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Saturday
So far, Piper could categorize prom as the best night of her life. And not just one of the best, but the best. For starters, she’d never seen Annabeth so happy in her life. A million times, she’d caught her best friend looking at Percy with a giant smile and starry eyes. Annabeth was so clearly in love, it made Piper’s heart burst with adoration and happiness.
And maybe a tiny bit of jealousy.
Piper had known she had a crush on Reyna, but the second she’d stepped back into the room with her prom dress on while they’d been getting ready, Piper fell in love. Very in love. She couldn’t keep her eyes off her best friend the whole night. She’d already seen the dress, of course. They had all gone dress shopping together. But tonight, she was all done up and there was an aura of confidence that surrounded her, which was insanely attractive.
They danced and ate and laughed, took a million pictures and videos, all but screamed together when Annabeth had told them Percy finally made them official. Easily a perfect night.
And now it was winding down as they rode in the limo back to Piper’s house. That’s where she and Reyna would sleep tonight while Annabeth stayed at Percy’s, something they had teased her relentlessly about. Even as Piper hugged Annabeth goodbye, she couldn’t resist whispering a quiet, “Use protection,” to which Annabeth quickly pushed Piper away.
“Shut up, get out,” she laughed. “I can’t stand you.”
“Just saying,” Piper said innocently, getting out. They made their way up the driveway to the house, quietly unlocking it and stepping inside. Her dad was probably asleep, so they just crept up to Piper’s room. Once the door was shut and locked, they didn’t need to be so silent anymore. Thick walls and a lot of distance between their rooms were a saving grace whenever Piper had her friends over.
“Tonight was so fucking fun,” Reyna said, sitting on the bed and slipping off her heels. A strappy gold pair that matched all of her jewelry. Even there in Piper’s room, Reyna had a glow about her. She looked regal in her black, corset top dress. Piper leaned against the wall, slipping off her silver heels. Before she could reach for the zipper of her dress, Reyna stood back up. “Hey, can you help me unlace this?”
Piper’s throat ran a little dry, but she nodded. Reyna moved her hair out of the way, turning to expose the back of her dress. Piper untied the laces and loosened them. She was careful to touch as little of Reyna’s skin as possible, afraid it would set something off inside her. She got it loose enough that Reyna could slip the straps off her arms.
“Do you want me to unzip it too?” Piper asked, unintentionally soft.
“Please,” Reyna said, voice matching Piper’s volume. She unhooked the little metal clasp that sat at the top of the zipper before unzipping it. Once it was undone, the dress all but collapsed to the ground, leaving Reyna in her underwear. Piper averted her eyes even though she had seen it all before.
“All good,” she said lightly, trying to lift the weird tension she thought was settling.
“Thanks babe,” Reyna said, reaching for her bag. Piper unzipped her dress, the white tulle falling to the ground in a heap. She covered her chest, though she didn’t really care if Reyna was looking - they’d all seen each other more or less naked by now. She slipped a big t-shirt and a pair of shorts on. She and Reyna both hung their dresses up carefully before collapsing on the bed. After the whole night of dancing, Piper expected to be wiped out but she was very much awake.
“I’m not tired,” Reyna said.
Piper laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing,” she said. Reyna sat up, her long hair still twisted and pinned up. Piper lifted herself up too and began to take out the pins.
“Oh, thank you,” Reyna said. “Forgot my hair was even up.”
“We also need to take our makeup off,” she replied. Reyna didn’t have too many pins, since she’d only put up enough hair to keep it out of her face, so it only took Piper a minute to get them all out. She set them on the nightstand before standing. “M’lady,” she said, holding a hand out to Reyna.
“Thank you, dearest,” Reyna smiled, taking her hand and sliding off the bed. They walked into the bathroom together, Piper only dropping her hand to get her makeup remover. She handed one wipe to Reyna before turning to the mirror to peel off her fake lashes.
“I wonder how Annabeth’s night is going,” Reyna said, also removing her lashes they’d glued on earlier.
Piper let out a quiet giggle. “Hopefully using protection like I told her to when we got out of the limo.”
