After another half hour had passed, the sky had practically grown completely dark, and the only light inside the vehicle came from the LED lining wrapped around the car's radio. It shone with a light blue light, which barely illuminated the interior of the vehicle with a dull blanket of fluorescent blue. While Percy stressed to his parents over the phone, the rest of the group waited eagerly, occupying their time through other means. Leo kept glancing back at Jason, who could only barely make out his sarcastic facial expressions because of how little of his face was silhouetted in the darkness. He would shoot Jason orney smirks, or looks of hopelessness, as Leo listened in to Percy's conversation. Leo had also been invited to Piper's mother's party, but wasn't morally obliged to go considering he wasn't dating Piper. Not that Jason was obligated to go, either, but breaking his promise to Piper hardly seemed like an option considering he had planned to go far before he was asked to play bass for the band.

Suddenly, Percy popped open his door, his cell phone still glued to his ear, and he shuffled to the front of his truck. A popping noise suggested he had unlocked the hood, and soon, the frontal view the boys had grown used to in the past thirty minutes was obstructed by the glossy bonnet of the vehicle. Immediately, Leo turned to look at the two silent boys in the backseat, who stared right back at him.

"Well this has been fun," Leo jested as more technical noises poured from the front of the car.

"Piper's mom's party started a few minutes ago, and I have no idea where we are," Jason immediately complained. "I can't even find a ride to get me there; my dad's not checking his phone, I can't pull Piper's mom from the party, and nobody else I know drives!"

"Relax, it's not like it's Piper's birthday. She'll understand," Leo comforted, earning a look of disapproval from his closest friend. "It's true! Do you really think she'll be upset with you because some seaweed brain's car broke down?"

"I can hear you, you know!" Percy yelled, and Leo chuckled.

"Just as planned."

Nico stirred beside Jason, causing the taller boy to glance at him. He'd kept to himself throughout most of the situation, awkwardly texting on his phone occasionally, but he mostly just stared out the window and listened to the others.

"At least this happened on a Friday. The last thing I need is to get lectured for staying out late on a week night," Nico finally added to the conversation.

"What grade are you in, Nico?" Leo asked awkwardly, even for him. The question stayed in the air for a moment, and Jason wondered if Nico was scared they would hold a bias against him for being younger.

"I'm a sophomore, but I'm being home schooled right now. I used to go to school with Percy," Nico responded flatly.

"Hey, I go to school with him right now! Not that I ever talk to him or really see him," Leo said, trying to start up a conversation only to have it end at that. The mysterious boy went back to texting on his phone, and Leo slowly turned away from the two, obviously discouraged.

"Did, uh, Percy ever mention how he got the drums?" Jason asked, desperate not to sit in silence with his anxiety working up as it was. With that, Percy popped his head back in the car, staring at Jason with guilty eyes.

"I borrowed them from work, just for tonight," he answered all too quickly. Jason's eyes nearly bulged out of his head at his confession.

"Dude, that's stealing!" Jason barked, causing Leo and Nico to tense.

"No, not really. This set is, like, haunted or something. It came back like two times, and from that point on, they've sat in the back room. I heard one of it's previous owners died and didn't even have enough money left in his bank account to pay them off, so..."

"You borrowed a haunted drum set and now all this crazy shit is happening to us? I almost played those things! We're gonna die!" Leo whined loudly, as if the mystery as to why they were having bad luck was suddenly solved.

"Now's not exactly a good time to let superstition get the best of you," Nico countered, his arms now crossed in annoyance. "Percy, what did your parents say? Do we need to get a cab?"

Percy shrugged in response, the initial shock obviously wearing off.

"My dad said we're probably low on oil. I told him where we're at, but my GPS wasn't picking up our exact location, so he might be a while."

Sunday came around quicker than expected, and Jason finally got in contact with Piper. After calling her phone for what seemed the hundredth time, she picked up. Jason immediately began his apology speech.

"Piper, I'm so sorry for missing your mom's party. I didn't mean to get caught up, it's just, Percy's car kind of broke down in the middle of nowhere and we had to wait for his dad to bring oil. We didn't even get a chance to play-"

"It's fine, Jason. I'm not upset," Piper interfered.

"Then why haven't you been taking my calls?" Jason asked eagerly, relieved that she wasn't mad. Not that he really expected her to be mad; Piper was an extremely understanding person. But the fact that it looked like he bailed for band practice...

"I've just been thinking. You know I don't check my phone too often," she replied. "Do you want to do something, today? We can go somewhere. You can serenade me with your new guitar skills to make up for this."

Jason smiled, looking over to his bass, which he had honestly been playing more in the past day.

"Well, I might murder your ears, but how can I say no to such a compelling girl?"

A few hours later...

They had decided on having a picnic at a nearby park. Jason had insisted on breaking the food and necessities, only to have Piper hound him on how stupidly romantic he was being. Of course, Jason was sure to throw his guitar over his shoulder for humorous reasons. She asked to be serenaded, so hell yeah, he was going to serenade her. Even if she'd regret it the second he tried. The couple met up halfway and walked through the streets hand-in-hand, the basket in Jason's tow.

"I can't believe his car broke down before you even got to the place you were supposed to practice at," Piper laughed as they approached the front of the Park. Jason held her hand tighter, laughing along with her.

