Shattered

Touch

-Fractured c2­-

A/N

Okay guys, thank you sooo much for the wishes in the comments last chapter!

Big apologies for the delay between chapters, but between college and trying to regain my spark for writing, things have been going slow. I truly hope to be able to return to a fairly regular upload schedule, but for now you lovelies are going to have to deal with weekly to bi-weekly uploads.

I hope that isn't too much to ask for :)

Also, one big round of applause for by beta reader, V, because it has been ages since I wrote anything and without him, this story might actually have to be classified as 'unintelligible mess' instead of fanfiction.

[V: He's not joking. Half+ the sentences have been rewritten.]

[This part is for ff.net:] Also, also, one last quick thing; I CANNOT believe how awesome the response has been to the first chapter guys! Nearly a hundred and fifty favorites and over a hundred and sixty follows for a single chapter is more than I have ever received in the over eight years i've been on this site (Yes, I know I'm old, hush. I'm already dealing with turning twenty a week ago.)

~Josh

-Fractured C2-

As the two hunters walked in steady silence through the busy streets of Manhattan, Zoe's thoughts were in a flurry of absolute clarity and a chaotic mess. She was simultaneously thinking a million different thoughts, while at the same time focusing on only one in particular.

He's still holding my hand.

It had started with him dragging her out of Goode. They'd been anxious to get off campus lest they get another round of interrogation from Paul, but now that they were a few blocks away, Zoe was doing all she could to divert her attention from the warm, calloused palm clasping her own.

Percy's fingers were still intertwined with hers.

She strained not to sweat.

Why hasn't he let go yet?

Percy Jackson, playing the oblivious fool he was, hadn't shown the slightest discomfort or attention to her. The son of Poseidon's attention was more focused on the storefronts and getting out of the way of other pedestrians than to notice what was troubling her.

He. Was. Still. Holding. Her. Hand.

She tried to speak up, to break the silence between them, but she couldn't. She was under this state for several blocks - her mind under total panic - fixating on the strange, yet comforting sense of touch.

Her heart was racing. Yet she quite liked it.

She felt safe, like everything was going to be okay as long as Percy never let her go. She didn't want him to let her go and she felt her cheeks warm at the thought.

But then they stopped at an intersection and the boy finally decided to break the silence. "Hey, do you want to go visit my mom? I've got a feeling she's baked up a batch of her cookies."

He had a nervous grin on his face, his green eyes glinting with mirth. And he was still holding her hand.

Zoe blinked, a second passed before realizing she should respond. A soft smile graced her features. "I'm sure you miss her dearly."