Chapter 7: A Long Ride

Annabeth

As Piper and I exit through the side entrance toward the north end of the school, we spotted a fancy limo sitting in the school's parking lot right away. Parked with its engine on, it was the same limo that my mom had own ever since- well, I am not exactly sure when but the limo had certainly been with us for a long time. Unlike other regular black limos out there, there were some differences with ours as it was custom made.

Besides being fancy on the inside, the frame of the car was made with a heavier kind of material, making it weighty like a huge SUV. It had a matte white color instead of being the usual glossy black. It had seamless leather seats that felt like a cushioned couch. The windows were transparent on the inside but tint shaded from the outside. It sort of looked like a royal sports car with a bulky build, only it's a bit wider and longer than the traditional. What's more, the one thing I absolutely love most about this limo was the convertible function. It must have cost more than millions for my mom, but that's something it could do. With just one push of a button, the car could automatically pull the whole roof back into a separate trunk, and on sunny days that's also breezy, it was the ultimate luxury of owning this limo.

Beep Beep!

In any case, a few honks sounded from that direction when we approached it. I shared a brief look with Piper and smiled, "Let's go."

"Hmm," Piper nodded back.

Able to see him in the driver seat about ten feet away, I spotted old Alfred in the front as he waved his hands at us. I smiled at him. It's been a while, but I haven't seen Alfred in person since the beginning of my summer break. Truth be told, I really missed seeing him.

When I was still young, I remember Alfred was the one who took care of me in the house. He was our butler back in the days, but now that I am fully able to take care of myself, he became our chauffeur instead. In his early 60's, or at least close to it, I always wonder if he was ever going to leave us and retire. It might be selfish, but I couldn't imagine spending my days without Alfred in my life, or even in our lives. We've grown so close he's practically a part of the family. It's just going to be really hard if he ever decided to take his retirement even if he more than earned it.

I opened the door and poked my head inside the spacious limo, "Hi Alfred."

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. It turned out Alfred wasn't too happy about my impromptu text message an hour ago because there was a frown on his face when I showed up and climbed inside the limo. Despite him being visibly upset, I tried to ease his irritation with a small joke.

"I hope I didn't make you wait too long?"

Alfred grumbled as he wasn't amused, "Annabeth, what happened?"

Just before I could answer, Piper climbed in from behind me- more like pushing her way passed me so she could take her favorite seat which is right next to the fridge- and greeted Alfred with a much happier and lighter tone, "Hi Alfred! Sorry to keep you waiting."

Not at all surprised by the sudden addition, Alfred didn't seem to mind that Piper was coming with us and along for the ride. Then again, he saw her walking along with me so he must have assumed something like this already.

"Hello Piper, how are you this evening?"

On the receiving end of a much friendlier greeting, I pouted at the different treatment while Piper held a giant grin over her face, "I am good, Alfred! It's good to see you again. I hope you don't mind, but Annabeth offered to take me back home."

I shared a small curious look with Alfred. In a second, he understood what I was silently asking before he replied, "Sure, we are heading back to the Hamptons anyway so it's on the way."

So we ARE going back… Oh, I guess it's another boring weekend…

Piper waved her hand in a victory pose, "Yea! Thank you, Alfred."

My best friend then turned to me and smirk. I didn't like where this was going, nor the hidden sly smile on her face. Just as I feared, Piper out of nowhere tackled me and hug me with both her arms around my back. She pressed her left cheek right against mine as she playfully wobbled us around, swaying her head side to side like an infant trying to get some affectionate attention.

I was blushing wildly while laughing like a lunatic at the same time, "Ahhh, Piper! Haha… Damn it, Pipes— what's gotten into you?

Getting all up in my personal space and being just like my adorable pup, Piper made it impossible for me to push her away. I could see the giant smile plastered on her face as she brushed her cheeks on mine again and again, "Mmm… You too, Beth."

Something must have happened for her to be so happy and elated. Still, I shook my head at her sudden immaturity. Ever since we left from the library, Piper had been acting weird and in a strange way that I wasn't able to get used to. In fact, I was pretty creeped out by her childish display. If anything, I wanted her to tease and make fun of me like how she usually would.

You are going to regret saying that, Annabeth…

"Okay-Okay… C-Can you let go now?" I asked Piper while she held me in a deadlock grip.

Honestly though, there was a part of me that certainly didn't mind her acting like this because it meant she won't go ahead and bother me about Perc— I shuddered at his name. Even I didn't want to think about what happened back at the library anymore. It was way too embarrassing.

Finally, Piper let go and went back to the seat where the fridge was. She opened it up and began to browse for the things she wanted most. I sighed, unable to interrogate her for answers for now.

