Finally! Sorry for the wait!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games or Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Thalia's POV

As I carve an E into the ground, Nico sits down on the log next to me, his legs stretched outward. He runs a hand through his hair, yawning loudly. He looks at me, a tired expression on his face, "Hey, Pinecone."

I scowl at the nickname, which only makes him laugh. I turn my attention to back to the ground. There were four letters, carved in the ground with my neat, swirly handwriting. With a feeling of terror and shock, I realize that they spelled out a name I get shivers from hearing. Luke.

Nico follows my gaze, inhaling a sharp breath when he recognizes the name. From the corner of my eye, I see him look at me in surprise, but I don't look back, I just stare back at the word in horror. I hadn't even realized what I was writing, hadn't even realized the word I was forming. My fear of killing Luke has affected me more than I had thought. It's affecting my actions, seeping into my daily life. It's like it's consumed more, controlling my every move and thought.

I put my head in my hands, just wanting to be alone. I know I'm overreacting, but I can't help. I feel like I'm going insane, drifting away from reality, my sanity slowly dwindling. All over someone I once called a friend.

"Thalia…," Nico says, his voice quiet, "What are you thinking about?"

I lift my head to look at him, actually look at him. He looks concerned, but not in a persistent kind of way, like he'd drill me for an answer. He also looks confused and somewhat betrayed. Is he jealous that I wrote Luke's name instead of his? Does he think I have feelings for Luke? I shake my head, sighing, "Everything but nothing. Listen, Nico—."

Nico puts a hand up, interrupting me, "You don't have to explain anything to anyone, Thalia, especially not me. Everyone has feelings, no one will ever judge you because of how you feel." He gets up, his hands buried in his jacket pockets, walking over to where Percy and Annabeth sit.

I look down at Luke's name, angry at everything. I wish things weren't so difficult, wish that I could just end this madness. I'm angry at Nico for thinking I had feelings for Luke, angry at Percy and Annabeth for being able to be happy and not have to worry about anything, angry at Katniss and Peeta for being oblivious to everything around them. I wipe Luke's name from the dirt, wanting to just scream until my voice becomes scratchy and my throat hurts. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

Nico's POV

I try to contain my anger as I stand up, my hands forming fists in my pockets. Why Luke? He tries to bring back a Titan from Tartarus and Thalia still has feelings for him? Did our kiss mean nothing to her? Do I mean nothing to her?

I walk over to where Annabeth and Percy talk quietly, their faces close together. They move apart when I approach, making room for me next to them. An awkward moment passes before I say, "Hi."

"Hey," Annabeth says, biting her lip, looking like she was holding something back. She must have decided that it wasn't important enough to tell me, as she just says, "I'm happy to see you again."

"Yeah, me, too," I reply, "Well, I'm happy to see you, not me. Not that I'm not happy to see me… well, I always see me. But what I meant was—."

Percy laughs, "We get it. Why aren't you with Thalia?"

"Uhm, I don't know. She's not really in the talking mood. So I decided to come over here."

Annabeth looks over at Percy, who just gives a small nod. Annabeth turns to me, her voice suddenly low, like she didn't want to be overheard, "We think we found a way to escape the arena."

I feel my eyes widen and I sit up straight, "What— what do you mean?"

"Before I tell you anything, I need you to promise me to be open to any ideas, no matter how risky or completely insane. Okay?"

I lower my voice too, noticing that Katniss and Peeta are looking in our direction, "Yeah, fine, I promise."

"I realized that the Gamemakers have a way to tell when we die. I think it's the tracking device they injected us with. If I'm remembering the recipe correctly, I should be able to get all of the ingredients to make a mixture that will trick the 'system' into think our hearts have stopped beating. We'll have to fake some sort of death, though, like falling from a tree or something. After you eat the mixture, you'll have one minute to fake some sort of death before the system informs the Gamemakers that you've 'died.'"

I look toward Percy, "Do you understand anything she's saying?"

He laughs again, shrugging, lowering his voice like Annabeth did, almost inaudible, "You'll get used to the complicated explanations. She's saying that she can make something from plants that'll trick the Gamemakers into thinking you're dead. But you'll have to fake a death so they 'know' how you died. Beware, hovercrafts take the bodies after confirmation of death."

"So how would we escape?"

"Annabeth said that it wouldn't be the biggest of deals if two bodies went missing. People would just assumed we were… misplaced or disposed of, I guess."

I nod slowly, taking everything in. I'm relieved to finally have something to count on, I was beginning to think escaping was impossible. I exhale, laughing, "Great, I'm in. Do you think Thalia would agree?"

Annabeth shrugs, "Why wouldn't she? All we have to is kill Luke and get out of here."

"That's the thing, though," I say, being careful on how I word this, "Thalia may not be on board with killing Luke."

"What?" Percy says, his eyes wide in shock, like this was something no one could ever expect. Thalia and Luke used to be really close friends, before he was, you know, corrupted. Maybe she can't see what he's become, even after she has to risk her life and go into the future to stop him from killing someone he never even knew. Maybe she just thinks the things Luke has done are just things that can be overcome. But they aren't.

Looking over towards where Thalia uses a stick to trace rocks in the dirt, I say, distantly, "I have a feeling Thalia may not be not be totally on our side."