Look y'all, I get it. Why am I posting this when I haven't updated my stories in a long ass time? Good question. Unfortunately, I don't have a good answer. Basically, I started writing this a while ago and have been slammed with college applications and everything lately and this was super easy to write. I have the next chapter ready. I will probably post it next week. The story should be relativity short, maybe like 4 or 5 chapters.
This story is modeled after a series of HP one-shots by Provocative-Envy. If you like dramione and/or hansy, I would definitely recommend them.
If anyone is confused about the text structure, bold is Annabeth, non-bold is Piper.
(characters are probable ooc btw)
rating: m bc I want it be m but more specifically bc language and the lightest of lemons
disclaimer: no ownership
Annabeth
It all starts at a late night lecture.
Well... sort of—
That's when she agrees to Venice, anyway.
OoOoO
(7:48 pm) Annabethhhhh
(7:48 pm) This is soo boringg
(7:50 pm) answer
(7:50 pm) i just saw u open my text and not reply
(7:51 pm) bitch
(7:53 pm) is it weird that i think mr jean looks super hot w his new haircut
(7:55 pm) stop
(7:55 pm) pay attention
(7:56 pm) THANK GOD u answered
(7:56 pm) i thought i was gonna fall asleep
(7:56 pm) why is this class even required
(7:57 pm) its stupid
(8:00 pm) srsly?
(8:00 pm) this is why youre failing
(8:01 pm) im not actually FAILING
(8:01 pm) u r exaggerating
(8:01 pm) i have a c
(8:02 pm) a c is AVERAGE
(8:02 pm) u r unaverage
(8:04 pm) wow
(8:04 pm) burn
(8:06 pm) fuck u
(8:08 pm) what r u doing for spring brk?
(8:08 pm) wanna go to baja?
(8:10 pm) srsly piper
(8:10 pm) take notes
(8:10 pm) we have a test nxt class
(8:11 pm) baja tho?
(8:11 pm) r u down?
(8:15 pm) STOP
(8:15 pm) piper wtf
(8:15 pm) u cant just throw shit
(8:15 pm) not ok
(8:17 pm) no one noticed
(8:17 pm) i noticed
(8:17 pm) thoughts on baja?
(8:25 pm) piper
(8:25 pm) you need to stop
(8:25 pm) ur aim sucks
(8:25 pm) you hit the kid next to me
(8:25 pm) he just looked at me weird
(8:25 pm) he knows
(8:26 pm) lol
(8:26 pm) sure
(8:27 pm) stop or im telling
(8:28 pm) r u 8?
(8:26 pm) ill stop when u give me an answer on baja
(8:27 pm) fine
(8:27 pm) no
(8:29 pm) Annabethhh
(8:29 pm) pleaseee
(8:31 pm) i swear to god
(8:31 pm) if u dont stop i will tell mr jean
(8:32 pm) tattle tale
(8:32 pm) or is it tattle tail
(8:32 pm) ?
(8:32 pm) do u know?
(8:40 pm) y cant we go to baja?
(8:41 pm) Annabeth
(8:41 pm) !
(8:41 pm) im gonna throw something
(8:42 pm) whos 8 now?
(8:42 pm) baja is too far
(8:43 pm) ill pay
(8:45 pm) no
(8:45 pm) plz
(8:50 pm) fine
(8:50 pm) whatever
(8:50 pm) what about Venice?
(8:53 pm) beach or island
(8:54 pm) ...
(8:54 pm) beach
(8:54 pm) duh
(8:58 pm) i never know with u
(8:58 pm) idk maybe
(8:58 pm) will u leave me alone now
(9:00 pm) idk maybe
(9:14 pm) for real tho
(9:14 pm) mr jean is such a dilf
OoOoO
Annabeth never wanted to go to Venice Beach.
It's a detail of little importance that she feels needs to be reiterated regardless.
She never wanted to be stuck between two loud over-excited frat boys on a two and a half hour flight to LAX.
No.
She was coerced into the vacation by her best friend while she was deeply sleep deprived—mentally impaired really—another detail she thinks is worth attention as she might not have been in the correct state of mind to make such severe of a decision. A court of law couldn't convict her. How then, could her friend expect her to follow through on an inherently flawed promise?—
Piper doesn't buy it, going off about keeping promises and integrity. So Annabeth rolls her eyes and agreed, only smiling slightly at her eccentric friend's resultant smile.
It isn't that she doesn't enjoy vacation, but when she pictured her spring break, she had imagined encountering something other than sweat and tequila and sun, perhaps something meaningful.
Oh well—her reasoning matters very little now as she has officially boarded her flight and is facing the consequences of her decision.
"Where are you going?" the dark haired boy to her right asks, a friendly smile painting his expression.
"LA," Annabeth replies curtly.
