Books clutched in her hand, her auburn hair shielding her pale face as she stepped into the school. Her checkered school skirt flowed lightly in the breeze.
"Hey, look its Artemis."
"Wow its been so long since we last saw her."
"She is so pretty"
"Shut up, do you want to die?"
"Why?"
"Don't you know why she was suspended? Apparently, she hurt a boy because he tried to talk to her."
"Wait, really? I never knew that."
"Yeah, also news has it that she also killed her mother."
"What? No way."
"I know. I was surprised too."
"Now that I look at her, she doesn't look all that good looking."
Whispers and mutterings continued on as she walked to her locker, trying to hold back her tears. It was no use trying to justify or correct them because no one would believe her. Why should they? All she ever did was being a nuisance and hurt others violently.
Replacing her textbooks, she looked around, trying to remember where her class was. Was it left of her locker or right? Why couldn't she remember? She had only been suspended for a month; it should not have affected her memory this much.
"Hey Arty," she flinched at her surname as she turned around and met a heavily tanned boy with blonde hair rushing towards him. She was jealous at his wide smile, his cheeriness, his positive attitude and how he made everyone around him feel peaceful.
She let out a faint smile and remarked, "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"
He laughed and slung his arms around, making her nearly drop her books till she regained her balance and gave him a playful glare, "Not enough times. Mind repeating it?"
She gave him a blank stare and instinctively gave him a light slap on the back of his head. Gasps were heard and mutterings grew louder.
… hitting her brother?...
… abusive…
… so violent…
… can't believe she came back…
… is he okay?...
Apollo looked around, trying to find the people who were whispering loudly and Artemis took this opportunity to shrug off his arm from her shoulder and said, "I should be going. See you at home."
"Wait Arty-"
"Its okay. I am okay. Don't worry about what they said. They are right. I did hurt you and I will pay you back for it. I really have to go now."
She rushed away, not bothering to look back at Apollo's hand trying to reach out to her. She was so stupid. How could she have let her guard down? People were going to watch her every movement to criticize and she couldn't give them the satisfaction.
Her heart pained in anguish and she hurried to the toilet, ensuring no one was around and took a personal stall and sobbed into her shirt. Why? Why did their words hurt so much? They were just people who were once her friends. She cried quietly and chuckled lightly as she realized that she hadn't even reached the first period and she was already a mess.
Her auburn hair stuck to her face and her dark mascara left trails on her cheek that she quickly rubbed out. She deserved it. She had hurt the school captain and no words she said could atone for that. Nobody would believe her anyways that she didn't purposely hurt him, and it was just self-defense.
Bell rung loudly and Artemis cursed, "Fuck, I am late." Hurriedly grabbing the fallen books on the side, she checked the mirror for any remaining evidence of her pain and masked a neutral face as she opened the stall and ran to her first class.
Maybe it was because the year was about to end, and exams were nearing or maybe it was because her peers still had a sense of humanity that she did not have to hear any more of the aggressive remarks. Cold looks and pointed comments were still common but she was slowly getting used to it.
Break came by and after Artemis grabbed her lunch from her locker, she looked around to look for a place to sit. Her usual group ignored her and she couldn't blame them as she walked past to the outside and took a shelter underneath a tree, sitting alone from the students.
Time passed as she silently munched on her food, staring at the rustling leaves and branches. She wondered how long it would be till school was over and she didn't have to return to this place full of masks and favourism. She had been aware for her entire life that people just stuck with her because of her popularity and that they would easily backstab her at any opportunity. Maybe this was why she wasn't affected that much by the current conditions.
Hmmm, I wonder, should I pay that bastard a visit and hurt him much more? She questioned till she remembered how she had been getting treated for merely injuring him and that she still had 5 months till her final year at school was over.
"Ahem," she heard someone clear their throat and she looked down, coming face to face with a tall figure, raven hair sticking randomly to his tanned face, his sea-green eyes looking away as he stood before her, nervously shaking from side to side.
