VIII

Jason

They gasped for breath coming up the hill.

Leo's not dumb, Jason thought, he's probably kickin' she-wolf butt right now.

He knew it was dumb but Leo being alone with Lupa when she's a vicious wolf and demands to know info wasn't good. All Jason could do was think the worse just in case because thinking the best would probably slow him down and whatever was going on now it would be best just to be ready.

"Hey, Jason," Piper, "What exactly do you think Leo could be doing?" She asked.

"Well I'm not sure what exactly happened. How'd he look when he said he wanted to talk to her?" Jason asked.

"Well he looked confident. Like he didn't think Lupa would do anything." She replied.

Annabeth, as always, looked like she was thinking again, "It could be possible Leo knows something we don't, like he saw something in a dream."

"Maybe, but why would Leo keep a secret from us?" Jason asked.

"Well remember," Piper said, "We were all keeping secrets from each other at one time. You just revealed one of yours this afternoon." Jason knew she was talking about Reyna and was still upset about it.

They all kept running toward the headquarters, all gasping for air.

"Annabeth, why are you all taking this so seriously? It's just another kid talking to Lupa." Percy said.

"Chiron ordered us not to tell anyone what we know so quickly. We were supposed to bring you back to camp, and come back to the Roman camp every day. We were supposed to come clean when we could trust them." She explained the plan better then Jason could.

"Oh, I see." Percy said like Chiron's orders were enough to convince him.

"Hey, Annabeth," Jason said, "I know we are supposed to stick around until we trust them, but you trust me, and I'm part of 'them'."

"Yeah, what's your point?" She said.

"Well I'm part of them, so they trust me and so do you. Maybe I could try getting them all to get along with you since they trust me. I am considered their leader."

"Yea," Percy said, "Maybe I could help you. I think they trust me a little too. Besides, I am considered the Greek's leader." He said mocking Jason as a joke.

They ran in silence passing many campers. Jason could see faces he remembered and they obviously knew Jason was too much in a hurry to stop and say 'hi'.

That's a good thing, Jason thought, the quicker the better.

Percy and Annabeth were exchanging random looks—looks that you would give in a conversation—like they were communicating somehow. Jason tried not to think anything of it, besides he'd only known Annabeth for one month and Percy for less than a day so it could have been just a private joke. Them looking at each other like that made Jason look at Piper trying to see if she would look back. She didn't.

They ran a few feet through the arena making their way to the camp headquarters until they ran into a girl. The girl obviously didn't care if Jason was in a hurry. She tackled him with joyous cheers and Jason felt his face turn red. He felt guilty and threw a quick glance at Piper. Her face looked like she was just annoyed.

"Is this going to happen a lot at this camp?" She asked.

They all stopped and went back to help Jason to his feet.

"JASON!" The girl yelled. She had red hair, she was tall, and she had freckles.

"Gwendolyn?" Jason asked in surprise.

"Buddy, I missed you! When did you get here? O.M.G. no one tells me anything around here anymore."

"I missed you too; I got here not too long ago." He replied feeling awkward.

"Is this another one, Jason?" Piper asked angrily and annoyed.

"Another what?" Gwendolyn asked.

"Piper thinks you're my girlfriend because she met Reyna earlier today and Reyna did exactly what you just did." Jason explained.

"So," Gwendolyn asked, unclear of Piper's angry.

"Oh… yea… well…er… Piper and I sort of 'date', I guess you would say." Jason said, stuttering. The girl didn't look mad, just disappointed.

"Jason," She moaned, "Why would you do that?" She pushed his shoulder.

"Excuse me," Piper said, trying to sound polite, "So it's not another one?"

"NO!" Jason and Gwendolyn said together.

"Okay, okay. Just askin'," She said.

"Anyway, Gwen, I was brainwashed by Hera." He explained.

"Who," She asked but not to Jason but to Percy, knowing he was fully aware of the Greek terms.

"Greek goddess of Marriage and Family, I think that's….Juno!" He told her.

"Thanks," She turned back to Jason, "So what are you going to do?"

"Hey! Guy, we need to get back to Leo!" Annabeth reminded.

"Who," Gwendolyn asked yet another question.

"He's our friend and my best friend, Leo. Can't talk now but see you later." Jason said. They all ran back through the opposite exit of the arena.

"Jason Grace, you would be the one to go out and get a brand new best friend and girlfriend!" The girl Gwendolyn yelled smiling.

"She seemed nice." Piper said.

Jason was happy that she didn't say it with a sarcastic tone and she actually looked as if she meant it genuinely. Now all Jason had to do was avoid anymore girls that thought fit to tackle him. Not just for Piper's sake but Jason's back was really killing him.