Piper felt like singing and dancing on the rooftops. Annabeth Chase, the smartest and most beautiful person in the world, had agreed to go on a date with her.
Piper had asked Annabeth earlier this week, and the blond girl had seemed shell-shocked, but she said yes nonetheless, so that was a win on Piper’s part. Their date was in two hours, and Piper needed to get ready. She facetimed her best friend to help her decide on clothes.
Leo answered after a few rings with a, “Hey, Piper!” Piper smiled at Leo.
“Hi, Leo.”
Leo frowned. “You’re worried. Why are you worried?”
Piper tightened her smile. “I have a date later and-” Piper was cut off by Leo screaming and the image of him blurred and went dark. Piper could still hear him screaming in the background. “Leo? Are you there?” Piper tentatively asked once the screaming subsided.
“One sec Pipes!” Yelled Leo, his voice muffled. “My phone went under the couch.” The dark screen shook violently, then Leo appeared within the frame, upside down. He flipped it right side up. “There we go!” Leo said cheerfully. “You finally asked out that cute blond girl?”
Piper visibly blushed. “You did!” Leo yelled. “Praise be to the gods!”
“Praise be to me,” said Piper. “I’m the one who asked her out.”
“I’m so happy for you,” said Leo. “Is that why you called?”
Piper shook her head. “Actually, I was hoping you could give me some advice on an outfit.”
Leo grinned. “Where are you going?” Piper told him. Leo scratched his head. “Wear your short black dress, your orange denim jacket, and those orange and black striped knee socks.”
Piper pictured the outfit in her head. “Okay, that’s actually genius. What about shoes?”
Leo wrinkled his nose in thought. “How much taller is she?”
“Four or five inches?”
“Black combat boots. Not the normal ones, the ones with the cool colored patches.”
Piper wanted to hug Leo. “What would I do without you?”
“Dress horribly. Thank me later, bye Pipes!” Leo blew her a kiss and winked.
Piper said goodbye and ended the call. She quickly dressed in the clothes Leo had suggested, and wanted to smack herself with how good she looked. Suddenly realizing something, she quickly dialed Leo again.
The second he picked up, Piper said in a rush, “What about hair and makeup?”
Leo rolled his eyes. “Your jacket has a collar; put your hair in a messy bun.”
Piper nodded, mentally taking notes. “And for makeup?”
Leo thought for a minute. “I wouldn’t wear foundation, maybe just some concealer. Highlight your cheekbones and the bridge of your nose. That should do it!”
Piper thanked him immensely, then hung up. It took more tries than she would like to admit to get a nice bun. She then dabbed on the makeup Leo had suggested.
After a moment of thought, Piper added a simple necklace with a gold owl charm. She checked the clock. Yikes! She had to meet Annabeth soon.
Piper grabbed her bag and keys and rushed out the door. Normally she would take an uber, but it was a nice day and she had enough time to walk, so she did.
Piper arrived at the areed location with minutes to spare, so she sat down on a nearby bench to wait for Annabeth.
At 3:30 on the dot, Annabeth arrived, looking extra sharp per usual. Annabeth was wearing a chunky gray turtleneck with gray skinny jeans and black sneakers. In terms of accessories, she wasn’t wearing much, but she had added a dark gray messenger bag and a silver necklace with a small dove charm to her retrotire.
Annabeth glanced around, looking for Piper. Piper got up and walked over to Annabeth. When Annabeth saw Piper, she smiled and walked over to her.
“Hello Piper,” said Annabeth warmly. “How are you today?”
As they made small talk, Piper started walking in the direction of their destination. Annabeth followed at her side, and when they got there, Piper halted suddenly.
“We’re here,” Piper said nervously. She hoped Annabeth would like the place.
Annabeth looked up at the billboard hanging on the building. “Cats, Coffee, and Literature,” Annabeth read aloud. “Wait, cats coffee and literature?”
Piper nodded, full of nerves. “I always see you with a book, and I know you like cats, but if you aren’t interested in this place we can go somewhere else-” Piper said in a hazed rush.
Annabeth cut her off. “This place seems amazing, Piper. Thank you for thinking of me.” Piper let out a sigh of relief. This date was going to be the end of her.
Annabeth held open the door and gestured for Piper to enter. “I’ve actually been wanting to go here for a while, but haven’t had the time,” Annabeth said as the two girls walked up to the cafe counter. “It’s almost like you read my mind.”
As they got closer to the front of the line, they discussed drink orders. Annabeth was dead set on a black coffee, and Piper said she wanted to order a hot chocolate with cinnamon. Piper had put a lot of thought into what she wanted to drink beforehand, and she had worried that Annabeth might think drinking cocoa was childish.
Annabeth, however, had not judged her and simply asked if Piper was a marshmallow person or a whipped cream person. Piper had said marshmallow, and Annabeth winked at her and said she had a surprise for her.
They were nearing the front of the line now, only two more groups of people were in front of them. As one of the groups moved out of line to wait for their order, Piper leaned over and whispered “Hey, do you mind ordering for both of us?”
Annabeth nodded. “No problem!” As she said this, it was finally their turn to order.
“Hello, welcome to Cats, Coffee and Literature,” said the barista, an old woman who looked to be in her mid-seventies. “What can I get started for you?”
