Annabeth POV
As I walked into the nearest bar, I was pleased to see there were no babies around: there was no way I was going to listen to one more wail coming from a fifteen-pound infant. I was even more satisfied by the lack of people in the chosen bar. While the rest of the airport was buzzing with activity, and characterized by Christmas music and sweaters, the restaurant/bar seemed to be void of all fore mentioned activity.
It was like my private sanctuary where I could prepare for my week and a half of hell.
The second I entered the wood paneled room, I noticed a young man, around my age, hunched over an empty glass. I didn't want to get on his bad side, and chose to sit at least two seats away from him. I plopped myself down on the stool, and let my backpack fall off on my shoulders and crash to the ground. I grimaced, thinking about my MacBook in there, but nonetheless I left the big backpack slumped over on the ground.
I sat down and tried to glance at the TV to see the score of the football game, but the print was too small. Another wave of annoyance coursed through my veins, and I reached into my stuffed backpack to pull out my black thick rimmed glasses. I preferred to wear contacts, but lately my dry eyes have been a major bitch, which led to the frequent combination of me being stubbornly blind as a bat and refusing to wear my glasses, and me feeling like a dork in the thick lenses.
Once the world was clear once again, I gazed from the college bowl game on the nearest TV, to the mystery man sitting a couple seats down from me. His eyes were trained downward, and his body was ridged and seemed to be aching to sit in a different position. The stranger had long, obsidian colored hair, that hung at the nape of his tanned neck. His hair was almost long enough to be pulled back into a minuscule pony tail, and I had the sudden desire to play with his hair.
Don't be ridiculous Annabeth, now is not the time to be checking out strangers.
But that didn't stop my heart from doing little flutters when he glanced towards me.
I've read a lot of books on phycology, and one particular novel had me convinced that your brain recognizes when you're in the same vicinity as your soulmate. It's as if their aura surrounding their body reaches toward yours.
I shook my head, and cleared those thoughts from my mind. Who am I kidding? It's just a cute stranger, and my brain is looking for any excuse to wander its thoughts from my family to something new.
The stranger and I made accidental eye contact, and my heart lurched at how troubled and dark his eyes looked. I held his gaze, refusing to be the first to look away.
"Can I get you something to drink?" the bartender interrupted my thoughts with a kind voice. Unfortunately, I had to tear my eyes away from Mr. Tall Dark and Mysterious and look at the man whose nametag said Will S.
I started to order a glass of wine, but remembered the ugly stain that currently covered my jacket, and the order got stuck on the tip of my tongue. Instead I surprised myself, and seemingly Will too, and said, "I'll have a shot of vodka. And one for Sulky down there." And made a head gesture towards the handsome stranger.
Will poured the two small shots of the expensive liquor, and placed one down in front my myself, and his eyes had a glint as he set the second glass down in front of the man who had grabbed my attention the second my eyes landed on him. My own grey eyes were stuck on the scene in front of me. As Bartender Will placed the shot down, and then gestured over to me, the stranger's jaw unhinged. His eyes, a dark teal in this lighting, switched rapidly between the vodka, Will, and myself. The previous state of sadness and stiff posture was wiped away as he tried to comprehend why on earth I bought him a drink.
Why did you do it Annabeth? I didn't have an answer myself.
Instead of staring any longer, I bit my cheek to stop my smile, and glanced back to my own drink. I grabbed it in between my thumb and forefinger, and prepared to swallow the clear poison.
"I believe that I am supposed to be the one to buy the pretty girl a drink," a deep, hoarse voice stopped me from completing my action. I set the glass down and turned my body to face Sulky, my new name for him.
Up close and personal, I was able to notice things about Sulky that made my heart skip a few beats, and I had to mentally tell myself to control my hormones. His skin tone was a tan, olive color that seemed to have an Italian tint to it. His jaw was square, and his chin was prominent. Following his statement, he smirked to reveal one dimple, on the right side of his face. Standing, he was tall, and lanky, and possessed long arms and even longer legs.
I cleared my own throat and responded. "Well, you sure look like you need it more than I do."
He raised one eyebrow, and scoffed at my observation. "Don't act like you're Miss Sunshine either angel. You stormed in here, threw your bag across the floor, and let out a sigh that they could probably hear in Utah. I take it your day has been going about as great as mine." He stopped talking and raised the glass of liquid that I had purchased for him. I took the hint and clinked my own glass with his. We maintained eye contact as we swallowed the burning drink.
We simultaneously set our glasses down with a thud, and didn't look away from one another. I had so many things I wanted to say, but no coherent thought could be formed in my mind. I broke the silence with the one question that had been on the front of my mind since I entered.
"So, Sulky, what's your name?"
He let out a small cough, and smirked again, showing that dimple. "Did you just call me Sulky?"
I sucked on my lip to prevent another smile from escaping. I couldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing how dramatically my mood had changed in the matter of three sentences. "Yes," I responded. "You were sulking when I walked in. Don't even try and deny it."
He studied me for a couple of seconds, and the glint in his eyes vanished, like a wave coming and going.
"Yeah. I was." The brevity of his statement alarmed me. I was torn in between being curious as to what led to his drastic change in character, or just disregarding it.
He was just a stranger. It wasn't like he was going to fix any of my problems. The short lived high of emotions that he gave me with his smirk and goofy comments weren't going to change the fact that in four hours I would be on my way to San Francisco.
I sat there, consumed with my own thoughts, as his silence informed me that he was doing the same.
After a couple of minutes of silence, he spoke up. "Percy. My name is Percy Jackson." At the end of his sentence his eyes met mine. They held so much emotion, and I just wanted to understand his thoughts.
A teenage boy, probably 17 years old approached us. I was immediately weary of the situation, but Percy seemed to expect what was about to follow. The boy turned towards his family who were sitting at a nearby table, and asked, "Are you THE Percy Jackson." The emphasis on "the" caught my attention, and my nose scrunched up in confusion. Who was this man?
Now, his ever-changing eyes seemed to reflect pain and misery, and the smile on Percy's face was as fake as a Barbie doll. Nerveless Percy affirmed his identity and took a picture with the teen. My face must have reflected the confusion that I was feeling, because now Percy's smile had a touch of authenticity as he reached his hand towards mine.
"I'm Percy Jackson. A fuck-up in the skiing world. What's your name angel?"
I hesitantly reached my clammy hand out to meet his, but not before brushing the sweat off on my leggings. He grasped my hand in a firm, lingering handshake. "I'm Annabeth Chase. A fuck-up in my family's world. We seem like we would make a great duo."
And with this sarcastic remark, Percy's face lit up with a genuine smile, revealing a set of white teeth that had to have been the product of a set of braces.
"Do you want to have another drink with me angel? Maybe compete in a 'who's life sucks more' contest?" He asked me. I glanced at the time on my phone, smiled and nodded my head up and down.
