Disclaimer: I own nothing, except my mistakes which are probably
plenty since I wrote this on my iPod and I read through it a couple
times, but...

*aaa*- the word is italicized.

Activities were canceled, and the whole day was full of festivities
and fun. Breakfast lasted until mid day, although most of the time was
not spent eating but rather talking and getting to know more people
because of the joined table. Chiron passed through the line of seats
haphazardly thrown on the outside of the tables and talked to many
people at once with a gleam in his eyes and smile on his face. Even
Dionysus seemed in a better mood when he sat with Pollux, his only
child at the time, and he even had some grape soda to make Chiron
freak out at him. Piper had never seen Dionysus laugh that hard.
Actually, she can't even remember seeing Dionysus laugh...*ever*.

Percy sat next to her the whole time, and although sometimes he seemed
hesitant and nervous, he was holding her hand or it'd be on her leg
with a loose grip like he was waiting for her to push it off. Yet,
Piper did not, and she leaned against him and talked with everyone
around them. She couldn't stop smiling, and every time Naden would
throw a smirk her way, she couldn't stop blushing.

Bailey did not look at them from her spot next to Naden, and Percy and
Piper did not look at her. Sasa sat next to Piper, and she did not
look at Marcus who was next to Percy, but Marcus kept looking at her
and Faughn was constantly talking to him. Percy had apologized the
first thing when him and Piper fought the crowd to reach them, but
Marcus said that he was just worried that Sasa would never talk to him
again. "It was about time the crew found out," he told Percy, glancing
over his shoulder to Sasa. Piper was talking to her at that time.

"Piper will help her," Percy assured, touching his shoulder. "She's
strong, Sasa is, and she'll manage."

"Yeah," Marcus has sighed, and he looked over at Faughn. "I know."

The conversation stopped after that.

But the day was good and they had no complaints. The sun was shining
brightly, not a cloud in the sky as if the Olympians took a break from
their fighting to share in their children's joy and happiness. It
would explain why Dionysus was here, and Piper half wanted to talk to
him about the war so she got a better feel on what was happening up
there and what to expect, but there was no way she was going to ruin
the crew's good mood or Dionysus's. Or hers for that matter.

Piper had never remembered being this happy and at peace. With Percy
by her side, old friends and family laughing and smiling around her,
her crew- her family- busting jokes and messing with each other, and
the perfect weather and win for their cause, there was nothing going
wrong. The day had good promises, too. It seemed like everyone wanted
to talk to the two crews, and they passed through frequently to thank
them or ask them about universes and Chaos. She had already made good
friends with a few people, and she had a feeling they were only going
to get better during her stay here. It seemed like there'd be no
fighting today, and that the weather would stay as it was, so her and
Percy's date would go well.

Oh, the date. She could only imagine what was going to happen. A
picnic with just the two of them, at dinner so they would see the
sunset, and the beach where they were most pleased and at peace. And
the kissing that was going to be included because Piper wanted to
continue the soft kiss Percy gave her earlier that made her swoon, and
maybe the other kiss too because that was exhilarating, and she could
definitely go on more with that.

She sighed and put her head on Percy's bicep, smiling as he felt her
kiss her head and squeeze her thigh. Whatever he would like to do, she
decided. By Chaos, he has her so whipped that she would gladly do what
he wished. She hoped he wouldn't find out because of what he might do
because of it. And he would get a big head, and she definitely wanted
to keep him the way he was now. She liked him this way. Tons more than
she ever liked Jason. When that happened, Piper had no idea, but it's
not she's complaining any. She likes it like this, with Percy next to
her and always around rather than moping over something that could
never be with Jason and wishing it was him.

No, Percy was definitely better in all ways.

Urging his arm around her waist, and feeling him tug her closer, she
looked over the room still full of Campers. Annabeth was still glaring
harshly at her because she was with Percy, but Piper wasn't going to
let that ruin her mood. Travis was with Katie and Connor, being
swarmed by little campers asking questions and older campers since he
was their something of representative now. Piper still wondered what
happened to cause that. As far as she knew, Travis hated responsibility,
and there were many campers that would have been more...fitted for
the job.

