A/N: Hey guys! Made it just in time again for this month's update! Another long one for ya! Hope you enjoy!
As god himself once said:
"Writing is hard."- Chuck (s4 ep18)
And honestly that was right-write-ha get it…oh, he was so losing his mind.
Writer's block was the worst kind of creative block… but he was biased.
Why do people write? he thought, as he angrily stuffed his laptop, a notebook and pen into his bag.
It's the worst process- grueling, unforgiving, tedious, just horrible! He continued to angrily zip up his jacket.
Writing was the worst thing ever! And with that final thought and door slam he stomped down the road towards the nearest source of caffeine available.
Cali's café was a nice quaint place and used to Percy Jackson's mood when he was writing-or rather-not writing.
He grunted his thanks to Calypso as she handed him his usual and tried to ignore the sympathetic look she gave him.
It's hard to be grumpy when people are being sweet. He tipped her five dollars.
Sitting down in his favorite corner of the café which was, thankfully, unoccupied (maybe the only good thing from today), he pulled out his laptop.
Half a coffee and not a single letter later, he decided that clearly it was the screen's fault and instead pulled out his notebook and pen.
"This paper has too many lines," he grumbled another half of coffee later, frowning at the blank sheet.
"Well, it is called lined paper," a voice from his right spoke.
The voice belonged to the girl at the table next to his who had her laptop out and was looking far too amused at his despair.
"Well, that's dumb," he mumbled. His pain was not amusement.
"Maybe you shouldn't have bought it then," she joked back.
He tried to keep up his frown but the corners of his mouth started to twitch up despite himself.
She laughed lightly at his bad restraint and reached into her bag, pulling out a few sheets of blank printer paper.
"Here," she said, offering them to him, "No lines."
His eyebrows shot up at the action. That was certainly unexpected.
Seeing the look on his face, she continued, "I always keep a few spares on me."
And with that she finished her the last of her drink, stood up, and started packing up to leave.
"I hope you can get whatever it is you have to get done," she called as she began walking away.
"Wait!" he called after her. She was the most interesting thing to happen to him in a while and he didn't want to let her go. She intrigued him.
She turned back around at the call and looked at him expectantly.
The girl with golden blonde hair, striking grey eyes that were currently starring at him, and printer paper in her bag.
"Why?"
"Why? Why do I carry blank sheets of paper around?"
He shook his head. That wasn't the important part.
"Why did you give some to me?"
She shrugged. "You looked like you could use some help."
"What do you mean?"
She got a faraway look in her eyes. "Like you were struggling, drowning, and could use a life ring."
He got the feeling that she was setting up a scene in her head, picturing the metaphor she had said. She really was different from most people he met.
"Thank you," he said quietly, breaking her out of her stupor. She nodded and walked away leaving him with a thousand different thoughts in his head.
Ten minutes later the blank sheets were filled with words describing a cute blonde-haired girl with grey eyes like the fog into which she disappeared and a bag full of life rings.
Writing was a process that consumed him entirely. Once the words started coming they don't stop, one after another flooding his brain, like the gates of a dam opening and the water rushing forward.
He didn't move until Calypso laid a hand on his shoulder.
The touch startled him and brought him back into the reality that surrounded him. The darkness outside, the emptiness of the café and Calypso's warm smile.
He had all but filled his notebook and the loose-leaf blank pages had been scattered across the table. It would be a bitch to type up later but at least he had something.
"Successful day, it seems," Calypso commented, wiping down the table next to him. The one at which the mysterious, kind girl had sat.
"Surprisingly so," he admitted. "Didn't see that coming."
"Well, I'm glad it worked out," she replied with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I stayed so late though."
She waved it off. "It's okay, anything for my favorite customer." Maybe it was the light, but it looked like she had blushed.
"You're too nice to me, Calypso." He began packing up his things when the second blast of reality hit in the form of his stomach growing.
"Damn, didn't realize how much time had passed. I'm starving," he commented.
"Well," Calypso hesitated, "I'm going to get pizza as soon as I'm done finishing up here… you could join me?" she asked hopefully.
He barely noticed, his mind still on his writing.
"That's nice of you, but I won't infringe upon your time and kindness any longer."
"Oh no, it's really no bother-" she began to reassure.
"No, it's okay," he said, cutting her off, "I need to finish writing this now anyway, before I lose it." Percy gestured vaguely to his head.
She smiled, shoulders drooping a bit.
"Okay, good luck!"
He gave his thanks and walked out with a smile and a wave.
-.-.-.-.-
The mystery girl played through his mind in the best way possible. He got ten more pages into the story by the next day.
He was on his way to the grocery store, finally deeming his progress good enough to finally feed himself properly, when he caught a glimpse of blonde hair.
Just leaving Cali's café, she crossed the street and disappeared into the crowd before he got there. Turning into Cali's café, he walked to the register.
"Hey Percy! Back again today?" Calypso smiled from the register.
