The Cutest Thing Since Percabeth

PJATO Fanfiction

©- Rick Riordan

By:

XXxDaughteroftheKingxXx

What started out as a normal day for Piper Mclean, turned into one of the most interesting days of her life.

The daughters of Aphrodite were in their cabin, catching up on the latest gossip, doing each other's hair and make up, texting, or listening to music.

"OMG!" a daughter of Aphrodite squealed excitedly. "Are they just like, the cutest thing Percabeth?"

Percabeth? Piper thought, rolling her eyes at Lacy.

"Sure," she said in a bored tone. "Whatever you say, Lacy."

"Well aren't you just a ray of sunshine." Drew, another daughter of Aphrodite said, walking into the room.

"No one asked you, Drew." Piper said coolly. Said daughter of Aphrodite and her followers all rolled their eyes in sync.

"But as unprofessional as Lacy is," Drew added calmly.

"Hey!"

"She is right about something though," she continued, ignoring Lacy's interruption. "Tratie is the cutest thing since Percabeth, and we need to get them together."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. We're in the middle of an impending war, and you're worried about getting people together?" Piper demanded.

Drew nodded. "Uh, yeah. We're daughters of Aphrodite. Isn't that what you wanted us to do, Pipes?" she sneered. "Show love to others? Be kind? Well, this is our way of showing it."

"Drew?" Lacy gasped, placing a hand over her heart. "Being kind?" She said the words as if the words had never been said together in a sentence unless there was a negative word somewhere in the sentence.

"Yes," one of Drew's cronies snapped. "We are all capable of being kind, but we choose not to be." She said kind as if it were some kind of disease.

"Count me in!" Lacy exclaimed happily.

"You guys should be helping build the Argo II, not trying to get this Tratie together! Who the heck is Tratie anyway?" Piper protested.

"Travis and Katie, duh." all the other daughters of Aphrodite deadpanned in unison.

"No," Piper said firmly. "You can't just go around messing with people's love lives!"

"No one asked you, Piper." Drew mocked coolly. "We're going through with Operation: Tratie, and there's nothing you can do to stop us." Her expression softened. "But really, this is for their good. Travis and Katie would be so happy together, and in this war, we need people to support us. So, are you in, or are you out?"

Piper paused and thought about it for a minute. They would be kinda cute together, and Drew's right about them needing support… She sighed loudly. "Fine, I'm in." The daughters of Aphrodite, minus Drew and her cronies, cheered loudly.

"Okay," Drew said loudly, charm-speaking. "Everyone quiet! Here's how it's gonna go down."

Time Lapse

With Piper

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Piper muttered to herself. Why on earth had she agreed to Drew's plans? She hated Drew!

The daughter of Aphrodite sighed, walking through the strawberry fields. She walked up to a son of Demeter and tapped his shoulder. "Excuse me, but I was wondering where Katie was." she said politely.

The boy stood up, brushing his jeans off. "She's over that way." he answered, pointing to the direction where Katie was.

"Thanks," Piper said, running towards Katie. She scanned the fields for the brunette daughter of Demeter, until Piper finally spotted her.

"Hey! Katie!"

Said daughter of Demeter looked up from her plants and turned to who had called her. Katie got up and walked over to Piper. "Hey, Piper. What's going on?"

"I was just wondering," the daughter of Aphrodite started. "If you'd like a makeover, curtsy of the Aphrodite Cabin."

Katie laughed. "Can you see me getting a makeover? Are you sure you're not like running a fever, Piper?"

Piper shook her head, laughing. "Nah, I'm fine, but I just think it'd be nice to have a little makeover. You know, one of those girly girl times."

"When have we been girly girls?" Katie questioned suspiciously.

"Do you want to impress Travis or not?"

"W-W-What?"

"Do you want to impress Travis or not?" Piper repeated, mentally slapping herself. "'Cause you know, I saw him flirting with Nikki from the Hecate Cabin the other day."

"H-He was?" Katie stuttered. She blinked, regaining her composure. "Why should I care?"

"Don't even start with me, Katie. I'm a daughter of Aphrodite, and it's obvious you like Travis." Katie opened her mouth to protest, but instead, she sighed, slumping down on the ground.

"Am I that obvious?" she asked miserably.

Piper shook her head, kneeling next to Katie. "No, but Drew likes to get into people's business. In fact, she's the reason I'm here."

