All's Fair In Love And War

TV Love...Ew

I glanced at the other people in the group crowded into the room, hoping we were getting Punk'd or something.

"Wait, are we on 'Love and War?'" Annabeth asked, her eyes lighting up.

"Ding ding ding, darling!" Cupid said happily.

I grimaced. A reality dating show? This was not what I wanted at all.

"Hylla should have come." I muttered.

"Did you have something to say, Miss Ramírez-Arellano?" Venus asked.

"No My Lady." I said, looking her in the eyes.

The stories always said that you would see the goddess of love as what you percieved as the most beautiful woman in the world. I could definitely see it.

She looked like my mom.

"Well, we'll formally introduce you all to the group now. I expect you to keep the screaming to a minimum please." Cupid said.

"Who's the group?" A blond boy asked.

Venus beamed at us. "Your Bachelor-slash-Bachelorette group is...The Rattling Skulls!"

My jaw almost dropped.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Everyone in the room turned to look at me. Annabeth looked like she was going to have a heart attack, as did many of the other girls.

"Is there a problem now, Miss Ramírez-Arellano?" Cupid asked.

I glared at him. "There is actually."

"And what would that be?" Venus smiled sweetly.

"I want out."

"WHAT?!" Annabeth shrieked. "How could you want out? This is THE Rattling Skulls! They're amazing! Why on Gaia would you want to walk away from that?!"

I turned to her very seriously. "I want out because I don't like them. I really, really hate the Rattling Skulls."

The blonde drew a dagger and lunged at me. Ducking, I smacked her wrist with the flat of my hand, shoving her blade off target. Swiping my foot under her legs, I knocked her to the ground and took a step back.

Cupid stepped in between us. "Unfortunately, Miss Ramírez-Arellano, I cannot allow you to leave. We would have to delay the beginning of the show, and the band is already here."

On cue, the door swung open and six people stepped in.

The first boy was holding hands with the girl behind him. He was blonde and had gold rimmed glasses. I recognized him from the posters Hylla had. Jason Grace led Piper McLean into the room, looking at us with a smile.

"Hi, I'm Jason Grace," Several girls sighed, "Lead singer of the Rattling Skulls. Piper here is my backup, my lead guitar and my girlfriend. I'm not participating, neither is Pipes, but we can tell the members that are what we think of you contestants. I personally want to get to know a few of you and make friends."

Piper flipped her choppy brown hair and smiled at us, her multicolored eyes twinkling.

The next boy winked cheekily at us girls. "I'm Leo 'McShizzle' Valdez, Bad Boy Supreme and the super awesome rhythm guitar, AKA the backup for Beauty Queen. Luckily for you ladies, I'm single and ready to mingle." I rolled my eyes at his skinny frame and Latino complexion as he ran a hand through his curly brown hair and blew air kisses at us.

"Alright, Leo, let the others come in." Jason rolled his eyes.

The next girl through the door smiled shyly. "I'm Hazel Levesque, I'm backup and keyboard and I'm participating." She seemed sweet, her cinammon colored hair in bouncy curls that shot out of her head and abnormal gold colored eyes. Probably a daughter of Pluto. It would make sense. This band was the only one made up fully of demigods.

The next boy seemed to be pushed through the door. He had dark shaggy hair that hung in his dark eyes and was wearing all black with an aviator's jacket. He was extremely tall, almost 6 foot 6 by my estimate, but also seemed shy, like his half sister. There was no doubt this kid was a son of Pluto, but maybe his Greek counterpart...Hades.

"My name is Nico di Angelo. I'm the drummer and I will be participating." He muttered something under his breath about knowing this had been a bad idea.

You and me both, kid.

When the last girl strolled through the doorway, I knew that the boy in front of her had definitetly been pushed. Her black hair was spiked and had blue streaks. Her ears were pierced at least four times each and she was wearing black ripped jeans with a black shirt that said 'Punk Isn't Dead, You Are' under a leather jacket. Her bright blue high top Converse matched her electric blue eyes, the same ones Jason had.

"I'm Thalia. I'm not participating and I will personally whoop any guy who tries to flirt with me. I'm looking at you two." She glared at the identical boys.

Cupid stepped forward to speak again and I noticed a boy had slipped in through the door when we turned to look at the diety.

His eyes were focused solely on the floor as he went and stood behind the band. His hair was raven's wing black and he was tanned, but not enough to be Native American or Latino.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the place where you could find the love of your life. But know that above all, this is now war."

[A/N Yay, chappie! I have nothing to say, except the pic is too accurate. Enjoy the introductions.]