Sound of Silence [Luke!]

[Thalia Grace]

YOU WERE A CHILD WHO WAS MADE OF GLASS YOU CARRIED A BLACK HEART PASSED DOWN
FROM YOUR DAD IF SOMEBODY LOVED YOU THEY'D TELL YOU BY NOW

Thalia's mind had never been more cluttered. The sixteen year old had had too many things coming at her at once, and running on four days with no sleep was usually never a problem, but when the camp was abuzz and the Zeus cabin never felt so small, she couldn't stand anything or anyone. Well, almost anything and almost anyone. Annabeth was her exception - not that that was any surprise. She'd been around Clarisse and Beckendorf, even tolerating Silena and Percy, but it wasn't because she wanted to. It was because they were all on the same team. They all had something in mind, they all knew where they were needed and what they were fighting for. They also knew that they were all working to make sure that their prisoner stayed that way - a prisoner, in camp, with no contact to Kronos and his servants. And it was more than slightly exhausting - they could all agree on that.

Prisoner. Yeah, prisoner. Camp Half-Blood was holding someone against their will. In the Big House. Under constant supervision. That wasn't even the best part. The best part was that he was her best friend, Luke Castellan. The Luke that was Kronos' right hand man. The Luke that had almost everyone at camp eyeing him as if they were waiting for him to go on a mass murdering spree. The Luke that almost everyone viewed as a traitor. The Luke that she had been on the run with. The Luke that had saved her life countless times. The Luke that she trusted. Not anymore, though. Every positive had it's negative, and when she tried to make sense of it all, it all fell apart. Not to mention that she was sixteen, and every time that Chiron looked at her, she already felt like she had been buried and had a bouquet of jasmines on her tombstone. It was unnerving, but she wouldn't say anything. Chiron had lived to see the lives and the deaths of countless amounts of the heroes that he had trained. If he wanted to look at her like she added to his personal count, who was she to say anything against it?

She was being stupid. She was being really, really stupid. She didn't know why she was doing it. But she did, and that's why the soft thumping of her grey converses against the grass didn't bother her as much as they should've. It was December, her birthday had just come and gone, Christmas was close, and she knew that the rest of the month would pass quickly. It was cold outside, much too cold for just her skinny black ripped jeans, her black tank top, and her leather jacket with all of it's concert buttons. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets, and as she made her way into the Big House, she realized just how freaking cold it was outside. Were trees immune to bad weather? Maybe it had worn off. She made her way to the room that she knew Luke was in, with it's satyr guards hanging around. They nodded their heads at her, and she sort-of wished that one of them was Grover. He had the ability to give her courage, even if he wasn't the courageous type unless it came down to the wire. She rapped on the door twice, and when she didn't hear a positive answer, she went in anyway. The room was bare, pretty much given on short notice, and it had stayed that way. Not that Luke wanted it any other way - what he really wanted was out, and that wouldn't be something he would be getting. It was late - not late for either of them, but late by camp standards; around eight o'clock. Thalia raised an eyebrow at him. She hadn't been on rotation for guard yet, and if she had, then Annabeth had forced someone to take her place. She'd speak to her soon.

He didn't look good. Considering. She didn't look good either, to tell the truth. Her hair was a mess, long and wavy and she hadn't felt like tying it back so it hung messily about her face, pushed behind her ears to make it slightly more tolerable. She had her hands shoved back in her pockets, and she looked at him with a twisted smirk on her face. "Miss me, love?" She asked. It was sarcastic, it was rude, and it was unfair to Luke. Sticking a prisoner on the spot like that, when he was pissy? Eh. Life wasn't fair. "I know it's only been a few days, but you've seen Annabeth more than you have, me. Have any quality conversations yet?" Now, she was just being cruel. Maybe it was the Zeus in her coming out.

