AN: Got hit by the Thaluke feels and I'm still awake at 5am. Really wasn't expecting it to be so long, fluffy and dramatic.
Warnings: Very light profanities, just one or two.
I throw myself to the left; tuck my chin and roll, barely avoiding the flames that shoot out with the intention to burn me. Swiftly getting back onto my feet, I start running again. This is standard procedure- run for your life while desperately trying to formulate a plan.
I raise my golf club into a defense stance- not much use against a fire-breathing dragon with impenetrable scales, but it's all I've got. I rack my brains for a plan. It's either that or become the dragon's next meal. Roasted Demigod, yum.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Dad, this is your chance to prove you're not as big a jerk as I think you are!
Bad move shutting my eyes, though, because next thing I know, I've run headfirst into something and landed rather unceremoniously on my butt.
"Di immortales!" came a high-pitched voice.
"Who are you?" I ask, hastily getting up. All I note as I help her up from the ground is black spiky hair.
"Fight now, talk later," she says.
She aims her spear and throws it skillfully. It soars through the air in a beautiful arc- well aimed and a smooth sail through the air. It would have been a killer shot if not for the fact that the dragon's scales are impenetrable. Instead, it bounces off the dragon's scales harmlessly.
"Gods!" I swear loudly. "What does it take to slay a dragon?" Still dodging every flaming breath.
Spiky turns to me and- as cliché as it sounds- I'm caught off guard by her eyes. But with good reason. They're a shocking electric blue, like nothing I've ever seen.
It gives me an idea though.
"Maybe we could electrocute this bugger. Does your spear happen to be electric?"
"Even better, watch this."
"Zeus!" she yells, and all of a sudden, the air feels charged up and tingly. A single jagged white streak zips through the air and pings off the ground, blowing a gigantic crater.
"Oops, I missed?" she offers.
"You're a child of Zeus!"
"Yeah, okay shush, I'm concentrating."
It takes her a few more tries but finally she hits her target and with one last smoking breath, the dragon crumbles into a pile of sand.
The air is still crackling with energy and Spiky's panting from the exertion while I'm standing with my mouth agape.
Getting over my initial shock- get it? Shock? - I walk over to introduce myself.
"Luke Castellan. Son of Hermes."
"Thalia Grace. Daughter of Zeus, but you already know that."
"So where'd you come from?" I ask. We'd cleaned up as much as we could after our wrestle with the dragon and now we were downing fries and burgers from a McDonalds outlet while walking. Never keep still if you're a demigod if you want to stay alive.
"LA."
"LA huh? That's a long way from here."
"Yeah," she said, looking away.
I took that as a hint and changed the subject. She'd probably had a tough family life too. I can understand and respect that.
"So, we make a pretty good team, huh? You and me? What say we team up? Y'know, I got your back, you got mine?"
Thalia looked at me and those piercing blue eyes were lit up with the grin plastered on her face.
In that moment, I knew I would do anything to see her smile like that again.
"Jason!"
I was on first watch for the night and was just settling into a nice calm when Thalia cries out. I turn, and see her wrestling with the tattered cloth she's using as a blanket.
"Where's Jason?!" she yells.
"Thalia. It's alright, it's just a dream." I reach my hand out tentatively, unsure of what exactly to do.
I put my hand on her shoulder and smooth her hair back with the other. She's so vulnerable when she's asleep, I note. Not at all like the tough cookie she is in the day. It's as if the hard exterior shell falls off when she's asleep.
"Jason… Jason…" she mumbles, her brow still furrowed. Eventually she drifts back into a quiet sleep, but I can't help but wonder who Jason is. She's told me she's an only child so he can't be her brother. He must be a boyfriend, then.
A feeling of unease sits itself in my stomach. With a start, I realize I'm jealous of this Jason guy.
"Amaltheia leads me to good things. The last time she appeared, she led me to you."
The compliment warms me up and I barely manage to suppress the urge to grab her and kiss her right there. Damn Thalia and her uncanny ability to chase out all logical thoughts from my mind. She can't just casually throw out a comment like that. This daughter of Zeus will probably be my undoing, and she doesn't even know what she's doing to me.
"Luke, Thalia, look what I drew!"
It's one of those rare times we get to stay in the safe house near the beach. We were nearby and Annabeth had insisted on going to the beach- there's something about that kid and beaches.
I walk over and survey the markings she's made in the wet sand.
"That's you, Luke. You're the daddy. And that's you, Thalia. You're the mummy. And then that's me. I'm the baby! And we're all a big happy family fighting the bad monsters together."
I feel my cheeks growing steadily warmer and turn to look at Thalia.
