Annabeth didn't want to punch him.
Well, actually, that was debatable. Sometimes, she really wanted to. But not that day. She wanted to enjoy P.E. without any distractions.
Annabeth actually enjoyed exercise, unlike some people. She enjoyed feeling sweaty and out of breath afterwards, as it meant she tried hard and succeeded her goal. And no, don't take it the wrong way please. Let's keep it PG here.
So Annabeth changed into Goode's uniform, an orange tank top and black spandex shorts. She headed out to the gym, and immediately was met with a whistle. Her head swiveled to the entrance to the boy's locker room, where a group of about 20 or so guys chatted and mingled. All of them were dressed the same in an orange tee shirt and black basketball shorts. Eyes narrowed, she scanned the group until she saw the culprit.
Head of unruly black hair, tan skin, sparkling green eyes, and parted lips revealed white teeth. He winked at her and she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. She was unaware this was a co-ed class.
"Hey, Annabeth." A voice said behind her. She turned, and saw a gorgeous girl, with black hair and blue eyes. She was slim, and Annabeth realized she was staring. Annabeth cleared her throat, blinking and wondering if this beautiful girl was an illusion. She didn't disappear, and that was confirmation enough for Annabeth.
"Uh, hi. Can I ask for your name?" She said politely, still stunned by her beauty. The girl smiled, reaching out and flattening a curl behind Annabeth's ear.
"Silena Beauregard. Big fan." She flashed a quick smile, standing next to Annabeth, who was slightly taller than her, she noticed. Her black curls cascaded down her back the way Annabeth's never would.
"What grade are you in?"
"12th. But, I'm already 18, so I could drop at any second." She winked at Annabeth, who couldn't help but smile. She looked back over to the guys, and smirked. Annabeth glanced over and watched as Percy stretched his arms up, his shirt rising up. He maintained eye contact with Annabeth the entire time.
"Nice eye candy." Silena said, smirking up at Annabeth. Annabeth blanched.
"Uh, no. He's not- we're not- I would never- He so-ugh."
"Oh, he's one of those guys? That sucks. He's hot. Hot enough to make up for it. But, what am I saying? I'm not single." She laughed slightly, her smile widening.
"I can tell." Annabeth muttered, and Silena laughed harder.
"Thanks, Annabeth."
"Who's the lucky person that has you taken, then?" Annabeth asked.
"Charlie Beckendorf. He's a senior too. Sadly, he's not in this gym, or else I'd introduce you. He's such a sweetheart."
"He sounds great." Annabeth said honestly, glancing back over to the guys, watching two guys start to argue. One smashed his fist into the other's face. Annabeth rolled her eyes, but stopped when Percy intervened, shoving the two guys apart and calming them down. One stalked off and the other thanked Percy. He shook hands and flashed the guy a winning smile, walking back over to his friend, a pimply guy in a rasta cap and a slight ginger beard.
"Still sure he's a douche?"
"Hmm." Annabeth responded, watching Percy closely and waiting for the… there it was. Percy winked at her again, ruffling his hair. Silena snorted.
"Wow, he's whipped."
"Nah. I'm just a challenge to him. I never worshipped the ground he walks on, or did anything to him really. Ever since then he's been relentless, trying to prove himself constantly."
"Doesn't work?" Silena sympathized.
"Nope." Annabeth popped the p, smirking as the rasta cap man smacked Percy's head.
"No matter. He's still hot."
"And still a douchebag." Annabeth added, causing Silena to laugh again.
"You're pretty cool, Annabeth. Not all self-centered, like some famous people." Silena said.
"I like to think of famous people as normal people that have a lot of people know their name." Annabeth shrugged.
"That's technically what famous people are, aren't they?"
"Yeah, I guess. But no one treats it that way."
"Yeah, that's about right." Silena said as the rest of the class joined them. Their teacher walked out, a stout little man with a baseball cap over his head, a whistle in his mouth, and a baseball bat in his hands. Annabeth realized too late what was happening. The rest of the gym covered their ears, and the coach blew the whistle.
Annabeth's ears were still popping as the coach finished explaining what they were doing. Self something or other. Annabeth really couldn't hear.
"Damn, that was loud." Percy said from next to her. She jumped, not realizing he was there.
"What?"
"The whistle. My ears are still popping." He said, opening his mouth to prove his point.
"Why are you talking to me?"
"Is it illegal to talk to someone?"
