A Loophole (Percabeth Selection)

48- "Something Permanent."

The next morning, I woke up earlier than normal.

The sun was only just rising, poking up through the leaves of the trees. Percy's bedroom was dark but light enough to see everything. Birds were chirping outside, waking up their friends with their beautiful melodies. I stood up slowly from the bed, my arms reaching up into the sky as I bent back slightly stretching, my mouth opening wide as I yawned. I moved the curtain away from the front of the window and looked out to see the sky turning from black to purple to pink to blue. I could still see the moon low in the sky. My view was picture perfect, but when I turned back around to the bed, it wasn't.

Percy had half his face squashed against the pillow, his mouth open wide and the fabric underneath it wet from his drool. His hair was all over the place, the blanket pulled down just to his waist, showing off his shirtless-ness, the result of me hastily taking his shirt off last night during our heated make-out session. One leg was out and on top of the blanket, the other bent at an awkward angle. One arm was underneath the pillow and the other had flopped down onto where my head was meant to go as soon as I left the bed. I sighed, smiling as I looked at the boy I'm in love with. How did this even happen?

It started when I realised that he was cute, with a baby face in an adorable twelve-year-old kind of way. And then he grew and he became stronger, his voice became deeper, his face developed new sharp edges. But underneath the handsome yet intimidating features, he was the same loveable, loyal, smart goofball that I grew up with. I thought about what Jason said to me yesterday- that Percy was my over half, my anchor, my soulmate. Maybe that's true.

I want to build something permanent with him.

Our friendship is and always will be permanent, but I want something that has the foundations down into the earth's core, steady and mighty and powerful enough to last the biggest storms. Something so strong that no earthquake, tsunami or hurricane could destroy. Something that would be cracked and covered with dust in many years time, but still standing there, even after the fights and the heated words, even after the jealousy had shone and the broken pieces of a heart lay scattered on the floor. Something permanent.

I can't wait to marry him.

I grabbed the book Sarah gave me, lying forgotten on the ground. I had until later today to finish it, which was most certainly doable. I carefully moved Percy's arm back to where it was before, moved the pillow up against the bed head and got comfortable, cracking open the book with a determination to do well today.

Nearly eleven chapters later Percy started to stir. He groaned and moved his legs, nearly becoming a starfish on the bed. I pulled my legs up to my chest so he could put his legs in my space.

"You right there?" I asked him, flicking his forehead.

He swatted my hand away making unintelligent noises.

"Sometimes I don't understand you," I muttered. "Some mornings you wake up like it's nothing, smiling with no drool on your chin. You just wake up and get out of bed straight away. Other times you groaned and you flop around like a fish out of water. With drool. You-"

"-drool in your sleep. Yes, I know." He finished for me, wiping his chin and patting down his hair. He cracked open one eye, looked at me and then at the book, flashed me a smile then closed his eye again.

I put my bookmark in place. "I wasn't going to say that you know. I was going to tell you that you confuse and delight me."

"Delight?" He asked, his tone getting a little bit too cocky for the morning. "I like the sound of that."

"Don't get too full of yourself. We wouldn't want that ego of yours to burst."

"I think your ego is bigger than mine." He pouted, his eyes still closed, blocking me from seeing their memorising sea-green.