Love Me Forever Or Love Me Never
Chapter 17: Love Is A Battlefield
Percy didn't know what to feel at that point. After he left Nico's house, having witnessed the awful scene that shattered his heart, he immediately went home only to cry the moment he entered his room. He felt so weak, so defenseless, and he wanted revenge. He didn't want to hurt Nico, only the boy who was taking Nico away from him. Although, through his angry hazy, the tables had flipped. Now, if the circumstances were reviewed by anyone else, it would seem like Percy was utterly and completely against Nico. When he got home Percy had cried, he had lay down and cried. Hours of tears and just lying there watching TV swirled by and eventually Percy found himself moving, putting his revenge into action. It didn't take Percy twenty minutes before he pulled up in front of the two story house, his throat as dry as cotton, stomach twirling as though he was heading to the gallows. Leaning back in his car he felt as though someone had just impaled him through the heart. Was he really going through with this? Was he actually going to cheat on Nico: the boy he loved and already put through hell?! He wasn't sure if things would move that far, but he at least wanted Nico to know that he wasn't going to put up with him cheating. This whole fucking situation was a mess, but he just wanted a hint of closure. Whether or not Nico would even find out about this, Percy would still have the satisfaction of knowing he got his own small form of revenge. He wasn't going to tell Nico that he cheated on him, but he was going to confront him about that other boy he was hugging and kissing before he left. Percy knew he was a bad person for doing so, but his anger was consuming. He loved Nico! The boy cheated on him, so he was fighting fire with fire!
Leaning over Percy undid his seat belt and opened the car door. Stepping out into the slightly chilly night air he started towards the house's porch. Clambering up the wooden stairs Percy approached, knocking harshly on the front door. There was a moment of silence as nothing happened. He continued to wait when finally the door flew open. Annabeth stumbled back as the boy before her surged forward, taking hold of her around the waist and kissing her viciously on the lips. Pushing her back into the room, the girl let out a light moan. She already knew it was Percy, just from that moment glimpse she knew. She could also smell his strong cologne wavering up to her nose. Grabbing the boy's shoulder she held to him tightly. When the two broke apart a string of saliva spread between them. Annabeth gazed up at the boy, slightly surprised by his sudden appearance and affection. As far as she knew they were separated, but apparently that wasn't that case anymore.
"What are you doing here?" Annabeth mutter quietly as she leaned against Percy's chest, listen to his heart beat erratically. Emotions roared through her as she held tightly to him. She would never admit it, but she loved Percy and missed the boy. His touch, his smell, the touch of his hair, his smile, that devious glint in his eye; she had longed to see him again and missed all those small details about him.
"Annabeth, I missed you so much. I thought- I want you. I've been longing to touch, to talk to you. I was wrong. I was completely and utter wrong! I shouldn't have fought with you over Nico. He doesn't matter anymore. All that matters is you." Percy whispered huskily into the girls ear before taking hold of her hands. It took all his power not to throw up. He could feel the bile rising in his throat as he thought about all the hell Annabeth put Nico through. It shouldn't have happened and Percy regretted it. He knew it was wrong- to tell Annabeth so many lies. He didn't want to be with her, he didn't want to touch her or feel her. He just wanted to get Nico and that other boy back for what they did. If they were going to play dirty then so would he. There was enough room for both of them in this war. Love was a battlefield and Percy would be victorious.
"Really?" Annabeth inquired, "So you missed me?"
"Of course I did. You're Annabeth Chase. How could I not miss you." Percy cocked his head to the side. He knew if he was going to get his revenge he would definitely have to sugar coat everything, "You're my one and only."
"Oh...," A small smirk coasted onto Annabeth's lips as she stared at Percy. She wasn't sure if Percy was truly telling the truth, but if he did have another lover than that was already over. He came back to her, therefore he was now hers. If Percy Jackson was going to be a asshole to her she was going to do the same. From now on he was her property and no one was going to take him away again, "So, if you truly are mine now, than you'll have to prove it."
"Prove it?" Percy smiled broadly at her, although sweat was trickling down his neck and face. His heart was beating erratically, bound to jump from his chest at any moment. He didn't expect the crushing guilt to slam over him at the last second. He was so close yet the tumbling in his stomach and bile rising in his throat was contradicting his plans. "I think I know what your saying."
"I'm glad to hear that. After all, my dad and my step mom are both out at the movies. My brothers both wanted to go with them. I was never one to go for horror movies. Glad I decided to stay home now." Annabeth whisper lightly to him as she leaned upwards to his ear.
"I'm glad you did, too." Percy grinned wickedly, not from the thought of touch Annabeth, but just for show. To tell the truth his love for Annabeth had vanished. He didn't feel anything for the girl anymore. It made him slightly sad to think of that since he had spent so much time on her.
