~ Hey Angels ~
IT'S YOUR GIRL! Back from the dead...not really ;) Sorry, I know I've been gone, what, 2 weeks? Wow.
I've just been so focused on other things like A Levels (google it) and loving other things like Strong Girl Bong Soon, A Korean Odyssey and BTS! I'm on a major Korean discovering adventure! You guys have the most amazing culture. Please adopt me! :))
But yeah, I'm at the point where I have to revise like crazy for my mock exams in February. Omgomgomgomgomg, pray for meeee! So sorry if I don't stick to my updating schedule much.
Anyways, I want to get back into my beautiful, fluffy percabeth because I miss them. Do you guys ever obsess over something and then after a while, it goes away and you feel sad about it but you don't really know how to get back into them? Life gets in the way I guess.
And when I mean life...I mean Park Hyungsik and Kim Taehyung - you guys are my Percy bias wreckers!
Okay, Ima just calm down and accept the fact that I love them all equally :)
I'll shut up now and let you read Part Two of the Storm! I'm super super excited for you guys to read it. It's a little dark, a little sad, a little bit of a bombshell but I hope you like it.
Warning: This chapter contains physical violence
Oh, and for those of you who think I'm gonna even consider making my girl get raped, you are seriously mistaken. Annabeth is not gonna get raped, I love her too much for that. ;) So don't worry ma chicas. All will be fine.
Or will it? ;)
Enjoyy xx
Chapter 11
The Storm Part 2
Percy POV
There was a piercing screech of tyres as the van came to a sudden stop.
For a while, all I could hear was the panting coming from my friends. I could only imagine how freaked out they were right now—none of them knew what was happening. I hadn't even told Grover about my half brother who also happened to be a bit of a psychopath. He'd be pissed about that for sure.
I was surprised at how calm I was. My heartbeat was steady. My body firm with assurance. I think when you grow up in this world, things like kidnappings don't scare you anymore. You become so used to the darkness that it becomes your home. I'd already learned to summon the devil and dance with monsters in the night—to me this was just another day.
Maybe that's not such a good thing but it was keeping me level-headed for now.
The doors rolled open.
"Everyone out, now!" Raf yelled.
We were all blindfolded but they took no care in directing us out safely so half of us stumbled across the floor. I had to help Silena up a few times and ended up holding her hand for the entire thing.
"Move it!" Octavia snarled pressing a gun to the small of my back and Silena whimpered beside me. I guess she had a gun to her back too.
So I moved further into the darkness, keeping my hand firm for Silena's sake. She needed that security. And for now, we were the only things keeping each other sane.
I heard shuffling and a creaking door open and then we were shoved inside a building. I felt a carpet underneath my feet as Silena and I stumbled in. I could hear the others around me as we walked further and further into wherever the hell we were.
Octavia jerked me to a painful, sudden stop and the others all cried out so I assumed they'd been stopped abruptly too. Voices echoed across the wall and I could tell we were in a huge building—some kind of great hall or something.
I waited, breathing heavily and tightening my grip on Silena's hand. Whisperings filled the air and a cold chill ran up my spine as my body began to stiffen.
Something wasn't right here.
Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off my head and I blinked a couple of times trying to focus on my surroundings. It looked like an old abandoned theatre. We must be in a remote area because this place looked like it was falling apart with dusty red chairs and a large broken chandelier draped over some of the seats. I looked up to see where it had been snapped off the ceiling and saw that the roof was in pieces too with peeling plaster, planks and pipes sticking out in odd places.
I glanced at the others to check they were alright. No one seemed to be hurt just yet but the thought of not being hurt 'yet' made my stomach twist. That's when it really hit me.
Maybe I wasn't scared for myself but I was sure as hell scared for my friends. This wasn't like old times where it was just me caught up in shady business out on the streets. I actually had something to lose now. And that uncertainty left a sickening feeling inside of me.
What was Raf planning on doing to us?
I suddenly started to think about Annabeth. She'd probably be at school right now, worrying her pretty little head over where I am. I'd give anything to just be able to go back there and be with her instead of standing here with the last family member I'd ever want to see.
We were pushed up some side stairs and forced onto the stage where spotlights were now being shone down onto. What was this? A game? A show? It was sick—the whole thing.
"Welcome my friends!" Raf smiled, sitting in a front-row seat and throwing his arms out. I felt far from welcome. "To the Great Montelupo production, brought to you by none other than myself."
Doug started clapping enthusiastically like the absolute idiot he is. That guy couldn't tell you the difference between his left and his right.
"Rather fancy, isn't it?"
"What do you want?" I spat.
"Now that's not very nice, little brother. Haven't I taught you anything about respect?" He scowled at me disappointedly.
"Brother?" Piper frowned. "Look, whoever you are, you've got the wrong people. Percy doesn't have any siblings. So why don't you just let us go?"
"Pips don't." I mumbled, wanting to be the only one to talk, so I'd be the only one to suffer if I said the wrong thing.
"Percy, what the hell is this?" Jason hissed.
"This is a joke right?" Grover laughed uneasily. "I mean, you would have told us if you had some crazy ass brother walking about."
"Percy, what is going on?" Piper asked.
"Didn't you tell them, Percy?" Rafael smirked and Octavia, Doug and Max, who were surrounding us as we stood in a long line at centre stage, sniggered.
"Well, isn't that insulting?" He scoffed. "I suppose I'll have to introduce myself then." He said propping his feet up on a broken stool in front of him as he sat leisurely in the chair, twiddling the firearm in his hand.
"My name…is Rafaello Da Montelupo. I'm Percy's half-brother. Given up for adoption at a young age by a dick of a father, Poseidon, while this spoilt little brat got it all." He snarled pointing his gun at me.
"You're doing all this because of jealousy?" I scoffed. "You're even more messed up than I thought." I spat.
He glared daggers at me as he shot out of his seat and leapt onto the stage. "I'd watch your tongue if I were you...Seaweed Brain." He grinned and my heart lurched in my chest.
"Oh yes." He smirked, seeing my shocked expression. "I've been following your little Wise Girl for a while now. Had a nice little chat with her the day after her poor daddy died."
I snarled, lunging forward but he held up his gun to my chest and I gulped. "Your move, boy." He snarled and I slowly backed up to stand next to Silena who took my hand again. She was shaking, I could feel it.
Rafael laughed. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt her. We just had a lovely chat." Looking into his eyes at that moment they looked almost pitch black as if they held nothing but pure evil and insanity.
"We've seen each other quite a few times since that night at Atlantis, actually. I wonder how much she hasn't told you." He smirked and I felt my chest burn in the heat of my anger. "You'll never even know what she gave up for you."
"What are you talking about?"
"The funeral." He snapped. "The funeral was the last time I said she could see you. After that, I told her to separate herself from everyone in her life—so she'd be weak."
"And why would she do that?"
"To protect you." He smirked, his eyes glinting with an emotion I didn't recognise. "It was our little deal. She stayed away from you so that I'd stay away from you too."
My heart sank into my chest as a wave of sheer emotion came over me and I blinked in shock.
"But you didn't know that…did you?"
I looked at the ground, shamefully. The amount of trouble I'd caused for her during that time because I thought she'd just been shutting me out for no reason. That time I fought with Luke in the corridor, or got drunk late at night and ended up in the hospital…
God, I'd never even known that she'd done it for my sake. Was she trying to keep me safe?
"Don't worry, she's with Luke right now. I'm sure she'll join us later." He grinned maliciously.
A wave of panic began to drown my veins. "What have you done to her?" I growled, balling my fist at my side, still holding Silena in the other.
"Don't you mean what has Luke done to her?" He smirked.
"I swear, if you hurt her—" I started.
"Percy. Percy. Percy." He shook his head as he began to pace up and down the line. "Always so loyal." He smirked before holding his gun up to Grover's chest.
I caught my breath. Then he walked along the line, pointing his gun at every one of them—lingering just to scare them.
"That's what makes you and me so different." He grinned before stopping in front of Silena. He flicked the safety switch off and she whimpered hearing the horrible clicking sound of her death sentence.
"Unlike you, I could shoot her right here, right now and not even flinch."
I growled, pulling her behind me as I stepped in front of the gun. "You'd have to go through me first."
"Are you sure you're willing to sacrifice your life for just one girl—a girl you don't even love?"
"Try me."
"Don't test me. I'll do it. You know I will."
"Then pull the trigger." I told him slowly.
"Fine." He shrugged, pulling the trigger. Click!
"NOOO!" Silena and the others cried.
