"Okay, so if you had to kiss any girl in school, who would it be?"
Jason hangs from the tree, feet dangling in the air. He thinks only for a second. "Piper."
Leo makes a face and throws an acorn at Jason. The acorn bounces off Jason's stomach and tumbles through the tree branches all the way to the grass. The thought of Jason Grace and Piper McLean kissing makes Leo sick. Even though he asked the question, Leo so wasn't ready for that answer. "No, seriously."
"Piper."
"Really? The same Piper who ate pizza off the floor?"
Jason swings back and forth. His knuckles are growing rosier, the longer he suspends. "She's cool. Why, who would you kiss?"
"I don't know," Leo admits. He peers through the leaves, glaring at the tall walls of Wilderness. Leo's tried to climb the walls to escape and has failed every single time. "Someone really cute. Samantha's cute, right?"
"I guess." Jason finally stops swinging on the branch, and sits on a branch higher than Leo's. "She's smart."
"Or maybe Dahlia." Leo muses. He begins naming girls from his various classes, who have never made fun of him but are also cute. It's not a very long list. "Safiya? Carmen? Rosa? Ameenah? Hell, maybe even Smelly Kelly."
"Kelly doesn't smell," Jason pauses and then shudders. "Nevermind. She definitely smells like eggs most of the time."
Leo sighs, and leans back on the branch. If he moved any more left or right, he would fall maybe 15 feet and definitely end up in the medical bay. The nurse at Wilderness didn't exactly love Leo. "I think Dylan said Kelly has a birthmark on her you-know-what? And it's shaped like a heart."
"What does Volde-" Jason catches himself before Leo can throw a nerd insult at him. "She has a birthmark on her you-know-what? How does Dylan know that?"
"Dylan knows everything," Leo explains. "Even though he's a jerk people think he's funny. Which he's not. I heard his parents are on the school board."
"Oh," Jason's foot begins kicking back and forth softly. "I think it would suck if my dad was on the school board."
Leo doesn't have anything to say to that. He's an orphan, which is common knowledge. Leo's over it, anyway- basically a fourth of the kids at Wilderness don't have parents either.
"Mhm," Leo stands up on his branch. He cautiously walks along it towards the tree. "Anyway, you still wanna kiss Piper McLean?"
"Yeah." Jason does some type of acrobatic move, that gets him from his current branch to a branch closer to Leo's. Leo ignores the expanse of pale skin from Jason's stomach that brushes against his nose and tilts his head back. "She's really funny and nice. I think you guys would be really good friends, actually."
"Gross." Leo sticks out his tongue. He doesn't like the idea of his best friend getting close to anyone else. "Piper would probably steal my shit, anyway."
"Hey," Jason glares. "Don't say that."
Leo really wants to get Jason mad for some reason, now. The want for Jason to just be pissed is starting to overwhelm Leo. He makes his second remark carefully: "And Piper has these freaky eyes, right? Wouldn't it be so scary to wake up and find those eyes next to you?"
"Leo, shut up." Jason hisses. "What's wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you? Who the heck would have a crush on Piper McLame?"
"Screw you" Jason spits out, face burning, as he climbs back down the tree. "I don't want to be with you if you're just going to be mean to my friend."
"Fine," Leo calls down. "I don't want to be with someone who wants to kiss a thief!!"
There's no response because Jason's already gone. Leo can see the blond running through the fields and back towards the main building. Good. He should go back with that Piper McLoser and make out to the end of the world, for all Leo cares!
The thought makes Leo really queasy, and he groans. Leo thumps his head on the tree. He's such an idiot. Why would he even say that stuff? If Leo doesn't apologize, then facing his roommate would be tough. Jason would ignore him for the rest of the night, and that is never pleasant.
As Leo makes his descent down, he tries to think of ways to say sorry. Jason Grace has been Leo's best friend for two years now since the kid was introduced as his roommate. They're fourteen now, so the thought of Jason being interested in Piper shouldn't be surprising. Hell, Leo might've been interested in her, if he wasn't so focused on escaping Wilderness.
