Prompt: "You never wash that sweater." "It still smells like him/her."

Cohort: Three

Words: 1334

Written for the Camp Jupiter writing forum.

"Hey Piper," Hazel said, smiling gently at her.

Piper had just arrived at Camp Jupiter, along with Annabeth, Percy, Calypso, and Leo to visit Hazel and Frank. It was her first annual visit since… well, since Jason died. They had visited once, together with the seven minus Leo… a couple months after Gaea's defeat.

The visit was related to Hazel and Frank's annual visit to Camp Half-blood in the summer, that had happened about a month ago. But now it was autumn, and leaves rustled and crunched on the ground, colored oranges, yellows, and reds. The trees clung to their last leaves, which fluttered lazily to the ground, one after another. A chilly breeze swept around her shoulders, her braid lifting a little and dancing in the wind. If Jason was here, he would have tugged on her braid, and leaned away as she turned to smack him on the shoulder… but he wasn't here. There was no friendly tug, no stifled giggles, or eye rolls from their friends at their antics. Just the chilling, mocking wind whispering in her ears.

"Piper?" Hazel asked, looking concerned. Frank and the others stood a little ways off, chatting, seemingly unaware of what was going on.

"Yeah," Piper said distantly, a mournful look on her face that rarely appeared. Hazel glanced back at the others, who had noticed by now. A rather uncomfortable look overtook them. They weren't exactly used to Piper acting like this, she had gotten so good at hiding everything behind a determined mask. But looking around at Camp Jupiter, all Piper could think about were the new temples shining in the distance that hadn't been there before - Jason's project.

"Alright," Hazel said carefully. "Why don't we… why don't we head to where you're going to stay so you all can unpack?"

Annabeth, Percy, and Calypso all nodded, and they group started following Frank and Hazel. Leo and Piper hung back a little, the former nodding in reassurance to a worried Calypso.

Out of all the people here, the person who would be able to best understand how Piper was feeling would be Leo. He had been Jason's best friend, after all. So he walked next to her, both staring at the temples that hadn't been there the last time they had been to Camp Jupiter, a tribute to Jason in a way.

Walking in silence, Leo squeezed Piper's arm gently before letting go. It was comforting to Piper in some ways that people knew what she was going through, but it would only do so much. It would never fill the gaping void that had opened when Jason died, the emptiness she felt every day. Nobody could replace Jason.

After an agonizingly long walk full of landmarks Jason had once pointed out to her, they finally reached a small building that was to be where they would stay for the week. Leading them inside and letting them file off to their respective rooms, Frank gave Leo and Calypso instructions on where their rooms were while Hazel waited for a moment before following Piper to her room.

She said nothing, instead watching as Piper dumped her luggage on floor and opened it, grabbing a bag of popcorn and ripping open the bad. Hopping on the small bed, Piper ignored Hazel and chewed on some popcorn half-heartedly.

Meanwhile, Hazel had moved closer to the suitcase, her attention fixed on an unassuming dark purple sweater, the color of the Camp Jupiter shirt she wore. Furrowing her brow, Hazel crouched down and reached out to touch it, plucking a few bits of lint off of it.

"You never wash that sweater."

Hazel's voice cut through the tense silence, her words echoing through the room, painfully jabbing into Piper's skull. Swallowing thickly, Piper opened her mouth to answer before shutting it again. Her gaze remained fixated on the ground, refusing to look at her friend. Hazel waited expectantly, still crouched over the sweater, her fingers brushing over the worn fabric.

"It still smells like him."

Her voice was hollow, the only emotions remaining were the pain and loss she still felt. The sweater, the plain purple sweater, had been one of Jason's favorites… he had worn it so many times it had a lingering scent that Piper knew to be his. Call her stalkerish, call her crazy, but it was one of the last things she had of him. One of the last things she could carry around with her and know to be completely and wholly Jason's.

Looking up, Piper's broken gaze met Hazel's sorrowful one. Her friend opened her mouth, and then closed it, standing up. Walking over to Piper, Hazel sat down on the bed, putting her arm around Piper's shoulder.

A few rebellious tears emerged from Piper's eyes, and she cursed herself inwardly. Why did she still cry over his death? It had been months since… since it had happened. And yet, any mention of Jason and Piper had to leave, overcome with the seemingly never ending grief and try and compose herself, miserably failing. Would it ever go away? Would she ever find peace after his death?

"I didn't know," Hazel said quietly after a long pause. "I had thought… that it was just a purple sweater." Pretending to ignore Piper's tears - something Piper was grateful for - Hazel gave her a strained smile, one that showed how much Jason's death had affected all of them. Not all of the seven had been as close to him as, say, Piper or Leo, but it didn't mean that they hadn't been crushed. Sure, maybe they were having a bit of an easier time getting over Jason's death, but it didn't mean they wouldn't shed tears thinking about it. Or maybe… maybe they were just better at staying stronger than Piper was. Maybe it wasn't them, it was her. Perhaps they were better at dealing with grief than Piper, more collected than her. It was practically her fault Jason died, after all - she hadn't been strong enough to protect him.

"It's fine," Piper murmured, her voice strangled. "I wouldn't expect you to." She swallowed again, a lone tear dripping on to her leg.

Hazel appeared to be just as lost as her. They sat in silence once more, staring at the purple sweater, the sweater that had somehow managed to derail their whole conversation. The sweater that hadn't been worn or washed for months, kept perfectly preserved by Piper so Jason's scent would remain lingering on the fabric. She had brought it with her everywhere, it had its own drawer in her dresser, its own spot in her suitcase. And as much as she hated to admit it, there were times where she would just hold the sweater and cry. Somehow the sweater had served as a memento of Jason, a fragment of his life that Piper couldn't let go of.

One day, she hoped, she would be able to let go of the sweater. Or, at least look at it and be able to smile, thinking about all of the memories she had experienced with Jason. She would probably carry the sweater with her forever, but the smell would fade and so would her pain.

"Come on," Piper said, standing up and putting aside the barely eaten popcorn. "The others are probably waiting."

Looking at Piper, Hazel's brow furrowed as she probably tried to see if Piper was feeling a bit better, ready to face other people again. After a moment, Hazel joined her, seemingly satisfied that Piper would be alright for now. And Piper was alright - sure, she wasn't happy or bubbling with joy, but she had yet to feel that way since Jason's death. She was sure - or, at least, hopeful - that those feelings would come back soon, trickling back into her life. Maybe her life would never be the same, but she was okay with that.

And so, she walked out of the room, her face settled, ready to rejoin the world.