"Thalia Grace, you most certainly aren't going going out tonight." Thalia rolled her eyes as her stepmother waved a dish towel in her face. She put on her leather jacket as her guardian stomped aroun the kitchen, waving a spatula and ranting in about teenagers.
"What about Annabeth?" Hera growled, bustling over to the stove.
"Yeah, what about her?" Thalia said sourly, slipping her headphones on. Her stepmother gave her a severe glare over the pot of boiling water.
"She's in junior high!" Hera marched up to Thalia, even though she stood a head shorter. "What's she going to start thinking, with you going to parties every weekend? And do you have any thought for Jason? He's in preschool, and you're smoking and drinking around him."
Thalia rolled her eyes at Hera's glare.
"Whatever." She turned her iPod on full volume and marched out of the door to the apartment. Thalia strolled down the stairs with Green Day blasting though her ears and pranced out of the lobby, not caring about the disgusted looks she was getting.
Despite the rumours Hera believed, she was not going to a party. Instead, she was going to a group. Her favourite people, and of course, the pet dog. She marched across the street up to the apartment, and up to the room she knew they would be in.
"Knock, knock, miss Nightshade." Thalia whispered sarcastically. She hit her first against the door. A girl a few years older than her opened the door. She put her hand out, and Thalia entered.
"It's time you started to wear silver, like the rest of us." Zoe's eyes flickered over Thalia's all black outfit.
"Black, like my soul." She smirked, tapping at her jacket. "Got a smoke?" Zoe frowned.
"Your soul isn't black, it's red and energetic like you are." Zoe corrected. She dug around in her silver jacket for a minute and let the silence hang heavily over them, before pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. "I don't think Artemis would like you smoking in here."
Thalia clicked on the lighter and let the fire flicker across the cigarette. Zoe watched her nervously, as she blew smoke around the room.
"Well I don't give a damn if Artemis cares or not." Thalia took a long breath. Her friend bit her lip and watched the smoke circle around the fan on the ceiling.
"It's about time you should care, Thalia Grace." Zoe said quietly.
"Do you want me here or not?" Thalia snapped angrily, turning around. Zoe's hands flew out of her pocket and she jumped, nodding vigorously. "Then I don't want to hear my last name!"
"Watch your tongue, Thalia."
"Artemis." Thalia said, letting the cigarette hang loosely in her mouth. "What a pleasure." Artemis raised her eyebrows, stealing a look towards Zoe.
"Someday that rapid moth of yours is going to get you into trouble." Artemis said quietly. The air was tense, and Zoe licked her lips and inched away. "You are brave, and vain. This is my house, I hope you know you don't own the Hunt." Thalia watched Artemis' dog walk stealthily down the hall. Even the familiar animal's presence didn't make her feel better.
Her moth tasted dry, and Artemis was raising one of her well-defined eyebrows at her.
"But, we are a family, Thalia." Her voice turned much kinder, and she put a hand in Thalia's back. "Let's go into the sitting room. The girls in college in the Hunt will be here in a minute. Phoebe isn't going to be here, though. She's in a gang, did you know?"
As Thalia sprawled over the couches, she couldn't help but hear the threat in the last sentence. Zoe lounged on the opposite couch, flicking through the channels on the TV.
"So, Nightshade, where's the Hunt?" Zoe turned her head towards Thalia's voice.
"Mmm." Her eyes moved back towards the screen. "They got sidetracked by a cat in the alley. College girls, stupid and dumb."
"What, they're going to keep the cat?" Thalia almost laughed at the thought of seeing her friends, all dressed in their creepy outfits, fawning over a cat, petting it and whatnot.
"Nah." Zoe said lazily. "They went to put it to sleep. We are called the Hunt, it's obvious. I forgot, you're a newbie."
Thalia gripped her arm, letting her nails pierce her skin. "You kill animals?" She felt her arm bleeding lightly. "What the hell! I thought you guys were just normal friends, even though you're extreme feminists and all." She mumbled the last bit.
