The week had gone by so fast to Jason. Everyday he'd make an effort to get through practice and workouts just so he and Leo could rush to a couple more rehearsals and makeup practices. He couldn't even remember most of the things that happened, which scared him at first as it brought memories of waking up on the bus when he was 16, but then he thought of how much he laughed and it all came rushing back to him. That, and Piper.

His feelings for her had grown stronger every day and every second of those days, he'd forget about where they were or why they were there. He'd only know that she was there with him and that made everything better. But then every couple of those seconds, he'd be reminded that she was off-limits by the fact that he didn't want to get on the wrong foot with Chris.

That was at first; after a couple days, he realized that his feelings just couldn't be resisted or pushed back inside of him. He knew that no matter what, he would always find her next to him—just like on the bus that hot afternoon. Sometimes he'd even do things without even realize it like standing next to her and opening his fingers just a little as they brushed against hers—her skin was cool and soft and reminded him of the wind that rebooted his energy. Or maybe, as she was fixing some small dabs of makeup onto him, he'd find himself staring into her eyes—her pupils would always grow large and the small iris would churn with vigor in between green and amber and then if he'd stare long enough, he could see stripes of blue unless if that was his own eyes reflecting into hers.

He'd blink away when he could see her eyes focus onto his staring and her delicate features on her face would relax. When she was concentrated, her eyebrows would knit together a little and she'd press her lips together to a thin white line and then they'd part, making the same cycle over and over again. Jason could feel his eyes glaze over as he stared at her lips—the top one cut out neatly and curved like it was already smiling whereas the bottom one was plumper. He didn't care if that was how all lips were shaped (he didn't even really know that himself) because all he cared was how vivid she looked. It was like the greatest artist in the world had drawn her out.

He gave a small laugh when he thought, Or maybe it's like she was made from the gods themselves, because she literally was made from a god.

"Dude!" Leo slapped his arm. The two were at a small meeting with the team, sitting at a glossy mahogany table shaped like an oval. He could see the bright lights above reflecting onto it and then if he looked hard enough, even his own reflection was staring back at him.

"What?" he jumped, being brought out of his thoughts.

"Did you hear what coach just said?" Leo had an awe-filled expression. But it was also like he was nervous or scared. Jason knew it must've been something important if Leo looked like this. That or he was also sensing a prank coming along.

"Uh—"

"Oh, yeah, I forgot—you were too busy thinking about Beauty Queen," Leo grumbled. He was glad for the couple, really, but sometimes he didn't like how they were so googly-eyed and seemed a little dense because they liked each other. And that they hid it all the time like nobody could see it; he just wished they would admit their feelings to each other already.

Jason began to protest, but Leo cut him off as he waved a hand. "We made it into the finals, obviously,"

"Well that's great!" Jason said. His eyes cut around and he found his teammates that were in the runway with them staring at him with the same expression Leo had. They simultaneously shook their heads.

"Are you stupid?! No! That's not good!" Leo shrieked.

Jason was taken aback and was beginning to become confused. "What's the—"

"Dude, it's on the same night of Piper's runway show." Leo said as he roughly poked Jason's arm.

"What? It—it can't be, though."

"Well it is,"

"But—what time?"

"You're not actually considering the thought that we could actually be at the runway and then change really quickly and catch a bus all the way to the stadium in time to make the game, are you?" Leo gave him a look.

Jason's brows were almost reaching his hairline.

Leo hunched forward, his mouth gaping open. "Oh, my gods, you are! Jason, that's impossible! It's like…" he tried to think about how far away the two locations were from each other. When he didn't know exactly, he settled with, "A really long way away,"

"Come on, think about it. We can do it. We have to be there for Pipes, right?" Jason asked as the corners of his mouth turned upwards. He patted Leo on the shoulder as his friend mumbled something like an agreement. Jason turned to his team. "Right?"

They glanced at each other and Michael turned back to Jason. "We're going to get really tired, but," He shrugged. "Sure; I'm in."

"Oh, man," Leo groaned as he placed his fingers on his temples, rubbing them. "This is going to be like one of those climatic parts in those overly-clichéd movies, isn't it?"

Jason and the others blinked at him.

