41. Whataya Want From Me

She shuffled back to her apartment, wondering how bad her Sunday was going to be volunteering at that freaking old foggy home. She sighed. Can't be that bad, right? She walked into her apartment, already preparing to give a good scolding. Her mother was sitting on the couch, her legs crossed over the coffee table with a bowl of Apple Jacks. Her stomach was big enough to rest the bowl on top of it and she ate happily, crumbs sliding down her yellow cotton dress that had several white stains over it from the time Thalia had spilled bleach and the dress just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Thalia dropped her bag and walked over to her mother, moistening her lips.

"I went," her mother said before Thalia could say anything, which kind of took her off guard.

"What?"

"I went. Granted, about 45 minutes late, but… I went," she said, looking at Thalia. "You'd know that if you hadn't spent all day at your boyfriend's house!" she spat, seeing Thalia's glare.

"He's not –" she flinched. He actually was. Her mother scoffed. Thalia rolled her eyes, but inside, she kind of felt the tiniest bit happy her mother had gone.

"Did you get the card stamped?" she asked. This time her mother rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," she said absentmindedly. Thalia shrugged and left. That was probably the best answer she would get out of her. She walked into her room and changed into something a little more comfortable. She could hear the TV in her room, so she turned on her radio; something she hadn't done in over six years. It was still on her favorite station, though now it seemed to have more pop than before. It was no biggie. She didn't mind listening to other kinds of music; having been a kind of minor musician, she'd learned music is music.

"Hey, slow it down. Whataya want from me? Whataya want from me? Yeah, I'm afraid. Whataya want from me? Whataya want from me?" the radio played. Thalia unconsciously smiled. This had been one of her favorite songs for a while. It made her think about her mother, mostly, wondering, literally, what her mother wanted from her because it seemed that no matter what she did, it wasn't good enough. Her hips started to sway as she listened to the music.

There might've been a time when I would give myself away. Once upon a time I didn't give a damn. But now, here we are. So whataya want from me? Whataya want from me?

Thalia let the music sink in and she turned it up, blocking out the noise of the TV. She grabbed her hairbrush and waited for the chorus. Taking a breath, she sang along.

"Just don't give up! I'm working it out! Please, don't give in! I won't let you down! It messed me up, need a second to breathe! Just keep coming around! HEY! Whataya want from me? Whataya want from me?" she sang, jumping around her room, her hair whipping around. She had forgotten how good singing made her feel, and she wondered why she had given it up. She didn't hold back this time. She let it all out. Her voice was loud, not really needing the help of a microphone to be heard.

"Hey! Whataya want from me?! Whataya want from me?!" The song ended, and she was left breathing heavily. She turned the music down and she realized she couldn't hear the TV anymore. Had her mother left? She turned the music all the way down and right before she opened her door, the TV resumed. Odd. She shrugged and left her radio on the remainder of the day; while she did homework and showered. She went to bed, almost too ecstatic to fall asleep, but as soon as her head touched the pillow it was lights out.

The next day was nothing special and completely normal: boring classes, bitchy Cindy, avoiding Leo. She came home and did her homework, like every other day. Thursday was very uneventful, but the same couldn't be said for Friday.

She made it to class seconds before the bell rang, earning another one of those raised-eyebrow looks from Mr. Whatley. She struggled to pay attention through her next four periods and it came as a sweet relief when it was finally lunch. She was walking to her usual lonely corner when a high-pitched voice made everything inside her burn.

"What do you want now, Cindy? Done bullying Leo?" Thalia spat. Cindy's eyes narrowed at the mention of Leo, and Thalia knew she'd hit a nerve. She didn't know if Cindy realized if she knew everything or not, but Thalia would leave it to her imagination. It was so much more fun that way. But her momentary lapse of cockiness disappeared and she smirked.

"Heard about your mother," she said. Thalia's hand clenched into fists, but she did everything in her power not to show it. A few people stopped to watch the show unravel.

"Poor kid's going to be a bastard," Cindy said. Thalia was holding herself back from coming down on the prissy girl, but the double meaning of what she had said was making it hard. But it wasn't only the fact that Cindy was mentioning it in front of everyone, it was the fact that she knew at all. How? She hadn't even told Percy. Cindy strode forward, until she was looking down at Thalia.

"What's it to you Cindy. Your life just not interesting enough?" Thalia growled. Cindy smiled.

"I just really enjoy when people fuck up their lives beyond repair," she said lowly, so only Thalia could hear her. Thalia gritted her teeth. What did Cindy want? Why did Cindy start these pointless arguments?

