Puppets (Percy Jackson AU)

Piper

[4]//PIPER://

Just to be clear: Piper did not set up the note. As amazing as she was, it would take a genius to set it up with the perfect timing.

Thalia had flung open the door with a sneer, challenging anyone who dared to interrupt them. But no one was there. Laying on the floor was an envelope. Reyna picked it up.

"What is this, Pretty Little Liars?" Piper scoffed, her gaze settled on the envelope. Reyna ripped it open.

The paper inside was torn up and stained with wet little drops of a dark blue substance.

{Piper, Thalia, Reyna, Annabeth, Bianca,

Everything is planned out, from this very moment to six months from now. Bianca, doll, don't avoid your death. Reyna, honey, try not to ignore your feelings later on, it'll be obvious. Thalia, sweetheart, keep fooling around, maybe no one will notice what's under your bed. Annabeth, babe, don't deny what you're planning to do. Piper, love, don't try to maintain that tough girl look, you're going to crack.

Have fun, sugarcakes. You're playing with fire, darlings.

-L xx}

"What the actual fuck?" Thalia spat. Piper grabbed the paper from Reyna's hands. Shitshitshitshitshit. This chick (automatically Piper assumed the writer was a chick) was definitely creepy. Had the writer been lurking around in her mind? That was scaring Piper.

"Uh, who is this?" Bianca ventured uncertainly, and Piper, for a split second, pitied the poor little girl. But then she reminded herself of the competition, and her expression hardened.

She looked at the other's reactions. Bianca looked frightened, Reyna looked confused, Thalia was super angry, and Annabeth...

Annabeth was curled in a ball on the floor, pale faced and mumbling "breathe, breathe" over and over again. Piper knew it couldn't be a proper panic attack, so she forced herself to look away.

No friendships, Piper, she reminded herself, her face void of emotions.

Annabeth stood up, composing herself and snatching the paper from her hands. "Hey!" Piper cried as Annabeth gave her an apologetic smile.

"Definitely a girl, I can tell. It was written roughly a few minutes ago. She painted her nails dark blue and little drops fell on the paper because it wasn't fully dry. Also, this paper was torn out of a small notebook." Annabeth analyzed.

Piper stared at her. "Thanks, Sherlock."

"But who is it from?" Reyna asked impatiently.

"Well, I would do a fingerprint test, if you hadn't put your filthy hands all over it." Annabeth snapped back.

"Want some ice for that burn?" Piper mumbled under her breath, and beside her, Bianca emitted nervous laughter.

"Shut up, Chase." Reyna glared at Annabeth. "I just want to find out who fucking wrote this."

"Obviously, they've been stalking us," said Thalia, her hands clenched like she was going to punch Piper in the face.

"Obviously." Piper rolled her eyes. "But why?"



Later, when they had gotten back to their own respective dorms, Piper couldn't stop thinking about the letter. It was creepy, she was sure of that, with the pet names layered on thick. It made her feel vulnerable when it said it was obvious she was going to crack under her popular exterior. She felt so human in that moment that it wasn't funny. Normally she felt like a queen, because she was so popular and her dad was a movie star, despite the racist slurs. But then someone finds out she's putting up a facade, and she's suddenly mundane.

But then there was also the others: Bianca, apparently, the innocent girl who was maybe two years younger, was apparently going to attempt to avoid her death. Thalia was hiding something and fooling around (Piper guessed she either drank or was a prostitute). Annabeth was planning something terrible. Reyna was going to ignore her feelings about something.

So that shit is screwed up, Piper thought to herself. She flopped on her bed like a seal and put her headphones on. She blasted Crush Crush Crush by Paramore in her ears, and sighed, staring at the ceiling.

Then, she remembered.

Flashes of nails painted every shade, gripping a pen, scribbling in a notebook. Of Piper passing by with a laugh, because obviously, this girl was an outcast.

She came back to reality quickly, out of breath. Who was it? She narrowed her eyes, straining her mind to remember.

After about five minutes, she deduced that her brain was blocking those memories and she slammed her head into her pillow, shouting muffled curses.

With a roll of her eyes, she removed her headphones and stood up. Throwing them on her bed, she left the room, being gregarious and craving socialization.


After she was done talking with her friends Leo, Lacy, Miranda and Lou Ellen, she retreated to the science lab. She would never admit it, but she was a total science geek. She spent a moment there, sitting on the edge of the table, looking around the dark room.

She couldn't stop thinking about the competition, now. What if she failed epically? Who was giving out the tasks? She had to start planning some vicious things and live up to her reputation.

'Piper, love, don't try to maintain that tough girl look, you're going to crack.' She remembered. She groaned, covering her face with her hands. She had to make her little masquerade more natural, or she was screwed.

But wasn't L trying to get her not to have that look? For a split second, she froze, wondering if the mysterious writer's judgement was right. Then she shook it off. L was some creepy Pretty Little Liars obsessive chick, why would Piper play by those rules?

It was tempting to let her tough exterior fall, but she decided against it. She knew exactly how to solidify her position. She stood up and walked out the door, knowing exactly how she would mess with people.

She walked through the halls like she was a queen, holding her head up high and giving snooty looks to those who dared to get in her way. Finally, she reached the right dorm. She knocked quickly.

Annabeth opened the door.

Piper hadn't been planning for anyone to be there, but it would be good to have an accomplice. "Annabeth, I have a plan to take down Reyna," she said in her usual sugary sweet tone that would make anyone give in.

"Why shouldn't I just tell her that you're trying to take her down?" The blonde questioned, hands on her hips.

"Because it will benefit the both of us. We can scare her out of her mind." Piper said quickly, with a grin.

"Fine." Annabeth complied, inviting Piper into the dorm.

"Okay, so what does Reyna hate?" Piper questioned.

"Not having any power, being minuscule, like a bug." Annabeth answered automatically.

"Perfect." Piper smiled, sickly sweet. "We'll have to get Leo Valdez and Stoll brothers in on this plan. Also, can you get Gwen out of the dorm for tomorrow night? I can get Clarisse to stay over with Silena."

"Yeah, I probably can. So, what's the plan?" Annabeth answered, leaning in excitedly.

With a wicked smile, Piper explained the plan that would have Reyna in the worst possible position.

UPDATED!

To catch up in NaNo I need another 7000 words... Kali, if you're reading this, KIK me. Mmkay?

So yeah. I also have a religion test Tues, math Wed, geography Thurs, and a project due Fri. Yay.

Currently writing chapter nine, in which Hazel is very conflicted.

Next chapter (5): Rachel Elizabeth Dare

Spoiler:

The last thing Rachel saw was Annabeth raising a large metal thing and smashing it on Rachel's head.

--------

"She's going to kill us all,"

"She was only out for a few minutes, no biggie."

"No biggie? We basically killed her!"

"It's been four minutes, you little shit."

"What if she didn't write it?"

"Then we blame it on Bianca."

"Hey!"