Its a little strange meeting the love of your life when you think you've already met the love of your life. But I guess sometimes thats just the way life works.
They say you fall in love three times before you meet the one. And the one is the third love. Apparently.
My first love was Silena Bouregaurd from fourth grade. We had a class assignment to do a presentation about our favorite animal. Mine was the platypus and I did a pretty rockin' job. But Silena did the giraffe. I remember specifically because she asked me to come to the front of the class and said that from my head to my toes is the length of a giraffes neck. Which I thought was pretty cool. (Although it stuck with me and for a few embarrassing years whenever anybody'd ask me how tall I was I would say giraffe neck).
Anyway
I was convinced I was in love with her. During tag she would always come after me and we would laugh and laugh. (Now I'm realising it was because I was the slowest kid in our class and she didn't want to have to run that hard). So when Valentines Day rolled around, I knew I had to do something for her. I bought a heart shaped box of chocolates and a very sweet card that I signed with a heart. For a personal appeal, I added the biggest stuffed giraffe I could find.
I gave them to her on February 14th, and on the 20th she moved away and I never saw her again.
Till this day it's the biggest heartbreak I've ever had to go through.
My second love was Annabeth.
Although I didn't realize I loved her until she left.
One week we were sharing popcorn and lemonade at a drive in theater and the next she was in Wales for a touring underground band. And I'm still here. In New York.
The worst part. She didn't even tell me.
I called her a few hours after she landed asking if she wanted to go to the beach and she said, "Percy, I'm so sorry, I'm in Europe."
Just like Silena.
But its okay. Sure Annabeth, break my heart, I'll see you in three months.
I wasn't too destroyed by that.
Because I was with Calypso.
And that is my third love.
The super cool thing about concerts (and alcohol) is that it truly bonds complete strangers to each other. Seriously, some of my best friends are people I meant randomly at a concert and we just like, vibed with each other. I mean music is definitely something to creat lifelong relationships from, and meeting at a concert is like speed dating. Sure, its super loud and you definitely want to be paying more attention to the band rather than the stranger in the seat next to you, but sometimes its so worth it.
For example.
Calypso.
The show I met her at wasn't half as spectacular as she is. She just- simply lives so effortlessly. Everyone around her loves her and is encapsulated by her. I was lucky enough to have her attention completely that night.
Annabeth invited me with her (as usual) just for some fun because her jerk-ass boss is like on death row or something, so she doesn't have many photography gigs these days. (She started asking me how else she could possibly make money because rent is like, awful n stuff, especially without constant pay; I recommended prostitution and she didn't really like that. Of course she didn't realise I meant me but- past is the past).
I digress.
It was a pretty normal show for a while; Annabeth and I got pretzels and lemonade and ice cream, and stole some ticket stubs for free food after the show; but as you know-
"Its her!"
And it was.
Calypso.
My dream girl.
The lost in the wind beauty from that weird concert ages ago. I saw her and talked to her, got her name but nothing else. I honestly thought finding her started to become more of a joke, rather than a possibility.
Joke or not, she was standing right in front of me.
And it was like it was just the two of us.
I remember feeling very stupid for thinking she'd even remember me at all. But she altogether ran over and jumped me into a hug. I remember laughing and squeezing her. It was like a fairytale moment. I felt light and floating, the music swaying in the background, the sun setting. It was perfect.
The night was spent terrifically. Her and I danced and sang and we used the ticket stubs Annabeth and I stole for the backstage VIP food stash. We held hands and jumped with the music and the crowd. I felt myself falling into the deepest love I had ever felt in just the one night.
I felt happy and lucky. Like I was on ecstasy or something. It was the best night I'd had in a while.
Its been about a week since that day. Calypso and I text all the time. We facetime and talk until one of us falls asleep at like three am. She's such a beautiful soul. Every conversation with her feels like a gift. I can't believe I got so lucky.
Nothing like that lasts for very long though.
Yesterday, I remembered that I hadn't talked to Annabeth much recently. I actually hadn't seen her since Calypso and I asked for the stolen ticket stubs.
My afternoon was free so I called her.
Shes in Wales.
For three months.
And she never told me.
I guess I have been rather distracted. Still. Shes my bestfriend and this kinda seems like the type of thing you'd tell your bestfriend.
"Oh, okay. Well, make sure to write. Take some killer pics for me, Annabeth."
"Will do."
And that was that.
Annabeth was gone.
But I had Calypso.
And sure, I miss Annabeth. Sure it feels like a giant shark or bear or lion or like dragon took a giant chunk out of my soul and put it in Wales for three months without warning. Sure, I feel a little empty inside and sure, I cried myself to sleep last night. Yeah, whatever. Sure.
But I have Calypso.
So it's okay.
Annabeth cannot breathe.
The flight to Wales feels like its never going to end.
When she gets off, will she have seven missed calls from Percy? Is he going to've set out a search party?
Maybe she's in way over her head on this one. Well, going to a different country and disappearing to take concert photographs for like, months- thats normal. However not telling her best (love of her life) friend is something she will regret.
The problem is.
The girl.
Calypso.
Whatever her name is.
Percy just seems so, so happy with her. Almost happier than he seemed with Annabeth, and she doesn't want to deny that. She doesn't want to throw away her chance at a big gig and a paycheck she so desperately needs just to stick around to get third wheeled and ignored by a guy she'll never have.
It makes her feel miserable, but she knows its the right thing for her to do.
She breathes. Its gonna be okay.
Percy doesn't realise until three hours after she landed and was settling into her hotel room that she was gone. And even so, he called because he still thought she was in town.
Once the call ends, she sits on the hotel bed and cries.
They hadn't talked in a week.
The longest amount of time they hadn't talked since they met for the third time in New York.
Its gonna be okay.
Tuesday night is date night.
They had decided (for simplicity's sake) that each week one of them would choose the date and pay and all of that. (Apparently Calypso came from quite a bit of money which shocked Percy when he found out, but after all this time, he realises it makes a lot of sense.)
They've only been dating like, two weeks, (anniversary, yay!) and last week, since Calypso came up with the idea, she was the one who picked the events for the night. Which means this week, its Percy.
He's very glad Calypso went first. His idea of a date is drive in movies and going to the beach at three am. Or eating pizza or chicken nuggets like its simply delectable.
However.
Calypso seems to like the fancier things. Which is a pretty big turn around for him. He's only ever seen her at dirty, virus filled concerts where you can probably get like seven lung diseases from all the smoke in the air, and almost anything can be drugged honestly.
But she wanted to go to a fancy-shmancy restaurant and wear nice clothes and drink expensive wine and be home at an early hour. Which is fine with Percy. She's really cool.
He decided to mix up both of their personalities and mash them into the perfect date.
First step was food. Super fancy french restaurant that like, drained half his wallet for two meals and one small desert.
(he borrowed a bottle of champagne from a convenient store , no need to mention that though, he'll give it back)
Next step:
"Okay, where are we going?" Calypso laughs, her arms out in front of her to hopefully not stumble and fall, since she's wearing a blindfold.
Percy smiles, leading her up the last few flights of stairs, "Almost there, promise."
"I would not be surprised if you led me to the top of the Empire State Building, I swear," she smiles and Percy laughs, "we have been climbing these steps for hours."
He holds in a giggle, and his face hurts from smiling. "Its been like ten minutes."
Calypso sighs, but shes smiling.
Percy feels something off in his stomach. Something almost wrong. His hearts beating really fast and he feels like he's in a cold sweat. Probably just nerves. He swallows and opens the doors to the roof of his apartment complex.
Laid before them is a picnic of blankets and one bottle of champagne in the middle of two glasses, and a large basket holding their hot food. Calypso takes off the blindfold and gasps.
Percy looks up. The stars blanket the sky. It feels almost familiar.
He leads her to the blankets and they sit. Shyly, he pours them both a glass. Calypso blushes and takes a sip, expertly hiding how she can clearly tell its not very good champagne.
Percy takes a sip and he oddly thinks it feels like he's a child at a tea party. He doesn't really know what to say.
"So, how did Percy take it when you told him you love him?"
"I never told him."
"Annabeth!"
"I'm sorry, Thalia, but you were wrong."
"Sorry, what."
"I wasn't the girl whatever he was chasing for at the concerts. It was someone else."
"You want me to kill her."
"Uh-"
"I'll do it, fully. I have no hesitations-"
"Thalia, come on."
"Yeah, I'm sorry Beth."
"It's alright. I mean i'm like majorly depressed and stuck in Wales, of all places, for three months, but whatever."
"How is it there?"
"Cold."
"Have you seen any whales?"
"No."
The food is good, Percy has to admit. Is it worth credit card debt? No.
He just hopes Calypso is enjoying it. It's the first time he's set up a date for each other and it certainly wasn't a fancy restaurant or anything.
She seems to be enjoying herself though.
The moonlight sits on her skin and she smiles as she eats her food slowly, very mannerly. Percy finishes his food long before Calypso does, so he lays back and looks towards the sky, trying to find constellations.
He realises why it felt oddly familiar. It was like when he and Annabeth laid on her apartment steps in the stairway and looked at the graffiti art as it if was a night sky. He doesn't realise but he's smiling and suddenly realises the stars he's looking at is the Big Dipper. He can almost see the lines between the stars, connecting them so perfectly, like they are meant to be together.
Ever since he was little, Percy loved looking at the stars. His favorite was the ones that twinkled. He liked to count the biggest ones he could find and see if there were more or less from the night before. The counting helped drown out his dad yelling sometimes.
All he wanted for Christmas was a telescope. He wanted to see space close up for himself. He'd talk to his mom about it any second he got. And he just knew she was going to get it for her. Christmas morning came and there was nothing under the tree. His mom had a bruise on her cheek.
He remembers losing interest in the stars after that.
The next time he ever came close to stargazing was the night in the stairwell with Annabeth. He closes his eyes for a moment and smiles; he can almost feel the step digging into the back of his neck, almost see the marker and the gum above his head, almost feel the grogginess of hunger and drunkenness and sleepiness all at once, he can almost here Annabeth say, chewing soggy chicken nuggets-
"This is the best meal I've ever had in my entire life."
Percy jerks up. He forgot where he was for a moment. Calypso stares at him, waiting for a response.
"What?" he says.
She laughs awkwardly. "I said this is the best meal I've ever had in my entire life." She takes a sip of champagne to not have to look at him anymore.
And its like
Just everything
Everything everything everything
Hits him in the face so incredibly hard
God hes so stupid
It's Annabeth, he thinks.
It's always been Annabeth.
The chills, the cold sweat. He feels like he's cheating on a girlfriend he doesn't have with- with
Calypso.
Yeah, Calypso.
Oh god
Yeah, he shouldn't be here.
He feels it build in his stomach. This was such a mistake, oh god.
"Im sorry?"
He said it out loud. Oops.
"What's a mistake?" Calypso frowns. He can feel her pulling away.
But he's already pulled himself to another planet.
"I'm sorry," he says, rushed, "but I have to go, this was a mistake, lets stay friends."
And he runs.
The flight to Wales felt like it was never going to end.
Annabeth is like, so done.
For starters, this band's lead singer has awful clashing fashion taste than any other part of the band. It's hard to get a good picture when he looks like he's photoshopped in.
Plus (and just shut up) her bag is really heavy.
She can't remember the last concert she had to carry her own bag around. She forgot it was like five pounds. But she bears through it. The unaesthetic band members, the crowded bar, the constant clammer of a language she can't understand.
During the intermission, Annabeth finds a quiet booth towards the back and puts in her headphones. She plays calm music because anymore loud banging will burst her eardrums. It's not like she doesn't like it. Its just that shes starting to hate her job.
It's so miserable when it's just her.
She hates to romanticize everything, but honestly. She has no idea how she did it before she met Percy.
Annabeth takes a deep breath and sinks into the booth, letting her body rest from standing for so long. Sipping on an ice cold glass of water, Annabeth goes through a few of her pictures from the night.
