something about schoolwork...
"We'll be there, Hellman," Rosie said. "But I want to be bribed with lots of candy beforehand."
"Deal. Now that we've gotten that junk out of the way, what are we arguing about?" Nico leaned over, grabbing Will's orange juice and taking a swig of it.
"You two make me sick," Jake pointed out, sighing sadly.
Nyssa swatted him on the arm. "And you're jealous and alone."
Rosie looked down, remaining silent as she took another bite of her pancake.
"We're, uh, discussing whether A Nightmare Before Christmas is a Halloween or Christmas movie," Will said, changing the subject and shooting Rosie a concerned look.
"Oh. Totally a Halloween movie," Nico said.
Will smiled, giving Nico a loving look. "Judge rules- the son of Hades is correct."
Rosie adjusted her hat, glancing in the mirror one more time.
She could hear the music and laughter coming from outside, from the party. She gulped, feeling a wave of nervousness. There was a small part of her that just wanted to forget the party and stay in her room. But she knew Mr. Beetlejuice, aka Nico, would come into her room and drag her out by the hair.
So...party it was.
She was dressed as Indiana Jones- hat and everything that came with it. She had recently watched the first movie with Nyssa, Jake, and Harley, so she figured it was a good idea.
She thought of the past Halloweens she had at Wilderness with Piper and Leo. Binging on candy and watching scary movies. The time she and Piper TP-ed Leo and Chester's room. How excited Jason was for this Halloween, until he and Piper backed out. How weird it was that she had never spent a Halloween with all three of them: Piper, Leo, and Jason.
She shoved another York patty into the mouth, deciding she had put it off long enough.
The camp had been decorated with ghostly lights, tables of food littering around. Nico had spent all week carefully cultivating his Halloween playlist- Thriller was currently playing.
She scanned the party, looking for her friends. She pushed past masked and costumed campers, already feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Hey, Mr. Jones."
She spun around, seeing Jake dressed as a pirate, grinning back at her.
She smiled. "Argh, matey."
"You like it?" He asked, widely spreading his arms. "You kept talking about Treasure Island the other day, so I figured you'd dig the whole pirate thing."
She had talked about it the other day- that was the last book Jason had read her over the phone. She couldn't help but have a weird feeling that Jake remembered that.
"You came!" Nyssa, dressed as a witch, appeared.
"Of course I did, I would've been threatened by a very scary Nico if I hadn't," she joked.
"Boo!" Harley jumped out from behind Nyssa. Dressed in all black, he was a ninja.
Rosie feigned being surprised, gasping dramatically. "You scared me, Harley!"
"Duh- I dressed like a ninja."
"Happy Halloween, guys!" Will appeared, two buckets of candy in his arms, Nico at his site.
Will was dressed in a suit, looking clean and crisp. Nico, on the other hand, looked like he just rolled out of bed.
Nyssa frowned. "What are you two supposed to be?"
"The Odd Couple," Nico answered, his eyes flickering over to Rosie. "Oscar and Felix. Kind of an inside joke."
She couldn't help but grin. "You guys did a couple's costume? Excuse me while I vomit."
"I think it's sweet," Nyssa said, nudging Rosie's stomach with her elbow.
"Nah, I'm with Reiger," Jake said, shaking his head. "It's sickeningly uncute."
"I was told I couldn't throw a Halloween party if I wasn't going to dress up," Nico said, shrugging. "Anyways, go do some activities. Please- I'm begging you guys."
"We accidentally ordered too many pumpkins," Will explained. "Hence the various pumpkin carving stations."
"Say no more," Rosie said, tipping her hat. "I'm the pumpkin carver champion."
"No way," Jake said, shaking his head.
"Way!"
"I don't believe it."
"Is that a challenge?"
Jake nodded. "It is."
Rosie stuck her hand out. "You're on."
"Okay, I take it back," Jake said, following Rosie into the forest. "You're shockingly good at carving pumpkins."
She grinned back at him. "I think I was a pumpkin carver in a past life."
Jake laughed, taking a step closer, as his elbow brushed Rosie's arm. She felt a shiver, but attributed it to the chilly October night.
