Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a girl in Bianca's spot.

Her short black hair, leather jacket, and cigarette gave her a sort of 'don't mess with me' look, but Bianca didn't care. This was her spot. She came here to think and ponder about life (well, she mostly just brooded over her day). She wanted to be alone.

She wanted to cry.

Ignoring her feelings, Bianca stomped up to the girl and fussily said, "Your'e in my spot!"

Bianca's 'spot' was a little abandoned hunting cabin on a tiny cliff in the woods. It has an amazing view, which was a its peak right now, as the sun set behind the rolling mountains and trees that surrounded the cabin.

It made Bianca feel at home.

The girl slowing turned around, taking her cigarette out of her mouth. Bianca's eyes widened.

It was Thalia Grace, her crush since middle school.

Now, I know what you're thinking: middle school? They're seniors, shouldn't Bianca be over her by now?

No. Not in a million years. Thalia Grace was not any other girl that she could forget about.

"Hello, Miss di Angelo," Thalia said with a small smile that could be classified as a smirk. "Glad that you could join me."

"You don't understand," Bianca was shaking a little by now. "I need to be alone."

Thalia's smile faltered, and she patted the space next to her.

"C'mon, talk."

Bianca didn't want to talk to anyone, let alone her crush. She hardly understood why Thalia wanted to talk to her, and not brush (or punch) people away like she usually does.

But Bianca sat down. What an idiot.

Thalia looked over to her (sincerely? Was that emotion actually able to be felt by Thalia Grace? Who knows.) and said, "What's bothering you?"

"Life," Bianca stubbornly replied.

Thalia turned her head back to the view if the sun setting, and said, "I'm pretty sure life bothers everyone."

Bianca looked up at her (she was short, and Thalia was tall. How romantic) and wondered how something so philosophical come out of the mouth of a punk like her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, of course, no one's life is perfect."

"Then why does my life constantly pokes and prods at me like I'm an alien from outer space and life is the scientist?"

Thalia smiled a heart-melting smile, and took her hand.

"C'mon, follow me."

It was easy to follow her, because of the holding hands thing. Holding hands! Bianca always wanted to hold a girl's hand. Especially Thalia's hand. Bianca's heart did a little nervous flutter, and she started to blush a little.

Thalia tugged her through the woods, down a path that Bianca had never taken before. They stepped over flat, smooth rocks, and brushed through small, leafy plants. They avoided big roots, and prickle bushes. Bianca felt like she was walking through an extravagant woodland setting from a movie like Tinker Bell. She felt on top of the world.

They finally reached a clearing, and came out onto a cracked and faded road. There were a few shabby houses here and there, and a gas station, with its lot devoid of life. The wind danced through the small amount of trees in the neighborhood, blowing Bianca's hair into her face. The air was as fresh as the blackberries that grew around her house in August.

She and Thalia ran up the road, to the orange mountain with a view overlooking freeways with few cars on them. They reminded Bianca of the horseflies that sometimes found themselves in her room, her kitchen.

The road wrapped around the mountain like a ribbon holds together a gift. They ran, and ran, and ran. Bianca was breathing hard, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that she and Thalia were running up a winding road, hand in hand, to a place. She didn't care what place it was, as long as she was with Thalia.

Finally, Thalia slowed to a stop in front of a two-story white farmhouse. In a second, Bianca wished she could live there, with its cute shutters and pine-green door.

"This is my house," Thalia huffed.

"This is a beautiful house," Bianca answered in awe. "I want to live here."

"No, you don't," Thalia started for the lovely little porch, which had two nicely placed rocking chairs, swaying in the wind.

Bianca said nothing, only trudged after Thalia.

Thalia fished around for a key in her jacket, which was now tied around her waist. It showed of her freckled arms.

She finally found the key, and turned the doorknob slowly. Thalia pushed inside, and gestured Bianca to follow.

The inside of the house was homey and warm. It made her feel instantly welcomed.

Thalia made her way to the kitchen, which was next to the living room, and opened the fridge. She took out two bottles of a caramel-colored liquid. Bianca wasn't sure, but her best guess was that it was some kind of cream soda.

"Want one?" Thalia asked, holding out a bottle so Bianca could see. The label said maple cream soda.

"Sure." Bianca put the bottle to her lips. It tasted like regular cream soda, but with those delicious maple candies mixed into it. She fell in love with it instantly.

Thalia grabbed her wrist and led her to a staircase leading to the second floor. Once they were up there, Thalia handed her drink to Bianca, a pulled a string hanging from the ceiling.

A steep set of stairs folded out beneath what seemed to be an attic. Thalia took her drink and ascended up the stairs, and Bianca followed.

There was a bed, a desk, and a dresser shoved into a corner. The space had many posters of different bands and movies, and there were knickknacks all over the place. Fairy lights were strung on the ceiling above the space.

"So this is your... room?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah." Thalia sat on her bed, opened the drawer of her desk, and took out what seemed to be a map.

Bianca, getting over that shock that Thalia held her hand, sat down next to her and looked over the now unfolded map.

"These are the places I want to go to when I run away."

Bianca leaned onto Thalia and rested her head on her shoulder. "Run away? Why would you want to do that?"

