Shake it off

chapter ten

Percy

It was the middle of the night. The navy blue sky cast shadows of every nook and cranny, every bump on the road suddenly looking massive. The intimidating dark alleyways passed him, as his feet ran as fast as he fucking could. He didn't like the dark. He didn't know a single person in the world who loved the darkness. Well, maybe those one kids at the school with black graphic tees and skinny jeans. The ones who never laughed, and you could hear their cool music that Percy could never get into buzzing in their ears. The fact of the matter was that he wanted to find Leo. It didnt matter how much he disliked the dark. He had to find him, tell him he was sorry, tell him that he was an idiot. Tell him that he should never have expressed such blatant feelings for him.

Right then, tears were in his eyes, and he didn't seem to care much about the subject of goths at that second. He breathed in the night air thickly, the freezing glow of the moonlight sending shivers onto his cheeks, and up his legs. A sob racked itself through his body, seeming to beat him down. He choked on his own throat. "I'm so stupid, fuck!" he nearly screamed.

Mom didn't know he was out at this hour, she would proably tell him to put on a coat, then she'd remember that Percy didnt have a fucking coat, because her and that motherfucking Smelly Gabe fought all week on the week before school. All because he wouldn't stop spending their money on gambling. Whatever, it didn't matter. All that mattered was how he was going to get Leo back into his life.

As soon as Leo saw Percy, he would probably run away again. Or maybe he would throw out that cheeky laugh and take his hand. Maybe he would say that it was okay, and continue being his friend. Even if Percy wanted a romantic relationship over anything. He'd already gone to his house, climbed through the window, checked him room. He remembered skimming his fingers over the edges of the pictures. The ones on the wall, depicting Leo's mother, and suspects. He couldn't believe that he lent his head against the wall, and cried, remembering how Leo just walked out his door. He couldn't bring himself to ignore everything about Leo's foster parents calling for Leo, calling him things like "faggot", and "retard". When Percy heard them, it struck him, hard in the chest. Simple words hurt him deeply, and the only explanation he could think of would have to be how Gabe used to call him those exact words, in that exact tone. It was angry, the words seeming to form in his throat, and screaming harshly out between their lips.

When he was certain after about thirty minutes of looking, that Leo was definitely not there, he ran. He wasn't sure where, exactly. But he had to get there, wherever Leo was. He reminisced on the fact that Leo once told him, that had run away seven times. He hid in the sewers, and ran as fast as he could, from each foster home, even the good ones. Percy wondered why at first. Why in the world would you run away from a loving family. Now he understood. It wasn't about the getting away, it was about running far far away from your problems. It wasn't about how awesome the family was. All it was about was the running. The adrenaline flowing in his veins instead of blood. The air whipping around his neck, and making him feel like he was flying even though his legs burned, and he was gasping for air, and he was still crying.

He stopped for a second, putting a hand over his mouth, trying to muffle the ugly animal noises protruding from his throat . He was suddenly really grateful that there weren't that many people out tonight. Desolate streets lined every block, and he looked upon them with relief.

He just started walking.

Not the kind where you think about where you're going. The kind where you forget that completely, because your feet seem to know, and it would be rude to stop them when they seem in such a hurry.

Percy kept walking, letting his feet drag him wherever they pleased. They finally stopped in front of the music store, pausing momentarily. Music sounded from the store, ringing in his ears. The piano. He thought.