Unexpected Roommates- A Percabeth Fanfiction

Chapter Sixteen

Annabeth's POV:

I stroked Percy's hair as he slept on his bed. I honestly had no clue what to do. One second, he was fine and joking, but after I found him from splitting off to grab things, he was on complete shutdown mode. I recognized what it was immediately, he was having a panic attack, but I couldn't figure out what had caused it. I'd never seen anyone shut down like that to the point of being unable to speak or move, and it hurt me to see him in that state. 

I was glad he was getting rest now, he needed it. I don't know how long I sat with him before finally leaving him to sleep by himself. I hated leaving him, but I thought it might be odd if I sat in bed with him until he woke up. I went to the living room and spent hours trying to work on my laptop, but I couldn't stop thinking about him. I kept checking in, but he was always sound asleep when I walked in. 

It was nearly one in the morning when I heard the scream. I jumped up and rushed to Percy's room. My first thought was that someone had broken in and was harming him. I felt my heart thud against my chest as I ran in to find he was still asleep, but he was obviously having nightmares. His whole body was shaking, and his face was stained with tears. I climbed up next to him and pulled him into me. "Percy, you're okay. Everything is okay. You need to wake up." 

It took a moment for Percy to wake up in my arms, but he didn't stop crying. His head was in my lap, and I could feel his tears soak through my pants. "Shhh... everything is okay. It was all a dream."

I can't say for certain how long he cried, but it felt like eternity watching him struggle. I wanted to try to help him, but I just couldn't figure out how. Eventually he took a shaky deep breath. "A-Annabeth, a-are you okay?" 

I tried not to laugh at how absurd the question was, but my heart ached from seeing him so shattered. "I'm perfectly okay, I promise."

"You're not hurt?" His voice broke as he spoke. 

"No, I'm not hurt at all," I reassured him. I pulled him a little closer and kissed his forehead. "Can you tell me what happened, please?" 

Percy nodded, but didn't speak for a while. "Can we go get some water first?"

I gently pulled him from the bed and brought him into the kitchen. I got him a glass of water and sat next to him at the table. It was hard seeing his face covered in tear stains. I pulled my chair closer to him and rubbed at his face before moving his hair away. "What happened Seaweed Brain?"

He took a deep breath and sat up. "Did you see the man in the store? He was by the milk when you came over to me."

"Yeah, I saw him." I grabbed Percy's hand, and he gripped mine tightly. 

"He used to be my stepdad, and he used to hit me and my mom. He was a mean drunk and took his punches as often as he could." Percy's eyes welled up with tears again before I gently wiped them with my hand. 

"That scar on your back, was it from him?" I asked quietly. 

Percy nodded his head. "The last night before we finally called the cops. He got mad at me when I tried to step in front of my mom, broke a couple of beer bottles on my back before knocking me out. My mom finally got up the guts to call the police, and he was arrested and sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but it's only been ten."

I nodded along with him and pulled him back into me again. He rested his head on my shoulder. "He can't hurt you anymore, I promise."

"I know, but it wasn't me I was worried about," Percy said, pulling away. "My dream, h-he didn't hurt me, he... he hurt you."

I felt my heart drop, he was this upset at the idea of his ex-stepdad harming me. "I'm fine, Seaweed Brain. I'm not hurt, he's not going to hurt you, or your mom, or me ever, okay?"

Percy pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me. "Annabeth, I couldn't ever deal with him hurting you. The idea of losing you, especially to him, I can't handle it."

I made quiet shushing sounds while running my hand up and down his back. "I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to lose me, and no one is going to hurt me."

Percy took a shaky deep breath, but he didn't let me go. We sat like that for a while before Percy reluctantly pulled away, gripping my hand once again. "I'm still pretty tired. Will you stay with me please? We can go to the couch if you're more comfortable with that, but I don't want to let you go."

"No, that's alright. We can go into your room, let's both get ready for bed first though," I answered before going into my room to change into pajamas. I knocked on Percy's door in shorts and his hoodie that I still had. "Come in, Wise Girl." 

Percy was wearing pajama pants with a t-shirt as I walked in. He smiled for the first time in hours as I walked in. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, playing with the stuffed Nemo. "I'm sorry for being a pain tonight." 

"You're not apologizing," I said, sitting next to him on the bed. "You are not allowed to apologize for shutting down over something you definitely deserved to shut down about." 

Percy looked over at me and a small smile still displayed across his lips. "You're incredible you know that?" 

I smiled back. "Not incredible like you." Maybe, it wasn't the right time, and I definitely shouldn't have done it, but I leaned in and pressed a soft kiss on Percy's lips.

He seemed to freeze in shock before bringing his hand to my waist and pulling me closer. His lips moved against mine for a moment before he pulled away. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have..." 

I cut him off by kissing him again. "It's my turn to apologize technically." 

Percy grinned, but then his smile disappeared. "I know it's horrible timing with everything that's happened today, but I don't think I can just do this with you."

I thought my heart had literally stopped beating and felt my face fall. "What do you mean this? Like us?"

"Oh, gods no," Percy replied quickly. He looked up and pushed my chin up with his hand softly. "I like you a lot, like way more than I know how to deal with. So, I can't just pretend that nothing happens when we keep doing this. I know you just broke up with Luke, and you probably don't feel the same way. I'm sorry."

I felt mean for letting out a quiet laugh. "Percy, Luke and I broke up because of you. As awful as it was, I sort of dated Luke with hopes I'd get over you because I thought you weren't interested in me, especially after Jason's party right after we moved in together."

"Quite the opposite," Percy said. "I thought it would be a bad idea to get involved when we lived together. But gods Annabeth, I only really want you, and it's been that way for so long, and I didn't even realize it."

I felt my lips spread into a large smile. "I only want you too, Seaweed Brain." I leaned in again and kissed him. This time there was no hesitation before he began to kiss back, moving his soft lips against mine. When we finally pulled away, he rested his forehead against mine. "Does this mean I get to call you my boyfriend now?"

"Do you want to call me your boyfriend now?" Percy asked back, looking a little anxious as if I was going to surprise him by saying I didn't actually want that. 

"Mmm... I'd like that, but in exchange you have to call me your girlfriend."

Percy laughed and stuck out his hand for a solid handshake. We both laughed and laid back on the bed. I turned to him. "I hate to kill the mood, but I'm exhausted."

"I guess you owe me fries tomorrow then," Percy joked. We both made our way up the bed, and I cuddled into him while he wrapped his arms around me. "Night, Wise Girl."

"Night, Seaweed Brain."