I'm back.

I know there's no excuse for why I've been gone so long. I needed a break, I was stressed, and when I was laid off from this site for a while by my parents I decided it was a good time to take a break. But I've known how this story was going to end for a long time, and I felt that it wasn't fair to keep it from you.

You guys have been amazingly supportive of me, and I really hope you can forgive me for leaving so long.

But I've kept my promise. This story is finished.

Hope you've had as much fun as I have! :)

Chapter 19

Calypso, Annabeth, Piper, and Hazel were holed up in Piper's room, as they had been since Percy had been released from his net. The door was locked, and they'd shoved a dresser in front of the secret entrance.

In short, they were hiding out. Cowardly? Yes. Strategic? Also yes.

Before sealing themselves inside, Annabeth and Hazel had snuck through the passages to rig their final prank. The good prank. The one that was going to get all four of them at the same time and effortlessly propel them to victory.

Also the one that was going to prove to everyone that Calypso was wrong about everything, which she was still protesting.

"I still don't think it's a good idea." she muttered. She kicked the wall for good measure.

Piper bleated like a goat and clapped her hands over her mouth. Hazel and Annabeth laughed.

"Ugggggghhh." Calypso turned from the corner she'd been standing in and threw her arms in the air. "I'm just saying! How do you think he's going to react?"

Annabeth smirked. "Weellll...I thought you already knew."

Hazel threw a pillow at her. "Not. Appropriate." she fumed.

Piper made a remarkable elephant sound and tossed a blanket at Hazel.

Calypso figured a pillow fight was an excellent excuse to change the subject, and whacked Piper with hers. Her plan worked, even though Annabeth creamed all three of them. They scarfed down some pizza and taunted Piper for a bit ("What's that? You don't want any more pizza?" "You want pepperoni?" "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't get that. You sound like a gorilla.") After Piper snatched the plate and clearly threatened to toss it out the window, they quieted down and settled in for a few hour's sleep. Annabeth set the alarm clock for ten before midnight.

Of course, "sleep" was code for "stay up until the alarm goes off talking."

"How do you like your first sleepover, Calypso? Hazel?"

"I like it. It's been fun."

"Me too. Do we have any more pizza?"

"Yeah. Piper, give Calypso the plate."

"I think pizza might be the best thing about leaving Ogygia."

"That's a pretty good reason to leave."

"Meow. Meow. Meoooow."

"What, Piper? Oh! Are you sure that's the only reason you left?"

"...Of course not. Duh. It gets boring on that island all by yourself for thousands of years. You should know the feeling, Hazel."

"Yeah, I see where you're coming from."

"But really, I should think that Leo-"

"Well, it's getting late, we should be getting to bed, goodnight."

"...Calypso? Calypso?"

"We know you're not asleep."

"Croak. Croak. Croak."

"Really? Well, if you think so...Leo and Calypso, sitting in a tree….K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"SHUT UP, HAZEL!"

"Ow! That was Annabeth!"

"Calypso, I - Ow! Where is she getting those books from?"

"YOU'RE BOTH GOING TO SHUT UP RIGHT NOW!"

"I thought she agreed to do it, Piper."

"I did...I'm not talking about it now. Ever. Goodnight."

"But have you seen his eyes when he's talking about you?"

"I SAID GOODNIGHT."

"Guys? Is everything okay...I heard yelling?"

Silence.

"Go away, Leo, they're sleeping."

Leo turned from the door and shrugged at Jason. "I thought I heard Calypso yelling."

"Calypso's always yelling." Jason walked back down the hall. Leo followed him.

"Yeah, but she's mostly yelling at me...I hope she's not mad at someone."

Jason held open the door and let Leo slip under his arm. "Maybe she was sleep-yelling."

"Who does that?" Percy asked. "I'll trade a blue cookie for that information." He was currently in a great mood because his hair was shifting through different shades of blue.

Leo took the cookie and bit down. "No one," he said, spewing crumbs. "I've never heard of that happening."

"Me neither." Frank munched on his popcorn.

The boys were camped out in the workshop. They'd locked the door and blocked the not-so-secret entrance, and the secret entrance in the ceiling. Leo was pretty sure no one else knew about that one, but Jason wanted to be sure.

Various junk was on the menu for the evening. To Leo, it seemed like a contest to see who could eat the most without getting sick. He was game...at first. The winner right now seemed to be Percy, who had not stopped eating since he'd gotten settled in.

Seeing how much Percy was consuming made Leo feel quite content with second place.

"Any changes?" Leo checked the computer that was monitoring every room on the ship except the girl's bedrooms. There was no sign of a prank anywhere. Of course, there was always Hazel's Mist powers, but there was no way to combat that. He flopped back onto his sleeping bag and decided not to think about Hazel any more.

