𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 - 𝐀𝐧 𝐀𝐔

Percy

I suppose I should've been more careful. Maybe roaming around a dark alley all alone wasn't the best decision.

I should've known things wouldn't be over so quickly. Gabe wasn't out of our lives just yet.

He wasn't out of my life just yet.

Maybe if I'd been a little more capable of standing up to all of his friends, I'd be fine.

Tough metal against my head. Blurry vision. A metallic tang on my tongue. Blinking rapidly. Hearing my quickening pulse. Warmth trickling down my temple.

A hard bruise. A slap on my face. Gripping my collar. Why was the world so blurry?

A big dark mass in front of me. Why was it grinning? My neck strained. Let me go.

It gripped my face, saying something. I can't hear you. My heart beat echoed in my ears. Stop yelling. My head hurts.

I heard some collective buzzing in the background. It sounded like...they were laughing?

The grip on my collar loosened. Gravity. The ground next to my face. A fresh wave of pain through my head. Make it stop. I heard a shout. Was it them or me?

The noises drowned in the silence. My ears felt like crashing waves. Where's that ringing coming from? I blinked blearily.

It was dark. Something seemed to be blinking as well. I closed my eyes briefly, breathing raggedly. I think I regained consciousness when the pain became very apparent. Oh gods.

I grunted, gritting my teeth. What had I done?

I opened my eyes. I saw the streetlight flickering not far from me. So that's what the blinking was. Someone should fix that.

I clenched my fingers slightly, relief washing over me at the fact that they didn't hurt. Thank the gods.

Actually, no. Don't thank the gods. I wouldn't be here in the first place if I hadn't been beaten up. They could've prevented that.

What do I do now? I want to go home. Why did this happen? Everything hurts.

I let out a small groan as I got up, feeling woozy the instant my head moved. I shouldn't have, I thought, letting my fingers graze the wound slightly. My eyes watered.

The wound felt thick and wet. No, no. Oh gods, what if I have a concussion? I need help. My head felt delicate, tension building up in the area. My neck felt heavy too.

I slumped against the wall, resting my head against the brick design. It was a faded red, with chipped edges so it just looked old and tattered in the light.

I want to call someone. Wait, I have a phone.

I fished it out of my pocket, hissing at the unexpected light when I switched it on. Giving the brightness tab a frantic swipe, I let my eyes glaze over the contacts. There was someone at the top, the last person I'd called in the call history. I squinted my eyes, trying to catch the name, but gave up after all I could register was the letter 'A'.

I dialed it.

****************

I gripped the sofa edge tightly, feeling the fabric bunch up in between in my fingers. My head throbbed dully, but it wasn't as bad as it had been before.

A bandage wound its way around my left forearm, red blooming through. I found the edges of my vision still blurred, and blinked repeatedly.

I exhaled heavily, exhausted. I elected to ignore Annabeth's worried albeit confused look, not even knowing where to start explaining what was going on.

"Hey", I turned at the sound of her soft voice. "I got you some water", she held out a filled glass. I returned her soft smile, and took the glass with a small "Thanks".

She nodded, and sat down next to me. I took a tiny sip of water, before setting it down on the coffee table. I took to staring at her TV, letting the awkward silence hang in the air. Annabeth shifted in my peripheral vision, and I couldn't help my small chuckle.

She rolled her eyes when she heard it, smiling nonetheless. Then, I felt her hand rest tenderly on my shoulder. I turned to her, puzzled, before she leaned forward with a tentative smile, and pressed her lips to mine.

If I'd been woozy before, I definitely lost any semblance of consciousness now.

She gently kissed me, letting her hand rest on my shoulder, and it was comforting. I felt something light travel through my body, starting from the tips of her fingers, exploding inside me.

I moved my hand towards her waist, lightly grazing it hesitantly, in case it made her uncomfortable. She smiled against the kiss, shifting her hand over mine, and pushing it onto her waist. My palm rested, a little more confident now.

I deepened the kiss, shifting closer to her, and she mirrored my action. I raised a palm up to her cheek, rubbing my thumb over her cheekbone. Her skin was as soft as ever.

We broke away, breathing a little heavily, and she pressed her forehead to mine. I closed my eyes, soaking up the moment, absorbing her presence, holding on to the feeling of the kiss. Warmth coursed through the atmosphere, radiant and bright and soft. It felt like the air was giving us a hug.

My palm hadn't left her cheek, and I made no move to change that. I continued tenderly stroking her cheek lightly, marveling at her face shape, at how her cheek curved perfectly at the high of the bone beneath her eye.

Her hand also remained on my shoulder, though sometime during the kiss, she'd shifted it to behind my neck. Neither of us had noticed, but I didn't want her to move it away. I don't think she planned to either. I felt her pulling on the strands of my hair, splaying them between the pads of her fingers.

"Annabeth", I thought in the back of my mind, registering away the memory of this moment. Some day, I'd think of her, and this would come to mind. Her soft beauty, the comfort of her embrace and the light in her eyes.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, do that on your own time", she whispered, like if she spoke a little louder, the peace of the moment would splinter and dissolve. "But, whatever's happening, you don't deserve to be hurt, you know?"

I felt my breathing relax, and nodded. 

Her mouth quirked up in a small smile, and somehow, that little action took my breath away. I smiled in return, the gesture returning without any effort or thought.