Chapter XIV: Boyfriend!
Rating: Percabeth in every sense of the word.
Word Count: 4,800+
Beta Reader: The Owlish Olympian!
A/N: HungerJackson is here to annoy you with an update! I must be very annoying; updating every week when others update like every month. Well, here it is. Maybe it is something you've all been waiting. Also, now that I had time to write chapter 15, I realized something and have some news. This chapter, Chapter 15 and Chapter 16 are the last chapters from Annabeth's PoV. Chapter 17 and onward will be told from Percy's. That's the news. IADSAHID school is making my life impossible. I've got to write for this story and also for 'The Girl behind the Mask'. My life is quite...complicated.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A nagging sound doesn't stop ringing from somewhere around, insisting me to wake up and open my eyes. Even though it persists my eyelids feel too heavy to open. It must be still early outside, because any light is seeping through the skin of my closed eyelids like every morning. What hour is it? Four? Three in the morning?
"Hmm…," I breathe, lifting my hand from―
Crap. My hand was over what? What happened last night? With eyes still closed I try to recall every event before falling asleep. Percy didn't want me to sleep on the floor, and he made me stay on the bed with him.
Double crap. I remember touching Percy's shirtless perfectness. But…what happened after that? My mind can't think of anything happening afterwards. Just…closing my eyes and nothing else but waking up right now. Holy shit!
I burst my eyes open and find what expected. Percy's still on his side beside me, facing my body that is facing back his. The hand I lifted is still in the air paralyzed while the other is still resting flat against his pectorals. His breathing is as calm and as warm as last night, and the acute sound that doesn't stop is coming from the iPhone resting over the nightstand beside the mattress. An alarm, I guess.
How did I finish like this? Sleeping in the same bed as the boy I like, and resting my forehead over his naked torso while touching him. Question that will bother me until there's an answer for it. I don't know why I do it, but I smile and bite my lower lip a little while running my fingers through the knots in my hair―ouch, by the way.
My heartbeat's rhythm starts accelerating suddenly.
Before I can make a move to get a bit far from this boy his body starts moving, reacting to the sound of the alarm. His calm breathing is replaced by a single and deep I'm-waking-up inhale. Oh. My fingers start trembling over his flesh, wanting to move, but every limb of my body fails to do something. And when I less expect it his eyes open.
Alright, this isn't the way I wanted to admire this show. On Monday I wanted to stare at him until he woke up on his own. It happens as expected, but I didn't plan that day to be sleeping with him or even touching him. His eyelashes flutter until his eyelids open completely, and his stare fixes on me. The green of his irises remind me of the sea during the night, because due to the darkness of the place his eyes have some tones darker. His pupils fix on mine, and then they travel to my hands over his chest. Holy. Shit.
Even though it's dark I know that he's blushing. Probably it's because I can feel the coolness of his skin become warm. Earth to Annabeth, wake up! Do something! Even when he's awake you don't stop touching him? After my subconscious scolds me I am able to remove my hands, and I move backwards to be away.
He just blinks, not saying anything neither removing his stare from me. All this makes me nervous. Why is he so calm? Do you really want to see him angry or something, Chase? No, I don't want that. But I don't want him to stay just there like a statue, either.
When he finally moves and sits over his pillow I do the same, not separating my stare from him. His stare doesn't leave me, either, as he takes the annoying phone still ringing and makes it silent. He takes the pill―painkiller, I guess―resting beside the lamp atop the nightstand and places it over his tongue. With the help of a water bottle that I hadn't seen before he gulps it, and after that he's no longer doing anything but stare at me intently.
What? I want to ask, but the word is knotted in the back of my throat. As if I didn't know what he is thinking. The last thing you do is fall asleep on your side and then you find a girl touching you and sleeping next to you. Oh, how shameful.
I can't bear the silence anymore, so before he can continue staring at me I slide back beneath the sheets and turn on my side―this time giving him my back. Oh my. I should've never let him tell me to stay with him. Any of this would've happened. Instead I would be thrown on the floor, not worrying about anything but of the stupid spiders that hate me and continue following me.
My body can feel the mattress moving, signal that Percy just slid back beneath the covers, too. Phew. It's better like that. For once I'm thankful that we don't talk of what happens between us. What explanation could I give him for touching his body while being unconscious? Not even I'm sure accurately. I just know that something made me do it, but I don't know the reason.
