A/N: Hello! Right, so I've read BoO, and can I just say, IT WASN'T GOOD! I probably expected it to be good because it was the last book and all, but was it just me, or did Uncle Rick rush it a bit?
Anyway, would you believe it, I actually made up an ending for the two camps, and I was spot on. I had to delete it, because it was creepily similar to the ending of the book. This was before BoO, mind you. Yeah!
Also, for the sake of the story, pretend Leo never met Calypso. This is unwillingly turning into a DrewxLeo story. Turns out I can't help but write romance. I am one weird chick.
Enough babbling, enjoy!
Piper didn't know how they even knew each other. The hyper-active fire lord, the ice queen, and the spoilt princess. Nothing alike, right? So, how did they know each other?
It was their good luck that Piper gave up on trying to understand them. Their bad luck was that as soon as Reyna joined them, Piper was on their case. Again.
Piper might have been confused when Leo and Drew became 'allies'. When Reyna joined? She was downright stupefied.
The first time Drew glanced at Leo, she knew instantly that he was pretending. It was pathetically sad at how quick she'd figured it out. Contrary to popular belief, Drew was smart. She just chose not to let anyone see it.
Leo might've been good at donning a mask, but it was slipping. Drew had heard that he was cute, hyperactive, and funny. When she saw him now, he didn't seem like it. She uncharacteristically pitied him. So, she decided to help him.
Leo looked up around him. As his gaze came to Drew, she nodded at him, and glared, trying to get the point across that he was too gloomy. To anyone from the outside, it would seem like she was introducing herself, in that pompous, bow down to me way that she seemed to have.
Leo had looked at her with raised eyebrows. Huh?, he seemed to ask. Drew just glared harder. She lifted the corner of her mouth with one finger. Leo finally understood, and gave her a strained smile. Drew just rolled her eyes, and glared at him again. Leo finally put up a decent grin on his face. He told the person next to him - Jason - a joke, before laughing at it. Drew gave a quick and satisfied smile at him. He caught it, and winked at her in that cute dimpled way of his. Drew turned away to tell her 'friends' that she was just flirting with the latino. Them being the dumb blondes they were, they believed her.
Perhaps that was what started their truce. She didn't go near him, and he didn't go near her.
But soon, they became more than just allies. The temptation of finding someone who they could be themselves with was too much. Maybe that was what made them remind each other in the first place. Either way, they got curious, and that's what made them meet up.
Drew had seen Leo sneak into the forest. He probably hadn't been too worried about the monsters because of his fire powers. Drew always wore a bracelet that turned into a knife, so she was set. When she was sure no one was looking at her, she followed Leo.
After a few minutes of walking, Leo stopped and looked around.
"Thank the gods! Did you make sure no one followed you? It's boring just helping each other, don't you think?"
For a moment, all Drew could think about was that Leo had made sure only Drew had seen him. How the Hades had this kid gotten so good at things like this?
Leo sighed and tapped his foot. "I'm waaaiiiting!"
"Oh, fine. You got me." Leo grinned as she reluctantly stepped away from behind a tree.
Drew thought about how cute he looked when he actually meant a grin. Then she immediately scolded herself. She was Drew. She was NOT going to go gaga over a boy. THEY went gaga over her.
"So, I take it you want to be friends?"
Leo nodded and gave her The Puppy Face. Uh oh. It was rumoured to be the ultimate weapon against people."And, we're also going to have someone to trust and depend on. You okay with that?"
He looked at her with that face again. Except this time, he looked vulnerable as well. Drew took the moment to appreciate just how much he was sacrificing. All the time spent on perfecting his mask, so that no one would see what was underneath, and now, he was going to discard his mask in front of someone.
She waited a few more seconds just to see the latino squirm (adorably), before answering, "Of course."
"YES!" Drew raised an eyebrow. He was that excited? Huh. He must have struggled more than he let on. They kept on walking, with the latino filling up the silence when it got too awkward.
They finally found a relatively comfortable tree root they could sit on, without a dryad randomly coming out to yell at them. Drew mustered up her courage to ask Leo a question.
"So, Jason was like 'Dude, what the hades are you doing with that wii,' and Piper was like 'Yeah, Leo, why?', and I was li-"
"Why did you want to have this... Deal? From what I've heard so far, you're kind of how you usually are."
Leo paused, before cocking his head. "Lady, you just interrupted one of my funniest stories yet! Fine... It's hard."
When Leo saw Drew's eyebrow raise, he continued, "Being happy all the time. You try smiling when all you want to do is break down and curse the world. Your face hurts like Hades."
Drew thought about it.
"Hmmm. Isn't it harder to pretend you're mean when you feel happy and nice?"
"You really wanna talk about who has the harder mask?" Drew felt taken aback. Wow. He knew the exact way to describe it. A mask was the word for it.
"Isn't that what you said before?" Leo rolled his eyes.
"Oh, fine. I suppose pretending to be mean when your happy is tough, but when you curse everyone for being so selfish and have to be happy? Try to be upbeat and joke around then," Leo ground out venomously. Drew was surprised to see him scowling.
"I suppose you have a point."
"A point? Lady, what I say is completely from first-hand experience."
Drew raised an eyebrow.
"What?! It's true! Don't you think about the fact that if we dropped this mask, everyone would get suspicious and hate you? All my life as a foster kid, I had to pretend I was this happy-go-lucky kid and joke around just so that bullies wouldn't steal the little money I had. None of my family wanted me. None. I had to deal with the guilt of burning my own mother with my stupid fire powers. I had to run away from foster homes and the cops my entire life. I remember a night so bad, when I was eight, I was on the streets curled up in snow, feeling so cold and hungry, I was actually okay with the thought of dying. Try and beat that."
Drew took a deep breath. As long as they were both ranting and sharing personal problems, they would be alright. "My dad... is unspeakably handsome and rich. So, it's really no surprise Aphrodite was attracted to him. Except, after Aphrodite left, he... he went a bit... mad. He didn't like anyone, snapped at everything. So, it was a relief to go to a boarding school, where I had a chance of making friends. Except that I didn't make any friends. I was pimply, fat, and had no social life whatsoever. I got bullied. A lot. Then I decided to actually put my father's money to use. I bought make-up, new clothes that would motivate me to stop eating, so I could get thin. I even bought magazines, so I would know every 'cool' thing happening. I realized that no one trusted popular people if they were nice. So, I insulted people. And I was actually good at it. And it felt powerful. Being able to fool everyone was like a gift. It was like being in a reality show, except there was no camera. It was perfect. And then I realized that no one would know the real me. I started regretting it. But, by then it was too late. Then, I was shipped off to Camp-Halfblood, and now I stay here all year. It gets a bit lonely, y'know? To have to behave the same way the whole time?"
Leo thought about it. "I suppose," he mused.
Suddenly, Leo grinned. "You're close. But I definitely win." Drew smirked back. "Oh haha, very funny." They grinned at each other for a moment before settling back into a comfortable silence.