Audrick's POV:

"HAYLEY!"

"Stop moving, you're making it worse!"

"You're plucking my eyebrows. And I'm a guy!"

"Stop your whining, Audrick. Do you want Jamie Morstan to reject you harder than Jen and Brad?" Ellie said, staring hard into my eyes.

"Oh, God that was awful," Hayley said back to her.

"I know, right?"

"Did you hear that she's pregnant with twins now?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"Last People addition. You didn't read it?"

"Didn't get a chance, plus Mom told me I was reading way too many of them, and I'd have to space myself out."

"What? Who can read too much People?"

"I think we're losing the point here," I said, shoving them off of me and rubbing my eyebrows. "If she thinks I'm gay because of you two –"

"Oh, shut up and take it like a man. Check this out, Hales," Ellie held up two separate shirts, one that was a darker, closer to my skin shirt and one a checkered dress shirt.

They looked at each other for a moment, a silent conversation happening between their eyes. "Checkered," they agreed in unison, showing it to me. I'd be the first to admit that it wasn't bad. I even kind of liked it.

"What pants?"

"Ooh, his light jeans will do wonders with this shirt. Check it," Hayley put the pants beneath the shirt and smiled. "See?"

"I see, I see. But what about these black skinny jeans my brother has?" She put those under the shirt over the jeans.

"Eew, no. My brother wouldn't be able to pull off skinny jeans. No offense, Audrey."

"No, none taken, sis," I said, rolling my eyes sarcastically. She rolled her eyes back and stuck her tongue out. I don't know why, but I restrained myself from insulting her.

Fighting felt wrong now, when she was so close to death.

So I'm a sentimental sap. Sue me.

"Maybe I could pick out the clothes for myself?" I suggested when they started a big argument of what shoes I needed to wear. "Alone." I continued, and they studied me with careful eyes.

"I think…"

"We should let him do it," Hayley finished for Ellie. "I mean, we're not going to be there forever to help him, might as well let him start doing it now. Come on, let's go tell Jamie to meet him at the pier on the south shore, but not the north." Hayley winked and me and yanked Ellie away, and I couldn't help but see some restraint, some kind of knowing in what Hayley had said. Not going to be there forever. That was pretty deep.

Ellie was only sixteen though, what should she have to worry about? She had many more years to find the guy of her dreams, become an artist down in Pensicola, and do everything she'd ever dreamed of.

At least, I thought she did.

Hayley smiled and nodded. It was fifteen to five, and I was a nervous wreck just thinking about her, her cute little smile, that nervous lip-biting and hair twirling she was possessive of.

"How do you feel? I mean, you look great, but feel is important as well. Any girl can tell if a guy's not comfortable and if you're not comfortable then she's not going to be comfortable and it'll all be just one huge mess."

"Take a breath, Hales."

She did, a sarcastic one I might add, then she grinned again. "Answer the question."

"I feel…I feel…" Amazing. Outstanding. Wow. Better than ever. Nervous. Excited. In love. I had many answers to choose from, so I went with one that would make her satisfied and keep Ellie from messing with me in the future. "I feel…comfortable."

Hayley clasped her hands together. "Marvelous! Jamie's down at the south pier. South. Pier. Not the North but the South, got it?"

I gave her an odd look but nodded. "Got it. Where's the flowers? And the book?"

"Here and here. And the picnic basket."

The girls' plans were to have me go down there and make Jamie a romantic, picnic-like dinner down by the shore, where there was a small Southern pier compared to the much larger Northern pier a few feet away. She loved books, especially medical ones, so they had ask Mom if they could have one of the many medical journals the Athena library possessed.

"What's this one?" I pointed to one particularly short book that sat on the shelf, right where the medical journal had been.

"Ooh!" Hayley said. "Ellie, didn't she say she loved that Sherlock Holmes stuff? This is perfect! Take her this, too. I've got another copy at home we can bring back to camp come Spring or so."

Ellie nodded, a gigantic smile on her face. "Thank God. This is amazing! She'll absolutely adore it, Jackson. Take some of those roses out, put some pens in. Ah, yes, there we go. Oh, come here!" Ellie licked her hand, and ran it through my hair, messing it all up from the laid down position I had previously had it in.

Hayley tapped her chin and bobbed her head in approval. "That's much better. Seven to five – get going you idiot! Hup, two, hup two, hup, two!"

