Hello again and welcome to chapter 14! Wow, I can't believe I got this far with these many followers and favorites and reviews! Let me just say that you guys are awesome, and you guys were so nice to me and I love all the encouragement you give:)

Someone (blueice2449) asked about if this Chris was the same as Chris Rodriguez from the books. No, it's not, it's just the same name. I kinda forgot about him too, but I didn't intend on making them the same person. This Chris is actually kind of based off of someone I know and used to go to school with. But he is not Chris Rodriguez. Thank you for bringing that up:)

I got bored and I was really excited to post this chapter so I decided to go ahead and update now.

So, I warn that this chapter has a huge twist (at least I hope it's huge to you guys) and that there is going to be a part with some more curse words. So more of T there.

But I do not own the PJO characters.

I hope you like:3

(And please excuse if some paragraphs are indent and some aren't. My computer's being weird..-_-)

Jason had offered to walk Piper home, but she turned it down. She needed the walk home alone, just so she could figure out what to say to Chris. Jason seemed nervous and afraid, but he nodded his head and then took his own walk to his apartment.

Piper had felt bad, but she knew this was something she had to do on her own. It was slightly chilly outside, but nothing she couldn't handle in sweatpants and a light sweater.

The night sky was darker with stars sprinkled across it like a bedazzled blanket. The moon cast enough light, especially with lamp posts around her, as she walked along the sidewalk alone.

Her heart was thumping and her hands were slightly shaking. She was nervous to talk to Chris again because, well, with their situation, nothing else could be more uneasy. Piper started to have second thoughts about doing this and began to develop what ifs.

But she sighed through her nose, Jason's calming words going through her mind again. She could do this, they told her.

It was almost simple; just slowly explain to him that you should've done things more rationally and not as fast like a slap in the face, she told herself.

Piper still didn't want to do this.

She looked up and found that she was passing by his apartment building right now. She could even count out the windows, estimating which apartment room was Chris's. A jolt was sent through her when she found the light was on in the room she counted to be his. He was home.

Piper stopped. She thought, Well, I could go ahead and get it over with now instead of later—which that'll only put it off even more.

"Hmm…" she mumbled to herself. Her kaleidoscope eyes twinkled back up to the room. She decided now was better than later.

Piper walked into the lobby she had passed by thousands of times before. The desk was the same, even the desk clerk. He looked up from his book and gave Piper a nice, warm smile, his eyes gleaming in reminiscence because he's seen her walk in here before.

She tilted her head forward and returned the smile except she felt her heart crumbled inside of her. She felt guilty, but nonetheless made her way to the elevators.

When the doors opened to his floor, she almost felt as if she were in a horror film because it was eerie and silent while her heart was beating loudly. She stepped through before the doors could trap her in the elevator, which would've made the feeling worse. Piper slowly walked down the hallway, watching the numbers on the doors as they passed her. Finally, she got to his door.

She stared at its gray surface. Piper studied it with a frown, not sure if she should knock or just do this later when she actually has planned out every word she was going to say to him. She raised her hand, closed into a fist, and sighed, her breath catching. And then she knocked—the first one pitiful and then the next three sounding normal.

Piper waited for a while. She heard nothing and then some slight shuffling. She stared at the dark hole on the door, the peep-hole, and could've sworn she saw a mixture of different colors move around. There was a pause and then the door opened a little.

"Piper?" a voice asked softly, so soft she could barely hear it.

The door opened wider and there stood Chris, wearing a normal gray t-shirt and red flannel pajama pants. His brown eyes, which seemed almost amber in the light, looked at her, wide in amazement and confusion. He fumbled for his glasses, which Piper found a little odd that he wasn't wearing them when answering the door, yet was able to know that it was her.

She waved it off and said with a weak smile, "Hey,"

Chris stared at her for a while, his eyes wandering around her, his eyebrows scrunching together a little.

She opened her mouth to say something to cut off the silence, but suddenly, he closed the door.

A small strangled noise came from her mouth. She stared at the face of the door again in utter shock, confusion, and anger. Piper pressed her lips together and huffed through her nose.

Looks like someone's taking a breakup a little too personally, she thought. Fine; if he doesn't want to talk then…fine. It was a mistake coming here. Why'd you have to be so stupid, Piper?

She blinked and started to walk away from the door, feeling a little relieved and rejected at the same time.

But before she could take another step, the door opened once again and she looked back up at him to find he had changed into baggy jeans with holes at the knees.

Chris hesitated before he said, "Hey, Pipes—I mean, Piper." He corrected himself. "I just didn't want you to see me in my pajamas."