"Cindy, if I were you, I would keep my mouth shut, or you're going to be needing a lot of concealer for the next couple of days," Thalia said through her teeth. Cindy raised a perfectly waxed eyebrow.

"I'm so scared," she said sarcastically. "You can't touch me, Grace," she spat, saying the last word like it was as disgusting as rats pissing on your food. "I've got connections, and with the right words, I could make your life even more miserable. But I don't think I need to. Your mother does it enough for both of us. How does it feel being a major screw-up, Thalia? Being the freak in the school, the one person who doesn't and will never fit in? There's nothing special about you. You're as important as the gum on the bottom of someone's shoe. And you'll be just like your mother."

That was it. Thalia had had enough of Cindy's comments. She didn't even know why Cindy even went after her so much; it's not like she's actually done anything to her! Her hand balled into a fist and she struck out. Cindy fell back on her butt, clearly not expecting the punch. More kids gathered around them and the ones who had been watching oohed at the sudden hit. Thalia dropped her bag and straddled Cindy, who was so incredibly weak. Her sexual air wasn't going to help her now, and neither were her friends who were staring from the edge of the group. Thalia pinned her arms down.

"I told you you'd need concealer. Black-eyes don't cover themselves up," Thalia said. "Now you better choose your words wisely from now on, because hitting you was just so much fun, Temparwhirl," Thalia spat. She stood up, but looked at Cindy again, who was sitting up and covering the left side of her face in utter humiliation.

"And real friends would've helped you," Thalia said, throwing her chin in the direction of Cindy's so called "best friends". Without another word, she grabbed her bag and pushed her way through the crowd of kids that had been watching.

In eighth period, she was called to Dr. Woodrow's office. She wasn't sure if Woodrow knew about the fight or not, but either way, she really didn't want to go. She didn't bother knocking the door and walked in.

"Good afternoon," Dr. Woodrow said. Thalia sat down.

"Hi."

"I heard about what happened in lunch today," she said, her grey eyes looking as unsettling as ever. Thalia sighed and leaned back in her chair. So much for hoping she hadn't heard about it. Now she had something else to grill her about.

"Yeah, I'm surprised I haven't been suspended yet," Thalia mumbled.

"I wanted to know exactly what happened and the reason behind it," Dr. Woodrow said bluntly. Thalia pursed her lips. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spill about how Cindy had been bullying her since the ninth grade. If Cindy got in trouble for that, she'd be known as the snitch, as the girl who couldn't handle it. She decided to give as little information as possible.

"Cindy and I don't get along," Thalia said. "She was saying some… unpleasant things and I snapped. I punched her and that was it." Dr. Woodrow's eyebrows scrunched together, as if she was digesting the new information and what was the best course of action.

"Had she done this before?" she asked. Thalia bit her lip.

"A few times," she said. Woodrow nodded.

"What was she saying?" she asked. Thalia squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable with all the questions.

"Why does it matter?" Thalia said, feeling annoyed. Dr. Woodrow pursed her lips.

"I'm just trying to help you, Thalia. But I need to know what happened to be able to help you," she said, mustering a small smile.

"I don't know."

"Just tell me –"

"She was just making fun of my mother and me!" Thalia burst. "Like always!" she said, standing up. She caught herself and cleared her throat. She sat back down. "Just tell me how many days I'm suspended so I can get out of here," she said sullenly.

"You're not suspended," Dr. Woodrow said. Thalia looked at her, clearly surprised.

"What?"

"You'll have detention Monday and Tuesday of next week and that's it." Thalia's eyes opened wide.

"Are you serious? Why?" Thalia asked, leaning forward.

"The school isn't unaware of Cindy's behavior," was all she said. She smiled at Thalia, but Thalia still couldn't believe it. She had to admit it; Brunner Institution was the best school she'd ever been to.

Hey guys! I'm glad you guys liked the last one. So, I'm hoping you like this one just as much. And I think you guys will really enjoy the next two chapters :) And thank you so much guys for getting me over 300 reviews! That's amazing! And like always, let me know what you think about this chappie!

In other news: I was thinking about creating this new story (which isn't really a story), but a compilation of moments between different ships (percabeth, leyna, lazel, jiper or pason? ect...). And people review the ship they would want to read about next, and the next chapter will be about them. If you guys would like that, let me know!

Disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics. All credit goes to Whataya Want From Me by Adam Lambert.