Encounters
AN: Hello! I'm super excited to post this chapter, but also kinda scared at the same time, but it's okay. I didn't get that many reviews at all last chapter which kinda sucks because reviews either encourage me, or help me become a better writer so please try to review please it's the Christmas season. Anyway, this is one of my longer updates, so I hope you enjoy and please read the an at the end of this.- ShyGal
Annabeth
"The streets of New York are interesting." I said quietly as I watched the bustle of people hurrying off to their jobs. I could feel Percy's gaze shift from the guy who had dropped his briefcase on the street to me. I resisted the urge to turn completely red and clamped down on my lip hard, feeling confused as to why my body reacted as if a hundred million spotlights were shining down on my face just because he looked at me.
"Why do you say that?" He asked quietly, and I risked a glance at him and instantly regretted the entire thing. I regretted looking at him, I regretted kissing his cheek, I regretted sleeping in his bed, I regretted taking the specific classes I took to make me have the same English period as he did, I regretted dumping the coffee on him, I regretted going to Starbucks, I regretted taking the dare, I regretted that I didn't stay in my damn seat at my damn computer desk when Piper came in and dared me to dress up and go get coffee. I regretted the fact that I was so stubborn that I refused to ever give up on a dare, the fact that I always wanted to prove myself whenever someone dared me to do something. I regretted it all.
And why did I regret it? Because now I was being stupid and reckless and kissing people's cheeks that I definitely shouldn't be kissing. Now I had let myself get close to someone, and that wasn't in my original plan. My original plan, since before I even got into high school, was to go through high school suppressing my feelings because my logic chain was that feelings lead to complications. Of course, liking Jason got in the way of that, but I think I still did well at keeping those feelings hidden for the most part. And I'd finally gotten over Jason and the stupid feelings I felt for him, but now whatever was going on with me and my stupid feelings towards stupid Percy was really upsetting me because what the hell was it. What the hell was this, and my life, and I just felt so many things that I shouldn't feel and why. Just why. My GPA might've been a 4.0, but I legitimately didn't understand myself, and how I could be so stupid sometimes.
"Chase?"
"Chase what?" I answered distractedly, sweeping my hair over my shoulder as I watched a thin woman in a business suit ignore the homeless man on the street begging for food. Percy's deep chuckling snapped me out of my daze and I looked over at him, noting the way his eyes crinkled.
"I said why do you think that New York City streets are interesting?" I looked him over and had the overwhelming temptation to fix his hair, which was currently sticking up in every direction, and the wind wasn't really doing much to help.
"Well," I started, pausing as Percy smiled knowingly at me, "I find people interesting. The way they work and function, it just makes me curious. Seeing these people on the streets is interesting, just because you can tell they're trying to accomplish something but you don't know the full story, right? Like, that lady over there. Business suit, brief case, a potential lawyer. Also, I think the fact that all these people with different stories are just walking past each other, all trying to achieve some end goal. Think about it, you could be walking past the person you could marry someday, or a future boss, or whatever. The stories have the potential to get linked somehow." I watched quietly, cupping my face with my hand as another man speaking into a Bluetooth shot a dirty look at the homeless man on the street.
"Okay I understand that, but that's not how it always works, you know. In fact, I pity these people that walk the New York streets. These people, running to their jobs, hustling to make money, not caring what happens… That's not a way to live. You don't get to appreciate the true beauty of what life is. How many second chances do you really get in a life time? What kind of experiences are they going to carry to their graves? Working a basic nine to five job at a desk? These people are way too focused on what's materialistic to ever stop and actually get to know the person that's walking by them, stories can't get linked without communication. Sometimes being reckless and taking a risk is one of the best things you can do because if you never try something you'll always be what-ifing. These people don't get that, and they won't ever get that. And honestly, they're only looking out for themselves, they don't care about anyone else but themselves, and that's such a horrible quality to have."
I looked over at his face, stone hard and deeply concentrated, and wondered if all this talk about taking chances and not what-ifing had something to do with more than just strangers walking on the streets. Suddenly, as if realizing he was in a daze, he stood up and offered me his hand, helping me up from the bench and then walking by my side towards the other side of the street.
