Disclaimer: I own nothing, sadly.
When Percy awoke the next morning, he couldn't help but feel bad for the way he had treated Piper last night. He had headed to his room immediately after his run-in with Bailey and Piper at the beach, and Piper came to talk to him because she cared for him like a friend and wanted to make sure everything was alright, but he wouldn't let her in and didn't even answer any call she had. He didn't want to look at her, because her words kept ringing in his head about how she had no one to talk to and how nervous she was when she was talking to Nico. He didn't want to face her, not yet.
But it was mean, and he felt bad about it now.
So when he headed downstairs, he was determined to apologize and tell her a bunch of lies because he still couldn't tell her the truth; no, not yet, and he wasn't sure if he'd do it ever. It was right before breakfast that he went to where everyone was, and sure enough, there was the Chaos crews spread around, some at the kitchen, others in chairs and on the couches, chatting up a storm.
All except Piper.
His heart dropped in a moment of panic. "Where's Piper?" he asked, and everyone looked up at him, falling silent.
It was Bailey who answered, and her voice was soft and careful, "She went to go plan with Nico, but they'll meet us at breakfast."
Bile rose in his choked throat. With Nico. She was with Nico. 'Planning' for something they should all plan for. Together. But she's doing it with Nico. Alone. Probably away from everyone else. They were alone. And together. "Oh," he mumbled, his face falling as he looked down at the ground. The words ran in his head, and he couldn't get them out. She was probably ranting about him to Nico, probably blushing and stuttering whenever he sent a smirk her way. He wondered if Nico made her heart pound like she did to him.
"Percy-" Bailey said quickly, getting up, but he shook his head.
"It doesn't matter," he choked, his voice strained and hollow. With Nico. She was with Nico. "What are we watching?" He headed for the couch and sat down with what he hoped was an emotionless face so they didn't see how much this affected him. Gods, being in lo-like with Piper was really killing him.
"Percy..." Faughn muttered next to him, and he could feel their sympathetic glances- was he really that transparent that they all knew before he did?
"Someone change the channel," he replied, ignoring her with his teeth gritted. His voice was broken, but it was closing the subject completely so that no one would try to make him feel better that his crush was out with another guy who she felt she could talk to even though he was here, has been here, and would do anything for her.
But that was okay. She was a grown woman. She was definitely allowed to go hang out with people she wanted to. She was stronger and more powerful than him so he had no worry that she couldn't protect herself, even though she wasn't supposed to go out there with someone to protect her- fucking Nico did not count at all- because it was dangerous and the people still disliked her. And then you add the fact that she's his boss and he can't really tell her to do anything of the sort because that's not how it works.
It shouldn't bug him immensely that they were outside, alone, together, probably not around any people because everyone's mad at them and Piper hates attention, but Nico probably doesn't know that, but he will because gods, he's the only one she can talk to. Which he doesn't understand at all. He didn't feel like throwing up whenever he thought about her blushing and stuttering around Nico. It didn't bother him at all that she was probably saying everything and anything about the way he acted in the past to Nico. And it absolutely didn't make him want to rip Nico's head off because she was talking to Nico.
He already fucking hates the kid; what's more to add?
No. Nope. Nada. Nothing's wrong. He was fine. Really. Just fine. He wanted to cry, throw up, and kill Nico, but he was fine. Absolutely fine. Why would there be a problem?
He should get used to this, really, because she was going to leave one way or another and he wouldn't ever see her again, and maybe she'd bring Nico with her, so he should get used to this feeling. He really should. Besides nothing would amount from this, so it was best that he just kind of get used to it. Yep. He's learning. And he'll be fine by time he sees her and Nico at breakfast.
He wasn't fine by time breakfast came.
He was fine when they got to the table with only half the camp there, and he was fine a few minutes later with the dining pavilion filling up more by the minute. But he was not fine when breakfast started, there was no sign of Piper or Nico, and he felt sick again, and this time, he really wanted to cry.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was not fine at all when Piper or Nico didn't show up half way through breakfast, and he hadn't touched any food on the plate he had before him. There was an empty seat to the right of him where Piper usually sat, and it felt cold and it was taunting him and he couldn't breathe.
