"Miss Piper, the boss would like to speak with you."
Helena called out to me as she held the phone to her chest. I sighed as I imagined what Percy was feeling about what I was doing at the moment. I knew he wouldn't stop me, but I still thought of what I could promise to do for him just in case he refused.
I grabbed the phone from Helena and took a deep breath. "Hey baby! How are you? I miss you so much," I said sweetly.
I heard Percy chuckle before speaking, "Don't be cute with me, Piper; tell me what's happening."
I sighed and told him, "As you know, I met up with Drew today, and she brought Lacy and Sherman with her. We were talking about me modeling for us when Lacy mentioned a necklace of ours that she has been keeping an eye on."
"Okay," I heard Percy say.
"So, I got an idea to take them to the store so she could try it on, but when I saw how happy she got when she was wearing it, I decided to just give it to her as a gift," I explained.
"Okay, I understand Lacy, but what about the others?" Percy asked.
"I saw Drew looking at a pair of earrings, and Sherman was looking for an anniversary gift for his girlfriend. So, after I let Drew and Lacy try on the ones they wanted, I thought, why not just give those to them as gifts?" I again explained my reasoning.
"Why did you feel like that?" Percy inquired.
I thought for a minute and told Percy the truth.
"I feel like, as a sister and as a senior camper, I've neglected them. At least this way I could provide for them. I know it sounds materialistic and vain, but it's how I feel," I confessed.
"If I can make them happy by giving them gifts, then I will," I stated.
I heard Percy sigh on the other end as I waited for his decision. "I understand; to be fair, it's not like I was going to stop you. I just wanted to know why. You know you can do whatever you want. Remember, Piper, what's mine is yours to do as you wish," Percy said.
Hearing Percy's word brought a stab of heat through my body. I felt myself blush and desire to course through my veins. I suddenly wished I was with him.
"And I am yours to do as you wish," I told Percy, wishing to convey with words what I want to do with action. The low possessive hum I heard from the other end told me my message was received.
"Thank you for understanding, Percy. I promise I'll make it up to you when I get back home," I promised.
"I look forward to it, Piper. I miss you. I wish you were home," Percy replied.
"Soon, in the meantime, make do and have fun with the four other girls you have with you! But make sure you rest up for me for when I return," I teased him, knowing full well I'm going to pay for it later.
"When you get home, you won't be leaving the bedroom for days. I promise you that, Piper," Percy almost growled out in response.
I again felt my blush rise as I shivered in anticipation. "I can't wait," I said, but I knew I had to.
After a moment of silence, Percy asked how the meeting with Drew went.
"They went fine; Lacy has grown so much, and Sherman was also there as a bodyguard," Piper told Percy of how the talks went, laughing a bit about Sherman. "Also, Drew has been teasing me about getting a rich boyfriend, which is just annoying."
I heard Percy laugh, which was just irritating. "Stop laughing! It's not funny!" I hissed at him.
"Sorry, but you have to admit that she was right! You did get a rich boyfriend. Well, fiancée now, really," he said. I sighed. "That's not the point," I said.
"The point is that you shouldn't let yourself be affected by what other people think about us. As long as the people that matter to us know the truth, then what they think won't matter," Percy explained.
I smiled, being reminded of one aspect of Percy that I fell for. "Enough of that; did Drew like her gift?" Percy suddenly asked. "She's rejecting it," I told him.
Percy was silent for a bit before he said, "Drew?" he asked, confused. "Rejecting jewelry?"
"I think she's rejecting it because she doesn't want me to get in trouble with my rich boyfriend," I said in a teasing manner, earning me another laugh from him.
"Pass the phone to Drew, Piper." I was taken aback by his words. "What?" I asked.
"I want to talk to her; make sure she accepts your gift," he explained.
"Are you sure? She will recognize your voice, you know," I clarified.
"That's fine; she probably already knows about me from when Malcolm told camp about meeting me." I listened to him make sense of his decision, and I couldn't find anything to refute his statement.
"Okay, if you're sure," I agreed.
I placed the phone against my chest and called Drew over, who frowned in confusion but still came over.
"My fiancée wants to speak with you," I told Drew when she reached me. I saw the trepidation in her eyes as she took the phone from my hands. I watched closely as her expression changed from subdued curiosity and worry to shock and disbelief as she heard Percy's voice over the phone.
"Percy?" I heard Drew ask quietly, and I could imagine Percy laughing on the other end.
I just stood by the side as Drew asked Percy questions after questions about where he's been. A smile forms on my lips as I imagine Percy dodging every one of them or giving answers that are vague enough to cause frustration to the one asking.
Then I felt irritated again, as I figured that Drew would heap those questions at me when she failed to get answers from Percy. I sighed as I readied myself for another wave of difficult questions coming my way after their conversation.