"You hate me. I hate you. Again, why are you talking to me?"
"I don't hate you." He persisted. She shot him a look. He sighed.
"Okay, maybe I do hate you a slight bit. But I can't talk to someone who happens to be in the same industry as I'm in?"
"Jackson! Chase! Since you two are so talkative, you two can partner up!" The teacher, who they were supposed to call "Coach Hedge" yelled at them. Percy shot the Coach a charming smile and led Annabeth to a blue mat on the ground.
"Do you know what we're supposed to be doing?" Annabeth asked.
"Annabeth Chase wasn't listening? Wow, what a time to be alive!" Percy gasped.
"I couldn't hear what he was saying." Annabeth pointed to her ears. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Yeah yeah yeah. Excuses won't work on me, missy. But, yes, I do know what we're doing. Because of some recent incidents, we're doing self-defense. I'll be putting you in a certain kind of… I don't know, I think he said grip, and you have to escape it. Whatever. I doubt you'll be able to escape my God-like grip."
"You're starting to sound like Apollo." Annabeth retorted.
"Don't say that. That's super offensive. I don't think you realize how much that hurts." Percy placed a hand over his heart, and Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. Let's get this over with." She sighed, closing her eyes. She missed Percy's arms whip out and grab her figure, dragging her into him.
"What the-?" She said, opening her eyes and finding Percy's arms wrapped around her waist, her back to his chest. She struggled, but didn't budge. She felt his biceps flexing around her. She glanced around the room and saw the other partners gripping each other's wrists. She groaned, ripping her hands at his, trying to pry them off her waist.
"Percy Jackson, let go of me. Now." She grit her teeth.
"Uh, let me think about that for a second-no." He said. She felt him grin behind her. She sighed.
"You did this to yourself." She said threateningly, lifting her feet off the ground, pulling her knees into her chest. He looked at her confusedly, and his eyes widened at the last second as the used force to fall forward.
She tucked her body together as he curled around her, his back hitting the mat. His back flattened to the ground, and she elbowed his stomach. He grunted and she leapt upwards. He grabbed her ankle and she was sent sprawling. She flipped over, twisting his wrist, and causing him to let go. He leapt up and grabbed for her arm, but she blocked his attempt. He fell into a leg sweep, and she leapt over it.
He grabbed her waist again, pulling her chest into his, but the force had unexpected consequences. He went tumbling backwards. His back hit the floor, and immediately he flipped them over. His body crushed hers, and she groaned from the weight.
"You're fat. Get off." She shoved his chest. He grinned down at her.
"Uh, how about no. I win." He said.
"No you don't."
"Uh, yeah I do. Do you have a way of getting me off you? No. I win."
"Nuh uh."
"Yeah."
"Nope."
"Annabeth. I win. Are you done yet?" He sighed, his breath washing over her face. She rolled her eyes at his oblivious nature towards her leg, which had positioned itself perfectly.
"Nope. I win." She said, shoving him upwards. Hard. He rolled over, and she straddled his waist. His hands were pinned over his head, and his eyes were wide.
"Are you kidding me?" He groaned, frustrated at his lack of movement.
"I win."
"Not really." He said, yanking his hands out of her grip and flipping them around again. His arm slipped behind her as they tumbled across the mat. His hands somehow slipped under her shirt as they rolled, and went far enough up to reach her bra buckle. She gasped and her leg shot out, stopping them from rolling. She grabbed his shirt and heaved him upwards until she was sitting on his thighs, and he was sitting up, getting in his face angrily. He looked up at her, his eyes wide and face pink, from the effort or embarrassment, she wasn't sure.
"Are you serious?" She asked, her face disbelieving. He definitely was blushing now.
"Um, I can explain." He started.
"Oh, please do. I want to hear this." She said, her anger growing.
"As we were rolling, I wanted to make sure I didn't lose my grip. So I, uh, held you close? And my hands slipped, because it was sorta chaotic, and I didn't realize it until I hit metal?" He said, wincing as her jaw set.
"Is that what happened?" She asked.
"Yeah." He said, then muttered quietly. "And I may have enjoyed it slightly."
Her eyes widened, and he cursed. "I didn't think you'd hear that."
Now she wanted to punch him. Hard.
"Oh, no, I totally didn't hear you say something when your face is inches from mine."
"We could close that gap." He said, grinning slightly.
"Do you know how badly I want to hit you?"
