Percy Jackson- Shots

Another Life

(Okay, I have absolutely NO IDEA why I named this 'Another Life', I just needed a name!! So if you have another name for it, please tell me!!! But I hope that you enjoy this, even though it's long!)

Being the unpopular girl in school, I never cared about boys.
I never cared that no one ever flirted with me.
I never cared that I never got asked out on dates.
I just didn't care.
Until one day a dark-haired boy came up to me at my locker.
"Hey," he said closing my locker door.
I looked up and took a step away from him.
"What?" I asked.
"I'm Percy," he said.
"I know."
He raised his eyebrow. "Well that's pretty creepy to hear considering that I've never talked to you before."
"I know you," I said. "Because you're the biggest jock in school and you're a player."
I turned and started to walk away from Percy, and I heard running footsteps behind me.
"Hey, hey," Percy said.
I turned around. "What?"
"At least let me know your name," he said.
"Annabeth," I said softly. "Annabeth Chase."
I saw Percy smiling, but before he could say anything else, I turned away from him and quickly walked away.
+++
I plopped down under a tree at lunch, like usual, alone.
It never really bothered me that I didn't have friends.
Personally, I preferred to sit alone.
I set down my things and opened up the book I was reading to the page where my bookmark was sticking out.
I had only read two sentences when I felt someone sit down beside me. I lifted my eyes from the page, and through my long eyelashes, I saw a familiar boy with dark hair sitting an inch away from me. He smiled.
"Hi," he said.
I closed my book. "What?" I asked.
"Can you say anything besides 'what'?" He asked, scooting closer to me.
"I can, but I prefer not to talk to people like you."
Percy put a fake offended face on and put his had on his chest. "Well then!"
I guess he expected me to laugh at his little joke, but I just rolled my eyes.
"Why are you here?" I asked.
"Well, it's kind of the law for me to go to school..."
"I mean," I said, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Why are you sitting here with me?"
"I was wondering."
"About what?"
"About why a pretty girl like you is sitting by herself."
I rolled my eyes again and breathed a laugh.
"Sure."
"You don't believe me?" Percy asked.
"With your player reputation, no." I looked at him.
He was smirking slightly. "So," he said.
"So what?"
"Why are you sitting alone?"
"Because I don't have any friends."
Most people would have been embarrassed and sad to say that, but I had no problem. I loved having no friends. I was free to do anything that I wanted without having to make plans with anyone else.
Percy looked at me with a weird look. He sat up a bit straighter. "And you're okay with that?"
I nodded. "Completely."
"Why? Don't you ever get lonely? Bored?" He asked.
I didn't answer right away.
My life was anything but boring.
If only Percy knew.
+++
I screamed as a fist connected with the side of my head. I fell to the ground and a foot kicked me in the gut.
I clutched my stomach.
"Shut up or the neighbours will hear you," my aunt growled at me.
Tears fell out of my eyes.
My aunt stepped on my face. "Now get up. Start making dinner," she hissed.
I heard her footsteps, meaning that she walked away.
"Get up!" My aunt yelled.
I closed my eyes and pressed my palms against the floor, pushing myself up.
I couldn't.
My arms were weak.
Blood was pouring out of my temple.
My stomach was throbbing from the kick.
My cheek was swelling.
I sobbed and managed to make myself stand up.
I cooked dinner (I may have gotten a few drops of blood in it) and put a bit on four plates.
Trying to balance four plates at the same time, I slowly walked to the table where the rest of my family was sitting.
Well, kind of my family.
When I was eight, my mother lost her life to cancer.
My father didn't handle it well at all.
He locked himself in his room twenty-four hours a day, and whenever I tried to talk to him, he would yell at me to shut up and go away.
When I turned nine, my father killed himself. I found him hung in his bedroom, his wrists slit and a puddle of blood on the floor beneath him. The image was still extremely clear in my mind. When the police came, they forced me to live with my mother's abusive sister and her husband. They were my only family. I've been living with them for seven years now.
I blinked away the tears at the thought of my dead parents.
I took a shaky breath and put a plate down in front of my aunt, Kara.
She looked up at me. "What's wrong with you?" There was not even a trace of concern in her voice.
I mumbled, "It's nothing."
She glared at me.
I gave a plate to my uncle, Peter, then a plate each to my two cousins. All four of them started eat and completely ignored me.
I sighed, hot tears forming in my eyes, and started to walk to my room.
I was used to not having dinner.
I spend countless nights without having food of any kind. I walked into my room and pulled a book with a blue cover from underneath my pillow.
The Fault in our Stars was written in a black cloud.
