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Percy scowled as he stepped in yet another puddle of slush on the sidewalk. It didn’t get his socks wet (thank you, Poseidon), but it felt weird and squishy, even through his sneakers. The first few months of spring were usually Percy’s least favourite time of year, but this time, all he could feel was excitement. He was finally meeting up with Annabeth today, and that made all of the clouds, gloom, and half-melted snow worth it.
The Starbucks nearby was just barely too close to justify bringing his skateboard — a shame since he’d kind of wanted to show it off. He wasn’t sure why he was so nervous about seeing Annabeth again, especially after having gone on a whole quest just to find her not even three months ago. But maybe that was why; Percy knew Annabeth knew that the only reason he’d tagged along with Zoë’s quest was to rescue Annabeth, and she’d seen his reaction when he thought she was going to join the Hunters. Maybe he wasn’t sure whether or not she would bring any of that up. Or maybe he wasn’t. Percy had never liked self-reflection. He brushed a nonexistent speck of dust off his hoodie before stepping into the Starbucks, the bell on the door jingling as he did.
Annabeth wasn’t hard to find. She was sitting at one of the tall tables next to the window, fiddling with her hat and swinging her feet back and forth, when he waved hello. She beamed when she saw him, waving him over and patting the seat beside her. He walked over, squeezing through a long lineup on his way. “I didn’t expect you to get here before me,” he said as sat down. “What, were you biking for a straight week?”
She laughed. “I’ve been here all week,” she told him. “I wanted to drop by Camp for a bit before going back to school.”
Percy hummed in acknowledgement. “How’s that been going? School, I mean.”
“Not bad, actually. Not great, but not bad. How about you?”
Percy winced. “Science has been kicking my ass,” he said, earning a glare from the old lady at the table behind them. “No clue why we need to learn about tiny bugs. Gym’s a lot better, though, now that I don’t have to worry about Canadians.”
“Laestrygonians,” Annabeth corrected with a grin. “If you say that around an actual Canadian, they’ll hate you.”
“Sure they will,” he said, but he let it drop. “Do you wanna get anything?”
She stared at the menu for a while. “Can’t decide. I’ll go, maybe I can choose while I’m in line. Looks like I’ll have plenty of time,” she joked, and he snorted. “What do you want?”
“Hot chocolate, maybe? Medium. No whipped cream.” Annabeth looked affronted at that, but she left to join the end of the line.
Percy never noticed just how much he missed Annabeth until he saw her again, and this year was no exception. He forgot just how lemony her hair smelled, even from a distance, and how her eyes were sparkly and so much warmer than her mother’s, and how her nose scrunched up when she laughed every time no matter how much time they spent together. Rediscovering it always felt like unwrapping the best gift he’d ever received. In no time at all, he was watching Annabeth interact with the cashier with the type of casual ease that he would never be able to imitate and turn toward their seats, two cups in hand. He forced himself to look away from her face while she walked over, inspecting the flower buds on the bush right outside the window. He didn’t turn around until she sat down, handing him his hot chocolate. She had gotten a smaller cup of white hot chocolate for herself with plenty of whipped cream heaped on top, and she wasted no time in digging in. A strand of hair fell in front of her face as she did, and as he warned her about it before she accidentally dunked it in her cup, he had to fight back the urge to tuck it behind her ear himself. That was weird.
Annabeth smiled at him again as she put her cup down. He felt like he should start another conversation, but he couldn’t figure out what to say. “Have you heard from Thalia recently?” was what he ended up settling on, but he almost immediately regretted it.
She deflated a bit. “No, but she’s probably pretty busy.”
“True,” he said, taking a long sip from his cup.
He tried a different approach. “Have you done anything architecture-related recently?” That was the right move; Annabeth immediately lit up like a Christmas tree and started rambling about some new books she’d found in her school’s library. The sun bounced off her curls, making them glow gold. It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying. Percy nodded along like he understood everything she was talking about, but in reality, he was focused on how her grey scarf brought out her eyes just right and how big her smile got when she was thinking of something she loved. Her earrings shone blindingly bright whenever she shifted in her seat, but he didn’t mind. It took him a bit too long to realize that Annabeth had stopped rambling. “That’s great,” he said, feeling his ears burn. Why were they doing that? Annabeth didn’t respond, going back to her drink. Percy did the same.
“I still can’t believe my mom let me come here alone,” he said once the only thing left in his cup was tiny bits of hot chocolate mix.
“You’re a teenager now,” she replied, emphasizing the word teenager just enough to make him think she was teasing him. “Why wouldn’t she?”
Percy shrugged. “You have a point,” he said, and slid out of his seat.
Annabeth grinned again. “I always do.” She stood as well, adjusting her scarf and going to throw out their cups. “I’ll see you at camp, then? In a few months?”
He nodded. “See you then.”
She smiled and headed for the door. Percy followed after a bit, feet feeling significantly lighter than they were before. He missed her already.