They played a short-lived game of Truth or Dare and watched a movie on the computer. Leo wasn't even really following along, probably because the movie was Finding Nemo and he'd seen it a million times. Instead he was thinking about Calypso, and how she'd like this movie, and how she'd like a few other movies he liked, and why she was mad at him….

Yeah. Maybe Leo shouldn't be thinking about Calypso either.

Suddenly it was ten, and Leo was brushing his teeth and tucked in bed. Frank set a timer for one hour and forty minutes - they'd be in the mess hall twenty minutes before midnight. Before their biggest, baddest prank yet.

Percy was making Frank crack up, and Jason was grinning. Leo wanted to join in, but then he didn't. He was also really tired.

Before he heard the punchline of the "walrus, whale, and mermaid walk into a sandbar" joke, Leo was asleep.

When the alarm went off, Calypso lept out of bed and shut herself in the closet. She shoved her face into her hands and forced herself to breathe. Once. Twice. Three times.

Okay. No more fighting. She was done.

Annabeth was about to knock when Calypso burst out of the closet and went out into the hall. She poked her head back into the room, where Piper and Hazel were blinking and yawning. Huh. They'd actually slept.

"Well? Are you coming or not?" she asked, impatient to get it over with, terrified that she was doing this, proud that she was making herself do it.

Mostly impatient.

Leo was last in line as the boys tromped single-file into the mess hall. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to wake up.

He was going to prank the girls. He was going to prank Calypso. And immediately after, he was going to pick her up and apologize for whatever he'd done, and ask for her forgiveness. Even though it would be five minutes before the prank war ended.

Leo was going to end it first.

Just as Calypso was about to push the door open, Hazel caught her arm.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to. We'll still win anyway."

Calypso took one last breath, said, "You're wrong. I have to do this." and walked in.

It seemed fitting that Leo was looking at her as she sought him out.

Faceoff.

Each side on one side of the table. It's a staredown. No going back.

Annabeth checks her watch. Five minutes.

Percy leans back in his chair and forces himself not to look at the floor.

Piper tests her voice and is deflated that all that comes out is Chihuahua speak.

Jason checks his phone. Three minutes. He switches it off.

Hazel promises herself she will not glance up.

Frank is hungry, but has decided not to eat anything until midnight has passed.

Leo is trying to sum up his courage, which evaporated the minute she walked in.

Calypso has her eyes closed. She is not letting a grain of confidence she has slip away from her. Which means no looking at Leo.

Finally, Jason breaks the silence. Only one minute left. "Well. This is a predicament."

Annabeth cocks an eyebrow and makes sure that she knows exactly what time it is. She wants to be locked in eye contact with Percy when it happens. "What do you mean? Six minutes left. Anything could happen."

Calypso's blood runs cold when she says it. She folds her hands primly and stares into her lap.

Piper sees her pale and takes her hand. She has every right to be nervous.

Frank shrugs. "I guess so...I hope no one ends up in a sticky situation."

Hazel almost snorts, but holds herself back. Leo kicks Frank under the table.

Percy sighs. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm relieved it's almost over."

Me too. Leo and Calypso think simultaneously.

It's time.

Leo reaches into his pocket and presses the tiny button on the tiny remote. At the exact same moment, Annabeth steps on a floorboard she rigged hours ago.

Here is the climax, the culmination of this crazy day. Whatever is going to happen, it's going to happen now.

The chairs Annabeth, Calypso, Hazel, and Piper were sitting in suddenly flipped, sending them flying into a pit that had opened up behind them. They landed in something gooey, moist, and...green.

The ceiling panel slid open, revealing four buckets that tipped right on top of Leo, Frank, Jason, and Percy. Frank had the unfortunate luck to hear it and look up, straight into the torrent of white slop pouring down.

"Guacamole?" Annabeth asked once she got a good look at the two feet of avocado mash she was sitting us.

"Mayonnaise?" Jason moaned once he got a good sniff.

Calypso made a face. "What is this stuff?"

"It's a lot better than mayo, trust me." Leo muttered. Calypso turned bright red and was thankful that she was in a hole and he couldn't see her. She scooped up a glob with her finger and sucked it off. "Mmm."

Piper mooed, then pouted.

Frank laughed. "You're going to lose your animal voices really soon, Pipes, I promise." He sought out a roll of paper towels and ripped half of them off the cardboard tube.

Percy turned to Jason as they wiped the sauce out of their eyes. "So...we're still tied."

Hazel gasped. "Calypso…" she murmured through gritted teeth.