After about 5 minutes, Drew handed the phone back to me with an incredibly annoyed look on her face, and I just knew I was in for a long conversation later.
"That went well, I think," I heard Percy say with a chuckle after I took the phone back. I giggled, and his enjoyment of the situation infected me too.
"I think so too, though I'm sure Drew will be asking me more questions later," I replied.
"You can tell her what you think she can handle," he suggested. "I will, but not all of it," I agreed.
"Well, I have to go now. It seems I will be having guests here in a while. We need to prepare to welcome them," he tells me.
"That should be fun!" I teased him.
"I will see you soon, Piper," he tells me. "Yes, soon," I reply.
I was about to hang up when I heard Percy call out over the phone, "I love you, Piper!" loudly. I just knew he did that, knowing that Drew would hear him.
Smiling, I returned his statement with one of my own.
"I love you more!"
I was sure I was blushing madly when I finally cut the call. Still sporting a smile, I returned the phone to Helena, thanking her for her assistance.
"Thanks, Helena, and sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble at all, Miss Piper!" Helena said with a smile of her own.
I nodded, then steeled myself as I turned back towards Drew, who was by now looking at me with an unreadable expression. "Explain!" she demanded, almost shouting at me in her shocked state.
Based on her mood and how she's acting right now, I knew Percy intentionally riled her up just so she could direct her annoyance at me. I promised myself right then and there to do my best to get back to Percy when I got home.
"Later," I told Drew as I noticed the other two demigods also staring wide-eyed at me. I sighed, as I knew there was no escaping now.
Sherman's eyes were wide as he asked, "Percy?" while Lacy stared at me with shock visible on her face.
I decided to answer the question I knew was foremost on their minds first. "Yes, I'm with Percy now." I was expecting Drew to speak up at that, but once again, Lacy beat her to it, asking, "With Percy, as in, you two are." I cut her off and confirmed what she was asking about.
"Yes, Lacy, I'm with Percy that way." I finished showing her my engagement ring.
"How?" Lacy pressed on, determined to get answers. and I sighed again before I gave an easy answer they could understand.
"Remember when I said that my mother promised me safety and the possibility of falling in love again?" I asked. They all nodded in response.
"Can you think of anyone that can provide me with that safety better than Percy?" I followed up, waiting to see how they would respond to that question.
"Okay, yes, Percy can keep you safe, but love? When did you fall in love with him?" Drew was the one to ask this time.
"I admit that at first I didn't see the appeal Percy had; I even thought of him as a troublemaker when I first met him," I explained. "But all through our journey to defeat Gaia—his actions and his devotion to Annabeth—the way he kept fighting even after what happened between them—" I smiled as I remembered those days.
"Well, it's safe to say that by the time he disappeared, I'd developed a bit of a crush on him, though of course I didn't act on it. I was with Jason back then."
"So, you also had a crush on Percy?" Lacy asked, blushing a bit. 'Huh, so Lacy also had a crush on him,' I thought.
"You and everybody else," I heard Sherman mutter, causing all three of us girls to look at him and smile.
I thought that was going to be enough, but I was wrong. "Alright! everybody had a crush on Percy back at camp, even some of the guys did! But what I want to know is how YOU fell for him!" Drew insisted, even going as far as pointing a finger at me. "And don't try to talk your way out of answering Piper! I'm the same child of love as you; I can feel the depth of your feelings for him." Drew was now standing right in front of me, eyes locked on to mine. "So, I ask, how?"
Drew was heaving by the time she finished her tirade.
I took a few moments to think of how I would respond: "I lived with Percy ever since the day I disappeared, Drew; every day was spent with him. Watching him, learning things about him, understanding him as a person, knowing him as an individual," I started.
"I saw how he took every day as a blessing, how he never took a single moment for granted, and how he cherished every second he got to spend with those he cared about, including me."
"And this was all before we even got together." At this point, I knew this was going to be a long conversation. So, I motioned for Drew and the rest to follow me to a small seating area the store had in one corner. I led them all and took a seat. I waited until we were all seated, then I continued.
I glanced at them all before starting again. "As I spent more time with him, I learned more about him—things that made him unique, his little quirks, small things that made him more human, like how he would tilt his head when concentrating on something, how his hands would fidget when he's not doing anything, how he loved skateboarding, and how much he enjoyed surfing." I was smiling widely at this point.
"Then I learned and witnessed the side that made it seem more divine than some of the gods," I continued.
"I saw the very earth shake and tremble with his anger. I witnessed how his eyes would reflect the state of the seas. I felt the power of the entire ocean whenever he would embrace me." I'm sure I was blushing at this point, but I went on.