Bailey was to the other side of him, which was new, but no one commented. She had his hand in hers and she kept squeezing every time he looked hopefully up at the doors only to have tears blur his vision when he looked back down again. Her hand had strong fingers, ones that were built for tasks that required precision, and her hand was always cold. Piper's fingers were small and fit in the spaces of his hand perfectly, and her hand was warm and made his skin tingle. Bailey's didn't do that.
His lungs were constricted by time they got there and Bailey had her head leaning on his arm so that he would know that she was there and she was trying all she could to comfort him. He appreciated the gesture, but it wasn't the same as with Piper. He didn't think he could remember when Piper did something like this: hold his hand, and lean on him. It made him sicker.
Throughout all the commotion of the dining pavilion, he heard her laugh, and at first it brightened him, and his head shot up to look at her, but then he realized that Nico was laughing too and standing right next to her. His throat closed and this time, he could taste the bile. She looked so happy, happier than he had ever seen her. Her hair was up in a ponytail today, so he could clearly see her face, and she was lighting up the day like she was the sun. Her eyes, even across the large pavilion, he could see were shining with laughter, happiness, and hope. Her pink lips were pulled up in the brightest smile possible, and her clothes were the regular black uniform of Chaos, but there was a sky blue band on her bicep, an orange on her opposite wrist. She looked breathtaking, and her eyes sparked even more beautiful towards Nico.
He couldn't take her eyes off of them as they headed towards the Chaos table. Nico's eyes were uncharacteristically happy, and he had his hands in stuffed in the pockets of his black skinny jeans instead of his usual aviator jacket which Percy was pleased to find out wasn't draped across Piper's shoulders because it was a little cold. But it was the way that when Nico said something, Piper blush immensely, that made him really want to...to...
"Hey guys!" Piper cried as they came up, and her cheeks were still flushed with the blush Nico had created. "What's up?"
Percy couldn't reply, but Bailey, still leaning on his shoulder said softly, "Where have you been?"
"Nico took me to the Underworld," she replied, and she completely ignored the spot next to Percy, and took one across from them, Nico following after her. She also didn't notice the way that Bailey and Percy were acting unusual. "I saw my dad."
Percy willed her to look at him, acknowledge him separately from the group, but she was busy stealing food off of Naden's plate whom she was sitting by. "I thought it'd be a nice way to show her that I was on her side," Nico said as if he didn't just upstage Percy by tenfold, and he didn't care about it too much.
"Have you ever been shadow traveling?" Piper asked excitedly, and Percy couldn't swallow. "It's such a cool way to go!"
Nico chuckled. "Until you get lost."
Piper blinked, looking surprised. "You can get lost?"
He rolled his eyes. "'Course."
"How?"
Unable to stand seeing them interact like no one else was at the table, Percy pushed himself abruptly from the table, and he turned on his heel to get the fuck out of there because gods, how could she not see that he wanted to talk to her, to get to act like that- the way Nico was making her act. He wanted her to smile and to beam, at him. Only him. Or at least say something to him, say hello, asked if he was okay from last night. Something.
But she did nothing.
"Percy!" she called after him, but he kept walking, trying to get away from all this freaking madness, all this pain and all these feelings he had only had a few times in his life, but a more intense set.
"Percy!"
He broke through the pavilion and continued to ignore her, even though he still felt like throwing up, crying, and killing all at once. Chaos, he wanted to talk to her, but he couldn't because then he'd end up spilling everything and that could never turn out good.
"Why won't you stop?" Piper snapped, grabbing his wrist and yanking him hard enough that he turned around and faced her with that emotionless mask on.
"Didn't hear you," he replied simply, but his voice cracked.
