2. Player 1 & Player 2

She walked down the sidewalk with her hands shoved into her front pockets. She could feel the anger boiling in the pit of her stomach. Why was her mother like that? Oh yeah, because her deadbeat father left them. She sighed and chewed on her lip, as her eyes searched for something to do, something to waste her time with. It was only 12 o'clock.

She walked down the street and her eyes wandered over the buildings and they landed on a small arcade tucked between two tall buildings. She checked her pocket and sighed in relief when she realized her wallet was still there. She walked towards the arcade, little and blue with a neon sign saying "Fun & Games" hanging at the top of two glass doors with a sign that said 'PULL'. So, she did. The entire arcade was carpeted with a black rug that had planets spreading all across it. Machines and games were scattered all over the room in a chaotic organized way. On one side, the little arcade branched off into a non-carpeted tiled floor with tables and such, and across from the tables was a yellow and red counter selling food and drinks. There were about thirty people in total inside the arcade. There was a group of boys playing an Alien vs Predator game. There was a girl playing a racing game, a bunch of kids playing on Dance Dance Revolution and a couple eating pizza. It seemed completely normal.

She walked towards a little coin machine and fed it a five dollar bill and received twenty coins in return. She shook them in her hand and then poured them into her back pocket. She strolled around the arcade, looking for a game she thought good enough. And she stayed there, for about an hour playing shooting games and racing games and games that had no plot and games she thought were stupid but played them anyways. She was actually enjoying herself, even if she was alone.

She came across the racing game she had seen a girl playing earlier when she had walked in. It was two tokens. She reached for her coin stash but she only had one because one game had cost her three tokens, leaving her with just one awkward one.

"Damn," she breathed, as she spun the coin over her knuckles.

"Need a coin?" someone said behind her, pulling a hand around with another token pinched between their fingers. She turned around to see the same boy from the park.

"You again?" she blurted out, not really caring she was being rude. The boy shrugged.

"I guess so," he said, pulling out another two coins from his pocket and sitting down into the seat for the racing game. "So, you wanna play or not?" he said, handing her the coin. Thalia thought about it. Should she accept the friendly invitation or steer clear of it? She looked at her watch and the single gold token. She had plenty of time to spare, so why not. She decided to go for it.

"What the hell," she said as she snatched the coin from his hand and slumped into the other seat. She stuck them through the slot and the machine whirred up for a new game. She chose a red Mustang and the boy next to her chose a jeep. The boy looked at her.

"Ready to lose?" he said, cocking an eyebrow.

"You wish," she said, as she revved her car. The woman on the screen, in that totally slutty outfit, swung the flag and the race began. She slammed her foot on the false gas pedal and her car zoomed off. The whole time, they were toe to toe. Player 1 ahead, played 2 ahead, player 1 ahead… But Thalia had a trick up her sleeve.

"Hey, are you hungry?" she asked, smiling at the huge cliché she was about to spill out. She hadn't ever used it before and she was just dying to.

"A little, why?" Thalia smiled.

"Because you're about to eat my dust," she said as she tapped the gas twice and her car sped off and crossed the finish line in second place as his came in fourth. Thalia let go a laugh and turned to the boy.

"Maybe next time stud," she said, as she stood up and started leaving, since she was fresh out of coins. She was already by the door when the boy came up next to her.

"Hey, what's the rush?" he asked, as they both walked out of the arcade. Thalia didn't answer because she really didn't feel like it. She gave him some of her time already and she was done.

"You know, I've seen you twice in one day and I don't even know your name," he said, when he realized she wasn't going to answer him. She looked at him from the corner of her eye and debated whether or not she should tell him.

"You first," she said, as she kept her eyes in front of her.

"I asked you first," he said.

"Um, no. You stated a fact," she said, raising her eyebrow.

"Okay, touché. I'm Percy. Now it's your turn," he said, casting a sideways glance at her. But as she had predicted, she was already standing next to her building. Without saying another word, she walked up the stairs.

"Hey wait! I don't know your name!" Percy said, as he ran up a few steps. Thalia turned and looked at him.

"I know," she said.

"Are you going to tell me?" Percy asked, desperate to know her name. Thalia smiled, but it wasn't the "you're so cute" kind of smile. It was the smile that said "oh, you just don't get the point, do you".

"See ya," she said, as she opened the doors and walked inside. She bounded up the stairs and into the apartment. The island where her mother had been sitting at when she left had about three beer cans on it. Thalia set her headphones down and cleaned up the cans, throwing them into the trash can. She walked down the hall to reach her bedroom when she heard a crash. It sounded like something metal and ceramic clashed together. Without hesitating, she ran towards the sound which had come from her mother's bathroom. The door was locked, but she heard another crash and the sound of someone moaning. Thalia grasped the doorknob and pounded the door with her shoulder. She kicked it and punched it until one of the rusty hinges finally broke off. The door slanted forward and she climbed through the small opening.

The water was running and the shower curtain was bundled up on the floor. Lying on top of the shower curtain was Thalia's naked and passed out mother. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her mother. Her mother moaned, but she didn't wake up. Thalia picked her up, throwing one of her wet arms across her shoulders and pulled her out of the bathroom. She set her down on the bed and tapped her lightly on the cheek. Her mother didn't respond, but after a slightly harder tap on the cheek, she woke up.

"Mom, what happened?" Thalia asked, taking a hand towel and wiping away a little bit of blood from her mother's brow.

"I- I can't remember," her mother muttered, snatching the hand towel from Thalia's hand and drying her face. "What are you doing here? I thought you left," she snapped.

"I live here too, you know," Thalia shot back. Her mother huffed, jumping off the bed and left for her closet. Thalia stomped out of the room. That's what I get for trying to help you? Fine, whatever. I don't care.

Thanks For The Reviews:
- Writer'sWings
- Guest
- ThaliaDaphneJackson12

And also, thanks for the favorites and alerts :) I also want to mention that this story is not like those drama/love stories, although, yes it does include romance. I know no one said anything about that, but I just wanted to make that clear, just in case! Please, let me know what you guys think about this chapter and don't hesitate to review :P Lend me your thougts and I promise I'll give them back! lol, thanks and I hope you enjoyed the chapter :)