7. You And Me

The entire ride home was silent. Not even the radio had been turned on. Thalia looked out the window with her arms crossed. She was angry, she wanted to get to the apartment already and just lock herself up in her room. She could feel the bandage around her torso, constricting her. She was itching to rip it off, despite the doctor's specifications. When her mother finally parked, Thalia didn't give her a break to say something. She threw the door open, slammed it closed and ran up to the apartment.

She was finally in her room. She locked her door, threw her things on the floor and ended up standing in front of her mirror. She stared at herself; at the disheveled person standing in the glass. Her hair needed some serious brushing; her shirt was broken and stained red. The image of the gun flashed in her mind and she shook her head. She pulled off her shirt and threw it on the floor. She ripped off the bandage and revealed a raw hole with stitches. The cold air made the wound sting, but she didn't care. She softly brushed her fingers across the wound.

Her eyes stung and she sat down on the floor at the foot of her bed. Her head fell into her hands and she sobbed. Quietly, so her mother wouldn't hear her through the thin door. Her hands balled into fists around her hair. She wanted to scream. The shock of the gunshot was now falling on her and it didn't feel good. In her anger, she grabbed her bag and flung it across the room; letting everything spill out. Her headphones, her cellphone, her wallet and a little piece of paper. Thalia wiped away the tears and crawled over to the purse. She picked up the little torn piece of paper.

212-475-3345

Percy

He must've snuck it in when she was asleep or not looking. She set it on her nightstand, pulled on a shirt about five sizes too big for her, changed into a pair of cotton shorts and lay down in her bed. She suddenly felt unsafe. For the first time in a long time, she was afraid. She curled up into a ball, and just stayed there, feeling numb.

Her eyes looked around her room. Pale blue with posters of singers and bands she liked. Her closet, half open with all her punk clothes sticking out; some shirts hanging off the hangers, some thrown about the floor, and some semi-folded at the very top. Her shoes, mixed up on the floor; her radio/CD player sitting in one corner and her window, with blue curtains draped on the sides. The cream colored carpet and finally, a treasure chest looking dresser in the corner, locked.

Not very interesting and very vague. She stood up and walked to the kitchen to grab a bottled water and found her mother sitting at the island with a beer can in her hand. The anger Thalia had tried her best to keep controlled, finally came bursting out. She walked over to her mother and slapped the can out of her hand. It fell to the floor, spilling beer all over the wooden floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" her mother growled, standing up.

"Do you NOT get it?!" Thalia yelled.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" her mother yelled back.

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY? BECAUSE OF THAT?" Thalia yelled, pointing at the puddle of beer. Thalia walked closer to her mother until she was close enough to touch her.

"I ALMOST DIED! DOES THAT NOT GET THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL?!"

Without answering, her mother grabbed the car keys and left the apartment. Leaving Thalia shivering in anger. Thalia ran back to her room and started to throw her things. Didn't her mother understand? Did she not understand that her actions affect her too? Her hands slammed against the nightstand and the little piece of paper quivered from her breath. Thalia stared at it. Without thinking about it another second, she grabbed her cellphone and dialed the number.

"Hello?" a voice answered. Thalia didn't answer. She bit her lip, wondering if this was her smartest move. But when the thought of her mother resurfaced, she didn't hesitate anymore.

"Hellooo?"

"Meet me at the park. 5 o'clock," she said, as she hung up the phone. She changed and stomped out of her house, not even bothering to clean up the mess she'd made. She bounded down the stairs, her face contorted into anger. She stormed to the park. There weren't a lot of people, mostly because it was Sunday. At the back, there was an abandoned swing. So, she walked towards it and sat in one of the swings. She gripped the chains holding it and slowly rocked back and forth with her eyes closed. She breathed in and out, in and out. I'm okay. I'm okay. I know I'm okay.

"You could've said bye," a voice said behind her. Her eyes snapped open and she looked back. Percy was standing there, in a pair of jeans, a light green shirt with a green opened plaid shirt over it with rolled up sleeves and a pair of sneakers.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. He chuckled and sat down in the swing next to her.

"What happened?" he asked, keeping his gaze looking across the park instead of on her. Thalia sighed. There was something about him that made Thalia want to spill about her entire life. About how screwed up it is and how screwed up her mother is and how her father abandoned her and how she had no friends and how she probably wouldn't be able to college and everything in between, but Thalia stayed quiet. She hadn't thought about it in advance and now, she didn't know what to say. Especially because she hadn't had many social moments with other people.

