Love Me, Hate Me, But I Promise You Won't Break Me

A PJATO Fanfiction

By: xXxDaughteroftheKingxXx

AN: HOLY CRAP THIS IS FREAKING LONG. WARNING: LONG...

Disclaimer: So, there's this scene... That Rick wrote and I changed a little. So, me no own PJO at all.

15. When I first saw you, I was afraid to talk to you. When I first talked to you, I was afraid to like you. When I first liked you, I was afraid to love you. Now that I love you, I'm afraid to lose you.

Juniper blushed slightly as her friend, a demigod daughter of Demeter named Miranda Gardiner, nudged her teasingly. The two were quite likely friends—both nature lovers, of course. "I see that satyr's got an eye on you." Miranda teased, glancing over at a clumsy satyr with curly brown hair and brown eyes, who occasionally stole a glance at the two girls.

"Oh please," Juniper scoffed. "Those satyrs are so flirty sometimes." She shook her head disapprovingly.

"Go talk to him." the thirteen year-old urged gently. "He seems like your type. Plus, isn't he like Percy Jackson's best friend? Bonus!"

"A demigod hero as his best friend?" the naiad said, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Wouldn't that just make him more egotistical?"

"No," Miranda said, somewhat dreamily. "Percy Jackson is amazing. He's so… nice and humble and sweet and, and—"

"Alright, Randa," Juniper interrupted. "But that doesn't make his little friend like that."

"Just go talk to him, Juni." Miranda cried. "He seems nice enough!"

Juniper took one more glance, this time catching the satyr's eyes, and both turned away and blushed. "Alright," she whispered. "I can do this."

"Grover Underwood, you are one of the most insane satyrs I have ever met." Juniper said, shaking her head at the satyr, who was drinking coffee by the gallon. Well, maybe not that much.

"I felt him, Juniper!" Grover said excitedly. "The coffee's the only lead we've had in thousands of years! If it means that we're one step closer to finding Pan, I'd drink all the coffee in the world."

Juniper smiled at her friend's silliness. "I have an idea, Grover," she suggested. "You said you were in New Mexico when Pan sent the pig, right?" He nodded. "Then, why not go to New Mexico?"

Grover opened his mouth, and Juniper automatically knew it was a stupid idea. "That is an incredibly brilliant idea, Juni!"

"I'm sorry!" the naiad groaned, burying her head in her hands. "It was just a—wait, what?"

"I said it was an incredibly brilliant idea!" Grover said, standing up excitedly. He held his hand out to Juniper, who warily took it. "I'm going to find Pan!" he said, beaming like a kid excited over chocolate cake.

"But, wait," Juniper argued. "Wouldn't it be…" She hesitated. "Dangerous?"

Grover paused, then nodded. "Yeah, but I've been through much worse things before." Both shuddered.

"Right," Juniper murmured. "But if you do go," She hesitated once more. "Promise me that you'll be careful."

Grover grinned. "I promise I'll be careful. Now I've got to get permission from the Council!" he said, throwing his arms around Juniper quickly. The naiad felt the heat rise to her cheeks, and she quickly wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks, Juniper!" With that, he ran off.

Juniper stared, somewhat dazed as Grover ran towards the direction of the Council. "I'm not going to like him." she muttered, walking back to her tree. "I won't do it."

"Grover!" Juniper said, excitedly throwing her arms around the satyr. "You're back!" she squealed.

Grover smiled, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend. "I missed you," Juniper murmured.

"I bet I missed you more."

"I don't doubt that, you silly satyr." she giggled in response, kissing his cheek. Grover grinned, somewhat dazedly. "So, how'd it go?"

The satyr sighed. "Nothing. Still nothing." he mumbled, a frustrated expression on his face. "The Council is going to be so mad at me."

"Oh, don't listen to them!" Juniper said, trying to reassure both of them. "You'll find Pan, Grover. I know it."

"It's been six months, Juniper!" Grover said, frustration evident in his voice. "And I still have nothing except for the New Mexico and coffee leads." He sighed dejectedly. "I'm going to get my searcher's license taken away."

"Oh hush up!" Juniper ordered. "Think of it like this. Percy's coming soon, right? He'll probably get a quest, as usual, and you can go along with him and find Pan! You're special, Grover. I know that as a fact."

Grover blushed, then smiled. "Thanks, Juniper." he mumbled, warily leaning into kiss her.

"Oh, just kiss me, Grover." Juniper said, giggling.

"Iloveyouyouknow." Grover rushed as soon as they were done kissing.

