Hi again, viewers! Thank you so much for all the reviews and followers and favorites; I appreciate them all and love you all - you are my encouragers that I look forward to at the end of a long day. It's true:) But I must say that this is a really short chapter but I promise that chapter five will be much longer.

I do not own PJO - please enjoy!

They were laughing again—just like the good ole' times. Each of them thought that they were the same trio again but they knew that something was missing and it wasn't as complete.

It was nighttime and the streets were dark as the sky was painted indigo. The three of them were inside sitting on a bench in the front lobby of the stadium. The floors were a blinding white and the walls a dull gray with rails for stairs above them and signed pictures of famous basketball players. It was nice and quiet as it was just the three of them and nobody could take away their precious time; nobody could disturb their paradise that they hadn't enjoyed in what seemed like forever.

"—you will not believe how much of a wimp Jason was when he first got here!" Leo said while laughing. Grins were opening up their beaming faces. "When I stepped into the locker room, they were shoving him up against the lockers and his cute chubby face," Leo pinched Jason's cheek, who swatted it away and then Leo continued, "was all scared!"

"I was not scared—!"

"Ooh! And his eyes were all big like this!" Leo opened up his eyelids to where you practically couldn't see them anymore and his eyes twinkled under the blazing lights above them. He looked like a bug.

Piper snorted which led into a fit of overwhelming chortles. She could feel her face blushing and she immediately clamped both of her palms over her mouth, her fingers covering her eyes. But her laughter couldn't be suppressed. Piper's snickers were still audible and Jason's astonished face stared at her; his mouth gaped open as the ends of his mouth were lifting upward as he breathed out a laugh and he, too began to shout heartily aloud.

Leo blinked away his funny look and started to snigger, snorting and then double up with hoots.

Piper peeked through her skinny fingers and found them with their eyes squeezed shut and their arms crossed over the bottom of their ribcage as their heads craned back. She began to make a high-pitched sound that sounded like a dog yipping up at them.

The hall was filled with their own laughter, which was laughing back at them in faint echoes. Some lights blinked off in the distance as the stadium began to close down.

Leo's laughter died down enough for him to say, "Yeah, good thing I was there to tell 'em off or else our buddy here would've been demolished!"

Jason's reaction was immediate and he gave Leo a look. "Um, no. That is not at all what happened," he chuckled as he scratched the tip of his brow above his watered eyes. "No, you were the one getting pummeled in the locker room and I was there to save you."

Then a shrill ringing alarmed through the air, stopping them all. Leo jumped and his hand went to his pocket. He brought out his phone, looked at the screen and put it to his ear. Jason's face began to fall as he knew that they had to leave soon.

"Leo Valdez here," He answered. "Ten minutes?" He glanced at Jason, who stared back pleadingly. Leo returned a somber look. "Yes, we'll be there. 'Kay, thanks." Leo pressed his thumb against the screen and then slipped the phone back into his pocket. As he stood, he rubbed his hands on his dark slacks as if his palms were sweating. "I gotta go help with loading up the bus," he explained. He leaned forward, giving Piper a hug. "It was nice to see you, Beauty Queen."

"You too, Leo." She responded, reaching her arms up to hug him back.

Leo patted Jason on the shoulder, congratulating him on his win on the game. Jason nodded and Leo walked away.

The air was now a little too silent with Leo gone. He always had that talent, Piper thought, to bring the room up to life. Piper clutched the ends of the bench and she kicked her feet, feeling young again.

Jason gave a short laugh. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and said, "Leo got that whole story wrong." He pointed a finger at the glass double doors. His voice was raw from laughing so hard.

Piper smiled. Finally, she thought up to ask the question that had been boggling her since she'd found out about him. "What made you want to become a basketball player, out of all things?"

Jason opened his mouth to answer, but then his smile interrupted himself. He looked down at his shoes as if embarrassed to answer and scratched the back of his neck.

"What?" Piper asked, her voice tinted with confusion.

"Nothing, nothing," He looked up at her and she found herself staring at those beautiful crescent moon-like eyes. "It's just that if I tell you, you can't let anyone know."

Her brows furrowed and she tilted her head back, looking at him suspiciously. "Okay…" she trailed off.

Jason held out his hand to her like he was showing something in the palm of his hand. When Piper looked, she didn't see anything but felt the bees flying around her heart as she recognized the rough lines that were drawn across his fingers. She had the urge to reach out and lace her fingers through his, to feel the creases, and have them fit perfectly again. But she resisted it as Jason looked back up at her, a twinkle in his eye.

"You know how I have wind powers?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Well, uh, I found that it was an easy sport to pass by with the—"

Piper gasped sharply and she pushed him. "Jason Grace!" she scolded. "The famous basketball player cheating at his own sport?! This is an outrage!" she added melodramatically.

Jason let out deep chuckles and he held his hand at her, shushing her. "No one can know about this because none of them know I'm a demigod. And besides, it's not like I use it all the time—I can play basketball perfectly fine without it. Sometimes, I can't even conjure enough air because there isn't any or because I know it'll just wear me out even more."

"Mmhm," Piper said sarcastically. "Sure,"

Jason's hands instinctively went to her sides and he began to taunt her by digging his fingers into her ribs.

Piper felt like high-voltage bolts were crawling up her spine and body starting from her hips. Her butt jerked forward and her arms were sprawled out everywhere as her back was pushing against him. Her shrieks echoed down the hallway.

Jason put his lips by her ear and said through his grinning teeth, "Piper McLean, so help me—you think I would actually cheat?!" he laughed.

She cackled, throwing her head back as the top of her skull landed on his shoulder. "NO—AAH!"

