Never have I been so widely hated and loved. At the same time. With probably a few touches of fangirl-insane obsession thrown in...

Haha. Sorry for the wait; guys. I wanted to try and write enough for a triple update, but that writer's block came back full force. It's like a herd of elephants is sitting on the writer part of my brain...still, I have managed two decent (if not particularly long) chapters, so you all get a double update.

The occasion, some may ask? THREE THOUSAND REVIEWS!

Gods, guys, you're all great. And it's been only a little over a week since than and now we're at over three thousand two hundred. You all deserve that triple update, and I'm sorry that this is just a double update...after a week. Really, really, unbelievably sorry.

Thank you, though, thank you so, SO much. You guys all mean so much to me...you're beautiful people, every last one of you, and DON'T YOU FORGET IT! :) 3

Chapter XCIII

Leo

It's been so long since Leo's relaxed that it feels immeasurably good to be doing it now. And the whole thing so far-plans to swim, playing a prank on Jason and Piper-is so much like it was before, at camp, that the happiness from the past is settling into the present.

Leo adjusts his grip on the camera, careful not to drop it, and stops a couple of yards away from the place where Jason and Piper are lying, standing to Annabeth's right.

"Ready, Leo?" Percy asks him.

He nods, and presses the button to start recording, giddy with excitement. What's Percy going to do? He thinks to himself.

As he watches, Percy lifts his hands and forms a spherical shape in the air, as if molding clay into a ball. Then he gestures upwards, and a floating sphere of water rises up over the railing.

Leo has to bite his tongue to keep from laughing out loud, but nothing can stop the manic grin from spreading across his face. Percy glances at him, flashes a grin, and gives him a thumbs up. Then he spreads his hands, palms downward, in a gesture that can only mean one thing...

...The sphere of water crashes downwards, bursting on impact with Jason and Piper and instantly soaking them. Both of them bolt upright, sputtering and coughing, choking on the saltwater. Piper shrieks at the initial contact, and Jason glances up once, realizes immediately what happened, and starts wiping water out of his eyes, cursing at them all.

Leo, Annabeth, and Percy all burst out laughing. Leo laughs the deep-down belly laugh that makes him sound like an mentally unstable elf, and Percy ends up rolling on the deck, tears streaming down his face, gasping for breath. Annabeth manages to stay on her feet, her hand over her mouth in an attempt to try and stifle the most of her laughter, but it just results in a choking noise that makes her sound like she's dying. She's the first to regain composure, but then she looks back at Jason and Piper and starts giggling again.

Leo, surprisingly, is the first one to assert enough control over himself to say something to Piper and Jason.

"Good morning, sleepyheads." He croons, and Piper shoots him a glare, water dripping into her eyes. If looks could kill...

His comment just sends Annabeth into a more hysterical fit of giggles, prompting a dirty look from Jason, who's trying to wipe some of the excess water from his skin. "Did you really have to wake us up like that?"

"What other way is there?" Leo asks innocently, raising his eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Percy recovers from his laughing fit and climbs to his feet, grinning manically. "Get up, lovebirds, we're going swimming!"

"I don't need to go swimming; I'm already soaked." Piper growls, wringing water out of her hair. Jason stands and helps her to her feet. The sight of them standing there, soaking wet, dripping water into a growing puddle on the deck, sends Annabeth into true hysterity.

"I'm-sorry." She gasps in response to Piper's death glare. "It's just been-so long-since I pulled-a good prank-"

"Oh, yeah, so everyone laughs at us." Piper replies, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"Why'd you have to do that anyway?" Jason demands, glancing between them.

"Well, you just looked so peaceful lying there-" Leo starts, grinning cheerfully.

"-that we couldn't resist ruining it." Percy finishes, bouncing on the balls of his feet like a little kid in a candy store.

Piper's glare seems to lessen, but the look on her face is one that Leo knows well. He steps back nervously, still recording, and waits for the next events to unfold.

Surprisingly, she glances to Annabeth. "What's Jackson's middle name?" She asks briskly.

"Odysseus." Annabeth replies with a straight face, although obviously fighting a smile.

"Ann-a-beeeth!" Percy complains. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

Annabeth shakes her head at him in mock disbelief. "Come on, did you really believe I'd be able to keep that to myself? It's too good not to tell people." At Percy's disbelieving stare, her withheld grin finally breaks through. "Besides, I don't think Piper's plan is to tease you with it."

"What d'you mean?" Percy asks, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Leo hides a smirk-he's already seen what Percy hasn't, and that's the steely glint of vengeance in Piper's eyes.

She glares, a perfect ten, almost as bad as angry Annabeth, and Percy's expression quickly changes to one of wariness when he sees her murderous expression.

"Perseus. Odysseus. Jackson. I AM GOING TO KILL YOU." She says through gritted teeth, taking a step towards him with every word.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty-" Percy starts to protest, holding up his hands as if to ward her off.

Piper lunges for him, hands outstretched, and Percy does what anyone would do when faced by an angry Piper-he turns and runs.