"School. Parents. Responsibility. Just the whole package. You can come, if you'd like."

Bianca wrapped her arms around Thalia's waist and said, "I'll think about it."

Chapter Text

Later that night, while Bianca was laying in her bed, mindlessly surfing the web, she got an email from Thalia. The subject said "Music?" and Bianca quickly clicked on it, curious of what Thalia had to say.

'Hey Bianca,
Since you're still deciding on whether or not to come with me, I wanted to tell you that you can bring whoever and whatever you want. My brother Jason is coming along too. The van we bought has three rows of seats, as well as a huge trunk. Hope you consider coming,
Thalia.
P.s.~ if you have any songs that you like, send them to me so I can put them on a CD that we can listen to while we ride.'

Bianca really did want to run, and that email finalized her decision. She could bring her siblings with her. She would escape that tight grasp that her grandmother (well, step-grandmother) had on her.
Thinking about it made her feel giddy, as of she was the standard white-cishet-beautiful-protagonist-who-rebels-against-the-corrupt-government. Well, scratch that. Bianca didn't have a crush on some heartthrob male hero. She had a crush on a heartthrob female hero.

She sighed, thinking about how jealous she was as married lesbians, and started listing songs in a reply email to Thalia.

•*•*•*•

The next day, Bianca herded her siblings Hazel and Nico (plus Hazel's boyfriend Frank) into the parlor.

"What if I told you that we could run away?"

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? As in like, across the country?"

"Yes!" Bianca replied with a twinkle in her eye. She wasn't 100% sure where they were going, but it had to be far away, right?

"I- Well, maybe," Hazel looked to the ground. "Actually, yeah that would be... Nice. What about you, Frank?"

Frank scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Um, I don't know... I have my grandmother to look after."

Hazel met his eyes. "I mean, I don't have to-"

"No, no, Hazel, you should go. I don't want you to stay here."

Nico and Bianca met eyes as Frank and Hazel embraced. They have been through thick and thin together, and it broke Bianca's heart to keep them apart. But everyone in the room knew it was for the best.

"I'll call you and Skype you everyday and I'll send you postcards of wherever we're going and-"

"Hazel, I know," Frank smiled."I know you will."

The decision was made. They were going.

------

"I can't believe you bought all of the songs I suggested, it was late and I just listed what I thought of, I'm so sorry-"

"Oh my god, Bianca, It's okay," Thalia interrupted with a small smile. "I used my dad's credit card anyway."

Bianca furrowed her brow at that, but didn't question it. It was 1:30 AM, and they had already packed their "getaway van" with all of their bags. All they had to do was say goodbye.

Frank and Hazel were wrapped up in a teary embrace, clutching each other as if this hug was their last. And, it may be. But no one wanted to believe that.

Nico was talking to Percy and Annabeth near the door, scratching his neck. When he was finished, Percy was wide eyed, but
Annabeth just gave Nico a high-give and a smile. He turned his back on them and walked away, not looking back once.

After Frank and Hazel let go of each other, Jason gave them both a hug. They had been classmates since kindergarten, and had some great experiences with each other. Jason felt bad, leaving Frank, but he had Percy and Annabeth.

Thalia embraced the said couple with a few tears in her eyes. Percy would've made a joke about that, but he was too busy trying not to cry to call her out on it.

While everyone was all emotional, Bianca slipped away to her backyard. An outsider may say it was the same as it was 10 years ago, but it was devoid of the life it used to hold. The garden was filled with withered plants, the soil now mixed with a plethora of rocks. The carving in the old oak tree, 'M+H', was faint and faded. And their old steel swing set. It creaked in the wind, covered on rust. Bianca went to sit on the one she used to call hers.

Just then, Thalia's head peaked out from around the house. "You ready?"

"I- I don't know," Bianca replied, looking down. Thalia came over and sat in the other swing.

"Nostalgia?"

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a second, until Thalia spoke up. "You shouldn't dwell on the past. Think about the future. That's what I do."

Bianca instantly thought about her and Thalia together, and she blushed a little. She hoped that Thalia didn't notice when she pulled her hair down to shield her face.

"C'mon," Thalia said, reaching for her arm. They both stood up and walked to the front of the house, where the van was waiting.

"You ready?" Jason called from his place in the passenger seat.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Thalia replied, climbing into the driver's seat.

Bianca climbed in over Hazel to take her spot in the back.

The car started.

Bianca hoped that her grandmother wouldn't make a big deal out of this.

They started driving away, Hazel frantically waving out of her window to Frank, Annabeth and Percy, who was waving just as much back to her.

They turned the corner, and their friends were out of sight.

This was it. They were officially runaways.

Chapter Text

Freckles iii

Thalia pulled the van into the McDonalds parking lot, having a large selection of spaces because the lot was almost vacant. She turned back to the passengers and said,"You guys ready to eat?"

"Yeah, I'm starving, but someone didn't let us stop at Burger King," Jason glared straight at Nico.

"Hey, Burger King is evil," Nico replied, putting his hands up in surrender. "Plus, McDonalds has better fries."

