29 The Closet

Annabeth POV

"Wise Girl, what are we doing?" Percy asked as the door closed behind him.

The janitor's closet was crowded with different materials. There were cleaning supplies, school materials, and even a few desks crowded the small, dusty closet.

I looked at Percy. He honestly looked very sick. I've never actually seen him looking so ill, especially when he was outside of his home.

"We're doing this," I whispered before crashing into him.

Our lips connected as Percy's back hit the wall with a soft thud. My arms wrapped around his neck and went into his hair. His hands scurried around my waist in hunger. The skin against my waist, hips, and stomach burned with heat under his bare touch.

Percy lifted me up slightly and pushed forward. This time, I was against the wall as Percy pressed into me. This was probably the closest proximity that we've ever shared.

"Wise Girl," he whispered sensually as his lips trailed down my jaw and onto my neck. Percy was a really good kisser (probably out of experience).

My head leaned up as I moaned in ecstasy.

Honestly, I was ready to do this with Percy. I trusted him completely. Plus, Percy was the kindest, loyalist, and most forgiving person in my life. He's done so much for me.

His lips met mine again as the passion and intensity increased.

How that was even possible was beyond me.

As we kissed, my hands fumbled with his sweatshirt as I tried to get it off.

"Mmm, Annabeth," he slurred between kisses.

"Wise Girl, no, no, stop," he said as all actions between us paused. My eyes opened to stare back at his sparkling sea-green orbs. My hands were under his shirt. I could feel the muscles of his abdomen moving to the rhythm of his heart and lungs.

"We can't, not here," he whispered.

"Why not? Seaweed Brain, I'm ready for this, and I can help you right now," I said firmly.

Percy huffed in a deep breath as he stepped away from me. His hands brushed through his hair as he maintained his distance from me.

I felt a little hurt, honestly, that he didn't want this.

Percy was a player before, so he slept around with random girls before. His cancer further emphasized his desire. Yet, here he was not wanting to have sex with me.

That certainly stabbed deep.

Percy noticed the hurt in my face. I couldn't really hide it.

"Annabeth, I-"

"It's fine, Percy. Let's just go back to the cafeteria," I said as I started making my way to the door.

Percy's body blocked me though, especially since we were trapped in a small room. His hand grabbed my wrist as he pulled me close to him. Our eyes locked into an intense gaze.

"Wise Girl, our first time shouldn't be here (in the freaking janitor's closet) while I'm sick. Trust me, no one wants this more than I do," Percy said earnestly.

Gods, Percy was so sweet. All the hurt simply melted away.

My hands went around his neck again as I kissed him.

"Seaweed Brain, it's the person that makes it special and worthy, not the location or anything," I said quietly.

Our breaths were mixing in the small space separating us.

"Wise Girl, you are special, but it's so much more than sex with you. Annabeth, you're everything, and it's not just about the sexual experiences between us. I know I have cancer and sex helps me, but that's such a small part of how I truly feel about you," he explained.

I simply stared at him. He was foolish for thinking that I didn't know that.

My hand brushed his cheek. "I know that, Percy."

"When the time's right, trust me, there won't be anything stopping me from having you," Percy said with a genuine smile and smirk.

"Yeah, I bet," I said knowingly with a smile. "I love you, Seaweed Brain."

His eyes sparkled with love and passion as he planted a gentle kiss on my lips.

"I love you, too."

***

Percy was feeling a lot better, so we made our way back to the cafeteria. It still shocked me how much sexual experiences helped Percy will pain relief and side effect alleviation. It actually brought tears to my eyes that he rejected sex for me during our deal.

My conversation with Thalia was interrupted by a phone call.

"Hey, dad," I acknowledged into the phone.

"Hi, honey, is everything all right at school?" he asked with concern.

Just a few months ago, my father probably wouldn't have even known that the school was locked down for the night. Now, he was present enough to call me and check on me. I was so grateful that my dad was more involved with his family.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad. We're just hanging out in the cafeteria. Are you stuck at work?" I asked.

