Coffee shop AU
A/N: i hope you all like it. I wrote it with a lot of time on my hands. I broke my leg xD
Chapter one
Annabeth would never admit how much it tiring it was to run her own business. She loved it despite all the additional stress it brought to her. A sigh left her lips as she looked at a customer yelling at one of her employees. She needed to deal with this and fast – Piper does not do well with rude customers.
She went over to them with a polite smile on her face. "Is there anything wrong, sir?" The man she addressed was a head shorter than her with yellow hair that looked awfully like wigs. Piper had her brows furrowed as she looked down at the customer. She was saying something before Annabeth had come over.
"Yes there is!" The man shouted. "This girl has no idea how to respect her betters!"
Piper gritted her teeth. She was about to yell something before Annabeth stopped her with a glare. Then she turned towards the man. "What is the problem exactly, sir?"
"The problem is I asked for an espresso and she gave me a latte!" This is a trivial problem and Piper doesn't usually create a ruckus over something like this. She's a reliable waitress.
"Piper, please give him an espresso." She turned to Piper. "On the—"
"That is not true!" Piper all but shouted. Customers were looking at them now. "You called me a whore and told me to go back to my own fucked up country."
Annabeth sighed again. There were customers daily who were very racist and whilst Annabeth hated it there was very little she could do besides hanging a sign that said: No Racism Tolerated. "Piper, Pipes, go and help Leo, he seemed to be having troubles with the coffee machine." He wasn't really but Piper went along anyway, angrily stomping.
"Look at that girl, what a liar." The man smirked. "They shouldn't allow scum like her to enter the country at all."
"Sir," Annabeth's voice was strained. "She was born here." And even if she wasn't, why does it matter?
"She's still a little bitch. She should be kicked out of our great nation." Even the man's voice was starting to annoy Annabeth.
"Sir, if you haven't read the sign, I implore you to read it." She pointed at the sign hanging on the door of the café.
The man scoffed. "This isn't racism. It's patriotism."
Annabeth could feel her anger rise. "This is racism. And I would kindly ask you to leave this place."
The man was red in the face. Sputtering, "I thought you were a fellow patriot. You just want the country to be overrun by whores like them."
Customers were definitely looking at them now. "If you don't leave now, I will have to force to call the guards." There are no guards. Annabeth was bluffing but the man didn't catch it. Instead, he muttered something under his breath – probably racial slurs, and left. That could have gone way worse actually. She has dealt with customers who would resort to physical violence.
It was morning and that usually meant more customers than usual. No one wanted their morning ruined by someone yelling, especially not the customers. If anything like this continued, her business would run to the ground. "Pipes," She went to Piper who was chatting with a blonde boy. The Cherokee turned to Annabeth and the smile on her face faded away. "When you have time come to the back will you?"
The back was where Annabeth put her office. It wasn't an office exactly – just a small room where Annabeth did most of her work. It was beside the kitchen and she could usually see what was going on in the café. Leo and Piper were serving the customers and Hazel was making coffee. She went over to the back room. Her business started over four years ago. The strange thing was, running a café wasn't even what she intended to do in the first place.
Ever since she was a child, she wanted to be an architect. But for many reasons it didn't quite work out. Her mother had left her with a lot of money after she died; when she didn't become an architect, she decided to put her mother's money to good use. Almost all of the cash was spent on the first month but then she started to generate revenue.
She was the only employee when the business started. Piper was hired after Annabeth alone couldn't handle the pressure, then Leo and finally Hazel. Problems didn't arise until a year ago; that was when the café gained its popularity. And as more customers came in – there were many who did not like the service and some were plain rude.
That was not the only problem however. She could barely handle the pressure and she knew she needed to hire another employee – preferably someone who would handle the accounts. Annabeth didn't want to hire someone new; she had always liked doing her own work. In fact, Piper would not have been hired if Annabeth wasn't being crushed under the workload.
She slumped on her chair; if her assumptions were correct there would be two different messes she would need to clean today. "Hey boss," Annabeth didn't even realize that someone had entered her room.