Whatever happened, she's glad that it did because Travis was a good
guy an known all around the Camp and he had been here for a long time,
so he knew how things worked and how to keep everyone together that
way. Not to mention, he was something of a born leader with the way he
rallies his cabin to pull pranks. Piper doesn't know if that's such a
good thing when he's representative for Camp, but she's counting it
anyway.

Because of the long breakfast, there was no lunch, and lunch would be
well over by time Percy managed to convince Piper to get up and get
out of the crowded dining pavilion. He had been trying all day to grab
some fresh air and relief from all the attention that he didn't want
and from Annabeth's glaring looks. He wanted to get out of there
before she came over and ruined his and Piper's good moods.

When she giggled at his whispered request to sneak out and finally
gave in, he kissed her cheek and squeezed her waist, standing up.
"Come on," he urged, and she slipped through the small space between
their chairs and he grabbed her hand. "Got to be sneaky," he joked,
and she covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laugh. He grinned
and tugged her through the massive crowd to the door. He held it open
for her while she slipped through. Percy followed.

"Do you think anyone noticed?" Piper asked as he grabbed her hand
again, sighing at the peace and quiet and having Piper alone.

"No, I thin-"

The doors behind them opened and Piper and Percy snuck behind one of
them, Percy's mouth clamping shut in case they were here to ruin their
alone time or their peace. Laughter filled the area in front of the
doors, and there was a lot of noise coming from the departing group
and the dining pavilion. There was a giggle, a shout of victory, a
groan of defeat, and chorus laughter following. Instantly, Percy and
Piper were aware that it was their crew, and there was no way they
were getting away from them that fast or easy. Percy tossed his head
back, giving the impression of a groan that never made it past his
throat since he didn't want to give away their spot. Piper muffled her
giggle into his chest.

"Where are they?" Faughn asked as the laughter died down and the doors
closed.

Bailey tssked. "They think they can hide from us."

"Well they were doing a good job this morning until you found them!"
Carl joked.

The rest of the group roared with laughter, and Percy's face grew hot
with the force of his blush. "Are we even sure we *want* to find
them?" Sasa giggled.

"Of course we do!" Marcus said. "We haven't gotten the proper chance
to tease them yet!"

"Aw, man, you're totally right!" Carl exclaimed, and the rest of the
group laughed.

Percy made a mental note to tease Marcus about Faughn when Sasa wasn't
around.

"That's definitely not what were going to do when we find them,"
Bailey mumbled. "We're going to figure out what we're doing today. We
may be leaving."

"Please," Naden chuckled. "The love-bird leaders probably haven't
thought about doing anything besides finishing what they started."

This induced more loud laughter, and they walked a little ahead,
looking around. In front of them; thankfully, not behind. Marcus's arm
was over Faughn's shoulder and Bailey was beet red. Her hands quickly
covered her face as everyone laughed more. Percy felt a smile tug at
his lips even when he shouldn't be smiling. He was red too because not
only has that crossed his mind, it's mainly what he tugged Piper out
for- no, no, no! Not that thought! Just so he could kiss her some
more! Oh, it wasn't the thought. Nope. Definitely not. Why would
anyone think that? He was a guy: it was okay for him to think that
stuff, but that didn't mean he was going to act on it...today.
Scratch that- he wasn't going to act on it! He didn't mean it like
that! Oh, Chaos help him!

Laughter echoed in his head, and he groaned, blushing brick red to his
toes as he buried his face in Piper's hair while her shoulders shook
with her giggles. He let out a small groan, which made Piper laugh
harder. It was amazing they hadn't been found yet.