'Cute' she thought but, on the outside, she said, "Yes…?"
He opened his mouth, still unable to face her, and said, "Um, I wanted to give you something."
Was it a prank? Did he get dared to do this to mess with her? She followed his gaze and saw a group of boys giggling and thought, so it IS a dare.
"Uh, I wanted to give you this," he pulled his hands from his back and held a rose in front of her. The rose glistened in the sunlight, its silky petals flowing lightly in the gentle breeze and red like her hair.
What's going on? Why is he giving me this flower? Wasn't he supposed to prank me or mess with me?
Before she could ask anything, he continued, "I really wanted to tell you that I admire you."
She heard gasps and looked around to see students walking past, staring at them whispering,
…what? He admires her?...
… Did she buy him to do this?...
… he is the hottest boy in this school after his brother…
… likes her?...
… gross…
… is he a masochist or just stupid?...
She gritted her teeth as she pondered, 'This was too far. If he wanted to be insulted, why did he have to drag her into it as well? She already had it bad and now she was going to have to hear about this as well.'
She grabbed the rose, and with pain in her heart, dropped it to the ground. Without a word, she stepped up and began walking away, unaware of the enraged look in his eyes.
She only took three steps till she heard a thump and she turned around, shocked at the scene she was watching. There, by the wall, stood the boy with a girl shoved in front of him, a fearful look on her face and a furious look on his face.
Who was this? What was going on? Was this the same cute and shy boy from before? What happened? Confusion rang around her as everyone watched the boy corner a girl, staring her down.
Sea-green eyes seemed to be glowing as he stared at the girl murderously. Artemis nearly stepped up when he spoke, "Why? Why isn't anyone condemning me now? I am standing here, threatening a girl in front of so many people but nobody is saying anything about but," he paused, his gaze falling at Artemis and she could feel the intensity in his eyes drop slightly, but he continued, "when Artemis did something, you were quick to punish her. No one has any proof of what she did except for my half-brother's broken arm but we all know what his real character is like."
Someone piped up, "He was innocent. She hurt him badly because he was talking to her!"
"Oh and who told you that? Artemis? Orion? Or maybe you were present when they were talking which would mean that you were stalking them?"
Silence.
Artemis couldn't believe what she was hearing. The entire day, all she heard was murmurs and insults being thrown towards her and now, there was someone who believed in her and was standing up for her.
What is going on? She asked herself as she tried to calm her beating heart. She had to stop this before he really did end up getting in serious trouble.
"Don't bullshit me about Orion's innocence. You, as well as I, know him pretty well and know that he had this coming. You are just blaming Artemis because you are jealous and envious of her. Her beauty is comparable to school pageant winner, Aphrodite, her intelligence only second to Athena and kindness equal to Hestia. You just despise her because she has high standards that you cannot hope to meet and so, you would rather pull her down that push yourselves up. You all-"
He was cut short as Artemis slapped him on his face, then grabbed his hand and rushed out. Auburn hair covered the blush on her face as she dragged him through the school hallway, ignoring the shocked looks or flushed face of the boy behind her.
They reached the front of the school and she kept walking towards the side of the school and into a dark alley and shoved Percy into a wall, pinning him on both sides, her hair falling in front of her face, casting a shadow over her silver eyes.
"You… You are so, so, so, so… ugh, stupid. A complete idiot!" she screamed in frustration, looking at his shoes, unable to meet his eyes. She couldn't show him how much his words had affected her.
He chuckled nervously, all hints of animosity disappeared in a wink, "I am really sorry. I couldn't help it when I heard them say that."
"Did you say Orion is your half-brother?" She interrupted him, gathering the courage to look at his eyes to see his honest answer.
His feet shuffled nervously as he sweat-dropped but he nodded and replied, "He is. My dad's first son. I am the second son."
"What's your name?" She asked, having realized that after all this happened, she had no clue who this boy was.
He stared dumbly at her, confused before realization swept across his face and he screamed, "FUCK!" before she clamped his mouth shut with her hand, looking around. She had no idea why she was hiding with this boy when they weren't doing anything wrong but the thought of being in public with him made her uncomfortable.
