A/N: Small warning for alcohol consumption and drunk characters, also a party scene. I hope you enjoy this particularly revealing chapter!
ANNABETH
October comes in on the tail end of Reyna's and Piper's first exam (which both of them managed to ace "It's because you banged the information into me, I swear it" "I'm not going to disagree,") and Annabeth's first in-class presentation in Spanish, which scared the hell out of her. They're all exhausted and half dead, and Piper keeps making suggestions to teachers of where they should shove their midterms when they keep bringing it up. Piper's math class – Annabeth's shocked when she finds out Piper just decided to take Calculus on a whim for her math credit, even though she's a humanities major – is kicking her ass to the point where she cried into her pillow the night before when Reyna had come over to hang out, just because she forgot to carry the one in a problem that took her three pages.
So, Annabeth thinks, they're well overdue for a stupid, careless girls' night.
It's middle a quiet Saturday morning, when Piper's curled up in her bed with a textbook for one of her classes half open on her stomach as she tries, for once, to actually read her homework. Annabeth's trying to bang out her first college essay, due that Friday.
"Maybe I should just hit myself with this book until I absorb the information," grumbles Piper. "Or just set myself on fire and call it a day."
Completely ignoring another one of Piper's dramatic tirades, Annabeth interrupts. "We should do something tonight," Annabeth says. "I mean, we've been working –"
"Fucking finally," Piper moans, dropping the book on her face and grunting as it hits her chin. Annabeth hides her chuckle. "Jesus, I've never been so bored reading about American History before. When the hell do we get to the interesting stuff like Nixon and Watergate?"
"In the 1970's," Annabeth comments, "but let's get back to the thing about us going out and getting drunk and getting laid."
That gets Piper's attention better than anything else had. "Is Annabeth getting into the game?" Piper asks. She sits up, and Annabeth decides not to comment on the dent in her forehead left by the book. She rolls off of the bed and over to Annabeth's, perching her chin on the side of Annabeth's desk. Annabeth was about a thousand percent sure she would never get used to these weird as hell things Piper did when she decided that life wasn't interesting enough to keep her attention.
"I said 'us' didn't I?" Annabeth hits save on the document she's been working on and shuts her laptop.
Piper throws herself on the floor and starts clapping and kicking her legs to the point where Annabeth is half sure she's going to end up knocking something valuable on the floor. The day before she had been rolling around so quickly that her shoe flew off and shut their door on its own.
"Could you stop doing that?" Annabeth complains. "Sheesh, it's like I just told you that Reyna wants to marry you or something."
Instantly, the motion stops, and Annabeth forces back a grin. Piper was so predictable. "Don't say that ever again," says Piper, looking adorably menacing. Annabeth probably was scared of her (only a little bit) when they first met, but after this much time with her, there's basically nothing Annabeth can't figure out about Piper.
"Why not?" asks Annabeth. "The One Night Stand thing rarely turns into anything but the dramatic will they, won't they. And it nearly always turns into some ridiculous teenage romance novel. Especially when you end up in class together and, you know, keep sleeping together. And are study buddies."
"Who told you that," Piper grumbles, "Nora Roberts?"
"Nah," Annabeth replies, "I can just tell that you and Reyna are in love."
Piper stands and throws herself on her bed face down. "We are not in love, for the fortieth time! And stop saying that!"
"Piper and Reyna, sitting in a tree, f u c –" Annabeth hums quietly to herself. She is stopped abruptly when a pillow that Piper throws nails her directly in the face. "Was that entirely necessary?" Annabeth asks as she sets the pillow next to her.
"Yes," Piper replies, "now pick out the outfit that's going to get you laid and I'm forcing you to wear one of my Come-Fuck-Me bras, because the next time I see you in that Hello Kitty atrocity I'm burning it alongside your cookie monster underpants."
"What's wrong with those?" Annabeth asks. "And you wear that Hello Kitty shirt all the time. How come my Hello Kitty's not okay?"