TAGGED ?! luke <3
WORD COUNT ?! eight twenty five
MUSE ?! it's everywhere what
NOTES ?! she's incapable of ... doing anything that makes sense. lmfao
CREDITS ?! thanks to SPECIAL K ! of caution two point oh for the graphics. thanks to the hush sound for the lyrics, with their song that's okay.

[Luke Castellan]

You'll never settle any of your scores
Your Ggrace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone
Among the wreck

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

He was hopeless. For maybe the second time in his life, Luke Castellan felt trapped, and hopeless. A little over a few days ago he had total freedom at the palm of his hands. Well, not completely. He still had to follow whatever the Titan Lord told him to do. Especially lately, it seemed Kronos was making sure Luke took the correct orders, in a certain way. It wasn't until it was too late that he discovered Kronos was preparing him. He was being very careful in seeing that the boy would be just perfect for his vessel. For some reason, just the simple idea of it scared him to his core. While he thrived on the idea of destroying the Gods, he didn't want to get possessed by a Titan Lord in order to do so. He got desperate for another way, and in that desperation he landed himself here. Stuck at Camp Half-blood, in a small room in the Big House. They hardly let him leave the building, and even when he was in his room he still had guards. Everything seemed to frustrate him at this point. All he wanted was to leave this place behind. Only a couple days, and his body was already becoming so restless. Since he was barely allowed out of the house, there was no way he would be able to get his hands on a weapon long enough to practice; not even for a minute. They didn't get it. He wouldn't co-operate, he couldn't, if he had all this built up frustration and anger.

Not to mention that he's hardly slept. The first night he had completely passed out due to his state, but since then, he kept waking up startled and a bit frightened; though he would never admit it. At this point, Luke had completely ruled out sleep. There was no way he needed it, not when every dream he had involved Kronos. At first it was just flat out disapproval. How could he even begin to allow himself to be caught by such incompetent beings? Just how desperate had Luke been? Then, the disapproval turned into warnings. The Titan Lord told him to be careful, and to get out of there as quickly as possible, and then maybe, just maybe, he would be forgiven. Luke didn't even want to give him a chance to speak again tonight; he was very well aware of just how mad Kronos could get. Being the cause of the anger was just signing yourself up for pain, or death if you were lucky. There were even moments during the day when he caught himself whispering out loud. There was just no way Luke was starting to see him outside of sleep, he wouldn't let it happen. It was just something he was imagining because he was getting tired, on top of already being stir crazy and angry. Of course that wasn't even involving how no one actually came to speak with him. Not that he blamed them, really.

Luke wasn't exactly the best person to try and strike up a conversation lately. Even if he knew Annabeth and Thalia from their childhoods together, neither of them have come up to talk. He understood Annabeth's side of it. She, and the others, had to figure out what to do with him first. Naturally he was such a complicated topic that it took days to decide on. The only time he saw someone else was when he was being escorted around. Just as these thoughts were only adding to his rising temper, he heard a knock on his door. Figures, start complaining that no one comes to see you and bam. Someone's at the door. He muttered something unkind under his breath, and sat up a bit on the so-called bed. Luke never said a word about how lacking his room was. Not because he wasn't in a position too, but because there was no reason to get attached to the room. The door opened, and he was about to make some sort of comment about how maybe now he'd be blessed with the ability to go eat on his own, when he noticed that it was Thalia that stepped inside. Suddenly all of his senses were on high alert, and he could do nothing but narrow his eyes at her. He didn't even care if this was the first time they had really seen each other since that faithful day, and he was probably a mess. There was just so much more going on in his mind.