In a minute, we were immersed in the crowd of strangers that were walking down the streets in a rush. I hugged my jacket closer to me as the cold wind bit into my cheek and made me want to be back home, curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and a good book. Percy looked over at me and stopped me, pulling his wallet out of his pocket and walking over to the homeless man. I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched Percy pull a twenty from his wallet and offer it to the man. The man looked like he was astonished that someone on the streets of New York was actually taking the time to listen to him, and after he recovered from his shock, he kindly accepted the money, and thanked Percy so profusely, that if he hadn't moved, the man might've been thanking Percy for hours on end.
"That was really really nice of you." I told Percy as soon as he'd come back, my mind racing and coming up with 700,000 definitions for how amazing he was.
"Well, it's always nice to pay it forward and help people out." He responded, as he stuffed his hands in his pocket. We walked for some time in comfortable silence, finally stopping at a coffee shop down the street to warm up.
"Tea?" I nodded at Percy and quietly tried to hide my smile at the fact that he remembered I preferred tea as I found a table to sit at. It was a few minutes later, when Percy was just starting to order, and I was settled down, that someone cleared their throat. I looked up to meet an older man's sharp blue eyes.
"Can I help you?" I asked confused when the man didn't break eye contact after a full minute. I gave him a once over as I waited for a response. The guy had blonde hair that was swept to the side, eyes that were currently narrowed and sharp, a pointed nose, and a thin scar running along one side of his face. He seemed to be in his late twenties, and something about him screamed for me to run.
"Sweetie, you're helping me just by letting me look at you." He said in a perverse tone as he sat down at the table. I scooted my chair back in what I hoped was a subtle manner, but the way that a cynical smile played on the guy's lips made me think he noticed how uncomfortable I was.
"Excuse me, who are you?" I asked, not caring if I sounded rude or not because at this point I was getting somewhat creeped out. The guy's eyes twinkled and he held his hand out for me.
"I'm Luke. And you?"
"My name doesn't matter, and it shouldn't to you." I answered sharply, taking his hand rather reluctantly and not liking the way it felt extremely clammy. His smile widened at my words as he let go of my hand.
"Feisty, are we? I like that. You know I couldn't help but notice you from the other side of the shop. You're plenty attractive." My mouth wanted to drop open, but I clenched my jaw and forced myself to keep a calm manner. I shot Percy a look from the line, but he wasn't looking at me and my attempts at getting his attention felt futile.
"Don't you think that's a little uncalled for, we literally just met. And how old are you exactly?"
"I'm in the golden year of 26 sweetheart." At this point, I was urgently trying to get Percy's attention, but there was no easy way to do that without drawing attention to the fact that I was trying to get someone's attention.
"Do you realize that I'm underage?" He chuckled quietly and grabbed my hand from the table.
"Age is just a number."
"You know what else is a number? 911." I took the chance to wave over and stare intently at Percy while Luke tossed his head back and laughed at what he considered a joke. Finally, I got Percy's attention, and I signaled over to Luke. Percy's eyes hardened and he gave a small nod as he grabbed our drinks.
"You're pretty and funny, that's really great you know." I ripped my hand away from the guy as I let out a small sigh of relief. Percy was coming. Percy was going to make it better.
"Look, I'd really appreciate it if you left me alone."
"But then how would we get to know each other on a… personal level?" I opened my mouth to respond to his innuendo, but was cut off by a voice behind me that rendered me speechless.
"Babe, I got your tea, did you know this place is already selling Christmas cookies?" Percy said from behind me as he rested one hand on my shoulder and put my tea down with the other.
"That's really interesting." I managed to choke out, understanding what Percy was trying to do but not knowing if I could successfully play along. Percy gave me a look and smiled warmly.
"You know I never did understand why you started drinking tea." He said as he leaned down and kissed my cheek before leaning back in his seat and taking a long sip of his coffee. My mouth went dry and I tried to keep from bursting to flames. As if just now noticing there was someone else sitting at the table, Percy locked eyes with Luke and then looked back at me. "Who's this?" I let out a quiet breath and composed myself as Percy grabbed my hand.
"This is Luke. He just came over and started talking to me. He's twenty six, and I'm fairly certain he was trying to hit on me." Percy choked on his coffee and set the cup down, this time looking like he had fire in his eyes.
"Twenty six? Do you realize she's underage? And that she's my girlfriend?" Percy added the last bit in hastily, but Luke didn't react at all, in fact he was studying Percy with curiosity and fascination.
