I felt that it was necessary to have Brason in the first ten chapters. And I just finished ToN as I'm outlining this chapter so I'm still processing things that happened in ToA.

Story #7: Jason Gets Bricks to the Face

Jason didn't know why he was at Camp Half-Blood, especially after he and Piper broke up. It's not like she was here and he would beg for her back, which is what a lot of other campers assumed, but he isn't sure what he would gain. It's not like Thalia and the Hunters were here either. He should be packing for school but he found himself walking across campgrounds … and then something hits him in the back of the shoulder.

Jason lurches forwards. He's about to reach for the coin in his pocket but pauses when he sees a brick on the ground beside him. Jason turns to look over the shoulder that was hit. The sun burns his eyes but he could make out a shadow of a group facing him on the open field. Once his eyes adjust, he sees Aphrodite's cabin standing with Mellie, Chuck in a chest carrier, and, in the centre, Aphrodite herself. He knew it was her because of her dominating presence and, given that she changes appearances to meet the looker, she has Piper's dark hair and complexion. It was almost like Piper herself was a part of the squad.

They were in khaki shorts and white button-ups with black suspenders and perfect makeup. They're wearing black construction boots and hats. Only Aphrodite, her children, Mellie, and Chuck could make bright orange and bulbous construction hats look fashionable. In their hands, they each had some fresh red bricks. Even Chuck was gnawing on one. All eyes were on Jason as they hold their bricks, some bouncing it in one hand like a ball.

They're after him.

Jason knows threats have to be real to work which is why he started running. When he first started dating Piper, he knew that her being Aphrodite's daughter would be dangerous, especially if he messed up but it wasn't his fault. It was nobody's fault. There must have been a miscommunication in the Iris messages and among the nymphs. It was a mutual break-up which probably doesn't exist in Aphrodite's vocabulary. Jason has to be hurt by Piper to find his strength.

Which is also why he started running.

The moment he started moving, he heard Aphrodite yell orders, her voice sounding like a calming song rather than the usual battle cry he's used to hearing and expected. Then it started raining bricks. As he sprints, he sees the brick shadows grow from small shadowed squares to actual bricks the closer they get to him. He uses the changing shadows to create his path and avoid being hit. Some bricks manage to clock him and he stumbles on his footing but he doesn't fall. He knows he'd be a dead man the moment he hits the ground.

Jason doesn't ask where they got the seemingly endless brick supply. He's too busy running for his life.

He hears Valentina and Drew screaming excitedly when they almost knock him over. One girl, he's assuming Lacy, is throwing ice packs instead. How sweet of her.

"Get behind me kid!"

Jason looks up and sees Coach dropping from the forest's foliage, standing his ground in front of him, fully armed with his baseball bat and goat legs. Jason stops, not sparing a second to question why Coach was even up there. His eyes flicker up to the continuing rainfall of bricks heading towards them. Jason reaches into his pocket to grab his coin but Coach holds his bat in the middle and spins it like a baton, hitting bricks left and right like a cyclone. For some, he even uses his goat legs and ninja kicks bricks out of existence. Coach was his protector, after all.

Jason squints his eyes from the brick dust when they break upon contact with Coach.

Mellie fumes, taking Chuck out of the chest carrier. "Aphrodite, hold my son."

"Delighted," Aphrodite beams, dropping her bricks to take the baby satyr in her arms. Chuck went from chewing to sucking on the brick as he entered the goddess's embrace.

Mellie picks up a brick and whips it right at Coach. Jason expected it to disintegrate when it hit Coach's bat or hoof, but it's the only brick to hit him square in the face, sending him down. Aphrodite's daughters cheer, high-fiving Mellie for her shot. Even Chuck took a break from his brick to giggle. Jason, however, is horrified.

"I love that nymph…" Coach whispers as if those were his last and dying words. He looks up at Jason. "Fly, kid, get out of here."

"I can't leave you with them!" Jason yells, pointing at the bloodthirsty Aphrodite spawn and their bricks.

"This baby satyr is adorable," Aphrodite says, rocking Chuck with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, "makes me want more children."

The Aphrodite kids were gone in the blink of an eye and that's when Jason flew away.

-o-

Jason crash lands in front of Nico's cabin, right on the dark porch. He stumbles on his feet and opens the door, slamming it shut behind him. He peeks out the darkened window, knowing they're two-way and those outside couldn't see him on the inside (and that Aphrodite's kids fled after their mom mentioned having more children) but he can't take any chances. Once it looks clear, Jason closes the already-closed curtains and sighs. He turns around and sees Nico and Will sitting on the floor having a candlelit dinner despite having a perfectly fine table.

"What happened to you?" Nico asks, not mad that Jason interrupted the date. He pats the spot beside them and Jason walks over.

Jason grabs a piece of bread from their dinner arrangement. It was Italian food, pasta and bread, of course. "Venus - er, Aphrodite's cabin. Bricks. Aphrodite is acting fertile now."

"Ah, so another Tuesday," Will says.

"Yup…" Jason glances at Will. "So, what do you prescribe for broken hearts? Specifically, something to keep Aphrodite and her spawn away from me."

"Bricks."

Jason chokes on his bread, not sure if Will was joking.

Nico laughs. "Seems like you OD'd."

"You told him?" Jason asks, referring to the incident in New Rome that started the brick fiascos with him.

"It's good for medical professionals to know about past injuries so they can prescribe the best treatments." He sighs. "I'd offer you moral support on broken hearts but I have questionable morals."

"When you say you've given up on love, all you're saying is that you're closing your eyes," Will offers. "Haven't you been having vision problems lately?"

"Actually I think the bricks shut them," Nico retorts.

"Ha, ha," Jason grumbles, smiling a little. "You might have a point on that one, though."

Funny story, I came up with this idea before reading BoO and thought it would be too extreme, but then Jason said Aphrodite would be dangerous if he messed up with Piper.

Also funny story, I was halfway through this chapter when I remembered Jason could fly.