I'm in a bit of a dark spot in my life right now, and this story is something I look forward to… so regardless of the amount of responses I get, I'm going to continue updating. Thanks to the people who tried to help me ~HA :)

Crushes, Couples, and Camp

Jason's POV

The next day, I woke up at 1:50 in the afternoon. And I'm impressed, 'cause I was the first one up. At least I thought so until I saw a post-it note on the door from Leo, saying that he had gone to see a special someone. Rolling my eyes, I showered and got dressed in gray sweats and a purple t-shirt and exit the bathroom. I looked at the clock and saw it was 2:10. Percy was mumbling in his sleep and drooling on his pillow. Grover snored on his bed and Frank was gone (probably with Hazel). I did a double take when I saw Nico kneeling by Percy's bed, staring intently at him. I moved quietly towards him and accidentally bumped into a table and groaned. Smooth, Jason. I didn't understand how I could be part-god and still be clumsy.

Nico whipped around, his Stygian sword unsheathed and I realized his eyes were full of panic. I gulped.

"How long have you been standing there?" He whisper-growled.

"Uh-"

"Never mind! Come with me!" Nico hissed as he grabbed my shirt. We dissipated into shadows and emerged in the library at a booth. I gaped.

"Wha-?"

"D'you want anything to eat or drink?" Offered Nico, not making eye contact. I gulped visibly. He sighed. "Look, sorry about all this secrecy, but it needs to be done. Now, do you want something to eat or should I get on with it?" He demanded.

I decided not to provoke his frostiness and asked for a hamburger and a coke. He waved his hand and a zombie materialized out of the shadows. It served me my meal and Nico smiled for a split second as he was handed a hamburger and hot chocolate loaded with marshmallows and whipped cream. "Thank you, Jules-Albert." Nico dipped his head at the zombie and it saluted, disappearing. I gaped at Nico.

"What? He was a present from my…well, you know." Nico seemed to stop himself from saying 'father' and sipped his hot chocolate. We ate and drank in a comfortable silence. I never thought I would feel a bond to the Son of Pluto, but here I was, sharing a burger with him. I finished and stared at him for an explanation. He kept his eyes on his meal and picked at his burger.

"Listen, Nico… you don't need to explain anything to me. I understand and I-"

"No! You don't understand! I need this!" he hissed. I shut my mouth immediately. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. As he reopened them, he seemed to calm down. "Sorry. I'm not good with… the living. I've always been a loner, and well, Percy was different to me when I first met him." He told me his story, the Lotus Casino, the pact of the Big Three, his mom, his sister, everything. "When Percy first found me, I couldn't help but be impressed when he saved me. But that changed when Bianca…" he left her name hanging in the air. I nodded.

"It's like you're infuriatingly angry with him, but at the same time, you owe him for keeping you safe and you can't help but be drawn towards him."

Nico raised an eyebrow at me. "You seem to understand what that feels like." He smirked. I blushed deep red.

"Uh no. I-um, was more reminded of my relationship with my dad, but for some reason, I can't remember him exactly." I scrunched my eyebrows together. This sucked.

"Don't wear yourself out. Let's go back. Everyone will probably be up by now." He finished with a sympathetic look and tone. I nodded. He held out his hand and I took it, feeling honored that the Son of Pluto had confided in me. We warped back to the room. I let go of his cold hand and dipped my head and he returned the gesture. He stalked off out the door and I watched. I sat myself down on the couch, pretending to browse through some movies when Percy opened the bathroom door.

Percy's POV

I woke up when I heard a thump, groan, and a whisper. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and looked around. No one was there. Grover stirred in the four-poster by the window. I glanced at my clock and moaned. 2:10? Annabeth was gonna kill me!

I jumped out of bed and showered. I dressed myself in light gray sweatpants and a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt. When I came out, Jason was sitting on the couch, browsing through the movies.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Sup? Grover still passed out?" He asked. I nodded and he rolled his eyes with a smile.

"So, what're your plans for today?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"Probably just gonna go to Piper's room and hang out. Maybe watch some movies."

"Sweet. I gotta go get Annabeth. I got a surprise for her, but later, we're meeting up with Frank and Hazel at the concession stand at 5. See you there?" I asked.

"Sure. I'll come with you to the girls' room. Gotta see Piper anyway." He murmured. I nodded and we left the room together. Kinda awkward.

I knocked on the girls' door timidly and was greeted by Annabeth herself. She looked adorable, in a turquoise tank top and black sweatpants. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she grinned at me.

"Hey Jason!" she said cheerfully. I felt a flare of jealousy. "So where are we goin', Seaweed Brain?" she asked. I smiled back.

"You'll see."

