The first time Thalia formally met and talked to Bianca di Angelo, she had been warned.

It had been at Westover Hall, hours upon finding the di Angelo kids. After the encounter with Dr. Thorn, the loss of Annabeth, and the emergence of the hunters, Thalia had wandered off into a secluded part of the clearing. All she wanted was to get away. She wanted to be far from her infuriating cousin and the infuriating hunters with their infuriating bows and arrows. Everything about this damn day pissed her off.

Thalia released a long sigh, leaning back against a tree trunk. Her leather jacket was doing very little to protect her from the cold air of Westover Hall, but it wasn't like her mind was concerned with the light and snowy weather.

As they had the last time she had encountered them, the Hunters of Artemis had swooped in at the last minute to save her hide. It had seemed like a noble deed the first time they had done so, but now it just felt like a taunt. Every single one of those girls had always managed to crawl under her skin, especially the lieutenant.

Zoë Nightshade.

Even though she didn't want to, Thalia thought back to the very first time they had met one another. She had only been twelve at the time, but her body had already begun to mature. Luke had certainly noticed that, as had Zoë. The only difference was that the huntress was much more subtle with her looks—Thalia had rarely caught her eyes wandering. Luke, on the other hand, might as well have had the word 'pervert' tattooed across his forehead.

It wasn't too tough of a fight. They were only fending off a Hydra, but they were at an extreme disadvantage. Little Annabeth was too young to handle the monster, Luke was tired and clumsy, and Thalia—the group's strongest fighter—had injured her ankle previously. The daughter of Zeus remembered stumbling around, even worse than Luke, and hopelessly slashing for the monster. Foolishly, she cut off one of its heads, causing two more to sprout in its place. She had been sure that they were all going to die, that fighting was useless.

Then a single explosive silver arrow had blown the creature to pieces.

As a result, Thalia was looking horrible whenever she met Zoë, covered in dirt and her own blood, but the older girl hadn't glanced at her in disgust or shock. Zoë had smiled warmly, helped her to her feet, and offered her a hot bath and a fresh change of clothes. Thalia could tell it was something the huntress did often, because the rest of the Hunt appeared used to her gentle behavior.

The Hunt gave Luke a rough time, but Zoë stayed away from insulting him, not wanting to provoke Thalia in any negative way. Annabeth had been treated well by the girls, naturally. Phoebe, the best healer of Artemis' followers, had worked to heal Thalia's ankle. The three of them had stayed with Artemis and her hunters for a few days, and Thalia could honestly say that she enjoyed every second of her time with Zoë.

They almost did everything together in that time, from staying up late to study the constellations—Zoë taught her everything about those damn things—to diving into springs to catch fish with their bare hands. Thalia learned how to swim and to use a bow, which she had undoubtedly sucked at before. Back then, she could tell that Zoë had been trying so hard not to laugh at her frustrations with archery and swimming, putting on a mask of patience and gentleness instead.

Things had been going great for those three days, and their time together seemed much shorter than it actually was. In was on that last day that things started to crumble apart, and all because Thalia politely refused to join the hunt.

So, okay, she actually said something along the lines of: "Not a chance!" She was never one for subtlety.

"Hi," a quiet voice broke into her gooey thoughts. Thalia raised her chin to see the young girl from earlier, Bianca, standing before her. "Can I sit with you?"

Thalia shrugged, scooting over to make room for her. Bianca leaned back against the tree, her fingers beginning to pull out strands of ice-covered grass. Thalia couldn't see how the poor girl wasn't freezing in the weather.

Rather than ask her if she needed a jacket, Thalia forced herself out of her leather jacket and draped it over Bianca's small shoulders. When the other girl tried to look at her, Thalia turned her attention to the hunters. That could have been her—rejoicing in the presence of her sisters, making campfires, hunting and fishing. But she didn't want it to be her. She never did.

She hadn't wanted to leave Luke. More than anything, she hadn't wanted to leave Annabeth. Annabeth had only been seven, and with only one person to protect her, Thalia wasn't about to leave her behind.

"You have a past with her?" Bianca's question took the daughter of Zeus off-guard, but she didn't let it show. When she didn't answer her, the younger girl sighed. "She doesn't seem to like you very much. She mutters a lot of curse words." Her nose crinkled. "Well, I think they're curse words. They just sound so medieval."

Thalia surprised the both of them when she responded. "That's not news to me."

"Why doesn't she?" Thalia glanced at her quickly, and Bianca amended her statement, "I mean, you seem…nice."

Stubborn? Sure. Freakishly tall? Sure. Nice? Not so much.

