"Can we not talk about this right now?" Jason demanded as he turned to look at Piper. She glared at him and shoved past. A sigh left him as he turned and followed after Piper. His gaze focused on the bar sign. It was dimmed, which was odd. Their openers usually had everything turned on by now.
Piper gave him a look. Then, she grabbed onto the door. Jason spoke, "Piper."
"You said that you don't want to talk about this," Piper answered as she looked back at him. She pulled her arm back to open the door, and a confused look sprouted in her eyes as the door didn't budge. Piper tried to open the door again.
"That's not normal," Jason commented as he stepped forward and looked through the glass. He didn't see anyone inside. A frown muddied his features. They had received a text from Annabeth asking them to come in as early as they could. Was this why?
Piper huffed under her breath. Jason grabbed his keys from his pocket, but he turned to look at her upon hearing that noise. Piper glared at him. Jason growled under his breath and looked for the right key.
"I want to date you," Piper stated. "You don't want anything else."
"You never told me that before," Jason said as he looked back at her. He crossed his arms. "Why did you never tell me that you wanted me to date you."
"I have been flirting with you this entire time," Piper deadpanned. "The two of us went on dates together, or did you think that we were just hanging out? I have a crush on you, Jason! How could you not see that?! We were boyfriend and girlfriend in everything but name."
"We were?"Jason questioned. Piper shook her head.
"I should have known," Piper muttered. "You only wanted me for sex."
"That's not true," Jason argued. "This was your idea. You are the one who suggested that we have sex. How was I supposed to know that you wanted more than just that?"
"Are you going to open the door?"
Jason stared at Piper for a moment as he realized it was not her mouth that moved. He turned to look at the newcomer. Reyna studied both of them and remained silent. She was wearing two coats and a hat over her head. There was also a scarf around her neck that covered most of her face and made her look cute as she had to scrunch up some of her face to keep it away from the scarf.
"How long were you there?" Piper questioned. Reyna didn't answer. She just kept her hands in her pockets. Her shoulders were tense, but Jason couldn't tell if it was because she was cold or the situation she was in.
"Why are you here so early?" Jason asked. Reyna glanced at him before moving her gaze back to the door.
"Chiron asked me to fill in as a bartender," Reyna answered. Piper laughed.
"You as a bartender?" Piper asked incredulously with a raised eyebrow. Reyna's face turned red despite the cold, and she looked away. Jason gave Piper a reprimanding look. "You have to be social. And nice."
"What Piper means is that being a bartender isn't just something that you can jump into," Jason defended quickly. "There are a lot of drinks and skills to learn that you won't be able to pick up in just a day."
"And not to mention the scar will repulse anyone from eating," Piper muttered. Jason looked at her and gawped. His eyes narrowed slightly as he processed the words. Jason glanced at Reyna, who was not meeting their eyes. If she heard, she didn't show it.
"Seriously, Piper. That is fucking rude," Jason hissed under his breath. Piper glared at him, but there was a look of guilt on her face. Jason cleared his throat as looked at Reyna to speak up, "You are shy, so it might just be difficult with all these customers."
Reyna shrugged, but a scowl slipped onto her face. She looked away and stared off in the distance. Jason spoke, "How did Chiron get a hold of you? I thought you didn't have a phone."
"He helped me get one yesterday," Reyna muttered softly.
"Do you know how to be a bartender?" Piper asked after a few moments. She looked at Reyna.
"No," Reyna answered. "Can we open the door?"
"Yeah. Sorry," Jason said quickly. He unlocked the door and pushed it open. Upon stepping inside, he made his way towards the alarm to turn it off. Piper turned on the lights, and Reyna stood there, looking unsure of what to do. After turning off the alarm, Jason looked around.
They had thirty minutes before the bar would be officially open. The morning time wouldn't be so bad as the majority of people who were there at the time came for the food or were part of the midnight shift wanting a drink before bed.
"Why did Chiron ask you to fill in as a bartender?" Piper questioned as she made her way towards the bar counter.
"He mentioned that a lot of people got hit by the flu," Reyna answered as she took off her hat and scarf. She pulled a key out of her pocket and walked towards the back hallway. Jason raised an eyebrow and glanced at Piper.
"What does she have a key for?" Jason asked under his breath.
"Clarisse's office?" Piper replied with a shrug. "Did you hear about anyone getting the flu?"
"No. I didn't," Jason began. He grabbed his phone and looked down at it. "Actually, I have a text from Chiron. Asking if we can pull a double today."
"Open to close? Let me look at my schedule," Piper said as she grabbed her own phone. "Did he say who all would be here?"
"No. I can ask him," Jason offered. He typed into his phone, forming the text. His gaze moved towards Piper. Their argument had been forgotten, for now. He knew it would be coming back, and he wasn't sure how it was going to go. He didn't even know how he wanted it to go.