“I was wondering why she pushed you away,” Reyna laughed, shaking her head. They both lapsed into silence as they removed their makeup, washed their faces, and applied moisturizer. Reyna was back to her natural self, and somehow that didn’t make Piper any less awestruck. She had a perfect mix of a sweet babyface and the expression of someone who could kick a person’s ass - an unfairly stunning combo, in Piper’s opinion.
“You know what we should do?” Reyna whispered conspiratorially, a smile growing on her face.
“What?” Piper said, looking at her.
“Sneak down stairs and steal the vodka your father has in the freezer.”
Excitement bubbled up inside Piper. “God, your brain is so big,” she said. “Let’s go.”
Together, they crept down the stairs and into the kitchen. Reyna got the vodka - one of the three bottles in there - while Piper got two cups and two cans of soda. Stifling their laughter, they snuck back upstairs and locked themselves in Piper’s room again. “Easy peasy,” Piper said. They had done this a few times and as far as Piper knew, her dad either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Probably the latter, which was fine with her in times like this.
Within twenty minutes, they were both one and a half shots in. Neither of them drank much and both were notorious lightweights so those few shots were already enough to make them giggly. The Pepsi was a chaser, but it did nothing to soften the effects of the alcohol.
“Truth or dare?” Reyna said suddenly. Piper rolled her eyes playfully.
“We are not playing truth or dare,” she laughed. “I don’t wanna do any dares, what about just, like, twenty questions?”
Reyna sighed dramatically. “Fine,” she conceded. “But we have to be honest. And you drink if you don’t wanna answer something.”
“Okay.” A moment of silence passed. “I can’t think of any questions.”
They both burst into laughter. “Neither can I,” Reyna said, leaning back against the wall Piper’s bed was against. As their giggles resided, Reyna perked up. “Oh, I have one. Genuinely curious, how long do you think Percy and Annabeth will last?”
Piper tilted her head as she thought. They’d only been together for a few months and hadn’t had any major conflicts, so she wasn’t sure how they’d handle them when they had one. But she also knew Annabeth was the happiest she’d ever been, which hopefully meant something to Percy. “Hm, I’m thinking a couple years at the very least, but I mean, I hope longer.”
“I was thinking the same thing. Like, I’m not gonna jump and say forever and ever, but they seem really good together so I’m thinking a long time,” Reyna said thoughtfully. “He seems to really like her.”
“Yeah,” Piper smiled, thinking about how happy Annabeth had been the last few months. “And she loves him so I can’t really see it ending. Maybe they will last forever, who knows?”
“If he always makes her this happy, then I hope so,” Reyna agreed. She took another sip of her soda. “Your turn.”
They bounced back and forth, asking questions. Most of which were stupid, easy questions because they couldn’t think of any good ones. There were none where they opted to drink instead of answering, so they just started taking more shots occasionally. They were both up to two and a half when Piper felt like she should slow down just a tiny bit. Reyna studied her.
“Do you prefer men or women?” she asked quietly. Piper blinked. That question was a bit more serious than any of the previous. Still, she answered.
“Women, 100%,” she said. “As if I would pick boys over girls.”
Reyna laughed, and so did Piper, but she was completely serious. She was attracted to men, but her preference steered heavily towards women. She’d only been with a couple, though. Boys just tended to be easier when she wanted to hook up with someone. Most of them were cute enough, but obviously, none of them held a candle to women. And no one at all compared to Reyna. But that was someone off-limits, so Piper tried not to think about that.
“True, true,” Reyna smiled. Then her smile melted a little. “Any girls in particular you like? Or anyone at all, doesn’t have to be a girl.”
There was a forced lightheartedness to her tone. Piper barely noticed it, though, because she was too conflicted. She had to answer honestly, unless she wanted to lie, but that didn’t seem fair, or drink. Either option would give her away. She wasn’t even drunk, but she was too tipsy for this, so she settled on, “Yeah, one.”
“Do I know her?” Reyna asked. Her big, dark eyes studied Piper. They looked pitch black in the purple lighting of the LED strips on her walls. Piper could only nod.
Before Reyna could respond, Piper turned the question on her. “What about you? Anyone in particular you’re… interested in?” she asked, hoping her voice wasn’t too shaky. This was dangerous territory, Piper should’ve just lied and said she wasn’t into anyone.
“Yeah, one,” Reyna repeated Piper’s earlier statement. “You know her too.”
