You would think the gym was a vaguely safe place, and it usually was, but that day it wasn't. I was on the treadmill with my headphones plugged in, listening to Hamilton as I tried to up my pace. There weren't many other people there - just a couple other girls and a group of guys in the corner. I had completely zoned out until I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I slowed the machine until I could stop. I pulled one earphone out and turned around, coming face to face with an sixteen-year-old girl with curly blonde hair and weird grey eyes.
"Oh my gods, is it really you?" she asked, super peppy and slightly louder than strictly necessary. "I haven't seen you in, like, 4 years?" She pulled me into a hug and rested her head on my shoulder. "Don't freak out, but these guys over there were saying they were gonna follow you. Just play along. I'm Annabeth, by the way. "
"Molly," I whispered. I nodded and smiled and she pulled away and pulled out my other earphone.
"Annabeth! It's been literally forever. What's up with you?" I started twirling my headphone cable around my pinky finger. It was a nervous habit I picked up a while ago.
"Well, I'm headed to school in San Francisco in the fall, and I've got a boyfriend, but otherwise not much. Do you wanna grab a coffee and catch up?"
"Yeah, definitely! Let me just grab my stuff!" I practically ran to the bench that I had left my bag on and shoved my stuff inside it as quickly as I could. I followed Annabeth to the exit, glancing over my shoulder as we walked through the door. They were still watching us.
Annabeth slung her bag over her shoulder and pointed at a small cafe on the corner. "My boyfriend's in there, if you wanna come." I nodded again, still slightly in shock, and walked with her over there.
Sitting on a couch by the door, surrounded by what looked like math homework and ancient Greek translations was a dark-haired boy. Annabeth slid into the seat next to him whilst I grabbed a smoothie from the counter up front and sat down opposite them. "Hey, " the guy said, holding out his hand for me to shake. "I'm Percy Jackson, Annabeth's boyfriend."
Annabeth was leaning her head against his shoulder, sipping a frappuccino through a straw which I guessed Percy had got for her before we came. She had a red pen in her free hand and was marking the math work he had been doing as we walked in.
"Molly James," I said. "Thanks for letting me crash your date."
"It's okay. I'd rather you crash homework at a coffee shop than be followed by some creepy guys with no respect for women."
He rested his head against Annabeth's, and I smiled at them. They were cute. And Percy seemed really nice and sweet. I didn't know if I would have had the guts to do what Annabeth had done.
But something about Percy's face seemed really familiar. Like, really familiar. And his name actually, when I thought about it. Then it hit me.
"Wait. Percy Jackson?" I realised.
"Uh, yeah?" he asked. "Do you... have we meant before?" He looked slightly worried, and his right hand was reaching into his pocket.
"No, but didn't you get kidnapped like six years ago?"
Percy visibly relaxed, which was kind of weird. I had no clue what he was expecting me to say.
"Oh, uh, yeah. I did. With Annabeth, actually. And our other best friend. But yeah."
"And didn't your mom go missing? And you got caught in a shoot-out with your captor after that earthquake? And I swear a bus exploded at one point - and the Gateway Arch too."
Annabeth laughed. "That's a lot of 'and's."
"Well yeah, um," he rubbed the back of his neck, starting to blush, "yeah all of that did happen, Annabeth was very mad about the Gateway Arch. But yeah, Annabeth's right, that was a lot of 'and's."
"That was a lot of 'yeah's." I pointed out.
"Fair point."
We kept chatting for a while, and Annabeth and I exchanged phone numbers before I left. We met up whenever she was back in New York (and I didn't go to the gym with my headphones in again). And she called me when he disappeared four months later.
A/N so again this is short but I'm struggling here - also it started *slightly* dark so I'm sorry but it was mainly based off that text post also will actually use a post schedule now (10am BST on saturdays) also 4k so thank you guys so much!! (originally wrote almost but woke up to 4k you guys are brilliant)