"Well, shall we?" Alfred asked in an all smiley manner.

I nodded and kept my eyes on him.

"Really, Alfred… I am sorry about all that. I got held up with— uh, you know how much work I have, so that's why." I explained with a half-truth version of what happened, holding a lot of details back, "Sorry for making you wait an hour long…"

Alfred shifted the gears as he began driving us away from the school's parking lot. He didn't ask me for more details even if I suspected he knew that I was hiding something. I wasn't about to add more…

"It's okay, little owl… You know I can never be mad at you." Alfred smirked as he called me by the least favorite nickname I had when I was still a kid, "I just want to know what held you up, that's all."

I bit my lips and gave him a dirty look for adding that unnecessary past nickname. Luckily, Piper already heard it before from another past encounter, so my cheeks didn't grow too red.

"Stop it, Alfred… you know I am not a little kid anymore," I complained.

He chuckled, "You still complain like one though…"

A gasp left my throat while Piper began to laugh just a few feet away from where I was sitting, "Haha… I think you hit right on the spot, Alfred."

As Piper peeled off a wrapper for a chocolate bar, they began to laugh at my expense and a blush crept up my cheeks. I hated that they always had to make fun of me for whatever reason, but I just couldn't stay mad at them. It's like a reflex or something and I just couldn't get angry about it, though I definitely tried to help and hide the smile on my face while they chirp on and on with more embarrassing things about me.

"Remember when she—"

It was then I decided to utilize my ability and tune them out from my head completely. I could still register every word, but they held no meaning as it went in from one ear and back out the other.

"You guys are annoying." I huffed as I sank into the backseat.

Once I threw my bag away, I brought my legs up the seat and buried my face into my knees. It was my own defense against their onslaught of jokes and quips, just anything about me that would make my cheeks red while I desperately tried to hide away. Of course, it didn't work. I wasn't invisible nor camouflage into the tan leather seat like I was hoping for.

Alfred noticed my reaction soon enough before he finally stopped teasing me with Piper, "Oh come now, princess… I was just making a little fun of you, don't be like that…"

I grumbled back.

Piper snickered, "I think Annabeth is a little jealous because you were nicer to me, Alfred. Right, Beth?"

If I could crawl in a hole and die from how embarrassed I was, then this moment would definitely be one among a list of other moments in my life. However, because it was Piper Mclean who tease me, and I told myself once that my best friend was the only exception to this rule, I grabbed the first thing I could find- in my hand I held a soft plushy for Leo- held it up and threw it at her. I targeted my aim pretty well too because the slobbered up chew toy hit Piper square in the jaw. Accurate and precise, Leo's stuffed toy left her all slimy.

Stunned, Piper almost screamed, "EEWWW! No! Not- Not Leo's—"

Staring at me and making sure I knew how infuriated she was with that one-of-a-kind livid expression, I didn't hesitate to smirk back. It set her off right away.

"Ahh! Annabeth, you are going to regret that!" Piper shouted before she threw her chocolate bar down and lunged towards me.

Only this time I was prepared for her attack. Dodging out of the way quickly and easily, Piper lost her balance in the momentum and smacked into the leather seat face first. It happened with a muffled silent thump too, almost like those funny moments in anime while she groaned afterward.

"Aww… That's not fair."

Piper then pulled back before she rubbed her nose and sniffled repeatedly. Her nose was always a bit sensitive, meaning that it won't be too long before a seez-

"Ah-Choo!"

I laughed, "Haha! That's what you get for making fun of me, Pipes."

"I hate you…"

As Piper grumbled and complained, I heard a chuckle from Alfred before he abruptly asked from behind the small partition divider, "So, princess, are you really jealous?"

Again, I pouted away, "No…"

Of course, Alfred saw through my eye roll right away. Then again, even I didn't believe what I said in a half-honest tone. If anything, I was definitely jealous of the way Alfred greeted Piper but had a much harsh reaction with me.

My reply brought a knowing grin back, "Hmm. Anyways, we'll be back very late tonight. I checked, and there is a lot of traffic back in Queens, so get comfortable, princess. It's gonna take a while…"

I nodded, at least the limo was spacious and comfy.

Ready to relax and maybe even get a small nap, Piper had another idea as she reached for the chocolate bar over on the other side of the limo, and when she had it she switched her seat and climb in next to me. I knew exactly what she was hoping for.

"Please don't… I am exhausted today." I pleaded.

Piper smirked, giving her intention away and finally revealing why she's been so cheerful since my tutoring session with Perc- Nope, I still didn't want to think about him… Now I wanted nothing more than to push her away with both hands because she was sitting- nope, it's more accurate to say that she was leaning very close beside my body, I couldn't stop her anymore. I was tired enough to be half-asleep already.