Piper nodded again, hoping her disappointment wasn’t too apparent. Of course, Reyna was interested in someone else. Piper desperately wanted to change the topic, but Reyna didn’t give her the chance. “What’s she like?” she asked quietly.
Such an easy question. Piper could babble on about Reyna for hours if she had the chance. “Caring. Funny, sweet, strong, selfless” Piper said softly, trying to reign herself in to simple adjectives. Her eyes met Reyna’s. “Beautiful. Literally the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.”
She didn’t tell Reyna about how the girl she loved was one of her best friends, one of the best people she’d ever known. How she was uplifting and never let Piper get too down on herself, which she definitely had the habit of doing. She didn’t tell Reyna that she had the most stunning dark eyes, pretty pink lips, and a dazzling smile that always made Piper’s heart race a little when she was the cause of it. She couldn’t tell Reyna any of that.
But Piper thought Reyna picked up on something she hadn’t said, because her best friend smiled. A slow, almost sad smile. “You sound like you’re in love.”
Piper swallowed, unsure of what to say. She wasn’t sure what to make of Reyna’s gentle voice that had disappointment laced through it. Piper’s brain started working again, and she twisted the cap onto the vodka again. “I think I’m drunk,” she said, forcing a little laugh out of her throat. She had sobered up painfully in the last ten minutes, actually. But it was enough to lighten the mood.
“Me too,” Reyna chuckled. She grabbed the Pepsi from Piper and set both of their cans on the nightstand, along with the two cups they’d brought up. Piper set the closed bottle on the carpet below them.
Piper changed the LED lights to a darker purple, the setting she slept with, before they both laid down. It was silent for a tense moment before Reyna shifted. Piper could see her dark silhouette sitting up, then leaning over her. A gentle palm rested against her cheek and Piper couldn’t breathe when Reyna pressed her forehead against hers.
“Piper,” she whispered. Piper could feel her friend’s breath ghost across her lips.
“Hm?” she hummed, trying not to lean up and kiss her. But Reyna traced her thumb along Piper’s lower lip and it hit her then - that’s exactly what Reyna intended to do.
“Is this okay?” she breathed. Hesitant and nervous.
Okay didn’t even begin to describe how Piper felt about kissing Reyna. Instead of answering with words, she tilted her head up and pressed their lips together. They melted into each other, mouths moving slow and sweet, like honey.
Reyna moved closer, pressing the length of her body against Piper’s side. They didn’t talk about what was happening, and Piper didn’t want to. Talking meant she’d have to stop kissing her best friend, and that was the last thing she ever wanted.
And Piper knew they should’ve stopped. They should’ve stopped, or at least slowed down. They should’ve talked about what they were doing, why they were doing it. But Piper wasn’t thinking about anything other than the feeling of Reyna's lips on hers, and her friend’s hands slipping under her shirt.
-
Sunday
It took Piper a few seconds to remember why she’d woken up naked. Naked, with a small headache, and an arm around her waist.
And then she remembered. For a moment, she didn’t know what to do. All she knew was that she couldn’t lay there any longer. Thank any gods that existed that Reyna was the world’s heaviest sleeper. Piper carefully, reluctantly, slipped out of bed and bolted to her ensuite bathroom. She shut the door, leaning against it.
No fucking way.
She stayed there for a few seconds, replaying the night in her mind. It took no time at all to realize thinking about that right now, when Reyna was still naked in her bed, was a very bad idea. Piper locked the door and started the shower, hoping she could at least soothe her headache.
She finished ten minutes later, slipping on her robe. Piper tried to be quiet when she left the room, but it turns out she hadn’t needed to be. Reyna was sitting up in bed, holding the comforter to her bare chest. Her eyes snapped to Piper’s as soon as the bathroom door was open.
“Hi,” Piper said.
“Hi,” Reyna replied, too quickly. They stared at each other for another couple of seconds. Piper cleared her throat.
“How do you, um, feel?” she asked.
Reyna blinked. “What?”
Piper felt like shutting herself back in the bathroom, as if that would help anything. “I mean, like, are you hungover or anything?”
“Oh,” Reyna said, the tension in her shoulders dropping just a tiny bit. “No, I’m fine. What about you?”