I forced a small smile and opened the book with shaky hands.
I loved reading this book because Hazel reminded me of my mother- a beautiful, strong woman, fighting cancer.
Except Hazel lives.
A single tear rolled down my cheek.
+++
"Hi."
I didn't even bother answering.
I didn't want to talk to Percy.
I didn't want to look at Percy.
And I definitely didn't want him to look at me.
I looked down and let my hair fall so it covered my bruised and scarred face.
Percy moved his head down to try and get a glimpse of my face. "Hey... Is something wrong?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No... I... No, I'm fine."
I closed my locker and started to walk away from Percy.
Unfortunately, he did see me.
"Whoa! What happened to you?" He asked, grabbing my wrist.
I winced and jerked it away-it still hurt from where Kara had hit me the night before.
"I told you, I'm fine," I said through gritted teeth.
"No, you're not." He raised his hand to touch my bruised cheek.
I slapped it away. "Leave me alone," I muttered.
"You're hurt," Percy said. "What happened?"
"I said." I turned to him. "Leave me alone."
"But-" Percy put his hand on my arm.
The sudden image of being punched by my aunt flashed into my head. I felt pain in the exact spot where Percy was touching me. I jerked around and faced Percy, my eyes wide. My hood fell.
Percy looked at my face.
The bruise on my cheek.
The scar on my forehead.
The cut on my temple.
"Oh my god... What happened to you?!" He asked.
"Nothing!" I said. "Just, just leave me alone."
Before I started crying, I turned and ran into the girls' bathroom.
+++
I tried to avoid Percy as much as possible.
I didn't want him to ask questions.
I didn't want to tell him how I got all these bruises.
So before I came out of the bathroom, I put a sweater on to cover the scars on my arms. I brought my hair down over the side of my face so it would cover up the cut on my temple and half of the bruise on my cheek. Finally, I put on my hood again so Percy wouldn't recognize my bright blonde hair.
I walked out of the bathroom with my head down, and almost yelled out when someone grabbed my arm. They pinned it behind my back and shoved me against a wall. My bruised cheek hit the hard surface and I screamed. The person behind me laughed. I couldn't recognize who he was, and I couldn't think why he was doing this. He pressed my arm harder into my back.
"Stop! Leave her alone!" Percy's voice yelled.
The person did not release me- in fact, they put more pressure on my cheek. I screamed for a second, then bit my lip hard.
"Why do you care, Jackson?" The person asked.
I suddenly recognized him as my bully, the boy who had been tormenting me for years.
"Because I-" Percy stopped. I heard his breathing. "Just leave her alone," he finally said.
My bully shoved me against the wall once more, then let me fall to the ground.
A tear spilled out of my eye.
I heard the muffle of footsteps- someone walking away from me and someone walking towards me.
I felt a hand touch my arm and I swung my arm at the person.
"It's me, it's me," Percy said softly.
"G-G-Go away," I said.
"No. I'm not going to do that."
I looked up. I saw his green eyes staring at me. He focused on my cheek. He touched it lightly with his fingertips. Pain shot through my face.
"You idiot," I hissed through gritted teeth. I tried to stand up. Percy clasped my hand in his and gently lifted me up.
"Thank you," I said. "Now leave me alone."
I started to walk away, tears blurring my vision, and pain shooting through my body with every step.
+++
At lunch that day, I didn't go outside and sit under a tree and read. I just stayed inside.
I walked up to the third floor of the school, went to the locker rooms, and sat on the floor beside it. I knew that this area of the school would be empty, because these locker rooms are disgusting and no one ever uses them.
Sitting on the floor, I realized, that this was the first time since my mom died, that I felt... Peaceful. There was no screaming fathers, no abusive relatives, no bullies, and best of all, no Percy.
+++
(A few days later...)
After school, I hid behind a tree at the front of the school. I usually wait behind that tree for half an hour after school ends, so I can peacefully walk home without being seen by bullies.
When I was sitting, I got a text message from Kara. (In case you forgot, Kara is Annabeth's aunt.) It said,
Listen you filthy girl. Your uncle and I are giving you everything that we have. We are giving you a home, clothes and food. And we are not happy with the way that you repay us. Sure, you make dinner every once and a while, boo-hoo. We are not happy with the example that you are setting for your cousins. You're always, crying, and sad, and they even find traces of blood in your room and think that you're a murderer. So listen. Either you fix your attitude, or you get out of my house. I mean it. If I see you acting like you again, you're out.
My eyes were filling with tears. Was she really going to kick me out of her home- the only place that I could live? I glanced over at my backpack. I saw the end of the black stick peeking out.
