I'm back! I hope you guys had a good day, and if not, I will this chapter will make your day a little bit better. We are now on chapter 26, and still going strong. What do you guys think? Should I change anything, or add anything? Just leave me a review and I will do the best I can to follow through with your requests! Preyna is still in the lead for the poll, with six voters. Next is Pertemis, and in third place is Percabeth. Remember to vote while you still have time! The poll will close in mid-March. Anyway, let's get on with it! This one will probably not be as exciting as the last two chapters, were, but you might like it, so bear with me! Disclaimer: All rights to Rick Riordan.

Percy's POV

"You're right. Annabeth might just kill me," Percy said, sighing. He and Reyna had just finished a lovely pegasus ride topped with a kiss. What could be better than spending time with his co-praetor? (You know, kissing, cuddling, feeding a pegasus. The usual praetor agenda.) Sadly, this magical afternoon had to come to an end, or else Percy's girlfriend might get upset.

Reyna nodded grimly, "How about we arrive at the mess hall at different times so it doesn't look... odd?"

"That's a good idea. I will go and sit by my group, and then a couple of minutes later, you walk in around the other side," Percy agreed.

Reyna nodded. Percy thought this plan was best, for if Annabeth saw the two arriving late together, well... things would happen. (Emphasis on together.)

"Ok, I'll go first," Percy said. "You follow behind me."

Percy started to walk forward at a normal pace toward the mess hall. He didn't want to look suspicious to anybody who might notice him arriving this late. Once he was a few yards ahead, Reyna started to follow.

Soon, Percy reached the mess hall. Few eyes went towards him, though his friends had noticed his late arrival. "Where were you?" Annabeth demanded.

"I was at the stables," Percy replied. This wasn't a lie, though it wasn't the full truth. It seemed to satisfy Annabeth, though.

"Did you check on Arion?" Hazel asked.

"Yes," Percy reassured her. "He's doing great."

"Thanks. I know he doesn't like being cooped up, but he's going to stay the night. I'll ride him tomorrow."

Percy nodded. Hazel sure did care about her horse. Percy could relate. His dad was the Lord of Horses, after all.

"Are any of the people from the quest here?" Percy asked after a pause.

Jason answered. "Saul is over there." He pointed towards the Third's area. "He's sitting with his cohort, though he's practically being flash mobbed by everyone. I feel bad for the guy."

Percy saw a glimpse of Saul. He was sitting next to a few people who were peppering him with questions. "Yeah, I can relate to that," Percy said. He had gone on several quests in his life and he had always returned to a camp full of interrogating demigods. Most of whom had never gone on quests of their own and were anxious to learn of the trials Percy had gone through.

As a venti gave Percy his food, he glimpsed Reyna slipping into the mess hall, seemingly unnoticed. The two met eyes, and he grinned sheepishly. She returned the gesture, which was a first for Reyna. She usually ignored him. Maybe she was warming up to him?

"Oh, there's Reyna," Jason observed. Maybe not unnoticed.

"She's usually never late," Leo pointed out. "She's always Ms. Punctual." He stuck two baby carrots in his mouth in order to look like a walrus. Why? Percy didn't know.

"What an astute observation," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. Percy laughed. Leo had a sense of humor to rival his own.

"But yeah, that is a little weird that Reyna was late," Annabeth agreed. "I'm sure she had praetor stuff to do." Percy let out a breath. Good. She didn't suspect anything. Yet. But just in case...

"Hey, about our date today," Percy began, turning towards his girlfriend. He wanted to divert the conversation away from Reyna. "Sorry, we were kind of... interrupted." Percy did mean this. He did enjoy spending time with his girlfriend. This was so weird. He couldn't really decide who he loved! Annabeth or Reyna, Annabeth or Reyna...

"No, it's fine," Annabeth replied. "We had plenty of time together. Though, I'm always down for doing it again. You know, if you want to."

"Oh yeah, for sure," Percy answered, nodding. "It was really nice, being alone. Not to mention the food."

