The Lake House// Short Story

The First Meeting

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There was an old photograph, in an envelope, on Piper's kitchen counter. Annabeth had sent it from her new apartment in New Rome. She told Piper that she'd been cleaning out some old photo albums, and thought Piper might like to have a reminder of the night her life changed.

5 Years Earlier

The music was beating in sync with Piper's racing heart. The lights, and music, the fuzzy feeling in her head left a warm feeling in her chest. There were people all around her, dancing, drinking, some were making out in the middle of the room. Piper danced and drank with them until she couldn't feel the ache in her chest. Before she knew it, she wasn't on the dance floor anymore.

Before getting hammered at the nightclub 'Elysium', Piper had been having an okay day. She woke at a pleasant time, having actually slept through the night. Her boss hadn't yelled at her, which was a win in Piper's book, and she went to her favorite Bistro for lunch with her father. All in all, she was good. But that didn't last. Piper was out of groceries at her apartment, which she shared with her roommate, Annabeth. She offered to go shopping for Annabeth, since she was still at the Architectural firm. Percy, Annabeth's best friend (and Piper's boyfriend) had tagged along because he was going to make them dinner that night.

Piper had known both her roommate, and her roommate's best friend since freshman year at NYU. Percy had practically lived in their dorm for the first two years of college. His excuse was always 'Annabeth is helping me study for an exam when she gets back from her classes' or ' Annabeth promised me food, so she's running to McDonald's for me.' Piper didn't mind his company. Oftentimes, he would help her study, or just keep her company after a bad day. After college, Percy kept coming to their apartment (Piper and Annabeth had decided to continue living together to deal with rent.). Piper didn't question it, since he was Annabeth's best friend. But after a year, Piper caught on to the hints of flirting they were doing, and Percy started hanging out with only Piper more often.

Now, almost a year later, they were about to celebrate their six month anniversary. However, Percy got called to the station for an emergency shift after they finished shopping.

"I'm so sorry, Pipes. We'll do something when I get off, okay. I promise." He said, and left Piper at the door with the multiple bags of groceries. Piper had gotten used to his emergency shifts in the five years that she'd known her boyfriend, so she didn't hold it against him. Percy worked at the fire department in their district of New York City. He loved his job, and dreamed of helping people since he understood what being a hero was. She knew he couldn't control the times that multiple fires burned at the same time and the fighters were stretched thin. She knew him well enough, and trusted him, to keep his word of making it up to her.

Piper carried all of the groceries into the kitchen, and put all the food away. She couldn't cook to save her life, and both of her cooks weren't here at the moment, so Piper did what she could. Which was to call her sister, Drew.

Piper and Drew weren't what you would consider close. They ran in different social circles, didn't visit their mother at the same time, and often Drew was just a plain bitch. But Drew knew how to get someone's mind off of their problems for a night, which is how Piper ended up at Elysium in the first place.

the next morning

Piper woke to a searing headache, and eyes blinded by the morning sun. She didn't remember a thing from the night before, or how she ended up... in a hotel. Oh shit, did she? Piper looked down at her fully clothed body. Oh, Thank goodness. Piper looked around the hotel room. There were two beds, one occupied by Piper, and the other completely empty, but unmade. She could vaguely hear the sound of a shower running past the pounding in her ears. Why did she have to get so drunk last night? And who the hell is in the shower?