"Luke?" I whispered. "Are you still awake?"

There was a slight rustling sound as he shifted on the leaf littered ground, and then a terse

"Yes."

I bit my lip and looked down. I didn't need this. Not after a week of fright, a week of hunger, and a week of sneaking down monster infested alleyways. A week of clenching terror for my new friends. Most of all, I was exhausted. Having Luke upset at me on top of all that was just too much.

"Look, I- I didn't mean what I said, alright? I just wanted you guys to be, well, safe. That's why I said those things." More quietly, my voice clear and firm, I added, "I didn't mean to call you a coward." There was a small pause. Then,

"Apology accepted"

I winced when I heard that, spoken so icily, his voice hard and wrathful. It was painfully obvious that he had not forgiven me for that incident. I decided to give it one last shot.

"I know you're angry at me, and I can understand that. But I just want you to know I'm sorry." I waited hopefully for an answer. One, two, three……Nothing. I had swallowed my pride to apologize to him, and he was still angry. I sighed and turned away, ready for sleep, as well as the nightmares that came with them. A lonely pit settled in my stomach. For Luke, who had been my best friend, and maybe more, before this fight.

"I know." His quiet muffled voice suddenly pushed through my thoughts.

I froze.

"But we're all stressed. And I didn't want to leave you there fighting all those monsters. I know you're strong, but numbers can overwhelm strength."

"Annabeth needed you a lot more than me at that time," I pointed out. "Luke, she's only seven."

He hesitated.

"I know that too. But she wasn't fighting over a dozen monsters"

"Twelve. There were twelve monsters. That's not over a dozen"

He laughed, but I noticed that even his laugh was tired and worn, full of weariness. "Fine. Exactly one dozen monsters. One more is what makes all the difference, huh? " As he said that though, the wry humor slipped off his face to be replaced by a very serious one. "You could've died" he said, voice solemn.

I shifted uncomfortably, before snapping,

"But I didn't. We're all alive, and that's what matters" His still faced me, eyes not showing a glimpse of laughter.

"But you could have. And that's what worries me. Thalia, do you have any idea of how close you were to dying? Grover could barely save you. And that was only because we stumbled on that herb and-"

At that point, I had to stop this stream of agitations, or I would start screaming at him.

"Luke, are you trying to jinx me?" I was trying to cover my irritation with a joke, while really, really, really trying to be nice to him after snapping at him today. But my patience was draining away. I mean, he was worrying too much about what could've and what should've. I hated that. He didn't think I could take care of myself.

"Look, whatever, I don't care about that. It's late, and honestly, I don't think tomorrow's going to get any easier. Quit worrying about me and go to sleep"

Heaving a dark sigh, he muttered, "Unfortunately."

I smiled a bit. Here was the Luke I knew

"'Night. You get some rest too." Done with that, I immediately rolled over on the ground, dead withered leaves crackling beneath me, and lay there, silent. But I didn't hear any signs of him going to sleep. However, I opted not to say anything. After all, maybe the guy needed a bit of time alone to think.

Moments later, there was still no tell tale snap of leaves telling me he had lain down. Just leave him alone, Thalia. Don't turn around, don't do anything, remember you're asleep, you're supposed to be asleep...

A while later, he still had not gone to sleep. Just when I really was going to get up and start seriously telling him off, I heard a soft whisper float from his mouth:

"I worry about you too Thalia. You're not the only one that's scared" And then he finally settled down into the leaves.

I didn't move, or give any hints that I had heard his soft confession. There was a sort of awareness within me of what he had just said, making me flush slightly red, but overall, I was really too tired to care.

But when I finally did drift into sleep, my dreams weren't full of blood like usual. Instead, they were peaceful and content, full of vague serene thoughts. There was one idea in particular that stood out though, for some reason I couldn't understand. Or maybe I could.

I also kinda liked you...


Although I thought the ending was a bit off from the rest of the story, I really wanted to make a Thalia/Luke story, since they fit so well. Sadly, Luke had to become corrupted, so that's the end of that pairing. *sigh*

Anyway, as always, reviews and flames appreciated. I might make this into a story instead of a one shot about their journey. If anyone wants me to, SAY IT so that I don't spen all my time dithering whether or not I should :)