Piper's digging through her underwear drawer and pulling out random bras and lace things that can't possible count as underwear when she replies with, "because I wear it ironically and you wear it all serious."
"Okay, so on top of being Ebony Dementia Dark'Ness Way, you're also a hipster?" Annabeth asks.
Piper stands up and points at Annabeth with a dark blue and purple lace thing with an underwire in her hands. "You quit that right now or I'll kick your Hello Kitty."
Annabeth snorts and stares at what's dangling from Piper's fingertips. "Wait, you want me to wear WHAT?"
Piper rolls her eyes and nods. "Look, your boobs might be a little smaller than mine, but this bra's almost too small for me. Just put it on and model it for me."
"Model it for you?!"
"What, we're not at that point in our friendship yet? Okay, I'll stick my head in the closet."
Annabeth had no idea what the hell she was living with, but she figured it was better than most people's experiences. "Okay then," she says, standing with her back to Piper and putting on the bra, throwing on the dark, almost burgundy pink, lace-backed shirt on top of it. "I'm decent," she says, turning around. Piper's head is still, literally, shoved into her closet.
"What?" Piper calls out, her voice muffled.
Annabeth rolls her eyes and grabs Piper's shoulder, grinning as Piper blinks to adjust to the light. "Well stick me on a mountainside and call me a goat!" says Piper.
"What the hell does that mean?" Annabeth replies.
Piper sighs. "Really, Annabeth, you should be able to translate Piper speak by now. It means good shirt choice, I was hoping you'd pick that."
"It's not tacky to have your bra showing through the lace in the back?" Annabeth asks, peering around her shoulder to look at the shirt in the mirror. "I mean, my stepmother always said that –"
"Your stepmother is an old hag who knows as much about fashion as Carmen Carrera knows about being ugly," Piper quips, and Annabeth feels like she should be offended on her stepmother's behalf, but she really, really isn't.
"So it's fine?" she asks. "And what should I wear for –"Piper thrusts a pair of dark washed skinny jeans at Annabeth "Oh, I never wear those," says Annabeth, shaking her head. "They're too tight."
"Around where?"
"Around my butt."
Piper laughs. "Oh, then, honey, these are exactly what you want to wear. Just sort of jiggle yourself into them until they slip over your ass. It might be uncomfortable, but you'll look good."
"Then what do I do when they get all restricting?"
Piper claps Annabeth on the shoulder. "That's when you allow the hot dude across the room to take them off of you, but I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, don't you?"
Annabeth laughs. "Fine."
"And don't wear those grey things you have on right now," says Piper, "wear the glow-in-the-dark stars and planets underpants."
"Seriously?" Annabeth asks. "Those are a joke. My friend Thalia got them for me last Christmas."
"They're also more low cut and inappropriate than anything else you have. And closest to a thong, which you somehow do not own. Plus, it's glow in the dark solar system underpants. Could they get more Annabeth?"
"Only if they had books on them," Annabeth adds, and she didn't mean to make Piper laugh with that comment, but she did.
"Get that sexy ass dressed," says Piper, "we're going man hunting."
PIPER
They looked GOOD. Like, way better than that first night they had gone out together, and way better than the disaster the weekend before. Piper shudders as she remembers how uncomfortable it was to walk back in from her shower and see a drunken Reyna passed out on her bed and a startled Annabeth staring at her from her desk. Piper stared at the two women in the mirror who were about to take over campus, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't checking both of them out.
Their pre-gaming adventure went a little differently than normal people – most pre-party routines didn't involve ABBA and dancing with Annabeth's giant teddy bears while taking shots, but since when have they ever been normal – but it did its magic.
"Annabeth," she says, grinning at her reflection, "we look fantastic."
Annabeth keeps turning around and staring at her ass in the jeans, though she was definitely trying to make it seem like she was checking out the back of her shirt.