"Ah, ah, man..." Nathan gasped for breath, as did the others,
clutching their stomachs and sides. Tears fell down most of their
faces, and Piper's head was turned so that only her cheek rested on
his chest, but he dared not look. They were going to be found out any
minute now, and he wasn't ready for all the teasing that was bound to
come his way. All he wanted was a little peace and quiet and some nice
alone time with Piper before their date. Just to enjoy the peace and
quiet! Nothing else! Well...maybe a few kisses here and there, but
nothing like- oh, Chaos, he needs to learn to shut his mouth.

*And stop praying to me when you think such thoughts,* Chaos warned in
his head with an amused chuckle, though Percy knew he was being
completely serious since Piper was like his daughter, and oh gods, he
just allowed his girlfriend's father to hear what he had planned! How
embarrassing!

Percy groaned loudly, burying his face in Piper's neck this time,
unable to comprehend his stupidity. Chaos laughed loudly in his head
as the crews turned to him and Piper giggled madly, hugging his waist
tighter. Her neck was hot with her blush. His blush was all over his
body, and not even the water he controlled could calm it.

"A-ha!" Carl shouted, and Piper's head turned to bury in Percy's
collarbone. "Lookie here, folks! It's the famous love birds!"

"I believe we have interrupted something intimate," Marcus joked.

"I believe Bailey's the one who interrupted it this time as well!"
Naden laughed, and the rest of the group roared with laughter. Percy
felt his shoulders shake and he tried to laugh off his embarrassment
and the teasing. He could tell it wasn't working but no one else
needed to know that.

"Guys," Bailey groaned over the laughter. "I do *not* need to be
reminded of something I'll never forget!"

This caused them to laugh harder. "Why?" Nathan croaked out. "Did it
get you hot and bothered like it had Percy?"

Bailey cried out in anguish. "Nathan!"

The group couldn't breathe, leaning on one another and just about
falling over when that person didn't have anything to lean on. Percy
laughed purely out of embarrassment, since that definitely wasn't
funny. Nope. Not at all. That was horrible. The joke was horrible. The
reaction was horrible. Everything about it was horrible.

Yet, Piper thought it was funny. She was laughing and laughing,
shaking against him and clutching him tighter. He didn't see what was
so funny about it, but Piper's laugh was cute and exhilarating so he
guessed he could let it go. He pulled back, looking down at her and
feeling himself smile and chuckle just at the sight of her.

She was beautiful in every way and she had an amazing personality to
match it. She was the perfect woman in general and to have as a
girlfriend. Percy didn't know when he got so lucky to be able to call
her his. He never had this kind of luck, unless it was one of his
stupid ideas, but there was no way anywhere that Piper being his
girlfriend was a stupid idea...er, well, to him anyway. Not everyone
may think it was a great idea for Piper, which he half agreed since
she deserved so much better and-

Piper looked up at him, blushing brightly and giggling nervously. He
gave her a sheepish grin unconsciously, and suddenly, without any
warning, she launched up on her toes and kissed him. It wasn't
unwelcome, it was merely surprising, and Percy groaned at the feel of
her lips. It didn't take long for him to respond, and Piper threw her
arm around his neck, pulling him down. He buried his fingers in the
brown, silky hair on her head, keeping her close. This was certainly
what he wanted to be doing. Only with her.

Being so hooked up in the lovely girl in his arms and attached to his
lips, and grinning when she giggled against him, he completely forgot
about the crews that were making fun at his expense a few moments
before. That was a complete mistake.

"Oh-ho-ho!" Marcus wolf-whistled, and Piper pulled away, making him
groan in disappointment. "Lookie there! They aren't even fazed!"

"Maybe we should kick our teasing up a notch," Naden chuckled.

Faughn elbowed Marcus. "Oh, shut! You should've left them alone!"

Marcus touched his stomach, but it was obvious he wasn't hurt by it.
"Geez, if I didn't say something, someone else would've."

"*Whatever!*" Bailey groaned. "Peacemaker, what do you want us to do
today, so I can gladly get out of here!"

