New Year's Eve, part I

"Stupid… crap… dumb… stabilizer… bullshit…" Leo mumbled while tweaking with the fuel injection system for the Argo II. If his brain could fry and explode like a Wile E. Coyote cartoon, it was totally about to happen. Or maybe it already did, and he hadn't realized it.

The forge was as hot as Festus' morning breath with the Hephaestus bunch scattered all over and stationed at different work benches. His siblings didn't look anything like him, but they all had that spark of determination when it came to fixing and building. Even little Harley was as rough and tough as a rhinoceros, hunched over and working on a crank shaft for the engine. Nyssa, Shane, Bobby, Tyler, Dan, Josh, Christopher, Hannah, and Martin – almost the whole crew had their noses shoved into some sort of project. No one really talked, but there was a silent understanding within Cabin Nine that they all had each others' backs. And that included the daunting task of building the hottest war ship Camp Half-Blood has ever seen.

Leo was about to throw the pump system against the door in frustration when he turned just in time to see Piper, wide eyed and terrified, standing in the doorway. He looked around to make sure no one else saw Piper's mini-heart attack, and set the parts down on his bench with a heavy thunk.

"Uhh, hey?" was all Leo could get out of his crooked mouth.

"Gods Leo, one of these days –" Piper crossed her arms and stood there, looking totally out of place in the middle of the forge.

"Yeah yeah, I know. What's up?" The daughter of Aphrodite had never visited Leo before, so he knew something must be up.

She cocked her head to the side so her choppy hair fell into her face. "Leo, what time is it?"

"Hammer time?"

She smiled even though she didn't want to, and even several of his brothers nearby had to stifle a laugh. "No, it's eleven-thirty."

"Shit! I missed breakfast?"

In the background he could hear Josh and Hannah shout "Drachma!" as one of them set a coin-filled jar down on the table with a satisfying clink. He'd never escape the swear jar now that Chiron made it a rule for all the demigods. Especially the obnoxious ones named Leo Valdez.

Leo growled and muttered, "Stupid Pyrra. Stupid big-mouthed nymph who told Chiron –"

But Piper snapped her fingers and reined in his attention. "Night. Eleven-thirty at night, repair-boy. On the last day of December."

Leo hated that nickname, but he ignored it anyway. He snapped his fingers to mimic her and said, "Correct! And I'm still awesome. Now tell me why that is important."

Piper took a steady breath, and a calm look washed over her face. "Today is New Years Eve, and all of you are going to come to the fire and ring in the new year with the rest of the campers."

Leo had this sudden urge to run out the door and do cartwheels all the way to the fire pit. He wasn't the only one, because all of his siblings had already set down their tools and began to head for the door. Piper was lucky he liked her, otherwise her charmspeak would be the death of him.

With a small smile, Piper added, "And that includes you too, Leo. Relax and have some fun. You've been working too hard." She reached out and grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the forge and started to head towards beach.

-X-

The beach on the Long Island Sound was crowded with demigods, satyrs, nymphs, and anyone else who decided to show up. Usually you didn't see this many people crowded together except at dinner time or capture the flag. Not that Leo would know, because he's been stowed away working on the Argo II for the last 38,469 minutes – but he wasn't counting.

Piper and Leo weaved and walked through the crowd until they spotted Jason with Coach Hedge. Before they got close, Leo could hear the over-ambitious satyr telling the guys and girls to not stand so close and started waving his bat in the air.

"Hey! I saw that! You keep your hands to yourself, you schmuck!" Coach shouted and jumped into the crowd.

"Whose idea was it to let Coach Cootie chaperone?" asked Leo as he jabbed his thumb in the direction the satyr disappeared in.

"Probably the same person who dragged you away from your work." Jason smiled down at Piper, who returned the warm glance and nudged his shoulder.

Blah. They were so cute and it made Leo sick. He'd never let either of them know, though.

