So...fast chapter update, eh? :) First chapter was just yesterday. I got a bit excited...you know. :D So I hope you guys like it!

2: Disaster Date

Beauty Queen is five minutes late, Leo muttered. They were meeting at a bench in the park. Leo looked around. It was a beautiful place. Blue skies, green grass, the sound of happy chatter. Happy chatter. Leo's eyes rested on a small boy who seemed to be begging his mom as he pointed to a popcorn cart. He sighed to himself as he remembered his mother. Leo remembered her perfectly, Esperanza Valdez. Received a college degree in medical engineering…

"Repair boy!" A cheerful voice broke his train of thought. "Beauty Queen –" Leo said just as cheerfully, but his voice stopped when he saw Piper. She wore a floral dress, with flats, and her hair was braided to one side. She always had that effect on him, getting him tongue-tied. "Am I late?" Piper grinned down at him. She was standing right in front of him now. Sometimes Leo wondered what he'd done to deserve and be worthy of a girl like Piper.

Leo made a really intelligent sound like, "Er-k-grate." Piper raised her eyebrows and laughed. "Sorry, what was that?" Leo cleared his throat. "I mean uh, you look great. Really great." Leo grinned impishly. "Thanks. You don't look so bad yourself either, Repair Boy." Piper grinned back. Then she bent down, took the both of his hands and pulled him up. As soon as Leo stood, his lips immediately met Piper's. When he pulled away, Piper seemed pleasantly surprised. "That's a new move." She smirked. Leo shrugged. "Hey, I got game too. Come on."

They walked around. Every once in a while, other guys would stare and scowl at their intertwined hands. "We'll be back to camp in a few weeks. Can't wait." Piper said. "Great! I can't wait to see everyone." Leo would do anything to go back to that camp.

"Hey look. A dead bird." Piper's voice suddenly chimed in. Poor bird. Leo looked up and asked, "Where?" Then he looked down again to see Piper laughing at him like crazy. "What…" Leo trailed off, suddenly wondering if Piper was just joking about that. Then the realization came that dead birds weren't supposed to be flying anymore. "Oh." He said. "Nice one, Leo." Piper said, still laughing.

They finally arrived at the restaurant he was actually taking her to, which was just right across the street from the exit of the park.

"Table for two." Leo told the waitress who was waiting by the entrance. "Right this way, sir." She replied, leading them beside the window. Leo pulled one chair which Piper sat on, and he took the seat right across her. There were three unlit candles in the middle of the square table. "May I take your orders please?" The girl asked, pulling out a pen. Leo gestured to Piper with a smile.

As they waited, Leo decided to make a good impression. Instead of asking for a lighter, he held up his pointing finger, where there was a tiny flame lit at the tip. Then he used it to light up the candles. Piper smiled. "So how have you been?" She asked him. "Great. You know. Math as usual and building stuff. What about you? Your dad?" Leo said. "As usual. Knee-deep in his crazy Hollywood life." Piper rolled her eyes. "But at least I have Hedge to give me company, and his girlfriend too. But honestly sometimes I just can't stand the smooching and sweet talk every now and then." Piper shuddered. And soon, they both laughed.

A few moments later, Leo's stomach started to grumble and just in time, their order arrived. Steak. Then he started to wolf it down as civilized as possible. Piper was gracefully using her knife and fork to cut it. Leo found that quite ridiculous…since when did someone cut steak gracefully? But he wasn't one. He tried to block Piper's view from his plate as he was having a hard time cutting it.

Okay, this was already getting on Leo's nerves. Leo was already tempted to just grab the steak with his bare hands and bite it. If he only has his magic toolbelt with him, he would have already summoned a chainsaw. "Uh…Leo…" Piper trailed of nervously as he tried to slice off the steak furiously. "What?" And just as Leo said that, the steak flew towards the candles, which toppled over and lit the carpet on fire. The people in the restaurant screamed as the flames travelled. Soon, the staff were carrying three bottles of fire extinguisher. "It wasn't us!" Piper used her charmspeak, took Leo's hand, and they both bolted for the exit.

They ran towards the park, and when they were already a safe distance away, they stopped running and panted. Leo was relieved that the whole restaurant didn't go up in flames.

He glanced at Piper and caught her eyes. A few moments later, they both laughed. "You handle machines but can't cut steak?" Piper laughed. Leo just laughed along too. "Hey, the meat was difficult to cut, okay?" Leo frowned. "Disaster Date. Sorry, Beauty Queen. You deserve better." He said. Piper held his chin up with one finger. "You could always make me smile, Leo. You're the one who deserves better." Then she leaned over and kissed him.

Leo felt like an idiot grinning down at Piper. But then he noticed something. He was looking past Piper, and beside a tree was the silhouette of a woman. There was a lamppost so he actually saw who it was.

Tia Callida.

She was smiling and waving her pointing finger from side to side as if saying 'tsk, tsk'.

Oh crap.

I'm not sure when chapter 3 will be ready...hmm...well. Review please! Be cool and classy that way. Thank you. :)