Breakeven

A/N: Hello again! I have returned with Zarterfulness! YAY! :D

Its kinda angsty, but hey...I'm stopping 2012 here. That's an interesting story...tell me if you want to know.

Anywho, I have a funny story to go with this song: Once upon a time, a young girl, about middle school age, sat in a frozen yogurt shop, with three friends. The four girls ate their yogurt, talking all the while about a wide range of subjects. On the radio, a song came on: Breakeven by The Script. The first girl paused eating for a moment, and smiled. It reminded her of a friend/long-lost sister, who had mentioned the song for one of their favorite pairings: Zarter, or Zia and Carter. She listened to the song, one thought running through her mind repeatedly: "ZARTERFULNESS! EEEK! :3 ...YUMMY YOGURT!"

Disclaimer: Characters, © Rick Riordan. Song, © The Script.

Carter stared after Zia, as she stepped through the portal. Their goodbye had been so forced, and formal, maybe even hostile. Her eyes had been unreadable, masked by a shield of walls she had built a long time ago to hide her feelings, which were gods-know-what.

He paused. That had been the first time she had looked him in the eye for...well, ever since he saved her. He wondered why.

To him, it felt like being underwater too long, and slowly suffocating. She was okay, but Carter surely wasn't. She had always been the best part of him, and now she was back and very much alive, but gone at the same time. She wasn't around him, making him smile, even when he was at his worst. She was emotionally gone. She had moved on, never feeling anything true for him, he supposed. Meanwhile, he was still grieving.

But he was right about one thing: she still held his heart in her hands.

Carter sighed, and went back to his room, Sadie staying on the balcony to talk to Walt for a few minutes.

He stood by the doors, leading out to the balcony, looking up at the stars, and just...thinking.

"Bad things happen for a reason, Carter."

The words from his father, so long ago, came back to him. It had been right after he had come home. Without the beloved Ruby Kane. He winced at the memory, feeling himself fall apart a little more every second without her arms around him, wondering if his dad had felt the same way.

I got time, while she got freedom, he thought. Freedom from this torture we call love.

No heart breaks even. At least, not without both knowing it.

Zia Rashid sat on her bed in the First Nome with a sigh. She felt...empty. Almost like she was suffocating. She felt something for him, Carter Kane, and she knew it. But she didn't know what, and kept quiet. That was her motto: Keep quiet and you'll do fine. She was confused, most of all.

"He's probably not confused at all," she mumbled under her breath, looking up at the stars. She was trying to make sense of what little remained of her preveious life: one with Iskandar, and her small sphere of happiness. That had been all she had once needed.

Now, she wondered. Mostly about Carter Kane. What was he to her? How did he feel about her? More importantly and confusingly: How did she feel about him?

It was all so new to her: the way her heart pounded when he was near, the way she felt like he could break down every protective wall she'd ever built in one swift move, the way she just wanted to drop everything when he was around. She didn't understand it, being her. She was logic first, then feelings. This time, it seemed like her feelings were taking control, and no matter how hard she tried, they wouldn't go away. She at least managed to force them back most of the time.

Zia was confused, but one thing was clear: Carter wasn't confused at all. When she was.

She groaned, wondering why the Set love couldn't be simple and less painful.

A familiar, comforting voice came into her mind, the voice of Nephthys, saying, "My child, love is neither simple, nor painful. Love is the least painful thing on Geb. Its rejection and confusion, and heartbreak that hurt. Love isn't even, because if it was, we wouldn't be anywhere. Those who love us, and those we love, we are there to help each other out of the struggle. If we all had the same problem, it would do no good to try to help."

Zia pondered these words of wisdom, over analyzing things, like usual.

Because when a heart breaks, it don't breakeven.

A/N: I kinda strayed away from the song at places, but I tried my best. This was the first time I used this format, and I like it better. You get the story better. :) What did you guys think? It was kinda short, huh? Review please!