~CHAPTER 3~
Loves me, loves me not.
He woke up to the deafening knock on the door he kept hearing. Oh, he had a terrible headache. It was Gwaine's fault. He had gotten him drunk again the previous night. A terrible influence he had always been. After what seemed like hours in his mind, he managed to cross the room and open the door. His sight was still blurry and he felt sick but he managed to make out it was Elyan in the door.
"God Percy, where have you been?" he asked. He was obviously furious but also seemed a little concerned about him.
"What do you mean? I was sleeping like any normal person at this hour."
"It is almost noon! What are you talking about? Are you drunk again? Bloody hell, Percy! When will this stop?" he kept shouting at him angrily.
"Oh God! I am so sorry! I better hurry up then!" he replied and motioned to leave but Elyan stopped him.
"You might want to get dressed first." He told him and let out a small laugh.
They started laughing together. If only this was the first time this happened…
When he finally reached the training field, he headed to the armory, trying to attract as little attention as possible. The last thing he needed right now was for someone to badger him again. He made sure that no one was near and then he made his way inside. Unfortunately, there was a surprise waiting for him.
"You're late again." He heard a voice which sounded like Leon's but with that headache he just couldn't tell, so he turned around to face him. It was him. Now he was in trouble.
"I'm sorry, I overslept. It won't happen again" he replied, lowering his head in embarrassment.
"Fourth time this month that you…'overslept'. What is wrong? You get drunk, you are always late, you're a hot mess!" said Leon in a voice that was hardly loud but sounded a hundred times worse in Percival's head at that moment.
"Oh, please…don't badger me…It happens…I'm sorry it has gotten in the way with my duties, I promise it will stop."
"That's not it. I'm not worried about you as a knight commander, I'm worried as a friend. It cannot just be Gwaine who keeps getting you in this situation. There's obviously something that's bothering you and the ale is definitely not a solution." He said in a soft voice. Percival felt guilty. He had forgotten that Leon was more of a friend rather than just a commander.
"You're right. It is not just Gwaine and his company." He started talking but hesitated to continue.
"Then what is it? A problem of the heart?" he asked and Percival could tell that he had had his fair share of those by his look when he said that.
"I'm afraid it is. An untreatable one though." He replied with a long face.
"Who is it? A girl from the village?"
"Out of all the people, you should know. It's Merlin's sister of course." He said and let out a long sigh.
"What? Merlin's sister? Delilah? But how? When? Does she know? Does Merlin know?" he kept asking, obviously worried and terrified that it was Delilah that Percival wanted.
"Oh, calm down, you lovesick puppy. Of course it is not Delilah. I'm afraid the good sister is taken anyways." He said quickly to calm him down.
"Oh, thank God. But then, Taylor? Really? That is…well, unexpected. I mean it's not that she is not pretty but she's just…you know…unusual. Don't you think? She is not exactly friendly to be honest…" he said hesitantly, trying to put it in the best way possible.
"I know, I know. It's just that from the first moment I saw her I knew she was the one for me. And she might not be the most beautiful woman in the world, she might not like to even act like one but she's still the one I want. Unfortunately, she doesn't feel the same way about me I believe. Quite the opposite actually." He said and the sadness on his face became even more apparent.
"Well, how can you be sure? Have you told her? Wait…lovesick? Did you say lovesick puppy? Me? How…?"
"Oh come on, Leon. A blind man can tell that you are falling for Delilah. Just by the hours have spent all this time watching her from afar, anyone could tell." He started laughing.
"What? Really? Is it that obvious? So everybody knows?" he asked and put his face in his hands feeling silly.
"I'm afraid so, my friend." He replied and continued laughing.
"And you also said she's taken? By whom? What do you know?" concern grew in his face again.
"Not so sharp today, are you, sir Leon? By you of course."
"Oh, I'm afraid that just because I want her, that does not mean she is mine."
"For God's sake, Leon. You used to be the clever one in this group. You've just lost your mind over love, haven't you? She is yours. She likes you too. "
Leon raised his head and let out a small smile. "Really?" he asked full of hope.
"Of course. Ask anyone you want if you don't believe me. Everyone knows. Only you two lovebirds have been in the dark for so long."
"But… she is not acting the same when she is around me like with you and the others…She barely even talks to me…Why?"
"Because she is not in love with us. She is in love with you. You act strange around her as well. At some point, you will have to make the first move." He replied and Leon's smile grew even wider with each word. "Look, I'm very happy for you but I thought we were talking about me and how I couldn't fall for the daydream. I fell for the nightmare. Would you like to share any advice for me to deal with the bad sister of the family who's trying to make my life a hell?"
"Oh, yes…I'm sorry…You were saying…?"
"Nevermind…I'll find my way without you. Thank you for the help." He said frustrated and left to train.
Leon just stood there, motionless, thinking about all they said and what he should do now, completely ignorant of how he had ignored his friend's plead for help. Lost in his thoughts he was, you see.
Percival spent the rest of his morning training hard, trying to ignore his troubles. If only it had been so easy though. He just couldn't get his mind off Taylor. If only for once she would show him some clue that she might actually like him back. Who was he fooling? That would never happen. Or would it?
So…did you like it? Someone told me to start with Taylor & Percival so here it is! I know it mostly turned out as a development in Leon & Delilah but it's just that I want to develop their relationship much faster than the first two so I needed to set a turning point to that story's progress. We also got to know more about exactly how Percy feels. I'll continue the next chapter with those and then I'll switch to Leon & Delilah again to see what will happen because know Leon knows! Exciting, right? Kisses! ~xoxo~