"Hey, the cookie was nothing compared to your mom's," Annabeth said dreamily. "Her cookies are so good and warm and fresh. And, she makes them blue."

"I miss blue food," Percy laughed. "I could request that my food be made blue from the venti, but it wouldn't be the same as my mom's." He quickly looked over and noticed Reyna gazing towards him and Annabeth, frowning slightly.

"Yeah..." Annabeth trailed off. It was good to reminisce about such things, but it made him miss his mom, Sally. He hoped that she was alright and that she knew he was alright.

Percy continued to chew his food as Annabeth turned her focus toward Piper and Jason. From what Percy overheard, they were talking about Saul and his friends. Percy wasn't paying much attention, though. He glanced at Reyna. She had a downcast look on her face.

This wasn't fair to poor Reyna. Percy couldn't go and have a nice little romantic "date" with her, and then ten minutes later, go back to laughing with his girlfriend. This wasn't right. But if it hurt her so badly, why didn't she just avoid Percy altogether? Then, she wouldn't have to put up with this. Or perhaps, she was trying to avoid him, but he was the problem. Maybe he just wouldn't stop approaching her, so she got drawn in. Percy thought about this for a moment. He decided that he would try avoiding her for a little bit. Maybe then she would be happier. He didn't want to be the problem that this amazing girl was hurting.

Yeah, he would try that out. If Reyna kept running back to him, then he would continue on with this. Girls were so hard to understand.

"Earth to Percy!" Percy suddenly heard, shattering his train of thought.

"What?" Percy snapped back.

Jason dropped the hand that he had been waving over Percy's face. "You know for a kid with ADHD, you've been zoning out a lot lately."

"Yeah, sorry," Percy mumbled, rubbing his neck. (A nervous habit.)

"I get it," Piper said. "Are you thinking about the quest?"

"Uh, yeah," Percy lied.

"I think all seven of us do that," Frank said. "Sometimes I wish that we would just leave already and get it over with."

Silence remained, though it was short-lived, because of the noise around them.

"This mood is making me crazy!" Leo said. "This camp is all gloomy and serious! We should do something fun for once. Like, a movie or a dance."

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked.

"You know, like a fun activity!" Leo exclaimed. "It'll help lighten the mood around here."

"Wait, hold up," Percy said, holding up his hands. "First of all, I'd like to know who you would go with to a dance."

"I've seen some babes looking at me," Leo smirked.

"In what way?" Frank muttered under his breath.

"Ok," Percy chuckled. "Second of all, who died and made you in charge of coordinating events?"

"Ouch," Leo grumbled. His impish grin returned quickly, though. "Well, you're a praetor, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"Well, then you can organize it."

"Yeah, good luck getting Reyna to say yes," Percy replied. He had to admit that a dance sounded fun, but the chances of doing anything like that at Camp Jupiter were quite... low.

"That's why you will persuade her with your natural charisma and charm!" Leo said. Percy cringed internally. Little did his friends know how that comment affected Percy. The truth was, he did use his "charisma and charm" on Reyna more than he wanted to admit.

"I'm flattered, but there's a small chance of that happening," Percy sighed. "Have you seen how this camp is run?"

"Well, you work on that," Leo said, shrugging. "It's just, with the little time we have here, it would be nice to do something besides train."

"Yeah, I get where you're going with that," Percy started. "But, even Jason and I combined would have a difficult time getting Reyna to say yes to anything like that."

"I should know," Jason muttered. "I've known her longer than any of you."

"Hey, I'm all about having a good time, but you know..." Percy said.

"As I said, you work on that. I'm expecting a full-blown fiesta before we leave," Leo said, raising his eyebrows.

Percy snickered. Annabeth rolled her eyes but was smiling. "He's not wrong," Annabeth said. "A dance would be fun. But, the closest thing we had to a dance, even at Camp Half-Blood, was the fireworks. And, we didn't even dance!"