I sucked in a heap of air and scrunched my eyes shut, waiting for the pain but it never came. When I opened my eyes again, I was still standing there, unharmed. Rafael was smirking at me. He hadn't put any bullets inside, I guessed.
"Aaaww, look at this boys...my little brother's past the first test. Very heroic." He grinned and his mates all sniggered before grabbing us one by one and forcing us to our knees at the side of the stage. I stared at Rafael in shock, having no idea what he was trying to do or prove.
What did he mean, test?
"Why did you do that?" Silena hissed beside me.
"I'd do anything for you. You know I would." I smiled at her weakly and her face fell a little. She managed a soft smile before we both turned back to Rafael.
"Shall we bring in test number two?" He smirked and I frowned at him in confusion before I heard a door open at the back of the stage and he walked in.
My blood boiled at the sight of him. There was nothing I wanted to do more than to go over there and slit his throat wide open but then I saw her...
Her hair was loose and messy now as though she'd been in a struggle and she wore clean converses with her outfit now. Mine had always been dirtier and scruffier than hers. She was lying limp in his arms, her head dipping backwards and her long hair dangling down in the air. Her eyes were softly closed as though she was in a deep sleep and I swear, I had a heart attack.
My heart sank deeper into my chest and at that moment, I would have done anything—anything at all to protect her.
"Annabeth..." I whispered and the others gasped in shock as we watched Luke carrying her in, silently.
~xXx~
Annabeth POV
I felt pressure against my side as I was jolted awake. My eyes slowly and wearily opened and I found myself sprawled across another floor. My wrists had been tied together again but in front of me this time.
I moaned, blinking and trying to focus my vision. Murmuring voices sounded around me but it was like I was underwater so I couldn't hear them clearly.
Slowly, I pushed myself up as best I could with the ropes wrapped tightly around my wrists. Sickness surged through me and I collapsed. Gagging, I scrunched my eyes, taking a few staggering breaths to compose myself once again. That chloroform had really done something terrible to me.
This time, I just managed to support my body into a kneeling position. I rubbed the side of my head, hearing that piercing ringing noise again; the one I'd heard during the crash. My head ached like hell and the queasiness made me want to throw up.
When I finally looked up, a blinding light filled my eyes and I held my hand up to shade it away wearily. I blinked a few times, trying to focus my eyesight. Suddenly, I was shaded from the light by a tall, dark figure. And I saw him. He wore dark clothes and a menacing grin. I remembered the time I'd seen him last in that car ride and I remembered the blazing fire I'd seen in his eyes. It was replicated in his eyes today, if not more so.
"Rafael." I murmured.
"Hello, beautiful." He smiled.
"Where's—" I started, whipping my head around and then my eyes found him. He was standing alone, looking emotionless as he watched me but even having his eyes on me felt sickening. The last time I'd seen him, he'd been pressing that cloth to my mouth and I could remember the look in his eyes as he watched me pass out in his arms.
I wanted to shout at him, to yell at him to stay away from me but I felt weak and the pure disgust in him made it too unbearable to even look at him any more. He'd probably carried me in here and thinking about him wrapping his arms around me so freely terrified me. I winced, closing my eyes and turning away instantly.
"Meu amor," he voiced in a soft, beautiful tone, "was Luke too rough with you?" He crouched down in front of me and stroked the bottom of my trembling chin. I gasped a little but then I heard a voice.
"Don't you touch her!" Someone snarled and I turned my head to see Percy. He was kneeling on the floor a few metres away with Octavia pointing a gun to his head. I felt a rush of panic flow through me and every instinct in my body was screaming to go over there and stand between him and the gun.
"Percy..." I whispered helplessly and his eyes sank.
He knelt beside Silena who was trembling and looking at me with a terrified expression. Piper, Jason, Grover and even Rachel were with him too.
I wanted to scream and shout at Rafael for being such a monster but I got another sudden wave of sickness and gagged. Covering my mouth, I staggered a little, gasping and wincing at the horridness of the feeling in the pit of my stomach. A whimper escaped my mouth.
"What have you done to her?" I heard Percy demand, his tone icy.
"It's just Chloroform." Luke said. "It'll pass." He shrugged it off which seemed to make Percy even angrier. He tried to jolt to his feet but Octavia restrained him.
Rafael laughed a little before turning back to me and I to him. "Quite the collection he's got hhmm?" Rafael smirked, raising an eyebrow and I stared at him in horror, thinking back to the photographs.
"You knew." I breathed. "You did this."
"Well, to be honest when I asked him to keep an eye on you, I didn't think he'd go all pyscho stalker." He scolded Luke who shifted his feet uncomfortably, his face troubled. There was something seriously wrong with him.
"I apologise for his insolent behaviour and your unnecessary pain." Rafael said with genuine emotion.
"I do have to say though…the close-up photos of your lips are quite remarkable. You've got good ones, you know." He smiled softly but he wasn't like the others. He didn't have that look in his eyes that made me think he wanted to do things to me, things that Octavia and Luke certainly had wanted to do.
I don't know, I just got the feeling that Rafael was more respectful than that, maybe because he knew I was with his brother. No. It couldn't be. What am I saying? No, he just liked doing this, either to me or Percy. He liked the fun he got out of it because to Rafael, this was just a game.
"No wonder my brother likes kissing them." He began placing his fingers under my chin and using his thumb to stroke my bottom lip. I jerked away in disgust but he just laughed.
He looked at Percy and I found myself glancing over at him too. He had a look of absolute horror on his face but also confusion as if he was trying to work out what was going on. Of course, none of them would understand because they hadn't seen the terrors in that darkroom.
"Rafaello, please, stop this." I murmured. "It's not right."
He grinned at that. "Did it make your skin crawl?" He shook his hands dramatically.
"You're insane." I whispered.
"All the best people are, my dear Annabeth." He smirked.
"I feel sorry for you." I murmured and I meant it. Rafael was one messed up guy and it was clear that lack of family and a healthy upbringing was what made him this way.
"You feel sorry for me?" He scoffed.
"I do." I nodded. "You lash out at others more fortunate than you because you yourself were abandoned and now you have nothing but the gun in your hands and the mere boys who swear their loyalty to you."
He laughed.
"They'd leave you in a heartbeat, you know that." I added, shutting him up and he stared at me in shock for a few moments. "Jealousy, is not a nice colour, Rafaello."
I could see I'd hit him and I'd hit him hard. It seemed everyone in the room was just as shocked as he was.
Eventually, he choked on a snigger and spoke, "you know that innocence in there—" he said, using his gun to touch my chest where my heart was. I took a deep shaky breath as I felt my skin run ice cold, "—won't last forever." He laughed.
"You don't have to be innocent to be good." I murmured. "It's not too late for you. You can still turn this all around, just let us go." I used a soft, pleading voice to try and get through to him. I was sure there was something in him. Something that didn't make him a total monster.
"Oh, but don't you see?" He smiled. "It is too late for me."
"But there's good in you—" I urged but was suddenly cut off when he grabbed the scruff of my playsuit in his fist. I sucked in my breath—heart pounding. Everyone gasped.
"There is nothing good about me, Annabeth. Nothing." He hissed, eyes blazing. "I've done things that your innocent little mind couldn't even imagine." I gulped. "I am the reason children are afraid of the dark. I am the beast that preys upon the wounded. I love not. I feel not. I care not." He said, jerking his fist away.
I was left in breathless shock for a moment. I hadn't realised I was trembling until now. Tears were beginning to well up in my eyes and I don't even know why.
He sighed, turning away and pacing a little, his mind troubled. I could tell that deep down, he hadn't intended to snap at me like that. He was one of those undecided villains you only read about in books, the ones you're not sure about and they lash out at anyone who threatens to expose their vulnerability.
The silence was deafening.
Taking a breath, I spoke. "I know that somewhere inside there...there's a human being." I pleaded. "You have a heart Rafaello, just like me. I've seen it. I've felt it."
His expression softened just a little as he moved closer to me again. "Baby, we're like ice and fire." He said, smoothing my hair back and I sucked in a breath. His deep brown eyes bore into mine and I couldn't help but think they were nice eyes—scary and intense when he was angry but there was something gorgeous about them.
"Your heart is red and gold and full of love and life..." He smiled and for the first time, it was a warm smile. A nice smile. He'd been attractive before but he looked more so with a smile. It was weird. And for that moment I looked into his eyes and I saw something. I don't know what, but I saw something.
"But mine is black and frozen." He finished coldly. "You and I are not the same. So kind and caring. You couldn't hurt a fly, could you?" He smirked and I gulped, not sure how to respond to that. "She's too good for you, Jackson." He said, turning to Percy.
