8- Leo
Death Boy was starting to grow on Leo. When he'd first met Nico he'd seemed super creepy, then when he'd done that ritual to close the doors, nearly shutting AB and Percy in, he'd seem even creepier to Leo. Nico could stand up to the others though, something Leo respected because he was mostly in the background, and it sounded like there was about to be a major blowout between Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper, and the fact that Nico thought popcorn was the solution made him like the kid a little more.
"That was bad," Hazel said in her deep southern accent. "Annabeth shouldn't have said that stuff to Jason."
"Jason shouldn't have snapped like that, they just got back from, like, the world's worst trip. Dante himself probably couldn't have imagined a worse hell," Leo stuck up for his friend.
"But Jason is a Praetor, he deserves more respect, if someone isn't coping, it's his duty to handle the situation, that's all he was trying to do," Frank interjected.
"Maybe you haven't noticed," Leo gestured around, "But we're not in Rome; New or Old. Besides, I've heard stories at Camp about things Percy's done. He's just as qualified.
"She was still out of line," Hazel said, turing to her brother for help.
"I don't think it's our place to decide how they handle their own affairs. Neither of them should have shouted the way they did. Jason and Percy are both used to being the one demigod in charge, this quest has thrown them both off their game. They are both used to being the strongest, most capable member of their team, not used to having to share the duties, the glory, or the responsibility. I believe they are both feeling all of the responsibility for all of our lives when they should be sharing it, leaning on each other to fight better, like earlier, rather than passive aggressively dealing with it. If Piper and Annabeth keep fighting each other's boyfriends, they're not going to be friends much longer."
Nico walked over to the cabinets, grabbed the snack and tossed them to Leo, who caught them easily, excited.
Leo held a bag of popcorn in each hand, sending heat through both of them. The smell and sound of each kernel popping was comforting, like when him and his mom used to have movie nights in their old Houston apartment.
"Mijo," she'd said when they watched Inspector Gadget, "You'll like this one." He remembered, even at such a young age, trying to figure out how it all worked.
Down the hall, Jason knocked on Annabeth's door; it flew open "What!"
"I just want to talk," Jason looked over her shoulder, probably at Percy. "To you, actually."
"Annabeth, it's fine, let him in." Leo heard Percy say.
