Who the hell thought making me a Half-blood was a good idea? {ON HOLD}

Act Two- Sweet Dreams

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's one way to do it."

"Fuck up? Then yeah, I fucked up," I agreed quietly.

"Definitely." She eyed me with scrutiny. "Hey, since we might be here for a while, what's your quest?"

I gave her a wobbly smile. "Your father thinks I stole his Master Bolt and now I have to go down to the Underworld to 'retrieve' it. My questing partners are Luke Castellan and Annabeth Chase. My Pai is Poseidon."

Now was Thalia's turn to gape at me. "Wha- How? Why? What?"

I shrugged, wiping off some tears from my face. "Don't ask me; I blame the gods for their usual bullshit."

She accepted that with a small snort. "So, my family is your family?"

I blushed and fidgeted with my jacket. "Luke and I are soulmates. Annabeth and I are slowly becoming friends."

"Wait, soulmates?"

I looked into her eyes. Something must have shown because she barely contained her recoil.

"It was the only way to save his life," I explained solemnly. "I had to tie our fate-strings together- it was the best guarantee I could wrangle."

She grabbed my face, nails digging but not biting, bringing me closer to her. She peered at me intensely.

"You'll protect them? You won't hurt them?"

"Yeah," I vowed. "I'll do everything it takes to protect them."

The silence stretched on in this empty, empty place of ours.

A beat passes, then another.

She nods, and slowly let go of me. She slides one foot back. Then another.

Once she was a respectable distance away, she softly chides, "Then go."

"What?"

"I may not still be technically alive, but you are." She shrugs. "You can go back to them."

I furrow my brow. "But how? I'm stuck here."

"Aren't you soulmates with Luke? I bet that means there's a link between your souls. Use that, and go back to him."

"I- " My eyes widen as I watch her start to fade. "Wait! I know a way to- "

"Goodbye, Ophelia."

She's gone.

And me? I'm back to square one; alone and confused.

Well, maybe not square one... If what she suggested about soulmates is true...

I focus on Luke; his smile, his hugs, the way he always twirls his blade before a fight, the way he drinks Diet Coke like it's the only liquid available, the way he ruffles my hair- always careful to make me not feel crowded-

Luke.

I think about his pain, the pain he feels for my sake, the emotions that run across his face when he thinks no one's looking, the way his shoulders sage a little more when I'm in his line of sight... The things that I don't want to think about, but encompass what he is to me anyway-

Luke.

I don't know what, but something warm, like the fire you feel after dumping your freezing hands in warm water, hooks itself around my navel-

Then I'm gone.

-

The grass is greener than it I remember.