Jason's POV

I stood outside of an apartment building in Manhattan with the wind biting at my nose and swirling around my pant legs. Why was I so worried? I should be looking forward to this. I haven't celebrated Thanksgiving since... well, never. But that was exactly the problem; I didn't know what to expect.

"Jason? Jason, what's wrong?" a concerned voice said beside me, the owner gently shaking my arm.

"What?"

"You had, like, a faraway look in your eye, and, I don't know, you seem kind of preoccupied. What's wrong?" Piper asked again.

"I, uh..." I tried to come up with something quick but I couldn't lie to Piper. "I guess I'm a little nervous about this, Pipes."

"Why?" The wind picked up, making it even chillier out here, and she snuggled into my chest and wrapped her arms around me. "The Praetor of Twelfth Legion, Savior of Olympus, Son of Zeus, and Best Boyfriend Ever is anxious about having some quality time with friends?" Piper didn't seem like she was teasing or being mean, but more like she was trying to reassure me.

I gave a slight laugh but I could feel the blush creep into my cheeks when she called me the Best Boyfriend Ever.  Hopefully she couldn't tell because of the cold. "Yeah, you nailed it. I've just never really done holidays before. Believe it or not, the Romans were never the warm, fuzzy, family type." 

"Really? Because I can definitely picture you and Terminus and Octavian and Reyna sharing stories and drinking hot chocolate around a fire in footie pajamas."

"That," I tried to get out in between laughs, "sounds about right."

"Oh come on Sparky, it'll be great," Piper promised as she took my hand and dragged me towards the entrance of the building. "Thalia will be there, you haven't seen her in awhile. And Leo, too. Not to mention our other friends."

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. It'll be fun." I responded, a small grin stretching across my face as Piper pulled me through the door.

After the elevator ride, I was feeling plenty warm again. The cold hasn't seemed to bother me as much anymore after being frozen by Khione. Piper looked like she was freezing still, though, even in her parka, knitted hat and gloves, and scarf. Her silky brown hair was tucked in her collar oddly and sticking to her face from the wind. She was trying to tame with her fingers, but I grabbed her hands to stop her.

"I like it like that. It's cute," I told her. She blushed and elbowed me but left her hair alone.

Before I knew it, we were standing outside of the apartment. I raised my fist to knock, hesitating only slightly. Not even enough for Piper to notice.

Get a grip, Grace, I told myself. What's wrong with you? Can't handle a little Thanksgiving celebration? But I knew what was really bothering me was that this was new to me while everyone else had been doing this for years. Seriously, pull yourself together. You are majorly overreacting about this. Yeah, I really am being dramatic about this.

Before I could have another weird, solo conversation, the door was thrown open.

"Jason! Piper!" a voice that belonged to no other than Percy Jackson yelled as he pulled us both into a hug. "Glad you guys came, come on in!"

I barely made it four steps in before being attacked from the side.

"Umph... Ugh... Can't... Breathe... Sis." I gasped as my head was being crushed by Thalia.

"Sorry!" She pulled away and gave me a real hug, not sounding in the least bit sorry. I embraced her back. Thalia moved to give Piper a hug along with Annabeth, who also gave me a quick squeeze. Then Grover Underwood clomped over and shook my hand before clapping me on the back. I had only met him a few times, but he seemed pretty cool. Next, Percy's mom and step-dad came out of the kitchen. Paul clasped my hand and gave me a fatherly hug. Sally was right behind him. She ruffled my hair and held on for a long time, just like a mother. I hugged back tight. I couldn't really remember my mom and I have only known Sally for a short time, but she's just as much my mother as my biological. She's pretty much become all of the Argo ll crew's mom.

Everyone milled around, talking and laughing, for a little while before the doorbell rang. Percy rushed over, hurtling the couch and nearly taking out Annabeth in process.

"Seaweed Brain!" she screamed at him, but she was laughing.

"Sorry," he called over his shoulder.

We all made our way towards the door to see who was there: Frank, Hazel, and Nico. Hugs went all around. Well, for the most part. Nico didn't give all that many hugs.

"Um..." Piper whispered into my ear. "Isn't Frank Canadian?"

"Uh, yeah... He's probably here to be nice or something," I mumbled back. Piper shrugged, but her eyes were glittering.

"Alright," Percy told everyone. "We're just waiting on-" was as far as he got before someone pounded on the door. He raced over there again but Annabeth took off running and beat him to it.

"Ha!" she yelled.

"No fair! You were closer," he retorted. Then they stuck their tongues out at each other. We all laughed.

"Do they always act like this?" Thalia asked Sally.

"Only all the time," she replied happily. I laughed again.

Finally the door was opened, revealing Leo and Calypso.

"I would ask if we missed anything," Leo started in, not missing a beat, "but we all know that I'm the life of the party."

"Oh man," Calypso muttered, covering her face with her hand. We all laughed, again, and everyone gave out hugs, again. We really missed each other.

"Food's ready!" Paul announced. We all buzzed with excitement and settled down in the kitchen. It was crowded, but cozy. We offered some of our food to the gods and then stuffed our faces.

"This food is amazing Mrs. Jackson," Hazel said.

"Thank you sweetie, and please call me Sally," Percy's mom responded while smiling warmly.

When we all finished, Sally stood up to grab something off of the counter. I couldn't see was she was carrying but obviously Percy could.

"Yes! You made them?" he practically shouted.

"Of course, honey." She set the plate down. They were... blue chocolate chip cookies. I probably ate more than I can count.

"Hey!" I heard Percy yell. I looked over to see Annabeth had stolen his cookie out of his and was proceeding to eat it.

"Oh Wise Girl, you're going to pay for that." Percy jumped lunging for Annabeth, and she dived out of the chair just in time. Percy chased her around the apartment, unable to catch her. Annabeth kept dodging out of the way and if he did catch her, she slipped out of his grasp. In a few moments, the whole room turned into us chanting for either Percy or Annabeth. Finally, Percy grabbed Annabeth and threw her over his shoulder. We were all dying laughing. Percy dropped Annabeth onto the couch and plopped down next to her. We all followed them and sat down. We were there for hours, just catching up and enjoying everyone's company.

Just when it was starting to get dark, the apartment had become mostly quiet. People were asleep or talking softly. I can't believe I was anxious for this. I could do it every day. I looked around at all my friends, more like my family. I was thankful for all of them, and thankful that I got to hang out with them after the war.

"Pipes?" I whispered in her ear. She was curled up beside me, my arm tucked around her.

"Hmm?"

"I love you. Happy Thanksgiving."