[A/N: I'm sorry for the wait and also what you're about to read .]

PERI'S POV

"Thanks, Hazel." I muttered, rubbing my chafed and reddened arms.

"Oh, it's really no problem," she replied from atop the worktable. "I still can't believe Jason and Piper just left you up- Leo, stop moving!"

She'd stacked some boxes and junk onto the table to reach our hanging prison, and was presently trying to untangle Leo from the ropes. He had insisted I be let down first, and now all I could do was watch as Hazel tried to free him. She worked quickly, but his squirming and fidgeting was making the task more difficult.

"Just one more. . ." Hazel sliced through another rope with her Imperial Gold dagger.

And then with a very manly scream, Leo plummeted onto the table. His body gave a sickening thud as it connected to the hard wooden surface, and my throat went dry.

"Leo!" I shrieked, panic shooting up my spine. I ran towards him, all other thoughts leaving my-

Wait. Oh. O-oh. Hazel got to him first. I-I .. okay..

A strangled groan escaped Leo's lips, and his body rocked atop the tabletop slowly. Now, I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure his leg isn't supposed to be twisted that way. His face was contorted in pain, and all he could do was lie there and whimper, shaking.

Hazel gingerly placed her hand upon Leo's face, trying to reassure him. It worked. She muttered words of comfort that only he could hear. It worked. She applied some pressure to his ankle in a certain spot, and the pleased look on his face told me it worked.

I stood there frozen between the two, my eyes darting from Leo to Hazel and back again.

I didn't like the way she was touching him. I didn't like the way she was so close to him. And I damn sure didn't like the way he was just melting at her touch like some sort of motherfu-

"Does this feel better, Leo?" she murmured, rubbing his calf in small, slow, sensual fucking circles.

I didn't like the way she said his name. The way she purred it.

Leo's eyes rolled back in his head, and he sighed blissfully. "Yeah."

Goddammit, Hazel, you temptress! You win this round-

My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden boom that rattled the entire ship, making the three of us jump with a start. I heard shouting from the deck above, and adrenaline began coursing through my veins.

"Oh my stars," Hazel breathed, staring up at the ceiling. "What was that?"

I grabbed Leo's arm, helping him stand. "Come on, we gotta go check it out. I'll help Leo." My voice came out sharper than I'd intended, and Leo made a squeaking sound. It was then that I realized I'd been squeezing his arm incredibly tightly, my fingernails digging into his bicep. My face was hot, and I opened my mouth to speak even though I had no idea what to say.

But what am I even mad for?

"We don't have time for this," Hazel said quickly, her golden eyes deadly serious. "Someone could be in trouble." She made her way to the engine room door, leaving me holding Leo with my lips pursed together so forcefully that my mouth was going numb.

Oh, so now the thirteen year old knows best?!

"Come on, Leo!" I snapped, tugging him along after her. There was no way I was letting Hazel get all the action. We hobbled up the stairs as fast as we could, but Leo kept whining about his ankle so when we finally made it onto the deck we were a little late to the party.

Frank, Percy, and Coach Hedge were sitting in dining chairs on the deck, and the other demigods surrounded them. The three were soaking wet, completely exhausted, and trembling - well, except Coach Hedge. He was grinning at the sky, muttering, "Awesome. Awesome."

Frank looked up and gave Hazel a weak smile, but I could still see a frantic fear in his eyes. It made Leo smirk to see him like this, and I figured I might know half the reason why.

"Oh my gods, Frank what happened?!" Hazel cried.

"Oi, Hazel, there's your boyfriend!" I blurted. "Maybe you should help him. I mean, he is your boyfriend, and it'd be a very girlfriend-like thing to do, helping him out and all. You know. Since he's your boyfriend. Frank, I mean. No one else. Only him. Only Frank. Zhang. Frank Zhang-"

Leo elbowed me in the ribs and shot me a peculiar look. I'd done it again. The word vomit, I mean. I just couldn't control it. I just talked and talked and talked until I dug myself a grave I couldn't get out of. Why was this happening all of a sudden? Why was my mood changing at the drop of a hat?

Why am I being like this?

Frank was flushing now, embarrassed and disoriented. He kept looking around at everyone with complete confusion on his face, trying to figure out what was going on as his chest rose and fell at irregular intervals.

"Frank, tell us what happened," The daughter of Athena spoke slowly, and I could tell she was getting frustrated with the Asian boy.

"There's no time!" He cried. "We need to get out of here! We're being followed!"

"Followed by what?" Jason asked.

"I don't know!" Frank panted, still exhausted from whatever. "Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky?"

Bonnabelle's face reddened, and I could tell she was focusing a great deal of energy on restraining herself from bitch slapping Frank until he made sense. "I understood absolutely none of that." She turned toward Leo and I, and her eyes swept over us in a calculating instant where she gained all the necessary knowledge for issuing her next request. "Peri, get us out of here."

I nodded once. "You got it." Reluctantly, I handed Leo off to Hazel who promptly took him off my hands and towed him to the infirmary belowdecks.

I tried my hardest not to think about what they might be doing down there as I tuned into the Argo, preparing for liftoff. I tried.

But I failed.

I soon discovered that Festus was not as much of a gentleman as previously thought - he refused to tell me what Leo and Hazel were doing. And I know he fucking knows. But he just kept replying in that whirring voice of his, If you would like to find out that badly, why not just go down there yourself. But he knows I can't leave my post. Sailor's code.

Whatever. It's not like I care or anything. I don't care what they do. I just . . . feel bad for Frank, is all. Yeah. Poor Frank is gonna get his heart broken when he finds out about whatever is Leo and Hazel are doing and saying and thinking and - and feeling together.

The thought makes my chest ache and my throat feel tight. Poor Frank.

And poor Peri, too.