She doesn't mean to be rude—well, maybe—but she definitely means to put an end to the conversation.
"Me too!" he grins, his lips spreading wide to reveal a set of pearly whites.
Annabeth sighs.
"Where in LA?"
"Just around," she supplies vaguely, a light shrug swaying her shoulders.
"Cool!" He looks positively thrilled. It confuses her. "I'm going to Venice with my friends."
"Oh." Annabeth purses her lips. She wonders if Piper set this up.
Probably.
"We're renting a house by the beach," he expounds—even though she didn't ask. "It's gonna be so sweet."
"Maybe I'll see you around," she says with an air of finality and ducks her head into her bag, searching for her book, emphasizing the end of their conversation.
Annabeth smiles covertly at the silence that follows. She sits up and flips through her half annotated copy of Macbeth. She finds her place and starts reading the almost unfathomable English but only makes it four lines before she is interrupted again.
"Are you reading Shakespeare?" the boy to her left asks.
She nods, almost imperceptibly.
"I had to read that for lit last year."
Annabeth takes a deep breath, preparing for two hours of this.
OoOoO
(11:56 pm) omg
(11:56 pm) bruh
(11:56 pm) youre not gonna believe whos sitting nxt to me rn
(11:56 pm) its the hot guy from my econ class
(11:56 pm) should i talk to him
(11:57 pm) what do i say
(11:57 pm) why arent u responding?
(11:57 pm) im gonna talk to him
(11:57 pm) he so hot
(11:57 pm) wish me luck
(12:00 am) or dont
OoOoO
"Why didn't you text me back?" is the first thing Piper says to Annabeth when she gets off the plane.
Annabeth turns to her, looking slightly perplexed and excessively annoyed about the innocent question.
"I was on airplane mode," the blonde supplies, looking her friend up and down because did she really think she was gonna pay for in flight WiFi?
Piper has the shadow of a frown creased between her brows, but the way she's pressing her lips together tightly—as if she seconds from spilling the secrets of the universe, of her soul from her pretty plump lips—makes it clear there is something much more exciting on the horizon.
Annabeth can't help but chuckle at the expression. It's so ridiculously juvenile that she is tempted to tease brunette, but the gesture is also so Piper that she suppresses the urge.
"Guess what happened to me?" Piper asks with a wide grin, completely shattering any image of anger or displeasure.
"What?" Annabeth smiles, humoring her with an easy demeanor.
"Remember that hot blonde from my econ class that I was telling you about?" she inquires, glancing behind her, just to make sure he's not eavesdropping.
"Yes," Annabeth nods. How could she not remember? Piper had only talked about him for what had to account for several hours.
"He was sitting next to me on the plane!" the brunette recounts excitedly. "And guess what else?"
"Mh?"
"Him and all his frat friends are coming to Venice too!" she squeals excitedly.
Annabeth face falls at the remark, realizing the rest of their vacation has just been spoken for.
OoOoO
(4:16 am) okay
(4:16 am) so like
(4:16 am) is it just me or is our uber driver like super weird
(4:17 am) he seems normal to me
(4:17 am) nah
(4:17 am) something is def off
(4:20 am) 420
(4:20 am) make a wish!
(4:20 am) not how 420 works
(4:21 am) whatever
(4:21 am) wanna know what i wished for?
OoOoO
"You know we can just carry a normal conversation, right?" Annabeth asks, turning towards her friend with a tired expression.
"I suppose," Piper says in a teasing voice.
She looks much too good for the hour it is.
Annabeth resents her for it—in a friendly way, of course.
By the time they reach the house they've rented it's nearly five in the morning. Hazel and Frank, the friends they've agreed to split the rental with, open the door and greet them. The mild-mannered couple shows the girls to the room they're sharing. They bid them goodnight and return to bed.
It's almost half after now and all Annabeth wants to do is sleep—Piper has other plans. She says something about jet lag. Annabeth can't find it in herself to care and sleeps anyway.
OoOoO
(8:54 am) where r u?
(8:56 am) shopping
(8:56 am) groceries tho
(8:56 am) not clothes
(8:58 am) you left?
(9:00 am) ya
(9:03 am) why would u wake me up if u were just gonna leave?
(9:05 am) ill be back soon
(9:05 am) im just buying breakfast supplies
(9:06 am) why?
(9:06 am) Hazel and Frank already bought everything
(9:10 am) i wanted lucky charms
OoOoO
Regardless of how the morning went, Annabeth finds herself enjoying her first day of vacation more than she thought she would. She and Piper leave for the beach at noon. They're walking distance away so they reach it relatively quickly.
Annabeth is more than happy to spread her towel across the sand of the seashore and read her book in the familiar California sun. Piper sets up next to the blonde. She sets down her towel and lays with her back to the sun. She asks Annabeth to tap her in exactly fifteen minutes so she can flip over, achieving what she hopes will be the perfect tan.
