Hello! It's been a while, hasn't it? Enjoy this latest installment!

Leo:

"You want us to help plan Ever's birthday party?!"

"SHHH! She'll hear you…"

"Oh, oops. How do you know it's her birthday?"

"She told me."

Leo scratched his chin and glanced at Piper. She was grinning ear to ear.

"Of course we'll do it!" She exclaimed excitedly while jumping up and down repeatedly. Leo wasn't sure if this was her inner Aphrodite coming out or she was mentally unwell. He had never seen her act so…girly.

Nico shook his head slightly and said firmly, "Help do it, you mean."

"No, no, no!" Piper practically screamed. Both Leo and Nico backed up with wide eyes. "No offense Nico, but if you plan any of her party, it'll be gloom and darkness!"

I think she's overdoing Nico's Batman-like personality…

"But this was my idea!" Nico exclaimed with fervor.

"Yeah, Nico! Stand up to the Beauty Queen!" Leo whooped and pumped his fist in the air. Piper shot him a glare, and he flinched away like a puppy.

"Let us handle it, and this party will be fantastic!"

Wait…us?!

"Leave me outta this—" Piper slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Alright." Nico reluctantly answered. His shoulders slouched as he shuffled off. "Remember, it's in two days." He called to them before hobbling away dejectedly.

"I think you just crushed Nico's dream." Leo told Piper with a frown. "Which happens to be the first dream he's had in what, years?"

"Dream schmean! He'll get over it." She said as she pulled out a blue notebook. After she flipped through a couple pages, Piper showed Leo a very detailed drawing of a couple eating a picnic. Although the art was absolutely horrible, Leo immediately recognized Nico's favorite new aviator jacket, and Ever's messy mop of hair. "He'll thank us when we make his other dream come true!"

"Nico has another dream?"

Piper punched Leo's shoulder and glared at him. He rubbed the sore spot and wondered when Piper had gotten so abusive.

"Of course he does! Would Nico plan anyone's birthday party?"

"Didn't he call them overrated and unnecessary?"

"EXACTLY!" Piper squealed and started hopping up and down like the Aphrodite kids when they find a new ship.

Wait…ship? OOOOOOOOOOOH

"You mean Nico—and Ever—" Leo stuttered with wide eyes, looking from Piper to Nico, who was walking out of earshot. She rolled her eyes and gave him a look that made him feel like he was missing a very important detail.

"Not yet. Which is why we need to speed things up!"

Leo suddenly understood where Piper was going with this. He grinned and felt the tips of his hair ignite. "The Super McShizzle is on it!"

"Okay, this is what we're going to do…"

~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~

Jason:

Jason was just minding his own business when he came upon Piper and Leo decorating for Christmas. Leo was on the ground building what looked like christmas lights, and Piper stood on a ladder hanging them on trees. They were by the beach, so the sound of the surf disguised their conversation. He was finally able to hear what they said when he carefully sneaked closer.

"How much longer will those lights take?" Piper asked. A couple sparks flew from whatever Leo was working on, and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uuuuuh…"

"Hurry up! Nico and Ever will be here any minute!"

"Okay, okay," Leo muttered as he added some finishing touches. "This should work."

"Help me put them up."

Leo did, and Jason watched as they struggled to put up the lights. He sighed and walked towards them.

"Jason!" Piper exclaimed happily. "I'm so happy to see you!" She jumped down from the ladder and started running towards him. Jason smiled and opened his arms, but was incredibly surprised when she kept running and returned to throw a pile of lights on him. "Put these up."

"Wait—what?"

"Don't question her!" Leo called from atop a ladder. "Your girlfriend is more stubborn and abusive than I thought."

"…Abusive?"

"Get to work!" Piper hollered from behind Jason, looking like she was about to storm over to them and throw them into the ocean. He gulped and shuffled over to the other ladder, where he started putting up lights.

"Why am I putting up Christmas lights in July?" Jason asked warily, for once afraid his girlfriend was going insane.

