37. Saved by the Bell

As she walked through the halls, she realized she had forgotten something. Her face crinkled as she remembered. Dr. Woodrow. She was thinking so much about Percy's problem and Ms. Whirly's dinner she had completely forgotten. Not that she tried to intentionally remember, anyways. She figured Dr. Woodrow would be calling for her at any moment and give her a scolding. And she was right.

As soon as she hit her sixth period, there was already a green slip waiting on her teacher's desk. And she had a gut feeling she knew for who it was. The bell rang and she had barely taken her things out when the teacher called her. Frick, frack, and a freaking frunkle.

She took the note and instead of saying "when class work allows" it said "immediately".

"You may go. We're not doing anything important today," he said. Thalia nodded, grabbed her things and left. She figured Dr. Woodrow would give her a good scolding. Tell her how avoiding things will only make it worse. But I'm okay now. She hadn't had nightmares. She hadn't had bad scares anymore. It was gone. She was fine. She has to be. She walked into Dr. Woodrow's office, expecting to see her scowling at the door for her, but instead she was smiling and typing away on her computer.

Thalia sat down and waited for her.

"Good afternoon," Dr. Woodrow smiled.

"Good afternoon?" Thalia replied, a little bit confused.

"I'm sorry. My daughter sent me an e-mail," she said, her eyes glued on the computer. Thalia raised her eyebrows. She hadn't known Dr. Woodrow had a daughter. It seemed kind of weird, though. She seemed so young to have a daughter; and one she never spoke about.

"That's cool," Thalia said awkwardly.

"Yes. She's coming to college over here and she needs a place to stay," she said, as she pressed enter and turned to Thalia.

"I haven't seen her in years," she said and Thalia couldn't help but feel a little out of place. Since when do adults talk to teens about their life? "Oh, she's such a beautiful and smart girl. I can't wait to see her." Thalia nodded.

"Well anyways, back to business. Don't think I didn't realize you didn't come by last Friday," she said, sounding more like herself. Thalia shrugged innocently, but it didn't work. She naturally looked like a rebel.

"Well, how did your weekend go?" she asked. Thalia sighed and leaned back in her chair. She swiped at her hair to move her long black bangs out of the way. She hadn't gotten a haircut in about a year or so. And she's been too busy to do it herself.

"Like any other," she said, though she almost smiled when she said it. It was definitely not like any other weekend. But she wasn't about to say "I kissed a boy and I liked it" to her counselor. Dr. Woodrow pursed her lips.

"Dear, I want you to at least try," she said, a little bit sullen.

"Try what?"

"You know exactly what."

"I don't –"

"You do." Thalia looked at her. "You know what the worse part of all this is? It's that you know it. And that scares you. And that's why you hate it so much. Because it scares you," she said, and Thalia was unconsciously gripping the chair. Dr. Woodrow studied her. "You're holding on to that chair pretty tight. Am I getting closer?"

Thalia wanted to scream at her. Every word she had said was too close for comfort. And Thalia hated nothing more than someone being right about her feelings.

"You don't know anything," she growled.

"Then why don't you tell me?" she said.

"Because it's none of your business," Thalia said lowly.

"It's not a weakness, Thalia. It's strength if you can face it."

"Oh yeah?" Thalia challenged. Dr. Woodrow thought.

"Think of it this way. There are two parties at war. The only thing separating them is a river, but one of the parties… well, he's afraid of water. So, if he can't cross the border to fight his enemy… he won't win. So… if he never faces his fear –"

"He'll always lose," Thalia said, realizing what Dr. Woodrow was getting at. She smiled.

"Exactly." Thalia sighed. She wondered if she should say something. She still didn't feel comfortable talking about herself, but was Dr. Woodrow right? And she didn't want to believe she was. She has to be wrong. I can live with the fear. But what if she was wrong?

"Well.. it was Sunday –" but the school bell cut her off. Dr. Woodrow looked disappointed and like she wanted to strangle the bell.

"You should head to your class. We'll talk Friday," she said, signing the pass and giving it to Thalia. Thalia almost couldn't believe it. Saved by the bell.

