A/N: Hey guys! Back again with this week's chapter, a little early this time! Hope you like it!
Annabeth is not upset at the sight of her Pepsi can the following morning when she goes to check before leaving for work.
Not upset at all.
Definitely not wondering if maybe the person had seen it and just chosen to ignore it. And even more definitely not about to just get rid of the can and the note.
Okay, so she gets rid of the can and note.
A potentially dumb move but whatever, she's…she's just not feeling it anymore. Maybe it was dumb to think that there was something to be had here. Notes on rooftops was such a movie cliche. She wasn't...she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up.
The logical side of her mind tells her that maybe the person just didn't check last night. After all, she wasn't able to check last night either.
But it doesn't stop her from grabbing the note and the can and rushing out to her car, because she wasn't about to be late to work over this stupid shit.
She calls Piper on the way because, well, she can.
"So do you think I should wear the baby blue top or the sort of salmon one with that flowy skirt I have?" are the first words out of Piper's mouth when she picks up the call in less than three rings, and it almost brings tears to Annabeth's eyes.
"Baby blue," she responds, only a little choked up. She has no idea where this sudden surge of emotion has come from. Just because she knows Piper's wardrobe? God, what a rollercoaster of a morning.
"Good, I was thinking the same," Piper agrees, continuing the conversation. And damn, for some reason it's really hitting her right now, in the middle of the morning rush hour, that Piper is truly her best friend.
"You're my best friend," Annabeth tells her, cutting off whatever Piper had been talking about before.
"Um, yeah, duh, we been knew." She can hear Piper rolling her eyes.
"No, but really, you're like one of three friends I have," Annabeth insists, the thought really overtaking her. The car behind her honks and she haphazardly merges into a lane as a result.
"Where did this come from?" Piper asks.
Honestly, she's not sure. Living alone must finally be getting to her, as freeing as it is, it's easy to feel like you're by yourself. It definitely made her more grateful for the people she has in her life, Piper especially, whose wardrobe she knows better than her own. That says something in itself.
That's what they don't tell you, she thinks, about living alone. Just how easy it is to slip into yourself and forget about the others that care about you.
She merges into the exit and her eye catches the Pepsi can on her passenger seat.
Or maybe it was the fact that this mystery note person was the first interaction she's had since graduation that might lead to friendship.
"Annabeth?" Piper prompts after her extended silence.
"I don't know, I guess…" she glances at the can again. "I guess I'm realizing just how hard it is to make friends when you're out of school. You're not surrounded by people your own age anymore and... I don't know, it's just harder once you're in the real world."
She can say for certain that that's true. Even at her work, there's only one person close to her age, and even though she has some work friends that are older, it's just not the same.
She finds herself missing college and damn, this really has been a rollercoaster of a morning.
"Yeah, I can see that. I mean grad school is different enough, I'm sure the workplace is even more so."
Annabeth nods to the Jeep in front of her.
"But hey," Piper continues cheerfully. "You always got me!"
And for that, Annabeth's beyond grateful.
-.-
Annabeth is loath to admit that a Pepsi can takes up most of her mind through the morning until Hazel (the sweetest person ever, as well as the only coworker around her age) shows up at her desk.
"What's bothering you Annabeth?" she asks in her soft voice, and Annabeth swears she's a psychic, or magical, or both.
"Nothing, I…" She is not going to talk about the stupid Pepsi can, "I just took a chance at something and it didn't pan out."
She's actually proud of her answer because it sounds ten times better than, I left a Pepsi can on a roof a night ago and took it away this morning.
"Well, did you give it time to pan out?" Hazel asks and it's so on the nose she's actually a little blindsided.
"Um…."
Hazel smiles. "There's your answer."
Well shit, it's simple if it's put like that. How can such deep knowledge exist in one tiny human? Annabeth stares at her and wonders if maybe she should pay for the therapy she's just recieved.
In retrospect, it's something that could have been on a chocolate wrapper or an inspirational quote on Twitter, but in that moment it was what Annabeth needed to hear. She smiles and offers to get Hazel some coffee because directly paying her seems a little ridiculous.
(And after all this, she's still not certain that Hazel isn't a psychic).
It's a combination of her conversation with Piper and Hazel's words that convinces her that she should do this. After all, it really could be the start of a new friendship, or absolutely nothing, but she isn't going to find out unless she tries. Or gives it time.
And then there's also that part of her brain, that tiny part she's mostly pushed aside, that's constantly seeking...something. Something new, something that feels like progress, something that'll make things better.
That last thought is what strengthens her resolve to go back up to the roof.
-.-
Percy is not upset at the lack of a note on the roof when he checks after coming home from work.
Not upset at all.
Definitely not wondering if the person had been creeped out by his note. Definitely not regretting leaving a reply at all and leaving the roof.
Okay, so he regrets answering and turns around to physically leave the roof.
A potentially dumb move but whatever, he's just...just not feeling it anymore. Maybe it was just dumb to think that there was something that could come from this. It's something you'd read about maybe, but not real life.
He knows, somewhere in his mess of thoughts, that maybe they just hadn't had anything to say. Or maybe his note was still there…
That thought is the only thing that causes him to turn around and step back onto the roof in search of his note. Maybe it blew away? Or maybe he missed it and it was still under the chair?
A clean sweep of the tiny rooftop confirms it's not and the sinking feeling in his gut tells him that he shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.
The feeling is followed closely by a sense of detachment the longer he stares at the scattering of rooftops and the sky backlighting them.
Humans are so dumb, he thinks, in an abstract sort of way. He walks up to the concrete "railing" that separates him from the edge of the roof, staring at the street below.
It's a residential street, but it's still warm for August, so people are out and about, walking to and from...god knows where. Humans are so...concerned, most of the time, and mostly about themselves.
They get so worked up over things that are unknown. Hell, even in his case, the notes are anonymous, he doesn't even know who the other person is and they certainly don't have any reference of character for him either.
But really, it's humanity that causes this kind of behavior. Tilting his head to the side, a small smile appears on his face. Now there's an idea.
Leaving behind his own reality, he falls instead to the humanity of his characters and their stories and thoughts and actions. It's the most progress he's made in forever.
And maybe it's his vigour of writing that prevents him from hearing the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, and what causes his jump when the door to the roof bangs open.
And from the pink-blue haze in the sky, the fading light combined with that single yellow bulb, illuminates blonde curls and surprised eyes.
A/N: So what did you think? The plot progresses feat. A little bit of existential Annabeth and Percy (and Hazel being the psychic magical queen she is).
Please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this! Especially since this was a introspective heavy chapter!
And as always, thanks for reading!
See ya! :)