Natural (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

A Pink and Lacey Dress

Winter had passed, taking the snow and general cold that Piper hated with it. Too bad it didn't take anything else Piper hated with it. For example; her job.

"Chin up!" the photographer shouted at her. She mad a point of lowering her chin and glaring at the camera, totally making her soft pink lace dress seem a lot more murderous than it was supposed to be. "Don't glare at the camera! Smile!" She narrowed her eyes, pulling her lips into a grotesque grin. "Piper!"

Across the room, she heard her phone ring the ringtone she'd set for Annabeth; a song called Dreamer that was by Ghost Town. Without warning, she left the set and walked to her stuff, ignoring the photographer's cries of despair. When Piper answered the phone, an instant and natural smile fell across her lips. "Hey," she said, her eyes glued to the floor as she traced patterns on the table she was leaning on. "What's up?"

"Hey, Pipes, are you busy?" In truth, Piper hated the nickname 'Pipes,' but she started to like it when Annabeth called her that a couple days after their tour of the city. Ever since then, she and Annabeth had been unbelievably close friends, nothing more. But that didn't stop Piper's insides churning when Annabeth was around.

She glanced up at the photographer, who was by now red in the face from yelling at her. That natural smile was still on her face, and the assistant photographer took the opportunity to take her picture when she was still looking in that direction. "Not really. Just at work. But I'm taking a break anyway."

"Oh, really?" Annabeth asked, her voice skeptical.

"Okay, so maybe I'm taking my own break. But that doesn't mean I can't talk."

Annabeth sighed, but Piper could still hear her smile. "Alright, fine. My dad wants me to visit, and I'm thinking about going on a road trip. I've already asked Percy if I could borrow his road-tripping van, and he said I could use it."

Despite the fact that Piper knew exactly where this was going, she still had to ask. "What has this got to do with me?"

She heard Annabeth take a deep breath. "I want you to come with me."

~~~

"Maybe she thought I was too forward," Annabeth said, her voice laced with panic as she paced in front of Percy. "Maybe that's why she hung up. Oh, God, would if she doesn't want to hang out with me anymore? Would if she's disgusted?" Her voice had reached new levels of panic and octaves that were not known to mankind.

Percy sighed, grabbing Annabeth's shoulders. "I can guarantee you that she still wants to hang out with you. Come on, use your brain, Wise Girl," he said, giving her a slight shake. It was his job, as her best friend since middle school, to make sure that she wasn't hyperventilating. "More likely, Piper had to go back to work, or she was so excited, she wants to go now."

Slowly, Annabeth relaxed, letting out a breath. "You're right. She probably had to go back to work." Percy refrained from hitting something. The thing about Piper and Annabeth is that they both refused to think that the other might have feelings for them. It was basically why Percy and Jason were dating, and the said girls weren't.

Annabeth's phone buzzed, which made Annabeth immediately break away from Percy, lunging for her phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, I'm on my way to your place," Piper said, her voice sounding rushed. And then she hung up.

She stared at her phone like it had broken her heart. "Don't you say it," Percy warned as Annabeth looked up at him, completely hopeless.

"Piper totally hates me."

"Oh, my God."

~~~

When Piper finally arrived at Annabeth's place, still wearing the pastel pink and lacey dress that she'd worn at the shoot, her nerves were jumping all over the place. "A road trip?" were the first words out of her mouth when Annabeth opened the door.