Hello and Good Morning! I can't believe that I forgot about Thaluke up until this point. Well, it's here now, one awesome Thaluke story if I don't say so myself. I hope you enjoy and please review!

Written by Fae.

Disclaimer: We don't own these characters, and probably will never own them, so yeah.

Christmas Countdown: Today is December 18 which means 7 days until Christmas!

P.S. I was so surprised when Ruth commented. I hope you all enjoyed hearing from her!

P.P.S. My name is spelled f-a-e, Ruth, you should know this!

Earlier in the week...

"Go on, man, you've got this." Percy pats my back. Then he shoves me forwards. I look back to give him a look. He just smiles and gives me two thumbs up.

I sigh. There she is. Thalia Grace. The toughest, scariest, most intimidating yet absolutely most beautiful girl in our high school. And I'm about to ask her to the Winter Ball. Me, Luke Castellan.

I take a deep breath, and walk towards her. She's leaning against a locker in that careless manner of hers. 'God, why is she so hot?' I think as I make it over to her.

"Hey, what's up Luke?" Thalia looks up from her phone. Her brow furrows. "What's up with your face? You're blushing?"

I realize I am and that just makes it worse. "Uh, no, no, I uh, just had gym. Yeah, we were running. A lot. Yeah." I mentally face palm at how lame that sounds.

She doesn't seem to believe me. To be fair, I wouldn't believe me either. "So... what's up?" She asks.

"Oh, um, well I was thinking..." I look from my toes to her eyes to the spot on the wall.

"What is it? Spit it out!" Thalia gives me a shocking look. She's good at giving looks.

I'm about to spill everything. How I want to go to the dance with her, how I think that she's super scary but also hot, how much I care for her, when the bell rings. I drop my head then look back at Thalia.

"Tell me later?" Thalia suggests as she starts to walk down the hall.

"Yeah. Catch you later, Thals!" I wave after her, then trudge back to Percy.

He looks at me with disappointment. "You chickened out?"

"She's very intimidating." I protest. Percy doesn't say anything. "Okay, fine, I chickened out."

"C'mon, let's get to class." He turns down the hall and I follow.

Now I'm sitting alone at home. It's Christmas Eve, night of the Winter Ball. I'm in the living room, staring off into space. I'm thinking about Thalia. As usual. I doubt she went to the dance. Dances aren't really her style. She'd rather risk going to a club as a minor than go to a high school dance. 'Ugh, if that's the case, then why'd I think she'd actually say yes?' I chide myself. 'She probably only sees me as a friend.' I remind myself for the umpteenth time. I sigh. Sitting home alone isn't going to get me anywhere.

I get up off the couch, pulling on a jacket. I grab my phone, keys, and head out the door. I start off on the sidewalk. I admire the Christmas lights as I walk through my neighborhood. Thalia lives a few blocks away, within a decent walk's distance.

I arrive at Thalia's house. I take a deep breath and ring the bell. I wait a moment, then I hear footsteps.

The door unlocks, revealing Thalia. Her eyebrows shoot up when she sees me. "What are you doing here?" She asks as she ushers me in.

"Thanks," I smile at her, walking in. "Can we go sit down?"

"Yes, of course." She says. We head over to her couch.

I sit next to her, clasping my hands. "Look, Thals, about earlier today. I was trying to ask you to the Winter Ball." I admit, looking over at her.

She looks slightly shocked. "So that's what all the stuttering was about. And the blushing."

"Yeah. Listen Thalia," I scoot over so I'm facing her. "I like you. You may be insanely intimidating and scary, but you're also beautiful. You're funny, daring, and kind." I pause, letting her process. She's looking at me with a crazy mix of emotions. The sharp edge has faded from her eyes and expression. I continue. "Now, if you only see me as a friend, it's fine. I know it's a lot to take in."

She just stares at me for a few seconds, then does something completely unexpected. She reaches out, grabbing my collar. She pulls me in, kissing me. It lasts a few seconds, then she shoves me back.

I make weird goldfish motions with my mouth, trying to process what just happened. I can't form a complete sentence so I look to Thalia, who wears a smirk.

"I like you too, idiot." She smacks me, bringing me back to reality. She leans back on the arm of the couch, arms crossed.

"You're not kidding." I stare at her in disbelief. "You actually like me back?"

She leans in, getting in my face. She stares at me for a second, then pecks me. "No, I'm not kidding."

She falls back, letting my brain catch up. "Wow. Okay. This is a lot. I was prepared for rejection."

"Why would I ever reject you?" Thalia asks.

"I don't know, I thought that you'd only see me as a friend." I admitted.

"I do see you as a friend." She sits there, smirking. I stare at her, getting nervous. "As a boyfriend."

"Oh my god would you stop with the hard to process information!" I raise my voice slightly. "Wait. Boyfriend?"

She flicks me in the head. "Yes, boyfriend. Keep up, dumbo."

"Wow, this is probably the best night of my life." I say in disbelief.

"C'mon, let's go." She grabs my hand, pulling me up.

"Not to a club, I hope." I joke.

"Don't give me any ideas." She throws on her leather jacket, handing me mine. "I want to get out of the house. Let's go walking. Looking at Christmas lights so something."

I pull on my jacket, following Thalia out the door. We walk side by side, holding hands. The Christmas lights are beautiful, the winter breeze chilly. Who knew my biggest failure could lead into my biggest success?