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.
"A-A-Aphrodite!" Percy gasped, and Piper shot back a couple of feet.
The beautiful woman smiled cruelly. She looked exactly like Piper but
taller and her assets were more filled out. "Hello, Perseus."
"What are you doing here?" Piper asked, narrowing her eyes at the
goddess who was her mother.
Her smile got crueler. "I merely come to say hello to my lovely
daughter."
Piper crossed her arms over her chest. "What do you really want?"
The goddess's laughter echoed over the beach, and it made Percy shiver
and Piper bristle. "My, my, not even a hug from my favorite daughter
who left me years and years ago without warning."
"As if you cared," Piper snapped angrily. "If you did, you would've
done something about your other children's behavior towards me or Jason!"
Aphrodite sighed and held out her hand so that she could look at her
nails. "Piper, dear, you know that I'm not supposed to interfere."
"Oh, yeah, as if all the other gods followed that rule! And you never
followed it; you were always interfering in love lives!"
"Love is my domain- you know this. If it has to do with love, I am
able to look into it."
"You could've interfered in my love life with Jason if you were so
happy with me."
Aphrodite shrugged, pulling out a mirror and shoving it in Percy's
hands. "Hold that, would you?" She materialized a hand bag and pulled
out some blush. She started applying it and Percy shot a look to his
girlfriend. She did not look happy in any way. "Piper, dear, you are
well aware that I can't prevent love or start it. Jason had feelings
for Reyna long before you came along."
"Why didn't you warn me then?"
"Didn't I? I could've sworn I did." She shook her head at herself and
took out some eye shadow from her bag. "It's so unlike me to forget
such things."
Piper groaned in frustration. "Stop that! Would you take one
conversation seriously? I mean, you ruined my life!"
"Did I?" Aphrodite asked, obviously amused. She mumbled something as
she pursed her lips and dabbed at it to make sure her lipstick was
perfect. She cleared her throat and held her chest, making Percy blush
and look away. "Excuse me. What I was saying, my daughter, was that if
I ruined your life, why are you now one of the most important people
known to this galaxy and all the others, with decent friends and such,
and" -she made air quotes around the next word, making Piper flinch-
"'dating' Perseus Jackson" -smiling, she pointed between the two-"whom
you've had a crush on since you met him?"
"Wait- why- why did you say dating like that? What's with the, um, uh,
um, air quotes?" Percy stammered, looking quickly between them.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that your little girlfriend-" Aphrodite
started merrily, taking her mirror back and putting it in the bag.
"It's nothing!" Piper exclaimed, grabbing Percy's arm. "Come on, let's
get out of here. I have nothing left to say to her."
"But Percy wants to stay around, doesn't he?" Aphrodite purred,
fluttering her eyelashes, and Percy blinked, momentarily dazed.
"Maybe just a few more minutes, Pipes," he begged, stopping in his
tracks. "She's your mom!"
"Don't listen to her," Piper snapped angrily, glaring at her mother.
"And stop using you damned magic on him!"
"Piper...?" Percy asked as she yanked him away and they started up the
beach.
"We're getting out here. I'm not dealing with her anymore."
"Perseus!" Aphrodite called with a tone to her voice that made Percy
stop immediately and turn towards her, listening intently. "Don't you
want to know about the way I said dating? Come closer, my hero..."
He started to walk to her as if by some gravitational force and he
couldn't resist it no matter how much he tried. It was like he was
observing his body from outside, and he had no power to do anything
about it. Piper cried out, launching to grab his hand, and she used
all the Charmspeak she could as she said, "Come to our cabin, Percy.
Come on and let's go to sleep."
Percy blinked, paused, and looked down at Piper. His mind flowed back
to him and he regain control. "Yeah, yeah," he breathed shakily,
freaked out by how easily Aphrodite controlled him when she looked
like Piper. "Let's get out."
"How easily you have him whipped, Piper," Aphrodite mused behind them.
"It's a shame he won't be around much longer when you tell him the
truth."
Percy stopped dead and looked at Piper hard. "What does she mean?" he
demanded, taking his hand away from her.
