A/N: I apologize for the late update. Unexpectedly, my laptop is requiring more time until it is repaired. Until then, I am working on the last chapter of this story and I am almost finished with the next chapter of Kings of Olympus. This is the next to last chapter, and it felt like more of a filler to me. I'm just attempting to wrap the story up, I suppose.

Also, I have written most of a Perlia oneshot, but I do not know if I plan to upload it. It has the potential to turn into more, but I do not wish to juggle three stories at once. I may have to put the Kings of Olympus on hold if I choose to go with the other one. Any thoughts on it? Please feel free to review and let me know.

I hope you all enjoy, and reviews are welcome.

Warning: Contains slightly mature material, namely alcohol consumption.

Disclaimer: All the rights to PJO go to Rick Riordan.


Thalia stood in front of her bathroom mirror, feeling frustrated with herself. She couldn't believe she had turned Percy down on his offer. He wanted her to return to camp with him. He wanted her to attend during the summer. She had turned him down.

Resisting the urge to punch a hole through the wall of her apartment, she climbed into the shower, shivering as the nearly searing water raced onto her skin. Stupid—that's what she was. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. Why in the world had she said no? The daughter of Zeus shook her head, lathering her hair in obsessive amounts of shampoo. She knew why she had rejected his proposal.

Thalia didn't belong at camp. She felt so out of place. She was no longer familiar with Grover, or Annabeth, or Luke. They had moved on without her. For the past five years she had been stuck in the same predicament; frozen, as everyone in her life rushed in front of her. Annabeth wasn't the same girl she remembered. Luke, even though she hadn't been fortunate enough to meet him again, definitely aged. He was in his twenties.

After releasing an exhausted breath of air, she finished showering. Once she walked back into her bedroom, she raided her closet for anything clean. Because she had been gone quite a while, she never got around to doing her laundry.

Shrugging guiltily to herself, she pulled out a faded Ramones shirt. It was several sizes too big for her, but she had nothing else to wear until she washed her dirty clothes. She pulled a pair of boxers from her dresser and slipped them on.

Thalia didn't know how she felt about the news her father told her. She wouldn't turn sixteen this year. On one hand, it was good. On the other, it was inconvenient. If she didn't age sixteen soon, the prophecy would be prolonged as well; however, she didn't know when her aging would balance itself back out, nor did she know why it was still slow in the first place.

Her mind eventually floated to Percy Jackson, something it had been fond of doing lately. The son of Poseidon was everything she could ever ask for in a friend. He was loyal, compassionate…dare she say cute. Yet, she felt as if she were intruding in his life. The only reason they had met was due to the fact that she was ordered to monitor him and recover her father's master bolt. If it weren't for the incident at the Winter Solstice, they might have never encountered one another.

Gods, she missed Percy. She missed him. She had never been dependent on anyone—and she still wasn't—but she fought the urge to travel to camp to see him. They hadn't ended on hopeful terms. She had turned down his offer, he had dejectedly wished her goodbye, and she had grabbed a cab into Brooklyn.

She had a crush on him. She wanted to date him. She wanted to rush out of her apartment, track him down, and kiss him until they were both out of breath. But she was a coward. Thalia was afraid of rejection and afraid of heartbreak. She had battled dozens of monsters in her life, and she feared heartbreak, of all things. Part of her was angry with herself. Thalia was behaving and thinking like her mother and that frightened her above everything.

Witnessing her mother heartbroken over and over again had taken an unfortunate toll on her mind. The daughter of Zeus had always preferred to be alone. She didn't depend on anyone or anything to get her what she needed. She took care of herself, and others occasionally. She didn't need anyone else. Sure, she was typically lonesome. But, as her mother had always claimed, it was better to be lonely amongst strangers than within your group of loved ones.

Percy Jackson wasn't just anyone.

Thalia sighed, running a hand through her wet locks. Walking into her living room and taking a seat on the leather couch, she grabbed the remote from the coffee table. She was never one for television, but she had to find some other way to occupy her mind. If she didn't stop thinking of the son of Poseidon, she was sure to go insane.

The daughter of Zeus took a deep breath, considering her options. There was only one way she knew of to rid her mind of upsetting thoughts. Giving up on trying to clear her mind on her own, she headed into her kitchen and reached into the highest cupboard. The bottle she pulled from it sent a rush of memories into her brain but she quickly suppressed them. There was no use thinking of her mother any longer. It would only get her more upset.

