the warrior of olympus [ the heroes of olympus ]

chapter nine

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝚁𝚁𝙸𝙾𝚁 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂༉‧₊˚.[𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙾𝙴𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝚄𝚂]

chapter nine: piper learns an important lesson: there is no such thing as morals, demigods just have bad luck

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EMBARRASSINGLY, ASHANTI conked out as soon as the awkward conversation wrapped up.

despite not actively discussing it with piper, the dionysus girl had come to her own conclusion to allow her to come clean to the others on their quest on her own time. it felt a bit odd to out a secret of that degree to the others without the younger girl's explicit permission, so when jason, and leo looked to her, confused as to why piper refused to continue talking about why the bay area was significant, she closed her own eyes, avoiding the conversation altogether. luckily, she didn't have to fake sleep for long, taking on two dragons was more than enough for the downside of her curse kicking in, drowsiness clinging to her the moment the adrenaline in her bloodstream dissipated to nothing.

when sleep came, she dreamed of percy.

she didn't know if she was grateful to see his face once more, adorning that dimpled smile, or if the pain in her chest made it completely unbearable, entirely aware that she was only dreaming of her lost boyfriend. he looked a bit restless, his curling, almost waving dark locks mussed a bit more than usual, as if he'd been tossing, and turning. little streaks of silver bled through the inky color, a permanent reminder of their hardships. despite the sheepish, tired expression he wore, he peeked into her bedroom with bright eyes, and a mischievous smile. it was the last night he stayed at the vineyard, the weekend he'd come down to take her to homecoming. she was almost worried as to how he'd gotten to her room unscathed since the twins made him take the guest room on their floor versus hers.

he was in one of pollux's metal t-shirts, and some sweatpants castor had reluctantly lent him that fit surprisingly well. her brothers were tall, carried a lot of muscle as they had been trained as athletes for their entire lives, so consider ashanti's surprise when he filled out well in their clothes. the poseidon boy leaned on her threshold of her double-doors, a somewhat shy expression as he peered into her room. her silk-like curls had been pinned away, her hair wrapped in a satin scarf. her face was shiny, her nighttime skincare routine had her glimmering in the moonlight that slipped past the white curtains she had pulled shut over her balcony doors. "you up for a late night drive?"

thrill had her heartbeat humming in her ears, her blood warming her entire body. she practically bursted from the comfort of her thick duvet, haphazardly tossing it aside, putting her fuzzy socks into a pair of translucent purple crocs. was it practically a death wish to sneak out with percy jackson? absolutely, but she couldn't help herself, he was so tempting. "you realize it's two a.m., right?" she whispered as percy pulled his hoodie over her head, it caused her scarf to slide out of place a bit, but he was quick to fix it. he pulled the thick fabric of his hoodie further down her figure to cover her pajamas, the scent of seasalt, and fresh laundry filled ashanti's nose. she took a deep breath, an unintentional smile slowly spreading on her lips. "practially nothing is open, fish guts."

"i'll bet that diner is open," he bargained, swinging the keys to pollux's motorcycle around his index finger casually, "and if i'm right, my girl is always up for a fudge sundae." she couldn't lie, it was a pretty hard thing to pass up, especially when he fixated her with those green eyes, a promise of an adventure glinting in them. how could she tell him 'no'? he tugged her closer to him by the strings of his hoodie, tipping her head upward with his warm hands splayed against the skin of her throat. "that's what i thought," he said smugly to her lack of response, pressing his mouth to hers breathily. cocky bastard, she couldn't help but think, but her brain melted to mush the moment his soft lips met hers. her eyes fluttered closed, grasping at his t-shirt tightly.