A/N: ...hi. o.o I'm so sorry I missed update days! I'm such an asshole, jfc. I was super busy these past weeks you guys, like honestly. Shit ain't going my way lol :P Not to mention, I was out of town for some time because of a family emergency and then I had to catch up all the school shit I missed, which sucks assssss. I'm not trying to excuse myself of course, I should've released this on time and my sincerest apologies to you all, but I didn't even get time to start this till this morning.
This unfortunately means it won't be my best work and it's super short. Once again, I'm SO SORRY for the delay! I hope you like it anyways, I'm sorry guys. DX I'm such a fuck up, I know~ The worst part is, I just hit 200 followers, and I have to deliver this shit, a pathetic excuse for a thank you.
Disclaimer: All rights remain.
It just all feels slow as I grow older, and with age comes more exhaustion for whatever this life is. And loneliness, so lonely.
I come home, I slip through the doors, clinging to the pasty, white walls opposite the staircase with hopes that she won't see me. And she never does. My mom stands by the front door, always, waiting for my father to come home, but he never does. I don't understand why she waits, gazing out the red door with happy eyes. At least… happy for a while.
Then time passes, as it always does. Seconds slip through her fingers, then minutes, hours, and every day it resets. She is happy, waiting for a man she doesn't even love, and when he doesn't come, she breaks into her hands, sobbing like a madwoman, sometimes even trying to search for me, offering me her standard brick-cookies and sickeningly-sweet beverage.
I feel like a fool, but I hide at first, locking the door and taking refuge under my bed, or in the closet, fearing that look in her eyes. And then it starts all over again, my mother rising with the tortilla sun to make oily omelettes and limp bacon for breakfast. Then the sun falls again, the cloak of the night covering us, and she returns to how she was just 24 hours ago, nursing an empty bottle and throwing cookies at the closed front door.
Then she comes into my life, her impish grin and lamp black hair, the delicate freckles that just hardly dot the bridge of her nose, her eyes as stormy as an angry sky. She throws me off guard, sweeping me under the feet like a tsunami I will never recover from. She's beautiful like pale winter snow, small but packed with energy like I've never seen, and will probably never see again. In that small body of hers, she contains all the storms of the sky, all the laughter of a lifetime, all the adventure that only fictional characters possess, or so I'd thought. She hit me over the head, a slap to the face I never recognized I needed.
She makes me laugh, but she doesn't like to be held so I keep an arm's distance between us. At first she tells me she isn't anyone's. That she's not like that. That she belongs to no man and no city. But then slowly she touches my hand when I'm not paying attention, brushing it lightly like a feather, the gentle tickle of an autumn leaf. It's hard to remember that she is strong, that she isn't afraid to put anyone in their place. It's hard to remember that she isn't anybody's when I want so badly for her to be mine. I've never had something that's mine. My dad wasn't mine, and I wasn't his, he left, I'm not his son. My mom isn't mine, and I am not her little boy. She is simply a vacant shell of a being; Koopa Troopa, wandering the worlds aimlessly in search of Mario. I want something to be mine, I want to be somebody's else's mine. I want it so bad it hurts.
With the sun above our heads, shining the light on us, as if it was made for us and only us, it feels like the start of something new, so I lean over and whisper something into her ear. Just a small vow, between the two of us, one I had hoped to keep for all of eternity.
To put it simply, Percy didn't mean to yell at her like that. It was April when he finally came out of his hiding place, when he stopped treating her like a fragile vase that he couldn't even be in the presence of, and came to apologize.
He didn't apologize for defending her from Andrew, because he knew she'd yell at him the second he spoke in that moment, he didn't apologize for acting like a jealous ex-boyfriend, because he knew he had to act like that to get Andrew to lay off Annabeth's case, but he apologized for something she didn't understand. He apologized because he was not Gabe, he didn't want to be Gabe, he was fucking terrified of being Gabe. Percy stood outside her office door, nervous like a young high school boy asking the head cheerleader out to prom and it made him feel stupid for being so nervous. Slowly, he raised his knuckles to the door, and just when he was about to knock, Annabeth swung the door open, letting out a surprised yelp when she accidentally bumped into her client.