"You have a very familiar appearance you know." He answered to Percy, and Percy's face slipped for a second. His eyes narrowed and he stared the guy down as he clutched me closer to him.
"Now you listen here. This is my girlfriend, and I treat her right, which not only means I watch out for her, but it also means I make sure she doesn't get harassed by men who could go to jail for trying to get in my girlfriend's pants, and men who also make my girlfriend feel extremely uncomfortable. Last time I checked, you fit both of those descriptions, do you not? Now I'm telling you now to leave her alone." Luke gave him a smile and raised his hands up to cup his chin.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realize telling someone they looked nice was against the law." If anything, this angered Percy more.
"It's wrong when you're being a pervert and the person you're talking to is 9 or ten years younger than you. Do you wanna take your tea to go?" He asked me, and I nodded quietly, standing up with my tea in hand. Percy shot the guy one last look before we started walking out of the coffee shop.
"I'll see you again, Annabeth." Luke called after me, and I stopped in my tracks long enough for Percy to notice I'd stopped. Chills ran down my back, and now all I wanted more than anything was to run far far away. Percy gave me a questioning look but I ignored him until we were outside the store.
"What is it?" Percy asked as soon as we were back in the loud streets I shook my head in disbelief and looked up at Percy.
"I never told him my name." Percy stared at me for a couple moments longer before he turned us around and marched down the street, hands still locked together.
"Where are we going?" I asked, trying to overpower the noise of the streets.
"Someone's on you tail, Annabeth. We should go. It's getting late anyways, we've been here awhile." He said as we walked up the parking lot area I'd parked the car in.
"But-"
"No buts. Look I know what you're going to say. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself, enjoy your day off and all that jazz. And sure, I wanted a day off. But your safety is way more important to me, and if someone is stalking you, we're leaving, alright?"
"Percy-"
"No. You mean more to me than the day off. We can go back go to my house, it'll be fine." And with that, we finished our walk to the car and hopped in. Percy made sure to check that everything was fine with the car before we left.
The ride back wasn't that eventful. We listened to music in silence, I ate hot Cheetos, and even though neither of us were talking about it, I knew we were both thinking about how Luke knew my name.
In a couple weeks' time, it was six am, and there I was, slaving away and completely freaking out as I packed my bags. I was an idiot. I postponed finishing my packing until three hours before the flight, and I was supposed to be out of the house in thirty minutes.
I stuffed my three cheer uniforms in my bag, which were some of the most important things, and then shoved whatever else I could find in. The whole process took way longer than it should have. I made sure to get my glasses, and bathroom necessities in the bag before I grabbed my other suitcase and rushed down stairs to the sound of Percy honking at me from his mom's car. Helen was sitting at the kitchen table, glaring at nothing in particular. The sight of her made me want to crawl in a hole and die.
Malcolm rounded the corner and grabbed one of my bags as I said goodbye to Dad, and then we walked outside together. Hurriedly, we stuffed the bags in the back, and then I turned to Malcolm. My frustration at him was lessening, and I managed a stiff smile and a hug.
"Stay safe, I want tabs on you alright? Let me know how everything goes."
"And you let me know how the appointment goes. I love you."
"Love you too, Chase." I smiled as he turned to Percy and his mom. "Percy, thanks again for going down with her. I think this is the best alternative considering you're basically her brother, with all that time you spend with her I can't see how you're not." Malcolm said genuinely, but I didn't believe that statement one bit, even though weeks ago I couldn't have agreed more. Percy's nod was strained, like he didn't agree with Malcolm but he wasn't going to correct him.
"It's no big deal. Well, I'll see you in a couple days."
"Have a safe flight." Malcolm said, patting the car and then embracing me again. He looked like he never wanted to let me go, and honestly, I didn't blame him because if it was him going on the plane, I'd be acting the exact same way. After what seemed like forever, he let me go, and I climbed into the back of the car, buckling up and closing my eyes to shut out the world.
The ride there felt never ending, and some part of me wanted it to be. I felt like I was going to break out having an anxiety attack at any minute. Sally tried to be comforting as she helped unload our things from the back, and she surrounded me with motherly love all the way until she couldn't follow us into the airport anymore. The hug she gave me filled me with some reassurance, but that reassurance quickly died out as soon as we met everyone else in the waiting area. Piper met my eyes excitedly, but as her glance shifted to Percy's a look of confusion filled her face.