"I know that." Percy murmured and my heart sank for him. Did he really think that? Did he really think he wasn't good enough for me? If anything, it was the other way around. I wanted nothing more than to just go over there and throw my arms around him.
"See, Annabeth...I'm more like him." He smirked, gesturing to Percy who looked utterly miserable. "You're wasting your time with that one, trust me. You're too good for him, for everyone in this room, for anyone in this world. It's fascinating." He said, eyes wide as if to take me in.
I frowned at him. "I'm not perfect if that's what you're saying." I murmured.
"Oh, but you are." He said sincerely. "Get away from him while you still can." He jolted his chin up at Percy with a look of disgust. "Come with me." He pleaded, his voice softer now, resuming the same tone he'd used with me in the car months ago.
I sucked in a breath and glanced at the others who were looking between us in shock. Clearly, they were confused about what Rafael was offering me and rightly so. Percy had a sudden rush of panic appearing on his face and I saw him gulp a little.
"Come on, Annabeth. You're wasting your life away in this city. I can take you anywhere you want. You can be an architect. You can be free. Can Percy honestly offer you the same things I can?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking at his little brother but I couldn't look at Percy, not now. "He can't give you what I can, Annabeth. Don't tell me you weren't the least bit tempted."
"I was." I whispered.
"Annabeth!" Silena cried and I glanced at her. She was looking at me with such horror and fear in her eyes but she didn't understand. She hadn't been there in the car with me and Rafael. She didn't know about the things he'd offered. The life he'd offered.
Then I glanced at Percy and he was looking back at me, still panicked but something different was in his eyes now. He seemed dejected now and it hurt to see him so.
"I won't lie." I told the others before turning back to Rafael. "You came to me at a time when I needed someone the most and offered me a life away from everything. Of course, I was going to be tempted." I sighed. "But I don't feel that way anymore. I have something to keep me in New York now." I took a breath and finished with firm conviction. "I won't leave my friends or my family."
He scoffed. "You mean you won't leave Percy?" My throat caught at that and I gulped a little. He rolled his eyes at that. "You're making a mistake."
"Why do you even want me?" I frowned, my voice a little high and questioning.
"Every guy wants you, Annabeth Chase." He smirked at that. "You think I haven't noticed all those sick teenagers in that High School of yours, pining for you?" He laughed and I just stared at him, a little bewildered.
"You haven't even realised but I have—he has." He said, turning to Percy who was frowning at him now. "How does it feel, little brother? How does it feel to know that every time she walks through the hallway every single guy in sight his imagining ripping her clothes off and having their way with her?" Percy flinched at that and I just started at Rafael in horror. "How does it feel to know that the minute she ends it with you, someone else will leap into your place without a second thought?"
Percy was clenching his fists now, his eyes dark. He looked away, seemingly, unable to even look at Rafael or me any more.
Rafael chuckled. "I seem to have upset my little brother, Annabeth. Why don't you go and give him a little kiss to make him feel better?" He smirked but I didn't move.
"No?" He raised an eyebrow. "Alright then. He'll never be good enough for you anyway." He jolted his chin up at his brother.
And at that moment, I just exploded.
"You're wrong!" I cried, looking at him dead in the eyes. "There will never be anyone as good and honest and true as Percy." I spoke clearly and tried to sound like my mother; strong and brave.
"There will never be anyone who loves the way he loves. How he would do anything for his friends and how he would give up his soul if it meant he could protect theirs. And that is why you will never be like him! I don't care what he's done!" I fell into a murmur now. "I've never cared because I don't see anything but good when I look in his eyes."
I finished with a shaky breath as if that whole speech pulled at the very strings of my heart. Rafael looked at me in shock as if he couldn't quite get what I had just said in his head. He just couldn't or wouldn't understand it.
I took that moment to slowly glance at Percy and I knew I shouldn't have because the moment I did, my heart melted. He was looking at me in a way I don't think I'd ever seen him look at me; like I was a shimmering beacon of hope for him. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips parted and his eyes soft and shimmery and so full of emotion. He murmured my name and I smiled softly, turning back to Rafael.
"I see that in him...but I also see good in you. It's deep, but it's there and you can deny it all you want but I'm good at reading people."
He just stared at me like he had no idea what to do with me.
Suddenly, he scoffed, frowning as if he was trying to make himself push that thought aside. "No." He shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, good?" He looked at me weirdly. "You think I'm good." He raised an eyebrow.
"I said that I see good in you...there's a difference." I murmured.
"So what do you see then?" He raised an eyebrow sceptically but also curiously.
"I see that you still care about Percy...I see that you miss him."
He stared at me incredulously for a moment, glanced at Percy and then back at me with a frown. "You can't be serious." He scoffed.
I shrugged with a weak smile. "You care about me, don't you?" I murmured.
"Starting to think you picked the wrong brother now, huh?" He smirked and I heard Percy growling.
Rafael laughed, looking at his brother who was glaring at him. "Don't you find how easily he gets jealous and protective over you so adorable?" He smirked, looking at me and that took me back a little.
Percy would never be jealous over me, it's the other way around. I'm the one jealous of who he's been with and it'll always be that way around.
"You're avoiding this because it's true." I whispered. "You care about me and Percy and you don't wanna admit it."
"Baby, I don't care about anyone." He sniggered, flicking is gun off the safety button now and crouching down in front of me again, making my heart leap a little. "I'd kill you without a second thought."
I let out a shaky breath. "Then why haven't you?" I murmured. "Why am I the only person here without a gun to their head?"
He frowned at me and then laughed. "I missed this one." He sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear gently with his gun. "She's a feisty girl." He chuckled as though he found this all very amusing. "You never get tired of looking at her pretty face."
"Wanna share her, brother?" He smirked turning to Percy and I looked at him in horror.
"Get your hands off her!" Percy hissed.
"Jealousy's not a nice colour on you, Jackson." Rafael smirked. "Now...what was I saying?" He wondered aloud. "Ah yes, your pretty face. I think we should have it painted. We'll call it...Annabeth Chase, a portrait painted before she took her very last breath."
I gasped, feeling my blood freeze up inside my veins. The others all cried out in protest as I began trembling and Rafael just laughed evilly. The screams and shouts of my friends furiously arguing for my life were deafening. Grover was spitting out endless death threats, Silena was pleading for mercy, Jason was trying to reason with him, Piper was yelling numerous angry insults and even Rachel was shouting—mainly to be freed from the ropes restraining but it was something nonetheless.
"Oh just gag them will you?" Rafael cried over the noise. "They're giving me a headache."
One by one, they went by gagging each of them with thick duct tape. When they came to Percy, he tried to rip his arms out of Octavia's grip but he managed to hold him in place and point the gun harder to the small of his back. I gasped as he winced in pain.
"Stop!" I cried.
"Oh, let him go, would you?" Rafael rolled his eyes, backing up to his feet and Octavia slowly let go of Percy. He ran, skidding across the floor on his knees to reach me.
I sobbed as he cupped my cheeks pulling me towards him. "Baby, baby, I'm sorry. Are you hurt? Did Luke hurt you?" He murmured, looking down at me with those soft sea-green eyes.
I shook my head, feeling tears in my eyes as I grasped his shirt in my hands as best I could with ropes wrapped around my wrist. He had his leather jacket on now and I felt the sudden urge to fold myself inside it and stay like that safely forever.
At that moment, he pulled me closer and kissed me desperately. There was minimal lip movement but the kiss said everything I needed to hear. 'I'm here', 'I'll protect you', 'I love you'...well maybe not that last one but it was nice to pretend it said that.
He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me into him and tangling his hand in my hair. I cupped the bottom of his cheek as best I could but it was hard to move my hands. It was a breath-taking kiss and for that blissful moment, nothing else mattered. The whole world could have disappeared and I wouldn't have cared.
I whimpered slightly when he pulled away. I didn't want him to stop, I wanted to kiss him again but I knew I couldn't.
"I'm not gonna let them hurt you." He murmured against my lips.
"Mm-hmm." I murmured in a high-pitched tone as I nodded.
Suddenly, Percy was pulled to his feet and I cried out as Luke pushed him away. He pulled out a gun, holding it up to him and snarling like a rabid dog. I started to desperately twist my ropes to try and free my hands.
"You always did make me sick." He spat. "Percy Jackson...the one everyone always falls for. Always!" He yelled. "Always, always, always!"
"It's not my fault I'm just a highly attractive person." Percy smirked. God's the nerve of that guy.
