Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.
Chapter Twenty Eight One Last Chance
Months After Previous Chapter:
November
"See you tomorrow Annabeth," a medium height girl with curly dark hair and coffee colored skin said as she hugged Annabeth. They were in a large lecture hall, the bell just ringing to signal the end of the school day.
"See you Hazel," Annabeth said, smiling at her new friend. Hazel Levesque was in her Classical Literature class as well as her Creative Writing class. They two of them had sat together the first day of school and had instantly hit it off. Hazel was younger than Annabeth was, she was twenty to Annabeth's twenty two years of age. But she was smart and more mature than many other people Annabeth knew that were older than her.
"Have fun working on finishing up The Letter Writer," Hazel said as she pulled on her backpack. Annabeth had been shocked to discover that Hazel was an avid fan of the Letter Writer. In fact she had been one of Annabeth's biggest fans. She had nearly fainted when she discovered that Annabeth was in fact WiseGirl36.
"Haha thanks," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. She had signed on with her first book deal with Olympus Press to publish the Letter Writer. In was due to come out next April. She had finished her rough draft and had submitted it to Odysseus who sent it to someone to proof read. The woman sent it back to Annabeth. The manuscript looked like it had been stabbed with a knife and had bled all over.
But there was a note attached to it from the woman who had proof read it:
Ms. Chase, I have read many, many manuscripts in my life but none have touched me as yours did. You have a gift Ms. Chase and even though it looks like I have destroyed your masterpiece, it is still intact, it is my job to cover author's works in red. But your story is perfectly beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope to read more from you soon.
Annabeth was on the final stretch of fixing her book. The final copy was due to be sent back to Odysseus in three days and Annabeth could feel the pressure building.
"Well I'll see you tomorrow," Hazel repeated as they walked across NYU's lawn towards the street where Hazel who would part from Annabeth and go to find her boyfriend, Frank Zhang who also attended NYU and Annabeth would head towards the subway station where she would take the subway towards Central Park to go to Veritas where Thalia would be waiting for her.
"See you Hazel," Annabeth waved as she headed towards the subway station. She headed down into the dark station, her hand clutching her laptop case.
After a quick ride to the station near Central Park where Vertias was near, Annabeth headed out of the subway station, blinking a little to try and get her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. She tugged her scarf tighter around her neck and put her hands in her pocket and walked towards where Vertias was located.
Inside there were the usual number of college students there, studying for tests or writing papers. Veritas was a common place for the college students, with free wifi and comfortable seats. Annabeth found it to be one of her absolute favorite places to work.
She ordered a caramel latte and then spotted Thalia sitting in one of the corner booths, her feet propped up on the table, her spiky black hair giving her away. "Hey Thals," Annabeth said, sliding into the seat across from her best friend.
"Annie," Thalia said, nodding to her friend. "How was class today?"
"Boring as usual," Annabeth said with a yawn. "Hazel drew quite a lovely picture of our Classical Literature professor today, she has a way with capturing the true nature of people."
"That girl is amazing," Thalia said. "We need to get together again."
"I'll ask her when she's open," Annabeth said, taking a drink of her latte. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she pulled it out. There was a text from Luke.
Ever since she had gotten back Luke had been different, he had come to her apartment the day after her plane touched down. Except he hadn't come to beg her to take him back or to say that she deserved better. Instead he just sat there while she cried, he listened to her and rubbed her back just like he used to do when they were little kids and she had been picked on by the older kids at the playground. He listened and it was nice. She still hadn't completely forgiven him for all of the harsh words he had spoken to her but she was on the road to.
For the past few months it had been nice, just her, Luke, and Thalia all hanging out together. And then Hazel and Frank had joined the trio. It was nice to not be the center of people taking pictures and her face being plastered on the newspapers. They had gone bowling, to the zoo, out to eat at a different restaurant every other week.
"Was that Luke?" Thalia asked.
Annabeth nodded and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "He wants to see if I wanted to go catch a movie with him tonight since it's his night off."
"What movie?" Thalia asked. Annabeth shrugged.
"I don't know, some movie that he wants to see but Ethan is out of town and he hates going to the movies alone," Annabeth said.
"What about me? I love movies too!" Thalia said.
