Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Rick Riordan owns everything except my plot.
Jason's POV:
Jason didn't care much about his looks. He really didn't! He just cared, about, you know, not looking like a fool. After all, this was his first time seeing most of his grade again. And....you know, he didn't want to look like a complete bumbling idiot, especially, hypothetically, in front of cute girls with choppy hair and swirling eyes. You know. Hypothetically.
"What are you doing?" Thalia said, rolling her eyes at his attempt to pat down his hair.
Jason immediately dropped his hands. "Nothing."
Thalia gave him a look, but dropped the subject. "Are you ready?"
Jason took a deep breath. "Yep. Why are we walking in late anyway?"
Thalia gestured to Hera. "Hera enjoys walking in fashionably late. So Father does too."
Jason wasn't really sure what to think. He got the impression that Hera liked him more than Thalia, but he figured he was still a sign of his father's affair.
"Do we have to walk in a certain way?" Jason said.
Thalia laughed. "Just don't be clumsy. Walk....gracefully."
Jason felt like he'd heard that joke a lot. "Walk like a Grace?"
"Indeed."
"We're ready," Hera said, linking arms with his father.
Thalia took his hand, and gave it a squeeze. Thank goodness for Thalia. Without her, he wasn't really sure what he'd do.
The doors opened, and the Grace walk began. Hera and his father started talking with parents, leaving Thalia and Jason alone.
Thalia turned towards Jason. "Is it okay if I talk to Artemis?"
Jason nodded, feeling a little bit guilty for keeping her here. "Yeah, it's fine. I'll try to find Percy or Leo or something."
Thalia slipped away, and Jason was left to his own devices. He looked around for his friends, but he didn't see anybody he recognized amongst the crowds. He finally spotted a familiar flash of sea green eyes in the corner of the ballroom.
He was almost there, when a voice at his shoulder said, "Hey, babe."
Jason turned to see a glamorous Asian girl, wearing a red shirt and a black skirt. "Um, sorry, do I know you?"
She put a hand on his shoulder. "So the rumors are true. You really got into an accident with Dumpster Girl, and lost your memory. I'm Drew by the way. Your girlfriend too."
Jason was taken back. Percy had said he had no girlfriend, and even if he did, he hoped it wouldn't be someone like Drew. Drew had already called Piper 'Dumpster Girl' which wasn't very nice of her.
Jason shrugged off her hand and said, "Um, really? And, um, maybe you don't need to-"
"Jason!" Jason relaxed as Percy put an arm around him. "There you are!"
Drew tapped her foot impatiently. "Um, Percy, I don't know if you realized, but I am in the middle of-"
"Trying to make Jason believe he's dating you?" Percy finished.
So Jason wasn't dating Drew. That was a relief.
"Why do you have to ruin everything, Jackson?" Drew said, her face flushing pink with anger.
Percy shrugged, and steered Jason away.
"Phew. So I'm not dating her, right?" Jason said.
Percy laughed. "Yes. You're not dating her. Drew has always been after you, so she probably thought amnesia would be the perfect way to get you as her boyfriend."
"Thankfully, I have you," Jason said.
"And me!" Leo popped up, right beside him. "What happened?"
"Drew," Percy said.
Leo nodded in sympathy. "Ah. That sucks man. She's a total b-"
"Female dog," Jason interjected. (AN: Don't worry, there won't be any real swearing)
Leo rolled his eyes. "Right. That."
Percy laughed. "Well, you still have your taboo against swearing. That much hasn't changed."
Jason hated swearing, as it was something that his mother had often done in her drunken fits. Thalia had shielded him the best she could, but he'd seen more than she'd thought.
"Where's Nico, by the way?" Jason said. "I still haven't met one member of my family."
Percy sighed. "We invited him, but he's been acting weird recently. He said no, and stayed at home. Hades is on a business trip, and Persephone is with him. Not that they'd be much help anyway."
"Who's Persephone?" Jason asked.
"She's Nico's stepmother," Leo said.
So apparently almost all of the Olympians cheated on their spouses. What a wonderful, messed up family he was a part of.
"Wow," was all Jason could say.
Percy put a hand on his shoulder, likely understanding it all. "Yep."
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Annabeth's POV:
The first person Annabeth called was her boyfriend, Percy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Cliche romance, blah blah blah. But honestly, if you were moving back to the same state where your respective special person was, wouldn't you also tell them first? Yeah. That's what she thought to.