Her eyes were soft, and there wasn't a single flush on her cheeks from running to catch up with him even though his strides were long. She looked concerned, confused, and thoroughly lost, but Percy didn't really blame her. "That's a lie," she said, and Percy was very aware of her hand on his wrist. "What has been up with you lately?"
He feigned innocence. "What do you mean?"
Her eyebrows furrowed in anger and she crossed her arms over her chest. "You've been avoiding me and then you're getting all close with Bailey."
"And you're getting close with Nico," he shot back, and there was a certain tang to his voice that made her drop her arms and look more in confusion.
"So what? I'm glad that I have another person on my side."
He sighed and shook his head, trying to gather himself. "It doesn't matter," he said, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Look, nothing's wrong, alright? I've been thinking."
"And getting close with Bailey," she muttered, and now her voice held that vemon.
"She's been helping me," he defended, gritting his teeth. "Like Nico's helping you."
She frowned and reached out for his hand. "What's wrong, Percy? You know you can talk to me."
"Apparently not!" he exploded, and his voice was raw. "I don't want to waste your time talking to you if you don't think you can talk to me!"
She blinked a few times before understanding and horror crossed her face. "You heard that?" she choked, and he snatched his hand away from her.
"Was I not supposed to?" he snapped angrily, frustrated with everything. "Were you just supposed to ignore me whenever you had a problem and maybe later on I'd find out that you didn't think you could talk to me?"
"Percy..." she sighed. "It's not like that..."
"Then what's it like?" His voice cracked again. "Gods, Piper, I'm trying so hard to be here for you and I'm doing everything I can to make sure you're safe and that you know that I'm your friend! I'm trying to make up for being a dumb ass when you left, and then apparently, it's not good enough and you still don't trust me, and Chaos, Piper..." He pulled desperately at his hair, trying to keep his jaw locked so she won't notice the quiver in it, but the one in his voice was hard to miss. "I just don't understand what to do anymore."
She quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, and buried her face in his neck, tears brimming in her eyes. Amazing. What is this? the fourteenth, sixteenth time he's made her cry? Why can't he be more like Nico, making her laugh and blush and look so happy that she could fill the earth with it? Just one time, just one, he'd like to light her up and be the one to make her act like the Aphrodite girl she was supposed to be.
But he hugged her tight because a little part in his head told him that this may be one of the last few times he'll get to hold her close before someone else gets her (Nico) or she leaves. He breathed in the calming, intoxicating scent of her hair, memorized the feel of her body pressed against his, and the way her hands were grabbing at his shirt, and through the layers of clothing, he could feel her hot breath. He liked these times; ones where he could pretend everything was okay.
"I didn't mean it," she whimpered in his chest, and he almost scoffed. "I trust you; I trust you more than anyone else. I can talk to you, and you're still my closest friend, and I told you that I forgive you for the past because it's the past."
"Then why'd you tell him that?" he demanded in her hair because he needed to know. He didn't believe that she trusted him because if she did, she wouldn't've said that.
"It was a moment of weakness," she admitted, and he tightened his grip on her, wanting to keep her here instead of with Nico. "I didn't mean it; I wasn't thinking, and it just kind of came out because he was talking about talking, and I couldn't talk to Bailey and them so much, but I didn't mean it was you."
"I want you to trust me, Pipes," he mumbled. "You need to know that I'm always going to be here for you, okay?"
She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry for saying that."
He kissed her head. "I'm sorry for ignoring you last night; I had a lot on my mind."
She pulled away, and immediately an ice fell over Percy. "It's okay, I understand," she said, smiling up at him, and she looked beautiful. "But you know you can talk to me, right?"
Without hesitation, he gave a nod. "Yeah. I know."
She leaned on her toes, kissed his cheek, and he blinked, bewildered. "Thanks, Percy."
He kissed her forehead, giving a small smile, even though his heart was inflated with pride and joy. "Thanks, Pipes."
She blushed and looked away, and he wondered what was going on through her head.
Little did he know, she was replaying that one dream with the real kiss.