"I'll kill you for taking her!"
"No!" I shouted, suddenly managing to pull my hands free. I leapt to my feet and ran over to stand between Percy and the gun. I threw a hand out protectively, shielding him from aim. Luke's eyes widened in shock and I heard Percy suck in a heap of air behind me.
"You kill him, you kill me!"
Everything went silent. Luke stumbled back as though he'd been shot. "So...y-you've made your choice."
"I made it years ago, Luke...before I even met you." I sighed softly, taking pity on the guy. "It's always been Percy and it'll always be Percy." I felt Percy lace his fingers into mine behind me and the sudden warmth gave me the strength to fight. As long as he was standing beside me, I'd be ready for anything.
Anger flashed across his eyes and he lunged forward but Rafael stopped him forcefully. "No!" He ordered. "What did I say? No one harms him!" I gasped a little and that's when I saw that I was right.
Rafael did still care for Percy. He could try to deny it but there was no mistaking it; Percy was one of the only people left on this earth with a place in Rafael's stone-cold heart.
"You!" He scowled at Percy. "Move!" He ordered using his gun to direct Percy back to where he was kneeling before.
Rafael paced for a few moments before turning back to his brother. "So...what would it take to make you snap, hhmm?" He smirked, walking over to Silena and pointing the gun at her terrified face. "The death of your most caring friend? Or the girl in which you've shared a sisterly bond with since the 6th grade?" He said, turning to point the gun at Piper. "Or how about your best friend since Kindergarten?" He pointed the gun at Grover. "Or the annoying ex-girlfriend who you still care about deep down." He smirked, playing with Rachel's hair with the tip of his pistol. She began to sob a little in fear. "What about your life-long teammate over here? He's never let you down." He said waving the gun at a frowning Jason.
"Or I could just make things simple and kill the girl you've loved since you were ten years old." He said pointing the gun back at me and I gasped in shock not because of the gun but because of what he said.
Loved? Percy...loved me? No. No, he couldn't.
I saw Percy suck in his breath and suddenly Rafael was grabbing me by the arm and hauling me over to him. He locked me in a neck grab, pressing the gun to my temple as I desperately pulled at his arm, quivering in his grasp. Everyone muffled furious screams against the duct tape.
"No, please!" Percy cried and then his voice cut off as our gazes locked for a second. He looked panicked. "Brother, don't. Don't hurt her. Please, I'll do anything you want just…not her."
Song Tribute: [Daydream – Ruelle]
My heart sank. "Anything, huh?" I heard Rafael sneering behind me. "What exactly would you do for her, Percy? How dark are you willing to go to protect her?"
Percy shot him an icy look and if it had been anyone other than Percy, I would have been scared.
"Let's find out." Rafael added and before I could even scream he was tossing me to the ground hard. So hard that, as my body sprawled across the stage, my head hit the floor and I gasped from the pain.
My hair came up around my face, shielding it and for a moment, I pressed my palms to the floor, staggering in pain and trying to push myself up again. I could hear the outraged cries from my friends, the worried yearns. Piper and Silena were screaming my name in fear.
Slowly, I managed to sit up and look back at Rafael. He was looking at me too with amusement in his fiery eyes while mine were blurring up with tears. I felt a sting above my right eyebrow and pressed my fingers to it, they came away with blood. I didn't gasp or whimper, I just stared at my red fingers in shock. I couldn't believe this was happening.
I'd only just looked up in time to see the events play out in front of me. Rafael turned back to Percy with a smirk and suddenly all innocence and mercy had dissipated from Percy's eyes. All that was left was a dark, menacing urge for revenge. A deep, dark desire, erupting to the surface.
He lurched up, in front of Octavia, who grabbed at his leather jacket that came clean off. Percy began twisting the gun out of Octavia's hand so he was no longer pointing it to the back of his head. Octavia staggered back with a cry as Percy surged forwards, sidestepping Luke's attack and knocking him to the ground. Then he ran at Rafael who was standing at the top of the stage and tackled him to the ground hard, harder than he ever did to guys on the football field.
He sat on top of him as he punched him in the face with terrifying force, his eyes ablaze. The guys moved to help but Rafael held up his hand to stop them so everyone just stood and watched it happen.
"YOU WANNA KNOW HOW DARK I CAN BE?" Percy screamed in Rafael's face, grasping the scruff of his collar in his fist. He punched him again. "THIS IS HOW DARK I CAN BE!" He punched him again. "THIS IS HOW DARK I'M WILLING TO GO!" I was too shocked to say a word or intervene while I witnessed this.
Percy hit him again, over and over. Faster and faster. Angrier and angrier. The muscles in his biceps tensing and bulging from the force of it all. His left-hand still scrunching Rafael's collar tightly and his right balled into a tight fist as it came down to break bones and draw blood. The blood spirting from Rafael's mouth was something of a horror movie. It wasn't long before Percy's knuckles were turning red with the stuff. But whether it was his or Rafael's, I couldn't tell anymore.
He didn't stop. He kept hitting him and soon Rafael did nothing to stop him as if he was amused by the situation. I saw something in Percy that day that I'd never seen before. He'd warned me about it. Hell, Rafael had warned me about it but I hadn't listened. I hadn't believed it but here it was, staring me in the face. There in the flesh; his dark side. His inner monster.
I couldn't watch.
"PERCY STOOOP!" I screamed, my voice ringing out through the theatre. "STOP IT!"
Song Tribute: [Hurts Like Hell – Fleurie]
At that moment, he did stop.
His fist was still raised, his hand still grasping the scruff of Rafael's collar but he did stop. He was looking at me, eyes wide and lost for words as if he was in shock from what came over him. He was astonished that he'd let himself become that again…that he'd shown me what he could really do—something he'd been burying inside himself for a long time.
I couldn't hide the look of horror on my face and I could see that my fear hurt him. He'd never wanted me to be afraid of him no matter how much he said I should be. He'd been terrified that one day I would see what I was seeing right now and would never look at him the same way again—that I would be scared of him.
"Stop this." I whispered, shaking my head. "This isn't you."
Then he looked back at Rafael and began to slide slowly off him onto the floor where he knelt with his head sunken. I felt a deep sorrow for Percy at that moment. He looked so lost. Lost in life. Lost in who he was.
My heart jumped when I heard Rafael start to laugh as he got to his face, wiping the blood from his mouth. His lip was split, as was his cheekbone and blood was pouring from his chin onto his black shirt. It smeared into his teeth, tinging the snow white to a rich crimson colour. I could barely look at him, it made my stomach churn.
They were in front of me, a few metres away at the head of the stage while the others were to my right at the side and I was in the centre. I was in the middle of it all as if I couldn't escape. As if I would never be able to escape.
"I told you, didn't I, brother?" Rafael grinned. "I told you one day you'd do something that would make her afraid of you forever." Percy flinched. "It's in your nature, Percy. The bloodlust."
"Mmmhhmmmffff!" Grover muffled against the tape, trying desperately to defend his best friend. Percy glanced at him but didn't respond before dropping his head again.
"You've kept it hidden for so long that even your best friend doesn't see it." Rafael continued. "Well, I do. I always have. I haven't made her scared of you, you did that on your own. I simply…sped up the process." He laughed as if this whole thing amused him.
I gulped, wanting to speak but my dry throat wouldn't let me. "Look at him, Annabeth!" Rafael yelled at me but I kept my head turned away. "I said look at him!"
Luke, who was standing behind me now, armed at the ready, forcefully hit the back of my head and I had no choice but to look.
Both Percy and Rafael had their eyes on me. Percy looked so broken, his eyes empty of hope. Empty of everything—all emotion. There was nothing left of him. His self-loathing had consumed him. It was the most horrifying sight I'd seen all night.
"Look at the monster beneath the surface!" Rafael continued. "I warned you. I warned you that we were more alike than you'd first admit. Now you know."
"Annabeth—" Percy started breathlessly, eyes pained as if he was desperate to defend himself.
"Shut up!" Rafael yelled at his brother and Percy flinched, looking at the ground again. It was the first time I'd ever seen him submit to Rafael.
I couldn't speak. I couldn't form a single word. My own intellect failed me at that moment and there was nothing I could do about it. I felt helpless. Helpless to the fact that Percy was quickly losing faith in himself. Helpless to the fact that my friends were in danger.
Then, he turned back to Percy and punched him clear in the face. I screamed in horror, crying out his name. I could hear the girl's own muffled screams too—screams for his safety. Rachel's was the loudest.
