A/N: My favorite pairing. Please favorite and review!
Leo blinked at his reflection in the mirror. Wow, puberty had hit him like a truck. He had grown several inches over the summer, and his once scrawny frame had grown to look leanly muscular. His youth seemed to be stolen from him. He supposed it was fitting...especially after what had happened during the course of the summer. His once really out of control curls seemed more tamed.
He didn't dwell on his reflection for too long. He didn't want to seem egotistical. He ran downstairs, trying not to be late on the first day of school. Hephaestus, Leo's father, was in the kitchen, cursing in ancient Greek. Since Hephaestus had taught Leo the old language when he was young, he understood the curses. He raised an eyebrow. "Having trouble making breakfast, dad?" Woah, even his voice had gotten deeper. Hephaestus grumbled something incoherent, but eventually turned to face his son. He cleared his throat. "Yes, my son." Leo wrinkled his nose. "No need to be so formal, dad. It's just breakfast." Hephaestus's unattractive face twisted up in a grin. "You've known me for sixteen years. I'd be formal for something as casual as breakfast." Leo snorted. "Clearly," he muttered. He turned towards the fridge. "Anything we have other than burnt pancakes?" Hephaestus nodded. "We have some energy bars. I think." Leo rolled his eyes. "Very helpful." Hephaestus scowled. "Flattery will get you nowhere, my son." Leo stopped rummaging through the kitchen drawers to look at his father. "Do you know what sarcasm is, dad?" Hephaestus shook his head. "What is sarcasm?" Leo waved it off. "I'll tell you later. Aha! Found it! I'll see you later, dad."
Hephaestus waved, sad to see his only reminder of Esperanza walk off to his first day of his junior year.
Leo ran down the path, his backpack pressing on his shoulders in a very uncomfortable way. He turned the corner just to see a flash of yellow; the school bus. "Hey!" Le called out, "Stop!" But his calls were all in vain. The bus continued to make its way to Goode High. "Mierda," Leo muttered under his breath. Late again. How could the gods do this to him? He readjusted the straps of his backpack on his shoulders and ran to school.
Leo didn't particularly like running, but that day he did. The wind felt so good against his face, and it felt as if every step he took was one step away from his problems. He didn't realize how heavily he was breathing until he stopped in front of the front office. He sighed, and glanced at his watch. 8:07. Crap, he was almost on time. He pushed the door open revealing middle aged to old ladies typing away at computers that Hephaestus had installed. Leo fidgeted with his backpack strap as he stepped in front of a lady who's tag said: Zondra. "Um, can I have a late pass please?" He asked. The lady looked up from her oh-so-interesting-computer. "Reason?" She said simply. "I uh, missed the bus." The lady nodded, and scribbled something on a wrinkled piece of paper. She shoved it into his hand and waved him away. "Have a nice day." Leo doubted he would.
Leo read his schedule so quickly that he ended up in the wrong first period classroom. He distinctly remembered the Fresman's faces when he burst into the room saying: "The Super Awesome McShizzle is here!" They were just like, Does this happen every day? He exited, embarrassed, and then read his schedule properly. He was pleased to learn (note the sarcasm) that his first period class was clear on the other side of the campus. He was way past breathless at this point. He turned the knob right as the teacher said, "Leo Valdez?" "Here!" He yelled, scrambling to find a seat.
He plopped right next to a girl with choppy brown hair and kaleidoscope eyes. She was amazingly pretty, even without trying. Leo, being the flirt he is, said, "Hello, Beauty Queen. Name's Valdez." He outstretched his hand. The girl took it. "Oh, I know. You made quite the entrance twenty seconds ago. I'm Piper." Piper was pretty, but for some reason, Leo wasn't interested much. So he turned towards the board, focusing on the teacher.
Piper tapped him on the shoulder as everyone was packing up for their next class. "Hey, Leo? I haven't been to this school before and I was wondering if you could show me around?" Leo grinned. "Of course, Beauty Queen. Here, let me have your schedule."
