In this chapter, I did say there was going to be a sparring match between Piper and Annabeth and I wasn't lying. Even if it is sort of short. But I think the last part of this chapter will make it up to you (my fellow JASPER fans)!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Percy Jackson characters at all.

"Swing at me again Piper. You're doing good, but you need to concentrate on your swings. You know the method, you just need to attack it." Annabeth told me. I swung my dagger again, and this time, I think I actually made some progress. But then Annabeth caught my dagger in midair (with her dagger) and she twisted it until Katoptris was not in my hands anymore.

"Swing again." She told me. I did it, but the same thing happened.

"Again." I went a little faster than before, but not fast enough. Never fast enough.

"Gah, I just can't do it!" I said, maybe a little dramatically.

"Yes, you can. Actually, I think the only problem you have is that you don't really believe in yourself." She told me, her eyes narrowing in conclusion. "You're lacking confidence. Swing again."

"No. It's pointless."

"Piper, you're the one who told me to teach you. I'm only doing what you said. Come on, swing again."

I swung again, but maybe she was right. I feel like every single time I'm going slower. Losing hope in myself in every single swing. And right now, I did exactly that.

Annabeth waited patiently for me to catch my breath, and after I was done, I told her that I just wasn't ready.

Annabeth didn't take that for an answer. Before I could even think about setting down Katoptris, she swung at me. As an instinct, I ducked and rolled out of the way. While I was ducked under her, I hit my dagger on the side of Annabeth's foot which made her lose balance.

Where did that come from?

Before I could get the confusion out of my head, Annabeth quickly regained balance and swung at me again. This time, I stopped her dagger in midair and twisted it. Her dagger flew swiftly across the arena, a few yards away.

"See, you can do it."

"Well yeah, because I wasn't expecting it."

"Well don't expect it then."

Then she swung her dagger at me again (which I hadn't noticed she retrieved). I ducked, but Annabeth was too fast. The dagger left behind a long cut on the side of my arm. I swung at her and she again, knocked it out of my hand. I kicked her to buy time so I could retrieve my dagger and when I was about to grasp it, Annabeth's foot stopped me on the ground.

"It's okay, you can try again." She told me, clearly already accepting victory.

Who said I was going to try again for me to win?

When she started to take her foot off of me, I grabbed Katoptris and used the hilt of the sword to jab her behind the knee to make her lose balance. This time it was me who held the knife below her chin to stop her from getting up. Her confused face turned into a proud smile.

Things were silent for a while. Then a bunch of cheers erupted. I looked around at the crowd (which I hadn't even noticed had been around us) and spotted the rest of the Seven. They all had big smiles on their faces and Hazel mouthed the words, I told you so. I felt a smile of my own appear then turned to Annabeth and let her stand up.

"Well I wasn't expecting that." She said, while rubbing her shoulder.

I looked back at her and replied with a smirk, "Well don't expect it then."

When I walked back to Cabin 10 to wash up and prepare for dinner, I already notice Drew and her gang there. I head to the bathroom but before I could make it there, Drew calls me back. "Hon, if you know what's best for you, you'll tell us why you're acting so weird."

Uh, oh. I had a feeling this conversation would come up eventually. I didn't think it would come up this soon. "Acting weird? How?" I said in the most nonchalant way I could come up with. Like I wasn't freaking out right now.

"Oh, you know. When Mitchel came up to you the other day, he heard you talking to that Reyna girl about something to do with and I quote an 'ice block' and 'memories'" She smirked then added, "You didn't hit yourself again did you?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "No, Mitchel must have heard something wrong because I didn't say that at all." I could still see her getting suspicious so I added, "Maybe you should focus on other things beside yourself before you make false assumptions." Then I turned around, heading back towards the bathroom before she could say anything else.

I glanced back at her quickly to see if she bought it and I'm guessing she did because she rolled her eyes in a way like, Whatever. But then muttered something that confused me so much, I think I may have just imagined it.

"I don't know what the hell that guy sees in you." Then she went back to talking to her cronies and filing her nails.

Huh?

After dinner, I went to go walk out on the beach. Even though I beat Annabeth today, I wasn't so convinced I could beat Khione again. My triumph slowly started to fade when I realized that I would have to meet Khione eventually. And since I found out I killed her, I knew she would do everything she could in order to stop me. As I was walking I hadn't even realized I bumped into somebody.

"Oops, sorry." I said without looking up.

"Piper? What are you doing here?" A male voice said. I looked up to see who it was, and I surprisingly saw that it was Jason.

"Umm, I just needed fresh air. What are you doing here?" I asked him with a hint of suspicion.