His head snapped to the side and he spat blood, shivering from the horrors of this dark and terrible night. He didn't even cry out in pain, he just knelt there accepting the hurt like he deserved it.
"So weak." Rafael said, hitting him again and I cupped my mouth in shock. I rose to my feet desperately but Luke held me back.
"You used to be strong! You used to be the toughest of us all, now look at you. Look at what she's done to you." He pointed at me. "She's made you weak, Jackson!"
Percy looked up at me for a split second and I watched a line of thick red blood trickling down from his nose, over his lips and to the bottom of his chin. My face sunk as our eyes met and I shook my head slowly, furrowing my brows and looking at him sorrowfully.
I wanted to run over there and help him, to hug him until the pain went away but I knew Luke would restrain me and Rafael would hurt him, even more, to get back at me. I was treading on glass here, we all were.
"But you were always weak to it, Percy…weren't you?" He sniggered and I frowned in confusion. "The one thing that stopped you from becoming one of us, from unlocking your true potential." He smirked. "I could see it in you even when you were just a boy…human emotion."
Percy's eyes fell hopelessly and I saw a sadness in them as Rafael came to crouch down by his side. "You love her...don't you little brother?" He smirked and I stared at Percy in shock. His eyes met my face and for a split second, I saw pain and a lot of it.
There was a very very long silence as our eyes locked and the world stilled. He managed to keep a stern look for a little while but eventually, he cracked.
"Yes." He whispered and my knees went weak.
I saw the last wall around his heart crumble away, the last piece of self-protection he'd held in place.
I gasped, covering my mouth slowly and clutching my stomach as I sank to my knees. I'd waited months and months to hear him say it and while I was so happy to hear it, I couldn't help but feel like the moment had been stolen from me because it came out of Rafael's mouth.
Rafael laughed and Percy looked away shamefully. I wanted to go over there and hug him so badly.
"And you!" Luke yelled. "You love him too?" He said in a questioning tone.
He looked a mess, sweaty and teary-eyed. It was as though he already knew the answer but he hoped he was wrong. I looked down shamefully, trying to hold back tears. He pressed his gun to my temple, hard. I shivered.
"Answer the question!" He snarled.
"Just give him what he wants, Beth." Percy said in a flat tone as though he was running out of all things hopeful in this world. "Tell him the truth."
I could see it in his eyes as he looked into mine. And it was the most unbelievable thing. He thought I was going to say no.
"I won't ask again." Luke said in a low, impatient tone as he flicked the safety switch. "Do you love him?"
Song Tribute: [Soldier – Fleurie]
I couldn't look away from Percy. Our eyes had locked and he was looking at me so deeply that I could barely breathe. In a way, I wanted to say no. I'd been hiding my feelings for months. I wasn't sure if I was ready to say them out loud. Not here. Not now. Not in front of all of these people. But looking at him, so broken and beautiful, I couldn't.
"Yes." I whispered.
For a moment, everyone looked shocked. Percy was looking at me with wide eyes, utterly speechless.
"The love that moved the sun and the stars." Rafael murmured as if in a trance, straightening up again.
Then he shook away whatever emotion he'd just felt. "Well, that's too bad," he said, "because he's about to experience a world of pain." He punched Percy's jaw and it was the hardest hit of the night.
I whimpered as Percy was knocked to the ground in that one single blow. He was sprawled across the floor on his side when Rafael kicked him in the gut. I flinched at the sight of it as he curled into himself, groaning in pain and spitting blood onto the stage.
"I'm gonna knock it out of you, brother!" Rafael yelled, kicking him again. "I'm gonna beat everything human out of you, then there'll be nothing left to love! You won't even be human yourself. You won't love her. You won't love anyone. Then you'll be just like me."
He lifted him up by the scruff of his collar, punching him over and over again, across the mouth, the nose—whatever his fist could find.
Percy just lay there, silently wincing at the pain but not once did he fight back. It was as if he'd accepted his fate.
"STOP! PLEASE! STOP, YOU'RE GONNA KILL HIM!" I screamed, shivering uncontrollably all over now.
"Oh relax, I'm just roughening him up a little around the edges." He grinned.
"You think this is funny?" I breathed. "You think this is all just a game?" I couldn't believe it. "He's your brother! He's my—" My voice cut off.
"What?" Rafael smirked. "What is he to you, meu amor?"
"Rafael, please…please just stop it." I breathed, half covering my face. "I can't watch him get hurt anymore."
Still kneeling, Percy's head lulled this way and that as he winced in the blinding light of the stage spotlight.
The sight was more horrifying than all the nightmares I'd ever had as a child. More horrifying than the stories people tell you around a campfire at night.
There was so much blood. So…so…so much blood.
It drizzled down his face like overflowing rain against a window pane. Thick red caked around his nose. A stream of it poured from the corner of his mouth like a long strip of red string, breaking off every now and then to create tiny droplets that soaked into the light cotton of his grey sweatpants. They quickly began to stain as the hot liquid oozed across the fabric until there wasn't much grey left to see.
I would have cried but I was too horrified to do anything but stare at him. Nothing could unfreeze me at that moment as I looked at the face of the one I loved stained red with blood.
Percy's head lay low and he wiped the blood from his mouth, too ashamed to look me in the eye. Rafael quickly hauled him to his feet with an aggression about him.
In the heat of my panic and not knowing what he was going to do next, I gave up. I didn't care about what happened to me anymore as long as Percy and the rest of my friends went home safe and alive tonight.
"I'll go with you!" I cried.
Both Percy's and Rafael's heads snapped up to look at me then. "If you stop hurting him…if you let him and everyone else go, I will go with you." I gulped.
"No, Annabeth—" Percy croaked
"I promise." I cut him off, looking at Rafael sternly. "I'll never scream. I'll never run. It'll just be me and you. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"Mmmhhhmmmrrrrr!" Silena screamed, starting to speak endless gibberish now. "Annahhhhmmmrr! Mmmhhmmrr-mmhmm-hhmmmfff-mmhhmmmm!"
The others made their own remarks but I ignored them all.
"That's what you want, right?" I said a little louder.
"Yes." Rafael said in breathless shock and Percy looked at him in horror for a moment, then back at me.
Rafael rushed over to me, taking my face gently into his hands and looking down at me with his God-given looks. I caught my breath as did everyone in the room. "Yes, that's what I want." He whispered to me and I had to submit.
At that moment, Percy collapsed—knees buckling to the floor. My heart skidded, and I yearned for him. My eyes went to him, not Rafael. And Rafael knew. He frowned at me, stepping away in realisation.
I didn't care what he would do to me then, I couldn't help rushing to Percy's side. Skidding across the floor, to kneel in front of him. His head was sunken and I took it in my palms lifting it gently. He was breathing unevenly and he was in pain, I could tell. I shushed him softly.
I sobbed at the sight of his wounds as I tried to wipe away the blood from his face. There was so much of it and it doused my trembling hand with red. "Ssshhh, everything's going to be okay." I whispered, unsure of myself. "Oh, Percy…"
"Annabeth, I don't—" He stammered, wincing a little. "I don't—I don't want you to go."
"Ssshhh." I tried again, stroking his cheeks, his face still in my palms.
"Pl—ease." He begged. "Stay."
"I'm here." I assured him, taking his hand. "I'm with you."
Before he could protest any further, Rafael had cast me back across the floor in one swift motion so that he was standing between us again. "You're a liar!" He snarled. "You'll never willingly come with me. You care for him too much."
"No, I swear I will!" I urged.
"Silence!" He shot an icy glare at me and I froze.
Song Tribute: [Breathe – Fleurie]
"Neither of us can have her." He said, turning back to Percy. "She just saw what you're capable off, she doesn't want you."
Percy flinched, looking away. "No, that's not true." I whimpered. "Percy, it's not!" But no matter what I said, he couldn't bring himself to look at me and so when Rafael dragged him back over to kneel with the others, he did nothing to stop him.
Piper was instantly all over him, using her sleeve to wipe all the blood from his face and reaching out to hug him but she was quickly pushed away by one of the boys standing behind them. Rachel was full on sobbing with tears streaming down her face and her mascara staining under her eyes. They all looked terrified and they were all watching Percy as if they thought he was going to die.
"You said you'd let them go." I said, firming my voice up a little now.
"That was before you lied to my face." He snapped.
"I didn't! Please, let them go and I'll go with you. I swear on my life."
"You're lying."
"I'm not lying!"
"NO, ENOUGH!" He roared, stunning me into silence for a moment.
