Piper and Jason (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Part 6 JASON

Clarisse paced back and forth, nervously drumming her fingers against the hilt of her sword. “Are they coming?” She barked impatiently at someone I couldn’t see.

            “Our scouts report seeing them advancing by the east bank of the river,” The other person said. I was taken aback by the calm and collectiveness of his voice. It was quiet and smooth; all the words rolled off his tongue and bounced around my skull.

            Clarisse’s eyes softened, and her gruff expression was replaced by one I never thought I would see on her face.

            The look of love.

 Percy and Annabeth giving each other this look, same with Frank and Hazel. I’m pretty sure I looked at Piper like this all the time.

            The person Clarisse had been talking to stepped into my view. He was tall and muscular. He had a handsome face with chiseled features, but it took me a minute to realize it wasn’t him Clarisse was staring at. It was someone else.

            I followed her gaze to a boy with tan skin and dark brown hair. He had a wild look in his eyes, and his hands shook slightly and he sort of jumped while he walked. Clarisse sighed and suppressed smile, but stopped when she caught me looking. She sneered at me, and I stuck my tongue out.

            “Jason Grace, you better watch who you’re messing with,” Clarisse said, but it was an empty threat. She had a sad, defeated look in her eyes that just couldn’t be hidden.

            “Ok, Clarisse,” I yawned. “Whatever you say.”

            “Remember, your own friend put you in this jail,” Clarisse scowled. “You couldn’t even beat that pathetic son of Hephaestus.”

            I balled my fists, but I was trapped and defeated. “Leo isn’t pathetic.”

            Leo, who was positioned in a tree to my left, looked our way. He gave me a half-hearted smile. Clarisse glared up at him, and he quickly turned around.

            “Not another word out of you Grace,” Clarisse growled.

            I didn’t respond.

            “Good.” She marched over to the boy with the wild eyes, and softly said something to him. I couldn’t make out their conversation, but she blushed. A lot.

            “That’s her boyfriend,” Some girl said in the cage behind me. “Chris Rodriguez.”

            Clarisse had a boyfriend? That was news to me. I didn’t think anyone would ever want to date her, but I guess this Chris guy had found her soft spot.

            He held her hand and they talked for a few moments, until someone shouted and Chris turned away. He said something to her and kissed her cheek. He ran off into the woods with a few other campers. Clarisse scaled the tree closest to her and sat quietly in the branches.

            “Jason,” A voice hissed. I turned around to see Piper in a cage to my far right. I gasped.

            A look of alarm flashed on her face. She turned around; not realizing what I was gasping at was her. Her entire head was covered with dry blood, all of it dripping from a cut on her forehead. Her beautiful face looked so gruesome; I squeezed my eyes shut.

            “Jason, are you ok?”

            “Yeah, Pipes, I’m fine,” I gulped. “Just… what happened to your forehead?”

            She frowned. “I was attacked, and landed on a rock.”

            “Is that why you’re here?”

            “Um, no, actually. I was kidnapped by that ugly brute, Logan.”

            Anger swelled inside of me. Logan had kidnapped my injured girlfriend? He was just giving me more and more excuses to beat him to a pulp.

            “Jason?”

            “Yeah?”

            “You shouldn’t have come. Logan kidnapped me knowing you would come here and get captured. It’s all a part of Clarisse’s strategy.” Piper whispered.

            “Actually, I came here looking for the rest of the border patrol,” I admitted. “I didn’t even know you were gone.” That last part came out a little harsher than I had wanted it to.  “I mean-”

            “No, it’s ok Jason. I didn’t want you to know anyway. I don’t like playing damsel in distress.” She wiped a strand of hair out of her face.

            “I’m still going to kill Logan for making you prisoner,” I said. Piper’s face turned a sickly shade of green. I noticed her gash was ringed with fresh red blood. “Pipes, did you get that looked at?”

            “No,” She coughed. “We were too far out in the woods. We didn’t have time-”

            “That looks really bad, Piper. We need to get you to a medic.” I wanted more than anything to wrap my arms around her and hold her tight. “Clarisse, Piper needs a medic!”

            “Nice try, Grace,” Clarisse snapped somewhere in the foliage. “You’re not fooling me.”

            Someone hopped down from the trees. The handsome stranger Clarisse was yelling at earlier was making his way towards me. “Jason, is it?’ He said calmly.

            “Uh, yeah.”

            “I’m from the Apollo cabin. I can heal Piper.”

            “John, don’t you dare help them!” Clarisse barked.

            “Yeah, yeah,” John rolled his eyes. “Which one is she?”

            “The one with the blood all over her face.”

            “Ah, yes.”

            John opened her cage and helped her out. “It’s going to be ok,” John spoke to her in a soothing tone. “I’m going to take you back to Chiron.”

            Piper nodded slowly.  He put his arm around her shoulder and began to help her stumble out of the clearing. I don’t know why, but I felt like I should be the one escorting Piper to safety, not some kid from the Apollo cabin.

            “She’ll be fine.” A voice behind me said. I turned to see the girl who had disarmed me, a short blonde girl from the Ares cabin. “John is one of the best medics in the camp, besides Chiron, of course.” By the way she said his name I could tell she had strong feelings for him. Maybe she was feeling the same way I was about John escorting Piper out of prison.

            “Clarisse!” A soldier barked from the trees. “The Blue Team approaches!”

            “Good!” Clarisse laughed. “Archers, on my mark!”

            And that’s when all Hades broke loose.