Katie scowled. "Great. But I thought you hated Drew."

"I do, but I sort of agree with her, so I'm helping you get with him." Piper answered softly, pulling Katie to her feet. "C'mon, let's go give you a makeover, and I promise they won't do anything too outrageous."

Katie smiled slightly. "Thanks, Piper. Thanks."

With Drew & Lacy

"Where is that stupid son of Hermes?" Drew muttered to herself, walking through Camp Half-Blood with Lacy.

"Probably pranking some poor unfortunate soul with his equally annoying brother." Lacy answered.

Drew scowled. "It doesn't take an Athena kid to know that, Lacy.

"Maybe they're in the Hermes Cabin." the younger daughter of Aphrodite suggested hopefully.

"Sure," Drew sighed. "Let's go check." The two daughters of Aphrodite ran to the Hermes Cabin, nearly knocking down the door.

"Gods," Travis snapped as he opened the worn out door. "Be patient!"

"Connor's not in there, is he?" Drew asked.

The son of Hermes shook his head. "No, he's with Caitlin from the Apollo Cabin." His shoulders slumped. "I'm nearly dying of boredom."

Lacy smiled widely. "Well, we can help you with that!"

Travis's face brightened. "You guys can help me prank the Ares Cabin?"

"Ah, no," Drew deadpanned. "We're here to help you with your, ah, Katie problem." She pushed the son of Hermes back into his cabin, walking in with Lacy.

"M-My p-problem with K-Katie?" Travis stuttered. "W-What problem?"

Lacy smirked. "The problem where you won't ask her out."

The son of Hermes burst out into a fit of laughter. "Me? Asking Katie out? Yeah, right."

"Exactly, you like her, but you won't ask her out." Drew said calmly.

"What? Me? Like Katie?" Travis squeaked, his voice an octave higher.

"Yes, just admit it Travis. You like Katie Gardner."

"What?"

Lacy sighed. "Please, just admit it, Travis. You're not fooling anyone. Do you want us to help you or not?"

"Not!"

"Oh," Drew said, twiddling with her black hair. "That's too bad. You'd be cute with her. Oh well, she has Will Solace. In fact, I saw flirting the other day."

"They were what?"

The daughters of Aphrodite nodded. "Will Solace. Katie Gardner. Hm, what'd be a cute couple name for them?" Lacy mused. "Wiltie?

Katill?"

Travis clenched his fists, ready to punch the wall.

"We're here to help, Travis." Drew reassured. "We'd much rather see Tratie happen."

Tratie? Travis thought. He sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

"Just ask her out." Lacy answered. She smiled. "And leave the rest to us."

A wary smile crept to Travis's face as he stared at the two daughters of Aphrodite. "Alright, I'm in."

With Piper & Katie

"Ow, ow, ow!" Katie yelped as Piper was brushing her tangled brown hair. "Not so hard!"

"Not my fault you always keep your hair in a ponytail." Piper muttered, trying to untangle one of Katie's many rat's nests.

"Do you expect me to take care of the fields wearing my hair down?"

"No," Piper admitted. "But, you could at least take the time to brush and braid your hair."

"Says the girl who used safety scissors to cut her hair."

"… Touché." Piper finally got the last rat's nest untangled out of Katie's hair.

"Ugh, finally!" she exclaimed. The daughter of Aphrodite grabbed a clip and clipped half of Katie's thick, brown hair up. "Time for a haircut."

With Travis, Drew, & Lacy

"Just pretend she's Katie, Travis!" Drew yelled at the son of Hermes.

Travis shook his head stubbornly. "I will not ask a twelve year-old out, even if it's pretend."

"Fine," Lacy snapped. "Drew, be Katie."

The other daughter of Aphrodite sighed. "Hey, Travis." she said, smiling slightly. "What's up?"

"The sky." the son of Hermes deadpanned.

Lacy did a face palm. "Ugh, you are so, ugh!"

"Great use of adjectives." Travis said sarcastically.

Drew sighed. "Lacy, show him how's it's done." The younger Aphrodite girl smirked. "Hey, Travis." Drew said again, only to Lacy this time. "What's up?"

Lacy grinned. "Hey, Katie." she said in a deep voice that sounded nothing like Travis. "Oh, nothing much. You?"

