The Bus Ride

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or Heroes of Olympus

ANOTHER HUGE DISCLAIMER: THIS STORY HAS SPOILERS FOR THE BURNING MAZE, SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW, DON'T READ! DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU! THIS IS IN ALL CAPS, BTW!

Alright, now that I've gotten that out of the way, enjoy! :)

oOo

Piper McLean sat down on the bus seat and sighed. It had been a long day at school which is why she decided to take the public transport back to her house instead of walking. Ever since they had moved to Talequah, Piper had hated the place. She didn't want to live there or anything. And what had happened with Jason had just seemed to twist her brain. It had been six months since Jason had been killed by Trimutarive Holdings. Piper was heartbroken and devastated. It's like her life lost all meaning and color that it had. It was like her life was just black and white now. With the help of her dad, Annabeth, and Leo, she managed not to go into depression, but it still crushed her heart. She thought of him everyday and she wondered if Jason did the same in the Underworld. She hoped he'd been sent to Elysium where he was enjoying and happy. She just wanted him to be happy. That's all Piper wished for ever since she'd met him. But, as a demigod, happy isn't really a word that fits in your dictionary. In a demigod's dictionary, there are words like war, battle, and monsters. Piper decided not to ponder on her thoughts and directed her focus toward the little ring on her pointer finger. Jason had gifted it to Piper after the war with Gaea was over. Even after they broke up, Piper hadn't taken the ring off her finger. She started twisting it around and playing with it as the bus stopped at the next stop. She decided to look out the window just in case someone recognized her.

"Nice ring," a voice said. Piper looked up to find a pair of electrifying blue eyes. Piper felt goosebumps around her neck and arms. He had blonde hair. He looked just like Jason. Like a carbon copy. She hid her terrified expression and quickly turned into smile.

" Umm...thanks. "

"Can I sit here?" he motioned to the seat next to her.

Okay, so a guy that looks just like her dead ex-boyfriend wants to sit next to her. Not weird at all Piper thought.

"Sure." the word tumbled out of her.

" Hi, I'm Jason Grace. " he held out a hand to shake hers.

Piper tried to hide her shock as she shook his hand. What in the world was happening? Maybe she should Iris message Annabeth after work she gets off the bus. This was starting to creep her out.

"I'm Piper."

" Piper? " he raised his eyebrows at her as if asking for a last name.

"Chase. Piper Chase." even though this guy looked and acted like Jason, she really didn't want him to be yelling that she was Tristan McLean's daughter. Jason eyed her like he really wasn't convinced that Chase was actually her last name.

"So you go to Talequah High?" he asked.

"Yeah. I moved here six months ago."

"I'm starting at Talequah High tomorrow. I-I was wondering if you could give me some tips, you know. I've gone to the same school my entire life and this is my fist time, you know, being the 'new kid.'"

Piper told him some key details to remember.

"And there's this gang that will beat you up if they get the chance. Avoid them if you can. That's all." Piper concluded.

"You look like you beat them up." Jason said.

" 'Cause I did. " she looks at him with a gleam in her eyes.

"How?" he asked.

" Well...I have a way with words. " Piper shrugged.

With those words, Piper left the bus and walked home. She immediately Iris messaged Annabeth.

"What if it's a coincidence?" Annabeth said."There are a lot of people named Jason."

" People named Jason Grace? " Piper said "That have blonde hair, blue eyes, and a scar on their lip from trying to eat a stapler when they were two years old?"

Annabeth glared at her. "You didn't tell me that!"

Piper rolled her eyes.

" Okay, is this guy threatening you? " Annabeth asked.

"No."

"Piper, I-what if Jason came back from the dead?" Annabeth asks.

" But, even if that did happen, who let him? The Doors of Death are closed and he didn't have the Physician's Cure. " Piper said.

Annabeth considered this, "True."

" So, what do I do? "

"Try and become friends with him. I'll contact Hazel and Nico and ask them about it. If not, I'll see if I can Iris message Chiron and see if he knows anything. Try to find out more about this Jason Grace. Okay?"