"So, you're the reason of why I was sleeping so nice?" someone says behind me, and my body remains motionless when a pair of arms pull me backwards and wrap around me. Percy. The warmth of his breath hits my nape, and I see his fingers intertwine over my abdominal zone. "I should've known it, because you sweeten everything around me when you're near."
There's nothing I can say due to the big knot formed by my tongue, and my body is still immobile. His chest rises and falls against my back, until it becomes a calmed rhythm that indicates that he's asleep again. I can barely feel my heart―not sure if it's because of the nerves or because I like him to be this near. And what he said. You sweeten everything around me when you're near. Just remembering it sends the familiar electric shocks everywhere through my body.
Smiling, I place my hands over his and cuddle against his body. His heart beats calmly against my back, and it all feels so good. Just like last night I can't help closing my eyes and admiring all this, until I become less conscious of what's happening outside this darkness.
. . .
Something tickles over my nape, and after returning from a dream of a smiling Percy and me in a picnic I realize what it is. It feels soft, and it runs across my skin slowly. He's awake already, brushing the tip of his nose against my nape. I smile and curl my fingers over his hands, and he senses it because he stops moving.
"Good morning," he says.
"Good morning to you, too," I reply, inhaling deeply and trying to stretch my arms, but I realize that I'm still trapped in the arms of this boy. We remain motionless for minutes. Why doesn't he let me go now that I'm awake and we have to go? Oh. There's nothing to do today. The tournament ended for us yesterday. That explains why I'm fully rested and no longer tired from the activity of the past days.
Even though my body isn't facing the window I can see the light entering over the wall. It must be later that the other days, because it looks golden instead of light white like every morning. What are we doing today? We're not going back to New York without the rest, and the rest will not go until Chiron is with them. Today, even though he isn't participating, he has to be in the ending of the tournament.
When I less expect it his hands start moving, and he releases me from his grip. I am left here, lying on my side and no longer wrapped by his big arms. It's strange, but I sigh instinctively. The truth is that having him near made me feel okay, and it felt good. I prop on both hands and start getting up, swinging my legs off the bed.
And a strong hand wraps around my wrist, stopping me from standing.
"Annabeth," Percy says, and I instantly turn to stare at him. He's resting his chin over the palm of his hand, green eyes watching me intently, "do you think we can talk? About…us, I mean."
Those words make my heartbeat slow down while I stare bemused at him. This is something I've been waiting for the entire week. And it's finally happening. "Okay," I say and sit over my pillow, staring down at him fondly. Minutes pass with complete silence around, and he just continues staring at me intently. And minutes pass, and pass… "So…didn't you want to talk?"
"Don't pressure me." He blushes, and I smile at the cute pink tone of his skin. "It's not as easy as I thought." I nod in response and wait, and wait, and wait… Finally, he sighs, signal that he's about to say something. "Well, there's not much to say. By now you must know that…I like you a lot. You know it, right?"
I nod, pursing my lips. He doesn't know that I've known it since that overhearing session back in New York. Yet, hearing it from him directed to me makes the butterflies in my stomach start a commotion. "And you must know that I feel the same way about you, right? Otherwise I wouldn't have let you kiss me all those times."
He moves his head from side to side while shrugging. "Yep, I know it. Believe me; this has been the best week of my life. And…I've wanted to talk to you, but thinking of it made me nervous, because you never said anything, so I thought that you didn't want to talk about it."
I sigh and cross my arms, suddenly feeling a strange cold on my arms. "I actually wanted to talk, but…I've never had a boyfriend before so I didn't know if it was you the one supposed to talk or me. And I expected you to do it, but you didn't―until now, of course."
Again, his skin starts turning pink. "Sorry for making you wait, then." I watch how he sits over his pillow like earlier, this time stretching his arms towards me and grabbing my hands. His hands start pulling me nearer, and now that this is finally happening I don't hesitate to lean forward like he's doing. "So, if there's not too much to talk about, do you…think we can try something between…us? Something official, now. What do you think?"
"If I didn't want that"―I smile mockingly―"I wouldn't have let you kiss me all those times even when I felt guilty." My hand reaches to caress his temple, and he responds with a shy smile. Finally, after days, this doesn't make me feel like Drew. He just said it, and he wants to have something official with me even when we don't know each other a lot. But that's what a couple does, right? They know each other with the pass of time. And that's something we have. Time. We're still young, and we have months―years to know each other.
