Chapter 15
-Annabeth-
"Girl, you mean to tell me that you're not going to go all out today?!" Piper asks Annabeth, surprise filling her face.
"I don't believe in needless spending," Annabeth replies with a casual shrug.
"Annabeth Chase. Daughter of one of the richest families in the country, and you're not taking advantage of that?"
Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Piper, you know I don't like when you say that. And no, I'm not taking advantage of that. Besides, I'll do what I want with my money and this is what I want."
She's holding up a plain black sweater in the women's section of a Macy's, and it's far from the most expensive thing in the mall, but that's kind of the point.
"Alright, but I don't understand why," Piper grumbles, but she's not totally upset. She's pouting a bit but her eyes show she's fighting off a smile.
"You wanted to shopping, right?" Annabeth asks her as she continues studying the sweater.
"Yeah. And don't get me wrong, this is great! I'm just kind of surprised, I guess," Piper explains. Annabeth can tell she's being honest with her and she appreciates it more than anyone can know.
Annabeth smiles and looks back to the sweater. There's nothing special to it - no outstanding patterns or anything- just a simple, plain, black sweater. Hanging over her left arm is a beige winter coat lined with fur - which is more expensive than Annabeth would've liked but Piper was insistent that she gets it anyway - and a Christmas sweater for later that month.
The sweater is green and red with white cotton sewn in for the snow and a little Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer head fixed on the stomach. On the back is Santa's sleigh flying through the air with Rudolph in the lead and presents falling out the back of the sleigh. All around the sweater, front, back, and sleeves, are patterns of small snowflakes. The cuffs of the sleeves look like snow piled up as well as the bottom of the sweater.
"Oh! I know! We should get something for the guys for Christmas!" Piper suggests, a wild look in her eyes.
"Christmas isn't until the end of the month, Pipes. We've got plenty of time."
But she really wouldn't mind looking around for things Percy might like, though she's not going to tell Piper that.
"But I want to at least find something for Jason."
Annabeth doesn't look up from the clothes rack. "If you want to do that, go ahead."
"Aww come on, Beth!"
"Fine just give me a minute, will you?" Annabeth says, laughing softly.
"Fine. I guess while I'm waiting we can talk about Percy."
Annabeth blushes but keeps looking through the various shirts and sweaters on the rack. "What about him?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe what we think you two like to do when you're alone?"
"We don't do anything except watch movies or have dinner," Annabeth says.
It's not entirely true though. They've never crossed any lines and never stripped anything off each other besides coats, but there have been some times where they can't seem to pull themselves away from each other - not like a full make out session. Sometimes, Annabeth can tell Percy is being hesitant. She doesn't need him to explain why, though. She knows he understands that she'll let him know if things are making her uncomfortable and vice versa.
Piper crosses her arms and raises her eyebrows at Annabeth. "Uh huh, sure that's all? Maybe the occasional make out session? Perhaps a little Netflix and-"
"Okay that's enough out of you," Annabeth interrupts, finally moving away from the clothes. "That's all a screwed up fantasy you're imagining."
"And you know I don't believe that one bit," Piper teases.
"We don't do anything like whatever you're suggesting. Netflix and... that. No way," Annabeth argues. Her thoughts start to betray her now that Piper has planted that idea in her mind. Her cheeks flush and her face feels hot at the thought of doing anything like that with Percy. It's way too soon for all that.
"Alright, I believe you," Piper says, raising her hands in surrender.
They continue walking around the store and Piper doesn't find anything she wants to give to Jason so the pair head to checkout for Annabeth's selection of clothing.
"I still don't know how you convinced me to get this coat," she mutters, fake complaining to Piper.
"It's because you look great in it and also I'm really good at convincing people to do things."
"I wish you could convince yourself to stop talking sometimes," Annabeth says, jokingly elbowing Piper's arm.
"Hilarious," Piper replies.
The cashier finishes ringing up Annabeth's items and she pays the total. It's still too much for Annabeth's comfort, but it's too late now. She and Piper grab the bags and walk out into the massive hallway of the mall. There are a ton of people in the stores lining the sides of the hallway - most if not all of them doing their Christmas shopping relatively early. They walk down the hallway, being careful not to bump into people, when Piper suddenly elbows Annabeth's side.
"What?"
"We could look around in there," Piper says, pointing to a specific store with large, colorful letters.
At first glance, the store seems innocent enough, but then Annabeth takes a closer look at the store name.
"We are not going to Spencer's!" she exclaims, heat rising to her face again.
"Aww, but you might find something Percy might like..." Piper tries to reason, a mischievous grin forming on her face.
"Piper, no!"
She wraps her face up in a scarf she was wearing earlier since it's below freezing outside the mall. She doesn't care if it feels warm in the building, and even more so with the heat on her cheeks, but she feels like hiding her reddening face regardless.
Piper laughs and follows her further down the hallway, past the seemingly innocent store with less than innocent items.