"Rafaello." I whispered sorrowfully, eyebrows furrowed. I pitied him even now.
"I'm afraid I promised my boys revenge, meu amor." He said and his boys all sniggered from their spots behind my friends, armed and ready. "Someone has to die tonight and both you and Percy have to pay for what you've done."
My heart plummeted. "You can't—" I started in breathless panic but he was already pushing me to my knees.
Before I knew it, they were dragging Silena over and throwing her on the floor next to me in front of Rafael. He ripped the tape from her mouth and she whimpered. There was a gap between us so I couldn't hold her hand but I managed a weak smile at her and she nodded to me as if to say everything's going to be alright.
"Choose, Percy!" Raf said holding the gun up at Silena and I. "The lover or the friend?"
"Raf, don't do this!" Percy protested.
"Choose one or I'll choose for you!" He yelled, his voice echoed across the theatre and I flinched as it pierced my ear.
I trembled in my spot, looking at Silena who was tearing up now. Percy didn't respond and in the blink of an eye, Raf was holding the gun up to my forehead. I gasped, heart trembling.
"No!" Percy cried and I heard the others yell frantic protests. "Raf, please, don't—don't kill her. I'll give you anything—anything you want just don't—" His voice broke off.
"Do it." I whispered, looking him in the eye and using my shocking eyes to bore into his. He seemed to flinch for a moment, as though he didn't want to but maybe I was mistaken.
"No, Annabeth!" Silena protested before turning to Percy. "Percy..." She smiled softly. "It's okay." She nodded and Percy shook his head. The others were all watching in horror as Luke, Max, Doug and Octavia pointed guns at their heads. "I know you want to save Annabeth..." She whispered softly, tears in her eyes and it made my heart twist painfully.
"No, Silena." He shook his head. "I won't choose between you two."
"Well you're gonna have to make a decision." Rafael cut in.
"Me. He chooses me." Silena said.
"No Silena, stop it!" I protested. "Raf, please. You'll hurt Percy more if you kill me, I swear."
"She's lying!" Silena cut in. "You'll hurt him more if you kill me."
I looked into Rafael's eyes and he seemed confused for a moment. "Do it." I nodded, my voice hushing to a whisper. "It's okay, do it."
"Stop! He's known you longer Annabeth. You deserve to be together after all you've been through." Silena protested. "It's okay." She whispered, smiling at me softly.
"No, please!" Percy begged. "Please! Please! Please! Please! Pleeeeaaaase!"
BANG!
Silena cried out in pain and I watched her fall in horror, as the bullet ripped through her flesh and sank deep into her abdomen.
"Silenaaaaaaa!" I screamed.
Then I gasped, looking at who'd shot it. It wasn't Rafael.
Smoke was fuming up from Octavia's pistol in his outstretched hand. His shoulders were rising and falling heavily with each raggedy breath, his eyes blazing— there was a craze in them.
"There." He said. "It's done."
"The hell is wrong with you?!" Rafael screamed at Octavia furiously as if he was ready to tear him in two.
I couldn't have cared less, though, as I crawled my way over to where Silena was lying on the ground and pulled her onto my lap.
She was alive, barely. There was blood in her mouth and she was struggling a little. I sobbed over her ice-cold body and then she looked up at me.
Song Tribute: [Saturn – Sleeping At Last]
"Silena..." I whispered, tears in my eyes now. "Stay with me okay? You're gonna get through this, you hear me. Just keep your eyes open."
I wasn't ready for this. Silena had been the one person to stay with me for nearly all my life. If she died, that would be it. That would be the last wrecking ball to crush everything I'd built over the past few months. I felt a gut wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach as I held her tightly.
I looked down at her stomach which was bloodstained now. I sobbed, gently pulling her cardigan off as quickly as I could with trembling hands. I balled it up and pressed it firmly to her wound. She winced in pain but I kept it there. I took her hand and pressed it to the cardigan.
"Hold it there." I begged. "Silena hold it, please!" She winced, moving her hand to help me hold it and I sobbed again. I looked down at her hopelessly and I knew she was in an incredible amount of pain.
She smiled up at me despite it all though, and even in her last moments, she took my breath away from how positive she stayed. "Hey," she whispered, "it's okay. Everything's okay."
"No." I sobbed. "Silena it's not okay. Nothing about this is okay."
"Ssshhh." She said taking my hand in her shaky one. "T-tell Charlie I love him...will you do that for me, Annabeth?" She spluttered.
"You can tell him yourself." I whispered, stroking her hair out of her eyes softly, even now she looked beautiful. She'd stay beautiful until the end.
She smiled softly, shaking her head a little as she scrunched her eyes shut. "No, you have to." She murmured, still smiling up at me as if she had accepted her fate already.
Even in her last moments, she managed to amaze me. She now knew her death was inevitable and with that acceptance came liberation. The courage of the condemned.
I sobbed, tears slipping down my cheeks to her chest. "Please." I begged, holding her more tightly. "Please." I said a little louder.
She smiled softly, tears in her eyes now. "Look after them, will you?" She said, lifting up her hand to stroke my cheek affectionately and I felt a jet of warmth even in the darkest of times. "They need you." She smiled. I smiled through my tears, managing to nod my head slowly.
"And tell Percy it wasn't his fault. I'll always love him." She smiled closing her eyes blissfully. My heart sank as I looked back at Percy who was still in a state of shock and I knew he'd heard her. I could see his heart cracking into tiny pieces just from looking into his sea green eyes.
At that moment, I started to look back on all the happy memories I'd had with her; the ones of when we were younger; telling secrets in the dark on sleepovers and pinkie swearing not to tell a soul, going to the old candy store on the corner of 5th Avenue before sharing a packet of sherbet lemons in the park. They had come about because of her. I owed her so much and yet I wouldn't even get a lifetime to repay her.
"I'll see you in another lifetime, Charlie." She murmured.
Then she struggled a little as if it was starting to hurt more now and I gasped pulling her closer but there was nothing I could do as she gasped for air and then she went still again. She started blinking slowly and looking up at the ceiling dreamily.
"I can see the stars, Annabeth." She whispered. "I can see the stars..." And then she went limp in my arms and she took her last breath.
"Silena?" I whispered softly, shaking her a little but she didn't respond. "Silena?" I murmured a little louder, shaking her more now. When she didn't respond again, I knew she was gone.
I sobbed, tears streaming down my face now. "No..." I whispered, shaking my head as if I couldn't believe it. "No. Noooo. Nooo! I'm sorry, Sil! I'm sorry!" I sobbed, pressing my forehead against hers and rocking us for I don't know how long. I hadn't even gotten to tell her how much I loved her and how grateful I was to her for giving me this life.
I took a shaky breath, reaching over with a trembling hand to close her eyes as my tears dripped onto her lifeless body. She was gone… I sniffled, stroking her hair back and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
She was so young. She'd never live out her life like a normal teenager. She'd never go to beauty school. She'd never get a normal teenage prom. Beckendorf would never see her again. Oh, Beckendorf...he'll be so devastated. I couldn't even think about it, it was too painful. I imagined losing Percy and knew it would be the same for him to lose her—excruciating.
Suddenly it all made sense, what Rafael had said; 'Someone has to die and both you and Percy have to pay for what you've done.'
At first, I'd thought he meant that either Percy or I had to die but I had interpreted it wrong. Someone had to die and that was Silena…and Percy and I were paying for it because we both loved her. Now Rafael could have what he wanted. He had his revenge for everything Percy did to him; his betrayal and disloyalty, Octavia had his revenge on me for rejecting him because I was left in pieces over Silena's death but we were still alive. Broken, but still here so when Rafael took the both of us, we'd have nothing left in us to fight back.
A few moments later, I managed to compose myself and pick my feet back up again. I took a deep breath and slowly turned back to the others. It seemed as though none of them had moved. Percy was deathly pale as he looked at Silena, Piper was in tears, Grover was frozen, Jason was speechless with his eyes shaking a little unsteadily and Rachel looked terrified as she stared at Silena's limp body.
I looked at Rafael who was looking at me with sad eyes. That made me angry. Octavia was kneeling on the floor at his feet with blood spewing from his mouth.
"This is your fault." I hissed. "You did this."
"I didn't mean—"
"I will never forgive you for this." I whispered, through my tears, trying to keep my voice steady and that caught his attention.
"Annabeth—"
"Your cruelty blinds you and that...that is what makes you weak." I breathed. "Percy's loyalty and my kindness are not our weaknesses...they are our strengths. That is where you...will always lose. You think it is a gift not to feel but it is a curse...a curse that you will bear for the rest of your life."