"N-N-Nothing," Piper replied nervously, biting her lip. Percy's
eyebrows furrowed, and he took a step back. "Percy, really!" she said
desperately, reaching out for him. She didn't want to lose him after
all they've been through, especially when he was the only thing making
this trip worth it and not so terrible. He had become her rock, her
solace, and her everything in a matter of days. If Aphrodite broke
them up because of something that was only true until she stood
outside her door last night with Percy, she was going to...going
to...to...cry, and she might even kill the goddess. She was not
going to let her ruin her life again. Definitely not.
"Tell me before she does," Percy ordered, crossing his arms over her
chest. "Tell me what she's talking about right now."
"Too late!" Aphrodite squealed as Piper opened her mouth. "She'll make
up some lie because she doesn't want you to know-"
"Shut *up*, Aphrodite," Percy growled, and Aphrodite's eyes opened
wide, her mouth forming a perfect o. She looked frightened and
shocked. "Piper, we an fix this," he said, dropping his arms and
turning back to his girlfriend. He was pleading with his eyes. "I need
to hear what's going on from you, though, and I need to hear it right
now."
"You need to understand that I had thought about it long before it
happened- I mean the you being my boyfriend part!" Piper exclaimed
nervously, her voice quavering and cracking like a building during a
powerful earthquake. Tears were in her eyes and the supports of her
building were not going to last much longer: she was going to break.
"I wanted this so bad, but I couldn't, not after Jason- I just
couldn't."
"You better hurry, Piper!" Aphrodite sang, bouncing on her heels. She
looked excited, like a child waiting to open up the biggest present on
Christmas; her hands were clasped together and her eyes were wide and
shining, her face glowing, and a breath-taking smile on her face. "I
wanna tell him now!"
Piper took a step towards Percy, almost crying out of relief when he
didn't move back from her. He stared at her, pleading her to tell him
what was going on so they could stay together and work past it. "I
really, really like you, Percy," Piper breathed, trying her hardest
not to shatter. She grabbed his hands and squeezed hard. "Those
feelings are true and pure and I want to keep them because they make
me feel so wonderful..."
"You're stall-ling!" Aphrodite chirped, her perfect red lips pulled up
into a cruel, cruel smile.
Piper took a deep breath and then another one. She felt light-headed.
Percy squeezed her hands and looked down at her. He nodded
encouragingly. "I like you too," he said quietly, "which is why we're
going to make it past whatever you have to tell me."
Another deep breath. A pounding heart. Nerves on end. Deep breath, let
it go. "Okay, okay," she breathed. She was so nervous. Chaos help
her..."My feelings may be real, but-"
"But when she told everyone you were a couple yesterday, it was only
to distract everyone! She didn't mean it!" Aphrodite squealed,
interrupting Piper who gaped at her for a second in complete betrayal.
Aphrodite giggled. "Sorry, but I just hate dramatic build ups!"
Piper looked back over to Percy. He was emotionless. His hands had
gone limp in hers. The beautiful sea green of his eyes were cold and
turned a kind of grey as they looked on her without signs of what he
was thinking. "Is it true?" he asked after a tense moment. Even his
voice was emotionless.
"No! I mean- at first it was, but then we- and I- then-" She couldn't
find words to ensure that he would stay with her even after what she
did. Finally, she let out a long, defeated breath and hung her head.
"Yes," she said quietly, "and I know it was stupid, but that's not how
I feel anymore."
She shuffled her feet nervously as she waited for his answer. She
hated her mother, she knew for sure. Her mother caused all of this
trouble on top of everything else bad in her life. She had tried so
hard to fix it, and things were finally looking up for her with Percy
and the good of this war, and then her mom comes along and just about
ruins everything in a matter of moments. What the Hades was her
problem anyway? It wasn't Piper's fault her mom is a horrible parent
or that the least she could've done was warn her about Jason since she
knew this was going to happen! Yet she didn't, and so Piper should be
more angry at Aphrodite than Aphrodite should be at her. Which made no
sense to Piper, and oh Chaos, she was so scared and nervous.
Chaos...Chaos please make this go better for her. Make her life turn
the right way this time.
Percy dropped her hands. Piper snapped her head up to him. His
eyebrows were furrowed with confusion, hurt, and a little anger.