"Why does she hate me?" Thalia repeated. "I didn't join them."

"Huh?"

"The Hunters," she elaborated, waving her hand dismissively. "I—I didn't join them. I told them no."

"Oh," Bianca said quietly, but the two of them didn't stay in silence for long. "Aren't you wondering why I came over here?"

"You were curious. About me, about Zoë."

"Well, that was part of the reason," Bianca admitted, biting down on her bottom lip shyly. "I wanted to get away for a while…to think some things over. But, at the same time, I didn't want to be alone to do it. Talking helps me to make decisions."

Thalia chuckled softly, shaking her head. She knew that the second she turned her back, Zoë and her crew were going to try to convince Bianca to desert her brother. Part of her feared that the girl would actually go through with it, and leave Nico to fend for himself. Thalia could have never done that to Jason…he was her brother. Of course, that didn't matter now, did it?

Maybe she had no reason to judge. She didn't know Bianca, and she sure as shit didn't know Nico. Jason had been young and quiet, and Thalia had been able to be herself while she took care of him. Maybe Bianca felt hindered; she didn't know. She couldn't possibly know.
"What's funny?"

"Nothing," the daughter of Zeus replied quickly. "So, they offered you the silver platter huh?" Bianca furrowed her brows in confusion. "Immortality, sisterhood…all that stuff," Thalia elaborated, making sarcastic motions with her hands.

"They've hinted around about it…"

"And you don't know whether you should leave Nate—"

"Nico!"

"Nico," Thalia corrected. "And start your new, perfect life as a huntress."

Bianca scowled. "What would you do?"

Thalia wryly smiled. "I'm not you."

She was going to leave it at that, but part of her really, really didn't want Bianca to join the hunters. She didn't know if she was just bitter over the past or if she wanted Bianca to attend camp, but she couldn't just let the conversation drop.

"I'd say hell no," Thalia answered honestly. "Again and again. You'll find that my mind doesn't often change."

Bianca laughed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Finally a straight answer."

Thalia started to respond but something else caught her attention. She noticed that Zoë and Phoebe were glancing over at them, pointing and whispering. Obviously, the hunters did not trust Thalia with their potential recruit.

Thalia had been so distracted with her thinking, that she hadn't even noticed Bianca standing and walking away to join the hunters.

She ran a hand through her messily cropped hair and stood. Her eyes caught sight of Percy waving her over, and she grumpily made her way towards him. She wasn't quite ready to see him yet. Because of him (really, both of them), Annabeth had been taken the gods know where. Deep down, she knew that it wasn't really his fault but if he had just gone along with their plan, Annabeth would still be there. Then again, Bianca and Nico might have been hurt instead.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not though, she found him tolerable most of the time. They were so much alike that it was hard not to. They shared jokes every once in a while, and he was actually pretty cool when he wasn't pissing her off.

"Dude," the son of Poseidon greeted when she walked up to him and Grover. "He isn't out of his awed trance yet," he said, pointing to their satyr friend.

Goat Boy was murmuring something about nuts and berries, but Thalia really didn't care.

"Want me to hit him?" she asked, trying to be helpful.

Percy looked at her like she just threatened to push an old lady down a flight of stairs.

"Do you solve all of your problems with violence?" Bianca asked jokingly as she approached.

Phoebe, who was standing off to her left, criticized, "It's the way of heroes. They aren't reasonable people." There was a hateful gleam in her eyes as she pointedly glanced to Thalia.

"What do you want?" Thalia asked but, of course, she went ignored.

Grover bleated joyfully. "How may we serve Artemis?"

Phoebe smirked, but did not outright laugh at his obsession. "My Lady wishes to speak with the boy, although I truly have no idea why she would ever want to do such a thing, and the presence of the daughter of Zeus is requested as well."

Grover looked disappointed that he was not wanted by Artemis, but he said nothing as Phoebe and Bianca led the children of the Big Three to the largest tent. Thalia was less than eager to see the Goddess of the Hunt again. Artemis may have been her half-sister, but she wasn't so sure that the immortal wouldn't turn her back into a tree when given the chance.

Percy and Bianca entered the tent first, but before Thalia could follow after them, she was pulled aside. Phoebe's green eyes searched hers, and the demigoddess was sure that she was about to get punched in the face. Bracing herself for the pain, the daughter of Zeus inhaled and clenched her jaw.

The huntress surprised her when she only crossed her arms over her chest. "Zoë wants to speak with you."

Thalia felt all of her breath leave her.

"Why?"

She didn't get her answer.

