the one and only (piper!)

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth was in need of some serious best friend time, and Piper was one of the only people who could really fulfill that need for her. She arrived at Camp Half-blood the night before and had slept in her siblings cabin. First thing in the morning, she got dressed and made her way to the Aphrodite cabin where her dear friend, the cabin leader, stayed.

She approached the fancy cabin and knocked lightly on the door. It was seven thirty am after all, and Pipers siblings were probably still getting their beauty sleep. She would have waited, but she needed to talk to Piper, and she needed to talk to her now if possible. Piper wasn't like the stereotypical daughter of love. She used love as a force for good, for strength. Love was the strongest thing in the world, after all. She led her cabin well, Annabeth respected her and trusted her.

@pipermclean

[Deleted]

When Piper heard the knocking, she groaned and rolled over in her bunk. Technically, she was awake. However, officially she would not be awake until 8:00, maybe 8:30 if she could get away with it. It was simply one of the most important unofficial rules in the Aphrodite cabin. You didn't wake Piper McLean up before 8:00 unless you wanted to deal with a very grumpy and slightly homicidal daughter of Aphrodite.

Thankfully, one of her siblings, Kayla, decided to answer the door. Piper opened one eye and glanced at the entrance to the cabin but was unable to make out who it was. Unfortunately, she was also able to spot Kayla looking back directly at her. Piper immediately shut her eye. Maybe if she just pretended to be asleep, her sister wouldn't try to wake her up and-

"Piper?"

Crap. "Can you tell them I'm not here?" Piper whispered, keeping her eyes shut.

"It's Annabeth Chase."

"Annabeth?" Piper's eyes immediately flew open, and she flung herself out of her bunk before racing for the door. How could Annabeth be here? Had she said anything about visiting? Maybe Kayla had confused her for someone else? She was one of the newer campers, after all...

But no, standing in the doorway was none other than-

"Annabeth!" Piper whisper-shouted. She tackled the daughter of Athena in a hug. "I missed you! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" She took a step back and closed the door so that they wouldn't be disturbing her sleeping siblings. "Is everything alright?" Piper glanced over her best friend, who seemed to be in one piece. "How've you been?" She was about to spit out another question when she realized that she probably should give Annabeth some time to answer her previous questions.

[annabeth chase]

Piper looked... well, she looked like it was early in the morning and Annabeth had just woken her up. But, even with bedhead, Piper still looked as stunning as ever. One of the perks of being a daughter of beauty, after all. Annabeth smiled widely as Piper said her name, wrapping her arms around the brunette as well for the hug.

As Piper closed the door, Annabeth spoke, "I've missed you too. So much," she shook her head, trying to regain her wits in order to put two sentences together. Was she all right? Not really. How had she been? "I'm... I'm okay. I wasn't planning on coming but... there's something I need to talk to you about. Something serious," her voice was lowered, and a hint of horror shown through.

"Can we walk?" Annabeth asked, gesturing to the camp behind her. She needed to be in camp right now, needed to be moving enough to get the blood flowing back into her brain.

[Deleted]

Something serious. Piper's smile died from her lips, and her eyebrows knit together as she frowned. There was something in Annabeth's eye that sent a chill down Piper's spine. It looked a bit like fear, which was concerning considering that Annabeth was one of the bravest people Piper knew. If Annabeth was scared, then it had to be something really bad. Or spider-shaped, but no one traveled 3000 miles just to discuss spiders. Not even a child of Athena.

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Piper crossed her arms to ward off the chill of the early morning and the conversation. Worn t-shirts and shorts did not make for the warmest outfit. As they started away from the cabin, Piper tried to keep her voice light. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

[annabeth chase]

Annabeth felt a chill go up her spine as she prepared to talk to Piper about the... unfortunate things that had been happening to her and Percy the last few days. "It's... well, the nightmares for one," Piper would know that Percy and Annabeth had been struggling from serious nightmares ever since they returned from Tarturus. Sometimes the nightmares took weeks off, even a month without them had gone by in the past. "They're back, but worse than ever I mean..." Annabeth was shaking now, unsure of how to go on.

How could she explain all of this? She must have sounded totally crazy already. She stopped, running her fingers through her hair and biting her lip and she turned to Piper. "Percy and I haven't seen each other in two days. Every time we... every time we fall asleep we have the same dream. That..." just get it out, just say it. She turned away again. "He drowns me in poison. Percy. The same dream every time. Someones messing with us," she turned back to Piper.