He didn't remember much about the fire.

He remembered the heat building up around him and feeling dizzy and every time he tried to breath in the dry, thick air, his lungs burned. He let out harsh coughs that made his chest and throat ache more profoundly. His eyes were dry and stung from the smoke, and he shut them for a second, but that only made the pain worse.

He reached for the door, pounding against it, and the flames hit his hands in the process, and it didn't hurt, and he tried to yell out for help, but his voice was caught in his throat. But he could hear his mother crying and screaming from the other side of the door and it was the only reassurance Leo had. As long as his mother screamed, she was alive. He would be okay.

Leo kept his head against the door, sweating and shaking as he breathed in more smoke, repeating the words "que está bien" over and over, until their worth burned out.

And then his mother stopped screaming.

Leo didn't notice for a second, then waited, counting to ten, then twenty, then thirty, in his head. She wasn't dead, she was just tired. She wasn't dead. She wasn't dead.

A minute passed and he heard the sirens, and despite the fact that they were all he longed to hear just a few minutes ago, they meant nothing because his mom was dead.

Leo remembered letting out weak, pathetic screams that turned into dry coughs as a fireman carried him out of the house, and he kicked and howled for his mom; he got no response and he cried.

And he remembered seeing red, all of it oh so red, and then darkness overcoming him.

But most of all, he remembered how it was all it fault.

Leo had been in the hospital for five days now. There were no longer tubes down his throat or a heart monitor on his chest, but he was still hooked up to an I.V. and it hurt every time he tried to eat solid food. There were three doctors that were continuously in and out of his room. The blonde nurse was short and plump, and wore bright scrubs and sneakers. She would take his vitals, pop a thermometer in his mouth and pump various medicines through the I.V. She never spoke, just worked silently around Leo and wrote notes into her clip-board. There was another nurse, who wore matching scrubs and sneakers, but she was thin and wore her black hair in a bun. She would feed Leo ice-pops and read to him or put on movies. She never asked him how he was feeling, unlike the dark-skinned doctor who came in twice a day. He would always ask Leo the same two questions "How do you feel?" and "How do you feel?". Leo would respond by holding up fingers; a five or six for the pain in his throat and chest, and a three for the other pain. The emotional pain.

(Although, every doctor knew he was lying)

On his fifth day a perky redhead entered his room. She didn't look like a doctor. She wore a blue dress and had her hair braided over one shoulder. She smiled at Leo and gave her name, Lena, and said she was his social worker. She said she would be taking him to his new home.

"Your mother wrote that you will stay with your Aunt Rosa, so tomorrow we'll drive down there." Leo spoke for the first time since the fire.

"What if she doesn't want me?"

Lena seemed baffled; why would he think that?

(Because, I'm a monster)

"That's why I'm here. I'll make sure you find a loving family. It's my job."

The door opened and she stepped out, arms folded and eyes narrowed. She didn't even glance at Leo, just glared into the policeman's eyes, her mouth turned up and her broad nose flaring. She stayed in that position as the social worker explained the fire and Esperanza's death and how her nephew was now orphaned.

For a moment, Rosa relaxed and reached out for Leo, just like his mother had, and the boy tentatively walked towards her. Rose placed her hands on the child's shoulders and crouched down to his height. She looked into his eyes with a mixture of sympathy and sadness. And anger. And it was that little bit of anger that made Leo nervous. Rosa stayed crouched for a few moments, staring into his dark brown orbs.

"Diablo," She whispered, the words so quiet that only Leo could hear them. And then Rose let go of the child's shoulders and hit him, hard, right on his jaw.

Leo watched in horror as his aunt took another blow at him, this time on his eye, and the police stepped in to restrain her. The social worked took Leo's hands and led him away, far away, from his aunt, who was now screaming "Leo mató a su!" and "Todo es su culpa!". The social worker gave Leo a lollipop and told him to wait in the back of the car while she starting filling out papers. Looking out the window, the boy noticed his aunt was no long screaming, but crying.

And Leo cried too, but for entirely different reasons.

There were two boys, twins, who Leo couldn't exactly tell apart. They both had shaggy hair that covered their eyes and pointed noses. There was a girl too, a year older, with pointed ears and big eyes that made you nervous. They were all thin, with long fingers and arms and necks.

The three of them tried to be nice to Leo, but he could tell his lack of speech seemed to frustrate them. But they put on fake grins and were patient. They never complained.

Once, Leo woke up crying because of a nightmare, and the mother came crashing into his room, giving the boy hugs and kisses and water. Leo let the mom hold him until he pretended to fall asleep.

And the girl would walk Leo to his third grade classroom, and would be waiting outside at the end of the day to walk him home. And the twins took Leo to the park and they played football, then bought him ice cream. And the dad let Leo lick the spoon when he made cookies. And the mom would read to him every night and help him with homework.

And they were an amazing family.

But Leo heard what they said about him when he wasn't there.

"Is he mute?"

"Why is that kid so screwed up?"

"He's kinda freaky."

"I bet he's retarded."

And the mom and dad would tell the kids they were being rude, or that he's been through a lot of trauma, or to give him some time.

"Hon."

Leo had snuck out of his room to get a glass of water and as soon as he stepped out, he heard voices.

"-eight days."

"He hasn't talked-"

"-new home-"

"-not the right place for him."

The voices were barley audible, but Leo heard enough.

That was the first time he ran away.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

"Oh my god, Leo! Stop that!" Piper's pencil snapped as she groaned in frustration. She gingerly blew away the graphite shards and glared at her curly-haired friend.

"Sorry!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms back. "It's how I think."

Piper shook her head, taking notice of how Leo had substituted the foot-tapping to drumming his pencil on his book. "You should be on ritalin or something."

Leo paused for a moment. "I am."

"What am I supposed to do with you?"

The latino grinned ear-to-ear and tried to refocus on his worksheet. The two teens were outside, leaning against a brick wall, with piles of books and papers and notebooks at sides. Piper, who was the more studious of the two, was checking over her math problems for the final time, while Leo was being continuously distracted by the ants and wind and clouds.

"Have you even done anything?" Piper asked as she straightened her stack of books.

"I did my Spanish homework," He said after a moment of thought.

"That barley counts. Spanish was your first language," Piper rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that's cheating."

"What do you have left Ms. Perfect?" Leo mocked, looking away from his history sheet.

"Only this English thing," Piper pulled a green piece of paper out of a folder. "That stupid 'let me get to know you' sheet."

Leo nodded, shoving aside his half-finished history work and pulled out a green sheet of his own. "I didn't even look at it."

Piper laughed and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well let's see," She glanced at the paper and pointed to question six. "This is easy, name the members of your family. Me and my dad."

Piper noticed Leo hadn't written anything down. Instead, he scanned the other questions.

"C'mon," She nudged him. "I gave you an easy one. It's better than 'what kind of learner are you and why' or 'how would you describe your level of civility'."

Leo ignored Piper and moved onto a question about his thoughts on social functions.

"You're an idiot Valdez," Piper muttered.

"I know."

It was months later when Piper learned that Leo had no family to write about, and she suddenly felt guilt for mocking him when the teacher yelled at him for leaving the question blank.

"Knock-knock."

Leo groaned under the breath at the chipper voice of Piper coming from outside of Bunker Nine. All week she had been barging in on him, chatting on and on about things Leo couldn't care less about. She told him how she went to the beach with Jason or how Annabeth was helping her with sparring. She would gossip about the kids in her cabin and talk about Lacey and Mitchell and some girl she'd befriended from Apollo. Leo would smile and nod and try to concentrate on the blue-prints, but Piper's ever-so perky voice made that difficult.

"Come in." His voice was lacking his usual energy, but Piper pushed it aside, thinking he was just frustrated.

"Well, you skipped lunch so I decided to bring you something." Piper laid down a plate with a sandwich and carrots on one of the empty counters, arranging a cup of water next to it.

"I'll eat later," Leo mumbled. He was squinting, trying to read the measurements for the screws that were needed for the bilge.

"Come on repair-boy," Piper prodded, kicking in her charm-speak. "You weren't at breakfast this morning; you must be hungry." The brunette furrowed her brow and said, "You didn't show up to dinner last night either. Or the bonfire-"

"I've been working."

