22nd Dec
''Oh for fuck's sake.'' Piper muttered in irritation before giving Annabeth's heavy suitcase one last push, finally managing to load it in the elevator. She clumsily climbed in after it and pressed the button to the first floor before looking up at the other three passengers with an apologetic smile. ''Sorry about that.''
''No worries, it's like that for everyone in this time of the year.'' The girl shrugged, not particularly bothered by the situation, while shouldering a stuffed backpack.
Piper nodded distractedly. She had the feeling that she had interrupted their conversation because the other three were sending each other looks. The girl was just rolling her eyes at a latino guy, who was wiggling his eyebrows back at her. Piper's eyes landed on the third passenger, a blond guy that had his eyes trained to his phone's screen. She hadn't noticed that she was staring until his eyes suddenly lifted and she found herself face to face with the most vivid sky-blue eyes she had ever seen.
Her cheeks heated and Piper immediately looked away, trying to find something interesting to occupy her attention while the ride lasted. She was just thinking about starting some stupid random conversation when her phone rang. Relieved for the distraction, she pulled it out of her jeans' back pocked and swiftly put it to her cheek.
''Talk to me.'' She said casually, not bothering to even look at the caller's ID.
''Hi Pipes.'' Her father greeted her from the other end of the line and for a second Piper smiled. Her good mood started evaporating quickly, registering the fact that Tristan Mclean rarely took time to just chat, especially when they were to see each other the day after.
''Hi dad, something wrong?'' she asked tentatively, anticipating the answer and wincing a little when her guess turned out right.
''Piper, I'm really sorry but they called me back an hour ago to reshoot some scenes for that mythology-based movie I was shooting in Italy. I won't be able to make it on time for Christmas eve, I'm not sure if I would be in the country for New Year's actually…''
''It's okay dad, I get it.'' She sighed in the speaker.
''I'll make it up, I promise Pipes. I'll be back as soon as I can and we can still catch up after New Year's.''
Piper sighed again, shaking her head.
''I thought that this was making it up for Thanksgiving.'' She mumbled, not sure if she was saying this so he could hear or just voicing her thoughts for herself.
''You know that if it wasn't completely necessary, I wouldn't have accepted, right? Anyway, Mellie will be home when you come and…'' but Piper quickly tuned his next words out, not bothering to listen to his banter anymore.
Surprise, surprise, she had no plans for Christmas Eve. Again.
The elevator stopped then, jolting her out of her reverie.
''Sorry dad, I have to go now.'' She interrupted Tristan's sentence abruptly. When he spoke he sounded a little startled but she didn't care.
''Oh, okay. See you around kid. Be safe.''
''Yeah, you too.'' She grumbled before shutting the phone and pocketing it back.
The door of the elevator opened and she looked down at the suitcase in her feet with detest. Yet another sigh escaped her lips as she leaned to pick it up.
''Here we go again.''
''You sure you don't want to come with us to my mom's? The invitation from last week stands you know, she's still pretty excited to meet you.'' Percy, one of her two best friends, asked her for what seemed to be the hundredth time.
Piper rolled her eyes, regarding him and Annabeth with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
''You're going to miss the bus if you have to wait for me to collect my stuff. Besides, you have to meet her with Annabeth first dork, she's the new girlfriend here.'' She said while nudging the blond girl playfully, earning an eye roll from her. Piper put her tongue out in a childish manor, causing Annabeth to ruffle her hair. Both girls laughed out loud.
''Geez, and you say that I'm the immature one.'' Percy sighed dramatically from besides them, which resulted in him yelping in pain not three seconds later. Rubbing his forearms, he sent an accusing look to both girls. ''What was that for?!''
''For being a seaweed brain, Seaweed brain.'' Annabeth advised in a 'duh' tone that made Piper chuckle. The blond girl joined her but soon sobered up enough to speak again. ''But seriously Piper, we can catch the next buss, it's not a problem at all…''
The brunette waved them off with a half-smile lifting the corners of her lips. She really didn't want to mess up with their plans for the holidays.
''Nah, I'll be fine. I'm actually going to stay here and see what happens around the dorm on Christmas! Maybe even attend a party or something.'' She shrugged, making all of them laugh.
''Oh yeah, Piper the party animal!'' Percy exclaimed sarcastically and she didn't hesitate to shove him away. It was true that she didn't attend a lot of parties, much like Annabeth, but she had been to a few. Two, maybe three during the semester. It wasn't all that bad in her opinion.