Piper was putting on her armor late in the evening after dinner, but before the start of the Capture the Flag game. The Chaos crews, and Nico, were putting on their own armor, getting their weapons and there was little talk between them. Though Piper felt better about the fact that she had made up with Percy and him and Bailey weren't touching so much, and they had Nico on their team, she didn't have a lot of hope for this game of Capture the Flag.
Most of her team didn't understand it because they weren't from this planet or the time era, and the rest were outdated or new to the game. Piper herself was having trouble getting used to all the new rules. Percy and Nico, however, were the only ones that were accustomed to this, and Piper was so grateful that they were able to help out.
But that didn't mean they exactly have much of a chance. Camp is comprized of over three hundred demigods because the gods don't learn and just keep going out and having kids, and they had roughly ten. They may be commanders of Chaos and a whole lot more powerful than the gods, but they were peacemakers and peacekeepers. They only fight when they have to because Chaos doesn't like unnecessary battles, and this was a fighting place. They didn't have knowledge of the game on their side, this was a new opponent, and they were vastly outnumbered.
The good things? They had two campers with amazing powers, Piper who could charmspeak a whole lot of people at a time, and a group of indiviuals who knew how to fight well, and were experts at strategy which they used for cutting off a war in progess and settling things.
Piper didn't think that made up for a great number of obstacles they had to overcome: the Athena kids, the Nike kids, the Hecate kids, and the Hephaetus kids. They could handle Ares because they dealt with war-ridden people all the time, and the Hermes kids because they've learned how to detect people who are trying to be stealthy- otherwise, in their work, they could be killed by a spy or someone else who doesn't like them- they have plenty of enemies, honestly.
No matter what, though, they would try because everything depended on this. Everything. There could be a war after this, one among innocent kids and a larger one between powerful figures.
"Okay, so I think it's best if we do it like this," Piper announced after they were suited up and ready to go. "If we have Nico, Bailey, and Carl guarding the flag, which will be..."
"Hanging off a high branch," Faughn answered automatically, crossing her arms. She had gotten the game fairly easily and was already pretty good at it.
"Yeah," Piper agreed, smiling at her. "Good job. That's perfect, and it'll be right above Zeus's Fist. " She turned to Bailey who was near Percy, Nico was near Bailey, and Carl who was on the other side of Percy, and finished, "You guys guard the flag and I think you guys can handle that."
Nico scoffed, flipped his hair, and Piper felt butterflies grow in her stomach. "'Course, Sunshine, don't worry about it."
"Sunshine?" Percy stammered, and Bailey put a hand on his arm.
"He gave me a nickname," Piper explained with a small smile, tilting her head at Percy who was suddenly all tense. "Why?"
He gritted his teeth, and his eyes turned to steel. "Nothing," he said coldly, and Piper's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but they had bigger things to worry about. Besides, it's not like he wants my help, she thought bitterly as she noticed Bailey grab his hand and squeeze. Whatever his problem is.
"Then we'll have Faughn, Marcus, Jee, and Dolly in the middle of the field so they can stop most of the forces from coming all the way to the flag," Piper continued, pretending that didn't happen; she'd think more on it later. "Can you guys handle that?"
They all nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem," Faughn said.
"Just don't blame us if campers get hurt," Jee, one of Piper's members, grunted, crossing his long, beefy arms over his chest- he was from Jupiter.
"You can't hurt them too bad," Piper said, eyebrows furrowing in concern. "They're still people, guys, and we're only trying to get them on our side. Hurting a lot of them will not get us on their good side.
"Naden, Percy, and I will storm through and hit the flag camp hard." She grinned. "Since they picked the river side, we have an advantage with Percy, and he'll be our winning factor if our defense can hold up like I know it will."
Percy looked surprised, then he grinned, and Piper's heart gave a couple jumps before she focused on the topic at hand. Being a love daughter was more diffcult when she was having conflicted feelings about a couple guys. At least they're new, rather than just Jason who she's been doing fairly well not being mad at to an extent.