"I used to think that the stories I heard about him when I got to camp were just that—stories. Myths like the ones we read about in mortal books. Then I met him, and I was, well, for lack of a better word, disappointed."
"Here was Percy Jackson, the guy the entire camp has been talking about. Slayer of legendary monsters. Saviour of Olympus! He who fought Titans and Gods and lived to tell the tale!"
I'm on a roll now.
"The one guy who turned down immortality for his love! I built him up in my mind as some godly man. A perfect, strong, muscled person. More god than man."
"Then I saw him at New Rome, and what did I see? A kid a few years older than me with wind-swept black hair, tattoos on his arm, and a smirk on his face. I pegged him as a troublemaker right that instant!"
"I questioned all the stories I heard about him. This punk for a kid couldn't have done all of that, I told myself. I even thought that Jason looked more like a hero than him, with his blonde hair and his serious demeanor."
"But like I said earlier, as I got to know him on the quest to stop the giants, I saw him for who he truly is. I saw how he would take the burden to himself just so he could make sure that the rest of us wouldn't have to."
"How he would sacrifice himself to keep us safe."
"How he would fall into the deepest pits of hell for the one he loves."
"Other things too, things that he was forced to do while they were in Tartarus, things that have not been made known to anybody else at camp."
"How even after what he found out about him and Annabeth—how broken he was—he still chose to fight for us. Then after the war, when he used his well-deserved reward to make the lives of everyone better, I knew that he was more than the stories told about him."
"He was better, just better."
"And now, after having lived with him for a few years, I now know that all those stories are true." I stopped to take a deep breath. I noticed Lacy and Drew looking at me, mesmerized by what I was saying, while Sherman was just listening intently.
"Living with him, I started to know him more as an individual—not as Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon, Twice Saviour of Olympus, but as Percy Jackson, the loyal, sarcastic, sexy son of Sally Jackson." I was sure my smile was at the widest they've been all day. I stared at Drew as I finished.
"And most importantly, I learned that he is Percy Jackson, the man I chose."
"That's how I fell for him, Drew," I told Drew after my impromptu speech.
Drew was speechless; I was sure she was pondering my words.
Once again, it was Lacy who broke the silence first with a question.
"And he makes you happy?" she asked in a small voice. I answered truthfully, "Yes."
I saw a small smile form on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes as she followed up her question.
"In every meaning of the word?" Her tone and the blush on her face made me know the true meaning behind her question. Lacy couldn't look me in the eyes after that question, as I was taken aback by her brazenness.
'It seems our little sister is growing up,' I thought.
"Lacy!" I heard Drew start to chastise our sister, and I decided to interfere.
"It's ok, Drew; Lacy is a growing girl. It's only natural for her to be interested in this kind of thing," I said, making Lacy look up at me with a grateful smile.
"She's not old enough to know about those things!" Drew snapped back.
I shrugged and replied, "She's got the same mother as we do, Drew. It's inevitable."
Then I looked at Lacy and gave her the answer to her question.
"Yes, Lacy, Percy makes me very, very happy!" I stated.
I watched as Lacy's eyes widen and her blush deepen as she got her desired answer. I smirked at her reactions while Drew was still fuming beside her when we heard a cough.
"Ehem." We all looked at Sherman, whose face was also a bit red, his eyes looking decidedly away from us girls. We giggled as we were reminded of where we were.
"There are other people present," Sherman said. causing me to look around and see that the rest of the store's staff were also listening to what I just said. I smiled at them, then turned to Helena and told her.
"Make sure they keep their mouths shut, Helena, or else," I told her, letting my word sink into them.
"Of course, miss Piper! I'll make sure they know what the consequence will be if they dare speak of what they overheard today," Helena promised with a cold smile.
I nodded as I noticed all the staff quickly turn away from us and act busy. I was about to speak when Drew opened her mouth.
"As happy as I am with you, Piper, I have to ask. Isn't Hazel also with Percy? At least isn't she also living with you? Malcolm said he saw her with Percy," Drew asked. I honestly thought they would ask about this particular detail earlier.
"I cannot speak about how Hazel came to live with Percy; her circumstances are her own. But yes, she is living with us. We also live with three other nymphs, and Hazel has been living with Percy longer than I have, you know," I explained, hoping that Drew would stop.
"But is she with him like you are?" Drew insisted, dashing my hopes of ending this line of questioning.
"I cannot and will not answer that, Drew." I decided to just halt her questions. making sure they know I won't be answering anymore.
Drew was silent for a while, looking as if she was thinking of an argument that would get me talking. But in the end, she just sighed and let the matter go.
"Malcolm, Clarisse, and Will are on their way to meet with Percy, you know," she informed me.
I replied, "I heard you telling him over the phone earlier; I'm looking forward to knowing how that meeting will go!" I said with a smile.