"Bailey said you wouldn't do that," he mumbled. He wouldn't look at
her. Her heart rate sped up with her nerves. "I thought that's what
happened, and I told her. She said you wouldn't do that. You're not
that kind of person."
"Percy, I-"
"I believed her." He shook his head. "I believed in you." Finally, he
turned his eyes on her and they were a raging storm of water, tears
prepared to shed but not having the clearance to do so. "Why? Why
would you mess with my feelings like that?"
"I didn't mean it!" she said hurriedly, hugging herself for some kind
of comfort. "I mean- I did but I wanted it for real! I wanted to have
you as my boyfriend, and it was instinct to say that around Annabeth
so she wouldn't take you again and I would be heart broken again!"
Percy didn't move from his stance and when she reached for him, he
moved away the slightest. She felt a crack appear in her heart.
"Percy..."
"I..." He shook his head. "Piper...were you...were you ever going to
tell me? Would you just continue a relationship based on that huge lie?"
"It's not a lie," she mumbled half-heartedly, looking at the ground.
"I want you as my boyfriend now and for a long time."
"Were you going to hide it from me?" he repeated, and Piper stayed
silent. "Were you?" he demanded.
"Oh! Oh! I can answer that!" Aphrodite squealed, jumping up and down
like a child wanting to get pocked for a question they knew the answer
to and would get rewarded for. "She was hoping you would never find
out and continue on with your life." Aphrodite's smile was like a
rose: beautiful but harmful. "With her."
"You weren't going to tell me?" Percy repeated, his eyes looking more
and more confused. "Isn't it kind of important?"
"Of course it is," Piper whispered. "But I was- am- afraid-"
"Of losing you," Aphrodite chimed in, sighing. "Ah, young love...So
innocent against the harsh world."
"Shut up!" Piper shrieked, looking at her with tears of anger and fear
in her eyes. Her cheeks were splotchy with red blushes of anger and
tears. "Would you do something helpful at least once and shut your
stupid mouth?"
Aphrodite gaped at her, in shock at her nerve, and then straightened
her back, looking insulted and indignant. "Well!" she scoffed. "You
try to help someone and this is what you get!"
"Help me? You were trying to *help* me?" Piper screamed, wiping
furiously at her face. "If you wanted to help me, you would've warned
me about Jason or stopped your stupid daughters from ruining my life!
If you wanted to *help*," she spat, "you would've let me tell Percy!"
"Oh, but we already established that you wouldn't have told him,"
Aphrodite said smugly, smirking beautifully. "So I did help you! No
relationship should be based on lies."
"Oh, because all of your relationships start on truth," Piper griped.
"Like the one with my dad when you didn't tell him who you were or
anything true!"
Aphrodite's ever-changing eyed flashed an angry grey. "That's
different!"
"No it isn't! You're a downright who-"
"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Percy demanded, and he had his "leader"
voice that he used in times of controlling the camp and asserting his
position as alpha, almost. The girls stopped immediately because his
voice was as powerful as Charmspeak. "Chaos, you two are related!"
Piper stubbornly crossed her arms over chest. "I haven't been related
to her since she abandoned me the only time I really needed her."
"Well if you were my daughter, you would've kept Jason!" Aphrodite
seethed, and then after a moment, her eyes widened and she clamped a
hand over her mouth. "Oh, Piper..." she mumbled softly.
Piper looked shocked for a few moments and then horror crossed her
face. Betrayal, hurt, anger. Her fists, clenched at her side, shook,
and her vision became blurry. She couldn't *believe* her mom just said
that! Jason being with Reyna was her fault, Piper knew, but hearing
her mom who was always behind her and supported her say that...she
could hardly breathe. Her chest was constricted and her heart hurt
badly. Oh, Chaos give her strength right now. She desperately needs it
in order to not break down.
Percy touched her shoulder. "No, you're not related," he said coldly.
"Piper is way too nice and sincere to be your daughter." He squeezed
her where his hand was placed, looking at Aphrodite with a harsh look
in his eyed. "Come on."
Piper followed him numbly, leaving the goddess of beauty shocked
behind them. It didn't last long though, because as Percy rubbed
Piper's shoulder with an arm over them to lead her away, the goddess
stomped her foot. "I'll make both your love lives terrible!"
