Piper's POV:
"How does this look?" Piper said.
Her mother had consistently been dropping outfits every morning, and while some were okay.... some were totally not her style. Today, the outfit was a purple crop top, and jean shorts. The shorts were fine, but the top was a bit tight, and well, cropped. At least it was long sleeve.
Annabeth shrugged. "It's fine, Piper. And by the way, Lacy left a bunch of our work."
After the fateful sleepover, they'd decided to meet up at somebody's house everyday to do homework and come up with theories, but ultimately sleep in their own homes. Except in Piper's case, that meant she had to stay with her mother. And she didn't want to stay there, so Annabeth's house it was.
"Including the musical work?" Piper asked. Lacy had had trouble getting that work, as she'd complained about yesterday.
Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. She said she had to cajole Khione into doing it."
Piper bit into an apple. "I'll make sure to thank her."
They fell into a comfortable silence of Piper eating her apple, Annabeth trying to steal it, eventually settling on both each having their own apple.
Annabeth stared at her. "More nightmares?"
Piper realized that she probably had nightmare circles. "Yeah. Weird ones."
"Flashbacks again?" Annabeth said.
Piper sighed. "Yep. And I assume, we haven't been let off of house arrest, so we still can't go the the address that me and Jason remembered."
Annabeth shook her head. "I've sent every Olympian an email every single day since Sunday. They've gotten three emails, and still won't cave."
Piper rolled her eyes. "Parents."
After a few more bites of apple, they headed towards Percy's house, where they were meeting up for the day. Percy's house had to be the favorite Olympian house. Annabeth's was nice, but Percy's had an indoor pool, an amazing feature that Piper discovered.
"I love this pool!" Piper said. "If I'd known, I would have brought a swimsuit."
"Same!" Hazel said.
Annabeth shrugged. "I have some extras you can borrow. Though, seriously, we need to go shopping for both of you."
Hazel nodded. "Yes, definitely!" She lowered her voice and leaned in closer. "I don't really feel comfortable wearing Bianca's clothes."
Piper wasn't really sure what to say to that, but she put her hand over Hazel's.
Annabeth did the same. "Nico's lucky to have you in his life. But I promise that I'll get Argus to get some more clothes."
"Does he even know what to get for us?" Piper said.
"We should compile a list," Annabeth said. She tore a page out of her notebook and started writing things down. "We have our groceries and ice cream, we just need more clothes."
"I'm making breakfast!" Percy announced from the stairs. "And I promise, this time, people will not need to make a backup breakfast."
Everyone looked at him suspiciously. Yesterday's breakfast had not turned out the best, and everyone else had eventually had to start making breakfast.
"I promise, my mom taught me...I think," Percy said.
"I did teach you," a voice said from the hallway. Piper figured the speaker was Percy's mother, as they shared the same dark hair and intense eyes. Like that they could kill you and hide a body, but would coddle you and smile the whole time.
"It's good to see you, Ms. Jackson," Annabeth said, confirming Piper's guess.
"And you too, Annabeth! It's good to see you, Jason, Leo, and Nico. And what's your name?" Ms. Jackson said.
She gestured to Hazel, Frank, and Piper. With the others not speaking, Piper filled the silence quickly as she could, saying, "Um, I'm Piper."
"I'm Hazel," Hazel said, with an adorable wave.
Frank smiled awkwardly. "I'm Frank."
"Nice to meet you!" She pulled the three of them into an awkward hug. "I have to meet with my editor now, but just make sure to not burn down the house while you're gone. There are some cookies in the oven, and make sure to be careful when taking them out. I think that's everything!"
Percy pulled the cookies out a few minutes later, and wow, they were delicious!
"Wow, your mom is the best," Frank said, who had a cookie crumb mustache he was wiping away.
Percy grinned. "I know."
A few minutes later though, Piper started to get bored. Who came up with AP calculus? Piper hated calculus homework. But somehow, she still had to do it.
By lunch, she wasn't feeling very happy. She'd finished her AP calculus homework, but still had to finish Physics and Economics homework, learn the choreography for Guys and Dolls, and learn the song for choir.
At least lunch was one of her favorites, an avocado cheese sandwich.
But by the afternoon, once she was done, nobody else had finished anything, so Piper just chilled out in the pool. But after when school would be done, Drew came.
"Babe!" Drew squealed.
Everyone looked away, except for Frank, who looked confused.
Khione was behind her, as was Rachel, Nancy, and Calypso- the usual lackeys. Luckily, Piper's phone lit up with a message from Lacy, who was at the gates. Lacy wore a fall sweater and stockings.
"Is Drew here?" Lacy asked. "I think that's her car."
She pointed to a pink car. Piper sighed. "Unfortunately. And her lackeys are here too."
When they got back to Percy's house, Jason and Drew were still kissing(or maybe making out would be a better term), Leo was being told off by Annabeth, Frank and Hazel were talking in hushed tones by the pool, Nancy was arguing with Percy, Khione was rolling her eyes at everything, and Calypso and Rachel were just kind of standing there. Well, maybe not. Rachel's eyes met hers for a moment, but they darted to other places just as quickly.
