Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Rick Riordan. 

AU: This is set before Luke, Thalia and Annabeth meet Grover and before Thalia gets turned into a pine tree. This is set a few weeks after they meet Annabeth. Set right after a monster attack. Anyways:

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I panted heavily. I could smell burning clothes, hair and metal. I knew my punk-rock badges were melted and some of my clothes were seared off. It was pitch black, so I couldn't really survey the damage. The torch had run out of batteries and all our candles were melted and so were the matchsticks. The stupid manticore had almost killed us. I said, 'That was close! We seriously need to be more careful!'

Luke caught my arm and steadied himself. I knew it was him. I could feel the rough hard skin of his hand and I just knew it was him from his faint outline. He gasped, 'I know. But we can't rough it like we used to. We have Annie now.' Annabeth perked up when "Luke" said her name. She said, 'No, I can rough it. We'll rough it.' She sounded so enthusiastic that I burst out laughing. We held each other's arms and walked to a clearing in an alley. It seemed to be an alley. And the damned street light wasn't working. Luke sighed and rummaged through his pack for waste paper and a lighter and tried to get a fire going. Me and Annie started to or tried to set up the sleeping bags. We had just finished setting up when the fire was lit. 'Finally-light,' I thought.

Luke turned to face us, probably to brag about his "skills" but he saw me and his eyes widened and he blushed heavily. He exclaimed, 'Put some clothes on, Thals. Yikes!' and turned away. I looked down and blushed too. I was only wearing my jeans and a shred of my shirt. My bra and skin was open to everyone to see. The fact that Luke saw me like that made it all the worse. It was hot so I didn't really feel cold without my shirt but it was still embarrassing. Annabeth looked at me and giggled. She ran to Luke who lifted her onto his lap and kissed her forehead. For a second, I felt so angry at Annabeth that I just wanted to yell so badly at her. The next moment the feeling was gone. I got up and went to our supply bags and rummaged through. God, I hated that manticore. He had melted my badges. They were limited edition-stupid manticore! Where else was I supposed to get others like that? The first cloth I felt I pulled out. It was Luke's old T-shirt. He had outgrown it, so I put it on but it was still big for me, but like that mattered. I grabbed some rations and went to the place Luke and Annie were sitting and playing Atlas (guess who won?) but they stopped when I came. Annabeth grabbed the rations bag and took out a piece of cheese and started nibbling it.

Luke looked at my shirt and complained, 'Hey, my shirt! Get your own!'

'Shut up, Castellan,' I muttered.

After our frugal meal, we tried to make plans for tomorrow but Annabeth fell asleep. So after tucking her in, we talked and it felt like old times-before Annabeth. Annie was great but sometimes it felt that I and Luke had to child-proof our conversations and that made it harder to talk like we used to. After some time, Luke asked, 'Hey, what about your badges?'

I started, vehemently, 'Don't even ask! Stupid manticore! He melted my badges. They were limited edition! And so costly. I got it for a 70% discount at that store because the owner was a fan of my mom. Ugh! And my clothes are gone too! Senseless thing burnt my new T-shirt!'

Luke stared at me weirdly for a few seconds. I could almost see what he was imagining/remembering and I blushed. Again. Like Wow! He said, awkwardly, 'I'll take first watch.' I protested but he stopped me, 'It's fine, honestly. Get some sleep. I'm there for you.'

I tried to protest further but my body wouldn't listen. I got into my sleeping bad and immediately fell asleep. Surprisingly, I had no dreams, but in the middle of the night, I felt uneasy and opened my eyes to see Luke looking at me. I almost jumped and cried out but I managed to control myself and I whispered, 'Luke, what the hell?' He scratched the back of his neck and said, 'You awake?' I snorted, 'I am now! What were you doing, fool?'

He said, his eyes on the floor, 'I met you when you were a kid Thals. I thought of you like that for a long time. Till I turned fourteen.

My brain said, 'Puberty,' Sometimes I hated my brain.

Luke continued, 'Today, when I saw you with only your, ahem, you know...' I interrupted, 'Dude, call it a bra already. You came to the damn Jockey store with me. Heck, you paid!' He grinned sheepishly, 'Yeah, well anyways, I just realized, you're more of a woman now.'

I rolled my eyes. I thought, 'Just like a boy. You are nice and beautiful inside and kind to him but does he care? No! But he sees you half naked and suddenly, you're in his mind. Not that I care anyways!'

His eyes were boring holes in the ground now, 'Most guys would store that image in their brain for their own perverted uses but I think I showed my true feeling a bit more than I would have liked to today. Truth is I really like you, Thals.'

I stammered, 'Wh-what? Me? Prank much?'

He gave a little smile and said, 'Yes, you. I'm not pranking you, stupid. I like you and your eyes and your hair and your badass personality and your freckles and the way you fight and...'

"I was mad", is my one defence. I kissed him. A quick peck on the lips. He looked quite startled. He said, surprised, 'What was that for?'

I parried, 'I don't know. You like me?' He leaned closer and whispered, 'Yes, I do, Thalia. What do you feel about me?' Then he added with a laugh, 'Wow! Are we like the cheesiest couple ever?!'

I didn't know. Luke was handsome and awesome, but we had Annie and I had known him since I was a kid. He was also my best friend and I didn't want to lose him as a friend. A million emotions flooded me. Luke was uncomfortably close now. Our noses were almost touching and I knew if we broke up or something, our friendship would be ruined. So, I inched backwards.

Luke looked at me with a hurt expression and said, shakily, 'OK. I get it. Let's forget this happened.' He walked back to the fire and sat down. He took a stick and started poking the fire. I was about to lie down once more when I saw Luke turn back with the most heartbroken expression on his face. He looked at me for a second and then turned front. And that expression broke me. Nothing mattered. I knew he was my best friend and all the other doubts I had before resurfaced but I didn't know I liked him till that moment. Till I saw him hurt. I just couldn't bring myself to hurt him like that. If I did, it would break me. And I liked him. A lot. No wonder I hated it when Annie and Luke talked excluding me. And I knew that he would be there for me. He could never hurt me. And that's the reason I liked him. Because I knew I could depend on him. More than anyone else. Because he loved me. And...and I loved him too.

I got out of my sleeping bag and ran to him. I tackled him and he fell on the floor. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his chest. He smelt like Luke. You know how every person has their own smell and you can't describe it or relate it to any smell you know. Luke smelt like the best cologne in the world. Like every guy should wear it. Woah, back to the point. I slowly looked up into Luke's surprised face. He was looking at me as if I was Christmas early. His brilliant blue eyes literally sparkled. I smiled at him and then he broke out grinning. We stood up slowly, in the same position. And then I gently stood on tiptoes and kissed him. It was sweet at first but became a little passionate later. We pulled away for want of air and sat down in front of the fire. I laid my head on his lap while he stroked my arm. I asked, 'Are we going to be okay, Luke?' He kissed my neck lightly and said, 'Everything will be fine. I'm there for you.'

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Yeah, this one was super cringy, I know. But please review. I want to know how it was. Good, bad or I-should-take-it-down ?