Natural (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Rest Stop Cheers

"Hey," Annabeth whispered, shaking Piper awake. Piper groaned, hugging her pillow harder and burying her face in it. "I was thinking we could go out to eat breakfast before leaving."

Sleep for another hour, or eat food? The decision was harder to make than Piper expected it to be. Finally, she made her choice. She could always sleep in the van.

She sat up, blinking slowly as she looked over at Annabeth, who looked like she had just woken up, too, but in a much more beautiful way than Piper; her hair messy, her cut up shirt hanging off her shoulder, and her face clear of makeup.

Piper, on the other hand, had drool crust on her forehead.

Annabeth cleared her throat and turned around as Piper groggily got up, busying herself with getting her clothes out of her duffel bag. Sure, she had slept in the same bed as Piper, but actually seeing her in just a large t-shirt would've made her more flustered than imaginable. Not that Annabeth had never been flustered in front of Piper (because it happened quite often), but still.

"Do you want to use the bathroom first? I've already brushed my teeth and all that," Annabeth said, still bending over her bag and looking for a suitable t-shirt. Of course that was just an excuse for her not to turn around and drool over Piper's perfect legs that were enough to make anyone do a double take. Never before had Annabeth felt such a desire for another person, but apparently Piper found a way to do anything.

-

"Are you even awake?" Annabeth asked, raising her eyebrows in concern. Piper was resting her cheek on the old and cracked wooden table, her eyes closed and her hair (still) a wild mess.

"What is it to be awake?" Piper answered in return, her voice raspy and deeper than normal. Annabeth gulped, swirling the spoon around in her coffee. "Would if we're truly awake only when we're asleep, and when we're awake, we're actually dreaming? The very fabric of our existence is a lie, and we're just a floating dust speck in the infinite and terrifying universe that had the ability to create something out of nothing."

"Piper."

"Annabeth." Piper paused, opening her eyes and looking up at Annabeth, who had her eyebrows raised and an absolutely done look on her face. "Annabeth, I'm so tired." Annabeth rolled her eyes, thanking the waitress as she handed them their food. "Why'd you have to wake up so early, anyway?"

"It's not even that early. Haven't you had to get up earlier for modeling gigs?"

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to complain about it."

"Fair enough. I want to get over to my dad's soon so we can stay longer. Counting today, we still have a couple more days of driving all day to get there." Piper pouted, stabbing her eggs with her fork. No doubt she was angry that she was too tired to come up with a proper retort. "Besides, I wouldn't think you'd mind so much, considering you're not the one driving."

As they finished eating, Piper was still trying to figure out if Annabeth had meant that to be taken offensively.

~

"You know I don't mind driving," Piper said, yawning as she did so. Annabeth looked over from the driver's seat, an amused expression on her face as she tried to hide the smile playing on her lips.

"You can't even keep your eyes open."

"I meant, like, later. When I'm awake. I'll take over so you can rest."

"As much as I appreciate it, Piper, you don't know the way. And besides, I'll be too busy back-seat driving to rest." Piper smiled a bit, resting her head on the pillow she'd brought with her as she curled up in her seat. Before letting her eyes close, she let her gaze wander over Annabeth.