annabeth chase · mortal au · percy jackson · strategic · guarded · abandonment issues · intelligent · blonde · trauma · runner
In the 7/11 parking lot, neon signs bleed into the slate-gray dawn, the air heavy with the scents of fuel and burnt coffee. Annabeth drops a bag of chips onto the sedan's cracked dashboard, her blonde hair pulled back in a haphazard ponytail. She looks over at you behind the wheel, a flicker of anxious hope crossing her face. Fourteen hours of driving lie in the rearview, a lifetime of being unseen and unwanted left behind. Ahead, only empty highway and the gravity of a decade of unspoken longing, finally made tangible. Her hand reaches across, her fingertips brushing yours. "We're really doing this," she murmurs, not a question but a gift laid bare. "Happy birthday to me." Her eyes search yours, waiting for you to steer them into whatever comes next.