PJO/HoO oneshots

3. Thaluke - Blind Date

I can't believe I'm doing this, thought Thalia, as she walked into the restaurant that Piper had shown her earlier that day. She spotted table no. seven at the farthest corner of the restaurant beside the wall. There was a blonde haired boy already sitting at the table, his back facing the entrance. Thalia walked to the boy and sat down opposite to him.

"Hi, you must be Luke."She said.

"And you must be Thalia." Said Luke,holding out a hand. He had light blue eyes. Not like her brother Jason's but a more calming colour. Thalia felt like she could look into his eyes for days on end. She shook herself from her thoughts and extended her hand. He had a firm grip as he shook her hand.

They ordered food and sat in silence for some time. Luke was fiddling with the sleeves of his shirt and looking at anything but her. Thalia used the oppurtunity to study him.

He looked a few years older to her, maybe 22 or 23. His hair was messy but she got the feeling it wasn't usually like that, most probably because he wasn't excited to be here.

"Were you forced to come here too?" She asked, trying to spark some conversation.

He chuckled, finally looking up at her. "Yeah, Annabeth made me. She's my cousin."

Thalia nodded. "I see her quite often. Her boyfriend and my brother are best buds. How come she's never mentioned you?"

"Maybe it just never came up." Luke shrugged, avoiding her eyes. She could tell that he wasn't being completely honest but she decided that she didn't know him well enough to start prying.

"My brother Jason and his girlfriend Piper have been trying to get me to go on a date for years. They won't listen to me, I keep telling them I'm fine on my own but they are determined to set me up, especially Piper." Thalia said, changing the topic for him.

"Well, here we are." He said, chuckling. Luke seemed to be thinking for a moment.

"You know what, since we're here already, why don't we make the most of it?" He asked.

Thalia thought about it for a moment and, deciding that she had nothing to lose, said, "'kay."

***

"-I know right! It's hilarious when I think about it now, I mean, he literally tried the eat the dam stapler-"

"Thalia!" Luke exclaimed, cutting her off. "It's 9'o clock."

"What? Already?" She sighed. They hadn't noticed the hours fly by. "We should probably go home."

"I'll walk you home." Said Luke.

"Fine. Come on." Thalia said, getting up. They walked outside in silence. Now, Luke wasn't just a stranger. She knew so much about the boy walking beside her and he knew so much about her too. She knew that his parents died in a plane crash and Annabeth, who had run away from her home at a young age, met with Luke. They were distant cousins and Luke had raised her after she came to his house one day telling him that she had run away. She was like his own little sister.

Thalia almost didn't realize when they had reached her house. "Oh, this is my place." She said, stopping and gesturing towards the house on their right. He walked her to the door and waited as she rummaged in her pocket for her keys. Before opening the door she had turned around to say goodnight, when Luke pecked her on the cheek.

Thalia froze. The keys hit the floor with a clang and her ears felt rather hot as she stood in front of him. Luke bent down and picked up the keys.

"I had a great time." He said, placing them in her hands. "I guess I'll see you around."

Luke turned to go and Thalia said, "We should do this again sometime."

He smiled and said, "Definitely."