"Mai nwamie ees Pwercie" he struggled to speak against her forceful hand. Once she realized what she was doing, she quickly retracted her hands, blushing hardly and asked, "Sorry, what was that?"
"My name. Its Percy. Percy Jackson," he smiled cheekily, his sea-green eyes glistening mischievously, his pearl white teeth seemed to glow brighter than Apollo's. (A/N: This sounds too much like a toothpaste commercial T-T)
She smiled, finally composing herself and pushed herself off the wall, breathing heavily, her heart beating faster than she could count and she wondered if Percy could hear it. If he could, he showed no sign of it and she was thankful for it.
Silence enveloped them and Percy broke it by saying, "Look, I am sorry if I embarrassed you back there. I just couldn't handle hearing them say such things about you when everyone knows that you didn't do anything wrong."
"Oh no no, its okay. I was just surprised because nobody stood up for me the entire day and at home, my dad keeps forcing me to write an apology letter to that bastard," she complained bitterly, avoiding his gaze. It was too toxic and pure and she felt guilty for even looking at it.
Percy bowed hurriedly, "I am so sorry for my father's and my brother's actions. Since he is my father's first son, he is quite pampered and father's overly protective of him. Its quite suffocating, hearing him defend Orion's actions and condemn you continuously. Don't worry about the letter; I'll convince my father to take his request back. Even though he doesn't love me as much as Orion, its still enough that I won't get punished."
Warmth. That's what she felt when she heard him speak those words. He had not only stood up before the school for her but he was willing to argue with his father for her even when he barely knew anything about her. Even after all this, what had she done to him? She had only slapped him, berated him and questioned him. She had also…
Oh no, the rose! She thought, panicked. She had dropped the rose before in resentment and had never bothered to pick it up, despite having been given with honest feelings.
Without a word, she sprinted out into the sunlight, not bothering to let her eyes adjust to the light as she ran blindly into the school building. Maybe her adrenaline was guiding her or her senses were in overdrive but she successfully dodge, weaved and made her way to the spot she was having lunch at and saw the rose, lying on the ground, staring prettily from its spot. It really was a beautiful flower.
-Time Skip- A week later
Spending time with Percy had become a regular. They sat underneath the same tree, all the misunderstandings cleared. When she realized that he had not been dared to come talk to her, she felt so embarrassed that she wished she could die. He would always walk beside her and stop anyone from commenting about Artemis within a heartbeat. It felt good.
Her brother often tried to speak to her but spending time with Percy made her realize that Apollo was just acting nicely towards her. The fake, plastered smile he had, the stiffness in his shoulders, the way he looked around when he was with her made her understand what he was doing. He was using her to push himself higher in the social ladder at school by being overly friendly, loving and caring with his sister who everyone hated.
"Hey Artemis," Percy called out to her and she snapped out of her daze and nodded in response, "I have a spare ticket to the fair that's being held in town tomorrow. I was wondering if you know… you would… I mean, its completely fine if you don't… but like if you aren't doing much and would like to, you know, come along. Again, its completely fine if you don't want to."
The way he rambled with that cute blush on his face always seemed to make her heart beat faster. What was going on with her?
"I'll come, don't worry. Where do we meet?" She asked, giving him a smile. His blush deepened and he dug into his pocket, drawing out two tickets and handed one to her, "We could meet at your place."
She knew he was being considerate because of her past with Orion and she was glad that he took her feelings in consideration, so she nodded in response.
"Oh also," he spoke again, "here's a letter for you. I hope you get the chance to read this." Before she could reply, the bell rung and they rushed off to their classes, both reddening profusely.
Walking to her class felt like a breeze now that no student pointed at her or insulted her, they just ignored her and some even smiled at her, fake smiles that she was used to watching and could not be bothered with. There was only a single smile that made her heart pound faster and that belonged to a certain sea-green eyed individual.
