A/N: New chapter! Oh, and I forgot- Disclaimer: I own neither Percy Jackson nor any of the songs I use.
Chapter Two: I Miss You, by Blink-182
Where are you? And I'm so sorry
I cannot sleep, I cannot dream tonight
It had been three days, seven hours, and sixteen minutes since he'd last slept. He gulped his second coffee of the morning and tried to focus on the teacher droning in front of him. Blah blah blah, blah, bla-blah blah, blah … He shook his head, trying to clear it. The teacher most definitely wasn't saying that. Percy took another gulp of coffee. Keep it together, he told himself sternly. He'd become somewhat addicted to caffeine of late, but it was all that got him through the day thanks to his skewed sleeping schedule.
His mother had noticed—he'd seen her talking worriedly to Paul one morning before hastily clearing her throat and asking in an overly-cheery voice what he'd like for breakfast. It was all the confirmation he'd needed--she never made him breakfast. But really, he'd be surprised if she didn't notice. Maybe if he botoxed out the dark bags under his eyes, or something.
He found himself thinking about Annabeth. Again. They hadn't talked, despite his numerous attempts to call her. He wanted to fix things between them, but it seemed like there was this ever-growing rift as high as the Berlin wall that was always in the middle. It was all so difficult now, in a way it had never been.
Not to mention the butterflies that swarmed like an angry mob in his stomach when ever he thought about her…
"Mr. Jackson, are you paying attention?" the teacher snapped.
"What?" he said, jerking his head up in surprise. Oh, crap.
"I asked you a question."
"Um, I'm not feeling too well," he lied. It was only first period but the thought trying to sit through the rest of the school day was too daunting. "Can I go to the nurse?"
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Very well."
He grabbed his books and stalked out of the room, out of the hall, and right out of the school. Central park, here I come…
I need somebody and always
This sick, strange darkness
Comes creeping on, so haunting every time
He just needed to talk to her. That was all he needed. To talk, like they hadn't in ages. He needed someone to take his mind off of everything else. He looked up at the overcast New York sky. Suffocating thoughts surfaced in his mind, the ones that mocked him from the darkness of his sleepless nights; angry, terrifying thoughts, as rampant as a disease. He forced himself to shut them out and focus on something else. One problem at a time.
You know what Annabeth would say, he told himself. "Stop being a Seaweed Brain and just deal with it, you idiot." And then she'd punch him. Was it wierd that he actually missed being physically assaulted by her?
But she was so distant now—was it Rachel Elizabeth Dare, or was it still about Luke? Luke, who had betrayed them, who had put the weight of the sky on her shoulders, who she still loved (and just the thought of it made his heart sink into the pit of his stomach) and finally accepted that she couldn't save. And it was killing her.
He dialed her number.
And as I stared I counted
Webs from all the spiders
Catching things, and eating their insides
Like indecision to call you
and hear your voice of treason
Will you come home and stop this pain tonight?
Stop this pain tonight.
He tried to remember when things had gotten so complicated. It used to be effortless. It used to be the easiest thing in the world, to laugh together, to insult each other, just to be friends. Suddenly, it was like they were strangers. He didn't remember it being this hard.
"Hey, it's Annabeth! I'm not here right now, so leave a message and I'll…"
Percy sighed.
Beep.
"Hey, Annabeth. It's me. Percy. I'm just calling to… just to say hi. I just wanted to talk, you know? Even though I've called, like, a million times before this, so you must be getting pretty pissed off with me. Oh, crap. I forgot! It's, like, five in the morning there, isn't it? That's me, being a stupid Seaweed brain, and forgetting the time zone differences. I can only picture the look on your face. Anyway, I just wanted to talk, as previously mentioned. I mean, I guess I just wanted to say that I—"
Beep.
"Miss you," he finished quietly to himself, hanging up the phone.
Don't waste your time on me you're already
The voice inside my head (I miss you, I miss you)
A/N: please review! I tried to lighten the tone, but as you can see, didn't really get anywhere. I'm such an angst-lover. Did anyone else see the kid whose going to play Percy in the movie? He is such a cutie! (though I don't anticipate it actually being a good film) Annabeth is like six-feet-tall and brown-haired and horrible. So dissapointed.
Thoughts?
--JR