"But seriously," he pressed on. "How are you so good at it?"
She felt her heart sink, remembering the Halloween Leo had taught her and Piper how to carve pumpkins. Leo was the best at it.
"Just good luck, I guess," she finally said.
The lights from the party were dimmed this far into the forest, and she had to squint to see the underbrush and avoid tripping.
All she had wanted to do was drop off her pumpkin at the Bunker- hers had a dragon carved into it, so she knew it had to be there. Jake volunteered to come along, as he had wanted to pick up some extra carving tools from the Bunker for the party.
"Here we go," Rosie said, as the Bunker came into view. She looked down at the pumpkin in her hands. "Welcome to your new home, buddy."
"We'll take good care of him," Jake promised with a nervous laugh.
Rosie met Jake's eyes, only for Jake to quickly look away. Was he blushing?
"Fun party, huh?" He inquired.
She was suddenly hit with how cold and tired she was...it was so exhausting being around people sometimes. Had she always been like this?
Sometimes, she looked in the mirror and didn't even recognize herself.
"Yeah," she said, her eyes glued to the pumpkin in her arms. "Fun."
"I'm glad we're alone, actually."
She glanced over her shoulder, into the pitch dark of the forest. She had an eerie sense that...they weren't alone.
"Jake…" she started.
And then she turned and he was there, looking at her softly.
Jake stroked her cheek, and with her mind still on the eeriness of the forest, he leaned in, kissing her.
And then it all made sense- the jokes and flirting from Jake that she had experienced all month, that she had been dumb to not see. He liked her.
She found herself kissing him back, and the shock of it caused the pumpkin to slip out of her arms, splitting at their feet.
She gasped, Jake breaking away with a yelp, looking down at their shoes, which were currently covered in pumpkin.
Looking down at her brown boots, seeing the pumpkin all over her shoes was enough for it to hit her what she was doing.
"Oh god-" she started.
"Rosie, I'm-"
"I'm so sorry," the words came out of her in a slippery panic.
Oh god oh god oh god.
"It's alright, really-"
"It got on your shoes-" a sob came out of her mouth, and she quickly clamped a hand over it.
Jake gave her a concerned look. "Rosie," he began in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have, it's only been two months-"
Another panicked sob came out of her mouth, as Jake reached out to her. She took a quick step backwards.
"My shoes," she said, gulping. "I'm going to go clean my shoes."
"Rosie-"
With that, she ran away, leaving Jake by the Bunker.
She kept her head down as she made her way back to the party. It looked like it was dwindling down, people heading off to bed.
She ran past, heading up the stairs of the Big House. Rosie grabbed the phone receiver she had been using to call Piper and Jason, her hands shaking as she typed in the McLean's number.
She took deep breaths as the line rang, feeling as though she was on the verge of a panic attack.
The phone stopped ringing, and she let out a laugh of relief.
"Oh my god, thank you for picking up," she laughed, wiping a stray tear away. "You wouldn't believe tonight, Piper." She let out a sob, her voice gone for a second. "I really miss you and Jason, Piper. I….I've felt better the past month, you know? Like myself again. But...tonight made me realize I'm...I'm not okay. I kissed someone tonight, and I kissed him back, and...and it made me sad. God, Piper...I...I'm sad."
She paused, waiting for Piper's response. It was only after a few seconds of silence that she realized...no one was there.
"Pipes? You...You there?"
This whole time, she had been talking to dead air.
But it didn't make sense. Someone had picked up.
A few more seconds of silence passed, and with it came anger. She slammed down the phone with a groan of frustration, her hand throbbing from the force.
The dream came a week after he died.
There was a table in a dark room, nothing but a red phone receiver on it. Rosie looked at it, waiting for it to ring.
She couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to call. That...he was going to come back.
She woke up, shooting upright in bed with a gasp.
Percy stirred sleepily across from her, cracking one eye open.
"Ro? Everything alright?"
She glanced at the empty suitcase across the room, what she was using to pack tomorrow to go to LA with Piper and Jason.
"Yeah. Yeah- I'm fine."
