If there was anything Annabeth hated more than angry spiders, which she'd had her fair share of, it was an angry Percy. People might argue against it, and she didn't blame them. Even when angry, Percy always had the ability to mask his feelings, covering up with his usual smiles and jokes. To Annabeth, it was one of his greatest talents. But sometimes even Percy had to let loose. And the only moment he could afford to do that was in front of Annabeth.
There were usually 3 occasions in which Annabeth had the unfortunate chance of seeing Percy in this state.
One of them was when someone offended him. But he never went into a HUGE rage over this.
The second, and most common, occasion was when someone hurt the people he loves.
Most times, 'person he loves' translates into Annabeth. And 'hurt' can mean physically hurt, sexually hurt or flirting despite Annabeth's clear distaste. These moments would usually lead him into blow down the house rages. Which no one wanted.
And finally, the third and most rare occasion, was while fighting with Annabeth. In the REAL fights.
Annabeth always knew fighting would be a part of their relationship. They had fought when they had first met, when Annabeth hated him. They fought when they became friends. They fought when they became closer; when he became her right arm, the only person she could count on and really trust; when he became her best friend. Fighting always came naturally for them. Their relationship wasn't complete without it. Even when they started dating, they still had their occasional squabbles. But they were only small arguments. Over small unimportant things. They usually ended with them either cracking up or making out.
But REAL fighting; the real fighting would hardly ever happen. And this one occasion it was worse than it could ever possibly get.
It had started out innocently enough. A picnic under a tree in the strawberry fields to celebrate Annabeth's 18th birthday. Everything she loved was present. There was pizza, juice, cake and of course: Percy.
The empty plates lay in a pile beside them. Annabeth's stomach was so full she thought it was gonna burst. Sighing contentedly, the lightly brushed her thumb on Percy's hand, which was clamped on her own. They lay shoulder to shoulder, occasionally pointing out a weird cloud in the blue sky. But mostly they just lay in silence, enjoying each other's company.
But of course, it couldn't be perfect. Something just had to ruin it. And this time, the something was a certain stunning former goddess. 'Former' goddess because she had given up her immortality for someone she loves; very much like Percy did for Annabeth.
At first, when Leo had come back from the dead and introduced Calypso to them, both Annabeth and piper had their suspicions. They suspected Calypso was playing Leo; a trick to get off of her island prison. So the fact that the goddess gave up immortality just so that she didn't have to live without Leo shocked both Piper and Annabeth. And then they understood. Calypso was truly in love with Leo.
Despite knowing this, Annabeth still wasn't completely comfortable around the daughter of Atlas. She couldn't joke around or trust her like she could with Piper, Rachel and Reyna.
And she knew why. Percy had told her who he had met when he landed on Ogygia. And Annabeth had accepted it. It wasn't his fault. And in the end, he had come back for her. And that was what mattered most.
But even Percy hadn't expected to ever see calypso again. He felt guilty, she knew, about forgetting to check up on her. Once they had started dating, Annabeth was no longer bothered about a goddess being in her and Percy's way. There was an exceedingly low chance of them ever coming across her again. Besides, Percy would never leave her… would he? Yes, she was sure of that. But now that Calypso was here - and she knew, despite Percy's constant arguments against it, that she could never compare to her beauty - she wasn't so certain. Every time she caught Percy staring at her, the wall of protective certainty she had constructed around her heart, the sureness that Percy loved her; that he would never leave her- it was slowing breaking away. Now, when she was certain that Calypso had no more intentions of getting Percy, she didn't know what to think. But sometimes she thought she saw the son of Poseidon glancing at Calypso. And that worried her even when it shouldn't have.
This one occasion, with Calypso towering over them in a tight, fitted shirt and short shorts was the worst situation ever. It reminded Annabeth of every girl who had ever stared at Percy, ever flirted with him or ever tried to hit on him. Her plush, pretty pink lips formed words Annabeth could not understand-she was too busy seeing red everywhere.
Calypso turned and flounced off back in the direction of camp, leaving Percy and Annabeth alone again.
Before she knew it, she found herself wishing that those girls didn't ever exist. Calypso, Rachel, Reyna…
"What was that?" Percy turned to her, with a startled and slightly surprised look.