Jason grinned down at her and his mouth moved forward as he was about to kiss her on the cheek, but he stopped himself. It was wrong and what they were doing was just an act, he knew. Why they were pretending about this, he didn't know. He let go of her and she took a deep breath, sitting up straight again as he leaned forward.

Piper knew that he was oddly silent suddenly. "What's wrong?" she asked, the corner of her lips tugging upwards.

"Pipes," he said after a short pause. "There's something I have to tell you."

She cleared her raw throat and asked what it was that he wanted to say.

"After we…" he lightly gestured with his hands, not sure on how to pronounce his words. Finally, he sighed. "You wanna go on a walk?"

Piper's mouth lay open a little. "Sure,"

They stood from the hard bench and walked out of the stadium just in time because the lights flickered off. Or maybe they were just waiting for them to leave so that they could finally shut it down. But even though they escaped from the darkness, they found themselves in another dusky setting. With the sky dim with indigo and sprinkled with twinkling stars, it made the streets dance with shadows except for the occasional lamp posts. The night air was comfortably humid with a small warm wind that tickled their skins.

Jason stuffed his hands in his pockets. He wasn't sure how to explain it, but he didn't want to ruin the small talk they already had.

"So how've you been doing these past few years?" Jason asked awkwardly.

"Oh, good, I guess." Piper tucked a lock of hair behind her ear again. "I actually work in a clothing business…" and that lead to her trailing on about how her fashion designs are booming.

"Piper," Jason interrupted her. He stopped and turned to face her after she soon halted, turning around to face him. "I think that's great and all, but…" Jason couldn't find the words to finish his sentence.

There was a small bloom of air that flew past them, making Piper's hair blow to the side in front of her face, causing brown streaks to cross her vision. She folded an arm under her elbow as she wiped her hand across her face, drawing the hair behind her ear again.

She stared up at him, her eyes kind as they mixed into a hazel color. "What were you going to say before?" She asked, her voice soft.

Jason let her charm speak work him. He stepped closer to her. "After we broke up, I told Annabeth and Percy how I felt about it. And, well, Piper, there's only one really good reason of why I was so relieved when I saw you." He closed the distance between them and stopped her hair from whipping around her face by holding it in between his fingers. The wind calmed and was not violent anymore. Her hair is so soft, he thought. He watched, as in the shadows, it turned to a darker color—almost black.

Piper knew what was going to happen but she didn't stop it. Her eyes burned with his blue ones—which seemed to glow to a cerulean. She felt her throat get caught in breath and she choked out.

Jason didn't seem to notice it as he lightly rested his forehead against hers. His skin tingled where their noses dared to touch. His fingers then brushed against the skin of her neck. "Piper, I—"

"Jason, I can't do this," Piper finally was able to say as she turned her head to the side.

"I—I know because we just met again," Jason brought back his hand. "I understand but if you need time, then—"

"No, you don't know and that's what's so painful." Piper said as she stared up at him with empathy, her eyes turning a misty green.

Jason's eyebrows furrowed. "What—"

"I have a boyfriend, Jason. I can't be with you again, I'm sorry."

He looked down at his shoes, feeling guilty and a little embarrassed. "Right. I'm sorry, I should've made sure first."

"Jason, I—"

There was a honking noise that cut Piper off. They both turned to find a large bus parked near them and the double doors open. Jason's ride. He held up a finger to tell them that he'd be there in just a second. He turned back to Piper. "It's okay, really. We can still be best friends, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah," Piper said, her throat closing up. "Best friends." She cracked a smile.

"Here," Jason mumbled and he pulled out a small square of slick paper. "Do you have a pen?"

Piper reached into her small purse and found a slick blue ink pen. She handed it to him, looking at him curiously.

Jason mumbled a thank you and then set the paper on her shoulder so that he could scribble furiously on it because his teammates were hollering at him to hurry up because they wanted to go home already. Jason handed the pen back to her and gave her the paper. He pointed to the side where the numbers were already printed on it.

"If you can show up at the next game," he pointed at the phone number. "Just call that number. It's Leo's work phone."

"Okay, but what'd you write?" she asked as she stared at the number.

Jason picked the card out of her fingertips and turned it around, slipping it back into her small grasp. He pointed to his handwriting and said exactly what was written on there. "In case you want to just talk," he added, "friend-to-friend."

Piper smiled and found her mind already memorizing his phone number. She mentally scolded herself as there was a picture of Chris in her mind. She pressed her lips into a firm line. Chris, the man that helped her and gave her hope when she was in her worst times. She couldn't just forget about him—she loved him. "Okay, thanks. You should probably get going." She gave him a small smile and nodded her head to the side, motioning him to the bus.

"Yeah," Jason nodded his head as he cocked a smile. He felt good right now, even if he hadn't exactly told her yet. He leaned forward and gave her a hug, pressing his cheek against hers and embracing his arms around her thin figure.

Piper felt her ears burn and she awkwardly wrapped her arms around him, her fingers feeling his back and the angle of his shoulder blades. The bees tugged at her stomach again and the guilty picture of Chris flashed through her mind again. She swallowed and stepped back just when he did.

They flashed each other quick waves and Jason finally stepped onto his bus. Piper stared at the back of it for a while, not sure what to think. All she knew was that she was with the companions she had first been through the troubles of a demigod with again. She liked the feeling and knew that everything was all right now and she didn't have that missing hole in her heart missing.

And why, she asked herself, was she trying to avoid the little voice in the back of her head that was whispering to her that everything was just about to get worse because she had reunited with them again?

But what she didn't know was that there was still a tiny hole at the very bottom of her heart, slowly getting wider, longing for someone to really love.