This is set between the end of the battle of the labyrinth and the start of the last Olympian

I de-aged Thalia by a year so she is still older than Percy

Thalia POV

"Is this what you want?" Luke sneered, though I could see the fear in his eyes. "To go up to Olympus in glory? To please your dad?" I hesitated and Luke took his chance. He tried to grab my spear, out of reflex I kicked him and watched in horror as I killed my ex-bestfriend.

"No!" Annabeth let out a cry of horror. "You idiot!" she turned on me "We could've brought him to Olympus!"Yeah, to have him tortured and killed for information, yeah right. "-But no. You had to kill him!" I just stood, tears pouring down my cheeks as I stared at the place where Luke was.

"What are we waiting for, KILL THEM!" a giant roared and Percy pulled me out of the way as a weapon impaled the area my head was in a moment ago.

Line Break:

I woke up in a cold sweat, taking deep breaths trying to reassure myself that I was at camp. I tossed and turned in my bed, attempting to forget the dream and fall into the realm of Morpheus. My efforts weren't successful and I decided, looking at my clock -2:53 am- that the harpies were cooking. People often assume that food is magically conjured on plates, but that's not true. A few of the head councillors know that the harpies make the food. I donned my clothes, looked towards the statue of Zeus looming over me, shivered as the eyes followed me and started a tour of the camp.

The beach is my favourite place in camp. It reminds me of Percy, people often assumed I joined the Hunters of Artemis to escape the great prophecy, which is part of the reason. But the main reason was to escape romantic life. Now you might think, why would you swear off love for a group of eternal Girl Scouts? The answer is Luke and Percy, Luke my first crush joined Kronos. When I learned that I was internally a wreck, but Percy was there for me. Then when we went to Olympus after saving Artemis, Percy didn't bat an eye when I joined the hunters but when Annabeth was offered, he looked like someone kicked his baby seal.

I barely realized that I reached the beach, what I noticed was bumping into someone. I expected the harpies screeching, Bad Girl, daughter of Zeus for snack. That I had gotten their timetable wrong.

"Thalia?" said a certain son of Poseidon. Fuck.

I forced a smile "Hey, Perce."

He frowned "What's wrong?"

Curse his heart "Nothing." I said way too quickly.

"ya know you're a bad liar."

"When was it your job to take care of me?"

"When you became my friend. Seriously, what's wrong"

There was no getting out of this "Dreams," I replied.

"What about?" he asked

"None of your business" he gave me those eyes I couldn't refuse, "Fine, Luke"

Percy's expression softened. He didn't say anything at first, and I appreciated the momentary silence. It wasn't often that Percy Jackson stayed quiet when he had the opportunity to talk. He shifted awkwardly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his hoodie, his gaze flickering to the sand beneath our feet.

"You still feel guilty, don't you?" he finally asked.

I didn't immediately answer. Instead, I looked out at the sea, the moon's silver light reflecting off the ocean. The sea had ways of making me feel small and infinite, safe but intimidated. It reminded me of how fleeting life could be, how little our trying meant for the world.

"Wouldn't you?" I asked "I killed him, I didn't mean to- I didn't want to, but I did. And now every time I close my eyes I see his face, his anger, his fear."

Percy let out a heavy sigh. "Thalia, you know as well as I do that Luke made his choices. He chose Kronos. He chose to betray us. None of that was your fault."

I felt my anger bubbling, and I whipped around to face him. "Oh, so that makes it easier! Just because he made bad choices it justifies killing him. A person who was like my brother."

Percy held his arms up as a sign of surrender. "No," he replied "I don't think it makes it easier. I just want to let you know that you're not the only one who felt the weight of Luke's actions. That you're not alone"

"Really?" I scoffed crossing my arms "Because it feels like I'm the only one who can't move on. Annabeth still hates me for what I did, the campers look at me like I'm a monster half the time. The hunters never cared about him, and you-!" I stopped talking because I realised I was revealing too much.

He raised an eyebrow "And me what?"

I shook my head wanting to change the conversation "Nothing, forget it. When is the next Capture the Flag game?

Percy ignored my question "Thalia," He said softly but had a bit of stubbornness to it "I'm what?"

I looked away "You're too forgiving, Percy." I said my voice trembling "You always see the best in everyone, but what if like Luke I don't deserve it, what if the campers are right. what if I'm the monster?" my voice at the end was barely audible over the sound of the waves hitting the sand.

I was trembling but as arms that I recognised as Percy's wrapped around me, I let myself fall into him. Part of me, the part loyal to Artemis resisted but it was quickly squashed down. And for the first time in a long time, I felt safe. As I drifted back to sleep I thought that maybe, just maybe, that leaving the Hunters of Artemis might not be so bad.

This was originally going to be a one-shot but I might continue it if I feel like it. Please review