"Do you mind finding a place to sit near the team? I'm gonna go talk to Piper for just a sec." I told Percy, and I waited until he nodded unsurely so I could go talk to Piper.
"What's he doing here? I mean, I don't have anything against him, I'm just curious." She said, and her bright, ever changing eyes flashed endlessly.
"Well, you know Malcolm can't come. I asked Percy to come with me instead." At hearing this, Piper's eyebrows raised and she gave me a knowing smirk.
"What happened to "He's an asshole and I hope he goes to hell"?" Piper asked while clicking her tongue.
"We're friends now." I responded defensively, knowing where Piper was headed, and knowing she was on to something that I didn't want to admit.
"'Friends'. Right. I reckon my little Anniekins has a new romantic interest."
"Please, Piper. You know I've sworn off dating anyone."
"Swearing off dating doesn't mean you swear off developing feelings for someone, that's inevitable." She said sweetly, playing with the ends of her hair, and at the moment I wanted to strangle her so she would stop talking.
"Well I don't like Percy. We're just friends, and I needed someone to come with me because the ticket was already paid for."
"Right. You know you guys have to share a room?"
"We're sleeping in different beds, Piper, it's not a big deal."
"Whatever lets you sleep at night." She said with a smile, and I my eyes narrowed at her.
"Speaking of romantic interests, how are you and Jason holding up?" I asked quietly, and Piper's face fell.
"How do you know about that?"
"I know everything." I said simply, crossing my arms over my chest. Piper looked uncomfortable for a split second before she sighed.
"He talked to me and told me how much he liked me. We're kind of dating, but not really. Obviously we can't, the feud and everything." I nodded understandingly. She let out a breath and shook her head. "I really like him, and it just upsets me how this feud limits my choices like this. Anyway, I have to go back to Lacy, she's waiting for me, and just like you, she's terrified of planes so you can just imagine how she's holding up." I looked over at Piper's little sister, who Piper decided as the one person to bring with her. She was sitting in one of the chairs looking stiff as a board and I cringed. That's how I felt on the inside.
Breaking out of my daze, I walked back over to where Percy was pacing from one side to another, his bags strewn all over the floor. I noticed how some of the cheerleaders recognized him from the football team and were shooting him questioning looks. I set my bags down next to his and walked up to him. His face was etched with concern and worry, slightly red from walking back and forth so much, and his hair looked even messier than normal because of the fact he'd run his hands through it at least five times in the last minute.
I didn't know why or how I was so calm, but the way he was acting now was how I felt on the inside. I wanted to scream and run out of the airport in a hot second, but instead I settled for taking short breaths and drinking my fifth bottle of water.
An hour later, when they finally called our plane, the panic finally set in. My steps towards the boarding area felt like I had led on my feet, I was shaking all over, and the inside of my cheek felt raw. I accidentally pinched myself with the seatbelt when we got inside because my hands were shaking so hard it was impossible for me to swiftly put it on. It felt like a death trap, a death trap with air conditioning, and thousands of little bags of peanuts, and lots and lots of seats.
And then we finally took off and I felt like my world was falling from underneath me and I wanted to cry and scream and run off the plane even if I fell 1000 feet to the ground. I was squeezing my eyes shut so hard I thought I was starting to hallucinate. But then, maybe a minute into our ascend into the air, I felt a hand slip through mine and I forced my eyes open.
Those deep green eyes I knew so well were staring at me with all the understanding I could ever imagine. I took into account the fact that he looked less concerned than he had before we boarded the flight, and although I could still tell he was nervous, he was better off than I was because he'd been in a plane at least once before.
"It's okay." He said quietly, and I let him continue holding my hand partly because I needed the support and no one from my team was sitting close to us, and partly because some part of me didn't want to let go.
"Are you sure it was okay?" I asked for the billionth time that day as we sat in a small ice cream shop, spooning ice cream in our mouths greedily. Percy shot me a look and set his heaping spoonful of mint chocolate chip down.
"Yes, Annabeth. You did amazing, I mean the team got fifth place overall, that's gotta count for something, right?"
