The next event was the most frustrating. Balloon shaving wasn't something he'd ever even heard of and he never wanted to do it again. Each team stood at a table with balloons covered in shaving cream. The object was for both partners to shave a balloon clean without popping it with the razor. Thirty minutes after Drew started the competition only Silena had managed to shave her balloon.
"It's a girl thing," she said smiling.
"Then why aren't any of the other girls able to do it?" asked Nico.
Clarisse had already popped four balloons and Clovis was slumped on the table, snoring face down in shaving cream. Annabeth and Percy were both hunched over their balloons and the only time either one of them spoke was call out, "I almost got it!" But then the balloon would pop. Charlie and Thalia weren't much better because both were on their second balloons.
"Umm I guess I've just had more practice…" said Silena looking at everyone else. "But you're close. Just do what I said. The razor is sharp so it doesn't really need your help, don't press down. Just let it slide."
He was half-way through his balloon and trying not to lose focus by checking on Percy and Annabeth. They were deep into the challenge and he couldn't tell if any actual bonding was going on. But Silena kept reminding him to let them be. If her mother said they were meant to be together then love would take its course. He'd actually popped his first balloon when she said that and pushed the thought away before it happened again.
He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the razor slid over the delicate surface of his green balloon. With that he managed to scrap away the last line of shaving cream.
"Woohoo!" Silena yelled and held up their balloons for all to see. There were groans of disappointment and loud popping sounds as people gave up trying to be gentle with their razors. Drew rolled her eyes and put the megaphone up to her mouth.
"Well, Silena and that new kid, what's his name, did it or whatever." Chiron cleared his throat loudly and looked at Drew who gave him an exaggerated smile.
"Good job, you two!" she said with phony cheer. "Everyone please move to the arena. The chariot race is next!" There were confused looks and shouts of protest. Someone actually screamed.
"Oh calm down!" Drew barked through the megaphone. "This isn't going to be like the last one! We asked the Hephaestus cabin to do something useful for a change,"
"Hey!" Jake Mason shouted from the audience.
"And make us some remote control chariots that would need two people to control," said Drew ignoring him. "I know what you're all thinking, and I don't blame you but, they didn't know about the Couple Competition so they had no reason to sabotage. Isn't that right, Charles?" Charlie just glared at her until she moved on.
"Anyway, Tantalus isn't here and we have the Fleece now so the Stymphalian birds won't come back either. Everybody feel better? Good."
They all marched over to the arena and the crowd took their seats while the partners browsed the life-size chariots created by the Hephaestus cabin. They didn't need pegasi to pull them but had horse shaped mastheads on the front. There were little green stickers on the side of each one boosting that the chariots were made from 100% recycled celestial bronze. They'd been painted different colors and had two remote control pads mounted on their dashboards.
"Charlie!" Silena beamed and hugged him when she saw them.
"How did you guys do this so fast?" she asked. Charlie smiled down at her and if his dark skin would have allowed it, Nico was sure he'd be blushing.
"It's what we do," he shrugged.
Nico was examining an all-black chariot, walking around it to see every angle when Percy walked over to him.
"I knew you'd go for that one," he teased.
"Yeah, I guess it is a fairly obvious choice for me," he replied trying not to smile and failing.
"So, good job on the balloon thing."
"Thanks," said Nico.
"We haven't won a challenge yet," Percy said sounding a bit disappointed.
"Maybe you'll win this one?"
"Maybe…I still wish we could have teamed up together, just because I think our abilities are compatible," said Percy. Nico pretended to look closely at the horse mast on the chariot and fought down the heat rising in his stomach.
"Yeah, but you an Annabeth work so well together and we never have," he said.
"Annabeth and I are used to each other but that doesn't mean-"
"You like this one, Nico?" Silena asked. "Oh hey, Percy." She smiled and crossed her arms. "Ready for us to beat you again?"
"No way," Annabeth said. She walked over and stood beside Percy. "We're winning this one."
That caused an outbreak of similar declarations from the other teams until Drew's voice blasted from the megaphone.
"Contestants, pick your chariots and come on!" she yelled from the announcer's box. Thalia, who had her fingers in her ears, gave Drew a baleful look that probably went unnoticed.