Without giving herself the chance to decide against it, she entered the tent. The eyes of all the occupants shifted to her—Artemis, Percy, Bianca and Zoë. Her gaze lingered on Bianca, silently pleading with her to decline the offer she knew would be proposed in her absence.

"Ah, yes," Artemis said, clearing her throat and looking pointedly to Zoë. "My lieutenant requires your ear."

Oh, she was going to hate every second of this.

Without bothering to respond, Thalia numbly followed after Zoë.

Zoë didn't turn around to make sure she was following. Her caramel gaze remained trained on the edge of the woods.

Her silence was unnerving Thalia as they entered the woodland, but she continued to follow Zoë. She managed to refrain from speaking even though it was incredibly difficult for her. Zoë stopped walking as soon as they stepped into a snowy clearing, and she turned around.

Zoë's eyes were cold and hardened. "Normally, we would refuse to assist one who has so crudely wronged us in the past. Yet, Artemis has agreed to help thee. She will provide transport to camp. Do not take advantage of her kindness. Do not bother me. Do not bother my huntresses. And do not speak to Bianca."

For some reason, the comment about Bianca really struck Thalia. It felt worse than a blast of hydra venom to the face, and that was certainly saying something.
She made to storm off but Thalia grabbed her forearm and pulled her back roughly. "What did you just say to me?" Thalia snapped. "I talk to whoever I want to, whenever I want to. You're not my mother, Zoë."

"And thou are not mine," Zoë bitterly replied. "So do not touch me."

And she was gone.

Thalia stupidly punched a tree (betraying one of her own, she supposed), feeling her knuckles bruise from the force. "Fuck!" she shouted into the empty clearing, rather maturely. "Fuck you!"

The next time she actually talked to Bianca, she started to realize that something was seriously odd about her. It was during breakfast, directly after she had driven Apollo's chariot into the lake. She didn't mean to stumble across Bianca—really, she didn't. But she didn't exactly regret it either.

There was something about her that called to Thalia, drew her in, but she wasn't yet sure what it was.

Thalia had just wanted to get away from the Hunters, which was rather funny seeing as she actually ended up running into one. Chiron, as was tradition, had previously announced that they were going to hold a Capture the Flag game, and Thalia didn't want to see the Hunters until she was kicking their asses.

So she had gone to the strawberry fields—where, she later noticed, Bianca had chosen to go as well. She was sitting near one of the bushes, her back to Thalia's curious eyes.

Thalia had a six-pack of sodas dangling from her fingers, but she tightened her grip on it as she quietly approached Bianca. She cleared her throat as softly as she could, not wanting to frighten her.

Bianca slowly turned and saw her, giving her a little wave and smiling before she turned back to look out at the field.

Thalia took it as an invitation to sit down next to her, and she hefted the six-pack in the air, motioning for Bianca to take one.

Bianca did so almost reluctantly, thanking Thalia quietly as she popped a can open. She took a swig out of it. "It's cool."

"What's cool about it?" Thalia asked, completely confused. It was just a soda, after all.

Bianca furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, it's cold."

"Oh, yeah. I keep 'em in a secret mini fridge in my cabin," Thalia laughed, caught off-guard. "I thought you meant cool. Like, awesome."

Bianca giggled. "What?"

"How old are you? Geez," Thalia remarked, her laughter dying off as she watched Bianca get confused. "Don't tell me you don't know."

Bianca gave a pained smile. "Twelve. Just took me a while. Sorry."

Thalia suspiciously narrowed her eyes but she shrugged. "S'fine. I'm not the best with my age, either." Her eyebrows scrunched. "Apollo says I'm almost sixteen, but…"

"But what?"

It doesn't feel that way.

"Nothin'," Thalia decided, reclining on the grass. "You excited for the Capture the Flag game?"

"Wouldn't know," Bianca replied easily. "Never played."

Thalia thought against it but eventually caved. She explained the game to Bianca, going into great detail about the many different strategies. They sat cross-legged from each other, and they had already used up all six cans of soda. If Thalia had to guess, she would say it was around lunch time.

"So," Bianca started to ask, her mouth gaping open slightly as she thought. Thalia couldn't help but find it just the tiniest bit cute. "What happens if I find the other team's flag?"

"You snatch it up, run it back over the creek and into your territory, and then you win," Thalia answered.

"Easy," Bianca said, clapping her hands.

"Ah, ah, ah," Thalia disagreed. "More often than not, the other team will have people hidden in the trees, positioned to where they'll be able to easily prevent you from just running off with the flag."

Bianca sighed. "Knew it."