I found myself dashing down to the lake, not because of what Hayley had said, but because I was excited and nervous.

And when I get excited and nervous, I need to get whatever it is over with and fast.

I tapped my foot impatiently. Three minutes. It was three minutes after five and she wasn't there yet. In absolute boredom, I squatted down and started spreading the blanket on the ground, half of the sand, half on the pier. I set the candle on the pier, thinking that we could sit on the sand. I set the plates out, and rearranged them almost fifteen times. I was just tilting the grape bowl fifty degrees to the west when I felt someone come up behind me.

"Oh," I sighed, closing my eyes, turning around and smiling. "I thought you weren't – oh."

It was just Chiron.

"Hey, Chiron. How're you?" I stared off unto the horizon, hearing splashing in the background. The sun was just starting to set, and Jamie was going to miss it.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and rested my chin on them.

"I'm fine," he said. "But I'm sure that you're not. What's wrong, who is this for?"

"It's for Jamie," I mumbled. "You know, if she'd bother to actually show up."

Chiron frowned and took a seat beside me, tucking his horse legs beneath him. "I'm not a master on this type of thing, by any means."

"That's not what Dad tells me. He says that you're quite the ladies man."

"He was," Dad sat down in front of the candle, crossing his legs Indian style. "And he is. Some of the tree spirits would love to have him, if he'd only let them."

Chiron shook his head. "I've overcome my stay in the field of love, for I am here to serve the heroes. Until there are no more, here is where I will be. How is Annabeth, Percy? We haven't much time to talk anymore. I say because of you she's forgotten me." Chiron chuckled and so did Dad. Sometimes I didn't understand their humor, but a small laugh escaped my lips as well.

"She's fine. I'm starting to worry about her, though. She keeps saying she's sick to her stomach. I think she's almost happy for tomorrow to get here."

Chiron frowned and rubbed his chin. "My, what a shame. Keep your eye on her, Perseus. Zeus knows that girl will never give in and go see a professional."

"She only needs a mental one, maybe," I said, and they smirked to it.

"He's got a bit of a way to go, but he's getting there," Dad said, and he nudged me.

I didn't nudge back.

Percy's POV:

Jamie Morstan. He had fallen for Jamie Morstan. I knew he would, at some point in time. I'd met her before and she was as sweet as anyone could be, and had all of the likeable qualities Audrick possessed, with a little bit of a control freak side.

I knew her secret, though, and that would kill him if he found out. I didn't want to be the one to tell him. Chiron's nod told me I wanted to do so otherwise.

"So, this Jamie girl," I said as Chiron stood up to leave. "What's she like?"

Audrick snorted a bit and smiled softly, the kind of smile I'd seen on my own dorky face when Annabeth and I were dating, when I realized we were in love. "She's…she's amazing. She has blonde hair like Mom's and I can tell it must be wavy. Her eyes; it's like getting lost in a pool of smoke in a maze, and even though you're trying to find your way out, you're glad you can't because it brings out an amazing adventure you know you're going to have to fight to understand, to win. And her face, her personality, her brains and her humor. She's everything anyone could ever ask for in a woman, and she doesn't even realize how beautiful she is. I want her to know that." He looked up to meet my eyes. "How did you show Mom that?"

"It wasn't easy," I didn't lie. "Your mom was…she was different, you know? You definitely need to be her best friend first, so she can build trust. If I've learned anything about the Athena kids, it's that they don't trust easily. And she might despise you at first, but get on her good side, and never stop trying." I sighed, knowing I had to do it now while I still had the chance. "Speaking of Jamie, there's something I need to tell you…"

I was about to tell him, I swear to Olympus that I was. Then she walked up, and I knew that I couldn't do it, not with her standing there. She held a finger up to her lips. Shh, she mouthed, as she placed her hands over Audrick's eyes.

"Guess who?"

"Bill Clinton!"

"Haha!" Jamie laughed so hard she snorted, making Audrick laugh with her as she sat down next to him. They looked so happy together, and I didn't want to embarrass Audrick like Paul had embarrassed me in front of Annabeth so many times.

I fake yawned and stretched, standing up. "Well, guys, I think it's time for this old man to hit the hay."

Jamie smiled at me. How sweet and innocent she looked. It killed me to know what was really going on behind those eyes, in that mind, in her body. "Goodnight, Mr. Jackson."

