"This is where it begins, deal?" Percy asked. I nodded excitedly. I was eager to have this adventure, my adrenaline growing by the seconds. We stepped out of the car, and sat down next to the giant H. There was a slight breeze, and the sun was halfway set.
"You first." I demanded to Percy.
He sighed.
"What do you want to know?" He asked.
"Where are you originally from?"
He seemed surprised that I chose an easy question.
"I lived in Greece, than moved when I was 2 to New York City. Came here when I was about 19."
"Why?"
"Nope. Your turn."
"Fine." I sighed.
"What does your tattoo mean?" He asked.
I looked down at my wrist, where the tiny print, οικογένεια, was shown.
"It means family in Greek."
He nodded.
"Do you want to stay here for a while?" He asked gently.
"Let's wait until the sun sets. " I responded. I leaned my head gingerly on his shoulder. He was warm, and his head was on top of mine, so his midnight black hair was constantly on top of my eyes. The sun was amazing, leaving streaks of colors across the sky, and making the clouds look like cotton candy. It was exhilarating. I smiled and let out a happy sigh.
Percy got up and stretched.
"Where to next?" I asked.
"Los Vegas, baby!" He nearly shouted. I stifled a laugh.
"Shouldn't we go to a hotel?"
"By midnight, we will." He promised. I smiled.
"Let's get going then."

TIME LASPE
I nearly passed out on the hotel bed. To say I was exhausted was an understatement. We had kept driving until we hit the California-Nevada border, and found a nice-ish hotel to stay at. It was the cheapest place, and it served free breakfast. But, I hesitantly checked my phone while Percy was singing 'Under the Sea' in the shower. Loudly. And off pitch.
I opened up my phone app, and checked the voicemails. I had fully turned off in the car ride, it was distracting and I liked talking to Percy. A lot. He would make the corniest joke, and I would tease him about it. Everything was easy going, and talking to him was like a second nature to me. The words just flowed out. When I was with Luke, I had tried to be as quiet as possible. I didn't like attention from him. I checked the voice mailbox. 12 missed phone calls from Luke, and 1 voicemail. I opened it, but kept it silent. I read the transcript instead. I didn't want Percy to hear this.
Uh, hey Annabeth. It's luke, and I'm worried about you. Call me back or text me, and we can get over this. Just a bump in the road, right? Anyway, call me back.
I was angry. I hated-no-despised, Luke, and he knew it. Why else would I walk out of our wedding? This wasn't just a bump. This was a giant sinkhole that you can't jump over or go around. 
I was tired enough already, and now Luke had to make it worse. I deleted the voicemail.  THE NEXT MORNING
I grabbed Percy's car keys and left a note.
Percy,
I'm going to the ATM to grab some cash from my account. I'm buying some clothes for myself. If you want to join late, I'll be at the Old Navy down the road.
-Annabeth.
I walked downstairs to the lobby and went down the street. It was quiet and peaceful. When I got to the Old Navy, it was easy to shop. Percy didn't come, and I was disappointed. But when I came back to the hotel, he wasn't there.
"Percy?"
His hand grabbed me, and pulled me downstairs again.
Early checkout, he mouthed.
I almost giggled. I felt like a teenager again. I ran out the door, the wind pushing my hair past my back, and my heart beating rapidly. I laughed, and squeezed Percy's hand.
No.
I couldn't like him. Not yet. He probably only thought of me as a friend, anyway.
I still ran with him, though.
I think that says something about me. They way that I could act around him. I didn't put up the perfect posture and makeup act with him. No, with him, I could be my dorky old self, and say whatever I thought. I could always blurt out anything I thought, and he would support me, no matter what. We'd have friendly debates, but at the end of the day, we were still friends. There were really no thoughts that I had that I didn't share with Percy, other than the secrets. But that's a different story for another time. . I felt, well, it was indescribable. But I knew one thing:

I loved him.