"Piper," Did Annabeth's voice sound more tired than usual? "You can't just do that."
"Do what?" Piper was feigning innocence.
"I know a lot of customers are horribly rude these days. But you still have to be nice to them." Annabeth continued on, her brows furrowed.
"I'm nice!" Piper exclaimed, crossing her arms.
"Sure. Only to pretty blonde boys," Annabeth snapped. Piper did spend a lot of time with the blonde boy. Annabeth had seen them for a while but it was not any of her business so she never said anything. Piper's shocked expression softened Annabeth. She pinched the bridge of her nose."Look, Pipes, you can't always go around starting fights with everyone."
"I don't!" Piper's protests were half-hearted. She knew she gets angry really fast.
Another sigh. "If you decide to be violent, our business will fall."
"I'm sorry boss." Piper hangs her head. "But he was insulting me for no reason, I was defending myself. That can't be wrong now?"
"No," Annabeth's voice was pensive. "Not entirely." That was when realization hit her. She really did need an employee. Preferably an employee who could be intimidating as well as nice. "We need to hire someone."
Piper nodded solemnly. Over the years of working under Annabeth, Piper understood the business almost as well as her. Annabeth was mostly talking to herself now, "Someone who could be cheerful as well as scary – and someone who could act as security."
"So we're hiring security now?"
"No, a waiter." Annabeth muttered. "But someone who could also act as security if things go out of hand. Hang a notice at the front, will you Pipes, thanks." Annabeth had turned towards the computer. Piper assumed she was dismissed and left the blonde woman to herself.
Piper had worked under Annabeth for almost two and a half years. They were friends before but never that close. Annabeth had this strange habit of being detached; she wasn't an introvert but just was never close enough with people. Piper was desperate for a job especially after running away from her home for the umpteenth time.
Leo was grinning when Piper approached, "In trouble?"
Piper glared at her best friend. "Not really, we need a new employee."
The morning rush had decreased quite significantly; Piper was glad of it. The next rush began at afternoon and it continued on till closing time. Now, there were just a few people in the booths, most of them sipping coffee and on their laptops.
"Thought so," Leo's hands were twisting a long wire. He still had that impish grin on his face. "Wanna tell me about that hunk of a man?"
What hunk? Oh….Piper's blushed as she realized who Leo was talking about. To hide her blush, she shoved Leo. "It's just Jason."
"So wanna tell me about 'Just Jason'?" Leo's grin didn't leave his face.
Piper rolled her eyes. Bothering not to answer Leo, she proceeded to hang a sign over the main entrance. EMPLOYEE NEEDED. IF INTERESTED, CONTACT INSIDE. It was an old sign, one Annabeth had made before Piper was hired. She breathed in the city smell when she went outside. It smelled like foul air but she loved it – and she would never give it up, for anything.
When she went inside, she could see Leo trying to flirt with Hazel. Hazel seems like a nice girl but she had this eerie brother who would come once in a week. He wasn't that bad of a person but he just scared Piper sometimes – even though he seemed younger than her. Besides that, Hazel was perfect as a coworker.
She had worked for many days yet the aroma of coffee and pastries made her feel giddy. Maybe it was just the ADHD at work. Two customers left and left a table empty. This was Leo's table. Gods, Leo forgot his job whilst trying to flirt with Hazel. "Hey, moron, your table." Leo looked extremely disgruntled when Piper punched him on the arm. He glared at her before going over to clean the table.
"Hazel," Piper smiled at the dark skinned girl warmly. "If Leo disturbs you, don't hesitate to tell me."
The girl flushed. Aww this is adorable. "He doesn't disturb me… well. He does. But I… I kind of like it?" Hazel stuttered with a nervous smile.
Piper grinned, winking. "I won't tell anyone."
Afternoon rolled around and the place was busy again. Annabeth was helping out but mostly she preferred to stay in the kitchens and make the batter for the cupcakes and donuts. Piper was swamped with work; all the tables were filled and most of them were nice. Even though some were rude, Piper took no notice of it – she would try to stay out of trouble just to help out Annabeth.