"You're the worst," Annabeth mutters through her scarf.
Piper grins. "I know. That's why you love me."
That gets her a light jab in the ribs from Annabeth's elbow, but she's lowered her scarf again so Piper can see she's smiling. "For once, you're right about something."
"Oh, for once?" Piper asks, jokingly.
"Yup. Now, what did you want to get Jason?"
Piper's eyes light up a bit and Annabeth knows she successfully changed the subject, at least for now.
"I don't know exactly. I just have this feeling that I'll know it when I see it."
Annabeth's mind randomly drifts to Percy's interest in Greek mythology, then remembers that Jason likes Roman history and mythology. She's never been to Jason's house so she isn't sure what he already has.
"What about something from Roman myths?" she suggests. "Maybe we can find a book or a movie?"
The smile that forms on Piper's face is blinding. "Great idea! There's a Barnes and Noble around here somewhere!"
Annabeth can't remember the last time she's been in one of those stores. She loves to read books in her spare time, especially ones about architecture.
Piper squeals and snatches Annabeth's hand, dragging her towards the book store they were just talking about. They get inside and the first thing they look for is the history section. While Piper asks a worker where Roman mythology books could be, Annabeth busies herself searching the large bookshelves full of architecture books. One book catches her attention and she pulls it off the shelve. It's about architecture of the ancient world - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and so on. She smiles softly to herself as she flips through the pages, the outside world fading into nothing as she carefully reads every word and studies the structures pictured. There's plenty of pictures of the ruined cities that have been excavated throughout the years, including artist renditions of what these ancient cities may have looked like in their prime.
She can't help but think, looking at how all these structures are well preserved through the ages, about how she could build something that could last just as long as these ancient cities. Something permanent. Growing up, she never had any permanent friends. Many of them were either driven away by her mother, or just stayed with her for her money and popularity. They never really had any interest in what she wanted. Her family in general was far from perfect as well. They weren't how Annabeth imagined a proper family - eating dinner together while having a nice conversation about their day, or even watching a movie or playing games during the day when going outside wasn't an option. Parents giving their kids the attention they deserve, while also using discipline when needed. The only attention they gave to Annabeth was when they wanted her to do something for them or with them for their own interests- which was usually just looking good and happy during photoshoots or out in public. Deep down, she wasn't happy and it took time for that feeling to surface. She knew they didn't really seem to care for her, although her father did seem to try every once in a while. Still, even with the little things her father tried to do, it wasn't enough for her.
Things changed constantly for her and she hated it. Unlike the buildings in her book, which could stand for centuries and even longer, while still maintaining much of their original form. Somehow, she started thinking about her friends from Goode: Piper, Jason, Leo, Cal, Reyna, and the one friend she has outside of school, Thalia. They are part of her life that's starting to turn into that something permanent that she's been craving for her entire life. And especially Percy. He is becoming an even better part of her life. A few years ago, back when Luke courted her, there was kindness in his voice and face, but his eyes held a hunger that a lion might have for its prey during a hunt. She had shrugged that off for a time, but it soon became evident that he didn't actually care for her so she forced her parents to keep him away from her. He wasn't too happy about it, saying you'll be mine someday, Chase. I get what I want sooner or later.
They returned to San Francisco not long later and for once that didn't bother her. It's just her luck that she's now attending the same school as he is. But then Percy, he's got the same kindness, the same gentle tone, but his eyes are much different than Luke's were. His eyes are full of care, at times even concern. The way his eyes seem to change when he grows determined, whether he's protecting her, or just trying not to screw up making dinner, makes her heart feel a few sizes too big in her chest. His lopsided smile that she sees when he looks at her fills her stomach with butterflies and makes her heart melt. She wants to see that smile every day for as long as she lives. Something permanent.
A voice cuts into her thoughts and she looks up to see Piper staring, her mischievous smile plastered on her face.
"What?" Annabeth asks.
"You're blushing. If I didn't know better, I'd say looking at old buildings does that for you," she says.
"No, architecture doesn't make me blush," Annabeth says, almost sheepish.
"Were you thinking about a certain someone, then?" Piper teases.
Annabeth rolls her eyes and sighs, putting the book back in its place on the shelf. "Did you find what you were looking for?" she asks, ignoring Piper's question.
"Yup! Found just what Jason would like. Now spill!"
"Maybe I was, so what? Did you buy Jason's gift or are you putting that off on me?"
"It's my gift to Jason, why would you pay for it? I'm not that mean," Piper complains, but then smiles as she holds the receipt. "Come on, girl. Unless you're going to get something, I'm ready to move on to the next store!"
Annabeth glances at the book she was looking through, holding back a sigh. She really wants it but she's convinced that she herself spent too much money already. She looks back to her friend, shakes her head, and leads her out of the store.
...
The oven timer beeps and Annabeth rushes over and shuts it off. Donning oven mitts, she opens the oven and the smell of olive pizza and veggie pizza fills the kitchen. The two pizzas are done perfectly - golden crusts and the cheese and toppings melted together.