"He was going to invite you but remember you have that dinner with your dad and his wife tonight," Annabeth reminded her.
Thalia made a face. "Stupid woman," she muttered. She took a sip of her smoothie. "Piper asked about you the other day when she came to see Jason."
"She did, did she?" Annabeth asked. "And what did you say."
"I said that you were at college and were very busy and didn't want to be bothered by anyone at all," Thalia said. "And that you were still mad."
Annabeth snorted. She wasn't exactly mad anymore. She was just sad… angry… disappointed. All of her feelings were raw and emotional and all flung together, mixed into one big pot. She was tired. But she honestly had tried to block all thoughts of her time with Percy Jackson out of her mind. It was one mistake just like life could be sometime.
"Good," Annabeth said. "I don't want her trying to come to my house and convince me that Percy is a changed man and all that junk."
"Have you seen the newspapers?" Thalia asked.
"No," Annabeth said.
"He's dating Calypso," Thalia said.
Annabeth felt her heart stop a little bit. Okay so maybe she still had some left over feelings for Percy, but she didn't care. He could go ahead and date that... bitch. Annabeth wrinkled her brow. No, she couldn't call her a bitch, she had to be somewhat nice to her. Just because Percy had fallen in love with Calypso and not Annabeth didn't mean that she could blame her.
"Good for him," Annabeth said. "I don't care."
"Sure you don't," Thalia said, rolling her eyes. Then she slid out of the booth and stood up. "I've got to get ready for tonight. See you Annie," she said, swatting Annabeth on the head and then disappearing out of the coffee shop.
Annabeth pulled out her laptop and began to work on her book, editing a scene between Birch and Hannah.
"What's this one?" Hannah asked as she traced the tattoo on Birch's back. It was an eight lying on its side only slightly more narrow with the words life repeated again and again. Her fingers traced the different words sending shivers down Birch's spine. They were lying on his bed at his house, Hannah was touching every tattoo on his body, asking about each one.
"It's the symbol of infinity," Birch explained. "The life stands for the fact that I want to live my life so that I will be remembered forever."
"And the world on the back of your shoulder?" She asked as she touched the intricately drawn globe on his shoulder.
"I have carried the weight of the world on my shoulders and I have survived," Birch said.
"The flames on your legs?" She asked.
"I have walked through the fire," Birch said. "Nothing can stop me."
His whole entire arms and back were covered in tattoos. Hannah never thought that she would fall in love with a boy who had ink all over his body but for some reason she liked it. Every tattoo he had told a story, told about a love he had. It made him real.
Birch rolled over and wrapped his arms around Hannah's waist, drawing her close to him. He stared into her violet eyes. When he looked at her eyes it was easy to forget that the girl he loved was dying. Her eyes still held all the fire, all the youth, all the love that her body couldn't hold.
"You're amazing, you know that right," he said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and kissing her forehead.
"Thank you, I think I'm pretty amazing as well," Hannah said sarcastically as she wrapped her arms around Birch's neck and drew him closer to her, kissing him. When he held her, she felt powerful in his arms.
"With no selflessness at all," Birch grinned.
"The world belongs to conceited people," Hannah said arrogantly. Hannah moved her head so that it was resting near Birch's chest, her fingers absent mindedly tracing the tattoo right above his hear. "Birch what will you do when I die?" She asked quietly.
Birch felt his throat close up and he closed his eyes for a brief second, trying to picture a world without his Hannah, without the one girl that could make him laugh. For a split second he saw himself older, standing in front of a grave in a silent graveyard. He shook that thought away.
"What makes you think you'll die?" Birch whispered into her ear.
"Birch… please you've been to as many doctor's meetings as I have, I don't have much time left. What will you do?" She asked.
"I don't plan on letting you die," he said stubbornly.
"That's the funny thing about you Birch Waters, you think that you can save the world," Hannah said.
"Why can't I save the world?" Birch asked.
"Because you can't," Hannah said.
"That's not a good enough reason, I want to know why I can't save the world," Birch said, sticking out his lower lip. Hannah laughed.
"You're not Superman," Hannah said.
"You're right, I'm Batman," Birch said, his lips quirking up in a smile. Hannah smirked at him and then kissed his cheek.