"Hang on, gotta grab my sweater." She disappeared into the room and I saw Piper putting her hair up in a bun. She fumbled and waved at me and Jason hastily before she disappeared into the bathroom. I waved back with a chuckle. Jason entered the room as Annabeth jogged back to the door and shut it. I grabbed her hand and led her out of the dorms. It was a nice day outside, the sun was shining and the fresh snow from yesterday glittered. We slowly walked to the school.

"I saw Piper. Where's Hazel, though?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Frank came by this morning. The both of them left because Frank said he was taking her out for a surprise picnic." Annabeth smiled at me as she swung her hand in mine. I grinned.

We arrived at the school, arguing lightly about how good Johnny Depp was at acting. I let her win and she was asking so many questions as I pulled her through the empty hallways, shushing her. There were bound to be some students in here, studying or doing clubs or something.

Soon we were climbing the stairwell, and Annabeth was lagging behind.

"Hurry up, slowpoke!" I teased. She arched an eyebrow at me and suddenly raced ahead, laughing at my surprised expression.

"In yo' face!" she laughed as she reached the top floor first. I grinned and opened the door, which led us on to the roof. It was filled with snow from the storm and we laughed as I tickled her to the ground.

"Okay, okay! You win! Lemme go!" she was gasping for breath and I chuckled.

"Don't mess with the king!" I said jokingly.

"Oh really? Then take THAT!" she yelled as she chucked a sphere of cold snow at my face. I spit the snow out of my mouth and laughed.

"Oh you did not just go there!" I yelled.

"Oh yeah? Come at me, bro!" she screamed back, laughing.

"Okay!" I shouted. We were throwing snowballs back and forth, and before I knew it, I was hiding behind a fortress wall. She was doing the same. How could I win this? I felt a drip of water and grinned at the snowball in my hand. I slowly advanced out and I could hear rustling from behind her wall. I assumed she was making more snowballs.

I crept slowly towards her and was about to chuck my snowball when my foot crunched on some ice. I froze.

The rustling stopped. I prepared myself for instant death as a blonde head popped out from behind the wall.

"HI YAH!" Annabeth screamed as she hurled her snowball at me. I reacted so fast, it took me awhile to process what I had done. I willed a mound of snow's molecules to separate as the snow changed state into liquid water. I aimed it all at Annabeth and her gray eyes widened.

"Crap." I heard her whisper before a wave of freezing water slammed into her. When she emerged, she was soaking and glaring daggers at me. I paraded around the roof, yelling in triumph. She huffed as I sprinted towards her. I tossed her over my shoulder and shouted, continuing my parade.

"I won! I won! Water rules!"

She squealed and thumped my back with her fists. "Put me down, Seaweed Brain!" she laughed. I shook my head.

"Nope!" I responded. She laughed some more and I eventually slipped in a puddle of water, a mound of snow cushioning my fall. Annabeth landed next to me and we both lay laughing in the snow.

"That was the most fun I've had in a long time, Seaweed Brain! Except for the part where I got wet." she chuckled. I concentrated and soon, she was dried off. "Thanks." She smiled at me and I grinned back.

"No problem." I closed the distance between our faces, and we stayed like that, just kissing, talking, and staring at the sky, noting shapes of clouds (we mostly kissed, though). It seemed to last a lifetime.

Piper's POV

I woke up after Hazel left with Frank and smiled at the note she had left us. Annabeth got up after I finished getting dressed in my favorite white sweatpants and a black t-shirt. Basically we woke up around 11:32.

"Morning, sleepyhead." I said as I frowned, staring at my history textbook.

"Morning," she yawned. She got up and scratched her head, heading to the bathroom to shower. She finished and walked out in a turquoise tank top and black sweatpants. I frowned at her.

"Aren't you cold?"

"Nope." She remarked. She pulled out her history textbook and flopped down next to me on my bed.

"Which pages again?" She asked.

"448 through 474" I groaned. She sighed and slammed her head against the book in surrender. She grimaced and rubbed her forehead.

"That was stupid."

"Yeah. Super wise, Chase!" I giggled. She rolled her eyes at me and smacked my arm.

"Shut up Mclean. I'm already on page 456." She bragged. I huffed and tried to concentrate, but we ended up discussing our boyfriends and prom campaigning. She was actually fun to talk to. I felt relieved to have found another "girl friend". We were discussing how stupid Dylish could be when there was a knock at the door. It was 2:30 in the afternoon.

"Must be the boys." Said Annabeth, pulling her hair into a messy ponytail. She still managed to look good.

"Oh shoot, I don't look presentable." I leapt up as Annabeth smirked at me and opened the door. I heard voices at the door and Annabeth raced back inside to grab her sweater. At that point, I had rushed towards the bathroom, waving at Jason and Percy.

I rushed into the bathroom and tried pulling my hair into a messy bun. I gave up and tied it into a ponytail. I squeaked as I felt a strong pair of arms wrap around me and I squirmed.

