memory (hiatus)

Chapter 20: Homecoming

"Thank you," Lacy said, returning her attention to putting in her earrings.

A few minutes later, after her nails had been painted red and gold, Piper went to an empty bathroom to put in her earrings and necklace. She needed to get out of there. She needed to get away from them, and their suffocating questions. 

On the way, she ran into Rachel, who had not changed into her dress yet. They both fell to the ground.

"Um, sorry," Piper said. 

Rachel helped her up. "No problem."

Rachel brushed past her, as if she was in a hurry to get away from her. Something wet brushed her arm as Rachel ran away. A bright blue splotch of paint covered her elbow. Piper frowned. How did that get there? She looked at Rachel, who was turning around the corner. Her arms were covered in paint splatters. 

Rachel painted, even here? Forgetting all about her jewelry, Piper went where Rachel had come from. 

She found a room titled 'Rachel's guest room.' She felt a bit bad for snooping.... but her curiosity won her over. 

Piper opened the door and found a normal looking room. It had green walls, a white sheeted bed, and a wooden table. Piper shook her head, cursing herself, and started to turn away, but a splatter of color caught her eye. 

Piper looked back, and found a green blur peeking out of the closet. She opened the closet, and gasped. The closet was filled with beautiful paintings. She recognized a few of Annabeth, one that looked like an older version of Rachel, one of Drew, a blond guy with a scar, one of Percy, and one of Hazel. She traced one that kind of looked like her.

"What are you doing?" Piper dropped her hand, as Annabeth came into the room. "Oh my..."

"Well I saw this paint splatter, and it kind of led me here," Piper said. 

"Is that me?" Annabeth said. "So Rachel did keep painting."

"She stopped?" Piper was confused. "Did painting cause the panic attacks?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Painting calms her down. At least, it used to."

Piper opened her mouth to ask another question, but Annabeth was already leaving. Piper shrugged and left the room. Her questions would have to wait until later. 

About an hour later, they all waited outside for their dates. Piper had called a limo, courtesy of her dad, so when a black car arrived, she gestured Hazel towards it. 

"We have everything, right?" Hazel said. 

"Oh, wait, our corsages," Piper said. She brought out the flowers she's made. "I know it's not a lot, but, um here you go."

Hazel pulled her into a hug. Piper smiled. Having friends was amazing. 

A scream sounded through the air. They burst apart, as a car hurtled toward them. Piper tucked into a flip, and threw her knife at the car, before she really realized what she was doing. The tire she'd hit deflated, and part of the limo with it. She felt worse when she recognized those electric blue eyes. 

"Jason!" Piper rushed up to him. "I'm sorry."

He laughed, and Piper's heart fluttered. Stupid heart. "No problem. I can call another."

Percy rolled out of the car, and was helped up by Annabeth. "Well, at least you have better aim."

Piper grimaced. "Sorry."

"Well, now I can convince Annabeth to ride the motorcycle," Percy said, flashing a grin. 

Annabeth sighed, and said, "Fine, we'll get Guido."