A/N: Thank you to Sora Loves Rain and AnnabethandPercyJackson17 for the lovely reviews! Glad you like it so far.
As promised, here's chapter 3, featuring the one and only Thalia Grace! I'm having way too much fun with this...super tired though, so no more chapters tonight. Rick Riordan owns all, I'm just having fun. R&R please, & enjoy! :)
"Ok, this is really starting to get annoying." Annabeth looked over just in time to see Thalia crinkle her nose in disgust.
"What?" she asked, although she had a sneaking suspicion what was bugging her friend.
"We've been here for 4 hours," Thalia grumbled. "Can't you just pick out a freaking present already?" Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"Come on, Thals. I know you hate the mall, but you did agree to help me…"
"Yeah, well. Kelp Head better appreciate this."
Annabeth laughed. She knew it was a mark of the strength of their friendship that Thalia was spending her Saturday helping her find Percy a birthday present – Thalia hated shopping of any kind. Annabeth had had to bribe her with the promise of something tasty to get her to come. If Thalia had a weakness, it was food, and it didn't take much persuading on Annabeth's part to get even a strong girl like her to cave at the thought of a free milkshake.
An outsider basing his observation solely on looks would never guess that the two girls were friends. Annabeth looked like a stereotypical California girl – tall for her age, blonde curls hanging halfway down her back, tanned skin from all the time she spent outside. Her gray eyes ruined the Hollywood image but added to her own – everyone who knew her said they made her look intelligent and important. She was very athletic, and it showed – she was always full of energy, and although she was only twelve, she had unobtrusive but well-defined muscles. She dressed casually – today she sported jean shorts, an old camp t-shirt, and her favorite Nikes – and she seemed confident, comfortable in her own skin.
Thalia, by contrast, was pale and petite, and she preferred dark, "punk" clothes – always black, occasionally adorned with chains or buttons from old metal bands. Her pixie cut was also black – whether dyed or natural, Annabeth had never asked, but she suspected it was the former. Thalia's eyes contrasted sharply with her dark clothes – they were startlingly blue, a shade that Annabeth could only describe as "electric." She had a smattering of freckles across her nose. Annabeth recalled the time she told Thalia she thought the freckles were cute – the death glare Thalia had given her had been truly terrifying. Never again would Annabeth use "cute" as an adjective to describe her best girlfriend.
In spite of their physical differences, the two girls were indeed the best of friends. Annabeth's relationship with Thalia wasn't quite like her relationship with Percy – he came first and always would – but Thalia was still pretty much the most awesome girl Annabeth had ever met. They'd hit it off right away during a competition in gym class the year before – Thalia had won, and although Annabeth had been annoyed at first, she'd admired the girl's skills and asked if she wanted to hang out. Thalia's shocked expression had quickly faded to a grin, and the girls had been close ever since.
Annabeth chuckled to herself as she remembered when Thalia first met Percy. Percy had looked terrified – honestly, Annabeth didn't think she'd seen him that scared in years – and Thalia had muttered, "Your best friend's a guy?" They'd taken to each other pretty quickly, though, and the three had spent a fun afternoon enjoying extra-large milkshakes at the local diner:
"I've gotta go," Percy said, checking his watch. "Nice meeting you, Thalia. Let's hang out again soon?"
"Yeah, cool." She grinned.
"Alrighty then. See ya later. Bye Wise Girl, love you."
"Love you too, Seaweed Brain." They'd made the exchange without thinking, just like they always did, and it took until Percy had left the shop for Annabeth to register the look on Thalia's face.
"What the hell…you didn't tell me I was third-wheeling it with you and your boyfriend!" Thalia looked disgusted as she said the last word.
"Wait…what?" Annabeth was genuinely confused. "Percy's not my boyfriend!"
"Um, hello, genius? He just said he loved you, and you said it back. And you even have nicknames for each other? Gross." Thalia stuck her tongue out, and Annabeth laughed.
"No, no, no, no! It's not like that at all! It's just something we said when we were three and it kinda stuck…" And Annabeth quickly explained the origin of the dialogue and the nicknames. Thalia was quiet for a moment as she processed the story.
"You've known each other since you were three?" she asked finally.
"Mhmm. Percy's my next-door neighbor."
"Wow. Ok then. I guess I can't say no to a three-year-old…but don't get into the habit of doing it too often," she warned.
"Can't promise that, Thals," Annabeth replied. "We've been saying it to each other every time we part since then. Once a bestie, always a bestie."
"Gag me with a spoon…alright, fine. I guess I can't barge in since you all were friends first. But I still think it's gross," she added quickly, and Annabeth laughed again. This girl really wasn't all that bad.
"So you still haven't told me what in the name of all the gods you're looking for," Thalia continued as they wandered through the mall's western sector.
"I've told you about a thousand times, Thals, I don't know!" Annabeth sighed. "He may be my best friend, but he's impossible to shop for!"
