A/N: I am truly sorry for the unexpectedly long hiatus; classes have been a pain lately. I doubt this chapter will be enough to suffice so I'll try to get the next one up and running ASAP. Again, I apologize for the wait. I'm grateful for those of you who have stuck around for this chapter.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything affiliated with Rick Riordan's works.
"Ha! Seven-to-five, Valdez!" Jason shouted.
"No fair!" Leo laughed. "You traveled, man!"
Jason tried to steady his breathing. Okay, maybe he did travel, but Leo stepped on his foot earlier. He was just getting even. "I'm going to sit down for awhile," he panted.
"Yeah," Leo agreed. "We've been playing for an hour straight. You got any water?"
Jason went inside to grab a few bottles, careful not to disturb Thalia in the living room. She was giving lessons to her friend's little sister. It was the only class she held at home, since her real part-time job was at the music school.
When Jason went out into the backyard again, he noticed Leo was thinking real hard about something, which was unusual. As intelligent as Leo was, he was really scatterbrained and often never focused on any one thought, unless he was into it. Jason sat next to him and handed him a water bottle.
"What's up, Leo?" Jason asked. "You're unusually quiet."
Leo sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. I've just been thinking."
"That's a first," Jason joked. Contrary to what he expected, Leo didn't react, and Jason was starting to think something was up. He patiently waited for Leo to tell him.
"I can't get this person out of my head," Leo started off, and Jason could tell where this was going. "It's really weird."
"A girl," Jason stated. He didn't need to ask, since he figured as much. Leo nodded, and Jason continued, "So, how do you know her? What's her name?"
"Let's call her 'her majesty'," Leo suggested. He wasn't quite comfortable with openly talking about Reyna just yet. "We met at Mrs. Jaramillo's."
Jason nodded, encouraging Leo to go on. He knew it made Leo feel better to keep talking rather than hold back, and Jason always listened well.
"I've seen her, like, three or four times," Leo said. "She doesn't talk much, and at first she hated me, but…"
"How about now?" Jason coaxed.
Leo shrugged and sighed again. At that moment, a new voice came from the house: "My, my. Having girl problems, Leo?"
The boys looked up and saw Thalia standing at the door. She walked over to them and sat in between them, putting her arms around their shoulders. "The lesson finished early." She turned to Leo. "So how's it going so far? Is she cute?"
Leo ears turned red, and Thalia laughed. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's see…what do you like about her?"
"I never said I liked her," Leo protested hastily. Thalia and Jason saw right through him though, and Leo gave up. "Maybe a little. She's pretty cool, you know, when she's not scolding me or glaring at me."
"Ah, young love," Thalia sighed jokingly. "Always such a hassle."
"But Thalia," Jason cut in, "you've never even dated as far as I know. How would you know it was a hassle?"
Thalia glared and smacked the backside of Jason's head. The three of them laughed and Thalia ruffled their hair. "Just don't let your emotions rule your life, Leo, and you should be fine," she said. "I mean, there's all this stuff about following your heart, but you can't live without your head either."
"Cockroaches can," Jason interrupted again, giving an innocent smile when Thalia looked at him.
Thalia rolled her eyes. Jason was just trying to annoy her now. "Okay then, my smartass little brother, who's your object of affection, hm?"
Jason didn't answer; he merely stared at his oh-so-interesting shoelaces, causing Leo to chuckle and say, "He doesn't have one. All the girls throw themselves at him, but he acts like he doesn't care."
"Well," Thalia said shaking her brothers shoulders a little. "You should just relax, buddy. Even if you're not looking for her, you'll know when you find her, trust me."
Leo noticed the sky getting dark. He stood up. "I gotta go, guys. My mom's waiting for me at home." He exited through the gate. "I'll see you guys later!"
"Good luck!" the Grace siblings called out simultaneously.
Leo chuckled to himself. He loved Jason and Thalia like family, and he hoped they felt the same because he didn't know what he'd do without them. Being an only child was lonely sometimes, even with his mom around.
He thought about Thalia's advice, but wasn't quite sure how she expected him to use his head. Maybe she just wanted him to assess the situation.
Reyna—her majesty—didn't seem to be mad at Leo anymore, which was a relief. They'd gotten along much better than when they first met. It was easier to make her laugh, she smiled more, and Leo was able to let more of himself show around her.
He didn't know what do really. Even when she smiled at him, Leo felt like he had to keep his guard up still. It was crazy, his head told him so, but Leo was just really worried. If he made the wrong move, Reyna could be pushed out of his reach. But hey, wasn't that Leo's thing? To go after girl's out of his league? The thing was, he didn't want Reyna to be out of his league; he liked being sort-of-friends with her.
Leo groaned as he approached his house. What is wrong with me? Leo thought. He tried to clear his head when he walked inside so his mother wouldn't notice anything different. Predictably though, she had noticed.
"Mijo, what's wrong?" she asked as Leo slumped onto the couch.
Leo curled up and leaned on the armrest. "Nothing. It's just this person I've been thinking about."
"Who?" Esperanza was intrigued now.
"You remember, Reyna?" Leo looked up at his mom, and realization spread across her face.
"I see." Esperanza smiled, taking a seat by her son. "Her highness?"
Leo managed a bit of a smirk. "Yeah, her."
"You like her?"
