Lives Collide
Disclaimer: I don't own any of this
Beckendorf knocked on the open door to Luke's dorm room.
The blonde haired boy looked over and smirked at his friend from his place in front of the TV. "Hey, you're just in time. I was about to start a new game," Luke said, nodding to the other game controller sitting on the table.
Beckendorf made his way to the seat beside Luke and sat down with a sigh. He was always uncomfortable in Luke's room. It was filled with the latest gadgets, including two TVs and the games consoles. There were boxes of DVDs and players and other items that Luke would sell to other student's for profit. If you wanted something at Olympia Academy, then Luke was the guy to go to. Beckendorf didn't like to know exactly what Luke got up to; he just found life was better when he minded his own business.
He picked up the controller but before Luke could press the start button, he said, "Why weren't you at the library today?"
Luke snorted and replied, "I didn't feel like going today! It's not like the crappy place is going anywhere."
Beckendork frowned and said, "I just think that it would be better if we all just put our heads down and got on with things for a while. I don't want to anger the Olympia brothers anymore than they already are."
A sly smile came to Luke's face and Beckendorf watched him closely. Luke nodded to the door and said, "Close that." Beckendork did as he asked, curious and when he sat back down, Luke was smiling again.
"I don't have to worry about those brothers for much longer. When the Masquerade Ball is held at the end of the month, they won't have a leg to stand on."
Beckendorf stared at him. Olympia Academy's Annual Masquerade Ball was held every year just before summer. It was held in the Hall of the Academy and all the students and their families had to attend. It was kind of pointless to be wearing masks because everyone already knew everyone else; a piece of fabric wasn't going to magically make you invisible. But it was the highlight of the school calendar.
"What are you talking about?!" Beckendorf asked and nearly rolled his eyes when Luke smirked again.
"Do you remember when Percy Olympia left the school? His father never knew where he went and his mother never told anyone anything? Well, what the brothers didn't tell anyone was that Zeus and Hades were working on a plan to make sure that Percy didn't inherit the family money. They got their lawyers to put a time limit on the money; meaning that Percy had to be at this year's Masquerade Ball to accept his claim to the fortune."
"I still don't get what this has to do with you," Beckendorf exclaimed.
"Zeus and Hades wanted to make Percy's life at Olympia terrible but Posidon made sure that their plans didn't work. Of course, he hurt Percy anyway by paying us to be his friends."
Beckendorf winced slightly at this.
He had really been Percy's friend. The guy was funny and great to be around. He could actually calm down the Twins-a great feat in itself- and was always there to help Grover. He tried to get on with Clarisse but that girl could hate puppies. Silena liked him well enough and all in all, Percy fit in as well as anyone could in the school. To be the surprise son of the owner made him famous enough, but he never let it go to his head. Beckendorf had like the guy and he had made Annabeth the happiest girl on the planet. Beckendorf had seen the fallout from their horrible break up himself; Annabeth was inconsolable. But Luke had never really liked him; that much Beckendorf knew.
"The point is," Luke said, "that the brothers had a secret plan to keep Percy away from the money out of spite. But Zeus' wife Hera had her own spiteful plan."
Beckendorf raised his eyebrows and Luke continued. "She came to me a few weeks before Percy left. She said that if I found some way to get Percy to leave, then she would arrange it that I would inherit the Olympia's money. With a large sum for her of course."
Beckendorf's jaw dropped and his mind was going a mile an hour. Luke betrayed Percy; all for money. "It was you..." he said softly, "You were the one who put those receipts in Percy's dorm room. The ones that proved that we were being paid to be his friends."
Luke nodded and added, "I also slipped in that contract that he had us all sign stating the exact terms of the agreement. And then Percy put it all together and lost it!"
Luke chuckled slightly but Beckendorf felt ill. Luke was going to get all of that money. That fortune that had been so well earned by the family over the years; he would squander it, lose it all. Luke sat back in his chair with the controller in his hand.
"The only problem is that Percy could still get the money. If he shows up at the Masquerade Ball, I am finished. Hopefully he stays in whatever dead end place he is."
-Meanwhile; at the diner-
Piper hurried through the front door of the diner, her bag hanging off her shoulder. She quickly made her way to the kitchen, knowing that she was a little late for her shift. She spotted Jason with his back to the door, writing down an order while Frank was trying to balance drinks on a tray.