The doors opened, and the noise from inside cut through the silence
out. Nico quickly stepped out, and Bailey tossed her hands up in
exasperation. Carl laughed. Nico took in the crews when the door
closed and all was silent again, and then in the direction they were
facing. The corner of his lips pulled up into a smirk. "If you wanted
privacy, you should've gone to Percy's cabin," he joked, and Percy
threw his head back and groaned.

"Honestly," he grumbled as Piper buried her face in his neck, "is it
that hard to just shut up for a minute about us?"

"Oh, it's a lot harder than I thought it would be at least," Nathan
said with a grin.

"Just be glad that Bailey isn't right in the head," Sasa giggled. "She
would dominate in this."

"I don't think that I can ever make a remark," Bailey moaned, shaking
her head.

Piper giggled. "You guys have the day off. Do with it as you wish,"
she told them, grabbing Percy's hand off her waist and tugging him
away from the pavilion.

"Just like you'll do Percy?" Nico called after them, and the laughter
was just as loud as the campers in the pavilion as it carried itself
to them. Percy chuckled, but Piper blushed and nuzzled into Percy's
side.

"We are never going to get away from that," she murmured.

"I don't know," he said, and he grinned down at her. "I say we have a
good chance right now. Wanna make a run for it?"

She nodded with a smile, but before they could, someone gripped
Piper's arm. "I call girls' day!" Faughn squealed, pulling Piper away
from Percy.

"Faughn! No!"

Before Percy could get his girlfriend back, her free side was occupied
by Naden. "Naden!" Piper exclaimed, surprised.

Naden rolled her eyes. "I'm a girl, Peacemaker, and for once, a girls'
day sounds kinda okay."

Piper groaned, but her attempts to escape were futile. "We're
kidnapping your girlfriend," Sasa said, patting Percy on his shoulder.

"Yep," he deadpanned dejectedly. Piper shot him a look over her
shoulder full of apologies and promises to make it up, and he gave a
half-hearted smile before turning around to head towards the guys. At
least he had tonight with her. Hopefully no one would interrupt.
Though, with the record he was having, he wouldn't be surprised.

The day was full of gossip, doing hair, teasing, and fantasizing about
guys for Piper. It was fun, sure, but Piper would have much fathered
sat with Percy all day and done nothing. She already knew most of the
things the girls talked about, and the rest she didn't care for.
Everything else reminded her of her sisters, which was weird since
these girls normally acted far from the average Aphrodite girls. She
didn't know how she felt about that since she had mixed feelings about
her old family, but she went through it with cooperation and smiles
because these were her family and friends, and she wouldn't abandon
them like her old one did to her.

Yet, when dinner time came, she could barely contain her excitement at
finally being able to see Percy and get away from all the girliness.
The only thing that stopped her from jumping up was the fact that
Bailey was no where to be seen. The other girls had thought that she
was going to join up with them later, but she never showed. They all
thought it was weird, but no one brought it up. Piper thought it had
something to do with the constant teasing of what happened in the
morning and of Percy and Piper being a couple. Whatever it was, Piper
was going to injure her dearly for making her go through this girls'
day alone.

The conch shell sounded out, signaling dinner, and Piper was out of
that door and gone without a minute. The girls that stayed looked at
each other and grinned knowingly as if this was their plan all along.
Not exactly knowing where to meet Percy, but knowing she would run
into him eventually, she lingered by the dining pavilion and stayed
hidden as everyone filed in, laughing and chatting. Piper wouldn't be
surprised if there were still people inside from this morning and
afternoon.

She waited and waited and waited, and after a long while, started to
get worried. Maybe he forgot about the date? Did something happen to
him? Did he just not want to go on a date with her? Were the boys
holding him up? Could he even find her? Oh, maybe that was it! She was
hiding and there was no way Percy, the dense one he is, could see her!
He was totally on time and wanted to be around her and- and-

Strong arms wrapped around her stomach and she whirled around
instantly, ready to punch a guy in his face for touching her. "Woah
there, Pipes," Percy chuckled, holding his hands up in a motion of
peace.

"Oh, it's just you," she breathed, putting down her fists and relaxing
her stature. Thank Chaos he was here! He didn't forget or get lost or
something!