Our performance, which had been the day before, had scored us a fifth place trophy out of thirty teams, and although I was extremely proud, I was also very paranoid that I'd done something to screw the whole thing up for everyone. The day of the competition came with high stress and endless amounts of stretching and practicing before we went on to Phase 1 of the competition. Percy did exactly what he came to do, and sat in the stands with the other team mate's plus ones, cheering on as best as he could. Now, it was our free day, and tomorrow we'd be going back to New York.
We had a boundary limit of a couple streets, so we could explore Florida, but we weren't allowed to go past the assigned streets. A lot of my team mates decided to spend half their day sleeping in, which I found confusing because out of all the days to sleep in, you choose the one day you have to go out in Florida? But I mean hey, what do I know?
I had made sure Percy understood the fact that I was not playing around with my free day, and I was fully intending to use each and every minute of it. When my alarm went off at precisely seven in the morning, Percy must've thought it was a joke, but I forced him out of bed and told him to get his sorry ass out of his pajamas so we could leave. Now, the day was almost over and I'd accomplished almost everything I wanted to. The sun starting to set in the background warned me to wrap up the ice cream so I could finish what I needed to. I shoved my spoon back into my ice cream and sighed.
"Well, yeah, but I messed up. I tripped over my own feet for like three seconds." And Percy dropped his spoon and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair.
"Nobody saw that! Stop stressing out, you did amazing, literally no one noticed you almost tripped until you pointed it out." I let out a breath and decided to finish my ice cream instead of responding. After two minutes of eating, I looked up to find Percy's eyes locked on me with a smile playing on his lips.
"Are you hungry? Because you sure are scarfing down that ice cream." I rolled my eyes at him and stood up quickly, throwing away my cup and looking back at him to follow me.
"I was just trying to hurry so we could have time to go to the beach. I told Malcolm I wanted to go to the beach when I came, and even though he's not here, I'm still going, now let's go." And then we walked our way down to the beach by the small little ice cream shop and I smiled at the sky, and the way the pinks and golds were mixing together so nicely to provide a warm feeling. And then I thought about it. And then I realized the colors reminded me of Percy's eyes, and that one time when we were at my house and he complimented me on my eyes, and how a couple days later I'd told him he had nice eyes as well, and how that was a really huge understatement because they were way more than nice. They were an entirely different word that didn't even exist yet.
"It's so nice out here." He said, and his words broke me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah. I love it. It's so beautiful." There was a comfortable silence between us as we walked down the length of beach quietly, breathing in the nice sea salt smell. And then that comfortable silence ended when Percy picked me up and threw me in the water without any warning at all. And of course I'd screamed and thrashed, which led to us fighting each other in the water, until I, begrudgingly, gave up because I was still so drained from all the energy I spent the day before. So, with his head held up high, we walked back to the hotel, me pouting, and him with a ridiculous, wide smile on his face that was impossible to wipe off.
"I'm going to go wash up." He informed me as soon as we got in the room, and I nodded quietly, watching him grab his clothes and walk into the bathroom. And even after he'd gone into the bathroom, I made no effort to move. I didn't know what was wrong with me, but every so often, Piper's words kept flying back at me and I pushed them away because she couldn't be right, I couldn't like him. I desperately attempted to recall those times when I wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible. Those times where the only thoughts that roamed my mind about him were about how much of an ass he was. Those times when I couldn't even be in the same room with him without wanting to punch him. And now where was I with my thoughts about him? Couldn't we just go back to that splendid day, when I dumped coffee on him? Except this time, it turns out he's not my brother's best friend, and he's not set to go to the same school I am, and we'd never have to see each other again, and it would just be me dumping coffee on someone who, at the time, completely deserved it. Couldn't things just be simple? Couldn't it just all be okay, and couldn't I just go back so I wouldn't have to feel like my thoughts were jumbled up everywhere? Apparently not.
I heard the door of the bathroom click open, looked up, and instantly regretted it because there he was, straight from the shower, with water dripping down his hair and chest, and a towel wrapped around his waist.
"Dude the water is absolutely amazing, you should go take a shower before all the hot water's gone because it feels great." He told me as he walked over to his suitcase and pulled out some articles of clothing, but I didn't respond because I was at a complete loss of words and I didn't know what to do about it.
"And you know," He continued after he didn't get an answer, "This hotel is actually really nice compared to others, I mean they aren't stingy on the soap or anything, it's great."
