Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Percy Jackson and the Olympians!

A/N: Hey guys! This is my first Percy Jackson fic! I've been rereading Mark of Athena and felt that Leo was in some serious need of love so this story was born! It's going to be short and I'm not going to pretend that it's a literary masterpiece but I hope you guys like it enough! Just something to pass the time and give Leo some attention.

Chapter One- Leo

Two days straight. Leo didn't even think it was possible but he had actually worked two days straight. With minor breaks, of course, but no sleep. So, without a doubt, he was tired and hungry. But he couldn't quit. The Argo II needed to be built and it was his responsibility.

Leo yawned and tried not to feel too bitter. He was sure his friends were out having fun, taking awesome demigod lessons and dating. It wasn't fair, but he would never tell anyone. He didn't want to seem whiny to the others.

After a few minutes of trying to screw bolts with a pencil, Leo realized he should probably take a break. Squeeze in a few Z's before dinner.

He stretched his arms over his head and yawned again. "Yeah, a nap sounds good," he said to himself. "Buford, I'll be back buddy. Heading back for a nap." He had been addressing his three-legged table that helped him out from time to time. When he received no response, Leo furrowed his eyebrows. He began looking around Bunker Nine, where he did most of his work, looking for the table but there was no sign of him.

For whatever reason, something compelled him to look at the front door and saw that it was slightly ajar.

Leo groaned at the thought that Buford could have escaped. "Not again…"

He quickly ran out of Bunker Nine to quickly search for the table before his nap. He had fixed him up to help him out but Buford was causing a bit more trouble that he would have liked.

"Buford!" Leo called. "Buford, where are you?"

It didn't take him long to find him. He hadn't wandered off very far. What he wasn't expecting was to find Buford rubbing against a girl. Yeah, rubbing against her. Like a cat does when it's happy to see you. And she wasn't just any girl. She was really pretty. Needless to say, Leo had hearts in his eyes.

He started brushing back his hair, trying to tame the curls he hated so much and was crestfallen to feel the oil slipping in between his fingers from the days spent working. His hands were practically stained black and he was sure his face looked the same. Just his luck.

It was almost comical to see the girl try to get Buford to leave her alone. She looked confused and embarrassed, but even that looked good on her.

Almost like he sensed his presence, Buford stopped harassing the girl and walked over to Leo like nothing happened. With raised eyebrows, her eyes followed the table until they landed on him.

He didn't know what to expect when she looked at him, but when she did, he felt amazing. Her eyes were a dark brown, like milk chocolate and they instantly warmed him up in a good way, which took a lot since he pretty much had fire at his core.

When she saw him, she smiled and looked like she was trying not to laugh.

'At me,' Leo thought. He ran his fingers through his hair again, trying to fix it.

"I can honestly say, I've never been molested by a table before," Were her first words to him. Not what he was expecting but better than what he thought she was going to say, like, "What's that smell?" or "Take a shower lately?"

"Is it like, your pet or something?" she asked. She took a few steps closer to him so she wouldn't have to yell to have a conversation with him.

Leo nodded. "His name's Buford. It's just so hard to get good help these days."

She chuckled. "I bet. So you have wild humping tables? Oompa Loompas too busy to help you out?"

Leo laughed at her sense of humor. "Them and those house elves. Too hard to come by."

It was this moment that he realized that she was all the way out here, away from the cabins and alone. What was she doing?

"So are you lost or something?" Leo asked. "What are you doing all the way over here?"

The girl shrugged after flipping a long curly lock over her shoulder. She had really pretty hair; dark, long, and curly. Not the artificial curly that most of the Aphrodite girls had but naturally curly. And there was no frizz in sight.

"Just out for a walk," was her response. "Wanted some time alone before I head to my cabin. Just got here from Virginia and I know I won't get a moment's peace for a while."

"Gotcha," Leo said. He got the hint. She was practically screaming, "Get away from me, weirdo! I'm not interested!" He started heading towards the cabins now. "I was heading out anyway. Get some rest before dinner. Buford, head back to the bunker." He didn't turn to see of Buford did what he said or what her reaction was. He just left. She was way too cool to be his prom date.

Leo was disgruntled to say the least. Even his dreams were out to get him. It started out safe enough, him in his Bunker, working diligently on the Argo II, when suddenly the door burst open and there she was; the mystery girl from earlier. She was wearing the same clothes; skinny jeans, a floral blouse with a chrome-colored leather jacket over it, and red converse. She looked awesome.

"Hey, what's up?" Leo squeaked, surprised by her presence.

Instead of replying, she marched over to him, grabbed his face, and pulled him into her. Leo could hardly believe they were kissing. He didn't even know her name! And it wasn't a simple peck either. Who knew his first kiss would be to someone so hot?

She pulled away after a few seconds and was staring at him with that intense chocolate gaze. "You're the only one that understands me. I don't know what I would do without you."

Before Leo could respond, like he knew what she was talking about, he was shaken awake. He opened his eyes to see he had been woken up by his half-sister and cabin mate, Nyssa.

"I was going to let you sleep, but you haven't eaten all day," she told him. "C'mon, joker boy, you need your strength."

At the mention of food, Leo's stomach twisted uncomfortably, not realizing how hungry he was until now.

He wasn't completely sure that he had wanted to be woken up though. He didn't know what that dream meant but he was very interested in finding out. Would they become close? Would that kiss really happen? He hoped so. It looked awesome.

At dinner, in between bites, Leo scanned the tables hoping to see the girl. He saw his friend Jason eating by himself at the Zeus table. His eyes then trailed to the Aphrodite table to see his other friend Piper. He found her and she was definitely not alone.