"Gods, she's such a pain in the-"
"Dibs on this one!" Silena yelled and grabbed the remote set for the black chariot Nico had been looking at.
The teams wheeled their chariots up to the starting line and stood on a platform in the stands where they would be able to see clearly.
"I will briefly hand us over to someone who can explain how to work the chariots," said Drew. "But don't worry your wonderful game master will be back-"
The megaphone was snatched out of Drew's hand by Nyssa from the Hephaestus cabin.
"Okay, guys listen up for your controls tutorial!"
She took them through it step-by-step explaining that the left toggle switch took the chariots forward or backward. The right toggle switch controlled turning and the various buttons the conjoined remote deployed various weapon functions. The partners would have to work together to win. Drew glared at her back the entire time and when Nyssa was done she tossed the megaphone at Drew who barely caught it.
"Hope you weren't too bored through that, people," said Drew. "Switch on your chariots!"
Nico hit the start button and the red eyes of their masthead glowed.
"Ready!" Drew yelled. "Seeeet!"
"Just start the race!" Clarisse shouted.
"Go!" squealed Drew as she tossed her hair.
Nico pushed the toggle hard and their chariot zipped away from the start line with the rest. He swerved to the left as one chariot shot an eight foot flame out of the horse's nose. Someone launched a missile that blew a crater in front of Malcolm and Connor's chariot. He knew the silver chariot belonged to Percy and Annabeth and tried to avoid it but it was following his and Silena's.
"Anything you can do to get them off of us?" he asked.
"Umm how about this?" Silena pressed a button and red lasers shot out their masthead's eyes and blowing up the chariot in front of them. He heard a team cuss out loud as their black chariot rolled right through the wreckage. He wanted to shout out how cool that was but held it back. The silver chariot was still behind them.
"Oops," said Silena.
Percy and Annabeth's chariot launched something that looked like two rolling buzz saws at them. Nico swerved again and one of the saws hit Clarisse's crimson chariot and got stuck in the side.
"Bad move, Wise Girl!" Clarisse snarled and started to pursue the sliver chariot with her own. Predictably, her partner was busy snoozing so Clarisse was working both remotes on her own. She hit a button and Nico saw that it was her chariot with the flamethrower. She was laughing as she tried to melt Percy and Annabeth's chariot. Meanwhile Nico was coming up on a feud between Charlie and Thalia and Malcolm and Connor –who had somehow overcome the crater.
Charlie and Thalia were launching missiles and Malcolm and Connor's chariot had double barrel shotguns sticking out of its eyes.
"We gotta take them out," said Silena.
"I think you're getting too into this," Nico laughed as he watched her hit the laser button and blow out Malcolm and Connor's back wheel.
Their black chariot and Charlie and Thalia's blue one were both in the lead. Clarisse was too busy chasing down Annabeth and Percy and all the other chariots were destroyed. The finish line was close and Nico was working hard to avoid Thalia's missiles. The truth was that he was getting into this too and a certain part of himself liked that Percy wished he had teamed up with him. It made him feel guilty but Silena was right. They'd put Percy and Annabeth together, and encouraged them as much as they could. It was up to Aphrodite now.
Suddenly their chariot jumped high in the air and a missile that would have them sailed right under.
"I like that button!" Silena cried. Nico spun their chariot around drove it forward in reverse.
"What are you doing?" asked Silena.
"Use the lasers!" he said and saw the realization dawn on her.
She fired and hit the blue chariot, blowing the head off of its mast. The rest of the chariot blew up a second later and the only competition left was too far back to do anything. Nico and Silena's black chariot rolled across the finish line unchallenged and still in reverse. The crowd cheered and Percy and Annabeth's half melted silver chariot followed with Clarisse in third place still firing on them. Silena hugged him again and he laughed and hugged her back.
"Well if these matches are about compatibility there's no denying it!" said Drew. Silena pulled away and gave her half-sister a dirty look. Nico glanced over and saw Percy looking at them and turned away quickly. Charlie wasn't happy with Drew's implication either and soon all three of them were scowling at her, but she pretended like nothing was wrong.
"Congratulations!" she said happily. "Two in a row, now let's see if they can make it three! The last event is next!"