The next day came by too quickly as she stood outside her house's door, in a plain green shirt, red skirt flowing through the breeze of air. Her dad had said that it was too revealing but she knew that Percy wasn't the type of person who took advantage of others. She waited patiently for another few minutes till he walked around the corner, a white t-shirt that read 'waves are cool', orange sweat jacket hanging loosely on his shoulders and a ripped denim shorts.
She grinned and rushed towards him till he noticed her and walked over as well. They met halfway and she greeted, "Hey, nice." Up close, she had to admit that these casual clothes looked good on him with his innocent yet mischievous looking face.
"You too," he said as he looked her up and down, an action that made her blush, "you look beautiful."
She punched his shoulder playfully and replied, "Ok playboy. Let's go."
He nodded with a chuckle and began walking towards the fair, his hands in his pockets. She saw the opportunity and, remembering the scenes in the films that she had watched in her life, hooked her arms through his, gently forcing her weight on him. He flinched in surprise before smiling widely and accepted the gesture and continued walking.
This is such a cliché, she thought but she didn't pull away because it felt great. The warmth and scent of sea that he seemed to exhale was too intoxicating that she could feel herself melt next to him.
They reached the fair pretty early, the sun still visible in the horizon and the orange rays of light shined across the sky. Percy gently led her to the first attraction, Shoot the duck. She laughed loudly when Percy tried to shoot the rubber ducks to get a prize for her but couldn't even land a single hit. His pout was cute that made her want to pat him but she resisted the urge and tried.
She raised the gun, closing her left eye and focusing with her right eye and slowly, began her assault on the poor rubber ducks. Each bullet that left the gun reached a rubber duck and soon, all the ducks were on the floor and she still had a bullet remaining. It was at that moment that she saw everyone's gaping faces and she flushed at the attention and latched onto Percy's arm subconsciously while the shopkeeper brought the top prize: A teddy bear.
She held herself from rolling her eyes at the obvious gift because to the shopkeeper, they must have looked like a couple. And just like that, they visited several stalls, buying something to eat, winning prizes and they even visited a photo booth and got several pictures of them having fun.
Artemis couldn't remember when she had so much fun as she did with Percy, constantly laughing. He had excused himself to go to the toilet and she took this time to gather her thoughts. She looked around and noticed the darkness enveloping the area and she realized that the fair was nearly about to end, so she sorted through her bag and, after confirming that everything was still there, she stood up and waited for Percy.
It took a few seconds before he returned with a smile and said, "I am back." She returned his greeting with a smile and replied, "Its getting late, should we return home now?"
He shook his head and said, "We can't forget the fireworks. While we were roaming around the fair today, I noticed a spot that nobody was visiting and I was wondering if you wanted to head over there to watch the fireworks."
She nodded doubtfully and followed him to the empty land and looked up in the sky. Nothing happened for a few seconds and she was about to return till she heard a loud bang and watched as a firework shot to the sky and exploded in mixture of different colors. More followed immediately, illuminating the sky and she could feel their warmth reach her. She felt a pair of hands wrap around her torso and she looked from the corner of her eyes and met Percy's sea-green eyes staring at her innocently.
"Percy?" she asked hesitantly, his close proximity distracting her from the beautiful display of colors in the sky.
He sniffed her hair and whispered in her ear, "I really like you Artemis. I don't care what others say about you but I know that you are such a good and kind person and you make me want to keep you happy for your entire life and I don't even know why."
She blushed heavily and, agonizingly, unlatched his arms from her waist and turned around to look at him properly. His eyes stared at her with intense gaze, his lips trembling slightly and she could tell that he was trying his hardest to hide his nervousness.
She walked closer to him and laid her hand on his cheek and replied, "I am really grateful to you. When everyone had left me and were instead, bullying me to destroy my spirit, you were the only one who stood by me. For that I am really grateful because before you came to my life, I was counting the days when I can leave this wretched school and didn't realize that this school even held amazing people like you." He smiled with hope and it hurt her as she said the following words, "But, I am not sure if I like you romantically. I know that you are someone who is very important to me but I am not sure that I like you in that way."
