Characters: Thalia, Luke (although his name isn't mentioned)
Summary: He bears a smile that's half her own.
Pairings: Thuke is how I see it.
Warnings/Spoilers: I'm pretty sure there is none.
Timeline: Pre-series
Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns the Percy Jackson series
** My stories are getting shorter and shorter 0.o. But I am working on a multi chapter :)
Half-Smile
"Come on. What are you, scared or something?"
He has that mismatched grin that's so achingly familiar stretched across his face, and when nostalgia touches her, Thalia just smiles back because his smile is only half his own.
It's a bold statement; especially when she can't be sure where the other half lies and doesn't want to think about where either. She's content with the mystery of it and only partly afraid to the fact that she doesn't want to know anyway. She lives in the present and runs away from the past.
He reaches out a hand to her and she grabs his wrist. He might be a comrade but she can't consider him to be a friend. She's not ready for a friend.
She's not ready for anything.
Not yet anyway.
"Of course I'm scared. Scared that you'll screw this up."
"Shut up, I bet you're one of those girls who can't stand spiders."
She crawls into the cave, damp and clammy, scuttling and scoffing. When she reaches him at the end of the tunnel she pushes past him, not even bothering to hide the satisfied smirk that she's currently bearing.
"I'm not the one sleeping to a nightlight."
It's almost a week before she sees him again.
When she does see him, he bears an ugly looking cut across his cheek and his left eye resembles more of a rotting fruit than that of an eye. Her breathe hitches when she notices that his hairline is soaking with crimson, blonde hair bleached red. But he assures her that head wounds look worse than they seem.
When he smiles at her although, she can't help but let her chest swell with a feeling that's unknown to her. It's warm and makes her a little unstable on her feet.
"Thank you." She utters.
There is so much more she wants to say, so much she needs to say. He bears a smile that's half her own.