After pouring herself a shot, she walked back to the couch and flipped on some random sitcom. She took a steady sip from the thick shot glass, relishing in the soothing burn traveling down her throat. She hadn't drunk alcohol in years, but the urge had never once left her. And neither had her taste for it. Snorting at the thought of her previous drinking experiences, she shook her head. She used to drink all the time when she lived with her mother. Monkey see, monkey do.

Thalia was like her mother, and she hated it. Once she thought everything in her life was going swimmingly, she would suddenly fuck it up and resort to the same-old degrading habits. She was weak and always went back to the same damn things. The brunette bitterly shook her head at herself, indulging in another sip of the soul-sickening substance.

As her drinking usually went, she wounded up having a lot more than she intended. Fortunately for her, due to her godly blood, she was merely buzzed. She was just beginning to feel completely relaxed when she heard a shrill call from behind her.

"Thalia!"

Upon hearing her name being shouted, the daughter of Zeus whipped her head around to see the worried face of Annabeth. Standing quickly, and knocking her glass over in the process, Thalia completely faced the other girl's profile. Mist surrounded the image, and she realized that the girl was Iris-messaging her.

"Annabeth," she greeted in surprise. "What's going on? Wait…how did you find out where I live?"

"That's not important," the daughter of Athena snapped. "Percy's hurt."

Thalia suddenly felt sick. She sat down on the edge of the couch and lowered her gaze to the floor. There was no way she heard the girl correctly. "What?" she asked.

"Percy," the blonde repeated again, slowly, "is hurt."

"What happened?" the daughter of Zeus asked. "What hurt him? Did he make it back to camp all right?"

Annabeth clenched her jaw angrily. "Oh, he made it to camp all right. It's what happened at camp. He's in the infirmary now."

"Annie," the taller girl asserted, finding it in herself to stand up again. "What happened to him? What happened at camp?"

The daughter of Athena was shaking and red in the face, but she mustered up the composure to answer. "Luke…" she started. "Luke tried to kill Percy."


The ride to camp was relatively long, but Thalia found that it was worth every minute. She had to see the son of Poseidon. The only benefit of the long journey was that it gave her a chance to ponder over things.

More importantly, Luke.

Luke Castellan—the same guy who stuck by her side and fought with her through thick and thin—tried to kill the boy she had come to have a crush on. Thalia was certainly angry, that was for sure. Sad. Disappointed. But, mostly, she was in utter disbelief. The Luke she knew wouldn't do anything like that! Admittedly, he was a son of Hermes. Of course he would steal and break into locked off buildings, and whatnot. But, kill someone? No. Luke would never.

Annabeth hadn't told her much via IM, but Thalia was determined to get some information out of her when she later encountered the blonde. She sighed sadly, realizing just how hard the betrayal would hurt the daughter of Athena. The brunette demigoddess had always put her undying trust in Luke, but Annabeth had a sort of undeniable pull towards him. If the daughter of Zeus weren't so reluctant to the thought, she would have bet her money that the blonde loved the son of Hermes.

How could he have done such a thing? Despite her better judgment, she just couldn't stop thinking about it. It wasn't like him, not at all. Thalia felt that if Luke would even dare to do something so insanely extreme, there was surely a complicated reason. Even if she hadn't been around for years, she knew the son of Hermes even better than he knew himself. She had always been good at reading people, and he had trusted her with everything—with exception of some of the details of his past.

One thing she had learned in particular was that he was definitely the furthest definition of a stereotypical guy. While she had always been relatively direct and blunt, he had been almost the complete opposite. Every word that exited his mouth contained double-meanings. However, they had flowed together like sugar and water. If she said she hadn't thought about the two of them being a couple, she would be lying. Still, it had been years. And, obviously, he had certainly changed a lot.

Thalia wasn't like Annabeth. The blonde demigoddess would most likely seek Luke out and beg for him to repent or whatever. The daughter of Zeus rarely did second chances. If it turned out that Luke was a traitor—whatever the complex reason—she no longer wanted anything to do with him. Of course, she would never forget him nor would she stop appreciating everything he had ever done for her. But, after being hurt time and time again by people in the past, the brunette was no longer naïve.

If Percy didn't make it out alive, she didn't know what she'd do.

After her earlier incident with alcohol (honestly, she swore the bottle just leaped into her hands), she decided that she would stop being such a coward and tell Percy how she felt…as soon as she figured out exactly how she felt, that is. Wringing her hands on her lap, she instructed the driver to pull over.

"You sure, ma'am?" he asked. "This is the middle of goddamn nowhere!"

Thalia nodded, sure. "Yeah," she said. She handed him a crumbled twenty before opening the door to the cab and stepping out. "Keep the change."