"Just tell me now so I'll be prepared for it," He said also. He opened his eyes to find them staring at him blankly. "You know, like in High School Musical where they rush from the play or whatever to the basketball game—oh, gods, that's exactly what this is."

Jason laughed. "Nah, it'll be better,"

"Come on, Jason," Leo said as he began to lightly punch his friend in the arm. "You gotta getcha head in the game." He began to repeat this in a rhythmic tone.

Jason shook his head, bemused. "No—just don't—just…no. Quit while you're ahead, Leo,"

But Leo wouldn't listen and he kept lightly touching his knuckles to the blond-haired man's shoulder. He kept singing, "Gotta getcha—getcha—getcha—getcha head in the game,"

A Couple Days Later…

"Where do you want this, Piper?" one basketball player with rippling arms said. He was holding one end of a really long glass table where on the other end was his friend. They cautiously held it up, but were so strong that they didn't have any trouble with it.

"Oh, just put it over there," Piper pointed to a long vertical open space on the far wall. They nodded and shuffled there, carefully setting it down. It was expensive and they knew that it would be nothing but bad if it broke.

"Thanks, guys," she murmured as they walked past her.

"No problem," they mumbled simultaneously.

"Hey, Piper…" Michael started with a limply uncurling finger. "Is it okay if we could—?"

"Yeah, you can go home now." She smiled at them.

"Thanks," they said with their eyes glazing over a little. "We'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Piper nodded, not wanting to speak because she knew that her charm speak might accidentally roll out and she was uncomfortable using it with mortals who didn't know anything about it.

They nodded as well and the team was rallied together and they walked out the door. All but Jason stayed. He was on the other side of the room from her and he was straightening up the army of white chairs that lined around the catwalk in neat rows.

The building was dark inside except for the bright lights that were switched on from the edge of the catwalk. That reminded Piper of the lights she had to put up. But it was so late at night that it made her heart heavy just thinking about having to tie the spread of twinkling lights to each side of the room—high above them there was a balcony that walked around the entire perimeter of the inside. The lights that she had were almost like the Christmas lights you layer over your bushes and they would shine a bright and ghost-like blue. It was pretty to her and helped set the mood.

As if he could read her thoughts, Jason straightened up after moving a chair and stretched out his back. They shared a look from across the room and he said, "You wanna go on a break? Maybe get some coffee and go on a walk?"

Under the brightly luminous lights, his blue eyes were gleaming like lightning bolts. The shadow crossed over his face, giving him a beautiful look as it hung over the half of his face; the other half as if brought out the crook in the middle of his nose and his eyes glowed even more as the dark spaces filled in the hollows underneath of them, making him also look tired. And, of course, it made the ridge on his lips deepen and darken.

She swallowed, suddenly feeling nervous, and said with a serious look on her face, "That would be absolutely wonderful,"

She could hear his chuckle from the other side of the room as it echoed and bounced along the tile floors with their words. She smiled softly and walked around the army of chairs and towards Jason, who was closest to the door and slipping on a light jacket since it was chilly outside.

They joined and locked up the building before walking along the narrow sidewalk towards a near coffee shop. Piper was about to steer him in a different direction because she knew Chris was working and would question their being together, but then she remembered that it was Thursday and that he doesn't have the night shift on Thursdays. She let out a shaky sigh of relief.

Jason had his hands in his pockets and was walking a little awkwardly. "So…" she heard him say a little lower than a mumble. She looked at him and his profile made her heart beat a little faster as she found how handsome he looked against the sunset that was in the background. The sky was cloudless and mostly a baby blue, making the time false. It was really almost eight at night but neon yellow, pink, and orange at the base lit up the sky, making it look earlier in the day.

Piper tore away her gaze as soon as she set it on him and stared at the ground. She had promised to herself she wouldn't fall all over again and here she was, doing exactly that. She felt her skin itch and she was confused on what to do. She looked back up at him and his round cheeks that always seemed to puff out over his teeth, always giving her the feeling that he had vampire-like teeth, and she suddenly felt like hurting his face that always seemed perfect to her. A guilty feeling crept up on her again and she scolded herself as she knew that it was mean to think of hurting him when neither of them could help what they were feeling.

