Because We Can

3~ Insecurities

"PIPER!" Percy was screaming, and I looked up at the Aphrodite cabin's door. "Pipes, Annabeth's having a panic attack and she thinks we're all dead and OH MY GODS CHARMSPEAK TO HER OR SOMETHING!"

"Okay!" I shouted back, putting my hands on his shoulders to calm him down. "Okay, Percy. I can handle this."

"NO! SHE'S MY GIRLFRIEND AND SHE WON'T EVEN LISTEN TO ME!" He was shaking so badly, I thought he was going to collapse.

"Percy?" It was Jason. "Hey, man, are you okay?"

"ANNABETH!"

"Okay," I said again, this time adding charmspeak. "Calm down. Where is she?"

Percy immediately relaxed. "In her cabin," he said quietly, and leaned on Jason for support. "Take care of her for me? I can't do this anymore. Beth-"

I didn't have time to listen to him.

I ran to the Athena cabin, yelling, "Move!" at campers who didn't get out of the way fast enough. Soon I was panting, leaning against the door frame, my eyes searching for Annabeth.

"Beth?"

"GO AWAY!" she screamed, "YOU'RE ALL DEAD! PERCY... NO!" She was huddling on her bunk, weeping into her pillow.

"Annabeth, Percy's okay," I told her, willing her to believe me. I walked towards her, placing a hand on her back. She was trembling. "We're all alive. We survived the giants, remember? Percy pulled you out before-"

"But Gaea told me..." she whimpered, looking up at me. Her cheeks were flush and wet. "Pipes?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to smile. "Percy wanted me to make sure you're okay."

"But... I was sleeping and then Gaea... Archnae said she woke up and she was destroying the world. She said she killed off both camps."

A terrible thought ran through my head. Was her dream real? Or was Tartarus taking its toll on her...

"It was just a dream," I said, adding charmspeak.

"Where... Where is he? Where's Percy?"

"Annabeth!" Percy ran to her, wrapping his arms around her. Jason was standing in the doorway, exhaling with relief. "Piper - I, um, thanks. Thank you."

"No problem," I said, leaving the cabin to give them some privacy. Jason walked me back to my cabin, gently holding my hand.

"So how was she?" he asked me, concern etched into his sky blue eyes. "She was just dreaming... right?"

"I don't think it's anything real," I assured him, giving his hand a squeeze. "It's nice how Percy was so worried, though..."

"Are you seriously still on this?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, Sparky. Don't worry about me! I think it's the daughter-of-Aphrodite thing. We can just sense the romance in the air or something..."

"Piper, I always worry about you. I constantly worry that you're going to trip and land on your face, I worry that monsters are going to attack you when we aren't together-"

Anger boiled in my blood. He shouldn't need to worry about me. "I can take care of myself," I said, trying to keep my voice even.

"I know," he told me, but I could hear the faintest amount of skepticism. "But I still do."

"I'm not helpless," I said, but I couldn't tell who I was talking to - me or him.

"I know," he said again, "But I think you're a little insecure about trusting people now that-"

"Don't talk about it! Please!" I shouted at him.

"Okay, okay," he whispered, pulling me into his arms. I snuggled into his chest. "I won't talk about it. Promise."

does this count as a cliffhanger?

so MY prediction is that something is going to happen to Jason and Piper, like how Percy and Annabeth... *sob* fell into... *bursts into tears*

okay, again, this is AFTER the second series is over, and assuming everyone survived (OH GODS THEY WILL SURVIVE I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX) everyone is traumatized. and everyone goes through something terrible, and to be quite honest, I CAN JUST FEEL IT IN MY BONES THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO FRANK OMG IM SORRY. I JUST LOVE FRANK A LOT, OKAY?

Sleep Alone, Two Door Cinema Club