Coney Island

Annabeth was sitting on the bench she usually met Piper at, on the beach outside of Coney Island. It was gorgeous out; the sun was setting and there was a soft breeze carrying the scent of popcorn and cotton candy. Piper was a little late, but that wasn't unusual for her best friend. Annabeth was lucky if she was less than ten minutes late. As she sat and tapped on her phone, she noticed Piper walking over to her. She was wearing a pink Bratz tank top and high-waisted jeans with flowers painted on them. Her choppy hair had been highlighted and braided down the side of her head as usual.

"Hey, Annie!" Piper greeted and offered her hand. Annabeth stood up and they walked down the beach, trying to keep the sand out of her converse. Piper was wearing her favorite lipgloss- the MAC Selena lipglass. It was so pretty, with more glitter than Annabeth could comprehend. Her lips sparkled in the setting sun. "So how'd it go?"

Annabeth grinned. She'd had a job interview with a huge architecture company- Mosbius Designs- who had designed one of the huge bank buildings on the New York skyline. The GNB building was beautiful- Annabeth noticed it every time she was looking at the Manhattan skyline from an airplane.

"It went great! I met with the hiring manager and they were very interested. He said I'd hear back from them in the next two days."

Piper smiled at her, and Annabeth had to focus to keep herself from focusing on Piper's sparkling lip gloss. "That's great! I bet they hire you. You're a shoe-in! Who wouldn't want UC Berkley's top architecture student?"

Annabeth played with a strand of her hair and tried to ignore the wave of nerves that flooded her system when she thought about the phone call she was waiting on. "I guess," She mumbled.

Piper sat down on the bench next to her, and where their arms touched felt tingly. Annabeth leaned against her.

"Don't be nervous," Piper murmured, turning her head towards the blond. Her breath tickled Annabeth's shoulder. "Whatever happens, you did your best. And you're crazy to think there's any chance they wouldn't hire you!" She sat up and punched Annabeth's shoulder lightly.

Annabeth giggled and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "Wanna walk?"

"Course," Piper replied, standing up and offering her hand. As they walked, the sun cast an orange glow over the beach. Piper's skin looked luminescent, and her lip gloss shimmed even more than before. It was more difficult than Annabeth could understand to tear her eyes away from the sparkles on her lips.

They talked about nothing particularly important; Piper's failed waxing attempt, the swimsuit Annabeth had ordered. It was just nice out. The breeze was intoxicating; salty and sweet, and the warmth of the sun balanced out the Fall chill.

After they'd walked most of the way down the beach, they sat on a boulder that overlooked the ocean. The waves were calm and dazzling- and everything about the moment felt perfect.

They were holding hands- the way they always did- but it felt... different ? Annabeth's palms felt sticky, like she'd been sweating. As much as she'd been enjoying it the last moment, the close proximity with her best friend abruptly repulsed her. She dropped Piper's hand and stood up, brushing her palms on her jeans. "Well, it's getting late."

Piper looked startled by Annabeth's sudden movement, and Annabeth could've been mistaken but she could've sworn she saw something flicker over her face before the smile she knew replaced it. "Same time next week?"

Despite the turmoil that was boiling over her chest at the moment, Annabeth nodded. She wasn't sure why she felt so... weird , but she wouldn't stand up her best friend over something so trivial.