"And stop." Drew said. She turned to Travis. "Now, you try."

"Fine,"

"Hey, Travis. What's up?"

"Katie! Hey! Oh, nothing really. Just working on my next prank."

"You are so immature, Travis."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Great!" Lacy interrupted. "Wonderful!"

Travis grinned, giving Drew a high-five.

"Okay," Drew said. "Next, signs that Katie wants you to ask her out."

"Number one:" Lacy said. "She'll constantly smile around you."

"Number two:" Drew added. "She'll talk to you often."

"Number three: She cheers you on at sporting, Capture the Flag, events."

"Number four: She'll play with her hair."

"Katie doesn't do anything like that!" Travis moaned. "She hates me!"

Drew and Lacy exchanged glances. "Uh, oh."

With Piper & Katie

"You're cutting my hair?"

"Yes," Piper said for like the millionth time. She was seriously getting annoyed. Why hadn't Drew taken this job? She hated dressing up! "It's getting to long, and it'd be cute shoulder length."

Katie sighed. "Fine, you are the daughter of Aphrodite. Just, don't cut it too short."

Piper smiled, nodding. "I'll layer it."

30 Minutes Later

"Ta da!" Piper exclaimed, showing Katie her reflection. Her hair was cut delicately into brown waves, and it had blonde highlights through it.

"Wow," Katie murmured, speechless. "You work fast."

"Just another skill daughters of Aphrodite have." Piper said casually. "Now," Piper sighed. "Drew wants me to find a new wardrobe for you, but I honestly hate girly clothes, and I know you do too, so I'll let you pick out something on your own as long as it's not like jeans and a t-shirt."

"Ah, thank the gods."

With Travis, Drew, & Lacy

"Okay," Drew said. "When you go on your date with Katie, try to impress her. Do things like, pull out her chair for her. Compliment her."

"Stand up when she stands up." Lacy added.

Drew nodded. "Act funny."

Travis smiled. "Naturally."

"Look her directly in the eyes when you talk to her." Lacy put in.

"Always take the first step. Girls don't like to have to be the one to kiss you." Drew said.

"Talk about things she likes."

"Alright, alright!" the son of Hermes exclaimed. "I get it!"

The two daughters of Aphrodite looked at each other, smiling. "Makeover time." they said in unison.

Oh gods no. Travis thought. They grabbed his arms, walking into his room.

Lacy scrunched her nose as she entered Travis's room. "Ew, do you ever clean this place?"

"Once a year." Travis said proudly. Drew and Lacy gagged, walking to his closet.

Drew pulled out an orange camp t-shirt. "Ah, no." She threw the shirt at Lacy, who caught it. Drew grabbed a shirt that said "Anatidaephobia: the fear that somehow, somewhere, a duck is watching you." Drew scrunched her nose in disgust, then threw the shirt at Lacy.

Nearly all of Travis's shirts later…

"Finally!" Drew exclaimed, pulling out a blue Aéropostale shirt. "Something decent!"

"Hey," Travis defended. "My clothes are decent!"

"Sure," Lacy muttered from beneath all of Travis's shirts. "Ah, guys? A little help here?" Travis and Drew rushed over to the preteen, pulling off all the shirts Drew had deemed "unworthy".

"Now it's time for jeans!" the older daughter of Aphrodite squealed happily.

No!

With Piper & Katie

"Did you find something yet, Katie?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so!" Katie yelled. Dang, she thought. This closet is like as big as the mall back home in Georgia!

"So," Piper said. "Let me see it." Katie held up a tiered, ruffled, floral green, brown, and tan tank top in one hand. It was very Katie-ish. In the other hand, she held up dark-washed distressed denim shorts.

"Awesome." the daughter of Aphrodite said in approval. "Let's go find some shoes."

Katie nodded. "That's what I was working on, but I couldn't find a shoe size small of us." she said, gesturing to her small, size-six feet.

"Oh, we can charm the shoes." Piper said. "It's not prob."

"Great!" Katie exclaimed, holding up a pair of sandals that were brown and embellished with jewels.

Piper held up a long necklace that was a bronze tone and topaz butterfly earrings.

"Oh no," Katie said slowly, her hand subconsciously reaching to her ears.

"Oh yes."

With Travis, Drew, & Lacy

"I like it." Drew said. Lacy nodded, looking over Travis. The son of Hermes had been outfitted with a light blue Aéropostale shirt, jeans, and Nikes.