"Yeah, we were having pretty bad luck. Apparently Percy borrowed us a pair of haunted drums, which were in the carrying area of his truck. Leo wouldn't stop talking about how he'd damned us, and all that crazy-Leo stuff."

The two found an open area to lay down the picnic blanket Jason had found when raiding his dad's closet. The two sat down, the sun already beating down on their skin. The weather had definitely been weird. Despite the fact that Christmas was in a week, the days had been hotter than ever, yet somehow, the nights were the complete opposite. Most of the time, it would have been snowing in New York, at that point in the year.

"My mom's party was interesting. I was really the only teenager. Plus, you know how much she likes you... and your step-mom's bruschetta."

"Yeah, I'll make up for it. Her Christmas present will be a giant case of the stuff. I'm honestly sick of it," Jason commented as he began to chomp on a bread roll. Piper reached into the basket, only to produce a tube of yogurt. She snapped off the end and began to suck out it's contents, causing Jason to raise an eyebrow and grin in an amused manner. Piper's cheeks immediately burned red when she noticed how Jason was watching her, and lowered the yogurt from her lips.

"Oh, grow up, you perv. Can't I enjoy your yogurt in peace?" once the words came out of her mouth, she looked like she was ready to slap herself, and Jason almost completely lost control and began snickering.

"Yeah, enjoy my yogurt in peace. I'll play you some of my sick tunes while you do so."

With that, Jason set the remains of his bread aside and pulled his bass from it's case, and Piper eyeballed the instrument appreciatively.

"I recognize it from the shop," she pointed out. Jason nodded, caressing the neck of the guitar in a protective manner. He'd barely played the thing yet he had already grown attached to it, not only because of how pretty it was, but because the sound it produced was music to his ears. The strings rolled out perfect chords, and strutting it felt all too natural. Even if Jason sucked at it, he now had confidence that he could at least decently pick up on it.

He began to slowly, and choppily, play a familiar tune. Piper nearly choked on her yogurt as Jason performed an American classic.

"Are you... Are you playing Mary Had a Little Lamb?

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb," Jason began, his singing surprisingly in sink with the tune, but completely off key. Piper bit her cheek, a look of pain evident across her face.

"Oh, dear god, please don't add vocals-"

"Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb!" Jason continued louder, "Who's fleece was white as..."

Jason twitched his fingers against the strings dramatically, bursting out a sound that couldn't even be considered amateur, before finishing.

"Snooow."

"Are you done?" Piper fluttered her eyelashes at him before finishing her yogurt.

"Well, yeah. That's all I know..."

"All the great songs in the world, and you picked Mary Had a Little Lamb?"

Now Jason was the one blushing.

"All I have to learn from right now is a kid's beginners guide to bass..."

Before Piper could comment, Frank and Hazel appeared beside the blanket, but panting in the heat.

"Water... Need... Water..." Frank breathed, causing Piper to quickly reach into the basket and pull a bottle out for the couple to share. Between the two, the whole bottle was downed, and the freshly hydrated teenagers began to look themselves again.

"Thanks, guys. I spotted you from across the park and decided we'd be better off stealing your bottled water than drinking that sewage from the fountain," Hazel shivered, pointing in the direction they'd come from. Funny, Jason thought. He hadn't noticed either of them the entire time they'd been sitting there. Maybe him and Piper were too far under their little love spell to notice their presence.

"It's no problem, Hazel. It's nice seeing you two out. Care to join us for a picnic?" Piper asked, causing Jason to immediately drop his gaze to the picnic basket. Old, made of splintering wood, but somehow more compelling than meeting Frank's gaze.

Please don't bring up Reyna. Please don't bring up Reyna. Frank, I've never done anything bad to you, just please somehow pick up these signals and don't bring up Reyna.

"Jay, what was this Reyna on Friday?" Franked asked curiously, and suddenly Piper's eyes were locked on Jason, who bit his tongue and now had the taste of blood fresh in his mouth. "I saw her walk up to you and just wanted to make sure everything is okay between my fellow council members."

"It was, uh, nothing, just a little misunderstanding," Jason blurted quickly, hoping the subject would be dropped. He was perfectly aware that he responded inappropriately, and that he was wrong to assume Reyna was only talking to him because she stilled liked him, but Jason would rather not come to terms with this in front of his current girlfriend. He, of course, planned on sorting things out with Reyna sooner than later, but wondered if she would even talk to him at that point, or just wave him off as another immature school boy, blinded by his own ego. Hey, that assumption was pretty accurate, but Jason wanted to clear things up, to let her know that he felt completely wrong for reacting like he had. Was it worth it? Would things go back to normal, with them only interacting during student council? With Jason hiding as to ignore the stigma of dishonor he carried on his shoulders? Honestly, Jason knew the only reason the two couldn't be friends again was all because he couldn't digest the fact that he made someone- who didn't deserve to- feel awful about themselves. He had led her on to believe their break up was her fault, even if unintentionally.

"Oh, okay, because she seemed kind of distraught in the office. Totally out of it, kept saying something about teenage boys having brains the size of a lima bean. I pointed out that I'm a boy, only to have her stare at me with a look that could kill. Yikes," Frank helped himself to one of the rolls of bread in the basket, not even noticing that Jason had practically stopped breathing and was now looking at him with a look probably similar to Reyna's.