"Okay, you can be Batman," she said. And then she paused for a moment. "If you could do one thing before you died what would it be?" She asked.
Birch sighed. "Do we have to talk about Death?" Birch asked. "I don't like talking about it."
"Does anyone?" Hannah asked.
"Let's do something fun," Birch said, sitting up straight and reaching for his shirt. Hannah sat up as well, touching her breathing tube to make sure it was secure. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe lately. A sign of her weakening body.
"Like what?" Hannah asked.
"I don't know," he said, picking her up off the bed, her small form easily able to be held in his arms. He spun around with her. "Whatever you want, but something that doesn't involve talking about death."
"Damn that was going to be my top choice," Hannah said sarcastically.
"Sorry to spoil your plans," Birch grinned, kissing her forehead.
"Let's get lost," Hannah said.
"What?" Birch asked.
"Let's get lost. We can just drive, that's all, just drive and see where we end up. Sometimes the people that are lost actually aren't lost. They have the most fun," Hannah said.
"Sometimes I think that you're actually Socrates 3000 years later in a girl's body," Birch said.
"Yeah because Socrates had cancer," Hannah said sarcastically.
"Come on let's go Socrates," Birch said, setting her down so that she could pull on her shoes. "Let's go get lost."
Annabeth closed her laptop and slipped it back into her computer case. She was nearing the end of the story with her correcting process. She stood up and stretched then checked the time on her phone. She should probably head home so that she could get ready to go to the movies with Luke.
She tossed her coffee cup into the garbage and then pulled out her novel she was reading. In the past few months she had gained the ability to read at the same time as walking which was a handy skill for finishing her schoolwork while walking to the subway to get back home.
"See you later Annabeth," Dakota, the guy who worked at Veritas said, waving at Annabeth. She had gone to Veritas so many times that they knew her by name.
"Have a good night Dakota," Annabeth said. He grinned at her and took a swish of his water bottle which held koolaid in it. Annabeth used to think that Dakota was drinking wine but he had told her that it actually wasn't. It was his substitute for wine as he got drunk super easy but he was addicted to wine.
Outside Annabeth opened her book and began to stroll down the sidewalk, dodging and weaving between people. She had just gotten to the good part where the girl had just run into her ex-boyfriend who had no idea what had happened when she had left him a few months ago when she crashed into someone.
"OW!" Annabeth said, rubbing her head and looking down at the ground for her book.
"Oh gods I'm sorry, I honestly didn't mean to, here let me help you," her assailant said as he reached down to help pick her up.
"Honestly you should watch where you're going," she said, fixing her crocheted hat which she had found at a consignment store. "You could kill someone."
"I know, my girlfriend used to tell me that all the time, I tend to get lost in my own mind at times," the man said. "Here's your book." He held out her book to her.
"Thanks," Annabeth muttered as she brushed off the front cover of the dirt that had gotten onto it. She finally looked up at him and then cursed under her breath and took a few steps back. "Damn the irony," she muttered to herself.
Standing in front of her in all of his glory was Percy Jackson, wearing his iconic raybands and his black leather jacket. His hair was tussled and his skin looked sun kissed. Annabeth swore under her breath again.
"Annabeth…" Percy said. "I… gods… I haven't…" his voice trailed off as if he couldn't form a coherent thought.
"Hello Percy, goodbye Percy," Annabeth said icily and then turned on her heels and headed off in the opposite direction of where she was planning on going to, keeping her head up high. She was not going to talk to him, she was not going to break down crying in front of him, nope Annabeth Chase would never do that.
"Annabeth wait!" Percy said, grabbing her arm to stop her from leaving. Annabeth wretched her arm out his grip and glared at him.
"I have to go Percy," she said.
"Annabeth I want to talk to you, I haven't seen you in months you left without saying anything," he started.
"That was kind of the point," Annabeth said rolling her eyes.
"Wise Girl…" he started but Annabeth cut him off.
"Don't call me that, you lost all of your right to call me that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for," she said. She didn't really have a date, it was more of a friendly get together with Luke but she was so angry at seeing Percy that she just had to through that in his face.
Let him come to his own conclusions about it.