"Good. Can I please see what I look like?" Travis begged. The two daughters of Aphrodite nodded, and he looked in the mirror. "Not bad, girls. Not bad at all."

"And Piper should be done in three, two, one." Lacy murmured as Katie's scream pierced the near silence. Quickly, another scream filled the air.

"Was that Katie?" Travis demanded.

"Uh huh." Drew answered. "She's fine. C'mon, let's go over what you say to Katie." She took a deep breath. "Hey, Travis."

"Oh, hey, Katie. What's up?"

"Nothing much, really. How bout you?"

"Eh, just planning my next prank."

"You are so immature, Stoll."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"So…"

"Hey, Katie?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna go out?"

"Sure! When?"

"Tonight at 6 at clock."

"Okay, see you then, Travis."

"Later, Katie."

"And, cut." Lacy said, grinning at Drew. "I think he's ready."

With Piper & Katie

"That hurt." Katie grumbled, rubbing her sore ears.

"Quit touching them, or they'll hurt even more!" Piper scolded, rolling her eyes. Thank the gods! It's almost over! "Okay, quick review. When he asks you out, say yes. Smile often, but don't over do it. Laugh at any corny jokes of his. Got it?"

"Got it."

Piper smiled, actually sort of enjoying this. "I think you're ready." she said, leading Katie to the Demeter Cabin.

With Travis, Drew, & Lacy

"Oh gods," Travis moaned. "I'm gonna be sick."

"No, you're not!" Lacy and Drew exclaimed in unison. Drew crinkled her nose.

"Stop telling yourself that."

"You'll do fine." Lacy reassured, pushing the son of Hermes up the Demeter Cabin's porch. "Good luck!"

Travis knocked nervously on the door, only to hear shuffling from the inside.

Katie opened the door, smiling. "Travis? Oh, hey."

He smiled. "Hey, Katie. What's up?"

"The sky," she remarked dryly. The two of them laughed, rubbing their necks awkwardly.

"Yeah, that's what I said earlier today."

"Oh, did you now?"

"Yes, yes, I did."

"You plagiarizer! You got that from Phineas and Ferb!" Katie accused jokingly.

"So, what if I did?" Travis smirked. He took a deep breath. "Hey, Katie?"

"Yeah, that's my name, don't wear it out."

"I-I was wondering if you'd like to go out sometime."

"S-sure," she stuttered, blushing. "When?"

"Is tonight at six fine?" Travis asked, his face tomato red.

"Yeah, that'd be great."

"I guess I'll see you then."

"Y-yeah."

"Later, Katie."

"Later, Travis." Katie closed the door, smiling.

"Yes!" Travis mouthed, pumping his fist in the air.

With Piper, Drew, & Lacy

"We did good, didn't we?" Drew remarked.

"We still have to set up their date, you know." Lacy pointed out.

"Oh, no we don't. Drew told Kaelee, Emili, and Abbey to do that." Piper reminded.

"Good," Lacy muttered. "'Cause I really don't want to anymore."

"Hey," Drew said. "We got Tratie together. What an accomplishment."

"Yeah," Piper agreed. "Hopefully, they won't kill each other on their date."

"Eh, they'll be fine as long as she follows the tips you gave her." Drew said. She paused. "You did give her tips, didn't you?" Silence. "Piper!"

"What?"

"Oh gods," Lacy moaned. "Travis is going to think Katie hates him because we gave him a list of signs to watch for!"

"And Katie doesn't know to do these things thanks to you!" Drew groaned.

Piper shrugged. "Eh, we should leave them be. If they really like each other, then they'll be fine."

"But that's not how it works!" Lacy cried.

"Love doesn't play by the rules." Piper reminded. "It's like playing the piano. First, you learn to play by the rules, then you play from your heart. If they're truly made for each other, then they'll be fine." Piper glanced at Jason, who was again playing basketball with the sons of Apollo.

Drew and Lacy, seeing Piper's wistful glance at the son of Jupiter, grinned at each other, having similar thoughts.

We know who our next couple is!

AN: So, how was it? Also, check out my friend, Musicalheart,'s story Lost Leaders: The Battle for All! She was like thinking about deleting it because hardly anyone was reading it, and I really, really don't want her to. So, check it out!