His lips find mine, and I respond to his slow and tender kisses. His arms wrap around my waist and pull me to him, and in response my free hand reaches to his back and pulls him closer, until I can feel again that my body fits in his. I can feel his smile against my lips as we kiss and―
There comes the annoying sound of the phone again.
We separate from the other and turn our attention to the phone over the nightstand, and I can see from here that the ID detector reads: 'Annoying Cousin'. There can't be any other annoying cousin but Thalia. Boy, she is annoying. Has Percy noticed like me that she's always there to ruin everything whenever we're together? My mind can recall all those almost-kisses. Now she's doing it again. Does she have spies following us so she can appear in the right moment? In this case, call.
While Percy reaches to grab the phone I separate and get off the bed, reaching to my suitcase and grabbing clean clothes for whatever we do today. "Hello?" I hear Percy answer the call while I fetch my towel. I can't help smiling while closing the door of the bedroom, because from here I can hear Percy's conversation with Thalia—again. "You know, I hate you. First you appeared to interrupt all those times Annabeth and I were about to kiss and now you interrupt the most important moment of my life. I just told her what I feel, you know."
. . .
Once I'm dressed in the same clothes of the first day―the checkered flannel shirt with the white shorts―I walk to the first floor of the place just to find it empty. Percy's nowhere to be seen, and I just came from the upper floor so he can't possibly be there. The living room doesn't even have furniture, so it's clearly visible that he isn't there. The kitchen is small, and he isn't too small to fit inside the drawers. The bathroom's door is open, so he isn't there. Where is he?
"Percy?" I ask, placing my hands over my waist and spinning around to check my surroundings again. And after walking around the place again I still can't find him.
As I head to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat, my ears can hear barely audible footsteps downing the stairs. I lean against the granite counter and wait until a green-eyed boy steps into view. His hair is a bit ruffled, and I can see a big smile splitting his face in two.
"Hey," he says, placing both hands on my waist and leaning forward to place a peck on my lips. His taste is just like his scent―like the sea. Before he can walk away I surround his neck with my arms and pull him to a deeper kiss that he answers, and I finally let him go to ask him the question that bothered me some minutes ago.
"Where were you? You weren't upstairs before I came down," I say, turning around from his stare and heading to the old fridge. According to Percy the only furniture in the house are basic things, like beds and the fridge. There is nothing inside―at least nothing edible.
"I was at the terrace," I hear Percy say, and I turn around to stare at him confused. There's a terrace? Didn't he say this is an apartment? Is he sure that it isn't a house? "Yes, there's a terrace," he answers to my unspoken question. "I didn't remember until now. Remember that I was trying to recall something from the last time I came? Well, now I recall a few things. There is a hidden staircase in the storage room that leads to the terrace. I'll show it to you later, right now I have something planned. For us. Something that I remember doing with my father years ago. Thalia and Luke are coming, too, but later because they don't have their swimsuits with them and they'll have to buy ones."
"We don't have swimsuits either, Percy. At least I didn't bring one."
"We'll get you one. But we'll have to do it fast, because I want to show something to you before those two meet with us. Are you ready to leave?"
"Well, yeah, but I thought we were having breakfast or something," I say, closing the door of the fridge.
"We'll have breakfast at the place we're going to," he answers, fetching the keys of the car. "I'll get our towels and my swimsuit. This is going to be a-maz-ing." His boyish grin makes me blush, but he doesn't see it because as fast as he's done talking he trots out of the room and starts climbing the stairs. I was about to ask him where are we going, but I guess it's a surprise or he would've already told me.
I follow him upstairs, get my things and change my sneakers for sandals―if we're going somewhere that has water it is better not to take shoes made of cloth. At least two days would be required to dry them up. When I'm completely ready Percy walks out of the bedroom's bathroom dressed in a Hawaiian tank top hugging his muscles, khaki shorts and sandals. He's wearing again the sunglasses he bought the other day―the day of our first kiss.
"Ready?" he asks, throwing his towel over his shoulder.
And I nod in response, putting on my own sunglasses.
. . .
Percy opens the door of the passenger's seat for me to go out, but I shake my head and dig my nails on the sides of the seat. There's no way I'm going out this car. How did I let him choose these clothes for me? I guess I was lost in his 'You look beautiful' phrase while deciding, because I ended buying it. But I regret it now.