Breathing deeply, she traveled up the seemingly endless hill. She tried to fight off the thoughts of the past that were haunting her. The hill—the exact place where she had nearly died years before—mocked her with its ill boding aura. Wind tousled her hair slowly, and she swore that if the situation were any more dramatic she would be acting in a supernatural romance film.

When Thalia reached the top of the hill, next to her "designated" pine tree, she was surprised to see a beautiful raven-haired girl sitting cross-legged in the grass. She cleared her throat, to alert to shorter girl of her presence. The brunette on the ground looked up, startled, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the sight of the punk.

"Hello there," the girl greeted before the daughter of Zeus could say anything. The teen smiled slightly, standing up. She smoothed out the fabric of her pretty sundress. "You must be Thalia."

Thalia glanced at the other girl nervously. "Uh…yes?"

The girl laughed. "Don't be so hesitant. Annabeth sent me out here to greet you when you arrived. She didn't want to leave Percy unattended in the infirmary."

The daughter of Zeus nodded. "Oh," she said softly.

"I'm Silena," the girl said, extending her hand. "Silena Beaugard."

Thalia shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"You have an iron grip," Silena joked, although she flexed the fingers of her hand. Had Thalia mistakenly shook her hand too roughly? "Follow me," she said, spinning around on her heel and starting towards the camp.

Not bothering to check out the scenery, the daughter of Zeus kept her gaze low, her eyes following the trail of the other girl's shoeprints. They eventually made it to the Big House—as Silena introduced—and from there, the beautiful teen led them into a sterile, almost hospital-like room. Thalia would have to say it was the infirmary. What other places would look like a hospital?

Lying in the bed to the far back of the room was the slumbering form of the son of Poseidon. Thalia swallowed nervously, slowly edging her way across the room. Silena said a quiet goodbye, before backing out of the room. The daughter of Zeus managed to stop her stroll just behind Annabeth. She had been sure that she was nearly completely silent, but the blonde girl somehow sensed her there.

"No one saw it coming," the daughter of Athena said, her voice quavering slightly.

Thalia sighed heavily, taking a seat in a bedside chair. "I don't think anyone could have seen it coming, Annie."

"It isn't like him."

"I know, I know."

The two girls let the conversation die down, neither really feeling up to discussing the son of Hermes. Looking over at Percy in concern, Thalia felt her brow furrow. He was pale, insanely so, and his face was lined in pain. Softly, she reached out and brushed her fingertips across his cheek in attempt to soothe the ache he was sure to be experiencing.

"How long has he been out?" she asked, not removing her gaze.

Annabeth shrugged, brushing the question off. The daughter of Zeus was beginning to bring the subject up again, when the blonde started sniffling. Thalia refused to look over at the other girl, knowing that if she were crying she wouldn't wish anyone else to witness it. Sometimes, the brunette was convinced that the daughter of Athena was even stronger than she was. Sometimes. There was still Zeus' arrogance, after all.

"He was never the same after that stupid quest," the daughter of Athena grumbled, surprising the taller girl.

"Percy?"

"Luke," the blonde corrected, almost irritably. "His father sent him on a quest to retrieve a golden apple from the Garden of the Hespirides. When he came back, though…he wasn't himself. He was bitterer, cold. He distanced himself from the rest of the camp. He didn't even talk to me. It was like he was a whole other person."

Thalia frowned, fiddling with her hands. "I wouldn't know."

"You used to," Annabeth murmured. "I used to."

The daughter of Zeus sighed shakily. "People change, I guess. You can't trust anyone. Sometimes not even yourself."

The blonde's attention snapped to the older girl. "No," she replied in frustration. "I could trust Luke. We could trust him. Something is wrong with him. He—he must be under Kronos' control!"

Thalia's brow furrowed. "Kronos?"

The daughter of Athena nodded weakly. The dark-haired girl wondered back to the earlier events. The gods—hadn't they mentioned something about the Titan Lord? Was he really rising? Reality hit her like an anticipated freight train. Luke was serving a dismembered, banished Titan. The son of Hermes was trying to overthrow Olympus. Try as she might, she just couldn't wrap her mind around the idea.

Decided against contradicting any of the blonde's statements, Thalia settled with a slow nod.

"Yeah," the brunette mumbled. "He's being controlled. That must be it."

Annabeth glanced over, the area around her eyes red. "You don't believe that any more than I do." Before anything else could be said between the two of them, she stood up from her chair. "I'll leave you two alone. If he wakes up, there's a glass of nectar next to the bed."

Thalia nodded, although she didn't really want to see the other girl go.

"And, Thalia?"

"Yeah?"

