Gray and Green

Annabeth has never been the kind of person who would choose to live in an apartment but if it means to be away from her family then it's fine with her. The movers wasn't as friendly as she thought they would be, they left her stuff outside of the place she's staying in and she had no choice but to carry them all the way up to her apartment. Annabeth sighed.

Annabeth loved architecture. She loved seeing monuments and buildings, it made her feel permanent. Her parents never liked her dream of being an architect. Mostly her stepmother never liked it or her. She was always against everything Annabeth did or says. Her father was the only thing that made her stay at their home. They would spend all day making a replica of the Empire States building out of toothpicks. Her father also shared a passion for architecture, although he never showed it.

Annabeth heaved a huge box containing stuff heavy enough to weigh her down. 'Those darn movers and their laziness.' She thought angrily. She was doing pretty well in reaching her room when suddenly she bumped into a person. The person groaned in pain. It was obviously a guy.

"I am so sorry! The moving truck left all of these outside and I was jus—" Annabeth's gray eyes wandered to the guy's face. He was taller than her, had a sort of muscular body and dark hair that slightly swept over his startling green eyes. He wore an orange shirt, which may have been from a camp he was staying in but the words were already faded so she could only read: CAMP HAFOD

"It's fine," the guy brushed the dust of his shirt and flashed Annabeth a smile. "Hi, I'm Percy Jackson." Percy reached out his hand and Annabeth took it feeling the warmth of his hand, "Annabeth Chase." She said. "I'll help you with moving your stuff, I'm pretty strong." Percy said and proceeded to flex his arms mockingly. Annabeth managed a chuckle and said "I would be grateful."

Turns out Percy were right: he was strong, the number of boxes shrunk and Percy had the last one, he had trouble carrying it since his arms ached quite badly and perspiration raced on his face. Annabeth took hold of the box, when suddenly their hands touched whilst carrying the box. Sparks raced towards her arm and warmed her whole body. Percy looked away, to avoid showing his blush.

An awkward silence followed but Annabeth broke the ice, "Umm…thank you Percy. You've been really helpful." She gave him a small smile. Percy grinned and breathed out in relief. When the box was finally put down, Percy helped in putting the items in their places, it took them an hour but it was worth it.

Percy's stomach rumbled. Annabeth laughed, "Looks like someone's hungry. Let me cook you something to thank you for helping me today." Percy smiled, "I guess I better help you everyday so that I can have free food." The two burst into laughter.

"Where do you live Percy?" Annabeth inquired, she was in the middle of cooking pancakes, which smelled divine as it wafted to their noses. Annabeth felt so alone. Books were her only comfort when she felt alone. But now with Percy, she was smiling and it felt nice to have someone around. Percy looked up from reading a magazine, "I live across from you, we're neighbors." Then he flashed a grin and returned to reading. Annabeth nearly dropped her spatula. Percy was right across her apartment. Annabeth's heart did a somersault. She can't believe it.

"Who ordered the pancakes?" She waved the plate mockingly, imitating those women she saw at those small food restaurants. Percy's hand shot into the air and showed Annabeth a huge smile. Percy inhaled each pancake. For some reason he wanted it to be blue, and when Annabeth asked why he just shrugged and returned to eating.

Annabeth has never believed in love at first sight but now, she wasn't so sure. Annabeth was lost in her thoughts when suddenly she found Percy staring at her. A small blush crept to her cheeks. Percy looked away and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to appear as a creep to you."

Annabeth chuckled silently, "Don't worry, you didn't." Then suddenly Percy found himself asking, "Are you in a relationship?" He mentally slapped his forehead. 'Stupid Percy, Stupid Percy. You must have creeped her out', he thought as Annabeth stared into the space.

Annabeth smiled and shook her head. She thought having a relationship was bad and it would only end soon enough. She remembered having many guys courting her but ended up rejected. Annabeth never liked the feeling of love. Since his dad said that her real mother left them, she thought love was unforgiving. She thought love was only a distraction.

Annabeth turned her attention back to Percy. "What do you do for a living?" she asked, lacing her fingers together. Percy had a mouthful of pancakes and was trying hard not to choke, "I'm a marine biologist." He managed to croak out after swallowing the pancake.

"Oh." Annabeth had been scared of the seas or oceans or any bodies of water ever since she was a little girl. When she was young, she was swimming in the ocean when she suddenly felt something pull her legs, and she felt like something silky had been wrapped around her leg, she swam ashore as she kicked the thing that pulled her down. She scrambled across the sand, breathless as a long strand of web appeared at her foot.

She never understood what happened there, but it was enough to give her nightmares. She turned to Percy as he was explaining all he knew about the ocean. The thought of asking Percy about what grabbed her crossed her mind. But she dismissed it immediately. Percy's eyes glowed brightly, she knew this was one of his favorite subjects to talk about.

Percy loved the ocean. He felt being so attached to it, like it was his life. His whole childhood was mainly all about swimming and feeling the ocean. He loves the fishes and other marine animals in the ocean. He feels alarmed when he reads news about animals under the sea in danger. He cares about them like they were people. He loves the feeling of waves lapping at his feet or the taste of the salty air that settle in his tongue. He feels worn out if he gets very far away from it. "That's why I chose this place because it's close to the ocean." He finished, with a burp.

Annabeth chuckled. Maybe, she wasn't starting to feel lonely anymore.

A/N: Thank you for reading. I put a lot of effort into it and I would appreciate getting a review from you. Next chapter will be at Tuesday or Monday. This will probably be about 20 chapters. Hopefully, people will like it. I am really looking forward to your reviews! Cheerio.