Percy nodded understandingly. Besides, a dance would cause too much trouble for him. He didn't even have to think about how badly he would want to dance with Reyna. Of course, he would naturally dance with his girlfriend. But oh, how good Reyna would look in a dress. Assuming she wore one at all. But, Percy knew that this was wishful thinking. Reyna would not say yes to an event like that.

Percy finished eating his dinner. When he was finished, a venti came to pick up his dishes. Once Annabeth had finished, he stood up. Then, he had an idea.

"Hey, I know something we might be able to do. Just the seven of us. You know, if you guys want to," Percy said.

"Keep talking," Leo gestured for him to continue.

"We could go hang out by the Little Tiber for a little bit. Maybe even go swimming," Percy said.

"That sounds fun," Piper said, nodding. "Though, I don't think any of us have a swimsuit. Not like you would need one."

"Well, we could wade," Percy said. "If you guys really wanted to stay dry, I could help with that."

Jason shrugged. "Sounds like fun."

"Well, is everyone done with their training?" Annabeth asked. "We probably shouldn't go if we still have stuff we need to do."

"The extent of my training is just hanging with the engineers," Leo said, standing. "That and dueling, though that's not one of my talents."

"Hey, it's fine," Percy said. "We're all done for the day. We pretty much get the evening off anyway."

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm down."

"Ok, meet at the Tiber in... thirty minutes. Wear something that you're fine getting wet."

Same POV

Nearly thirty minutes later, Frank, Hazel, Jason, Leo, Piper, Annabeth, and Percy were at the Little Tiber. They all pretty much wore their regular clothes. Percy didn't think that Leo even changed at all. Frank didn't look too comfortable, though Percy was proud of his friend for sucking it up.

The sun was starting to set over the hills, casting a warm glow over the valley. Piper and Annabeth both wore tank tops and shorts. Hazel was in a regular T-shirt. Jason and Percy were sporting shorts and regular short-sleeve shirts. Leo and Frank were in their regular clothes. Leo's outfit consisted of his magic toolbelt as well.

"Well, don't mind if I do," Piper said, jumping in the cold river. She was from California and had mentioned that she used to surf a lot with her father so naturally, she would enjoy the water. Percy hopped in next. When his head peaked out of the water, his hair wasn't even wet. That was a pro of being a son of Poseidon.

Leo waded in, Annabeth following behind him. Percy grabbed her hand and yanked her underwater. She reappeared over the surface, spitting out water into Percy's face. He laughed. She socked him in the arm, her damp curls sticking to her face. The two started having a fight, pushing each other under the water. Naturally, Percy was winning. Another advantage of being a son of the ocean god; he always won water fights.

Soon, Jason was in the water. Hazel and Frank sat at the bank, sticking their legs in the water. They were such a cute couple.

Percy was having a good time, but he couldn't help but think of Reyna. Every time Percy was trying to focus on Annabeth, his thoughts would turn to Reyna instead. He noticed this a couple of days ago. For example, he couldn't help but think of the time he had first kissed Reyna on the bank of the Little Tiber. She had nearly shoved him into the water. Now, whenever Percy kissed Reyna, she kissed him in return. This led Percy to think about how fun it would be to play with Reyna in the water. Argh.

Soon, Annabeth gave up trying to push Percy under the water. Percy had kept using the current to his advantage, and it would shove Annabeth instead. Being a daughter of Athena, she kept trying to find a strategic way out of this, trying to find a way to use her wits to win. Unfortunately for her, this was Percy's territory. He didn't need wits to win.

Suddenly, Gwen from the First Cohort appeared. "I heard there was a party," she said. "Can I join?"

"Who told you there was a party?" Percy asked.

"No one, though your laughs and screams are kind of giving you guys away. Don't get me wrong, the War Games and our other activities are fun, but we rarely do stuff like this." She gestured toward the river.

"Feel free to join us," Percy said.

Gwen grinned. She immediately jumped into the water. Once she resurfaced, she said, "man, this feels nice."