Annabeth turned and got the hell out of there as fast as she could, weaving between people faster than was probably humanly possible. She thought that she could handle seeing Percy again, but when it came down to it and when she looked at him she found her willpower completely crumbling.
She wanted to run back into his arms and kiss him senseless just as much as she wanted to slap him outside the face.
Damn it all why did love have to be so hard?
o.O.o
Flashback: A Week After Annabeth Left
"Thalia Grace if you don't open this damn door I swear that I will murder you!" Percy yelled as he pounded on his cousin's door. His hair was a rat's nest and his eyes were bloodshot with dark circles running underneath. He hadn't had a full night's sleep since the day Annabeth had left. He had to finish the last week of his tour and then as soon as was humanly possible he had gotten back to New York to try and find her.
He had to apologize to her and tell her that he had no idea what he had done. He always had had a problem with getting drunk easily.
He had spent the last week cursing himself for what he had done. He had no idea how Annabeth would have felt looking at those pictures of him kissing Calypso. When he had seen them he wanted to throw up, he shouldn't be kissing anyone but Annabeth. He could only imagine what Annabeth felt. Maybe she actually had thrown up.
When he had gotten back to New York, he had found his apartment completely cleared of all of her stuff. She was never at her apartment and he wasn't allowed into Olympian Scrolls when she was working. He had spent the whole day trying to call her, text her, even email her but nothing worked, she wouldn't answer a single one. He had gotten Nico, Piper, Jason even Leo to call her but she hadn't responded to any of them. When Silena had tried she had politely told Silena to tell him to "F*** off."
He was getting desperate and when he got desperate nothing went well.
Thalia opened the door and leaned in the frame, crossing her arms and glaring at Percy. "What do you want Jackson?" She asked, her voice steely to match her cold eyes. Percy flinched, great Thalia was pissed as well. That was not a good sign.
"Where's Annabeth?" Percy demanded, trying to make his voice sound strong as if he knew what he was saying. But he found himself quivering under Thalia's intense gaze. "Please?" He added at the end, hoping to appease her.
It was useless.
"None of your business Jackson," Thalia said, going to close the door on him.
"Please Thalia I need to talk to her, I need to tell her that I'm sorry!" He pleaded. Thalia rolled her eyes.
"You should have thought of that before you cheated on her," Thalia said.
"I was drunk!" Percy said stubbornly.
"You should have thought of that before you got drunk," Thalia retorted back, ever the sharp tongued.
Percy sighed. "Please Thalia where is Annabeth?" He asked, he was practically begging at this point in time and Percy Jackson did not beg. It just wasn't one of his traits that he had. In fact he prided himself in not begging.
"Sorry can't help you," Thalia said. "Maybe next time you break a girl's heart you'll remember the problems that come with it." And then she shut the door in his face.
That night Percy had torn apart his music room. He didn't know quite why he did it other than that he was incredibly mad. He threw paper everywhere, turned over the table and chairs, he kicked the wall so hard that it left a dent in it as well as breaking two of his toes. It was as spectacular as a scene in a movie.
Later, once he had gotten back from the hospital, he had taken all of the pictures he had of Annabeth and him and put them in a large box. Next went all of the letters. He put the box inside his safe in the back of his closet which was covered by a random pile of clothes.
He wanted to try to forget about her.
But it wasn't that easy. For days he sat in a numb shock, realizing that the one girl he actually loved, the one girl that he would do anything for had slipped from between his fingers. And it wasn't her fault. No it was his, his fault for not watching his amount of alcohol he took in, he knew he had a weakness with it ever since his years on the streets, his fault for breaking her heart.
The hardest thing was knowing that it could never have happened. He hadn't planned to drink that night, he had planned to perform at the club and then leave, head back home to Annabeth. But then Calypso had showed up with her dark eyes and intoxicating scent. She had convinced him to stay a while longer, telling him that it was okay for him to have a few drinks of alcohol.
And the rest was history.
For the next few weeks he had no idea what was going on, it seemed as if he was walking through a fog. Reports tried to get the scoop on him and Annabeth, but he refused to answer any questions. He performed when he had to but the rest of the time was spent holed up in his apartment.