"It's coming along great, right?" Jason asked, not knowing that he took her away from her thoughts. "The show, I mean."

She nodded. "Yep," she smiled. "It probably wouldn't have been as fun with normal models,"

Jason laughed and she couldn't help but look at him again. Piper liked to see him laugh because it was when he truly looked happy, almost like a little kid, and it always made her want to laugh too because it gave her that nice feeling in her stomach. But this wasn't a real and hearty laugh; just something to pass along because he agreed with her.

"True," he said. Jason began to shake his head, the corners of his mouth turning upwards a little. "They truly are just crazy."

A chuckle bubbled from her mouth and she said, "Crazy is just an understatement."

"Yeah," he laughed. But then his face fell, telling Piper that he was about to say something serious. "You know—and this may be off topic—but sometimes I actually really thank Hera for taking away my memories."

Piper's heart fell into her stomach and it felt like a slap in the face.

Jason seemed to notice this and he cautioned his hands towards her, the look of alarm washing over his face. "No, I don't mean that. I meant it in a good way. I'm glad she did it so that I could've met you,"

She relaxed but then felt a warm blush pass over her cheeks like a wind of hot air. She reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Jason could feel his ears and Adam's apple begin to burn, turning the cool air to something humid. "And—and Leo and the—the others….basically just everything that's happened," he raised his shoulders.

Piper nodded but wouldn't meet his gaze because she was busy hiding her smile. Jason turned his head away from her and cursed under his breath as he felt his heart do a small dance number in his ribcage.

He decided to try again. "You know, your outfits look really good."

She nodded. "Thanks,"

"How…" he knitted his brows, trying to think of how to form out the question he was meaning to ask. "What encouraged you to make them look like that?" he gestured a hand out at the emphasized word.

Piper looked up at him right as a thick wind splashed into her face. Jason had the urge to reach out and sweep her hair back to where it was supposed to be and curl it behind her ear—but he resisted.

She did it herself as she squinted her eyes against the frisk wind. "What do you mean?"

Jason swallowed and knew he had took a second too long just to stare at her. "I mean that, well, you had to come up with the idea for them somehow, right?" he looked back over at her and continued softly, "What inspired the idea to come along to design that specific clothing?"

Piper was taken aback by the question. Nobody had ever asked her this and she wasn't sure how to approach the answer. She guessed that she kinda already knew—she found out when her friends were wearing them in the rehearsals. She had realized that they all matched their personality somehow and wondered how in the world that could be possible when she didn't deliberately mean for that to happen. And then it had hit her—she was thinking about her friends from Camp Half-Blood without even knowing it. That was when she knew that they had inspired those designs and that it had been so incredible that they ran upon it and chose the ones that matched them.

She told Jason that and he stared at her, intrigued. "Oh, really? Wow, that's amazing," he said.

"It's almost…weird; I don't know," she waved it off.

He nodded, accepting the change of subject.

The air was quiet between them for a while as they both counted down the seconds that passed; they used their footsteps that echoed in unison to tell. Since his palms were getting sweaty, Jason slipped his hands from his pockets to let the cool breeze dry them.

His fingers brushed against her sleeve, a chill raced up his arm, and his head jerked down to see if sparks were literally coming from his fingertips. There wasn't anything abnormal coming from his fingers and his heartbeat slowed just a little…and then sped back up and his breath caught in his throat. He choked, coughing, and Jason pulled his hand back. Once he got his normal breathing pattern back, he looked at her and she seemed as if she hadn't noticed a thing.

Jason wasn't sure if that was a relief or just more pain in his lungs.

They finally reached a coffee shop and when Piper was about to reach out to open it, Jason stepped out and his hand gripped the metal handle of the door and he pulled it open for her.

She was shocked, but still smiled up at him.

He returned the smile and mumbled, "After you,"

Piper chuckled and walked in, Jason following her. It was warmer inside, compared to the outside wind, and it settled upon their skin. The dim lights above were bright as their pupils grew from the sudden change of light. The smell of coffee beans and something sweet greeted them. Jason lightly closed the door behind them and he looked around to find that there were only a couple of people silently sitting around with their noses in books or screens.