"Right. Yeah." I choked out, still not fully comprehending why I couldn't think as he ran a hand through his hair and pulled out some extra stuff from his suitcase. He paused what he was doing and looked back at me with a raised eyebrow, but there I was, still looking at him like I'd never seen a guy before.
"Are you okay?"
"I don't know, actually." I said honestly, as my eyes trailed everywhere they could, and he gave me a look.
"Are you checking me out?" My eyes snapped up to his and I bit the inside of my cheek.
"No, I mean no." I said quickly, knowing full and well that it was the biggest lie I'd ever told. He gave me a smirk and shook his head at me.
"Right. Well when you're done checking me out, let me know, will you? Because I don't think Malcolm would like it much if he found out that you were checking out his best friend." He said, throwing my own words back at me, and a few seconds went by where my entire face felt like it was on fire.
"I'm going to go shower." I said abruptly, standing up and grabbing random clothing.
"Annabeth, I was just joking." He said stopping me by grabbing my arm, and the sudden contact made me wary.
"Yeah." I said quickly, and then I rushed into the bathroom. Maybe this was the literal version of running away from your problems, but I was too busy stripping and jumping into the shower to think about it. I let the warm water wash away all the sand from the beach, and all the stress in my life. The doubt, the worry, the confusion, just gone. And it left me feeling relaxed and revived, and just perfectly amazing. That is until I stepped out of the shower.
See, everything was going well. I was fine, slipping into my pajamas, and then I saw it. This small little black dot on the wall, slowly making its way up the length of it. And I screamed like my life depended on it.
"HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOLY FUCKING SHIT! PERCY! OH HOLY HELL!" Percy came barging in to find me pressed against the sink top.
"What is it?! What's going on?" And I shook my head and pointed at the wall without a word. He looked over and then looked back at me. "What?" And then I pointed again and he spotted the horrible beast.
"A spider? You're scared of spiders?" He asked while throwing his head back and laughing.
"It's not funny!" I yelled as he grabbed some toilet paper and smushed the spider, trying to control his laughter.
"No, it's just that I find it funny that out of the few things that limit you, one of them is spiders." He said, throwing the paper away and staring at me, still pressed up against the sink top, but more relaxed now that the spider was gone. He crossed his arms over his still bare chest and I kept my eyes from looking at him.
"Few things?" I asked questioningly, wondering what else limited me other than my fear of spiders.
"Well, obviously the feud is the biggest one." He said matter-of-factly, and I raised an eyebrow.
"The feud doesn't limit me." At this he gave me a look of disbelief.
"Are you kidding me? The feud controls your entire life! Do you not remember when you told me that we couldn't be friends because of the feud?" I held my head up high and crossed my arms.
"That's because I didn't like you. I don't have to follow the feud, I can be defiant at any time I want."
"No you can't, Annabeth, you refuse to break the rules of the feud because you're scared there will be punishment. You let the feud limit you because you're scared."
"That's not true! I'm not scared of the feud!" I said, getting heated in the face.
"Yes you are! You refuse to do anything about it!"
"Because it's not my place to do something about!"
"Just face the facts, Annabeth, you let this thing control your life!"
"That is so not true! I can do what I feel like regardless of what the feud says, I'm my own person, and the feud doesn't tell me what to do!" He scoffed, and shook his head at me.
"Yeah, you say that, but then you always do everything according to the feud, you never allow yourself to do anything that could ever possibly break the feud. The feud controls you."
"I can do what I want!"
"Sure." He said unconvincingly, looking like he was more upset now than ever. Meanwhile I was getting increasingly upset at the fact that this had somehow turned into an argument when it was supposed to be a nice day.
"I can!"
"Yeah, okay, except for the fact that you wouldn't dare do anything that might break the rules of the feud." And those words were the ones that completely unraveled me, and I knew I was about to do something that might be completely stupid.
"I could totally break the rules!"
"Then prove it!" And no sooner had he said that, I launched myself at him and crashed my lips onto his. As soon as I'd done it I knew it was a mistake because then, I never wanted to pull back. It ended as soon as it had started though, because I forced myself to pull away, and I instantly covered my mouth with my hands. Percy looked like he was more surprised than ever, and when I pulled away, he stared at me like he was looking at me in a different light.
