I'm back
This one has been half-written for a while now, thank you to daughterofthanos for the pairing suggestion, although the plot is somewhat different than what you suggested.
Note: This takes place soon after The Blood of Olympus.
Rachel and Piper
Rachel POV
"...Yes, you must be there Rachel. It will be good for the company to see the whole Dare family together for this event."
"Dad, please, why can't it just be you and mom? I already have plans." I pleaded. Actually, my plans were to spend the evening in my pajamas sketching the layout of my new cave-house, but my dad didn't need to know the specifics.
"Honey, this is not up for debate. You can bring a friend if you would like, just make sure they are dressed appropriately."
"'Dressed appropriately'? Pfft, its not like my friends run around in orange t-shirts all the time."
"I have a meeting in a few minutes, I have to go. I'll see you tonight at 8, ok?"
"Fine, Dad. I'll see you there."
"Thank you, bye now."
"Bye."
I ended the phone call and threw the phone on my bed. Ugh. Now to find a victim to drag to a party with me. I pull on my green paint-splattered converse and walk outside into the scorching summer heat. Who would be willing and available to come with me tonight? I walk over to the bonfire pit, looking for someone to ask. Percy and Annabeth are busy running a sword fighting tournament, Nico is who-knows where. Grover is in Canada at a nature spirit convention, and a bunch of people were busy with camp duties or participating in the tournament. As I made my way past the fire pit towards the beach, I saw Piper McLean sitting on the Aphrodite Cabin porch, reading a book. Perfect.
"Hey McLean!" I call out.
She looks up from her book and waves. "Hey Rachel!"
"Are you doing anything tonight?"
She shakes her head. "No, and I am bored out of my mind. What's up?"
I grin. "So, it's the 25th anniversary of my dad's company and he is throwing a party and forcing me to come. Do you want to come and share the burden with me?"
"Sure, it will be interesting! And there will probably be food, which is definitely a plus."
"It will probably be boring," I warn her, "and full of stuck-up rich people who want to get all up in your business."
She laughs. "Please, I know all about those snobby socialites. Let's do it."
We high five. "We can probably say hi to my dad, mingle for a little bit and then get out of there if we want. Thank you for your sacrifice."
Piper smirks, "Anything for a little excitement."
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Piper POV
I hop out of the taxi and immediately swore as my foot got tangled up in my long dress. One of the perks of being an Aphrodite kid is having fashionable siblings. I personally avoid dresses (I feel uncomfortable when I'm not wearing on my legs except for underwear) but my brothers and sisters jumped at the chance to make me look like the daughter of a movie star. Ha.
As I begin to walk up the steps of the Dare residence, a pebble hits me on the head.
"Hey!" I shout, looking around for the culprit. Pebbles don't usually fall from the sky.
"Hey yourself, stranger!" A mess of red curls greets me from a window on the top floor. "I'll meet you down there in a second!" Rachel slams the window closed, and a few short moments later, the front door opens revealing a somewhat breathless Rachel Elizabeth Dare.
"Come on in!" I follow Rachel inside into a large front room, about the same size as the front room of my house. I take a deep breath. I haven't been in a place that reminds me of home in a while.
"Mom and Dad are already at the venue," Rachel continues, "So Pierre is going to drive us there."
"Pierre?" I lift an eyebrow. Pierre is such a cliché name for a chauffeur.
"His name is actually Mark, but I call him Pierre since it's more fun." Rachel shrugs as a tall, dark haired man in a suit walks towards us holding car keys. "I think he secretly likes being called something French."
'Pierre' winks at us. "Ready to go?"
The car ride begins as a quiet one. The sleek black sedan featured a sliding glass panel between Pierre and the passengers, so Rachel and I were sitting in the back and I fiddled with my hands. I don't know much about Rachel, just that she's the Oracle of Delphi, an artist, lives in a cave and that she has a history with Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I didn't even know that her father owned such a large company.
"So how did you make it to Camp Halfblood?" Rachel breaks the silence.
"Long story short, there was a field trip, I fell off a cliff, and Annabeth came and got mad at my boyfriend and took us all to camp."
Rachel nodded, looking thoughtful. "Yeah, I remember that day you all arrived. Annabeth was pretty angry that Percy wasn't there. She came to my cave that night and was ranting how Percy would totally be "the hero with one shoe" that she was told to find." Rachel smirked, "Which is understandable. With the way Percy ties his shoes, he could easily become a one-shoed-wonder."
"How did you get mixed up in all this?" I asked.
