Percabeth One-shots (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

An Oath

Percabeth AU

- I wrote this a year ago except then I hadn't used Annabeth and Percy, but I changed it so they are in this One-Shot instead.
Please excuse some of the cringe-writing, and remember I wrote this a year ago.
Thanks xx.

ANNABETH CHASE

It's ironic, really, that it's raining at a time like this. It seems people were wrong, some things from movies do happen in real life.

The few droplets that make it past my umbrella are cold and numbing. They roll down my face, following the path of recently shed tears.

I stand alone. Everyone left as it started to rain. Nobody checked to see if I was coming, they knew I would stay. I would always stay, because I had made a promise. An oath. And I always keep my promises.

The ground beneath my feet is no longer dry and solid. It's covered in a layer of liquid, turning the dirt to mud.
I stare at the words engraved on the stone.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

I can't quite recall who said this but it will permanently be in the back of my mind, just like it is permanently recorded on the stone.

I read the next words engraved underneath the quote. It's not really words but rather, a name.

Percy Jackson.

I feel winded. Like I've fallen from the highest branch of my backyard's tree again. The air escaping my lungs at the sudden force behind my back, the rush of wind before the force bringing on shock. The landing on roots and hard grass forced the remaining air back out of my body. I lay, forgetting how to inhale, exhale.

These small movements that I have memorized and always been able to perform flawlessly escape me now also.

I can't breathe. I feel my throat contracting, the bile choking me.

I miss him so much it hurts. It leaves me physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. All the crying isn't helping either.

My lungs finally cooperate, deciding to perform their deemed simple task of keeping me alive. That job has become harder for everyone, trying to keep me in the land of the living. Life is hard.

But Percy would want me to keep going...for him.

The funeral was awful. I remember how the priest, a complete stranger to him was saying how he will be missed dearly and that he was taken too early.

I also remember digging my fingernails into my palms to stop the urge to get up on stage and slap the poor man.

He didn't know Percy. So why is he acting like he did? It's despicable.

The day had started off with only a few clouds. The rain had only started to pour after the last dirt was thrown.

That's when the crowd dispersed.

His family and mine left without a word.

As I said earlier, it's ironic for it to be raining at a time like this.

At a funeral.

At a death.

It reminds me so strongly of disney movies. Only they ended happy. I don't see how this can end happy.

I can't feel any of my limbs. My eyes are sore from releasing and harboring tears. I feel empty. And emptiness is the worst thing to feel.

Some would say I should be thankful I can't feel anything, the sorrow or pain. But I want to feel it. I owe him that much. When you feel empty, you start to go a little mad. You could be surrounded by hundreds of people but not sense any of them. Not be able to feel their warmth, for your own cold is what prevails.

I don't want to feel empty, but I do.

I don't want to feel numb, but I do.

I don't want Percy to be gone, but he is.

I'm in this world and Percy isn't. And it feels wrong.

Even in my numb state, I feel the umbrella handle flee from my grip as the wind starts to howl. My eyes stay trained on it as it flies across the graveyard. I watch as it catches momentarily on someone's grave-stone. I think of the family that person left behind.

My eyes fall back on Percy's stone.

A strand of my hair falls in front of my face. It is heavy from the water the has absorbed through my curls. I make no attempt to stop the rain from reaching my body. In a few minutes of standing still, I am soaked.

My black dress is drenched. As it clings to my skin, I register how cold the rain actually is. The wind has also picked up. It too has icy claws seeking what little warmth I have left.

I hear the thunder before my eyes send the message to my brain that there is lightning.

I feel totally lost. Should I start my walk home now or stay with Percy?

My brain seems to decide I should walk home but my limbs do not obey. I sink to the ground. My knees splash more mud on my dress. But I don't care. I probably already look like a wreck.
I don't feel cold but I must be because the next thing I know, I'm shivering.

It's starts off small but soon I can't control my limbs as they start to spasm. My brain and body are no longer working together as one. My very being has been torn apart from the inside.

Soon the crying starts again. It's not just tears but horrible noises too. This type of crying is what my cousin would call ugly crying. But who's around to see it? Certainly not Percy.

BAM! The inability to breathe hits again. I feel like I'm going in circles. I keep trying to go round the bend, to find something new when I discover I've been on this path before and It all ends the same. It all ends without Percy.

And a world without Percy's erratic laugh is not one I want to be in.

"I'm sorry." I whisper between gasps, desperately hoping he will somehow hear me. But how am I to know if he can? Is he an angel watching over me or is he just gone? I can't accept the latter.

There must be something after death.

Because what would happen if there wasn't? Would we reincarnate? Or would we suddenly be lost to everything?

No. I believe that Percy is here, that he can hear me....but maybe that is just desperation speaking.

My fingers uncurl and reach out slowly to brush across his name.

I am disappointed when I don't feel some magical force change me. I only feel damp concrete, it's uneven surface gives it texture.

My forehead rests on the top of his stone.

One hand is beside my head while the other supports my weight on the ground.

The rain keeps falling.

Every now and then I have to wipe away the water that has made its way towards my nose, following gravity's pull. Some of my damp hair falls from behind my shoulder, till its touching nothing but air.

The occasional blow of wind makes it stick to my face, impairing my vision.

Why am I still here? I could be in the comfort of home by now. What is keeping me here?

I already know the answer to that.
My promise. My oath.

An oath to keep with a final breath.