Jason and Leo tried to cheer him up, Silena and Piper tried to console him. Nico just told him to stop acting so depressed and to man up. But nothing helped.
Life wasn't the same without her. He had lost his light. And the problem was: his letters no longer meant anything. Because the writer of them had left him.
End Flashback
Percy sat contemplatively in his studio, his legs swung over the edge of the side of the chair, his fist propping his head up as he stared out the window.
For the first time in months he had finally seen Annabeth Chase, the girl who seemed to avoid him at every turn, the girl who had left him, the one that "got away" as the popular phrase went.
She looked good. The same as she had almost a year ago only this time her gaze was a bit colder, her head was held a bit higher. He hadn't meant to crash into her, in fact he didn't even know it was her until she had looked up. But he hadn't been watching where he was going, caught up too much in his own world. It was something that Annabeth had always accused him of.
He thought that he had gotten over her, he thought that if he would see her on the side of the road he wouldn't miss her. But he was wrong. Looking at her made his heart ache even more. He had to resist every urge to wrap his arms around her and kiss her senselessly. He lost every urge to be mad at her when he looked into those grey eyes that he loved.
Looking at Annabeth Chase made Percy remember that she belonged with him, that he belonged with her. That they were made for each other.
And yet she was going on a date.
She was dating another guy.
That meant she liked another guy.
And gods forbid, that guy was probably handsome.
Then again he was dating another girl as well.
He didn't know why he decided to date Calypso. After Annabeth had left, Calypso had appeared almost instantly at his doorstep. Percy knew that Leo had a crush on her and yet that didn't matter. Percy just wanted a way to get back at Annabeth.
At first he had been hesitant but then he decided that maybe Annabeth would see the papers and realize just how much she missed him.
Yes he was an idiot, he was insane. That sort of thing only made girls even more mad at you.
But when you were in love you did crazy things.
And Percy Jackson was in love. Serious love. It was love so deep and so passionate that it made him want to climb the highest mountain or jump off a building or do something crazy like that. Love was a powerful, powerful force.
Percy had realized that the love he had for Annabeth Christine Chase was dangerous. He had learned something about love in those months without her, something that she had written a long time ago.
W4W: Love is an addiction. Love is a fire. Love is a sin. And yet, yet it is as necessary as oxygen. It is as potent as a spell. It binds us to someone in a way that we cannot imagine. Love is dangerous. And we cannot live without danger in our lives. We cannot live without love. It is one of the most beautiful joys of life, one of the most amazing events that will ever happen to you. And yet I would never wish it on you. For love has a way of controlling us. Love takes us softly at first by the hand and then suddenly we are so consumed with it that we can never return to the way we were. And though it comes softly, it leaves with a bang. And yet I also would wish it on you. For without love, there is no promise. Without love there is no will for life. Without love, there is nothing.
Seeing Annabeth again, after all of those months, drove him to near madness that afternoon. And now it made him even more enticed to win her back.
He was a moron. He knew that. But the first step to success was admitting your problem.
o.O.o
"Hey Annie," Luke said as she opened the door. He grinned at her and Annabeth smiled back. "You ready to go?" He asked.
"Yep," Annabeth said as she pulled on her coat and grabbed her bag. "Let's go."
The duo took the subway towards the dollar theater. It had been a tradition of Annabeth, Thalia and Luke to go to the dollar theaters when they were younger. Though the theater was a bit more run down than the first run theaters, Annabeth liked to claim that it had character. Plus the dollar theaters were older and had much more interesting architecture to look at.
After the movie Luke and Annabeth headed to a burger joint that had some of the best french-fries in the world. While in there, Luke looked at the paper.
"Annabeth what's this?" He asked, pushing the paper towards her. She looked at it curiously and then let out a loud groan.
"Damn all those nosy people," she said, burying her head in her hands. Smack dab on the front of the paper was a picture of her and Percy from that afternoon with the title: Percabeth Again? Annabeth turned to read the article:
Today Percy Jackson was seen with his old girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. The two ran into each other on the streets of New York and appeared to exchange heated words with each other, resulting in Ms. Chase storming off furiously. But eye witnesses would later claim that they saw Jackson looking longingly after his ex-girlfriend. Jackson, now dating model Calypso Atlas, was caught cheating on Ms. Chase last winter which led to the dynamic duo splitting up. Many fans were sad at the sudden ending of their relationship and were excited to see the two reunite for what appears to be the first time in nearing a year. After Percy Jackson's new song: One Last Chance, which seems to be about asking for another chance with Ms. Chase, we can only begin to wonder if the sensational superstar is regretting his decisions. And we wonder: is love in the air again for Percabeth?