Calypso nodded once. "I'm ready." she said calmly, though she looked more willing to swim through a giant vat of mayonnaise.

All four of the girls climbed out of the pit. Calypso groaned when she saw that Leo's face was still drenched in mayo. Without hesitating, Annabeth ripped the paper towels out of Frank's hands and tossed them over to Calypso. "Go go go."

Incited that he hadn't cleaned up his face, Calypso stomped over and threw the paper towels at Leo. "Wipe your face."

Leo blinked up at her. "Why?"

"Just do it!"

He warily accepted the paper towels and started wiping his face, but so agonizingly slowly that Calypso started doing it for him. They finished with two minutes to spare. Hazel wondered if she was really going to go through with it, and if he would even give her a window.

"Now stand up." Calypso ordered.

Leo hesitated. Something about it just smelled wrong to him. "Um…"

Calypso finally snapped. "Oh for the love of…Look, I swear on the River Styx that I will mean everything I say and do in the last minutes of this prank war. Okay?"

Annabeth sucked in a breath. This wasn't part of the plan. But one look at Piper reassured her. Her eyes said that what was meant to happen would happen. That was good enough for Annabeth.

It was good enough for Leo. He stood, evenly matched in height with Calypso. "I trust you." he said.

And that, not the plan, not revenge, not even love, was what made Calypso grab his face and pull him into a kiss.

Stunned silence reverberated through the room. No one noticed Hazel creep toward them.

When Frank's gaze flitted toward Hazel, Piper jumped into action. "Close your eyes, Leo!" she called. Jason whipped around to her. "Your voice!"

Leo immediately squinched his eyes shut. Oops. As of right now, his brain was completely fried, perhaps beyond repair.

Calypso couldn't help but smile. It was so wrong and rude and just like Leo that it felt perfect.

Percy glanced at the clock. "Ten. Nine. Eight."

Like Cinderella at the strike of midnight, Calypso snapped out of it and glanced at Hazel, who was now sitting next to them. She held up the plate.

"Five. Four. Three."

In one fluid motion, Calypso scooped up the fresh blueberry pie and smashed it into Leo's head. She didn't even see his expression.

The words fell out of her mouth. "Girls win."

The timer went off. The end.

"Ha!"

Everyone turned to see an Iris-message shimmering behind them. Nico and Will peered through the other side, cracking up.

"That was the funniest thing that's happened all week." Nico declared, leaning back on the wall behind his infirmary bed.

Will, seated and giggling on the side of the bed, nodded in agreement. "I knew the girls would win." he commented, inviting groans from Frank and Jason.

Percy leaned across the table and clasped Annabeth's hand. "I offer a truce."

Annabeth grinned, awash in victory. "Apology accepted."

"I'm glad your voice is normal again, Pipes." Jason mentioned.

Piper nodded. "I wonder if my charmspeak is working…hmm. I'll make Leo bang his head against a wall soon."

Hazel was laughing with Nico and Will. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't have to drag him into the infirmary." she quipped.

Frank smiled. "I'd be too scared to try, honestly."

Nico snorted, but the grin slid off Will's face. "Nico isn't scary." He frowned and crossed his arms, almost…protectively?

The moment passed, and both Nico and Will looked surprised. They locked eyes for one charged, stunned second, then looked away. Nico quickly changed the subject. "See you tomorrow. I love you, Haze. Bye, Frank." He disconnected the message so fast Hazel didn't even blink.

Frank felt absolutely awful. "Oh gods. I didn't mean to say anything-"

"It's not your fault." Hazel replied quietly. She stared at the wall where Nico's image had been.

There would be words about this, most definitely. But Hazel's heart warmed to know that there was someone else in Nico's life who he could learn to trust. Maybe she would hit up this Will Solace once they got to camp.

No. She was totally going to talk to Will. No buts.

Biting her lip, Calypso peeled the plate off Leo's head. "Um…are you okay?"

Leo wiped pie crust out of his eyes and smiled. "I'm grand." Thank the gods, Calypso thought. "Would you like to know why?"

She nodded.

"Because I was right."

No one found Leo and Calypso after that. There was a little speculation, but mostly the rest just wanted to go to bed, which they did with much relief. (However, Percy did scour the stables to much disappointment.)

They sat on top of the mast, dangling their legs and dipping their fingers in stardust. They talked and shared and were awake together until the sun blinded them, and then they stumbled down the ladder and into their own seperate rooms, where they fell asleep until noon.

Leo and Calypso dreamt of redemption and forgiveness that night, of goodbyes that had never been said, and hellos that were barely beginning to slip out of their mouths.

Thank you for everything. Updates will be less frequent, but I intend to post some, at least.

My name is Blackberry Explosion, have a great day! :)