Before we begin, I strongly recommend listening to the song while reading this if you can. It's "Come Home," by One Republic—not One Direction. Sorry, Directioners. For the rest of you, I can assure you that there is no, "YOU DON'T KNOW YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL!" in this song.

Disclaimer: Don't own the song, or the book series. Check out One Republic's music if you like it. They also wrote Apologize and Secrets; hopefully you guys recognize those..? No..? You must have had a sad childhood.

Come Home

.

.

.

.

.

Hello world,

Hope you're listening

Forgive me if I'm young

Or speaking out of turn…

Reyna wished it were otherwise. She really did. After all, what sixteen-year-old falls deeply, romantically, and passionately in love? Most people rarely found their soul mates that young. Some never did. And maybe he wasn't the one for her, but it sure felt that way.

There's someone I've been missing

I think that they could be

The better half of me

Jason. The name was always on the tip of her tongue, ready to spill off at any given moment. She'd developed the habit of biting her lower lip to keep from speaking whenever the memories threatened to overwhelm her.

What definitely didn't help, though, was the pitiful looks cast her way whenever she went anywhere. Everyone had heard about the fallout. She still kept on a stony expression, though, for image's sake. No praetor would cry in front of a crowd.

They're in the wrong place

Trying to make it right

But I'm tired of justifying

Jason had chosen Camp Half-Blood so he could be with Piper and Leo. "I belong there," he'd insisted. "This is my home."

Percy had chosen to stay at Camp Jupiter, probably because he could have a future there. Maybe one day, he could go to college and marry Annabeth and have a family and live happily ever after.

Annabeth had stayed with Percy. New Rome could use her as an architect; with the legionnaires' construction training and her ideas, they could build a new, better camp.

So I say to you…

"Reyna?" Percy asked, stopping her on her way to one of the fountains Annabeth had gotten the Fourth Cohort to construct. "Where are you going?"

"Iris message," she confessed. No sense in lying about something that simple. "Which fountain's the most private?"

He hesitated before answering. "Um, Venus."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Most of the campers think she listens through her statue. The gods can hear things in their sphere of influence. Or if there's an image of them."

"Wonderful."

She marched off.

Come home, come home

'Cause I've been waiting for you

For so long, for so long…

She stared up long and hard at the statue of Venus. Annabeth had sketched her design out, and had some help in carving the alabaster statue.

Hair that curled over one shoulder, perfectly smooth skin, a posture that was fluid even as a statue.

And that face. Reyna hated that face. It was flawless: full, curving lips with a hint of a smile at the corners; a perfectly sized, perfectly shaped nose; large, unblinking eyes; eyebrows that somehow suggested a coy, knowing expression even though there was no way a statue could be coy or knowing.

She tossed a denarii into the mist that sprayed from the fountain. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering."

The rainbow rippled, and the denarii disappeared.

"Show me Jason Grace, at Camp Half-Blood."

Right now there's a war between the vanities

But all I see is you and me…

Jason was sitting by himself in his cabin, staring up at the marble statue of Zeus that adorned the room.

"Jason," she called out, unable to stop herself.

He turned around. "Reyna." His tone was hard as flint.

She didn't dare flinch. "Can you talk?"

His answer was silence.

The fight for you is all I've ever known So come home

"I'm asking you to come back home," she said. "Please."

"I already told you. This is my home." Jason didn't look too convinced, though. His blue eyes were troubled and clouded.

"But—"

He stood up and walked over, then said, "Bye."

Jason swiped his hand through the mist and the connection was severed.

Reyna's eyes teared up. He hadn't even heard her out completely.

Venus seemed to be taunting her. Of course. Piper was her daughter. Aphrodite, Venus. Just two sides to the same coin.

She let the tears spill over. There was no one around to see, anyway.

I get lost in the beauty

Of everything I see

Jason stood by himself, wondering exactly what had possessed him to go and cut her off like that.

Maybe because it hurt too much, seeing her. Hearing her voice. It sounded too much like home.

Not home, he chided himself. New Rome. That place.

There was a knock at his door. "Jason?"

Piper. He walked over, sluggish as a zombie, and opened the door. There she was, smiling like a little kid on Christmas. Eyes changing colors as always.

They looked a little browner today.

It felt like a punch in the gut.

The world ain't half as bad

As they paint it to be

"Reyna?"

It was Percy. She swiped a hand roughly across her eyes. "Yes?"

"Are… are you okay?"

"Just fine," she lied badly.

He sat down next to her. "You don't have to be so closed off all the time. You've got friends."