"Percy, you'll encase the area with water so that they can't get reinforcements or get out," she continued. "Naden and I, we'll head in and take over the flag. Then we'll run back towards our place, and we'll be good."
If it works, she wanted to add, but she figured that everyone already had that on their minds.
"Does everyone know what they're doing?"
Everyone gave a shout, but they were drowned out by the screaming and cheering from the campers in the distance who were also going over their plan. Piper paled. They'd have to work really hard to beat some group that was that joined together and that focused on main thing.
Oh, holy mother of all Chaos.
"Guys!" she cried, wide eyed and looked excitedly back at her group who were looking at her in confusion. She had it figured out! "We don't have to win! Actually, it might be better to lose!"
"Have you lost your mind?" Bailey asked, frowning deeply, and Percy, who Piper noticed wasn't holding her hand (that made her more excited). "What has hanging out with di Angelo done to you?"
"No, listen!" She ignored the last statement, but noticed a small smirk on Percy's face. Focus. She'd have to work on that along with a bunch of other stuff later. "If we lose, then I could show them how well they worked together, like a family! If we win, I can still say that, and they'll get it that they're family and that they can do anything when together, so it's no use fighting!"
"Pipes," Percy breathed, "that's brilliant!"
Piper felt heat flood her cheeks and her heart flutter. "Thanks."
"What if they don't listen if they win?" Nico grunted, crossing his arms over his chest. "That's why we're doing this, anyway: to get them to listen."
"Well...yeah...but I'm a charmspeaker; I can get them to calm down for a moment or two so I can say it."
"And winning will make them put their differences aside," Faughn mused, smiling brightly. "I think it'd be perfect, Peacemaker!"
Piper smiled again, happy that it got good reviews and they were as excited about this as her. "Thanks."
"So...do we want to lose or win?" Jee asked, and everyone murmured in agreement.
"I don't want to lose," Bailey said, brushing the brown hair out of her face. "But I don't want to stay here that long to stop this."
"Yeah, we've still got one more stop," Marcus agreed, and everyone, except Nico, was downed by the fact.
"Well, I think winning would be able to make them connect more," Piper said, fiddling with her hands. "But if we let them win, we'll look weak and they won't respect us."
They stood in silent thought for a while, the sounds only coming from the monsters in the woods, and the campers talking excitedly and waiting for the game to start. Minutes passed until Percy blurted, "Make it a tie."
Everyone frowned. "How do you make it a tie?" Carl asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Percy's face looked concrentrated, determined, and Piper remembered that look from the old days in the war. "Defense at the flag will let one person grab the flag and run out," he explained. "We'll get in, get the flag and get out, but not too fast or else we won't make it."
"But how do we know when someone has the flag?" Piper wondered. "We won't be able to just scream because there would be too many yells and screams to start with."
"Chaos," he replied. "If you ask him to just say a word in your mind, we'll be able to know."
"But what if he doesn't help us?" Dolly asked, sounding nervous- she was from Uranus, and they're very nervous people.
"And how do we know he will help us?" Bailey added, and Piper thought for a moment or two.
It was a great idea, it would just require help from the busiest person ever and one of the biggest, most influencial person alive. How do they get help from him? Piper didn't think that he'd respond to a question or favor from her just on command, and not even face to face. It wouldn't work out well, and she wouldn't know if he even got the message, so she wouldn't know if he would help or not and they might miss that opporunity.
"We can only ask and hope," she said finally. "It's the only thing we have. We lose, we lose respect, we win, we may lose them from our side. A tie is the best way possible."
"Then go ask him," Percy nodded. "He'll most likely respond to you."
Piper frowned. "How?"
"Like you're praying to the gods," Nico said, crossing his arms over his chest, and he flipped his hair again, and Chaos, she needed to cut his hair so she wouldn't get all wobbly-knees when he did that.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down and closed her eyes so she wouldn't look at him. It took her a few moments to get any thoughts of Percy or Nico out of her head before she actually started the prayer. Er...Lord Chaos? Can you hear me?
