Leo Returns: After Blood of Olympus [COMPLETE] [#Wattys2015]

Chapter 5: Piper

Piper

Piper woke up to the sound of her siblings arguing about whose turn it was to use the blow drier. She sighed, and rolled out of bed.

She stared at the pictures she had sitting framed on her nightstand, and bit her lip.

There was a picture of her and Jason sitting on the beach at the fourth of July fireworks, holding hands. Another frame held a picture of her, Annabeth, Reyna, and Hazel after the quest of the seven was completed and Gaea was destroyed. The next frame held a picture of her, Jason, and Leo standing on the deck of the Argo II right before they set sail for Camp Jupiter. The final frame held a picture of Piper and Leo goofing off, throwing marshmallows at each other and laughing.

Piper bit back a sob. Leo... It had been six months since he disappeared.

Everyday she thought of him, and how badly she had failed him. She felt like she should have stopped him, found a better way, but she had ignored all the signs. All the hours he had spent alone in the engine room, inside the frame of the Argo II, she should have helped him, figured out what was going on. And when they had gone to Asclepius' office, he had known Leo was going to die, and had practically said so, and Piper ignored it. Piper knew she would never forgive herself, but she had to keep going, for Leo.

She settled the dispute over the hair drier with a bit of charmspeak, and quickly got changed into a Camp Half-Blood tee-shirt and some shorts. As she walked to the dining pavilion for breakfast, she spotted Annabeth heading up the hill. She snuck up behind her, and jumped on her back.

"Gods of Olympus! Piper, don't scare me like that!" Annabeth gasped.

"Yeah, well, the opportunity was too good to miss." Piper replied, grinning.

Together, they entered the dining pavilion, and went to go sit at their respective tables. Piper picked up a plate and went to the buffet. She picked out waffles, and a bunch of fruit. On her way back to her table, she stopped at the bronze flames to make her sacrifice to the gods.

She scraped some food off her plate and closed her eyes and silently prayed, 'Mom, please send me a sign about Leo'. She went back to her table, and started eating her breakfast. The rest of her siblings sat down beside her, and the normal morning gossip soon followed.

"Did you hear that Travis and Katie hooked up?" Drew started the conversation.

"No! When?" Responded Lacy giddily.

Piper perked up. That particular bit of gossip actually interested her.

"They got together last night after the campfire! They are so cute together!" Drew squealed.

Just then, the horn sounded, signaling that breakfast was over, and it was time for morning activities. Piper stood up, and shouted, "Aphrodite cabin! Behind me!" As they filed behind her, she started jogging over to the sword fighting arena. The rest of the day passed normally, but when Piper went to weapon making with the Hephaestus cabin, her eyes teared up, as each of the children of Hephaestus reminded her of Leo.

Before dinner, she stopped at cabin one to visit Jason. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It quickly opened, and there stood Jason. "Hey Pipes!" He said.

"Hey Sparky, just wanted to stop in before dinner. How was your day?"

They sat down on the porch, and started talking about Jason's day.

Before long, it was over and Jason asked the question Piper had been dreading. "So how was your afternoon?" Piper took a deep breath to steady herself, and tried to stay happy. "Nothing special, just weapon making, training, the usual." Jason looked at her, and sensed something was wrong. "It's Leo, isn't it." Piper started tearing up. "I know I'm being ridiculous, but every time I look at the Hephaestus kids, I see Leo. I want him back so badly!" She started sobbing, and Jason hugged her and rubbed her back. "Shhhh..." He murmured. "We all want him back, and remember what we said? Leo is not dead. He's way too tough for that." Piper tried to believe him, and she shakily stood up, and wiped her face. "I'm so sorry Jason, I just miss him more each day. Gods, I'm a mess." Jason laughed and stood up to kiss her forehead. "I know, me too. Let's get down to dinner"

As she lay down to sleep, she sighed as Leo again entered her mind. She stared at the ceiling, and whispered "Come on Leo, where are you?"