Fatally Flawed - Percabeth (Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter fifteen.

"Where's Sarai?" Percy snapped at his new friend. "I haven't seen her since I got here. I need to talk to her."

"I don't know," Clarisse said quietly. It was weird how different things were between them now. Maybe she was just pitying him, or maybe she actually liked being friends with him. Either way, he appreciated her.

"She'll help me. I think she hates her mom almost as much as I do," Percy growled.

"Go be with Annabeth, Jackson. Trent told me she woke up about thirty minutes ago. I think he was trying to get you to rest, but since you won't do that anyway, go see her. I heard they cleaned the blood off her face."

"He should've told me," he mumbled. He wasn't going to give as much as a goodbye as he started to stumble off to the infirmary. But Clarisse said something that momentarily stopped him.

"Brace yourself, Jackson. It's still brutal."

And it was.

Annabeth's eyes were open when he got there, but it was barely a slit. One was black and blue-apart from the redish tint that was still left behind from the blood-and Percy knew that it was courtesy of Clarisse. He didn't mind, in fact, he was honored Clarisse did that on his behalf. No, what am I thinking? Percy scolded himself. She's still my Annabeth. No one hurts Annabeth. He acted as if the scars weren't there, even though they took him back for a second, because they didn't matter. Those little indentions on her skin wouldn't matter if they worked everything out. As far as Percy was concerned, they made her even more beautiful.

"Percy?" Annabeth croaked out. She sounded so...weak. It broke Percy's heart even more to see her so fragile. He put away his hurt feelings, and he focused on how in love with her he was, and how protective over her he was.

"Yeah," he said. Her face showed the surprise she felt when Percy sat on the edge of her bed and grabbed her hand. "I'm here."

Annabeth stared at him for a minute before speaking. "About West-"

"Who?" Percy cut her off. His eye brows were furrowed in the adorable way that Annabeth's heart had grown to love.

She was dumbfounded. How was she supposed to say this? Just say it. Be blunt, she thought. "The boy you saw me kissing."

"Twice." Percy released her hand so fast that Annabeth felt that it had never been there at all. That it had been a beautiful dream that she imagined only in her mind. But it had happened, and she ruined it, as she always did.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"I saw it while I was in Olympus. I let it go, Annabeth, but now..." he trailed off. He had bags under his eyes that shot worry through Annabeth's entire body. He hadn't slept in who knows how long, and it was because of her. Maybe because he was too upset to sleep, or maybe because he was too worried to sleep.

"When you were talking about seeing me kiss another guy the night of my birthday when you came home, you didn't mean when Jason tried to kiss me, you meant...." Annabeth couldn't finish it. He knew it all along, and he let it go? How could he do that to himself?

"That guy. Yeah," Percy answered grimly.

"That guy has a name, and it's West," Annabeth snapped. Percy's eyes lifted from his lap to look at her incredulously. Why did I get so offensive? she asked herself.

"Huh, that sucks," Percy said, standing up from his seat on her bedside.

"What?" Annabeth dared to ask.

"I thought you were just, I don't know, mad at me. But it looks like you actually care about this guy, don't you?" He was visibly shaking.

"I-I don't know. Percy, you keep leaving and I never know if you'll come back, and-"

"Don't. Don't make up excuses for yourself, because you aren't trying to convince me, you're trying to convince yourself. You're beating yourself, aren't you? It's clawing at you inside, and you're trying to make yourself believe that you had a good reason. Thing is, Wise girl, you didn't." Percy threw words at her, wishing more than anything she could feel just as bad as he did. "And that whole time you were having a fling with this North kid-"

"West!" Annabeth shouted. "His name is West!"

Percy's mouth hung open, and started to back away, never removing his narrowed eyes from hers. "You know what, Annabeth?" he sneered.

She realized how wounded she just made him. She was braced for a hung blow...or so she thought she was. "What?" she asked cautiously.

"You were right," he snapped. "You were completely right. Love is a weakness. You are my weakness, but guess what? I'm done being weak."

"What are you saying, Percy?" she quietly asked.

"You won't be my weakness anymore, because no one can use something I don't love against me." The words tumble out of his mouth before he could think them through, and by that time, it was too late.

Annabeth's eyes were already tear-filled. "You don't mean that."

Percy's breathing was heavy and sharp. "Maybe I don't. But let me tell you something, I've loved you as long as I've known you, and you've never hurt me this bad. Those scars on your face don't even come close to the amount of damage you've done to me, Annabeth. So, let me know when you're ready to love me back. Because as far as I'm concerned, you've never loved me."

"Shut up," Annabeth demanded. "I did love you. I still love you."

"Then you need to redefine love. Because this isn't love, what you're doing to me. This is torture." He looked hard at the fresh cuts on her face, and he suddenly felt bad for the words he was about to stab her with. "Love is what I feel for you, and all that I've done for you, Wise Girl. I turned down Sarai for you, who's gorgeous, by the way. I went to Olympus and started a fight between my father and Hera because I wouldn't marry the girl they wanted me to. I started a fight with my dad and Hera because I wanted to marry you. And then I ran across the world for a week or so, just so that I could come back here to find you."

"Percy," a girl's voice said, and it wasn't Annabeth. "It's not worth it, come on."

Percy turned to see Clarisse watching Annabeth with harsh eyes. No, he thought, she's got to know what she did.

"No, I'm gonna tell her," he snapped at Clarisse, who looked proud of him.

"Tell me what?" Annabeth asked.

"Tell you that I was coming to your cabin that day-" Percy paused thinking, "what was it, four days ago?-to ask you to marry me. Because I was so certain that you loved me just as much as I loved you."

Annabeth opened her mouth to speak, but it came out as a strangled cry. That was it. He broke her. He made her feel so guilty, that she felt as bad as he did.

"I was wrong."

And then he left, pulling Clarisse right behind him.

They were silent until they reached Percy's cabin. That's when Clarisse turned to him with a smile at his front door. "I have a surprise for you inside," she said.

Percy opened the door in a hurry after that, and a wide smile spread across his face. The Cyclops was fiddling with some sort of metal, and when he heard the door open, he looked up.

"Brother!" Tyson squealed.

"Ty," Percy greeted. "It's sure good to see you."

SORRY. I have a plan for this story. I know I'm making Annabeth seem like the bad guy, but it's all part of the plan. SO, I didnt get much feedback on the last chapter, and I'm super bummed! PLEASE PLEASE P L E A S E, give me feedback! :) xx