"Aw, come on," he insists, pouting. "You look really good. You're not the only one dressed like that. Please. I want to show you something before Thalia and Luke come. I told you; it's something I did with my father the last time we came. Please?"
Before I can shake my head in denial he kneels beside the car, clasping his hands and begging me to go with him. People pass by and see him, and then they see me. Alright, this is more embarrassing now. "Alright, alright," I say, grabbing my things and swinging my legs off the car. "But get up. People are watching us. It's shameful."
He gives me another boyish grin and stands up, giving me a hand that I take and pull myself out the car. While he closes the door my hands reach to the hem of my white sundress and try to make it reach at least to the middle of my thighs, but it doesn't stretch enough―unless I want to rip it, of course.
"I don't know how I bought this," I say, unfolding my towel and wrapping it around my waist.
"Why? You look good," Percy says, removing the towel and not letting me have it again. "Why do you worry about wearing it? We're in a water park, Annabeth. There are girls dressed in bikinis, so I don't know why it worries you wearing a dress that at least covers your body."
"I've never worn anything this short," I say, beckoning to the sundress that reaches a lot over the middle of my thighs. Though, somehow, he's right. Some women that pass by wear lacy bikinis that show too much body, and I should be grateful of wearing a sundress that covers the necessary of me. And beneath this, my new swimsuit doesn't show anything―brown shorts and a bikini top that doesn't show anything I don't want to show in a public place… Why am I worrying if there are people dressed worse?
Percy doesn't say anything and just grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers and running his thumb across my knuckles. My fear of walking like this disappears instantly when noticing that this is the first day we go out as something more than training partners, or friends. He's my boyfriend…right?
"So, you wanted to bring me to a water park?" I ask, and he smiles. I thought it was going to be something different, like a beach. Instead, we came to an enormous place with tall, tall slides that end in enormous pools. There are individual pools, and there is sand everywhere to simulate the atmosphere of the beach. Not what I expected, but it seems fun. In the movies, I've seen slides as tall as these ones, but I've never tried one.
"Yep," he answers. "It's one of the best water parks I've gone to―and as my…girlfriend"―he blushes―"you must know that I love water, and I've gone to a lot of water parks." I pay more attention to the 'as my girlfriend' comment than to everything else, but I nod. "You'll soon find out why I think it's the best. Come."
He drags me through the place and leads me to the entrance. Some girls about our age, enjoying the last weekend before classes start, pass by and give my boyfriend a hungry look that he ignores. I guess that normal girlfriends would be jealous, but I am not. Especially because boys also stare at me, though I can feel Percy's jealousy in the way his hand tightens over mine. Boy, I forgot how jealous he can be, like he was with the young medic of the tournament yesterday.
After paying our entrance and getting the bracelets that permit us to be in the place we walk inside, and I'm starting to feel more anxious about the slides. Shouts can be heard from them as people glide over them and fall inside the pools, splashing water everywhere around. I want to use the tallest one―a black-colored slide that looks like an enormous spring.
But instead of heading towards the free tables Percy takes me to a zone far away but as crowded as the rest of the place. From the outside it looks like a blue dome with a crystalline center atop, and there are white letters just above the entrance doors that read: 'Aquarium'. We're going to the aquarium, and Percy looks as excited as the rest of the people around that head to the same place as us. It must be something exciting to make everyone feel like this. Curiosity starts growing inside me.
The inside is better than the outside. We walk through a tunnel surrounded by enormous crystalline tanks. They contain―besides water―strange species of fish, turtles and many other marine creatures I've never seen before. What's more surprising is that not only marine creatures swim inside―I can see a little girl about the age of seven grabbing the shell of a turtle and letting herself being dragged through the water. Behind her I can see a man―his father, I guess―trying to catch her, and when he does both of them emerge through the surface and grab a mouthful of air.
Oh my. We're doing this? My heart starts racing, feeling excited about it. This is why he said that it's one of the best water parks he's visited. I guess that not all the parks have aquariums, and much less let people swim with the creatures inside.
"Are we…are we swimming inside the tanks like this entire people?" I ask, failing to sound not too excited.
"That's right," he says, and turns to give me a smile. "While I was at the terrace I remembered coming with my father, and since we're both sea lovers we swam in the tanks. Somehow it feels different from swimming in the sea―or that's what I remember." His smile disappears out of nowhere. "You don't have a problem with doing it, right? I'm sorry. I never asked you if you want to do this. Maybe you're scared of the―"
My hand reaches to his mouth and stops him from talking. "It's alright." I give him a smile. "And the sooner we get in, the better."
