Talking With Thalia

A dark, frowning figure sat next to me. I looked over to see a fifteen-year-old girl with a pair of black skinny jeans, and a blue short-sleeved Superman shirt on. She had on black Converses and her long, straight black hair ran down her back with ease. She turned to look at me, still frowning, and her startling blue eyes met my clouded sea green eyes. Thalia, Daughter of Zeus, looked at me expectantly.

"Sup?" I asked, trying to lighten the obviously uncomfortable silence. She tucked her knees into her chest, as she turned away from me to stare at the calm ocean waves, at the beach of Camp Half-Blood. She closed her eyes for a long time, and I observed her face. She had a light train of freckles running across her thin, yet sharply detailed nose. Her dark eyelashes were long, and curved slightly upward. She had slim and waxed eyebrows, which emulated the color of her hair.

She shrugged, "I couldn't sleep." I got how she was feeling. The reason why I came out of my cabin was because of the constant nightmares I've been having that made no sense at all. Except the nightmares with Annabeth in them. It hurt me deeply to even think her name. She was kidnapped—not too long ago, and it was only a few days before Thalia was supposed to leave with the hunters on a quest to save both Annabeth and Artemis.

"Nightmares?" I asked her, and she turned to look at me. Her eyes looked strained, like she's been crying for hours or sleep-deprived for days. Probably both. She shook her head, sadly. Her bangs shifted until they clouded her eyes.

"I miss her." She stated after a few long moments of silence. My heart froze. She was talking about Annabeth. I had been so convinced that I was hurting bad because of her kidnapping, but I didn't even stop once to think about how Thalia was taking this. She had practically raised Annabeth for a while, and they were best friends. They had both been through so much together, and it made me feel guilty about thinking I had it the worse. I mean, sure, I had a crush on Annabeth, but Thalia loved her like Annabeth was her own child. So once again, I had nothing on Thalia.

"I do too." I croaked out. It was weak sounding, and I expected her to hit me, but she laughed dryly. It wasn't in a mean way, more of a my-throat-hurts-so-bad-because-I-was-crying-earlier-and-I-know-I-will-probably-start-crying-again-very-soon, way.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, in what was clearly not anger. I was just curious. The waves became a little heavier and lapped against the shoreline, nearly reaching us.

"We're so stupid. All of this is stupid." She answered, picking up a small rock and tossing it into the sea. She was on the verge of tears again, and she bit down hard on her bottom lip. I nervously put one arm around her shoulders, in comfort. She tensed, but soon relaxed again.

"What do you mean, Thals?"

She sighed, "I don't even know anymore, Perce. I come back from the dead, Luke turns out to be a traitor. I finally get used to the thought of fighting him, and Annabeth is kidnapped. It makes me want to kill him. It makes me want to kill everyone." She took another deep breath, "And here that stupid Zoë is, refusing to let you go on the quest. I know Annabeth means a lot to you too, Percy, but no one else really gets that."

"Zoë just doesn't believe in loving or caring for anyone, boy or girl." I added.

She shook her head, "Zoë believes in love, she's just incapable of it. All she can feel is the hurt of some guy betraying her, and she takes it out on every guy she sees. She's a waste of time, so don't pay her any attention, don't show that she's caused you emotional pain. Don't ever give her that satisfaction. It'll tear you to pieces."

I nodded slowly and looked down at my flip-flops. I was wearing nothing but those and a pair of flannel pajama pants. "What are you hiding?"

She smirked, "I really shouldn't tell you that."

.

"I have a right to know." I argued, crossing my arms over my bare chest. She smiled and arched one eyebrow in question.

"Okay," She clicked her tongue, "Annabeth likes you."

"Whaaa….?" I stuttered, my mouth suddenly dry. She laughed at my expression, then her features softened and she was left with nothing but a goofy smile on her face.

"Annabeth. Likes. You." She said much slower, nodding her head along with every word, as if that would help me understand even better. Why would she like me? She was Annabeth. Annabeth was one of the prettiest girls in camp, having to compete with only a few girls in the Aphrodite cabin and Thalia. With her long, curly golden hair, and ashen, clouded eyes, she was a natural beauty.

I eventually came to my senses, enough to talk. "I'm a loser. Why would she like me?" I asked dejectedly.

"Beats me. You are a loser." She grinned and I nudged her playfully with my shoulder before she continued, "But you're a sweet, kind, loving, funny, brave loser."

"Those words don't really go together."

"Ah, they are quite rare." She joked. "But in all seriousness, I see the way she looks at you. She's slightly confused about her feelings, but I know she likes you. Maybe even loves you, but she's not going to admit to it, at least not yet. Give her time, and make sure she knows she will always have a chance."

I smiled, "I don't get you. One day, you hate me and try to hurt me because I ruined the game of capture the flag. The next, you're being a true cousin and giving me advice."

She propped her chin up on her knees and her gaze was sad, "Everyone thinks children of the Big Three are misunderstood. They think we're confusing. Except for Annabeth, no one even makes the smallest effort to understand. None of them know what it feels like to be unwanted mistakes, that play a big part in whether they all die or not."

"Yeah, I get how you feel. Everyone, even Annabeth, treats me like I'm not supposed to be here. The only one that is really there for me is my mom."

She smiled sadly, "Wish I could say the same. My mom made everything about herself. She…used to beat on me, to make herself look bigger and stronger in comparison, I guess. I used to have bruises and marks all over my body."

"I'm sorry." I said with as much sympathy as I could mutter, which was a lot. "I bet it hurt." I added stupidly. She lowered her voice to a mere whisper when she spoke again.

"That isn't what hurt."

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, before she cleared her throat. "So, Luke's a traitor, and Annabeth is kidnapped, and you both like each other, my mother used to beat me. What else did we forget to cover?"

I smiled, "What do you think about Mr. D?"

She grinned wickedly, "Drunken douchebag. I swear if he calls me Tina Goddard one more time, I'm gonna shave all of his arm hair off with a potato peeler, and shove a bottle of Chardonnay down his chubby throat."

"I'd like to see that."