As she looked around the room, Piper frowned slightly when she realised that those Olympia Academy boys were there again. The twins and their red headed friend were eating their burgers at the counter but there was no sight of Annabeth.
Suddenly Piper realised that it was Percy's turn to be in the kitchen that day; he might not know that they were there! Piper ran through the kitchen door and looked around for Percy. But she stopped when she saw Hettie standing at the fridge, reaching in to get some ice cream.
"Hettie?!" Piper asked, "What are you doing here? It's Percy's shift today."
Hettie shut the door with her elbow and walked over to place the ice cream on the counter. "That's what I thought but the kid called me and suggested we switch. He was here this morning instead."
Piper frowned at this and said, "But that means that he opened this morning; really early! He was up late last night helping at the library too."
Hettie nodded as she scooped the ice cream into a bowl. "Yup; he's fast asleep upstairs. But it saved me from having to take the early train over here and he knows I hate doing that! But Percy has always been that kind."
Piper nodded and replied with clenched teeth, "Ya, he's a real giver."
She marched through the kitchen and up the stairs. Without bothering to knock, she opened the door and walked into the apartment. "Percy!" she called but soon found him, fast asleep in bed.
With a sigh, she sat down on the bed and woke him. It took Percy a moment to realise what was going on.
He groaned and sat up slightly in the bed before saying "There's another thing you and Jason have in common; disturbing my sleep."
Piper folded her arms and said, "Percy, what time did you get back here last night after helping with the library?"
Percy suddenly suspected that his mother had taught Piper a few tricks but he replied, "Around...two? I agreed to lock up and there were a few more books that needed picking up. Did you notice that we nearly have the floor cleared?"
Piper just raised her eyebrow in silence. With an intake of breath, she said, "So you got home at two and opened the diner this morning at seven?"
Percy nodded slightly and Piper huffed. "Seriously Percy?! You are losing out on sleep, messing up the shifts and pulling me through rows of bookshelves just to keep this secret!"
Percy ran a hand through his already messed up hair and leaned back against his headboard. "The Stoll twins and Grover are downstairs stuffing their faces with burgers," Piper said, "I'm guessing that they finished at the library and came back here to eat, like yesterday. And that's why you took the early shift-in case you ran into them while you were working."
Percy nodded slightly but before he could respond, he heard footsteps stomping their way up to his apartment. The door opened and Jason called out, "Percy! I know you're asleep but this is serious! Piper hasn't-."
Jason stopped once he entered the bedroom and saw his friends.
Immediately Percy saw the confusion in his friend's eyes. From the blonde boy's point of view, the friend that he was crushing on was sitting on the bed of his best friend, who was lying in said bed, half dressed. Percy didn't know wither to laugh or gag at the thought that was probably going through Jason's head. Piper though didn't seem to notice.
Percy cleared his throat and said, "Piper rushed up to see me a few minutes ago. I managed to nearly drop a whole bookshelf on me last night and she was worried."
Piper herself didn't know wither to be impressed or annoyed that he could lie that well.
Jason nodded and looked torn between leaving and trying to say something else. Finally, after a moment, he said to Piper, "You didn't say hello!"
Piper blinked at him in confusion and he said, "Whenever we work together, you always say hello to me first. You didn't say hello and you're ten minutes late so I was worried."
Percy tried not to roll his eyes at his friend as Piper blushed slightly and replied, "Oh, I'm sorry. But I am here and I'll be down in a minute."
Jason nodded at her and Percy before quickly exiting the room. Percy snorted with laughter after he was sure Jason was out of earshot and Piper turned to him.
"What?" she asked in genuine confusion. Percy smiled slightly at his friend. Both she and Jason were so dense some times.
"Piper," he said softly, "Jason ran up here completely worried because he thought something had happened to you. When he found out that you were ok, he was annoyed that you hadn't said hello to him this morning. That's your thing; you always say hello to him first. And then he was freaked out at the thought that you had skipped his hello to see me."
Piper just blinked at him and Percy laughed slightly. "Piper, he likes you!" Piper's eyes grew wide and she was frozen.
"But-but..." she babbled but Percy just threw back the covers and stood up. "He likes you and you like him. You're both crazy about each other! And everyone is tired of you two dancing around each other."
He grabbed a shirt and pulled it on over his pyjama pants before walking into the kitchen. He started to look through the cupboards for something to eat and Piper hurried into the kitchen. She stopped quickly at the kitchen island and said, "But Percy...why would he like me?"