She laughed weakly. "Everyone's afraid of me."

"Well, you are pretty dang scary. But you've got me. And you've got Annabeth… sort of." He paused. "So… if you want to get anything off your chest…"

So she opened her mouth and it all came tumbling out.

If all the sons,

All the daughters

Stopped to take it in

"Hey, are you okay?" Piper asked. She tilted her head to the side ever so slightly. "You look kind of sick."

"I don't feel all that great," he said. It was the truth; his limbs felt like they'd been injected with lead.

She placed the back of her hand against his forehead. "You don't have a fever… Still. Maybe you should go and rest?"

The last thing he wanted was to have to be alone in that temple with his regrets. "No. It's okay."

He took her hand, which brought a smile to her face. "You wanna go find Leo?"

"Nah… how about if it's just the two of us?"

She liked that better. "We could go to the camp lake. Everyone else is stuffing their faces at the mess hall."

Well, hopefully the hate subsides

And the love can begin

It might start now, yeah

Well, maybe I'm just dreaming out loud…

"Wow." Percy shook his head. "Jason's more of a jerk than I thought. Almost like Thalia," he joked lightly.

"Don't let her catch you saying that," Reyna teased. "You'll be fried to ashes." Telling him everything had made her feel better, even if just for a while.

Come home, come home

'Cause I've been waiting for you

For so long, for so long

"Tell me about… about New Rome," Piper requested when they'd settled down on the grass. "What was it like?"

"It was cool. Like being part of the army." He winced inwardly; having to tell her about ho—that other place was like having lemon juice poured in a paper cut.

"And your friends?"

"Bobby and Dakota and Gwen? They were nice. Bobby was a prankster, Dakota liked Kool-Aid way too much, and Gwen could put a smile on anybody's face."

"Was she pretty?"

"Does it matter?"

"No… not really…" she pursed her lips.

"You're jealous?" He shook his head. "Gwen was just my friend. I never really dated anybody."

"So… am I the first girlfriend you've ever had?"

His chest felt tight when he answered, "Yeah."

Girlfriend? Reyna hadn't been his girlfriend. Not officially, anyway.

But what if? He allowed himself to consider as Piper leaned her head against him with a content sigh.

Right now there's a war between the vanities

But all I see is you and me

The fight for you is all I've ever known

So come home

Jason broke the silence. "Um… Piper?"

"Yeah?"

"Sorry to ruin this, but… I just remembered something I have to do."

"Oh, okay. No worries. I'll see you at dinner?"

"Yeah, definitely." He stood up and ran back to his cabin.

There was a hose attached to the side of it. He turned the spigot on and twisted the head till it read, "Mist."

He pulled out a golden drachma from his pocket. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering. Show me Reyna at Camp Jupiter."

The rainbow shimmered, and Reyna came into view, laughing and talking with Percy Jackson.

Jason was stunned into silence.

Everything I can't be

Is everything you should be

And that's why I need you here…

Everything I can be

Is everything you should be

And that's why I need you here…

Percy nudged Reyna. "Hey, um…" he pointed to where the image of a shocked Jason Grace had appeared in the fountain mist. He stood up. "I should go."

Reyna wanted him to stay, but she sighed and said, "Yes, that's probably a good idea." She watched his retreating back in the distance.

"What is it?" she snapped. Then winced. That had come out a lot harsher than she'd intended.

Come home, come home

'Cause I've been waiting for you

For so long, for so long

"I'm sorry for earlier. And—and for leaving. I'm going to try to come back and visit."

The apology took her aback. Jason Grace? Apologizing? Was she dreaming?

Right now there's a war between the vanities

But all I see is you and me

"I accept your apology," she said somewhat formally.

He heaved a breath of relief. "Thank you." The ghost of a smile reached his lips.

"So…" she hesitated. "I just want to ask you something."

"Anything."

"Am I the only one, or… do you…"

The fight for you is all I've ever known

So come home…

Jason laughed, and leaned towards her. He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Well…"

She leaned closer to hear better. And ended up kissing the mist as the image of Jason's mouth met hers.

She pulled back abruptly, as did he.

"Damn, and I thought that would work!" he muttered.

Reyna smiled. "I don't think that Iris-messages were made for kisses."

"Worth a shot," he sighed. "One more try?"

The rainbow exploded into droplets of water as they leaned towards each other.

"Guess Iris isn't the soap opera type," Reyna commented.

Seriously. Listen to the song. I love the way Ryan sings, "Right now there's a war between the vanities/But all I see is you and me..." It's so genuine and heartfelt. I love it.