A/N: I know I should probably be updating Arguments (trust me, I know), but I'm not happy with the ending of the next chapter. And since I am satisfied with this, I decided to post it first. Read and review! Enjoy :) Oh, yeah. I just had to use part of this song, because when I typed up 'songs about being single,' this was one of the suggestions. Oh, the research I do for fanfics...
Plus, I just love this song... it's always stuck in my head, so I figured the same would happen for Leo. He is human, after all...
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HOO. They belong to that awesome genius, Rick Riordan. Neither do I own 'Bye bye bye' by N'Sync. (Awesome boy band from late nineties)
"Hey, hey. Bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, bye, oh, oh..." Leo silently cursed. That song was stuck in his head. Jason and Piper had decided to 'help' him get over Khione ("Nah, it's okay, guys. I hate her anyway," Leo had said but they refused to leave him alone) by playing him some songs, though Leo had no idea how that helped. Anyway, Leo made his way to the Hermes cabin, because he was planning the ultimate prank with two sons of Hermes, Connor and Travis Stoll.
"Hey guys! Let's start planning..." Leo's voice trailed off when he saw that the cabin was empty, with the exception of Connor sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, a pair of headphones on his head. Leo walked in front of Connor and plopped himself on the floor in front of him.
"Connor. Hey, Connor." Leo waved a hand in front of Connor's face, until he realized the other boy's eyes were closed.
Leo decided to try a different approach. He tickled his friend.
Connor gasped in surprise. His head jerked forward and his eyes flew open in shock. Then he began to laugh until Leo decided that he was awake.
"What the Hades, dude! What was that for?" Connor wheezed, clutching his sides. He took off his headphones. Leo mock-saluted. "Leo Valdez, reporting for pranking duties, sir."
Connor sighed and rolled his eyes. "Not today, Leo." Connor looked so dejected, Leo wanted to give him a hug. But that would be a weird thing to do. At least, for Leo. So he patted Connor's back instead.
"Hey, man. What happened? Where's Travis?" Leo looked around, realizing for the first time that the other Stoll was nowhere to be seen.
Connor stared disgustedly at the door. "Probably out somewhere in the strawberry fields, with a certain daughter of Demeter."
"Ohhh...Katie? The one who went on a quest when Jason, Piper and I arrived?"
"Who else?" Connor sighed yet again. "Ditched by my own brother, for a girl."
"Dude... What's up with you?" Leo asked curiously. Sure, he was disappointed that they couldn't start planning today because of Travis, but hey, the guy had a girlfriend! There are just some things more important than pranking, even if you're a child of Hermes.
"Everyone's got a girlfriend but me. Percy has Annabeth," Connor flinched slightly. "Oh, if Annabeth heard me now, I'll be on my way to Hades.
"Jason has Piper, Travis has Katie, Chris has Clarisse, heck, even Grover has Juniper. And Jake has Lou. And Will has Nyssa."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Will and Nyssa? Like my sister?"
"Oh, don't go all protective brother type. Nyssa would beat you up."
Leo shuddered. That was true. Oh well, at least she was with Will. Will was a pretty cool guy.
"So anyway," Connor continued, "everyone has someone but me."
"Who said? You're not alone, Connor."
"Oh yeah? Name me one guy here who doesn't have a girlfriend."
Leo mentally face palmed. "Dude, you're looking at one."
"You?"
"No, Spock. Well, duh! Welcome to the club, man."
"There's a club?" Connor asked stupidly. Leo figured that the stress of not having a girlfriend was messing with his head.
"No...but that's not a bad idea!" Leo exclaimed, the gears working in his head like those in that car he fixed recently.
"We could start a club! For single guys! But not like the Hunters. I don't think I can swear off girls." Leo shuddered and Connor nodded in agreement.
"Okay, go on."
"We could call it...what should we call it?" Leo stared off in the distance thoughtfully.
"Guys Against Love?" Leo suggested finally.
"Dude, that sounds wrong. And weird. If we decide to keep it an abbreviation, it's gonna be GAL."
"You're right," Leo said, "okay, we'll choose the name later. Now let's set the rules."
"How about, no guys with girlfriends allowed?"
"Eh, Connor? That's why this club was set up in the first place."
"Oh, right." Connor buried his head in his hands. "Man, what's wrong with me?"
Leo had been around enough Hermes kids to know that this was totally out of character for them. Especially Connor Stoll.
"Okay, Connor. Spill. What's got into you?" Leo demanded finally.
Connor shifted uncomfortably, and Leo noticed his ears turning slightly pink.
"I think I'm in love..." Connor said dreamily. Leo groaned.
"Oh, not you too!"
Connor seemed dazed for a moment before realizing what Leo said. He glared at Leo half heartedly. "I am a guy," he stated plainly.
"Fine," Leo grumbled.
