Season 2, Episode 10 of I Can't Count The Reasons was originally going to explore Annabeth's internal journey questioning her sexuality.  Basically, the plot was that she was going to this year's Valentine's Day Dance with Reyna, a transfer student who she believes to be a lesbian.  Meanwhile, Piper sees that this is Annabeth's attempt to figure out her sexuality because she has experienced this herself.  At the end of the episode, Annabeth catches feelings for Reyna, who is offended that Annabeth thought she was a lesbian.  Their friendship is tainted, but only because Annabeth and Reyna are going through the exact same thing.  It was a really fun concept that I was determined to bring to fruition, but execution was way more difficult than I anticipated.  

Here's my first attempt at S2E10:

S2E10 (Annabeth's POV)

It's not every day Annabeth makes a new friend. Yes, friendship. That is exactly what this is.

It's not like Annabeth sat behind that gorgeous raven-haired girl in her political theory class on purpose.

Or like Annabeth took a leap of faith today and sat next to her instead of behind her. That means nothing. It means absolutely nothing.

"Hey, did you get the notes from yesterday?" Annabeth asks.

"Weren't you here yesterday?" she asks.

"Yeah, but uh, I have a lot of trouble paying attention. ADHD. You know."

"I don't know."

"Oh, uh, sorry, I'll just-"

"No," the girl says. "Sorry, that was rude. Sit with me." She pulls up a blank Google Doc on her laptop. "We could share notes. What's your email?"

Annabeth gives the girl her email. "A for Annabeth," she adds. "And R is for?"

"Reyna Avila-Ramirez Arellano."

"It's nice to meet you, Reyna Aviler... uh..."

"Just Reyna is fine," Reyna laughs softly.

"Thank God." Annabeth copies her notes from the previous class onto Reyna's document.

"So where are you from?" Reyna asks.

"San Franciso. You?"

"Puerto Rico."

Annabeth lets out a low whistle. "Long way from home, huh?"

"I miss my sister terribly. It's hard to meet people here," Reyna says.

"I find that I meet all the best people here by chance," Annabeth says.  

That was a trainwreck and a half, so I remedied it by rewriting the entire thing and then some through Piper's POV.  It worked until it didn't.  Unfortunately, I realized that the final project would reference the unabridged version of S1E13 to a point that would leave readers too confused for this to work.  In previous chapters, I haven't shied away from referencing it, but this chapter would have relied on my readers having actually read what really went down during Capture The Flag.

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Here's what happened when Piper told the story:

S2E10 (Piper's POV)

There are so many pros to still having an undecided major during sophomore year. Piper's taking classes that interest her just for the hell of it. ASL? Why not? Intro to microbiology? It was a terrible decision, but now Piper knows that STEM is not the route for her!

International relations sounded like a fun course to take. Piper's great at debating, so when she heard that she could join Model UN for extra credit, she was all ears. Plus, it's really interesting!

Well, the course content is cool, Piper supposes, but that's not really why she looks forward to the class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"Oh, you dropped your pencil." Annabeth picks a sparkly mechanical pencil off the floor and hands it to the star student of the class, Reyna Avila-Ramirez Arellano.

"That's... that's not my pencil..." Reyna says.

Annabeth tosses the pencil back on the floor and sits down next to Reyna. "What are you doing tomorrow night?" she asks.

Reyna shrugs. "Isn't everyone going to the Valentine's Day Dance?"

"I guess I do get a free t-shirt if I go to one more dance."

This is so incredibly painful. Piper's not really sure what's going on here. Sure, she always got a vibe from Annabeth, and Reyna has a Human Rights Campaign sticker on her laptop, but to her knowledge, neither of them is actually out.

It's like they're expressing some sort of curiosity... oh, wait.

That's exactly what's happening.

"I haven't been to a dance yet," Reyna says, twirling some hair that fell out of her braid.

"They're kind of tacky," Annabeth says.

"Ah."

This couldn't get more painful.

"Woah, guys," Piper says, "I just had the craziest idea."

Annabeth and Reyna turn around to face Piper.

"Annabeth, you should take Reyna to her first New Rome dance!"

They look at each other and then back at Piper.

"I'd be happy to go with you," Reyna says, "but only if you're comfortable with it."