She tilted her head to him with a small smile. "Hi, Chris,"

"What are you doing here?" He asked immediately after and his jaw clenched.

Piper shifted her feet and brought her sweater tighter around her and her fingers wrung the sleeves because she was nervous. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Why? About what?"—he peeked down the hallway—"Where's your boyfriend?"

"Can you let me in?" She snapped.

Chris stared at her solemnly and then stepped aside, mumbling, "Sorry,"

She stepped into his apartment and looked around; it looked exactly the same as it used to. It just didn't have that glow to it anymore. It scared her how dull it looked. She made her way to the couch and sat down hesitantly as if the seat cushion might explode. Chris sat next to her, but put enough distance between them.

She bit her lip as he stared at her expectantly, and a little like he was annoyed.

"So? What'd you want to tell me?" He asked.

Piper looked up at him finally and found his eyes churning from brown to green to blue…she blinked rapidly and studied them closely. They turned back to the usual brown with gold. She thought she was going insane and turned away from him a little, at a loss for words.

She felt awkward in this position and could only imagine how Jason had felt with Reyna. Piper pressed her lips together and stared back at him again.

Now, he definitely did look annoyed. "Piper. Talk; I don't have all night."

She nodded, suddenly back to the point. "Right. Listen, Chris," she looked back up at him and his hair color was curling at the tips. Her head tilted and her eyes narrowed at it.

"What?" Chris asked. "Can you please get to the point and stop staring at me like that."

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

Why was she suddenly listening to what he was saying, and then doing what he asked right away? She wasn't sure why but she decided to wave it off, though her mind kept fighting back.

"Chris, we kind of left off at a bad…ending—"

He laughed but he wasn't amused. "Piper, if you're apologizing for breaking up with me, then don't waste your breath. I don't really care about it anymore; it's old news."

"Chris, you told me you loved me. You can't get over it that quickly."

"Well I did when I saw how happy you were with Jason. And, well, as long as you were happy and got over it, there was no reason for me to keep thinking about the things I could've done. It was already over. I had to accept that."

Piper's insides died. Her heart broke and the way he said it, the look on his face, made her just want to give him a hug and cry for him. She wanted to say that it was all okay, but she restrained herself.

He looked at her and his brow furrowed and his lips frowned. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?"

"The pity look. I don't want it."

Piper cleared her throat. "Okay. Sorry. Listen, I shouldn't have done that to you, in that way. I shouldn't have ran off and immediately get with Jason. I should've broken up with you the way a couple does: slowly and—"

"Stop apologizing. I don't need it; honest."

"Okay, fine. No apologizing. But I don't want there to be an awkward connection between us. Just because we're not dating anymore doesn't mean we can't be friends." Piper said with a smile slowly growing on her.

Chris chuckled a little. "You're right. Friends."

"Right."

"Thanks, Piper. Hey, you hungry? Thirsty?" he asked.

"No, I kind of just need to get going anyways. It's late. I just came over to tell you that."

He nodded, the frown coming across his face again. Piper could tell that there was something he was holding back—she could tell by the look in his eyes. And then she found them mixing colors again and it shot a jolt up her spine.

"Was there anything you wanted to tell me?" She asked softly.

Chris hesitated. "Well, there's…something. I probably shouldn't though." He shook his head.

"Come on, we're friends. You can tell me anything."

He studied her as if the answer if he should or shouldn't tell her was written on her face. "Um…"

"What, is it a dirty little secret?" She teased.

"Well, kinda,"

Her voice began to falter a little. "Well, it can't be too bad." she turned away from him and mumbled under her breath. "It's not like your parent's a god."

"Piper," he said and clasped his hands around hers. "I don't know how to break this to you, since you're normal."

Her eyes widened and she stared at him. "Normal?"

Chris opened his mouth to say something, but then sighed as if he were unsure what to say. "Have you ever heard of…Greek mythology?"

Piper's heart stopped. She didn't answer because her breath was like it had been knocked out of her, but she nodded numbly.

"Well…" he paused, still unsure if he should say it or not. "All of it is true."

Oh shit.

"What?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

"Yeah. There are such things as demigod, where one of their parents is a god—a Greek god. And…"

Chris kept talking, but Piper wasn't listening. Her mind was beginning to dissolve into limbo. This was one of those moments where it was like her mind was blown. Chris was a demigod.

What. Holy gods of Olympus, this can't be happening. How the hell—

And the rest of Piper's thoughts were a tunnel of curses, something she was glad that she was able to keep only in her head.

