Notes: Even if it's only a few, I'm a bit surprised on how quickly I got feed back, and I'm pretty happy you guys like it so far. So yeah, Chapter 2.
Breaking Facade
Chapter 2
Leo was being stared at.
He could feel someone's gaze boring into his back, but he chose to ignore it. People stared at him all the time, and usually not for a good reason. He was probably being too loud again, but he didn't really care. He was always loud, and it wasn't like the rest of them weren't. If it wasn't the Apollo cabin singing songs from TV shows, it was the loud giggling and squealing from the Aphrodite table that cut above the chatter. There'd be an occasional shout from the Ares cabin. The fact of the matter was dinner was unusually lively tonight.
Of course he was contributing to the noise level with every joke he told. When he'd first arrived at camp, the Hephaestus cabin had been dispirited, but following his return from the quest, they were a lot more lively. Since he took the role of head councilor, the Curse of Cabin Nine had been lifted and that had really brightened their spirits. But it had it's down side. Whenever something went wrong, they turned to him, and most often for the simplest things. It was bad enough that most of his time was taken up with work on the Argo II but the fact that his cabin, as well as the rest of the campers were constantly asking him to fix every little problem was getting to be a bit stressful. It was no wonder Jake Mason resigned the moment he could.
He didn't exactly want to step down from his position, though. He really did like it, but sometimes he wished he could just take a break, as impossible as it was. The Argo II had to be finished by June. He didn't have the luxury of time. Sometimes, he barely had the luxury of sleep.
He glanced at his siblings. Jake was telling a joke of his own while Nyssa was trying her best not to snort as she drank orange juice. Harley was laughing hysterically, slamming his hands down on table. He leaned too far back and fell off the bench, only causing the everyone else to laugh harder. Nyssa spweded her drink all over Shane. She laughed between coughs.
Across the pavillion, he could see Jason shaking his head at them. Sometimes, he really felt bad for him. The campers weren't allowed to sit at each others' tables, which meant that Jason was stuck sitting by himself. Occasionally, he'd be able to slip over to the Aphrodite table and sit with Piper, but sometimes Chiron would put a stop to it before he could even get out of his seat. He didn't think it was fair, and didn't understand why the rule was in place to begin with, but whether he agreed or not didn't matter. There were a lot of rules at camp that he didn't agree with, but he was forced to follow them. Sometimes. He broke the curfew rule all the time.
After a few more minutes of watching Nyssa try to catch her breath, he turned to the Aphrodite table. Piper was surrounded by her sisters, as usual, laughing and talking. Occasionally one of them would squeal and she'd wince, but other than that, the smile didn't fall from her face. She looked completely out of place surrounded by a bunch of kids in designer clothing. If she didn't have the power of Charmspeak, which is an Aphrodite ability, he'd never suspect her to be one of them.
He didn't mind her siblings. There were a lot nicer than they appeared, at least most of them were. Some of them were a bit condescending, but he tended to avoid them. Then there was Drew. Since Piper had taken over, Drew usually sat as far away from her siblings, though by her choice or theirs, he wasn't sure. He didn't know what to think of her. She wasn't on the top of his 'would date list'. She was pretty, but that's about it. Her personality was exactly the opposite of that; everything you wouldn't want in a girl; condescending, conceited, mean, the list could go on. But still, he couldn't help but feel at least a bit of pity for her.
He knew all too well the joys of being an outcast. While he couldn't help but think she did deserve it, he could relate. Oh gods, if Piper knew he was sympathizing with her, she'd think he was crazy. Maybe he was. His sanity had yet to be proven, after all.
He was pulled out of his musings when Chiron announced that it was time for the bonfire. With the rest of his siblings, he left the dining pavilion and made his way towards the amphitheater. About half way there, Piper and Jason caught up with him.
"So about tomorrow," Piper said. "Are you sure you're okay with just guarding the flag? I can switch you out with someone else if you'd like."
Leo shook his head. "I'm not much of a sword fighter. Besides, if I were the other team, I wouldn't want to get near the kid that can throw fire at will."
Beside him, Will Solace flinched. "I really hate that expression."
Piper couldn't help but giggle. Leo cast him an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
Will just rolled his eyes and continued on. Once he was out of earshot, Leo allowed himself to laugh.
