Him or her? (A Pipabeth story)

Chapter One

(A/N: January 14th 2024: Edited and fixed any mistakes in this chapter. Will be doing the same to all the chapters in time. Also, note that I'm leaving all the old Author Notes as they are but changing the online alias at the end of them to my own name! Otherwise they will be the same. If you're reading this in 2024, welcome! I'm so happy people are still reading this fic haha)

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Piper's POV

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DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO RICK RIORDAN. PLOT BELONGS TO ME

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   The sun was shining, campers were milling about, doing what they do every day, and Piper was lying on her bed contemplating life.

She had been trying for weeks to take the advice Chiron had given her but to no avail.

"Move on but don't forget. He wouldn't want you to forget. He would want you to continue on without him," he had said after the news spread through camp. Piper winced at the memory. She was not proud of how she had reacted. She had screamed at Chiron that he didn't know what Jason would or wouldn't want before promptly bursting into tears and running into the forest, hiding there for two days before Hazel found her.

After that, everyone had spent their time trying to comfort her; Her cabin mates constantly gave her advice on how to move on (heck even Drew seemed mildly sad for her briefly), and kids she didn't even know would stop to apologize for something they didn't cause. Her friends also did their overall best to comfort her at all times, checking up on her constantly.

Of course, nothing got through to her. Piper couldn't seem to stop blaming herself. Couldn't stop the chorus of repetitive thoughts in her head. 'It was my fault, I could have helped. I could have stopped it from happening. I could have at least not let our relationship end the way it did before everything happened'. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Jason. The myriad of 'It's not your fault' 'It was fate' 'You couldn't stop it happening' echoed constantly in her brain driving her crazy with guilt. It was her fault. It was her fault for the situation they were in when he died. And even if everything wasn't her fault, somehow, she still can't take back what happened and it still makes her wish she could go back and change events. But she can't.

Maybe, just maybe, things would have been better if she hadn't broken up with Jason. Maybe if they had still been together when it happened it would be different. She wouldn't feel as guilty about his death. About the terms they were on when he died. If they'd still been together, could she at least have the knowledge they were together when he was killed? No, She thought dryly. It wouldn't have mattered. He would still be dead all the same. 

The sound of a door handle turning interrupted Piper from her thoughts and she turned her head, expecting one of her siblings to walk into the cabin. Instead, she saw Annabeth slowly opening the door, eyes immediately focusing in on Piper. Not very surprising as her friends made almost as regular appearances as her own cabin members.

"Hey," Annabeth spoke softly as she closed the door behind her, walking towards Piper, "You need to come out again. You've been in this cabin for three days. The others are worried."

"I can't," Piper spoke, equally as soft, as Annabeth sat down on the edge of her bed. 

Annabeth sighed. Piper watched Annabeth's eyes flicker with something she couldn't decipher before she spoke again.

"Piper, It's unhealthy lying in here and not doing anything. You'll drive yourself crazy without any distractions. At least participate in Capture the Flag tomorrow. Or come out for dinner or breakfast." Annabeth suggested, voice with a pleading tone. Piper leaned back against the wall her bed is beside. Nothing can help. Not even distractions. I can never take back what happened and that is going to stick with me for as long as I'm alive. How do I distract from knowing that?

"No, Annabeth, I'm... I'm not moving. Distractions won't help. You don't understand. I lost Jason and I can never take that back and change that. I can never change how we ended before his life ended. I- I need to grieve.  At least you still have a boyfriend." The second she finished speaking, she clamped her mouth shut, grimacing at her own words. Surprised at the venom and jealousy lacing her tone in the last sentence. After she spoke, Annabeth flinched. It was barely noticeable, and Piper thought it was the way she spoke - heck, she'd flinch if someone said something like she just did - before catching a glance at Annabeth's eyes. A faraway look mixed with sadness appeared in her eyes. The stormy grey had dulled to a softer grey but Piper noticed a hidden anger in her eyes too. It was all quick, so quick a normal person would never have noticed such small changes in someone's expression and eyes, but she's used to noticing these small details. especially when concerning emotion.

"Piper? Are you okay?" Annabeth was looking at her, head tilted in confusion. Her eyes had gone from their faraway look back to having a sympathetic look in them. Those eyes... Piper shook her head and looked away, mumbling a quick "Yeah I'm fine" before flipping onto her stomach with her face on her pillow.

A sigh of frustration came from behind her and she felt a hand rest softly on her back. Annabeth spoke from next to her.

"At least promise me something."

Piper turned her head and saw Annabeth kneeling next to her bed, her eyes level with Piper's own. "What, Chase?" She responded.

"Promise me you'll join in with Capture the Flag tomorrow. The Athena and Aphrodite cabins are on the same team and it will be nice to have someone there I can talk to besides my siblings," Annabeth pleaded. She never pleads, Piper thought briefly. "Especially since Percy isn't here..." Annabeth added, grimacing slightly. Piper could tell Annabeth wasn't telling her something, or was trying to but didn't know what to say, by the way her eyes kept flickering away and she bit her lip as if to keep herself from spilling information.

She sighed, rubbing her face with her hands before replying. It must mean a lot if she decided to plead. That is such an un-Annabeth-like thing.

"Fine, I'll join Capture the Flag tomorrow." She grumbled. Annabeth's face lit up, her eyes brightening and a hopeful smile appearing on her face as she lets out a relieved sigh.

"Thank you, Piper. I'd suggest also coming out to eat dinner with us too. If I were you, I wouldn't want to accidentally spill drinks or food on your siblings' belongings."

Piper laughed slightly and Annabeth got up from her place next to the bed, a look of satisfaction at getting a happy response out of her, and walked over to the door. 'Wait, wasn't Percy supposed to arrive tonight?' Piper thinks. 'Won't he be here for Capture the Flag tomorrow?'

"Wait! Annabeth," Piper quickly speaks up, watching as Annabeth turned back towards her, the door half opened. 

"Yeah, Piper?"

"What did you mean about Percy not being here for Capture the Flag? Isn't he supposed to arrive tonight?" Piper asked. She watched as a dark look passed over Annabeth's face, her whole body seeming to tense. Annabeth seemed to hesitate before responding.

"Oh, well," Annabeth's eyebrows furrowed and it looked like she was trying to figure out what to say. "He- He's staying at his mom's for the Summer. To spend more time with her. Which makes sense, of course, right?"

"But-"

"Don't worry about it Piper," She responded quickly. Too quick for someone pretending not to have a problem with it. "I've got to go so...hopefully see you at dinner." With that statement, and one last quick smile and nod, Annabeth left shutting the door  a tad bit too loud to be normal behind her, leaving Piper confused.

She decided to use this confusion to keep her mind off of Jason's death and try and figure out what was bothering Annabeth. Whatever it was, it concerned Percy, and whatever it was, was not good. 

(A/N) Hi! Short note to anyone that actually reads this. If this has mistakes or thoughts, feel free to comment. Also, Sorry if there doesn't seem to be much happening between the two at the moment, but I have a thing where I don't really like Pipabeth stories where immediately start getting feelings so I'm gonna try my best to slowly increase the feels between Piper and Annabeth (keeping in mind I'm not the best when it comes to romance).   ~ Robin