"Relax Pipes, it's just me." Cooed Jason. I relaxed immediately.

"Damn you, Jason. You scared the living crap out of me." I breathed in his scent of deodorant and clean laundry. He wiggled his brows at me in the mirror and we walked out into the main room. I'll admit, I felt a little nervous being alone with him, but I chided myself, saying that he would never do anything to hurt me.

We lay down on my bed and talked for a while about random things. The topic eventually turned to us being demigods.

"Who do you think your godly parent is?" Jason asked. I shrugged, snuggling against his chest. "I dunno. Athena's pretty awesome, but I'm definitely not Demeter. I literally kill any plant I touch. Artemis sounds cool, but she's a maiden."

Jason frowned and furrowed his brows. "I-I think I know about Diana. I-I feel some sort of relation to her."

I hated seeing him like this. It was completely unfair that he didn't have any of his memory. I gently kissed him to interrupt his flow of thoughts. I just wanted him to relax. I felt him stiffen in surprise, but he responded. I pulled away after awhile, realizing that I had been kissing my boyfriend. On my bed. Alone. In my room. Jason broke the silence in a husky voice. He cleared his throat, clearly ruffled by our little "break".

"Hey, wanna watch a movie?" I nodded and he momentarily left the room to grab some movies from his room. I brought out my old TV set after searching through my avalanche-inducing wardrobe and quickly shut the closet, as Jason entered, hoping he hadn't seen my underwear.

He brought out the movie options and set up the TV set as I assembled some popcorn, Skittles, and a bunch of assorted candy. He popped open a can of Dr. Pepper and watched me. I heard him chuckle and turned around with a huff.

"What?" I said in an annoyed voice, bothered that I couldn't find the Twix.

"Nothing, nothing." He said, nearly choking on his soda as he laughed even harder.

I threw a bag of Skittles at him and it hit him square in the chest. I crossed my arms and pouted. "Tell me, or you're not getting any popcorn."

He stopped laughing and I smirked inwardly as his blue eyes widened. "No. You wouldn't dare Mclean." He gasped.

"Try me." I responded, tilting the popcorn bowl over the trashcan.

"Okay, okay. Just put the popcorn down." He tried to reason. I shook my head.

"Tell me first." I threatened.

"Well, I uh, hid the Twix so I could watch you look for it. I know it's your favorite." He said with a deep blush. I frowned.

"You're in deep trouble, Jason." I said in a serious tone. He looked up at me and whimpered.

"Please not the popcorn."

I couldn't help it; I burst out laughing and brought the snacks over, settling down next to him. He grinned as he handed me the Twix. I handed him the bowl of popcorn and he popped in Finding Nemo and we watched intently. We laughed at the jokes, kissed a little, and just enjoyed each other's company. 5'o clock came too soon.

Frank's POV

I knew that Hazel would love the picnic! I had picked her up early and taken her down to a huge hill by the football field. We watched the sunrise and ate a small breakfast of bagels and fruit. We were soon occupied with watching football practice in which Bob waved to us. We waved back and ended up having a snowball fight. I grinned when Hazel won. Watching her laugh was amazing.

After a lunch of chicken sandwiches, juice, and chips, we decided to play Monopoly. I beat Hazel twice, and she soon asked to play Hide-and-Seek. I agreed reluctantly, and it actually ended up being tons of fun. At one point, I found myself hiding under the bleachers, waiting for Hazel to find me. I had to hold back a laugh as I watched her search for me exasperatedly. When she found me, she frowned, claiming that I was too good at this game.

"Hey, it was your idea to play!" I said.

"Yeah, but I actually wanted to win for once." She pouted. I laughed at her face and she ended up laughing too. Soon, I took her down to the concession stand and I was so happy to see her face light up when she saw the cotton candy machine.

"Blue raspberry?" I offered her a stick with the candy on top of it and she giggled like a little kid.

"Thank you!" She grabbed it and we shared, though I felt too full to eat much. We watched the snow swirl around in the light breeze as the afternoon sun glinted. Everything was peaceful. We settled on our blanket and I found myself staring at her chocolate brown hair glinting in the sunlight. She was talking about the one time she went horseback riding.

I don't know what made me do it, but I leaned over and gave her a kiss. She was surprised at first, but she melted into it, and I could feel her smile against my lips. She tasted like blue raspberry. We parted and she took my hand. I smiled in simple happiness as she leaned her head on my shoulder and continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

I didn't want to disrupt the peace, but I stood up. She looked at me quizzically as I offered her my hand, but I knew she would love the surprise I was about to give her. I glanced down at my watch. 4:22. Good. I whistled low and loud and waited. Hazel bounced on the balls of her feet.

It took a couple of seconds, but I heard a responding whinny. A black shape materialized out of the clouds and Hazel jumped up and down, squealing.