Piper turned to Lacy. "Want to swim?"
Lacy shrugged. "Sure. Do you have one I can borrow?"
"Yeah, Argus bought some for us," Piper said. She selected a checkered bikini for herself, while Lacy took a two-toned swimsuit.
Piper jumped in immediately, maybe spraying some water on Drew and Khione, while Lacy took the slow approach, walking down the stairs. A few minutes later, Annabeth joined her, wearing a grey swimsuit.
"I thought you didn't like swimming," Piper said.
Annabeth shrugged. "I'll swim occasionally."
Percy jumped in after that; then Drew, wearing a pink bikini; Khione walked in, wearing a dark blue swimsuit covered in little flowers; Jason cannonballed in- until Hazel, Frank, Rachel, and Calypso were the only ones there, and the air was filled with the sound of splashes and the scent of chlorine.
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Jason's POV:
"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Jason had to ask.
Piper rolled her eyes. "We have to figure this out Jason. And this is the address that we both had flashbacks of."
"I think he means the rule breaking," Hazel said. "Which, if I'm being honest, is not really sitting well with me either."
"Well, I sent them so many emails," Annabeth said. "It's Friday, and we are sneaking out. We'll be back before they even know it!"
"Do you really think Nico and Frank can cover for us?" Percy said. Jason was worried about that as well.
Leo flicked a gear at Percy's head. "I gave them tons of fun gadgets to play with, and the sound of us playing in the pool should be enough for Argus."
"But why do we have to get disguises again?" Hazel said.
"Piper's dad is a movie star, my mom is kidnapped, Jason's stepmom is kidnapped, everyone's parents are rich and easy to recognize. Also targets. So by extension, us too," Annabeth said.
Jason pulled his hood over his face as they got out of Leo's car, and walked into the high end shop. Apparently where they were going was holding a party, so they needed to wear fancy clothes. Annabeth had said that she'd recognized somebody in the security footage, some reclusive CEO named Aeolus.
Jason sighed at the suit that Annabeth insisted he wear. Suits were horrible. Percy and Leo both sounded the same way as they tried on their own. But by the end of their mini shopping expedition, the girls had their dresses, the boys had their suits, and most of them had wigs. Well, except for Jason.
Annabeth and Percy had matching teal wigs, Piper had a blue chignon, Hazel had pink curls, and Leo had russet orange hair, but Jason? None of the wigs were very nice, so he ended up with just his normal blond hair.
No disguise helped him hide his shaking hands as Leo drove. Well, to be fair, Festus, as it was named, was a bit old, but Leo had pieced it together somehow.
"I feel like we should have code words," Percy said out of the blue.
Annabeth narrowed her eyes. "What for?"
"Like, what if we need somebody to put on a disguise like that!" Percy snapped his fingers.
Annabeth sighed. "Well, okay, maybe. Um, so to put on a disguise?"
"What about poodle?" Hazel suggested.
"Okay..." Annabeth said. "And, danger?"
"Um, what about flames?" Leo said.
"Sure, I guess," Annabeth said. "Anything else?"
Jason couldn't think of anything else and neither could the rest of them, so they soon grew silent again in anticipation of the mission, for lack of a better name to call it.
While they waited to park, two boys wearing suits looked everyone over before they could go to the garage. Something about them seemed kind of familiar.... but that wasn't important at the moment. It was probably nothing.
Piper groaned.
"What?" Annabeth said.
"That's Zethes and Calais. They're on the cheer team. There's no way they won't recognize me," Piper said.
"Um, hide maybe?" Hazel suggested.
"Well, if we have our fake tickets, we'll be fine, right?" Jason said.
Annabeth pursed her lips. "We'll see."
Luckily, when they came up to the twins, they didn't recognize Piper. Instead, one told Leo, "Your car is leaking gas."
Leo rolled his eyes. "Leaking gas? Puh-lease. If anybody's leaking gas, it's-"
"Leo," Annabeth said in a warning tone.
Leo sighed. "Fine. We'll park and then make sure the car is fine."
One of them shook his head. "No, you must take the car out before you go to the party."
Leo's mouth tightened. "No, you see-"
"Boys, boys, calm down," Piper said. She looked at both of them, exuding confidence.
The one who'd spoken before, who looked like a groovy love guy, said, "You see, madam, we cannot let leaking gas into our garage. Especially not the rooftop levels, so unless this is an emergency-"
"It is an emergency," Piper interrupted. She flashed a smile.
"Well, I suppose if it is an emergency, we may allow you to park. But you will have to talk to our father just to make sure," he said.
"That's fine," Piper said.
Leo parked the car, and they discovered, that yes, it was leaking some sort of weird thing. The girls had to lift their skirts to make sure they weren't dirty.
The groovy love god ushered them into the elevator. "Right this way. I'm Zethes, by the way. Have we met?"
Piper shook her head. "No, I don't believe so."
The elevator dinged open, and Zethes and his brother steered them into the crowd. For a few moments, Jason was almost crushed by the crowds around them. Then the flashes of colorful hair brought him back, and he was stumbling towards them. Something about feeling lost really seemed familiar though.....