"Percy?" she asked, the surprise evident in her voice. Her eyebrows knit above her gorgeous grey eyes, in concern of course, and Percy swallowed thickly. Sure, his pride was nothing compared to Annabeth's, nobody held a candle to her hubris, but still the words were stuck in his throat.
"I- um," he stammered out awkwardly, like an idiot. It didn't help that Annabeth was staring at him as if he was a kicked puppy, unable to take care of himself. Percy didn't need her concern or pity, but in order not to start a whole new argument, he didn't bring it up, biting his tongue and gritting his pearly teeth instead.
The silence washed over them and Annabeth looked like she was about to voice her worries about him so Percy knew he had to do something, and fast. Jerking forward, he shoved a box out to her. It was nothing special, just a small white box, the type that typically held small pastries, and Annabeth couldn't help but feel slightly awkward as well. She stared at the box uncomfortably, something in her going off. He wasn't her boyfriend, he couldn't just casually get her presents like this. Her heart sank in her chest, like an anchor weighed down in the bright blue sea. Annabeth stood there, the tortuous ache in her chest only intensifying, a frown etched onto her face, hoping she was imagining this.
When she didn't immediately reach out to take the box from his hands, Percy's heart began to beat out of his chest, so much so that he was irrationally worried she'd be able to hear it, a thought he very well knew was stupid and unreasonable. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but he didn't even want to go there, didn't even want to bother opening up that can of worms. A better question would be what wasn't wrong, and he fucking knew it. The silence threatened to choke him and before the situation could get any worse, he decided to speak up, wincing as his voice sharpy cut through the tense air.
"I thought flowers were too cliche."
Annabeth's scrutinizing gaze didn't help, making his palms sweat a little.
"Pardon me?" Annabeth croaked out finally, deciding that not accepting the gift was more awkward as she swiftly took it from his hands, though clearly hesitant.
"Besides," Percy babbled on, cringing internally, begging himself to stop talking before he said something so stupid she'd never forgive him, "flowers die easily." Annabeth stared at him blankly. "And," it seemed as if it was impossible for him to shut up, "you told me you eat strawberries when you're happy. And- and crunchy foods when you're nervous, and soft pretzels when you're sad," his voice slowly trailed off and quieted as he continued.
"Oh," was all she said, tilting her head and peering at him thoughtfully. "I didn't think you'd remember that," Annabeth bit her lip nervously.
"Why wouldn't I?" Percy replied softly, his eyes not meeting hers. This, this is exactly why he just fucked and moved on. But he was in too deep to move on, and they were friends, at least he still hoped they were. She was surprisingly lighthearted, funny, fun. She matched his wit and understood his sarcasm, she knew how he functioned, she was independent and related with his need for his own privacy and secrets. He couldn't let her go that easy, he hadn't known someone like her in so long, in too long.
"My mom always used to say the quickest way to anyone's heart is food," Percy said, seemingly in a world other than the one they were standing in, lost in his own mind, staring through Annabeth. His eyes didn't quite glass over, but a certain depth flickered across his expression, one that wasn't there before he'd uttered those words.
"T-thank you," Annabeth stammered, caught off guard by the look on his face. Nodding to himself, vanishing into a world Annabeth wished she could see, Percy left, drifting aimlessly down the stairs and out of the building. Shutting the glass doors behind him, Annabeth tried to shake her worry for him, from both his previous outburst and now his strange behavior, and sank into the leather seat on wheels behind her desk. Flicking open the box, she couldn't disguise the small smile that made its way onto her face.
Chocolate dipped strawberries. Annabeth knew Percy enough to know it was his way of apologizing, and as she pondered over the way he'd said the way to anyone's HEART, she took a bite of the sweet strawberries, trying to forget anything else. Annabeth couldn't help but to cherish that feeling, that easygoing, relaxed feeling, and she couldn't help but feel like everything was going to be alright, a thought she'd always deemed as naive and ridiculous. It felt like a new beginning, one that Annabeth was more than happy to entertain, a new beginning with new chances, new risks, and new experiences.