"Yes, your ass looks marvelous," says Piper, almost sick of how many times they've had that particular conversation. "Now do I have to force you out this door or will you go on your own? Because, I promise, you will be tapping some high quality ass tonight."
"I don't think that phrase has ever been used in the English language," Annabeth comments as she swipes her wallet, phone, and ID from her desk.
"You're right. It's more of a French sentiment," Piper says with a glare that just screams are-you-serious, and follows Annabeth out the door.
It takes them a while to find a decent party, but Piper's already feeling good because she'd had a blast with those shots back at their dorm and black cherry fire was flooding through her veins now.
"Are you okay?" Annabeth asks. Piper blinks and realizes she's been staring at her phone and singing for the past few minutes. "You've been singing Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys intermittently for the past few minutes."
Piper stops walking and takes a moment to collect herself. Yep, she is definitely drunk, but she usually doesn't get like this. Something's different.
"I should call Reyna," she states. "Wait, no, that's the opposite of what I want."
"I think that's exactly what you want," Annabeth mutters beside her.
"Shut up, you're drunk!" Piper exclaims.
The look on Annabeth's face makes Piper consider the fact that, nope, it was Piper who is drunk.
"Did you take extra shots when I wasn't looking?"
Piper shook her head. "No. I – oh, crap."
"What?"
"I forgot to eat dinner."
Annabeth slaps her palm against her forehead. "Again? That's like the third time this week." Then, the thing that Piper was hoping Annabeth would not realize hits her. "Oh, my god, you were too busy with Reyna to get dinner, weren't you?!"
"Shut up! I should call her." It's a good idea, Piper considers, because it's not like Reyna's going to be doing anything fun anyway. Piper's the fun thing that Reyna does. And Piper's still confused as to how she managed to forget dinner again. Dinner's awesome. Dinner is food.
Annabeth shrugs. "I agree. Dinner is food, and it is awesome."
"I didn't realize I said that out loud," mumbles Piper. "Should I call Reyna?" she asks.
Annabeth smiles. "I think you should. But you probably think it's a bad idea because you don't want to admit that you luuuuurve her."
"Shut up," says Piper, pulling out her phone and dialing Reyna's number which, at this point, is far too familiar to her. "Hi, Reyna!"
"Piper?" Reyna asks. "Wow, are you actually calling me?"
"Yeah. You should come out with us."
"Are you drunk?"
"Only mostly."
Piper hears Reyna sigh, and can't keep herself from smiling "Hand the phone to Annabeth," says Reyna with a laugh.
Piper does as she's told, only a little confused as to why, exactly, she is doing what she's told, and then starts humming "Wannabe."
"Hello? Oh, hi, Reyna. No, she's fine. Yeah, the dinner thing. No, you don't have to. Yeah, I guess you're right. I will." Annabeth taps Piper on the shoulder again and Piper turns around grinning, taking the phone back.
"Hi, Reyna!" she exclaims.
"Hi, Piper. You and Annabeth are going to meet me at the Student Center and we're getting a snack."
"Awesome," says Piper, "I'm hungry. Let's get pizza. I love food."
Piper should feel something like embarrassment, but she doesn't. "You read my mind, honey. Now let Annabeth bring you to the Student Center."
"Why are you two talking to me like I'm an infant, by the way?" Piper asks, looking pointedly at Annabeth as she says this. "I'm drunk, not a moron. I've talked to the press and to police officers and gotten out of all charges with three times the alcohol in my system. I could do the alphabet backwards." To prove it, Piper does. Flawlessly. Annabeth's impressed face breaks into a smile, and she can hear Reyna laughing into her ear.
"I believe you," says Reyna. "Now meet me there in fifteen minutes. I have to get dressed and ready and I'll be there quick as a bunny."
"Are you naked?" Piper asks. "Because the bunny reference makes me think that and you know that thing they say about bunnies –"
"See you soon, Piper." Reyna hangs up.
