Chapter 2
Annabeth POV
I stand outside of my room gaping at the doorway. I cannot believe what I am seeing. At Olympus resort, all of the rooms are like their own little houses, and my room even has planters and patio furniture and everything. My mom really outdid herself. The resort is laid out almost like a little town. The Colosseum is in the center of everything and from there, there is a long road that goes to the entrance, where the Roman arches are. All of the rooms are in different little sections off of the main road and the rest of the places, like the spa, the tennis courts, and the party rooms, all surround the Colosseum. It's pretty awesome.
I step through the doorway and into my room which looks like a little apartment. Everything is either white or clear glass and the whole space is super modern looking. Straight ahead, there is a living room area that has a couch, tv, fireplace, and dining table, as well as a full size kitchen. On my right, there is a door that connects to a beautiful bedroom with a kingsize bed and a bathroom that is bigger than my whole bedroom back home. Then, to my left, just past the dining area, there is a sliding door that connects to this beautiful patio that has an ocean view and patio lights hanging down around the patio furniture. I've never stayed anywhere this fancy.
As much as I am loving my new room though, I really want to head down to the pool and continue exploring. Not to mention I have plans to meet Thalia, so I better get ready fast.
I quickly but my books down on the couch and and notice that all of my luggage has been brought up and placed at the foot of my bed. I begin to unpack and put my clothes into the closet before hopping into the shower. The shower feels good after the plane ride, and I work to wash the remaining oiliness out of my hair. When I'm done, I throw on a simple, black one piece that my mom bought for me last summer and slip on some sandals, jean shorts, and a light shirt before grabbing my skateboard and purse and heading out the door.
The path is shockingly smooth under my board as I head up towards the Colosseum, but I guess that makes sense considering that the paving is all new throughout the resort. On my way up, I pass families playing in the grassy areas, elderly couples taking walks, and groups of friends messing around on the tennis courts. Olympus Resort really is a one of a kind place. I've never seen anywhere like it, and am eerily reminded of the utopias I read about in my novels as I pass by everything, the sun beating down on my skin.
I continue skating along the sidewalk and don't even realize how fast I'm going until I whip around a corner and out of nowhere, I run smack into someone else. He is skateboarding as well, and when we collide, both of our boards go flying in opposite directions. In a blur, we both all hard to the ground, and before I know it, I am laying right on top of him in the grass, the two of us a mess of limbs and shaky breath. Our faces are inches apart and as soon as we make eye contact, I feel my cheeks flush a hot red. I quickly scramble to get off him.
"Oh my gods, I am so sorry. Are you okay?" I ask him.
He laughs and combs his hand through his hair. "Yeah I'm all good."
"I don't know what I was thinking," I exclaim as I awkwardly attempt to collect the contents of my purse. "I totally should've looked where I was going before turning at that speed. Are you sure you're okay?"
I look over at him and suddenly wish I hadn't because damn. I don't think I'll ever be able to look away now. He has these striking green eyes and this tousled black hair that is messy, but in a cute way. He's wearing a light shirt, swim shorts, and one flip flop. I quickly realize that I am holding the other one in my hand and awkwardly hand it to him. "Here you go."
He laughs and takes the flip flop. "Thanks. And honestly, it's no big deal," he says, slipping his shoe back on and leaning towards me as I pick up the contents of my purse. "Here, let me help you with that."
"Oh you don't have to-"
He looks at me with a slight smile. "No, I insist."
He begins helping me pick up my stuff and put it back into my purse when, to my mortification, he grabs a handful of tampons, and as soon as he realizes what they are, quickly stuffs them into my purse, his cheeks turning violently red. Oh my gods, kill me now. Not only did I embarrass myself by a) knocking over and b) landing on top of this incredibly cute guy, but c) he also got the pleasure of picking up my tampons. At this point I am pretty much convinced that the universe hates me.
Once everything is back in my bag, we both stand and I am very aware of our hands brushing as he hands me my purse.
"Thank you for that," I start. "And again, I'm really sorry abou-"
"Really! Don't worry about it," he insists, laughing.
I smile and hold out my hand. "I'm Annabeth by the way."
He takes my hand. "Percy."
His hand feels sturdy and warm around mine, and when I realize that I have been holding the shake a little bit longer than I probably should, I quickly pull away, a blush, once again, making its way to my cheeks.
"Well, it was nice meeting you Percy," I say with a slight grin, cursing myself for my awkwardness as I start to turn away.
"It was uh- it was nice meeting you too," he says.
Once my face is turned away, I can't help but smile really wide. Man was he cute. I pick up my skateboard, and with one last wave in Percy's direction, I take off toward the Colosseum.
I am riding for a couple minutes more, and try to take in as much of the sunlight as I can as I do so. I honestly don't think I'll ever get used to the perfection of Los Angeles weather.