No response. Esperanza scooted closer to Leo and put an arm around his shoulders. "Leo," she began, "no matter what, I'll support you; I know you'll make the right choice."
"Mom," Leo complained, "that's what all parents say to their kids."
"Well, then there must be a reason, hm?" Esperanza chuckled, encouraging her son to laugh along.
"It's just…" Leo trailed off. "Sometimes it feels like she could be interested, and sometimes she wants to kill me."
Esperanza nodded. "Sounds like love to me."
Leo rolled his eyes. "You've been watching too many soap operas. I haven't even known her for a year."
"You never know." Esperanza raised an eyebrow. "Just don't do anything stupid." Leo's mom winked at him and went back to her room.
Leo in turn went into his bedroom and collapsed on the bed with a muffled grunt. The idea that he liked Reyna and that Reyna may possibly kind of like him just a bit was eating him up. He didn't know what to do; all he knew was that he wanted to see her again.
That settled it.
Leo pulled out his phone and dialed Reyna's number. A few rings later, a familiar voice picked up.
"Hello?" She sounded surprised.
"Hey Reyna," Leo spoke. "It's me."
A laugh was heard on the other end. "Yes, I know. You put my number into my phone, remember?"
"Right. Well." Leo paused. He didn't really plan on getting this far. In the back of his mind he thought she'd ignore him. Now, he had no idea what he was going to say. "I was thinking if you aren't busy, do you want to hang out Saturday?" Leo quickly thought of an excuse. "You know, 'cause getting to know each other better might help when we're at Mrs. Jaramillo's…?"
For a few tantalizing moments, Reyna didn't say anything. "Um, maybe," she finally spoke. "Sounds like fun I guess." There was muffled speaking coming from Reyna's line. "I'll have to talk to you later though, Leo. There's something I got to do right now. Bye!"
Reyna hung up hastily and clutched the phone to her chest. Did that just happen? she thought. Did Leo Valdez really just ask if she wanted to "hang out"? But she supposed it wouldn't hurt…
"Oh gosh," she said to herself. "What is going on?"
"Reyna!" her mother called again, peeking in from the door.
"Coming!"
In the living room, Reyna's parents were waiting for her. Her father, as usual, looked indifferent to whatever was going on, but Reyna noticed a crease on her mother's forehead that indicated worry.
Reyna's mother cleared her throat. "So," she began, "you've been spending more time at Mrs. Jaramillo's."
Reyna nodded, not daring to speak. She turned to her father, who said nothing either.
"Well," her mother continued, "your father…and I are wondering if this is the best choice for you."
Reyna caught the paused her mother had before including herself in the conversation. She didn't want Reyna's father to look like the only bad guy, or single him out. Reyna knew in her heart that her mother encouraged her working with the kids, that it wasn't a bad thing, but her father…
"You should be studying," he interjected. "You can't waste all your time with children."
Reyna was indignant. "Dad, it's not a waste of time. Working with kids is a valuable experience."
"They're children," he argued. "What could they possibly give to you that would serve you better than your education?" Reyna heard him mutter, "Your sister was never like this."
"Leave Hylla out of this, Dad," Reyna said, gritting her teeth.
Reyna's dad raised an eyebrow. "Very well, then." He stood up. "I'll leave you to make your mistakes."
Reyna's insides were boiling. She tried to keep her emotions in check. Blowing up didn't help anyone. Plus, she knew her father, his behavior shouldn't surprise her. Reyna let out a long sigh, and felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. She looked up.
"I'm sorry, Rey," her mother said sadly. "He's only tough on you because he's sees a lot of your sister inside you, and, well, you two aren't exactly alike."
"That's the problem," Reyna stated. "Hylla and I can be similar, but we aren't the same person. I don't know why he doesn't understand that."
Reyna's mother nodded in understanding. "I know, honey, I know. Give it time. He doesn't show affection much, but he really is proud of you."
"Yeah, and I bet he's proud of my 'mistakes' too," Reyna countered bitterly.
"Don't think about it too much." Reyna's mom patted her shoulder and left the living room.
Reyna sighed. She needed a distraction from this, something to keep her mind of off what was happening. After debating back and forth with herself, she finally picked up her phone and dialed the number. Reyna counted three rings before he picked up.
"Yeah?" His voice sounded cautious.
Reyna took a deep breath. "Hey Leo, um, about Saturday…"
"Oh," Leo said dejectedly. "Look, if you don't want to it's alright. I don't really know what I was thinking—"
"No, no," Reyna interrupted. "That's not it. I—well…" Reyna mentally cursed herself, wishing she was as good with words as the rest of her family. "I'd love to."
A pause, then, "Really?"
Reyna shook her head and tried to keep herself from laughing. "Yes, really. When and where?"
"Actually, I'm not sure," Leo admitted. Reyna could picture that nervous smile on his face. "Didn't really plan this out very well. How about you meet me at the park two blocks down from Mrs. Jaramillo's? Then maybe we can do a little walking around or something, whatever you want."
"Hm. Okay, I like that." Reyna tried to keep the grin off of her face.
"Cool!" Leo cleared his throat. "I mean, well, you know—ah…so, see you Saturday?"
"Yeah, see you Saturday."
A/N: I'll try to be better with my updates! Thanks for still reading!
-Abi-Jewel
