Seeing in Color

Twelve

She nodded, stuffing them into the messenger bag at her hip, then looked back at me. "It's been a while, Percy."

I smiled. "Yeah, it has."

"Ca-can we talk?" Annabeth glanced at her shoes again. "Like, catch up or something?"

Catch up? Talk? I hadn't spoken to her in two years, and now she wanted to show that I exist? Girls were so confusing.

"Uh, sure. I guess," I didn't have a clue what to say.

"I-I don't want to sound cliché or anything, but I do miss you Percy. As a friend."

"Friend?" I was shocked that she had forgiven me for what had happened.

"If you want to be friends again," She spoke under her breath, barely audible, her face three shades darker. "What am I doing, you don't want to be friends. Just forget it, I'm wasting your time."

"Wait, Annabeth!" I grabbed her hand as she turned away. Annabeth stopped and turned around, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"Annabeth..." I didn't know what to say. I had hurt her two years ago and now...well, now I hurt her again.

"Percy, if you don't want to be friends again, I get it. But I do want this feud between us to stop."

"Feud?"

"Every time I see you, you walk away or ignore me!" She seemed angry now.

"I ignored you? Annabeth, I was ashamed of what I did!"

She frowned. "And it took you two years to tell me this?"

"Annabeth, I miss you too! Can't you see that?"

She glanced at my hand still wrapped around her wrist, keeping her from pulling away. Then she looked me in the eyes, and I saw another tear forming.

"Let me go, and then we'll start over."

"Literally or figuratively let you go?" I asked, knowing her answer.

"Both, Percy."

I let go of her hand and she sighed.

"Percy let's talk about this outside. Please." I nodded and she started down the hall to the exit doors that lead to the playing fields outside. We didn't say anything to each other until the doors slammed behind us and Annabeth did something that shocked me.

She slipped her arms around my body and pulled me into a tight hug. Her leather bracelet dug into my back slightly, and the smell of lemons filled my sense as I gasped in surprise. She laid her head on my chest and whispered three words.

"I forgive you."

Memories flooded my vision, hurtling me back into the past. Fireworks lit the night sky, flashes of familiar face but forgotten names, the taste of frosting on my lips. Or maybe both of ours. My bicep burned.

Blinking back to real life, I realized I was still standing in shock as my old crush clung to me. I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on her wavy blonde hair, inhaling her distinct scent.

"So does this mean we can start over?" I asked as she pulled away, her hands lingering on my arms.

Annabeth blushed slightly. "I mean, I-I-"

"Wow, you're never at a loss for words," I laughed a little. "So I'm guessing that's a yes?"

Annabeth smiles and examined her hands, removing them from my arms. My skin tingled at her touch.

"I think it's best to start from the beginning, as friends" She looked at me with her gorgeous grey eyes that I used to get lost in. Now they were sharper, wiser. More beautiful than playful, as they were when we were younger. "It's been two years and think it's true that we've both changed."

I nodded. "So, from the beginning?"

Annabeth smirked, a glimmer in her piercing eyes. "You drool when you sleep."

I smiled wider. "That was the first thing you said to me, when you woke me up the first day of camp."

She nodded. "You tripped over the door. Everyone laughed."

I slowly started recalling all the things that happened at camp. At least, the happy ones. And also some painful ones. "I fell off the climbing wall. Twice."

"Would've been more if you didn't get yourself banned because you snapped your wrist the second time." Annabeth laughed.

"Well, you did help me to the infirmary that last time. Thanks."

"I used you as bait the night before during Capture the Flag, so I guess it was payback dragging you around." She laughed again. "Remember the time you flipped the canoe because one kid asked if there were alligators in the water?"

I remembered it clear as day. Let's find out, shall we? I had yelled as I pulled us into the cold lake water, knowing full well there were no gators.

"Yeah, and our counselor took away dessert that night because of it. What about the time we had a war when we painted the Big House?"

I laughed as she rolled her eyes.

"You drenched half my cabin and I in white paint. We looked like marshmallows."

"Or ghosts. Reminds me of the time some kids scared Clarisse's cabin."

"Some kids meaning you and the Stoll Brothers," She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one leg. The spark in her eyes, the smile on her rosy lips, the arch of her eyebrows. I missed all of it.

"Annabeth," I started, but she stepped forward before I could.

She pulled me into another hug. "I missed you so much, Seaweed Brain."

I wrapped my arms around her again, closing my eyes. "I missed you too, Wise Girl."

We melted into each other's arms, forgetting the present and slipping into the past, replaying memories of summer nights and fireworks. A long kiss under a tree carved with initials, safe from the pouring rain. A silent goodbye.

Then the bell rang.