Hey, Everyone!
When one sulks with their head down, there is very little they can expect to accomplish. But when one realizes that the very things they are looking away from are things they could learn to love, all it takes to change a life is to look up. When up-becoming photographer Percy Jackson meets novice artist Annabeth Chase, things start to look up for this confused young man.
Enjoy!
Percy sat on the beach watching the moon set.
He'd been out all night and was finally experiencing what he'd come for.
He stood up, dusting off the sand that stuck to his jeans and ran over to his camera that was positioned to look at the sky; Percy had already set it to the exactly perfect location.
He peered through the lens of the slightly older camera. It was one of the ones that had the flash bulb and needed film and a dark room to develop pictures.
He was gaping at the image he was finally able to catch.
The water was unbelievably empty, and the huge full moon casted its bright glow on the water, making the water and the sky behind it seem black in comparison.
He smiled and snapped a picture just as the bottom of the moon touching the ocean.
He snapped a couple more and stepped away from his camera to actually see the image in person.
He couldn't help be satisfied by the work of art he'd accomplished.
"That's really nice," he heard from behind him, and he saw a young girl standing behind him.
She had blonde hair and striking gray eyes.
He was instantly attracted to her. "I like photography. Capturing beautiful images with my camera makes me feel accomplished."
She nodded. "I like pastel drawings."
That's when Percy noticed the huge notepad and plastic bag the girl was holding.
She couldn't be any older than he was, 19, and Percy smiled as he watched her sit down on the sand in front of the legs of his tripod.
She placed her notepad on her crossed legs and opened her plastic bag. She looked up at the moon and started sketching.
Percy sat down next to her.
She was coloring a big, light gray circle in the middle of her page, but without a small section of the bottom.
"Um," Percy cut in, "I think the moon is a little more detailed than that."
She laughed and said, "I'm just applying a base color. The real magic happens with the shading effects."
Once she'd finished with the circle, she pulled out a dark blue and colored under the moon except for a sliver in the middle, leaving it completely blank, continuing to look up and the scene and back.
Percy wasn't watching the moon anymore; he was watching this beautiful blonde with a similar interest as she was working.
He stood up, picked up his camera, and crouched down beside her, so he could see the side of her face in the pale, shining moonlight.
He snapped a picture just as she looked up at the moon again.
She turned to him. "Is that really necessary?"
"Didn't I tell you I captured beautiful images with my camera?" he replied.
She laughed a little and looked back down at her canvas and continued sketching.
He took another picture of her looking down, drawing, and then put his camera back on the tripod.
"Come here," she said, and he sat down next to her.
"This is what makes it real," she whispered, and she pulled a gray pastel out of her plastic bag and began re-shading certain parts of the moon, looking up much more often, only coloring a certain bit, looking up, squinting, then looking back down and shading, only to repeat the process.
And Percy watched over her shoulder as the light gray circle slowly turned into a beautiful, full moon.
"That's incredible," Percy breathed as she pulled away.
She cocked her head to the side a little bit. "It's alright."
"Alright?" Percy asked, and stared at her. "It looks like the moon!"
"Almost," she sighed. "There's still some spots missing here and there. It's not quite right."
Percy shook his head.
She moved onto the ocean, and turned that empty sliver into the shine of the moon on the water, Percy was staring at an exact replica of the scene in front of him.
Only on a much smaller scale.
Then, Percy could see it. It wasn't quite perfect.
"Gah!" She threw her pastel back in her plastic bag with an irritated cry. "I can never get it right!"
"What's your name?" Percy asked.
She looked over at him, surprised. "I'm Annabeth."
"I'm Percy," he smiled. "I really like your art."
Annabeth smiled at him. "I really like your photography."
"I really like you, too," Percy told her.
Even in the dim light, Percy could see her blush.
Percy had never been shy about expressing his feelings; never had been, never will be.
"You're kind of straight forward, aren't you?" Annabeth sent him a playful glance with those playful gray eyes of her's.
Percy stole a quick, involuntary glance at Annabeth's lips, and he smiled as he looked back up to her eyes. "I'd prefer to think of it as honest."
Annabeth laughed. "I like that."
Percy smiled even wider.
"I like you, too, Percy," Annabeth replied.
"Well, what do want to do about that?" Percy asked, leaning toward her slightly.
"I think," Annabeth whispered, "that I can't kiss a guy if I don't his last name."
"Jackson," Percy whispered. "Percy Jackson."
And their lips met.
Her lips were soft, and Percy raised a hand and played with some of her hair.
It, too shared the soft quality of her lips.
When he pulled away from her, she smiled at him. They moved away from Percy's tripod and they laid back on the soft but firmly packed sand and looked at the stars.
"Chase," Annabeth whispered suddenly.
Percy was confused. "What?"
"Chase," Annabeth repeated. "My last name is Chase."
"Annabeth Chase," Percy whispered, "the blonde haired, gray eyed girl."
Annabeth chuckled. "Percy Jackson, the black haired, sea green eyed boy."
Percy slid his hand across the sand until he found her's, and they held hands until and stared at the stars until they fell asleep on the beach together, side by side.
Happy Valentine's Day
Thanks for Reading!