"Piper? Are you okay? You look like you're going to pass out." Chris said. "Gods, I knew I shouldn't have told you."

She stood and let go of his hands. "I'm fine," she mumbled. "Who's your parent?"

Chris was taken aback that she was asking that question and not screaming at him, saying he's a freak of some sort and then running out the door. It's almost as if she knows that the gods are real, he thought.

He stood up with her and looked a little hurt. "Well, all though I'm not very fond of her being my mother, you can't notice it?"

Her gaze tore up from the ground and looked at Chris as he slipped off his glasses.

"Those were just for show, so people wouldn't really notice that I was a demigod." He explained. "The reason you can't really tell is because there's a thing called—"

The Mist, Piper thought. Damn, it did it to me again!

"Who—" she stuttered and found that her hands were slightly shaking. "Who is your godly parent?"

He took a step towards her, trying to calm her down because she could see that she was about to explode in just a matter of seconds.

"Um, well, you see, Piper," he began explaining. "Remember when I first met Jason? When I said I was with my mother?"

Oh, no, no, no, no... Please don't please don't please don't.

"I was really with the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite; otherwise known as—to me—my mom."

And me too, Piper squeaked in her head as she stared up at the ceiling, feeling a little dizzy. She let go of her sweater and put her hands on her hips, bending over a little because she felt as though she was going to puke as well.

"Piper, are you okay?" Chris stepped closer to her. His eyes skirted around her pose and he could tell she wasn't taking this anywhere lightly. Then he saw the orange shirt. "Hey, what are you wear—"

His jaw dropped a little more.

Piper started to hyperventilate, but she finally looked at him in the eye and kaleidoscope eyes met another pair of kaleidoscope eyes.

"Camp Half-Blood," he murmured for a while as though he had to say that name thousands of times in order for it to be processed in his head. "No freaking way…"

Chris's eyes widened and he stepped away from her, now being one to look like he was going to pass out. His back touched the wall, but he still stared at her as if he wanted to get away even more.

"Is your—"

"Uh-huh," Piper answered exasperatedly.

"Cabin—"

"Ten," she squeaked.

Both of their faces filled with dread and disgust and the pulled frowns on their faces made them look like they wanted to explode. They paused as the final answer finally came to them.

Piper put a hand to her temple and said, "Holy crap, this can't be happening. Oh, my gods, oh my gods, oh my gods…" she cursed.

Chris looked as if he had been petrified. "Oh, my gods, you're my sister." He said. He paused. "OH MY GODS, YOU'RE MY SISTER!" His mouth opened and he made some strangling sounds. "I kissed my sister. I made out with her—you. I—holy freaking crap of Hera!"

Piper darted to the sink and leaned over it, her skin having the tint of green like she was going to be very sick. She hyperventilated. "How can this be possible? There's no way…"

"Oh, I'm going to be sick," Chris said and ran to his own bathroom.

"You're going to be sick?! What about me?!" She yelled at him. "How in the world can he be my brother?" Piper whispered to herself as she stared down at his sink. "You think I would've noticed. Or mom could've told us or—or what the—"

Chris's shrill cry from the other room cut her off: "HOLY ZEUS, YOU'RE MY SISTER! MY SISTER!"

"Well, I mean, it's technically half-sister!" Piper cried in desperation. "That doesn't count, does it?!"

Chris's head popped out from the bathroom and he stared at her like she had sprouted another head from her neck. "Yes, Piper, it does count!"

"Oh, my gods," she squeaked again and her forehead thumped against the edge of the counter. Tears began to fill her eyes and streak down her cheeks. She snapped her head back up and wiped them away and then pressed her fingers to her lips. "I can't believe that we—and we're—and mom—"

"Mom. After everything, and she didn't tell us?" Chris had stepped farther into the room.

"How did you even meet with mom?"

"She shows up here sometimes!"

A thought occurred to Piper and she came back around from the sink. She pointed a finger at him. "If you've been to Camp Half-Blood, how come we've never met before?"

"Well, I left early. My grandma said it was too dangerous and took me out of the camp. Somehow she was able to cover my scent from the monsters, but I also knew how to kill them if I had to. I never went back after that; I didn't need to." He shrugged.

Piper stared at him. "You never even heard about my name?! Not even during the Giant War?!"

Chris's face was crestfallen and he gave her a look. "Giant War? There was a Giant War? What. When did this happen?"

"Are you serious?! The War against Gaea, what do you think?!"

