I want us. I want to swim in the

way you make me feel; I want it

to soak my clothes until they

become a skin, and I want that

skin to soak into my bones. I

want to become the way it feels

in the instant you stare at me

from across this crowded place.

~ Tyler Knott Gregson

3.

Percy was too smug.

Correction: Percy was too smug for no apparent reason that Piper could see. He arrived at school late, got yelled at by Mr. D, and failed Mr. Chiron's Latin root word pop quiz. If Piper was in his shoes, she would be throwing herself the biggest pity part the world has ever seen, but Percy kept on smirking.

Piper stopped talking, it was obvious Percy wasn't listening, and to be honest, Piper wasn't really listening to herself either, just talking to fill the space. Percy didn't seem to notice the absence of sound and kept on nodding along as if Piper was still talking.

"Percy?"

Percy made no sound, but continued to stare off into space,

"Percy! Perseus! Kelp head!"

Nothing. Piper rolled her eyes, and snapped her fingers under his nose,

"Hey Fuckface! Get your head out of the clouds and into reality."

Her friend finally snapped out of it,

"My name is Percy last I checked."

Piper gave him a withering look,

"So what happened?"

Percy's eyes widened dramatically,

"Well, I don't know what you mean!"

Piper rolled her eyes, and heaved a great sigh,

"You should really consider joining the drama department, I'm sure you would be a valuable actor."

"Shut up."

"Tell me what happened,"

"Nothing happened."

Piper grimaced and cracked her fingers,

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, but-"

She pulled the neck of his shirt down to reveal red and purple bruises marring his tanned shoulders and lower neck. She raised her eyes at him, and he quickly slapped her hand away,

"Fine, fine. Something did happen," he adjusted his neckline so the bruises were covered, "You know, it's creepy how you know these things,"

"What can I say, it's like I have spider-senses,"

"More like hickey-senses," a new voice said, "So who's the lucky person?"

Percy quickly spun around, cheeks red, as Nico plopped himself down beside him on the lunch bench. Nico's boyfriend, Will Solace, took the seat across from Nico. Percy started stuttering, but before anything sounding remotely like English could emerge from his mouth, a new voice interjected,

"It's me, it's always been me. Percy and I are running off and eloping, then we are going to have wild sex for the next couple days at a cheap hotel."

"Fake news." Nico replied, pulling out a bag of chips, "We all know that you have no game, Leo, even if it is just Percy."

Percy gasped dramatically, all hickey's forgotten as he rushed to defend his honor,

"Just me? Just Me?" he gestured wildly with his hands at his body, "There is nothing mediocre about these abs."

Piper laughed along with the rest of the group but didn't fail to notice how Percy sneakily changed the subject. No matter, she would corner him later and hear all about his encounter with a leach like mystery person… a mystery Piper had her suspicions about."

Reyna, the student council president, slumped down beside Piper,

"I am pooped," she proclaimed miserably, "I have so much to do, with the dance and all. Maybe this whole president thing isn't worth it."

Piper didn't believe that statement for a second. Reyna fought tooth and nail to get president the former election and would do it again in a heartbeat. The girl is a natural born leader and never seemed to thrive as much as when she is in a position of power.

Piper tucked a dark piece of hair that escaped her braid behind the other girl's ear,

"Bull. You are great at being our president, and the Prom will turn out awesome. A combined Prom between the two high schools is unheard of, and you are going to pull it off beautifully."

Reyna smiled gratefully at Piper,

"You always know what to say to make me feel better, what would I do without you."

"Collapse from overwork, probably."

"Ugh, speaking of overwork, I accidentally double-booked myself today. I have a Prom committee meeting today about tickets, but I also scheduled a meeting with the Jupiter High's President to talk decor."

"Good luck, mi Reina." Leo chimed in, "Speaking of Prom, will you do me the honor of being my gorgeous date?"

