A/N

Beware, feels are ahead. And not the good kind. I apologise for any heartbreak in advance.

Piper POV

The beach was a great place to relax, when you weren't trying to beat your kind-of-ex in volleyball.

I leapt up, and smacked the ball over the net violently, pretending that it was Drew. Gods know how much I hate her at the moment.

She had taken my previous Boyfriends, and she just had to have this one too, didn't she?

It annoyed me to no ends. I don't even think a difilibrator cold bring her back from the smacking I would give her when I got my pretty little hands on her.

"Pause!" Leo shouted from the other end of the courts, looking at me pointedly. "When did this turn into a game of death, Pipes?"

"Since that bi-"

The shrill ring of a phone alerted me as I reached down to get my drink bottle.

CALLER ID: Sally Jackson

Why would Sally be calling me?

I picked up the phone quickly, and press it against my ear, "Hello?"

"Hey Piper!" I take a sigh in relief. Paisley was using her step-mum's phone. "Um, I think I'm not going to be there for the thingy this afternoon, but I will try and be there for the practice tonight at 7 for the semi's. Percy says the same thing. Love you, bye!"

Paisley's phone calls were frustrating, because she would always hang up before you have the chance to say something. Effective on her half, but on the receiving end not so much.

"What was that about?" Leo asks, lifting his bottle of water to his lips.

"Percy and Paisley are going to try and be back before the practice but no promises. Their dad came over and they want to go out and stuff. Be tourists," I shrug, rolling my eyes.

I remember when I was little, I used to spend almost every day seeing the tourism things, and I never really saw the big deal about them. But that was because it was always there, and to be honest, when I was passed over to my Mum, I missed them.

Starting up the game again, Hazel hit a mean serve, making me leap towards the ball.

It's like a pattern.

Serve, hit, point. They serve, I hit, I score us a point, and maybe them a few hurt fingers. But today, I didn't care. I just didn't care.

"What's wrong with you today?" Annabeth asks accusingly, scowling at me meanly. Not like I was undeserving of everything I got though.

I shrug, "Nothing. Bad week,"

"Well, just because your boyfriend decided to jump ship to your sister, doesn't mean that these sisters will, okay? Don't take it out on us. We didn't do anything wrong, Piper. And to be honest with you, if I were Jason I would have done it sooner. You're so conceited sometimes, Piper. And I know you never mean to be, but you didn't once think that it wasn't Jason's fault. Maybe you assume too much," Annabeth sighed, seemingly done with her speech.

It was like someone had switched the 'Off' button in my head for emotion because I should have been offended by that but I wasn't. Breakup's make me into a word-I-was-going-to-call-Drew-before.

"Hey-ya's!" Paisley giggled, skipping into the room. A grin lit up her face. Emotions on, because knowing that just yesterday she was balling her eyes out and now she's smiling again, made me happy.

She's like the baby of the group. When she cries, you want to cry too. When she's happy, you're happy. And vice versa. It's not annoying, because she's rarely angry. If there was one word to describe her, it would be bubbly. And not just because she likes blowing bubbles.

"Hey, how was seeing your Dad again?" I ask her, giving her a hug that I knew she wanted.

Calypso stayed silent from the Mic, obviously upset about something I had said.

"We're doing Glitter In The Air by P!nk," Thalia states to her as I let her go and she skips to the keyboard, quite literally. Skipping.

"Cool," Paisley grin widens, if possible, "I know this one already."

Learning new chords every week was tiring, because it was usually for fun, and to have to have in in sync with everyone else and the lyrics and where you stopped and started and having to store it in your brain was so annoying.

I swear to the Gods and all things good, whoever made this competition was looking to annoy people as much as they could. No jokes.

Afterwards, sweating, we were smiling. All things said earlier were forgiven, and understood.

Waiting to use the band room was 4:12. I think Paisley was scaring them with her smiling, and demanding high-fives from them all and smiles back.

They all begrudgingly did as the scrawny fifteen-year-old said.

"Up top!"

"Don't dolphin dive. It may be fun but don't mock the dolphins! They have feelings too."

"Woo!"

"C'mon people where is your enthusiacticm."

I don't even know where that last word came from, and neither did anyone else.

"Seriously," Paisley deadpans at us, "Enthusiastic and enthusiasm."

"Oh," Annabeth nods, most likely mentally taking it down to remember.

"Piper please pass me the salt," Jason asks, motioning towards the salt shaker in front of me. I pretend like I didn't hear him.

"Maybe you should ask Drew. She would be more than willing to help you out," I say more bitterly than the salt.

Jason groaned, "For Gods sakes, Piper," He rolls his eyes, "Let that go, it's not my fault she finds me worth her time," Jason snaps.

Okay, that one hurt.

Begrudgingly, I slid the salt shaker over to him, my hand shaking more than the shaker. Seriously, it would give it a run for its money.

I tried not to be too effected by it, but my body wasn't cooperating with me, my hands shaming, my knee jumping and my heart racing so fast it could very well be Usain Bolt.

I look down at my plate full of what Leo described as "unhealthily healthy", which basically meant there was healthy stuff on it. Fruit, vege's, eggs.

