The Persistence of Memory
Chapter Six
Just Good Friends
(Annabeth's POV)
That night, I had barely gotten any sleep.
I tossed and turned most of the night, sometimes just lying there and staring at the ceiling. I was never truly comfortable. I would either be too hot or too cold, my arms sticking out of the blanket or my leg sticking out. I swear to God I had shifted around about twenty times. I would flip onto my belly, then I would roll onto my side, then I would shift so my legs were hanging off the edge. I just couldn't sleep.
Finally I sighed and just sat up and got out of bed. I shivered as my feet hit the cold wooden floors. I walked into the bathroom and turned the light on. I was temporarily blinded by the bright light, but then my eyes adjusted and I found myself staring back at me through the mirror.
Those stupid scars still stood out like a sore thumb. I scowled and stared at my gray eyes. They were awfully startling, yet they held a dull undertone.
Suddenly, a searing pain ripped through my head. I gasped and clutched the sink counter top.
A memory.
"What are you doing up, Annabeth?" It was my mom. Before she died.
"I can't sleep," I had replied, rubbing my eyes. I was small, only a child.
"Well why don't I tell you a bedtime story."
I nodded and held my arms out. She picked me up and took me to my room where she then proceeded to tell me a story.
I swallowed hard as I was pulled out of that fragment of a memory. I knew why that memory was significant. She had told me how she met my dad. I had stayed up for the whole thing, and immediately afterwards I had fallen asleep.
I sighed and went back to my bedroom. I found it unfair. I had barely known my mom before she had been taken away from me. Then I got amnesia, which didn't help me in the least bit. I wished I had known her…
I sighed again. Oh well. There was no point in whining. You can't undo the past.
Maybe if I asked my dad, he would tell me about her…
The only problem was I didn't know who he was. Doctor Torrez had told me his name and where he lived, but I didn't remember anything about him. I didn't know what he was like. And my brothers. I didn't even know their names. It was a little pathetic and slightly depressing.
But why hadn't they come out to see me? Surely they had found out about my accident by now.
This thought just made me more frustrated and worried. I sighed. I needed to think of something that calmed me.
Oddly enough, my thoughts went to Percy. Just Percy and how he looked familiar with his green eyes. I didn't think about how he seemed to have anger management issues. I didn't think about how he was tied to me. I just thought about those eyes, and I instantly fell asleep.
I woke up to the sound of someone knocking on my door. I woke up abruptly, confused for a second. There was knocking again, and I looked up to see the clock on my nightstand read twelve fifteen.
I blinked. Had I seriously slept in that late?
Suddenly I sprang to my feet and ran to the door, tripping and almost falling on a shoe I had left in the middle of the walkway. I wrenched the door open and came face to face with…flowers?
"Uh…" I stuttered.
"Hey, Annabeth," I heard a voice. I looked and saw Percy Jackson smiling at me.
"Oh, Percy…" I blinked. "What are the flowers for?"
He blushed slightly. "Um, they're for you. My way of saying sorry."
"For?"
"Yesterday when I punched Nico and made you upset. I was out of line."
I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks." I took them from him and smelled them. They smelled amazing.
"I know they're your favorites," he mumbled, staring at me with an intense gaze. I felt myself being pulled towards him, but then I blinked and bit my lip.
"Do you want to come in?"
"Sure."
I opened the door wider and he stepped through. I closed the door behind him and set the flowers down on the table.
"Did you just get up?" he asked, staring pointedly at my attire.
I blushed and stared down at my flannel pajama pants. "Yeah."
An awkward silence fell over us. I hadn't even known Percy for a full day. I had no idea what to say to him. As cowardly as it sounded, I was waiting for him to make a move.
(Percy's POV)
I was just happy to be here with Annabeth. I didn't care that her hair was a complete mess and she was still in her PJs. She was beautiful no matter what. I was aware of the silence, but I was too immersed in studying her face to do anything about it.
For the first time since seeing her again, I noticed the scars on her face. Two of them. It broke my heart to see them, an ugly reminder of her accident. They actually weren't that bad, but I couldn't help but wince a bit. Besides the scars, her eyes were still that startling gray that I've come to love.
Standing there, looking at her and how helpless and lost she looked, I wanted nothing more than to sweep her up into a hug and reassure her that everything was alright. But that would be lying, because even I didn't know if things were going to be alright.
"I'm going to go…change…" I heard her mumble. I watched as she pattered out of the room, the awkward silence lifted from my shoulders. I sighed and sat down on the couch as I waited for her.
I wasn't sure what was going to happen today. I didn't know what we would do or what she would ask me, but I did know that I would be as honest as I could without revealing too much about our past. It would be a tricky task, but I believed I could pull through with it. I just figured it would be better if Annabeth didn't know about what happened between us.
A few minutes later, she came back dressed and ready. I smiled at her and she smiled back.
"So…" I started. "You wanted to talk, right?"
"Yeah, if that's fine…?"
"Of course." I plopped down on the couch and she sat down in the chair across from me.
Annabeth smiled. "You have no idea how thankful I am that you're willing to help me."
I grinned, but then it slowly fell as I remembered she wouldn't get to know everything.
Swallowing hard, I replied, "What do you want to know?"
She got this cute thinking expression on her face, the one that said she was thinking hard. Her brow was scrunched, her eyes were unseeing, and she bit her lip. I was pretty familiar with the expression and I couldn't help but smile a bit.
Suddenly, it all smoothed out and she looked up at me.
"Doctor Torrez said we were friends, but…was that it? We were just friends, right?"
And of course, she picked that question first.
"Y-yeah," I answered with some difficulty, finding it hard to look her in the eyes. "We're just good friends."
She nodded, but I could see there was confusion in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
She opened her mouth to say something, but then she shook her head. "Nothing." She smiled. "I'm fine."
But there was still that confusion and doubt in her eyes. I knew then that this was going to be much harder than I thought.
And so the plot thickens...not really. It thickens next chapter where things start getting juicy.
Hope you liked it :D Review please!
-Akatsuki Child