Annabeth doesn't mention that Piper's skin is perfectly tanned as it is. She just shrugs and agrees.
It's not until two in the afternoon that Piper decides to walk on the beach, glancing conspicuously at her phone as she makes the declaration.
"Okay," Annabeth agrees unthinkingly and returns to her play.
Perhaps she should have thought—or perhaps it's better she didn't.
OoOoO
(2:32 pm) remember rachel?
(2:35 pm) Annabeth
(2:35 pm) Answer
(2:35 pm) Annabeth
(2:35 pm) Annabeth
(2:35 pm) Annabeth
(2:41 pm) no
(2:41 pm) i dont remember rachel
(2:42 pm) she lived on our floor last year
(2:42 pm) doesnt really matter
(2:42 pm) i just saw her
(2:42 pm) she wanted to know where u were
(2:42 pm) i told her
(2:43 pm) shes coming
(2:43 pm) be prepared
(2:45 pm) do i know her?
(2:47 pm) idk dude
(2:47 pm) but she knew our names
(2:47 pm) so
(2:47 pm) just be nice i guess
(2:48 pm) fuck
(2:48 pm) does she have red hair?
(2:48 pm) i think shes coming
(2:48 pm) fuck
(2:48 pm) i remember now
(2:49 pm) come back
(2:49 pm) save me
OoOoO
Annabeth is blonde, tan, with fine features and soft princess curls that spring up in humidity. She realizes that, at a glance, she is a typical California blonde. It's the reason people, expecting her to be, if put quite bluntly, ignorant and stupid, are surprised, some even perturbed, at the realization that she is none of the above.
Oh well—
The way she sees it, people either spend time and truly get to know her and recognize she is the opposite of the stereotype, or they stay away from her completely, believing her to be stand-offish and bitchy.
Annabeth doesn't have a problem with her image. She finds it of little consequence to her. It has always repelled problems anyway.
There are the occasional drawbacks to her perceived position, however. And one of them is now sitting on Piper's towel beside her and trying excessively hard to converse.
"I'm totally that way too," Rachel agrees in a sing-songy tone. It's clear, based solely on her preferred topic of discussion, that she is still harboring resentment towards the blonde.
"So," Annabeth smiles, trying to move past the awkward subject. "Are you staying in Venice or...?" she trails off, waiting for the redhead to finish off her sentence.
"Hermosa," Rachel discloses.
Annabeth nods, hoping, wishing—fucking pleading with the universe for Piper to return.
The universe does not answer her prayers. Quite the opposite in fact.
"How long are you staying?" Annabeth questions, trying to appear somewhat friendly to the sophomore.
"Well—" Rachel finishes her sentence in a squeak.
Annabeth is momentarily confused; that is until a wet volleyball hits her square in the face.
The blonde hears a masculine "fuck" from somewhere to her left just as she drops her book.
She is silent for at least five seconds after getting hit, simply stunned by the impact. She blinks once, twice, three times, as a dark figure stops in front of her, obstructing the sunlight.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
And she is silent for an additional second because fuck he has nice shoulders and his skin is tanned and smooth, but his hair is horrendously neat and it's still wet, and his swim trunks are pristine and he's wearing typical asshole sunglasses that look expensive and lavish and are perched on the bridge of his nose in the most infuriating manner possible and—just, no—Rachel can have him.
She blinks again.
Her face hurts.
"Yeah," she replies plainly. "I'm fine."
Annabeth brushes the sand off her lap only to see the soaked volleyball landed on her open book, and her perfect notes are bleeding into each other, and now she's supremely pissed.
She purses her lips and takes the book, wiping the affected pages one by one and hoping for the best.
"Sorry about that," the boy says with a cocky grin. He doesn't sound sorry. "Guess we got a bit caught up in our game."
He chuckles. The sound is awkward, nervous. Under different circumstances, she might find the sound endearing.
"I guess so," Annabeth replies sarcastically.
He frowns slightly, almost incredulously. As if he can't believe the words spilling from her lips.
"I think I've seen you around," Rachel cuts in before Annabeth can retort anything especially venomous. It's probably for the best, but it leaves the wound festering. "You're a Beta Sig, right?"
"Yeah!" the boy shouts, turning most of the heads on the beach.
Annabeth looks him up and down, an expression of distaste imprinted in her fine features. She wonders how he was accepted into a frat with a half decent reputation.
"You a Greek girl?" he questions brightly, his eyes eagerly scanning Rachel's figure.
It bothers the blonde. She's not sure why.
"Mhm," Rachel returns. "I'm Zeta Delta."
The dark haired boy's glasses fall to the bridge of his nose. His eyes are green—bright green—Annabeth notes with an edge of ugh.
