BLOODSHOT . . . piper mclean

49.

THE FIRST NIGHT was fucking stupid.

Coach Hedge spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the passageway yelling, "Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smack you back to Long Island!"

He banged his baseball bat against a cabin door whenever he heard a noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it impossible for anyone to go to sleep. Eden figured this was the most fun the satyr had had since he'd pretended to be a gym teacher at the Wilderness School. Well, at least he didn't bang on their door, despite the fact that Eden and Piper were in the same bedroom. Together. Two best friends in a room.

"God, does he really have to be that fucking annoying?" Eden walked out of their bathroom, rubbing her eyes. "God, I hate enhanced hearing."

"You're the one going to sleep with my charmspeak, I can't do it to myself." Eden could just feel her girlfriend rolling her eyes.

Eden hummed and turned down the lamps and turned off the led lights, staring at the bronze beams on the ceiling. A different bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness they wished. The lantern's sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across their walls.

"Get the fuck in, I'm too warm," Piper whined, pulling one of her arms out toward Eden.

"I'm coming, jeez," Eden snorted, putting the led light remote down and getting into the bed, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. "You're so needy."

"Cause you spoil me a lot," the love child hummed, nestling herself against Eden. "Go to sleep now, love."

And who was she to deny that offer?

It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before she woke to the breakfast bell.

"Yo, Piper, Eden!" Leo knocked on their door. "We're landing!"

"Landing?" Piper sat up groggily, Eden's arm still around her as she buried her head into her pillows.

Leo opened their door and probably poked his head in.  "You decent?"

"Leo!" Piper exclaimed.

"Fuck off, it's too early." Eden groaned.

"Sorry." She could just see his grin, despite that all she could see were pillows. "Hey, nice Power Ranger jammies."

"They are not Power Rangers! They're Cherokee eagles!"

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, we're setting down a few miles outside Topeka, as requested. And, um . . ." He paused. "Thanks for not hating me, about blowing up the Romans yesterday."

Piper rubbed her eyes. "That's okay, Leo. You weren't in control of yourself."

"Yeah, but still . . . you two didn't have to stick up for me."

"Are you kidding? You're like the annoying little brother I never had, and my girlfriend's best friend. Of course I'll stick up for you."

"Uh . . . thanks?"

From above, Coach Hedge yelled, "Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!"

"The fuck is he on about?" Eden turned toward the door, opening her eyes.

"Holy Hephaestus," Leo muttered. "He really needs to work on his shipspeak. I'd better get above deck."

By the time Eden had changed, done her makeup and skincare, spent a little break on her guitar, and went with her girlfriend to grab food from the mess hall, she could hear the ship's landing gear extending. They climbed on deck and joined the others as the Argo II settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers. The oars retracted. The gangplank lowered itself.