"No, Annabeth, I'm at home. Luckily, Matthew and Bobby had stayed home from school today. I'm pretty sure they would've freaked out if they were stuck at school," he said chuckling.

I laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like the boys."

After telling my dad once more that I was okay, I hung up the phone with satisfaction.

While staying at the school wasn't that bad, there wasn't much to do. Everyone in the grade was with their respective friend groups. We were conversing and playing games.

The snow didn't stop throughout the evening, but fortunately, the power didn't go out. My rather large friend group migrated to the floor. It was safe to say that we were all sleep-deprived. It was hard to sleep on the floor.

Regardless, Percy did fall asleep.

He was sleeping on his stomach while using my thighs as a pillow. The back of his head was buried into my stomach comfortably. His one arm was wrapped around my waist.

"You both are so cute," Piper said with a smile.

I sighed. "Percy just fell asleep, Piper. He's really tired, being in the middle of his chemo cycle and all."

"Yeah, I get it," she paused. "But still, you're both so cute together. See, you're even brushing his hair," Piper squealed.

I hadn't even realized that my fingers were instinctually in his hair.

"You know that everyone thinks you both are together," Piper said.

"Yup, that's true," Hazel confirmed.

"Well, while we haven't officialized it, we basically are together," I said firmly.

"I understand Percy's hesitation, though. It must be hard to be living with cancer and letting people in when the future is uncertain," Hazel said. Piper nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it's very hard, but I don't really care. I still want to be with Percy," I said as my hand continued to play with his silky raven-black hair.

Piper and Hazel were both smiling brightly.

I did hear Piper mutter a sentence under her breath: Percabeth is goals.

I simply rolled my eyes.

***

The weather got much better in the next few days, so the snow melted away rather quickly. Percy's chemo cycle continued after a delay, but now it was over. March was slowly coming to an end, but it was a nice month (spending time with my friends and Percy).

He was having a mandatory check-up with Dr. Solace today, and I was curious about the results.

"Annabeth, stop worrying. He said he'd call us when he's done," Thalia said.

"I know, I know," I said. I couldn't help but think about what was happening with Percy's bone cancer. Dr. Solace said that she would be sharing the progress of the cancer and the future treatment plan today.

"Here, Annie, why don't you distract yourself by coloring the poster?" she said.

We were working on our biology project. We had to make a poster of one organ system, and we received the circulatory system. We needed to draw a lot of red and blue to match the heart and blood vessels of the body.

"You just want me to do all the work," I chastised.

"Oh, Annie, you know me so well," Thalia said with a smirk.

I shook my head disapproving (but with a smile) as we continued to work on our project. Thalia could always make me feel better.

"Are you mad that Percy asked Grover to go with him over you?" Thalia asked.

"I was mad for sure, but I honestly get it," I asked. "He knows that I would've asked a billion questions and just stressed out. Grover is more comfortable with all of the medical stuff, considering his experience with Percy over the years."

"Yeah, plus, Grover generally stays out of the way. He's less distracting," Thalia said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked in surprise.

"If you went with Percy, he would've had a hard to concentrating on the doctor because his eyes and conversation would be on/with you," Thalia said laughing.

"Shut up, Thals," I said chuckling.

We continued to laugh and talk for a while before going to the kitchen to get some food. Jason seemed to have the same idea because he was sitting at the kitchen island with a bag of chips.

"Hey, guys, do you both finished your project?" he asked.

"Yup, now for some food," Thalia said as she snatched the chips.

"Do you hear anything?"

"No, not yet. Percy's probably not done yet," I replied.

Percy told us that his appointment would be over by 6:30. However, it was already nearing 7. He should be done by now.

Just as I was thinking about that, my phone rang loudly. Thalia and Jason immediately turned towards me as I answered the phone.

"Seaweed Brain," I acknowledged.

"Hey, Wise Girl. I, uh, I have some news," Percy said seriously.