"Actually, I was wondering, what do you know about the girl that was just in here, blonde hair?"
Calypso visibly deflated at the question. "You must be talking about Annabeth."
Annabeth. So that's what her name was. Unique, beautiful, it suited her.
"Is she a regular?" he asked looking out the windows even though he knew she wasn't there.
"Um, yeah, I guess," Calypso replied quietly. "Listen, if you aren't going to order anything…"
"Oh right, I'm sorry, I don't mean to hold up the line." He quickly moved out of the queue and started to walk out of the café, still distracted, and barely missing the guy right behind him.
He barely noticed the sad look on Calypso's face.
-.-.-.-.-
He managed to catch her on her way the following day. And he hadn't even been trying, just hoping. It was pure luck.
"Annabeth!" he called after her, causing her to turn around.
"Oh, you again. How'd you know my name?"
The question made him blush. "I…uh...asked Calypso…"
"You asked about me?" She looked a mix between surprised and concerned.
"Yeah...sorry…to be fair Calypso didn't seem happy about it either…" he trailed off, thinking back on her strange behavior.
"Why?"
Her voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "I wanted to thank you."
She rose an eyebrow. "You already did."
He shook his head. "No, you don't understand, I was in one of the worst bout of writers block I've ever had and you…really were like a life ring."
"I had a feeling it was writers block. I know a creative block when I see it," she responded.
He rubbed the back of his neck, slightly ashamed. "Yeah…I'm the worst when I can't write... I really do appreciate the help."
She smiled back. "I know the feeling, I get that way when I can't paint. It's frustrating beyond belief. But I'm happy to have helped."
"Let me…let me thank you properly, I'll buy you a coffee?" He gestured to the café.
She looked at him as if trying to figure him out. Finally, she responded with, "I'm not…interested."
He got the message. "And I'm just trying to say thank you."
They looked at each other for another moment and he hoped that she could see he wasn't expecting anything.
Finally she gave him an amused look. "Okay… seems a bit much for a thank, you doesn't it?"
He opened the door for her as they walked in. "My deadline is next week, I need to make rent, and you were a literal life ring. I think a coffee is the least I can do."
She laughed. "Fair, I guess."
Calypso seemed quiet that day but once they had their drinks and were in a full-blown conversation, he forgot to ask what was up.
"You've got some nerve saying that to an artist," Annabeth was saying a mixture of disbelief and amusement.
"Well it's true! To get out of a creative block you just need to do something, it's hard to start with writing. At least with art you have a template. Don't know what to paint? Paint a tree."
"Well, you could just write about a tree," she retorted.
He looked at her in surprise. He hadn't thought of that.
"I guess you have a point," he admitted reluctantly. "But it's still not the same, there's no plot to that."
She just laughed and he couldn't help but laugh along with her. He stuck out his tongue for good measure as if to end his case.
"Real mature," she replied. And so the conversation went.
After some more talk and empty cups, Annabeth started to leave.
"Well, thank you for the coffee and conversation."
He smiled. "My pleasure."
She stood up and started to walk away.
"See you again?" he asked hopefully.
She turned to flash him one more smile. "Maybe."
Percy sat there a bit longer after she had left reflecting on the time he had just had and hoping that he would see her again and that she'd change her mind.
"Girlfriend?" Calypso asked as she cleared away the empty mugs.
"No, but that would be nice."
He was halfway home when he realized that Calypso already knew she wasn't his girlfriend.
-.-.-.-.-
It took about a week for them to run into each other again and this time he got a phone number.
And it was after another week or so of talking and texting frequently did she bring it up again.
"Percy, you're a great guy and this is nice, but I just want to clarify… 'cause things are moving along quickly and just so no one has…the wrong idea…"
They were getting lunch at the café and Percy decided to dedicate his attention to chewing the bite of sandwich in his mouth.
"I'm not really looking for anything right now," she continued.
She looked at him carefully and he finally swallowed.
"Yeah, no I get it, it's fine," he stopped the start of what was going to be a ramble by taking another bite.
"I'm sorry." And she really did look it."
"No need," he responded quickly, "No expectations, right?"
Except he had really developed feelings for her and though he would never hold her to those feelings, it still hurt.
The rest of the meal was finished in silence and Annabeth left as soon as she was done.
"I'll see you later?" she asked.
"Yeah," was all he could manage back.
He knew she hadn't been interested, but with everything he had…forgot. And it's not like he could help liking her. And she couldn't help not liking him.
He sighed, trying to compose himself but he must have looked down because Calypso walked up to ask him what was wrong.
He sighed again and shook his head. "Nothing. You can't help it if someone doesn't like you back."
To his surprise she laughed bitterly in response. "Yeah, I know all about it."
And with that she walked away leaving him to sit there and ponder her words.
What did she mean? He packed up his stuff and started heading for the door so lost in thought that he ran into someone.
