hi there. obviously, i am currently infatuated with GA and HOO/PJO.
disclaimer: i-i don't o-own shiiit.
phenomena; casualties
Something's are better left alone, Piper figured as she passed the room '347' on her way to her dorm. Well, it was really a small, cosy, claustrophobic apartment. This college insisted on bigger 'rooms'. Thus the miniature apartment was formed. And the inevitable eye roll followed.
Piper itched to finally set her things down and just take a nap. She had no idea who she was with, but she figured that Leo had set her up with a total junkie. He chuckled when she asked what he had done. Leo had the slight tendency to make her life tougher than usual. Of course. But he was an engineering student at Gaia and Piper was three years into her residency in Gaia.
Gaia was an University, Teaching Hospital and Car Service. For some reason, a very bright moron decided to merge a teaching hospital and engineering university. Piper didn't care about the absurd merger, though. She had been introduced to Leo Valdez. And he happened to be great company. They both worked their asses off everyday, ate at the best places in Seattle. It was all good. (Although Piper was always going to struggle with the 7 hours of sleep every week.)
Starting her 3rd year, she was wrecked. Almost too quickly, she was thrown to the back of the bus. Everyone had chosen their specialties by now. She had not. She barely managed to diagnose a patient in her intern year. By the second year, she progressively (and quite actively) skipped Skills Lab Classes. But for some reason, (and by the help of her eidetic memory), she had excellent surgical skills. Surgery is not just about the knowledge you attain, however it's quick-thinking, problem solving, and having a right mind. Too often she saw people fraternise with patients and become too involved with their care. That clouds them from forming any medical advice or solution.
Piper was not exactly the worst at patient care. Often they were heartbreaking. In both bad or good ways. She figured it couldn't get worse than death.
And as she mulled herself into her room, she saw she was wrong.
He was blonde, slender and unpacking desk lamps. Piper caught herself struggling to make words. Words came easily to her most of the time, however, this kid was just…..ugh.
He noticed her gaze and turned to extend a hand, "Hi. I'm your roommate."
Piper snapped back to reality. What the hell?
She knew the co-ed dorms existed, but still. What the actual fuck. It felt a lot like saying you probably won't die in the next few hours, but then you die in the next few hours. Well, looking at him didn't feel like…dying. It felt like a very not funny practical joke.
Piper figured he's the classic over-achiever, (the annoying type.)
"Uh, you're probably in the wrong room."
Clearly, he was.
He looked down at his Dorm Enrollment paper and frowned ever so slightly.
"Nope. I'm here. And you are?"
Clearly, he wasn't.
"But, I didn't sign up for a co-ed room."
Oh, no. But she did. It suddenly strikes her that she was drunk and she did in fact sign up for a co-ed room on a lousy June evening. How could that have completely slipped her mind?
"Um," The very cute stranger looked as if he wasn't sure of anything in the first time in his life, "Sorry?"
Piper glared.
"Whatever. I'm going to unpack and take a shower." She attempted at being suave, but it came out sort of lame and she instantly regretted it.
He just looked at her, and nodded. Also gulped. Piper had a quick meltdown, what did gulping mean? Was she intimidating or just plain rude? Or both?
As she stalked to the bathroom, his eyes followed her. It was going to be a very long year. (And she might even enjoy it.)
Ever so slowly, Percy slipped out of his bed. The soft wind played a whistling melody, and the birds were making their ugly noises. The morning was peaceful, almost disturbing in its serenity.
He sighed.
Natalia was no longer enveloped between he sheets anymore, when Percy creeped into his bedroom after some tea. People always leave, he sorrowfully thought. He chided himself for feeling remorseful about it and started to change his clothes into something comfortable. It was his first year as a 3rd year surgical resident. He was replaced by Michael Yew, and had to change surgical teams.
Percy couldn't exactly remember his competition for the three more years he had to go, but he knew the girl Piper. He figured the other two were transfers from UCLA. Piper sufficiently missed some classes and had a rebellious streak. She probably would've been kicked out if not for her insane surgical skills.
Percy, had a knack of being in trouble. But, through determination and effort, he's paved a path to becoming a Grace Award winning general surgeon.
Distracted by the odd formation of heavy grey clouds enclosed around Seattle, Percy stumbled his way down from his cramped apartment and made his way down to Gaia. The rain washed him clean for a new day, as he inhaled the fresh rain sickling the old smoke dawdled around the passing cars.
Percy was ready.
~
Percy was not ready. As he collected his scrubs, stethoscope and lab coat, a woman was lingering around the O.R.
He watched her.
