Leo's POV

     "You're going to hang out with your friends?"Jo asked.

     I nodded. "Jason is picking me up."

    Jo's face softened. She thought Jason was a golden boy and could steer me to no wrong. If only she knew we were going to a party.

     "Have a good Halloween," she said. "I'll let you and Georgia split the remaining candy."

     Jo and Emmie were the type of people who went overboard when it came to Halloween. They had designed and made fake cobwebs, stone tombstones, and a life-size Gorgon statue. I wondered if the yard would receive the same treatment for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

      Piper pulled up and Jason waved at me from the passenger seat. Like me, Jason didn't have a car of his own. He didn't talk much of his home situation, but I knew that neither of his parents were involved in his life.

      "What are you dressed as?" Piper asked me as she started the car up.

      "Oh, this lovely costume?" I asked, gesturing to my orange chiton. "I'm Archimedes."

     Jason and Piper exchanged glances. "And who is that?" Jason asked.

      "Only one of the greatest mathematicians to have ever lived," I said. "He wrote On Spheres. He was a genius, but the Romans killed him."

     "Ahh, I've never heard of him," Piper said.

      "I'm guessing you're Cleopatra and he's Caesar?" I asked.

     Piper was wearing a white dress with golden wristbands and a thick golden collar. Her hair was styled into the traditional Cleopatra hairstyle and a vulture headdress adorned her tresses. Jason was wearing Roman military armor.

     "I'm Marc Antony," Jason said.

      "Ahh," I said, nodding. "So instead of being stabbed to death, you'll fall on your own sword."

       "It's a costume — not my destiny," Jason said.

       I shook my head and made clicking sounds. "That's what Marc Antony said."

    Jason sighed and facepalmed. Piper pulled over and parked. "We're here."

   
     We left the car. The sun was setting, but the house we walked to was awash with color. Pollux and Castor — two seniors who were twins — were hosting the party. There was no alcohol, but lots of good beverage options. I poured myself a cup of root beer and looked up to see Calypso waving at me. I said goodbye to my friends and made my way towards her.

      Calypso was wearing a white dress and light green wings. "You're a fairy?" I guessed.

    She nodded and spun around. "Who are you, some Greek peasant?"

     I puffed up my chest. "I am none other than the great Archimedes."

      Calypso laughed. "Of course you chose someone none of us have heard of."

     Annabeth, who was chatting with Percy nearby, turned around. "You've never heard of Archimedes? Where do you go to school?"

     "The same place as you," Calypso said, her eyes narrowing. "Where did you learn your manners — from a Cyclops?"

     Annabeth's hands curled into fists and she stepped forward. Calypso's arms crossed in front of her chest. 

      "Come on, Wise Girl," Percy said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go somewhere else."

    He led her away and Calypso huffed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just — I'm jealous of her. Percy chose her over me. Guys never have serious relationships with me."

     My shoulders drooped. So that was why she asked if Reyna was my Annabeth. I was Calypso's second choice at best. If she was dating Percy or Jason, she'd consider her relationship serious. It was because she was with me — I who didn't fit the buff, heroic stereotype — that she could never take our relationship seriously.