The Architect [Pipabeth AU]

s i x: eyes i can't pinpoint

A N N A B E T H

"One moment," the secretary said, as she managed to ring the doorbell with a box, canvas bag and vanilla iced latte in her arms. Trisha seemed like a hot mess. Compared to my secretary, who was utterly monotone and direct.

"One second!" A girls voice said over the buzzer at the door.

We waited for maybe a half a minute, and the door swung open.

If I had thought the house was pretty, I had to catch my breath when I saw her. I had seen pictures on the internet, but none of them came close to capturing Piper McLean's beauty. Her eyes shown brightly as she smiled at me genuinely, and she immediately offered to help Trisha carry things.

"Annabeth! It's great to meet you, come in, come in," she gestured with her free arm. I was slightly surprised she'd remembered my name. Most of the time, the celebrities I worked for didn't even bother to show up. They had a butler or a worker work with me, and they definitely wouldn't have known my name.

I walked through the large doorway trailing behind her, and she directed me to the beautiful marble kitchen countertops to set my things down.

"Do you mind giving me one second? This soup is about to burn. Then I'll show you to your room." She said.

"You cook?" I asked aloud almost accidentally.

She laughed, a good natured, happy laugh, and her head dipped slightly to the right. Her hair fell over her shoulders in a loose pony tail, leaving some strands hanging around her ears. It was casual enough, but I still wasn't over how effortlessly beautiful she was. "I like to cook. It takes my mind off of things."

I was surprised she didn't just hire someone to do it. I was impressed.

"Interesting." I decided.

"Oh- Trisha, do you mind showing Annabeth around the first floor real quick while I finished this up? Just so she can get an idea of what she's working with?" She asked. "But, I'd like to escort her to her room myself. Then, if you don't mind, or if you're not too tired from your flight, I wanted to go ahead and start looking at what we can do and talking about some plans."

She said we like it was a team effort. I was happy that she'd be working alongside me so closely. It was good to know what she wanted directly rather than talking to an assistant. Refreshing.

"Of course Pipes! Oh, your father would be so proud." Trisha gushed. Then she turned to me. "My dear Miss Chase! Right this way. I'll show you the living room."

"Is this not the living room?" I asked, looking around at the wide open space.

"No my dear! The den and kitchen of course. And through that door is the dining room- oh it's absolutely gorgeous. You won't believe- oh, Trisha, c'mon, let me stay on topic." She said the last part mainly to herself. Then she grasped my hand. "The living room!"

Trisha led me around the first floor of the house, which was a typical modern Californian mansion. Minimalist and open spaced, featuring high ceilings with lots of windows.

The den had basic black furniture and a large TV. A plain rectangular white glass chandelier hung above the center table. The squares and rectangles were arranged in no particular pattern. On the walls were multiple framed movie posters of Tristan McLean's movies, and on the far right, clearly the newest, was one of Piper. She held a black guitar on a stage, smiling into a microphone with her hand raised in a fist in the air. She wore loose jean shorts, as if they were mom jeans but had been made into cutoffs, with a big brown leather belt and belt buckle. She wore John Lennon glasses, a jean jacket (I despised denim on denim), and a tie dye shirt with a big sun in the middle of it. I didn't know it was possible to pull off hippie clothes, but somehow Piper did it. A black band was wrapped around her bicep with a white peace symbol in the middle of it. I immediately knew exactly what it was. Back in the '60s, a lot of kids wore them to peacefully protest the Vietnam War. 

"Piper was in a movie?" I asked.

"Oh, yes! Did you not hear about it? It was a slow-burn wall-flower romance set during Woodstock. It was on the top of the charts for a little bit, and her character was just so unique. She really put her own spin on what she thought Alaina should be like. Oh, I don't mean to brag on her, but Piper is just an incredibly talented young girl." 

"I can see that," I remarked, slightly impressed, but still unsure. I wasn't going to let my guard down because she knew how to talk to people. Words meant nothing when actions spoke so loud. I'd wait to make a final decision about her.

Final decision?

Why did I care?

I was going to be designing her house for two, maybe three weeks, and then leaving. I would probably never speak to her again. Yet she had already impressed me just by showing up and working with me. 

Trisha walked me around the rest of the house. I saw the firepit outside, the game room, the sunroom, the living room. It was a beautiful place, and I wondered who had designed it. They had done an outstanding job. I couldn't imagine wanting to change anything.  

As we rounded the corner back towards the kitchen, Trisha still talking at about 90 miles per minute about Piper, Piper's father, Piper's movies, Piper's music, and pretty much everything else Piper, Piper herself came around the corner and I ran straight into her.

"Oh my gosh," I said, grabbing her arms to steady her. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, it's no problem." She laughed, and her eyes met mine. My heart skipped a beat. Her eyes were sparkling... green? Blue? Grey? Amber? I couldn't pinpoint a color. They were stunning. I caught my breath.

"I-" I realized I had been staring, and quickly dropped her arms. "Um, so, if you wanted to tell me what type of plans you wanted for the first floor, I can definitely start working on this for you."

"If it's okay with you, we can discuss it over dinner? I already set the table." Piper said. She motioned to the food she had prepared that sat steaming on the stove. I wasn't sure what it was, but it smelled delicious. 

I was a little taken aback that this Hollywood star had taken the time to prepare a meal in advance and eat it with me, but I appreciated the friendly gesture. "It was a long flight. I'm pretty hungry." I agreed.