Never Be (Percabeth AU)✔️

>23<

Annabeth's POV

I exhaled.

This was it.

I was really about to tell Percy about the worst parts of my life.

Jackson.

Asshole.

The person I started off hating, who was now probably my best friend.

No pressure.

At all.

Yeah right.

Here's goes nothing.

"Well. My mother. She left. A while ago." I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the details I was about to reveal. "I was ten, in the fifth grade. She and my father had been fighting. So they got divorced. My dad was given custody because my mother was ready to just pack up and leave. Leave her life, and family behind. Like it meant nothing. Like we meant nothing." I grabbed my comforter in a fist full, getting angrier the more I thought about how she had just up and left.

Percy stood up from the chair and sat in front of me on my bed. He took my hand, making me let go of the blanket. He rubbed little circles into my hand with his thumb. "It's okay." He soothed. Somehow, I relaxed. My hand in his made me feel a million different things—it felt like fireworks were exploding in my hand. But it also felt warm... safe. I let him hold my hand. I didn't know why, but I didn't want to pull away. It was like I couldn't. I pushed all those feelings away and continued with my story.

"She didn't even say goodbye. I just woke up one morning, and she was gone. I sobbed for days. I didn't get out of bed. I just wanted my mother back. I was only ten, so of course I was scared and worried and I just wanted my mom. But she wasn't coming back. She didn't. I had asked my dad why she had to leave, and he told me that... he told me that she had to go because things had to be that way." I blinked back tears. I was not going to cry. Tears are a sign of weakness. You don't show weakness. Ever. "My dad didn't know, but I could see how distraught he was. Despite the mask that he put on and how hard he had tried to be happy for me, I could tell that he was hurting. That he was scared. And so was I.

"Eventually, I went back to school. The other kids somehow found out, and of course, they made fun of me. All of them, except for one. His name was Charlie. He stuck up for me, against the other kids. He was always nice to me. We became good friends, and we were friends for a while, until... you know what? That's another story." I dodged. I didn't want to tell him about Beckendorf just yet. That one  still hurts. A lot.

"Anyways, my dad found out about what was happening at school, and he sat me down, and we talked. He said that people are going to be mean, and they are going to criticize me. But I can't let their words get to me, because they mean nothing. Words are only powerful if you give them power." I closed my eyes for a minute to breath and compose myself.

Don't cry, Chase. Pull it together.

"It's okay. Take your time, I'm here." Percy said. His voice made everything peaceful. It settled my thoughts—angry, anxious, sad. All of it. I sighed.

"I developed a thick skin from that. But I still blamed everything on myself. I had myself convinced that it was my fault that they split. It was my fault that the kids at school bullied me. It was my fault that no one liked me. I..." I paused, biting my lip. "I hated myself." I whispered. I put my head in my hand, and clenched my jaw. Stop it, Annabeth. Don't cry.

"It's okay to cry, Annabeth. You don't have to bottle everything up anymore." Percy said. With that, the tears fell. Uncontrollably. I couldn't stop it. So much for not showing weakness. Sitting there, in Percy's arms, I sobbed. I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. He pulled me into his lap, and I put my head against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me close. I grabbed his shirt, pulling myself closer to him. Being there, in his arms, felt so good. So safe. Like nothing could hurt me. No one could bother me. And nothing could go wrong. Everything just felt right.

And in that moment, I was too emotional to deny it.

Percy rubbed circles on my back. He kissed the top of my head, whispering things like, 'I'm here' and 'it's okay'. When he kissed the top of my head, nothing felt wrong—even thought we're only friends. There was nothing that made it awkward. It was just... perfect, I guess. It fit with the situation.

After I had stopped crying, I still sat in Percy's arms. I didn't move. I didn't want to. And that scared me.

Since when was I so open to Jackson?

What?

But the moment was so weirdly perfect, I didn't dare ruin it. It felt good. Percy's heartbeat felt reassuring against my shoulder. It made me feel like I wasn't alone.

Alone.

Something I had felt for so long. Even after I had made friends with Hazel, Piper, Jason, and Beckendorf, I still felt alone. Like I was the only one whose life was that fucked up. Yes, my friends came from rough pasts as well, and they had it just as hard—if not harder—than I did. But I still felt like it was just me. That it would always be just me against the rest of the world forever. No matter what I did.

But now, with Percy, in his arms, I didn't feel lonely. I didn't stand alone anymore.

Percy stood with me.

And with everything that I had just admitted, and how vulnerable I was at the moment, I realized—

I have a crush on Percy Jackson.

Shit.

•••

Authors note

AHHAHAHAHAHAHHA