19. Towel

Thalia wasn't sure what she should do. She wasn't good at comforting or being very emotionally polite. So what could she do? Well, what she's always done; forget about it.

"Sorry about that, but maybe we should clean up the kitchen," Thalia said. She didn't know at what time Sally would arrive, and she was nervous she'd find the kitchen a rotting mess. But Percy didn't respond. He had tried talking to Nico, but he seemed intent on staying locked up in his room. Percy was standing there, clearly thinking about something Thalia didn't understand. Thalia touched his arm.

"He's not coming out," she said, as Percy turned to look at her with clouded eyes. She knows he won't. She's done the same act herself too many times to know that asking will only keep that door locked longer.

"Fine," Percy sighed. Although Thalia wasn't crazy about him, she wasn't heartless. Percy's dampened mood was reaching her as well. She wasn't going to hug him or tell him everything's all right, because clearly something was up, but she could keep her snide comments to herself for a while. Percy shuffled back to the kitchen and started to throw out the left over macaroni from the pot. In silence, Thalia grabbed the dishes they had washed and washed them again, because they were now covered in cheese and flour. About five minutes into the cleaning, Percy came over and stood next to Thalia.

"Sorry I'm in such a stink mood. It's just that I love Nico, and I hate seeing him like this," he said, as he sprayed Clorox onto the counter.

"You don't have to explain yourself to me," Thalia said as she dried off the dishes. She was silently hoping he wouldn't continue. She wasn't one for talking about feelings and she couldn't even relate because she didn't have a brother or sister, even though sometimes she wished she had.

"On the other hand, you stink like food," he commented, nudging her elbow with his.

"Look who's talking!"

"Hey, I smell like roses!"

"Rotten ones, perhaps," Thalia said, as she slid the newly washed dishes into the cabinets. Percy blew raspberry at her and started wiping down the counter. They spent the next twenty minutes trying to get the kitchen to "shine bright like a diamond!" (If you got that, hooray for you!)

"Finally, we're done!" Percy exclaimed, throwing himself onto the kitchen table chair.

"Not quite," Thalia said. Percy looked at her in confusion. Thalia rolled her eyes. "Percy, you still look like a doughnut!"

"Oh… gotcha, be back," he said as he stood up and ran into the bathroom. As Percy cleaned himself up, she looked for a mirror to see just how horrendous she looked. When she found one, she made a face at what she saw in the mirror. Her hair was sticking up with dried cheese and she had flour on clothes from where Percy had touched her. Her clothes were drenched in water and Pepsi and she had cheese streaks on her face like she was some kind of cheese warrior.

"Oh gods, I look like Tonto from the Lone Ranger," she murmured as she looked at her face. It was like a clown threw up on her. But she had to admit that this food fight had better skills at putting on make-up than she ever had. She walked back to the kitchen and waited, like she could really do much else. Her fingers thrummed against the hard wooden table, until they made a barely recognizable beat. Almost in a trance, she pulled up both hands and slowly and softly started to hit the table.

"I don't know why she's with me. I only brought her trouble since the day she met me," she breathed so softly it almost sounded like the wind singing outside. She stopped abruptly and jumped when she heard a door open. Her heart hammered, but with a long sigh, she pulled her nerves back under control.

"Yo Thalia," she heard Percy call before he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh my gods," Thalia muttered as she looked away. He had come out with a towel wrapped around his waist and a smaller one drying his wet hair. Must really want to show off.

"You can take a shower. I can lend you some clothes," he said, as he walked past her and grabbed something from a cabinet.

"Boy's clothes?" Thalia asked.

"Oh, you use girl's clothes?" he said, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Bite me."

"Gladly," Percy retorted cheerfully.

"Ugh."

"No, you can use some of mom's clothes," he said, as he started to walk to his room. Thalia's eyes widened. His mother's clothes?! She jumped up.

"Percy!" she hissed. He poked his head back into the kitchen. "I can't use your mother's clothes!"

"Sure you can. She'll understand. No worries," he added when he saw Thalia's expression of shock, embarrassment and anger. "It's just until your stuff is washed." He left before Thalia could protest. She groaned into her hand as she slunk back into her chair. She couldn't wear Sally's clothes! Was he nuts? But when she looked back down at her clothes, she chewed on her lip. Only until my clothes is washed.

She walked into the bathroom and folded neatly on the toilet seat was a pair of jeans and a light blue t-shirt. Locking the door behind her (and checking a few times to make sure it was securely locked) she disrobed and stepped into the shower. The water was nice and warm and she started to feel clean again as the flour, cheese, salt and soda, and who knows what else, slid down her body and down the drain. She stepped back out, dried off and carefully put on Sally's clothes. She felt like if she wasn't extra careful it would rip into pieces.

The smell of candy drifted off her clothes and Thalia breathed it in, feeling a light sense of happiness. Once she had made sure that she had washed away every trace of their food fight, she walked outside. It was silent and Thalia was worried Percy was going to play some sort of prank on her after she had clearly stated he was forbidden to do.

"Percy?" she called out carefully.

"Over here!" his voice rang out. She tried to pinpoint where it came from and started to walk in that direction. He was throwing clothes into the washing machine, namely his and hers. She jumped forward and grabbed his hand before he could continue.

"Are you nuts?! You don't put black and whites together!" she chided as she pulled out Percy's white t-shirt. "You're lucky I was here or you'd end up with a grey t-shirt instead."

"You're my hero," he said sarcastically as he finished throwing the rest in, added the detergent and pressed start. Thalia rolled her eyes and walked back into the living room. She heard keys jingling at the door and when it swung open, Sally walked in. Thalia bit her lip. Would she scold Thalia for wearing her clothes?

She walked in and stopped in front of Thalia. She was about to say something when she noticed what Thalia was wearing.

"I'm really sorry I'm wearing your clothes! It's just that mine got extremely dirty and Percy said -"

"Calm down," Sally laughed. "Honey I'm not mad. You're welcome to use my clothes if you need to. Percy told me what happened, it's okay" she chuckled. Thalia sighed in relief.

"And besides, I always wanted to share clothes with a daughter. You aren't my daughter, but it's second best," Sally said soothingly, before she walked into the kitchen. Thalia forced a laugh as Sally left, but she trailed off as she disappeared. She was rooted to where she stood. Did she just say daughter? Thalia wasn't even sure how to react. A sudden coldness settled in her stomach. Sally, whom she hardly knew, considered her more of a daughter than her mother ever had.

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics Thalia "breathes so softly it's almost like the wind was singing outside". They belong to Walk Away by The Script