"Nothing," she said.

"Sure," he replied, kicking his feet and swinging back and forth.

He turned his sea green eyes at her. Usually, when she looked at other people's eyes, she saw hatred or pity. But his… were neither. They were special. It was like they saw right through her and no matter what he saw, he wasn't scared of it. In fact, it called out to him; the way her blue eyes screamed pain; the way they drank in everything they saw and were calculating the best way to destroy it.

"Thalia?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Thalia asked, blinking. She hadn't realized she was staring at him and she quickly looked away when she realized what she had done.

"I want to show you something," he said, standing up. Thalia creased her eyebrows and looked at him.

"Trust me," he smiled. Thalia bit her lip, but she figured anything was better than going back to her own home. So she followed him. It felt like they had been walking forever. Every time she asked where they were going, he only replied: you'll see.

After a while, they ended up in front of a huge abandoned building.

"Come on," he smiled, as he ran inside, slipping through the planks of wood that should've kept outsiders out. Thalia reluctantly followed him. He ran up the stairs. Flights and flights of stairs. Thalia's lungs were about to burst from the exercise. Finally, Percy opened a door and that revealed a huge terrace.

"Whoa," Thalia said, as she could see the entire Manhattan city.

"Pretty awesome, huh?" Percy said as he walked forward and sat on a small bench.

"Come on," he said, as he patted the empty space next to him. Thalia slowly walked towards him and sat down. The bench was small, so they were only a few inches away from each other.

"I found this place one day when I got lost. I was probably fifteen. I took a wrong turn and ended up losing track of the way home. I saw this building and well… I got a little curious," he said, smiling proudly at the view he had discovered years before.

"It's amazing," Thalia breathed, as she studied the line of buildings and the Hudson River flowing behind them.

"Yeah, it is," Percy said, as he looked at her. Thalia pretended she didn't hear him and kept her eyes on the horizon. Thalia glanced at her watch. It was already 6:27 PM. The time did travel fast. It was just starting to darken. They stared at the view, talking every now and again about random things.

"So, what happened?" Percy finally asked again. Thalia looked at him. The moon was rising and it reflected in his green eyes beautifully. Thalia shocked herself with the thought and quickly pushed it out of her head. She sighed.

"Mom came home with some guy. He tried to rob her, I got his attention, tried to stop him from shooting mom. And well, I think you know the rest," Thalia said, chewing on her lip.

"Oh," Percy said. To be honest, Thalia was taken off guard. Normally, people would give you a look of pity and say "oh I am so sorry!" but not really mean it. But Percy didn't. Thalia actually felt refreshed from that.

"Well…" he said, as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He searched through it and then clicked on something. A song started to pour from its speakers and Thalia immediately recognized it. You and Me by Lifehouse. He stood up and placed his phone on the bench.

"May I ask for this dance?" he said, as he extended his hand to her. Thalia was surprised, but for once, she didn't say no.

She slid her hand into his and he pulled her up. He pulled her in front of him, placing his other hand on her waist. He smiled and she rested her hand on his shoulder. He started to move, falling into the rhythm of a simple slow dance. He was several inches taller than her, so she had to look up, while he looked down, staring into her eyes.

I can't keep up and I can't back down. I've been losing so much time. 'Cause it's you and me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to lose. And it's you and me and all other people. And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you.

He slowly spun her around and held her close again, sliding back and forth. A feeling Thalia had never felt before was crawling up her spine. And she loved it and hated it at the same time. His hands were so soft and she was restraining herself from curling up her fingers in his shirt as they slowly glided across the floor in a graceful dance.

And I don't know why, I can't keep my eyes off of you. What day is it? And in what month?

He threw her out and then pulled her in, as she rolled into his arm and landed with her hands on his chest, his hands on her waist and their faces only inches apart.

This clock never seemed so alive.

Thanks for the reviews guys! I'd never had so many so quick! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! :) If you didn't like it, tell me why and if you liked it, tell me why. Criticism if it needs any, but please don't be harsh.

Again, if you have not done so already, I really urge you guys to check out Writer'sWings. Not very easy to find talented writers like her! So yeah, that's end of my author's note, thanks again guys :)

(Just in case)
I do NOT own Riordan's characters or the music I mention. BUT, I do own the plot! ;)