I'll be here forever

chapter 40

"Percy?" I asked him.

My head was resting on his shoulder, tucked into the crook of his neck. I was still in his lap, but I'd calmed down enough to form a coherent sentence.

"Hm?" he replied, still braiding my hair lazily.

I hesitated.

"Can you- can you sing something for me?"

He paused, stopping his braiding.

"You want me to... sing something?" he sounded puzzled, and I hoped he couldn't see my face, because it was bright red. I turned and buried my head deeper into the crook of his neck.

"Yeah?" it sounded more like a question than a response. I regretted asking.

"Um... sure. I can- I can do that," he said, sounding confused, but continued his braiding anyways.

And then he started to sing, softly, didn't regret asking anymore. I had wondered how he sounded when he tried to sing, and now I knew, and I couldn't have imagined anything better.

I sighed, and nestled myself further into his arms, if it were possible. I liked being as close as I could to him. It made me feel safe, and cared about.

I couldn't tell you what song he was singing; but the sound of his voice filled the tent, and the image of him in that gods-forsaken river faded, until I could hardly grasp it. Even then I didn't try, so I let it float away from me.

His voice faded to a hum, and he finished the braid, unbraided it, and started it again.

"Thank you," I whispered, feeling his heart beat steadily against me. I still couldn't believe everything that had happened, just over the span of a night. Just one night, one night, and I was happier than I'd been in a year.

"Mhm," he responded.

"Hey, why don't you put a hair tie in? That way I can keep my hair up in a braid today," I asked, and Percy stopped braiding, reaching behind him to pull a hair tie out of a pocket in the backpack.

We'd discovered the extra pockets not long ago, when I'd been searching the backpack for the ambrosia (it had been at the very bottom). The pockets were hidden in it. In one we found two leather corded necklaces, different clay beads on each. I felt a strange pull to the one with a worn college ring on the cord. Still, we'd just left them in there, leaving the mystery for some other time.

The other secret pocket had contained twin daggers, and they were also bronze. They were a lot smaller than the one I constantly carried in my sheath. Percy had insisted that I take them, told me that he preferred to fight with his sword or his hands, and that he probably couldn't use them as well as I could anyways. I always had one strapped to my left arm, ready to pull out if needed; the other one was strapped to my lower right leg, just in case. I didn't use them often, but I figured if something ever hit me in the back of the head and kidnapped me again, taking my more obviously positioned dagger, I could use them.

Our inventory had been changed so many times, at this point I wasn't sure all that was in our backpack. All the money we'd originally gotten had been spent, but the year we'd spent in Cooperstown had replenished it, and we even had our own credit cards; although we still kept a bag of cash on us, just in case. Our bag of drachmas remained untouched, because we had no idea what to do with them. Most of the camping supplies were still in there, and we still used them from time to time, when we felt like staying in the woods and not going out.

The tent was able to keep items inside of it when it folded up, so Percy and I both had little dressers in the corner of the tent, holding all our clothes. We still wore the grey sweatshirts we'd woken up in sometimes, especially when we needed a touch of nostalgia.

The bronze watch of Percy's wrist still told the time well, so we always knew what time it was, but he told me that he wondered if it had another purpose, especially since it appeared to be made of the same bronze our weapons were.

Percy pulled out the hair tie, slipping it around his wrist. He took the braid back up again, starting at the top of my head and French-braiding it down my back.

I often wondered how and where he learned to do these different hairstyles; I certainly didn't know how. I always jerked and pulled the hair between my fingers, but he was always gentle. I liked when he did my hair.

"There," he said proudly, and I felt the braid fall against my back.

I pushed myself back from his shoulder and sat up straighter, reaching my hand up to his face. My fingers brushed along his jaw, and he leaned into my touch, smiling.

I loved his smile. It was lopsided, and his eyes glimmered with something I recognized but couldn't quite place. Gods, I loved him.

Then he leaned down, his lips capturing mine, and he kissed me. I felt them move against mine, something I'd imagined a thousand times. It still wasn't as good as the real thing. I'd never get enough of this, of him.

I don't know what love is, really, because I've never experienced it before this. I'd never had a boyfriend, a girlfriend, never had my mom give me a hug, have my dad tell me he's proud of me, never felt loved, or wanted. Percy was the only one to ever make me feel that way. The only love I've ever experienced is from Percy, not that I'm complaining about it.

Being loved by him is something I can't describe, and wouldn't even if I could. I wanted to keep the feeling all to myself, clutch it tightly, and hope he never makes anyone else feel the way I do.

"I'm so glad I get to do this," Percy murmured against my lips.

"I never wanted anyone but you to," I said back, and then he kissed me again, a smile on his lips, his warm hand against my lower back.

And all I can tell you is that I'm so fucking in love with this boy, it makes me head spin.