Blurry, blurry but in a super cool way, band member making a stupid face, etc, etc. Normally the same issue. She does find a few she falls in love with. The way she does with all her shows. Ones that she thinks about printing and hanging them up somewhere, but then she'd have hundreds of pictures hanging on her wall and honestly it just seems a little scary, plus printing costs money. The select few she zooms in and out, memorizing every corner of the scene, falling into it herself. She scrolls through the last few quickly, knowing the set will start again soon. As she's scrolling, she stands and starts to put her bag and camera on her shoulders. She goes to turn off her camera and the last picture she clicks before it shuts off is Percy.
Percy at that dumb party where she hid in the laundry room and she didn't drink and the party where they danced. That one.
Her blood goes cold and she swallows it down. It's been two weeks. She needs to move on. God, theres even a chance she might never see him again!
She goes back to New York and they just don't ever catch up. He's obsessed with his new fun girl and she dies alone surrounded by very similar looking photographs of concerts.
It's just how its going to go.
A little dramatic, but whatever.
Annabeth goes to the front of the crowd and takes a few test photos before the music starts up again. She backs in the mass of people and brings her camera down to check lighting and all that before she's ready to start shooting the show.
She knocks right into someone.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," she turns around.
"Oh, no it's totally okay. I was in the way." he apologizes with a smile.
Her face goes red. "What-"
"I'm here to enjoy the show!" he shouts over the music, a smile plastered on his face. "I remember a long time ago seeing this girl at a concert and I thought maybe she might be here. I came to see if I could find her."
She exhales. "Did you? Did you find her?"
He swings her camera bag off of her and over his shoulder. "Do you wanna dance? This music is totally making me wanna dance."
He grabs her hands and they jump to the beat of the music, yell to words they can't even understand.
He shreds air guitar and she laughs, happier than she could imagine she'd ever be again.
It's like a puzzle piece that fits together so well. Other pieces might have the same shape, but none fit like they do.
She holds his hand and raises it up as they jump and dance and sing.
He yells over the chorus, "Shouldn't you be taking pictures?"
"I quit," she yells back.
Percy squeezes her in the tightest hug, lifting Annabeth up and spinning them around. Annabeth laughs in his ear.
This is the best moment I've ever had in my entire life, he thinks.
And thats all.
I never thought I'd get here.
both to the end of this story and to the end of my run on this beautiful website.
i hope you all know how much i love and appreciate all of you
it makes me smile even over a year later to get reviews on some of my old stories
this year has been insane lol
of course everyone knows that
heres a lil update on me if u wanna know, i got a boyfriend! yay i finally know how to kiss and what it feels like to hold hands lol. i feel like a big reason i wrote stories like these is because im such a hopeless romantic but honestly, now that ive got my own guy it feels like i don't need to write or read big romantic stories to fill that space. anyway i also got my license! started and quit my first job and then started my second job. ew honestly lol. and i was in a mental hospital for a little while 3 nothing too bad lmao
ive been humbled by the things ive faced this year.
thats a joke im destroyed
also like covid
u know how it goes
anyway sorry this chapter sucks. ive had the idea in my head for how it ends for forever now and tonight i decided i was just bored enough to finish it. i knew it would come
promise guys i always knew id finish this story one day.
honestly im not like completely done on this site. i still have a few friends and whenever they post i get an email and it takes like my whole morning and my heart and soul genuinely you people are so talented it hurts.
uhh fun fact about me my name is kayleigh, i go as leigh only on this sight because i wanted to be ~anonymous~ which is very funny honestly. tbh u guys can like honestly follow me on instagram if u want, just i swear to god if you embarrass me in front of the people i go to school with im gonna b just so mad anyway username is kayleighganne so have fun w that message me there if you wanna or pm/
the cool part is if anyone does follow me ill know theyre super cool cause no lameo would read this far into a boring authors note.
anyway
i love you guys so much
hope you had a lovely chanukah and hope you have a wonderful merry christmas
for the last time :,)
3leigh