Even though the place was busy, she still kept looking towards the entrance. Gods, she felt like a high school girl who had her first crush. Jason had been their customer for a month and there was something about him that made Piper feel absolutely amazing. He came about twice a day which was weird but Piper wouldn't complain. What a fool, she chided herself.
An old woman came in – she is a regular. This woman came almost every day to buy a rainbow cupcake for her grandson. It was adorable. Guilt overflowed Piper when she realized she hoped this woman was Jason. Piper cleaned tables and collected tips yet her mind was not entirely in the tasks in front of her.
When the bell to the entrance chimed – she looked up so fast she almost had whiplash. Jason came and along with him a black haired guy almost as tall as he was just a bit leaner than Jason. Piper chided herself for being so excited when they sat down at a booth. Waving Leo off, she went to wait on the new customers.
"Jason," she tried to keep her smile as small as possible and failed to do so. "What would you like?"
When she went to the booth she got a good look at the boy who came with him. He had green eyes and tanned skin. Something about him screamed surfer, definitely his tan. The grin on his face was like Leo's. "Probably you." He whispered – clearly not intended for Piper's. She blushed but Jason ignored him.
"The usual." He smiled at her, "Did anything else happen after the morning?"
"No," Piper could not stop smiling. "If anything did happen, Annabeth would kick them out."
"Yeah!" Jason nodded. He turned towards Percy. "Dude, you have not seen Annabeth. Total badass."
"Yeah?" Percy's looked interested.
"Today morning, there was this customer being extremely rude to Piper." Jason explained. "He was being extremely racist and Piper would have punched the man anyway but Annabeth came and dealt with this man so perfectly. You should have seen her, bro."
Percy grinned at Piper. "This Annabeth chick came to help you but Jason didn't?" He meant it as a joke, his grin making it clear.
"Annabeth's my boss." Piper shrugged. "She likes to deal with rude customers herself." She wasn't paying much attention to Percy but seemed more interested in Jason.
"Can I get a cappuccino?" Percy interrupted their shy and strange glances. "And like those blue donuts you have? Two of them?"
Piper quickly jotted those down. "Ok, I'll be right back." And probably stare at Jason for a little more, Percy snickered to himself. He might be oblivious but he really was not that clueless. Anyone could understand that these two liked each other.
"Dude, she obviously likes you." He told Jason, who was still staring at the space Piper was in.
Jason looked at him. "I want to be sure before I ask her out, you know…" Jason trailed off.
"Well!" Percy exclaimed, "She likes you!"
"I don't trust you." Jason pointed a finger at him. "Onto other things, you've been looking for a job right? There's a job available here."
Percy did notice the sign on the door. The café had a strange name too: The Olympus Bakery and Café. He would walk past this place if he was alone but Jason promised him the desserts were brilliant. He did not really like coffee much as it would mean being more hyperactive than he already was. But could he get behind serving coffee? He needed a job too, not desperately but a job would be welcomed.
He didn't like taking money from his father. Sure he got a scholarship for university but he still needed to eat and live. It would also be nice to have some extra money saved up – he could go visit mom and help her there. It wouldn't hurt to try, would it? "Sure." He shrugged. "Why not?"
Jason looked at him. He was one of the two people who knew about Percy's family. It was Jason that drove Percy to try to get a scholarship. They had been friends for over ten years. "It's near to our school and to our apartment." Jason listed off the pros. "I wonder how much the pay will be."
"We can ask Piper." Percy winked dramatically.
Jason groaned but hid a smile. If what Percy said was true, Piper might actually like him. "Oh gods."
Piper came over with their food in under fifteen minutes. Even though the place was packed Piper and the other waiter seemed to be handling it greatly. She placed an iced coffee and a cupcake in front of Jason and a cappuccino and the donuts in front of Percy. He thanked her and started to ask Piper about the employee. But Jason took over. "Hey Pipes, Percy here wants a job."