“A large black coffee and a large hot chocolate with cinnamon, please. And leave some room in the top of the hot chocolate if you can, please.” Annabeth instructed. Piper dug around in her purse for her wallet, but Annabeth extended her card and said that this was her treat. The barista nodded to Annabeth and said their orders would be ready in a bit, and Piper gave the blond girl a curious look.
“Why the extra room?” Piper asked as they stepped out of line.
Annabeth winked again. “You’ll see. What kind of books do you like?”
Piper thought. “I like fiction, mostly. What about you?”
“I like reading about history and nonfiction,” Annabeth said. “I also like mythology.”
“Me too!” exclaimed Piper as their order was called. “What pantheon?” She asked as they made their way over to their drinks.
“Mostly Greek,” said Annabeth as she picked up both drinks and handed Piper’s to her. Their hands brushed as Piper took the drink, making Piper’s heart flutter. “Norse and Egyptian too, but that’s mostly because my cousin is really into Norse myths. Where do you want to sit?”
“Maybe over by the window?” Asked Piper. Annabeth nodded, and they strolled over to an unoccupied two-seated table by the window.
“What about you? Favorite pantheon or myth?” Annabeth asked as they sat down.
“I like Greek, but lately I’ve been doing some reading on Roman mythology too. It’s quite interesting.” She took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Now are you going to tell me why you asked the barista to leave extra room in my drink?”
Annabeth set her bag on the table with a noise that implied it was full of heavy objects. She pulled out a bag and brandished it like a knife. “Mini marshmallows.” Annabeth slid the bag over to Piper, who picked it up and grinned.
“Marshmallows! Wait, why do you have marshmallows in your purse?”
Annabeth shrugged. “Why don’t you keep marshmallows in your purse?”
Piper pondered this as she removed the lid to her drink and dumped marshmallows in. “You have a good point,” She said, stuffing a few in her mouth. Annabeth laughed at Piper talking with her mouth full and ate a few marshmallows herself before putting the treat back in her bag.
As they talked, their drinks depleted until they were gone. “Shall we go browse books?” Annabeth asked. Piper said sure, and they threw their cups in a garbage can and walked over to the designated bookstore section. People and cats roamed about, reading and doing cat things.
The two girls hit up the mythology section first. As Annabeth thumbed the spines, an abnormally large calico cat padded over and rubbed against Piper’s ankles.
“Aw!” Piper exclaimed as she scooped up the cat to hug her. The cat purred and rubbed the side of her face against Piper’s chin. Annabeth turned to see Piper holding a cat wearing a collar that claimed her name was Beef.
“I think her name is Beef,” said Annabeth, stroking the cat's head.
“Beef?” Said Piper, fake reeling. “I’m vegetarian!”
Annabeth giggled as another two more cats rubbed up to her. She plopped down criss-cross-applesauce style so the cats could crawl into her lap, and Piper did the same. The cats in Annabeth’s lap were twin orange and black kittens named Soot and Destruction. When Annabeth told Piper this, Piper had said it was obvious which was which, because everyone knows orange cats are creatures of destruction.
The kitties eventually got bored and walked away, leaving Annabeth and Piper to continue looking at books. Piper found two books from authors she liked, and Annabeth found about eight books she wanted to buy.
They stood near the checkout talking about the books they found. Suddenly, Annabeth saw another book she wanted to buy, and she thrust two of her other books into Piper’s hands saying “Hold this!” Annabeth made a beeline for the book she wanted, taking the rest of her books with her.
Piper looked down at the books in her hands and an idea struck her. She walked up to the purchasing counter and bought both her books as well as the ones Annabeth had given her to hold.
Just as Piper was stepping away from the counter, Annabeth reappeared, holding the book she had her eye on. “Sorry for leaving you like that,” Annabeth puffed. “I’m all ready to check out now.”
Piper smiled. “You go ahead, I made my purchase.” Annabeth nodded, and gestured for Piper to give Annabeth the books belonging to Annabeth she still held. “Oh no, I paid for these too.” Piper tapped Annabeth’s books. “My treat.”
Annabeth practically put her hand over her heart. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I wanted to. Besides, you paid for my drink,” Piper said.
Annabeth went to pay for her remaining seven books. “Fine, but I’m paying next time!” Annabeth called as she stuffed her books into her messenger bag. Piper handed her the books she held to put in there too, and put her books in her bag as well.
Annabeth held the door open for Piper again as they exited the building. “Wait, next time?”
Annabeth shrugged. “I had a good time and I think you did too. It’s only logical that there would be a next time. Are you free next Saturday?”
Piper smiled. If she wasn’t, she was now. “Yes!”
Annabeth adjusted the strap of her bag. “Great. Since you planned this date, I’ll plan the next.”
“I look forward to it,” Said Piper. This day felt like a dream come true.
“Me too,” said Annabeth. She looked both directions, then leaned over and gave Piper a quick peck on the cheek. “Goodbye, Piper,” she said.
Piper said goodbye, or tried to, her brain was kind of mush at this point. As they walked their separate ways, Piper put a hand to her cheek. Had that really just happened?
It’s safe to say, Piper was very much looking forward to next Saturday.