Look at him, a little voice in her head whispered, think of his beauty. His face. Remember it as it sours, watch him become a beast of wrath. Think of the storm behind his eyes. Silly girl, falling for a monster.
She bit the inside of her lip, blowing air between her clenched teeth. The room was silent as she and her classmates scratched away at their worksheets, their teacher talking to another teacher in the hallway like she had been for the past thirty minutes.
She thought of the pop! as the other boy's knuckles were dislocated, shuddering at the memory. Other people had been watching with excitement, needing something fun in the boring thrum of the day. Had no one else seen what she had? Was she hallucinating?
She certainly did not think so. What had happened had been unlike anything she'd ever seen, unlike anything her mind could conjure in the gaps. It had to have been real, all of it. She wasn't sure how that made her feel.
Reality fucking sucked.
The teacher entered again, the door slamming shut behind her. A few people, including her, jumped up, looking at their teacher as her heels clicked against the linoleum floor. She told them to continue working and began to type away at her computer.
The final bell rings and she stuffs her stuff in her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she steps into the hall. She packs her bag with the textbooks and notebooks she'll need for homework that night. Her friends meet up with her, and she smiles slightly.
"Are you okay?" One of them asks her, and she nods.
"The fight just shook me up, that's all," She gives a thumbs up, and they give a satisfied nod.
"Yeah, it was crazy, huh?" Someone else adds. "Who knew Jackson could fight like that?"
"Did you see his face?" She has to ask. They nod. "I don't trust him," She says softly. "How could someone be that strong? You saw how fast Cain went down."
"Well, Cain's just a wimp." She laughs, not disagreeing. Cain Van Wes was all bark, no bite.
They part ways, and she begins her walk home. Every shadow reminds him of his dark face as he stood over his opponent, every light reminds him of that crazed look in his eyes. Something was weird, something was strange, something was wrong with Percy Jackson's existence.
And she was not inclined to learn what that was.