" Sure. Bye, Annie. " Before Annabeth could get angry at Piper for calling her Annie, Piper ended the Iris message.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 2 months later:

Piper had become best friends with Jason, but not just because Annabeth had told her to, but also because Jason was an amazing friend and to be frank, her only friend (at school). Jason and Piper were having a picnic together.

"So...there's this question I've been meaning to ask you for a long time." Jason said. Piper sat up. Was he asking her out? Oh, Gods, no!

" Who gave you that ring? " Piper exhaled in relief and turned to Jason, but there was some sort of gleam in his eyes. As if...as if he was telling Piper something good.

"Wait a minute..." her heart was racing a mile a minute. " You did. You gave me this ring. You... "

Jason smirked, "Took you long enough to figure it out."

Piper threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shirt. He hugged her back warmly.

"But how?" Piper asked.

" That body Temptest brought you was fake. I planted it, so it looked like I was dead to Trimurative Holdings. "

"You!" she shoved him. " I can't believe you! You know how much pain I went trough because I thought you were dead! I hate you, Jason Grace! Hate you! "

Jason leaned in, so their noses were touching.

"You know I read somewhere when a woman says 'I hate you!' she actually means 'I love you!'" he whispered.

" That is not true. " Piper whispered back.

"Oh, but you know it is." he closed the gap between them and kissed Piper sweetly and passionately. When they pulled away, Piper asked him, "But why did it take you six months?"

" I've been underground this entire time. Only Nico knew I was alive. " Jason answered.

"Why couldn't you tell me? You knew I was moving to Talequah."

"Pipes, I'll be honest with you. You were even more underground than I was. It took six months for me and Nico to locate you. And nobody was giving us your whereabouts. Apparently, everyone that knows your location can't tell anyone else. Only Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Hazel, Frank and Reyna know you're in Talequah. Everyone else thinks you're still in Malibu."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Nico and I knew you were in Talequah, but not exactly. It was hard, but we found you." Jason laughed.

"Who else know you're alive?" Piper asked.

"Just you and Nico."

She raised her eyebrows, "Can I tell the others?"

"I hope you understand, Pipes, but the less people that kmow, the better. It took me while to convince Nico to tell you about this. I'll tell you when the time is right, I promise."

Piper's monster-proof phone started to ring. Annabeth was calling her.

"One minute," she told Jason. Piper pressed the answer button.

"Hey, Annie!" Piper greeted as Jason smirked at her nickname for Annabeth.

"PIPES! GUESS WHAT?! JASON IS ALIVE! HE WAS NEVER DEAD! IT WAS ALL A DECOY SET UP BY HIM!" Annabeth screamed from the other side.

"I already know. I was having a picnic with him and found out." Piper smirked.

"PIPER!" Percy yelled from the other side. "PARTY AT MY HOUSE! I'VE ALREADY BOOKED YOUR PLANE TICKETS TO NEW YORK AND E-MAILED THEM TO YOU. YOUR FLIGHT IS TONIGHT!"

Piper held the phone at least a foot away from her ear. She had never heard Percy and Annabeth this excited.

"Okay! We'll see you tonight." Piper promised.

"KAY!" Annabeth yelled. "SEE YOU TONIGHT! LOVE YOU, PIPES!"

" Love you too, Annie. " Piper rolled her eyes as she pressed the end call button.

"Wow, I've never seen Percy and Annabeth that excited before." Jason said as he bit into a crossiant.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Come on, Sparky. We gotta pack some suitcases."

Nothing could've made Piper McLean happier than being back with her boyfriend.

oOo

I hope you guys enjoyed that story! Personally, I was heartbroken when I read the Burning Maze and so I wrote this story after the idea popped into my head while I was on a bus.

For all my Surprises story followers, that authors note I posted 2 weeks ago, sorry about that! I've decided I'll upload the next chapter when I am back home, which is another two weeks from now! But thanks for the support and patience while I'm dealing with Writer's Block.

For all my Jasper fans, you guys are awesome! Please do remember to leave a review because it improves my writing.

If there are any grammatical errors or mistakes, please do PM me. I wrote this story on a phone, not on a laptop like usually do.

-Padma