"Damn it! Fucking useless piece of shit!" a certain almond-eyed beauty cussed loudly, twisting her keys in the ignition, her face contorting angrily when the engine sputtered, coughing sickly as April showers splattered on the roof of her red Prius. Slamming her hand into the wheel, Calypso puffed out a small, frustrated breath of air. Another loose, somewhat incoherent and unintelligible, string of curses escaped her lips as she searched her car and herself, patting down her pockets and scanning the coffee cup holder for her phone. She'd have to call a tow truck, which would cost money on top of the repairs she needed done for her car, and just- she was stressed, to say the least.
Carding her fingers through her messy caramel hair, she reluctantly called a tow truck, when a brilliant idea struck her. Requesting for it to be towed to Leo's shop, the tiniest bit of her frustration melted away. The small Latino boy seemed to be able to brighten up any situation and admittedly, Calypso had taken a liking to him ever since she'd retrieved Annabeth's phone from the shop for Percy Jackson. It'd be refreshing to see a friendly face for once.
Making her decision, Calypso abruptly and slightly aggressively flicked her coat hood over her hair to shield her from the sky's tears, hopping out of her car and landing in a puddle, making a splash with her boots. Slipping her phone into her purse and swinging the purse onto her wrist, she defiantly raised her chin in the air and slammed the car door shut. She barely blinked, watching her car get towed away, only focusing on the positive in order to refrain from breaking something out of irritation. Raising her hand and stepping out onto the busy street, Calypso hailed a yellow taxi cab, and breathlessly climbed in, rattling off an address quickly and settling back in the seat, watching the lighted city speed by her as the taxi driver dodge traffic to the best of his abilities.
After handing the man a few perfectly folded green bills, Calypso smothered down a tiny smile of excitement as she strode into the store, the bell jingling warmly when she cracked the door open. After waiting a moment at the front desk, slowly growing impatient to come face to face with the bright-eyed owner, Leo finally came out from around the back, his hands stained with the typical black grease marks, a streak even smeared across his left cheek.
"Sorry about the wait; some Eco-friendly car was towed here. I don't even know whose car it is, but with my luck, it's probably one of those crazy nature lunatics," Leo snorted, eyes widening when he realized it was Calypso who had come in. "Oh. Hi," he swallowed nervously, intimidated by how pretty she was, and just everything about her. She carried the scent of cinnamon with her, she had large intelligent almond-shaped eyes, she was naturally and effortless beautiful, a timeless kind of beauty, one that left you wondering if she was a young adult or some thousand-year-old goddess. She was caring and sweet, but witty and rebellious if she chose to be, she was funny in a quiet sort of way, in a way that you'd have to listen carefully, hanging onto her every word, but you wouldn't regret it in the end. He didn't even know how to handle himself, shakily sucking in a breath of air.
"Haven't seen you in a while… Calypso?" he raised his voice at the end, as if it was a question, even though he damn well knew her name had been stuck in his head for two weeks after their initial encounter.
Calypso grinned- she couldn't help it, it'd just been so long- as she took in his features: his curly brown hair, mischievous chocolate eyes, the energetic tapping of his finger against the counter. "Nice to see you too, Leo," and all her anger dissipated, just like that.
"So," he began, "what brings you here?" a smile to match hers spreading across his face.
"Actually, I'm the Eco-idiot you mentioned earlier," her eyes sparkled with amusement and Leo could feel his cheeks heating up with embarrassment, only heightened by his nervousness.
"Shit," he cursed quietly. "I didn't- I didn't mean it like- I-" Leo began but was quickly cut off by Calypso's light laughter, laughter the sound of wind chimes, glittery and easygoing, musical.
"It's fine," she smothered another smile. "I don't like liars," she told him softly, looking upon him hopefully. Calypso didn't mean to outright flirt; she was much too shy and embarrassing to partake in such a bold choice, but that didn't mean she would mind terribly if he, say, asked her to have share a coffee sometime or catch a movie. She would ask herself of course, she wasn't about that bullshit men-asking-women-only mindset, but she was terrified to be turned down. Still, Calypso's heart beat out her chest as she watched the minuscule shifts in his facial expressions, soaking up everything about him that made him… him. She still remembered the way she'd pretended that she'd hated him when returning the phone to Annabeth. It was simply in her nature to be a bit feisty, no matter how sweet she appeared on the outside, but she couldn't deny the millions of butterflies that fluttered in her stomach any time she passed the store, the way her heart soared every time he shot his infamous smirk at her, and that feeling she got every time she spoke with him, that feeling like time was slowing down just for them.