''We'll be back for New Year's because Will Solace is throwing a kick-ass party on his floor and I'm not missing it for the world.'' Percy announced then, causing Annabeth to roll her eyes at him. ''What? Tell me if there's a better way to spend your first New Year's Eve like a college student than on a typical college party!''
''See you in ten days then.'' Piper chuckled and gave them both a hug before heading back to her not empty dorm room. Looks like it was going to be just her and her Christmas movie collection.
23rd Dec
Piper opened the door of the bathroom, letting steam leak out from the tiny space and into her empty dorm. She searched for a towel for her hair while thinking what she could do next. Going out was out of the question since the weather was so cold and windy. She would like to not spend the holidays under a blanked, burrowed under a pile of used tissues and coughing her lungs out.
Maybe she could watch a movie, get the Christmas spirit up or something. Maybe a Home Alone marathon?
A knock on the door startled her and she went to see who it could be.
''Hi, sorry for…i-interrupting you?''
Piper raised a brow in question. From all the people in the whole ten-floor building the last one she expected was him. The blond guy she stared at in the elevator the previous day. She didn't even know his name. How did he know where she lived?
She waited for him to speak up but apparently he had lost that ability for some reason. Her eyes scanned his face quickly, blushing a little from the memory of yesterday, when she noticed that he was looking her up and down like he hadn't seen a girl before. Huh. Did she have something on her shirt or something?
Just then she felt a slight breeze coming from the hallway that hit her bare legs.
Bare legs? Why would they be-?
''Oh my God!'' she gasped, eyes wide. She was in a towel. She had actually opened the door while wearing only a towel!
The door slammed shut in the guy's face, finally hiding Piper from his sight. Damn it, could she be any more stupid? Yesterday's embarrassment was nothing compared to the mortification that she was feeling now. The spirits really hated her.
The guy knocked on the door again.
''Hey, uhm…I still need to talk to you. See, I live two floors above you and I dropped a T-shirt on your terrace. Or at least I think it was yours, I mean…'' he continued talking, making less and less sense and Piper found herself stifling laughs.
Finally, she managed to calm herself enough to talk through the door.
''Can you wait for two minutes?'' she asked, looking down at herself. At least she wasn't bored now.
''Oh, sure, of course. I'll be just out here. Waiting.''
She bolted towards her chest of clothes and quickly grabbed the first thing she saw. Putting on the battered Lakers jersey and a pair of leggings, she skipped to the door. However, when she passed the mirror on the bathroom's door she stopped dead in her track. Man, her hair couldn't look messier even if she tried to! She tried to tame the wet mess a little by combing it with her fingers but gave up when it almost tangled in her ring. Fuck it, she thought. He's already thinking I'm weird. And with that thought she gave up and finally opened the door again.
''Uhm, sorry for…before.'' She quickly apologized, trying to not look him directly in the eyes. ''So how can I help you?''
''Yeah, I think my T-shirt fell on your terrace.'' The guy said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. ''My roommate was acting hyperactive again, trying to force me out of bed and threw it out on our terrace but the wind picked it up and it flew out of the terrace too.''
Despite the awkwardness, Piper couldn't help but chuckle.
''God forbid it if you're out of bed before noon.'' She remarked, checking the clock in the room.
''Hey, it's the holidays!'' He defended himself in a slightly offended voice. ''I'm allowed to sleep in!''
''I'm just kidding, you know.''
Their eyes met when she finally looked up at his face again. A sigh of relief left her when she noticed that he was actually smiling down at her.
''Yeah, I kind of figured that one out.''
She blushed yet again, nodding a little.
''So a T-shirt yeah?'' she asked finally, stepping back in the room. ''You can come in if you want and I'll just check on the terrace if it's there.''
She left the door open when she turned around and his steps followed her when he entered.
''A Lakers fan? So I get it that you're not from here.'' His voice sounded as she opened the terrace door to see that yes, there was a purple T-shirt draped over the railing.
She quickly reached out and took it before it could fly away.
''Nope, I'm from L.A….as you probably guessed.'' She responded.
''Well, we're actually coming from the same state then. I'm Jason by the way.''
''I'm Piper.'' She smiled at him before handing him the damp half-frozen by the Chicago air T-shirt. ''Is this yours?''