His eye twitched. "We had a war against the earth goddess?" His eyes drifted around the room and he floated to the couch and sat down, his head leaning back. "I've been in the mortal world for too long."

Piper stared at him and she honestly wasn't sure what to think. It was all confusing, but made complete sense at the same time. It explained why his eyes changed colors, like hers, and why his hair curled and he always looked a little different each time she saw him. Why his words always kind of made her do what he asked. She guessed that she was affected by it because the Mist of being with mortals too long was getting to her.

She kept her eyes on him as he was freaking out on the couch, his eyes closed and mumbling that this couldn't be possible.

Piper thought it'd be best if they both just kept their space for now.

"Listen, I'm gonna…I'm gonna go," She said and made her way to the door. "You'll be okay, right?"

"Huh," he grunted.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

He raised his head a little and his lips frowned. "Maybe."

"Take that as a yes," she said and opened the door. "Bye, Chris," and she shut the door behind her.

Piper hesitated outside of the door, still not able to believe all that just happened. She sighed and shook her head and then hurried to the elevator, ready for a talk with a certain goddess.

The next morning, she still went to work, and hadn't heard from Jason since the night before. She figured he was talking to Reyna today, but she wasn't sure. Piper stormed into her office, because she wasn't confused now, she was mad at her mother.

She found Lacey and asked her if she ever knew Chris before they were dating.

Lacey gave her a look. "No. Why?"

Piper stared at her. "You'll never believe what happened."

Lacey leaned forward, on the edge of her seat, and her eyes twinkling. "What happened?" She whispered excitedly.

Piper explained what happened and Lacey's jaw dropped. "No way,"

She nodded to her friend, assuring her that there was a way.

Lacey gasped. "That can't be possible. Wouldn't we have seen him?"

"He left camp early, so I suppose not."

"And he was in our cabin! Wouldn't I have seen him?"

"I don't know. But I feel like mom has something to do with it." Piper scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Lacey nodded without looking at Piper in the eye. "Yeah, probably,"

Piper murmured a "See ya," and went into her office. She got a glance of the back of her chair facing her, and she knew there was something wrong with that. The air smelled like perfume and hair products, and that was a dead giveaway.

She turned and closed her doors and then set her bags down on the couch. "Okay, mom, I know you're there. You better got an excellent explanation."

The chair swiftly turned to face her and like she guessed, there was Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. Her hair curled and uncurled, turning brunette to blonde and her eyes glowed. The sunlight shining through the windows seemed to only shine on her.

Aphrodite gave a smile like nothing was wrong. "Why hello, Piper, dear,"

Piper glared at her with her hand on her hip.

Aphrodite stood, and she wore one of those dresses with the back of the skirt longer than the front, but it was like it was made in some kaleidoscope fabric. Or maybe the light made it seem to change colors, Piper didn't know, and she didn't exactly care. Her mom walked towards her.

"Now, now, Piper, there's no need to be mad."

"Actually, yeah, there is! I can't believe you, mother!" she yelled and took her hand away from her hip.

"Yes, I knew you would react this way once you knew."

"You knew and you didn't tell me or him. Why?!"

"Well, you see, dear, it's all part of the plan." Aphrodite laid her hands on Piper's shoulders.

"What plan?"

"Why, you and Jason's plan, of course!" Aphrodite squealed.

Piper gave her a look. "What. You—what?"

"I had you fall in love with Chris so that way when you found Jason, it'd be easier to break up with Chris! Especially when you both found you were siblings. It was so simple, really, unlike your friends, Percy and Annabeth. They took years to become a couple."

"This isn't about them. This is about how you manipulated us!" Piper screamed and stepped away from her mother's hands.

Aphrodite opened her mouth to respond, but Piper wasn't finished. "You really made me think I was actually in love with Chris and then it was awful when I found that he was my half-brother. How could you do that to me—to us?"

Aphrodite had a sad look on her face. "I'm so sorry, darling. I was just trying to help."

"Mom, you could've done it differently."

"What do you mean?"

Piper walked away from her, exasperated, and then said, "I mean you could've made me fall in love with someone who wasn't my brother and someone who was a normal mortal! It still would've worked out! I still would've loved Jason,"

"Well, you still love him now, don't you?" Aphrodite asked.

"Yeah, but now I'm mad that you did all of this and meddled with all of us!"

"I didn't meddle with all of you. Just you and Chris—for a little while."

"What are you talking about?"

"I didn't have to meddle with you and Jason. You cursed at me for saying that I was," Aphrodite walked to the leather couch and sat down swiftly and looked at her perfectly manicured nails. "But I really wasn't. Those feelings were all your own. That wasn't me for that."

