Went a different way today, hope you like it :)

Chapter Seventeen

Thalia's POV

I sat in my car, watching Percy and Annabeth drive off. I was happy for them, because finally Annie had a boyfriend. It made it all sweeter that the boyfriend was the guy she had a crush on since forever. What was weird, I didn't feel jealous or angry or sad watching the new couple drive off into the sunset.

I just felt empty.

Pushing my hair out of my face and tucking it behind my ear, I followed them out of the parking lot, making the next turn left to my house.

As usual, it was empty. Mum was at work, dad was probably at his mistresses place – he really wasn't fooling anyone – and our house keeper had gone shopping which meant I could sit and wallow – or think about everything that went wrong – in peace over a pizza.

Over Luke.

Luke was the love of my life. Dating for years, I loved him so much. He made me laugh, and smile and made me feel like to him I was the only girl in the world. He got along well with Jason – they even played basketball together – and then there were the parties.

Luke was notorious for the parties, his house the setting to so many wild nights. It was huge, and his dad was a borderline alcoholic who didn't notice if most of his bar was emptied. Sometimes, when it was just us, we would be over at his place and he's sneak us a couple of beers, we'd climb up to the roof get drunk and make out. It was what we did.

Then everything changed the day he got into collage. Mr. Castillian came down hard on his son to grow up and do well. He had to pledge frat's and look at law schools. And it just so happened he couldn't bring his high school girlfriend along for the ride. Well at least that's what his dad had told him.

Finally the pizza came, all gooey and delicious and fattening. It looked amazing, but for some reason, it really didn't taste as good as it usually did. I guess having your heart broken just takes a lot out of you. The best thing about this whole thing, I couldn't even talk to my mother. She had warned me not to fall in love, because it's not the smart thing to do. She didn't approve of Luke, she never had, but she saw the good in having a rich husband. Marry for money. Basically her personal motto. Father didn't really care as long as Jason played his basketball, we both got into good universities and didn't ruin the families reputation.

I walked up the stairs, almost too afraid to go in my room because then I would come face to face with everything. There were multiple pictures of us, four years splayed out over walls and photo frames, mixing in with my friends and brother. And pushing open the door and seeing everything all over again, just brought everything crashing in.

It had happened.

It was over.

And there was nothing I could do about it except destroy everything.

Rage filled me as I screamed, taking to my bedroom like a mad woman. The Pictures came down in pieces one by one, his perfect face ripped to shreds, tossed away. I think at one point I actually picked up a picture of us in a picture frame and through it at the wall, the glass pieces coming down in a million little shards all landing with a dull thud on the floor.

I stooped to survey the scene. Everything he had ever given me still lay untouched in it's place. The jewellery, the cheesy little teddy bears. Whilst most of the floor and my bed was covered in ripped pieces.

My breathing slowed to a less frantic pace, my crying stopped and my craving for chocolate ice cream grew. Running out of my room, leaving everything in pices and the pizza on the table barely touched, I ran to my car. Driving as far away from the memories as I could.

The little ice cream shop at the top of the board walk was opened 24 hours. Something I did not know, but was eternally grateful for. I knew my friends were here somewhere, but I didn't have an urge to find them, pushing the door to the ice cream shop open and stepping inside.

It was practically empty, save a few late night shoppers which was good. I didn't need anybody I knew witnessing the late night melt down. Grabbing a triple scoop cone of chocolate, strawberry and mint, I sat in the corner booth, eating slowly. Now this tasted good, and stopped me thinking about him for a few minutes.

I really wanted to punch him. In the face. With a chair. Hard so his nose broke and blood went everywhere. Yeah I had a tendency to be violent. Pretty sure that's why Luke broke up with me over the phone. The coward. Well, I broke up with him but still, he had refused to see me all week making it impossible to break up with him in person.

"What are you in for?" a voice next to me sounded, breaking through my though my thoughts. He was a familiar stranger. I knew I had seen him before, but I wasn't really thinking straight right now so I wouldn't be able to place him for another day or so.

He was tall, dark hair, dangerous look in his eye munching on his own cone though with a little more class then I was because my ice cream was going every where. "I broke up with my boyfriend today" I said. He was a stranger, and sometimes it's a lot easier talking to strangers then people who have known you your whole life. "You?"

"I came in second in a swimming competition today" he sighed, looking over at me "Well you're taking it well" I observed, watching his eyes flick over the little shop "so are you"

"Touché"

"Was it a planned break up?" he asked, getting up from where he was sitting and slipping into the chair opposite me "Excuse me"

"Did you plan to break up with the jackass"

"how do you know he's a jackass?"

"All the pretty girls seam to go for the douche boyfriends"

"so you have a girlfriend then?" i asked teasing a little

"I'm not big on commitment" his cool answer came back, unfazed at the fact that i just insinuated he was a Jackass

"Well as of this afternoon neither am I"

"You want to get out of here?" he asked, smirking a little and I stopped thinking, needed to feel something again. I wasn't going to do anything, I sure as hell wasn't ready and I couldn't re-bound that fast. "We're not going to have sex" he said, eyeing my face with a knowing grin "do you always state the obvious" I asked, with a little teasing in my voice but I still got up, still followed him out of the shop, the need to do something reckless bubbling up.

Annabeth POV

"Hey Wise Girl" Percy grinned, placing his arm around me. We had managed to sneak away from the rest of the team "Where's your head at?"

"Just thinking" I replied. Ever since our earlier conversation I hadn't stopped worrying about Thalia. But I knew that when she needed me, she would ask. "Thalia"

"yeah" I sighed,leaning into him as we walked. We had managed to sneak away from the group to spend a little alone time together back at his place "You want to tell me what happened earlier?"

"Can't. Girl stuff"

"Well, whatever is going on, I think she's going to be just fine" he smiled as we passed the little ice cream shop on the corner "What makes you say that?"

He pointed though the window. And there she was, a stubborn smile on her face as she talked to a very familiar somebody "Is that Nico?" I asked, trying not to press my face against the window to see if it were true. She was with Nico, and she was smiling. It was small. But it was there.

"Come on Wise Girl" Percy laughed, grabbing a hold of my hand and swinging it as we made our way towards my car.