Her grey eyes, almost as dark as the clouds encircling them, shone with awe. Her hands instinctively went to the stethoscope wrapped neatly around her long neck. A persistent tapping started from her left foot and then switched to her right. She slowly backed away from O.R., breaking her hypnotic trance on him. She raised a well-groomed eyebrow, and he knew that she knew.
Percy felt creepy. He had been staring for way too long. There probably was some sort of limit for staring at women like her. But being Percy, he was unaware of all the little quirks and details that came with staring at intimidating women. He was sarcastic, and pretty stupid most of the time. Which got him nowhere.
He didn't necessarily understand why he had been looking. Sure, she was effectively … effective with making his throat hoarse and mind clutter. Maybe it was because she was observing the O.R., he liked it when people actually enjoyed being in the O.R. and surgery. It made him feel, normal. As inhuman as it may sound, he preferred surgery over love.
It was the thrill, the high, and the rush.
~
It was the calmness and composure of surgery.
Annabeth grew up in a disruptive household; she liked the time she had to herself and the patient during surgery.
It also made her feel worthwhile. She was only a 3rd year resident, but she was admittedly gifted. Annabeth was built on hard work, skills, and dedication. Failure rarely happened, but it did. Becoming an excellent surgeon was big failure's, one after the other.
Luckily, Annabeth was an intellect. She took the IB Program: PYP, MYP, and Death, (DP). She was an undergraduate at Oxford and earned her Masters at Carnegie Mellon.
But she wasn't perfect. She lived by the rule: it's not a problem without a solution.
If only the solution was easier to find, than the problem itself. Annabeth twitched. Someone was watching her. Ew. He was drooling. Way to make a good impression, she carelessly thought.
He looked like a baby seal. A drooling baby seal. Annabeth raised her eyebrow in question, but did not directly look at him. She pursed her lips tight and turned away. When she turned to get a better look, he was gone. Annabeth effortlessly shrugged her broad shoulders and navigated her way around the hospital. Gaia was one of the best hospitals in the country, and she belonged here. Didn't she?
Walking into the resident's locker room, she wasn't so sure. Everyone was your competition here, but you are your biggest, was what her Father said.
"Thanks, Dad." Annabeth muttered, looking for her locker.
With everyone scattered around her, she felt claustrophobic. Annabeth sucked in the minimal air around her whilst tying her blonde fuzz of a hair into a pony.
"Chase! McLean! Jackson! Grace!"
Annabeth craned her neck to find a 5th year assigning Attending's to the residents. She recalled the name Grace from her old class, but she couldn't quite place the name with a face.
Until she did.
He was quite tall, blonde and ruggedly handsome. Annabeth instantly felt competitive. She knew his type very well. She was his type. And they both knew, that there was only one over-achiever that would make it.
He ignored her eye contact and set straight out for the 5th year loser.
Okay, then.
Annabeth followed him, and then violently bumped into a person. Well, well. It was the damn seal. She fell on her ass, naturally. He offered her a hand, a sly grin creeping on his face.
"At least it was your ass, man." He shrugged.
"Aren't you going to offer an apology?" You ass, she wanted to add.
He raised his eyebrows. "The hell? You weren't paying attention to anything in front of you."
Annabeth knew he was right, but like hell she was going to give in. "Excuse you, but I think it was you who knocked me on my ass. And now you're acting like one."
He cracked up. "Are you flirting with me?"
"Seriously?!"
"Seriously!"
"Dumber than you look, aren't you?"
His hands shot up in surrender, "Is this called sexual tension? I like it. I like you."
Annabeth's arms lunged at him and pinned him against the wall. "Listen, I don't care. I don't have the time to care-"
Percy scoffed, "Does anybody?"
"-So save yourself the trouble and don't be trouble."
"This is sexual harassment, you know that right?"
She let him go, as he started chanting: Sick for the dick.
"I'm Percy, I think you'd want to know."
Annabeth wasn't terribly interested in knowing. "You say it like I might care about it."
"Oh. It's the beginning. We're going to get along best. But, I'll actually become a surgeon while you dig ditches by the side of the road."
Oh. So it was professional. Annabeth was game for that.
~
Jason Grace raced from coffee shop to bring Piper something for breakfast. Normally, he would've done it for perception and deceiving the weak. But, this time, he didn't. He didn't want to think about why he didn't.
His nose was red and frozen from the cold, but otherwise he was all warmed up. A leader is always prepared, he was told. Piper took a sip and threw it in the trash. Jason smirked.
"Not a morning person?"
"Not in the least. Besides, I highly suspect foul play here."