“I had a little bit of a headache, it’s fine now,” Piper replied. She unfroze, walking forward to grab the bottle of vodka on the floor - the cruel instigator of the night. “I’m gonna take this downstairs and, uh, get some water. Do you want anything?”
Reyna shook her head silently. Piper nodded once, turning and leaving.
It was mainly an excuse to give Reyna a moment to get dressed, considering she was still… naked in Piper’s bed. Good God, she was never going to get that image out of her head. Her best friend naked in her bed, hair a mess from everything they’d done last night. Cheeks flushed, eyes wide. Piper swallowed, pushing the thoughts away - far away.
Her dad was already gone for the day, so she didn’t hide the bottle of vodka as she brought it downstairs and slipped it back into the freezer. Piper grabbed one of her reusable water bottles from the cabinet, filling it with ice water. As she did, she planned out what exactly she’d say to Reyna once she went back upstairs. They’d have to talk about it eventually, might as well get it over with.
Piper walked back up the stairs, rehearsing it in her head. The conversation wasn’t that hard to start, at least. Just a simple, Can we please talk about last night? The harder part might come after that when they actually had to talk about it, but she could get this one line out to begin with.
She pushed open her door after taking a deep breath to find Reyna, fully dressed. All the way down to her tied Converse sneakers. Reyna barely glanced at her. “Hey. I, uh, called an Uber. My dad… asked me to come home.”
An obvious lie considering Reyna wouldn’t look at Piper, who just stood there. “Oh,” she said, blinking a few times. “Okay. Yeah.”
“I’ll come get my dress… later, if that’s fine?” she asked. Piper knew that dress was going to be sitting there for a while.
“Yeah, sure,” she said, watching her best friend sift through her bag - either to check she had everything or to avoid looking at Piper. Reyna zipped it up, standing and throwing it over her shoulder. Their eyes met for the briefest moment.
“My Uber’s gonna be here any minute.”
“Okay,” Piper said, setting her water bottle down on her desk.
Reyna walked towards the door and for a second, Piper thought she wasn’t going to say anything. As she opened the door, though, Reyna quietly said, “I’ll see you later, Pipes.”
“Bye,” Piper whispered. Even though she wasn’t looking, Piper felt Reyna’s hesitation. Then she left, shutting the door behind her. Piper heard footsteps on the stairs, then the front door opened and shut. For an indiscernible amount of time, Piper stared at the white wood of her desk. She tried to wrap her mind around how badly everything had gone that morning. One night, she was having the time of her life with her best friends, and the next morning, she was alone and empty.
-
Monday
Piper didn’t go to school. Call her a coward, but she didn’t know how to face Reyna. And clearly, based on the way Reyna hadn’t spoken to her since Sunday morning, Reyna didn’t want to face Piper either. Piper told Annabeth she didn’t feel good - “It’s probably my period coming, I don’t know” - and stayed in bed.
Realistically, she knew this was a stupid move. She’d have to face her eventually. They’d either have to talk about it, accept it and move on, or pretend it never happened. Piper wasn’t sure what was worse. Pretending it didn’t happen didn’t mean she could ever forget it. She couldn’t forget if she tried.
She didn’t know what moving on consisted of, but she was sure it would suck, too. Any outcome that wasn’t the unlikely scenario of them ending up together sounded like hell to Piper - she really hadn’t thought this through. No matter what happened now, Piper would be stuck with this memory of the best night of her life, and that’s all it would ever be.
-
Tuesday
Piper did go to school, but she wished she hadn’t. Reyna wouldn’t look her in the eye. There was palpable tension between them, though apparently, no one else noticed it. Certainly not Annabeth, who was still all daydreamy about prom and rambling about dinner with Percy’s mom last night. For once, Piper wished she wasn’t so in love, just so she could see what was crumbling between her two closest friends - a selfish wish, admittedly.
They got to school and Reyna made some halfhearted excuse about needing to talk to a teacher before bolting off. Piper watched her go, the cavity in her heart widening with each step she took away from them.
“Pipes? Piper!” Annabeth said, making Piper snap out of the trance she was in. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Piper replied. “Still just… don’t feel great.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Annabeth said, frowning. Piper almost felt guilty for lying, but she wasn’t sure how to tell Annabeth what was really going on - or if Reyna even wanted her to know.