Annabeth slapped the paper down on the table and picked up a fry and moodily chomped on it, glaring out the window.
"Do you want to talk about it at all?" Luke asked slowly. Annabeth continued to glare.
"Nothing to say at all," Annabeth said stubbornly. "He's a bastard and I'm not smelling any love in the air."
"If you do, I'm sure I can find you a can of air freshener to get rid of the smell," Luke said, the corner of his mouth tugging upwards.
"Haha very funny, it is to laugh," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes.
"Sometimes I think I should go into standup comedy," Luke said.
"You'd probably get laughed off the stage," Annabeth pointed out.
"Isn't that the point?"
Annabeth looked back down at the article. "Have you heard this song they're talking about?" She asked. "One Last Chance?"
Luke shook his head. "Nah, I'm not one to listen to pop music. But we can search for it on my phone," he said, pulling out his smart phone and tapping the title of the song onto internet searcher. There was a video on Youtube which he clicked on. He pushed some headphones into the little hole and then handed it to Annabeth. She slipped the headphones into her ear and then hit play.
She was suddenly aware of Percy's rich voice filling her mind and she felt as if someone was gripping onto her heart as he began to sing:
Tell me what you need And I will find a way to stop the bleeding;
No don't add to my mistakes
Tell me you're not leaving and I'll tell you everything you need to know.
Don't throw it all away, don't say my words are just too late
I don't want to be left behind, I've been so blind to all that I have broken
Can we put this back together?
No more empty promises, they don't exist; just me out in the open
I know this will take time, can you give me one last chance
To make it right?
You say the story's ending, but I think it's time we stop pretending
No can't let you turn the page.
Does your heart remember when we used to say forever?
Don't let go.
Don't throw it all away; don't say these words are just too late.
I don't want to be left behind, I've been so blind to all that I have broken
Can we put this back together?
No more empty promises, they don't exist just me out in the open.
I know this will take time, can we put the past behind us,
Tonight I'm gonna fight for you; just give me one last chance
To make it right.
One last chance to make it right.
I don't want to be left behind, I've been so blind to all that I have broken.
Can we put this back together?
No more empty promises, they don't exist just me out in the open.
I know this will take time, can you give me one last chance
To make it right?
Give me one last chance to make it right,
A last chance to make it right
A last chance to make it right
No more empty promises, they don't exist; just me out in the open.
I know this will take time, can you give me one last chance
To make it right?
Annabeth felt her chest constrict as she listened to Percy's heartbreaking voice, the one that had wooed countless of girls. The voice which sometimes sang her to sleep at night. She clutched the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Taking a few deep breaths she tried to calm her nerves. She brushed a stray curl behind her ear, something she did when she was nervous or high strung. She calmly handed the phone back to Luke and then stood up, grabbing her bag.
"I have to go," she said.
"Was it the song?" Luke asked her.
"No… no I just have to go," she said. "I'll text you later."
"Let me walk you home," Luke offered. Annabeth shook her head.
"It's okay, I'll be fine. Thanks for tonight Luke, I had fun," she said. And then she hurried out of the diner as fast as she could. Which surprisingly enough was incredibly fast.
Percy sat outside of Janus' Doors, his back pressed against the stone work which was old and slightly crumbling apart. He held a cigarette in one hand and a lighter in the next. He looked back and forth between the two, trying to decide whether to light it or not. He hadn't smoked in years and yet he was getting a very strong craving to do so.
He had been waiting outside of Annabeth's apartment building for the past three hours. She had said that she had a date later that night and he was going to try and get a good look at his "competition" as he had dubbed the guy that Annabeth was now with.
Nico was beginning to worry about him.
Screw him.