He swept a hand through his blond hair, chuckling a little.
''Yep, all mine. Thanks and sorry for…'' he trailed off, gesturing towards the door he came through. ''before.''
''I'm the one that's sorry. I don't usually greet people like that.'' She smiled at him a little.
Jason walked towards the exit with Piper trailing behind him. He was already out when he turned back to her, eyes gleaming playfully at the female leaning on the door frame.
''I sure hope so. See you around Piper.''
''Yeah.'' She only managed to say before he walked away towards the elevator.
Closing the door, she concluded that after all, it wasn't that bad. Weird, yeah but hey, she at least wasn't completely naked. And she found out his name. That had to count for something even if she never saw him again.
24th Dec
''Oh great.'' Piper muttered to herself while rummaging through the only cupboard for food that she and Annabeth had in the dorm.
How were they out of popcorn, crisps and chocolate at the same time? She didn't remember doing something so horrible that the universe would screw her up like that. One look through the window showed her that it was still snowing heavily. The last thing that she wanted was to go out in this kind of weather.
She sighed, shutting the cupboard and plopping back on her bed. To eat or not to eat, that was the question for her. Okay, she was getting overly-dramatic but in her defense, she was bored.
For the past three days she had watched over ten movies, she had stopped counting at some point yesterday. She even managed to write her English report, a task that even Annabeth had left for after New Year's. If anybody asked, Piper would deny doing so even if her life depended on it!
In the end, her stomach decided for her when it rumbled loudly.
Piper threw her hands up in surrender before pushing herself up from the bed ''Fine, fine! I'm heading out, sheesh.''
She was really losing it, right? It was good that no one replied. Now that would have been bad.
''Wait!'' she shouted, seeing from the exit that the elevator door was closing. She reached the door in six long strides and slipped in, hitting the button to her floor before plopping her shopping back on the floor. ''Thanks.''
''No problem.'' Piper had the feeling that she was now programmed to blush every time she heard that voice. Despite her embarrassment though, she turned and gave Jason a smile.
''Hi.''
''Hi.'' He said, grinning back at her from his corner.
An awkward silence fell over them. Piper tried to think of something to say but came short. Should she even start a conversation? She barely knew the guy though he had seen her partially naked already. His opinion of her couldn't be too good, right? She nodded to herself. Yeah, better stay silent until the ride was over.
The elevator shook and stopped. Piper waited for the door to open but that didn't happen.
''What the…'' she pushed the button to her floor again and again, hoping that that will make the machine work again but to no avail.
''Oh perfect.'' She heard Jason's grumble before he appeared in her peripheral vision. ''Are we stuck?''
Piper sighed, bringing out her phone while replying. ''It appears so. Can you call the service number? My battery's dead.'' She showed him her screen for emphasis.
Jason started feeling his pockets and then groaned. ''I left it in my room.''
''Okay then.'' She said and pressed the red button that was supposed to announce the doorkeeper that something was wrong with the elevator. ''Isn't it supposed to light up?''
Jason turned towards her and shrugged. ''It is but it's obviously not working too.''
''Great.'' Both of them exclaimed dryly at the same time.
Piper let out yet another sigh. She slid down the wall and crossed her feet in front of her. Locked up in an elevator with Jason, of all people? What was Fate trying to do, find out other ways that Piper could embarrass herself even more?
Why did she even care about what this guy thought of her?
Jason chose that moment to cut her thoughts. ''It seems that we'll spend a lot of time here.''
''Yeah.'' She nodded, not meeting his eyes. A thought suddenly appeared in her mind. What did she have to lose anyway? She pulled her shopping bag in front of herself and started digging around. After a few seconds she turned to Jason, raising a bottle for him to see. ''Do you like red wine?''
''He-he actually d-did that?'' Piper managed out before she fell in a fit of giggles again. ''Man, your roommate Leo is crazy!''
''Don't I know it?!'' He laughed too before tilting his head to take yet another swig of the wine. ''If someone had told me two years ago that I'll end up with a hyperactive troublemaker as a best friend I would have laughed so loud that even you in L.A. would have heard me!''
''Why's that? Where are you from?'' she asked, accepting the bottle from him.
''San Francisco. Though I couldn't have escaped sooner from there.''
Piper spoke before she had time to think. ''Why?'' But when her brain caught up with her mouth, she blushed. ''Sorry, not my business. Forget it.''