Jason shrugged. "Your loss. First day is always a killer. I was being nice."
Piper gave him a look. "Shut the hell up and pass me your coffee."
He looked at her in bewilderment. "You think I'm going to give it up for you?"
"I thought you were nice, Grace."
"Apparently not enough, Pipes."
She flinched at the nickname, but said nothing.
"I thought so." She replied softly. The tone of her voice illustrated subtle disappointment, but it was gone before it started. Jason almost laughed. Gone before it started. Oh, how that felt like the story of his life.
He shuffled around, looking for something to do, not wanting to leave her yet.
Piper sighed. "You can leave, you know."
Jason nodded, but stayed.
Piper giggled, "Stay then. It's too early to leave, Grace."
"Huh. Slacker."
"Fucking over-achiever."
Before he lost the nerve, Jason mumbled, "Opposites attract, you know."
Immediately after he said it, he looked in her direction. It became painfully clear that she had heard him. Jason went to several phases of mortification, in under 5 seconds.
Piper didn't make it any more awkward, thank God.
"Like you and I would ever become something."
"Yeah. Right."
And that pretty much ended it. Jason and Piper left for the hospital several minutes of awkward together. Attempting to get her shoes, Piper brushed her shoulders against his. Jason kept his himself there, and hoped she would do the same. She didn't.
He shuddered. Like Jason would have any time for feelings.
~
Percy stood side-by-side with his new mates. As they waited for their Attending to give them instructions for the day, he studied the other three.
Piper was twirling her long brunette hair around her fingers, staring at the clock. She had a beautiful complexion, but Percy couldn't feel a level of attraction. Her feet tapped nervously, and Percy hated it. It was almost as worse as pacing.
Jason was pacing. It was frustrating on so many levels, Percy couldn't count them. Envy. He felt kind of strange about Grace. Jason was obviously better than Percy, on everything. And all the girls fell for him. Although his mind was somewhere else.
Annabeth scared him. She could tease him and he'd fall onto his knees. He could tease her and she'd pin him against the wall. Percy was progressively recovering that imminent attack. Its not everyday that someone does it. He actually kind of found it hot. Like hell, he would mention that to her.
Percy sighed.
Why must men entangle themselves with women who can break them in half? He added that to a list of questions that should be answered.
In mid-thought, a scruffy short doctor approached them. All four of them half eagerly-half sleeplessly bounced towards him. He was short. So damn short that Percy had to look down on him. If that wasn't degrading, he didn't know what was.
"Listen. I don't care about your personal crap, and neither do the patients. I have only five rules, memorise them."
The shortie turned and started walking. The four followed.
"Rule 1. Sleep where you can, when you can. On-Call rooms. Rule 2: Don't wake me while I'm sleeping because if you do, I'll huff and puff your asses straight to Antarctica. Rule 3: Don't let any patients die, pretty fucking self explanatory. Rule 4: If your patient is dying, call me or any attending on the floor."
Everyone paused. They already knew this, but Percy figured that it never hurt to be told again. And again.
Annabeth cleared her throat, "You said there were five rules, that was only…four."
As if on cue, Shortie's pager went off and so did he, "When I move, you move!"
It took them five minutes to get to the ER where the paramedics wheeled in a seizing girl. She had honey coloured hair, dripping softly over her angular face. Despite the many strands of hair covering it, the pink bruises swelled and several gashes marked almost every part of her left cheekbone. She was abused and sexually assaulted.
And the rush kicked in.
Beside Percy, Annabeth whispered almost seductively, "She's mine."
Jason raised his eyebrow and said nothing. Kept his lips tight, but a scowl was making a way to his face. Piper only snorted, "Snob."
Shortie turned, "All right, let's fuckin' do this. Chase, go get her labs; Jackson, Dr. Dare is waiting for you up in Plastics. Grace and McLean, you're both going to stay with her."
Annabeth frowned slightly and made her way out of the room. Percy followed her and sped up to her. He bumped her shoulder.
"Its 'cos you said it."
"What the bloody hell are you talking about?"
Percy snarked, "Patient care, AB."
"Oh please, you were thinking the same thing."
"Was not. Was instead chastising you for saying such a thing."
Annabeth looked as if she did feel bad about it, but it vanished, "Uh-huh."
"Look, yeah. We all kind of were, but we're not first years. As much as I am a surgeon, I'm also a person. And I suffer, so did she. She looked like the epitome of hell, Chase."
Annabeth wouldn't meet his eyes, "I'm not as inconsiderate as you think I am. But if you do think so, than good for me."
She got up and left abruptly, leaving Percy stranded by the staircase.