But he was about to give up and head home and bang his head against his piano keys for a bit longer when he heard someone coming up the steps to the building. He jerked his head up and saw a tall blonde woman walking towards the front entry way, muttering something to herself.
"Annabeth," he called, jumping up from where he was sitting, his cigarette left behind and forgotten.
The woman turned to look at him and he felt his heart sink. This woman had dark, dark brown eyes. She studying Percy and then rolled her eyes. "Honestly are you another reporter trying to get another story about my neighbor, because I for sure ain't no Annabeth," the woman said, her voice holding a slight Southern accent.
"Sorry, I'm so sorry ma'am," Percy said, backing away. He had learned at an early age in life that the best way to calm an angry woman was to call her ma'am.
"You should be," she said with a huff and then turned to head into her apartment.
"Wow are you so desperate that you've started hitting on every girl with blond hair," a familiar voice said from behind him. Percy whirled on his heels to see Annabeth standing in front of him, her hands on her hips, glaring at him with those intense grey eyes.
"Annabeth," he said with a sigh of relief.
"What are you doing in front of my apartment building Jackson?" She asked, her voice cold and icy. Percy shifted awkwardly in his shoes.
"I was waiting for you."
"So you're resorting to stalking me, lovely. I'll have to file for a restraining order," Annabeth said.
"Annabeth I just want to talk to you," Percy said. "I was an idiot…"
"First time you realized that, I didn't call you Seaweed Brain for no reason at all. Now will you please move so that I can get to my apartment, I'm tired and I just want to go to bed," Annabeth said. Percy studied her face in the dimly lit street lamps which made a strange buzzing noise. There were bags under her eyes and her mascara looked slightly smeared.
"What happened Annabeth?" he asked hesitantly.
"Nothing happened, it's none of your business now will you please move?" Annabeth asked. Percy hesitated.
"No."
Annabeth sighed, "I used the word 'please' weren't you taught in school that you were supposed to let the girl in if she uses the word please?"
"You know I failed school," Percy said, looking at her evenly. He wasn't letting her out of his sight. He had lost her once, that wasn't going to happen again. He'd learned his mistake.
"Well then, I just remembered that I have to run to the store for some milk," Annabeth said, turning on her heels and heading towards the street. Percy took two long strides after her and grabbed her wrist, turning her around.
"Annabeth, we both know that you don't have to go to the store," Percy said.
"That's not true, I really do need to go to the store," Annabeth tried to say stubbornly. Percy rolled his eyes.
"Please Annabeth, I can tell when you're lying." He paused for a moment. "And you know why that is?" He asked softly.
"Why?" Annabeth asked harshly.
"Because we were made for each other," Percy said. "We both know it, we're perfect for each other. We both know that without each other we're nothing," Percy said. "I made one of the most stupid choices that a man can make and I don't think I could live with myself without telling you this:
I love you Annabeth Chase. And I was stupid. I was dumb. I was everything that I swore I never would be. And I know I don't deserve you back but I still will ask, I'll still ask for your forgiveness."
Annabeth stood there as Percy watched her face, watching for any signal that she was going to forgive him. He resisted the urge to run a finger over her cheek and to push back the wild curls from her face, she probably wouldn't like that.
They stood there in silence for what felt like ages to Percy, Annabeth seemed to be analyzing him with those stormy grey eyes. She finally opened her mouth to speak and Percy felt his heart race a little bit faster.
"I have to go get milk," she said finally and he felt his world crashing down. She turned on her heels.
"Annabeth!" Percy called.
She whirled around, her eyes wild, angry, betrayed. "Damn it Percy!" She yelled. "Don't make it any harder than it has to be! Do you have any idea what you do to me? How much I want to run back to you and I can't!"
Percy took her hand, running his fingers across her palm. "And why can't you?" He asked softly.
"Because I swore to myself that I would never let my heart get broken twice by the same man," she said stubbornly. "I'm not a girl that you can play twice. I'm my own independent person. I am Annabeth Chase and I'm not someone that you should expect to go flying back into your arms when you use the magic word."
"I have been broken by so many people and it's no surprise any more when someone else joins the list. And I am stronger than you think! I don't need you in my life to make me feel good about myself! I can survive without going and crying to a boy. I don't need a boy to make me feel good about myself. Maybe people should learn that there are girls out there who don't care what they look like, who don't care what others think. I'm one of those girls." Her voice was icy and cold, rigid and stiff. She folded her arms.