Annabeth shot him another smile before racing back into the room friskily. She rushed towards the stairs, whirling around a moment and giving him a "come and get it" look. There wasn't a second of hesitation before she dashed up the stairs, whistling happily to herself. Percy looked down at the floor, guilt just flushing through his entire body. He wanted to collapse to his knees, sit there for hours and hours until he woke up and realize it was all just a dream. There was one problem though; he already knew this wasn't a dream.
Stalking up the stair slowly Percy followed after Annabeth, although the girl had done disappeared from sight into one of the rooms. Percy didn't need to follow her to know where he was going. He had already been in the house several times in the past and (despite his extreme shame over it) he had already had sex with Annabeth in the past. He loved her at that time, but now the thought of this passionate, loving action left a lump in his throat and pit in his stomach.
Turning into Annabeth's room, Percy caught a glimpse of the girl sitting on the bed, already bare backed and only clad in a bra to cover her top area. She leaned back on the bad, laying flat on her back. She looked at Percy upside down, watching him with hungry, adoring eyes. Another wave of guilt slammed into Percy as another awful instance of his betray came crashing down; Annabeth still loved him, but he didn't care about her. He was using her for sex, for revenge. He didn't want to do that, but through his hazy state of anger (and stupidity) he built up this extreme, idiotic scheme. He hated himself for it, but he wasn't going back.
Annabeth stood up from the bed, a smirk traced on her lips and one of her eyebrows lifted. "Come and get it, Percy."
Percy felt the pressure building in his stomach, consuming him with the extreme sadness and pain. He felt as though he world was crashing down around him and he couldn't deal with it. So, instead of dealing with it, he was just going to take it. Rushing forward he grabbed Annabeth around the waist, his hands trailing up her bare back and maneuvering to the hook of her black bra. As the fabric fell from Annabeth's chest she smiled up at him wickedly. Grabbing Percy's shirt she began to draw it over his head.
"Your mine now, Jackson." She whispered as Percy backed her up onto the bed, forcing her down.
Percy lay on Annabeth's bed, eyes staring glassily up at the ceiling. He felt nothing. He felt utterly and completely numb. A ach filled his chest, causing another wave of guilt to wash over him. The feeling of Annabeth laying beside him, her back pressed against his own, caused Percy to shiver. He didn't like what he did. He wasn't proud of what he did. To tell the truth he felt like a piece of trash. Annabeth didn't matter to him. He was just using her. But the more he thought of that, the more pain consumed his heart. He wanted Nico to be laying next to him. He wanted to hold the boy, to kiss him, to touch him gently. He would have, if only it would have been Nico.
Rolling over on the bed Percy thought about jumping up. He thought about running from the room, leaving behind Annabeth and every memory of this night. Maybe he deserved to feel this guilt. Maybe he deserved to lose Nico after this. Forcing his face down in the pillow, Percy closed his eyes. He knew he was going to cry or at least he felt like he was. Although he wouldn't let Annabeth see him. He would not show his weakness. He would not yield.
Eventually, with his face pressed down in the pillow, Percy's eyes began to droop. Before he could bring himself out of the hazy awareness he was asleep.
Nico shuffled through out his temporary bedroom, gazing out the window into the obscure darkness. He could see the faint flickering of light as his family began to climb back into the car. Bianca was the first to get in, head bowed low as she ducked into the vehicle. He didn't know what was wrong with her; whether she was crying or just tired. She may have been upset about leaving him behind or she may have been just tired- either way it didn't matter to Nico. He didn't care anymore.
His mother and father came drifting away from the porch, having talked to Hera and discussed a few things. Although they stayed awhile and talked in the living room, Nico didn't get to hear half the information Hera was told. The reason for missing it; he got fucking sick and tired of hearing his parents talk bad about him. The first thing they told Hera was that Nico had cut his wrists. He didn't know why that was important to Hera or why Bianca would want to point that out, but he was furious over it. Immediately when Hera heard this she motioned Nico forward, wanting to see his wrists. He had no choose rather than to show her. When she saw those few, whitening scars curling across his wrists she recoiled, looking upon him with sympathy and sorrow in her eyes (which surprised Nico to an extreme extent).
Another thing that pissed Nico off was the way his parents lied to him. They swore he was only staying a week or two, not three to five. Over a month with his aunt would kill him. A month with out Percy and Leo. A month without talking to his sister. A month before he could apologize to Thalia. He could take it- he wouldn't take it! Everything just seemed so messed up. He didn't want to be separated from his family and few friends. What would everyone think at school when he wasn't there for a month? He imagined all the rumors that would be flying about him.
He was also shocked to find that he would be going to be going to the local high school around his aunt's house. How was he suppose to make friends and deal with school work at a new school?! It was impossible!
