The Hate Between Us (Percabeth&Solangelo)

Epilogue 2

Piper POV, four days before graduation:

I was having a meal with my Father. Tristan McLean had found time in his impossibly busy schedule to see me, his own daughter, and I suppose he wanted me to be proud of him for that. We sat at the dining table, perfectly clean because it was hardly ever used, and watching over us – hanging over the ornate, cold, fireplace – was a picture of my Mom. A Vogue portrait from the nineties, with the title "The Power of Love". I had to admit I adored the photo.

But, as for the company, I was a little less fond. I had been building up the courage all night to talk to my Dad about college, but during the starters he had spoken all about his upcoming movies, and the mains had been all about how he was trying to get time off to watch my graduation ("much to my manager's outrage, of course").

"...Anyway to your graduation I was thinking of wearing my Givenchy – you know, the suit I wore to the Met-"

"-Dad can we talk?" I said nervously.

"... and afterwards we've been invited to a little party at Gaga's, you know, nothing too big, only a few hundred people, but it will be a night worth celebrating and she's been asking to see you for ages-"

"-Dad I need to talk about something important," I tried to say a little louder.

"... I can get Ralph design a dress for you; have you look the part. It will be a very important event, all these cameras on you-"

"-Dad I don't want to go to this stupid party!" I moaned.

He looked down, choosing to focus on his dinner rather than me. I felt my face flush with anger. Don't hold back, not now.

"How do you like the veal, Pipes?" My Dad asked into the growing silence. "You're hardly touching your food."

"Well I am vegetarian," I said coldly. He sat back angrily – I didn't know whether it was at himself or at me.

"I didn't know, I'm sorry," he grumbled awkwardly. "Is this a recent thing?"

"Oh, about ten years now," I replied, pushing the meat around my plate with a fork. "But whilst we're discussing things you don't know about me; I suppose there's a lot that needs to be said. Let's see, how much time do we have? There's so much you don't know-"

"-Piper," he said, almost warningly.

"I broke up with Jason a while ago, actually, not that you noticed," at his surprised look, I felt confident to carry on. "Yeah, I actually have a girlfriend now – her name's Shel, and she makes me very happy. I'm pansexual, by the way, which is a conversation most parents have with their daughters but I'm happy we didn't. What else? Oh, I haven't starred in the school play this year – not that you had any time to watch it anyway. And I quit the cheerleading squad, because it really wasn't for me – I ended up joining the debate team, and my Gods was I good at it."

"When did this..."

"It's okay, though, how could you know?" I spat. "You're not around much."

He rolled his eyes. "Is this about work, again?"

"What's new? Isn't everything in your life about work."

"You know I'm an important man, Piper, I have a duty as an actor to-"

"-What about your duty as a Father?" I heard myself scream. Furiously, I dropped my knife and fork down on the table. He winced at the sound of the clattering. "Gods, Dad, I am your daughter. Me! Or have you forgotten?"

"Don't suggest such a thing," he looked offended. "Of course I know! You're the spitting image of your Mother, you know! And have I not been a good Father? Have I not taught you everything I know about acting? Have I not booked you audition after audition? Have I not paid for the most expensive coach in New York to teach you how to sing? Have I not invited you to every red carpet event – which you have so carelessly rejected, by the way, every time!"