Want to know a secret?
Author Note: Hello! Pooffoop1 here with her 3rd PJO fic. My last one, Unnamed Encounter, got a little love, so I'll try again. :D Okay, this takes place a day after Thalia is revived. Okay, enjoy!
A shudder ran up Thalia's spine. She breathed through her lungs, still adjusting to the fact she was human..again. She was used to the fact she was a tree who looked over things and breathed through her roots. But now she had lungs and legs and eyes. She could move and talk. She saw with these electric blue eyes and could make friends.
She remembered waking up with a boy named Percy Jackson holding her. They'd moved her into the Zeus cabin, Hippie Zeus' gaze thankfully of her in the spot she was now. She was so shaken up, she just fell asleep. Now she waking up again, trying to remember how to move.
The adventures she'd had with Annabeth and Luke replayed in her mind. Oh, Luke…why had he poisoned her? Didn't he care? She had heard what had happened by the campers, and..well, she was depressed. Her leaves wilted, and she just wasn't as full of life as she had been before.
The poisoning..it just killed her. Like, quite literally.
She felt herself passing through as Annabeth stood guard. Her spirit was molded into her human body, and blackness came over her. And the rest was history.
She marveled at all the colors through her window. The world was of blues, greens, yellows, browns…it felt good to see other campers having fun. They'd never been deprived of being human, unlike her. It was to save Annabeth and Luke, but Luke was now evil. Would Annabeth be next?
Gosh, Annabeth had sure grown up. From what she saw in her human eyes, she had pretty blonde hair to her shoulders and the same beautiful grays. As her time as a tree, Annabeth was growing smarter and smarter as well as taller and prettier. She now wore a little make-up and earrings.
But Luke…
Her vison went blurry. She reached up slowly with her hand to feel water going down her cheek. Rain? No. A tear.
Not too surprising. After being with Luke and now…the thought pained her greatly. She let the tears run down her face and fall onto her sheets and black shirt color. She knew who she was and that she was human. Soon she'd be back to normal. But emotional and physical toll of losing Luke and being human again…she had to recover.
She noticed a shadowy figure at her door. Wiping her tears slowly, she closed her eyes. The door opened with a creak, and footsteps were heard to her bed. She felt a hand wipe away a stray tear as she tried to stop.
"Thalia?" a voice asked softly, gently shaking her.
She opened up her eyes to see sea green eyes looking into her own. Black hair was tangled slightly, and he was tall, skinny, and pretty handsome to her. Percy Jackson.
"Hm," she was still working on her voice.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, seeming concerned.
"Yes," she replied, "guess it wasn't a dream, huh?"
"No," he gave her a small smile, "glad to human again?"
'I guess," the teenager moved her shoulders into a shrug, "I mean, I'm still getting used to this body. I'm moving for the first time in a while, and my voice…wow. So..this is Camp Half Blood? The place I didn't quite make it to?"
"Yeah," Percy nodded, "would you like a tour?"
Thalia nodded, interested to see how it looked. With a bit of effort, she swung her legs off the bed. On unsteady feet, she got up to stand. When she stumbled, Percy was quick to catch her. Her cheeks suddenly becoming warm, she got her balance back.
Leaves crunched under her black boots as they walked. It felt good to use her legs again, to move, to breath the late fall air. Being a human meant freedom and being able to make your own choices. Humans decided what happened to trees. Like Luke poisoning her when she was still one.
Traitor, traitor, traitor…That word echoed her mind.
She tried to ignore it. Luke wasn't a traitor..was he? Surely something had happened to him to make him so evil…so heartless. She didn't know the whole story yet. But she wanted to badly. She'd ask Annabeth later. This Percy guy…he didn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer.
"Any questions?" his voice brought her back to Earth. They were what looked like to be an Archery.
"No," she shook her hair, thus feeling muscles pop and relax, getting rid of the stiffness.
"Okay, so this is.." he went back to explaining.
Thalia listened, interested in all this. As they walked, though, people looked at her, whispering and pointing. She felt really low as she walked. She didn't belong here. She should still be a tree. Or better yet, a sixteen year old who'd never turned into an overgrown plant.
But her giving her life for her friends made her a bit of an outcast. Well, now her friend.
She blinked, trying to throw out that thought. Luke was still her friend…was he not? They had been since the moment they met. Before she was turned into a plant, she'd even had a small crush on him. But now what? It depended on when she knew the story.
"Thalia? Hello, Earth to Thalia!"
