We'll Be Alright:

"You're alright, Percy," I murmured comfortingly for what seemed the fiftieth time that day. I watched his frustrated figure sprint back down to his cabin. "We're okay." I wasn't entirely certain why I had decided to tell him this time and time again; it obviously didn't fix the overwhelming emotions rushing through my boyfriend's (was he ever really that anymore? The last time they kissed was months ago) head. The anxiety still stirred within him, and everyone at camp could hear him screaming in terror at the demons that stalked him, lurking in the shadows before drowning him inside his own shattered mind.

I had tried to rip him out of memories that haunted him still, despite the years that were quickly passing. My hope wavered, but I never lost hope. I would never stop until the Percy (brave, kind, loyal, Seaweed Brain) I once knew was returned to me. He was in there. Merely lost. I still could see his flickers of warmth that rarely gathered in his darkened green eyes. He was just...sick. In the mind. Trapped and alone in the maze that surrounded his thoughts, impenetrable by anyone but himself. And as a physical disorder should be treated with respect, so should one that consisted of the brain. It was difficult, though, not to lose my temper when he became that one person I had come to detest. The man that appeared after the reminiscing of Tartarus had enclosed upon him was not Percy Jackson. That man had enraged eyes, filled with such a burning hatred that burned intensely. That man laughed at sadness. That man enjoyed inflicting pain on me, attempting to break a bone every time that monster reared his ugly head.

I wasn't afraid. Percy was still in there. I couldn't be frightened of a darker side, or I would never see my Percy ever again.

I stood patiently near Thalia's tree, occasionally checking my watch, but not really worrying about where we needed to go or be. The wind swept through my hair, and the sunlight was warm and golden, the usual for camp. I couldn't help but lavish in the happy memories that came with the view of camp; I could still make out back when we were nothing but twelve. Percy jogged up to me soon after, raven hair a wind-blown mess. His eyes were a little brighter, his exhaustion a little less, and a small ghost of a smile was twitching at his lips. I didn't know how long this Percy would be here. He was kind, gentle, but hesitant and ginger. This Percy didn't drop in sarcastic comments, and was as frail as a broken mirror.

He tugged on his bag, the anxiety clear on his face. His teeth suddenly grit, and his eyebrows drew sharply together. "I think this is everything."

I smiled back at him, placing a hand near the nape of his neck, brushing the soft skin that surrounded it. I pretended to ignore the scar that was stretched from the tip of his neck down to the middle of his back. I felt him relax ever-so-slightly under my touch. His skin tone was pale as moon, red slashes weaving their way up and down his body.

"You're alright," I repeated. He was going to crumble soon. There was no telling when. It happened every day, whether it be in buckets of tears or a raging fire of scalding anger. He just got confused sometimes. Mistook people for monsters; once mistook me for Luke. It just happened, no matter how ridiculous it sounded or seemed. He no longer could sleep with a light off, nor could Percy dare to get into combat just yet.

He straightened a little, green eyes appearing to swim with something a little more than just agony.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I made you late."

I shook my head, blonde curls brushing against my thinner cheekbones. "Not at all. I don't mind waiting for you."

Percy's lips upturned a little further, that sliver becoming more and more prominent.

They walked together past the borders, and Annabeth brushed away the nervous pulsing of her heart that rang in rhythm with the thoughts blaring inside her mind; I'mokayI'mokayI'mokayIhavetobeokayforhim.

I slept dreamlessly through the night.

I had needed a good rest. I often slept with Percy throughout the nightmare ridden nights, but Chiron had refused this time. Yesterday, in the brink of night, Percy had attempted to strangle me to death. I had managed to shrug his life-threatening grip off and locked myself in the bathroom. It was a frightening experience. The door trembled furiously as he had banged against it, the wood cracking with the strength that slammed repeatedly against it. After the pounding had ceased and an eerie silence took over the cabin, I had unwrapped myself from the fetal position I had curled into, I came out to find Percy sobbing hysterically and apologizing profusely. Even after whispered promises, Chiron had still deemed it too dangerous. There were still dark fingerprints wrapped around my flesh, and newer campers had stared in shock. The swelling was going down, but it still looked as though I was wearing a necklace of black and blue.

Because of how tired I was, I didn't argue with Chiron. Percy had smiled at me half-heartedly in a way to tell me it's fine, but I had insisted on taking him to bed. I gave him the strongest sleeping pill I had ever came across, then kissed his cut up forehead gently.