Everyone at the table grinned, Leo had been asking Reyna to Prom every day for months now. Some ways more creative than others. Piper's personal favorite was during turtle dissection, and he mimed the turtle recommending Leo as a good Prom date. It was a little macabre, but Reyna found it amusing. But also, everyday Reyna turned him down. It never seemed to discourage Leo, though, it actually seemed to encourage him to pull more elaborate Promposals. Piper suspected that in the end, Reyna would end up going with Leo. As much as she hated to admit it, Reyna had a soft spot for the energetic boy.

As expected, Reyna laughed and shook her head,

"Not today, machine boy."

"Someday you'll say yes, my queen, someday." Leo exclaimed dramatically, "And I shall ever await that day."

After school, Percy booked it to the bookshop, Piper in tow; Not that Piper was complaining, though, the blonde haired girl has been lounging in her mind all day. The two teens entered the store, the small bell chiming merrily. The blonde boy, Jason is what Percy called him after their first visit, welcomed both of them into the store, but his eyes never left Percy. Piper raised her eyebrows at Percy, then glanced pointedly down at his neck. Percy had to humility to flush, but his eyes darkened at the other boy, so Piper decided that it was time to leave the general area at once. Before she went, though, she had to ask,

"Hey, Jason, right?" the other boy smiled while nodding, glancing over at Percy again. Piper continued, "Is Annabeth working today, by chance?"

Percy smirked at Piper, while Jason checked records over by the checkout counter. Piper gave him the middle finger, to which he responded with a wink in turn.

"Sorry, looks like Annabeth has a meeting today, and it doesn't say when she will be back."

Piper's shoulders slumped, but she tried to stay positive,

"Thanks, Jason," she replied, then turned to her best friend, "I'm gonna head out, try not to get into too much trouble."

Percy gave her a sideways grin,

"I'm always careful."

Piper made to leave the tiny shop, but Jason stopped her before she could leave,

"Annabeth recommended a book to you right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, since she's not here to ask you, how are you liking it?"

"I'm almost done with it, and so far it's perfect. If she asks, tell her that it is like nothing I imagined, but it is filling an empty space in me that I never knew existed."

Jason gave her a soft smile, and nodded,

"Will do."

Piper left the store, and she could have sworn that in the corner of her eye she saw Percy push Jason up against one of the bookshelves, but that is none of her business.

Once Piper got home, she dove right back into her Chasers of the Light. She only had a couple more pages left, and it hurt her to imagine it ending. She turned the page, and to her surprise, there was a tiny slip of folded up paper in the crease of the pages.

Curiosity taking a hold of her, she unfolded the paper, and inside was a note. The writing was in a beautiful cursive script, and the letters screamed 'Annabeth'. The note read as follows:

Pretty girl,

I know that you were lying about liking poetry, but I hope you like this book anyway. It is one of my absolute favorites, and I hope it speaks to your soul like it speaks to mine. Anyway, you should get in touch with me once you finish so we can chat. My number is (262)833-4771.

~Annabeth

P.S. For the record, you are a truly terrible liar.

By the end, Piper couldn't breath. Annabeth addressed her as "Pretty girl" and wanted to actually talk one on one. Holy shit Piper was freaking out, one-hundred percent. Once Piper got over the shock of the note, she flew through the last few pages of the book, and wasted no time texting Annabeth.

Hey, it's "pretty girl", and I just finished the amazing book you recommended. How do I deal?

Piper tried hard to stay awake after that, but after seven or so minutes with no response, she fell asleep counting certain blonde bookworms prancing over bookshelves.

A/N: I wasn't going to update this fast, but you could say I was inspired by you wonderful comments (a special shoutout to LaxandBooks, basically my biggest supporter: You are so incredible and I don't know what I would do without you, you amazing human!).

Also, it's time for some TMI on my personal life because its finals week and I have no self control. There is this really pretty girl in math who sits at my table, and I'm kinda falling for her. She is literally so adorable and perfect and funny and I need to get help I haven't had a crush in forever. I can't exactly pursue this bc obvious reasons, but it doesn't hurt to look (and possibly fall more and more in 'like' (is that a thing) with her every day yikes)