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“So…” Annabeth wrung her hands anxiously, avoiding making eye contact with the young woman across from her. “I hear you’re a, uh, matchmaker? You pair people up?”
The young woman nodded and shot Annabeth a small grin. “If you’re looking for love, you’ve come to the right place!” She groaned softly. “Sorry, my mom makes me say that.”
“Your mom?”
“Yeah, she’s Aphrodite.” She motioned at the electric pink, curlicue neon sign that hung in the window—it read Aphrodite’s Love Parlor. “I’m Piper. Piper Mclean.”
“Nice to meet you,” Annabeth squeaked.
“Hey, there’s no need to be nervous. This is gonna go great.” She took out a clipboard and glittery pen and started writing. “Do you have any experience with magic?”
“Kind of? If it counts, I mean. I can’t do any, but I’ve fought monsters. I have magical heritage.”
“It does count!” Piper scribbled something on the clipboard. “Full name?”
“Annabeth Chase.”
“All right, first, I need some basic information. Who’re you looking for?”
“Hm?” Between anxiety about going to a matchmaker for the first time, worries about her midterms tomorrow, and exhaustion from studying all night, Annabeth was having a difficult time concentrating.
Not to mention Piper's sweet, silky grin—she kept looking Annabeth up and down, almost like she was checking her out.
But that’s ridiculous, Annabeth thought forcefully, She’s just doing her job.
“Ladies? Gents? People who aren’t either?” Piper supplied, chewing on the tip of the pen. “Anyone? Something specific, maybe?”
“Oh. Anyone's fine, I think. I’ve only dated boys before, but I’d be fine with anybody, I mean, I think.” This felt ridiculously awkward. “I, um, I’ve found girls attractive, so…yeah.”
Piper nodded seriously, not even a bit judgmental as she jotted that down. “Okay, and just to make sure—are you a girl?”
“Yes?”
Piper wrote that down, too.
“Are you looking for a relationship that’s romantic, platonic, sexual, or all three?”
Annabeth felt a blush creeping up her neck. “All three. Um. I think.”
Piper nodded thoughtfully. “That’s all the basics for your binary profile. Everything else will be transmitted through the spell. I’m assuming you haven’t done this before? Love magic, I mean.”
Annabeth shook her head. “No, but Grover—that’s one of my good friends—found his girlfriend with a matchmaker, and he convinced me to try it.”
“Well, there’s no need to stress,” Piper assured her, holding out a hand. “It’s quick, painless, and guaranteed to match you with someone you could spend a happy life alongside.”
“You mean, my soulmate?”
Piper gave another smile—this one was plastic and barely reached her eyes, and Annabeth prepared herself for another Aphrodite-approved speech. “No, I’m afraid that soulmates are simply a myth. There are thousands of people you’re compatible with—love magic just helps you find an attractive single in your area.”
Annabeth laughed dryly. “Let’s do it, then.”
She clutched Piper’s hand and shivered as a burst of freezing air shot up her arm. It was quickly replaced by a soft, warm sensation, like a hot shower, and Annabeth watched in awe as swirls of pink light traveled up her arm and back down again, burning a name into the survey.
“Wow.”
“I know, right?”
Piper peered down at the name and squinted, biting her lip. “Huh…that’s not right…”
Annabeth craned her neck, ignoring the ball of anxiety forming in her stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“The first name was a fluke—that happens sometimes,” Piper assured her, and took Annabeth's hand again. She repeated the quick charm, and Annabeth was again enthralled by the pink magic. Another name sizzled onto the paper, a line striking through the first.
“Is this one right?”
Piper's eyes lit up, sparkling green and gold, and she put on her customer service voice. “Yep! Looks like we’ve found you a match!”
“I’m sorry,” Annabeth said awkwardly, “I had a lot of fun, but I think I’d prefer to just be friends.”
Rachel looked embarrassed and leaned out of Annabeth's space, blushing crimson. “Ah, okay, that’s fine. No pressure.”
“I am sorry.”
“No apologies needed, Chase. I had a nice time, and I can always use new friends!” she gave Annabeth a quick, crooked grin and a shrug, then hurried back down the drive towards the waiting cab.
Annabeth fumbled with her keys and stepped into the apartment. Rachel had been great—gorgeous, funny, and a real visionary with a knack for psychic magic, which Annabeth found insanely interesting.