Shit, had she spoken out loud?
She stuttered over her words. "Nothing. Don't worry about it. I was just talking to myself."
Wow, nice going Annabeth. Talking to myself. Lol.
"No, no, you were saying something."
Gods, why did he have to be so stubborn and persistent? Well, she had wanted to get this off her chest for a while now… and now that he was pushing it, she knew there was absolutely no chance of him letting go of it now.
She had to let this go; make sure that Percy never had any other thoughts, no other attractions.
Gods, I seem like one of those bratty cheerleaders in movies, she thought to herself. I'm being a clingy girlfriend. Great. But it was one of her biggest fears- Percy leaving her. And she never wanted it to happen. Ever.
Percy was still staring at her, and she knew he wouldn't stop until she told him what was bothering her. He could always tell when something was on her mind. That tended to happen after knowing someone for a whole 6 years straight.
She decided to start off by mentioning how he would always stare at Calypso, or maybe she should ask something pretty straightforward, to catch him off guard. If he hesitated, she would know he was lying.
But for once, her plan didn't work out so well.
"I wish Calypso never existed."
Well, crap. Her mouth had betrayed her. She didn't mean for it to come out like that. But she stared straight at Percy, meeting his surprised gaze.
"Ex-excuse me?"
Suddenly, without warning a wave of white hot anger swept through her. How could he possibly be so oblivious? Didn't he understand what he was doing - what it was doing to her?
"Don't act like you don't know."
"Huh?"
He truly looked so confused. But Annabeth was way past the calm explaining stage.
"Don't play innocent with me. I've seen the way you look at her."
"Look at who? Annabeth, what the hell are you talking about?"
Her frustration and anger wiped everything in red. She sat up and glared at him.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. If you like her so much, why don't you leave me and go to her?!"
It felt as if Ares was there, making her this angry. She had lost all control over what she was saying. All she was aware of now was that she hated him, and she wanted him to know that.
By now he had sat up too, his face a mixture of confusion and anger.
"Annabeth, I swear to all the gods I don't have the slightest fucking idea what you're talking about. Why would I ever leave you?" He sounded furious, but his face held nothing but bewilderment.
"You would leave me because you want Calypso!" Her voice was getting higher and higher. "Why do you stare at her all the time, then?! Answer me that!" She jumped to her feet.
Slowly, he stood up to face her. His eyes blazed with anger, and when he spoke, his voice was a low growl. This was the only time she'd witnessed him like this. In this state. The last time was in Tartarus; when he was fighting against the goddess Akhlys. "What the heck is wrong with you?" His eyes searched hers. "I don't know what the hell has been going on with you for the last few days. Why are you acting like this? And I don't stare at Calypso. When are you going to understand that it's you I love? It's always been you."
She believed him. She truly did. But the next word which escaped her mouth said different.
"Liar."
A series of emotions crossed his face. First there was shock, then confusion, then hurt. And finally, finally his face filled up with the type of anger she had prayed she would never see again.
"You're a bitch," he said.
And then the dam broke. Something cracked inside of her. She literally felt her heart break. The overwhelming feeling caused her throat to block up and her eyes to well up with tears. Furiously, she blinked them away.
"Fine." Her voice was low and steady. He simply stared at her. "FINE! If I'm such a bitch to you, why don't you just leave?!"
"Yeah, maybe I will!"
She couldn't control it anymore. All Hades inside her broke loose. Everything fell apart. The walls broke. Everything; every emotion she had held bottled up inside of her - she let it go. Her anger at the gods for making her life so miserable, her anger at the fates, and anger at Arachne for dragging her in, her anger at Percy for falling in with her, the stress she was feeling from designing Olympus, her anger at Luke for doing what he had done, her anger at Calypso for ever coming to Camp… it was all being unravelled.
But she didn't scream. She didn't screech, or throw a crazy tantrum. Instead, she did something she hardly ever did.
Tears began to drop down her face, and she couldn't stop them. Her body shook as a sudden sob racked through her. What had he just said? No, no. This couldn't be happening. Without bothering to look at him, she turned and ran. Ran as fast a she could. She just had to get away from him.