"You?" he asks, sending a questioning look her way.
"No," she responds shortly before returning her attention to her book and drying the pages with her towel again.
"Are you mad about your book?" he inquires, and she can feel his eyes on her.
She hates it—maybe she doesn't—she's unsure.
"Yes," she deadpans.
"Oh," he looks surprised, narrowing his eyes slightly, as if confused. "What are you reading?" his voice goes warm, comforting like a fire in the middle of dark winter. "50 Shades?"
Annabeth sighs—the flame is snuffed out—lifting her head to face him.
"Yes," she says enthusiastically, a sugary tone she's used much too many times slipping past her tongue in familiar sarcasm. "I'm reading a misogynist book of erotica on the beach and have notes written in the margins."
He looks positively bewildered. Of course, he would. He's one of those guys.
"I have to accurately record details so I can properly please my husband later in life."
Gods, she hates those guys. The ones that assume she'd vapid and shallow and ditsy because she looks the way she does. And so she must be ignorant and a trust fund baby and easy and only aspire to marry rich. And that all somehow makes her lesser than him.
Fuck him.
She's better than him, and she fucking knows it—
"Okay," the boy narrows his eyes at the blonde. He still looks confused.
Annabeth hopes she made him feel as dumb as his type's made her feel in the past.
"Bye," he says, clearly directing the statement to the Rachel before turning around and returning to his game of volleyball or beach ball or whatever.
She shakes her head and continues attending to the book in front of her.
Her face still hurts.
OoOoO
(5:10 pm) is it bad to be petty
(5:10 pm) ?
(5:10 pm) like could that my fatal flaw?
(5:15 pm) lol what?
(5:15 pm) fatal flaw?
(5:15 pm) youve been reading too much shakespeare
(5:17 pm) could it be tho?
(5:20 pm) i guess
(5:20 pm) y?
(5:20 pm) what did u do
(5:21 pm) i didnt DO anything
(5:21 pm) this girl cut me in line tho
(5:21 pm) when i was trying to order our tacos
(5:21 pm) i didnt call her out or anything
(5:21 pm) but like
(5:21 pm) i def took it as a challenge
(5:22 pm) lol
(5:22 pm) like by stepping in front of me
(5:22 pm) she was trying to fight me
(5:27 pm) maybe she didnt see u
(5:27 pm) im pretty sure she did
(6:00 pm) btw
(6:00 pm) we got invited to a party tonight
(6:00 pm) at 8
(6:01 pm) and were going
(6:05 pm) wait no
(6:05 pm) i have plans
(6:06 pm) no u dont
(6:06 pm) stop lying
(6:07 pm) i dont want to go
(6:07 pm) if u go i promise to go to the Cali Science museum or whatever with u tomorrow
(6:08 pm) first of all
(6:08 pm) California Science Center
(6:08 pm) second
(6:08 pm) fine
(6:10 pm) but youre vastly underestimating just how long i can spend at a museum
(6:14 pm) and youre underestimating just how long i can spend at a frat party
(6:15 pm) wonderful
(6:15 pm) ill start chugging coffee now
OoOoO
Annabeth and Piper arrive at the house party, and the blonde finds herself sighing at the familiar sight.
She realized late her freshman year that frat parties that had lost their grand appeal. Now a sophomore, she couldn't help but look at the younger students and feel they were recklessly immature.
Piper, who still found joy in attending same old the parties, liked to remind Annabeth that she'd been similarly immature only a short year ago.
Annabeth takes a deep breath and follows Piper into the mass of people, hoping to make the best out of the situation.
"Who invited you to this party?" she asks. She has to yell, though, because—well—duh, it's a party.
"Jason."
"Jason?" Annabeth repeats back.
"Yeah," Piper nods, weaving through the crowd towards the kitchen where they seem to be serving drinks. "The hot blonde from my econ class."
"Oh."
Annabeth follows her friend into the kitchen. The college guys all start talking to Piper because of course and they're looking her up and down and Annabeth, who has grown used to it, takes advantage of their lack of attention to reach behind them and mix herself an exquisitely strong drink. She takes a sip and revels in the burn that slides down her throat.
The blonde smiles, feeling her stomach curling and her veins filling with heat. She knows the night is still young, that it will only improve—can only improve—
Or that's what she thought.
Until she saw him.
Again.
"Fuck," she mutters to herself, her eyes lowering to the red solo cup now tipping into her mouth.
She hopes he hasn't seen her. She has no desire to interact with him at this moment—or tonight—not until she's far from sober, anyway.
To her luck, he doesn't notice her. Probably because she's hiding her face behind a red cup and her body behind Piper.
It makes her frown though. She doesn't know why.
So, what did you guys think? I had a lot of fun writing it, the text exchanges are tedious to write but entertaining.