Hidden Tears (One Shot)

The Best String

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Past - Italicized font

I don't own Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan does.

And oh, I'm sorry in advance :)

——

"Maybe all the strings inside him broke."

― John Green, Paper Towns

"She always loved him. She always wanted to say it. But sadly, she didn't know how."

I closed the book slowly and carefully as I looked up to him. I forced a smile and took his hand. It was smooth and warm, just like the hands that would always help me hide my tears. I bit my lip as I stared at him lying there with his beautiful eyes hidden behind his eyelids. The feeling of being mesmerized by his eyes seemed so far away, so long ago even though it's been just three days since I last saw them. I stood up and bent over so that I could fix his tousled jet black hair. Due to days of being bedridden, his slick hair turned into a greasy untidy hair which was very so-not-him since he liked to keep his hair presentable.

It's amazingly terrifying how a single event can change everything that was "meant" to happen.

There's just too many "wants" in my head right now. I want to hug him. I want to stare at his eyes. I want to hear him talk again. I want everything back. I want him to wake up.

But I can't.

He's lying there with bruises and scars all over his body. His rib and leg was broken and had to undergo several surgeries to fix it in the past few days. He can barely talk because of the pain and had to slowly write down the things he wanted to say. His heart beats are not stable and has to be observed every other hour.

It's all because of me.

I gently squeezed his hand as the tears started to build in my eyes, fogging my vision. I pressed my lips in his hand as I remember the moments we shared together.

——

"Why are you here?! Go away!" I yelled at him as I saw his reflection in the water. I dared not to look at him in the eye for I don't want to show any weakness. He knew I was crying but I don't want him to know that I would submit into his comfort easily. I'm not that weak. I'm stronger than he thinks.

Yet here I am, letting the tears flow down from my eyes through my cheeks and to my chin where they finally fall into the tanned skin of my hands.

Instead of going away, he sat down beside me and let the lower portion of his pants get wet as he dipped his legs in the river. I got annoyed and punched him hard in the shoulder. "Go. Away.You.Filthy.Jerk." I kept hitting him, adding more force than the last. He flinched and winced but he didn't left. He stayed put and stared at the passing clouds that were probably laughing at us. A girl hitting a boy who was obviously stronger than her and a stupid boy who just let the pain come and go. After the hard punches that he had to endure, I got tired and stopped hitting him. I looked down at the dry grass that we were sitting on.