A Life Of Love | Percabeth AU ✔

Chapter 31 ⚫Make up Make out⚫

Annabeth's POV:

My heart was pounding in my ears as I walked onto the stage. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, I can...fuck.

I caught the eyes of everyone in the audience, and they were all sitting straight, expectant. I cleared my throat and told the band the song and the keys. It was very specific so it took a bit of time, but the school was getting impatient.

Finally, I walked back to the front of the stage just as the music to 'Baby' by Justin Bieber began to play, but this time, slower and heart wrenching. I changed the lyrics a bit too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqyrxeHr6Qw (I SWEAR TO THE GODS OF OLYMPUS, IF YOU HAVENT HEARD THIS TIK TOK VERSION, YOU HAVENT LIVED YET, SO HEAR IT)

"This is for Seaweed Brain." I muttered, my throat hoarse. The crowd frowned and there were  chatters and murmurs as they tried to find out the identity of this mysterious person. My friend looked at me with sympathy. My blood boiled. I didn't want their pity. I wanted Percy. I wanted him. I loved him. I didn't know where the L-word came from, but over the weekend all I thought of was my Kelp Head to keep me going. But now I couldn't even have him.  I cleared my throat.

"Did you love me? Yeah, did you care?

You shouted whenever and I was there,

You are my love, you are my heart,

And we would never, ever, ever, be apart."

I gulped. Everyone looked shocked and appalled at this change of lyrics and music. But my words flowed out like a stream of emotions I had been containing too long, all from the kidnapping, to Percy breaking up with me, an ocean of feelings that were concealed, washing away the fake smile on my face.

"Were we an item?

Boy quit playing

We're just friends?" I made speech marks with my fingers, with a cold laugh, and unable to keep the harsh and icy tone out of my voice.

"What are you saying?

Said there's another and looked right in my eyes

My first love broke my heart for the first time."

I felt my eyes sting, and despite me trying to keep my voice leveled and calm, I felt it break and the rush of emotions was over-whelming. For the first time, ever since Saturday, I felt scared. It fell on me like the weight of the sky. I kept singing, but my mind was elsewhere.

I was kidnapped. I was nearly killed. Ares nearly did unspeakable things to me. And I escaped with barely my life, and a life's worth of traumatising memories. As the music played, I looked around at the audience and every where I looked, there he was. That boy with the crazed blue-green eyes, straw blonde hair and scrawny figure, he still had that malicious sneer on his face, and I certainly didn't want to know what he thought when he looked at me.

Then I blinked and he vanished. And the only thing left was Goode High, my friends, the whole school, swaying to the music and my voice, I hadn't even realised I was still singing.

The scars and scrapes on my skin might have healed. But the ones inside never would.

X~X

I took my seat back in the audience, and Calypso, Piper, Hazel and Silena were silent as the next boy came up to sing. It stayed that way for a while. But in the end, it was Silena who comfortingly put her arm around me and put her head on my shoulder. I smiled gratefully at her. For not saying something meaningless like 'Sorry' or 'It'll be okay' because we both knew sure as hell that it won't be. She was just there. Comforting me.