Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson. Because if I said I did, not only would I be lying, but I'd probably be off, not on FanFiction.

I don't have too much to say, for once. Just two things:

1) Go check out my new story "Sons of the Seas". It's going to be a long, multi-book series that features the Romans, Greeks and Scandinavian culture in an epic three-way showdown to help prevent the end of the world. It'll be a riot man.

2) If you've done anything in regards to putting this as a favorite, alert or review, give yourself a pat on the back. You did a great thing and I owe you. Not dinner; but like, a thumb's up or something.

Chapter 4

Tired

Thalia Grace

Have I ever told anyone how much I despite that sea-spawn son of Poseidon? No?

Well I hate him sometimes.

It's probably got a lot to do with the fact that he's irritatingly nice sometimes, then he's a completely gigantic idiot who has no idea what he's doing. I mean, it's bad some days, but others... he makes me want to punch a boulder.

It's that bad.

That's not even including the times where he does stupid things to me. Like walking out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel!

I sighed and pressed my head against the wall as the hot water cascaded down my back and rolled off my skin. I couldn't even begin to describe how well it felt- the last shower I got was quite a ways back, and it wasn't necessarily warm. I'm still not even sure if it was water or not, but the fish that I call Percy seemed to be defending it pretty fiercely, so I suppose it was water.

I swear, that boy spends more time in water than he does on land.

But my thoughts drifted from how nice the water felt, to our new 'mission'. Not only had the circumstances about getting information been weird, but the overall aspect was incredibly... unbelievable. Not only were there two other kids of the Big Three; but they were safe- sort of. Maybe there was a chance we could stay with them?

No, I thought. That's stupid. You heard the lady- they need saving. Why would they be safe?

I sighed again. Life sucks.

I don't even remember turning off the water; I just remember stepping into a pair of fresh clothes and ending up outside the bathroom in a daze. I suppose most of it had to do with the fatigue that overwhelmed my body. Still though, I could barely think as I collapsed onto the bed- which was surprisingly solid. It almost reminded me of a person.

"You know, Thals, if you wanted to get closer to me, all you had to do was ask."

Shit.

My record time for getting off a bed was over 3 minutes. This time, I shattered the national record.

I was on my feet in milliseconds and I had the deepest, darkest glare I could manage set on Percy. He was still in that gods-forsaken towel!

"Shut up! What're you doing!?" I all but yelled. I admit, it probably wasn't a very Thalia-like thing to do, but I was way too tired to be putting up with his stupidity. I needed sleep.

He shrugged on the bed. "Sleeping; or at least, I was..."

I huffed indignantly. "It's not my fault, if that's what you are implying."

"No," he said. "It's not. Do you want the bed?"

My glare softened and I felt my heart prickle a little. Why would he offer me the bed? He'd already skipped out on night of sleep- something I had not forgotten- just so I could get some more rest. He kinda deserved the bed at this point.

"N-no," I said, shaking my head. What was wrong with my voice? Why stutter? Seeing his eyebrows raise as he rolled over to look at me, I felt my face heat slightly. Damn this boy for messing with my mind- damn my mind for being so girly.

Now, I admit it. Percy Jackson, as much of a fish-faced, kelp-brained dork as he was, was also extremely attractive. I hated admitting that, but my body and my heart could always override my brain. What wasn't to like about him? He was sweet. Sickeningly sweet, sometimes, but still sweet nonetheless. He was also very strong and reliable. He never intentionally hurt someone close to him. He'd do anything for you if you asked nicely.

He was a great person; and he looked like a great person, too. Strong muscles, lean body, and tanned skin like he'd hung out with Apollo too much?

Percy Jackson was a girl's best nightmare because he looked and seemed perfect- yet, he was so naive and innocent, I don't even know if he knows what romance is.

"Thalia?" Curses. I zoned out- again.

"Yeah?"

"You were... out of it. Talking to someone in your head?" Yep; typical Jackson.

I snorted, because it was almost right. I wasn't talking... I was thinking to my stupid lovey-dovey side. I thought Aphrodite's kids were the ones who had the whole, hot-not thing going on in their head. Not a daughter of Zeus.

"No, just thinking. We should really-" I paused. "YOU should really put some clothes on! THEN we should look at that map that lady left us; we still need a location."

Percy nodded- almost eagerly- and lunged off the bed like a jungle cat. I had to close my eyes to make sure I didn't see anything underneath the towel that would further invoke comments from my stupid hormonal side.

Sure; Jackson is cute.

But I don't do cute and I don't do romance.