The sun sank lower in the sky, making the water turn an amber color. Before the group knew it, a few more people from the Fourth and Fifth Cohorts joined them. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" Leo exclaimed. He had taken off his tool belt once he was in the water. Not surprisingly, things kept floating out of it.

Now, this was a fun way to spend the evening. Hanging out with his friends in his favorite place; the water. Percy was enjoying himself, as well as everyone else, though something felt wrong. He hadn't realized that he had grown so attached to Reyna until then. Percy wouldn't call it clingy. It just felt wrong that Reyna had to miss out on something so exciting. He didn't know if she knew about this water party or not, but Percy thought that Reyna deserved to enjoy herself. Of course, he was pretty sure that she had enjoyed herself on the pegasus ride, but Percy thought that she would have liked this. She had gone through so much hardship in her life, that she deserved something like this. Something with him.

But as Percy had thought earlier, it was best to give her some space and to see if Reyna truly enjoyed being with Percy, or if Percy just kept seducing her against her will. Maybe she trying to avoid him, and he had to respect her wishes. This is why he had decided to leave her be and to see if this is what she truly wanted.

Soon, the sun was visible no longer, and the sky was a dark grey color. "We'd better head back," Percy said to the group. Everyone agreed and started to get out. Percy was dry, unlike the rest of them, so they had to walk back to camp cold and wet. Luckily, there were towels in the infirmary and the baths that they could use to dry off.

Soon, the group split up to go do what they needed to do, whether it was taking a bath, drying off, or continuing to train. At this point, it was nearly eight at night. Though, as far as Percy could tell, no one was tired, yet.

"I'm going to go take a bath, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, pecking Percy on the cheek. "Meet me in the barracks?"

Percy nodded as Annabeth headed toward the bathhouse. Percy decided that he wanted to go to the infirmary really quickly to get any news on the returned half-bloods. He knew that he had just checked on them today, for they had returned today, but he still wanted to see what was going on. Once he was in the infirmary, he heard talking.

"Yes, they're looking ok, though Ezra isn't showing much improvement. His vital signs are weak and we can't overfeed him nectar and Ambrosia. I suppose only time will tell."

"Alright," said a familiar voice. "It is still the first day."

"Yes. We'll see how he does overnight. Usually, demigods heal faster than this, but he was injured badly."

"I'm sure he'll be ok," said the familiar voice. It was definitley Reyna.

"Thanks, praetor."

Percy emerged into the hallway. Reyna's back was facing him, though the boy she was talking to noticed him. "Oh, hey praetor."

Reyna spun around. Her eyes widened in surprise. "What are you doing here, Percy?"

"Same thing as you. Checking up on the demigods," Percy replied, walking towards them.

"Did you hear about Ezra?" Reyna asked.

"Yeah," Percy sighed. "I'm sure he'll be fine. Demigod wounds usually heal in a couple of days."

"Yes, but he's hurt... badly," Reyna said.

"What exactly happened to him?"

The healer spoke up. "Well, Saul told us that Ezra was hit with a spear infused with poison."

"What kind?" Percy asked.

"We're not sure," the healer shrugged. "I wish we knew. It would help us find a cure for him. It's something we've never seen before."

"We'll see what the morning brings," Percy said, trying to cheer them up.

The healer shrugged. "We'll see," he repeated. "I'd better leave you two be. I'm going to go check up on Sierra."

The boy walked away, and into a room.

"That's not good," Percy said. Something in him told him that he should walk away. He feared that he might make Reyna do something that she didn't want to do.

"Yeah," Reyna said, looking down wearily. "A new type of poison."

"It's probably thousands of years old," Percy corrected.

"You know what I mean," Reyna said smiling. Percy loved her smile.

I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! It was sort of a filler chapter and I apologize, but there will be more action and romance in the upcoming chapters. I apologize profusely that this took forever to get out, but I hope it was worth the wait. Anyways, make sure to vote, review, and continue to read my story. The support you all give this story is amazing. All your reviews are so sweet and helpful! Well, I will get the next chapter out ASAP, but until then, I hope this chapter will suffice. :D