Zoe rolled her eyes. "What, going to ditch? Calling the police? Arty won't like that, she can get dangerous."
Thalia felt her stomach turn over. "I'm going." She stood up, pulling on her headphones and leather jacket, shivering slightly in fear. Thalia took her cigarette out and crushed the tip.
"Whatever. I want my lighter back." Zoe said. Thalia tugged the lighter out of her jacket pocket and threw it on to the couch. She turned around and practically ran out the door and down the stairs.
Someone honked at her and she heard a man shout and try to grab her waist. Thalia shoved him off and broke into a real run down the sidewalk, knocking into a tourist. She didn't care, and she ran until she reached the nearest shop.
It was nestled between a sushi bar with dim candles casting a red glow and a barbershop with glaring bright lights a neon sign. It was a cafe of some sort. She saw a girl in an apron taking out a key. Thalia didn't care and threw herself though the door.
It was nice and warm, with lots of tables and cushions. The walls were a dark oak, and the counter with pastries and sandwiches was made of logs. Thalia didn't have a lot of time to admire anything, since the girl in the apron was in her face.
"What the heck?" She yelled in a British accent. "Are you blind, girl? I expect it would be obvious to anyone were closing!" She furiously waved the keys in Thalia's face.
"Katie, get out of the poor girl's face." A voice called front behind the counter. Katie dropped her hand and turned around, to look at the boy. Thalia caught a look at him and she froze. He had windswept hair and drop, green eyes. He was staring intently at the girl in the apron. Thalia turned red, and ran a hand though her spiky hair.
"I know you've had a long day, Katie-Kat." The hot boy said, leaning over the counter. "You go home and bang Travis, I'll serve this chick. Bianca won't mind whipping up and extra meal. I'll close up after."
Katie looked so relieved she dropped the keyes. "Thanks, Percy." She walked forward and started to take off her apron, before turning flustered and fanning her face. "I am not going to bang Travis!" Percy laughed loudly at her pink face.
"Fine, then go make love." Percy reached over the counter and pulled her apron off with a flick of his wrist, leaving her gaping at him. Katie then turned on her heels and swiftly marched out of the cafe.
"Well I'm guessing you need food." Percy leaned over the cash register to talk to Thalia. She blinked and found herself shaking her head. "No?"
Thalia found herself talking to him. "I just got away from something, just needed a place to sit and think." Percy nodded.
"When something happens, some people need to talk about it. Some need to show emotion, and other need to think. Some, though, find comfort in the form of devouring food." He said wisely. Thalia found herself laughing a little at that.
"I don't need to eat, but I could use a small cake, now that you mention it." Thalia pulled out her wallet, fishing out a few dollars.
"If you want, you can talk to me." Percy stated casually, punching in numbers to the register.
"Why? You're a stranger." Thalia pointed out.
"My name is Percy Jackson, I'm in high school." Percy said, taking her money. "There. I'm not a stranger."
"You could still be a murder." Thalia said wisely, walking over to a table.
"I could." He smirked."Take your chances."
"Okay Mr. Serial killer, you can sit with me." Thalia shrugged off her leather jacket and leaned back in her chair. She watched Percy walk over to the kitchen and back, and she found herself staring at his back, or the way his fingers moved carefully to sign the paper.
"I have your cake." He set it down with a fork in front of her, and then he sat in the seat across from her. "What's your name?"
"Thalia." She said, taking a chunk of cake on her fork. She was positive she was turning red as Percy watched her curiously.
"Beautiful name, Thalia." Percy said, testing it out.
"Thanks, I got it for my birthday." She joked. He laughed, a loud and happy laugh, which Thalia though beat any deep laugh Annabeth would tell her sounded cute.
"So tell me your story." Percy said.
"I can't believe I'm going to." Thalia said, swallowing her bite of food and leaning her head on the table. With his eye in her, she started to talk, somehow not caring that she barely knew him, or than Bianca, the girl in th back, might hear her.