Glass
Percy Jackson felt like glass.
A beautiful piece, clear and marvellous, but a low tolerance to pain.
A useless beauty.
Even so, he kept himself together from the start.
He didn't crack under the pressure of the Gods, nor when his mother was taken away from him. He didn't drop when his best friend was kidnapped,or fall under the weight of the sky. He didn't lose himself in the endless maze of insanity, and he didn't break when his family sacrificed their emerald souls for the world.
He. Didn't. Crack.
But nothing lasts forever, not any form of beauty of power, and that was the truth he couldn't deny. He couldn't keep his facade forever.
And so he developed a small scratch, so hardly noticeable, when Hera ripped him from his home. The little scar got deeper when he sent his girlfriend off on a death quest,
But it was only a crack.
He never cursed the Gods for the torture he had been through, for he'd been granted a beautiful diamond who anchored him to the real world.
But now they tried to take her away too.
A small piece, quite insignificant, chipped off as he held onto the ledge that led to Tartarus. A single tear shed when he realised how cruel the fates were.
Another piece detached as he let go of the ledge.
Tartarus. He was in literal Hell.
This was the point where anyone, even a god, would have to break. But he kept it together, for her.
More accurately, she kept him together.
Now a clear piece of glass, no longer innocent and pure, was covered in crevices all over, and it was a miracle it didn't collapse.
This miracle was Annabeth.
All through the giant war, Annabeth was what kept him going. She was the last piece of glue that saved him from insanity.
It was almost over. The final battle had people in blood and tears, but he didn't let his emotions rule him. If they took over, he doubted he would be able to control himself.
Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth. Annabeth.
So close...Almost
A scream tore through the battlefield, and it took him less than a second to register it.
Annabeth ,covered in blood, a knife is her stomach. His Annabeth, The love of his life, lying lifeless.
He vaguely heard Jason and Piper screaming in the background, but all those voices drowned.
All he could think of was her. Her dead body. Pale skin, glassy eyes.
And he couldn't hold it now.
Percy Jackson broke.