The smile appears back on his face, and he takes what I said seriously. His hand tightens over mine and he starts running through the tunnel, pushing some people so we can pass. All this makes me feel bad, so every time we pass by people I say, 'I'm sorry' while giving a shy smile. Everyone seems to be in a good mood, because they don't care if we win them to the end of the room. They even smile back at me.
At the end of the tunnel there are two staircases―one to the left and one to the right. Both of them lead to different entrances to the tanks. Percy pulls me to the one on the left and we climb the stairs quickly. There is a desk where a young lady has goggles and other things that can be used for swimming. A family that just finished registering is placing their belongings in little cubbies, and then they leave to have a shower before entering the tank.
Oh my. This is going to be fun, fun.
Percy talks with the young lady, but I don't listen to anything they say. I am lost staring at all the people swimming. They all are having fun, and I'm soon going to be one of them. I want to grab one of those big turtles and let myself be guided around the place.
"Let's go," says Percy, handing me goggles before giving me a wide grin. "We must only wear swimsuit and take a shower before entering, because we can't enter with make-up, gel or substances that can damage the creatures."
"Okay," I say, and we both head to the cubbies to leave our things. I take my sandals off and place them in my own cubicle. I also leave my phone, towel, and all important belongings. After I've left everything my hands reach to my nape, trying hard to untie the straps of my sundress. They don't loosen. How did I let Percy tie it? More than like a simple knot it feels like ribbon on a gift box.
"Here." I feel Percy's hands reach to my nape, and I remain immobile as his fingers deftly undo the knot he made himself. When he's over I want to thank him, but before I do it my shoulder feels how his lips place a kiss on my skin. It makes me shiver.
I take my sundress off and place it in my place. Percy's already shirtless and showering some feet away from the start of the tank. After he's done I place myself beneath the falling water and let it take the little―almost no amount of―make-up I use.
"Come on." Percy's hand grabs mine and pulls me towards the edge of the water. My hands reach to my wet ponytail and transform it to a bun so I can put the goggles on. "Ready?" asks Percy. But before I can give him an answer his hands reach to me and push me inside the tank.
Everything turns to darkness around me as I thrash, and when I think that I will drown my head emerges through the surface. The first thing I hear is laughter. There he is, Percy, kneeled at the edge and laughing hysterically at me. Watching him have fun of me only makes me angry, but two can play this game.
I try to swim as near as I can, pretending that nothing happened and that I don't care of what he did. His expression turns serious, and he gulps as I skid an index finger over his leg, reaching to his torso, and then to his face. My subconscious is grinning, because he'll fall in my trap. I reach to touch his face with my other hand, and both of them turn to fists on his hair and start pulling him to a kiss.
A kiss that never comes, because I use all my strength to pull him inside the water.
His eyes open wide as he falls, and I laugh hysterically like he did as he thrashes the way I did. Before he can come out I swim away and dive into the water, feeling amazed of the view you can have with this lens. Everything's so beautiful―the creatures, the plants, the people having fun. Everything. My opportunity appears and I grab a turtle's shell and let it guide me around. Some people are watching me through the tank's walls, and I resist the urge to wave a hand and say something like: 'Hi, mom!'
Everything's so calm until two hands wrap around my ankles, and I lose my grip on the turtle's shell.
Percy. He pulls me to the surface and once there I notice how much air I needed and didn't notice. While I'm sucking air a broad grin spreads on his face, and my eyes open wide. This isn't going to be good.
"Don't dare doing―" I start, but he sucks in air and then dives both of us into the water.
I wiggle and try to free from his grip, but he's strong. His grip starts loosening once we're in the middle of the tank, and I stay paralyzed as his hands travel from my back to my face. They take of slowly my goggles, and everything turns blurry. The only thing I can see is a blurry Percy in front of me, who takes of his own lens and then―
Leans forward to join his lips with mine. I am paralyzed and a bit ashamed―everyone outside is watching us. But that disappears as his kiss continues, and I wrap my arms around his neck while replying to his lips. The water pulls us towards the surface, but that doesn't matter as I'm lost kissing this boy. My boy. Who needs a kiss under the rain when you have an underwater one?