"Chiron is probably going to want to talk to you after you're done in here. Just head into the Big House," Annabeth said, before turning around and exiting.

Thalia looked away from the closed door, focusing her attention on the sleeping boy. Sweat trickled down his forehead, and she leaned forward to wipe it away with a corner of his bed sheet. He groaned quietly, causing her to jump in her seat. Recovering from the surprise, she trailed her hand further down to seek his, intertwining their fingers. His hand was searing hot, and resisted the urge to pull away.

The daughter of Zeus was determined to reveal her feelings, and that was precisely what she was going to do. She had waited long enough.

Her eyes flickered to the clock on the opposite wall, its slowed hands damn near taunting her with their pace. Couldn't she wait before sprinting headfirst into this? After all, he was still recovering. And…why would he want to be with her anyway? She was an unapproachable girl. She really should have foreseen this damn indecision. Thalia's lip curled in aggravation. She wasn't used to anyone having this sort of effect on her. Few people managed to make her feel unsure of herself. Yet, Percy Jackson seemed to do a good job of it.

"Thalia?" a voice croaked. "Is that you?"

Her head spun around to meet his clouded gaze. A stupidly wide smile spread across her lips, and she nodded far too eagerly. "Yeah, it's me."

"What happened to going back home? Just couldn't stay away, could you?" he asked in amusement, his eyes dancing with merriment. He was clearly overjoyed to see her there.

"You know it, handsome," she joked along, smiling.

Percy attempted to laugh, but then he was thrown into a coughing fit. What had Luke done to him to make him appear so sickly? Forgetting her previous insecurities, she leaned closer to him and helped him sit up straight, rubbing his back soothingly as he coughed. At the feel of her hand on his back, his eyes drifted to hers and some sort of silent decision passed between the two of them.

Thalia leaned in, lips hovering above his. A hand pressing against her collarbone halted her abruptly. She blinked owlishly, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Had he just stopped her from kissing him?

The son of Poseidon blushed, noting the disbelief on her features. "Don't kiss me," he mumbled, embarrassed. "I just finished coughing. If I'm sick with something, I don't want you to catch it. They aren't even sure that they've gotten the poison out—"

Catching him during his rant, she pressed her lips against his and maneuvered them ever so softly. Thalia had already kissed a fair amount of people, but she had found that it was quite difficult with Percy. He made her nervous—something very little people managed to do.

It took him a while, but he eventually responded, welcoming her kiss and parting his lips. Deciding against slipping her tongue in his mouth—she felt it would be moving far too fast, even though she wanted to—she pulled away from the kiss, incidentally running her tongue across his lips in the process.

Incidentally. Right.

Percy breathed hard, and she realized that she might have been kissing him out of breath. Mentally reprimanding herself, she decided that she shouldn't have been so eager. He hadn't healed completely.

"Sorry," she mumbled, a little breathless herself. Her face continued to linger above his, close enough to feel his warm breath fan across her face. It smelled of chocolate cookies, and she allowed herself a grin. "How are you feeling?"

"Me?" he asked, gesturing to himself. He flashed her a half-smile. "Well, I suppose I was doing all right. Then, you kissed me and now I'm doing amazing."

She blushed, but didn't look away. "Hush."

Percy didn't stop smiling at her. "What made you want to do that? Not that I'm opposed to it, of course. Actually, I liked it. Loved it, even."

What couldn't make her want to do that?

Thalia released a nervous sigh, pulling away from him slightly to better meet his gaze. "Percy, I have to tell you something."

Here goes nothing, she thought.

Percy's eyes clouded with worry. He attempted to straighten his back, as he was in a hunched over position. Something seemed to have caught his attention, and he glanced down to his side. He dangled their intertwined hands, a smile on his face. His worry appeared to wash away, and he looked to her with something akin to admiration.

"What is it, Thalia?" he asked, trying in vain not to smile in excitement.

"I…I…"

"Yes?"

The daughter of Zeus scratched the back of her neck—a nervous habit. "You want to maybe…uh, go out to eat with me sometime?"

The son of Poseidon grinned at the girl's discomfort. "Thalia, daughter of the all mighty Zeus, are you asking me out on a date?"

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"You idiot."

Percy laughed, although it caused him to cough again. "Damn," he said, shaking his head. "That poison has really taken its toll."

She glanced away from him, and made to turn around completely until she felt a soft hand grip her forearm. Thalia raised her eyebrow in inquiry, looking back at him to see his face in an expression of content.

"I would love to grab a bite to eat with you, Thalia," Percy replied to her earlier proposal, a wicked glint in his beautiful sea green eyes. "You name the place."