"I'm pretty sure you already have," Percy replied calmly and coldly.
"Well I never-" Aphrodite seethed for a second, and the couple kept
walking. "Piper is still in love with Jason! I know! I can feel it!"
Percy stopped them, mouth hanging slightly open as he looked down at
the goddess's daughter. "Shut up!" Piper screamed, putting her hands
over her ears. "Just shut up! Why would you do this to me? Why?"
Aphrodite smirked in that way of hers and walked forward. "Because,
*my dear*," she spat, putting her hands on her hips, "you ruined me! I
loved you and you just disappeared out of the blue! Because everyone
said that I was a horrible mother, and even Ares would not speak to
me! Ares! You ruined my reputation and now you're showing up as if
nothing happened, and you're going to ruin it again after all I've
worked for!"
The Peacemaker almost lunged at her to rip put that perfectly curled
chestnut brown hair of hers, in her anger. How dare she? That's all
she cared about? Her reputation? *Piper* ruined her reputation? What
about all the things she did on her own, like whoring around or
cheating on her husband or messing our with lives just for her own
entertainment? Piper had no part in any of those, had nothing to do
with her reputation! If anything, it was Aphrodite who ruined Piper's
reputation by not caring for her enough to warn her Jason's feelings
weren't true or that all of her sisters were out to get her! Not
Piper! Definitely not her! And yet this- this- this so-called
"helpful" goddess is blaming all her life's ruins on her! The nerve!
"Maybe I'll just leave then," Piper said through gritted teeth, fists
clenched at her side and her cheeks hurt with the force of her pushing
her teeth against each other to stop herself from openly attacking
an...Olympian and starting another that *she'd* have to fix since
these damn gods could do nothing peaceful on their own. "Forget about
your world and your problems and let you fix them on your own."
Aphrodite didn't smirk, but she held out her hand to look at her nails
from afar. "Chaos would never allow you to do such a thing," she said
dismissively.
Chaos's second in command laughed heartlessly. "Really? I'm sure Chaos
would support my decision. I don't need to help ungrateful, self-
absorbed, arrogant, little-"
"Piper," Percy warned, sending her a look.
"-gods," Piper finished. "If you can take matters of ruining my life
because I supposedly ruined yours into your own hands, I'm sure all
the gods can manage this little fight on their own."
Aphrodite scoffed, bringing her nails up to her face and curling her
fingers. She observed them as she spoke, and her voice showed she
didn't care too much, "That's why we have demigod children, honey: so
we don't have to do much ourselves."
"Oh, you absolute bit-" Piper started, lunging for her to rip her to
shreds because what kind of person would say that- god or not? Who
cares that little for the children they have? The goddess in front of
her didn't deserve to stay around to see the end of this war!
Warm, large and strong arms wrapped around her waist and caught her in
mid air. The sand around them was moving restlessly, shifting back and
forth and forming something of a whirl pool around them. "She's not
worth it, Piper," Percy told her as she struggled against his hold. He
sounded furious as well, and the waves were getting a little too close
to their picnic blanket. "We have a job to do, and that's it."
Piper fell limp in his arms. She breathed heavily through her
flaring nostrils, and her eyes cut daggers into the goddess who
narrowed her beautiful-colored and perfectly-make-up-ed eyes at them,
crossing her arms over chest. "You're right. She's not worth it," she
replied calmly, though her stature and face defied her. "None of the
gods are. I'm only here for the job." She yanked Percy's arms off and
looked at him to follow. They headed up to the grass, and then to the
Chaos cabin.
"Not worth it?" Aphrodite shrieked. "I am one of the most powerful
Olympians there are! I can make your lives worse than the Fields of
Punishment! I can ensure no one will ever look at you again!"
"Yet you won't," Piper called back, "because you need us to ensure the
safety of your precious boy toy and for your entertainment."
"I am the most- ugh! I hate both of you! Curse you! When you need each
other the most, the other won't be there!"
Piper turned around and was about to ensure the earth swallow her up
so she never ruined someone else's life, but Percy grabbed her wrist.
"You've done all you could; let's just get back to the cabin, alright?"