"Oh, you leader types can never get along, can you?" Hazel followed, respecting her friends and not digging through the basket like Frank was currently doing. Piper's eyes didn't leave Jason, her mouth twisted in distrust. Although she was now tense, she didn't say anything, just kept watching Jason, who couldn't even meet her eyes for more than a few seconds.

"Ooh, that's such a nice guitar, Jason!" Hazel finally exclaimed, bringing the awkward tension on her and Frank's behalf. "Nico told me he saw it when he was in the car with you; said it was a beautiful instrument that Percy just gave to you. Jackson can be such a sweetheart."

Jason's head immediately shot up, and he looked at Hazel, confused.

"You know Nico?"

"Well, he is my step-brother..."

This completely caught Jason off guard.

"Huh. Small world. Would've never connected the dots that you two would be related. He's... quiet?"

"HA! I can't get that boy to shut up half the time! Must be sibling instinct... He is pretty quiet around strangers," Hazel suggested before sliding her hand into Frank's lap, who was flicking the bread crumbs off his fingers now. Although Jason enjoyed Frank and Hazel's presence, he couldn't help but wonder, what are the odds that they were at the same exact park- in all of New York- at the same time as me and Piper? He figured "luck" just liked to come bite him in the ass at the best of times. After all, it's not a picnic until your friends appear out of the blue, bring up your recent confrontation with your ex, and make things awkward between you and your girlfriend.

"Hey, are you guy's going to the Stoll brother's party on Christmas Eve?" Hazel asked, pulling Jason from his thoughts.

"I was actually thinking about it. That is, if my date is available this time," Piper stated, her words seeming subconsciously constrained. "Or should I say 'dates'? I'm pretty sure Leo's going."

"Aren't they, like, known for getting everybody on their faces less than an hour into their parties?" Jason asked, looking around the group for an answer. Frank scrunched up his nose, obviously taking that into consideration.

"You don't think they'd spike the punch bowl on Christmas Eve, do you?" Hazel asked in a somewhat whisper, clearly worried now.

"Yeah," Piper and Jason replied in sync. Jason looked at Piper, who now wouldn't meet his eyes. Wait, what?

"You plan at drinking at the party? Like, on purpose?" Jason grilled her protectively.

"I don't plan on it, but if it happens... Jason, I'm going to be 16. You've drank before, so what's wrong with me trying it? Just this once? Plus, if you're there, what will really happen? Nothing!"

Despite the fact that Piper had a good point about him drinking in the past, he didn't like the idea of her drinking. Sure, him and Leo broke into his dad's liquor cabinet when they were thirteen, but look how great that turned out, with them ending up just making out for half of the night. They were at a detrimental age, and she would obviously try it eventually, but it just seemed strange to him to hear Piper even bring up alcohol in such a neutral light. Plus, Connor had previously had a crush on Piper, and Jason wasn't comfortable with Piper being alone with him and his manipulative ways. Not that Jason didn't trust them, but if the two had on beer goggles, well...

"Fine, I'm in. Not really my scene, but hell, it's school break. Why not?"

Jason trudged with Piper towards her apartment complex, both of them empty of conversation due to how much talking they'd done with Frank and Hazel. Still, something was bugging Piper, and Jason suspected what it was.

"What happened between you and Reyna at school?" she finally asked as Jason poked at a cross-button. They stood, waiting for the sign to give them the signal to continue across the crosswalk. Jason sighed, knowing he had to be honest with her.

"Reyna came up to me to tell me she misses me and I... kind of reacted completely wrong. She got angry with me," Jason finally admitted, turning to look into Piper's eyes. "I thought she was coming on to me, for some idiotic reason, and reminded her that I'm with you. It just made things really awkward, because she just meant it as a friend, and she then continued to act like I meant it in a 'wow you're pathetic' way. I deserved that, really. I promise there's nothing more going on between us, but I just need to make things right with her, eventually"

"You hurt her, Jason. She cared about you, and you disrupted that by suddenly messing around with other girls. You don't deserve to feel bad for leaving her, because if it wasn't there, it wasn't there and that's that, but you do have to be gentle with her feelings," Piper touched Jason's shoulder as they walked across the street, the distrusting vibes melting away. Jason nodded, and once they were back on the sidewalk, he stopped, grabbing Piper's hand to break her pace. She turned to her boyfriend, confused, only to be met with Jason's ravenous lips. He allowed his fingers to caress her cheek while his other hand found its way to the back of her head as Piper stood up on her tiptoes to respond to Jason's sudden act of affection. When the two parted, they panted a little heavier, both of their faces blooming with color.

"I absolutely adore you, Piper McLean," Jason reassured as he leaned into her face, intruding her (what most people consider) personal space, though it hardly mattered between them. For some Reason, Piper looked wistful instead of lustful, as if that wasn't the response she expected to hear. Suddenly, a car parked beside them, and her eyes widened in disbelief. Jason snapped his head to the side, only to be met by Percy Jackson's gaze. He waved at the couple and rolled down the front windows.

"You two look hot. Need a ride?"

Jason looked to Piper, who shrugged and nodded. Jason pulled open the back door for his lady, allowing her to crawl in before following closely behind. Once inside and buckled up, Percy began to drive again.