There was silence for another moment, and she was afraid that it wouldn't work, when there was a bright light in her mind and she was suddenly standing in space, stars billions of miles away twinkling around her. She was just outside Earth's atmosphere, so she was able to see the planet, and when she looked over at it, she was startled to realize that there was no longer a California- or not much of it, anyway. Chaos stood in front of her, in a ocean blue shirt that had waves forming from his tie which looked like sand, and pants that were green like a forest, and if you looked close enough, you could see leaves.
He laughed. "Formalities, my dear, I thought we passed that point," he said, and though he was standing in front of her, his voice sounded far away.
As did hers when she smiled and spoke, "Sorry, but I need your help."
He raised an eyebrow. "My help, eh? For what?"
She guessed he knew what. "We want to make a tie during our game of Capture of Flag so if we win, we won't, um, lose anyone, and if we lose, we won't lose respect."
"Ah, a wonderful plan it seems." He grinned and his eyes sparkled brighter than the stars. "How does this involve me, my Peacemaker?"
She rubbed her left arm with her right hand. "Well, we were wondering if you could send us a sign when the campers got our flag."
He sighed, his smile falling. "Piper...you know that I'm a very busy man."
"All we need is a word!" she said, worried now that it wasn't going to work as planned. "It's the only way to truly win over the campers!"
He stroked his chin. "It's much more complicated than that, I'm afraid to say. Some will still not follow you, you must know."
"I've got an idea," she breathed, her heart pounding. If this didn't work... "I think I know how to get the campers to realize what they're doing." She bit her lip. "I need you to trust me, Chaos, and I need your help."
His face softened. "Piper..."
"Trust me," she pleaded, and he thought for a long moment before he nodded.
"I will do everything I can to let you know, but you should still try your hardest in case it doesn't work out."
She breathed a little easier. "Of course," she said. "Thank you, Chaos."
Still not smiling, he came forward and placed a hand on her shoulder, and she felt the actual pressure of his hand, though it was cold. "Be careful what you do once you win, my dear," he warned. "You may have won over the campers, but there's still tension in your crew members."
"What do you mean?" she cried, her eyes growing wide. Was this about Percy and Bailey? Were they going to do something that might ruin the crew?
But he was fading. "Think wisely, Peacemaker," he told her, and his voice was fainter than ever. "Do not forget who I sent to you first."
Before she could question further, there was that bright light, and she had a pounding headache. "She's waking up!" someone called, but their voice was fuzzy and loud.
"Piper!" another cried, but this voice was very familiar, and it made her groan. "Pipes, come on, wake up."
She blinked her eyes open and she could barely make out two heads looking down at her. It took her a while before her vision cleared and she was able to see Percy cradling her head and Bailey with a cup of water in her hands. They both looked frantic. "You just passed out," Bailey choked, giving her some water to drink. "di Angelo said your life force just dropped almost to death."
"What happened?" Percy asked, brushing some of her hair away from her face, and her skin tingled. Relief covered anything in his eyes.
"I saw Chaos," she replied, and her voice was hoarse. "He's going to help us."
The conch horn sounded, signalling the five minute warning before the game started. They needed to get to their places. "Are you okay to play?" Faughn asked, coming up and kneeling down beside her.
She nodded because she couldn't back out now or they would never win over the campers. "Let's do this," she groaned.
I know I said that I was going to have the surprise and the Capture the Flag game in this chapter, but I just felt that it wouldn't work well with this one, and had to be its own. But I'm going to get that chapter up this weekend because I promised it to you, and I don't think I did it last weekend, so I'm going to give you two this weekend. Maybe. Hopefully.
How 'bout this chapter though? Lots of Jealous Percy, and there'll be more to come. And Chaos's warning is very, very important too, so you guys should think that over. What do you think that means? If someone gets it right, I'll give them a private spoiler of what's to come. If five people get it right, I'll upload the spoiler as a chapter. Sound good?
So, what did Chaos mean for a spoiler? And...how did you feel about the chatper:
Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it(: