THE TORCH AND THE SPARK

CHAPTER 1

REYNA'S P.O.V.

It was a calm day at Camp Jupiter and Reyna sat in the porch of her praetor house, petting Aurum and Argentum. She was staring off into the distance, when suddenly; she heard the roar of an engine. She stood up, fast and ready for a fight, but stopped when she heard someone scream, "GOOD MORNING NEW ROME!"

Valdez, she thought. Always a fan of entrances.

Reyna looked up, shading her eyes from the summer sun, and saw Festus's shadow hurdling onto the Fields of Mars. She couldn't help but smile at the thought of Leo's voluntary help, then chided herself quietly.

He's the reason your camp was destroyed in the first place! No need to be glad that he wants to clean his mess up!

Leo Valdez had been paying Camp Jupiter visits since the giant war was over to help the city rebuild the damages he had caused and to clean up the Fields of Mars after the War Games had taken place. Honestly, Reyna still didn't understand why he couldn't accept the fact that he really didn't need to help. "I'm always up for fixing and building. It keeps me busy and my mind running," he had said.

Leo climbed off his metal dragon and high-fived random campers, who were obviously not excited to see a Greek demigod on Roman grounds. No matter where he went, he somehow always kept a smile on his face. He approached Reyna with one he called the Handsome Heartbreaker.

"Rey! You're not gonna greet me? C'mon, a smile won't hurt," Leo said, looking at her with puppy dog eyes. She simply raised an eyebrow in return, completely disregarding the fact that he was holding out his arms, asking rhetorically for a hug.

"Valdez, you are early today. Yesterday, there was some pretty intense fighting, since the 5th Cohort was leading two others to victory. Plus, Hannibal ran through the entire battlefield and destroyed most of the hiding spots the campers were utilizing." Leo looked up at her, anxiously. She stopped listing Leo's chores and looked at him, confused.

"Is there something wrong, Valdez?" she asked, worried only slightly of Leo's sudden mood change.

"N-nothing. I get nervous around cute people. Especially when they play hard to get." he said, giving Reyna a sideways grin. Though he had made constant attempts of flirting with her, Reyna couldn't get used to Leo's ability to fall in "love" so easily (although she often did the same thing).

Don't get too attached, she always said to herself. People are meant to disappoint. Less relationships, less drama, less pain. That was her life motto. She was pretty antisocial and lonely to be the Queen of New Rome. Octavian definitely didn't help by giving her overly amounts of paper work to do, even though 1) he didn't have the right to, and 2) he didn't do anything, just sit there and make people hate him even more. Reyna rarely left the comfort of her home, therefore she didn't make friends. Well, anyone but Leo. She only went into the city for meetings and when the camp admits new demigods.

"Valdez, I've told you before. Don't flirt. I am the Praetor of New Rome and can have you executed at once. You are supposed to fear me!" She said, desperately wishing she could just shut up. But, frankly, she was tired of holding it in.

"Why can't you accept the fact that I like you, Reyna?" Leo replied, moving closer to Reyna. He had been working out more and was now more than 5 inches taller than she was. Deep down inside, she wished she had the will to move only 4 centimeters forward and land her lips on his. That got her wondering what his lips would taste like.

Oh gods, he's so cute. She thought, staring deep into his eyes. WAIT… why am I thinking this? He's Greek. He will just hurt me. Just like Grace. Just like Jackson. HE HAS ANOTHER GIRL!

"Reyna. Please! Just give me one chance. You know I would rather die instead of hurting you. I'm tired of begging, this is an order. You have to give me a chance" Leo reached out to grab her hand, but Reyna pulled it back and looked away into her camp.

"Is that a threat?! Are you threatening me? HOW DARE YOU COMMAND ME TO DO YOUR BIDING?! I AM A QUEEN! I WILL HAVE YOU RETURNED TO CAMP HALF-BLOOD AND RESTRICTED FROM ALL ROMAN BASES. I-"

Leo raised his index finger up to Reyna's lips.

"You're cute when you get all defensive. Plus, it's not a threat; I just wanted to see if I could provoke you into punching me. And, I wanted to see what would happen if I did this.

He leaned in and kissed her right on the lips. Reyna froze, not sure what to do next. After 5 awkward seconds, Leo pulled away slowly, grinning like an idiot. Reyna's eyes were wide open, cheeks flushed, and hands shaking.

"I'll pick you up at your house at 8 tomorrow, if that's okay with your schedule." Reyna nodded slightly. "Alright then, see you tomorrow love. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a field that needs my attention." He said in a British accent and walked away, skipping in the process.

"WAIT, LEO… DON'T YOU ALREADY HAVE A GIRL?" She yelled at him (ha was far away already).

"SHE'S A DIFFERENT STORY. TURNS OUT, SHE WASN'T IN LOVE WITH ME AS I WAS WITH HER." He said, turning away and running to the Fields of Mars.