OMQ. I have seventy something reviews. New record. For me at least. Anyywaay... I really liked the chapter before this one, Poolside Fight, I liked the fight scene. But one reviewer, who has NO name, you said something about me having a lime. Can I ask you what you mean by that? I didn't do that... Oh and another thing for you no-name reviewer, she kissed him on impulse. Kind of like the ADHD kicking in, I guess. Okay, this might just have to be my favorite chapter so far. Remember, there is a week between each chapter. So... Nico is BACK! Oh, this is one of the VERY few chapters that doesn't have anything to do with the show. It's important though.
-Blue.
Disclaimer: Of course. And as always regretting that I don't own The Bachelorette, PJO, or Jason Mraz's AWESOME song Geek in the Pink. Sadly.
Knock Knock Knock.
"Who's there?" I groaned from my bed, not opening my eyes.
"Just open up." A voice demanded. My eyes popped open. I knew that voice. I checked the clock, 1:14. I threw the covers aside and jumped out of bed. I went to the door and stood on my tiptoes to peer out the peephole. I whipped open the door when I saw who it was.
"Thalia!" I exclaimed, pulling her inside and giving her an overdue bear hug. "Why are you here?"
She smirked. "Artemis gave me a leave of absence, y'know, cause it's my... um... thirty fifth birthday."
I whistled. "Girl, you getting old."
She frowned. "Maybe. But I'll pretty much always be sixteen."
"Yeah. But your thirty five. Happy Birthday!"
"Thanks."
"So why are you here on your leave of absence?"
"Every single girl in the Hunt watches the Bachelorette. It's as close as they can get to romance and drama without abandoning Artemis. That, and Degrassi."
"Oh. That still doesn't answer my question."
"It doesn't have to. I came because I haven't seen you in eleven years. Since the war. I still need to get Lady Artemis to let me get revenge on Hera for sending that statue upon me."
"Hera did that?"
"Yeah. She never liked me."
"But I thought-"
"You thought wrong. She sent it upon me and I couldn't see Luke die." She said, her eyes clouding a bit at Luke. "She said it was for my own good."
"You wouldn't want to see him die. It was horrifying."
"So I've heard." She said bitterly. "So. Percy's on the Bachelorette. Figures."
"So am I. And Nico."
Her eyes lit up considerably at Nico's name. "Nico?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Just curious." She said, but the spark never left her eyes. "Anybody else I should know of?"
"Umm, well Justin just left."
"Justin... Justin... Don't remember a Justin."
"You wouldn't. He's a bastard who almost killed Nico."
"What?" She demanded, quite loudly. "He almost killed him?"
"Yeah. They got into a fight and Justin shoved him onto the ground and Nico's head hit the concrete and he went all limp. He's got a intermediate concussion."
"What's his last name?" Thalia asked, her eyes full of malice.
"Chavez. Why?"
She marched over to my bedside table where my BlackBerry was charging. She ripped it out of the plug and was scrolling through something. Within a few seconds she had the phone up to her ear and was sitting on my bed, her legs crossed tightly.
"Justin? No, it's not Annabeth. It's her friend Thalia. Listen-"
"Thalia! what are you doing?" I gasped and wrenched the phone from her hands. I covered the mouthpiece so he couldn't hear our conversation. "Why are you doing this?"
"Annabeth, he almost killed Nico. You can't let him get away with that."
"I didn't! I punched his nose in and stomped on his chest." I froze with a sudden realization. I dropped the phone in surprise. "Thalia. Do you like Nico?"
She blushed. "Sure I do. We've been friends for like forever."
"Not as a friend. More then that."
She blushed harder. Her black hair had grown out over the years so it was down to her ears. I never thought that look would look good on her, but it did. "No. Of course not. I'm a Hunter, remember?"
"Thalia... Don't lie."
"Okay, fine." She said, exasperated. She fell back onto the bed. "Used to. When I was a kid."
"You did?"
"Yeah." She said. She sounded weak. Tired. I hated seeing her like this. "I did."
"Why?"
"I don't know! That's the thing, Annabeth! I don't have a reason why. I just did."
"But your a Hunter now. You can't love people."
"I don't love him! I might've used to but I don't now! I can't give up the Hunt for a silly crush. Besides," She cried out. Then her voice turned soft at besides. "he likes you."
It was my turn to blush. "No he doesn't! What are you talking about? There's no evidence."
"There doesn't need to be evidence, Annabeth. See, I see the way he looks at you. I see the way he gets a bit clumsy around you. Annabeth. I see the way he blushes when you get close to him. The way he's so eager to please you, like a little kid. He's anxious around you Annabeth."