"There you are!" Hazel said, who looked the most scared out of all of them.
Jason chuckled nervously. "Here I am."
"Where is he?" Zethes murmured. "Ah, sister! Have you seen Father?"
Jason's heart stopped as Khione stepped in front of them, wearing a light blue dress. Would she recognize them?
"Jason?" Khione said.
"Um, hi, Khione," Jason said.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were still on house arrest," Khione said.
"Well, we got off house arrest today," Jason said.
Khione's eyes narrowed. "We?"
Jason smiled awkwardly. "Well, you remember Leo. Um, and these are my friends from outside school."
Jason knew Khione didn't like Piper or Annabeth, and wasn't sure about Hazel or Percy, and as Leo was the most recognizable with his wig, he figured that this was the best chance.
Khione smiled unnervingly. "Well, is there a reason you're here?"
"Their car wasn't working properly, but it was an emergency landing, so their car is in the garage," Zethes said, and for once, Jason was glad for the groovy love god. "I was taking them to see Father."
"Leo and the rest of your group can stay here. My brother and I will take you to my father, Jason," Khione said.
Jason didn't exactly want to go with her alone, but they had to at least check out the property. A hand crossed over his shoulder.
"I'll go with you," Piper said.
Jason smiled gratefully.
Khione's eyes turned icy. "Very well. Calais will stay with your friends."
She turned on her heel and with a flourish of her skirt, she brought them to the stairs. Jason felt scared as he took Piper's hand.
Piper looked at him with surprise, but curled her warm fingers around his.
A few moments later, they were in a room that made Jason think of Frozen. The floor was covered with a light blue rug, and several chairs made out of glass. Ice sculptures filled the room, somehow not melting.
A middle aged man, with white blond hair and cruel dark eyes sat on a particularly ostentatious glass chair, stroking the neck of an ice swan.
Khione looked over her shoulder. "My father Boreas only speaks French, so unless you speak French, I will do all the talking."
She began to speak to the man in hushed tones. Piper leaned in, her warm breath tickling his ear. "I don't think she likes me very much."
Jason shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."
"She's saying that I'm some 'random girl.'" Piper giggled softly.
"You speak French?" Jason said.
Piper nodded. "AP French, all the way."
Khione turned to them. "My father says your car is fine, so back to the party?"
Neither of them made a single move.
"Or is there something more you came here for today, Jason Grace?"
At Jason's name, Boreas' head snapped up.
"Jason Grace?" Boreas said in a French inflected voice.
"Um, yes," Jason said.
Boreas started talking French again, in sharp words to Khione.
Piper cut in, saying some French thing. And then, cue more French stuff. Eventually, Piper turned back to Jason. "Four Winds Hotels is owned by Olympus Enterprises."
"Who runs Four Winds Hotels?" Jason said.
Piper shrugged, tugging on her black dress. "Some guy named Aeolus."
"Wait, isn't that the guy on the security footage?" Jason said.
Piper's eyes widened. "Yeah, it is."
Jason looked at Boreas. "Can you tell us where Aeolus is? He's your boss, right?"
A few seconds later, Piper rephrased it in French. Khione stood next to her father, a ferocious glare on her face. Zethes still flanked the rear, looking confused.
Boreas started to speak in English, saying, "Since you have honored me in my language, I shall speak in yours, Ms..."
"Um, Ms. Mclain," Piper said, flicking her blue hair out of her face. Wow, she was good at lying.
"Well, Ms. Mclain, Aeolus likes to stay away from most people, especially children of the Olympians. They cause such a ruckus sometimes." Jason's stomach turned in on itself. They needed to know where he was if they were going to find the Olympians. "In fact, he outlined several things that we were to do should we encounter you, including several nefarious things."
Jason gripped his gun, ready to bust it out if necessary.
"However, Aeolus has long wanted a promotion. And, that is the only reason we might spare Olympian children." Jason perked up at that. They had something to bribe him with at least.
Piper exchanged hope filled glances with him. "Well, that's something we can arrange."
"There's still another challenge," Boreas said. "No one knows where he is. He only comes out for a few gatherings every year. At the moment, the only ones who might know are his assistants."
"Where can we find those people?" Piper pressed.
Boreas harrumphed. "They like the.."
His voice dropped down to a whisper.
Jason waited for something horrible and disgusting, but Boreas said, "The Chicago musical."
"Oh," Piper said.
"Anyway, that's enough of seeing people for today," Boreas said. "Out. Out!"
Khione looked angry. "But Father-"
"Out!"
Khione didn't look very happy, but she led them out of the cold and creepy room. Jason breathed a sigh of relief as he found his friends, in the warm, cinnamon scented air.
"What happened out there?" Percy whispered.
"Tell you later," Jason muttered. "We should get out of here now."
Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Normally I'll try to update every two days, but Christmas troubles, so it's three days late. To make up for it though, I moved the timeline a bit faster along. The North Wind stuff was going to happen in Chapter 16, but I moved away the unnecessary stuff, and put this here instead.
Also, side note: the chapter title is based off of something indeed.
See you next time!