The Stories of Our Heroes

Head v. Heart - Part 2

Annabeth felt the space between she and Percy as intensely as if it were pure heat. She couldn't be sure if he was looking at her from where he sat at the opposite end of the couch. She found herself unable to look in his direction. Percy had yet to push her towards conversation; in fact, he'd barely spoke two words since his parents and sister left, despite that being almost half an hour earlier. Annabeth was certainly no better, her only noise being slightly labored breathing. Her head swam, desperately searching for the beginning of what she needed to tell Percy... and the middle, and the end, for that matter. She couldn't shake the fear that he would feel betrayed by what she would say, no matter how she went about it. The very last thing Annabeth wanted was to hurt Percy in any way. Percy, the one person she could always count on to take her as she was, to not expect too much out of her. Maybe he would understand, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt him all the same.

"Annabeth." His voice seemed much farther away than it actually was. "We're going to run out of time. Please talk to me." The desperate edge in his tone sent Annabeth's brain into even more of a frenzy. Percy was scared of what was about to go down, and she couldn't blame him. After all, he probably should be scared of his girlfriend's problem. Annabeth was faintly away of Percy pleading with her again, asking her to open up. The distance between them suddenly became too painful for her to stand, feeling far too similar to the cold emptiness of their relationship in her nightmare. She launched herself across the couch and into his arms. Percy seemed startled by this outburst of a development, freezing for a moment before pulling her closer. His mouth pressed to her ear, he whispered, "What's wrong?" But Annabeth wasn't quite ready for that. First, she needed to feel close to Percy, to assure him that he meant the world to her.

She leaned into him for a kiss, attempting to convey all of her emotions through the press of her lips against his. He responded just a passionately, but Annabeth sensed a bit of hesitation behind his movements. "We'll talk after," she promised, and Percy must have believed her because he melted against her body, all timidness disappearing from his embrace. She attempted to crawl into his lap for better access to all parts of her boyfriend, but he had other ideas. In one motion, Percy stood from the couch and hoisted her over one of his shoulders. She wasn't too proud of it, but Annabeth couldn't stop a slight squeal from escaping her. Percy chuckled softly, obviously pleased with himself and the reaction he drew from her. She was growing more and more confident by the second that the overdue conversation was still a long ways down the road, perhaps even avoidable for the night.

However, Annabeth found herself to be severely wrong only minutes later.

"Percy," she whined as he pulled away and sat against the headboard of his bed. She wasn't entirely sure how or when they got into their current position, but she was certain she didn't want to leave it any time soon, and Percy was not helping her in that respect at all. "Come back," she begged, reaching across the bed for his bare chest. If she could just get him pulled back down, he'd get distracted again and-

"It's time to talk. Now. Stop procrastinating. Tell me what's wrong." Between the stern voice in which he spoke, the serious look in his eye, and tight grip he had on her outstretched arm, Annabeth couldn't resist the conversation any longer. That didn't mean there wasn't a few seconds to spare in a final, weak attempt.

"But we're not finished here." It came out as more of question. She gestured towards her fully clothed body for emphasis, but Percy wasn't having any more nonsense.

"We can finish later."

"That's what you said last time! And anyway, since when are you the one that wants to stop?" His exasperated sigh in response was the final push Annabeth needed to get on with it. She couldn't put him through this any longer. "Okay, fine. You're right." She held up her hands in surrender and moved to sit against the headboard with Percy. Their shoulders touched, but she stared straight ahead, too overcome with guilt and fear to look at him. She counted ten deep breaths, and finally began to talk.