And hours later, the screams had began.

It had taken me longer to stir, and by then, every cabin's lights were on. I had dashed out, hair uncombed, nightgown fluttering behind me like a cape, not even bothering to slide on shoes. I had sprinted past curious campers, my feet burning with pain every time I stepped on a jagged rock or overturned branch. I flung open the door in desperation, and in all the havoc, forgotten to announce to my siblings where I had been, something that had been required after I had received multiple broken bones.

He was thrashing in his bed, face masked with something even worse than pure fear, moaning and shrieking loudly. Words were entangled in his gasps and high-pitched rasps, but they were too incoherent to understand. I climbed onto his bed, His heart raced at such a rapid rate, he might have choked on his own blood. His throat constricted. An aching scream assembled within the hollows of his chest, threatening to make its escape into the outside world.

Eventually, as I always had to do, my hand arched back and struck him roughly across the side of his cheek. I didn't enjoy hurting him, but the stinging pain was the only thing that had ever managed to stir him from these dreams. His eyes flashed open, practically black. Before he could open his mouth and say something, I trapped him into a tight embrace, trying to shield him (though fruitlessly) as demons threatened to overtake his mind completely.

"I'm sorry," he sobbed out, voice ringing with a clear sense of misery.

I whispered near his ear, the sound of his cries nearly breaking me down completely. "You're alright." My fingers traced patterns onto the back of his neck, where the longest wound had been created, murmuring words of breathless encouragement. I often found myself wishing that I could simply cast a spell to erase all his troubles, but that didn't seem to happen. Even Apollo himself had tried to fix his shattered mind, and while he healed him physically, his powers even couldn't reach into the deepest, darkest corners of Percy's being.

"Annabeth," he choked out, pulling me tighter into his arms. His salty tears soaked into my shirt, leaving damp marks along my collar bone. His skin was feverishly hot, even warmer than the pang of water that slipped down his white cheeks.

"You're alright. We're alright."
Sometimes, in my most hopeless moments, I found myself wondering why I even bothered. Why I even bothered to stay night after night with him. Why I allowed him to hit me and maim me with cruel words about how it should've been me. The answer was simple. It was just something I did for a person that I loved.

And by the gods, I loved Percy Jackson.

So I stayed the night until the sun had arisen on the peak of the lake. And I did for the next night. And the next. And the next. And the next. I stayed until the days that quickly transformed to months all blurred together in something that was untraceable. And then I stayed again.

I watched mutely as his heart pumped as such a tremendous race he might've spat up blood. I watched silently as his throat constricted. I watched, without saying a word, as a cry of rage burst from his throat, the scream that had been aching in the hollows of his chest finally releasing.

Monsters sprinted around, Roman and Greek demigods back to back, preparing for the battle that was shortly to befall.

"You're alright, Percy." He finally looked down at my slump body. My vision was blurring, metallic blood dripping down at the corner of my bitten lip. His green eyes were finally alive, but livid, shocked and terrified. More horrified than I had ever seen my best friend (my partner, my boyfriend, my other half) in all the years enclosed around his sorrowful life. He collapsed to the ground next to me, not bothering to fight back the tears that were welling up in his sea green eyes. His messy flop of dark hair hung over his face, hiding his expression from me. I coughed. He blinked, then lifted me up like I was as delicate as glass, cradling my wounded body tightly to his chest.

"You're alright, Percy."

He didn't seem to care about the sanity that he always threatened to lose.

He crushed my bloodied form tighter to himself, like he could mold me into his body, hiding me from harms way.

"You're alright, Percy."

"Is that all you can say?" he demanded angrily. Not angry at me, but the spear that had implanted itself into my stomach. Angry at himself for allowing me to slip through the cracks of his fingertips. "Annabeth, please." His voice was pleading as tears glistened in his eyes, sliding shamelessly down his gaunt cheeks. My crimson hand reached up to stroke the nape of his neck. His green eyes seemed bright again. Filled. Almost like he had just taken a blink of clarity for the first time. "Annabeth?"

"We'll be alright."

A/N: So this was really bad. I wrote it really quickly during computer class in school. Since I sit in the farthest back, nobody noticed. I'm such a rebel. ;) I forgot to post it then, so I'm gonna post it now. Forgive its sucky-ness. I probably won't post any new chapters for my stories this week because school has been really busy and I haven't had the time.

Where's Finnick?

ODAIR he is.

Ah, puns.