I smiled faintly.
I picked it out and looked at the razor. There was still some dried blood on it from the last time I cut myself. I tried to wipe it off with my sleeve, so I could start with a clean blade.
Once it was blood-free, I put razor just above my wrist, and swished it from side to side.
Then I touched it to my skin and to the same thing.
It didn't hurt anymore, just the faint stinging.
I almost laughed at the sight of the dark blood.
I lifted the razor up, shook some of the blood off, then cut my skin again.
Now two bleeding lines were left on my wrist.
I wondered how many I could do.
After I cut one more time on the same wrist, and twice on the other, I leaned my head against the tree and smiled.
Cutting was the only thing that made me feel happy.
The only thing that could make me forget about my life.
Forget about my aunt and uncle.
Forget about my cousins.
Forget about my bullies.
Forget about my dead parents...
The image of my mom in the hospital flashed before me.
The image of my mom lying on her death bed.
The image of the long, white bag.
The image of the dark brown coffin.
The image of my dad hanging from a rope.
The image of my dad's broken neck.
The image of my dad's slit wrists.
The image of the puddle of blood.
The long, white bag again.
The dark brown coffin again.
I let my head fall.
I started to cry.
Why do they have to be dead?!
The tears fell onto my wrist and turned the dark blood pink.
I shook the water off and started cutting my right wrist again.
I felt nothing.
"Annabeth!" A voice cried. "What do you think you're doing?! Stop!"
I ignored it. I cut again. Tears poured out of my eyes like the blood poured out of my wrist.
"Annabeth!" The voice yelled again. I pressed the blade harder into my skin.
Suddenly, my razor was yanked out of my hand.
I looked up and, through the tears, I saw Percy crouching beside me.
"Give it back," I said softly.
Percy shook his head. "Why are you doing this? Who's making you do this?"
I just cried harder. My wrists stung. My fingers were going numb.
Percy wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. I pushed myself away.
"What do you think you're doing?" I sobbed.
Percy's cheeks flushed. "Tell me why you're doing this to yourself," he said.
"Why should I tell you?" I tried to control my breathing. I shifted away from him. I wiped my eyes, but that didn't stop me from crying.
"Because I'm worried about you," he said.
"Yeah right," I sobbed.
Percy surprised me by gently grabbing my wrist and pressing his thumb to my cuts to stop the bleeding.
I winced. But Percy didn't take his hand away-he just did the same with my other wrist. I looked up at him. He didn't smile, he didn't frown, his mouth was a straight line and his face was expressionless.
"I am," he said so quietly, that I barely heard him.
I looked down at my bloody wrists. Percy's thumbs were stained with red. I slipped my arms from his grasp and put them by my side. I wiped the blood off with the back of my hands, then tucked my hands into my sweater.
Percy held my razor in his hand. "I'm keeping this."
"Fine," I said. "I have a whole packet at home."
Percy sighed. "Annabeth, promise me that you won't do this to yourself anymore," he said.
I stood up. "As much as I'd love to, Percy, I can't."
+++
"I hope that you weren't cutting last night," Percy said coming up behind me.
"So what if I was?" I snapped back.
"Were you?"
"Yeah."
Percy sighed. "Please don't do it anymore."
"You're not the boss of me."
A week had passed since Percy had caught me cutting for the first time. Every day since, he had been asking whether or not I had been cutting. It was extremely irritating.
"No, I'm not, but I still have the right to tell you not to do it."
"Leave me alone."
But Percy stayed by my side. "No."
"Why do you care so much about what I do to myself?" I asked. I had been thinking that ever since he found out.
Percy hesitated. "Because I don't want you to die."
"Yeah right," I said, turning and looking at him. "You probably can't wait for me to die so you can just move on to another girl."
Percy's eyes grew wide. "You're not planning to kill yourself, right?"
"Maybe I am," I said. I started to walk faster. Percy stayed by my side.
"Can you at least tell me why you're cutting?" He asked. "Why you want to kill yourself."
"I don't want to kill myself," I whispered. "But if I did die, I would have no problem with it."
"But-"
"Now leave me alone."
I turned and walked away, and this time, he did not follow.
+++
The next day, I arrived at school with more cuts, and more injuries from my aunt.
She had whipped me with one of my uncle's leather belts several times. She hit my shoulder with a rolling pin. She came in drunk in the middle of the night and threw a glass vase at my head. I almost got a concussion.
But I did not see Percy all morning.
+++
I leaned against a picnic table behind my school.
I hadn't cut in five days.
My cuts had healed, and my wrist was clean.
Ready to be cut.