Then her mouth opened, and her words flew out, completely sarcastic and practically slapping him in the face. There was a lame attempt on his part to keep his breathing steady, but his temper was already flaring. He hadn't seen the girl since she got turned into a tree because of him, and she walks in like she owns the damn place. Sure he was to blame for many things, but this was Thalia. Out of anyone, she should have understood why he did what he did. Pushing himself to sit up right, something that sounded like a snarl left him. “What the Hades do you want?” He practically growled through grit teeth. There was no way Luke would have this. Asking him if he missed her was one thing – since it should have been obvious, but calling him love? It was like her purpose here was to see how far his temper would go. Then she was making some comment about how he had seen Annabeth more than her, as if she was accusing him of doing it on purpose. If anything, he had figured Thalia asked her to make sure she wasn't on his patrol. The deep breath he had been holding in was exhaled rather loudly. “Quality conversations? Let's see, between the lovely silences I have when someone's escorting me to go eat my dinner, or the beautiful comments the satyrs think I don't hear when they're watching me walk to the bathroom, yes. I've had plenty of amazing conversations. I'm going to have another, actually, when I ask dear Annabeth as to why you're avoiding this... guard post you're supposed to have. Or did you opt out of it? I really wouldn't be surprised. I wouldn't blame you either, actually.” Thalia might have every right in the world to be mad at him, but at this point he didn't care. He didn't care about any of this anymore, and her attitude sealed that decision. He just wanted out, and wanted to watch the place burn.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
TAGGED ?! Thals <3
COUNT ?! one-one-three-four - 1134
NOTES ?! ho man, Luke's anger sort of ran off on its own... I was aiming for seven hundred to eight hundred... so yeah. my bad.
LYRICS ?!Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons

[Thalia Grace]

YOU WERE A CHILD WHO WAS MADE OF GLASS YOU CARRIED A BLACK HEART PASSED DOWN
FROM YOUR DAD IF SOMEBODY LOVED YOU THEY'D TELL YOU BY NOW

Thalia had burned herself many times in life. Her pain was self-inflicted, her mind the one torturing her, and it was her own personal demons that chased after her like bats out of Hades. Really, she was the one doing the damage to herself. She had no Kronos following after her. She had no one that hung over her shoulder, making sure that everything she was doing was right, and if she did something wrong, she didn't have anyone there to punish her. She was trying to look at things from Luke's perspective. Maybe it was because she had problems with authority that she couldn't do it - but Luke did, too. Maybe that was why he had needed Bessie. Maybe he didn't want to do what Kronos told him to. Maybe he was trying to change things. Maybe he was trying to be different, to win against the gods a different way. Honestly, she didn't know what to think. Gone were the days of their complicated shared nature. Now, they shared nothing but a past. And it disgusted her. No, disgusted wasn't what she was. Angry? Maybe. Upset? Getting closer. More of an anxiousness, deep in the bottom of her heart. Luke had been her rock when she was younger. She'd clung to him, even if he hadn't realized it. Maybe she'd needed him more than he needed her - something she'd never admit. But he had joined Kronos. And that little detail - a little detail that was anything but little - was what changed that. And no matter what she did, she couldn't get past it. Maybe it was the way her mind was. Maybe she just couldn't move on because she wasn't trying hard enough. Then again, how could she move on when he was right there, in camp, and hurting so badly. He was so angry, but she could tell that he was a caged animal. She could tell that he wasn't happy, that he wanted out - of course, any prisoner wanted out, but it wasn't the same. It was animalistic in nature, something that he needed to do like humans needed to breathe. But it wouldn't happen, because it couldn't, because he was Kronos' right hand man, and they needed him to win the war.