"Me either," Leo said, interrupting her thoughts and coaxing her out of daydreams. "So, about your car," he said sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "I can't fix it today, I've already got so many things lined up that I need to get to, but if you could fill out this slip for me I'll stick behind your windshields and maybe get a chance to look at it tomorrow," Leo offered.
Calypso groaned, "I still can't believe it broke down on me," she sighed, taking the piece of paper from his stained hands carefully. "But thank you, I appreciate it," Calypso gratefully expressed, hesitating as she filled out the paper with a blue pen when she came to the line for her phone number. Recording the digits across the line in her big loopy handwriting, she hastily yet nervously scrawled a smiley face next to it. Folding it once across and shoving it into his hands, Calypso tried to not think too much of it, not to ponder over the hundreds of thousands of ways he could interpret it, trying to cool her brain from working overtime. It was done, hopefully he would understand, hopefully he wouldn't leave her alone in the dark because she liked him, she liked him a whole lot, she liked him more than she cared to admit, but she didn't want to get hurt. She'd veiled her emotions for so long, she wasn't prepared to let down her guard so easily, but she didn't know how much longer she could she swim in circles like this, pretending with him, doing this stupid little dance, and not really knowing how he felt about anything. Were they even friends?
"I better get going," Calypso finally said, not wanting the silence to envelope the two of them completely, scared it wouldn't go how she wished.
"Eager to leave," Leo joked, if only to hide the flicker of dread that passed through his heart. He should've ask her to stay, he shouldn't have let her walk out that glass door, he should have done a lot of things, but Leo let her walk out the door, quietly denying even if he'd said it like it was a joke. Perhaps she was eager to leave him, he wouldn't be surprised. Who would?
Though part of her soul feels fixed when she left, Calypso made her way down the subway station stairs feeling a bit empty, hoping that he'd asked her to stay, asked her to hang out sometime, but he hadn't, and that was more than okay. Disguising her disappointment like she disguised everything else, Calypso descended and waited on the platform patiently, folding her hands seeing as the car had not arrived yet. Luckily for her, New York City never slept, always keeping busy, always moving on, and hopefully, at least for her sake, she would too.
A/N: I got a PM from a reader of mine recently (who will remain anonymous don't worry homie), who just binge-read all the chapters and was wondering if I was going to punish Luke for what he did to Annabeth a while ago, or Gabe, for what he does to Percy. Just thought I'd share my answer with ALL of you, in case anyone else is hoping for it too.
In short, no, they will just continue to live their lives. Because that's just the harsh reality of the world. Rapists get off with no repercussions and many times, even twisted, sickening support. Abusers are not found out and their cruelty dies with the victim. I will not kill off neither Gabe nor Luke, and I will not punish them in any other way either. They made their choices. What our protagonists choose do about their unfortunate situations is what's up in the air, and is all that really matters in life~
aaquater: If Dakota was the narrator, that would be the greatest plot twist I've pulled off in all of history. XD Yessss. I'm excited that you're looking for who it is XD, I was really hoping some of you would get really into this lol. But goddamn man. You just analyzed that whole thing better than I can in my fucking English class lmaoo. I'm glad you caught onto a lot of that! Not to mention, the time you took to freaking write that all out. It's very much appreciated, so thanks man! XP
Anywayssssss that's it for now. Once again, my sincerest apologies for taking FOREVER. If I manage to get my head out of my ass, I will try and update sooner next time. :/ If any of you celebrate Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving and if not, Happy Holidays anyways for whichever holiday you celebrate. I know Diwali just passed (my mother's fav holiday :P) as well as Halloween (my personal fav holiday), and there's more coming. As always, luv y'all and hope it's all good homies~