Percy decided to stop stalking Nico. He was a big boy, and could handle his own problems, and other people's apparently. He didn't need his boyfriend to go around telling off anyone who even looked at him the wrong way.

So Percy moved on to stalking Leo. After Frank came back to the lunch table the day before slack jawed and confused as hell, he decided that taking charge was going to be the best action in this situation.

He managed to schmooze Leo's schedule out of Piper somehow, no doubt with promises he never planned on fulfilling, and skipped his second period class, which was when Leo had wood shop. Not even bothering to avoid teachers in the hall, he received weird looks as he leisurely walked without any books towards the other wing of the school, but he wasn't stopped or questioned.

They all knew by now that Percy Jackson was a wild card, and trying to understand him would just make the situation worse. The school was warned about his record, and were prepared to throw him out at a moment's notice, but so far he hadn't done anything to bring attention to himself. But better safe than sorry.

It was already ten minutes into the period when Percy finally got to the wood shop room. Okay, he had gotten lost a few times, but this was the wrong side of the school for him. Fearlessly, he opened the door, receiving a few strange looks from kids already at their work stations. Thankfully the teacher wasn't there, and he snuck in undetected.

It took about twenty seconds to find Leo Valdez. His mop of brown curls was usually noticeable anywhere, but he had such a determined expression it didn't look like him at all. And he had goggles on, so that made it harder.

"HEY LEO!" Percy shouted in the Latino's ear, and the younger boy jumped, sending saw dust into the air everywhere.

With a few clicks and yanks, the noise of the saw Leo was using cut off, and a very angry Leo stood there, glaring at Percy.

"What the hell was that for?" He demanded, crossing his arms. The dark haired boy shrugged and looked around. He could still barely hear Leo over all of the machines, so he grabbed his hand and pulled him into the hall. Leo tried to dig his heels into the ground, but he was too weak and the floor was too slippery.

"The fuck bro! You can't just barge in during class, this is kinda important," Leo wailed, before calming slightly and cocking his head to the side. "Wait, shouldn't you be in class too?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "That's not what's the issue here. The issue is you ignoring your boyfriend." He said the last word with air quotes, making Leo squint at him.

"What's that supposed to mean. Frank is my boyfriend, I do love him. I swear," he said, starting to get a little defensive. Percy had to stop himself from smiling, this was going well. Maybe not for Leo, but for him.

"He isn't so sure. He thinks you're avoiding him, which you basically are. You know, the whole Tavvy thing isn't helping, he thinks you might be getting the shit beat out of you too," Percy lied, trying to make Leo feel bad about himself.

It didn't work. "I see him every day, at least a few times. He would be able to tell if I was being bullied like that. And my ego isn't nearly as big as Octavian's; I would be the first to run for help."

Well shit, that didn't work out well. Percy stood silent for a moment, trying to think of something else to say. He hadn't gotten the answer he really wanted yet.

"Okay okay, if you do love Frank, why are you always here and not with him? I mean, you're skipping lunch, which is the best thing about school," Percy reasoned, stepping a little bit closer to Leo.

Leo let out an exasperated sigh. "I've been working," he said simply, and Percy raised an eyebrow, obviously not pleased with that answer. "I've been here, practicing crafting and using machines and metal working, okay? I need to know how to do all this stuff so I can get a scholarship for college, or else I won't be able to make it. It's not like I can depend on Frank to pay for everything, so I work here and then go home and work at the car shop, and then do my homework if I have time. What I don't have time for is Frank right now, and it's killing me."

By the end of the small rant, Leo's face was red and Percy's jaw was dropped. Just as Percy figured out how to talk again, Leo started back up.

"I know it's hard for him, but you know how bad it is for me! I'm in debt to him forever! He took me in, well, his grandma did but whatever, he feeds me, buys me clothes, he's the best I could ever get. He's absolutely perfect and sweet and amazing, but look at me. Leo Valdez, no family willing to take him in, no foster home willing to put up with him, nobody willing to even care about him. And he ends up with this perfect life at the expense of others. No, I don't like this. And maybe putting distance between me and Frank is the best thing I could do. He doesn't deserve someone like me, he deserves so much more. And you can tell him that, you know, 'cause the gods know I can't."

With tears in his eyes Leo slowly backed away, eyes not leaving Percy's until he got to the edge of the hallway, then he turned and sprinted off, shoes echoing all the way down.

Percy stood for a few moments, confused as all hell and a bit scared for the boy. Where was he going? What was he going to do? He ran to the edge of the hallway, but Leo was out of sight. He did however see an open door at the very far end, and heard it close loudly.

