PERI'S POV

I tore down the corridor, fuming. As I rounded the corner, I bumped into someone.

"Oof!"

I looked down and saw Piper rubbing her head, wincing from the impact. All of my anger drained instantly.

"Oh, Piper! Sorry!" I helped her up quickly, sputtering apologies.

She waved me off lightheartedly. "It's okay, don't worry about it. I was just looking for you, actually! I've got more clothes to give you."

I resisted the urge to groan. "Uh, Piper, you really don't have to-"

"Nonsense!" She grabbed my hand and whisked me into her room before I could even blink.

Piper's room was identical to my own in almost every way, and she wasted no time rifling through the closet. She pulled out more and more shopping bags, shoving them into my arms. My arms weighed down as she thrust more and more clothes at me, tittering about this and that as she did so.

Finally, she wrapped a cotton scarf around my neck. "There! That's everything!"

I blew a puff of air. "Thanks."

"No problem!" She beamed. "And if there's anything else you might need help with, like what accessories you should add or what shoes go with what or-"

"Anything?" I asked.

Piper nodded. I considered this for a moment before dropping the shopping bags on the floor.

I sat on the edge of her bed. "Well, I was wondering if you could give me some advice."

She plopped down next to me. "Advice? Well, I'm not as smart as Annabeth, but I can sure try."

I looked up at her. "It's about Leo."

To my surprise, a devious smirk crossed her face. "Leo, huh?"

I nodded. "Yeah,"

She twisted the feather in her hair. "How 'bout you tell me all about what happened today - starting with when I left with Percy and Jason."

"Okay," I agreed and proceeded to tell her about the day's progression. . .

A blush found its way onto my cheeks. ". . . and then I kinda fell onto him."

"Fell onto him?" she repeated, confused. "Like how?"

"Like our junk was touching each other!"

She threw her head back and laughed. "Your junk?!"

I leapt from the bed, hysterical. "Pipes, this isn't a laughing matter! Our privates were practically touching! Like, we were this close to doing it! I could've gotten pregnant!"

Piper covered her face up with her hands, rolling on the bed laughing wildly. "Pregnant?!"

"Piper, I'm serious!" I paced the room. "This is some serious jizz right here!"

Trying her best to compose herself, Piper wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay, okay! I'll go into therapist mode." she cleared her throat. "Well, why does this bother you so much?"

"Why does it bother me?!" I screeched. "He was touchin' up on me all personal like!"

She smirked devilishly. "Well it sounds to me like you enjoyed it."

My cheeks burned crimson, and I sputtered defensively. "What?! Enjoy - No! NO! I didn't! What would make you think-"

"Peri, do you like Leo?" she asked.

I gasped in shock, stumbling backwards. "What?! Like him? You mean, like him like him? Nuh-uh! It's not like that! Sure he's nice and funny and sweet and - gah, I'm getting off track!"

Piper's smirk grew into a full out grin. She opened her mouth to speak, but I cut her off desperately.

"I don't! It's not like that! We're bros! BROS! And bros don't think about each other like that!"

I turned on my heel and flew out the door in a flurry of clothes and confusion.

I saw Frank standing at the end of the hallway. His head snapped up when I slammed Piper's door shut. He looked on me quizzically.

"BROS!" I screamed at him. "WE'RE BROS!"

I crossed the hall in one stride and dove into my room, locking myself in for the rest of the night.