She snapped to attention. They were now near the woods, and Percy was looking at her with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Yeah," she lied, "now, these are the woods?"
"What's wrong?"
She sighed, which surprised her. She certainly hadn't done that in a while.
This Percy guy was a lot like her in the knowing something was wrong. Stubborn as all get out. Suddenly, a memory flashed back to her in full color and sound.
"Knock, knock," Luke smiled at Thalia. The two were walking along, side by side, with Annabeth behind them.
"Who's there?" she asked with a grin.
"I am!" the two busted up, even though it was pretty horrible.
Suddenly, Thalia noticed something. Annabeth hadn't been talking since that past night.
"Annabeth, are you okay?" she asked.
The seven year old looked up and nodded silently.
"Okay, then smile." The preteen challenged.
Annabeth tried, but she started to cry. The two got on her level, right there in the middle of the sidewalk.
"What happened?" she asked.
"I'm scared," the child whimpered, "we almost all died yesterday with that boar."
"Annabeth, we're a family," Luke embraced her, "and we're going to be fine. We're all going to be safe, and nothing's going to happen to you."
"But you guys.." she choked in tears.
"Don't worry about us," Thalia wiped her tears, "we're okay, and so are you. We're going to be fine. All three of us. We're a team, remember?"
"I guess," Annabeth wrapped her arms around the two's necks, promptly falling asleep.
Luke picked her up and carried her on his back. Once in the woods, Thalia took the child and covered her up in their hut with blankets and coats they 'borrowed.' The two best friends sat outside, despite the coldness, and talked.
"We're all she's got now," Luke commented.
"I know," Thalia agreed, "she's had a rough life."
"But we're still a family," Luke noticed the sadness on her face, "right? We won't fail her like our old families did."
"Right," the preteen recalled Jason.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, just tired,"
"Hey, you can tell me anything," Luke took her cold hand in his warm one.
The two curled up next to each other to sleep. Thalia felt secure with him around. But something told her to not tell them about Jason.
For some reason, that just seemed like a thing to never speak of.
"Thalia!"
"Huh?" she saw she'd walked toward a tree. She now stared at it's bark, tears going down her face.
"Look, you seem tired," he took her hand, "let's get you back to your cabin."
She noticed how his hand felt just like Luke's. He seemed like a nice guy. She looked forward to bonding with him. After all, he looked like someone who would be a great friend…even if he was bull-headed.
Back at Cabin One, she laid in her bed once more. Percy tucked the sheets in around her before starting to leave.
"Percy?" she muttered.
"Yeah?" he walked back to her.
"Do you want to know a secret?"
Though he looked a bit surprised, he nodded.
"Before I was a tree," she just felt the need to tell him, "Luke and I were best friends, as you know. And before Annabeth came along, we were in a dating process. But when she came, we decided to just be friends."
"Wow," he blinked, "I didn't know you cared so much about him."
"I know," a tear went down her face. Blasted things.
She slowly rolled onto her right side and lifted up her shirt a little. A little hart tattoo was on her side, a few inches under her left rib. It was red, and in gold letters were the intails T and L. Percy gaped at it.
"I can't remove it," she sighed, "I know about Luke turning evil."
He looked like he wanted to tell her the story, but she was glad he didn't. This was something she wished Annabeth would tell her.
"I need to you, okay?" he started out as she pulled down her shirt.
"If you tell anybody…" she warned him.
"I'm not!" he crossed his heart, "rest well, okay?"
"Totally," she decided he was her friend, "want to grab a snack later on?"
"Sure," he smiled, leaving.
Leaning back, she closed her eyes. This Percy guy was really cool. Just like she was recovering to be back to. In some ways, he was like Luke when he was good. A small smile played on her lips as another flashback played.
"So..now what?" Thalia asked as her and Luke strolled into another town.
"Let's get a bit to eat," he suggested.
As they ate hamburgers, she kept looking into his eyes. He nice and handsome..
Nothing else mattered when she kissed him and he kissed back. Once they pulled away, Luke grinned.
"That was epic," he smiled, "but I don't think I was eating a pickle." He pulled one out of his mouth, and Thalia blushed red.
"Come on, Lukie," she stood, "let's go celebrate with a shake."
She was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. Besides, it seemed as though Annabeth liked Percy. But friends would work too. Just like with her becoming Luke's brief girlfriend, their friendship started over something innocent and simple:
Her telling him a secret.
Author Note: Maybe not my best ending, but see the review button below? It needs to be pressed. :D