He stared at me in shock as his mouth opened slightly but I stood my ground, holding my head high. "You think you can have me? You think I'll just willingly go with you?" I frowned. "Well, you're wrong. I am not a trophy you can win and I would never be with someone like you."
He stared at me in breathless shock, his eyes flickering with anger.
"I pity you even now." I whispered.
"Kill her!" He snarled at Luke who was standing to my right now. I gasped a little and Luke's eyes widened but he didn't move. "I said kill her!"
Luke dropped the knife in his hand and it clattered onto the floor in front of him. He backed up, shaking his head. "B-but you said we wouldn't have to…" He murmured helplessly.
"Can no one kill this girl?" Rafael yelled but I didn't look at him. I was too busy looking at Luke in astonishment.
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain, stinging in my left abdomen and I gasped, snapping my head forward to see Rafael inches from me. I heard the others crying out behind him first but it took me a few moments to realise he was holding a knife to my gut.
I was in shock, I still didn't fully understand what was happening to be honest. It was less painful than shocking really. It all happened so fast, I didn't even have time to cry out in pain. My lips began trembling and then Rafael frowned in shock as he pulled the knife out and I gasped, feeling that sharp pain again. It was like he didn't even know why he'd done it.
My breathing turned uneven and raggedy as I gasped at the deep red stain rapidly blooming on my stomach. The soft nude pink of the fabric turned a rich crimson colour. I pressed a shaky hand to my wound and it came away red with blood. I sobbed a little, looking at my trembling fingertips.
"A-Annabeth—I'm sorry, I didn't—I didn't." Rafael stuttered and I realised that maybe he never actually wanted to kill me. Maybe I had been right and he did care for me, deep down.
I could hear the others crying out but it was all a bit fuzzy really. "It's okay." I whispered. "It's okay." I looked at my hand in horror as I felt my knees slowly give way and then I fell.
Song Tribute: [Let her Go – Hans Zimmer]
"ANNABEEETH!" Percy's cries rung throughout the theatre and would for a hundred years to come.
Everything fell into slow motion as the icky gooeyness of time slurred outwards.
I didn't see his face until he'd swept me up into his arms moments before I hit the floor. He cradled me as I lay limply across the stage, gasping and spluttering.
His eyes were so bluey-green, I could get lost in them forever. I would be happy as long as they were the last things I saw on this earth. They were so panicked, I wanted to hold him and tell him everything would be okay. It didn't even really hurt, I assumed that was because I was still in shock but being in his arms made everything feel right, even if I was slowly dying.
"Annabeth. No no no no no, Annabeth stay with me. Stay with me. You stay with me, okay? Just stay with me." He pleaded, stroking my hair back with a shaky hand and rocking me in his arms. He looked up desperately. "Raf, give me your belt!"
He looked up at Rafael; staring at me in horror, his whole torso frozen up and his eyes blown wide with emptiness.
"Give me your fucking belt!" Percy cried even louder.
Rafael flinched and suddenly began unbuckling his belt. He swiftly came over, collapsing beside us on his knees and handing the belt to Percy with trembling fingers.
"This wasn't supposed to happen—" Rafael gasped for air. He looked even paler than Percy.
Completely ignoring him, Percy began frantically ripping off a bit of his own T-shirt and pressing it to my wound. I staggered at the pain and bit my lip to hold back a cry. He began looping the belt around my back and fastening it over the ripped T-shirt, tightening it around my wound. I winced at the stinging, throbbing sensation and tensed in his arms.
"Stop." I begged, my voice quiet and breathless. He didn't stop. "Please."
He fiddled with the belt helplessly as if trying to make it perfect to ensure I would make it. It was hopeless and pointless positivity really, but I loved him for it.
"Stop! You're hurting her!" Rafael blurted, snatching away Percy's wrist.
"I'm saving her!"
I couldn't describe the pain, it was both a dull ache and a searing feeling, both painful and exhausting, as though I was going to faint any moment.
As if for the first time, Percy noticed Rafael—really noticed him. "You did this." He growled, his eyes blazing like tongues of fire.
"I never meant for any of this to happen, I swear." Rafael said before turning to me frantically. "Annabeth, you have to believe me—" He reached to brush his hand across my cheek but before he could, Percy gripped his wrist with a crushing force, his fingers clenching it so tightly his knuckles went white.
"You lay a hand on her and I will break it." He snarled.
"I love her just as much as you do!" Rafael snapped and I blinked in shock for a moment. Maybe I'd had an inkling all this while but I'd never expected it to be truly true—and for him to say it out loud.
"You don't know what love is!" Percy yelled, yanking his wrist back. "Get away from her!" Rafael was thrown backwards and for a moment, he just stayed sprawled across the floor staring at me in shock.
"Percy. Percy, stop. Hey, look at me." I said wincing as I reached up and pulled his cheek towards me. I felt bad for getting my blood on his face but he didn't seem to care at all.
There was so much blood on both of us now that I wasn't even sure which was mine and which was his anymore. We were both so wounded that it almost meant nothing at all.
"It's okay. There's nothing you could've done." I whispered. He began shaking his head and I stroked his jawline softly. "I'll be okay." I murmured, turning to Silena and crying a silent tear. "I'll be with Silena." I whispered with a soft smile.
"Don't leave me." He whispered and my heart swelled as I turned back to him. It was now that I could distinctly see tears in his eyes. They were welling up in the corners and it made me start to cry a little too. I smoothed my fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck and he gently pressed his forehead to mine.
"If you die, I die." He whispered, and even now, in a life and death situation, I could feel a little flutter. I pulled him a little closer so our noses were touching now and we both closed our eyes, trying to breathe each other in. There wasn't a moment in my life where I hadn't loved him more than I did right now.
"I'm sorry, Annabeth…about what I did." He murmured, his voice hurt as he looked into my eyes hopelessly "I want to say that that's not me but it is. I used to be like that once and I hate myself for it. I've been holding it in for so long that tonight it all just came out." He sighed. "I…I lost control."
"It's okay, Percy." I whispered.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me. I never wanted that." He shook his head as if he could shake the memory away.
"Hey, it's okay." I smiled softly. "I don't care. You couldn't do anything to push me away, Seaweed Brain."
He smiled at that, sighing in relief as his shoulder relaxed a little. He pressed his forehead to mine.
"I don't want it to end like this." I murmured, looking up at him now.
"No." He shook his head stubbornly. "You are staying right here. Do you hear me? You're not going anywhere."
"Percy—" I tried but I winced in pain from my sudden movement.
Song Tribute: [We're Best Friends – Hans Zimmer]
He pulled me into him, tightening his grip around my back and cupping my cheek more desperately now. "I love you, Annabeth." He said hastily and desperately as if he was terrified I would never hear him say it.
"I'm in love with you. And if you go...I'll never love anyone, anywhere, ever again." He spoke clearly and probably loud enough for the others to hear but I didn't care. Just hearing him say it, made the moment almost perfect.
I smiled up at him and I could see it in his eyes; he meant every word and I wanted to throw my arms around him, giggling and kissing him until I couldn't breathe anymore but I couldn't. I was too weak and I could barely move in his arms.
"I realised I never stopped loving you, even when you left, from the moment I saw you in the corridor of that stupid High School." He continued and I giggled a little. "How could I love anyone but you?" He smiled weakly.
I smiled, lurching up and pulling him against me desperately as I pressed my lips to his. I didn't even care about the pain anymore. It was a soft but passionate kiss and for that moment, everything was still but the beating hearts in our chests. It was a kiss that would live on throughout the world for eternity, a kiss worthy of the Gods and a kiss that would stay with me forever.
It got to a point where the pain was too unbearable to lift myself any more and I staggered and spluttered against his lips. I didn't want him to, but he pulled away worriedly. Fear was written all over his face and I slumped back in his arms, sighing with relief as the pain began to dull a bit more now.
I slowly opened my eyes. I wanted him to see them when I said it. "I love you too, Percy." I whispered and for a moment he just stared at me. It was an intense, consuming stare.
Until finally, he smiled. And it was the most beautiful smile. His whole face just lit up and his teeth shone that extra bit whiter. For a second, he wasn't the monster who'd beat his own brother senselessly, he wasn't the guy who'd learned to aim and shoot a firearm—no, for now, he was a young, innocent little boy. Just a child.
It was the cutest thing.
Suddenly, I started to feel very, very sleepy and I could feel myself drifting off. My eyelids began to open and close wearily and I could see Percy's expression turn from peaceful and happy to panicky and desperate. He started to shake me and brush my hair back relentlessly.