"Piper, nice to see you outside of anatomy! How've you been?" Percy immediately sparked up conversation with Jason's girlfriend, and Jason wondered how they'd come to have the luxury of running into yet another friend. The two classmates blabbed for a while, Jason tiredly staring out the window, until he was summoned into the conversation, and suddenly the Jupiter high student was on high alert.

"Jason, I didn't know you were the romantic type," Percy teased. "Picnics? Serenading your girlfriend? Kissing her on the street corner? Way to go man. Nice to have a friend who understands why I'm so sappy I am with Annabeth."

"Well, that's just how things are when you're in love," Jason announced overly-enthusiastically. He smiled at Piper, who simply studied him, her eyes skitting around his face. She had been doing that a lot, lately, but Jason pushed it out of his mind, thinking he was probably just being overhung by noticing something so small. Piper was good at reading people, and tended to judge people based on body language, which was somehow unnerving for those who observed her behavior. Luckily, the conversation took another turn, and Piper's attention was now on Percy.

"So, where exactly am I taking you guys?" Percy questioned.

"My apartment. Just keep driving straight, it's a mile up," Piper answered as she slid her hand over Jason's. Jason stroked her hand with his thumb, before he felt her hand twitch and experimentally slide from his hand- dully laying on his outer thigh- towards the inner part of his thigh and then almost to his knee. Jason bit his lip, and then the paranoid part of him peered into the mirrors to make sure Percy couldn't see the little motion. For the most part, Jason could only see him and Piper's faces, otherwise Percy just wasn't saying anything. Jason's eyes widen furthermore when he felt his girlfriend tracing designs with the tip of her finger into his leg, resulting in him clearing his throat loudly, gaining Percy's attention. Piper eased her hand off of his leg before Percy could pick up on what was happening.

"Hey, Jason, are you free for the rest of the day?"

Once again, the question shouldn't have been as surprising as it was. Was Jason really this oblivious? Sure, Percy was a generally nice person, but Jason suspected that he had other plans from the second Jason had crawled into the car.

"Band practice?" Jason replied in a split-second.

"Er, we didn't exactly get to the other night. We can see if the other guys are busy... You can even come if you want, Piper."

"I'd love too," Piper smiled, and looked at Jason with an evil glint in her eyes. She was so going to blackmail him later, not only because he was ten times worse at his instrument than everyone else, but because she'd get to hear all the weird gossip the boys talked about, including information pertaining him.

"Alright, cool, Jason?"

"I'm already on it," he mumbled as he dialed Leo.

Christmas Eve

The band had finally launched, and the teens practiced together for a record breaking two days during the previous week. Both sessions were considerably short lived, and mostly consisted of the boys arguing over the basis of the band, but things were finally playing out, which was all that really mattered. To Jason's avail, he was correct about him being the worst at playing his instrument. Not only did he have to confess to only knowing Mary Had a Little Lamb, but he was forced to watch the rest of the boys play their hearts out on their instruments, and he wouldn't lie, they were all good. Practice commenced in one of The Starving Musician's back rooms since the shop would be closed until after New Years, and Percy got the OK from their boss after being scolded for borrowing the haunted drums, which he insisted Leo use anyways.

Percy's guitar skills were undoubtedly more impressive than Jason's, proving himself by shredding out to Something I Never Had by Nine Inch Nails. Leo, on the other hand, slammed on the drums like a pro (to the same song), then proceeded to pretended like he was hardly valid in the music department. Jason felt a ping of jealousy at this, but it was overcome by how proud he was of having a best friend capable of destroying on an instrument that most people overlook. Nico, on the other hand, was by far the most impressive musician among the group.

He'd composed an instrumental piece to All I Need by Radiohead, and played the keyboard in such a fluid manner that Leo and Jason sat in complete shock, unable to take their eyes off of his hands. Percy looked smug, as if thinking, I made the best damn choice in the world by bringing this kid aboard. You suckers better be thankful. At the same time, he was obviously enticed by his skill, and observed with great admiration. How his fingers were able to glide over the keys, conjuring up such polished tunes, was beyond Jason, but he knew they had a genius on their hands, and Jason suddenly knew there was more to Nico Di Angelo than he let on, and part of him couldn't help but wonder why he picked that song in particular. It seemed to move him with heavy emotion, the way he practically swayed all while pounding the keys nearly as hard as the others hearts pounded.

Besides all this, there were a lot of complications to deal with.

"Have we even decided what kind of band we are?" -Jason

"Let's just... Alternative, since this will be a bitch to dissect." -Percy

"We should call ourselves The Demigods. We will be great; high enough to be considered gods, but not quite, because we also suck." -Leo

"Do you really want to give off the impression that we're chauvinistic assholes before we even properly make a name for ourselves?" -Nico

"Okay, guys, but what songs are we even covering? Are we making our own songs? Oh, for God's sake, we don't even have a lead singer!" -Jason

"...I was kind of hoping one of you would step forward and reveal your secret mermaid-like voice. Any takers? Any one?" -Percy

"I can sing, I just don't think I should sing, because somebody's ears will end up bleeding and I'll get yelled at." -Leo

"Um, I can sing, I just don't think I can sing in front of big crowds of people. I might end up throwing up on my keyboard, and these things aren't cheap." -Nico

In the end, The Demigods grew on the boys, and they decided that Nico would sing anyways, despite not actually knowing what he sounded like.