ANNABETH
When Reyna gets there, she's decked out in a green and blue striped tank top with a denim vest over it and a pair of dark grey jeans. "Hey," she says with a grin, "looks like somebody's already gotten their snack."
Piper glares up at her. "Don't make fun of me," she says as she goes back to her pizza. Annabeth's impressed at the way Piper maintains her glare through her snacking.
Reyna raises her hands in front of her as she fights back a grin and sits next to Piper. "Hey, I'm just asking. No fun making here."
"Good," says Piper, and she leans over to rest her head on Reyna's shoulder.
Reyna looks up, startled, and meets Annabeth's eyes. Annabeth's fighting to hold back laughter as she looks at the absolutely stupid grin on her roommate's face.
"Piper, are you tired?" she asks. "Maybe you need to go to –"
"No!" exclaims Piper, standing up. It's loud enough that the twenty or so other people in the student center look over to them. "No way! I am getting you laid tonight, young lady!"
"Can you shut her up?" Annabeth asks, mortified. "Because, just, please?"
Reyna nods and takes Piper's hand, who reacts as if Reyna just burned her hand with hydrochloric acid.
"Oh, don't be such a baby," says Reyna. "Let's get to a party."
"Only if there's dancing," says Piper, very seriously. "Annabeth needs to get her hips to not lie or something."
"What is wrong with you?" Reyna asks. "You're weirder than usual."
"Black cherry vodka is explanation number one," Annabeth explains, "and 'she's just Piper' is the second."
"And why aren't you as drunk as she is?" Reyna asks.
Annabeth giggles, and she feels a heated blush across her cheeks. Her own telltale sign. "I'm actually feeling it, don't you worry. I just don't get loopy unless Piper gets nailed in the head with a water bottle or Piper makes me a screwdriver that's 90% screw and 10% orange juice."
Reyna looks between the two of them, and Annabeth shrugs, not sure what to say in response. Finally, Reyna taps Piper on the shoulder. "Finish up that pizza, Princess," she says. "Let's go find a party."
Piper takes Annabeth's hand and grins. "See, Reyna?" she says, "I can hold hands with anyone I want and it doesn't mean anything."
"I'm so hurt," says Annabeth deadpan, "and so convinced."
They exit the Student Center and, after a few more minutes of walking, they make it off campus to what looks like a Frat house.
"Do we risk it?" asks Piper. "I do hear music."
"Why not?" says Reyna. "This is one of the less-shitty frats at this school, why not?"
"And we all definitely look hot enough to get in," says Piper, "I mean, even Reyna turned it up tonight. Did you put on makeup?"
"Only eye liner and mascara."
"Oh," says Piper, and suddenly she's staring into Reyna's eyes in a way that's a little too intimate for public. Annabeth looks between the two of them, but neither Reyna nor Piper is paying any attention. Piper continues. "Well they look really nice. Your eyes, I mean. Though your boobs –"
Annabeth clears her throat and the two of them break eye contact, and Piper grips Reyna's hand. "Let's go dance," says Annabeth, and in the back of her mind, the only thing she's thinking is that she needs to get some guy tonight, if only to get some of her frustration with Tweedles Not-In-Love out.
The door swings open easily for them, and it's a guy with dark hair and a broody attitude who ushers them into the building with a grin and a, "Welcome, ladies."
Annabeth smiles at him, but it doesn't feel like he's looking to go home with any girls tonight. She walks into the room and is immediately hit with thumping bass and something shrieky and loud.
"Are they playing Miley Cyrus?" asks Reyna incredulously. "Oh, god, they CAN stop anytime now."
"Dance floor!" exclaims Annabeth, not sure she wants to be on the end of that tirade. "Let's go!" she grabs Piper's other hand and the three of them make it into the dance floor. In seconds Reyna's standing there with a sullen frown on her face, complaining about the music, but soon it changes to something poppy and bright and Reyna's took concentrated on Piper to focus on anything else.
"Note to self," says Annabeth as she starts dancing alone, "never come to a party with a couple."