"I'm not hungry anymore," I say, standing up as Jason groans. My eyes snap to him, annoyed. "Problem?"

"Yes, Piper, I do believe we have a problem," He glares hatefully at me, sending daggers into my chest on rapid fire. I wanted to break down crying, but I knew that I couldn't. Gods, what I would give for five minutes by myself to cry.

"Really? And what would that be?" I hiss at him, my words toughening up.

"You. You don't trust me, you make assumptions and don't even bother asking me if it's true, you push and shove away at Drew, granted she does it too but I wouldn't peg you for the type of person to stoop that low," His voice grows deeper, the daggers twisting and rearranging. Like some sort of dance.

Dear knives in my chest, please stop your dancing. The performance is not appreciated, and most certainly wasn't booked.

"Well sorry that I found another girl's bikini top in your bag," I say, "And you haven't exactly done anything to make me want to trust you."

"Oh, so the month or so we'd been in a relationship wasn't anything? And our friendship before that? And how about the fact that everyone else in this house trusts me, and you're the odd one out. Looks like you're Loner Piper again," He says vigorously.

Loner Piper was something Drew came up with when I first moved from California. I was new, and I didn't have any friends. She hated me for some unknown reason, and every day she would point at me and yell "Look everyone! It's Loner Piper!"

Knowing that struck a nerve, Jason looks surprised at what he just said, his hands slapping over his mouth and his eyes blown wide.

"Piper, I'm s-"

I turn on my heel and leave, swallowing the tears all the while as I leave the house.

"Piper stop the moping, it's getting annoying now," Annabeth says to me, coming into mine and Calypso's room with a smoothie in her hand. She perches on the side of my bed as I stare at the computer screen. "That's not moping. That's-"

"Applying for Uni?" I say, "I'm not applying. I'm waiting until before graduation, but I'm just looking at what's available."

"Cool. I've already thought about that, like last year. I think that if we don't get anywhere with our band that I want to go to somewhere where Percy can come too. Like NYU or UCLA or Harvard or something. He doesn't have to study there too, he just has to be able to visit me. And vice versa," Well at least one of us has a stable relationship.

"Okay, Percy and I have a complicated relationship. It's extremely complicated that I can't even begin to explain, so don't you dare go thinking that. It's just up to who is willing to do what for the relationship. Percy and I are both putting our best foot forwards and you and Jason were stumbling and wobbling and when one took a stable step forwards one of you took one back."

"Thanks Doctor Phil, for your expert advice," I say sarcastically.

"Anything for a customer, now c'mon. We need to all do the bonding exercises again." Annabeth was taking about the ones we were doing at the beginning of the competition. The ones that made us all get to know the people we were living with.

"Okay," I take the smoothie from her hands and sip at it as I shut the lid of my computer and got out from under the covers. My feet grew cold as they came from under the warm duvet. Wasn't like California wasn't warm 24/7 though. I was sweating under that blanket.

When we walked downstairs, I wasn't surprised to see Cassie, Kyle, Jack, Zane and Cody all lined up awkwardly squishing on the couch.

"You do know that there are more couches, right? And the floor has exceedingly soft carpet," Leo says, walking into the lounge the same time as I flop onto one of the armchairs, my legs swinging over the armrest.

"I have to agree with Leo on this one. Percy and I were watching a movie and I fell asleep on the carpet," Annabeth joins.

They shrug and shuffle around until some are on the floor and they aren't as squished, though I could tell that they still felt awkward.

"Okay, word of warning before Octavian gets in here, Paisley hates him, and he tends to ask very personal questions that he most likely already knows the answer to," I tell them, making their eyes widen a little, "So don't feel like you have to answer his questions. Just tell him to shut up, and if he doesn't-"

"If he doesn't I'll make him," Percy threatens, joining Annabeth, "I'm waiting for the chance to leap."

"Percy, please don't be violent. The little bugger is annoying as hell but seriously? Being punched hurts like hell. Though if you do swing, aim for under his bra-line. In the centre of his chest. It's where it hurts the most. Wind him and wound him," Paisley smiles sadistically, "You know, not like I have experience or anything, but I would know."

"Trust you," Percy rolls his eyes at his sister.

"You should. I mean why not?" She cocks an eyebrow before the subject of our sort-of conversation appears through the doorway, a bruise on his jaw.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear. How're you 'Tavie?" Leo smiles. Octavian ignores him and sits down on one of the couches. "Touchy touchy," Leo raises his hands in surrender. "Honestly, it's so cold that I'm getting frostbite in here. Someone please break this ice!"

"Seriously Leo?" I say to him, cracking a smile along with everyone else.

"Is that a smile I see? Guy's grab me a camera! Piper Elizabeth-Anne McLean is smiling! What is the world coming to? An end?"

"Oh shut up."

A/N

How was that?

My brother is being so nice! He helped me with my homework and stuff, and gave me the wifi password.

9 more chapters to go! Please please please vote and comment?

How should Piper and Jason get back together? Should they?

~KaleidoscopeColours

Lest We Forget.