Annabeth felt a chill in the dark hallway. There were dark charred looking flicks on the wall surrounding the door of her apartment. She put her hand to it, nothing came off the wall when she pulled away. But she suddenly felt scared of the hallway, she noticed the flickering light down the way and it freaked her out. She quickly put her key in the door but found when she turned it, the door locked again. She huffed and unlocked the door. When she opened it she was hit with a wave of smells; garlic bread was cooking in the oven, tomatoey pasta sauce with a concoction of herbs boiled and popped like lava in a pot on the stove.
Annabeth put her bag down on the cream coloured carpet by the front room and took off her shoes. She noticed a neatly folded black trench coat lying on the sofa. Her mind wondered, Percy was one who hardly folded clothes neatly. He also didn't own a trench coat. There was only one person who would wear something like that, why would he have been there at her apartment?
Percy was busy in the kitchen and had his back turned to her. A soft hum left his mouth as he dished out pasta on two plates on the counter. The large window in the front room let in the light of the sun set, it forced Percy to squint as he dished out the food. He cast his eyes to the front door and grinned widely.
"Annabeth, you're home!" He said happily.
"What's this about?" She asked with a small flick of caution in her voice, "you hardly ever make dinner."
A wide almost cheeky grin spread across his face, "I've got something to tell you."
"Oh." She answered shortly.
"Come and sit, I'll get you a drink."
Annabeth walked with confusion in her step over to the kitchen. She sat down at the table and Percy placed the food in front of her. Spaghetti and meatballs, she mused, they rarely had that. They usually ate chicken or lamb with a mixture of roast or boiled vegetables. That was only when they bothered to cook, they got takeaways most nights and watched films or went for a walk. Annabeth felt the sun in her eyes, she raised we hand to block it. Percy placed a glass of water in front of her and noticed her squinting. He went over to the window and pulled down the blinds so they blocked the sun. Percy went back to the table and grinned widely at Annabeth.
"So," she said, taking a sip of water, "what do you have to tell me?"
Percy opened his mouth but a knock at the door interrupted him. There was a moment of silence and hesitation.
"Go answer it." Annabeth told Percy.
He got up and went to the door. The second he opened it, a chill rushed through the room apartment and it seemed to darken.
"I forgot my coat." A hushed voice said, it was like a child's after a scolding from a parent; fearful but also agitated.
The person tread lightly over to the sofa where his coat lay. It was if he were walking on thin glass over a high building, if the glass were to break then he would plummet to his death. The fearful boy picked up his dark black trench coat and flicked his eyes over to Annabeth. Annabeth almost didn't recognise him as she hadn't seen him in several years. Stubble grew on his chin, she had never thought she would see him like that. He gave her a small smile and waved, his mouth formed the word 'hi' but Annabeth asked him a question, cutting him off.
"Nico, why do you have a cabin seven camp t-shirt on?"
Nico looked down at the t-shirt and blushed, he also seemed lost for words. He unfolded his coat and slipped it on, it flowed off him projecting the feeling of gracefulness and elegance but also creepiness and fear. The creepiness was in the way his eyes lingered lethargically on Annabeth, it was also in his stance. He stood with a mixture submissive and dominating postures. He made himself look small and weak but there was the way his arm hung rigidly and his hands in fists.
"Nico." Percy snapped.
Nico blinked away the laziness from his eyes, "oh, sorry." He muttered, "I'll get going."
He stepped more forcefully, with haste and slipped out of the apartment silently. Annabeth heard door close and Percy letting out a loud sigh. The room had become warm again. She exhaled heavy, she hadn't noticed that she was holding her breath. Percy walked back over to Annabeth and clapped his hands, rubbing them together.
"What were we talking about?" He asked sitting down.
"The thing you had to tell me." Annabeth replied cutting a meet ball in half and taking a bite.
"Oh yes," he said with a grin, "we're going on a cruise."
"It stops in Italy, I assume?"
"Yeah!" His enthusiasm fell as Annabeth made a concerned face, "it's okay for us to go i-"
"You asked Nico where it would be safe for us to go." Annabeth finished, "but what about work?" she asked twirling spaghetti around her fork.
"Already taken care of."
Annabeth's mind cast back to lunch time that day, one of her work mates had given her a cupcake with a small boat iced on. She gave Percy a small smile. She put the tomato covered spaghetti in her mouth. Once she had swallowed it she took another sip of water.
"This is good, Percy. Did Nico tell you how to make this as well?" She tried to hide her amusement.
"He made the sauce, he said I'd done it wrong. He left five minutes before you got back." He said sheepishly.
Annabeth took a bite to the garlic bread, it crunched loudly in her mouth.
"How can you go wrong with sauce?" She asked.
Percy shrugged, "he said that I was using the wrong herbs. Anyway, it doesn't matter." He wiped his nose, tomato sauce had flicked up onto it, "I tried to pack everything but you'll probably find something that I've forgotten."
"When are we going?"
"Tonight."
Annabeth who what been halfway through a sip of water pulled back her cup and started to cough.
"Holy Hades, Percy! You can't spring that sort of thing on me!"
Percy burst into hysterical laughter.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, I wanted to surprise you."
"Well, I don't want any more."
Percy grinned widely.
"I'm serious, Percy."
"Okay, no more surprises."
They finished their meal quietly. Once they were done Percy cleared the table and Annabeth went into their room. On the bed there was an open suit case. Annabeth looked through the suitcase, to be fair to the seaweed brain he had done well.
"Sweetheart," She called, "I'm going to take a quick shower."
"Okay."
Annabeth went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She waited for the water to warm up until she stepped in. The water softly hit her back. She tilted her head under the water and then finally stood under the shower fully. She felt fresh and clean under the warm water. She squirted apple scented shampoo onto her hands and massaged it through her scalp. She put body wash on her body. She grabbed a razor and shaved the hairs on her legs and underarms. She rinsed that all off and rubbed conditioner through the ends of her hair. She then rinsed that out and waited with her eyes closed under the shower for a few moments. She turned off the shower and hopped out. She wrapped a towel around her middle and another around her hair. Annabeth went into the bedroom and dried off. She picked out some clothes, blue jeans and a plain white shirt. She quickly dried her hair with the towel and brushed it into a ponytail. She let out a sigh and packed things that Percy had forgotten. She went into the kitchen. Percy smiled widely at her and pulled her in for a kiss.
"All ready to go?" He asked.
"Yep!" She beamed.
Percy grabbed the suitcase and did a last check around the apartment. When he was happy, he and Annabeth left their apartment. They hopped in a taxi and raced down the streets of New York to the harbour.