"But I don't think she likes me back. I mean, she probably hates my guts. Because, you know, she wouldn't even look at me, much less talk."
Leo sighed. "Look. I ain't no expert when it comes to love," he said 'love' in a high pitched voice and mimed flapping wings, to which Connor rolled his eyes, "but hanging out with Piper has some benefits. Even though she doesn't mean to, she sprouts advice all the time!"
Connor nodded. "Man, she reminds me of Silena. Only, Piper is more of a fighter, I guess."
Leo threw him a look. "Let's talk about Silena some other time, okay?"
"Okay, go on."
"First, you gotta-hey, wait. Which cabin is this girl from, anyway?"
Connor coughed uncomfortably. "Demeter," Connor said in a small voice.
"Oh, man. What is up with them Demeter girls and Hermes guys?"
"Back to the point, Leo."
"Fine, whatever. Wait, I have to think." Leo tapped his fingers against his chin, deep in thought. That's what he wanted it to look like, anyway.
"How about-no, that wouldn't work. Maybe we could-Nah, that wouldn't work either. Perhaps-hey, why am I using 'perhaps', anyway? Okay, Leo. Back to the point. She's a daughter of Demeter, she likes flowers-Nah, that wouldn't work because she can grow her own...Hmm..." Leo stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. Connor rolled his eyes yet again.
There was a knock on the door.
Leo groaned. "That interrupted my train of thought!"
Connor sighed. Thankfully, Leo had left the door open. Connor was feeling much too lazy to open the door. "Get that, will you, Leo?" he shot Leo a look like, 'Get the door because I'm feeling really depressed which is not supposed to happen to me but it is anyway, and I want to mope around in self pity.' At least, that's what Leo thoughtit was. That's what he would have been thinking, anyway.
Leo stood up, brushed away non-existent dust from his jeans, and casually strolled towards the door.
"Hey, ladies. What's up? Here to see me? Wow, I can't even come out of my cabin without girls chasing me, huh? So...want my autograph?" He grinned widely and winked.
Hannah, a daughter of Aphrodite sighed. "Actually, we're here to see Connor."
"May I ask why?"
"Well... I have something to say to the cuti-Er, I mean idiot," Miranda Gardiner piped up, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Fine, fine. Ignore the Leoster. I'm too awesome. I know!" Leo rolled his eyes. "Connor? It's for you."
Connor groaned in annoyance and turned around. When he saw Miranda, however, he stood up immediately, all flustered. And that's how Leo realized that this was that Demeter girl his friend was crushing on.
"Miranda!" Connor exclaimed and walked towards the door.
"So... Whaddup?" He leaned against the doorframe. Leo stepped aside to make way for him.
"Hey, Connor! Well. Um. Beautiful day, huh? Wanna take a walk? Ju-Just the two of us. You know. To the strawberry fields," Miranda said nervously.
Leo glanced at Connor. Connor looked like someone had just told him that he won a date with Aphrodite. In other words, he looked like he might pass out from excitement. Then his usual mischievous smirk returned.
"Really? Okay. Um...could you wait for a moment?" He dragged Leo back to in the cabin and, after making sure they were out of earshot, asked, "Dude. Did she just ask me out?"
"Well, duh."
Connor smiled widely. "Score one for me! Thanks, man! Bye, Leo. I'll see you later, right? And good luck with that club!" He left, chatting animatedly with Miranda.
"Ah, another couple at Camp. I love my job. Connor, Miranda. Their couple name is Coranda. Aww, that's so adorable!" Hannah squealed out of nowhere, startling Leo.
"I don't even want to know what you're talking about." Leo sighed. He was happy for Connor, of course, but what about him? Connor had also ditched him for a girl. Leo tried not to feel hurt. After all, he was the one who thought that some things were more important than pranks and thefts.
Glancing at Hannah, Leo had a great idea.
"Hey, Hannah. How about me and you-"
"Not happening."
"But-"
"I'm outta here." Hannah strutted back to her cabin. Leo stared at her retreating figure. Oh well. At least he tried. He shrugged and returned back to his cabin. His one true love was in Bunker Nine, anyway. He didn't need anyone else. Leo smiled dreamily. Oh, Argo 11.
A/N: Ah, poor Leo. Forever alone...XD I enjoyed writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please review, because Readers + Reviews = MOTIVATION Thanks for reading! There's a sort-of epilogue I'm working on, and I'll have it posted by the end of this week. But I can assure you that the epilogue is short.
'Till I update this (or Arguments),
Buh-Bye!
~Mel
Oh, and I'm reading MOA (saving it as long as possible, otherwise it would have been finished in hours XD)...
OH MY GODS, ALL THE FEELS! SO MANY FANFIC IDEAS! SO MUCH OF EMOTION! IT'S SO...asdfghjkl;'
Gah, no words to describe. Not enough words to describe.
House of Hades, don't torture me.