Annabeth taps her fingers against the back of her chair. "No, I mean... I'm totally cool. To go to the dance. With you. Another girl."

"Cool."

"Cool."

"Hello, brats. Your professor is being hunted down by the government for engaging terrorists, so you're stuck with me for today," says Dean D.

The group of girls sitting behind Piper groan.

Dean D opens up a package of books and starts passing them out. Oh, so he's actually going to teach.

"I've brought you all one of the most influential books about international relations. Read with care. You'll be submitting a paper."

Reyna raises her hand. "Excuse me, Dean D, but what is the paper supposed to be about?"

"The book. Duh."

"Yeah, but-"

"Essays are due on Monday. Please actually read the book. None of that Sparknotes stuff you kids are using." Dean D drops a copy of the book on Piper's desk.

"We're reading Red, White, and Royal Blue?" she asks. "That's awesome!"

"This book is not about international relations," says Sherman Yang.

Piper flips through the book. She has dyslexia, so it'll probably be a slow read, but it looks more interesting than her international relations textbook.

"Great. Class dismissed." Dean D cracks open a Diet Coke and waves the students away.

"Piper!" Annabeth grabs Piper's shoulder and practically slams her against the wall.

"Careful, Annie. Don't want Reyna getting the wrong idea."

"I'm pretty sure you already gave her the wrong idea! Help me fix this!"

"What? You don't want to take the most drop-dead gorgeous woman in the school to the Valentine's Day Dance?" Piper asks.

"Piper, we both know that I'm not a lesbian. It wouldn't be fair of me to lead Reyna on like that."

Piper waves her hands around frantically. "Woah, Woah. Time out." She pushes Annabeth into a study bubble and closes the door.

Annabeth's eyes widen as Piper takes a seat on top of the table. For some reason, Annabeth seems super-duper COVID conscious. She's keeping her hands in the air, avoiding making contact with anything.

"Okay," says Piper. "First off: you never explicitly said you were taking Reyna to this dance as more than friends."

"I guess you're right."

"And second: honey, you might be... you know..."

"I really don't think so."

Piper rolls her eyes. "Keep telling yourself that. Seriously, just think about it as a favor to a friend. Reyna's new here. She needs someone to show her not to drink the punch and how to do the 'Cotton Eye Joe' dance."

"I really don't see Reyna doing the 'Cotton Eye Joe.'"

"Just go to the dance. Get excited."

Annabeth sits back in her chair and looks around the room, almost in disgust. "Yeah, okay. What's the harm in going to a dance with a lesbian friend? That's never stopped him from flirting with me."

"Woah, who are we talking about now?" Piper asks.

"Nobody. Well, somebody, but you wouldn't want to know." Annabeth stands up. "I uh, I wouldn't sit on that table if I were you. Or lean against that wall, or sit in that chair, or uh... you know what? Let's get out of here."

"Annabeth! What is that supposed to mean?"

Annabeth shrugs. "It's not important anymore. I'm going to the dance with Reyna. Help me pick out something to wear, will ya?"

I figured that this introduction was getting too confusing already, so I needed to end it before it got worse.  

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This next outtake comes from S2E13: Jason Passes Out.  I had this accidental Pipabeth/Jiper love triangle going on that I really enjoyed writing, so unfortunately (or fortunately) this Percabeth moment didn't make the final cut.  Who are you guys rooting for?  Pipabeth or Jiper?

Annabeth blows some hair out of her face. "Let them go and you can have me."

"Oh, I'll have you..." Percy buries his face in her neck even though he's wearing a mask over his mouth.

"Oh, guys not here!"

"Just because we know doesn't mean we want to see it!"

"No... just no."

Percy wakes up from his trance. "Sorry, I got caught up in a moment."

Annabeth clears her throat. "Let's pocket this Percy for later."

Piper can't say she hasn't done some roleplaying in her life, but you don't see her going around telling everyone about it.

Instead of reprimanding Percy and Annabeth for what they may or may not do after this game of paintball, Piper decides to ask what everyone's thinking: "What is the meaning of this?"

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Anyways, hope everyone's liking the story so far!  Don't forget to vote/comment/share if you think I deserve it.  I like to hear feedback from readers because it helps me figure out what you're liking, and what you might want to see in future stories.  Stay tuned for Season 3!