With a large sigh, he started back down to his wing of the school, unsure of what to do and what was to come.


Jason sometimes regretted taking gym.

Now was one of those times.

He was stuck in the locker room with all of the gross, sweaty guys all around him. He ended up with a bunch of seniors somehow, and they made fun of him every chance they got. Usually it wasn't actually mean teasing, just fun joking, but after a while it just got annoying.

Surprisingly, the senior that broke up the commotion around Jason was Luke.

"Alright alright, everyone go actually get dressed. And put some deodorant on, it smells like horse shit in here," he said, pushing through the crowd around the one of the smaller locker bays. Everyone dispersed and Jason got a few fist bumps from the nicer seniors.

"Thanks," Jason said, struggling to put one of his legs through his too tight jeans. Thalia had made fun of them this morning. 'Are those your way of coming out?' She had said, he laughed sarcastically then, but he was pretty sure they radiated homosexuality.

Luke flashed his winning smile. "No problemo, sometimes these guys wont' shut up. I remember last year, the seniors were horrible. Every joke they made was about gays or sex. Sometime both," he said and winked, making Jason feel a little uncomfortable.

"Is everything okay? You seem a little bit, I don't know anxious," Luke asked, scooting a little closer to the other blond.

Jason shrugged his shoulder. "I don't really know. Like, everything is fine and stuff, but…"

He didn't know how to elaborate. He liked someone, he honestly did. It was the kind of liking that crushed you inside a little, because he knew that she didn't like him back, at all. Sure, they talked sometimes, and were the best of friends, but it was different. She would never return the feelings, because she was simply too good.

"Girl trouble?" Luke asked, shocking Jason.

Just as Jason tried to talk, Luke interrupted. "I've seen that look on every player's face. Well, sometimes it's boy trouble, but same thing. I'm gonna guess your straight though, so girl trouble. Let me guess, you like her and she doesn't like you?"

Jason just nodded, not really knowing what to say. How was Luke so good at everything?

"Listen buddy, I'm gonna guess that whoever this girl is, she is real important to you. You don't seem like you go falling in love real easily. So take a chance, ask her out. Don't say if it's just friendly or if it's an actual date. Let her decide, and depending on her answer, you know how she feels."

Jason's jaw was on the floor by now, and he could only ponder one thing.

"If you're so good at this, how did you not know that Octavian was getting bullied everyday?"

Luke's smile instantly fell and he looked to the ground, a dark expression taking over his face. "It's a lot easier to give advice than to follow it, my friend. When it's you it's happening to, your entire mind goes blank."

Jason nodded and jumped up, pulled on his pants successfully and tugged on his shirt. He sprayed some shit in the air that supposedly smelled good and didn't even try to tie his shoes.

"Hey," Luke said, and Jason turned around. His smile had already come back, and gave Jason's ass a hard slap, more encouraging than sexual. "Go get her tiger… and don't tell Octavian I did that."

Jason smiled and ran out of the locker room, straight to her locker. He stood for a few moments, checking his watch and getting a little antsy.

Just as his confidence was beginning to fade, she showed up.

Reyna Avila Ramírez-Arellano. Not that he could ever pronounce her name if his life depended on it, but he still liked saying it in his head.

She walked down the hallway with her hips slightly swaying, her long black silky hair tied in a neat braid behind her so it swings. She was giving him a look which could mean 'get the fuck out of my way Grace' or 'what the hell are you doing here Grace'. Neither was really good, but the latter is a bit better.

"What the hell are you doing here Grace?" She asked, propping her books up on her hip as she put in her locker combination, raising her eyebrows at him. He smiled inwardly, before smoothing out his expression, trying to play cool.

"You wanna go somewhere this weekend, just the two of us? Like, maybe that diner or a movie…" He did well at the beginning but he started trailing off towards the end, losing all the confidence he had built up from his pep talk.

Reyna raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Sure, I'll text you later, I gotta go. She stopped a second and leaned over, pressing a light kiss to his check, before smirking and strutting off.

Jason couldn't help himself; he punched the air and did a little dance all the way back to his locker, where he spun in a circle a few times before actually opening it. As he was grabbing his books, the bell rang, but he didn't care.

He had a date, and whether she thought it was one or not, it still counted.


inulover305 - This was an extreme circumstance I guess, I mean, everyone has a breaking point. Even sweet little Hazel. (And I kinda wanted to see her yell at Jason)

funlove109 - I honestly am not sure how their relationship is going to be... but they will all be together in some way! (I'm aware that was a really stupid answer, sorry)

Woo, a straight ship! This is new for me. Anyway, hope you guys liked it. Thanks for reading!