Life's Goode (PJO/HOO Soulmates Story)

Chapter 4

Hazel POV (haha you thought it would be Jason!!)

It was the night of Piper's party and I was rushing to get ready in time. Honestly, I was a bit surprised that she had invited me. It wasn't that we weren't friends, but she always seemed so cool and I was, well, to put it simply, old-fashioned.

Anyways,  I had gotten home, quickly rushing to change into "party clothes". So basically an old hoodie sweatshirt and black leggings. I pulled out my old converse sneakers and quickly put them on over my fuzzy socks. I looked in the mirror quickly, checking to make sure I looked acceptable. 

Yep, I look like a five-year-old. But what's new?

I skipped down the stairs, forgetting about the biggest flaw in my plan to sneak out. 

"Where are you going?" 

I was stopped short by my raven-haired brother. Nico stepped out of the shadowy corner, blocking the front door from my longing gaze. 

"I, um, I was just-" I stammered, thinking of a viable excuse other than I was going to a party. A party that Nico had not invited to. 

"-going to Piper's party. I know," he finished my sentence for me. I was still holding my breath, not wanting to confirm or deny his suspicions. 

"Hazel, you can relax. I know that you are going," Nico assured me. I let out the breath and nodded thankfully. 

"How'd you know," I questioned, not wanting him to feel left out.

"I'm going, too."

Those last words kind of surprised me. Don't get me wrong, I love Nico. It's just that he isn't exactly a...

Social butterfly. He was more like an emo moth. 

Anyways, he had been having problems with other people ever since... then. I had to admit that I had problems when I thought about it too. So I didn't. It was easier.  

"Hazel, we have to be careful when we are there, okay? We have to be home by 12," I nodded at Nico, knowing that what he said was right.

So that was that. We headed out to Piper's, me in my baggy sweatshirt and leggings, Nico in his black beanie, black pants, black shirts, and black shoes. Wow, Jughead Jones vibes. We only had to walk a few blocks to get to the party, but I had always gotten cold easily, so this short walk was a bit painful in the usually cold September weather.

By the time we got there, I was hugging myself and shivering fiercely, walking at a brisk pace.

Piper's house was, how can I say this, huge. Not only was her father a famous actor, shoot I forgot that that's a secret, but her mom was quite the model back in her day. After her parents split, her mom and Leo's dad were briefly married. They're no longer together, but since the whole black market fiasco, Piper lives with the Leo and his mom.

Piper insisted that they move into a nicer house, resulting in their move to this house, a needed upgrade from the Valdez's previous home. 

You would never guess that they were rich though. Piper and Leo were so humble about their money, which was part of why I liked them so much. Nico and I didn't have much so it was nice to not have other people rubbing stuff in our faces.

Nico and I let ourselves in through the front door, only to be greeted by Leo holding a video game controller. 

"Hey guys, what's up!" he smiled at us, waving us to follow him.

He made his way into Piper's living room before plopping down in front of a massive television. 

I quickly looked around the house, observing who all was there. Percy and Jason were lounging on the couch, playing a video game. Percy looked up and smiled at us as we walked in.

Percy was pretty cool and we got along. I mean, he's my cousin so we kind of had to. But he was on a completely different level of the social chain than I was. Thankfully, he was always nice to me, and more importantly, to Nico.

Piper strolled into the room holding a few bags of chips. She tossed one over to Percy and Jason, glancing at the blonde every few seconds.

Piper had always had a thing for Jason. Lots of girls did. He was definitely hot, there was no denying that. He was just never my type. I liked more huggable looking guys. Teddy bear-ish.

"Sit down wherever you want," Piper said as she walked towards us. "There's also more food in the kitchen if you want."

"Thanks," I replied. "I'm gonna grab something to eat," I say turning to Nico. 

He nodded at me before turning and seating himself stiffly in one of the recliners.

I made my way to the kitchen, Piper trailing behind me. I decided to grab myself a soda. I knew where they were since Leo had me over all the time. 

"Sorry if you thought this was actually going to be a party or something," said Piper before placing herself on one of the counters. "It was really last minute, more of a hangout to welcome the new girl, Annabeth."

I smiled at her before replying. "No complaints here, big parties aren't exactly my thing."

"Yeah me, too," she laughed. "I left that side of me back in Los Angeles."

"You left what in Los Angeles?" asked Jason Grace as he entered the kitchen. 

Piper instantly went beet red and turned away from him, jumping off the counter. I laughed in my head, seeing her embarrassed was a rare sight. 

"Nothing, just an old bag," Piper quickly answered, scrambling for an excuse.

"Oh, cool. I didn't know you'd been to Los-" Jason began before cut off by the sound of the doorbell. 

"I'll get that!" Piper half walked, half ran out of the kitchen, eager to be rid of this conversation.

I smiled at Jason before following Piper to see who had arrived. 

Piper opened the door and standing on the other side of the door was who I had to assume was the new girl, Annabeth. 

"Thank gods this is your house, I was worried," confessed Annabeth with a smile. 

Piper quickly gave her a hug, which based on the look on her face surprised Annabeth. She walked in, looking around at the stunning house.

"I know this isn't really a party, I hope that's fine with you," said Piper, looking slightly sheepish.

Annabeth insisted that it was more than okay, saying she was too tired from a new school to deal with a party. 

"Parties aren't really my thing, anyway," Annabeth smiled. Boy, could I relate to that. Maybe this new girl and I would get along. I could use some more friends.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Annabeth Chase," she turned to me. 

"I'm Hazel," I replied quickly, smiling at the blonde girl. Wow, her eyes were kind of scary, but in a cool way.

The three of us walked into the kitchen, casually chatting about school stuff. 

As we entered the room, we were greeted by Percy and Jason, who were too busy stuffing their faces with the popcorn that I had made to notice us. 

Piper coughed loudly, alerting the boys of our presence. They turned, their cheeks stuffed with food. 

We giggled as they quickly tried to swallow, getting rid of the evidence.

We quickly introduced Annabeth to Jason, as she had apparently already met Percy in school. An awkward silence filled the room. I kept my eyes down, not really knowing what to say. 

The silence was broken when we heard Leo yelling from the other room.

"Are you going to bring me the food or not?"

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 Hey everyone, it's been a while. I just thought I'd update because I really have nothing better to do. It's obviously been a long time so if anything that I write doesn't perfectly match up to the other chapters, don't think about it too much. A lot is different than when I first wrote this so some things are going to be different.

It's fun to be back though, so let me know what you think. Thanks :)