She hoped he would understand her and fortunately, it seemed he did. He stepped back and smiled at her with his usual smile and said, "I understand. Oh well. Look, the fireworks are almost done. You want to leave now or do you still want to hand around?"
She could hear the faint trace of pain in his voice and she responded, "Lets leave. I am tired now."
That night, she struggled to fall asleep, his smiling face kept coming to her mind, no matter how much she tried to ignore it. She had no clue what she was feeling but she knew that what she had said to Percy had changed their relationship.
The next day came by too quickly and throughout the school time, she never once saw Percy. She wondered if he was avoiding her but when she passed by his classroom, she saw his usual seat vacant.
When lunch came by, she entered his classroom and approached his friend, Grover and greeted him, "Hi, Grover right?"
He looked up, his brown eyes staring at her as his curly brown hair moved around from turning around and he asked, "Yes, you are Artemis right? Percy's told me a lot 'bout you."
"Good things I hope." In response, he gave her a smile and replied, "That's a secret. So what brings you here?"
"Well, I was wondering where Percy is because I haven't seen him the entire day. I thought you would know," she responded, feeling a bit embarrassed. He looked at her in surprise and asked, "He didn't tell you?"
What? What didn't he tell me? As if he had read her mind, he picked his bag up and dug a letter out of it and said, "Did he not give you one of these?"
As looked at the letter closely, she recognized the familiar letter that Percy had given her before going to the fair but she had forgotten all about it because of the excitement and then post-confession feelings.
"Wh-What does it say?" she asked, her heart pounding heavily.
He scratched the back of his head and said, "He wrote them for everyone individually so I cannot tell you mine but I am sure if you read yours, he would have told you." He gave her a warm smile but the message was clear, leave and let me be in peace. She couldn't blame him because she was disturbing him and prying into his personal space to quench her nervousness and curiosity.
She gave him her thanks and left hurriedly, sitting underneath their tree and pulled the letter from her bag. She opened the letter with shaking hands and pulled out the parchment and read:
Hey Arty,
I got an opportunity to go to the most prestigious school overseas through my swimming scholarship. I know that you must be proud of me for that and I am too but, I am thinking of not going. Over the past few weeks, I have really liked going to school and meeting you and I think that I have fallen in love with you. My dad wants me to go to the overseas school but thankfully, he left the decision to me and I decided that I would leave this to your response. I will be brave and I will confess during the fair. If you feel the same way then I will stay and graduate from this school but, in case that you don't really see me as anything but your friend, then I will be going to the other school. Please don't feel pressurized to accept my confession just because of this as I genuinely like you and even if you don't like me back, we will always be friends. Wow, this letter got long so I will leave it here. Looking forward to the fair.
Tears rolled down her face as she cursed at herself for not having read this earlier. Percy was leaving and she had no clue. Her heart ached and she clenched her chest tightly, hoping that what she had read was just a prank. Her only true friend, someone she could have liked was gone because she didn't respond to his feelings. She looked at her wristwatch and saw that time, 12:43 pm. She didn't know when his flight would leave but she wanted to try and get to say goodbye to him. She picked up her bag and ran to the front office, signing out of school for early departure and got on a bus towards the airport. She tried to call Percy but his phone was switched off and she was worried that he was already gone.
As she reached the airport, she heard, 'Flight 4541 to Olympus leaving in 10 minutes. All passengers please go to terminal B14 to board.'
Her eyes widened and she ran over to the tickets booth and asked, "Are there any tickets available for Olympus for Flight 4541?"
The lady looked at her strangely and replied, "You are too late to buy a ticket. If you have a ticket then you can board but buying it now is too late."
"Please, I really need to get on that flight. My–," she paused. How could she convince her that she had to get on the flight to stop Percy? What right did she have to stop him from pursuing his career?
But she had to talk to him, to tell him that she didn't just think of him as her friend but something more.