"Down, puppy. No need to growl. I haven't got any treats, though. You shouldn't start barking, though. You might wake up some of the campers that are already sleeping," she said, and it was almost lilting in it's sarcastic nature. She was trying to get him angry. But he was already angry. But she was pushing him. But he was pushing himself. But she wanted to see how much he had changed. But she was sure that underneath it all, he was the same Luke. But surely Kronos had been responsible for that change. But Luke had ben the one to go to Kronos. But there was no way for Luke to have known the consequences of his actions on such a large scale. But Luke was smart enough to know when he was doing the wrong thing. But he had been driven by something more than a thought. But that wasn't an excuse, and she couldn't allow herself to deem it as such. There was no excusing it. Luke would own up to his own actions - even now, if she asked. But she knew, so she didn't have to. Maybe he had some hidden reasoning. He wasn't bad. She knew that. He wasn't evil. Maybe he was turning evil - but being evil and being turned evil were two totally different things. Then again, what did define good from evil? People still died in the end. Someone was still in control at the end. Shades of grey was all that was left in the distinction - and it confused Thalia, making her feel lost in the fray when really, she was a daughter of Zeus, she was sixteen, and she was the one that was supposed to be Luke's biggest enemy. Yet she wasn't. And that wouldn't change.

She felt something inside her gnawing, gnawing deep at the pit of her stomach. It wasn't regret, and it wasn't anger. She didn't know what it was, really. She didn't think she wanted to know, either. It was best left pushed to the back of her mind, something that she could think of when her thoughts went in circles and tortured her without result. "Oh, well that sucks. Maybe you can have conversations with your lord. That would surely be interesting, wouldn't it?" She looked almost innocent with her face blank, her head tilted slightly when she looked at him. Arms crossed, posture defiant, it was no surprise that she was half of this conversation. The satyrs outside had walked down the hall to give them some privacy, and it was a good thing - maybe Grover had warned them to do that when she and Annabeth came. Maybe he wanted them to hug it out. Maybe that wasn't humanly possible.

She felt like he was calling her a coward. Maybe he was. He probably was. No, he surely was. And that's what she was - a damn coward that couldn't face anything, no matter how hard she tried. Coming here had been a challenge, and now that she was here, the only thing she could do was make him mad? Avoid a real conversation with him? What child of Zeus was she? Her father must've been so proud of her in this very moment. She with-held a snarl. "Sorry, I didn't know I had to deal with you on my birthday. My first shift is tomorrow." She said, as if explaining something to a five year old. "Why are you wondering? Do you miss me? I'm right here. Want to talk? I'm standing right in front of you. Unless you're trying to say something, but don't want to say it plainly. Which is kind of sad, because you used to be able to say anything. Since when did you start caring so much about what people thought, Luke?" Her voice was goading him to go further. Pushing him to his limits. She said nothing else, but her tilted head, her crossed arms, the way she stood, she was waiting for him to speak, waiting to see what he'd do next. She'd never been observant, but her senses were on high alert, her heart was racing, and maybe, just maybe, she knew they were going too far.

TAGGED ?! lukee <3
WORD COUNT ?! eleven twenty five
MUSE ?! i'm drowning in it
NOTES ?! i ... didn't make any attempts to filter her. just remember that. >.>'
CREDITS ?! thanks to SPECIAL K ! of caution two point oh for the graphics. thanks to the hush sound for the lyrics, with their song that's okay.

[Luke Castellan]

You'll never settle any of your scores
Your Ggrace is wasted in your face,
Your boldness stands alone
Among the wreck

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As if it wasn't hard enough for him to have Kronos breathing down his neck while he tried to get a few minutes of sleep; because a few minutes was all he could stand to get, he now had his former-best friend standing there attempting to tear him apart. Even though a part of him felt great pain to even refer to her as former in his mind. As much as he still wanted to call Thalia his best friend, and he always ignored how his heart paid special attention to her, the girl he was staring at was not acting like his best friend. His best friend would know that this was not even remotely close to how he had wanted things to work out. If Luke had his way, the Gods would have been taken down, and none of the demi-gods would have gotten hurt. Though, they had to go and be the so called 'good guys' and attempt to stop the 'evil' plans. Once they got in their way, he couldn't really be held responsible with what happened. The only time he would have intervened was if it was someone he cared about that was going to be killed. Now it was a different story, with everyone acting the way they were. He found himself caring less day to day, about anything really. That in itself, would slowly start to consume him with fear when he really focused on it.