They silently stepped up to the counter and ordered two cups of coffee and they both payed their half of the total.

When Piper picked up the cup, and her thin fingers wrapped around it, the warmth feeling like it was cradling her hands instead of the other way around; holding her and soon it started to burn a little, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her right now was looking up at Jason over the tip of her cup as she began to sip the hot liquid.

Jason could see her navy blue eyes curve as a smile that he couldn't see graced her lips. He also took a drink of his beverage and couldn't help but smile too. And suddenly, he realized, he wasn't so nervous anymore. Although they were both grinning like idiots, and that they were retrieving some glances from other customers, they didn't care; but that still didn't stop Jason from wondering why she was smiling.

Piper wasn't exactly sure herself but she knew it was from something new that she felt. It was like things were finally right—even though she thought what was before was right for her. It felt nostalgic, being there with him. And what she felt, what she thought she felt, was like something shifted between them. It was like a click had bounced around in her head and then turned on between the two. Piper thought that it was like you had put a puzzle piece in the wrong spot, but didn't know it because it looked like it fit in the right spot, but then later—now—she could see that that piece was in the wrong spot.

Even though she felt this joyous feeling, the picture of Chris burned through her mind. She felt guilty, but something inside of her eased the pain and turned the picture away and then she lowered the cup from her lips, a giggle bubbling from her lips.

Jason had lowered the cup and stared down at her with a knitted brow. Nevertheless, he smiled back at her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the customers look up at him and their lips parted a little more and their eyes grew wide. The girl turned to a man sitting next to her and he saw her lips whisper his name.

He was about to steer Piper away and out the door because he didn't want this comfortable night to end soon with her just because of a fan. Which this will lead to everyone else and they would text someone and it would all just be on domino effect with everything slowly tumbling downhill.

But, as if on cue, she looped her free arm around his and turned him around to the door. "Well enough smiling, we've got a runway show to decorate!"

His laugh rang along with the bell.

"All right, you ready?!" Jason hollered.

"Uh…yeah, I guess so," Piper answered back hesitantly on the other side of the room. The two were standing high above in the balcony and Jason had tied one end on his side. If he could conjure the air, and since he was famous for his perfect throw, he was going to try and toss the web of lights to Piper so that she could tie it on that side and make the whole room glow.

"You guess so?! Well that's not accurate enough!"

He heard her sigh impatiently. "You know what I mean. Just throw it already!" she laughed.

"All right, fine," he chuckled and shifted his feet instinctively; he felt like he was shooting a basket again. "One," he started. "Two," He continued with a taunting edge.

He waited for suspense and just to tease her a little.

"Three!" She exclaimed, still impatient.

And with that, he lunged out his hands, throwing it far as he could, and then releasing on the lights. They flew past midway and with a little effort, it reached all the way to the other side and Piper leaned over the railing and caught them with outstretched arms. She laughed, her voice ringing, "I caught it!"

"I can see that!"

Her response was a laugh. She tied a string of cord to the railing with a hard, plastic wire. She then spread it out on one side, reaching it as far across the room as she could get it, and then tied that down. Piper did the same with the other side.

"Okay, it's good!" She hollered and with that, they raced to the end of their sides of the catwalks and squeezed down the narrow metal staircase. Piper shrieking with laughter with Jason—they both just couldn't keep the grins off their faces.

Finally, Piper jumped from the last step, her feet booming as it made contact with the black tile. She pumped her arms above her head. "Ha! Beat you!"

"Sure; I let you win." Jason said.

Piper skipped around the corner of the staircase and into a small corner that no one else could enter. She pulled down on a lever and another clanking noise was heard. She hurried back and halted in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat.

The sight was magnificent. The blue lights dazzling above and they were twinkling so much that it was almost like it was raining or snowing. Either way, it washed over the chairs and catwalk that would be used over and over again the next day. Her head was pointed upwards and it was like she was gazing at stars. Her eyes glazed over and she breathed out an airy laugh.

Another shocked laugh was heard and her gaze finally snapped down on Jason, whose back was to her at the moment. The blue made the tips of his golden hair shine bright and then he turned to face her.

