43. Corre

She tried to think of other things besides the fact his thumb kept caressing hers. She was close to maybe pulling her hand away when he let go. At first, though she wouldn't admit it, she panicked. Had she done something wrong? Hell, it's not like relationships come with a manual, but before she could look at him, she felt him move and felt his arm slide behind her and started caressing her shoulder. She wasn't sure if she liked it or hated it. Whichever it was, she wasn't ready and she leaned forward.

"Sorry," she muttered. He seemed to understand as he pulled his arm back. They watched the rest of the movie without any physical contact. Thalia almost laughed; so much for being a couple. When the movie was over, Percy walked her back home.

"Like the movie?" he asked. Thalia nodded.

"It was good. Any movie with a bunch of explosions is cool," she said. Percy chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so," he said. He passed his hand through his messy hair that seemed to glow in the coming sunset.

"So, you doing anything tomorrow?" he asked. Thalia sighed.

"Yeah, I have to volunteer at some old people home with a friend," Thalia said. "Why not, I couldn't picture a better way to spend my Sunday," she added sarcastically, making Percy laugh.

"It can't be that bad."

"Old people are like alcoholics. That filter that usually kept them from insulting people has slowly deteriorated. Honesty is one thing, senile is another. Ugh, you just want to strangle most of them," Thalia said, remembering all the oldies she'd met before and how critical they were of her lifestyle, her choice in clothing, her everything. Percy laughed.

"Well yeah, I can agree with you on that one," he said. "Just try not to kill them, all right?" Thalia rolled her eyes.

"I make no promises, just be ready to bail me out," Thalia said with a smile. The next minute, they arrived at her building.

"Well, I'll see ya later," she said, as she started up the stairs. But something wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back.

"Well, don't go without a goodnight kiss," Percy smiled as he leaned in and kissed her. She felt a wave of heat travel down to her toes and she felt herself smile. She would never tell him, but she admitted it felt good being wanted.

"Goodnight," she said as she ruffled up his hair and walked up the steps. She walked into her apartment, feeling better than she ever had. She walked into the living room, but it was empty. She had expected to see her mother sitting on the couch, watching ID, but she was nowhere to be found. Thalia shrugged. She figured she was probably in her room snoring. She went straight bed, kicking of boots and jeans and sliding under the covers.

The next morning came too early. She got up, moaning because it was too early, and crawled out of bed. Still half asleep and stuck in zombie mode, she took a shower and got dressed. She got a call from Luna as soon as she pulled out her cereal.

"Helloses?" Thalia answered.

"Are you ready, Thalia?"

"Yeah, I'm going to eat some cereal and I'll head out."

"Sure. I got here earlier, so just tell the receptionist you're with me and she'll tell you what to do. At twelve, we're going to help with the lunch and everything and then you can head out. My brother is here, so I'll be staying afterwards."

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan. I'll see you there soon," Thalia said. Luna chirped a goodbye before hanging up. Thalia finished her breakfast, wondering what the day held in store for her. And if she was going to be running out of there a lot sooner than Luna was planning. Once done, she grabbed her bag and walked to the elders home, taking her time.

At one of intersections, she let her eyes wander around until they settled on a small white building nestled between two bigger ones. She blew at her bangs. Just do it and get it over with. She crossed the street and walked down the sidewalk towards the building, before walking inside setting off one of those stupid bells.

"Hello, how may I help you?" the blonde receptionist called. Thalia shrugged.

"I'm with Luna," she said. The receptionist nodded.

"All right, those bags in the corner," she said, pointing at a white box of a roll of trash bag, "are for changing the trash cans in every room. Do not go into the rooms with an orange or yellow tag on the doorknob. There's sometimes two trash cans, but it's usually one. It shouldn't take long. When you're done, you can meet Luna in the lunchroom," she said. Thalia nodded unenthusiastically. Just great. She gets to be a garbage person for a day. She grabbed the box and shuffled passed the reception desk and started walking into rooms.

Sadly, not many had orange or yellow tags, so she had to go to almost every single room. This sucks. I wish I could just be in bed. Sleeping. She walked down another hallway where the sound of a piano echoed through. It was soft and sweet, and Thalia felt like sitting outside the door and listening to it. But of course, that would seem a little weird, so she walked into another room. She changed the trash can, leaving the trash bags right outside the door for the janitor to pick up. Then, it was the piano room next.

She was a little hesitant, not wanting to disrupt whoever was playing, but she figured she had to, so she softly knocked on the door. After a few seconds, it swung open and a short dark-skinned woman stood before her. Long frizzy hair ran down over her shoulders and her golden eyes sparkled in the nest of wrinkles. Despite her age, Thalia had to admit she was beautiful.

"Hi," Thalia said awkwardly.

"Hi," she said with a warm smile.

"Uh, I have to clean your trash can," Thalia said, showing her the roll of unused trash bags.

"Sure, come on in," she said, stepping aside. Thalia walked in and looked around. The room was nicer than the others. Light poured in, bathing the baby blue carpet and the two full sized beds and… a big brown piano which had two men sitting at it. One was slightly hunched with bleach white hair, while the other looked to be a teenager with curly brown hair. They were playing the piano together, perfectly. Thalia tried not to stare. She walked to the nearest trash can and started closing it when she heard voices mixing into the music.

"Me miras diferente. Me abrazas y no siento tu calor. Te digo lo que siento, me interrumpes y terminas la oracion… siempre tienes la razon," the voices sang softly. Thalia had no idea what they were singing, but it still sounded beautiful. She figured it was probably, what? Maybe Spanish? Could be Italian? She wasn't sure, but the foreign language still made her feel relaxed. She tried not to make a lot of noise as the two men sang. She tried not to make it obvious, but she was doing things slower, wanting to stay and listen. That is, until she had finished her job. She bit her lip.

"Would you like to stay and listen?" a voice asked, making her jump.

"What?" she asked, turning around to see the same woman. She smiled.

"They don't mind an audience. I think they'd find it flattering," she said. "Come on, sit with me. It'd be nice to listen to it with someone."

"Uh…" Thalia wasn't sure what to say, but the woman walked over and sat on one of the beds. Thalia walked over and sat down next to her.

"Así que corre, corre, corre corazón. De los dos tu siempre fuiste el más veloz," they sang.

"It's not the happiest song, but it was the first one my husband learned to play," the woman said. Thalia nodded. They sang happily, despite the sad tone to the song until it ended.

"That was good, mijo," the old man said.

"Thanks abuelo," the kid replied, and Thalia felt her skin crawl. That voice… The boy turned around and Thalia's blood ran cold.

"Thalia?" he asked with wide eyes. Thalia tried to swallow the anger forming in her stomach.

"Leo."

I AM SO SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I have a LOT of things going on and then... I got stuck -_- I'm going to try and keep the updates at least once a week, but I'm writing other stories, and beta-ing and I'm going to be going to work soon, so yeah... No promises, I'm sorry. Hopefully you guys like this chapter :) Let me know what you think!

Disclaimer
All lyrics belong to Corre by Jesse & Joy.