The Demigod Selection

Chapter 51

I figured it was about time for a cute chapter. Have some very adorable Percabeth. (There are a few quotes from "The Last Olympian" in here. I don't own them, Rick Riordan does. Though I did put them in at a good time...)

Annabeth's POV

I wake up, screaming and sobbing wildly. I dreamt of Luke and how he looked once his body landed on the ground. It was all my fault. Thalia may have pushed him, but it was me they were looking for. He would still be alive.

I've tried to talk to Thalia about him, but she refuses to. I can't really blame her, but I have to talk to someone and she's the only one who understands how it feels. A mixture of guilt, grief, shame, and sadness all in one. And what's worse is that right after his death, I went on a date with Percy. It was as if nothing ever happened to Luke.

"Annabeth?" Someone asks from right outside of the door. "Are you okay?"

What is Percy doing outside of my door at two in the morning? I try to control my breathing. I stopped crying once I woke up, but I kept on screaming. I try to pull myself together when the door opens.

"Percy?" I hate how broken my voice sounds. I sound weak and helpless, two things that I hate to be. "What is it?"

He crashes onto my bed, his hand covering his face. "Tonight wasn't a good night."

I agree. After the Report ended, it was complete chaos. I lost the sight of Percy in the crowd. I don't know which Selected was caught with a guard, and they sent me to bed before I could find out. They actually locked my door, which made me feel more trapped than secure.

"What happened?" I ask, trying not to sound like I was crying. I'm glad for the cover of darkness. "Who was it?"

"Silena Beauregard. With one of our best guards, Charles Beckendorf. They were caught by a rather insane guard who was hitting them with a whip by the time we got there."

I put my hand over my mouth. "Oh no, not Silena. She was an amazing girl." Percy doesn't move. I reach over and take his hand into my own.

"Then my cousin arrived. He saw one of the Selected and looked as if he saw a ghost. Maybe he's in love with her. I left right after that. I don't want to do this anymore, Annabeth. This is too complicated for me to have to deal with at the moment."

"What about your parents? Why aren't they helping?"

"They would be, if they weren't on vacation for their tenth anniversary. Pretty crappy timing, right? They leave right in time for me to deal with all of this on my own."

I make him sit up slowly. He's completely still and limp. From what I can see from the thin light from the hall, his face is red and his shirt is ripped.

"Who said you had to deal with it on your own, Perseus Jackson?" I say, making him look at me. The light from the hall reflects off my face and I let him see my tear stained eyes and red face. I let him see me without a mask of perfection covering up the real me. "I'm here for you to lean on."

"Annabeth," he says, sounding breathless. "I can't. I don't want you to get hurt. I shouldn't have come here tonight. I was so conflicted after everything that happened, I just found myself walking around the castle. And I came to your door. I've lived here all my life. There are so many places I go when I need to be cheered up. Yet I came here."

It kills me to be this close to him, yet not touching. But I can't, not yet.

"I'm here, Percy. You came here because you knew that I would be. I've been waiting for you to realize that."

We both move at the same time. He raises his head and I lower mine. We're kissing in my bedroom at two in the morning, tears on both of our faces. But I know that I wouldn't have it any other way. There's no makeup on my face, I'm not wearing a fancy ball gown. It's so real, so raw that it almost hurts. I've never let another boy kiss me like this.

"I can't," Percy says. "I'm not allowed to be in here. This is against the rules, I'm not supposed to let this happen."

I sit back and cross my arms. For the first time, I see that blood is running down his shoulder, most of it dried. I fight the urge to wipe it clean.

"Strange, I've never once found a rule book for love. I think that I would like to read that, if you don't mind."

"Annabeth, this isn't just about us. You're a part of the Selection, you know I can't stay here. You could get hurt because of this. You could get hurt just like Silena did if I stay here. I can't let anything bad happen to you."

I lean closer to him. "It's against the rules for you to keep me company? I don't know what the rule book thinks we're doing, nor do I care. I'm asking you to stay so that I don't have to face the night alone. I'm asking you to stay because that's the only way the nightmares will go away. Will you stay?"

Percy looks at the door once before turning back to me. "I'm not supposed to do this. All of this screams 'against the rules'. You are so not making this easy."

I laugh and put my hands around his neck. "I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it."

This time when we kiss, I can't help but remember our first kiss, the one in the pool. I was so scared then, so unsure of what I was doing in the Selection. Now I know why I'm here. I love Percy and I will never leave him.

"I'll stay," he says softly. "As if I could ever leave you."

I respond by kissing him again softly on the lips. He tastes like strawberries and salt and Percy.

"Thank you," I whisper to him, receiving a small smile in response.

For once, I'm glad for the giant bed each Selected received. It would be much more tight if the bed was smaller. But there's enough room for both Percy and I to lay comfortably. I rest my head onto his chest and feel his rhythmic breathing. My head falls and rises with his every breath. I adjust myself so that my head is laying on my pillow and I'm facing Percy. I grab his hand and hold on to it.

"Don't leave me," I murmer as I start to fall asleep.

"Never."

We fall asleep holding hands like that. Our hands are the only thing that we allow to touch. I fall back asleep and there are no nightmares. There's just Percy.