Her heart stopped for a second—or maybe more, she wasn't sure. Piper knew that people had been lost in her ever-changing eyes, and now she knew what that felt like. His eyes were bluer than she had ever seen them and it was more than words could describe.

She was brought out of her thoughts when he offered out a limp hand the corner of his mouth turning upward. "Care to dance?"

Piper had to think over the question because she couldn't exactly think straight at the moment. The only thing her mouth could form was, "Without any music? Sounds dangerous," Her feet willed her to move forward and suddenly, her hand was in his.

He brought her forward and into a comfortable and latched position. Jason began to lead her and their feet moved together. The song was in their heads and they swayed.

"Well, I'm a dangerous man," He said softly in her ear.

She chuckled. "That, I believe," They laced their fingers together and Jason began to lightly dip that down like a teapot, beginning to get goofy. Piper chuckled and they were lost in that moment where they didn't care about anything except for laughing and dancing like kids.

When they finally calmed and restored to a normal dancing position, Piper said, "You know, I'm getting a weird case of déjà vu,"

"Well that's funny," Jason seemed to have gotten closer to her. "So am I,"

Piper could see where things could lead and although she was rather intimidated by that, she knew that it couldn't happen. She pulled back a little and rested her hand on the back of his neck and twirled them around. Her hand slipped from his neck and to his other hand and laced her fingers in his spaces instinctively. She moved their intertwined hands around like she was rowing a boat and began to get goofy again. Jason went along but soon, they couldn't pretend anymore.

Piper found her hand on the back of his neck, which was burning and that made her smile a little, and the other one resting on his collar bone. Her head was also on his shoulder and he may have been a little awkward because he hadn't held her like this in a long time. But nevertheless, he liked the protector feeling he was getting and he found himself turning his head a little in her hair, which smelled good—like watermelons.

They were silent, but so much was starting to be confessed. And Piper was so caught up in the moment that she didn't hear her phone buzz in her purse that was in one of the seats in the crowd.

It had been a message from Chris:

Mind if I stop by to say hi?:)

Chris had his hands in his black jacket pockets and he was in a sort of happy mood. All he knew was that he really wanted to see Piper for some reason. His mother had told him to visit her, and although Chris had been suspicious as to why, he still went because he never refused from his mother.

He began to whistle a short tune. He rounded a corner and pushed up his glasses with his knuckle. Finally, he reached the squat building and tried the door latch. Surprisingly, it was unlocked and he found this odd. Chris silently opened it, afraid that maybe Piper wasn't there and someone had broken in.

The thought made him freeze with alarm. He looked over his shoulder and looked both ways to see if anyone was watching. It was late so there was no one there. He quietly shut the door and it barely made a noise. Chris crept down the short hall and hugged the wall as he looked out into the main area. The lights were on and he could see one big lump in the shadows. He narrowed his eyes through his glasses and found that it was actually two figures.

He blinked as the sight made a tremor boom through his system. He saw the blonde hair and he saw Piper's hair. He pieced the two together. Chris didn't want to watch—he didn't want to observe as they held close and actually looked like they were in a state of grace. Chris' fingers began to shake and his teeth were chattering. His heart seemed heavier inside of his chest and he felt his eyes burned; he felt betrayed. What if this had been going on longer than now? Like when Chris first met Jason in Piper's apartment and there had been popcorn on the floor…who knows what they were doing in there?

A lump formed in his throat. His eyes had torn away from the two and stared at the ground as he brought his thoughts together and he began to get mad. But then a thought occurred to him: there is nothing I can do about it. Not now, at least.

He swallowed through the lump in his throat and took a short nod, as if assuring…something to himself. Chris wasn't sure what yet. And he turned and walked out the door.

The outside felt grimy now and he didn't like it. It was like he couldn't breathe. It was like nature knew there was something wrong. His hands clenched together and then opened, his long fingers outstretching and then not.

He fumbled for his phone from his pocket. Piper hadn't responded yet. He gritted his teeth together and then pressed his fingers to the phone as an irritating wave spread through his chest. Chris texted back:

Never mind. Good luck I'll be at my place if you need me.

I do not own PJO; but I hope you enjoyed!