Thalia Grace

My eyes flutter open, catching the view of the sky and the lake. We had fallen asleep star gazing. My head was on Luke's chest and he had his left arm wrapped around me, resting his left hand on my shoulder. My left hand was resting by my head and Luke's right hand was on top of it.

I look up at him, careful not to disturb him. He stirs and I place my head back down on his chest. I close my eyes and pretend to sleep. A few moments go by.

"I know you're awake, Thalia." He says groggily. I don't move. "Thalia, I know you're awake." Again, I don't move. "Okay, Thalia, I know you're awake because people don't blush when they sleep." I'm pretty sure I turned even redder.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to use you as a pillow." I attempted moving, but Luke stopped me.

"It's fine."

"You look so peaceful when you're sleeping." I breathe out, placing my head back down on his chest.

"You do too," Luke says followed by a laugh. I was about to ask why, but he beat me. "You probably dream about me."

"Oh, shut up!" I snap. I try to get up again, but Luke pulls me back down. "Luke, let go!" I turn to look at him and he's sleeping. Well, fake sleeping. He was smiling as if he wasn't even trying to hide it.

"Ssh, I'm sleeping." He says quickly, but quietly. I sigh and lay back down.

...

I slip on my short, black swimming shorts and a dark blue tank top. Once I come out of the forest, I step into the water.

"Hey, Thalia," Luke calls.

"Yeah?" I say as I turn around. Luke was standing less than an inch away from me causing me to scream and fall back into the water. I open my eyes underwater and grab Luke's leg. Next thing I see is a great big splash. I come up and rest my hands behind my back. Luke comes up after a few seconds and sits just like me. I glare at him.

"Well, I was going to say 'gotcha' but then you pulled that little stunt right there." He splashed water at me. That started the splash war. I swim farther out into the lake and he follows. We stay there for a few minutes splashing at each other. I swim towards him bringing my arms up, trying to push him under, but he grabs both my wrists.

"Alright, alright, truce." Luke says. My toes barley hit the bottom of the lake, meaning, Luke was probably on his toes well-balanced because he was a couple inches taller than me.

"You don't have to hold me up. I can stand on my own."

"Well, okay," He says, letting go of my wrists without warning. I was about to go under, when Luke grabbed my wrists again.

"You could have warned me," I say in between coughs.

"Just admit you need my help sometimes."

"And if I don't?"

"Then, I'll-" He began to loosen his grip.

"No, no, no!" I yell. We both start laughing.

Once we eased up, there was a small current and I felt hands push my back. I was closer to Luke now, our stomachs touching. I was about to go into fighting mode, thinking there was a monster in there with us, but Luke still had my wrists. I looked down to find a water nymph puckering her lips. I kick her away angrily and look up. I catch Luke's eyes and he catches mine. We stay like that for a few seconds. Luke's face was getting closer and I can see his eyes start to shut. Subconsciously, my eyes start closing. Thalia, it's about to happen. We get close enough to where I can feel his breathe on my face.

Hiccup! We both pull back. Luke starts laughing when I get the second hiccup and I just blush.

Hiccup! "Thalia, you don't drink the water in here!" He teases and I just shoot him a glare. He shrugs his shoulders and looks away. "I didn't do anything."

I tried to keep a serious face, but it turned into a smile. I press my tongue to my cheek, forcing myself not to smile. "You are such a –Hiccup-loser."

"Hey, you came with me anyway." Luke says, rising into a high-pitched voice. "And you're here with me now." He smirks, knowing he got me. "There's a Big Mart about two miles out. Are you going to come this time?"

"Luke, you know I don't like stealing with you, but you also know I have to come this time." I think everyone would know why. I need new clothes and stuff. I mean, we are going to take a tent and other essentials.

"Well, yeah, but- never mind. You might want to dress warmer. I know it's nice enough to swim today, but the weather is dipping back down. I slip on my black hoodie and put a white-stud belt around my black shorts. Luke was combing his hair and I was putting mine back in my spiked bun. "Let's go find a place to camp out."

"I thought the lake was good." As I said that, I got this gross feeling in my throat.

"Yeah, but it might rain." I look up at the sky, which was now filling with stars and getting covered by clouds. "Come on, sky girl, you should have known that."

"Shut up." I say back. "Well, are we getting a spot closer to the Big Mart?"

"That's the plan."

We picked up our packs and started walking into the woods. I glance back at the lake and Luke looks at me sideways.

"I know. I'm going to miss it too."

...

"Goddammit, Luke, are you sure we haven't past the freaking thing?" I complain.

"We are walking pretty slowly, Thals," Then he turns confused and points his finger at me. "Don't use that language with me."

I swat his hand away and we start laughing. We made it to a clearing and the rain started. It wasn't hard, but it was steady. I walk into the middle of the clearing, listening to my steps across the forest ground. I got lost in my thoughts standing there, watching the rain fall. Wait, I think. Just as I realized I only heard my steps a scream rang out from behind me.

"Luke?" I yell spinning around. He wasn't there. "Luke?" I call again. I wait for a sound, but only hear the rain falling and the sound of my own breathing. I toss my backpack under a tree, so it would keep dry, and I pull out my mace. "Luke, this isn't funny."

Oh, no, no I am not falling for this crap Luke is trying to pull. Son of Hermes, of course he would want to prank someone, right? As I ask myself the question I hear a twig snap behind the tree Luke should've been standing in front of.

"Again," I sigh looking up at the sky. "You are such a loser."

"Hey," Luke says coming out from behind the tree followed by laughter. He walks towards me until we were toe to toe. I look up into his eyes and he looks back. "Scared you, didn't I?"

I purse my lips and narrow my eyes. "Not. One. Bit." I whisper.

"Ouch," He puts his hand to his heart as if I punched him. "That hurt deep."

I couldn't help but notice how close Luke and I were. I noticed the small features about him, especially the lines on the outside of his eyes that showed how much he smiles. Then, I noticed his face turn into something of confusion.

"Thalia, watch out!" He yells, pushing me down. The impact made me dizzy and the mace flew out of my hand. I couldn't hear anything other than the sound of metal on metal and a scream of pain.

"Luke," I breathe. He was about a foot away from me. He looks at me and nods, telling me that he's fine. I look at what he's holding. There was a huge gash in the back of his leg. "Luke." I breathe again.

Then, the sky gets darker. A silhouette of something large passed over the clearing. Then the sound of four heavy legs fills my ears as it lands behind me. Luke's eyes widen. I slightly turn my head and find my mace at least ten feet away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the monster. It lets out a low growl. Then I shift my eyes toward the mace again.

Get it away from Luke, I thought. I look over at him and by the look in his eye, he knows what I'm about to do.

He slightly nods his head with pleading eyes.

Sorry, Luke, not this time. I get up and make a dash for the mace.