"Same." He replied. He was staring at me for a while before he quickly looked away once more towards the ocean. What was wrong? First him, then Reyna? Those two were a lot alike, even though Reyna protested it a lot. I still don't get why Reyna did that. It's like she's trying to convince me that Jason doesn't like her and that she doesn't like him, even though her flushed face told otherwise.

I sighed when Jason finally looked at me again. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing."

He snorted. "Yeah, right. When you're a demigod, there's always something wrong."

"Well, there's not, alright?" I exclaimed, now getting really frustrated. Why does he care anyways? Why is he the only one who seems to care at all?

Why do I care so much?

Jason went quiet all of a sudden, and I start to think of a way to take it back. I have been acting really rude to him lately, and all he's been doing is showing concern for me. Before I could say anything, he mumbled, "Nevermind, forget I said that; it was a stupid question."

I raised an eyebrow at him. How can he not be mad at me? If I was him, I'd probably be yelling at myself, saying how fucking stupid I've been being lately. How was I even his friend? "No, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just that everything has been so annoying lately and I feel so pressured to do what's right. I'm not even good enough. I can't use a sword right and I'm horrible at-" I stop as he starts to burst out laughing.

"What?" I said, my cheeks starting to flush with embarrassment and anger. Was he making fun of me?

"No, it's not like that. You did really well fighting Annabeth today. And she's right; the only thing you have trouble with is having faith in yourself." He said, now turning his body that was once facing towards the ocean, is now facing me. "Piper McLean, you really don't know what you're capable of, do you? Before I met you, I never thought of love as a power. What you did about a year ago on the Argo II when you defeated Khione the first time proved me damn wrong. And I know you can do it again."

...

That was the most words I've heard him say since I met him. Something struck me. This guy actually cares. I know the rest of the Seven knows what I'm going through and they also care too... but this guy is different. The way he acts around me is different. And this feeling I'm getting, that's running through my brain all the way down to the tips of my toes, is something that I don't think I've ever felt before. At least not in a while. And he's right. I remember Festus waking up when I told him to. And I remember going up to Khione, threatening her to not touch my friends. I remember sending my dagger straight into her chest and her disrupting into a cloud of snowflakes. I even remember Zethes and Cal and how I was so thankful when, Zethes especially, died. I remember. Well, at least only that part of my memories. And I told him that.

At first he was shocked, but it quickly broke out into a smile. Damn. I hadn't noticed how beautiful his smile looked in the starlight. Or how startling blue his eyes looked as he gazed into mine. Or how adorable his scar looked as it was pulled back into a crescent. Or how- no. This wasn't right. I quickly shake my head. This is not right.

But why does it feel right?

Like looking into his eyes feels right? Like me being near him feels right?

Some sort of flash hits me. All I remember is it being windy, my hair flying in my face, and Jason's arms tight around my waist. Why was I like a hundred feet above the ground? And why was my heart thumping so loud? I remember shrieking a lot during that time too, and Jason clueless when I asked him how he could make us fly. Was it just me, or was his heart thumping hard as well?

Stop it, McLean. Just stop it. Right now is not the time.

But then he leans in. And I know I should probably do something, but my body refuses to move. My hands refuse to move. I refuse to move.

But someone always likes to move, because the next thing you know Leo is calling us to come go meet Chiron because he wants to tell us something, and I try to put on a smile to act like I'm not disappointed. And I'm not... right?

I sigh and start to walk away from him, but he pulls me back and kisses me on the cheek, slowly, and he tells me things are going to be alright.

A week ago, I would've pushed him away in disgust. A week ago, I would've slapped him so hard, the entire camp would've heard. A week ago, I wouldn't have been feeling so giddy like I strangely do now. But it's not a week ago. And I'm shocked so I don't do anything. And neither does he. We just simply walk away and pretend nothing has happened. Pretending that the kiss he gave me does not still burn brightly on my cheek, and I am not scared to death of what I might possibly be feeling right now.

But pretending is never useful.

It's so fluffy I think I'm gonna die! (Despicable Me reference) My heart was literally pounding as I wrote this chapter. And I'm still getting shivers just from thinking about it. I hope you guys thought it was okay. I know this was probably going a little too far, but I hadn't really wrote any JASPER moments in a while and I felt that I really had to or else I just might have exploded.

So, the next chapter is going to get all serious now and we're going to hear more about Khione's revenge. I'm soooo excited because I have almost the rest of the story planned out, now that I know where this is all leading to. But feel free to leave any suggestions in the review or PM me. And also, you can see Piper slowly starting to get her memories back... eeeeeppppp! I'm excited if I haven't made myself clear enough already.

A review or two would be nice ;)

Till next time,

Penguin