"I want to hit you too, but just not in the same way."
"That's it." She said, tackling him to the ground. He fought back, shoving her off him and wrestling with her. In the fray of limbs, she felt her fist collide with something hard. Her eyes widened and she stifled a laugh as she saw his face turned, his hand clutching his jaw tightly.
"Ow." He said, glaring at her.
"That was for touching my bra." She said, backing up as he flexed his jaw, making sure there was no permanent damage.
"You're joking? All that for an accident?"
"Not like I wanted to punch- actually, I did want to punch you. But I wanted to be aware I was doing it when I chose to hit you." She sassed as he angrily set his mouth.
"You guys are really great fighters!" Someone yelled from across the gym. They both blushed at the same time.
"Alright cupcakes!" Coach yelled through a megaphone in his hand. Annabeth winced at the sound. "Now, the principal wanted to see how you were doing, so I put up a camera near where Jackson and Chase are standing. So yeah, you two will probably be the main subject of that video, but get used to it. You guys are usually the main subject of everything. Now, go change or I'll smack you across Long Island!" He yelled, swinging his bat and almost braining a student. The class dispersed, and Annabeth glared at the hidden camera, frowning as Coach turned it off and started playing the video to make sure it worked properly. Annabeth headed to the locker room.
~oOo~
Somehow, the video was released onto social media. Annabeth couldn't escape it.
Their shocked faces were everywhere, on the cover of every magazine she found. Percy and her blushing was second, and her final punch to his jaw was a close third.
America's Favorite Guitarist: Harassed?
"I wanted to make sure I didn't loose my grip." Could he be lying?
"We could close that gap." Is there going to be a Jackson-Chase relationship?
"I want to hit you too." Percy Jackson: Violent and Abusive?
"...Touching my bra…" Was she attacked when we weren't watching?
"Idiots." Annabeth muttered as she passed a newspaper stand. No one takes the thought of a rival band seriously. Jackson-Chase couple her ass. She'd rather kill him than kiss him, that's for sure.
Annabeth took her hair out of the ponytail, which was causing her a migraine. She walked the New York streets, that were strangely familiar. She couldn't possibly have remembered these roads from when she was 5… could she?
She looked around, and noticed the street next to her was oddly empty. Usually, at this time, the street would be full of cars, honking and New York accents yelling. She felt lucky, she would reach the Grocery Store in no time now. Her mom would be pretty surprised when she arrived home at least 20 minutes early.
"Hey, watch it." Some guy said as her shoulder his it. She ducked her head and shoved her hands into her pockets. Her earbuds pumped music, her favorite song at the moment. Her steps were in rhythm with the songs beat, which she smiled at. She waited for her favorite part, and smiled as the guitar solo broke through, making her happy even with her brain pounding. She waited at a stoplight, with a woman and a little stroller. The child looked under Annabeth's Yankee hat, and broke into a happy grin when he saw her face. She smiled back, glancing up at the mother, who gazed down at her son with a loving smile.
"He's so happy. I wish I was this happy all the time." Annabeth commented.
"I'm blessed. He's my everything. And, like you said, always happy." She said, smiling at Annabeth kindly. The light changed, and the women started walking. They reached the middle of the street when they heard a smash. Annabeth turned, and her eyes flew open as she saw a black car barrelling towards them. Annabeth barely had time to shove the woman and stroller out of the way before she was smashed by the car's front. She went flying back, hitting the pavement hard and rolling ten feet before stopping on her front. She heard screaming, and sirens. She was flipped over, and the woman's blurry face hovered over her, yelling for help. The last thing she saw was two men in black uniforms and badges lifting her up before her eyes closed.
~oOo~
A beep. Then another one. The continuous beeping annoyed her, but she didn't know what it was. She tried to move, but she couldn't. She was frozen in time, the beeping the only thing she could sense with her body.
Speaking of which… where was her body?
She couldn't see anything, taste or smell anything. Her sense of touch seemed nonexistent, and she couldn't move, which was sorta helpful when trying to feel something.
Then, she heard something else. A muffled… something. She subconsciously realized it must have been her breathing. But why did it sound muffled. Where was she that her breathing was muffled? And why could she only hear, and not use her other senses?
Something else showed up. A sound of… talking? Was that what is was? She couldn't tell. No words could be made out.
Why couldn't she see anything yet?