"Just me?" he chuckled and he picked up a picnic basket that was
besides his feet. "I think I'll just have this picnic on my own then!"

"A picnic?" Piper asked, and then, after a moment, realization dawned
on her face. "When did you get all that?"

"Like two hours ago. I've been trying to find you since the conch
shell," he mumbled, mock-glaring at her. "Do you know how hard it is
for a guy to find you?"

She giggled. "Sorry, I just didn't any anyone to pull me into dinner."

"Ah, my smart Peacemaker," he laughed. "Well it's a good thing no one
noticed me because I didn't think of that."

She hooked her arm in his as they started towards the beach. "I was
worried you were bound by the boys or something."

"Well, they were difficult to get away from, but Nico and Bailey
distracted them while I ducked out to the kitchen."

"Nico and Bailey?" Piper repeated, raising her eyebrow and looking up
at him.

He nodded. "I thought it was weird too. They came in together,
something about taking care of some business or something."

"Really? Weird..." She paused. "She didn't show up to girls' day."

"That's not surprising: She's Bailey, and she's not really all girlie."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that. It's just she would've at least
come if they were forcing me." She quieted down. What was Bailey doing
with Nico? They don't even remotely like each other. And to ditch
Piper and leave with Nico was something of an insult. Why would Bailey
want to hang out with someone that she didn't like rather than her
friends and family? And what did the business part mean? What business
could she have that she couldn't just take a day off and relax? Was
she with Nico in the morning when she wasn't at breakfast? Why-

"Pipes," Percy called softly, touching her cheek and stopping them.
They were right in front the beach. He was looking concernedly at her.
"What's wrong? You have said anything for the whole walk."

She shook her head, clearing her throats and storing them for another
time when she wasn't busy. "Nothing. Nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you sure? We can go back and just do this another time if you're
not feeling well." He looked totally against the idea, and Piper felt
her heart skip a beat.

"No! Definitely not!" she said hurriedly, and then she blushed at the
urgency and panic in her voice. "I mean- I'm fine. Really. I'm just
thinking, is all."

His shoulders sagged in relief. "Okay. Good."

She tugged him onto the sand and kicked off her shoes. "I've been
looking forward to this all day," she told him, blushing.

He smiled and blushed too as he set down the basket and kneeled next
to it. "I have been too. Especially since the girls dragged you
away." He pulled out a blanket that was black and tossed it over the
ground. She watched and dug her toes in the sand. "How did that go?"
he asked as he pulled out some plates, a candlestick, plates full of
food and some smuggled soda.

"It was okay," she replied, hugging herself from the cold. She ran out
too quick to grab a sweater. "You know I'm not really into girlie
things like that."

"Well yeah, that's one of the reasons I like you," he joked as he put
some stuff down on the blanket. The sun was beginning to set. "But I
figured that neither were the other girls so it'd be different."

"They can act like my sisters when they want to," she sighed. "And
they did today. They gossiped and did each other's hair..."

He chuckled, amused. "Did you take part in it?" he asked, patting the
spot next to him on the other side of the food.

She sat and leaned on her hand behind her. "Kind of. I mostly just
wanted to get out of there since they pulled me away from you."

He laughed, leaned over the food to kiss her on the cheek. "I know. Me
too."

"Looks good," she said, looking down at the food.

He pulled off the plastic wrap covering both plates. Steam rose from
them and they grinned at each other. "Dig in!" he joked and she
giggled as she took a plate and set it on her lap.

They chatted lightly as they ate about what they did that day, how
well the speech went, the breakfast after, and how good their dinner
was. They watched the sun set and they held hands once they were
finished with dinner. The date went really well, and they were
satisfied with the turnout even if they weren't happy with the wait
completely.

After dinner, when the moon was full and the sky was full of stars,
they put everything away and cuddled on the blanket for a while. They
tried to find constellations in the large sky and laughed freely when
they made up their own. Sometimes they would find the major ones, and
other times they would try to point it out to the other and they
couldn't find it, making both of them break into more laughter.