I almost had the insatiable urge to pound Percy's head into the table as he 'studied' the map. His perfect bearings at sea were almost scary- but they were useful as all get-out. Knowing where we were was imperative to surviving. On land, however, Percy's bearings were about as accurate as a foreign tourist's. In other words; I never let him handle directions.

And apparently, maps were included in that.

"C'mon!" I finally shouted. "You've been staring at that map for nearly half-an-hour! Where are we going?!"

Percy shrugged. "You do realize my dyslexia is a bit worse than yours, right?"

I frowned; he was going into that again. He was right, though. A while back, we'd made a rest-stop at a clinic area for... some stuff. This was back when we first began traveling. We started at around... 12. Percy was discovered after his step-father... well, we'll leave it at he was discovered at 12. I was discovered at 10, and had made the trek with two other people to a 'safe-place', before getting betrayed and almost killed.

Percy and I had met up and traveled together in suspicion- but one time, I figured out what puberty was and we needed to make a stop a walk-in clinic. Whilst we were there, we were tested for a few things due to our ragged condition we'd walked in with. It was discovered, somehow, that Percy's ADHD and dyslexia were both worse than my own- albeit, only slightly.

But it made me wonder why. To this day, we still don't know why some demigods have it worse than others, but Percy's is among the worse I've seen. My companions had, like all demigods, ADHD and dyslexia, but theirs wasn't that bad. In fact; it wasn't much of a hindrance. Mine, on the other hand, made my life a living mission to Tartarus.

Somehow, though, I found the one person who has a worse state than I do. Impressive, I'd say.

"Fine." I snatched the map and faced it toward me. Despite his inability to read it, Percy shuffled his location so that he was slightly behind me and able to view it once again. I almost wanted to poke fun at his inability in reading the map, but I realized the reason that he couldn't read it- there were marks all over the paper.

The legend markers, the parks, roads, highways, all those markings made the text small and cluttered- the one thing that made our lives impossible. Neither of us would be able to read the map.

Unless...

I walked over to the cabinet and pulled a cup out from the pantry. I ignored Percy's look of wonder as I filled the cup up and splashed it on Percy's face. His hair, which had dried, was now sopping wet again as he'd been caught off-guard. He sputtered and willed himself dry, before fixating me with a glare.

"What was that for?"

I ignored his question. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," He said grouchily. "That only works when I'm over the ocean. Being splashed in the face isn't quite the same as the Atlantic."

There went that plan.

"But." Maybe there is hope after all? "I can read the map... it's still hard to read, but I think that might have temporarily cleared my head."

I watched, hopeful, as Percy began to study the map- this time, I saw his sea-green eyes moving from left to right as he took in the roads and crudely penciled in trails we'd have to take in order to reach the spot in which our two new demigods were hidden within. His brow furrowed and he lightly bit on his bottom lip as he seemed to further analyze the trail.

Minutes passed and Percy remained quiet. I was barely fending off the urge to blurt out a question- curse ADHD.

"Well?" I finally asked.

He was silent a minute longer- that minute driving me insane- before he gave me a slight smile and tapped his temple.

"I've got it. We're going to be heading to Las Vegas."

Las Vegas? What in the names of Hades were they doing in Las Vegas? There wasn't any sort of reprieve there- was there?

Percy seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I was, because he seemed to lose the smile and adopt a slightly frown in place. His sea-green eyes seemed to be a deep kaleidoscope of confusion as he contemplated the destination we had now set.

"The map said... 'Hotel Lotus and Casino' as their location..." I, for one, had never heard of Hotel Lotus and Casino. It sounded like the wrong place we'd find two demigods- assuming they were under 21. "Why would they be in a casino?"

I shrugged. "Maybe they're on break?"

Percy shot me a dirty look, to which I matched. He sighed and scratched the back of his head; his hand disappearing underneath the mop of dark hair. I held back a smile; he really needed a haircut.

"And," Percy added. "A hotel. Doesn't it make sense that they'd only temporarily stay there? What do we do when they move?"

"Perce, calm down. I know this is stressful- and confusing as Styx- but we gotta remain calm, 'kay?" He nodded and took a breath. As he drew in, I noticed the dark bags underneath his eyes- this behavior was, no doubt, a side-effect of the minimal sleep he'd been getting. "We'll find 'em. I seriously doubt a mysterious woman would just, let us lose those two after telling us."

"Calm down? Thalia, maybe you don't get it- these are two demigods that are in the same situation as us!" My eyes narrowed at his tone. Like I didn't know what was going on? I knew better than he did!

"I know! Don't get snappy with me!"

