The house next door was empty for years. I always woke up and looked at it, wondering if someone would one day make memories in it.
Wondering if there would be someone my age who had the bedroom parallel to me. I often daydreamed of this friend, of going out onto the small area of roof in front of the windows, almost connecting the houses. It was sturdy enough to support my weight, so I figured it would be fine.
I wished someone would move in and be my friend, my only friend.
As if my wishes had been heard, it was a few months later that a family of two moved in.
I woke up one day and looked outside, instantly seeing the moving trucks. Two people were hauling in boxes. One was a woman with curl brown hair, seeming average in height. The other was a boy around my age, fifteen, with messy black hair who seemed taller than me. Briefly, I considered going down to greet them, but I figured that they would want to get most of the boxes unpacked first. Also, I planned on staying in my pajamas all weekend. Greeting would have to wait for another day.
After watching them unload boxes for another minute, I turned my attention to the clock that read 10:04, a reasonable time to get up and out of bed. Slowly, I put my arms above my head and stretched, yawning as I did so, keeping my arms up for a few more seconds before letting them drop to my sides. I let out a sigh of content and threw off the covers, ready to do nothing all day.
The house was quiet, my dad at university and my stepmother was out, taking my two younger brothers to the park and store. The only sounds I could hear were those of the new neighbors moving in.
After a small breakfast of pancakes, I went back to my room to read a new book of mine. I grabbed the book, "Extras", off my bookshelf and opened my window. I sat on my bed happy to read the book, and as son as I opened the book, I was tossed into the world of an impossible society and government.
During the hours I was reading my book, I only got up occasionally to use the bathroom, drink a glass of water, or eat something. It was only when a guy's voice said, "Hello?" in a cautious voice that I realized that the noise of the neighbors unloading boxes had long since stopped.
Curious to see who the owner of the voice was, I got up after memorizing what page I was on and carefully putting the book down and walked over to my window. Sticking his head out of the window across from mine, was the guy with messy black hair. I remembered what I had wanted, what I had wished; for someone to have the room across from me and be around my age. And there he was. I felt a smile come across my face as I pushed my hair back behind my ear and said, "Hey."
He smiled as well and put his elbows on his windowsill. He watched me curiously as I grabbed a nearby hair tie and put my blond hair in its usual ponytail.
"So who are you?" he asked when I turned my attention back to him.
I poked my head through my window, letting the rest of my body follow as I stepped onto the small area of roof. "Annabeth Chase. And you?"
"Percy Jackson."
Percy also stepped out onto his little area of roof and sat down. "Nice pajamas," he said with an amused smile. I quickly looked down to see my grey sweatpants and owl tank top. A snort escaped me and I mentally smacked myself.
"Thanks."
"Any time."
I decided to let curiosity get the better of me and asked, "Where are you from?"
"New York. Had to leave with my mom so we lived closer to her fiancee after he had to move."
He looked at me and I noticed that his eyes were a peculiar mix of green and blue, the color of an ocean. Percy continued talking, saying, "So here we are. And here I am talking to my neighbor on a roof and hungry."
I was hungry as well, since I got so caught up in my book. "Haven't got anything to eat?" I asked.
Percy shook his head. "We did just move in and finish unloading," he explained to me. I nodded in understanding before standing up.
"Want to come over and get something to eat?" I asked, knowing that the gap between the housed weren't that large and someone could easily jump across.
He looked hesitant before asking, "Your family won't mind?" This time I shook my head.
"They're not here right now anyways. Come on."
Percy let out a sigh before standing up as well. "Alright, I trust you on this Annabeth." I smiled and stepped into my room, giving him space to jump over to. And so he did. Percy jumped and landed gracefully on his feet, but tripped coming into my room. As he fell to the floor, I let out a bark of laughter at his surprised face. Quickly standing once more, he gave me a playful glare before motioning me to lead the way.
As we walked downstairs to the kitchen, I asked, "Anything you want right now?"
"What do you have?"
"Things...?"
Percy rolled his eyes in amusement at my answer. "Thanks, that really clears it up for me."
We ended up eating a pint of ice cream and a few slices of pie that my stepmother made. All the while we had been talking and joking around as though we had known each other out entire lives and Percy didn't just move in.
Over the months, we became better friends. We went to the same high school, sat next to each other on the bus until one of us was able to drive; we rode together then as well. I always helped him with homework while Percy helped my with sports, helping me practice for softball tryouts. We kept growing closer through our everyday lives and our window to widow conversations. I was glad I met him, and I knew he was just as glad to have met me as well.