Leo and Piper almost had the same schedule, except for third period. So he walked her to second; music and art. "The art teacher is the worst. Like, I got a detention for cursing." Leo said. Piper raised an eyebrow. "What did you say?" Leo puffed out his chest in mock pride and said, "Crap." Piper laughed. "Yes, saying crap is definitely detention worthy." Leo grinned a grin too big for his face. "Well, at least I can pretend to be a bad boy and say I got a detention." Piper wrinkled her nose, "I hate bad boys." Leo raised his hands for a sign of defeat. "Ok then, Beauty Queen, I'll be a good boy." Piper rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt you're a good boy." Leo put a hand on his heart. "Then what kind of boy am I?" Piper smirked. "An annoying one."
Leo wasn't good with art. In fact, he sucked. The only thing he was remotely good at in that class were sculptures. And so, as he attempted to watercolor a picture of a koi fish, he knocked the dirty water all over his painting making it an undesirable shade of brownish-green. Piper laughed and handed him a paper towel to clean the mess up. Leo smiled sheepishly, happy to have a new friend.
Lunch wasn't as lonely as Leo was used to. In the years before, he was a loser; no one wanted to sit with Goode High's biggest geek. But here Piper was, chatting away about fashion magazines. Right about when she was getting to the interesting part, a blonde haired boy sat down next to her. It was Jason Grace. What was one of the Graces doing sitting even near Leo? "Hey Piper," he said. Piper smiled up at him. "Leo, this is Jason from Third Period. Jason, this is Leo, my friend." Jason's eye twitched at the word 'friend.' Leo decided to call this out. He grinned an impish grin and said, "Hey dude. She's all yours." Not only did Jason turn red, but Piper did too. Leo's grin widened.
"Next up: Life Science!" Leo said, pretending to be excited. Piper gave a small smile. "I always did love Life Science."
It was in fifth period that Leo met Reyna. Woodshop class was Leo's favorite, and was absolutely thrilled to meet his teacher. He'd had a feeling that they would like him. They were a little late, so no double seats were available. Piper smiled apologetically and sat with Jason, making Leo sit with a dark haired girl. He looked at her grinning, but her expression remained grim. She stuck her hand out. "I'm Reyna," she said, her voice smooth. Leo's smile widened. "And I'm Leo. Nice to meet you."
The teacher explained the purpose of woodshop, and listed the requirements for the class. He then instructed the class to build a simple box.
Some twenty minutes in, Leo heard Reyna say, "Mierda! That hurt!" Leo, who had stopped working a long time ago, turned to look at her fanning her right hand out of pain. "Are you alright?" Leo asked, genuinely concerned. Reyna pursed her lips. "I am sorry. I should not have-" she was interrupted by Leo, "No need to be sorry. Here." He picked up the small hammer they were supplied with. He placed it gently into her palm and curled her fingers around the handle. She shivered, though Leo had no idea why. "Hold it like this," he instructed, "you'll be less likely to hurt yourself next time." Reyna nodded, and turned to her box, carefully tapping the screws with intense concentration. Leo couldn't help but think she looked beautiful there, eyebrows furrowed, blowing a stray stand of hair from her face.
A few minutes later, Leo decided to speak. "You speak Spanish, right?" Reyna nodded. "Yeah. But it's broken. I knew when I was young, but I stopped. And there," she tapped one last time, and the box was finished. Leo smiled. "Good job, bonita." Reyna rolled her eyes, and turned towards Jason, staring as he talked with Piper. "He's so perfect," she muttered. Leo felt intensely awkward sitting there, watching Reyna ogle at Jason's biceps. Luckily for him, the teacher, Mr. Beckendorf, announced it was the end of the day.
Piper and Jason laughed the whole way to their lockers, and Leo felt like banging his head against a wall. I knew it was too good to be true. I'll just be another third wheel, he thought. So he left them, like they would even notice, to get to his locker.
The sun beat down on his back, giving him a burning sensation. He didn't mind, in fact, he liked it. He walked home, thinking about his new friends, junior year, and Reyna. Had it hurt him to see her stare at Jason like that? He hadn't found an answer even when he got to the front door to his house.