"How is that even possible?" Thalia muttered. "You've known him since you were three, and yet you don't know him well enough to come up with a present?"
"Knowing him so well almost makes it harder, because I want the gift to mean something."
"You're getting sappy on me again, Chase. Are you sure you're not secretly dating?"
"Shut up," Annabeth said, punching Thalia's arm, "You know perfectly well that we're not." She pointed to a bookstore up ahead. "Let's try in there."
"But books are your thing, Annie. We both know Kelp Head can barely read."
"Don't call me Annie, Thals! And just because he's dyslexic doesn't mean he can't read, so stuff it." She paused and took a deep breath. "Maybe if I'm more in my element, I'll come up with something good."
The two girls waved off the clerk and meandered through the store, browsing sections and titles at random. Annabeth saw tons of books she wanted and had to keep reminding herself that she was shopping for someone else – now was not the time to be spending the gift cards she'd gotten for her own birthday.
Somewhere in the middle of the store, a slim blue volume caught her eye. Dark letters across the front spelled out "Morse Code: A Beginner's Guide". Annabeth pulled the book from the shelf and eagerly flicked through it. She recalled a story Percy's mom had once told them about his dad. Mr. Jackson had been a sea captain – that was how he died, "lost at sea" – and he'd had an odd fascination with his ship's telegraph. He'd studied Morse code extensively, becoming highly proficient and even teaching Sally a few expressions before he died, although she'd since forgotten most of them. Percy and Annabeth had talked about how cool it would be to learn Morse code – almost like a secret language, they'd said – but they'd never gotten around to it. Maybe it was time they revisited that discussion.
"Thals," Annabeth called to her friend, "This is it." She held up the book for Thalia to see. Thalia nodded enthusiastically. She didn't know the story behind Annabeth's choice, but she knew of Percy's obsession with all things ocean-related. "It's perfect," she agreed. "Now let's get out of here. You owe me a milkshake, stat."
"Happy birthday, Percy!" His face flushed at all the attention, but he secretly liked it. All his friends had been able to make it to his party this year, and they sat on the floor in a tight semi-circle near his chair, eagerly waiting for him to open his presents. He scanned their faces – Thalia, Frank, Hazel, Nico, Leo, and of course, Annabeth – and grinned as he picked up the first parcel. Their excitement was contagious.
Everyone "ooohed" and "aaahed" as Percy unwrapped several CDs, a new swim bag, and a pair of fancy headphones. He hugged each of his friends as he opened their respective gifts – except for Thalia, who opted for a high-five while glaring at him, almost as if daring him to try and hug her. He gasped audibly as he opened a pair of high-tech swim goggles he'd been eyeing for months – the attached card said they were from his mother, and he felt his eyes well up in spite of himself.
"Thanks, Mom," he said, pulling her into the biggest hug of all. "You're the best."
"Anything for you, Perce," she said with a smile. "Love you, bud."
"Love you too." He reached for the last gift, meticulously wrapped in shiny silver paper. He felt a little bad about wrecking such a good wrap job – his own wrapping skills were definitely not the greatest – so he tore the paper quickly to make up for it. The words on the little blue book's cover eluded him for a moment, but when he finally deciphered the title, he was speechless.
"Oh, man," he said. There was no card with the gift, but only one person could have come up with this idea. "We used to talk about this when we were kids…thanks, Annabeth, I love it." He held up the book for the rest of them to see. "Annabeth and I used to joke about learning Morse code when we were little – I guess I better get started." They all laughed.
"Wait," Annabeth said. "There's more." She pressed a second package into his hands, which he opened to reveal a flashlight – with extra batteries, of course. Annabeth always thought of everything.
"What good's a code if you can't practice?" She bit her lip, not sure if he'd understand. She certainly didn't want to voice aloud, in front of their friends, the thought that their bedroom windows faced each other – they all obviously knew she and Percy were just friends, but still. The snickering would be annoying. Thankfully, though, when his green eyes met hers, she knew no further explanation was necessary.
"Thanks, Wise Girl," he said softly. "This means a lot." He hugged her and whispered, "Love you."
"Love you too, Seaweed Brain," she said.
"Alright, stop being the most adorable friends ever," Thalia said. "Your mom makes a mean birthday cake, and I don't wanna lose my appetite before I get a chance to eat it!" At this, they all laughed and headed to the dining room, more than ready to continue the party.
That night, Annabeth was reading in bed when she saw a flash from next door, then another. Grinning, she hurried to the window and began watching the flashes. They were almost painstakingly slow, and she had to write them down so she wouldn't forget. When the lights finished several minutes later, Annabeth compared the markings to the photocopy she'd made of the Morse code alphabet, then made a few corrections to account for Percy's errors. Once she finally had a message that was in English, she smiled.
Goodnight, Wise Girl, it said. Love you.
She picked up her pencil, wrote out her response, and sent it back via her own flashlight.
Goodnight, Seaweed Brain. Love you too.
Her best friend really was awesome.