She couldn't stop thinking about the dream she had. She sat on her bed later that day, as Jason and Piper hustled around her, packing her clothes and packing her room away.
"So my dad will pick us up from the airport, and there's this fantastic pizza place by my house," Piper was going on and on, as Jason nodded her along.
Rosie didn't say anything, just sat on her bed silently, staring at the ground.
"Sounds good," Jason said. "Pizza's good."
"Remember to pack all your t-shirts" Piper instructed Jason matter-of-factly. "It doesn't get cold there." Piper pulled out a green jacket of Rosie's. "Ooh, this is pretty, pack this!"
The jacket landed right next to Rosie on the bed. She didn't touch it.
"That reminds me," Piper said, turning to Rosie. "I have your plane ticket- did you want me to hold onto it or do you want it?"
Piper clucked impatiently when she didn't answer. "Rosie?"
"Hmm?"
"Plane ticket-did you want it?"
"Right. Um," Rosie played with the loose strand of her comforter nervously. "I, um, don't think I'm going...actually."
"What was that?" Piper said, distracted as she shuffled through Rosie's leggings.
"I said I'm not going."
Jason and Piper both stopped, exchanging concerned looks.
Jason looked at her gently. "Is something wrong?"
"I...I think it would be better for me to stay."
Leo would know to come to camp.
"Why?" Piper asked in a defensive tone. She glanced at Jason. "I...I thought we agreed LA was a good idea, I thought we all agreed-"
"I had a dream."
She told the two of them her dream, nervously gauging her expressions. Piper's face was becoming increasingly angry, as Jason's face was getting sadder.
"Rosie," Jason began when she was finished. "We know Leo's death is still fresh-"
"Staying here won't help," Piper cut in. "You need to get away from this place. You need room to heal."
It all sounded so rehearsed, so much like an intervention it made her angry.
"What is this, an ambush?" Rosie said, aggravated.
Jason shook his head. "Rosie, no-"
"We just want you to have a fresh start," Piper tried.
"Stop it! I'm not leaving."
"Because of a dream?" Piper asked unkindly.
"No, not because of the dream," Jason quickly interceded, giving Piper a panicked look.
"No," Piper snapped. "She has to know it's ridiculous, Jason."
"Piper," Jason said sharply.
"Screw you," Rosie said in a low tone, wiping an angry tear away with the palm of her hand.
Piper's eyes grew wide, jumping back slightly at her words.
"He's gone, Rosie. Stop with the delusions."
Rosie glared at the two of them. "I'll be glad when you two are gone."
"Rosie, you're being irrational," Jason said, his patience finally wearing thin.
"I thought it was delusional," she snapped, slamming the door on her way out.
She had one other option to communicate with the two of them, one she usually reserved for emergencies.
Coach? Coach, you there?
She couldn't discount how helpful the empathy link was during these past few months. Coach's voice would randomly pop into her head at her hardest times, comforting her. She would sometimes hear flashes of conversations of Piper and Jason, all the way in LA.
Coach?
She couldn't make sense of what she was hearing. She heard distorted, muffled voices- she could vaguely make out Jason and Piper's voices.
It was no use. No one in LA was going to talk to her.
The party was over. The only person to be seen was Nico, standing at the edge of the forest, staring into the darkness.
She felt a sense of relief. Finally, someone she could talk to.
"Nico," she said, coming up to his back. "Can I talk to you? Tonight's been weird."
Nico stared into the forest, a blank expression on his face.
"Great party, by the way. We'll be eating pumpkin pie for months."
Nico's face suddenly twitched, as he grimaced. He dropped to his knees, his face contorted in pain.
"Nico!" Terrified, Rosie knelt down next to him.
Nico groaned, his eyes shut tight. "I can't see them. They're-they're all gone."
"What?" She asked. "Nico, who are you talking about?"
"Can't see beyond…"
A figure was approaching. Will- it was Will, whistling as he carried two pumpkins in his arms.
"Will!" Rosie cried out, grabbing his attention. "Help!"
Will froze upon seeing them, the pumpkins dropping to the ground. He sprinted over, clumsily falling down next to Rosie.