Blackjack landed in front of us with his wings spread as he tossed his head. The afternoon sun glinted off of his jet-black wings. Hazel immediately ran over and pet his face and neck, cooing.

"Showoff." I murmured at Blackjack as I approached. Percy had been teaching me how to control, call, and cooperate with Blackjack for a week, so I could be ready for this date with Hazel. Hazel raced up and hugged me.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the best day ever!" she cried. I smiled as I lifted Hazel onto his back. I climbed on behind her and she beamed warmly at me. Somehow, seeing her like this was worth it.

I don't know if you can tell, but our relationship is one of few words. We know what the other person is thinking, and we respond according to that. I'm proud to say that I know Hazel that well.

We took off, and though the first couple times I practiced this with Percy made me queasy, it was easier now. Blackjack soared above the clouds and mounted higher. The temperature grew colder, but I didn't care. All that mattered was seeing Hazel happy. Blackjack extended his wings and flapped effortlessly. Hazel and I took in the view, and we pointed out familiar landmarks together. Everything looked the size of ants.

"Oh look, the football field!" I said, pointing. I saw our blanket and picnic basket and Hazel nodded. She pointed out the dormitories and so forth. She put her fingers on each side of the football field and pretended to squish it in between her fingers. I laughed. We flew away from the school, towards the forest and I felt a sudden lurch.

Hazel yelped as she wobbled back against me and I adjusted myself so I held her safely. She was pinned against my chest, her hair tickling my chin. I swear I saw Blackjack wink back at me slyly.

The flight lasted about a half-an-hour and we soon had to land. It was too short. I hopped off of Blackjack, and pat him absentmindedly.

"Uh, thanks." I said. Hazel glanced at me.

"Can I have a moment alone with him?" she asked. I nodded and walked away, hunched against the wind. I checked my watch 5:00. Perfect. We could go meet the gang at the concession stand. Hazel walked towards me, sniffling. I gave her a hug.

"Thanks. That was the best date ever." She confessed.

"Of course. And don't worry, Hazel. Blackjack will be back to save the day before you know it." I felt her smile against my chest. We walked towards the concessions and even though I said that, I had secretly enjoyed the ride as well. It had all ended too soon.

Annabeth's POV

After sneaking some pizza from the school kitchen, Percy and I wandered the school, talking about random things and sneaking past detentions and full classrooms. It was soon 5:00 before we knew it and we were walking to the football field when I heard a shout.

"Jackson! Chase! Wait up!" I heard a yell and saw Jason and Piper sprinting to catch up. We waited and the four of us walked towards the stadium and the stand. We knocked on the stand's door in three quick raps and the door opened to reveal Frank, Hazel, Leo, and Grover playing cards. Nico was sitting in the corner, watching the game. He dipped his head at us as we entered, and his gaze lingered on Jason, who didn't notice.

The whole gang was here.

"What is this place?" Asked Piper, as she and Jason huddled together next to Grover who was kicking Leo's butt at the game.

"Concession stand. They store stuff in here for the games, and when the season starts, they never who raids the place." Said Leo, waggling his eyebrows. Hazel, Piper, and I exchanged glances.

"You seem to be in an unusually good mood." I remarked.

"Yeah, it's annoying." Grumbled Nico. We all laughed as Leo huffed.

"Well, it's none of your business. So I suggest you keep tus narices out of it." Said Leo, sticking out his tongue.

"Speaking of big noses, you really need to stop seeing Gemma." Said Grover, beating us all to it.

"Aww, I wanted to say that, G-Man!" moaned Percy. I laughed and quickly stopped when I saw Leo's murderous face.

"Don't tell me what to do! I do what I want! Besides, Gemma isn't who you all think she is! She's smart, funny, beautiful, and cool. Besides, any chick who falls for me is obviously amazing."

"Leo," Piper grimaced at the last statement and continued, "she is none of those things, and you know it deep inside." Said Piper seriously.

Jason nodded. "She's playing you man."

Leo scoffed. "No she is not!" he protested.

Nico flipped his bangs out of his face and remarked quietly, "As much as I hate seeing you hurt," he said sarcastically, "She is. I saw her yesterday, sucking Mark's face off. She's worse than a dementor." Nico finished. Grover grinned at Nico's Harry Potter reference.

Piper scooted closer to Leo and gave him a hug as his face transformed into a heartbroken expression. I murmured words of sympathy to him. The moment was broken when we heard a small pinging.

Percy whipped out Riptide and Jason had his gold coin in his hand.

"Easy Percy! It's just me. Hey Annabeth. Hi Nico. What's up, Grover? Wanna introduce me to your friends?" I heard a familiar voice through the Iris message.

"Rachel?"

What does Rachel have to say? Find out whenever I feel like updating! xD (Probably this weekend) Hope you enjoyed the fluff! See you all later! ~HA

COOKIES!

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