Percy frowned and turned around to face her. She shrugged and added, "You've met his ex girlfriends. Reyna was practically a supermodel!"
Percy placed both of his hands on the island and looked her straight in the eyes. "Piper. First of all, you are stunning. Do you remember the Halloween dance at your school? You and Hazel got all dressed up for it and I was told that every guy in that room was drooling at your feet."
Piper did remember that night. It was one of the only occasions that she had actually dressed up and put on makeup. She had noticed a few glances but surely it hadn't been as many as Percy said. But Percy continued talking.
"Secondly, Jason has liked you since way before that dance. Reyna was just a distraction and for the sanity of all of your friends, please just admit that you both care for each other!" With that statement, Percy got that far away look in his eyes again and the smile that had been playing across his face faded. "Trust me, when it's too late...things change."
Piper, not wanting to dwell on the overwhelming thoughts about Jason, sat down on the stool and said, "Is it bad that I kind of want to meet Annabeth? I mean, there must have been something amazing about her for you to love-she can't have been pretending all the time."
Percy's smile came back and he said, "Actually, the two of you have some things in common. Both of you have no idea how pretty you are...and people tend to judge you from how you look."
Piper had to agree. The plain clothes she wore and her uneven haircut made people scoff and roll their eyes.
"People used to think-including me when I first saw her-that with her blonde hair and natural tan, that she was some air head. But she set me straight pretty quickly!"
Piper smiled at Percy. He was so happy when he was talking about Annabeth.
"She has these eyes...grey and full of fire. Like a storm in the middle of the sea," Percy said quietly, "I could have looked at them for hours...but then she would smack my arm and tell me to stop staring like a crazy person."
Piper felt her heart go out to her friend as he turned away from her to search through the cupboards. It was clear that he stilled loved her but he hadn't gotten past her betrayal. Piper squirmed slightly in her seat. Maybe Percy shouldn't have left so suddenly; he had left without knowing the full story.
With a sigh, Piper stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder. "Well, I better get down stairs anyway; I'm already so late."
With a smile from her friend, Piper went back downstairs and into the kitchen. She changed quickly and was tying the apron around her as she stepped out into the diner. She spotted Jason standing behind the counter at the till and she bit her lip.
Taking a deep breath, Piper walked over to him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek. Jason looked over at her and she smiled when she saw the blush rising on his face. "Hello," Piper said quietly and walked off to take orders.
Jason stood there for a moment, frozen with a half smile on his lips but Hettie ranged the bell and snapped him out of it.
He quickly walked past Grover, Travis and Connor.
Connor ate the last piece of his burger and let out a happy sigh. "If it was legal, I would totally marry this burger," he said. Then he frowned and added, "But then I would want to eat it again."
Travis laughed at his brother and looked over at Grover, who was checking his phone. "Is that a text from Annabeth?" he asked and Grover nodded.
"Ya, she had to run back to school to finish an assignment."
Grover put his phone back in his pocket and reached over to pick up the ketchup. He hand banged off the tall glass and it tipped over. Travis reached out to grab it but missed and the glass hit against the rim of the plate. The glass smashed and the three boys stood up quickly as water spilled out onto the counter.
"Ah crap!" Travis said, as Frank scrambled over and tried to clean up the mess.
"Here," Connor offered as he began to pick up the pieces of broken glass.
"Careful!" Frank warned and then winced when Connor yelled out and grabbed his hand. A glass shard had cut across Connor's palm and Grover was grabbing napkins to stop the blood.
"Frank!" Jason called from the end of the counter, "The first aid box is upstairs!"
Frank nodded and said, "Through the kitchen and up the stairs. Our friend should have the first aid box in his cupboard."
Travis took his brother's arm and dragged him through the kitchen with Grover right behind them. Frank turned to Jason and asked, "What is the first aid box doing in Percy's apartment?!"
Jason shrugged and replied, "We were running out of bandages and Percy took it upstairs to refill it."
Grover hurried ahead of the Twins and as he opened the door to Percy's apartment, looking back at Connor and Travis. When both of the twins looked up and froze in the doorway, Grover frowned and turned around.
Standing beside the kitchen island, still from shock, was Percy. He looked between the three of them and tried to form words in a sentence. It was Connor who spoke first.
"I know that this is a huge, dramatic moment but I'm bleeding here!"