"Stupid Piper, and stupid Jason sitting in a tree," Leo mumbles under his breath. "K-I-S-S-I-N- whoa!"
Leo yelps as his foot slides, and he goes tumbling out the tree and slamming face first into the ground.
He winces when the nurse pats at his nose again. "You're all good, Valdez. Your roommate is in the hall with your stuff."
"Thanks, Nurse Satan," he grumbles.
"What was that?" The nurse very much heard him, as she holds a thermometer up threateningly. "Hmm, Leo, maybe we should also give you another flu shot? It's around that time-"
"Nope, I'm good." Leo speed walks out of the medical bay. Jason Grace stands with Leo's book bag over his shoulder and a worried look on his face. The look of concern grows when he sees Leo holding a bloody tissue to his nose, and gauze taped over his forehead.
"Jeez, Leo, are you okay?" Jason fusses, stepping closer to examine Leo. Leo doesn't mind looking up to Jason, as the blond turns his head this way and that way. "I got called out in the middle of class to pick you up, but they didn't tell me anything."
"I just fell," Leo says sourly. "Which totally messes up my badass street cred. Damn."
"You've got to stop cursing so loudly," Jason whispers, as they pass by a teacher walking through the halls. "You're going to get in trouble one of these days."
"All they can do is put me in detention. They can't get rid of me just yet." Leo rubs the back of his head.
"Are you okay, though?" Jason asks. "Did you fall from the tree? I told you we shouldn't have skipped class up there."
"It was totally worth it. Besides, you never want to skip class with me!" Leo whines. "Too busy mucking it up with that Piper girl."
"I don't even talk to Piper that much," Jason says, as they leave the main building to head to the East dorms. The boys were placed on the East side of campus, while the girls were placed on the West side to avoid any fraternization. Not that it really stopped any of the older kids. Leo shivers when he recalls some of the late night moans coming from his elder peers rooms.
"Yeah, yeah." Jason and Leo were unluckily placed on the top floor of the dorms. While it was great to have a separate bathroom and less distracting neighbors, the stairs were often troublesome after a long day. Leo still feels a bit woozy from his joint meeting with Gravity and the Earth.
"Ow," Leo trips over the stairs. He huffs, sitting down on the landing. "Can we just, rest right here?"
"We only have a flight left." Jason eyes the stairs above them. He stands by the window, gazing outside. "You really hate Piper, huh?"
"No," Leo says. "She just seems fake."
"She's not," Jason promises. "You two are really similar. I think that's why I like her so much, cause she reminds me of you."
"I don't steal things." Despite his rude comment, Leo feels like he's glowing from the words Jason had just said. Jason Grace is hanging out with someone because they remind him of Leo.
Jason stares at Leo. "She's not like that. Piper is really cool."
"Whatever."
Jason makes his way past Leo, and up the stairs. "I'll see you in the room when you stop being a dick."
Damn it. Leo leans back and hits his head on the steps behind him. How does he keep screwing this up?
Leo doesn't come down for dinner. He lies in bed all day, wondering how to make it up to Jason.
Jason comes back from his nightly shower, looking fresh and clean. Jason comes into the room, brushing his teeth, as he searches through his bag for his school book. Right- they have an English paper due in a few days, and Jason likes taking advantage of any extra studying time.
When Jason comes back, he's still invested in The Giver.
Leo clears his throat. "Ahem."
Jason ignores him, sitting on his bed with crossed legs. He can be very stubborn sometimes, and while Leo doesn't normally mind this trait, it proves to be very annoying right now.
"Jason. Jay. Jason. JJ. Jason. JG. Jason," Leo whines, and reluctantly peels out of his bed. He plops in front of Jason, and takes his book. Leo then throws the book across the room, wincing when there's a loud thud when the book hits the wall. "Jason."
"What, Leo?" Jason glares into his lap. "You're done with picking on Piper, so you're going to pick on me?"