Mystery girl sighted. Figures, she was an Aphrodite girl. Now it made perfect sense.

The girl was talking to Piper like they had been best friends forever. Piper didn't look so comfortable. It didn't look like it was because of the girl though. It probably had something to do with Drew Tanaka, Piper's not so friendly half-sister, butting into the conversation every few seconds. He couldn't say he liked the girl very much, not with the way she treated Piper. She was smoking, he wouldn't lie, but definitely on the witchy side. The girl didn't seem to mind Drew though, which was odd.

Almost as if she could feel the stare, Mystery girl turned and looked directly at him. As a domino effect, Piper looked over at him too. Now with an audience, Leo did the most obvious thing. He winked and flashed a smile.

Unfortunately, the domino affect caused Drew to look over as well. She caught a glimpse of "Suave Leo" and laughed. So much for trying to look cool. Mystery girl didn't look too happy though. She frowned at Drew and elbowed her in the shoulder Leo thought he saw her mouth form the words, "Don't be mean," before turning back to him and giving him a dazzling smile in return.

Leo blinked. So it was settled. Prom date was back on!

After dinner, Leo decided he would change things up. Instead of working into the wee hours of the night and falling asleep on something uncomfortable like a screwdriver, he opted to take a break and sleep in the Leo cave in Cabin Nine. Ever since he started work on the Argo II, he really hadn't had the chance to chill and get to know his siblings. They were always working too so it was tough getting to know each other. They weren't exactly into family game nights.

"So how is the ship coming?" Jake Mason asked him. He was looking a lot better these days, out of the body cast and now not even using his crutches anymore. His face wasn't swollen either. He no longer looked like the Pillsbury doughboy.

"It's coming," Leo said. "It's a lot more complicated than I expected but I really want to put some personal touched on it. You know, heated seats, cup holders, the good stuff."

Jake nodded. "Sounds great." Instead of continuing the conversation, Jake turned around to make his bed more comfortable to sleep in.

Leo was suddenly reminded why he didn't frequent the Hephaestus cabin very often. They were nice enough to him, but that was about it. Even amongst his own siblings, he didn't fit in. Joy.

Leo pulled the covers over him, all ready to pass out when there was a knock on the door. He made no effort to get up, after all, it wasn't for him anyway. Nyssa answered it.

Of all the people in the world, of course it was Mystery girl.

Leo shot up from the bed.

'Look cool,' he chided himself. 'Gotta look cool!'

There was a positive response to her being there, almost like she chilled at the Hephaestus cabin all the time. Most everyone stopped what they were doing to say hi or hug her hello.

Leo busied himself by folding his clothes. He had to pretend she wasn't there. Play hard to get. She walked over to his side of the cabin; he could practically feel her presence.

"Did you miss me?" she asked.

Leo turned around, shocked to hear her ask such a bold question. What he saw made him feel surprisingly jealous.

She wasn't even looking at him. In fact, she was sitting at the edge of Jake's bed and was talking to him.

"Is that even a question?" he asked her. "It's weird when you're not here."

She nodded. "It's weird not being here. College is a whole different world. It's awesome though."

"You could have at least chosen a closer college."

Leo was dismayed. She was taken. Surprise surprise. And to a fellow son of Hephaestus no less! He wasn't surprised though. Jake was tall, buff, and he wasn't ugly. Them dating was totally plausible.

"So I need a favor," she started. "I need you to make me a beautiful bracelet. It's gotta have garnets on it and I think it should be silver."

"Birthday gift for Emily?" Jake guessed.

Mystery girl agreed. "I want something nice for her."

"But if I make it, wouldn't it technically be from me then?" Jake asked, a smile now playing on his lips.

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'll put your name on the card then. So what do you say?"

Jake shrugged. "I don't know…"

The girl didn't like his answer. She leaned closer to his ear, trying not to laugh. "Jake…Jake…Please?" She planted a kiss on his cheek and he couldn't resist her charm then.

"I don't think I can ever say no to you."

The girl laughed at this. "Good! I don't even have the gift of charmspeak!"

It was then that her eyes landed on Leo. He had been trying really hard not to be obviously eavesdropping but was caught in the act.

"Jake, who's this?" she asked politely, her eyes never leaving his.

"This is Leo Valdez, senior counselor of the Hephaestus cabin," Jake answered. "He came to camp about two months ago."

"Leo?" she asked. "That's a cool name. I'm Noah Maldonado."

Instead of being cool like he intended, "Isn't that a dude's name?" came from his lips. Could he be any lamer?

From the corner of his eye he could see Jake face palm.

'Smooth Valdez.'

Thankfully, Noah just laughed. "My dad always wanted a boy," was her cool reply. She didn't even look annoyed.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Leo said, trying to sound apologetic. "You guys go back to being all couple-y. I'm just heading to bed."

The last thing he was anticipating was for the both of them to openly laugh at him. Did he say something stupid?

"Leo, he's not my boyfriend. He's my stepbrother."

Leo blinked. "Um…how does that even work?" It seemed like a valid question to him.

"Well, my dad finally left my drunkass deadbeat stepmom and married Jake's mom. We're practically the Brady bunch: demigod edition!"

"Wow."

"Yeah, it's weird," she agreed. "Alright well, you guys head to bed." Turning to Jake she pointed at him. "I have your word on Emily's bracelet. No turning back. Goodnight brother." She kissed him on the cheek again and then turned to Leo. "'Night Leo." She blew him a kiss and was out the door after saying a goodnight to everyone else.

If Jake wasn't there, he totally would have tried to catch that kiss that she blew him. Was this the Twilight Zone or something? Pretty girls never paid him any attention. What was going on?