Chapter 4

"Here's the spare room – "she pushed the door open, which led into a spacious cream coloured room with a double bed and a bedside table next to it.

Her movements seemed almost hesitant...as if there were a part of her that feared me. I couldn't blame her, I could only blame myself.

I should never have gotten into a gang...

If she knew the true extent of the crimes I committed...

Maybe it would have been better to walk away, to walk out of her life so she could never be hurt by the truth. Although I hung onto the possibility that she would understand and love me the same and accepted my past.

I didn't know when to tell her...or if she would ever find out. But the memory would be plaguing me for the rest of my life.

"Stop looking so miserable," she scolded playfully. "Anyone would think that you were a ghost."

She stood up on her tip toes and lightly pressed her lips to mine and pulled away giggling. "Go have a shower; I'll get you some dry clothes."

I nodded dumbly as she pushed me towards the bathroom and chucked a soft white towel in my hands.

"You really should've worn a coat."

"I like the rain," I protested weakly. "It's...um..."

"Cold?" she suggested. "Wet?"

"Exactly."

Annabeth laughed and threw her arms around me, pressing me against the wall. "You are one strange boy."

"One exceptionally smoking hot strange boy?"

She rolled her eyes with a careless smirk on her face. "In your dreams, Seaweed Brain."

I grinned and leant forwards, smiling into the kiss. My arms wrapped around her petite waist and gently pulled her closer to me; I could tell that she was trying desperately not to laugh as her hands tangled into my drenched black hair...

"I'm not interrupting you am I?"

We broke apart, gasping for air with our faces both bright red. Annabeth's father's eyes seemed to twinkle as he walked up to stairs towards us.

"No, not at all," Annabeth squeaked.

"Good."

He looked at us for a moment and then hurried back down the stairs.

Annabeth's face was still flushed with colour and embarrassment.

"What just happened?"

I shrugged and picked my towel off the floor. "I think he's checking to see if we're...you know...um..."

"Intimate?"

I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my neck, trying desperately to control my hormones.

"Yep."

Annabeth smirked and pushed me back into the bathroom. "Now stop wasting time and get in that shower."

I opened my mouth to reply but was suddenly cut off.

"And no, I'm not sharing it with you."

My face could've provided central heating for the entire village, as I stammered a quick reply.

Annabeth rolled her eyes and shut the door, with a beatific smile upon her face.

XXX

"Percy, Percy, Percy!" Annabeth squealed excitedly, rushing up to my arms.

We collapsed on the bed in a messy heap, laughing wildly. She thrust several papers in my face, with her eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"I've finished the violin part!" she scattered the manuscript over the bed and gazed up at me with a happy grin.

"Wow, that's great," I picked up one of the sheets and studied the elegant notes carefully, playing the tune inside my mind.

"Now you have to finish the piano part, huh? Take the manuscript home and finish it!" she piled them up and laid them gently down on the bedside table.

My back suddenly hit the bed, with my head landing on the pillows. Annabeth giggled and furiously attacked my lips, lacing her hands into my wet locks.

"What are y – " my words were muffled and I lost the willpower to resist.

Her hand crept up my shirt and pulled it over my head, I went back to her lips and pressed her against the bed with a smile on my features. Annabeth kept laughing between the kisses, which made my heart flutter every time she did.

She started unbuckling the belt on my jeans, slowly and smoothly.

"Annabeth, we shouldn't – "

"I don't care," she whispered. "You're the only person I'll ever love."

I gulped nervously and let her undo the buckle.

My hands trailed down her sides, lingering on her waist.

"I love you too," I breathed in her ear. "Forever and always."

XXX

The perfect silvery glow of the moon was shining through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the room in a surreal light. On the wall, the clock ticked five minutes to midnight, like Cinderella at the royal ball.

I lay back with my head on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, my breathing was even and gentle. Annabeth was lying on her stomach next to me, underneath the covers. She was smiling as she read aloud her most recent favourite book.

Her messy blonde curls spilled over her shoulders and onto her bare back, I tilted my head to see her and felt my eyes closing into sleep.

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Maybe," I opened one eye and gave her a grin. "...It's a good story."

"You're hopeless," Annabeth sighed, though her smile gave her anger away. "Fine, I'll stop reading."

She rested her book on the bedside table, placing it downwards so the spine creased in the middle. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close against my body.

There was a comfortable silence and my eyes started to shut again, there was warmth tingling in my skin, spreading right to the ends of my fingertips. Before today, I had never really thought about losing my virginity at seventeen...maybe it had crossed my mind but I always cast it aside.

But right now, I had no regrets and I never would. Something...no matter how small, had changed between us. A stronger bond that entwined our fates closer together.

"What will happen after this?"

I blinked my eyes open and frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?"

She shifted to face me, her grey eyes were solemn and apprehensive.

"I...I mean...what will our futures be? Our careers? Or university? We're going to different ones, aren't we?"

"We'll find a way," I reassured her.

"You're going to Bristol...I'm going to Manchester. It's so far away – we'll hardly get to see each other. What if – "

I pressed a finger to her lips.

"Like I said, we'll find a way. I won't give you up for anything."

XXX

My memories stop there, I can't help but smile at the love that once burned through my veins, the feeling of warmth and security. The feeling that was indescribable and could not be explained in a few short words alone.

It was my fault. My entire fault of what happened in the events to follow. It's my fault that in the present, I am stuck here. But that's ok, I can live with it. There's a new light in my path now and I look forward to what tomorrow brings, in hope for a better chance at life.