She became frustrated, trying to remember what was happening. Was she kidnapped? Was she sleeping? Is that her alarm? Oh, Malcolm probably changed it on her. The talking is her mom, threatening to come in and drag her out of bed, isn't it? That must be it. She'd better wake up soon.
She attempted to open her eyes. She couldn't. Then she realized, how could she open her eyes when she couldn't feel her eyes. How could she wake up when she didn't feel like she had a body?
And that's when the pain started.
It was small at first, and Annabeth was relieved to feel something at last. Even if it was starting to hurt more… each... second. Where's the pain coming from? She couldn't feel her body, just… pain.
She started to think quickly, the sound of her breath quickening starting to make her panic. The pain is coming from somewhere. Okay. Imagine you have a body, she thought. Where would the pain be located?
A sharp spike throbbed, and she heard her breath hitch. Maybe it wasn't her breath? Someone else's?
Wait… was she hung over? Was she at a party? Is there someone with her right now? Did she… sleep with-.
No, that's preposterous. She wouldn't allow that to happen. She's too smart for that.
And besides, the pain was more low, near what she would suspect her abdomen and legs.
Another spike of pain, and this time she heard something terrible.
A high pitched noise, ripping at her ears and another pain came up, nearer to her head, slightly below it. Her throat?
Annabeth realized with a chill that sound was her screaming. It happened again, with every spike of pain came another scream. Another voice joined her, a… feminine voice. Her mother, maybe? Someone from the band. She heard what she assumed was a scuffle. Another scream, another throat pain, another spike of pain being lodge somewhere below her brain.
Annabeth had to wake up. She had to get out of this… darkness. She felt blind, only being able to hear is a terrifying feeling. Not that she could feel much besides the pain.
Then, she felt a twitch.
A twitch! It was something, she decided. Now, which part of her body did it come from?
It happened again, and Annabeth realized it was near her leg. Near the pain.
What was this pain? Why couldn't she remember what was going on? What was happening.
Everything flooded back to her.
Annabeth gasped, her sense of sight granting her a sped up version of her last minutes of consciousness, when she was hit by the black car. She realized that this was her memory playing this, not her sight. She became frustrated again, wondering what she had to do to get out of this odd coma-like state of hers.
"Annabeth…" Someone said, sighing. Annabeth perked up, wishing she could glance around and see what was happening. She felt someone caress part of her body, which she guessed was her hand.
What happened next was out of her control, okay? You're not allowed to judge her.
She felt as whatever that person was caressing, she assumed her hand, held that person's hand back. She cheered as she felt that person grip her hand back, as if they'd lose her if they didn't.
"I'm sorry this happened to you. It didn't have to." They said. She mentally froze, wondering why this voice sounded so familiar. Who was it? It wasn't Malcolm, and it was certainly masculine.
Who's there? She mentally called. Why do you sound so familiar?
"Heh. If you were awake right now, you wouldn't be holding my hand, I can assure you that." He said, his voice heavy, but she heard the effort to make it lighter. She mentally rolled her eyes.
Jackson. Who else would it be? No one else could be that cocky while I'm lying in a hospital bed.
"I know you can't hear me." He started out. She snorted. Please, Percy. I can hear you just fine. I'll be using whatever you say here for blackmail. Let all your secrets spill, Jackson.
"But I… What am I doing? This is stupid. She's in a coma, stupid. Why would you talk to someone in a coma?" He groaned, and she felt his hand slip away. She mentally started to panic. She needed to hold his hand. It was her only grip on reality at the moment, and she wouldn't let it escape, no matter if it was her idiotic rival.
She focused, and tried to open her eyes.
Nothing happened.
She tried to speak.
Nothing happened.
She tried to move.
Nothing happened.
She tried again to move.
Nothing happened.
She tried to move her hand.
She felt it twitch.
She mentally cheered in success, and she heard Percy suck in a breath.
"Annabeth?" He asked quietly. She grit her imaginary teeth and tried to move her hand again. It twitched more this time, and he slipped his hand back into hers. She sighed, listening to her breath settle down. She practically could hear as Percy frowned, noticing the change in breathing. She mentally froze as she heard the beeping start to slow. Slower. Slowing down almost completely. She felt his hand leave hers and as he yelled for a nurse, she heard the beeping flatline.
Which was odd, because she didn't feel any different. She waited for a new sense to show, or even to feel pain or her brain shutting down. But nothing happened.
Until the defibulators pressed to her chest and shocked her awake.