Long after dinner, with only the moonlight and candle fire to light up
their way, soft music started playing. They turned their heads to find
out where it came from, and when they couldn't find the source, Percy
pulled Piper tighter to his chest, his hand inching towards Riptide.
"Hello?" he called out. "Show yourself!"

"Oh, shut up, Jackson!" Bailey shouted from some far off place. "Ask
her to dance, you idiot!"

"Dance?" Percy repeated, confused. "Why would we dance?"

"Oh for the love of-" Bailey ruffled a tree nearby. "Perseus Jackson,
use the few brain cells you have right now!"

"Geez, that was mean," Percy grumbled and he pouted, making Piper
giggle. She stood up and held out a hand, bowing to him.

"May I have this dance?" she asked in a deep voice.

He laughed and grabbed her hand, allowing her to help him up. He
curtsied in front of her. "Oh, you're such a gentleman!" he gushed in
a way- too-high-pitched voice.

They burst into laughter, and the music grew louder. After a while of
laughing, Percy grabbed her hip and pulled her to him. "Okay," he
chuckled. "I think we should actually start dancing since it's
getting late."

Piper giggled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Okay," she agreed
breathlessly.

He put his other hand on her hip, grinning as she touched his other
shoulder. "I should warn you," he told her as they moved closer
together and she rested her hand on his chest, their hands wrapping
more around each other, "I'm not a very good dancer."

"Well I don't mind as long as you don't mind me accidently stepping on
your toes every once in a while."

He chuckled, his chest rumbling. "How about we just sway?"

She giggled and pulled him closer. "Swaying sounds nice."

"Good." He rested his chin on her head and they swayed softly to the
music. This was perfect. A dance under the moonlight with the calming
motions of an ocean near by. It was a picture perfect moment, and all
Percy wanted to do was to stop it forever just so he could make life
this wonderful all the time and always have this girl in his arms no
matter what.

Percy had figured Piper had just about fallen asleep after a long
while because her heart beat was so slow, her breathing deep, and her
sways sluggish. He picked his head off hers, fighting off a yawn and
squeezed her body. She let out a tired hum, and he barely chuckled
before pulling her back. "Is it time to go back?" she mumbled, rubbing
her eye with her fist like a child does. Percy marveled at how cute it
was before nodding.

"I think so," he whispered. He kissed her forehead. "You're beautiful."

She giggled. "What brought that up?"

He shrugged. "Can't I just tell my gorgeous girlfriend how beautiful
she is under the moonlight?"

"Mmm...well, I guess you can," she teased, grabbing his cheeks and
pulling him down. "Just so long as I get a kiss afterwards."

"That can easily be arranged." They kissed softly and sweetly for a
couple moments before there was a loud pop, and they pulled away,
instantly ready of an attack by a monster or the Harpies which were
oddly quiet tonight. What they got, however, was much, much worse than
all of that. It would put them through many, many trials of their
fatal flaws, their relationship, and the war in the next few days.

What showed was a very powerful being, older than the Olympians. What
showed was none other than the goddess of love and beauty.

End it there, yes? Don't worry, next chapter up in a day or two, or
until you guys give me 15 reviews on this one. Is that too much? Well,
it's finished so one day or 15 reviews.

Okay, excuses time, like always when I update. I've been having some
hard times with family lately, and I haven't had the inspiration nor
time to write. Of course, finals were hell and there was no time
there, but hey! I finished the year finally! Summer homework is next,
and currently, I'm in South Dakota on a long vacation with my cousin
and grandparents. Where we've been at, I don't have any wifi
whatsoever, so I've been bare. Um...it's been a long ride, and so I've
been writing this!

Well to all, I believe you're all out of school, if you are in it, and
so happy summer! Feels good, doesn't it? Unless you're in Colorado
with all those fires and heat. Congrats on graduating if you did, and
yeah!

Hate me, it's okay. I probably would hate someone like me too!

Well...Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it(: