Sorry if this chapter is a little short. Big things are about to happen. Thanks for all the feedback and I'm glad you guys like this as much as you do. I'll try to update again later. Let me know how you like this chapter. Thanks!~ Bolts and Trees :D
I sighed and started the coffee maker. Kelli was already up doing yoga in the living room. She wakes up at five o'clock every freaking morning. I barely like to wake up at nine o'clock especially since I didn't have any classes or work until after noon on any day of the week.
"Why don't you try doing yoga?" Kelli asked me. She was standing on her head, which is something I could never dream of doing, and doing something weird with her feet.
"I'm not flexible." I shrugged and dug through the fridge to find that it had been packed full of healthy foods. I'm not talking tofu or vegetarian food, I'm talking wheat germ, gluten free wheat bagels, egg substitute. Things I would never eat in a million years.
"Where did all this food come from?" I asked.
"I went shopping, you had nothing healthy in you apartment." Kelli replied as she conformed into another pose.
I shrugged and checked the cupboard for my cereal and much to my surprise it had all been replaced with granola or bran cereals, things that tasted like cardboard. I missed Thalia who understood my love for Lucky Charms and Coco Puffs. She didn't care if I ate three donuts and a slice of pizza for breakfast. I wasn't about to touch whatever Kelli had packed into the fridge.
"McDonald's is still serving breakfast." I muttered to myself. I grabbed my keys and decided to walk to the McDonald's up the block. I left Kelli asking me where I was going.
"Ok, there's a summer party coming up. I was thinking you could make an appearance because I'm sure Luke's bound to be there. It's his last college party, you show up, bring that incredibly mysterious British man you told me about, and boom! Instant jealousy." Annabeth grinned.
Percy looked over at Annabeth with a shocked expression, "I thought you were against fighting fire with fire."
"Usually I am, but what Luke pulled was a dick move." Annabeth shrugged before grabbing the bottle of soy sauce in the middle of the table.
"Look, I think it's great that you're helping Thalia but is making Luke jealous really worth all of this?" Percy asked. For a moment I almost agreed with him. Luke left me for a reason, he wouldn't care if I started seeing other people or if I suddenly started dressing hotter.
Annabeth nodded and stuffed a potsticker in her mouth, "It's definitely worth it. We're going to make that asshole see what he's missing out on."
I laughed, "You're ambitious aren't you."
"You claim you know me." Annabeth feigned hurt.
"You two scare me." Percy muttered before turning his attention back to his container of Sweet and Sour Chicken.
"Is Collin going to join us for movie night tonight?" Annabeth asked curiously.
I nodded, "You finally get to meet him."
"It's been too long." Annabeth grinned.
"It's barely been a week." I laughed. Today was probably the best day of the entire week. Collin had proven to be a good thing and Annabeth and Percy were probably the two best friends a girl could ever ask for.
Before Annabeth could say anything there was a knock at the door, "I'll get it."
I opened it to find Collin standing there, "I'm sorry I'm late. I brought beer."
"Thanks, you didn't need to do that. There's some Chinese on the table, it's Sweet and Sour Chicken." I smiled.
"Perfect." Collin smiled.
"Aren't you going to introduce us?!" Annabeth called.
I led Collin to the kitchen where Percy and Annabeth were seated at my tiny kitchen table, "Collin this is Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, they're my best friends. Percy, Annabeth this is Collin Lawrence my..."
"Boyfriend in training." Collin replied.
Annabeth had a sly grin on her face, "It's nice to meet you Collin. We've heard so much about you."
Collin raised his eyebrows, "Have you?"
"Loads." Annabeth grinned. I rolled my eyes and grabbed a seat at the table. Collin sat next to me.
"So Collin where are you from?" Percy asked, "I noticed your accent."
"I moved here from London but I'm originally from Wales." Collin replied.
"So you're into soccer?" Percy asked.
"You mean football?" Collin grinned.
"Whatever, you're into it right?" Percy asked.
Collin nodded, "I've played ever since I could walk. It's a big thing in England."
"Are you any good at it?" Percy asked curiously.
"My team was always a championship finalist." Collin smiled. He looked over at me for approval and I nodded. He was doing great.
"How did you meet Thalia?" Annabeth asked. She knew the story, she was just testing him.
"I met her at the grocery store." Collin smiled, "I couldn't find the peanut butter."
Annabeth laughed, "I thought peanut butter wasn't as big a thing over in Europe."
Collin shrugged, "I had it a friend's house when I first moved here and fell in love with it."
After Percy and Annabeth drilled Collin with the questions he volunteered to help me pop popcorn in the kitchen.
"Your friends are nice. Do you think I passed the test?" Collin grinned.
I laughed, "I'm sure you did."
He wrapped his arms around my waist and smiled, "Well I hope they liked me."
"I think they do." I giggled as he rested his forehead against mine.
He pressed his lips to mine and the world instantly slowed down. I felt slightly guilty by the fact that I was kissing someone only a week after being dumped but it also felt like my heart was going to beat right out of my chest. We were pulled apart by the timer on the microwave going off.
"Well we better head out there so they don't suspect anything." Collin chuckled.
"I think they already do." I laughed. It sounded breathy and unlike me.
I figured taking Kelli's dog for a walk in the park was a good idea. I could run for a little bit and the dog would get exercise. Out of the millions of people in New York City I manage to run into her. I rounded the corner with Winston (Kelli's ridiculous Pomeranian) and I seriously missed taking Thalia's rottweiler Zeus out for runs. I could barely go ten feet and Winston would stop and refuse to move. That's when I saw Thalia with some other guy, probably the same guy from the week before.
They were playing soccer. Thalia hated soccer! I remembered playing football with Thalia in the park, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder instead of tackling her, or twirling her around when I caught her. Now I don't play football in the park, Kelli and I attend couples' yoga on Saturday and Sunday mornings. It was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever been through.
Thalia kicked the ball through the goal past the dude, I already hated his guts, and it flew right past him. He ran out of the goal and picked her up, twirling her around in the process. Somehow during all of this Winston had managed to escape his leash and ran straight towards Thalia.
She stooped to the yipping dog's level and smiled, "Hey there little guy."
She picked him up and looked at his collar, "Looks like you're a pretty far way from home."
I decided to run over and claim the stupid dog, besides I think Kelli would kill me if I didn't return home with her precious Winston, "Sorry, he escaped his...oh Thalia, it's nice to see you."
"This is your dog?" Thalia asked looking from me to Winston. The dude had walked over at this point.
"No he's Kelli's." I replied. Thalia handed me Winston after scratching him behind the ears.
"You should keep a better eye on the little guy." Thalia said before petting him one last time and turning towards the dude who was watching me with a weird expression.
I started back towards my apartment, I could totally take that guy if it came down to that. I was definitely better looking and I probably knew Thalia even better than he did. I knew things about Thalia that no one else on the planet knew about her, not even Annabeth. Thalia clearly belonged with me and I was going to do everything to get her to realize that. Sure I screwed up but I realize that I made a mistake now, the problem is the dude.