She kissed him. On the lips. In front of Frank and Hazel. He froze with uncertainty, bobbing up and down in the waves, looking at her with confused eyes. She grabbed his hand and her memories shifted.

She remembered the roof, the meteor shower and most importantly, the boy who was certainly not Jason Grace who was laying next to her. His curly hair and glinting eyes smiled back at her after she grabbed his hand. The got up and started dancing, slowly rotating in a circle. She felt his warm hand on her hip and the other grasping her hand, making it tingle with anticipation. They slowly leaned together, bringing their lips together in a kiss.

He looked like he remembered too and he squeezed her hand. But his eyes were full of sadness. Like he knew something so horrible that he trusted no one but himself with it and he had already resigned himself to that horrible truth. A picnic basket full of brownies surfaced next to the floating group, surprisingly intact. He took this opportunity.

"Brownies, anyone?" He grabbed the basket and climbed up the ladder that had been tossed over by Coach Hedge. The last glimpse of his eyes reflected the slightest glimmer of hope but also betrayed his greatest fear, the thing that made him run and keep running. Abandonment. First by his dad, then his mom (though she didn't have a choice in the matter), Aunt Rosa, every foster care home he had to live in. And her. She had abandoned him and didn't give him a second thought while she chased down Jason, searching for the memories the Mist had created.

"Piper?"

Hazel shook her lightly, snapping her out of her reverie. Tears swam in her eyes and she forced herself to look at the daughter of Pluto who floated before her. She nodded and started climbing up the ladder on the side of the ship.

He stood at the helm of the Argo II, forcing himself to think of anything but what had just happened with Piper. And then there were the new memories of the rooftop scene that had happened between the two of them before any of this had even happened. When they were still 'normal'. He had had this theory before but it seemed like too much of a fantasy to even give it a thought.

You are the seventh wheel. The goddess of revenge's voice echoed in his mind again. You will not find a place among your brethren.

As much as this hurt to hear, he knew it was true the second he processed it. After all, he was just a mechanic. Sure, not all mechanics could build giant flying boats with a living dragon robot thing on it, but still he was just a lowly mechanic. He couldn't fly, breathe underwater or transform into any animal he wanted. He couldn't convince anyone to give him a pencil, let alone a BMW, he didn't have an awesome horse friend who was faster than the speed of sound, he wasn't a brilliant tactician. He was just a boring, lonely, forever alone blacksmith.

But he couldn't say that he hadn't thought about Piper in that way. But she liked Jason after he appeared, the Mist stealing their best moment from him and replacing Leo with Jason. Percy walked up.

"Hey Leo. Want to take a break? I'll take the helm."

He shook his head, not trusting himself to speak. Percy laid a hand on his shoulder and slowly pulled him away.

"You're just like Beckendorf, the old Hephaestus Head Counciler."

"No I'm not. He was prepared for anything. I'm not."

Percy raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure that he wouldn't have been able to build this." He gestured around at the ship. "Plus, both of you have an unnaturally strong both with the Senior Aphrodite Counciler. In his case had, but you get the point. You are more than you think. Plus you guys both got the attention of the most beautiful girl in camp- apart from Annabeth."

With that, he took over the helm and Leo walked over the ballistae and starting checking it over. He checked the entire row of ballistae and the oars before someone else walked up behind him, footsteps lightly falling on the wooden deck. A small hand grabbed his shoulder. He sighed and looked over at the hand, which belonged to the first true friend he ever made. Piper McLean. The troubled daughter of a troubled actor and the goddess, Aphrodite. Her small smile made him smile and he felt something pass between them. She pulled him below deck and into her room. They sat in silence for so long he was about to start tinkering on a project that he kept in his belt.

"I'm sorry."

Piper had sat next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Why? You didn't do anything."

"Yes I did, Leo. We both know what I'm talking about."

"Alright yes, you did. But I'm used to it now. I'm just the seventh wheel."

"What? Is that what you're hiding from us?"

"Yeah, I met Nemisis. Y'know the revenge goddess? She talked to me and Hazel when we went to get the Celestial Bronze for repairs. She said, You will always be the seventh wheel. You will not find a place among you brethren. I asked Hazel not to tell anyone because it... It hurt. A lot. Especially since I guessed that memory that you had with Jason was actually with me while I was working on the Argo. But I'm used to it. That's my life."

"Leo..." He started sniffling, trying to not cry.

"I won't abandon you again, Repair Boy. You're my best friend. Not even Jason can claim that from you. Okay?"

"Alright. Thanks Beauty Queen."

He forced a smile and looked down at her. Their eyes met and they slowly leaned towards each other. Right before they kissed, Leo stopped.

"Whoa, whoa wait. What's happening? What about Jason?"

Piper put her arms around his neck.

"Just let it happen, Repair Boy."