Hey Guys!

I finally got off my butt and wrote another story hope you enjoy it (and i hope ive improved from my last one!)

Fhank you for your continued support if you've read my other story or welcome if this is your first time reading my stuff.

And (again with the self promoting) i would love if you could follow my tumblr, they get sneak peaks and updates earlier there. it is thegirlwithkaleidoscopeeyes2712

DISCLAIMER: i do not own any of the characters, ideas or anything to do with Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Hero's of Olympus

Thank you and don't forget to review constructive criticism is always welcomed warmly!

Chasing The Stars: Chapter 1

When some people looked up at the night sky they felt insignificant. Like their whole lives couldn't possibly mean anything in the unfathomably vast expanse of stars above them.

And who could blame them, I mean with your naked eye alone you can see hundreds of stars all shining back at you, each with a solar system of their own. And those stars are only the tiniest percent of the billions that make up our galaxy, which in turn is only one of an infinite number floating around in the void we call space.

And then, of course, there's black holes and dark energy and supernovas and the ever present and terrifying end of the universe to worry about.

So really, its not too far fetched to feel insignificant, to be frightened by the notion that nothing you do in your blink of a lifetime, in a universe that's already 13.7 billion years old, will ever have more impact than someone losing an eyelash.

But Annabeth didn't feel that. Didn't feel crushed by the unimportance of her own existence. She felt free. Like everything wrong decision she ever made couldn't matter that much anymore, like maybe it wasn't her fault…

That's why she lay there now, surrounded only by the universe and her own thoughts, the luscious grass, a rarity where she came from, cushioning her back as the dew seeped through her hoodie and the little bugs, that she really wanted to find the name of, tickling her skin.

In fact that's why she lay here every Wednesday morning at precisely 3 am on the oval down the road where once upon a time she played soccer. It used to be a coping mechanism but now it had become a sort of tradition that she felt obliged to keep up.

Plus there was the sort-of-not-really-attractive guy that she'd never talked to before who ran past the oval at about 3:30 every morning that she definitely didn't have a crush on to keep her coming back. She thought she saw him look up at her every once in a while when he ran past on his crazily motivated jog (like seriously who got up at 3:30 to go jogging every single morning). She figured he might be a robot. An attractive one at that though, she couldn't help thinking.

And she was happy with the way things were, him on his inhumane jogs and her having her daily dose of existential crisis, neither of them wanting to disrupt their routines enough to talk to each other. Besides she figured admiring him from afar would entrance her much more than anything his no doubt boring personality would hold. But oh how wrong she was.

It was after about a month of Annabeth and the robot jogger sharing mutual looks of, 'its three am are you mad?' When that this unknown idiot ran past her twice in the same morning. She actually sat up she was so surprised.

She was even more surprised the next week when he slowed to a walking pace as he ran passed her and walked towards her, taking his earphones out as he went. She leant up onto her forearms, blades of grass digging into her skin, as he approached and gave him a quizzical look. The first thing he said was so abrasive that it almost threw her off guard. Almost.

"Are you deliberately trying to catch a cold or did you not realize that lying on a damp oval at the chilly hour of three am might result in some sniffling?" he then proceeded to look at her with what she might call a worried expression, hands on hips and only slightly puffing. But why would he be worried about her? This was the first time he'd ever seen her up close, other than fleeting glances as he ran past.

Annabeth scoffed at his snarky excuse of a greeting and came right back at him with just as much force.

"Well you can talk, what are you doing out here marathoning every morning? Training for the zombie apocalypse?" she gave him her best glare, "And the reason I'm out here is none of your business." She then proceeded to gather up her phone and wallet and put them into her bag vigorously, while determinedly not looking at him.

As she stood up she saw that the expression on his face had changed to one that asked her of forgiveness, and he fidgeted with his ear bud that hung from his shirt nervously.

Just as she began to step away from him, he leaned forward grabbing her wrist lightly, making her turn around and look directly into his eyes. For the first time she noticed his eyes, took in the swirling pool of sea green and felt like she was falling into them completely entranced. She also felt quite envious. She'd always dreamed of having colorful eyes, ones that sparkled and brought back vibrant memories of happy times long past. But no she was stuck with these dull grey ones, the plainest of plain. Only then did she realize he was saying something.

"-Sorry I was just worried about you, I mean you're out here every Wednesday, and no one lies on an oval at three am contemplating the stars unless there's something wrong." He was now twisting furiously at the ear buds around his neck, she though he might pull them off. " And I thought maybe you wanted someone to talk to. There was probably a better way of expressing that I realize now. Actually now that I think about it, any other way would have better." He then looked down blushing and she gave a small laugh. The relief that flooded onto his face at her laugh was so comical that she had to stop herself from laughing again.

"It's alright." She said smiling, "and stop twisting your ear buds, they look expensive and I don't want you to break them just because I'm intimidating." He looked down then, dropping the offending items, and when he met her eyes again his face had erupted into a smile. She thought it might have been brighter than the big stadium lights they used to turn on at the oval when she practiced.

"Oh and ah…" then she stopped realizing she didn't know his name.

"Percy." He supplied, seeing her struggle.

"Percy," she said letting the name roll off her tongue. She liked it. It suited him with his striking black hair and mesmerizing green eyes. She let a smirk crawl onto her face. "You can let go of my hand now."

And the way he jumped back, retracting his hand as if it had been burned, a deep red blush forming on his face as he went to apologize, almost made her take pity on him.

Almost.