I did not have a razor to harm myself, though, because everyday when I brought one, Percy confiscated it.
Who did he think he was? My father?
My heart dropped.
I realized that my father probably wouldn't care either.
I raised my arm and rolled up my sleeve to look at my skin.
I pressed the nail of my thumb against my skin and brought it from side to side.
Soon, I red line was drawn across my wrist.
I smiled to myself.
This was almost like cutting.
I put my fingernail on the skin a below the red line, when I heard someone say, "Freak."
I looked up and saw a girl with red hair standing in front of me. A few other girls stood behind her. She was Rachel Dare, the most popular girl in school.
"What?" I said.
"You heard me," Rachel said. "Freak. Everyone knows that you only cut yourself for attention."
"Oh no, you figured out my plan," I said sarcastically.
"Well, you plan was working, because everyone knows you as the weird girl dating Percy Jackson."
I straightened up. "I'm not dating Percy."
Rachel ignored me. "I bet he doesn't even like you," she said.
"Shut up," I said.
"Oh, by the way, how's you mum and dad?" She asked. Then she put on a fake frown. "Oh wait, you don't have parents, do you?"
I don't remember punching her, but the next thing I knew, I heard a crack of bone. My knuckles had a bit of her blood on them. I broke her nose. I heard her screaming out in pain, then running away into the school.
I wiped my hand on my sweater and looked down.
"Nice punch."
I looked up to see the last person that I wanted to see, walking towards me.
"I really don't want to talk right now, Percy," I said.
But he was standing only a few inches in front of me. "Why not?" He asked, a smirk on his face.
"Because. Go away."
Percy leaned forward like he was going to fall on me, but put his hands on the table behind me, trapping me. I grabbed the table for support.
"Wh-what are you doing?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He leaned a bit closer, so our lips were almost touching. My breaths came out in short pants.
Percy looked at my lips, then into my eyes and smirked. "As much as I'd love to close this gap," he whispered. "I won't if you're uncomfortable."
I didn't answer.
Percy's smile faded.
But just as he started to pull away, my hands curled around his shirt and I captured his lips in mine.
I felt Percy smiling as his opened his mouth a little bit. He put one hand on my hip.
But before anything else could happen, I put my hand on Percy's cheek and pushed him away. He was smiling.
"Sorry," I said quietly, lowering my hand. My face was red.
"Sorry for what?" Percy asked, leaning in once more.
"For kissing-" Percy's lips brushed mine. I pushed him away. "No."
Even though I just rejected him, he was still smiling. His eyes drifted around my face, then down my body. For the first time ever, I felt self-conscious. Percy lifted his gaze again and our eyes locked. His eyes were a startling green, which made me want to stare into them all day.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked.
"Okay."
"Who's doing this to you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Everyday, you come to school with a new bruise of your face, a fresh cut on your forehead. You're always injured. Who's doing it to you?" He raised his hand and put it on the side of my face, his thumb on my temple.
I thought about whether or not I should tell Percy about my abused life. Why should I tell him- we weren't close. Then I realized, we were close. He was the only person who cared about me. He was my friend. I placed my hand gently on top of Percy's.
"It's my aunt," I said with a deep breath. "She's abused me since I was nine years old."
"Oh," Percy said. "Why don't you live with your parents?" Tears filled my eyes. I bit my lip. Percy looked guiltily. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"
"It's fine," I said, blinking away tears. "My parents are dead. My mom had cancer. When she died, my dad became really depressed. He committed suicide a year afterwards. My mom's sister was my only relative in the country, so the police made me live with her."
Percy's hand slipped from under mine and onto my shoulder, then down my arm. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks." I jumped down from the table and wrapped my arms around Percy's body- I was doing it before I could even think. I felt hot tears fall out of my eyes and onto Percy's shoulder. One of Percy's arms wrapped tightly around my waist, while the other brushed through my hair.
"You can't live with your aunt anymore," Percy said once I had calmed down.
"Well what else am I supposed to do?" I asked, my voice soft.
Percy mumbled something that I couldn't understand.
I pulled away and looked at him. "What?" I asked. "I didn't hear that."
"You can stay at my place if you want," he said. "Until you can find a place to live."
I stared at him, my eyes wide.
"What? Seriously?" I asked.
"Only if you want to." Percy was smiling. "My mom will probably be okay with it-she's pretty cool. And she'll understand." I smiled.
Percy said, "Is that a yes?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
Percy studied me for a second, before gently placing his hand on my neck and some of my cheek. I tightened my arms around him.
He pressed his mouth to mine.
And this time, I didn't stop him.