Jiper/Jasper Life at Camp Half-Blood

Chapter 20- Piper

Sleep doesn't come.

I try counting sheep and reach one thousand and five hundred but it's all useless. I'm restless. Wide awake. Agitated. I bite my bottom lip until I feel like it's going to bleed. My heart hammers in my chest like a never dying drum when I think about Jason.

Those gorgeous pale blue eyes like a sky before a rainy day, and his long eyelashes catching raindrops. And, oh gods, that laugh! Like a whole orchestra playing, hearing it makes me think that he can't be real, that beautiful boy can't be real. His arms that wrap around me like a blanket, pulling me close like a promise of the future. Our future. He smells like a stormy night and cinnamon.

I feel a sudden pang in my heart. A want. An urge to go to Jason. I rush to the door of my room. I place my hand on the door handle and stop.

I can't.

Reality comes crashing down on me like a huge weight on my shoulders. I slide down to the floor, my hand still holding the door handle.

I shouldn't just think about myself. Jason needs to choose for himself what he wants without me weighing him down. I can't just run back to him just because I ache for him, which is a huge understatement. I drag myself back to bed and close my eyes. Now that my heart has grown even more heavy, I welcome sleep. My heart isn't hammering in my chest anymore but is steady. I feel like a deflated balloon.

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"You look like you've woken up on the wrong side of the bed." Annabeth says after seeing my messy hair and tired face.

"You noticed?" The sarcasm is evident in my voice.

Annabeth and I are at the training ground for archery. Archery has never never been my strong point. After about the twentieth time on landing the arrow on the farthest circles from the center, I throw my bow and arrow to the ground, take out Katoptris, and hit it at the center. That makes me fell a bit better.

"This isn't knife throwing, it's Archery." The instructor tells me and moves on to the next demigod, complementing him.

I take a deep breath to try to calm myself. "I need to run." I tell Annabeth before grabbing Katoptris back and heading to the track.

As usual, there's no one there. Most demigods here prefer activities that use various muscles and exciting tournaments.

I start running. Soon I feel my legs running faster and faster. I welcome the pain that makes me forget. My leg muscles strain and my breathing grows heavy. I don't stop. My jog turns into a sprint. I don't stop. My legs feel like they're about to collapse. I don't stop.

I can't stop.

I trip and fall forward. The ground feels cold. My body temperature seems to have increased. I feel my heartbeat more clearly now that I've stopped.

I don't get up but instead rest my cheek on the cool ground. I try to get up after a while but all I can manage is a half-hearted attempt. My eyes droop, they feel so heavy.

I finally get up, go to the Argo III, and take a long warm shower. After that, I go to my bed, slip inside the cozy blanket and fall asleep instantly. No worries of the day's activities come to mind. Those thoughts are all pushed aside as I fall asleep.

**********

My eyes slowly drift open.

I see a worried face above mine with blonde hair and pale blue eyes.