Sitting down on the bed in the guest bedroom Nico took his cell phone out of his pocket. Checking the time he realized how late it was: 8:16. Putting the phone back on the bed beside him he glanced around his room, his temporary room that is. His two suitcases were lined against the wall. A few pieces of clothing were placed on his dresser, ready to be put into old, wooden drawers. He hadn't really taken anything out of his bag, but he didn't expect the place to start growing on him already. There was no comfort of home in his room, but it felt kind of like home. Leaning back on the bed, Nico once again opened his cell phone. He was planning on calling Leo, but quickly decided against it.
He had seen Leo earlier that morning, but he didn't really want to talk to again. He loved Leo, but he didn't want to hear him preach that "everything is going to be alright" crap. Nico knew he shouldn't think that, but he really just didn't want to hear it. If he talked to Leo there would be the same thing repeated over and over again. Leo would try to make him feel better and tell him that he loved him, but that was it. Nico wanted to talk to someone who could make him laugh until the pain was gone and instead of doing that Leo would give him some sappy reason as to why everything would be alright. Leo would joke on any other occasion, but stuff like this would flip his personality and cause him to become a poet, giving long and inspirational speeches.
So, instead of calling Leo, Nico decided to call Percy. Typing the number quickly Nico smiled to himself and listened as the phone began to ring.
Annabeth perked up in bed as she heard the shrill ringing of a phone. Looking around groggily, having been asleep for a while, she tried to pinpoint the location of said phone. There was a moment of hesitation as she saw Percy laying beside her. A grin spread across her face only to be interrupted by another wail from the cell phone. Looking across the darkened bedroom, Annabeth saw Percy's jeans laying on the floor, a lump in his pocket which she assumed was his cell phone. Sitting up and crossing the room, cold air chilling her bare, nude skin, she made her way towards the article of clothing. Reaching for the cell phone Annabeth pulled it from the pocket, opening it up to answer.
"Hello?" She questioned in a sweet, overjoyed voice. She was still feeling the high from her night with Percy.
"..." There was a moment of silence on the other end as Annabeth waited for someone to answer.
"Helloooo?" She called once more, stretching out the word in cheery way.
"W-Who is this?" The male voice questioned on the other end. Annabeth thought she recognized the voice, but immediately she revoked the idea. It couldn't be. It wouldn't be. He wouldn't dare call Percy after Annabeth was back with him.
"Well," She said, sugarcoating her voice. "This is Percy Jackson's girlfriend, Annabeth."
"..." There was another long moment of silence and once again Annabeth's theory was proven.
"What the fuck do you mean it's Percy's girlfriend?!" The voice roared on the other end, becoming a higher pitch.
"Oh, this is Nico isn't it? Listen, baby, don't get you boxers in a bunch. There's nothing you can do about me being Percy's love. I know you like him, Nico. I know you love him, but don't you dare call him again. Me and him are back together and although we broke up for that short period of time, he still loves me! Not you! Me!" Annabeth said in a matter of fact voice, "And if you don't believe that your little lover is with me, think of this; I answered Percy's phone. It's late at night and Percy in my bed. Think about it, why would he be making love to me if he's with you?"
Annabeth listened to the sharp intake of breath on the other end. It took a second for the boy to respond.
"You bitch! Why the fuck would you- you little whore! Fuck you!"
"No thanks, Nico. The only person who can say fuck you to me or actually fuck me is Percy. So, goodbye, you little son of a bitch." Annabeth said before slamming the cell phone shut. Clambering back to her feet she approached the bed once more, looming over the boy who she had loved for years. She did love Percy, she wanted to be with him, but she wouldn't keep dealing with him and Nico.
Taking the phone in her hand she threw it at the boy, hitting him directly in the center of his back. A strike of pain erupted in Percy body as he struggled to sit up, something viciously smacking him. Looking up at the girl before him Percy struggled to flip over and grab the phone that was laying beside him.
"You got a phone call." Annabeth mumble as she walked around the bed and lay on the other side of Percy. Percy looked at her, eyes wide as he remembered Nico's promise. He said he would call every night.
"Who was it?" Percy said harshly. There was no response as Annabeth shrugged her shoulders gently.
"Annabeth, who the fuck was it?!" Percy roared as he clambered from the bed.
"I think you already know who it was." Annabeth hissed under her breath. And Percy did know.
Turning around quickly the boy gathered his clothes from the floor and started towards the bathroom. Stomach churning Percy slammed the bathroom door and leaned over the sink. Jaggedly he jerked to the side, ducking down over the toilet as he threw up. The vicious wave of sickness hit him hard, causing him to feel weak and poor, stomach bubbling and heart broken.