''No, it's okay.'' He hurried to reassure her. Shrugging, he looked ahead of himself, refusing to meet her eyes. ''I'm away from the idea that my family is the only one that is fucked up. I counted the days to my graduation and as soon as I found out that I've been accepted here, I left.''
Inspite of the serious situation, Piper didn't manage to stifle a laugh. Jason raised his head, his face showing both confusion and hurt.
''No, sorry, I didn't…'' she tried to calm down, crawling on the floor until she was leaning towards him with her hands on his knees. ''I think I'm drunk.''
''I think you are.'' he let out an incredulous laugh. ''I think I am too.''
''I'm coming from a fucked up family too!'' she exclaimed before joining him in laughing. They weren't even sure what was so funny anymore.
''Piper, you…'' but whatever Jason was about to say got caught in his throat.
They hadn't realized how little space was separating them. Piper was able to notice the barely visible scar on his upper lip, to see that his brilliant blue eyes had the tiniest specks of grey. Only now had Jason realized that her eyes were the strangest color. He watched them darken from bluish to brownish as they traveled down his face. Her cheeks flushed for what Jason thought was the hundredth time since he met her. He didn't mind at all. She was cute that way. Well, cuter.
Piper blushed, realizing that she was staring at him. Again. She looked away and tried to pul back but before she could put enough distance between them, his hand rested on her upper arm. Their eyes locked again and she saw the curiosity in them. Her heart started beating faster.
She only managed to whisper. ''Jason?''
He didn't answer her. Instead, he leaned forward and their lips met. It was slow and innocent for approximately five seconds before her hands wound up around his neck and his gripped her waist, guiding her closer and closer until she was sitting in his lap.
And just then, the elevator started moving up again.
They pulled away from one another, breathing heavily. Piper refused to open her eyes, determined to prolong the moment. It felt so good to be wrapped in his arms even though he was technically a stranger. She was sure that it won't last. They were two strangers that were forced to get closer in a locked elevator and were drunk. Whatever they had just built was bound to last…until the elevator arrived on her floor.
When the doors opened, Piper stood up. She was considering whether it was better to speak or just to leave as soon as possible when he appeared next to her.
''Mind if I walk you home? After three hours in this elevator, I prefer walking up two flights.'' He said and when she looked up he was smiling.
''Okay.'' She nodded and he followed her towards her dorm.
The walk wasn't long and they arrived soon. Piper unlocked her door but didn't open it. She was sure that she would regret her decision later but she had to try. With her back turned to him and her forehead on the wooden door, she finally spoke.
''Do you…wanna come in?''
He didn't answer right away and Piper sighed. Yep, she definitely regretted her decision already. With a sigh, she opened the door without turning back.
''Hey, wait, I…'' he grabbed her hand then and she turned to finally look at him. He was nervous; his other hand went through his golden hair and rested on the back of his neck. He took a deep breath before finally looking up. ''I'll be right here tomorrow morning at ten. We can go grab a pizza or a coffee or something. How does that sound?''
She let a small smile settle on her lips.
''Sounds great.'' She admitted. ''So, see you tomorrow?''
''Yeah.'' He breathed out in relief, grinning back at her.
She watched as he turned and headed for the stairs and decided that for once, she would be the blunt one.
''Jason, wait!''
She walked the six steps that were separating them quickly and without even blinking, kissed him on the lips.
''Merry Christmas.'' Her breath tickled Jason's neck as she whispered in his ear.
He smiled to himself, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her neck, right behind her ear.
''Merry Christmas to you too Pipes.'' He murmured lowly before pulling away. With one last smile, he turned around and started climbing up the stairs to his own dorm.
Piper stood frozen for a few minutes before her brain started working again and she ran back in her dorm. She plugged the charger and switched on her phone as soon as the door was closed behind her. She sent a quick text and then plopped down on her bed, smiling like a fool.
To: Annabeth
From: Piper
Guess what Santa gave me for Christmas this year!
First of all, I want to say Happy (belated) B-day to my best fanfiction friend Di Blythe. You're growing older my dear! *laughs* Sorry that it came so late but it came, right. Hope you like it!
I know I'm not around lately but I'm trying my best to get back in track. I hope that all of you my dear dead readers have a very Happy New Year, full of love and inspiration (for those of you who are also writers).