"Run, Percy, run!" Leo calls through his laughter, following their progress across the deck with the camera. Glad it's not me, he thinks, remembering the few times he was in the same situation as Percy. It was nice for it not to be him for once.

Jason is watching them with a thoughtful look on his face while wringing the water out of his clothes, and Leo elbows him cheerfully, jostling the camera a bit.

"Come on, Superman, smile a little." He teases, then adds, "Or join in. You might have fun teaming up with your girlfriend to kill Percy."

Jason's frown finally breaks into a half-grin, and he shakes his head. "I think she's handling this just fine on her own."

Leo shrugs. "Suit yourself." Then he turns to his other side. "What about you, Annabeth? Are you gonna help your boyfriend?"

"No." She replies, crossing her arms and smirking as she follows Percy's path across the deck. "I think I'll let him sort this one out himself."

They just stand and watch for a bit, listening as Piper's curses get steadily more creative.

"Percy's faster than I would have expected him to be." Jason finally comments.

"He's had lots of practice." Annabeth replies dryly. "Besides, he got tired of being teased for being slower than a tree."

"And who was doing that teasing?" Leo asks, grinning and turning the camera onto her.

"Mostly me." She admits. "But Clarisse definitely wasn't innocent."

"Clarisse is never innocent." Leo mutters. He returns his attention-and the focus of the camera-to Piper and Percy, just as Percy turns to look behind him and realizes Piper's gaining on him.

"I'm going to murder you with my bare hands!" She screams at him.

"You have a very violent girlfriend, Jason." Leo notes.

"I know." He replies admiringly. "She's great, isn't she?"

Annabeth rolls her eyes.

"Come back here, you evil little-"

"Language, Piper!" Percy bellows, a ridiculous grin on his face as he runs for his life. He looks around for something to help him get away, and suddenly gets a mischevious twinkle in his eyes that Leo recognizes-after all, he sees it in his own eyes often enough.

"Quit running and hold still so I can murder you!" Piper yells, a little more quietly, and Leo can hear the charmspeak in her voice. Percy, however, doesn't waver in his sprinting.

"Charmspeak is cheating, Piper!" He yells back. "And you'll have to catch me first!" He runs to the side of the ship and vaults himself over the railing.

SPLASH!

Water explodes upwards, soaking Piper again and only serving to enrage her even more. She blinks the water out of her eyes, glaring angrily over the side of the ship.

Leo rushes to the railing, followed by Annabeth and Jason, and they all look over the side at Percy, who's nonchalantly floatingon his back with his arms folded behind his head.

"Come on in, the water's great!" He calls up, ignoring Piper's threats.

"I don't need to go swimming, I'm already soaked!" Piper yells irritatedly down at him.

But Annabeth just grins and climbs on top of the railing, balancing precariously on top like some strange bird. Leo keeps the camera recording; there's no way he'd want to miss this.

"You better catch me, Seaweed Brain!" She yells down to her boyfriend, and he stops floating to stand in the water, watching her, waiting for her to jump with a small smile on his face. And then she does, launching herself into the air and freefalling towards the ocean.

Almost as soon as she does, a geyser of saltwater erupts, filling the air with mist and salt spray that obscures everyone's vision. When it dissipates, Percy's in the water with Annabeth in his arms, and they're both laughing.

Piper's still standing at the railing with her arms crossed, stony faced. Percy seems to notice, because he puts Annabeth down in the water next to him, keeping his arm around her waist, and calls up.

"Awww, come on, Piper, you can't stay mad at me forever!" He says. "Annabeth told me you know how to surf. You wanna test that?"

Piper's glare only gets more fierce, but Leo can see a light in her eyes that makes him think the glare is more challenging than angry now. "Jackson, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"We'll see." Is Percy's only reply. "Now hurry up and get changed; we can't wait forever!"

Piper finally grins and turns away from the railing, jogging down the stairs to get ready, and Jason follows her, leaving Leo alone on the deck.

"You coming in, Leo?" Annabeth asks, tilting her head.

"I thought you'd never ask." Leo replies, grinning. He pauses, looking at the camera in his hands, then shrugs, leaving it on the deck for Piper to find. "Look out below!"

He takes a running start and jumps over the railing, waving his arms a little as he falls feet-firsts towards the water, loving the intense feeling of the adrenaline rushing through his veins.

Before he hits the water, all he can think is, This is the last thing you'd expect a flame-user to love. But he does.

All you lovely people...I have a question. And this is for those of you who haven't been to my profile and DON'T know the answer...based on my writing, what do you guys think I look like? Who do you picture when you think of me? Answer in your reviews, please, and don't be afraid to tell me what you think!

I love you, avoid Americans (we're terribly rude people, don't anyone deny it), laugh every day (because laughter's the best medicine), and stay in school, kids, cuz' none a y'all wanna end up bein' the one that hangs the sneakers on the power lines (tell me if you have any idea what I'm talking about).