Chapter XVII : Jason

Jason hates being left out of things.

Here he is trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with Piper. Motion sickness? Piper had never said anything like that. On one hand, Jason was pretty sure motion sickness was not the reason behind her fear of cars. On the other hand, he didn't think Piper had any reason to lie to him. He creases his eyebrows in confusion, gawking at Piper and Frank who were at least five feet ahead of him.

They reached Audi Car Rental at midday. Piper walks ahead to the staff. "Hi, my friends and I would like to borrow this car." She pats the car next to her. "No license, no experience and no charges. Would that be a problem?"

The staff opens her mouth and wrinkles her nose. "No..uh, thats not a problem." The assist looks like she is having a hard time to speak. Jason really likes Piper's charmspeak. He wishes he could use it over a couple of annoying people he knew.

"Great," Piper smiles."We should get moving."

Jason makes a mental not to never let Piper choose a car design. Her charmspeak enables her to the most expensive types of cars. Jason wonders what on Earth could be the reason behind this while all of them stare at their drab, dirty and boring truck.

"Really?" Frank's voice is disappointed.

Piper gives an exasperated sigh. "Maybe, I dont want to ruin another expensive item." Jason knows she had a point. Most of the things they used ended up in shatters.

Jason gets inside the car. He places his hands on the steering wheel, his leg on the pedal. Instead moving forward, the car let out a puff of gas. Jason curses."Stupid gas pedal," He tries another one and successfully takes them out on the road.

Driving is feels alien to him. He veers left and right. He is a little unstable and no doubt looks like drunken driver. However, Jason is rather good at curves and roundabouts. Frank dozes off but Piper keeps her eyes peeled. Jason fights the urge to yawn. The sunny air and the warm breeze makes him a bit dizzy.

Jason hears a beeping sound. The car was low on petrol. Jason calculates and assumes that the little petrol left would be a sufficient amount to last them. The car starts to make funny noises. The car jerks to a stop.

"Oh god," Jason rushes over and fixes the engine. The car begins to move slowly and then speedens up, leaving Jason behind. Jason makes a face and sprints after it. If it hadn't been for Piper, Jason might have never reached the car. It moved at unbelievably high speeds. Piper had reached over and pulled down on the brakes.

Jason accepts her hand and climbs over to his seat. He has absolutely no control over the speed. Jason can feel the wind tearing his face. Frank wakes up, pretty quickly. He grasps the car handle for comfort. He glances around furtatively while Piper gives a cheer.

"I think I saw them! In the forests!" Frank yells, pointing desperately at the trees.

Jason jerks behind the wheel with such sudden force, he literally falls out the car door.

"Jason!' Piper yells over the loud roar of the engine. "Keep right, keep right!"

He turns the truck to the right. "Damn this cursed truck!" He says through gritted teeth as it gives a tiny tilt. Piper reaches over and steadies the vehicle hastily. She squeezes the wheel, clearly frustrated. Jason tries to stop but in all the confusion, his hands can't find the brakes.

"Stop the car!" Frank yells "They're being attacked!"

"Jason, watch out!" Piper yells. A huge truck is heading their way. The road was narrow and there was a 99.99% chance they would barricade into the truck unless they stopped.

Jason pulled violently on the brake pedal. It was jammed.

"Jason, stop the freaking car!" Frank shakes the door so hard that it nearly rattled.

"OK! SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!" Jason screams , followed by a series of curses.

"Its only me and Piper. " Frank says.

"Now is not the time to crack jokes. What's wrong?" Piper snaps.

Jason explains the how the brake pedal had got jammed. "We've got barely two minutes. Piper, jump out of the window with Frank. I'll deal with this ."

"NO! You're mad if you think I'm going to do that," Piper argues.

"Please."

With an exasperated sigh, she climbs out through the sunroof, followed by Frank. Piper pokes her head in, tears in her eyes. "I love you."

Jason doesn't even have the chance to reply. He concentrates on the vehicle rushing at him. Closer , closer, closer. Jason bangs his hand on the brake frustratedly.

Nothing happens. He's going to die.

He prays to Jupiter. At the last minute, the car veers sideways, escaping the diabolical situation. Jason is so caught up in joy, he doesn't realize he's heading straight into a streetlight. Jason, horrified and dazed, can only watch as he hits the streetlight with full impact.

The car takes a somersault and Jason is thrown aback. The car is burning. Flames are everywhere. And the last words the girl he would sacrifice the world for said to him are the only words running through his head. I love you, I love you…

I love you more, he thought to Piper.

No. He isn't going to leave Piper. She isn't going to leave him. Ever. Nothing can separate them. Especially not an insane bewitched car.

He pulls himself up, his face badly bruised and his arm bent in an odd angle. The truck had crashed straight into the streetlight, it was in pieces now. The flames of the gas had burned the stained metal, along with half of Jason's hair. His arm is sore and unable to move; it is probably broken by the looks of it.

Jason hears a shriek coming from Piper, who staggers toward him, her knife bloody, hopefully not her own. Her hands are scraped and her shoulder is bleeding.

"Piper," he croaks as she stumbles into his arms. He embraces her for a few seconds.

She smells sweet. Like soap and vanilla. Smells better than anything in the world.

He releases her, and searches her face. "You're not hurt, are you?"

She shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. We have to fix you up first."

Jason opens his mouth to protest, but Piper presses her finger to his lips, shushing him. "Look at yourself Jason. You're a mess! You're the worst driver I've ever seen."

"I never claimed otherwise"

"By the gods, Jason!"

She embraced him closely. He closes the space between them, one hand around her waist and the other entangled in her hair. They kiss for about two seconds until Jason breaks away.

"What about Hazel and Leo? Are they safe? And Frank?"

"They're fine. They heard the explosion and made their way here safely. They have a lot to tell but you should take it slowly."

"And the car?"

"In tatters," A smiles forms on her flawless face.

Her eyes meet his. Jason never figured her eye color. They are a mix of blue, brown and green; changing between each color like a kaleidoscope, when he actually looks into her eyes, he feels like he is melting, dissolving into them himself.

Leo's voice calls from above the mess. "Is he okay, Pipes?" He bends down and peeks in "Oh lord, I should've known. Can't find a slightly more romantic place than kissing under a wreckage?"

Frank grins. "You guys can continue with your cozy gathering a little later, man. We've got a ship to get back to to make sure Percy and Annabeth are all right."

"What he said," Leo mutters.

Piper gets up and dusts her jeans. She helps Jason to his feet and they both scramble their way out. Leo exclaims "There they are! Slow clap for Jasper," He puts his hands together and claps slowly.

Hazel gives them all a questioning look. "Who's Jasper?"

Frank smiles "A ship name for those two"

"That totally cleared my doubt. What the hell is a ship name?"