memory (hiatus)

Chapter 22: Flashback, Mashbake

Piper was running. For some reason, she was hurrying towards the beach. Oh right, she loved the beach. She loved the warm sand and the sensation of being in the water. 

She threw off her wispy white cover up, probably something she might get in trouble for. But oh well. As long as it didn't hit anyone, then it was fine. She undid her messy ponytail, letting her dark hair cascade down her back. 

Piper wasn't sure about her swimsuit yet. Yeah, it was okay. A white two-piece, covered in blue flowers. Her main issue was that it was a consolidation present about the one year anniversary of Jane and her dad's relationship. 

Piper was so lost in her thoughts that when she bumped into someone, she was thoroughly embarrassed. 

A pink flush spread over her cheeks, intensifying when she saw how handsome the guy was- not that it mattered. 

"Oh, sorry!" Piper said. 

He laughed, showing off a beautiful smile. "It's fine."

He returned to the girl he'd been talking with. Something about both of them looked familiar, from his mesmerizing blue eyes and blond hair to her glossy braid and dark eyes. They both wore purple. He had on purple swim shorts, and she had a one piece purple swimsuit. In fact, all around them, several other kids wore purple too. And they had some sort of tattoo, with several lines. Piper figured they were a summer camp or something. Either way, the water awaited!

Piper was crying, huge tears that rolled down her face. Gone again. They were both gone again. Piper slowly got up, wiping her tears, when a glint caught her eye. 

Piper opened the box. When she found all the notes and gifts she was tempted to call Annabeth or Lacy, but they were both off at camps, so Piper figured it wasn't the time to bother them. 

Instead, she got a chauffeur to drive her to the mall. She did have her driver's license, but she probably would get in an accident if she was driving, so chauffeur it was. 

She ended up at the spa, getting a summer manicure. She liked the teal nails, mostly because they felt very summery and even though they didn't quite match her floral romper, well, who cares.  

On her way out, she bumped into a person for the second time this week. It was especially embarrassing that it was the same guy. 

"You again!" he said. 

"What are you doing here?" Piper said. 

"Um, Reyna comes every week, mostly to pay her respects." He pointed to the girl she'd seen him with at the beach. 

"Paying her respects to who?" Piper was being nosy, but honestly she didn't care. 

"Her former guardian, Circe."

Circe, didn't that name seem familiar? Where had Piper heard it? Maybe it was the true crime documentary? Piper wasn't sure, but she was sure she'd heard it somewhere. 

Before Piper could say anything though, Reyna came up, flipping her dark hair, and the guy followed her. Piper shook her head and left. 

Piper was tired, and well, the beach called to her, so here she was. When she saw the boy again, she wasn't even surprised. 

"How do I keep running into you?" Piper said. 

He shrugged. "I don't know. Um, okay, this is kind of awkward, but will you be my date to a party?"

"Sorry, what?" She barely knew the guy.