"That's not true! He probably thought about it-"
She barreled on, speaking as if she hadn't even heard me talk. "But most of all, I saw the way he stood up for you. Almost instantaneously, Annabeth. He didn't even give it a second thought. He just stood up and got into a fight to protect you Annabeth. He really, really likes you."
"All by watching TV?"
"Pretty much. How can you not notice?"
"But he doesn't-"
"He does, Annabeth. He likes you. Not me." She said, hanging her head between her knees. "He'll never like me. I don't even like him anymore." She probably said that for the sake of saying it.
"Thalia," I said, going to sit next to her on the bed and started to rub her back. "It's alright. But... do you still like him?"
She was silent for a long time. Suddenly, I felt all the heat drain out of her young body. I watched her as she fell back on the bed, her brilliant blue eyes clouded as she stared up at the ceiling. I gasped.
"You-"
"Don't say it." She said warningly. "I can't get kicked out of the hunt. I can't. It's my life."
"But Thaila. You do."
"I never thought about it." She said, almost as if to herself. "I didn't know. It's just..."
"Yeah." I said softly. "I know. I've been there. I thought I was crazy when I realized I, you know, liked Percy. But it's crazy now."
"Who are you gonna pick?" She asked quietly.
"I don't know." I said, saying each word carefully and very slowly. "I just don't know."
I stared at the floor, seeing nothing but a black blob. I stared at it for what seemed like forever in silence, until finally the blob came into focus.
It was a phone. My BlackBerry. And on the screen in letters just barely big enough to read from where I was, it said; On the phone with Justin Chavez.
I gasped. I got off the bed and picked up the phone. I heard breathing on the the other end. "Justin?"
The breathing stopped. The only answer I got was a dial tone.
-o-
Thalia was vomiting in the bathroom, and I was sitting blankly on the floor. Thinking about nothing, staring at nothing but cream colored walls, remarkably similar to the hotel room. Finally, when my staring cleared, I glanced at the clock and saw it was 3:19. Thalia had been here only about two hours, and she was already puking. Was this an omen of things to come? Finally, the puking faded to retching, and eventually that stopped. I heard her open a cabinet and take something out. I guessed she was wiping her face. Eventually, that sound faded to stifled sobs coming from the bathroom. I got up and sat next to her on the bathroom floor silently. I listened to her cry, I saw the sobs wrack her body, until finally she stopped, or ran out of tears. She looked up at me, her intense blue eyes surrounded by puffy red skin. Streaks of tears fell down her face and she looked my straight in the eye.
"He knows" She whispered. "Annabeth, my life is over. If Justin is like you said he was and like he was on the show, everyone is going to know about it in a matter of hours. Everyone. Lady Artemis, all the girls in the Hunt, the gods. But that's not the worst part. Nico will know, Annabeth. Nico."
"I know." I said truthfully. "I know."
"My life is over." She said officially. "Wonderful."
Knock Knock Knock.
"Who's that?" Thalia asked, sniffling.
"I don't know." I said, but I got up and told Thalia to stay put. I went to the door to my room where I knew just down the hall in separate rooms slept Nico(who had gotten back from the hospital two nights ago) , Percy, and all the other men. I opened the door. A young girl about fifteen years old stood there. She was wearing a beautiful silver silk dress that shimmered from the moonlight streaming in from a window. Her long brown hair looked as soft and silky as her dress, but her eyes showed infinite age.
"May I come in?" She asked politely.
"Um... are you?"
"My name is Artemis."
"Lady Artemis?" I gasped. Uh oh. Thalia is toast. Tell her she can't come in. "Of course you can come in." Way to go, genius. Your best friend's life is going to end now. Smooth.
"Thank you." She said, and sat delicately in the edge of my bed. "May I speak to Thalia?"
"Thalia's not here at the moment!" Thalia called from the bathroom. "Please leave a message after the beep." Surprisingly, there was a beep. It came from my phone. I picked it up from the bedside table and read that I had one new text message. I clicked open. It was from Justin.
Revenge.
That was all it said. I gulped and put the phone back to it's place. Artemis cracked a small smile. "Thalia, come out here. I need to talk to you."
A horrible looking Thalia came out in a few minutes, her puffy red eyes streaming with newly shed tears, her black hair a mess. She stood in front of Artemis and bowed. "My Lady. What are you doing here?"
"I must talk to you, Thalia."
I saw Thalia swallow. I saw a few more tears fall down her face. "Yes?"
"I heard you broke your oath."
"I didn't!" Thalia panicked. "I swear I didn't."
"You said you loved Nico."
"I didn't! I swear on the River Styx I never said I loved Nico."
"You said almost as good as that." Artemis said softly. "Thalia, I'm sorry. You had so much potential."