“I’ll be fine, I took aspirin earlier,” she said, shrugging. “I’m gonna go to my locker, I’ll see you later.”
“Love you,” Annabeth said.
“Love you too,” Piper replied, turning and walking away. She did actually go to her locker, her first truth of the day, but it was mainly to have a moment alone. She was glad for once that she had no classes with Reyna or Annabeth. When it came to lunch, Piper let Annabeth and Percy put all the focus of their conversation on them, which ended up being a good distraction. Despite her internal war going on, she was happy to hear Annabeth talk about her relationship, which she wasn’t shy about doing, even in front of Percy.
Piper didn’t see Reyna again until they met back up at Annabeth’s car. Where Annabeth was nowhere to be seen. Reyna leaned against the passenger door, on her phone. She glanced up from her phone when she heard Piper approach before her eyes quickly flit away. Her shoulders visibly tensed up.
“Hey,” she said quietly.
“Hey,” Piper replied. A long silence as Piper ran her fingers along the handle of the backseat door. The tension built and built, and finally, Piper said, “Reyna-”
That was all she got out before they heard Annabeth call out, “How did you get here so fast?” with a laugh. Piper watched as Reyna let out a heavy breath before plastering on a smile that looked fake and turning to face Annabeth.
“Because you’re slow,” Reyna called back, pulling the passenger door open as soon as the car was unlocked. “Hey, can you drop me off at mine?”
“Yeah,” Annabeth said, getting in. Piper sat in the back, trying not to sulk too hard. Reyna’s obvious relief at not having to talk about it was making Piper spiral.
Reyna was perfectly content not talking about it. She was okay pretending they had just never hooked up. She probably just wanted to forget it and let the awkwardness disappear. Hell, maybe she even regretted it. Piper swallowed hard, pushing down the urge to cry.
As they pulled into Reyna’s driveway, Annabeth said, “Pipes, you moving up to the front?”
“Uh, yeah. Can you drop me off at mine too, though?” she replied.
“Of course. Still don’t feel good?” she asked.
“Not really,” Piper muttered as Annabeth stopped the car in the driveway. Both Piper and Reyna got out and for once, Reyna looked at Piper. The look on Piper’s face, the unintentional glare she was sporting, was enough to make Reyna flinch and drop her eyes.
“Bye, Pipes,” she muttered, walking towards her front door. Piper didn’t even reply. She was almost angry at how easy this seemed to be for Reyna. Just a simple hookup that they should put behind them. If only it were that easy.
-
Wednesday
That anger had bubbled up overnight. That, along with the hurt and sadness Piper felt. Annabeth offered to pick them up again, so Piper and Reyna had another round of awkward good mornings. Or rather, Reyna said good morning, Piper simply hummed in reply, feigning a distraction on her phone.
Today went similarly to yesterday, where Reyna bolted off once they were inside the school. Everything Piper was feeling continued to overflow until Piper was sure she was going to explode. When lunch came around, she bolted to the cafeteria instead of her tutoring room. She dropped into the seat across from Annabeth, who already had her lunch. Her classroom was right next to the cafeteria so she was always able to be one of the first through the line and seated.
“Okay, I wasn’t gonna tell you this because I was going to pretend it didn’t happen, but I really can’t pretend anymore. I’m going crazy,” Piper blurted out.
Annabeth took a sip from her milk carton, blinking slowly. “What?”
Piper debated how to say this for a second. Finally, she just spat out, “So hypothetically speaking, let’s say I’ve had a crush on… a mutual friend of ours.”
Annabeth put down her milk. There weren’t many candidates that fit into the description of their mutual friends. So it was safe to assume Annabeth knew exactly who Piper was talking about. “Okay…” she said slowly.
Piper just bit the bullet. “And, hypothetically, let’s say this friend and I… hooked up on prom night.”
For a few seconds, Annabeth stared at Piper, almost like she hadn’t understood her. And then her words registered. “I’m sorry, you what?” she choked, eyes going wide.
Piper grimaced. “We’ve been so awkward around each other since, and I have no idea what to do. I’m pretty sure I’m, like, in love with her.”
“Piper!” Annabeth yelled. A few people glanced their way but Annabeth didn’t notice or care. “What do you mean you were gonna pretend this didn’t happen?”