He was ecstatic to hear it, if not a little tired. After all, it was midnight on a Sunday night in New York. But she'd kept talking anyway, as he had the day off for Labor Day the next day, while she was the one who had to get on a plane.
Annabeth was now on the aforementioned plane, wishing that her phone didn't have to be on airplane mode. She'd be in New York soon. Back to her old home, where she'd see her friends, Thalia, Jason, Piper, and Grover; her boyfriend, Percy; and... her mother.
Annabeth wasn't exactly excited to see her mother, but she would try to seem happy. Annabeth knew that part of the reason they were moving back was because of her mother. Her mother wanted to be back in her life. Apparently, they were considering split time custody. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, she'd be able to see her older brother, Malcolm, more often. On the other, her mother tended to be cold sometimes. And she didn't exactly approve of Percy, on account of her history with Percy's dad. Her mother was also the CEO of a leading architectural company, and on the board of trustees at Olympus Enterprises. But she knew that was really just a way for all the Olympians to see each other often.
The Olympians were what the second generation of them(their children) called them. They weren't all family, but they were close enough to call each other that. They'd all went to High School together, and had all been the ones to take control away from Kronos(the evil grandfather of Percy, Thalia, Jason, and Nico). Each Olympian all did well in their respective areas, and expected their children to do the same. The pressure was sometimes crushing.
Annabeth had heard Helen(AN: It's never really said what her name is, so I just put the one that seems to be accepted in most fanfics) and her dad arguing about it the night before.
"I get the move to New York, Frederick. But why the part time custody? Athena wasn't there for Annabeth then. What says she will be now?" Helen had said.
Her dad said, "Maybe, but they need to meet at least a second time. Last time didn't exactly go too well, so maybe we should give them one more chance."
Helen sighed. "But she's an Olympian, Frederick. I know I haven't been the best stepmother, but Athena's relation to her could definitely put her in danger."
Annabeth agreed with that part. Helen hadn't exactly been the nicest, but she'd always tried at least, and always been kind enough. And Athena was really an Olympian. That immediately put her in danger. Oh well. Percy was the son of Poseidon, Thalia and Jason were children of Zeus, and she'd know others that had been Olympian children. Had was the key word. Luke, a child of Hermes had died. But that had partially been his fault. It was a complicated story. Bianca, Nico's older sister had died too. That had had a big effect on the family. But oh well. She was seeing her friends again anyway, and she was definitely excited for that.
Annabeth couldn't wait to introduce Piper to all her other friends. Maybe she could set Piper up with somebody to make up with being away for most of the summer. Maybe she could set Piper up with... Grover? No.... he was dating Juniper now, and had changed schools. Hopefully she'd still be able to see him. Maybe.... Jason? Maybe that made the most sense. After all, Jason was single and hot. Piper was single and hot. They'd be perfect together.
A voice crackled over the speakers. "We are now landing. Please make sure you seatbelt is on as we begin our descent."
Annabeth fastened her seatbelt, and made sure that Bobby and Mathew(her younger brothers) had their seatbelts on too. She started packing up her things as she got ready. Eventually, after a long hour, they arrived at their new house. The moving truck hadn't arrived yet, so it was pretty bare bones. Annabeth didn't mind though. The most important thing was that she had wifi! She called Percy first, to reassure him she had landed safely(he'd had bad experiences with flights).
Next she called Thalia(which admittedly made her feel like a bad best friend for not calling Piper first, but she needed to work out the details of setting up Jason and Piper). According to Thalia, they'd already met, and she said they'd been in a car accident and both had amnesia(?), but importantly, they had tons of chemistry together. Operation Jasper/Jiper was a go.
Finally, she called Piper at the end of the day, feeling bad about not calling her for a while, but Piper didn't pick up. Annabeth figured that she was out or something like that, though she just left a voice mail. Little did she know what Piper was going through..........
Soooo, over 20 reads! That's amazing! Do you like the pun of the chapter name? Get it? Walking Gracefully?? No? Okay, just me.
So, we learned that Drew is a real female dog. Yeah. She'll definitely cause more trouble. So will Nancy Bobofit, but Rachel and Calypso will perhaps have different story arcs? I don't really know. I don't want to have them be complete female dogs, as they aren't in the books. And Annabeth is in New York! Yay!!!! Annabeth has always been my favorite character personally. I hope I did her character justice! You'll see Piper and Jason's Labor Day off tomorrow, and wow. it's going to be a real something. Logging off now, but I'll try to update tomorrow. Bye!