"No way, Jose." Leo prods at Jason's cheek. "Come on, bro. Look at me."
"Stop it," Jason pushes Leo's hand away. "I'm not in the mood."
"Then look at me."
Jason locks eyes with Leo. "What?"
"I'm sorry," Leo says. His hands fall to his own lap, wringing each other. There's a tugging in his stomach. "About talking about Piper. I shouldn't have done that."
"You shouldn't have."
"Right." Leo nods. "I'm sure this Piper chick must be really cool if you want me to be friends with her. Which I'm cool with."
"Cool with...?"
Leo sighs because no way is Jason going to make Leo talk more about this. But he is, because if that's what it takes, Leo is willing to do it. Anything for his best friend, anything for Jason. "Cool with... meeting Piper. To be friends. If it's what'll make you happy, then I'll do it."
"Leo," Jason grins. "That's really mature of you to say."
Leo groans, and turns away. "Don't make this worse. Say another word and my coolness levels will decrease by a lot."
"Really mature of you." Jason carries on happily. He's a bit more joyful when Leo's not being a huge dick. Leo needs to remember this- making Jason angry probably isn't good for their friendship. Even though the flushed look on Jason's face lingers in Leo's mind.
"Whatever." Leo dismisses both Jason and his own thoughts. "Do you wanna go hiking tomorrow? Or like, stay inside all day?"
"I don't know," Jason yawns. "Let's just go to bed first. What if you got a concussion earlier?"
"Maybe I did. Then I'll get to lay down and miss class." Leo hops across the room to his own bed. He dives under the sheets and bundles himself up into a cocoon.
Jason turns off the lights and makes tiny steps to his own bed. Leo turns, and through the moonlight coming through the window, he stares at Jason, falling asleep. Jason's breathing softly, chest moving up and down slowly. His hair falling everywhere, and mouth slightly open.
Leo stares so long, he doesn't even really register when blue eyes stare back at him. "Leo."
Leo jumps a bit and mumbles out a soft, "Yeah?"
"Did you ever figure out which girl you would kiss? Out of the entire school?"
Leo's silent until he can best stumble out an answer. "No, I don't think so. Why?"
"Just asking." Jason shifts under his covers.
"Oh," Leo says. "Hey, why Piper? There's tons of girls who like you, but why Piper?"
"She's really cool, I guess. Funny, and smart. I don't know, it just feels right, y'know?"
"Sure."
Jason props his head up. "I think we go together pretty well, me and her. Kind of like you and me, right? But she's a girl."
Something about the way Jason's phrased this makes Leo feel a certain kind of way. He doesn't dwell on the feeling but instead coughs. Leo lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. "So if she was a boy..."
"I don't know," Jason admits.
Leo folds his arms behind his head. "So hypothetically, if I was a girl, would you..." He trails off, feeling like he's asked a question that he shouldn't have.
Maybe he really shouldn't have, because Jason's answer flips Leo's entire world around:
"I don't know, maybe? I guess if you were a girl I would want to kiss you." Jason says hesitantly. "But I'm not sure."
Leo's heartbeat sounds very loud to his own ears. He wonders if Jason can hear it- like that story they talked about in English. About the man who killed this old guy and buried the heart in the floorboards, so when the cops came the man could still hear the heart and confessed.
Leo hears Jason yawn again. He turns back on his side, to look at Jason again. The other boy's eyelids were slipping closed, every few seconds.
It's until Jason falls asleep when Leo lets out a breath. His heart is doing its own type of aerobics that Leo wasn't made aware about previously.
Leo feels like he might've opened the Pandora's box of feelings he can't close. And he's not exactly sure if he likes what's inside. Whatever it is, the feeling isn't welcomed. As warm and beautiful and pure as it feels.
Leo might have to figure it out in the morning. For now, he needs to sleep. If anything, he's a bit excited to meet the horror that is bound to be Piper McLean.
But first, he might have to discover what the tight feeling in his chest is. And stuff back down in a hole, where Leo can never feel it again.