It had been three years since Hailey had seen Luke.
Three years in which a lot of growing up had taken place.
Luke had run away, devastating his mother, and adding to the family rumors.
Despite this, Hailey still received letters from Luke as often a thrice a week. When she knew where he was, she sent him one back.
Hailey's neglect and abuse had become worse as the years went by, and she had been moved from a cot in the hallway to the cupboard under the stairs. She was left alone for hours at a time, and food was scarce, and often withheld from her
Hailey, of course, mentioned no of this to Luke, as she didn't want her best and only friend to worry. He had too much else going on.
The pair met again, while the Dursley's were vacationing in LA.
Hailey had been left to her own devices as the family went out each day, so she wound up walking everywhere she possibly could, and exploring the city.
In a side alley, on her second to last day, she saw him.
He had a different dark haired girl with him, but her eyes were blue.
Hailey ran down the alley, towards her friend, a smile plastering itself on her now nine year old face.
"Luke!"
Luke and the girl turned in sink. The girl crouched low, into a defensive stance.
Luke, just grinned.
"Hailes! What are you doing here? Never mind, I'm just happy to see you."
The two collided, in a hug to end all hugs. Luke was taller, and he seemed far less of a child.
Hailey smiled for the first time since she'd left him, three years earlier.
Hailey had grown up. Luke could easily see that. He didn't like it. She was supposed to stay young forever.
Not that either of them were ever truly young.
Luke's mother's strange episodes had robbed him of his innocence and childhood, and her horrible excuse for a family had done the same.
Thalia stood partway down the alley, looking at him as though he might become a monster at any second.
Right. The monsters. Hailey. He couldn't let her get hurt. He'd never forgive himself.
"Hailey, you need to leave. I can't explain, but Thalia and I are doing something dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." He pleaded with Hailey, although he know it's in vain. As much as he doesn't want her getting hurt, he doesn't want her leaving either.
This is the girl who's latched onto his heart. They are far too young for something like whatever it is they have, but to some degree, he don't care.
"Luke, focus." Thalia's hissed warning snaps Luke back to reality, where he can see a hell-hound lurking behind a dumpster.
Hailey, being the intelligent girl she was, had seen the monster, and moved away.
It was a disturbing creature, an enormous black dog that wasn't a dog at all. It growled menacingly, weather at her or it's opponents, Hailey had no way of knowing.
Keeping both the monster and Luke in her sights constantly was a bit of a challenge. She is not willing to let Luke out of her sights, not even for a second, for fear he would vanish.
Watching carefully as he and the girl, Thalia fought the monster, and after a some time, vanquished it.
An explosion of golden dust showered down around her, and allowing herself a moment of childishness, Hailey giggled.
How could something so ugly, and frightening as that beast become something so magical, and pretty as the shower of gold flakes raining down around her?
Luke walked back over to her, wrapped her in another tight hug, and whispered "I've missed you so, so much. This feels like my birthday and Christmas threw me a surprise party."
Hailey smiles again, because it feels the same way for her. They are so in sync, so perfectly aligned with each other's thoughts and feelings it's almost freakish.
But, for now, she must focus on what has just happened.
"Luke, something big has happened with you. Tell me everything." She instructs, her voice gentle, but still firm.
He sighs.
She wants to know. He knew she would, there's no way she could let something like what has just occurred go.
She too curious. But it wouldn't be her without that curiosity. He just hoped she wasn't the cat.*
He knows he will fight a losing battle if he tries to protest.
So he doesn't. He tells her everything.
Demigod. Luke is part god. She can see it now, the way he always attracts trouble, the way he handled that monster.
But, now there is a rift, an imbalance of power. He is something she can never be, and she hates it.
Luke is in a position, a situation, that she is unaware of how to deal with, and so cannot help him.
She feels powerless. It's a familiar sensation, but with Luke, she felt they were equal.
He teaches her how to iris message, so they can talk more easily.
There's a huge time difference, she wants to tell him. We will rarely catch each other while awake.
But, she doesn't, because, deep down, she believes it will work out alright.
Another two years pass, and she's IM ing him from a bathroom in London, with a shock of her own to deliver.
A/N: I feel amazing. I've never written this much of a story this quickly before. I'm truly passionate about Hailey and Luke, and hope I've conveyed them well. I am so pleased at how well they've been received. I love that I got reviews so quickly. Hoping for more on this next chapter.
* In reference to the saying "Curiosity killed the cat."
On another note, has anyone noticed that parents are catching up with us in the technological world? I had to teach my dad how to hashtag tonight. I wasn't happy about it.
Actually I got abandoned by my mom and younger siblings when he asked about it.
Disclaimer: I only own the plot and of course, Hailey . Everything else belongs to J.K Rowling and Rick Riordan.