Jason thought about all of this as he slipped into a hoodie and prepared himself for the night ahead of him. Satisfied by the new accomplishments of the band, Jason decided he'd allow himself to enjoy the night, and not stay on edge like a scared middle schooler. Sure, he'd probably be surrounded by drunks, but tomorrow was Christmas, so he'd likely see similar behavior among his family members the following day.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door, and Jason nearly leaped out of his bedroom to answer it. His father, instead, stood at the entrance, greeting Piper and Leo as they stepped inside.

"You kids look nice. Got a night on the town ahead of you?" Zeus winked at the uncomfortable adolescents.

"Yeah... Don't worry, we won't wine and Jason too late, Mr. Grace," Leo quipped, earning an eyebrow raise from the older character on behalf of Leo's implication. Piper squinted at Leo, who immediately shut up.

"Mr. G, your son is usually the one taking care of us, so don't worry too much about him," Piper stated, gaining an approving look from her boyfriend's father.

"Hey, guys, I'm ready," Jason butt in, shooting the two an apologetic look. Zeus smiled at his boy and walked over to him, ruffling his hair and patting him on the shoulder.

"Thalia's coming home early tomorrow, so I expect you to be up early. I should be asleep by the time you get back, so don't forget to set the alarm," Jason's father concluded, before handing Jason his keys and leaving the kids alone. Jason jingled the keys happily in front of him before the group piled out the door.

"It's so cool that he trusts you enough to borrow his car. My folks barely trusted me getting dropped off here," Leo muttered jealously. Not only could Jason borrow his dad's car, but he was borrowing his dad's Cadillac, which he'd been lectured on driving a million times before.

"That car costs more than some people's college tuition, so I suggest you drive carefully. Don't even think about street racing, or whatever the latest trends are. You'll be in debt to me your entire life if anything happens to it, kiddo."

It was a nice car, but Jason felt his father's commentary was unnecessary half the time, considering he only got to drive it on special occasions and those threats were drilled into his head at that point. Jason unlocked the car, and Piper immediately shoved Leo aside and climbed in shotgun.

"Piper, come on. Jason won't be able to drive if you guys are groping each other, and even I'm concerned about crashing this thing. Zeus is a scary guy... with an even scarier, ancient name."

"Better me groping him than you," Piper insulted, and with that, they were on the road to the Stoll brothers' party.

The party was everything Jason had expected. Students from Half Blood high, and even unfamiliar, older looking faces moved about the premises. The punch had definitely been spiked far before the three showed up, to Piper's dismay.

"I'm not drinking it if I know it's been spiked. That's just no fun," she grumbled, popping open a can of Coke. Jason was relieved, knowing that she most likely just chickened out, but also because he didn't want to be the only sober one. He had to drive, and frankly, that'd be hard with "punch" bubbling on his insides. Leo, on the other hand, had already moved onto his second cup of punch, and although still acting seemingly normal, was slowly becoming a lot more comfortable and loud with his acquaintances. The group had grown, and now Frank, Hazel, Percy, and Annabeth were among them. Frank and Hazel munched on candy canes and laughed at all of their friends, while Percy had actually slipped a candy cane into a cup of pure vodka, and was bellowing with Leo loudly. Annabeth stayed by his side, apologizing for her boyfriend's obnoxious behavior.

"I'm not even kidding! You slip a candy cane in and it tastes like you're drinking mouth wash!" Percy said, laughing, before nearly dropping his cup on the floor. Instead, alcohol splashed onto his shirt, and he wailed in distress.

"Percy, that actually sounds... really gross," Frank replied innocently. "Why do you keep drinking it?"

"I, heheh, don't know!" Percy hiccuped. Annabeth looked to be in physical pain from how idiotic her suitor was acting. She crinkled her nose, trying hard to deal with it all.

"Okay, I think you've had enough," she suggested before confiscating his cup. This earned an aw from Percy.

Now, Leo was stirring his punch with a candy cane, before dumping the concoction down his throat. Without warning, Connor Stoll slid in, a devious grin evident on his lips.

"You guys having a jolly time?" he yelled over the Christmas music, earning a nod from the sobers and vocal reaction from the tipsy boys. "Good, good! Just as intended!"

Jason couldn't help but notice Connor watching him, and as if on instinct, the host reached forward and grabbed Jason's forearm. Jason craved to shake it off, but instead allowed Connor to pull him from his seat. Piper began to get up, but Connor waved her down.

"It's fine, I need to catch up with Jason for a bit. I'll bring him back!" Connor decided, leaving no room for Jason to protest. Jason quickly looked back to Piper, who looked worried, but nodded for him to go and emerged in conversation with Hazel, Annabeth, and Frank. As soon as Connor was sure Jason would follow, he released his grip on his arm, and Jason walked through the crowd, feeling completely out of place among the mass. They walked to the end of the house, where Connor pulled open a sliding door and motioned for Jason to walk outside. Once out of the house, Jason noticed a small group of people sitting on a ledge, cigarettes in hand.