It also didn't help that while he felt trapped enough, Thalia went right on ahead and called him a puppy. For a brief moment, his anger took hold of him, and he was on his feet quicker than a blink. Something flashed in his eyes as he stared her down, his expression getting darker while his anger kept growing. Luke managed to stop himself before his muscles took further action. She wanted to refer to him as a puppy? Then he had to accept that she changed, or she was just extremely pissed off with him. At the same time, whenever Thalia was mad at him before, they shouted it out, and got over it. They didn't result in calling each other petty, degrading names. He wasn't even going to dignify her remark with a response, besides the physical movement he already made. While the way she was acting was royally pissing him off, she had a partial right to it. Luke would be the first one to admit that the things he had done may not be the best of decisions, but he did them because at the time they seemed right. Thalia would know that, wouldn't she? She was supposed to understand. She was supposed to be the one that accepted his reasoning, laugh if it was stupid, and then they would carry on. In the past they might have even dueled to work things out, but there was no chance he was getting a weapon anytime soon. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks; they had resolved to stay young at heart, no matter how old they got. This argument was just proof that no matter how much they wanted to deny it, they had grown up. It didn't matter how small the amount.

Thalia did understand what he was going through, at least a small part of it. It just clicked in his mind now. Then she made her remark about him having conversations with his Lord, his tongue started spitting words before his brain registered them. “You really have no idea, do you? It's not interesting, it's frightful, dangerous, and not fun in the slightest.” He wasn't saying that he was afraid of it, it was almost a warning. Though he paused a moment, before the words kept coming. “You know, at first I though that no one in this dammed camp came close to understanding what's happening to me. I was right, by the way, except for one person. Do you know who that is? It's you, dear Thalia.” The light tone his voice took just for those four words were sugary enough to give anyone a cavity. “You get those stares too, don't you. The glances as you walk past people, the murmurs. Everyone just waiting for you to snap, and follow through with what's predicted of you.” None of these were questions, because he didn't need to ask. He knew it was happening; how could it not be? “Guess what? I'm the only one that knows you wont be that child.” Of the prophecy, that is, but he didn't even want to speak of the word.

The way he was speaking, it was like he was trying to break her. All in fairness, her purpose seemed to be just to further piss him off. There was only a few things holding him back from snapping and attacking the next person he saw, and one of them was being unraveled as they kept arguing. She spoke again, and he couldn't help but laugh. “That's right, your birthday. The day I normally make sure is a good day for you. Try my hardest too, do whatever it takes.” He paused, frowning for a brief moment as if he had been caught in reminiscing to a simpler time. Soon though, his scowl back, and his words were coated in venom. “Well look, I'm no longer Kronos's right hand man. Happy birthday.” It was said through gritted teeth, like a child who didn't want to say it, and didn't mean it either. It became clear to him that she caught onto the whole child bit when she went on to speak to him like he was a child. Something in his mind snapped again, letting loose his anger. He couldn't stand it when anyone spoke to him as if he was a stupid child, and she knew that. “You're damn right I missed you. How couldn't I, after all? You used to be my best friend, Thalia. You want to know how much I missed you? I poisoned your tree, because I knew that these idiots would use the Golden Fleece and heal you. You came back, because of me. So yes, I did miss you.”

Luke was angry with himself over all this, and it was seething out through his voice. He never had wanted to hurt Thalia, and he had taken a giant chance in doing what he did. It paid off in the end though, she did come back. That's what triggered his rage, and he was just realizing it now. He was the one that was behind bringing her back, and the first conversation they have is her just prodding him until he unleashed his anger at full force. It wasn't the least bit fair to him, but it was what he deserved. His fist clenched and he dropped his gaze when she accused him of caring what people thought of him. How could she even think... “You think I care about what people think of me?” His voicing was growing in volume, he would soon be shouting and, of course, he didn't care. “Do you really think I would have done what I've done if I even gave a shit what anyone thought of me?” Luke locked gazes with her as the curse flew from his mouth. It was true that he got irritated when people spoke about him, but that was because it was rumors, or things they heard. They wanted to talk about something? Fine. He would give them loads to talk about.