"We are not a couple!" exclaim Reyna and Piper at the same time.
Annabeth starts looking around at the other people on the dance floor, searching for familiar faces from classes or debate team meetings, when the last thing she expects pops up in a corner by the refrigerator.
"Oh, my god," she mutters, "guys, I'll be right back."
"Did you see a dude you like?!" Piper exclaims.
Annabeth chuckles. "Not quite."
Annabeth pushes through the crowd until she runs into an old friend: Grover Underwood, a boy who graduated with her in high school and one of her good friends since the year she transferred to Vanden Academy. "Grover!" she yells, waving her hands. "Grover, over here!"
He looks up from the cup he's holding and his eyes light up in recognition. "Annabeth Chase!" he exclaims. "Hey, I knew you went here but I never thought I'd see you at a frat party! What's up?" He starts to make his way over, balancing the cup and his crutches simultaneously, but Annabeth's next to him before he can move. "It's great to see you!"
"It's great to see you too," Annabeth replies. "What are you doing here?"
He shrugs. "One of my buddies from elementary school goes here. I'm at school over at RIT, so I figured I could come by and hang out some weekends."
"And he left you on your own?" Annabeth asks. "Wow, that's a bad friend."
Grover snorts. "No, he didn't. He got pulled away – he's a reluctant initiate into the frat, so every once in a while they yank him off to do god knows what."
Annabeth raises her eyebrows. "A college boy who doesn't want to be part of a frat?"
Grover shrugs his shoulders.. "He's a legacy or something – his dad went here when he was in college, was one of the guys who made the frat big. So he feels like he's obligated to go here or something."
Annabeth nods like she gets it, not particularly good with understanding familial politics. "Of course."
There's a brief lull where Grover takes a sip of his drink, then looks down. "Do you want a sip?" he asks with an apologetic grin.
Annabeth laughs. "Sorry, it's been hammered into my head way too much to –'
"Oh, come on, I've been drinking from it!"
"- drink cheap, crappy beer at a party," Annabeth finishes. "What, did you think I expected you to drug yourself to drug me?"
Grover shrugs. "You can never be too careful, I guess. Especially when you're, you know," he looks at Annabeth and coughs.
"When you're what?" she asks. She's got no clue where he's going with this.
"You got hot," he says, shrugging. "I don't know, I feel like hot girls like you always get hit on by douche bags with bad intentions in places like this."
Annabeth shrugs. "Hasn't happened to me yet. And if it does, they're not going to like what they get."
"And the Annabeth I know comes back into the forefront." Grover goes to say something else, but his eyes light up as he sees someone behind them. "Hey, man, you survive whatever they made you do?"
Annabeth turns around to see a tall guy with dark hair and the brightest, most sea-green eyes she's seen in her life walk up to them. He's wiping his mouth, but he's drooling a little bit.
"They made us do shots of 99 Apples without a chaser," says the boy, looking half horrified and half heartbroken.
"I think your mouth is leaking," Annabeth says, fighting back a laugh, because it's not cool to laugh at a guy whose face looks like it's made to be a smile.
He wipes at his mouth again. "Sorry!" he exclaims. "Oh, god, this is the worst. Grover, next time you're talking to a girl, let me know so I can, you know, not drool on them."
Annabeth's eyes widen at the same time Grover's do. "Oh, hell no, man, this is Annabeth. I've known her since high school. She's a friend. Do you remember her? The one I talked about?"
The guy stares at Annabeth for a few seconds. "You're the one who kicked ass on the debate team?" he asks, looking impressed.
Annabeth shrugs. "I was pretty decent, I'd say. I've got a talent for argument." She grins easily, and suddenly feels much more comfortable in this crowded room with a bunch of strangers. She sticks out her hand. "Again, I'm Annabeth."
Percy, generously, holds out the hand he hasn't been wiping his mouth with. "Percy Jackson," he says with a smile, "and I usually don't drool like a dog."