She racked her brain for something and could only think of one reckless thing to do- trespass. She looked at the lady behind the booth and gave her a sad smile, getting ready to sprint. The lady shook her head and said, "I know what you are thinking and trust me, you wouldn't make it 10 steps in before you get caught. If the person you are after is really worth it, contact him when he lands, okay?"
She stood there, mouth agape as the lady gave her a smile and began packing her handbag. Before Artemis could turn around, she heard rapid footsteps and felt a familiar scent of chlorine as a figure rushed past her, his shoulder barely grazing against hers.
"I am so sorry for being late," he spoke, breathing heavily, a bag slung on his shoulder and a suitcase standing beside him. The lady gave him a smile and took the ticket that he was presenting towards her and replied, "You are okay. I was just about to close this so you got lucky."
She couldn't see his reaction but she knew he must have been smiling. The world around her froze, her senses having abandoned her as she stood there looking bewildered. She had no idea how to react anymore. Was she supposed to call out to him? Or hug him and beg him to stay? Or just turn away and leave?
While she was contemplating, she saw him begin to walk into the aisle, his passport getting scanned slowly and her right hand rose subconsciously and she whispered, "Percy?"
He stopped in his tracks, no movement could be observed from him as he stood there, the passport hanged few millimeters away from the scanner as he turned his head and his sea-green eyes met with her silver eyes.
Time began moving again as Percy smiled nervously at her and hurriedly scanned the passport on the scanner. The movement caught her gaze and she narrowed her eyes as she glared at him. How dare he scan it when he had seen me?!
All rationality left her mind as she stomped towards him, making him take a step back in apprehension. She grabbed the cuff of his t-shirt and pulled him closer to her and said, "You thought you could disappear without saying bye to me?"
He scratched the back of his neck and replied, "I couldn't bring myself to say farewell. That is why I had written that letter."
"I know but you could have said bye or checked that I read the letter. I had forgotten about it and wouldn't have known if Grover didn't remind me about it," she nearly screamed at him.
"Uh," he had an incredulous look on his face, "why would Grover say something?"
She blushed heavily as she realized that Grover would not have approached her to tell her something like the letter. He had her backed up in a corner and–
"Sir, the flight is departing soon. If you wish to still travel to Olympus, you would have to hurry up," the lady said, a kind look in her face as she glanced between the duo.
He nodded to her in response and gave Artemis an apologetic look, "Well, if I didn't get to say bye earlier, I'll say it now. Farewell Artemis. I hope we meet again in the future."
Without waiting for a response, he began walking down the aisle. Artemis' eyes didn't leave the floor as she tried to gather all the courage she could find within herself and she found herself yelling, "PERCY WAIT!"
All the commotion around her stopped and everyone turned to look at her. She didn't look up, words flowing out of her mouth as she surrendered her will to her mouth, "please don't go. Can't you just stay here? With me?"
She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face in mismatched paths. Within a second, he was standing in front of her, his slightly taller body towering over hers and his fingers wiping away the tears and he whispered, "How am I supposed to say no when you make a face like that?"
Her blush deepened and she buried herself in his shirt, trying to hide whereas he looked away and asked, "When will let me go?"
Boldly, she responded, "Never."
"I figured," he sighed and embraced her. The hostess gave the couple an adoring look and said, "You are hereby late, sir. You can book another flight or spend time with your girlfriend."
With that, she turned around and rushed off towards the terminal, leaving them in dust. Percy said nothing and held onto Artemis. This was the redhead delinquent that everyone was scared about. The one who had shown her vulnerable side to him and had shown how kind and generous she was. She was the one who had given him the brightest of smiles. She was his moon and he knew that he could keep staring at her forever and never get tired.
A/N: Finally done. I would like to give KloseKom for always threatening me and emotionally blackmailing me into completing this story. It was because of him that this story has been completed so you can thank him for that. The ending is slightly different from what I had expected but I can't think of adding that stuff to this so I will just say that off-screen, Percy helped Artemis reconcile with Apollo.