"You just have to find your strengths," Thalia said helpfully. "I'm a fast runner, so I'm good with running the flag back. And, plus, I'm also a major ball hog."

Bianca bit her lip in thought. "I'm an okay runner. I'm really strong."

Thalia held back a laugh. She couldn't help her smile. "You're really strong, huh? Here's a little advice. Everyone here at this camp has been through some level of training. A little one like you isn't gonna do much to a girl like Clarisse. I suggest border defense."

Bianca crossed her arms over her chest. "Have you been through training?"

Thalia smirked. "I've had more experience than any camper here. Every monster wants a piece of Pinecone Face."

"So, you're saying that you're stronger than me?"

"Well," Thalia said, considering her words and trying not to smirk again. Honestly, she tried. "I guess you could say that's what I'm saying."

Bianca leaned forward and pushed her back onto the grass.

"Fight me," Bianca encouraged. "I'm gonna kick your tail."

Thalia would usually say no—she didn't want to hurt little Bianca—but she was having way too much fun.

Nearly ten minutes later, Thalia was being choked by Bianca's legs, trying to break free from the hold.

"Who's stronger than Bianca?" the new huntress taunted, holding back a laugh as Thalia thrashed around.

"Not me!" Thalia called out, waiting for Bianca to relinquish her hold. "C'mon!"

Bianca finally let her go, finally allowing herself to completely explode into giggles.

Thalia glared. "I was going easy on you, you know."

"Sure you were, big shot."

The next time they had a conversation, Bianca had just beaten Thalia and the rest of the camp at Capture the Flag. After the big fight with Percy, Thalia had retired to the strawberry fields. It was honestly the only place she could think anymore. There was no way she could reflect on anything with that creepy Hippy Zeus staring at her.

"Hey, loser," Bianca called from behind her, nearly frightening her out of her skin. "Sorry."

"About calling me a loser or scaring me shitless?"

Bianca wrinkled her nose. "Both?"

Thalia grinned, patting the patch of grass next to her. Bianca obliged, sitting down next to her, close enough for their legs to brush together.

"You know," Bianca started, glancing at Thalia from the corner of her eyes, "you totally kicked Percy's butt."

Thalia didn't look at her. "Yeah?"

"Totally," Bianca affirmed, wrinkling her nose again. "His hair was so high, and I'm pretty sure he left that fight with one less eyebrow."

Thalia cracked like a pistachio. Bianca nudged her when she laughed.

"I saw him push you down," Thalia admitted. "That was really mean of him."

Bianca smiled. "And that's really sweet of you, but a game is a game. I'll get him next time, right?"

"You put me in a hold," Thalia replied. "I think it's safe to say you'll get him next time."

Bianca changed the subject. "What do you think of that prophecy?"

"I have enough prophecies in my life right now," Thalia replied.

"That's really deep."

"No," she said. "Really. There's some big prophecy that pretty much says I'm going to destroy the world when I turn sixteen. Rough, huh?"

Bianca agreed. "No pressure."

Thalia snorted.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't think you're going to destroy the world."

"Thanks, B."

They went a long while without talking. When they set out for the quest, none of them really had any time to sit around and talk. It came as a great surprise to her whenever Bianca crept over, while on the train, to the Mercedes that Thalia had locked herself inside of.

Once her eyes made out Bianca's form through the tinted windows, she unlocked the door. Bianca hurried inside, settling into the passenger seat. She was shivering.

Thalia turned the heater up, pulling her jacket off and wordlessly handing it over. Bianca gratefully put it on even though it was much too big for her.

"What is this?" Bianca gestured to the radio.

"A radio," Thalia replied, accustomed to her weird questions by now.

"No, silly," Bianca responded with a roll of her eyes. "I meant the song. I've never heard anything like this before."

"Ramones," Thalia replied, her lips spreading into a grin. She noticed she did that a lot around Bianca—smiled. "It's one of my favorite songs."

She turned it up, mouthing along to the chorus of Baby, I Love You.

Bianca wrinkled her nose—gods, Thalia loved that. "It's loud."

Without a sign of hesitance, Bianca reached across the console and grabbed Thalia's hand, intertwining their cold fingers.

"Yeah," Thalia agreed, watching as Bianca slowly started to unintentionally bob her head to the song. She swallowed nervously as she squeezed Bianca's smaller hand. "It's loud."

"Do you have any jazz on this thing?"

The two of them were alone next in the taco restaurant. Percy was outside talking to some woman in a limo, Zoë had gone to the bathroom, and Grover was in a heated debate with the man at the counter—something about organic cheese options.