Piper gritted her teeth, but reluctantly agreed. Aphrodite continued
to shriek behind them, not brave enough to follow, and almost as they
were out of range, she repeated that Piper was still in love with
Jason, and that what she felt with Percy couldn't amount to those
feelings. Percy grew stiff, but did not stop this time, and instead,
urgently tugged Piper towards the cabin where all the crew members
were fast asleep.
Before they could enter, Percy grabbed Piper's face in his hands. "Is
it true?" he demanded, and it was too dark to determine anything other
than the shape of his head. His voice was void of any emotion, and it
scared Piper. "Is it true about Jason?"
She paused, thinking about her words. "I don't love him like I used
to," she replied shakily, "but he was- is- my first love, so part of
my heart still belongs to him." Upon feeling his hands almost slide
down her face, she added quickly, "Just like how I know part of you is
still in love with Annabeth!"
"That's different," he griped quickly in defense. "She didn't cheat on
me, break my heart, not talk to me for months, not recognize me, call
me her brother, or hit me!"
"Jason wasn't always like that!" she defended. "Believe it or not, but
Jason and I were happy together during the war and before it ended!"
"Why are you defending him?" he growled angrily, and his fists shook.
"After everything he did to you, you still act like he's the same guy!"
"He may not act like it, but people don't completely get rid of their
old self when they change, Percy!"
"Just enough so that he doesn't feel bad hitting you!"
"He felt bad!" Piper hugged herself, drawing in for her own comfort.
"He had to," she mumbled, more to herself than him.
"Hate to break it to you, Pipes, but he didn't. If he did, he wouldn't
shove the fact that he had a child with another girl in your face by
sending her to you before we left!"
"That wasn't what it was!"
He turned around, exasperated. "Whatever," he sighed, running his
hands through his hair a couple times, tugging at the ends. "I don't
even know why I'm trying with you. You're obviously still in love with
the guy! I've got no chance!"
"Yes, you do! Percy" -she reached for his hand and he flinched away
from her, getting her eyes to water- "Percy," she sighed shakily,
taking her hand back. "Firsts are always going to stay with you.
Annabeth will always own a part of your heart. Rachel, Calyspo. It's
natural. It's just how we are. But we can love someone after them. We
usually do. And I may not love you as much as I did Jason, but...I'm
certain we can get to that part."
He shook his head. "You're still heads over heels for this guy. How am
I supposed to compete with something like that?"
She sighed, wiping away her gathered tears. "You need to remember, I'm
an Aphrodite child, as much as I hate saying that. When we love
someone, we love them a lot more than anyone else. When we break up
with that someone, it hurts us a lot." She paused, looking down and
remembering all the pain she went through the first couple of days
after she found out. "A lot," she repeated quietly, her heart
throbbing. "It may be a long time since Jason, but...I didn't have
anyone to confide in and comfort me as well as you did. I didn't have
someone who knew what heartbreak was like or who knew Jason and what
else I was going through. I kept holding all that pain in, and I'm
just getting over it."
Percy didn't budge, but he let out a heavy breath. "I get that, Piper.
Kind of. But you're still in love with Jason, and I'm not going to pin
over someone who I can't really have."
"You can!" she exclaimed, and her voice cracked. Tears were in her
eyes. "You just need to bare with me, and- and- and be yourself!"
"Bare with you for how long?" He ran his fingers through his hair
again. "I don't want to wait forever."
She hesitated. "I don't know," she admitted reluctantly.
"And what about me trusting you? How can I trust you knowing you
completely lied to me and everyone else when you said we were a couple?"
She didn't reply, shuffling her feet. "Well?" he demanded, crossing
his arms over his chest.
She sighed through her nose. "I don't expect you to," she said
finally, and he tilted his head back to look at the sky.
"Yeah? Then how do you expect this relationship to work?"
She let her shoulders drop and be pushed down as if the weight of the
world was on her. Percy's eyebrows furrowed together for a moment, not
understanding why she was making that "gesture" with this one question?
Was that a good or bad thing? "I wish I could tell you," she mumbled,
"but I have no idea. Relationships are supposed be based on true,
honest actions, and I ruined that for us."
They were quiet for a long moment or two. "Why'd you do it?" he asked
softly, shaking his head and dropping his arms from his chest to hang
limply at his sides. "Why would you do something like that?"