"Excuse me?"

"I said, I love you, you know." Grover repeated, blushing furiously.

Juniper opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. Did she love him? "Grover… I…"

"I know it's kinda soon, but I really, really, really like you." Grover mumbled. "It's okay if you don't love me…"

"I do, really." Juniper said gently. "But you're write, it is kind of soon. Rest assured, I will love you, just as soon as our relationship grows more. I promise you that."

Grover flashed a weak smile. "Until then, I really like you."

"And I really like you too."

"Please, Leneus," Juniper begged. "Please, send someone to find him! It's been two months since he's contacted us!"

"I don't care, Juniper," the old satyr said stubbornly. "He's a traitor. Claiming that Pan is dead? Bah! That's blasphemy, I say!"

"It's true!" Juniper argued. "Didn't you see him perform a panic last year?"

"Please," Leneus scoffed. "That was probably his reed pipes."

Juniper opened her mouth to retaliate, but before she could, a preteen boy burst out of the shadows. Both the naiad and satyr yelped in surprise, staring at the youth.

"Oh, ow," he mumbled, getting up and brushing his pants. The boy's eyebrows furrowed. "Juniper?"

Juniper raised an eyebrow; how did he know her? She studied him, trying to remember who he was. Her mind wandered back to last year; the boy who'd summoned the skeletons. What was his name again? Nick? Noah? Nico! That was it! "Um, yes. You're Nico, right?"

The boy nodded. "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades." he said, little pride in his voice.

Something popped into Juniper's mind. He might know if Grover was still alive! "Nico," Juniper said, her voice pleading. "My boyfriend, Grover Underwood, I want to know… is he…" Her voice trailed off.

Nico shifted uncomfortably, and Juniper's heart sank. "I honestly don't know, Juniper," he confessed. "He's a satyr, and they don't have souls."

"But you're a son of Hades!" she cried. "Please, you have to know something about him! Anything!"

"I'm sorry, Juniper, I really am." Nico said quietly. "But I don't know a thing about Grover's whereabouts."

"But if you did know—Oh my!" Juniper shrieked. "What, what is that?"

Nico looked somewhat amused. "Wait for it…" he muttered, and soon, Percy Jackson ran into the glade.

Leneus did not look amused. "You there, Percy Jackson!" he barked. "Is this your beast?" Juniper wanted to snap at him. That was no way to treat the hero of the prophecy!

"Sorry, Leneus," Percy apologized, but he didn't seem to guilty. "That's your name, right?"

Leneus rolled his eyes. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly. Now, call off your beast!"

The beast woofed loudly, Juniper observed. Quite loud, really.

Leneus gulped, and Juniper, Nico, and even Percy smirked. Just a little. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

Juniper turned to Percy. "Percy, I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

"I told you!" Leneus interrupted rudely. "You are better off without that traitor."

Juniper and Percy both glared at the satyr. "He's not a traitor!" Juniper cried, stamping her foot. "He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"

The hellhound or whatever barked. Again.

"I… I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!" Leneus cried.

"I'll go walk the dog," Nico said, his expression still amused. He then whistled, and the hellhound bounded after him.

"Now," Leneus huffed. "As I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."

"You triedto vote him into exile." Percy quickly corrected. "Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."

"Bah! They are honorary Council members. It wasn't a proper vote." Juniper glared at him once again. Dionysus wouldn't be too thrilled to hear that…

"I'll tell Dionysus you said that." Percy offered.

The satyr paled, and Juniper couldn't help but think he deserved it. "I only meant… Now see here, Jackson. This is none of your business."

"Grover's my friend." Percy argued. "He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. I saw it myself. You were just too scared to accept the truth."

"No!" Leneus protested, his lip quivering. "Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."

Juniper shot Percy a warning glance, but of course the demigod didn't notice it. He instead pointed to the withered thrones, and Juniper winced. He was crossing dangerous territory. "If things are going so well, where are your friends? Looks like your Council hasn't been meeting lately."

"Maron and Silenus…" Leneus stuttered. "I…I'm sure they'll be back. They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year."

"It's going to get a lot more unsettling." Percy promised, and Juniper's heart sank. Things were getting worse each day. "Leneus, we need Grover. There's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."

The satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you, I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."

Juniper choked back a sob. No. He couldn't be dead. He just… couldn't!

Didn't he know how much Juniper needed him? She didn't really care about what Percy or Leneus was saying, she just needed to be with her boyfriend again.

She loved him, and the pain of losing him would be just too much to bear.