"Oh?" Piper cocked her hip balancing a tray on it.
"Yeah," Jason waved his hands. "Here, we saw the sign and Percy thought he might be a good fit."
"Well, I'm not the boss of that." Piper shrugged a smile still on her face. "Annabeth is. I'll tell her right after I'm done here." She pointed at the tray. "I think Annabeth would just interview him now. She likes things to be efficient, would that be a problem?"
Honestly Percy was fine with anything. And he really wanted to meet Annabeth – to confirm if she really was as awesome as Jason and Piper made her out to be. He shrugged, "Anything's fine."
"Okay then," Piper grinned –this time at both of them. "I'll tell her then."
As soon as Piper left, Percy dug in the blue donuts. He had always had a fascination for anything blue. Probably due to his mother. Mom always colored his food blue. Blue pancakes, blue maple syrup, blue jelly beans. It was because of an argument with Percy's step father. Smelly Gabe, as Percy liked to call him. Ever since then, Percy liked anything blue. The donuts were extremely tasty too. Almost as good as what mom makes, just not enough.
"I get why you come here so often." He remarked to Jason. Jason was about to glare. "The food is brilliant."
Jason laughed. "I knew you'd like it. It's almost as good as what Sally makes."
Percy nodded and continued to chew. He would rather enjoy this without any interruptions. Soon, his plate was empty and his stomach full. He could devour another donut but the sugar wouldn't be good. Instead, he sips his coffee watching as a gorgeous athletic woman talk to Piper. He could only see her wavy blonde hair and that she was wearing a light grey shirt and pants.
He didn't have to wait long to see her face. She came over. "Hello, you must be Jason?" She nodded at Jason. "And you're Percy?" She had grey eyes; she looked like she was from California except for the grey eyes.
He nodded. "Well, I'm Annabeth." She seemed curt and formal. "I'm the owner." She was the owner? Percy did not expect a girl their age, for some reason he expected a middle aged woman with graying hair and two children. Two children were oddly specific but that was what Percy thought.
Annabeth pulled a chair and sat. It seemed the afternoon rush was almost over and the place was emptier. It almost seemed calm with the setting sun. Annabeth's face glowed from the sunlight. "So Percy, I heard you wanted the job?"
Percy nodded. "Well, I don't have much experience waitressing."
"Piper or Leo could teach you." Annabeth waved her hand, dismissing him. "You do live near right?" Percy only nodded. "You can fight?"
Umm, why would I need to fight? Percy thought. But he could fight. He could actually fight pretty well, after all the years of living with Smelly Gabe. "Yeah, but why would I need to?"
"I hope you wouldn't need to." Annabeth told him bluntly. "See there are customers who often resort to violence. I need someone who could intimidate them enough to make them leave without violence."
"So I won't need to fight?" Percy asked, just to clarify.
"No, unless someone tried to harm us, then you would need to." Annabeth explained. "I don't want someone in dark uniform looming over all the time. It would ruin the calm atmosphere I've been trying to create here. So my employee would need to be here as a waiter. You would only come in to play when there's someone trying to create trouble. You get it?"
"And can you do shifts in the morning and in the afternoon?" Annabeth asked.
"When exactly?"
"From 8:00 am to 12:00 am and then again at 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm," Well, his classes were from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. He would manage.
Percy nodded. "Well then you're hired."
…. "What? That's all?" Percy felt dumbfounded.
"Yes," a small smile made its way on Annabeth's face. "Would you like me to grill you on the types of coffee that exists in the world?"
"Well, yes." Percy looked sheepish. He could see Jason grinning at Piper from the corner of his eyes. But his complete focus was on Annabeth. She was laughing at what Percy was saying. It was just a small chuckle yet Percy felt accomplished.
"Well, I just needed to know if you were capable of handling yourself in a fight." Annabeth stood up. "Piper would show you everything tomorrow. You'll be trained for two weeks. Thank you for your time."
Percy smiled at the girl who was already leaving. Well, Piper wasn't wrong. Annabeth seemed to be really efficient.