There air was heavy with dew, the dense humidity clinging to her skin like a skintight suit. All around her, the wilderness was whispering, the green leaves and pungent odor of wet earth flooding her sense. Annabeth closed her eyes and breathed in her surroundings, overwhelmed by the purity, the simplicity.
"This sucks."
Thalia Grace trudged towards her, the knee high ferns yielding to her almighty strides as she pushed her way through the undergrowth. Annabeth's best friend was not dressed for the occasion; tight black jeans and a thick hoodie of the same color weren't the best hiking clothes, especially this time of year. Annabeth personally didn't understand how her best friend wasn't being cooked alive under all that clothing. She smiled, watching on with a certain measure of pity as Thalia stumbled on a tree root and nearly fell.
"This was your idea," she said, casting her eyes back to the beauty that surrounded her, "and I'm enjoying myself. It's nice to get out of the city." Thalia grumbled something incomprehensible as she finally reached her blonde counterpart, breathing heavily. She stared down the trees and the undergrowth that encompassed them, as if they had personally affronted her, electric blue eyes burning with distaste.
"This was my cousins idea," she said bitterly, "he said it would be fun. We're definitely going to need to have words about what the definition of fun is."
Annabeth laughed, the sound of her voice ringing out through the towering trees. "I think your cousin has a better grasp on that than you do," she replied teasingly, "now come on, we don't have much further to go." Thalia gave her a horrified look, her mouth hanging open.
"You mean there's more?", she said incredulously, throwing her arms into the air in a gesture that was exasperation personified. Annabeth turned away, laughing, and bounded up towards the bluff with the grace of a gazelle, knowing that Thalia would follow. Sweat trickled down from her brow, and her hair was thoroughly soaked by the humidity that seemed to swallow her up as she climbed higher and higher. The green and red of the trees seemed to blur and combine as she continued her uphill charge, the grey blanket of clouds above whispering a promise of impending rain. There. A small wooden marker driven into the ground signified the location of the bluff overlooking the bridge. Annabeth turned around to look for Thalia. Finding no sign of her, a small pang of panic resonated through her heart.
"Thalia?" She called out into the green depths amassed around her, straning her head in search of her best friend.
"Trying to lose me, huh?", came a distant response. Annabeth's face turned upwards at the discernable note of extreme annoyance evident in Thalia's voice, even from a distance. Chuckling to herself, she took the last three steps up to the bluff and turned, her heart jumping as she suddenly realized that she wasn't alone. There, sitting with his legs dangling off the precipice, sat a boy. He had a shock of black hair, that contrasted nicely with his tan skin. Even from here, Annabeth could tell that he was well built; his broad shoulders stretching the green shirt he wore across his back. He sat in complete silence, staring out over the San Francisco bay, taking in the beauty of the golden gate bridge.
Annabeth, not to be deterred by this boy's presence, moved closer to the edge. Even after living in California for her whole life, the beauty of the bay area still left her breathless. The Boy shifted, moving to push his hair back and pulling out an earbud in a sweeping, seamless motion.
"Beautiful, huh?", he said, his deep voice filled with melancholy. He kept his back to her, his gaze still lost in the waves and the fog that rolled out before them. She didn't answer immediately, her eyes shut, drinking in the sounds of the ocean, the wind that blew through her golden hair, the birds calling to each other in the tree's. "Yes," she replied, her voice almost a whisper.
When she opened her eyes, the boy was standing in front of her, smiling softly at her. With a start, she realized he had to be the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her entire life. His eyes were a piercing shade of green, his jaw line angular and his cheekbones high. The faintest trace of dimples were outlined on his tanned face as he met her eyes. She felt that breathless sensation sweep over her again as he held her gaze for what felt like an eternity. Suddenly, he looked away, casting his eyes back out to the ocean. Annabeth felt as though she'd been struck by lightning as she watched him breeze past her, meeting her eyes one last time as he went.
And then he was gone. Annabeth resisted the urge to chase after him and ask for his name: instead, she decided that she'd acted like a little girl enough for a day. She walked to the bluff, staring down over the edge at the ocean that raged against the stony shore, hundreds of feet below where she stood. She stayed like that, absorbed in her surroundings, until the heavy breathing of her out of shape best friend tore her from her immersion. Thalia glared at her as Annabeth sheepishly turned to meet her gaze, her electric blue eyes filled with annoyance. "Have you just been standing here this whole time? That anxious to be by yourself?", she huffed, plopping herself down next too where Annabeth sat. Annabeth opened her mouth, about to tell her about the boy, but she stopped herself at the last second. It felt too personal; Thalia would certainly just laugh at her and tell her that she was going soft or something. Instead she grinned at her best friend before pinched her nose, and pretending to gag.
"No," she said through a faux expression of disgust, "you just smell horrible."
Thalia huffed, turning away.
Hey all. This is the new story I'm gonna be working on for a little bit: please be kind, this will be the first percy jackson fan fic that I've ever written. Loved the books, hated the movies, and due to the fact that PJO actually was the thing that got me into fan fiction, it will always have a special place in my heart.
Neither of my other two stories that I'm currently working on are being abandoned, but rather put on hiatus until I enjoy writing them again.
This chapter would've been longer, but I really wanted to just get it out and see what people think before I write more.
Please Follow and Review if you've got a second! It would mean alot. Thanks!