"Artemis-"
"Thalia. It's alright." She said softly. "Love is tricky. It can worm it's way into your soul without you realizing it. It'll take refuge somewhere inside you, slowly growing until you finally realize it. You can't control it. I understand it's not your fault. But I'm afraid you broke your oath." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if trying to find the courage to say her next words. "The Hunt no longer requires your services."
Thalia made the most horrible sound ever as she collapsed to her knees; something between a choked sob and a cry of a lone wolf baying at the full moon. Her blue eyes were full of emotion. Unbearable sadness, regret, undependability, grief, almost hysteria, guilt, remorse, and undeniable misery. Her eyes followed Artemis as she left the room, closing the door behind her. I rushed after her, whipping open the door to try to tell her this was a mistake, but she was already gone. I turned back into the room and I watched as Thalia's eyes bore into mine for a few moments, before she closed them and she collapsed on the floor unconscious. I rushed toward her, checked she was breathing, and lifted her up into the bed.
-o-
I needed advice. I knocked on Percy's door again, wishing he wasn't such a heavy sleeper. I banged hard enough until the door finally whipped open. His face changed from angry at being woken up, to surprised at seeing me.
"Annabeth? What are you doing here?" He whispered. I didn't say a word as I grabbed his hand and led him to my bedroom, all too aware that I wasn't wearing much then half a centimeter thick pajamas. I opened the door and pointed to Thalia.
"Is that Thalia?" He asked, incredulous. "I haven't seen her in so long!" He stepped toward her to wake her up, but I pulled him back.
"Don't."
"Why not?"
I bit my lip, deciding whether or not to tell him. "Percy. She likes Nico."
"Of course she does. She's friends with him."
"Not like. Like."
His jaw dropped. "How do you know?"
"Three people know as of now. Me, Justin, and Artemis."
"Justin?"
"She heard he almost killed Nico, used my phone to call him and yell at him, and I yanked it out of her hands but didn't hang up and I asked her if she liked him and she told me and I realized I didn't hang up and when I picked up the phone I heard breathing and when I asked if he was there he hung up. He knows everything, and so will the world in a few hours."
"Artemis?"
"Percy," I said, gazing up into his green eyes. "she's not going to be going to the Hunt."
"Oh no." He said. I knew he knew how much Thalia being in the Hunt meant to her. "Is she all right?"
"She passed out. I don't know."
"Oh gods. This is bad. Really bad."
"I know."
"Are you gonna tell Nico?"
I was about to say, "Of course," but something stopped me. With a start, I realized I didn't want Nico to know in fear of him liking her back. Don't be silly, Annabeth. He deserves to know. One half of me said. The other; Don't tell him. Have him to yourself. You're not supposed to be the one competing for someone.
"I don't know. Should I?"
Something crossed his eyes. Jealousy. "Well-" He looked torn.
"She looked like she'd rather die then let him know." Which was true. "I don't think I should." Which wasn't.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah." No.
"Alright."
"Please keep this a secret. She'll tell him when she's ready."
"I can't keep it secret forever."
"I know. Just until she's ready."
"Okay."
I stared at him, watching Thalia. Her back was toward us, her breathing even and soft. She looked peaceful. Finally, he felt me watching him and turned to me. "What?" He asked.
"Nothing. Something."
"What?"
"Thanks."
"No problem."
I had a feeling it was, but I didn't say anything. I just wished he knew what I was feeling right then.
-o-
Thalia opened her eyes. She was about to call for Annabeth when she heard voices talking behind her.
"Artemis?"
"Percy," Annabeth was saying. "she's not going to be going to the Hunt."
"Oh no." A man, Percy, said. I knew he knew how much Thalia being in the Hunt meant to her. "Is she all right?"
"She passed out. I don't know."
"Oh gods. This is bad. Really bad."
"I know."
"Are you gonna tell Nico?"
There was a really, really long pause.
"I don't know. Should I?" Annabeth finally replied.
"Well-" He sounded torn.
"She looked like she'd rather die then let him know." Which was true. "I don't think I should."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Alright."
"Please keep this a secret. She'll tell him when she's ready." Annabeth said. Would I? Thalia thought.
"I can't keep it secret forever."
"I know. Just until she's ready."
"Okay."
There was another long pause. Finally, Percy spoke up. "What?"
"Nothing. Something."
"What?"
"Thanks."
"No problem."
She heard Percy leave, and Annabeth sigh. Eventually, Thalia fell back into the comfort of sleep, only sure of one thing; she had a choice to make. Would she tell Nico? Or would she let Annabeth keep him?
DUN. DUN. DUN.
I really didn't want to have Thalia leave the Hunt, but... well... The next chapter isn't going to be part of the show either. Well, it might. Sigh. Everyone I knew said this version was better then the other, so I decided to go with this. Anyway. I hope you liked it. Poor Thalia.
-Blue.