PJO/HoO Around the Campfire

Chapter 28: Tears and Confusion

July 11, 2021

"Alright Leo, tell me why you dragged me in here." Piper's tone was harsh until she saw the look on Leo's face. She let out a sigh and hopped up to sit on the bathroom counter.

Neither of them said anything or moved from their spots for a while until it was clear to Piper this was not the way she was going to get Leo to talk.

"Leo, was there something you wanted to talk about?" Piper hoped he would tell her, even if she was wrong about it was she still hoped he would feel comfortable talking to her about it.

"Well, maybe. Was there something you wanted to talk about." Leo's tone was teasing but he definitely meant every word of what he was saying.

"You're the one that dragged me in here!" Piper was still smiling but her tone was becoming increasingly tense.

"Well– You're the one that looked at me!"

"Seriously, you dragged me in here because I looked at you?"

Piper sighed again, it was never worth it to fight with Leo. "Fine, I did look at you. I'm merely curious about... what's going on in your life, maybe in the Aphrodite department? I'm no expert or anything but you can talk to me about it if you want."

"You're right, you're obviously not an expert, I mean look at your relationship, it was built on a lie. Do you even like Jason, or is that made up, too?"

Piper leaned back as if his words had been a physical punch, she was speechless.

Leo didn't know what to say either, he regretted what he said the moment it passed his lips.

Piper jumped down from the counter and walked up to Leo, her expression was stone cold and closed off, her jaw was clenched. Leo braced himself for a physical or verbal come back.

Her tone was scarily calm, but her voice was tight, constricted. "Why would you bring me here if you were just going to insult me? I want to be there for you Leo, I really do, but sometimes you just make it so... difficult. Youre so— I just can't anymore. Whatever it was... don't come to me, just... just don't."

Piper reached around Leo to open the bathroom door, she walked around him to leave the bathroom, clipping him with her shoulder as she went.

Leo couldn't say anything, he could hardly move. All he could do was turn around and watch as Piper walked right up to Jason and took his face in her hands.

She pulled him into a kiss, long and overly passionate for their current environment.

Jason pulled away first and held her by her shoulders in front of him. "Piper, what's wrong? Are you... Are you crying?"

Piper shook her head even though tears were streaming down her face. She tried to talk, she tried to tell Jason she needed to leave, but she couldn't get a word out through her sobs.

Everyone in the room was looking at Piper with concern and then over at Leo with questioning and furious looks.

Jason pulled Piper in for a hug, tucking her head under his chin and he rubbed her back. "I'm going to take Piper back to her cabin." He didn't say anything to Leo as he passed by the bathroom to get to the door, but it was clear from his expression that he was mad at Leo and that he wanted an explanation for this.

Everyone turned to Leo as soon as the door was closed and Jason and Piper were outside. The previously silent cabin broke into noise as everyone demanded answers from Leo.

Leo had been too shocked to cry before, when Piper yelled at him, or when she had gone eerily calm, or when she had started crying, but now, now he could feel the prick of it behind his eyes.

Annabeth was the one that came forward to question Leo. "What happened in there, what's wrong with Piper?"

Leo didn't—couldn't answer her, or anyone else. He pushed past Annabeth, walking to the door of the cabin, as soon as he was ten feet away from the cabin he broke out in a run.

Annabeth wanted to run after him but stopped when she got to the doorway. She called his name but he was already too far to hear, running towards the woods.

Annabeth hadn't heard Percy approaching so when he slid an arm around her waist she jumped, but when she realized it was him she relaxed into his embrace and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Just let him go, Wise Girl, Jason's with Piper so he'll probably find out what happened. They probably just need some time to cool down, he'll be back for breakfast."

"Yeah, I guess." She didn't sound sure.

Percy let go of her and turned to the rest of the group. "I think it would be best if we all got some rest, we'll figure this whole thing out in the morning."

No one objected to that, the mood of the night had been killed now anyway, and they were all a little worried about Piper and Leo.

They said their goodbyes as everyone left Percy's cabin but before Annabeth could leave Percy caught her hand, spun her around, and kissed her. "I promise we'll find out what happened in the morning, just try to sleep well tonight, okay?"

Annabeth smiled, "Alright, if you insist."

"Good night, Wise girl."

"Good night, I love you."

"What? No nickname?"

Anabeth laughed, she could always count on Percy for that. "Good night, Seaweed Brain."

As she walked away from his cabin Percy called after her, "I love you, too."

I just want to say a quick thank you to all the people who read my book, I probably would have given up on this project without y'all ;) As always, don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it 🌺