That someone was the near miss from before, he recognized the curly brown hair. He had noticed him around here multiple times before too, clearly a frequent customer.
"I'm sorry," Percy apologized immediately.
The guy didn't respond and continued to look at him curiously. He started to feel awkward.
"You alright...?" he asked tentatively under the intense gaze.
The guy finally stopped staring. "Yeah, sorry, I just zoned out. But I'm fine, thanks." And with that he walked off heading straight for the "bar" seats.
Percy watched as the guy looked around the room as if searching for something until his gaze finally landed on Calypso, his face morphing into a warm smile.
He watched as the guy attempted to wave at her, but she was busy wiping tables and looking sad to see it.
Why was that? It was bothering him since he really was usually very observant. He had to be, he was a writer. And he was pretty good at picking up on these kinds of things.
But his thoughts returned to the girl with a smile that made his heart flutter but couldn't feel it herself.
A few days passed with no word from Annabeth, unusual since the previous consistency of their communication.
But she was clearly creating space and as much as it hurt him, he let her continue. Meanwhile, his heart was sore and his writing suffering, unable to get anywhere in his work.
It was frustrating and he was in a mood when he finally stuffed his laptop, notebook and pen into his bag, angrily zipped up his jacked and slammed the door behind him.
Caffeine meant Cali's and he hadn't been there in a week. Too many memories of Annabeth there.
But desperate times, so he walked in and immediately saw the sad smile on Calypso's face upon seeing him.
"Been a while," she said, punching in his order without asking.
"Yeah, I guess it has," he replied as he got out his wallet. He tipped her five dollars and was reminded of the time, about a month ago, when he has stormed in here with a grumpy mood. He had met Annabeth that day and tipped Calypso five dollars for putting up with him.
"Anything for my favorite customer" she had said with a... blush. And suddenly it all fell into place and he finally understood.
"I'm sorry." The words slipped out before he could control them.
"What?" She asked, looking over the register.
Well he had to commit now. He took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry that I don't feel that way," he began, a blush colored her cheeks at the words and she opened her mouth to say something but he kept talking, "And I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner..."
"When your mind is somewhere else it's easy to miss what's right in front of you..." he nodded to the right where the curly haired guy was sitting watching their interaction.
Upon being caught he blushed and turned away.
Calypso, following the line of sight looked surprised.
"Really?" She asked turning back to him.
Percy just smiled, picked up his drink and walked over to his favorite corner.
He only saw the beginning of the conversation between the two, which involved a lot of shy smiles and blushes from both sides, before picking up his pen and letting the words flow out.
He'd have to type it all out later but for now he was able to channel it through the ink, his hurt, his resignation, and what could happen if you just looked at what was in front of you.
He left right before closing with words on paper and a smile on his face at the last two people left in the cafe who would no doubt share a pizza soon.
-.-.-.-.-
He made his next deadline easily after that day. Annabeth had given him a lot of thoughts and emotions and the words poured out.
He decided to go to Cali's to celebrate.
Leo, the curly haired guy was sitting at his usual spot, throwing flirtatious winks at Calypso making her turn red.
"Hey, how's it going?" He asked her once he reached the counter.
She was radiant, smiling brighter than he had ever seen before.
"Great!"
He smiled back. "I'm happy to hear that."
He pulled out his wallet to pay when she stopped him.
"This one's on the house."
"Why?"
She smiled. "For the guy who helped me see what was right in front of me," she said, glancing at Leo who blew her a kiss.
"It's on the house."
Percy smiled. "I'm glad you're happy. He's a lucky guy."
"So are you," she replied.
But before he could ask what she meant, she handed him his drink and ushered him away to attend to the next person in line.
Still confused he walked over to his corner to find a piece of paper on the table. A blank piece of paper.
He slowly flipped it over to reveal a very rough sketch of him. He was struggling in rugged waters, only his face and arms could be seen and in one hand was a life ring that looked like it had been added in later.
Though it was a very rough sketch, it was beautiful. Annabeth was talented, he wished he could have caught her when she had been there.
He wondered why she had left it in the first place, she didn't like him like that.
And then he saw the attached post-it note that read:
I lied.
-.-.-.-.-
Writing is a creatively destructive process. It's difficult and painful and all consuming. It seeps everything out of you. It has to. Because by the end of it you've created something, something brand new, that the world has never seen.
To create something that powerful, it has to break you.
Destruction and creation go hand in hand.
Incidentally, so do Percy and Annabeth.
A/N: So what did you think? I had writers block so I transformed it into the plot for my fic, sometimes that's just how it goes. More of a fluffy one for you guys this time, and some Calypso and Leo because they don't get enough credit. And of course, seeing what's right in front of you.
But yeah, not much to say, other than I hope you liked it! And my fellow writers out there, I hope you could relate. (Also an OG How We Could Have Met readers who recognized the callback?) (and anyone get the spn reference?)
Please Review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya! :)