Chp 2
Percy's POV

Since when did Annabeth get so - wow? I hadn't recognized her at first but when I saw her eyes I knew it was her straight away. Those beautiful, catching grey eyes.

When I had last seen her she was ten and I was fourteen and she was best friends with Mia. She was just sweet, innocent Annabeth.

But, god, she was anything but innocent looking. Although she still had that innocent smile and eyes, every part of her was matured, filled out. She wasn't as scrawny as I remembered, but maintained a flat slim figure.

Her hair looked bouncier, her skin smoother, her eyes more knowledgable, her mouth more used. Every inch of her made my heart race.

But her eyes and voice really had my heart racing, making me want to have her in my arms again. I couldn't get my thoughts straight, I just hoped my tongue wouldn't fail me when she came back.

I tried to focus on the lake, but I just imagined the days when we would dive into the water, having cannonball competitions and singing songs by the campfire.

I looked up as she came back in. She was even more breath taking. She wore a loose tank top and pajama shorts, showing off her tanned skin. Her hair was up in a messy bun.

She gave a smile and opened her cupboard. She brought out a packet of pasta and put a pot of water on the stove to boil. She poured the pasta in and got a Tupperware out her fridge.

She opened it, revealing mince, and put it in the microwave to heat up. She went to her fridge, getting out a beer and handing it to me. "To drown your worries about your house." She joked, making me chuckle.

She poured lemonade for herself and we clinked glasses. "To old friends and new beginnings." I said, making her smile. She tended to her food, the meal ready in no time.

She spooned some spaghetti for us and put some mince over it. We sat outside on her front porch, eating our food. It was so tasty, and the view was as beautiful as I remembered.

Why was I starting to feel this way for her? She was my sisters friend, my old childhood friend, the next door neighbor. And I had seen my fair share of failed relationships ranging from family, to friends to colleagues.

Seeing all of that had made me forget everything about ever loving someone. I only ever had one night stands, or month long girlfriends, and I was always the one to break the relationship.

But why did she have me breathless? Why did she have me taking a double take? Second guessing myself? Feeling ridged that I might say something to insult her and lose her after just finding her?

We took in our plates and washed up. She gave a smile and said, "You must be tired. You should have a shower and go to bed. We have plenty of work in the morning fixing up stuff at your house."

The way she said we made an emotion expand in my chest, and worry fill every thought in my head of her. If she was going to be helping me, how will I be able to concentrate on anything?

I will just be sneaking glances at her, trying hard to not touch her. But I just gave a smile and nodded. She showed me my room and I decided I could wake up earlier tomorrow to try have some alone time.

~ Line break ~

I wiped at my forehead as the sun streaming through the windows made me sweat more. I had already taken off my top as I was getting hot. I stopped for a quick break and stood on my front porch, looking out at the lake.

I looked towards Annabeth's house as I heard her shutter open and close. She was walking towards me with a glass willed with something and a plate.

"I thought you were still sleeping, but apparently not." She said, making me chuckle. She handed me a glass of lemonade and a plate of blue flapjacks. I grin spread across my face. "You remembered the blue pancakes thing." I said.

She smiled and nodded. "I would hug you right now but I'm pretty sweaty." I said, making her laugh. I ate the food, resting the plate on the rail as she told me about the recent happenings at the small town.

She went off to go wash the stuff and I tried to get back into focus. Four hours later I was standing in the door way, pulling out the rotting wood from the door frame. I had ripped out the floorboards and plastered over holes created in the walls.

"Percy, can I pull you away from your work? I think you can call it a day." I heard Annabeth say, bringing my attention to her approaching. She was wearing a bikini with shorts and her hair down. I gave a smile and nodded. "I guess." I said, closing the front door.

"Could I tempt you for a swim?" She asked, smiling at me as we walked in the direction of her house. I smiled and took off my shoes. We walked down her dock and when we got to the end I found myself falling forward I to the cool water.

I resurfaced to her laughing. "What was that, a belly flop?" She asked, gasping for breath. I managed to swim up close enough and jump so I hooked her under her knee, pulling her off the dock.