Piper stared at her solemnly. Then she sat across from her mother, crossing her legs, and then said, "Yeah, okay, so I really do love Jason. That was real that time."

Aphrodite cleared her throat. "All the time," she corrected.

Piper shot her a look. "But you still made me fall in love with Chris and that was wrong."

"Yes, okay, I apologize for that part. But, you see, I had to," the goddess sat up. "If not, then you still wouldn't have seen Jason on TV and meet him and fall in love with him again. It was all for you two."

"I accept your apology. But I'm still mad at you. I can't believe you would do that."

Aphrodite shrugged. "Everyone goes through heartbreak. You have to, because it's the process of loving again that makes it worthwhile." She winked.

"But there's always the danger of not being able to love another person." Piper countered.

Aphrodite ignored it and she said, "Take Reyna, for example,"

"What?" Piper sat up.

"Yes. At this very moment Jason is at her hotel, telling her—well," she had a twinkle in her eyes. "I'll show you."

The goddess waved her hand in the air and something shimmered where it was. It was like a mirror, though they weren't looking at themselves, they were looking at Jason and Reyna, sitting at a small table in her hotel here in New York. Jason was explaining something with his hands in his lap and Reyna was trying to keep a solemn face, but Piper could see the pain in her eyes.

"Reyna, you asked me that question yesterday," Jason was saying but his voice sounded far away. "And my answer is that I didn't. I didn't love you like that. You were like my sister, or a really, really good friend. We were praetors, I couldn't really—"

"I understand, Jason," Reyna's voice was hoarse.

"I'm sorry, Reyna, that you felt that way towards me and I didn't realize it. But I'm with Piper and I can't and won't betray her. I hope you realize that I came here to tell you because I knew how much you hadn't been loved. I wish I could help you, but I know I can't. I think you know, too."

"Oh, isn't he such a gentlemen! He's a keeper!" Aphrodite squealed.

Piper scoffed, but couldn't help the smile. "You're such a fangirl,"

Aphrodite waved her hand through the image and said, "I hope you understand that what I did, I had to do."

"Yeah, I know now," Piper said. "But, still…"

"I'll accept that you'll still have grudging feelings over it, but at least you understand, dear,"

"Did Lacey ever know him?"

"Yes, but I had to take him from her mind so that she couldn't tell you." Aphrodite shook her head a little. "It felt wrong, but the plan was already in motion. I had to so I could save your love life."

Piper was still annoyed with her mother. "What's going to happen to Reyna? Will she be okay?"

"Soon, she'll become more independent. Like Jason said, she's like his sister." Aphrodite winked again with a smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Piper asked, and thought at the same time.

Is she comparing Reyna to Thalia? Thalia was a Huntress—

Piper gasped. "She's going to become a Huntress? But she's doing so well in New Rome."

Aphrodite shrugged with the corners of her mouth turning upward. "Some people change. After all, I think it's best for her."

"Mother, don't you dare meddle with her! She's gone through enough, you leave her alone!" Piper pointed a finger at her mom.

"Goodbye, dear!" Aphrodite giggled and the air around her shimmered gold.

Piper turned and shielded her eyes. When she looked back, her mother was gone, but her smell of perfume still lingered in the air. Piper groaned and the door to her office opened.

"Was mom just in here?" Lacey asked as she sniffed the air.

"Yeah." Piper leaned back in the couch and rubbed her temples.

"Really? Why?" Lacey stepped in, closing the door behind her.

"It's complicated." Piper groaned, stretching out the word. "Like, really complicated."

"Whoa, are you okay, Piper?"

"No. Everything is so messed up right now."

Lacey stood beside where she sat. "What's wrong?"

"I can't tell you," Piper said exasperatedly. "It's okay anyways. I'll be fine. There's nothing you need to worry about."

"You're making me nervous when you say that."

Piper stood. "It's nothing. I need to talk to Annabeth and Percy, though. Can you hold everything for me?"

Lacey gave Piper a look.

"Just for today. Please," she pleaded.

"Fine. But only for today."

"Thanks so much, Lacey," Piper gave her a quick hug and then the two went out of Piper's office.

Ooh...did you guys see that one coming? I tried to put in some hints and clues earlier in the story so it'd make sense now. And I also tried to make the Aphrodite and Piper scene explainable. Sorry if it was confusing. Did you guys like? Did your minds blow? Tell me your reaction and please review! Your reviews make my day! :)