And they were roommates

Chapter Twenty

It was late June and she had already started to pack her things. She left in a month and a half. I helped her pack any chance I could, any time with her was enough.
I swore that I wouldn't tell her how I felt. That would just make it harder for me to let her go. Plus I didn't want to ruin what we already had.

I sat on the floor in her room, packing up old sketch books she had on her shelf. She had way too many than she should've.
"Annabeth?" I glanced at her and she turned her head with a smile on her face.
"Yeah?"
"Can I look through some of your sketchbooks?" Her eyes widened and she sped to sit down next to me.
"Only if I look first." She snatched the sketchbook that was in my hand and laid it in her lap.

She opened the pages revealing doodles and sketches that didn't look quite finished. Some were scribbled out, some were erased with faint pencil marks poking though.
"Is that Piper?" I pointed at a mostly finished drawing that looked a lot like our friend.
"Yeah. I drew it a couple months ago before you moved in." She flipped through the pages revealing months worth of art scattered on the paper. She flipped the page and came across a portrait of someone. She flipped passed the page and cleared her throat.

"Who's that?" I tried going back to the page but she held the book away from me.
"Its no one! It's nothing." Her cheeks burned bright red.
"Come on, Annabeth. I won't judge. I just wanna look at it."
She looked at my skeptically and glanced between me and the book. She sighed and handed the book to me and covered her face. "Fine."
I flashed her a quick smile before finding the page quickly and staring in awe at it.

It was a charcoal sketch of me. The hair looked almost too real and the eyes were bright with enthusiasm.
I glanced at her and she tried to hide her blush. "Is this why you wanted to hide it?" She nodded in response and buried her face into her hands.
"Annabeth you don't need to be embarrassed, it's amazing. I pulled her into a hug and chuckled. "Just like you." I mumbled. She buried her face into my shoulder and laughed. She pulled away staring at the drawing.
"It doesn't even look like you." She said glumly.

"Sure it does." I stared down at it and ran my hand over it lightly. "Can I keep it?" I glanced at her and smiled.
"What?" She laughed at me with furrowed eyebrows.
"Can I keep it? Something to remember you by." She stared at me for a few seconds before nodding and looking away.
"What's wrong?" I grabbed her hand and squeezed it.
"I'm gonna miss you." A tear streamed down her cheek.

"Come here." I opened my arms and pulled her into a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you too." I took a deep breathe. "Maybe we'll see each other again someday."
She let out a breathe and buried her face into my neck.
"Maybe."