"Yeah, me too," Drew said in a small voice. before she seemed to remember something as she looked at me with a serious expression.
"Leo misses you," Drew said seriously.
Speechless, that was how Drew's words left me. The memories of my oldest friend filled my mind. Guilt over my sudden disappearance overwhelmed my emotions, as I feared how Leo would react if and when he heard what we talked about today.
"How is he?" I asked after gathering my courage. "Getting by," Drew answered, making me wonder what she meant by that.
I suddenly remember that I have no idea what's happened to my friend for the past 3 years. Is he okay? What is he doing with his life? Is he seeing someone? Where has he been?
I know nothing about any of this.
'What a crappy friend I was,' I thought ashamedly. I could have reached out at any point, or I could have visited after I got with Percy. I don't regret my decisions, but I could have done better.
I was about to ask for more information when Drew asked, "When can he visit you?"
I thought for a minute before answering. "I'm going back home in two days, so I don't know," I said as I began thinking about how I could get to meet with Leo.
Before I even had the chance to speak, Drew blew up at me in anger, surprising me.
"What do you want me to tell him, Piper? That I saw his closest friend and that she still can't or won't meet with him? That won't work!"
Lacy was holding on to Drew's hand by the time she stopped.
"I never said I didn't want to meet up with him," I told Drew before I looked down. "It's just that I promised Percy that I would be home in two days, and I won't break my promise to him. I also still have some job commitments to finish in the two days I have left here in New York," I told her.
"I was thinking of a way to make this work!" I explained.
"Don't think for a minute that I don't want to meet Leo. He's my oldest friend. But Percy is my priority now," I declared.
"I think the only way we can meet is if he will go and visit us at our place, but that would mean flying out to us," I mused. I really could not think of a better way to meet.
"That won't be a problem for him," Sherman interjected with a smile. I looked at him questioningly, and he answered. "He rebuilt Festus; he can just ride on it to get to you guys."
'Impressive! ' I thought, truly one of the brightest minds alive today. I smiled proudly at what my friend had achieved.
I looked around and spotted Melissa standing near Helena on the counter. I waved her over and asked for a card when she reached us. She handed me one, which I passed to Drew, who looked at it closely.
"Pass that to Leo and tell him he can call me on that number," I told Drew, who nodded while still studying the card.
"Can we also call? I mean, we at cabin 10," I heard Drew ask in a small voice while not making eye contact.
I smiled and answered. "Of course, Drew!"
I was about to say something else when Sherman cut me off. "I'd hate to interrupt, but we need to be going by now, Drew," he said, looking at the clock over the counter.
Drew frowned as she checked the time while Lacy whined beside her. "Do we have to?" said Lacy petulantly. Sherman just smiled and nodded at her.
Drew stood up, and I followed. "Don't think this is over, Piper; I'll get you talking about everything soon!" she told me, waving the card at me. I immediately regretted giving her a way to contact me. I just smiled at her. keeping my thoughts to myself.
I walked over to the counter and grabbed the boxes that I left there. Then I walked back to the group and handed it to them. Drew accepted her with a small smile, while Lacy was almost bouncing in happiness.
When I handed the last box to Sherman, he looked at it with shock on his face. He tried to decline, but I reminded him that I had already informed Percy about it and that he would be disappointed if he refused our gift.
"Don't make me use my Charmspeak on you!" I warned him jokingly and he relented, taking the box from my hand.
"Thank you, Piper, and please thank Percy for me as well," Sherman said as she stuffed the box into his pants pocket.
"I will, and let me know how your girlfriend liked it!" I told him with a smile.
As one, we all went out of the store after bidding farewell to Helena. Once we were out of the building, I asked them how they were going back to camp. Drew said that they planned to take a cab back to the Empire State Building, where Argus was waiting for them.
I decided to take them there in the car.
When we got to the Empire State Building, Sherman got out first and opened our doors to let us out. I gave each of my sisters a tight hug.
When I hugged Drew, she surprised me with what she whispered in my ear. "I have an idea of what the price you paid was."
I pulled away, but she held me by my arms. She looked at me straight in the eyes and asked
"Are you really happy with him?"
"Yes!" I answered. letting my eyes convey more than words could.
Drew studied me for a bit before nodding, then she let me go. "We'll continue our talks later, Piper," she told me as she stepped back. gesturing with her hand that she'll call me.
I nodded at her and waved to the others before I got in the car again. Melissa looked at me in the rear-view mirror with worry in her eyes.
"I'm just tired, Melissa," I told her. which was not a lie. A lot has happened today, and I was ready to rest.
Melissa nodded and drove to the hotel.
I closed my eyes and wished I was back at home.
In bed with Percy.
His arms wrapped around me.