Bianca smiled at the boys' antics, and climbed out of the backseat. "Move," she said to Nico as she kicked his legs out of the way, smiling slightly.

Nico narrowed his eyes. "Mean," he said, but he was smiling too. Hazel laughed at them, and got out of the van. Everyone else soon followed her, and they all entered McDonald's.

Thalia fell in line with Bianca, who was a little bit behind the group. "Liking it so far?"

"Well, my legs are numb and that lowkey makes me want to die, but other than that, it's okay."

Thalia laughed out loud. She had such a deep and beautiful laugh, and it made Bianca blush a little.

"Same here," Thalia replied, putting her arm around Bianca's shoulder. She tried not to tense up at the action, and she let Thalia pull her into the McDonald's.

"Wait," Bianca said, stopping in her tracks. Thalia turned her head towards her, and Bianca was looking at a convenience store across the street. "I have a cool idea."

•*•*•*•

"Here's your chicken nuggets," Nico said, pushing the little box towards Bianca as she sat down.

"Thanks." She put her grocery bag down on the table next to her.

"What did you get?" Hazel asked. Bianca had a little smile on her face.

"Things." Bianca started eating her nuggets.

"Ooookay," Hazel said reluctantly, but went a back to her cheeseburger.

•*•*•*•

After everyone was finished eating, Bianca looked up and asked, "Does anyone want any Icebreakers?"

She passed the container around the table after hearing a chorus of yeses. After everyone got some, Bianca took the rest and said "The amount of Icebreakers you have, is the amount of facts you have to share about yourself."

Everyone at the table groaned.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Nico put his head in his hands. "I hate you."

"Sorry, I didn't make the rules."

"Yes you did!"

"I don't care," Bianca smiled and pointed to Nico's eight Icebreakers.
"So? Tell us about yourself."

"Oh my god, it's the first day of sixth grade all over again." Nico looked around the table, seeing everyone's expectant faces. "Oh, alright you win."

Chapter Text

After the Icebreakers, the group were closer than each other than they were before. They now know that Nico is still obsessed with a children's card game, Jason likes collecting action figures, and that Thalia used up about $400 of her dad's credit card on music. Bianca confessed that she has skipped her classes over ten times ("So what? I've skipped whole days in a row," Thalia retorted), and Hazel told a story about how she once said "shit" in front of a group of racist nuns.

They stayed in the McDonald's late, until an employee told them they were closing soon. They promptly gathered their stuff and climbed back into their van.

...

Jason was the one driving. Thalia was dozing off just beside Bianca, and she couldn't stop staring. Thalia's hard demeanor was gone, and it was replaced by drowsy eyes and short puffs of air coming from her pink lips. She just wanted to-

Bianca turned her head to the window. Don't think about that.

She was scared that her attraction to women was predatory. It probably wasn't, but still, the anxiety lingered and she couldn't let it go.

Was Thalia a lesbian? Was she bisexual or pansexual? She certainly fit the butch lesbian type, but Bianca knew that a lot of straight girls were like that. It made her feel empty.

The moon shined big and bright through the scratched window, and Bianca was mesmerized. There was a lunar eclipse tonight, she recalled what the newspaper had on it when she read it a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago.

She was at home a few weeks ago. She was living a somewhat normal life a week ago. She didn't know if she could call that old, creaky house home, or that she could call her life normal.

What was her step-grandmother thinking? She had left a note for Demeter to see, but she didn't know her reaction to it. Her phone hasn't gotten any texts or missed calls from her. Did she miss them? Was she mad at Bianca for taking Nico and Hazel?

Why did she take Nico and Hazel anyway? She should've left them there, and let them have a normal high school experience. But it didn't matter. Thalia said that she could works something out.

The van was turning into a lot, and Jason got into his regular seat and dozed off. Bianca was the only one awake, or so she thought.

"You up?" Thalia's hushed voice was the only sound Bianca could hear. She turned to look at the hypothetically-butch-lesbian and saw her head pointed towards hers.

"Yeah," said Bianca, whispering.

"It's pretty cool, right?" Thalia looked out her window. "The moon, I mean."

"Hell yeah," Bianca said, and Thalia gave a small laugh. She got up and walked around Hazel's feet to get to the door.

"You coming?" Thalia called softy.

"Uh-Yeah." Bianca didn't know why she only said yeah. She was too flustered.

Climbing after Thalia, she looked up at the large, orange moon. Thalia stood next to her. They watched in silence.

"You liking it so far?" Thalia side-eyed Bianca from her position.

"Yeah, I am." She smiled.

"Good." And Thalia Grace turned the look at the moon and stars once again.

...

They were on the road again. Bianca was driving, and it was midday. The sun shined high in the clear blue sky.

The highway was long and crowded. Bianca didn't like highways, mostly because if the traffic and the facts that it was too big. But, she had places to be. No negativity should stop her in her path.

The breezed filtered through the window and she felt a bit better. The signs in the side of the road indicated that an inn was up ahead. They planned to stop there for a day and get some rest without interruption from uncomfortable seats and loud roads.

The inn came into view, and she pulled into the parking lot, ready to get to a nice bed. But that's when her phone rang.