"No no no no no. Annabeth, stay with me. Baby, stay with me." He pleaded through his tears.
I smiled softly, swooning over the word 'baby' again. "Always so serious." I teased, laughing weakly and thinking back to the time I'd told him that in the woods.
"Don't laugh this off, Beth. Please. Just don't."
"Percy—" I whispered but he shut me up with a kiss and I didn't have the strength or the will to stop him. Something told me this would be the last time I'd ever kiss him so I pulled him into me firmly and kissed him with everything I had. I felt our tears dance with one another as they slid down our cheeks. I wasn't too sure who's was who's anymore but I didn't care.
When he eventually pulled away for a breath of air, I heard a bang like a door crashing open.
"Police! Put your hands in the air! We've got a runner!"
Percy looked up in shock. I tried to tell him to turn back because I could feel myself drifting off and I wanted to see his eyes one last time but when I opened my mouth to speak, my words were swallowed up in my throat.
A calm washed over my body. The pain that once burned like fire had faded away to an icy numbness. Black filled the edges of my vision and the only thing I could hear was my own heartbeat.
My hand slipped from his neck and my head lulled back as I closed my eyes and the exhaustion came over me like a wave.
I never did see his eyes again. All I saw was the darkness. Sheer darkness before a light. A bright light that burned like white fire. And then, all at once, the pain faded and my heart began to slow.
Dadum…Dadum…Dadum… Daadum... ... ... ... ...
~xXx~
*sniffle* *sniffle*
Sorry, bear with me a sec. I'm just saying my goodbyes to the wonderful, beautiful character that is Silena Beauregard... :'(
We're gonna miss you girly. You weren't just Annebeth's inspiration and sunshine on a rainy day - you were mine too. Rest in peace little angel. You may not be real but you're real in my heart. 3 3
To my lovely readers, I'm sorry I put you through that. I'm sure you've witnessed plenty of Silena deaths from fanfic. It was necessary for the story though. God, it was hard to let her go though. Is that weird?
Anyways, let's talk about Percabeth. AAAAAHHHHH! They said the big 'L' word! I practically cried when I wrote that. They waited for so long and when they were faced with death and danger, they confessed and it's just the most beautiful thing.
"The love that moved the sun and the stars" - can't remember where I got that quote from but I love it.
Also, evil, badass, angry Percy - pretty scary but pretty hot, I think.
What were your thoughts on Rafaello/ Rafael in this chappie, peeps? I'm super interested to know how you guys feel about him. It's funny some of you love him and some of you hate him.
I thought, despite everything bad and evil he did in this chapter, his good side actually shone through. Well, at least, I hope it did.
Well, onto the major topic! What's gonna happen to ANNIEBETH!? Holy shit, I was not expecting that! Well, I was bc I wrote it, lol ;) I'm gonna tell you now people - SHE'S NOT DEAD!
Why on Earth would I kill her? You'll just have to find out what happens to her in the next chapter.
BookFanfiction - GUUURRRLLL! You watched Strong Girl, consider me your biggest fan! I BINGED IT TOO! LIKE IN TWO DAYS! I was iffy about the Korean bit at first too but I love it now. I'm so happy you like Min Min too, his smile kills me as well. Gods, he's perfect. Sorry for the suspense, hope you liked the chapter. Lots of love, AWG.
Rhiannon (Guest) - Sorry for making you wait so long, girly! Oh and don't worry, I didn't take the hate thing seriously ;) It just made me laugh. I wasn't kidnapped by aliens and I didn't die in a zombie apocalypse btw, just in a pile of homework. Lots of love ~ AWG XOXOXOXOXO
KriKri - Hi! Yeah, I haven't seen you in a while but welcome back :) Haha yeah you probably got behind on quite a few bombshells. And now you got this major bombshell of a chapter. Lol. It'll get better soon dw. As for the radio thing, as much as I'd love it to be real, it's just my imagination. I totally get you with the whole 'perfect' and 'despacito' thing. So oooold. We'll suffer together, I guess. Oh and you're welcome, thanks for introducing me to Dodie in the first place. I haven't heard Lorde's album but I will definitely check it out ~ AWG xoxox
Shadowed. Angel - AAAAWWW thank you so much Rhiannon. Your review made me so so happy! I'm really glad you liked the last chapter and the reunion. Lots and lots of love to you girly ~ AWG XOXOXOXO
AWGfan - I smiled before I even read your review because of your username! Thank you so much for saying I could publish this, I'm curious to know how it would do if I did. Obvs I can't but a girl can dream. You do have the update days correct, I've just been super busy lately that I can't really stick to all of them anymore. I'm most likely to post on Sundays though.
Hermione Historia Chase - EEEEKKK! Sorry for the lack of sunshine and rainbows, girly! LOOOOL. But yes, your "Fav, lovliest, awesomest, most fantastic girl AWG" will save the day soon ;) However, not in this chapter...you're gonna murder me after reading this one, I'll send you some metaphorical tissues. Coz, knowing you, you're probably crying for Silena. :(( LOTS OF LOVE to my girl in Korea, I wish I could be there with you right now so I can meet bts and hyungsik and see your amazing culture and uurrggghhh ~ AWG xx
Ericahall490 - Yeah, I didn't get your pm btw. Oh Gods, I hope you're okay after the hurricane! As for your song suggestions, it's kinda freaky actually because I liked every single one you suggested and that never happens. Girl, I think we have the same music taste. I've had quite a few song suggestion recently so I may or may not find a place for them. It really depends on whether I can match them to a scene. I will try though, thank you so much! ~ AWG
NONAME2002 - Hahahha your reviews ALWAYS make me laugh. I WOULD LOVE to make Percy MURDER THE SHIT out of Luke but, I just feel like if he did that it would complicate things with Annabeth. Her being all non-violence and all. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and all the badass shit that went down!
tiwari2041 - Heyy! Thank you so much for the review! I laughed so hard at the pit full of spiders thing! I'm sure Percy would like nothing more than to shove Luke in there. Ooo I know Anaklusmos14, I feel like he's reviewed a couple times but I didn't know he was a writer. But really? Thanks you! That means so much to me. Oh and I hope you get the chance to watch Strong Girl at some point, you won't regret it ~ AWG
Reghda - AAAAWW thank you! Okay reading what you said about liking the fact I update regularly made me feel bad because I've been pretty slow recently. So I'll try to get better for you because you seem like such a nice person. Lots of love ~ AWG
FrictionFiction108 - Thank you! And of course I replied. I LOVE your reviews and they kinda make me feel blessed coz your in college and you feel like my superior. As for not having time to review often, honestly, don't worry about it! As a Senior who crumbles under all the pressure of my work, I can only imagine how horrible it is for you! It's probably 10 times worse - yikes I'm freaked, especially bc I'm going into Law.
I'm glad my story is a stress reliever for you tho :)) Aaaww, I'm like rereading you review as I write this and I'm smiling so much. Oh and yes, some major stuff has been going down in Dreams and this chapter was even heavier. Sorry about that, lol. No one else dies so you don't have to worry anymore ;) Oh and I've watched a couple of the Black Mirro episodes btw and I'm slowly making my way through them. The first one left me pretty traumatized but I agree, they are really good. Very unique and thought-provoking.
Thanks for the song suggestion, will keep them in mine, especially 'Overdose' - I really liked that one and I've downloaded it onto my phone. I love ya too! (No it's not weird) Oh, and I hope your 2018 will be epic too ~ AWG
PeriwinkleLuv9 - Hey Jilly! Thanks for the review, I'm super happy you liked the chappie. The fact that you love Rafael makes me ever happier as well because I love hi too. He's actually one of my favourite characters. And I'm majorly excited to hear all of your real life character meetings, your friend Lexi sounds like Silena 100%! Talk soon ~ AWG
abidoodle.e - THANK YOU! Oh and yeah, I've always hated Luke too. I hated him for the entire pjo book series. S INTERVENING! I'm glad you. liked the outfits, I love planning them out to the last detail because I love fashion and I just imagine myself owning all of Annabeth's clothes. I'm glad you appreciate the bumps in their relationship as well bc I enjoy writing about them. Lots of love ~ AWG xx
If I didn't reply to you, it doesn't mean I don't love you. Just remember that!
I'll post the next chapter on Seaweed Brain sunday next week. Sorry for the major cliffy. That was probably the biggest one in the entire series so far. Yikes!
Well see you all soon. I hope you have a fabulous day wherever you are in the world!
Lots of love,
AWG xx