Hello, Loves! I re-uploaded this chapter because the format on the last one was a little wild, but it's fixed now! You can also find this story on Wattpad with the same title, along with images of the characters. Thank you :) xoxo
Chapter 1
Annabeth zipped both her suitcases closed and grinned with excitement. She was going on a trip, and not just any trip; a trip to Europe for three months with her best friend, Thalia, to study abroad for their last spring semester of college. Both of them have been waiting for this moment since they were in high school. They saved all of their general education courses for this trip, they would be stress free in their last moments before heading into the real world.
Annabeth checked her watch, it was nearly midnight and their flights leaves in two hours. She grabbed her phone and dialed Thalia's number while slipping on a sweatshirt. It barely rung once before Thalia picked up.
"Wow, I was just going to call you, I'm heading over to your place now, is Luke there yet? I'm freaking out, I'm so excited!" Thalia was out of breath by the time she finished talking.
Annabeth half sighed and half laughed, "Come now, Luke should be here in five!"
The two girls squealed and hung up. The doorbell rang and Annabeth knew it was Luke. She was nervous, they're been dating for a nearly a year, but he never made their relationship official, despite knowing how she felt. He also insisted he really cared about her, but also insisted that he didn't want to put a label on their relationship. He graduated the semester before, things were a little rocky.
She heard the door open could hear him talking to her dad and her step mom. She swallowed her nervousness and began to drag her suitcase down the stairs. He spotted her and rushed over to help with her suitcases.
"I'm going to miss you guys so much," Annabeth hugged her parents tightly.
"We're going to miss you too, baby," Her mom stroke her hair.
Her dad looked at her sternly and said, "We love you and trust you're going to make the right decisions. You'll be in another country, be safe and smart. Call us if you need anything." He kissed the top of her head and she smiled and nodded at him.
She hugged her younger brothers briefly before they started peeling themselves away from her and ran back to their rooms.
"Love you guys. I'll call you when I get there!" Annabeth gave her parents one last hug and darted out the house while Luke said goodbye to her parents.
Thalia was already throwing her suitcases in Luke's car. Thalia was a petite girl. Olive skin, large blue eyes, and jet black hair. She was very chill girl but also kind high strung, very contrasting to Annabeth's relaxed personality. The two were best friends since middle school.
"I can't believe we'll be London in... Nine hours! Annie, we've been waiting for this so long, I can't wait to visit Paris and Barcelona and Rome and everywhere else!" Thalia settled into the back seat while Annabeth slide into the passenger seat. She looked back at Luke still putting the suitcases in and leaned forward to whisper, "did you talk to him yet?"
Annabeth shook her head nervously and smiled lightly as he got in the car, "thanks for driving."
Luke grinned at Annabeth as he pulled out of her driveway, "Anything for you," he replied and reached over to hold her hand.
Annabeth pulled her long, platinum blonde hair into a pony tail and leaned against the window. They drove in silence for the next twenty minutes, speeding to JFK. Annabeth was deep in thought, what was Luke to her? Was it even a relationship? Would he stay loyal while she was away? She looked at him as they pulled up to the airport. She would definitely miss his quirky smile, touching his soft blonde hair and staring into his deep blue eyes. The question is, will he miss her?
They arrived at JFK and sat in silence in the car. Thalia took this as her cue to get out the car and take her suitcase out. Annabeth looked at Luke and sighed.
"Luke, what are we doing? We're been messing around for almost a year, we hang out with each other's family, you said you loved me a month ago..." Annabeth's heart was racing, she hates confrontation, but she hates uncertainty even more.
Luke sighed and looked out the window, "We've had this conversation before, Annabeth. You're not even out of school yet, you'll be away for a few months... It's a big commitment when we won't even be seeing each other."
"A big commitment? How different is a relationship and what we're doing right now? The only different is the title, thats all," Annabeth was beginning to fume.
"Baby, please, I rather just take life a day at a time. Let's just go with the flow, see that happens. Titles mean nothing," Luke stroked the side of her face.
Annabeth was close to tears and simply took a deep breath, "Luke, I will not wait for you to decide I'm worthy enough to be called your girlfriend. Call me when you grow up. Since you don't like labels and I'm not your girlfriend, I won't be acting like it. Luke, I love you so much... but, I love myself more and I'm not going to let you hold me back with your empty promises anymore. Thanks for driving us to the airport, I can take my own suitcase out." She didn't wait for a response and quickly got out the car and slammed the door shut.
She dragged her suitcase out the back of his car. Luke was already out of his car trying to stop her but Annabeth practically ran to meet Thalia at the airport doors. Thalia had to run to keep up with her while Luke chased after her, but eventually he slowed and finally stopped. The two girls went on line to get their plane tickets.
"You okay?" Thalia asked her softly.
Annabeth nodded while Thalia wiped the tears off her cheeks. They got their tickets and checked their suitcases in. Once they got to security they had about twenty minutes until they boarded the plane. They spotted a bar by their gate, looked at each other and nodded.
"Three tequila shots for me, three vodka for my girl here, her and her not really boyfriend but acted like a boyfriend broke up twenty minutes ago," Thalia put cash on the table.
"I'll throw in an extra shot for you two. Men don't know what they have until it's gone. Trust me, where ever you're going, I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up because he realizes he made a big mistake," The bartender winked and poured the shots up.
Annabeth and Thalia grinned at each other, and picked up the first shot, "Cheers to three months in Europe, being single, and living your fucking life!" Thalia laughed.
"Cheers to the best time of our lives," Annabeth followed. They both threw the shots down and shook their heads with disgusts. "Argh, why does alcohol taste so shitty?" Annabeth gagged.
Thalia shuddered and picked up the next shot, "I don't know, but lets do this fast, our plane leaves soon."
Three shots and fifteen minutes later, the two were giggling their way onto the plane. Annabeth tripped into her seat, sending her and Thalia into a laughing frenzy. They settled down, letting a few laughs loose, and took their blankets out of their carry-ons.
"Who needs a sleeping pill when you have booze?" Thalia muttered as she leaned on Annabeth's shoulders and closed her eyes.
Annabeth went to turn her phone off but noticed she had a text from Luke, Have a safe flight, lets talk tomorrow. She sighed and put her phone on airplane mode. The plane began to take off and she stared our the window, hoping she hadn't made a mistake with Luke. She slide a eye mask over her tired grey eyes and drifted to sleep.