“We haven’t talked about it!”
“So talk about it!”
Piper frowned, her shoulders slumping. “What if she thinks it was a mistake? Or what if she wants to pretend it never happened? I don’t know which would hurt worse.” That was probably the case considering how much Reyna had been avoiding her.
“Okay, but what if she wants neither of those and she actually likes you too,” Annabeth said sympathetically. “You won’t know until you talk to her.”
“I know,” Piper sighed. “Okay, I have to go tutor, I just wouldn’t have any time alone to tell you later. Where’s Percy?”
“Making up a test,” Annabeth shrugged.
“Ah, fun,” Piper nodded, standing up from the table. “I’ll see you later.”
“Love you.”
“Love you,” Piper replied before bolting towards the tutoring room. She tried her best to focus, though it was kind of hard considering all that was on her mind. She wasn’t even sure how to bring it up to Reyna.
As it turned out, she didn’t have to.
Again, they all met at Annabeth’s car. This time, Piper made sure to take her time. Once they were pulling out of the school parking lot, Annabeth said, “I’m going over to Percy’s so we can’t go to mine. Do you guys want me to drop you off at your own places or…?” she trailed off.
“Yes please,” Piper said.
Annabeth glanced over at Reyna in the passenger seat. “Pipes, can I come to yours?”
Piper almost stopped breathing. She met Annabeth’s eyes briefly in the rearview mirror. “Uh, yeah, that’s fine,” Piper stuttered out, unsure of what to say.
“Okay, cool,” Annabeth said, ever casual. Piper was sure she was buzzing just as much as she was on the inside.
Just five minutes later, she was stopping at Piper’s and they got out of the car. “Bye, love you both!” Annabeth called.
“Love you,” Piper and Reyna replied. And then a painful silence followed, all the way until they were in Piper’s room. They both set their bags down.
“Your dress is still here, by the way,” Piper said, nodding to where the black dress had sat untouched for a few days.
“I know,” Reyna said. “Thanks.”
Another beat of silence. Reyna cleared her throat. “You’re mad at me,” she whispered. Not a question.
Piper sighed quietly, crawling onto her bed. Reyna sat on the end of it, looking more uncomfortable than Piper had ever seen her. She was normally a very relaxed, easy-going person. Not at the moment, though.
“Kind of,” Piper said. “I just… wanted to talk about it. Which you seemed very intent on not doing.”
Reyna winced, her eyes dropping. “I wasn’t sure what would happen if we did. I was scared,” she admitted. “But I think almost anything would be better than what it’s been like the past couple days.”
“Definitely,” Piper said. Another beat of silence and Piper decided to cut the shit - there was no way around this. “Okay, so. We hooked up.”
Reyna’s lips twitched into something resembling a smile at the bluntness of it. “We did.”
“Glad we got that out of the way.”
Reyna chuckled, and that was enough to lighten the mood for a moment. Piper smiled too, but it quickly faded when she asked, “Do you… regret it?”
For a terrifying couple of seconds, Reyna didn’t answer. She twisted her fingers together in her lap, considering the question. “No,” she settled on. “Unless it ruins our friendship. I would regret it a lot if it meant we weren’t friends anymore.”
“I don’t want to stop being friends,” Piper said quickly. “And I don’t regret it either.” Those sentences, those simple words, were enough to make the tension dissolve from Reyna’s shoulders.
“Good,” she breathed. “Neither do I.”
“Good.” Piper replied. They maybe could’ve left it there. Accept it and move on, just like Piper had thought about before. It still would’ve sucked to live with just the memory, but at least she would still have her best friend. But Piper didn’t want to leave it there. She wanted to know why.
“Why did you kiss me, Reyna?” she whispered. Had it been the alcohol? The tension? Had she done it simply because she wanted to?
Reyna studied her for a few seconds. “I know we aren’t playing drunk twenty questions anymore, but I suppose I should still be honest, huh?” she asked softly.
“That would be ideal,” Piper replied slowly.
Again, Reyna paused. Her eyes dropped to her hands. “Can we agree that no matter what, we’ll be friends and figure out a way around what I’m about to say?”