They’d all been great, really—she’d been on seven perfectly matched dates, all with wonderful guys and girls, but she never clicked. At this point, she was worried that there was something wrong with her. She was so convinced of this fact that the second she noticed her roommate, Percy, sitting on the couch, she threw herself across his lap and voiced her concerns.
“Wise Girl,” Percy laughed, running a hand through her messy hair, “You’re not broken. You’ve never cared this much about romance before.”
“It’s not that I need a partner, Seaweed Brain,” she groaned, ignoring his slightly teasing tone, “It's just that Piper found me seven ‘perfect’ matches, and—”
“Piper?”
“She’s the matchmaker who’s been helping me.”
“You’re on a first-name basis with your matchmaker?” he teased.
“Don’t be a jerk, we’re friends because I’ve been there seven times, and I still can’t seem to fall for any of my dates.”
“Well…maybe she’s just bad at it.”
Annabeth leaped off the couch in a fury, glaring daggers at him. “Don’t even think about insulting her, Percy, or so help me I’ll—”
“Hey, hey,” Percy said softly, raising an eyebrow. “I didn’t—um, Annabeth, you don’t think…”
Whatever he was implying hit her like a bullet, and suddenly all she could think about was Piper's perfect smile, her choppy hair and colors changing eyes, and the delicate, gentle way she’d handled Annabeth's concerns, her increasing frustrations as she returned to the office after every failed date.
She cursed under her breath and sat back down next to Percy, groaning loudly. “I’m so screwed.”
“Yeah, you are. Why don’t you sit here and figure your stuff out, and I’ll make some mac and cheese, or whatever.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Are you gonna use the blue—"
“Yes, I’m gonna use the blue pasta. Blue mac and cheese fixes everything! It’s like you don’t even know me at all.” He shook his head in mock disappointment. “Oh, Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth…”
She rolled her eyes, then threw a pillow at his back as he disappeared into the kitchen.
Piper's face fell as she watched Annabeth enter the parlor and make her way to her table.
“I suppose the date didn’t go as well as you hoped?” she said softly, giving her a sympathetic smile.
That gorgeous, wonderful smile…
“Rachel was amazing,” Annabeth admitted, shoving her thoughts down, “And so were Reyna, Leo, and all the others. I could’ve been happy with any of them. You’re wonderful at your job, Piper.”
She averted her eyes and rubbed at the back of her neck. “Thanks, but I wish I’d found you a perfect match.”
Annabeth sighed. “What I came to say is, I should’ve been happy with one of them —any one of them—but I kept turning them all down, and I think it was… just so I had an excuse to see you again.”
Before Piper had a chance to process that, Annabeth took in a sharp breath and blurted out, “Are you single?”
Piper turned beet red and pulled out Annabeth's survey, which listed eight names—her seven dates, and the fluke at the beginning—and handed it to her. “I wasn’t going to let you see this,” she admitted guiltily. “I thought that I was just projecting my feelings onto you through the magic. I thought you were cute and sometimes that screws things up and makes my name appear. But I guess we're matches, after all.”
Annabeth stared, wide-eyed, at Piper’s name scratched out on the paper, and her heart fluttered in her chest. “Percy was right, blue mac and cheese does fix everything.”
“What.”
“It’s nothing. Are you free tonight?”
“Are you joking? I’d miss my own wedding for this date.” Piper scrunched up her nose. “Wait, no, that’s not—”
Annabeth leaned across the table and grabbed her by the shoulders. Piper let out a surprised gasp before Annabeth kissed her, long and sweet, eyes scrunched up tight.
“How about right now?” she breathed, eyes glittering. “My mom owes me an afternoon off anyway.”
Annabeth nodded vigorously, “Now. Now is fine.” And let Piper pull her in for another kiss. Butterflies had exploded in her stomach and were making their way down into her shoes, her skin shivering everywhere Piper touched.
“Hey, miss?” someone said nasally, tapping Piper on the shoulder insistently. She broke the kiss to glare at him as he continued, “I had an appointment at two-thirty, and it’s two-thirty-three—”
She stood up, yanking Annabeth with her; wrapped a soft hand around her waist, and pressed a sloppy kiss to her cheek. “Sorry, I’ll have to take a raincheck. This matchmaker's office is closed until tomorrow. Go talk to Drew.”
“Hey, I’m busy—”
“Don’t care!” Piper yelled, and Annabeth burst into giggles as she let herself be dragged from the stuffy, glitter-covered office and out into the streets.