Leo's shirtless, Hazel is rendered speechless, and Frank IMs at the absolute worst of times. Set between MoA and the HoH, when we all still had that precious Leo-Frank-Hazel banter.

Chapter 10: Hazel Levesque, In Between

Hazel Levesque hated surprises.

And the surprise of her lifetime was staring at her in the face. Hazel froze, shock reverberating through her like an earthquake. She was rooted to the ground.

She did not expect to see…this.

Leo, without his shirt, dancing wildly in front of his vanity, singing obscene pop songs of this century into his microphone a.k.a. his hairbrush.

"What the hell?" she muttered blankly.

Leo turned around, his curly hair bouncing around his face as he did so. His songs, lovely to an extent, were cut short. His eyes widened and then narrowed, making his elfish features seem more prominent than ever. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Hazel steeled herself, and took a deep breath. She stepped inside, quietly closing the door but failing when the door squeaked on its hinges. She winced at the sharp noise.

"I'll fix that later," said Leo off-handedly. "But seriously, Hazel, what are you doing here?"

She tried not to admit how much his use of her name bothered her. She might have failed in this prospect. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? What were you doing?" she exploded. "Because, to me, I'm afraid to call it like I see it."

Leo sighed deeply. His cheeks were slowly beginning to turn red, like he was a really, angry tomato. "Fine, now you know my dirty secret."

Hazel laughed loudly, not lingering on ladylike conduct at all. "What, that you like to sing?"

"And dance," reminded Leo. "Don't forget that."

"Without your shirt," she added unthinkingly.

Leo stared at her, a deep blankness in his eyes.

It's here Hazel should point out that she was intending to say goodbye and leave as the situation was getting a tad bit too awkward for her. She was fanning her face, the way she did whenever she got flustered, and her other hand was actually on the doorknob. She was literally this close to leaving when the air to her left shimmered in a distinctly Iris-flashy way. Hazel gaped. "Frank?"

His bulky frame filled the screen, wide-eyed as he took in her image. "Hazel?" he echoed in disbelief. "Where are you? I couldn't find you in your room or on deck so I started panicking and…is that Leo?" he asked.

Hazel's heart pounded loudly. Well, this was awkward. "Uh, no…"

Leo who could not take a hint in his life—ever— waved cheerfully. "Hi, Franko."

Frank raised his fist in a mildly threatening, mildly cute way. "I told you not to call me that!" he shouted.

Hazel had never felt more embarrassed in my life. "This isn't what it looks like, I promise!" she pleaded.

Frank turned back to her, dangerous suspicion brewing in his eyes. "And what would it look like, Hazel, to the average outsider?"

"I wouldn't call you average, Frankie. You'd be…below average," Leo put in, fake pity drenching his voice.

"Leo," hissed Hazel under her breath. "Not helping." She looked up at Frank helplessly. What would it look like, she wondered? Worst case scenario, Frank would think she was cheating on him or something. Actually, scratch that. The new worst case scenario, Frank would think she was getting it on with Leo or whatever the modern word/phrase for sex was. Hazel shuddered; deep feelings of wrong were echoing through her core. "Would it look like a friend helping another friend out?" she tried weakly.

Frank crossed his big, bulky arms and for once looked like the son of Mars who he was. He shook his head.

"Oh," said Hazel, with a defeated air. "Well, in that case—"

"You know what, this IM thing is stupid. I'm just going to come down and settle this once and for all," said Frank, slashing his arm through the message.

From upstairs, she could hear Frank lumbering down the stairs. Her eyes latched onto Leo's, fear ringing between the two of them as a unifying factor. "Hide," she squeaked.

Thanks, as always, for reading! Also, is it true that Rick Riordan said in an interview that only 3 or 4 of the Seven are actually going to survive after the Blood of Olympus? A friend of mine was telling me that, and I was like...No Way!