"Oh, Percy tried to kill me because I was blowing my nose at the Hoover Dam, and then later I helped him escape when the school gymnasium exploded."
I snorted. "Um... what?"
The redhead laughed. "Yeah, Riptide just passed right through me, thank my mortal parents, and the next thing you know, I'm hosting an ancient spirit and hanging out with satyrs. At this point, it's kind of weird to go back home and have to be normal again. Although, you can see some crazy stuff happen at these events that my Dad makes me go to."
"Yeah, I can totally relate." I groan. "When I was younger, I went with my Dad to his premieres and award shows sometimes. One time this lady got so drunk that she made out with a gargoyle statue and thought it was my Dad. It still gives me nightmares." I shudder dramatically.
Rachel laughed and patted my shoulder. "A moment of silence for that poor gargoyle."
We bowed our heads solemnly, then cracked up again at the mental picture.
"One time, one of my Dad's promotional events was crashed by a bunch of people dressed like trees." Rachel said with a twinkle in her eye. "There was about a hundred of them, and they all swarmed the place laughing and dancing, and then fell to the ground when they were "chopped" down. Security had to drag each one of them out of the building. They never caught who orchestrated the whole thing."
"Oh really?" I say sarcastically, "Maybe it was just a dare."
Rachel puts a finger to her lips and winks at me.
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Rachel POV
We arrive at the party, it's at my Dad's company building. There is music, people wearing jewelry and fancy clothes, food and champagne being whisked around by waiters and the number 25 everywhere. Pierre had dropped us off at the front entrance and drove back home, waiting for my text for him to pick us up again. I look back at Piper, who is eyeing some tasty looking hors d'oeuvres as they pass by.
"Ok, here's the plan. We go find my parents, take some photos and be seen to make my dad happy. Then we can grab food or whatever, and then do whatever we want. Sound good?
Piper nods, looking right at home. Usually at camp, I see her covered in dirt after a game of capture the flag, or messing around with her friends during the nightly campfire. Here in the company of reporters, white tablecloths and dresses, I can actually believe that she really did grow up with famous movie actors.
It doesn't take long to find my parents. They are in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by reporters and people I recognize as my dad's coworkers and fellow land developers. A man slaps my dad's back good-naturedly, and I hear my dad's deep full-belly laugh. I haven't heard that in a while. Now, while I don't support his business, ideals or complete lack of appreciation for the nature he destroys, and I hate that he is never home, I feel a twinge of satisfaction knowing that my dad is spending his time with things that make him happy. And then that thought disappears when my parents see us.
"Rachel!" My dad says loudly. "I see you made it just in time. And who is your friend?"
Piper steps forward, "Hello Mr. Dare, I'm Piper Mclean." They shake hands.
"McLean? As in Tristen McLean? I thought your face looked familiar. Maybe you can finally teach my daughter some of those movie star manners!" He laughs heartily, the people surrounding us laugh too.
Piper's face flushes, so I interject, "Ha, ha Dad, very funny. Hey, lets take a photo in front of that poster of your most recent neighborhood construction project. Did you know that location used to be a protected park?" I change the subject but stop talking when I see my mom shake her head subtly.
After taking a few photos for the newspaper and making some small talk, Piper and I slowly snuck away to the edge of the room.
Piper sighed loudly, "Why is talking to people so exhausting?"
"Because we are using more brain cells than these people have to communicate with." I reply. I flag down a waiter carrying a tray of tiny sandwiches in one hand and a tray of chocolate covered strawberries in the other. Piper daintily takes one of each, but I smirk at her and just take both the trays out of the amused waiter's hands.
"Follow me McLean."
"To the ends of the earth Dare. Also because I'm starving."
We find the elevator and head to the top floor. After a few wrong turns and a dead end, Piper spots the door to the roof.
"Roof party?" She proposes.
I try the door. Locked. Obviously. "Ugh, why does this building have to follow safety protocols all the time?
"Pfft, who needs safety protocols when you have knives?" Piper lifts the hem of her dress to reveal her hightop sneakers and a dagger strapped to her leg.
Oh yeah, Piper is a highly trained demigod capable to cutting monsters to ribbons. Perfect!
"Do you always carry around sharp objects, Piper?"
"Pretty much, do you?"
"If bobby pins count, then yes."
Piper takes her dagger and jimmies open the door. The cool night breeze hits my face as the door opens. We plop down on a tablecloth that Piper snagged from a stray laundry cart and chow down on our liberated snacks under the stars. This night was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.