Behind Annabeth, Piper waits patiently for her to set the two pizzas on the stove and cut them into slices after waiting a minute to let them cool.
"Alright, grab a plate and dig in," she says finally. Piper jumps up and puts two slices on her plate while Annabeth settles with one.
"So what movie should we watch?" Piper asks.
"I don't know. What about this?"
She has Legally Blonde in the selection box.
"Sure, why not?"
They play the movie and enjoy their pizzas for several minutes before Piper speaks up.
"Hey, should we order a half and half pizza next time?"
Annabeth shrugs and sets her plate on the coffee table in front of her. "I mean, it would be easier. I've never ordered one over the phone before, though..."
Piper stares at Annabeth. "Wait, you haven't even done that before?"
Annabeth shakes her head. "Nope. Like I've said before, parents didn't like any of this stuff. I only know I like olive pizza because I've snuck a slice from a party once."
"Damn girl. Well, let me just say that your best times are ahead!"
"You can't know that for sure."
Piper smirks. "Maybe not, but I have a feeling."
Annabeth raises her eyebrows at her. "A feeling?"
"Yup!"
"And do these feelings ever come true?"
"All the time!" she proclaims proudly. "Though sometimes there tends to be a few bumps along the way, but in the end everything works out."
"Sounds like some cliché movie."
Piper laughs. "Alright, I'm just pulling your leg. But I've had friends go through college and they said it was a blast! I'm certain you'd be able to do literally whatever you want!"
"I'm sure I can't do literally everything," she says as she gets up to grab a glass of water from the kitchen. They start speaking louder so they can hear each other since Piper refuses to get up. It's not quite shouting, but it's beyond normal conversation. "And what does college have to do with this subject?"
"Well for one, you can be totally self reliant. You won't need to rely on your father anymore for tuition if you have the money," Piper says.
"Yeah, that's going to be a problem. I don't have much money I could claim as my own," she says, returning to the couch and bringing their voices back to normal. "And though my father is secretly helping me out, unless my mother approves, I doubt he'd help me out with college tuition."
"I could help you with that," Piper says. "Jason probably would, too."
"Ah that's right," Annabeth notes, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You and Jason are rich, too, aren't you?"
"Okay, well, richer than most people believe, yeah," Piper explains. "Besides, your parents make mine sound like good parents."
"Gee, thanks," Annabeth retorts.
"My point being," Piper continues, "It's possible we could help you in case your tuition gets cut off, you know?"
"And what about Jason's family?"
Piper opens her mouth to speak, but hesitates a moment. "Okay, maybe not so much from his parents, but my point still stands!"
"Wait, what's wrong with his family?"
"Not my place to tell. You'll have to ask him that yourself," Piper says, making Annabeth sigh with mild annoyance.
"I'm not going to just randomly ask him hey what's wrong with your family! That's absurd."
"Then good luck," Piper says. "From what he's told me, it's not a nice story anyway."
"Then I'm definitely not going to make him tell me. If anything, after getting into college I'd probably just get a job anyway."
"Yeah? What would you want to do?" Piper asks, genuinely curious.
"I don't know, yet. I mean, I'd love nothing more than to be an architect, but that's not really a part time job. I guess I'll have to wait and see what interests me when we get there. Besides, we still have our senior year to go through before we decide what colleges we want to go to, right?"
"I already know what college I want to go to," Piper announces. "NYU."
"And your major?"
"Undecided as of yet. What about you? NYU has an architecture program so if you go there we could be roommates," Piper suggests. "We could go to parties, get wild, and just... do whatever we want, you know?"
Annabeth smiles at the idea of that. "Sounds like it would be fun. Though I should talk to Thalia about it at some point."
"Oh, she'll understand. Besides, I think freshmen have to live on campus anyway. But, like you said, we still have a year to figure these things out."
"Does Jason know where he's going?" Annabeth asks.
"He's thinking about NYU as well, but he has a couple other universities in mind," she replies. There's a hint of bitterness in her tone that Annabeth detects.
"What's wrong?"
"It's stupid," she replies simply.
"I deal with stupid every day at school," Annabeth reminds her, referring to Percy.
Piper smiles and looks at her friend. "I want Jason to come with me to college. I don't think I can handle long distance but I don't want to lose him."
"You could always visit him. Or he visits you."
"But that won't be often enough," Piper whines. "I'm really hoping he goes to NYU or at least another university nearby."
"Well, we'll have next year, Pipes. For now, you should stop worrying about it and enjoy what you have now."
"Yeah, I know..."
"I know something else you can worry about, though," Annabeth starts, a grin forming on her face.
Piper throws a pillow at her in disgust, making Annabeth laugh. "Don't you start talking about finals, Chase! Just watch the fucking movie with me!"
Annabeth settles down next to Piper and they continue watching their movie in peace, occasionally throwing out some comments here and there.