Percy couldn't move. The shock of what he had just said overwhelmed him, forcing him to root to the spot.
He had called her a bitch. He had said he would leave her.
No, he couldn't have said that. After everything they'd been through, he'd promised himself he wouldn't ever say that to her. Never. Gods, what had he done?
How could he have exploded like that? He knew she was acting like this because of the pressure which had been thrust upon her, but still, he had fought back. Like an idiot. He should have just shut up and waited until she had calmed down a little. That method always worked.
But even the most stupidest, idiotic person on earth (which Percy wasn't) would know that Annabeth had accused him unjustly. He just didn't get it. Why didn't she understand how much he loved her? How, no matter what he said, he could never leave her?
Forget maths class. Percy was going to have to design a petition for a new class: 'How the minds of girls work.' Yep, he seriously needed that.
And then he had made her cry. The very thought made his heart crack. Her heart-rendering sob still rang through his ears.
Percy had to fix this.
Annabeth sat on the beach, her bare feet resting on the cool, white sand. Staring out into the horizon and at the slowly, setting sun, she tried to focus on anything but what had happened just a while ago. She stared at the seagulls which soared through the sky. She stared at the sea-green water. She stared at the glorious colours which were gradually spreading through the sky.
But all of these just reminded her of him.
Suddenly, she gasped, as the water touched the tips of her toes. That was weird. Annabeth could have sworn the water was only reaching a couple of feet away from where she was sitting about a minute ago, and there was no way the tide could have risen that fast. She watched as the water retreated again , and then came back up, reaching her ankles. But this time, two clear words were left behind, etched into the sand right in front of her feet.
I'm sorry.
Before she had any time to think, another wave rode up, stronger than the last. It surrounded her, and grabbed her in a warm but strong and firm hold. Only he ever held her like that.
She only had time to suck in a breath before she was dragged under the luke warm water.
She wasn't surprised to find that she could breathe normally as soon as she was underwater. She wasn't surprised that a certain presence lingered near her either. She always knew if he was there.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she was granted a second to meet those beautiful green ones, before his lips were smashed into hers. And she felt everything. She felt the way his lips moved in perfect sync with hers, passionately, as if they had trained years for this. She felt his taste on her tongue. The saltiness. And okay, they had kissed before. They had kissed quite a lot. But to Annabeth Chase, every kiss she shared with Percy Jackson was better than the last.
Her insides were burning up. But before she could spontaneously combust, he pulled away. They were both gasping for air, their breaths mingling, their lips not touching but still close. She opened her eyes, and allowed his green ones to gently swallow her in before she buried her face in his neck, still breathing heavily. His arms surrounded her, pulling her in, as close as she could get.
"I love you," he murmured softly against her hair.
Her heart expanded in her chest, and she was hit with the sudden feeling that this couldn't be more right.
"I love you too. More than you could ever imagine."
They stayed like that for a while longer, just basking in each other's warmth, before he spoke again, breaking the comfortable silence.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I swear. I swear to all the gods. I swear on the river Styx."
She pulled away to look at him. His face was filled with anxiety and worry, and there was desperation filling his beautiful, sea green eyes. Desperation for her to believe him.
"I would never leave you. I wouldn't. And if you think I like Calypso, you're wrong. Well, I like her, but you know – not in that way – you know…"
She resisted the urge to laugh at his nervous stuttering.
"But what I'm trying to say is…" He sighed. "I love you, Annabeth Chase. And nothing, no one, is ever gonna change that."
Tears filled her eyes again, blurring her vision. But not for the same reason as before.
"Not even an unbelievably stunning, gorgeous goddess?"
"I think the unbelievably stunning, gorgeous goddess is standing right in front of me." He smiled.
She couldn't stop the tears. They were falling thick and fast. Percy cupped her face in his hands, and lightly kissed each salty drop away.
She wound her arms around his neck, and gazed into his eyes, which were filled with love. Love for her. Pressing her lips to his once again, she sighed into his embrace.
"I love you too," she whispered into the kiss. He felt her smile against her mouth, and she smiled back.