He growled. I could feel the air around me becoming more humid- but I wasn't sure if it was because of my powers or his. I honestly didn't care- I was going to fry him.

Just as I raised my hand to deliver a powerful electrical shock, I caught a glimpse into his eye- like, I saw him for him. Now, this is a fact, I don't know anything about Percy's past- he knows about mine, and my... mother, but that's because I needed someone to confide in. As for him? I don't know a single thing about his past- it's more mysterious than the Underworld.

He's got a great wall of defense set up; completely impenetrable. Until now. For a split second, I could see in.

He looked so tired.

We both were; I mean, we've been running from the gods for... a few years at this point. I lost count- but I started with Percy when I was 14. I assume he was the same age. We'd been running now for just about 3 years and we haven't gotten... anywhere, really. We're alive, but each day is just another battle, and neither of us can survive everything. I think when one of us falls...

The other will go down, too.

Percy was angry- I don't know why- but he was angry and tired of this running cycle. I was, too. I was angry, tired, annoyed... if there was a synonym for angry, that applies to me.

Just that glimpse though, and I could see so much into his mind- it was like dealing with a whole new person, if even for a second. And when I looked into his mind, I could tell, he wasn't mad at me... he was mad along side me. But how often can you express your hate toward the gods without them realizing where you are and how to kill you?

So...

I lowered my hand and looked at Percy slightly guiltily. He gave me a confused look- I realized he hadn't noticed his slip-up. Or maybe he didn't care. It could've been either one- but it didn't matter. He still needed sleep. We both did.

"What?" He asked. I almost winced at his rough tone- but I reminded myself, he wasn't mad.

He was tired.

"Nothing. I'm sorry... guess I just need some sleep."

That must have been enough, because Percy's face softened immediately, and his eyes turned slightly downcast. Leave it to the seaweed brain to begin to feel guilty for starting a fight. He was too good for his own good...

"Me too... let's just get some rest, and then discuss this further," Percy advised. I nodded, satisfied with that solution. It wasn't perfect- but nothing in our lives was perfect. It was close enough.

I walked over to the bed, and laid down in it. The comforter wasn't plushy like a cloud, but compared to the cold, hard ground I'd been sleeping on, it felt like I was in a queen's bed. I felt my muscles immediately relax, and a huge wave of fatigue just wash over me. My eyelids grew heavy, and I looked over at Percy to see if he was as relaxed as I was.

I didn't expect to see him setting up on the floor.

"What're you doing?" I asked. He looked up at me in surprise, but frowned ever so slightly before answering.

"Uh, going to sleep?"

I rolled my eyes. "On the floor?"

"Well, yeah." He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You get the bed, so I get the floor. Isn't that how it works?"

I sighed. So naive.

"Come on," I said, patting the bed next to me. Now, I know what you're thinking: a guy and girl in the same bed? Scandalous! Well, screw you- I'm not a daughter of Aphrodite, otherwise, you'd have every right to say that. He slowly rose, the idea of a cozy bed versus sleeping in the same bed as me seemed to be battling out in his head.

I almost smiled- it was kind of touching to see his hesitance. I knew he wouldn't do anything inappropriate to me- we'd slept in each other's presence before and he'd never done anything when he could've. I failed to see how this could change anything.

Finally, it seemed his self-will had crumbled, because I found him sliding under the sheets, clad in some shorts that he'd probably use for two weeks or until they were burnt off. He seemed hesitant and nervous still, and I found myself suppressing a chuckle. Good ole' Seaweed Brain.

"You know, I'm not going to bite," I reassured.

He rolled his eyes, but flashed me a small smile. I felt my chest tighten ever so slightly... maybe I was skittish to the idea of a male so close? "Are you sure?"

I stuck my tongue out, but fell back into my pillow. The light on the nightstand went off as Percy leaned over me- which was weird; my body seemed to almost want him to fall...- and we were left in the dark.

As I felt sleep overcoming my senses, I decided to ask something that had been weighing on my mind since we'd heard about these two new demigods.

"Percy? Do you think we'll save those two kids?"

He was silent a moment, but then, his deep voice filled the silence.

"Yeah. We will. I promise that much."

And I believed him.

So there's chapter 3- kind of a filler, I know. Not very interesting, but it gives a few small hints for things if you are looking at them. Percy's past, romantic tensions, new demigods, all this stuff.

I've been released from the hospital, so hopefully, there's no more cause for delay, but I warn you, I'm not out of the woods yet. Hopefully I can get back to my writing ways of a clear head and make these awesome again. You all rock! Remember the poll and the new story! Thanks! Happy July!