"What happened to him?" Will inquired, placing his fingers on Nico's neck, checking for a pulse.
"I don't know, he just dropped- can you help him?"
"Nico, can you hear me?" Will asked.
Nico's eyes suddenly flew open, a sharp inhale coming from his mouth. He writhed, a groan of pain coming out.
"Something sleeps in the forest..." Nico muttered, delirious and sweating.
Rosie exchanged a concerned look with Will.
"Nico-" Will started.
Rosie glanced into the forest, listening to the gentle rustle of the trees in the wind.
"Rosie," Will suddenly snapped.
She glanced back at him. "Huh?"
"I asked if you could help me lift him."
Nico's eyes were closed again, and he looked like he was sleeping, his chest rising up and down slowly.
"Right. Is he-"
"He's fine," Will said quickly. "Let's just get him back to his cabin."
She and Will propped Nico up, each placing one of his arms over their shoulders, Rosie being aware of her glaringly obvious height difference with Will.
"Rosie," Will said, as the two of them started walking away. "Your hat-"
She realized she wasn't wearing her hat anymore- it must have slipped off when she was with Nico.
Rosie glanced back, only to see that her hat was gone.
She decided to focus on Nico, the missing hat far from being the priority of her mind.
She and Will dragged Nico back to his cabin, Nico snoring away. She couldn't get Nico's words out of her mind.
Something sleeps in the forest.
"Will…" Rosie started nervously, as Will tucked Nico's bed sheets around his sleeping form.
"There. He's fine." Will looked at Rosie with no trace of emotion on his face. "I'll walk you back."
Will's suit had become crumpled, any traces of Felix from the Odd Couple gone. Once again, he left Rosie behind as he took huge strides, his eyes creased in worry as he walked towards cabin three.
"Will," she called out, jogging to catch up.
"Did you have fun tonight?" He asked in a strained voice.
"Will-"
"The earthquakes," he said suddenly. "Have you had any of those recently?"
Her mind flashed back to the camp shaking during the battle with Gaea.
She shook her head. "No. Not since August. But why-"
"Have you been using your powers?"
"There's no reason to," she said sharply. She didn't like the feeling of being interrogated.
Will shuffled up her cabin steps, opening the door for her.
"What Nico said about the forest-" she started.
"Let's keep this between the two of us."
"Because it's nothing?" She challenged, feeling a flash of anger.
Will gulped, sighing tiredly. "Goodnight, Rosie."
She gave Will an annoyed look, trekking to her cabin, ready to forget today.
Something sleeps in the forest
Moments before Jake kissed her, she felt something. She knew in her heart that they weren't alone in those woods.
She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She kept getting tangled in her sheets, which would lead to her feeling trapped. She kicked ferociously, groaning.
A noise came at her door, causing her to pause. Her heart started to thump. She didn't move a muscle, for fear that there was something at her door.
It's nothing. It's the wind. You're freaking out for no reason.
The noise came at her door again, a tapping this time.
"That's enough," she muttered angrily, throwing her sheets off. She strides towards the door, grabbing her prop whip on the way. It didn't matter that it wouldn't actually do any damage, it looked threatening enough.
She grabbed the door handle, swinging it open ferociously.
"Whoa-" a voice came out from the dark. "Sorry- I woke you, didn't I?"
She knew that voice. Who was that?
Her eyes adjusted, and she saw CJ standing there, looking a bit scared as he held his arms up, giving the whip a questioning look.
"Dude," she said. "What-How-"
"I missed the party, I guess," he said, with a chuckle. He looked at the whip again. "New toy?"
"It's a prop."
"Huh."
CJ had spent his time since August in New Rome, acting as a rep for the kids on the Caterina, helping them decide where they wanted to end up.
"You're here now?" She asked suddenly, feeling relief at seeing a friend….one who reminded her of the times on the Argo II.
He nodded. "Yeah. I think so." He produced a DVD from out of his back, showing her. It was Cujo. "Thought we could give this another try."
The whip was dropped, as Rosie reached forward, arms wrapped around CJ, hugging him tightly.