"Oh my god. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. Oh god, oh god-"
"Annabeth, for once in your life, just shut up." He said quietly, and then, locking eyes with me, and making it extremely clear what he was about to do, he grabbed my chin and pressed his lips to mine. And it might've been one of the most delicate experiences of my life. I can't say that I wasn't aware of my surroundings because I totally was, in fact, I felt like my awareness was heightened. And then the realization hit me that Piper was completely right, and I pulled back again and we just stared at each other for forever, him with confusion, me with fear and realization.
"Percy, I think I lik-"
"Stop thinking, god."
"But, I-"
"Nope, don't wanna hear it."
"Percy-"
"Shut up, just stop talking."
"Percy! I'm trying to tell you-"
"No, you listen Annabeth. I love you to death, but you have this habit of complicating situations by overthinking all the freaking time." I stopped and looked at him.
"You love me?" And he face palmed and gave me a look.
"See this is what I'm talking about!"
"But-"And then he shut me up again, in a rather nice manner I'll say, and this time I didn't do anything to stop him. For this moment in time, I didn't care about the consequences. I didn't care about the feud, or the fact that my team mates were in this hotel. I didn't care about the fact that Malcolm would go ballistic if he ever found out about this. I didn't care that Piper was completely right about everything. For once, I did what he said and I stopped thinking about everything that could go wrong and started thinking about the here and now, and the here and now was pretty great.
I let myself get lost in sensation, forgetting everything that was causing me panic, and letting myself enjoy this one particular time when I felt like I was okay. I ran my hands through his hair and smiled quietly against his lips at the fact that it was still damp and soft to the touch, and I tried not to completely marvel at the fact that his lips were so gentle and soft, and it wasn't one of those things that was completely hot and desperate and rushed, and that we had all the time in the world for whatever this was turning into.
After what felt like an eternity, I felt myself slip from the ground and into the air, and I was under the impression that I was being carried, but I wasn't sure until my back hit the soft comforter of my bed because I'd kept my eyes shut the entire time, fearing that if I opened them, I'd wake up, and this would all be an illusion, and I really really didn't want it to be because I had come to terms that I had feelings for the idiot and there was nothing I could do about it.
And when we did get to the bed, nothing happened. It was another moment, where we stared at each other without words. I found so much depth in his eyes and it made me scared but I was reserving my thinking until later, because even though I knew this would backfire, and something was bound to change after this, at the moment, I didn't care.
This time, our looks meant something, and I knew exactly what they meant by the way his eyebrows were raised in question. He was waiting for me. He wanted me to make the choice of furthering this, or just pretending nothing happened and going to sleep without another word. I stared at him for the longest as he tucked my hair behind my ear and played with the curly strands. He was ever so patient, not rushing me or pushing me, but waiting for me, and that warmed my heart. It would've been so easy to turn back. All I had to do was say no, and he would've understood with his wonderful self because that's who he was, not some guy who I dumped coffee on, but so much more. It would've been less complicated to just say no.
But I didn't say no. I didn't want to be sitting there, always attracted to him from the side and never doing anything about it. I wanted to know Percy in every possible way there was, and this was definitely it. The fact that he was ready to accept a no without argument urged me to say yes because when does one find someone like that? Someone so caring and understanding that what you tell them won't change what they feel, and they get that maybe you're not ready, and they're willing to wait however long it takes? I said yes because I wanted this more than I wanted anything at the moment, and not in the sense that I wanted sex, but in the sense that I wanted to be as close as I could get to him on an emotional level. So when I ran my thumb over his cheek after however long it was, and his eyes flicked up to mine, I let my lips find his to answer his question.
"Are you sure?" He asked quietly, his voice full of doubt and concern, but I nodded once to show him that my choice was resolute, and it was okay. "We're screwing everything he up." He mumbled as his lips brushed against mine, and I ran my hands through his hair before letting them stop at his shoulders.
"Yeah. But it's okay." I assured him, and after that there were no more words, and for the first time in forever, I was glad that I accepted someone's dare.
AN: Okay, so I got this review a while ago from someone that said that I was basing my characters goodness off of who had sex, and that I was basically punishing Thalia and Malcolm because they're my third ship and they had sex, so I mean, here is this. Also, at the end, when she says she's glad she accepted someone's dare that's referring to when Percy said you wouldn't dare, so just as clarification so no one gets confused. Lastly, please you guys, I'm urging you to leave a review for this chapter because it took so long, and I worked so hard on it, so please please let me know what you think. Till next time- ShyGal