Breathe (Percabeth AU)

XV: The Talk

This is really just... bad. I don't like it but I've left y'all waiting for a month and I feel awful. But I hope you guys like this chapter, thank you for all the support I love you <333

Wednesday, September 26th
5:25pm - Annabeth's bedroom

"Oh my god."

Annabeth suddenly felt woozy. Dropping the shirt, she felt herself slipping away, falling into unconsciousness. She would have fallen to the floor had Percy not stood up and grabbed her just in time.

"Hey, hey, Annabeth?" Her vision was becoming spottier by the second, but she could still hear his voice. It was like she was drifting under water, however. "Annabeth, come on,"

She tried to breathe. She felt Percy's arms wrapping around her. Annabeth found herself leaning into him, her legs turning to jelly.

"Annabeth, open your eyes, come on." She could hear the panic in his voice, although he tried to be gentle. He carefully sat on the bed, Annabeth still leaning into his chest. "Mr. Chase!" Percy yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking.

Annabeth tried to open her eyes, she wanted to. She didn't like making Percy this worried. She wanted to be okay for her baby. She needed to be.

"Mr. Chase! Annabeth's about to faint!"

"What?!" The yell was followed by heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. "Annabeth! Annabeth, come on, you're okay." Her father's voice was comforting. It reminded her of a time when she was younger and she had skinned her knee. She was hysterical, but her father was able to calm her down.

"Percy, go get me water and there should be fruit in the fridge," her father's voice was calmer than Percy's but still worried. There was no response; only footsteps speeding through the house.

"Annabeth, can you hear me? Open your eyes, breathe," he encouraged. She opened her mouth to speak, but she found only a low moan came from her throat. She focused on breathing—in and out, in and out.

"Here's water." Percy was back. Annabeth felt the glass at her lips. She took a sip of the water, and her vision started to clear. "I could only find grapes," Percy said.

"That's fine. Annabeth here, eat some grapes," her father began to feed her the grapes. The sweet, cold fruit tasted good. She kept eating them and found herself coming closer to consciousness, like she was being pulled back down to earth.

"I-I'm okay," she managed. She looked at Percy and her father. Their expressions were grim, colored with worry. They looked relieved to see a bit of color coming back to her face.

"Drink more water," Percy said, handing her the glass. He didn't let go of it, instead letting her hands wrap around his. He was probably afraid she'd drop the glass. She took a few more gulps of the water. She felt better after that.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, staring at her hands.

"For what?" her father asked.

"For making you worry and freaking you out." Percy's panicked voice was suddenly ringing through her head again. She felt guilty. She didn't like concerning the people around her; she was the one who was always strong. Annabeth was usually concerned about her friends and was always there for them. She hated to be a burden.

"You don't have to apologize," Percy said gently. He gave her the most sincere look she had received in a while. It was startling how touched she was by it. "We're here for you, Annabeth. Okay?" He smiled at her. It was four simple words; we're here for you. But they said so much more than that. They said, you're not alone, and you don't always have to hold your head high. It's okay to need people to rely on, and that's exactly what we're here for.