A/N: Hey guys, sorry for those who follow this story, I did write the most of this story on Thursday but I haven't had the opportunity to finish it and upload it until today with my best friends birthday on Saturday. I don't like this chapter as much, I don't feel I've quite put it across right but please let me know what you think. Please review.

*********Stuff in italics is thoughts*********

Reviewers:

krystall97: You'll have to wait and see (although not long, its in this chapter).

jemmawoodcroft: Hopefully it will get more intense, I'm planning something for in a couple of chapters time that I hope should be more intense and should also lengthen the chapters a bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO


A voice sounded in Pipers dreams; something about opening up. The voice told her they loved her. She woke up some time later with her best friend crying next to her.

"Leo?"

"Hey, sleepy head," he said through the tears. "You had me worried there for a second!"

"What happened?" she said prodding at the lump on her head and looking at the crumpled remains of her helmet.

"I think all the winning went to your head." He said with a sly smile.

She laughed and lent up and wiped the tears off Leo's cheeks. He clasped her hand once more on his cheek as their gazes met.

"I'm not going anywhere…" Piper whispered as she pulled Leo into a hug. Piper smiled over her shoulder, she was contempt there in that moment and didn't want it end.

"Leo was just … just…" she couldn't find the word to describe him in her head. He was her best friend and for once that didn't feel right for Piper. She didn't know what had changed but when Leo pulled away from the hug and put a hand against her head to check her temperature who stomach did a flip.

Leo left for a few minutes to fetch a healer and Piper slumped back on the bed.


(Outside)

Leo slumped on the wall of the infirmary, his heart racing.

"Had she heard him?"

He knew one of the first senses to return to an unconscious person was the hearing and he had told her he had loved her just minutes before she had woken up.

"Crap!" Leo muttered out loud as he walked over to the forest to find someone to check on Piper.

"She would never like a guy like me; a grease monkey who she shares a room with. I can't tell her how I feel…" Leo thought clenching his fist in frustration. "If she said no it would just make things awkward between them."


(One week later)

"I don't know Annabeth," Piper said as she duelled with the blonde haired daughter of Athena. The lump on her head had receded with some more nectar and she was feeling much better.

"He's just been different. It's like there's something on his mind." She said ducking underneath Annabeth's blade and slashing upwards with her own sword barely missing Annabeth's leather padded chest. Using Piper's momentum against her, Annabeth took a step inside Piper's guard, dropped low and swung her leg around knocking over the daughter of Aphrodite who landed with a thud on her bum.

"You almost had me there," Annabeth said pulling Piper to her feet. "I think you should talk to him. You can't let him get further and further away. He's your best friend right? So you can't let something get in-between that friendship."

"You're right… as usual." Piper sighed bringing up her sword once again. "Shall we begin?"


(Later that night)

"How's it going, how was your day?" Piper asked lying on her side in bed. She wore a tank top and shorts and the bed covers were pulled up to her waist as she waited for an answer from the son of Hephaestus.

Leo cast a glance over at Piper and quickly averted his gaze as it began to wander over her torso and what was covered up by the top.

"Yeah, it was fine," he said turning back to the valve's he was decarbonising on his workbench. He heard footsteps pad over to him and his spin-ny chair was whisked around so that he was forced to face the angry looking girl.

"What's wrong? I know there's something going on with you. We've had nothing but small talk between us for almost a week now. I can't figure it out; every time we have a conversation there's like an elephant in the room with us. Do you want to explain?"

"I'm just tired," Leo lied. "And I've been worried about you," which wasn't that big a lie.

"Come to bed then, your pieces of metal will still be there in the morning," Piper said pulling him towards the four poster bed.

"There actually called valves…" he murmured as he locked eyes with her and allowed her to pull him towards the bed. He lay down and she wrapped her arms around him from the back, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Whatever is on your mind I think you should tell me; you've got nothing to lose" she said tightening her hug on him.

Piper didn't catch all of it but she thought she heard him say:

"I've got everything to lose."

Her heart felt torn in her chest but she realised that he would talk to her eventually. Leo himself snuggled closer into Piper's embrace and was soon asleep; the frown that had creased his head for the previous few days was finally lifted, at least for as long as he slept. Piper watched him sleep for a while, her eyes roving over every inch of his face taking it all in before the warmth from their entwined bodies caused her to fall asleep with him.


Leo opened his eyes and found himself staring into the kaleidoscopic eyes of his best friend.

"God's dammit, she is beautiful," Leo thought tilting his head back so he could affectionately bite her on the nose. When she recoiled he pulled her into his arms and rolled them over until he was on top looking down at her.

"Morning beauty queen," he said with a smirk.

All of a sudden she thrust with her hips upwards and tilted him to the side before she rolled back up onto him.

"Morning yourself," her gaze sweeping over him in triumph believing she had won. Leo quickly taught her how wrong he thought she was by tickling her and poking her in the ribs. She fell off him and he once more gained the upper hand tickling her more until she was crying with laughter and begging him to stop.

He collapsed next to her, both of them breathing hard.

"You seem in a better mood this morning," Piper said brushing a fallen lock of hair out her face.

"I just had a good night's sleep and everything has fallen into place," Leo said turning his head so he could face her. He had decided he would try and win Piper's heart no matter how long it took. She was worth fighting for.

Piper was glad that Leo was back to normal, she had hated the previous week without the usual Leo. She needed her best friend.

"Best friend?" Piper pondered. Why didn't that seem good enough?


A/N: I hope you enjoyed it please favourite, follow and review.

heeeeeem