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Percy was no singer. His boyfriend was. Well, his ex-boyfriend.
Percy could sing, he just didn’t. Not since his ex-stepfather had choked him out and called him names for singing in his room. That kind of non-verbal threat left a mark.
Percy wrote songs for his… for Apollo sometimes. Apollo was going to NYU for vocals and performance arts while Percy was going for education and sports medicine. They dated for about a year when Percy found out about Daphne.
Brown guilty eyes, and little white lies.
Yeah, I played dumb but I always knew.
That you talked to her, maybe did even worse.
I kept quiet so I could keep you.
Percy was looking through Apollo’s photos for a specific one of the two of them eating ice cream outside a candy shop, he wanted to send it to his mom. That’s when Daphne texted, and Percy saw what it said.
And ain’t it funny,
How you ran to her
The second that we called it quits.
When Percy clicked on the seductive text from the beautiful girl, he saw the way Apollo had been talking to her. He confided in her in a way that ha never had with Percy, not in a long time.
And ain’t it funny,
How you said you were friends?
Now it sure as hell don’t look like it.
Percy was writing in his room when he got a text from Apollo.
“Can we talk?”
Percy grimaced. He missed Apollo, and he would have talked to him about it and maybe they could have come to an agreement. But Apollo was vain and selfish. He didn’t even apologize.
You betrayed me,
And I know that you’ll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt. Yeah,
You talked to her when we were together,
Loved you at your worst, but that didn’t matter.
Even when Apollo’s asshole father kicked him out for pursuing music, Percy was there for him. Percy had taken him in and helped him find his confidence.
It took you two weeks
To go off and date her.
Guess you didn’t cheat,
But you’re still a traitor.
Now Apollo was happy with Daphne and his mother was letting him live with her. He didn’t need Percy anymore, and the raven-haired boy was furious, angrily writing the lyrics down and glaring daggers at Apollo’s guitar that still lay in the corner.
Another text came through.
“Please, it’s about us.”
Percy scoffed. “Us” didn’t exist anymore.
Now you bring her around
Just to shut me down,
Show her off like she’s a new trophy.
And I know if you were true
There’s no damn way that you
Could fall in love with somebody that quickly.
Apollo started showing up to Percy’s soccer parties with Daphne on his arm. She was on the ladies’ team so Percy was used to seeing them, but there was no way Apollo had let her into his heart that fast. Growing up with an emotionally distant set of parents made it really hard for him to love.
And ain’t it funny
All the twisted games?
All the questions you used to avoid?
And ain’t it funny
Remember I brought her up
And you told me I was paranoid.
Percy wasn’t a jealous type. He trusted people wholeheartedly. He would do anything for those he loved. It was his fatal flaw. But Daphne made him nervous. She was beautiful, she was in the same major as Apollo, and she was always making passes at him. Percy supposed it was only a matter of time before he fell for them.
You betrayed me,
And I know that you’ll never feel sorry
For the way I hurt, yeah.
You talked to her
When we were together.
Loved you at your worst, but that didn’t matter.
It took you two weeks to go off and date her.
Guess you didn’t cheat, but you’re still a traitor.
Percy was furious, but he was mixing a melody on his laptop that his musical friend, Grover, had helped him come up with. Something raw and emotional.
His phone buzzed again but he didn’t look. He didn’t hear the door creak open over the music and his own voice when he finally started singing.
“ God I wish that you had thought this through
Before I went and fell in love with you.
When she’s sleeping in the bed we made,
Don’t you dare forget about the way
You betrayed me.
Cause I know that you’ll never feel sorry
For the way I’ve hurt, yeah.
You’d talk to her when we were together
You gave me your word,
But that didn’t matter.
It took you two weeks to go off and date her
Guess you didn’t cheat
But you’re still…
You’re still a traitor.”
“Fuck,” Percy sniffled when he finished, but he wrote the words down anyway. If they made him emotional, they were worth writing.
A clearing of someone’s throat alerted him that he had a visitor.
He jerked his head to the door, unsure how he felt about someone hearing him sing.
“You have a beautiful voice, I don’t know why you never sang for me,” his words were quiet, but the bouquet of dahlias (Percy’s favorite) spoke volumes.
“What do you want?” His words came out flat, and he was hunched over his notepad protectively. He didn’t want Apollo getting his hands on this piece of Percy’s heart.
“I wanted to come here and apologize,” Apollo slowly came forward and let the door shut behind him. “I shouldn’t have flirted with Daphne while we were together, and when you broke up with me I was afraid of being alone. But I shouldn’t have gone to her.”
“You’re right. It would have hurt less if you’d started fucking my best friend,” Percy spat, the anger from everything finally bubbling to the surface and clouding his bright personality.
Apollo flinched at the words, but stayed standing where he was.
“I know that you want nothing to do with me right now. The song made your feelings quite clear,” he cleared his throat and loosened his collar in nervousness. “But I’d like to offer my friendship. You know so much about me, and I know you so well. I don’t want to lose you.” Apollo’s words were pretty, but Percy was used to floral poems and beautifully sang verses. A few nice words weren’t going to make him feel better.
“You want to be friends. With me?” Percy stood and put his hands on his hips. “You’re going to have to try harder than that.”
“Well if you want the truth I’d like to woo you and take you on dates and have you back in my bed,” the blond raised an eyebrow. “But groveling and asking for the bare minimum seemed like the best idea.”
“You should have been honest,” Percy cocked his head to the side. “I like you best when you’re telling the truth.”
“Would you consider coming back to me?” Percy hated the glimmer of hope in Apollo’s voice. He hated that he was so easy to cave.
“I’ll consider being your friend, but you’re going to have to work a lot harder than this if you want anything more,” Percy’s words were firm, but he was a weak man when it came to love. And he did love Apollo, but he wasn’t about to forgive him. Not yet.