THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES [J. GRACE]

THIRTY-FIVE

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ THE HOUSE OF MEMORIES ༉‧₊˚.[THE HEROES OF OLYMPUS]

p i p e r
chapter thirty-five: i have some awesome fake memories of my awesome fake ex-boyfriend

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PIPER DREAMED she was on the wilderness school's dorm roof.

the desert night was stiff, and cold, but she'd brought blankets in preparation of the bitter weather. with jason grace cuddled up next to her, and the thrum of her heartbeat going over a million miles per hour, it was safe to say she wasn't in the need for even an ounce more of warmth.

the air burned with mesquite, and the thick scent of sage. on the horizon, the spring mountains loomed overheard like jagged, black teeth, the dim glow of sin city pulsed behind them. the stars had been so bright that night, piper had to coax herself to go through with the evening, concerned that the light pollution would wash out the meteor shower. she absolutely loathed the idea of the honey blonde hair to assume she'd dragged him up to the roof under some lame, false pretense, which she totally had, but that was completely different.

despite her utter relief, the meteors didn't disappoint for a single moment. a new one streaked across the sky almost every minute; a line of white, yellow, or blue fire. piper was positive her grandpa tom would have had some beautiful, yet elaborate cherokee myth to explain them to her, but, piper couldn't find it in herself to care. after all, she was busy creating her very own story.

finally, under the lit sky, jason wove their fingers together, and pointed as two meteors skipped across the atmosphere simultaneously, and formed a glowing cross. "wow," he gaped at the sky, electric blue irises appearing a deeper color as his eyes rounded in childlike wonder. he blinked, a slow smile spreading on his lips as he met piper's admiring stare, "i can't believe leo didn't want to see this."

"actually," piper said, forcing her tone to be casual, though she was acutely aware of the mild widening in her eyes at his statement, "i didn't invite him."

for a blonde, he caught on quite quickly, a bit of a sly smile curling his on lips, "oh, yeah?"

"mhm," she hummed, "you ever feel like three's a crowd?" piper wondered aloud, trying to gauge where his head was at. it was out in the air that she'd invited him out on the roof for some alone time, now. but, it all depended on whether jason...how he felt in return.

there was a beat of silence, and the only thing she could hear was her heartbeat echoing in her eardrums. butterfly wings tickled the walls of her stomach before it all melted away with a little assured from jason, "yeah," he admitted to her, looking a bit guilty. "like right now. you know how much trouble we'd get in if we got caught up here?"

"oh, well that's easy," she told him, a raise of her eyebrows, "i'd make something up. i can be very persuasive. so, you wanna dance, or what?"

he laughed. the glint of his pearly whites in the starlight, and the grin so wide, the piercing blue of his irises disappeared, a concoction that had piper absolutely stuck in the moment, appreciating the art before her. "with no music, at night, on a roof top," the honey blonde listed of, as if trying to point something out. finally, he caved, "sounds dangerous."

"i'm a dangerous girl."

"that, i can believe."

he stood with an ease piper found herself unsurprised in — she viewed him as absolutely perfect. there was an old fashioned charm about him as he offered his hand. they slow-danced a few steps, but it quickly turned into a kiss. too busy smiling into it, she almost couldn't kiss him again.