Piper didn't really care that her clothes were wet. It was just her Hello Kitty tank top and sport shorts. She had taken her sneakers, socks, and sweatshirt. She loved pools and they were everywhere in California. She missed California a little. It didn't get cold there.

She dove under the water and yanked Leo down by his ankles. He yelped a little and Piper grinned. She starting swimming freestyle and expected to be the fastest in the pool. Swimming in oceans and pools her entire life made her extremely fast in the water. But surprisingly, it was Percy. The boy with no tact who seemed to be pretty close to Annabeth. He was the fastest.

He was honestly a machine. Percy was just piercing through the water. Foaming bubbles frothed behind him. Piper felt a little threatened and kept trying to swim as fast as possible. Percy reached the edge of the pool way before Piper, winning the race she'd concocted.

Percy said, "Hey Piper! I've got an idea, come here."

Piper swam towards him. "Yeah?"

"We should throw Annabeth in the pool. It'd be hilarious," Percy said. He motioned to her over there, swinging on the hammock.

"Completely unfounded and I love the idea," Piper said. The two of them grinned and got out of the pool. Piper knew she and Percy could be good friends. They had the same sense of chaotic humor.

They walked over to the hammocks. Piper tried to hide a grin. "Hey, Annabeth?"

"Yeah?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," she said. She and Percy surged forward and lifted Annabeth out of the hammock. She shrieked and yelled at them to stop. Percy and Piper ran to the pool with Jason, Nico, and Calypso in tow.

"Percy! Piper! I swear to gosh!" Annabeth yelled. The two of them threw her into the pool with her shrieking at the top of her lungs. She came out of the pool sputtering and trying to get water out of her baseball cap.

She walked up to the two of them and Piper prepared herself for a beatdown. What she was not prepared for was Annabeth grabbing Percy by the wrist, and Judo-flipping him into the pool! She started laughing hysterically as Percy came up out of the water.

"Dang, Annabeth. That hurt!" Percy said.

"That's what you get," Annabeth said with a smirk as she tried to get water out of her Yankees baseball cap.

Piper laughed. "I didn't know you knew Karate!"

"It's not Karate, it's Judo. Jason knows Karate," Annabeth said. She sighed. "Ah, F it." She took off her lettermen jacket (seriously. It was Agust. Why was she wearing a jacket?) and dove in, just in her tank top and shorts.

Piper laughed and ran over to the hammocks where Jason, Nico, and Calypso were sitting. She stole Annabeth's hammock and let herself dry in the sun. She was wet all over and started wringing out her hair. Her eagle feather was soaking.

"So Annabeth just judo-flipped Percy into the pool," Jason said. Piper nodded.

"We did throw her into the pool so he deserved it," Piper said.

"You have guts," Jason said.

Piper laughed. "Yeah, I guess."

Calypso said, "Hey Jason?"

"Yeah?" He asked.

"The back to school dance is still happening this year, right?" Calypso asked.

Piper's face lit up. She loved school dances! Hanging out with friends, dancing with boys, having fun.

"Oh yeah, definitely!" Jason said.

"Do you think Percy would go with me?" Calypso asked.

"I don't really know," Jason said.

"Do you have a crush?" Piper asked in a sing-song tone.

Calypso blushed. "What?! I just think he's cute and nice and funny. A great person to go to the dance with. For now, we're just friends."

"Hey Piper, do you want to go together?" Jason asked casually. "It'd be nice to not have to go with Annabeth for one year."

"Yeah, sounds good," Piper said. She was secretly elated. "I'm glad I won't have to hunt for a date."

Now, Piper didn't have a crush on Jason. Yet. But he was nice and funny and Piper liked him. He was a good person to go to the dance with, and she wasn't at all charmed by his blue eyes and the cute scar on his lip. Or the fact that he was kind of adorable.

Oh, who was she kidding? She had a total crush on him.

"We should try to get Frank and Hazel to go together," Jason said.

"Hazel already has a boyfriend," Piper said.

"Really? That sucks. I thought she and Frank would be a cute couple."

"I can't believe my ears. Have I found a fellow matchmaker?" Piper asked.

Jason grinned. "Maybe just a little bit. Hey Nico?"

Nico looked up. "What?"

"Who are you going to the dance with?" He asked.

"I don't do school dances," Nico said. He turned over on his side, facing the shed.

"Alright then. Who else can we ship?" Piper asked.

"Katie and Travis!" Jason said.

"Thalia and Luke!" Calypso added.

"Wait, what?" Jason asked.

"Everyone ships it," Calypso said defensively.

"Aw, heck no. My sister ain't getting a boyfriend," Jason said.

Piper laughed. "Wow."

"I'm protective," Jason said.

"So do you guys have many school dances?" Piper asked.

"Four every year. Beginning of the year dance, Snow Ball, Spring Fling, and End of the year dance. It's not mandatory to go, but a lot of people do and if you get permission, you can invite some friends outside of school. Also, every Saturday, we're allowed to go to New York City. Buses take us if you sign up. It's really fun and me, Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia would go get pretzels and go to the beach."

"That sounds super cool!" Piper said.

"I mean, it is really cool here. It's the best place ever," Jason said with a sigh.