She shrugged. "First thing to come to mind, I guess. Annabeth was
acting all protective over you, talking about how you were still
single, and we weren't winning the battle, so I panicked and said the
only thing that came to mind."
Percy studied her in the dark. "Is that it?" he wondered.
"Besides the fact that I actually wanted you to be my boyfriend since
the day we left, and I didn't know how to approach you and say
that...?" She thought for a moment before nodding. "Yes that's about it."
"Why weren't you going to tell me?"
She sighed again, and tightened her grip on herself. "I don't know. It
was a stupid thought ad decision, but I was just worried that maybe
I'd scare you off and lose you. Like I told you before."
"Aphrodite told me that. I wanted to hear it from you."
"Percy, I'm so sorry I'm a terrible girlfriend!" Piper exclaimed,
looking up at him and her eyes and cheeks were full of tears. "And
friend! I'm so sorry!"
He reached out and wiped away the tears from her right cheek. "You
know what you did was wrong, and that's all that matters," he mumbled
softly.
She grabbed his wrist, sniffled and hiccupped. "What now?" she croaked.
"Are we still together? I'll be honest from now on, I promise!"
He was quiet for a long time, his hand cupping her cheek and his thumb
acting as a windshield wiper every few seconds to make sure there
wasn't a flood. When he spoke, his voice was soft and it almost
sounded as if it quivered, but there was no way that Percy's voice
would shake no matter what he was telling her. He was the strong one,
and he didn't break as easily as she did. Like she was now. "I'd like
to give us a try, Piper," Percy told her, and instantly her heart
picked up the pieces and was pounding at a excellent pace and blood
was warm as it headed through her veins. Her muscles weren't stiff,
and everything felt good again. Oh thank- "But," Percy continued, and
this time his voice did crack, as did her world. She looked intently
at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking before he said it.
She couldn't do it. "Our relationship needs to be based on honesty and
trust, because we're demigods. We don't know what is going to hit us
next, and I need to know you trust me with your life and that I can
trust you with mine. "
"You can! I do!" she pleaded, her voice desperate. "Percy..."
"In order to do that..." he cleared his throat on a particular bad
crack in his voice. "I think we need to...to..." He couldn't bring
himself to say it, and Piper was regaining hope that maybe he would
change his mind about what she thought he was about to say...
Percy steeled himself and took a deep breath. His hand fell from her
face. Piper tried not to cry. "I think we need to wait until after
this war to try a relationship between us."
"There's still a chance for a relationship though, right?" Piper
breathed, trying not to show how much this was devastating and
heartbreaking it was for her.
He nodded and pulled her to his chest. "Of course," he said, soothing
down her hair as she shook with the force of her tears. She gripped
him desperately for this may be the last time. "I like you, Pipes. A
lot more than I should, and I don't want to lose you a second time."
"Oh, Percy," she cried softly, burrowing further into his chest. "This
is all my fault."
"Ssh," he soothed, kissing her head. "It's not. We just need to fully
break from Annabeth and Jason to start our own healthy relationship."
She cried into him for a while, and they both relished in holding each
other for the last time until this was over- Chaos is the only one who
knows when. After a long while, she picked her head up, and he leant
down to kiss her. It was a soft and sweet kiss that didn't last as
long as either of them would have liked. "One last kiss," Percy
explained when he pulled away. He headed into the building without
another word, leaving Piper with only the sound of crickets, her
broken heart pounding, and the fire in the middle of the cabins
crackling.
She cried herself into her pillow that night. Not for the first time.
Not for the last either.
Okay, okay. Did I get them in the right character personality?
Aphrodite was meant to be hardened a little, and being mean was the
whole point of this chapter. This chapter may seem like a useless
filler, but it's very, very important to the ending up on Olympus.
Very, very so.
Yeah, well just got back from South Dakota on Saturday. This was
finished, wanted to get it posted after the first one though. And I was
informed that some people are still in school, so happy last few weeks,
or week for you guys. I'm terribly sorry you still have to put up with all
that still.
I don't like this chapter. I don't think I got Percy and Piper right,
and I don't know...I just think it sucked. Care to tell me what you
think?
Love it? Hate it? Tell me about it(: