This is the last chapter but I made this one extra long since it's the last one. Enjoy.
~Melissa L.
Leo
"So, when are you going to get here?" Leo asked Thalia impatiently. He had waited for hours yesterday at Half-Blood Hill for the Hunters to get back but they hadn't come. In the end, Nyssa had finally gotten to go to sleep in their cabin. Here he was now, back in the same spot, talking to Thalia through an iris message.
"Look, I've had a long month with these kids. They started using our wolves as horses, almost destroyed the camp we set up the first day they got here, Jason and Percy shot Artemis with water and electricity, tied Phoebe up twice, not to mention chase her nonstop whenever they get bored, they make us their slaves, try to make me get over my fear of heights by pushing me from a hundred feet, disobey me in staying put while me and the rest of the Hunters go after a monster, put themselves at risk, and not to mention that we encounter THE MINOTAUR that's after Percy. And just a few minutes ago, I had to practically pull them off Phoebe because they were dog piling her screaming, 'Go Team Leo!' and 'Nobody likes Haters!'" Thalia took a deep breath from talking so much.
Leo didn't have anything to say for a while. Then he said, "They attacked Phoebe for me?" He felt touched at their loyalty to him.
Thalia's mouth hang open, "That's all you got to say!?"
"Well, yeah. I mean I can't believe they like me that much. Wow..."
Thalia rolled her eyes, "Whatever. We'll get there when we get there, okay? So stop whining because I already have enough of that to deal with over here."
"Fine, tell them I said bye and I'll be waiting for them right here."
"I'll tell them." Then she was gone.
Thalia
The nerve of that mechanic! What did he know what Thalia was going through?
"Thalia, was that Leo?" Percy asked.
"Yeah, it was him."
"Why didn't you let us talk to him?" Jason asked.
"Because you'll see him in an hour or two."
"I want to see him now!" Hazel said.
"You have to wait," Nico told her.
"Nico, make time go faster."
"Oh okay, I'll just take out my time travel watch and let us jump into the future," He said sarcastically.
"Awesome, let's go!" Hazel cheered, not understanding he wasn't being serious.
"Hazel, I was kidding."
"Aw, then why did you trick me like that?"
"Never mind."
Jason
[x]Get all stuff in bag for travel.
[x]Annoy Thalia.
[x]Annoy Phoebe (for not being a Leo fan)
[x]Find Hazel's crown.
[x]Help Nico tie up Hunters for the wagon
[ ]Insult Percy
"How did I miss that one?" Jason asked himself as he was looking over his list of major things to do. Jason had gotten bored and his annoying Roman nature kicked in and organized his day with a list of To-Do's.
"Whatcha got there, Air head?" Percy looked over his shoulder and swiped the paper from Jason's hands.
"Give it back, Perce! It's none of your business!" Jason tried to take it back but Percy was too fast.
"Let's see...what the heck? Insult Percy?" He asked, "Why in Hades is there no check there?! I'm insulted, Jason. How dare you do all this other stuff for these people, but you don't even have enough time to insult me!" Jason looked at Percy, wondering if he was seriously mad at him.
"Okay...Sorry for not insulting you earlier?" Jason didn't really know what to tell him.
"Sorry isn't good enough. Hurry up and insult me so that you can put a check next to my name." Percy said and waited for Jason to say something.
"Uh, didn't I already insult you though by not checking you off on my list?"
"Oh yeah. You're right. How dare you insult me by not insulting me yet insulting me at the same time!?"
"Okay stop doing that! You're confusing me."
"Wow...the struggle is real."
"Hey! What do you mean by that?"
"I think smoke's coming out of your ears from your brain actually being used."
"At least I have a brain!"
"Whoa! I so have a brain! Why do you think Annabeth calls me seaweed brain?" They started laughing uncontrollably. It was funny how they had gotten from a To-Do list to figuring out who had brains. Jason looked at his list and put a big check on the last box of his list.
Nico
"I can't wait to get to camp!" Hazel said bubbly. Nico was starting to get irritated. Why did she have to be so annoyingly happy?
"Yeah, Haze, I know. You've told me, like, 800 times already," Nico told her, trying to not sound like a jerk, not that Hazel was paying much attention to him since she saw daisies and started pulling Nico with her towards them.
"C'mon Hazel! You're not going to pick flowers again?"
"There's no such thing as too much flowers."
"Uh, I'm sure there is."
"Stop whining and help me get as many as we can carry." And Nico had no choice whatsoever but to help her. How fun...
"Hazel, why did we have to pick so many?" Nico asked her. They had gotten a bunch of daisies and had dumped them in the wagon. The Hunters had taken their turn on it so now Team Leo was being pulled by wolves.
"Hazel, what are you going to do with all these flowers?" Percy asked, shoving them away from him.
"I'm going to make a crown with these for everyone!" She responded, "And you're going to help me, Nico."
"What?!" He asked. Jason and Percy started laughing at him. Nico made an effort not to punch them in the face, mostly because Hazel didn't like when they fought with each other.
20 something crowns later (Nico and Hazel are pretty fast at making those things, just saying)
"Finally! Please tell me we're done," Nico said desperately.
"Yeah, it's time to give them out." She said while she swiped her hands on her yellow shirt.
"Aww, how cute," Percy said, "Nico made cute little flower crowns." Jason and Percy erupted in more laughs. Nico was about ready to beat them up when Hazel stopped him. He looked at her, annoyed but she simply winked at him. She grabbed two of the crowns and sat in between Jason and Percy. "Hey, guys. Can you do me a big favor?" She asked in her innocent voice that she used to manipulate just about everyone.
"Sure," Jason wiped a tear from eye, "What is it Haze?" Then she placed a crown on Jason's head. Percy immediately started laughing but stopped abruptly when Hazel put one on his head.
"I want you to wear them when we get to camp," Hazel finished.
"But-" Percy tried to protest but nobody could really say no to Hazel. Especially when she got that teary-eyed expression. Nico smiled smugly at them as they stared daggers at him.
"Let's give them out to everyone!" Hazel clapped her hands excitingly as she put one on her head. She gave some to each of the boys and got some herself. "C'mon, we have to give them out," She said as she jumped off the wagon.
"We look like girls," Percy said miserably.
"I think it's an improvement," Nico commented.
"Don't think you can get away with this, Di Angelo," Jason said and swiftly put a flower crown on his head.
"Hey!" Nico was about to rip it off his head when Percy stopped him.
"You don't want Hazel to think you don't like it, do you? He asked. Nico punched him in the arm, but kept the stupid thing on because Hazel would probably feel bad if he took it off.
"Fine, I'll keep it on. Let's give these things out," Nico finally said.
Hazel
"I am not wearing that. Nope!" Emily shook her head at the little four-year-old. Hazel knew that it would take more than just pleading to get Emily to wear the pretty flower crown. She just wanted everyone to look like a team since they hadn't exactly gotten along since the first day. Hazel had no choice but use the puppy dog face. It never failed.
"Don't you dare-It's not gonna-stop looking at me like..." Emily, as much as she tried not to, finally accepted the crown.
"Yay! Thanks Emily," Hazel said.
"Yeah, whatever. You have evil powers," She muttered. Hazel just giggled and went off to spread flowers and friendship offerings. She hoped that her friends were doing okay with giving these out.
Hazel knew she was cute and she wasn't trying to sound arrogant. It was just a known fact. Sure she used her cuteness to her advantage sometimes to get what she wanted. She wondered if it could even fool Drew. Probably not since she was stone hearted or something, which was kind of ironic since she was a daughter of Aphrodite.
Hazel noticed Liza, Thalia's wolf companion, walking towards her.
"Hey Liza," Hazel greeted her and petted her head. Liza and Hazel had a weird relationship, mostly because Hazel jumped on her that first day she and the others got here and used her like a racing horse. Liza still sometimes growled at her when she brought it up. But when Liza was happy, she would let Hazel ride her for a while.
"Put this on, Liza," Hazel said and tried to put a flower crown on her. Liza immediately growled, which was a clear signal: Back off or it won't be pretty.
"Pretty please, Liza, with sugar on top?" Hazel did her puppy-dog eyes. Liza huffed at her. She was the only wolf that didn't seem to be affected by Hazel's cuteness, but she humored Hazel and bowed her head down so Hazel could put it on her.
"You're the best, Liza," Hazel told her. The wolf grunted as if she was agreeing.
Percy
"NO! Forget it, I'm not wearing that!" Phoebe said.
"Look, if I have to wear it then you do, too." Percy didn't know why she was complaining. She was a girl so it wasn't weird for her to wear the flower crown, unlike him..
"Forget it Jackson, I refuse to be ordered around by an eight year old any longer."
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Phoebe."
"Are you threatening me?" She demanded.
"Hmm," Percy said out loud, "I wonder if we have enough time to play Get the Hater again..."
"Ugh! I hate you so much!" She said, but took the crown anyway.
"Aww, thanks Phoebe. You're so sweet!" Percy said in a girlie voice, then ran away while dodging her shoe that she had thrown at him.
Phoebe was too easy to anger. Percy really liked annoying her since she was very amusing, especially when her face got red and started cursing him out. Nobody could blame him for hating her because she was just so unlikable, but he would be lying to himself if he said he wouldn't miss her. Who would he annoy? Who would he make his servant? Sure there was Jason for that first question but in an odd, strange (VERY strange), he had grown to think of her as the most obnoxious cousin ever. Like you have this type of bond where you just can't stand them but at the same time, you would care if something happened to them. That's the best way Percy could explain how he felt about Phoebe. Sure she hated his guts and he returned those feelings, but there was just that little something else that made him care, even a little, about her. And he absolutely hated her even more for it.
Not that Percy was about to admit to her that, but he did think that she at least deserved an apology, even if Percy thought he should get one from her first. He would do that later though because he had to give away these flower crowns.
Percy was done giving away the crowns. he was about to look for Jason to bug him some more when he saw Thalia. It was really weird to see her wearing flowers.
"Whoa! Is Thalia Grace wearing flowers?" Percy asked aloud.
"Shut up Perce. I had to." She grumbled.
"Did you fall for Hazel's puppy dog eyes?"
"NO...Jason said Hazel would feel bad if I didn't wear it..."
"Yeah, she's too cute for her own good," Percy said. "Hey, I can see your tree from here!" They were so close to camp. Percy wet to look for his teammates. As he passed through the Hunters, he noticed they were all wearing the flower crowns, which he found a bit creepy. He even saw a wolf wearing one!
Thalia
Her time with Team Leo was almost over and Thalia didn't feel as excited as she had imagined. She squinted towards the Pine tree that was named after her and noticed a certain mechanic waiting on top of the hill with Annabeth, Piper and Frank.
"There they are!" She heard Frank. Leo immediately started running down the hill like a lunatic.
"Leo!" Thalia heard from behind her. The next thing she knows, Percy, Jason, Nico and Hazel are running towards Leo.
"Oh Gods!" Phoebe said and rolled her eyes. Thalia ignored her and watched as Leo and the kids hugged and the kids trying to talk all at once.
"Thalia! It's so good to see you," Annabeth said and hugged her.
"Hey, Annabeth."
"They weren't any trouble were they?" She asked.
"No! They were perfect little angels! They were no trouble AT ALL!" Thalia said sarcastically.
"Oh, sorry for any problems they had to put you through, but at least you're alive. That's something, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
"By the way, nice crown."
"Shut up," The kids momentarily left Leo and each gave Thalia a hug.
"Thanks for taking care of us, Thals," Hazel said.
"It was fun, really," Jason added.
"You don't have to be our slaves anymore," Nico told her.
"Too bad though. I liked people doing stuff for me," Percy said.
"All that I care about is that I'm finally free from you pests," Phoebe said, relieved.
"Well, we won't miss you either, right guys?" Nico asked and the rest of the kids agreed, although Thalia noticed Percy wasn't very enthusiastic as the others. He kept glancing at Phoebe while she just stood there scowling at no one in particular.
"Good job Thalia," Leo walked towards her, "I guess I won't have to burn you're hair off after all."
"Uh...Thanks?" Thalia wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"Thalia, we must leave. It's almost night and we must go after the Emposai group near New Jersey," Artemis interrupted. Thalia nodded.
"Bye, guys. We have another monster to chase," Thalia said.
"That's cool. See ya," Leo gave a quick wave at the Hunt.
"Bye Thalia," The kids waved frantically at them. The Hunt started to leave when something unexpected happened.
"Hey WAIT!" Percy yelled.
Thalia and the other turned around. Percy ran back straight at Phoebe. She was already expecting him to attack her but she nor the Hunters were expecting what happened next. Percy wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her. That was definitely a WTF moment. Phoebe, for her part, had confusion written all over her face. Percy finally let go and shivered.
"I can't believe I just did that!" He said in disgust. "But I'll miss you, Phoebe." Again, a WTF moment. Percy ran back to his group, who just stared at him while he looked at the floor, blushing (probably from embarrassment). Artemis was the first to recover from her shock.
"Um, well, let's get a move on ladies! We're wasting sunlight!" One by one, Hunters started walking away and Phoebe and Thalia followed.
Leo
What just happened? Was all Leo could think of. Phoebe was pretty much the most boy-hating girl he had ever known and then Percy hugs her? That kind of weird stuff tends to cause eyebrow raising. Jason started poking Percy.
"Hey, quit it! Why are you poking me?" Percy asked.
"I don't know, maybe because you just hugged our biggest enemy since Gaea!" Nico answered for him.
"Percy, are you sick?" Hazel asked and put her and to his forehead to check if he had a fever.
"I'm fine! I just don't totally hate her, okay?" Percy insisted.
"Why don't we just forget that ever happened so that we don't go crazy," Leo suggested. Everyone agreed.
"So I suppose we should turn them back to normal," Piper reminded everyone.
"Yeah, I have the potion right here," Annabeth held out a little bottle with bright green liquid in it.
"That doesn't look very tasty," Hazel wrinkled her nose.
"It tastes like chocolate, though," Annabeth told her.
"Really? Because it definitely doesn't smell like-" Leo stopped mid-sentence at the look she was giving him.
"Alright, open wide, kids and drink your potion like good little demigods," Annabeth told them and started handing them the bottle.
"Wait!" Leo said and stopped the kids from grabbing the bottle.
"What the heck, Leo?" Frank said.
Alright and that concludes Thalia's Day Care, Don't Leave Your Kids Here. BUT WAIT! What's this? A bonus P.O.V? I thought I should make this a little longer by putting one more P.O.V. It's really short but you get something. Guess who it is. :)
Phoebe
Let's just say Phoebe was seriously shocked. It was Percy Jackson who hugged her for fuck's sakes! That boy and his stupid midget friends had been trouble for her since day one. She was not expecting that at all. Phoebe was excited to see how the rest of her life without the twerps would be because things could go back to the way they were before. Everything had quieted down since leaving Team Leo at camp. And she hated it.
It was the same thing over and over again. Before Team Leo, she had been in with the usual schedule but after the kids, it was as if they had opened her eyes and saw how boring and uneventful her life was. If it wasn't for the occasional war or monster hunt, she would've left the Hunt, not that she would ever voice her thoughts to any of the Hunters.
Even worst, she found out the hard way that she missed the little idiots. They were a pain in the ass but, as much as she didn't want it to be true, she missed them. To make matters even more pathetic, the kids had really grown on her. They just made the Hunt more exciting. Their stupidity had been probably most of her entertainment, even if she never showed it. Percy said he'd miss her and she was afraid to say that she felt happy that he had said it and wondered if the other kids would miss her too. Of course she would scold herself for thinking of that and get back to doing whatever they were doing at that time. Maybe she didn't hate Team Leo like she tried to convince herself.
When she found herself bored, she would catch herself thinking of all the crazy things Team Leo did. Whether it was Hazel jumping on a wolf that first day or Nico chasing after Percy in the lake that day. Or the time when they chased her. Phoebe was ashamed to say that she actually had fun all those times they chased her. She wondered what they were doing now...
The rest of Team Leo will secretly miss her, too. That's all for this story. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did while writing it. :) By the way, I thought of making a trilogy. This is the first part. The next will be about Team Leo (which includes Leo this time). This is when Leo convinces the others to let the children of the Big Three stay young for a month more. The last part is...well I'll just keep that to myself for now. :) The title of the next part is called, Leo's Day Care, Campers Beware (Good title, huh?)
~Melissa L.