Eyes like the Ocean

one

first off, I want to start by saying that I'm really excited about starting this project. my other projects are one-shots, and while I love those as well, I really wanted to branch out and make an actual story. thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this story, i really appreciate you. alright, here's the story...

"Annabeth, this trip would've sucked without you," Thalia declared, resting her elbows behind her to keep her up and letting her hair fly free behind her shoulders. Her towel was under her, conspicuous because of the bright sunflowers painted on it. The sun beat down on both of the girls, but a soft wind blew every now and then, so it was just perfect weather to be tanning. Annabeth was glad she'd gotten over that insecure part of her life and was now comfortable wearing a bikini. She silently thanked Thalia for that.

"Thanks for inviting me, Thals," Annabeth said, putting her sunglasses up onto her forehead. "Seriously, if not for this I probably would've been-"

"Heads up!" A football came hurtling at the two girls, and instead of screaming, Annabeth caught it on reflex. A tall, muscular guy came running up to her, his sea-green eyes big and apologetic.

"What the hell, man?" she yelled, standing up. "There are people actually trying to relax-"

"Percy?" Thalia stood up too, putting her sunglasses up. "Why..." He eyed the two of them, smiling when he picked up the fear and doubt in Thalia's voice.

Ignoring Annabeth's previous backlash, he said, "I meant to tell you this later...your dad offered me a room for the summer." Annabeth watched Thalia and the guy —damn, she forgot his name— interact, and noticed how Thalia didn't seem happy about the news. "And since you house is insanely big, I gladly obliged." In the distance, Thalia's brother, Jason, stood awkwardly. He was probably waiting for...Percy to get back.

"No! No, there's no way he would do this without asking me first..."

"Is anyone going to tell me what's going on?" Annabeth asked, her hands on her hips. Percy ran a hand through his black, tousled hair and offered it for her to shake.

"I'm Percy Jackson," he told her, "Thalia's cousin." That explained why he had been hanging out with Jason.

"Unfortunately," Thalia muttered. Annabeth shook his hand, analyzing him from head to toe, noticing the water droplets in his hair. "I'm Annabeth," she said, "I'm staying at her house for the summer, since my parents are going out of the country." Percy smirked.

"Guess I'll see you often, then."

"Is that something to be happy about?"

"Absolutely," Percy said with a smile. Thalia groaned.

"No," she said, getting between them. "No sexual tension. No dating. If I'm going to deal with you being here-" she glared at Percy, "then I'm not adding you guys dating to the plate. No falling in love."

Even though she was saying it jokingly, Annabeth could sense the truth in her tone. And she understood completely. Third-wheeling for a whole summer didn't sound ideal to her either, and if Thalia didn't approve of a relationship she had, she probably shouldn't be in it, anyway. Plus, Annabeth didn't even know Percy, while she'd known Thalia her whole life.

"Not a shot," she agreed, to which Percy pretended to pout about.

"Really?" he asked. "I thought we had a whole summer-romance thing going on for a second..."

Thalia grabbed the football out of Annabeth's hands. "Fuck off," she said as she threw it at him. He laughed and Annabeth tried to act like she didn't notice how his eyes sparkled when he did. He said bye to them and jogged away to Jason, continuing his game of catch.

"Hey," Thalia said, turning to look at her best friend. Her blue eyes pierced into Annabeth's gray ones. "I meant what I said. I refuse to sit and watch you two be...chummy...with each other. This is our summer, remember?"

"Thals, relax," Annabeth said, smiling gently. "I'm pretty sure I can control myself around your cousin." Thalia stared at her, then smiled back and slid her sunglasses back to her eyes.

"True. Don't know what I was thinking."

Later, Percy and Jason ended up running into the ocean, and while Jason clumsily fell into the water more than a few times, and his blonde hair was sticking up in all directions, Percy looked very much like a god. He would always laugh as his cousin fell under the waves, but always went back to help him, anyway. Annabeth had to try so hard not to look, mainly because of Thalia, but partly because she felt her heart thumping slightly harder than usual. Thalia, she would think.

Annabeth scolded herself and went back to talking with her best friend, attempting to forget about the cute boy with eyes like the ocean and a smile that made her insides tingle with excitement.

I'll try to update weekly ! Please vote if you enjoyed it and thank you for reading :)

-reyna