December 1st
It was December 1st and eleven demigods and one satyr sat in a room, in a big house, in a summer camp, on Long Island, in New York.
Snow was falling silently outside, making the world look like a snow globe. People out in the city, a few miles away, were hugging their coats around their bodies, trying to keep themselves warm as they moved from building to building, getting ready for the holidays. But the eleven friends were sat in their sweaters and blankets around a fireplace, cozy and warm.
Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were sitting next to each other on a rug on the floor, Annabeth holing a cup of cocoa and Percy talking and laughing with her and the rest of his friends. Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang were on the green couch pushed up against a wall with a window right above them. Hazel had her own cup of hot chocolate and Frank resting an arm around her shoulders. Will Solace and Nico di Angelo were sharing a fuzzy blanket and a cup of cocoa on the floor, smiling and laughing at their friends. Jason Grace and Piper McLean had their backs against the couch Hazel an Frank were sitting. They were wearing ugly Christmas sweaters and talking excitedly about holiday plans and other Christmas activities they had planned. Thalia Grace and Reyna Ramirez-Arellano were chatting about their last mission with Lady Artemis and the rest of the Hunters on the floor across from the fireplace. Grover was sat by the fire, next to Percy and Annabeth, keeping the flames burning and the room warm.
All eleven of the friends were waiting, trying to distract themselves as they waited for their twelfth friend to return from the other room where he had exited a few minutes ago. He had said he had a Christmas game for them and they didn't get an answer to what it was before he walked into the room next door and shut the door behind him.
Slowly, the door to the Arts and Crafts room opened and out stepped Leo Valdez, with a hat full of papers. He was wearing green overalls instead of his usual brown ones and there was an elf hat a top his head, making him a real Latino elf.
All the friends stared impatiently as he walked towards their little circle. He walked through the middle of the circle and stood between Grover and Piper. He cleared his throat and adressed everyone in the room.
"Welcome everyone," Leo greeted, "to the first ever demigod Secret Santa!"
Everyone exchanged confused glances and Leo sighed.
"So," he continued, "for those of you who don't know what this game is, let me explain. I have, in this hat, all of our names on pieces of paper. I will walk around the room and you will grab one piece and open it. Who's ever name is on that piece of paper, you will get them a gift!"
"Wait," Hazel raised her hand, "so, we aren't getting everyone a present?"
"Nope!" Leo replied. "You will only have one person to get stuff for. Oh, and you can't tell anyone who you have."
"Sounds fair," Jason agreed with a nod.
"Alright then!" Leo shook the hat in his hands, mixing up the names one last time. "All of you couples are going to need to scooch away from each other for picking."
Everyone followed the directions, moving away from each other and Leo started coming around and handing the hat out to each person in turn.
Piper was first, reaching into the hat. She didn't care who she got since she pretty much knew everyone well enough to get them the right thing. He grabbed a slip of paper and leaned away from the rest of the group as she read the name written in Leo's messy hand writing. Owl Girl
Jason was next and picked one of the papers off the top of the pile. He didn't have strong feelings about the game. It sounded fun and he spent a lot of time with most of the people in the circle so he wasn't worried. He unfolded the slip and tried hard not to look too surprised as he read the name written inside. RARA
Frank was next. He was scared of who he would get since he didn't know some of the people very well. He glanced at Hazel and she gave him one of her bright smiles of support and Frank felt a little better. Frank took a breath and grabbed one of the pieces of paper. He opened it and felt his heart sink a little as he read the name written in graphite. Mr. Mcshizzle
Hazel was excited to see who she was going to get a present for. She had already planned out what she was going to get everybody anyway, so she knew that whoever it was would be easy. She took a paper and read the name in her head. She had to hide a smile from creeping up her face as she realized who it was. Canadian Baby Man
Reyna wasn't ecstatic to be participating in Valdez's weird game but she had nothing better to do so she reached into the hat, grabbed a paper, opened it and read the name. Beauty Queen
Thalia quickly shoved her hand into the hat, making pieces fly out of it and Leo had to pick them up. She liked the idea of just giving one person a gift instead of having to buy multiple. As she pulled out her hand and read the crumpled name she had to try not to snort. Recycling Bin
Will dove his hand into the hat as soon as it came to him. He wanted to know who his person was so he could start planning right away. Almost bursting with excitement, he opened up the paper and read the name. Ms. Metal Detector
Nico was nervous. He didn't like the pressure to get one person a super awesome gift but the persistence of Leo Valdez won out and he had decided to follow along anyway. He reached into the hat and with a sigh, pulled out a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it and quickly read the name inside. Aquaman
Percy was so excited for his person he could hardly wait for Leo to walk over to him. After Nico picked his paper, he jumped up, grabbed one of the last four slips of paper and retreated to a corner of the room. He unraveled his paper and almost jumped for joy as he read the name. Blonde Superman
Annabeth laughed at her boyfriend as he hurried off to the corner. She smiled as she reached her hand into the hat and picked out a piece of paper. She unfolded it and almost laughed at the name written in the middle. Pine Tree
It was Grover's turn and he hesitantly reached into the hat and picked a paper. He unfolded it shakily, scared of who it could be. What if he couldn't figure out what get them? He read the name and could feel the dread start to creep in. Glow Stick
All the papers were taken out except for one, the one for Leo. Instead of taking the paper an finding out who he had, Leo turned to his friends.
"You now have until December 13th to get your person their first present," he told them.
"Wait," Frank looked at the elf boy, "we have to get them more than one present?"
"Yes!" Leo agreed excitedly, "everyone will get their person a small gift on the 13th, then a bigger gift on the 24th and then on Christmas they'll give 'em the biggest gift of all!"
"How do we give them the gifts?" Thalia asked.
"You have to secretly put them in their cabin," Leo answered. "I expect everyone here on the 12th with their presents ready."
The friends exchanged looks. They hadn't known about these other rules and some of them had plans on some days but it was too late to turn back now, and it sounded fun.
"Alright," Jason said, speaking for all of them. "We'll see you all on the 12th."
The friends exchanged goodbyes and left the house one or two at a time, piling on coats as they braced them selves for the winter wonderland outside, until only Leo stood in the warm room.
With his friends gone, Leo took the last piece of paper, ready to find out who he was shopping for. He unfolded the slip of paper and read the name he had written inside.
Death Boy