She went through her next to periods thinking about how she had almost spilled her guts and started wondering what good that would do her. It's a fear of guns, not a fear of drowning. As she headed out the double doors at the end of school, she heard her name and she froze and cursed herself.

She'd forgotten all about Leo. She turned.

"Hey!"

"Hey," she answered unenthusiastically. Without saying anything else, they walked to the arcade in total silence. Leo whistled, clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"So?" he said, trying to create a conversation.

"I'm staying long enough for you to tell me what you supposedly need to tell me. No more, no less," Thalia said, without sparing a glance. Leo cleared his throat. They reached the arcade and sat down in the food area. It smelled like pizza and it made Thalia's stomach growl in response. The tables were yellow on top and rimmed in red, with red seats. On top, you had your normal ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper, but with a candle lit right in the center.

That candle kind of threw the whole place out of whack. It was all games and junk food, but their dark pink candles that smelled like strawberries seemed so out of place, it almost made sense. Thalia slid it aside to rest her arms on the table. Leo slid into the seat in front of her.

"Hey," he said. Thalia just looked at him.

"We went through this already, just tell me what you wanted to tell me," she said and suddenly he looked nervous.

"Thalia, do you ever do something you wish you just, well, didn't do?" he asked. Thalia nodded. He sighed. "Well, I had one of those moments a few weeks ago," he said.

"And what does this have to do with me?" Thalia asked.

"Kind of everything," he said. "Do you remember the day we were in detention the same day?"

"How could I forget," Thalia said sarcastically.

"We were in there for the same reason," he said. And Thalia's curiosity and suspicion grew.

"What do you mean?"

"I- I was the one who spray-painted the classroom," he said sullenly, looking at the table like it was suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Thalia's hands clenched.

"You mean to tell me I was blamed because of you?" she asked through gritting teeth.

"I didn't know! Cindy asked me to do it," he explained, and a look came over his face as if there was more to Cindy "just asking him" then he was letting on. "She-she said to take the can and put it in a locker and she gave me the number for yours. I- I didn't know!" he said, as Thalia leaned back, a look of surprise and anger crossing her face. That was the thought she couldn't place. The two people she had seen arguing down the hall the day she left lunch early was Cindy and Leo. That's why the boy had seemed so familiar. How did she not see it?

"So…" she said, surprisingly calm. "You framed me?"

"No! Well, not really. I didn't mean to. It was Cindy. She was the one who told me to do it and that's why she didn't want me talking to you. She didn't want me to tell you, because she got caught. That's why she was suspended. Mr. Brunner found out and –"

"Why are you telling me this? Why now?" Thalia asked, her angry blue eyes looking at Leo, he almost wanted to cringe away from them.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I was stupid to do it and I know it's my fault, but Cindy –" he slammed his fist against the table and the candle fell, lighting his sleeve on fire. He yelped and jumped up, waving his arm to get rid of the fire. Thalia only rolled her eyes. She pulled off her light jacket and smacked his arm, stopping the fire with one swift move. Leo was panting. Thalia got up and started walking away.

"Thalia! Wait!" Leo called after her, but she was just too angry to even answer. The logical side of her told her that it wasn't Leo's fault; that she should blame Cindy. But the bad side of her didn't want to listen. She was seething and if she stayed anywhere near Leo, he would end up with something worse than a slight burn.

Hey guys! I'm glad you liked the chapter. A few things:

To annabethandpercy4ever: I won't answer that as to not spoil anything. I am not saying yes and I am not saying no. Just wait and see.
To one of the guests: This is mainly a Percy & Thalia story. Annabeth will not be a big part of this, sorry. But no worries, troubles will ensue like they always do!
And to another guest: There will be more Perlia moments, but this isn't solely about them. Thalia's and everyone else's life is a big part of it. It's romance, but not strictly.

I'm okay if you guys ask questions, BUT some things I won't answer. Like the famous Stephen King said: Good books don't give up all their secrets at once.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed/favorite/followed this story! You guys make me want to continue this story with a vengeance :) And thanks to bringing me up to 292 reviews! Never have I gotten so many! It's kind of awesome :) So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and, don't forget, let me know what you think!

YOURS IN DEMIGODISHNESS AND ALL THAT! PEACE OUT!