Piper was great and all, but Jason wasn't sure if he saw himself in a relationship with her. Truthfully, Piper deserved so much more than him. He was a half-breed, and that brought about so many problems. Not to mention everything with Lycaon.
If Jason dated Piper, it would make her a target. Not just for Lycaon but for other people who hated Jason. There was a fair share of people in the city who did not like him simply because he was a werewolf. It didn't matter if he was a full-blooded one or not; werewolves were seen as monsters.
On top of that, Jason wasn't sure what kind of relationship he wanted. Did Piper really think that they had been dating? Jason wasn't trying to give her the wrong impression. He sighed and felt his phone vibrate.
"That isn't good," Jason began. Piper looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Chiron says that he is still calling around, but it looks like we are the only ones available this morning. He would be here, but he's sick as well. He is going to try and call the cavalry for tonight."
Jason frowned. The morning wasn't going to be that busy, but three people to run the entire building was not enough. One of them would have to play host and server, not to mention wipe down tables. Someone else would have to be in the kitchen. The third person would need to be at the bar. He was pretty sure there was a delivery scheduled for that too. Not to mention they would be a person down on their breaks.
"Shit," Jason exhaled. He ran a hand through his hair. "What are we going to do?"
"We can just keep the doors shut," Piper joked. Jason smiled slightly. "The most important thing is food. I would cook, but we need a bartender in case anyone orders drinks."
"You're right," Jason agreed. The kitchen would be too busy for anyone to leave it. "Okay, it's between Reyna and I."
"For what?" Reyna asked. Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned towards Reyna and placed a hand to his heart.
"Can you stop doing that?" Jason questioned.
"Just pay attention to your surroundings," Reyna countered. Jason glared at her. "What is between you and I?"
"Can you cook?" Jason wondered. Reyna looked at the kitchen and shook her head. "That leaves it up to me. Shit, I can only really make breakfast food."
"It is around noon," Piper pointed out. She looked at Reyna. "We're going to have to tag team bartending and serving. Have you ever served before? Or been a bartender?"
"No," Reyna replied. She shoved her hands into her pockets and looked more uncomfortable than earlier.
"Well, we have thirty minutes to give you a crash course," Piper said. She gently hit Reyna's shoulder in what Jason assumed was supposed to be a friendly way. "In between customers, I'll give you bartendering lessons. We're only sticking to the items on the breakfast menu. You can make those, right Jason?"
"I can," Jason promised. Whether it was good or not, that one he wouldn't guarantee. "What should we do about breaks?"
"I don't really think we can take breaks until we get more backup," Piper answered. Jason nodded his agreement. Reyna just shrugged and still seemed to be coping with the fact that she would be a bartender and a server.
"Why didn't Chiron just shut the place down?" Reyna muttered.
"I'm sure he thought that he would be able to find more people," Piper said. "If you can't handle this, you can leave. I'm sure Chiron won't blame you."
"I can handle it," Reyna said softly. She crossed her arms and averted her gaze. Jason gave Piper another look, and she returned it. Reyna moved her gaze between the two. It looked like she was going to say something else, but her jaw visibly clenched.
"If you need to step away, let me know," Piper said gently. Jason wasn't quite sure why Piper was giving out such mixed signals, and it was giving him a miniature headache. This was the last thing he needed today. Piper did not need to be passive-aggressive to Reyna when they all needed to work together.
"I'll be fine," Reyna said coldly as she turned and walked towards the opposite side of the bar. Jason looked at Piper.
"What is your problem?" Jason hissed in a quiet voice. He looked at Piper and shook his head. "Why do you have to be like that?"
"I told her if she needed to step away to let me know. What is so wrong about that?" Piper demanded quietly.
"After you told her to leave," Jason reprimanded.
"I gave her the chance to leave if she couldn't handle it," Piper argued.
"Can you two shut up already?" Reyna asked from across the room. Jason froze as he had his mouth open to speak. He looked at Piper.
"I thought we were whispering," Piper said in the softest voice she could manage. Jason nodded his agreement. "She has really good hearing."
"I'm going to get the kitchen ready," Jason muttered. He moved closer. "Please keep your patience with her."
"I can behave myself at work, Jason. Just try not to burn the building down," Piper shot back. Jason wanted to argue with her, but he knew that she was right. There was a decent chance he would accidentally catch the kitchen and then the building on fire.
"I'll do my best," Jason swore. Piper smiled, but it didn't completely reach her cheeks. Jason sighed and turned away. This problem with Piper would work itself out sooner or later. He just wasn't sure what the outcome would be, and truthfully, that worried him. All he could focus on now was making the best breakfast that he could.