She had a beaming smile on her face, "Come on, Beth… You know me better than that."

I sighed in defeat.

"Anyway, about what happened in the library..." Piper brought it back up and held a suggestive grin over her lips, "So? What are you thinking? You know, about Percy of course… Are you—"

Luring me for an answer, I shook my head and refused. Even as the thoughts about him kept coming in- whether I wanted them or not, I wasn't about to open my mouth and babble to Piper. She didn't deserve to know what I was thinking, though I doubt I know fully well either. She kept her intriguing gaze on me regardless, and after I didn't say anything she poked me further.

"Come on, Annabeth… He seemed really nice, and you know I'm good at this stuff." Piper said my full name which meant that she was serious about what she said. It only made me hid further away.

She wasn't wrong, but that just made it so much harder to accept and deal with it.

"Besides, I saw how red you were when you lean over to help him with his work…" Piper added and brought another blush over my cheeks, "I saw his too…"

I held it together, but I could tell my body was trembling from her revelation. I didn't know why nor what I was fidgeting about, yet it felt like I was constantly being shocked by static sparks.

She smirked, "You like him, don't you?"

Me? Liking him? Ha! If anything, it was a really good joke. Piper c-couldn't be more wrong with her intuition about the two of us, and to clarify there wasn't even an 'us' to begin with. We just had the worse of luck and got stuck with each other for the time being.

"You are crazy." The wild blush stayed as much as I tried to keep it away.

Instead of saying otherwise, Piper giggled at my reaction before she said gleefully, "Hey, you know I am right about this, Beth… someday you'll realize it too, sooner or later."

I grumbled and finally pushed her away, "You are impossible, annoying, a massive jerk, and I hate you."

Piper laughed even as I threw a bunch of insults her way. I didn't know why, but I was fuming for a different reason. There was no way Piper could tell that I liked him just from that. And even if it's true, I definitely won't let it come true.

"Sure-Sure…" Piper finally shifted away and went back to her candy bar, at the same time she began to scroll through her phone, "I won't tease you anymore…"

Much to my delights, Piper left me alone well enough so I could relax on my own. Alfred was focused on driving now, so he didn't have time to make fun of me either. Blessed with this rare moment, I hurriedly buried myself against the window and look out, pretending to ignore everything else.

Why would I even like him? There was no way I would like him, right? We just met… but he's—

Absentminded as my mind began to wander, I wanted to think about anything else besides my eventful day with Percy. Luckily, I was able to switch gears as I thought back to that unfinished draft I have been working on, imagining new and different ideas as my eyes settled on the brightly lit city outside that never sleeps.

Gazing upon new fleeting sights as our limo drove pass tall skyscrapers one after another, the view from the streets of Manhattan was still breathtaking even if we were at the bottom of these huge towering buildings. Passing by so many different neighborhoods, it took Alfred no time to get us back to midtown and the Upper East Side. The sun was mostly set now, so the streets were lit up with bright yellow lights from all over. A few more minutes and pretty soon we were inside the midtown tunnel and emerged on the other side of the city.

Queens, a place I'd rarely been to but had always wanted to go and see. It was definitely a much quieter borough than Manhattan, that's for sure. But amidst the calmness, there was still a sort of liveliness to it, and that's something I've always wanted to experience. Still, I didn't know how to drive which made traveling here difficult, not to mention how much of an introvert I was. Anything with a lot of people gathering in one place would most definitely stress me the fuck out. It was still one of my wishes though, no matter how much my body and my mind were against it.

"Mmm…" I heard a soft sigh beside me.

Afraid to look over, I reluctantly did anyway and saw Piper sound asleep on her side of the seat. Even if she was full of energy earlier, I supposed she was just as tired as I was. Watching her sleep out in the open, I felt a strong pull within me as I brought her hoodie out from her bag and cover her body with it. I'd never had a sister before, but this might be as close as I could to make me feel like Piper was my real older sister.

"Is she asleep?" Alfred asked as his eyes looked over from the rearview mirror.

I nodded, "Mm-Hmm…"

Suddenly infecting me with her sleepiness, I didn't want to keep myself up either. I was tired, and with such a long ride back home it would be better to get some sleep too.

"Don't worry, Annabeth… You can doze off for a bit now. We won't be back until pretty late in the night." Alfred smiled almost like he read my thoughts, "I'll wake Piper up when we are at her house."

I yarned, "Thanks, Alfred."

Once I got comfortable and leaned completely back on the cushioned couch, my mind easily slipped away and sleep overtook me within minutes.