" Crimson Snow "
In which Annabeth and Percy say goodbye through the most painful way.
oOo
It all started with a boys' night out gone wrong—one where Percy might have had one, too many to drink. Still, he was the most sober out of the boys. But in all honesty they were pretty much wasted, just like they usually were during Friday evenings. One could even say that it was a tradition. He and the others would meet up, swap stories, and show off their girlfriends or just pretty much talk about nothing and everything.
Leo was telling them about Jason's recent game at their college and how he had wiped the floor with the other team. Everything that followed that was just random chatter, just catching up since they all went to different colleges. Everything was going according to plan, well that was until they came across her—the ever-famous Drew Tanaka (not that her reputation was any good, mind you). She was known to be a no-good home-wrecker (or relationship-wrecker) and it was no secret how much she wanted the tall, dark-haired, green-eyed swimmer. God knows just how many times she tried to get into his pants. But her plans always ended in failure because, well, this is Percy we're talking about here. He's dense as a log. Well actually, that's one of the reasons. Percy just so happened to have a certain blonde-haired, grey-eyed wise girl named Annabeth Chase as his girlfriend.
For years, Drew and Annabeth were always rivals—be it in sports, academics, and yes, even in love. But each and every time, Drew always came second to Annabeth. Annabeth was smart, beautiful, athletic, and talented—everything that Drew only wished she could be. And that's why she resolved to take everything that was important to her—starting with Percy.
The swimmer thought nothing of it was a certain Drew Tanaka approached him. There was an extra sway in her steps as she neared the boys' table and a certain glint in her eyes. As a matter of fact, Percy wouldn't have noticed her if she hadn't called his attention. And that's how he found himself making small talk with said girl (albeit it seemed forced and Drew was doing most of the talking). Percy wondered when she would take freaking hint that he just wasn't interested. The boy sighed in relief (finally, he thanked whatever god was out there) as Drew bid a giggly goodbye and tried to walk away. Key word being tried since the first step she took almost sent her crumpling to the ground if it wasn't for Percy, who had grabbed her arm. The sneaky little witch giggled and apologized. Being the gentleman that he was, the swimmer offered to walk her outside and hail a cab for her. No matter how much he disliked her, Percy just couldn't ignore someone in need. After all, his mother raised him to be a fine, responsible young man.
Drew accepted his offer, and if only Percy had looked at her at that moment, he would've seen the sly smirk on her face. The girl stumbled out of the bar with Percy supporting her as he hailed a cab. As the yellow vehicle stopped before them, Percy opened the door and motioned for the girl to get in. What he didn't expect, however, was for Drew to turn to him and smash her lips against his own. There was a gasp and immediately, Percy pushed the girl away and turned, only to find a certain grey-eyed beauty staring at them with wide eyes, a cup of steaming coffee lay spilled and forgotten on the snowy pavement.
"See, Annie?" Drew's voice was sickly sweet and she slurred over her words, "I got you this time. I win."
Percy caught sight of tears forming in Annabeth's eyes. He cursed. This was already the second time he'd been seen with a girl that wasn't Annabeth. He doesn't know why, but the girls just seemed to flock to him. But then she fled. The boy called out to her, but it fell to deaf ears as Annabeth rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Sending a disgusted look towards Drew, Percy fought back the urge to slap her. After all, gentlemen don't hit women… no matter how evil she may be. His priority at the moment was finding Annabeth and making things right. And that's exactly what he did—wrenched free from Drew and tore down the street, hoping that he might be able to catch up to his heart-broken girlfriend.
Seeing a flash of blonde, Percy surged forward into the thin crowd, calling her name repeatedly. Finally catching up, Percy grabbed her arm and tugged her close to him. Startled, Annabeth lost her balance and she crashed into Percy's waiting arms.
"Please, let me explain."
Annabeth hated those words, it was exactly what her father told her mother the day she caught him with his mistress. One could say that she sort of has a trauma with relationships because of everything her father put her mother through.
"I thought you were different." The tears came, hot and fresh against her cold, flushed cheeks.
"I am different." There was desperation in his voice as he spoke.
"No, you're not," Annabeth broke free of his embrace and stepped back, voice quivering as she spoke, "You're just like him."