She resurfaced, smacking my arm. "That wasn't fair, you should have warned me." She joked, fighting back a smile that wanted to break through her put on pout. I laughed and splashed her.

We ended up in an all out splash fight with us swimming away from each other and water everywhere. I felt like a teenager again. No worries, no pain, no judging eyes to look down on you.

As I quickly caught up to her I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her towards me. We were both laughing, gasping for breath as we calmed down again.

That's when I noticed our proximity. Our hips were touching, us standing waist deep in water, her hands were on my chest, my hands around her waist and we were just grinning at each other. She stopped laughing and just looked into my eyes.

I looked down and took my hands off her waist taking a step back. We both swam back to her dock and sat on the edge, dangling our legs off the side so our toes just touched the water.

"So what have you been doing these past eighteen years?" I asked, making her chuckle as it sounded so odd. I couldn't help notice the way the sun hit her in just the right way that her hair looked golden, making her glow.

"Well I studied architecture, and then my grandparents passed away so I decided to move in here and just work around the area. I've just recently gotten involved in a partnership. The guy is helping me expand to Long Island." She said.

I raised my eyebrows. "You always did love sketching the lake house." I said, making her smile and blush. "And you?" She asked.

I smiled sadly and rubbed the back of my neck. "Well I studied marine biology at NYU." I said, making her chuckle and grin widely. "You always loved the sea and sailing. I'm guessing your dad was cool with you not helping in the business, though." She said.

"Actually," I said, "Just after I graduated he got sick. He passed away and left the business in my name. So I've been working on that for the past eight years." She furrowed her eyebrows and rested her hand on mine.

"I'm sorry about you dad. I never knew." She said, sounding bad as if it were her fault she never knew. "No, it's fine. It was a long time ago." I said.

I gazed at the sunset, and decided to change the subject. "So, many misters been knocking down your door?" I asked, smirking at her. She blushed deep red and pushed a curl behind her ear, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, a couple. But I've also turned down offers." She said, her red cheeks matching the sunset. "And you? You married? Fiancé? Girlfriend?" She asked, smiling at me.

I laughed and showed my ring less hands. "Not that I know of." I joked, making her laugh, a pure laugh. "Yeah, I've dated a couple ladies but they're never long relationships." I said.

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "So who is this business partner you going to be working with?" I asked. She smiled and said, "His name is Keagan Jacoby, quite successful."

I tired to rack my brain on something I had heard about him from one of my colleagues. It finally clicked and said, "Oh, I'm guessing you two are dating?" She blushed deep red and said, "No, definitely not."

I raised an eyebrow and she crossed her arms. "He's married and the son of my dad's friend." She objected, and I dropped it. She just gazed out the sunset for a while, watching the oranges and pinks and purples melt together.

"So your mom and Paul still together?" She asked. I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, they're having their twenty eighth anniversary in three months." I said, thinking of how strong their relationship had been all these years, and how loyal they had been to each other.

She let out a sigh, smiling at the lake. "Loyalty, honesty, getting through the tough times. That's what true love is. Your parents are the perfect definition." She said.

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, they seem to be the exception to everyone else. True love doesn't seem real anymore." I said, lying back on my elbows. She turned to me, furrowing her eyebrows.

"True love is very much real. I see it nearly everyday I go to the little shops in town. Elderly couples holding hands, young newly weds." She said. I shook my head and said, "People aren't quite like that in the cities."

She looked kind of hurt. "Are you saying I'm closed off from real life?" She asked and I shook my head. "No, I'm just saying people aren't close knit like they are in small towns."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that, Percy. I have lived a little, you know? I've dated people, stayed in the city for a while, I know that there are lots of cheaters and divorces and separations going on. It's like my parents." She said.

I bit my lip, watching as she pulled her legs to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "Hey, I didn't mean to upset you. Just because I don't particularly believe in true love doesn't mean you can't. You could marry any guy." I blushed as I heard my self say that last sentence.

She smiled and stood. "I'm going to go start supper up. Hope you're fine with steak." She said.