I nodded, and eyed my son like I guess any good father would do when their children stay out late with other individuals of the opposite gender.

…I've got to stop spending so much time with Annabeth.

Speaking of Annabeth, where was she? I really hoped she wasn't puking in the bathroom again.

Chelsea's POV:

I sat with my feet dangling off the peer, the tips of my toes just barely scraping the edge of the water. Wind made my skirt flap in the wind, and I had the sleeves of my Camp Half-Blood shirt rolled up to my shoulders. It was really hot that day.

"Got you one of these," Tommy sat down next to me and handed me an ice cream cone. I laughed.

"Where did you get one of these?"

"Stoll boys raided the ice cream truck when it came down I-11."

"So I see. Thank you." I licked the vanilla ice cream and took in the sunset stretching across the camp grounds. Tommy's hand slipped into mine, and he laced our fingers together.

"You know," he smiled, licked his chocolate cone, "you're not too bad for a little kid."

"And you're not too bad for a "bad" kid."

He mocked offense. "That is stereotypical for sons of Ares' children and you should be ashamed of yourself."

"Agh, too many words in one sentence. Shhh…" He shoved me playfully and I shoved him back. Tommy laughed, bending down so his fingers could skim the water and splashing water on me. I squealed and pushed him into the water, laughing my head off.

He came up from, splurging from the water, and grinning mischeviously. Tommy started swimming towards me and I pulled my legs back up on the pier. "Oh, no. Don't you dare -"

In that next instant I was in the water with him, splashing and screaming and playing. I didn't even care that my ice cream was ruined, as was his.

He was just about to beat me in our water war, the blue crystal showering my face every few seconds before I could even shove my water outward, when the light bulb came on above my head. Water powers.

Duh.

He splashed me once again, and I caught his wrists in my hands. "You're gonna regret ruining my ice cream," I said, smirking and swimming a little ways away. Then, mustering all of my courage and strength, I created a humongus wave, making it gorw so high I was practically able to touch a cloud. Tommy's eyes grew wide, and I sent the wave crashing down. I knew he would be all right (I made sure to put a bubble around him just before the wave and I hit), and I laughed as I was engulfed in a haze of showering foam and bubbles.

Under the water, I swam until I saw him, cheeks puffed out, eyes tightly closed, and his hands over his ears. I allowed myself into the air bubble and walked over to him, though it was more like I was floating. I grabbed his hands and forced them down from his ears, making him crack his eyes open. I smiled.

"Hey, genius. You're in an air bubble, it's okay to breathe." And then, well, I'm not sure what exactly came over me, but not a second later my lips were pressed to his, my fingers curled in his dark mass of hair, our bodies enclosed around the others', his hands protectively on my waist.

Right then, I knew I never wanted it to end. I might have only been eleven years old.

But we didn't care. That's all that mattered.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I groaned and opened my eyes, irritated by the alarm clock I'd been sleeping so finely to. That memory never wanted to leave my mind. Yesterday afternoon had been priceless, and we planned to do it all again today. I hoped it would be just as good, if not better.

Then I suddenly realized something. It was July Fourth, and we were leaving directly after the firework display.

What if I never saw Tommy again?

But that's absurd, I thought, trying to calm myself down, my cheek still smashed up against the pillow, my hair a wild wreck. Surely through Facebook or email or maybe he lives close by…

I knew he didn't, though. Clarisse had decided to move the whole family a little farther south that summer, moving to Virginia. And that sickened me. Sure, it was only a few hours' drive away, but in all the novels and plays and histories and movies I had seen and read, long distance relationships never worked.

We were just like Noah and Allie from The Notebook or John and Savanna from Dear John. A pair of summer romancers, a Romeo and Juliet in the making.

The thought made me want to gag. I threw the covers off in a sudden bolt of energy, and I didn't even bother to take my nightwear off as I ran from the cabin and to the Ares. I had to see him, had to know he was still there. We had fifteen hours until we'd be separated for longer than I could stand.

And I planned to spend every single waking moment of it with him, as long as I could without getting to annoying. It wasn't just a want to – It was a have to.

Ahg, so sappy and romantical. Trust me, though, we get a little more serious after this - like, way serious. Be prepared for unexpected hurdles, ya'll. I don't own PJO. God bless!~

~Future