Piper was stunned for a second. What could Reyna’s answer be that she thought was bad enough to make Piper consider ending their friendship? Luckily for Reyna, Piper had zero intentions of ever getting rid of her, no matter what. So she said, “We’ll figure it out, Reyna.”
Reyna nodded, finally lifting her head to look at Piper again. She dug her teeth into her bottom lip, contemplating something. Finally, she shrugged halfheartedly and said, “It was you.”
“What was me?”
“You asked if I was interested in anyone. The girl I said I was into was you,” Reyna said, measuring each word carefully. “And I- I know it was stupid of me to kiss you. I just thought, well, I don’t know what I thought. Maybe I wasn’t thinking.
At the time,” she continued, “I thought maybe you could just… pretend I was whoever you actually like. But that obviously wasn’t fair of me, and I’m sorry. Now, though, I think it was really my own feelings winning out and my drunk brain telling me it was a good idea, which is even worse. And I mean, I know you said you don’t regret it, but I’m still really sorry.”
Reyna took a shaky breath, her hand curling into a fist. Piper was still in shock. The girl I said I was into was you.
It was her. Her.
Before she could really think, Piper was crawling to the end of her bed, cupping Reyna’s cheeks, and pulling her forward into a kiss. Reyna let out a surprised squeak.
“It was you,” Piper murmured, pulling back just long enough to speak. “The girl I was talking about, too.” Another kiss. “It was you.”
Reyna’s brain finally caught up with what was happening and her hands landed on Piper’s waist. She kissed back the same way their first kiss had been - honey sweet, slow and purposeful. “God, we are so dumb,” Reyna mumbled against Piper’s mouth, who let out a quiet laugh. She climbed into Reyna’s lap, hands and lips a little more insistent now. Reyna’s were too, her arms wrapping around Piper’s torso to press their chests together.
There was nothing but giddy happiness running through Piper’s veins when she pulled back after a few amazing minutes. “Should we still talk about this?” she asked, a little breathless. Reyna smiled at her, that dazzling display of teeth that made Piper want to forget talking and pull her back in for another kiss.
“I know I said I didn’t want to ruin our friendship, but…” Reyna trailed off.
“But calling you my girlfriend is all I want,” Piper finished quietly, hoping it wasn’t too forward. Reyna’s eyes lit up.
“Please, please, call me that,” she said with a quiet chuckle. Piper nodded, tilting Reyna’s head up for another kiss. The talking could wait once again. But it seemed the world had other distractions.
In her back pocket, Piper vaguely registered her phone buzzing several times. And then it began buzzing consistently, alerting her that someone was calling her. She ignored it for a few seconds before it became annoying. “Hold on, let me put this on do not disturb.”
As she pulled the phone from her pocket, she caught a flash of Annabeth’s face before the call declined since Piper had taken too long to answer. And then she saw the messages.
“Wait, I have like ten texts from Annabeth,” she said. Before she really got the chance to read them, Annabeth’s face was lighting up her screen with another call. This time, Piper accepted it right away. “Hey, sorry. What’s up, are you okay?”
The first thing she noticed - Annabeth was crying. The kind of crying where she was trying to hold it together, but not enough to be understandable. “Annabeth, take a breath. What happened?” Piper asked seriously.
Reyna’s attention was fully on Piper now, eyes shining with worry. Annabeth took a deep, shaky breath and got out, “You’re at your house, right? Can I come over?”
“Yeah, of course,” Piper said. “Where are you now?”
“I’m leaving Percy’s.” Her voice cracked on his name. Ice shot through Piper’s veins but she tried to push down any anger towards him until they knew more.
“Okay, I’ll see you soon, babe. Drive carefully, please,” Piper said.
“Okay,” Annabeth mumbled. Piper was about to ask if she should stay on the phone, but the call ended before she could. She pulled the phone away from her ear, looking at Reyna.
“What happened?” she asked.
“I don’t know, she didn’t say,” Piper answered. “She’s coming from Percy’s though, and she was crying. Like, sobbing.”
Reyna’s eyebrows furrowed, the same confusion falling over her face that Piper was feeling. “Well, shit,” she mumbled. “Let’s go wait for her downstairs. Hopefully we don’t have to kill him or anything.”
“Yeah,” Piper said quietly. “Hopefully.”