Jason had never been close to Connor; he'd only talked to him a handful of times in the past, and they pretty much lost contact when Jason went off to high school, so the whole scenario before him was just suspicious. Not than Connor was a bad guy, or appeared to be, he was just sneaky.

"You seemed a bit tense in there, Jason. Alcohol not your scene?" Connor asked as he past him and advanced towards the strangers. Jason followed numbly, unsure what to say.

"No, not so much. It's more fun to just laugh at my best friend get messed up, if you get me," Jason sassed as the people all turned to look at him now, one of the unfamiliar faces appearing to be a slightly older Connor. And hat's when Jason noticed the smell. What he thought were cigarettes were actually joints, and the folks holding them looked confused at the new presence. More confused than they should've been. Oh boy.

Jason could hardly walk by the time he was led back inside. Left, right, left, right. Don't fall on your face. Making his way through the crowd felt more like a roller-coaster ride as faces flashed before him, an uncontrollable numbness tingling through his entire body. He followed Connor back to his group of friends, before Connor simply winked at them and scuttled away. Jason was left, eyes bloodshot and mind disgruntled.

Here comes Santa Claus! Here comes Santa Claus! Right down Santa Claus lane!

That song... Jason had heard it a million times before, but it was escalating far too fast to be the same song, and he felt like it was in another language completely. Piper's mouth dropped open, and she looked from Leo to Jason, and her face went stone cold.

"Jason Grace, are you high?" she demanded, and Jason looked at her as if she was speaking in Japanese.

"Uh, I don't actually know," he responded before plopping down next to her, everything squiggling before his eyes.

"How on Earth are you going to drive us back?" Piper exploded, her tone suggesting she was angry with him, but Jason couldn't figure out why. Oh, wait, she said something about driving them back. Jason had driven them here. He froze, not exactly sure how to counter her question.

Can I drive right now? I wonder what time it is in India. No, I don't think I can drive right now... But is it possible to filter ocean water to drink?

"Can you drive?" Jason urged, and that's when he noticed the cup in her hand. Which suggested she had drank the punch. Although she was acting herself, the normal part of Jason's brain knew that wouldn't be the case for long. "It seems we have a dilemma here. Where did Leo and Percy go?"

"And Annabeth. She's gone too, y'know. They went to puke their brains out, and she went along to hold their hair and make sure Leo doesn't start tongue kissing her boyfriend," Piper confirmed, the alcohol obviously taking affect now. Hazel's eyes widened, and she whispered something to Frank that looked like this is weird.

Time carried on, all too quickly while lingering all too slowly at the same time. Piper got more lovey, Hazel and Frank grew tired, and Annabeth, Percy, and Leo stayed hidden for most of the remainder of the party. Towards the end, a drunk Piper leaned against Jason and watched as some of the other goers tried to sing karaoke across the room. Nothing said warm Winter night like a bunch of intoxicated teenagers trying to sing Christmas classics. At that point, the effects of Jason's high were wearing off, and he was slowly becoming his normal self.

"I actually have to take Hazel home," Frank finally got up, nodding to a nearly sober Jason. "Can't have her breaking curfew. Parents can be scary. Will you guys be okay alone?"

"I'm fine, now," Jason assured, getting up to give both of his friends a quick hug. "Don't worry about us, you guys just be safe on the roads."

With that, there was two. Piper was a thoughtful drunk, and was more talkative rather than loud and mindless. That, of course, created an awkwardness factor. She laced the conversation with questions Jason knew she wouldn't ask with a clear mind, but he answered honestly, knowing she probably wouldn't remember most of what they talked about, anyways. Then, she pulled a question from her hat that Jason wasn't expecting.

"Do you love me, Jason?"

Jason stared at her for a moment, comprehending the question, before laughing heartily.

"Well, duh-"

"Then why do you only say it when we're in front of other people?" she sat up, breaking the little physical contact they had, and she clasped her hands together. Jason tried to respond, wanted to say that isn't true, but was filled with panic when he realized it was. He did so in such a subliminal manner that even he hadn't actually noticed until that moment. Piper waited, completely calm, only to have Jason shake his head and meet her eyes.

"I... I don't know," he whispered, his words painful yet filled with all the honesty in the world. Of course he loved Piper, he craved Piper, but part of him always felt at fault when it came to admitting his feelings in private. He wanted the world to know he loved Piper, because she deserved to feel loved, but he knew he wasn't fully capable of giving her the love she deserved, so he often skirted around that aspect of their relationship. Piper realizing his intentions- or lack of- was a clear sign that Jason had far less control in the relationship than expected.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" Piper went on, her voice quiet.

No, there was nothing, except the fact that Jason deserved the worst boyfriend of the year award.

"No, there's not."

His words were tart against his tongue, too brutal for his own sake, and all he wanted to do was leave. Piper had grown quiet, and was simply twirling a candy cane in her hands. She let out a breath of relief, but slid further away from Jason, her aura now tense.

"I'm not that drunk," she burst bitterly. "And I shouldn't have had such high expectations, because all I feel now is hurt."

"You have to understand I just want you to be happy," Jason pleaded, already mentally checking this off of reasons he didn't like parties.

"And you gave me happiness by leading me on to believe you actually love me?" she snapped back.

"I do love you, Piper! I don't say it enough, and I really should, but I do truly love you!" Jason begged, wishing for the conversation to end, but he knew Piper better than that. She radiated helplessness, looked like a hurt animal, and nothing Jason was saying seemed to fix things.

