Annabeth tugged her leather jacket on, pulling up the collar and ignoring the now torrential rain as she marched down the gravel driveway, feeling her anger build inside of her like a caged animal. She shouldn't have come, she had known this from the instant they pulled onto this ridiculous driveway lined obnoxiously with cherry trees and hedges cut into swans and bloody parakeets.
But she had persevered, for Percy. Because she actually liked this guy, and despite his outrageously wealthy background, he seemed like a nice person.
Annabeth heard a voice howling through the wind behind her, catching up to her. She stepped up her pace, but her heeled combat boots weren't exactly the best footwear for a fast get away.
"Annabeth!" he called again, catching up to her and drawing her round with a hand on her arm.
She shook him off and glared at him before walking off again with her arms folded tightly around herself. Percy jogged alongside her, rain ruining his jacket and plastering his bangs to his forehead.
"Would you just... Annabeth! Will you listen to me? I'm sorry!"
"Fuck off, Percy."
"Look, those guys are just assholes. I knew I shouldn't have brought you."
She stopped and whirled on him, caged animal lashing at the bars. "Why?! Because you're embarrassed of me?"
Percy looked genuinely shocked. "What? No. Gods, Annabeth. Fuck no. Embarrassed of you? It's them I'm embarrassed by, those little shitty rich boys who think they're the gift to the fucking world."
"Well I was struggling to see the difference between you and them back there. You let them talk to me like I was shit on their shoes. Because of the way I look and because I don't have a fucking trust fund to pay for my two thousand dollar a month apartment in the city. Because I've lived in foster homes since I was seven and I've worked for every single thing I have. But they're better than me- you're better than me- because you were born rich and because you have nice clothes and a nice house and not a tattoo in sight.'
She was panting at the end of her speech and the rain was dripping down her back and plastering what was left of her purple tinted hair. She imagined eyeliner dipping down her cheeks like tears and scrubbed at her cheeks. Percy looked like he was in physical pain, watching her as the rain poured down around them. He stepped forward, hesitantly.
"Annabeth they are not my friends. They're my father's business associates' sons and I hate them with every cell of my being. It took every ounce of self-control not to punch their lights out back there and I think I broke Luke's nose after you left- but that's irrelevant." He ran his hands through his wet hair and stared at her, begging her to listen, to hear him out.
But Annabeth's patience was waning. She had already given him his chance to prove he wasn't the spoiled little rich boy she had taken him to be when they'd first met. He had been doing so well up to tonight. It turned out that it only took half an hour to lose her good opinion.
"I didn't think you'd want me to come rushing to defend you," he said. "You've always been so adamant about fighting your own battles and I thought... I didn't think you'd want me rushing in tonight either."
"Well you should have!"
"Well I'm sorry!" he fired back, his temper rising too now. Annabeth spotted the blood scratched knuckles of his right hand and felt a twinge of something- guilt? No, definitely not. "Next time I'll sweep in and defend your honour!"
"What makes you think there'll be a next time?"
His face was hard as he stepped closer, determination etched into his features. "You're not walking away from me. Not because of this."
Ananbeth shouldn't have found the hard tenor of his voice so attractive in that moment. She pushed that feeling down, pushed it away as the jeering looks from those men returned to her and there was Percy, silent at her side, hands clenched into fists but silent all the same.
"What are you fighting for, Percy?" Her voice was almost drowned out by the relentless rain. "Maybe we should just admit that this isn't gonna work and call it quits while we're both ahead."
He was shaking his head, stepping ever closer and grabbing her by the shoulders. "I'm not ahead, Annabeth. I'm... I-"
She shrugged him off. "We've been on three dates. We're hardly committed."
"Three dates." He was nodding. "And one of those was spent entirely in my bed, if you remember? And this whole thing between us-" he gestured angrily between them. "-has been going on for about a year now." When she still said nothing, Percy's jaw clenched as he glared at her. "What are you so scared of, Annabeth? That you might actually be in a relationship with someone who wants to be with you- who wants to see you every day and be with you and... and love you."
She reeled away from him, but he stepped forward to catch her by the shoulders, drawing her in. Lifting his hands to her face and holding her a breath away. "I'm not saying I love you now, because that's too early- even for me. I'm just saying that there's a future for us and I want you to be brave enough to at least try and not throw it away, for me."
Percy was pressed up against her, separated by layers of dripping wet clothes. He leaned in, kissed the corner of her mouth. "I want you, Annabeth. Please don't walk away from me."
And flickers of this future he spoke about rushed before her eyes and she felt dizzy with it. It terrified her. She pushed it down, away from herself and Percy and their bodies filled with want pressed together in a thunderstorm.
Annabeth kissed him, open-mouthed and desperate, giving in to his hands as they moved under her jacket and pulled her against him completely. She tugged on his hair, letting it slide between her fingers, and sighed into his mouth.
And, her nerves be damned, she let him have her for what she was. She whispered against his mouth, over and over again."I want you."
Because she had never wanted anything more.
--~•|•~--
Super short, I'm sorry. I wanted to update for you guys ^-^
Anyways, how are you guys been? I feel like :/ again, as usual.
So yeah.
Oh, you guys know the person who gave me the Valentine? (If you don't, read AN of previous story). It has been kinda bugging me 'cause I don't know if he likes me •-• I feel like it's such a pathetic thing to think about •-• So I dunno...