His muscles reacted to a thought tucked away in the back on his brain. Luke stepped towards her, while his hands reached out and gently rested on the sides of her face. Before he could even realize what he was doing, his lips crashed into hers. Luke was kissing Thalia. He pulled back a tiny bit, so that his lips were just lightly against hers, softening the kiss. When his lips parted, something in his mind snapped him back to reality and he pulled back as if he had just been shocked; he might have been, for all he knew. With the realization of what he had just done dawning on him, he stumbled backwards and fell back on his bed. There he sat, just staring at her, with his mouth gaping open, in shock of himself. Then his gaze lowered to the floor. What did he just do? Why? That's a stupid question, he knew why. He knew it so clearly, but after everything that had just happened, everything that had just been said, it was a hell of a time to do it. Thalia was going to kill him. She was going to murder his soul. Were his shoulders shaking? Was he that far into shock? He hadn't meant to – he had wanted to – he couldn't believe everything he had done to this poor girl. His best friend; not former. His heart's admiration. Yet he had just completely screwed everything up.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
But it was not your fault but mine
And it was your heart on the line
I really effed it up this time
Didn't I, my dear?

TAGGED ?! Thals <3
COUNT ?! one-five-three-eight - 1538
NOTES ?! How do these posts keep getting so long?! I don't normally post even close to this. I blame Luke's anger,... and Thalia. The combination is deadly. Also? Something he said is going to make this whole thing so much worse.
LYRICS ?!Little Lion Man - Mumford And Sons

[Thalia Grace]

YOU WERE A CHILD WHO WAS MADE OF GLASS YOU CARRIED A BLACK HEART PASSED DOWN
FROM YOUR DAD IF SOMEBODY LOVED YOU THEY'D TELL YOU BY NOW

When he had first started speaking, he was admitting fear. But it wasn't a regular fear. It was a warning, almost. A this is what you're getting into fear. Maybe it was for her. Maybe it was for himself. Maybe it was for the whole camp. She didn't really know. All she knew was that when the word dear left his lips, she was inexplicably nervous. Then his next set of words followed, and her stomach felt like it was bottoming out. She didn't know what to do, or what to think. What could she say? It was true. Yes, people looked at her that way. Yes, she was viewed at, by some, as if she was already dead. Some believed in her, some thought she could do it. Others thought she was going to die, and the role of the child of the Great Prophecy would come down to Percy. If he died, then it would be passed down to Bianca. If she died, then it would be passed down to Nico. And if he died, then it was all over for the Great Prophecy because Kronos would win, and they would all be doomed. Not that anyone really wanted to think like that. After all, how could demigods who had the power to fight imagine their end? ... He's the only one that knows she won't be that child? But she's already that child. He wasn't making any sense. Unless he knew something that she didn't. He was Kronos' right hand man. Chiron confided everything in her. Who knew more? She didn't ... she couldn't tell. Maybe he was just saying that. Didn't it do him good if she wasn't on her A game? Didn't it help him if she wasn't up to handling him? If she wasn't ready to fight? It did. Because he was supposedly the enemy. Supposedly. Supposedly.

She almost took a step back when he wished her a happy birthday. Almost. The anger within her had vanished at the sight of his true temper, and she was sure that even then, at that very moment, he wasn't doing all that he could do. He was still holding back, whatever odd strand of restraint was pulling tight. She didn't know what to say. But she knew that she didn't believe him. He was still Kronos' right hand man. She knew that. Even if he wasn't with Kronos, she knew that he was still Kronos' right hand man. She knew that they could talk via Luke's mind, and she knew that things didn't change that quickly. Nothing changed that quickly. Nothing. She thought that he was lying to her. She knew he was lying to her. Not that he would admit to it. Not that he would even acknowledge such a fact. Because, after all, if he was lying, didn't he have something to hide? Wasn't that how it worked? When you didn't want to tell the truth, you told a lie? She'd done it once or twice or more than a dozen times before, she was a pro thanks to her mother being an actress, but ... she mentally shook the thoughts. He was speaking again. Speaking at her, not to her. She doubted this conversation was even a real conversation. It just seemed like they were doing their worst, end of story.

