Unreciprocated
🎀💗🌸💌
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Piper POV:
Today is the day.
I'm telling her.
I can't take it anymore.
Leo and Jason have been encouraging me for the longest time (thank the gods for them <3).
I sighed and pulled out my phone. My heart was heavy as I started texting.
"Helloooo Annabethhhhhhh :3" I texted
"Hii Pipes :)"
"Uhmmm I was js wondering if you wanted to meet up later today???"
"Yea sure :)"
"Okiee"
"Where are we going through?"
"Idk"
"A new cafe opened in town. Wanna go there ??? :)"
"Yes!!! Ok text you later byee"
"Byee"
Phew. It went well.
🎀💗🌸💌/🦉🩶🗡️📚
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Third person POV:
Piper was waiting at the Aphrodite cabin door at about 5 PM.
Annabeth walked out wearing a casual outfit: her signature loose ponytail and a comfy jacket with jeans.
Piper decided she wanted to wear a skirt and a baggy shirt with some accessories.
"We should go now." Annabeth smiled and they went over to the cafe.
On their way there, Annabeth held Piper's hand as to not lose each other between the busy streets of New York. (Piper was dying-in a good way)
Once they sat down and ordered, the pair continued talking like normal.
Their drinks arrived, and after taking a few sips, Piper decided it was time.
The air in the cafe hung thick with the smell of burnt sugar and desperation. Rain lashed against the windows, mirroring the storm brewing in Piper’s chest.
She had rehearsed this moment hundreds and thousands of times before. Why couldn't she do it? Was she just gonna be a disappointment for everyone again?
She took another deep breath.
She’d imagined a dozen different scenarios, each ending with a vastly different outcome. But all of them, every single one, started with the same truth. She was in love with Annabeth. Deeply, unequivocally, painfully in love.
"I need to tell you something.." Piper muttered under her breath. Her voice was barely above a whisper, her words clung to her throat.
"I'm listening.."
A few seconds of silence.
"I'm in love with you, Annabeth. I'm sorry I can't pretend not to anymore." She buried her face into her arms.
The silence that followed felt even louder than the rain. Piper watched Annabeth’s face, searching for a flicker of surprise, of understanding, of anything. But there was nothing. No shock, no disgust, no pity. Just… a kind of quiet knowing.
"I know."
Piper froze.
"What?"
A small smile traced Annabeth’s lips. "I've known for a while, actually. You’re not exactly subtle, Piper." A soft chuckle escaped her. It wasn’t mocking, but it still stung.
The wind was knocked out of Piper’s sails. All the carefully crafted scenarios, the potential rejections, even the distant hope of reciprocation, they all crumbled into dust. She was left with this strange, unexpected acceptance.
"How… how long?" Piper asked, her voice barely above a breath.
"For a few weeks now, I saw your 'test letter' and.. I read it."
"But… you’re dating Percy," Piper said, her voice laced with confusion. Percy was Annabeth’s boyfriend, a kind, funny, and utterly oblivious guy. (Seaweed Brain)
"Yes," Annabeth said, her voice gentle. "I am."
Silence lingered once more. "I am with him because I chose him... "
"And I love him."
Piper's heart ached. She knew the answer before she even asked. This wasn't a plot twist, it was the unyielding reality.
"I'm not upset, Piper," Annabeth said, her sharp stormy grey eyes meeting Piper’s with a genuine warmth that made the ache in Piper's chest even more profound. "I... I care about you deeply. But it’s not… it’s not that way for me. And I’m sorry you have to go through this. You're my best friend."
Best friend. The words echoed in Piper's mind. That's all you ever are to people, you disappointment.
She took another deep breath.
"You don't have to be sorry, you know. It's my fault for falling in love with you."
It was true, wasn’t it? Annabeth hadn’t asked for this. She hadn’t led her on or encouraged her feelings. She’d simply existed, brilliant and captivating, and Piper had fallen like a moth drawn to a flame.
"I just… I needed to tell you," Piper said finally, the weight of her confession, surprisingly, feeling lighter now that it was out in the open. "And, I'm sorry. I hope it continues working out..you and Percy I mean."
Annabeth reached across the table and placed her hand over Piper’s. Her touch was warm and comforting, a silent acknowledgment of the emotional turmoil Piper was enduring. "Thank you for telling me," Annabeth said, her voice soft. “I really do value our friendship.”
Friendship.
Friendship.
Friendship.
Friendship.
Piper's hazel eyes meet Annabeth's stormy grey eyes, her genuine affection. She knew Annabeth was right. She always was. With a pang of sadness, Piper realized something.
This was the reality, and this, this complex and bittersweet friendship, was all they could ever be.
The rain had stopped by now and the baby blue sky was now replaced by a watercolor pallet of a sky, indicating the sunset.
And maybe.
Just maybe. Piper thought.
Maybe in another Universe, she actually loves me back.