The One From Before

Part Thriteen - For the heart

Percy

Community Involvement Project:
9 hours @ Pans animal shelter

Percy liked animals so this should be fun enough to get through the day. The only downside was that a storm was brewing. He hoped it wouldn't make the animals too agitated.

As he entered he saw a familiar head of blonde curls hanging her jacket and bag on a hook. "Annabeth?" He said "I didn't know you were volunteering here today."

"Same with you. Expect the unexpected I guess." she chuckled as he hung his stuff next to hers. He thought she had a beautiful laugh. Annabeth cleared her throat "Um, Here's a list of things I was given to do today. The dude behind the counter will probably give you an apron and your own list too."

"Thanks for letting me know, Wise girl" the name he joked around with in the past because to him, she knew everything. It slipped out but it seemed okay to use right now.

The entire day they would be working together. At one point this year Annabeth probably wouldn't have been able to tolerate it but now, they actually considered each other friends. A good balance hung between them, although it seemed easily able to tip.

Percy was glad for her company today. In the late afternoon they were allowed a break and got to play with the animals. They were going to take a few of the dogs for a walk but it had started to pour. The gray skies were getting darker and darker.

.....
Let's just wait it out, Annabeth. You know what they say: April showers bring May flowers, Percy had told her.

Or April showers can bring floods for hours, she had said half distracted, reading something.

No one says that-

Sure they do.

Alright, who?

Reasonable people, Percy, reasonable people...

Don't be so gloomy- this means things'll bloom soon, I'll grow you some daisies just to prove it.

Alright, let's hope the flower box doesn't flood. Annabeth had looked up just to smirk at him.

Gloom Trooper.
.......

Instead of walking the hyper puppies, they got to tire out the nine-week-old golden retrievers from the new litter. Annabeth looked, well Percy didn't have words for how cute it was when the puppies climbed into her lap and tried to lick her face.

There it was, that beautiful laugh again. Percy didn't realize he was staring until Annabeth looked at him "what-?" she asked, snapping him back to reality.

"I- uh nothing. The puppies are... really cute..." he stammered coming up with his quick response.

Percy opened the white picket gate to the doggie play area. "Can I join you?" he asked as a golden retriever ran up to him. "Can't let you hog all the cuteness." That had made Annabeth laugh. Once again it was a happy melody to him that got him to smile in return.

"I suppose so," she smiled softly, "take your pick of puppy."

Percy closed the gate behind him and crouched down. Three soft puppies ran up to his feet. One with a bit darker fur than the others jumped up with her two front paws onto his knee. Arf. The sound was more like a squeak than a bark. Then she ran back to Annabeth and crawled into her lap. Everything about this was making his heart melt.

A loud noise struck outside and scared the poor dark furred retriever. A tall boy about their age came around to the play area. Percy didn't recognize him but Annabeth seemed to.
"Frank?" she smiled.

"Hey, Annabeth right?"

She nodded. Percy looked back and forth between the two of them. "How do you know each other?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh we met at that party a while ago. Remember the one after the winning game?" She responded casually.

The victory party. The one where things had suddenly gotten awkward between them again afterwards. Yep, he remembered.

Frank cleared his throat. "Anyway, there's a vicious storm warning so we have to move all the animals to the back room." The noise struck again, loud and long outside. Thunder. The poor animals were getting agitated.

Frank handed them the leashes over the gate and Percy started taking the dogs to the back. Frank went to work on getting the room ready.
A chime sounded and a woman came through the front doors, her auburn hair blown strictly to one side from the wind.

The curious little dark furred puppy ran to the gate. Percy didn't realize that hadn't closed the gate properly and the puppy got through. As the woman was shaking off her umbrella at the door, the dog ran through the door and out into the storm. The storm was right on top of them now buzzing with violent winds. The sky seemed unnaturally black. The trees were blowing viciously and that dog was all too curious.

The poor retriever looked like it was about to be blown away with the winds. Without another thought Percy ran out the door after the dog. He heard Annabeth call for him but he couldn't hear what she said. It was hard to see in this weather. Sprinting, Percy found the dog cowering by the garden across the flooded street and scooped her up in his arms.

"PERCY!" Annabeth yelled. Lightning had struck a tree barely one car's length away from him. He could feel the static in the atmosphere around him. There was a tingling sensation throughout his body. The old tree hadn't exploded, but it fractured and split, creaking apart as it did so. The fissure got wider and wider as the ends got ready to fall down. He stumbled back a bit dazed before sprinting towards the shelter door. What if I had hit him?

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled again with wide, frantic eyes as he sprinted back inside. He blazed through the doors feeling buzzed and panting and soaked from head to toe.

Annabeth glared at Percy like she was going to punch him.

And then she did something that surprised him even more.

She kissed him.

Once pulled away, Percy couldn't take his gaze off Annabeth's. They looked into each other's eyes as if in a trance. A state of profound abstraction. As if he was in an altered state of consciousness, the only thing in focus was Annabeth. Her stormy grey eyes- but so much more beautiful than the sky outside. The taste of her lips- however briefly. The features of her face, the cool hands at his neck. He was wholly absorbed in her power, as if she was goddess.

Frank ran out from the back. "What- what's going on? What happened?" He took notice of the soaking wet dog and the soaking wet Percy. Giving them an 'oh' like expression, Frank locked the doors and quickly took the dog from him, spedding to the back to the safe room.

Apparently the woman had gone with Frank the first time and thank goodness for that, things would have been slightly extra awkward if she was still at the front.

Percy was still entranced in Annabeth, he hadn't moved his eyes away- not yet. "Don't scare me like that." She said quietly.

As his heart still felt like it was going sixty miles per hour, Percy managed to provide a little smile. "I'll try my best."