I'm in love with my Best Friend. A Percabeth Story

Last Chapter- Laughing

I didn't mean to start crying.

When I saw her lying unconscious with her gold hair stained with blood, my heart tore into tiny pieces. My fingers fumbled with my phone as I frantically dialed the emergency number. By the time they finally wheeled her away to get her head stitched up, she was pale from lack of blood. I couldn't deal with the wait. I knew that if I sat there, I would start to cry in front of countless TV cameras who were trying to get a story out of me. So I left for the one place in Miami where I can think: the beach.

I'm not stupid. I knew that she would recognize that something was wrong and come looking for me. So I wasn't surprised when I felt her sit on the sand next to me. When I caught sight of her stormy gray eyes, filled to the brim with emotions that Steven made her feel, I couldn't handle what I saw.

Pain. Physical and emotional pain. Worry for me, when, if I hadn't of gotten involved, she wouldn't of woken up in a gurney today. And the emotion that set off all the pain and misery in me from the past few months: fear.

I couldn't take it. Everything rushed through me at that moment, and I couldn't stop the tears. I bent forward and pressed my head into her stomach, needing the reassurance that she was here... that she was safe... that Steven wouldn't be hurting her anymore... I let it all spill out, and she sat there and let me. She didn't try to stop my crying. She just sat and allowed me to let all of my pain out. Annabeth... I'm so sorry...

After several minutes, my tears finally dried, and I sat up. I kept my eyes fixed on my lap, unable to meet her eyes. We sat there in silence for a while, until she finally broke it.

"Why, Percy? Why do you care who I date?"

I wanted to answer her as honestly as I could. I wanted to do anything to get rid of the wary pain that I heard in her voice. Words spilled out of my mouth without me planning on it, but I found that I meant every word. "You want the truth? I don't know." I stared at my lap, afraid of her reaction. "I don't know why after my life is completely normal for sixteen years, one girl comes along and changes everything. I don't know why after one meeting when we were five, I can trust that girl more than anyone else in the world. I don't know why when she walks into the room, my mind gets so fuzzy that I start thinking that up is down and sturgeons read classic poetry. I don't know why I feel these things... just that I do. I-" I shut my eyes tight, trying to hold back the last sentence. But the words spilled out anyways. "I love you, Annabeth."

Silence. I counted her labored breaths. One... two... three... When I got to fifty-seven, I heard her swallow. Hard. My heart pounded.

I felt her fingers on my chin, lifting it up. I stared into her deep gray eyes, but they were unreadable. Finally, she gave me a small smile. "I love you, too, Seaweed Brain."

Then she kissed me. A real kiss... not like the light-headed one that I got last year. It was even better than I ever could have pictured it. My mind melted through my body. I slid my arms around her waist and pulled her closer, leaning into the kiss. I felt her arms around my neck. Her lips tasted like cherry chap stick.

When we reluctantly pulled back, she rested her cheek on my chest and I held her, running my fingers up and down her spine. The stars seemed to shine more brilliantly than before. Or maybe that was just my imagination...

After what felt like seconds, but was probably several minutes, she pulled back. I brushed a stray lock of gold out of her eyes and tucked it behind her ear. Then I kissed her temple, and muttered something in Italian: I hope you don't mind that I gave your boyfriend a concussion when I kicked him...

She laughed, and my heart soared. "Honestly, Percy," she turned to grin at me, "I couldn't be happier that you did that." She giggled, and continued, "Maybe now he'll take the hint that I'm not interested anymore." Then she turned to face me, and smirked with amusement, "And I'm pretty sure that he's not my boyfriend anymore..."