"Your timing was perfect," Jason smirked.
"Of course it was. I'm Leo Valdez." He gave Jason a cheeky smile.
Piper and Jason just shook their heads. The three continued on in silence. By the time they reached the amphitheater most of the camp had already gathered. It was Piper's turn to choose the spot. She lead them to one of the very open places, the front row on the other end. Leo took the edge and Piper sat in the middle.
Before they were allowed to begin, Chiron stepped in front of the fire.
"Alright, settle down," he said. The amphitheater fell silent. "As you know, tomorrow after dinner, we're have having another game of Capture the Flag. I'd like to remind you that anything goes, but, in light of recent events," he cast a quick glance at Jason, who ducked behind Piper, "I have to ask that you keep the destruction to a minimum."
Several campers started laughing.
The last time they played, Jason had accidentally set a tree on fire with a lightning bolt. At the time, it was scary, but afterwards, everyone seemed to find it amusing. Everyone but Jason, who wished they'd just forget the whole ordeal. Like that was going to happen.
With that, Chiron allowed them to being singing.
It wasn't the greatest thing, but no one really cared. The fire blazed bright orange and the flames rose to nearly ten feet in the air. The more enthusiastic the group became with the next song, the higher and brighter it burned. Several of them were saying to beat of the song, others were standing on their bench, wailing into the sky. Every once in a while, some would stop just to laugh when someone changed the lyrics, or when someone tried to hit a note that was out of their reach. In a contest, they'd be dead last, but this wasn't a contest. They were at camp. They were enjoying themselves. Of course they were going to be loud.
By the time the fifth song rolled around, Leo was too tired to sing along. He was about to turn to Piper and tell her he was going to head back early when something caught his eye. Someone was stalking past the amphitheater. He squinted and leaned closer. To his surprise, he realized it was Drew.
She was carrying her shoes in her hands and her feet were dirty. Judging from the direction she'd come from, he suspected she'd been in the woods. But what would she be doing in the woods?
He decided not to dwell on it. It wasn't his business. With the shrug of his shoulders, he turned his attention to the fire, which had receded considerably.
Some of the campers began shuffling off, but most of them stayed until Chiron announced that the sing-a-along was officially over. He, Piper, and Jason stood up and walked towards the cabins together. Jason and Piper were talking quietly beside him. He couldn't hear the conversation, and he didn't really want to; he tried not to make a habit of eavesdropping.
When they reached the Hephaestus cabin, Piper gave him a hard look. "You better go to sleep. I mean it, this time. Don't you dare stay up all night working on something."
Leo couldn't help but snort. Sometimes Piper acted more like a mother than a sister. "Yes, Mom."
"I mean it," she said more firmly. She glanced at Jason, who nodded.
"Seriously, Valdez. You're going to run yourself into the ground."
Leo wanted to protest. He could easily stay awake for days if he needed too, but anything other than "okay" wouldn't sit well with Piper. She'd have no problem using her Charmspeak if it really came down to it. Sometimes he really hated that ability; it made winning an argument with her nearly impossible. You'd think you were winning one second, and the next you found yourself nodding and agreeing with everything she said. He and Jason made her promise not to use it on them unless it was absolutely necessary, and the necessary part was at her discretion. If she thought that Leo's sleeping habits were a good enough reason, then so be it.
He rolled his eyes. "You guys are worrying too much. I'm fine."
Jason snorted. "That's what you call fine?"
Leo gave him a cheeky smile. "I'm no beauty queen, but I am pretty fine, if I do say so."
Piper shook her head. "You know what he means. You look like you haven't slept in weeks. Have you seen the bags under your eyes?"
They had a point. He'd caught a glimpse of his reflection earlier that morning on his way to breakfast and the truth of the matter was that he did, in fact, look like he hadn't slept in weeks. The fact of the matter was that Leo looked terrible, even if he tried to hide it.
He couldn't exactly argue either, because the idea of sleep sounded like a really good on at that point. With a sigh, he gave into his friends demands. "Yeah, yeah, okay. I'm going to sleep."
"Good." Piper said as she hugged him. Jason clapped him on the back just before the walked off.