"We have goat cheese, sir," the teenage boy offered, his voice cracking as he tried to keep a lid on his aggravation.

Grover bleated. "Goat cheese? Goat cheese?"

Bianca frowned. "Don't tell him I said this, but goat products are yucky."

Thalia nodded in agreement. "Goats used to freak me out."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. They all have crazy eyes."

"Even Grover?" Bianca countered, glancing over her shoulder to see if the satyr was still preoccupied. He was.

"He's only half-goat," Thalia pointed out. "But, yeah. Him, too."

Bianca giggled as quietly as she could. "Thanks for Mist-tricking that guy into giving us free tacos. That was pretty…uh, cool."

"What else would I manipulate the Mist for?" Thalia countered.

Bianca shrugged. "Hmm. I don't know. I know what I'd use it for."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"I'd use it to get kisses from the person I like."

Thalia coughed out a laugh. "Oh, I'm sure there's no Mist needed, B. You're really pretty. You could get a worm to kiss you."

"Well, I definitely don't want to kiss a worm," Bianca murmured, her eyes flickering from Thalia's lips to her freckles, then to her eyes and back again.

Thalia turned red when Bianca didn't turn away. Was she talking about her? Gods, gods, oh, gods, was she? Bianca was leaning towards her! Did Bianca want to kiss her? Did she want to kiss Bianca? Oh, yes, she did.

They leaned in closer, the dimming lights above somehow making Bianca's even darker eyes stand out. It was strange, how Thalia could see the barest hints of brown whenever the light reflected off of them a certain way. She liked it. She liked it a lot.

"Thalia?" Her voice was soft and timid, and it endeared her to Thalia even more.

"Yeah?"

"You have taco sauce all over your mouth."

Bianca giggled when Thalia gave a frustrated pout. She gingerly grabbed a napkin from the table and dabbed at the sauce. "There," she said. "All better."

"Do—uh—do we get to kiss now?" Thalia asked nervously. There she goes, asking all the important questions. She cleared her throat, calling upon the courage that had unexplainably left her. "I mean, I kind of thought that was where we were going with the whole leaning-in thing—"

Bianca silenced her with a short, soft, sweet kiss.

Thalia grinned when she pulled away. "Cool."

"I kinda think I'm stuck on you," Bianca answered honestly. She rocked from side to side, apparently trying to keep warm in the booth seat, but Thalia liked to think it was because she was subtly hinting for her to put her arm around her.

So she did. She placed her arm around Bianca and pulled her closer, preventing her from moving all around again. When Bianca leaned against her shoulder, she rested her head on Bianca's.

"I kinda think I'm stuck on you, too."

That was the last time she talked to Bianca.

And when Bianca got lost inside that automaton—that was the last time she allowed herself to even think about her.

But, as most things go, she wasn't able to help it. After they saved Olympus (there was no way she was going to give Percy all the credit), Nico approached her with a request.

"Talk to her," he said.

He had caught up with her after they had conversed with the gods, and the rest of the demigods were scattered around awaiting transportation back to camp. Her hunters were likely parading around Artemis somewhere, or attempting to salvage what was left of her temple.

"What?" she dared to ask. She already knew who he was talking about, of course.

"She wonders why you never talk to her," Nico elaborated, his eyes a little watery. She pretended not to notice. "The dead can hear when you think of them. And she wonders why she never hears from you."

"It—it—"

She told herself to lie to him. To tell him that she simply never had the time. But she knew she couldn't do that.

"It hurts."

She kept her voice firm. No one but her mother had ever seen her cry, and she was more than willing to make it stay that way.

"She hurts, too."

And so, when she went back to her tent that night, as she was lying in her cozy cot, she talked to Bianca again. She told her about the impressive monster she had taken down during the battle for Manhattan. Bragged about it. She could practically feel Bianca there, telling her how brave she fought, assuring her that yes, she was taller and more kickass than Percy Jackson, making her laugh, using phrases from forever ago, and calling her a loser.

Thalia realized that it wasn't just one thing that had drawn her to Bianca, like she had originally thought. It had been multiple things. It was the way she had wrinkled her nose whenever she was about to say something funny. It was her innocence. It was how, even though Thalia was a good foot taller than her, Bianca had totally kicked her butt. It was the mother-bear way she had wiped Thalia's mouth whenever she got taco sauce all over it. It was the way her lips had felt in that little, incredibly significant moment.

"I can't wait to see you again," she talked to the girl that wasn't there. "I kinda think I'm still stuck on you."

She hoped Nico was right—that Bianca had heard her and confessed that she was still stuck on Thalia, too.