"No, Annie—"
"Don't call me that!" Her voice rose as she stepped back. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she played with the band around her finger—the promise ring Percy had given her just a week ago. "I should've known better than to trust you."
"Annabeth…"
"You're just like my father!"
Hurt flashed in those sea-green eyes, and Percy's hands fell limply to his side. "That's not true, Annabeth…"
"You think you can just play around with my feelings, Percy? I love you, I really do…" the boy's eyes widened as Annabeth slowly slid the ring off her finger, "But I've had enough. I can't stand it anymore. I see girls hanging off you all the time, but you never bother to tell them off. I admit, I get jealous, but only because you don't seem to mind them practically kissing the ground you walk on."
With a sigh, Annabeth continued shakily, "You once told me we'd be forever," She raised her arm, "Well screw forever…" and with as much force as she could, she threw the silver band before Percy could stop her, "…and screw you."
Annabeth pushed past him and began to walk away. Percy knew better than to go after her, he figured he'd let her blow off some steam first before he talked to her. The boy sighed and watched the light switch before he walked towards the empty road. He bent down, brushed away the snow that had gathered and picked up the ring Annabeth had tossed. Percy smiled to himself. After everything boils down and sorted, he figured he'd give it back to his Wise Girl—if she wants to take him back, that is. With that thought serving as his strength, Percy stood and was about to walk back to the sidewalk when he saw a little girl chasing a bouncing red ball down the road. His eyes widened as he caught sight of a truck barreling its way down the same street—and it didn't look like it planned on stopping. He made a split-second decision and cursed as he ran towards the little kid. Percy pushed the girl back towards the safety of the sidewalk just as the truck made its way towards her, barely missing the child by a foot. However, the same could not be said for the green-eyed boy.
There was a sickening sound of bones cracking as the vehicle skidded to a stop.
Pain—that was all Percy felt, and it was agonizing. His battered body rolled down some meters from the car before coming to a stop. He could hear a ringing in his ears as he willed his head to move. But that didn't happen. He felt paralyzed—it was as if his body refused to listen to him. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and his head was pounding. He was starting to have trouble breathing as he stared up at the darkened sky.
One name fell from his lips with great difficulty as a tear slipped down his bruised and bloody face.
"Annabeth…"
oOo
There was a commotion—something about a truck losing control and almost killing a little girl if it wasn't for a young man who came to the rescue. Annabeth's hair stood on ends as she walked towards the forming crowd. She listened to the sounds of a siren from a distance, secretly hoping it wasn't who she thought it was. The murmur of the crowd seemed to grow louder as she took one dreaded step after another. She pushed her way to the front and almost fainted at the sight that met her.
In the middle of the crowd of bystanders lay the broken, mangled body of Perseus Jackson. His chest rose and fell too slowly and a cloud of breath escaping his parted, bloody lips every once in a while as he struggled to breathe. His leg was bent in all the wrong places and his right arm, too. Annabeth swears she can see a bone sticking out of his arm. Percy's tussled black hair clung to his face, matted with blood. All Annabeth can see is red- there's so much blood. The girl cried out his name and broke free from the people, rushing to the boy's side with new tears cascading down her cheeks. Percy's breathing slowed even more as he willed his eyes to open once more. He wanted to tell her that he was going to be fine, but he couldn't find the strength to open his mouth. Hearing her wails and pleas for him to open his eyes broke Percy's heart. He wanted to comfort her, show her he was okay but even he knew that he couldn't.
Finally, with a strong resolve, Percy fought to open his eyes, causing Annabeth to sob in relief as soon as she caught sight of those mesmerizing eyes. He tried to open his mouth, but ended up coughing up more blood. Annabeth was a mess. She was crying for Percy, but he seemed worlds away. They didn't even notice that the guys had gathered around them, looking horrified and perfectly sober.
Through the pain, Percy managed a smile. He looked up to the crying girl, wishing he could wipe her tears away. His smile, the smile that Annabeth fell in love with, stayed on his lips even as his breathing gradually kept slowing until he completely stilled and his eyes closed forever. Everything was silent as they tried to process the passing of their friend. Annabeth's entire body shook and she threw herself at the still body of Percy Jackson, ignoring the way his blood stained her clothes.
It was Annabeth's anguished cry of his name that broke the silence of the night.