As I pull up through the arches and into the entryway, I can't stop thinking about Percy. And everytime my mind strays away from the thought of him for just one moment, his face pops up in my head again. Maybe it's the growing bruise on my side, or the scrape that is beginning to form on the side of my leg, but for whatever reason, I just can't seem to get that boy out of my head as I leave my skateboard in the bike rack and walk up the stairs to the lobby of the Colosseum.
Against my will, the feeling of his hand brushing mine keeps replaying in my mind and I can't help but get butterflies in my stomach when I think of how fucking cute his messy hair and carefree smile were. And don't even get me started on those eyes. Ugh. I need to snap out of it though. The last thing I need right now is to have some major crush on a guy who won't even feel the same way about me.
I walk straight through the archways of the lobby, and step outdoors to find myself right in the center of the Colosseum where there is this gigantic ass circular swimming pool surrounded by cabanas and poolside restaurants. I suddenly feel very out of place again, looking around at everyone in their designer bikinis and thousand dollar pool bags.
I subtly make my way over to an open cabana and put my purse down on one of the big lounge chairs that sits underneath it. I honestly feel like I am living in one of those commercials for the really fancy resorts in Fiji or the Bahamas or something. I mean, this place is absolutely gorgeous.
I look at my clock. It's about 1:00, and the sun is beating down pretty hard. I order an iced tea from one of the waiters who is coming around to help me cool down and pull a book out of my bag, thinking that a little bit of reading might help to get my mind off of Percy.
About an hour has passed when I finally look up to Thalia walking over with a couple of other girls about our age. I put my book down and stand up to greet them.
"Everyone, this is Annabeth, and Annabeth this is Piper, Reyna, and Hazel," Thalia says gesturing to each girl as she says their names.
Piper stands on Thalia's right and is this ridiculously pretty Native American girl with choppy dark hair and gorgeous eyes that seem to be changing color in the sunlight. Reyna stands to the left of Thalia and is also very pretty. She is a latina girl with long dark hair and is of average height but looks tall next to Hazel who is a shorter, light skin black girl with these amazingly beautiful golden curls.
"Nice to meet you guys," I say to them with a smile and shake each of their hands before starting to sit back down.
Thalia, Piper, Reyna, and Hazel follow my lead and settle into the other lounge chairs that rest in a circle under the Cabana. Reyna and Hazel both wear bikini tops with shorts while Piper is rocking this gorgeous red one piece.
"So, how long have you guys been here at the resort?" I ask them.
"Oh, I've only been here for a week," says Piper, "but the other girls have all been here for two."
"Two and a half," corrects Hazel. I let out a small laugh, and take a sip of my iced tea.
"Yeah, Hazel and Reyna know each other from school, and Piper and I know each other because she's dating my brother," Thalia explaims with a smirk and Piper blushes furiously.
"Okay, we aren't official yet Thals," Piper responds, but Thalia cuts her off.
"Yeah cause nothing says 'not official yet' like hanging out all the time and making out 24/7."
Piper jokingly smacks Thalia on the back of the head with one of the throw pillows, and Thalia smiles, exaggeratedly rubbing the back of her head. "Piper I am hurt, is that any way to treat your future sister in law?"
"Oh shut up," Piper jokes while the rest of us laugh.
Reyna is the first to pull us out of our giddy state. "So, Annabeth," she starts, "where do you live?"
I smirk. "San Francisco all the way baby."
"What no way," Reyna replies, "Hazel and I go to school up in San Fran."
Hazel smiles. "Small world."
"Not that small though," Piper chimes in. "Thals and I are New York gals," she explains to me.
"I'm actually really familiar with New York as well," I tell them. "My mom lives there, and we usually stay there over the summer. I'm only in LA this year because she has work here."
"Well shit," Thalia says laughing. "I guess it really is a small world then."
Reyna leans over to take a sip of my iced tea. "Annabeth, if you're free tomorrow night, the hotel is hosting a teen's night and we'd love it if you came with us."
"Yeah it'll be great," Thalia says sarcastically. "There'll be bad dancing, crappy music, and obnoxious snobs. Who could want anything else!"
"Oh don't listen to her," Hazel chimes in. "These things are always a lot of fun."
I think about it for a minute. I am a horrible dancer, and the last thing I want to do is get overly dressed up to be stuck in a room with a bunch of bratty teens for multiple hours, but Thalia and her friends seem really nice, and it's not everyday that you have an opportunity to make new friends on your first day in a new place. Plus, Percy might be there, and as much as I try to tell myself that I really don't care about where that boy may or may not be, I can't help but get a little bit excited at the prospect of a dance.
"Count me in," I say, and Hazel, Reyna, and Piper pump their fists while Thalia just grins and rolls her eyes.