The daughter of Zeus blushed, but couldn't restrain the brilliant grin that lit up her face. "You're not well," she reminded. "I think it's safest that we wait."

Percy shrugged. "I guess you're right." He sighed. "You'll have to excuse my impatience. I've waited for this a while, you see."

Thalia turned her gaze to the sterile sheets. "I like you. A lot."

"I like you, too," the suddenly red son of Poseidon responded quietly. "A lot."

"I mean, sure. Sometimes you can be super annoying—"

"Thalia!"

The daughter of Zeus erupted into laughter, and her soon-to-be date followed soon after. Before either of them could say another word, someone else made their presence known.

"Thalia," a male spoke. "I've heard of your…return."

The dark haired demigoddess spun around to face the newcomer. A brown-haired man with a scraggly beard stood ten feet from her, and the bottom half of his body…the bottom half—

"I am Chiron," the centaur introduced, smiling. His eyes caught sight of their hands, and he raised an eyebrow. The daughter of Zeus flushed, but she was relieved that he didn't choose to comment on the display. "You may know me as Mr. Brunner."

Thalia smiled in slight disbelief. "Nice to meet you…again."

"I must say, I am excited to see that the daughter of Zeus is still alive and well. I pray you will not influence me to change my mind," Chiron replied. "Young Perseus and my dear Annabeth have filled me in on a few things, and although it was breaking the ancient law, I can see why your father chose to do as he did."

The demigoddess nodded. "I could not be more thankful."

The centaur flashed a smile. "Ah, yes," he said. "Well, although I hate to ruin the fun you seem to be having, Dionysus and I would like to have a discussion with you in private whenever you get the chance. And, if you wouldn't mind, Percy needs more nectar in order to heal."

"No problem, Bruno."

After the centaur exited the infirmary, the daughter of Zeus spun back around to face Percy. "Care for some…uh, nectar?" she asked, frowning at the way her question sounded. He wasn't a freaking bumblebee.

"If nectar is codeword for kissing, then yes," the son of Poseidon stated boldly, although his cheeks burned a fire engine red. "I just realized how lame that was. Excuse that comment. Yes, I would like some nectar."

Thalia threw back her head and laughed joyfully. She hadn't laughed that freely in a while, but something about this entire situation was just so hilarious. Percy smiled at her display of happiness, and cleared his throat pointedly. She looked to him curiously.

"Ask adorable as I find your laughter," he began slowly, smirking when the girl blushed and turned her gaze to the window, "I wasn't kidding about needing some nectar."

Thalia smiled. "My bad," she apologized, grabbing the warm glass from the table and releasing his hand in the process. She raised a dark brow. That was weird. There were nearly ten ice cubes in the glass, and yet it was delightfully warm.

The daughter of Zeus held the straw up to his mouth, and grinned when he failed to capture it between his lips.

"Here," she said, lifting the straw into his mouth with her free hand.

She was surprised when the boy eagerly emptied the glass of its contents in a matter of seconds. "Damn," Thalia remarked, impressed. "What does it taste like?"

"My mother's homemade blue chocolate chip cookies," he said, sighing wistfully. "You really have to try her cookies."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Speaking of food…" Percy hinted coyly. "You still haven't named a place."

"Because I'm…unnerved," she admitted reluctantly.

"Why?"

The daughter of Zeus shrugged. "I've never actually asked anyone out before. The dating thing hasn't really been my scene."

"Mine either," the demigod said. "But, I know I like spending time with you. And, if that time happens to include flirting, kissing, and having a romantic time together, I won't be complaining."

Thalia blushed. "I'm not asking you to be my…you know, boyfriend. Don't let the idea frighten you. I'm just asking you if you want to maybe go on a date and see how things go from there."

"Sparky," he said, earning him a glare. "I know. I'm not the one freaking out about it."

"I'm not freaking out."

"I never said you were." He smiled smugly.

"You implied it," she argued.

"You inferred it."

"Jackson!"

Percy laughed. "Hey!" he exclaimed suddenly. "I didn't cough that time. I think I may be getting better."

"Damn," Thalia swore, snapping her fingers. "How I enjoy seeing you in pain!"

He glared playfully. "You're the one who gave me the nectar," he joked. "And…that kiss might have helped to. You know, on second thought, I'm feeling a bit ill. I may need another to get me by."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Love to stay all day, Jackson. But, I should really get around to that discussion with Chiron and Dinosaur."

The son of Poseidon chuckled again, his gorgeous eyes glinting in amusement. "Dionysus. He isn't Barney. Although, I have to admit, Dinosaur is a bit more accurate."