... Luke had poisoned her tree. Luke had poisoned her tree. Luke had poisoned her tree. Her tree. To ... to get her back? How could he have known? He was Luke. He knew everything. He had tried to kill her to save her. She was standing here, because of him. She was not a tree anymore, because of him. And all she had done was offend him and make him angry? She felt sorry, and she opened her mouth to apologize, when the full affect of his last words hit her. So yes, I did miss you. Did, not do. He did miss her. Not he does miss her. He had missed her at one point. He didn't anymore. He didn't need her, anymore. Did he ever? And ... didn't he have Kronos? But he was afraid of Kronos - everyone had to be, but Luke was his right hand man, even if he said he wasn't, and if his admittance of being afraid had played the part of a warning more than a confession in any context.

He was up, he was standing. She had watched him stand. Yes, that was true. But it had only really sunk in right then and there, and it wasn't that she was afraid, it wasn't that at all. It was that she didn't know what he would do. Luke was Luke - she'd always been able to know what he was thinking, what he was planning, what he was feeling, what his actions were going to be. But now, she didn't. It was losing her sight and then opening her eyes for the first time. It was disconcerting, and it made her stomach feel as if thousands of small ants were crawling around inside of it. It was unpleasant, it was inducing nausea, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't say a word. Not the whole time, did she say a word. It wasn't that she didn't know what to say. Well, honestly, that was a part of it. But the main part of it was that this was Luke. What she had been thinking? But he was right. He'd spoken again, and he was right, and she was wrong. As usual. How could she have thought anything would be any different? She always messed things up, she couldn't get anything right. And then there was this, too? What would the next thing be - would Annabeth realize that she was a waste of her time, too? Would the only person she'd have left be Percy? She couldn't imagine it. Stupid Seaweed Brain. The thought made her swallow, hard.

And then, all of a sudden, Luke was kissing her. At first, aggressive, then it turned soft, sweet almost, if it hadn't been tinged with the bitter taste of the reason for the kiss. Spite. He had been showing her, that he didn't care what people thought. What she thought. He didn't care what she said about him, and he didn't care what she thought about him. But then he pulled back, as if burnt, and Thalia's arms went from crossing to hugging herself, almost. Where his hands had touched, her face burned. Where his lips had touched, her lips tingled. But she felt so hollow inside. He was on the bed now, staring at her as if he couldn't believe what he had just done. She couldn't believe it either. She couldn't breathe, couldn't bring herself to speak, couldn't bring herself to move, even. Everything felt stuck, and heavy, and hollow. Like her whole body, her mind, everything was just stuck in syrup, molasses, something, glue for Hades' sake.

Then, everything moved. He looked to the floor. And she bolted. She pulled open the door, shutting it behind her, and she ran. She took off, feet pounding against the ground and the cold surrounding her as she was outside. She ran for the forest, for her tree on the hill, for anything that looked like it wasn't the Big House. Maybe if she ran fast enough, she could escape the hollowness enveloping everything inside her. Maybe if she ran fast enough, everything could be perfect again. Maybe if she ran fast enough, she could have her Luke back.

TAGGED ?! lukee </3
WORD COUNT ?! thirteen twelve
MUSE ?! she's stabbing me
NOTES ?! oh god, the ending. just ... ugh. x.x i can't.
CREDITS ?! thanks to SPECIAL K ! of caution two point oh for the graphics. thanks to the hush sound for the lyrics, with their song that's okay.