Annabeth walked up to her door, balancing three grocery bags in one arm, fished out her keys and began the risky process of opening the door to her flat, just as her downstairs neighbour, Mrs. Fitzgerald came upstairs, followed by a stranger.
"Oh hello, dear, have you met your new neighbour?", asked Mrs. Fitzgerald, smiling at Annabeth. As she spun around to greet the 74 year old, one bag of groceries tumbled out of her arms, and its contents, mostly vegetables, scattered along the corridor.
"Hel- oh shit!", exclaimed Annabeth, bending to gather the fallen groceries closest to her. As she was picking up celery, she saw someone crouch beside her and gather the wayward tomatoes. She straightened, turning to thank her kind helper, when the words died in her throat. She couldn't believe her eyes. And judging by the expression on the face of the man standing opposite her, he couldn't believe it either.
"All's well, dear. As I was saying, this is your new neighbour, Percy Jackson! He'll be taking the flat next to yours", said Mrs. Fitzgerald, quite unaware of the emotional turmoil that Annabeth was feeling.
A few seconds passed with no one saying anything, then Annabeth shook herself a little, as though to wake herself up, and said "erm, yes, I know him. Percy Jackson. We went to school together". Percy was still frozen in shock and Mrs. Fitzgerald seemed concerned about him.
"Are you quite alright, love?", she asked, frowning a little. Percy blinked, turned around said "oh yes, my apologies, I was just a little taken aback", with that, he held out the tomatoes to Annabeth, who took them reluctantly and went back to trying to open her door.
"Here, let me", he said, taking the keys from her hand and opening the rusty lock easily. He pushed the door open and stood back to let Annabeth pass him. He wasn't able to stop himself from stealing a glance at the inside of her flat. What he saw was keeping in tune with what he remembered of her, books strewn everywhere, pictures of her friends on the walls (he was startled to see a few of the common friends they had had in school 12 years ago), and an entire wall with simply a beautiful painting of a forest in the fall.
He smiled to himself, her penchant for nature and books had not reduced at all.
"Well, thank you for your help", said Annabeth, not looking at her new neighbour, "but, I really have to put all this away, nice seeing you again!", she lied as she shut the door in his face. She caught a glimpse of Mrs. Fitzgerald's confused face as the door clicked in place. She turned and leaned against the door, breathing heavily while taking out her cell phone to call her friend Silena, who picked up after a few rings.
"Hey, I have huge news", exclaimed Annabeth, still trying to get her heart rate down.
"Go on", said the calm voice of Silena.
"You remember how the flat next to mine has been empty for the last year? Well, it has an occupant now, Percy Jackson", said Annabeth, as she sat down on her couch, with her free hand covering her face.
"No bloody way!", yelled Silena, "that CANNOT be true! I mean, what are the chances?", she said, agitated, as she knew the reason why Annabeth was so upset, having gone to school with Percy and her, and knowing their history.
"Yeah well, I don't know what to tell you. I was having a perfectly fine day when my downstairs neighbour introduced him to me. Of course, I had to be groping around the corridor picking up stray vegetables!", said Annabeth, with a groan.
"Was he surprised to see you?", inquired Silena.
"Of course he was, Sil! He would have been less shocked if it had been a seal in a ball gown!", said Annabeth, recalling Percy's expression.
"That escalated quickly", said Silena with a giggle, "listen, don't worry about it too much, you probably won't have to meet him a lot, who hangs out with their neighbours in this city? Besides, he'll stay away from you", she added.
"I hope so. Well, I'm gonna digest this news, talk later", said Annabeth in a resigned voice. She sat back on the couch, unable to believe her luck, that the only person in the world who could absolutely annihilate her, had landed himself in her building. She thought back to her school days, when she had first met Percy as a freshman. They had become friends after a few months, and had continued that friendship for over a year, all the while falling in love with each other. After their eventual confessions to each other, they had begun dating, although their relationship had been short lived, ending after a mere six months. The reasons that Percy had given her about why he had broken up with her didn't add up and he changed his story every time she confronted him about it, but that didn't help her in getting over him. Her feelings for him never went away, not even after they graduated school and went their separate ways. Sure, she had dated other guys, but she was never able to make those relationships last, as she was constantly comparing them to Percy. Thus, she had gone through college, graduate school and her doctorate years, fairly lonely, except for her best friend Silena, whom she had also known since freshman year.
She knew that she should try to be comfortable with Percy as her neighbour. After all, it had been 12 years since their relationship ended, and she was sensible enough to know that nothing could happen between them. They were both secure adults, and they wouldn't let their history get in the way of being cordial with each other. Nothing would happen between them.
But then why did she feel her heart flutter as she remembered his expression when he had seen her? Shock, certainly, but also a hint of joy. He had looked her up and down as though comparing her to twelve years ago, and his face had betrayed him with the merest of smiles.