"They aren't Christmas lights!" Leo yelled. "They're high-voltage, glow-in-the-dark lights!"

"Aren't all lights glow-in-the-dark?"

Leo didn't answer. Piper rolled her eyes. "It's for Ever's birthday today." She told him as she set up what looked like a fancy picnic.

"Ever's birthday is today?"

"I just said that!"

Is it just me, or is Piper operating on a short fuse…?

"She's totally into this." Leo whispered so she couldn't hear. "Seriously, I've never been so afraid of someone in my life."

Jason couldn't argue. Piper's loud mutterings about strangling someone scared him more than he thought.

"CODE RED!" Leo screamed all of a sudden, and Jason practically fell off the ladder. "WOMEN AND LEO FIRST!"

"What's Code Red?!" Jason yelled towards Piper. She was hurriedly finishing the picnic, and started running for the trees.

"THEY'RE COMING!"

Jason figured she meant Nico and Ever. Before he knew what was happening, Leo and Piper had disappeared. Rustling came from some bushes, and Jason flew upwards. Sure enough, Nico and Ever appeared. Not wanting to disturb them, Jason flew off to find his girlfriend and her minion.

~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~~~{[()]}~~~

?:

The man hid in a tree as the couple walked towards the picnic.

"Happy Birthday, Ever." A boy said sheepishly as he gestured towards the setup. A girl grinned and plopped down happily.

"Wow! Nico, this is great!" She rubbed her hands together and gazed greedily at all the delicacies spread out. Nico smiles happily and looks towards the trees with a thumbs up. He mouthed, 'Thanks'. Not to the man, though.

"Did you do this yourself, Nico?"

"I had help."

"Seriously, this is amazing!"

Nico sat down next to Ever and smiled happily as she piled a plate with two of everything. "Do you really think so?"

"DUH!" She said as she stuffed a pickle into her mouth. "These are all my favorite foods! How'd you know?"

"You never shut up about them at lunch."

Ever tries to glare at him, but ends up grinning and stuffing more food into her mouth. She shoves some dessert-thing towards Nico. "Try this."

"What is it?" He asks before sniffing it and inspecting it thoroughly.

"Just try it."

Nico looks warily at her before slowly taking a bite out of it. He immediately brightens and eats the whole thing. "What is this?"

"A Tim Tam cake!"

Nico licks him fingers of excess chocolate and grabs another.

"I had my first one in Australia." She adds.

"You've been to Australia?"

Ever stuffs a Tim Tam cake in her mouth and nods. "I lived there for a couple months."

The man in the tree shifts his body weight and lifts the camera, hoping to find the perfect moment for a picture. He watches as they finish off the rest of the food and rub their bellies happily.

"I have never been so happy in my life." Ever says with a laugh as she leans towards Nico.

YES!

"Thank you." She kisses his cheek, and Nico blushes a deep red. The man takes a picture, and flinches when the flash goes off.

"What was that?"

"It looked like a camera's flash."

"Is someone over there?"

"I'm not sure, Ever."

"OH MY GOSH we're being stalked!"

"I'll go check."

Before the two of them could move, he jumps down from the tree and runs for his life.

"I told you we're being stalked!"

"He took our picture!"

"Should be chase him?"

The man found a pond after a while of running. He jumped right into it, and disappeared with his prize.

THANKS FOR READING! Remember, the more you review, the faster I write ;)

Hayden: You're threatening your readers again.

Me: It's called motivation.

Sonic: Actually, you're stating that the reviews help your writing speed.

Me: What he said.

Hayden: I think both me and the readers agree that you're threatening them.

Me: How do you know? They have to review and tell me if they think I'm threatening them, and so far they haven't.

Hayden: Now you're blaming them for not reviewing and telling you their thoughts!

Me: STOP TWISTING MY WORDS!

REVIEW, FAVORITE, FOLLOW, AND ALL THAT FUN STUFF! xD xD