"You... You don't love me. You think I don't see that? Maybe you love me, like you love Leo, and Percy, but I don't think you're in love with me. You love the idea of being with me, of our potential in the future, but there's not doubt in my mind that your feelings for me are just lust."

Now, Piper's eyes were filling with tears, and she positioned herself away from Jason. Jason set a soothing hand on her back, which caused her to physically flinch, and he immediately pulled his hand away, still trying to take in what just happened. Piper let out a small sound of distress as Jason's mind was plagued with a million thoughts. Piper figured this all out, drunk, before Jason was even aware of his actual feelings. He wanted to hold her, to tell her it was all wrong and that he really was in love with her, but he'd already caused too much pain, all without even trying. What was the point of egging her on even further? He shook his head, anxiety looming through his bones.

"I'll take you and Leo home. It's been a long night," Jason mustered before standing up. Piper didn't even look up to him, just followed him like a ghost throughout the house as Jason scouted for Leo. They found him sprawled out on a bed, beside Percy, and Annabeth, who was reading on her tablet. She looked up when they entered the room, immediately shooting them a thankful look.

"They passed out not long after throwing up the entire contents of their stomach. Mostly in the toilet, but I'll let the Stolls deal with what didn't quite make it in... What happened to you guys?"

She noticed the pensive look on the two's faces, and Jason hoped she would get the hint and not continue on.

"I'm sure you'll hear about it from Percy soon enough," Piper retorted, earning a concerned stare from Annabeth. Jason walked across the room, avoiding their eyes, and shook Leo.

"Leo, buddy, wakey-wakey. I have to get you home."

Leo's eyes fluttered open, and at the sight of Jason, he slammed them shut and groaned loudly.

"I'm sooo sick," Leo bubbled, and Jason helped him sit up.

"Yeah, me too. Let's get going... And Merry Christmas, Annabeth."

Leo was dropped off first, and aided by Piper, to her own dismay. She had to walk him up to his room and tuck him into bed, which would've been amusing to Jason, if given different circumstances. Upon her return, Jason stayed park in front of Leo's house for a moment, his arm rested against the window sill.

"You feeling okay, Pipes?"

Silence.

"...Yeah, yeah I am, I just have a headache."

Jason drove, the car quiet, the only sound coming from the outside city. Strangely enough, it wasn't awkward, just melancholy, both knowing what would happen in their imminent future. They'd been down these roads many times, but that night, it felt foreign. Unrecognizable. Maybe it was the Christmas lights, or the last effects of the high...

No, Jason knew what the actual culprit was.

Upon arrival at Piper's apartment complex, the two found themselves sitting again, at loss for words.

"I don't want things to change between us," Jason finally admitted, his tone innocent, like a scared child. It felt weird, to confess something so vile to Piper, who wouldn't even look at him. His words were selfish, insecure, but once again, honest.

"It doesn't work that way..." Piper speculated, her voice exhausted. "We've both been greedy; in denial. I will always love you, Jason, but not in the way we wanted. We're too young, too expecting. People say it never works out with teenagers because they put too much of themselves into relationships that are bound to fail. It just hurts to know how right that statement is. I don't think I can see you for the rest of break. I really need to think about things."

Piper climbed out of the car, Jason following. When she went around, he opened his arms to her, and she fell into the embrace, trembling in his arms.

"You're such an idiot. Such an idiot! But I still love you. Things need to end here, though, for our own good. We'll always be better off as friends, Jason."

"I'm going to miss this, though," Jason croaked, literally feeling sick in the cold night air. "I just... Promise not to leave Leo and me behind. Please? I messed up- I messed up so much, but I can't imagine my life without you. I never meant to hurt you, you know that. Just... Promise."

Piper nodded into his chest, gripping him slightly tighter for a second before releasing her hold on him.

"I promise. I just need to be alone for a while... Have a nice Christmas, Jay," she sniveled, and then began to make her way to the front of the building, not once looking back. Then, she was gone, without a sign she was ever there, or even in Jason's car. Jason slid back behind the wheel, hardly ready for the longest drive home in the world. That's when the chest pains started.

The sound of pots and pans clinging downstairs pulled Jason from his sleep. The events from the night before replayed in his head, and his motivation to get up and start moving was drawn away by the idea of staying in bed. But it was Christmas, meaning he couldn't pull that today, or else Thalia would show up and drag him out by his feet. Or maybe it was destiny...

Knock, knock, knock!

Creaaaak...

In popped a far too familiar face, with eyes that matched Jason's, and black hair that was the complete opposite. The corners of her mouth immediately shot up once she caught sight of Jason, and shoved her way into his room and sprinted to his bed, practically jumping in with him. Jason yelped in surprise as Thalia threw her arms around him. His sister had definitely grown stronger, clearly toned from the archery unit she had joined in college, and not to mention the army training she did when not studying. He missed having her around, but was proud of her to no end, on the other hand.

"Nnn, merry Christmas to you, too, sis!" Jason laughed into her shoulder, giving in to her hug.