"There was obviously something that you didn't like about me or else you wouldn't have cheated on me. Maybe I am overreacting, maybe it's all my fault and not yours. If it is tell me why, tell me what I did wrong."
Percy stood there, taking every single harsh word she delivered. Because every single one of them he deserved. Every single bullet was deserved.
"I'm done with being hurt Percy Jackson, I'm done do you hear?" Annabeth now had tears streaming down her face, but she held her head up high and proud. She wrapped her arms around her waist as if trying to hold herself up. "I'm done," she whispered.
To anyone else looking at the duo, they probably would have called 911 for disturbing the peace but Percy could care less. Annabeth seemed to be tottering on the brink of doing something… not intelligent.
"I know love… I know," Percy whispered taking a few steps forward towards Annabeth. But she took two steps back for every one step forward he took. "Just give me one last chance."
"I… I have to go," Annabeth said, turning her back. "I need milk," she muttered.
It was in that moment when Annabeth took her first step onto the street in the dark New York air, that Percy felt his heart pound faster and faster.
Something was not right.
Something was very, very, very wrong.
"Annabeth!" He yelled.
A car came swerving around the corner, faster than was allowed in the speed limits. It was all too familiar, just like with Tyson. "Annabeth!" He screamed even louder. He tried to move but he couldn't. He was stuck in his spot.
It's in the times that we most need to move that we find ourselves unable to, that we are stuck where we stand, watching hopelessly. That was how Percy felt as he watched what was happening.
Annabeth turned, just before the car swerved into her.
Her eyes opened in shock.
And then she shut them quickly.
The car hit her form and Percy watched in horror as she was flung to one side and the car went driving on, swerving from one side to the next.
Percy felt himself become unfrozen and he ran to Annabeth's side, pulling out his phone, dialing 911 as fast as he could. He quickly relayed every piece of information he had to and then shut it off and dropped to Annabeth's side.
"Annabeth, Annabeth stay with me," Percy said, clutching her hand. "Stay with me," he begged, his words coming out more like a sob than actual words. "Annabeth you can't leave me," he said, his heart breaking as he looked at her limp form which he held gently. He cradled her head in his lap, stroking her hair.
Annabeth's eyes fluttered open for a split moment, her brow wrinkling in pain. "Stupid milk," she choked out. Percy let out a harsh laugh.
"Sing…" she said softly, her voice cracking with every syllable. "Sing… please," she said softly.
"A wise girl once told me that when a woman says please you give her what she wants," Percy said, stroking her curls and kissing her bruising forehead.
"Never knew I could feel like this
Like I've never seen the sky before
Want to vanish inside your kiss
Every day I love you more and more
Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?
Telling me to give you everything.
Seasons may change, winter to spring
But I love you, until the end of time.
Come what may,
Come what may,
I will love you until my dying day.
Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place
Suddenly it moves such a perfect grace
Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste
It all revolves around you
And there's no mountain too high
No river too wise
Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side!
Storm clouds may gather
And stars may collide
But I love you
Until the end of time
Come what may
Come what may
I will love you until my dying day.
Oh come what may, come what may
I will love you, oh I will love you
Until my dying day.
Percy finished the last note, his voice cracking and filling with sobs so that he couldn't finish it. It was so raw and so emotional. He never imagined that he would hold the girl he loved, dying in his arms. No she wouldn't die, he wouldn't let her.
Percy Jackson would not let Annabeth Chase die.
"Percy," Annabeth said, her face contorting in pain.
"Yes love?" He asked, smiling at her.
"Am I going to die?" She asked softly.
"No, I promise you, you won't die. I won't let you." Annabeth gave a satisfied smile and then closed her eyes.
"Percy… I think I still love you," she whispered and then her head lolled back, too tired and in too much pain to think a cognitive thought.
"That's good Wise Girl," Percy whispered. "Because I'm madly in love with you."
The songs used in this chapter are called: One Last Chance by Daughtry and Come What May from Moulin Rouge performed by Ewan McGregor and Nichole Kidman.