"Haha, kids, huh? Where do they get such crazy ideas?"
Thalia's on first watch. Annabeth's curled up on a pile of towels, clutching her dagger with one hand. Grover- the newest addition to the freak show family- is lying on his back, mumbling about apples or enchiladas or something. They're both deep in sleep, but I on the other hand, am too nervous to sleep.
Grover had arrived just a few days ago and told us about himself. A protector, he'd said. Sent from a camp with kids just like us. A camp that will teach us to fight monsters. A camp that was built to keep kids like us safe.
We'd been on the run for years now and suddenly this guy- no, satyr- shows up telling us about this Camp Half Blood that will protect us and house us and feed us. It sounds great- but maybe a little too great. I mean, why only now? Why not before?
There was no way I was going to catch any sleep and it was probably only a few minutes to my shift anyway.
"Hey," I say, plopping myself down beside her.
"Hey. It's not your shift for another twelve minutes, y'know?"
"Couldn't sleep."
She turns to look at me, concern apparent in her eyes.
"You alright?"
"I don't know, Thals," I sigh. "This whole Camp Half Blood thing… It sounds too good to be true."
"Don't you ever get tired, Luke? Of being so negative and pessimistic?"
She puts her head on my shoulder lightly.
"What do you mean I'm pessimistic all the time? I'm a constant ray of sunshine."
"Sunshine my ass. You doubt everything. You don't trust anything or anyone."
It's mostly true. Mostly.
"I trust you."
She shoots me that grin with the lit up eyes- the same one she'd flashed the first time we met. She puts her hand on mine- an unexpected gesture, but not unwelcome. And if that's not invitation, then I don't know what is.
I turn my hand under hers so we're holding hands now and she lifts her head to look me in the eyes. She hasn't shaken my hand off so that's a good sign, I decide. I lean forward and place a quick, brief kiss on her lips, our lips brushing for just a second.
A slow smile creeps onto her face, replacing the shock and she wraps an arm around my waist, her head finding its place on my shoulder again. I place my arm on her shoulder and hug her close.
"Y'know, maybe going to that camp is a good idea after all. If we're safe, we'll get to do this more often."
"Yeah, don't flatter yourself."
I roll my eyes and run my hand through her spiky hair, feeling content with the world for once.
That was the first and last time we ever kissed.
"Go! I'll fight them off!" she yells.
"No! I'm your protector! I'm supposed to protect you!"
"Grover, no offence but you'll just get in my way. Get the others to safety! I'll be fine!"
I could see Annabeth fighting back tears while grabbing her dagger tightly. She was a brave kid, but she was just too small and weak to battle this many monsters for such a long duration.
"Grover. Take Annabeth and go!" I command.
He grabs Annabeth's hand and I watch as they run up the hill towards safety.
"No, Luke, you go too."
"And leave you alone to battle all of them?! No way."
"Luke, just go! They're after me, not you!"
"I'm not leaving you."
"Don't you get it? This way, at least one of us will live."
"I'm not leaving you here to die alone."
"What about Annabeth? Hm?"
That struck a nerve.
"Please Luke, if not for me, then do it for her. She needs you."
I'm torn between the two. I promised to be a good father figure to Annabeth and protect her always, but if I left Thalia alone she might not make it out alive.
"You have to promise me you'll try to get through the borders once we're all through, okay?"
"I promise, Luke, now go!"
I looked at her one last time, memorizing her- the freckles, the jet-black hair, the round perky nose, the pink lips and those electric blue eyes filled with fear, worry, but also determination.
I turned and ran. Sprinted all the way up the hill and through the borders. The faster I got in, the faster she could start making her way in too.
It was torture watching her battle it out alone, but Thalia's strong. I just have to believe in her. She will survive this.
C'mon Thals, you're already halfway up the hill. Just a little more. You're almost here, just hang in there.
But there were just too many and being hunted for days on end had taken its toll on all of us.
"THALIA!"
By this time, the tears were streaming down Annabeth's face, but I couldn't find the strength to comfort her, to tell her, "It's okay."
Because it's not.
"I miss you, Thals."
I ran my hand over the spiky leaves, a painful reminder of that beautiful head of hair.
Thalia's death had only served to reinforce my hatred for the gods. Just because they're immortal, they see death as such a funny, light thing. They see us as little servants placed in the world for their entertainment and to run errands for them. They think they're so mighty and above all, but their arrogance has made them blind and oblivious.
"I will avenge you," I whisper.
'Cos you remind me of a time when we were so alive. (Everything has changed.)
Do you remember that? Do you remember that? (Everything has changed.)
-Franklin, Paramore