"I've missed you so much, you dope! I have so much to tell you- hey, you smell like pot," Thalia pointed out before ruffling his hair. His family had a bad habit of doing that to him. Jason grimaced, but couldn't help but laugh, because he was happy to be reunited with his older sister, and at least she hadn't changed. Jason felt like he had changed more in one night than in his entire sixteen years of existence, but maybe that's how most people felt after break-ups.

"Can I get changed first?" Jason asked, still in his sister's death-lock. She slowly released him, and stood up, crossing her arms.

"I can hardly believe that the great Jason Grace wasn't up and ready before I even arrived. What happened? You look kinda awful..."

"Piper and I broke up," he revealed, a strange sensation filling him from admitting it for the first time. Thalia immediately took on a worried, parental stature, and drove her fingers to her mouth.

"Oh. Do you wanna talk about it over breakfast?"

Not really.

"That's fine, I'll be down in five minutes."

"So, do you have any regrets?" Thalia asked as if it was the most normal, non-insensitive question in the world. That's why Jason adored his sister. She didn't sugar coat things, no matter how much they made him want throw his plate at the wall.

"A lot. The major ones being not treating her better, and hurting her, and, well, you know, not giving her what she actually deserves."

"But you did. You need to stop acting like you poisoned her; breaking up with her was probably the best decision you've made in a while, considering you went off and joined a band. What about stuff you're glad happened?"

"I'm happy that I got to be with her for the short amount of time I was. I'm really, really glad I didn't sleep with her, because things would've been way worse. Oh, and I'm glad things didn't end on bad terms."

Somewhat like they did with Reyna.

Thalia forked egg into her mouth, nodding at her little- or not so little- brother as if she was advising him on what kind of car he should get rather than giving him relationship advice. Jason looked at his plate, not exactly hungry, and proceeded to play with his food with his fork.

"You better eat that or else I will, and then you'll have to fill up on cookies when we get to grandma's."

"I'm just a little stuck, sis. Every time I'm in a relationship, I'm the one who ends up being the bad guy in the end. It's not like I try," Jason confided in Thalia, who just rolled her eyes at him.

"Hey, we're just built bad. Jokes aside, it was both of your faults. You're not a bad person for messing up a few times as a kid. Don't be so hard on yourself; there was nothing you could've done. It just wasn't there. Love is a tricky business, one that is easier to avoid. You'll know when it's real, because you'll think, 'wow, this person is a mess and probably insane, but I'm willing to let them into my world, anyways'. It'll happen, and if it doesn't, who cares? That's life. We're not here to fall in love, we're here to survive. Love is a game you get to play on the side."

Thalia finished up her breakfast, and reached over to stab Jason's waffle.

"Hey! I'm going to eat that..."

"Then do so!"

Jason stuffed his mouth with the food, which was practically tasteless, but he wanted to fill his stomach then to avoid having to survive on cookies later.

"What about you? How has life been in the real world?" Jason asked with his mouth full. This hardly phased his sister.

"Normal... I'm off call until February, so I've been amercing myself in my training. College food is terrible, by the way. I can't even count how many times I've had to eat garlic fries for dinner because I can't tell what anything else is."

"You mean that's not just high school? I had higher hopes for college."

"Yeah, well, don't."

With that, Thalia continued on to discuss how her life was going, continuing on about paying taxes, how expensive everything was, and all of the other glamorous aspects of being an adult. Despite all the drama that had unveiled in Jason's life, he was happy to just hear Thalia's voice, let alone be in her presence. It was amazing how much she had grown up in such a small amount of time. Jason remembered when she was in his shoes; scared about her future, confused about relationships, and deciding whether or not she would join the military. She had blossomed into a graceful young lady, complete with big muscles and short, dyed hair that said, if you even look at me wrong, you'll take an arrow to the knee.

Jason thought she was absolutely beautiful.

A few moments later, Zeus emerged, dressed in his favorite holiday sweater that his children had told him numerous times was the ugliest thing they'd ever seen. It was mocha colored, with a blocky, blue stripe across the chest, and had a green triangle overriding his left breast that was supposedly a tree. A big smile formed on his face at the sight of his children eating together.

"My two favorite cubs are ready to go! How has your morning been, you two?"

"Jason broke up with his girlfriend," Thalia mentioned, casually, causing Jason to nearly drop his fork. Zeus's eyes widened at his boy, and he slowly walked up to him.

"Piper? Why, what happened? I liked her, she has a rich daddy..."

"Can we not get into this right now? It's Christmas, let's concentrate on happy family stuff," Jason hissed, setting his silverware down and pushing his plate forward. Thalia swooped in like a hawk and stuffed her face with the remainder of his food.

"Fine. Before we head out, I have a present for the both of you," Zeus claimed, producing two envelopes from his pocket. He slid one in front of Thalia, the other in front of Jason, and watched his kids rip them open.

In Thalia's card, her father had written her a small letter, and out fell multiple hundred dollar bills. Her eyes widened, and she leaped up to throw her arms around her father.

"Thanks, dad. I promise I won't spend it on anything too dumb," she said, causing her father to chuckle.

Next, Jason pulled out his card, which was... empty. The card read,

To my son, Jason, on Christmas day. Congratulations on surviving this many Christmases, dear boy. I'm tired of worrying about you crashing my car, so I hope this suffices.

Next thing Jason knew, his dad had smacked a set of keys down in front of him.