With a tired sigh, he shouldered the door to the cabin over and stumbled to his bed. He didn't realize just how tired he was until his head hit the pillow. He was out within seconds.
Leo was not a morning person. He was not a waking up person, especially when he was woken up by someone repeatedly smacking his face.
With a loud groan, he opened his eyes. Nyssa stood beside his bed, her eyes alight with amusement. "Chiron moved the time for the game up."
"To first thing in the morning?" Leo grumbled.
Nyssa smiled. "Leo, its two in the afternoon. You missed lunch."
"What?!" Leo sat bolted upright. He couldn't believe he'd slept that long. Actually, he could. What he couldn't believe was that no one woke him up sooner.
"You have five minutes to get ready."
He swore under his breath. Without sparing Nyssa a second glance, he stumbled out of his bed and snatched the first set of clothes his hands came across; a pair of cargo shorts and his grease stained camp shirt. They probably weren't even clean, but he didn't have time to try to find something that was; it was only going to get dirty anyway. He hopped out the cabin's door as he struggled to slip his hoes on.
"Why in Hades didn't you wake me up sooner?" Leo huffed as he took off towards the woods with Nyssa right on his heels.
"It took me five minutes to wake you up!" She said defensively. "You're lucky you woke up when you did! I was about to go get a bucket of water!"
Leo was glad she didn't do that. Piper used that tactic on him once and it was not something he wanted done to him again. Just the thought of it made him shudder; he could still feel the burn from when he'd accidentally breathed the water in.
Nyssa began handing him pieces of armor. Dressing while running wasn't the easiest thing in the world, and a lot of his straps need to adjusted, but that could be done while Chiron was going over the rules. His main concern was to at least look like he hadn't overslept, though knowing his luck, everyone was probably already aware of the fact.
Most of the camp had gathered by the edge of the woods. They were already divided into teams. His team, which consisted of an alliance between the Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Athena, Zeus, and Apollo cabins, were already outfitted in their armor. When he and Nyssa reached the back of the group, Chiron gave him an exasperated look, but said nothing. A fact he was grateful for. Nyssa began to help him adjust the armor.
"As I said last night," Chiron addressed the group as a whole, "Try not to go overboard with the powers. The rules are the same as always. No killing, minimal maiming, and no cheating. The enemy flag has to be taken back to your side. Half way across the line does not count. The flag also must be where it can be seen." He gave the Ares campers a pointed look. "Take your sides."
The teams shuffled off into the woods.
Leo pushed through thought the masses until he was beside Piper. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes and shook her head. "It's about time."
"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Overslept."
"At least you spelt." Piper sighed. Leo suspected that was why she wasn't giving him a hard time for being late. Whatever the reason, he'd take it. He wasn't scared of her, but being yelled at as soon as he woke up was not something he wanted to experience. Unlike the rest of her cabin, Piper took the game just as seriously as the Ares cabin did - and he was a key piece in Annabeth's strategy. If he was any later, or didn't show up at all, she'd be pissed.
Their flag, a red banner tied to a huge stick, stood at the edge of a small stream. It was expertly placed so that it was in plain sight, but in a spot where those guarding it could stay hidden from view. There was a large boulder off to one side and several thick trees on the other. He already knew where he'd be hiding. Annabeth had been adamant about going over the plan as soon as Chiron announced the game a few days ago.
However, Annabeth's plan ended up changing at the last minute.
"I don't really want to run through the woods," Drew complained as she pushed herself to the front of the crowed. "Can I just stay here and guard the flag? I mean Mitchelle's a much better fighter than I am anyway."
Piper and Annabeth exchanged a look.
Behind them, Will sighed. "I'd rather have her here, actually. She'll just be a liability out there. I mean, there is a reason Aphrodite's team doesn't usually win."
Drew sneered at him.
"I guess," Piper sighed.
Annabeth nodded. "Leo's going to be guarding as well, not to mention, it might derail the other team. Especially if she sits in plain sight while Leo hides. They'd think we got overconfident and left Drew to be the only one guarding. This might actually work better than my initial plan."
"You better not make me regret this." Piper gave her a stink eye and tromped off with the rest of her team.
Drew gave her a snooty look and readjusted her helmet.
It was officially game time.