"Yeah, well you need a break." Piper grabbed onto Leo's bony wrist and pulled him away from the blue-prints. She led the smaller boy over to the counter, standing directly across from him.

"Thanks," Leo mumbled, taking a carrot and sticking it in his mouth.

"Well, tonight there's capture the flag, but afterwards, Lacey, Mitchell, and I are hosting a party at the amphitheater. I wanted to make sure you can come!" Piper's voice was loud and made Leo's head ache.

"Sure," He mumbled.

"Awesome! We're gonna have loads of-hey, are you alright?" Piper had noticed Leo bringing a hand to his head, and that he was breathing fast.

"I, I'm-," Leo swallowed and blinked a few times, gripping onto the end of the table. He took a shaky breath and smiled. "Sorry, just felt a little lightheaded."

Piper's motherly instinct's kicked in and she was instantly by Leo's side, one hand cupping his cheek and the other holding his arm to steady him. She looked into his dulls eyes and frowned.

"When's the last time you slept?" She asked, taking in the dark bags circling his eyes.

"Last night, duh," Leo said. He fought back a yawn.

"Really?" Piper raised her eyebrows.

"Well," Leo said. "maybe two, or three nights ago."

For a minute Piper seemed angry and Leo closed his eyes, waiting for her to strike him for doing yet another thing wrong. But a minute passed and he opened his eyes to meet his concerned friend.

"Come on stupid," She said, taking one of his hand in her own. guiding Leo out of bunker nine.

"So," Leo sighed. "No party tonight for me, huh?"

"No duh."

The nightmares normally started out the same. He would pound on the door, smoke burning his eyes and throat, hearing the screams of his mother in the distance.

But tonight, he was on the other side of the door.

He stood there, only three feet away from his mother.

Leo's mother was a mechanic, so Leo was used to seeing her with burns up and down her arms. They would turned red or blister and sometimes swell, but that was nothing compared to what he was seeing now.

The skin covering her arms and face were red and bloody, resembling a deep flesh wound. The centers of each burn were black and charred. There were bits of swollen skin around her mouth that was white. The skin on her cheeks was peeling off and her neck and hands look leathery.

Leo wanted to puke.

He tried to run straight through the fire and to his mother, but he was frozen. He couldn't move his hands or legs or arms. He couldn't move his mouth to cry and scream for help.

But most of all, he couldn't move his eyes away.

He watched as his mother died, burning to ashes.

"Leo."

Said boy's eyes flew open. He was panting and his chest was tight; he couldn't breath.

"Wh-what?" He tried to speak, but he couldn't form a sentence.

"You had a nightmare," Nyssa said. She wiped a tear off his cheek, frowning. "Are you okay? I heard you from my room."

Leo couldn't meet his eyes, but he forced a smile and said, "Yeah, it was just a stupid dream."

"Well," Nyssa pressed. Leo kept quiet and she didn't press for more. "It you're sure."

She tucked the covers around Leo's chin and patted his arm, moving off the bed.

"Call me if you need anything," She said.

Leo couldn't sleep for three days.

The tips of his fingers and ears were numb with the cold, his cheeks and lips chapped, nose dry. His only jacket has been left in the control room, leaving the latino's body racking in shivers. His stomach was empty, so empty he couldn't tell if he were hungry or not. When was the last time he'd eaten? Yesterday? Last week? He didn't know. Time was inevitable, and he's given up keeping track of it long ago.

A watery light shone through the trees, giving the boy some sense of comfort. He could hear the dull roar of life on the other side, shops and houses and factories. Life was another thing he'd given up on.

The grass was damp and overgrown. It tickled his bare legs. Thunder roared in the distance, and Leo wanted nothing more than to cry. Cry for his mother, his father, anybody. But his throat was raw from the cold and he couldn't make more than a whimper.

He wasn't running anywhere, nor was he running from anything. He was just running because it was the only thing he knew.

"What in Hades are you doing?"

Leo jumped at the sound of his friend's voice. He sheepishly looked up. She wore pajama pants and Jason's old sweatshirt, signs of sleep noticeable in her voice.

"Why are you here?" Leo asked, avoiding her question.

"You weren't in your room and my gods, I almost woke everyone up. I thought you got kidnapped or something." Piper sat down next to and folded her hands in her lap. "What are you doing out here?"

"Trying to escape personhood," Leo sighed.

"Running isn't always the answer Valdez," Piper muttered.

"Sometimes it's the only answer Mclean," Leo said. Piper shook her head, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"What's so bad about personhood?" She asked.

"That's it. Nothing's wrong. At least not on, like, the outside. But inside it's all messed up and it hurts and-" Leo trailed off, avoiding Piper's eyes.

"So why are you running?" Piper tapped Leo's chin and he turned his head up.

"It's the only thing I'm good at."

He was curled in a ball under a thick blanket, drowning out the sounds of life around him. From his little spot on the bed, Leo could hear every little argument Percy and Annabeth got into, every time Hazel complained about feeling seasick, Hedge's shouts and "war-cries", and the TV from down the hall. He had only moved once all day, very early in the morning to go to the restroom, and felt like he could stay in his current position for the rest of the day, or week, or year.

He couldn't sleep, every time he did he would hear her screams and her cries, and he couldn't make it stop. He would be paralyzed and trapped behind the door and listen to her sobs until they stopped completely, and the fire would consume him.

But he didn't want to be awake either. When he was awake, he could process everything that had happened to her over and over in his head until he wanted to scream and cry.

So her settled for an in-between state where he lied still and stared blankly at the wall, one hand laying flat, the other clutching a torn photograph.

Leo rubbed his thumb up and down the photo, taking in all the creases and tears. It was the oldest thing he had, and the only physical memory left, although, sometimes, he wished to burn it to ashes.

"Valdez?"

"What?" He murmured.

The door opened and Jason poked his head inside, surprised to friend his energetic friend curled up on his bed. "You okay?"

Leo nodded.

"Well I brought you some water. You haven't been up all day," Jason said this as if Leo didn't already know.

"I'm just not feeling that great." It wasn't a complete lie. Leo's head ached and he was hot and cold, but he knew that it wasn't illness causing these ailments.

"Really?"

"Really."

Jason shrugged and left, closing the door softly behind him. And Leo sighed, pressing his lips together. His throat ached from holding back a sob and he wanted nothing more than for his mother to hold him again and tell him "que está bien". But it had been so long, he had forgotten what her voice sounded like.

"Leo?"

This voice wasn't uptight and nervous like Jason's. It was soft and caring, but had a bubbly and animated undertone. Piper.

Leo gave a groan, loud enough to alert Piper that he was awake and alive, yet, quiet enough to explain he didn't feel like talking.

Piper gave a wordless nod. She walked in the room and took a seat at her friend's bedside. She placed a cool hand on his cheek.

"Jason said you didn't feel well?" Leo nodded, closing his eyes.

Piper didn't say anything else, just shrugged an arm under Leo's neck and pulled him into her arms. She tucked his head underneath her chin and kissed his hair. She embraced Leo for a long time, and when she thought he was asleep, she gently placed him back down on the mattress.

"It's okay Leo."

She turned off his light and closed the door, and Leo hear her saying "I'm sure he'll feel better in the morning" to the rest of the crew.

Leo brought the photograph up to his chest and looked at his mother. In the picture she was just twenty-three, holding Leo who looked no more than a year old.

She would have been thirty-five today, Leo thought.

He stared at the photo until he fell asleep, trying to remember her voice.

They had fallen into Tartarus exactly four days ago. And Leo knew everyone blamed him. He saw the way their faces changed whenever he entered the room. He noticed how Frank and Hazel could no longer look him in the eye, and how Jason never smiled when Leo was around. Nico tried to not acknowledge Leo's presence, and Piper managed to find some excuse to leave when Leo came near. Coach Hedge would sighed when he saw Leo, shaking his head ever so slightly.

It might have been less painful if they didn't constantly tell Leo that it wasn't his fault.

Contrary to their belief, he was no an idiot.

Leo, Jason and Piper were assigned night watch at the same time. Leo sat near the railing, Piper and Jason a few feet away. They were talking in hushed voices, and Jason kept pecking Piper's forehead. Leo found himself longing for the days before Jason and Piper began dating. When they were best friends and Leo was not left out.

Leo fiddled with a piece of scrap metal, focused on keeping his hands busy. He managed to craft something similar to a fishing rod, which might have been useful if he knew how to fish. And they were still in the ocean.

"What are you doing?" Piper asked.

"Making a completely useless device," Leo replied, using his thumbnails to pull apart a clasp.

"Useless?" Jason asked. He leaned over and looked at the cylinder shaped object Leo held.

"I though it would be nice to have actual cooked food for once," Leo said. "So I though 'Oh, I should make a fishing rod!'. But I forgot I don't know how to fish."

"Leo," Piper started. "We're in the sky. Fish don't have wings." Leo smacked himself in the forehead dramatically.

"That, my dear Piper, is another factor that makes this device utterly useless!" Leo put his project down. Piper smirked, rolling her eyes. She scooted closer to Leo and began inspecting the rod.

"We could always use it to catch birds," She said wistfully.

"We could hook it to an airplane and hitch a ride," Jason said, laughing.

"Or," Leo said. "We could use it to fish Percy and Annabeth out of tartarus!"

Leo's smiled turned to a frown when he notice his friend's were not laughing. The crew's coping mechanism to deal with two of their members missing, was to simply pretend they didn't exist. Their rooms were always kept closed and their names were never used.

Leo's heart began racing. He looked up sheepishly, biting his lower lip. Piper's mouth had dropped open, and her eyes glittered with tears. Jason looked down, his face flushed. Leo stumbled over his words, trying to form a coherent apology.

Piper raised her hand and slapped Leo.

Leo's cheek stung and his voice caught in his throat. His eye's widened and his lips formed a tight line.

"Oh my gods! Leo, I am so sorry. I don't-I don't know-"

Leo stood up suddenly, breathing deeply and smiling.

"I don't feel so well guys. Can you finish up this shift?"

He left before they could give him an answer.

It was late, so late it was pretty much morning and he couldn't remember the last time he slept. It might've been last night or last week; everything was so blurred it didn't even mater. Because nothing really mattered to him anymore.

He flicked on the light of the bathroom and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was limp and he and he had lost so much weight. He was drowning in the t-shirt he wore, borrowed from Jason. His face was pale and his smile was lifeless. He has bruise-like bags circling his eyes. His eyes, that used to be vivid and sparkle with life, were full and unfocused. They were no longer vibrant, but layered with sorrow and grief. And they were tired.

He was tired.

Tired of knowing he would never have a place to call home, or someone to call family. That no matter how many lies he told himself, he would always be the outsider. That he was nothing amounted to his friends. That he ruined everything.

This was the point Leo would take off running.

But he was tired of that too.

"Leo!"

He dropped something and it hit the floor with a loud clang. His eyes were glued to the sink and he didn't have the energy, the motivation, to lift his head to see who had called his name.

"Piper." He couldn't bring himself to meet her eyes, but he knew she was standing only feet away.

"Leo."

This time she spoke softly, taking a step towards him. He lifted up his head and locked eyes with Piper. Tears were threatening to fall and her shoulders shook. She silently wrapped her arms around Leo, holding him close. She mumbled comforting words into his ears (I love you, it's okay, I'm here) but Leo was numb and couldn't register a thing she said. Still, he let Piper hold him, and rested his head on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Leo. It's okay."

And he wanted to believe what Piper was saying was true, but he couldn't. If it weren't for him, his friends might be happy.

No está bien, he thought.

Que no está bien del todo.

Piper took a shaky breath and readjusted her feet.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." Her voice was barley audible.

Leo nodded into Piper's shoulder. Piper ran her fingers through his hair. She shifted her weight and looked out the door. The hall light was on and it was only a matter of time before someone woke up.

"I can't loose you. We need you here, Leo."

No, ninguno.

Leo was leaning heavily against Piper. He blinked; his eyes were clouded with tears.

Todos tienen un motivo para vivir.

Yo sólo soy la séptima rueda.