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Annabeth Chase had very few good memories of her childhood. Most of them typically happened before her dad had gotten remarried, even then, Annabeth was still pretty young and could barely recall a time before her stepmother was in her life.
Even now, the older she got, the more those memories faded. The only good memories she could remember anymore was when she was still living in Virginia and spent her nights alone outside. They would happen whenever Annabeth had nightmares and she didn't want to wake her father up. Annabeth knew he was always working. She was worried he would brush her off like he always did when she had nightmares. Annabeth hated feeling insignificant, even as a child. So, instead of bothering him, she walked to the backyard and found comfort there.
There was something about the Virginia night sky that Annabeth loved. Everything else about the state she hated because it never felt like home. The only thing that felt like home was when she looked up at the sky and saw dozens of stars in the night sky. She would play connect the dots alone, laying in the soft grass, where she would eventually fall asleep. The vision of stars would still be painted behind her eyelids, the soothing image would be in her head as she fell asleep.
"What's that one?" Percy's finger pointed somewhere vaguely above them where Annabeth couldn't follow.
They were spending summer vacation together before their senior year. Annabeth was planning to move to New York to spend her year with her boyfriend but as a surprise, Percy decided to visit her for the summer in San Francisco.
The two of them were laying back on the roof of Annabeth's house. They could hear the sound of traffic in the distance, but it wasn't enough to bother them on that July summer night.
Annabeth bit back a smile. "I don't know what you're pointing at," Annabeth said.
Percy lowered his hand and grabbed hers. "Point," he ordered, looking at her. He was smiling at her, it was the smile he only gave to her when they were alone, the kind of smile that made her heart skip a beat. She never told Percy that because she knew that the moment she did he would hold it over her head until their last breath and Annabeth wasn't sure she would be able and handle it.
Annabeth pointed her finger and Percy gently led her finger to point at a constellation she knew all too well. Hercules. It was probably one of the easiest constellations to spot if you studied them for as long as Annabeth had. "You know that one," Annabeth said with a slight shake of her head. "You know all of them. Why are you suddenly asking me?"
Percy lowered her hand. She could still see him smiling at the corner of her eye. "I love hearing you say them." He held her hand and shifted closer to her and Annabeth shifted so she could rest her head on his shoulder. "I love just hearing you talk . I love spending time with you... I love you ."
Annabeth felt her cheeks redden and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how cheesy his lines were. "You are the worst, Jackson."
Percy chuckled, "You know it." He leaned over and pressed a kiss against her head.
Annabeth let her eyes flutter close at the feeling. His hand was still holding hers and the image of the stars was painted behind her closed lids. The stars still felt like home.
It took Annabeth a long time to figure out that it's okay to have bad memories because good ones were going to come. It was okay to not feel like a house was a home, not every house is a home. Sometimes good memories came from the person that would become your home, laying on the roof of another and gazing at the stars together without a care in the world.
Annabeth allowed herself to relish in the moment, even though she knew there were even more moments to come just like this one. "I love you too," she mumbled.
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