As Leo looked around to distract himself from Superman and Beauty Queen's goo-goo eyes, he noticed the small fires scattered along the beach with huddles of demigods standing around. It was a chilly evening, even with the seasonal protection of Mr. D. Along the edge of the forest, floating lanterns with different colored flames hung across the tree line. The stars were out, the water was calm, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves with the impending doom looming over their heads. Everyone was talking and laughing and smiling. For a moment, he felt like a normal teenager hanging out at a bonfire with friends.

But that moment quickly vanished when he felt a sharp shock on his shoulder. He yelped and turned around to see a giggling Piper and a smiling Jason, who had his finger reaching out towards Leo.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" Leo rubbed his arm.

"Are you deaf? We've been trying to talk to you for the past few minutes," Jason said with a raised eyebrow.

He pouted. Had he zoned out for that long? "Well gee, Sparky, you didn't have to zap me."

"Of course I did," Jason said, "because we never see you anymore. I'm surprised you're still tan after all the time spent in the bunker. I had to make sure you were still alive."

"Yeah. But someone's gotta do it. The sexy spankin' trireme won't build itself, now will it?"

Jason scrunched his face. "I don't know if that's the best word to describe a war ship."

"What, trireme? Don't be ridiculous, Pan."

"Still don't like that name."

Leo opened his mouth to spew out several other terms of endearment to his best friend, but Piper cut in instead.

"Boys, do I need to remind you that it is now eleven-fifty-eight?" She paused to look between the two and smiled.

"Actually, it's fifty-seven. But that's okay." Annabeth walked up to the group now while eyeing her wristwatch. She looked exhausted, and even in the faint glow of the fires Leo could see the bags under her eyes and the slight slump of her shoulders. He noticed it before when she stayed with Leo to work on the ship, too. But he knew better than to bring it up. He didn't dare ask how the search was going, because he knew she'd kick his ass. Piper and Jason smiled at her as she came to stand beside them.

Leo decided he didn't like the silence, so he asked, "Do we have all our holiday shindigs on the beach? Or do we shake it up every now and then?" He was playing the I'm-still-new-so-I-can-still-act-oblivious card. Knowing Annabeth, though, she'd see right through it.

Annabeth crossed her arms and answered, "Kind of. Technically, this isn't a true Greek holiday. The Greek New Year is actually observed when the Titan constellation Aries rises in the spring. We celebrate mortal holidays as well, to appease everyone else. And –"

"Ares? Isn't that guy kind of a di–"

"It's Aries, not Ares. And I suggest you be quiet, Leo, unless you'd like to be cooked well-done before the night is over," Annabeth warned.

Thank the gods that Piper decided to start counting before Leo was blasted to bits by Annabeth's stare.

"Fifty-nine! Fifty-eight! Fifty-seven!..."

Everyone around her joined in, and the volume grew louder and louder the smaller the numbers became. Smiles grew bigger and people started drifting closer and closer together unknowingly as they continued the countdown.

"Thirty-six! Thirty-five! Thirty-four!..."

The Wonder couple was holding hands, Annabeth was playing with a blue charm on her necklace, and Coach Hedge managed to climb on a nearby rock and stare down every pair of demigods who were standing too close.

"Three! Two! One!..."

Leo looked up into the sky and could have sworn the stars were twinkling more than normal. Shouts and cheers erupted from the beach, with clapping and singing and the normal celebrations. As he turned around to wish his friends a happy New Year, he awkwardly looked away at the sight of them kissing. And then his eyes met Annabeth's, who looked like she was pressing her lips to her necklace, and there was a small glimpse of recognition there. They were both alone, and the realization hit Leo harder than he thought it would.

However, that was hastily covered up with a scowl as she narrowed her eyes at him and he cowardly looked away. Yup, she was still damn scary.

I hope you all have had a good holiday season so far! I know I haven't been around much lately. I could take this time to write a long explanation, but I'm sure you guys and gals don't care that much haha.

Anyway, this NYE chapter is actually broken into three parts, and I'm posting the first two together for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! These were definitely fun to write. The third part is almost completed, so I'll post it as soon as I am able.

Thanks to everyone who has followed or favorited! I appreciate the support so much and it's wonderful to hear that people are enjoying my ramblings and junk :)

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